Being a Canoeist
by DEVIN MILLETT (3rd grade)
I interviewed my Brookmont neighbor Davey Hearn this week at home with his wife Jennifer and his son Jesse who is two years old. Davey and his family are getting ready for a big summer, training and competing in the World Slalom Championships in Europe and Tennessee. Jennifer, also a competitive paddler, helps Davey with his training, and Jesse already gets to go on rides with his Dad. Here are some of the questions.
Q: When did you start canoeing?
A: When I was 9, I got my own junior size boat. Before that, when I was 3 or 4, I had been on canoe trips in Montana. I got serious about training every day after school when I was around 14 or 15.
Q: What got you interested in canoeing?
A: My father paddled an open canoe, and I wanted to also paddle a canoe. In 1972, another Olympic canoeist from the area, Jamie McEwan, won the bronze medal in canoe slalom. That inspired me and my sister Cathy to train and compete seriously.
Q: How long have you been competing?
A: I've been competing internationally for around 26 years.
Q: How many times have you been in the Olympics?
A: I've been to three Olympic games: 1992, 1996, and 2000.
Q: How long have you been training?
A: Seems like forever!
Q: Is it hard work?
A: Often it's hard work; most of the time it's fun. It's the kind of sport you can work hard at and still have fun at the same time. It's not boring; it tends to be interesting, even when you're working hard. I didn't consider myself to be one of the people who would push myself, straining at a sport all the time, but this sport sort of drew me in and got me to be dedicated to it, because of the amount of fun I got out of it.
Q: What is the difference between a canoe and a kayak?
A: A canoe can be long to go faster or short for better turning ability like my competition canoe. A canoe has one blade on the paddle and a kayak has a blade on each end. The canoe paddler keels and sits on a seat. The kayaker sits lower in the boat with their legs extended. Since the canoeist can see better down the rapids, the kayaker sometimes asks the canoeist what's down there on the river since they can't see that well.
Davey is also working as an Olympian advisor to the Washington-Baltimore bid to host the 2012 Olympic games. Wouldn't that be cool. Good luck racing, Davey, and I'll be saving my money for that neat junior boat you have hanging in your shop.
