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wThursday, December 03, 2009 | |
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Olympic Stunt(Wind)Girl in Wavesailing Heaven A lot has happened in Nikola Girkes life recently. Here is her report: "It sure has been a really busy time for me. I came home to an incredible end of the summer - it got me outside doing all sorts of exercise, mainly biking but also got some Vancouver short-board windsurfing in! Between trying to stay fit, working, doing some school talks, getting fitness tested, started up a new fitness program and trying to organize/plan my next years leading up to London 2012... I had my hands full.  It was about mid-October when I was asked to audition for a stunt-double part in a movie (for a sailing scene). I got the part! It was only supposed to be a two day ordeal, but I quickly learned that's not how the film industry works. We went up to Port Renfrew, on the west coast of Vancouver Island to do the shoot, which ended up being a 6 day adventure. Attached are a few pictures of where we were and what we were doing - check out the nice surf spot! On the boat there was a total of 6 of us - 5 guys doing all the work and then hiding for when the helicopter came to take the shots of me sailing the boat "solo". It was a treat to sail on this Open 50 racer. Early November I flew to Maui for a bit over two weeks. I have not been back for many years so it was so wonderful to be back to my old stomping grounds. Before I started 470 sailing in 2001, I had lived in Maui for 1.5 years to pursue my windsurfing goals and dreams. Needless to say, there was plenty of catching up to do with my friends and trying to cram what seemed like 8 years of not really short-boarding and surfing into two weeks! It was part of my "cross-training" plan to go and play there - to get back to why I started windsurfing - jumping in the waves, wave riding and surfing. Luckily, even after so many years went by, I could still do it. I guess it is like riding a bike... kind of. It's great training for when I get back on the RSX - as there are so many parallels, one must be more precise/sensitive on a short board as it's not as forgiving as the RSX (big board & big sail). I arrived at a perfect time - for my first day on the water I was greeted with mast high (4m face waves) and wind. I was in wave-sailing heaven. I guess that's Maui - I did not get eased into it....rather I got absolutely launched into it. I loved it. My next stop was Toronto. I was elected to be the Female Athlete Rep for the Canadian Yachting Associations Board of Directors, thus, needing to attend the AGM. The night I arrived to Toronto, November 20th was also the Canadian Yachting Association 2009 Rolex Annual Awards Banquet. I was honoured to receive this years CYA Female Athlete of the Year Award. This award really means a lot to me. Although I have received this award twice before (2001 & 2004), both times was while I was sailing the 470. Changing sports from sailing to windsurfing in 2005 was a really daunting task, full of challenges, many pride swallowing moments and some doubt. Slowly and surely though, my hard work and determination has started to pay off. A 17th place finish at the Beijing Olympics left me with unfinished business - my goal is to bring home a medal from London 2012. Being the recipient of this award means that I've been doing something right and that I am on track towards achieving my goal! Thank you to all those who have helped me get to where I am today. I am home for two weeks before I head off again - this time to Mexico for a training camp with 4 other RSX girls. Looking forward to getting back on the board!" Nikola Girke (www.nikolagirke.com) posted by editors at 12/03/2009 12:26:00 AM |
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