Silken's Blog

Four-time Olympic gold medalist from Norway - Johann Koss with Silken, Kate and William,
watching Christine Nesbitt win "gold" for Canada at the Richmond Oval!

I was so intent on getting to our speed skating 1OOOM final I wasn't watching my step and slammed right into four-time Olympic gold medalist speed skater Johann Koss. Of course I know Johann well, as the founder of Right To Play , but because we were at the Olympics my daughter wanted his autograph. --Silken

Ten mintes later we are in a line-up again. Everybody around me is in a good mood but anxious about whether we get in on time. Being somewhat old hand at this I can console them that the line goes pretty fast. Actually my son is giving some Germans advice on how to find a good place in the security line; he is convinced that the express line is slower than the bag line. Yesterday the security person found my disposable razor in my knapsack (I thought I might find time to shave my legs at my friends hotel and then forgot I had the razor with me); she held it up and said " Hey, I am holding Silken Laumann's razor." They got a laugh out of everybody within earshot and had me blushing Canadian red!  --Silken

Once again I find myself on the Sky Train en route to the Richmond Oval. Canada's Christine Nesbitt is favoured to win and the Sky Train s is packed with Canada flags. Try blogging on a Blackberry while standing on the Sky Train. My kids are sitting eating their lunch; I gave them eight minutes to down their sandwich. I can't afford anymore twenty dollar hot dog stops, I am saving my money for a great speed skating shirt for each of them. Anyway, after last nights hotdog induced indigestion my gut needs a break.

Wow, it would be amazing to see gold for Cananda at the Oval today. No pressure Christine. We are going to get off this train and literally sprint (actually with my leg I can only powerwalk) to the Oval. Yesterday we made the twenty minute walk in twelve minutes, passing hundreds of people on the way and cutting down the security line by twenty minutes. If you are coming to Vancouver bring your jogging shoes and don't bother with any other clothing but a red sweatshirt, jeans and a loud hat. My son is wearing a red and white top hat, which is surprising me because he is usually the shy understated one in the family. He is a non stop Olympic highlight real, sometimes getting the names wrong but never their places. He comes up with random facts like Alexandre Bilodeau is 75kg. No idea where he got that one but I will have to fact check it. So everybody hold their breathe - one of Canada's best chances for gold is coming up in one hour. --Silken

I am experiencing rather intense heartburn after several days of eating Olympic venue food. As a rule, I don't munch on a luke warm hot dog midmorning but, given that you can't bring food into any Olympic venue, I have been left with little choice. So here is what is on the Olympic menu at every event I have attended. Hot dog, veggie dog, pepperoni pizza, nachos with artificial cheese, greek salad pita's, dome dogs, salted pretzels and chips and candy bars. That folks is the fine display of healthy food available at the Vancouver Olympic Games. As the guy beside me said, if they are going to serve unhealthy food, at least serve tasty unhealthy food like poutine, beaver tails, and nachos with real cheese.

I guess I could just go hungry for a few hours, but I am the type of person that moves from slightly peckish to wanting to grab a Mars Bar out of a complete strangers hands, in seconds flat. Anyway, I think we could have done alot better with food at the venues. A hot dog will set you back five bucks, a tiny pizza eight and a pretzel five bucks again. I wouldn't mind spending the money if I could eat something that wasn't going to actually make me feel bad for the rest of the day.

Maybe it is just stress. Cheering on friends and countrymen is pretty exhausting. With the flag waving, the face painting, the foot stomping and all out screaming, I am coming home every day more tired than the kids. My friend Kim Van Bruggen is laughing at me, reminding me that for all those years she was the one waiting for me to compete, then working herself up into a frenzy minutes before the competition, then having her eyes shut for most of the actual race. When I watched the downhillers today, I couldn't help but think of the parents. Bad enough to be stressed out about how your child is going to place, add that the fear that they are going to crash and smash themselves up, it would be all a bit much. Of course Maelle Rickers mom looked pretty chuffed at the medal ceremony tonight, so maybe it's those moments that make it worth it. Good night everyone. --Silken