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David Hearn’s 2000 Olympic JournalThe Man in the ArenaI like to stay focused on my objectives by using both long and short-term goals. One of my biggest long-term goals was making the Final at these Olympic Games, setting out to do my very best and earn an Olympic medal. I was satisfied with the first of my Qualifying race runs, but did not fare as well during the Final race, struggling to find the feel of the water while pushing against the gusty winds down the course. I placed 12th. Some are puzzled to see that I am still competing after all these years. While it is admirable to them, it is also perplexing. They don't fully comprehend what I could possibly get out of racing without winning gold. For me it is about all of the striving, trying, working away at it, yet having fun with the challenges along the way. It is not all about whether I finish first, second, third or last in the one big race. The race is sort of like a final exam, yet the test can cover everything only a fraction of what you have studied, and expose only a part of everything that you have learned. I had already earned my PhD in Whitewater long before this Olympic day arrived. Now I'll take a break from training to evaluate what I will do next. People are wondering if I will continue to compete and train for the next Olympics. 2004 is a not only a funny looking number, but a long way off at this point as well. I decided to make the commitment to train for these Olympic Games four years ago during the Closing Ceremony in Atlanta. Perhaps deciding whether to go after the 2001 World Championships on the Ocoee River in Tennessee will be easier. This Olympics has been one of participation and celebration for me. I didn't want to get out of my boat after my 2nd run. I wanted to stay in the water to see the top boats coming down the course and charging across the finish line. I watched their reactions looking at the finish clock to see their times. I felt proud to be in the same eddy with some of these great athletes, celebrating the Olympics with the paddlers of the world. Now that our Whitewater Slalom events are over I am looking forward to spending time with my family, experiencing the rest of the Olympic Games together. I hope to take in as much of Australia as possible while watching more Olympic events. After a couple weeks though, getting back into the boat will probably be fun, and I'll start working on my long-term goals once again. I am happy to have taken on this challenge four years ago. I have no regrets about having accomplished my goal even though I placed 12th and last in the Final. Being injured last year was a major test of my resolve. Fighting back through shoulder surgery and rehab, and just getting here to compete was a challenge. I am honored to represent the USA and whitewater enthusiasts around the globe. I would also like to thank everyone for the avalanche of kind words of encouragement and support for me participating in my third Olympic Games. Thank you all. "It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause. Who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." Theodore Roosevelt, from the bully pulpit. "The most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well." Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics.
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