A DAY IN
THE LIFE OF…
Claire O’Hara 8:00 a.m.: Wake up.
8:30 a.m.: Breakfast—cereal, yogurt, fruit and orange juice.
9:00 a.m.: Drive to Nottingha.m. Watersports Centre and meet coach Dennis Newton.
10:00 a.m.: Warm up (dry land). Jog, cross over running, arm swings, core and shoulder exercis- es and explosive power exercises.
10:15 a.m.: Warm up (on water). Forward paddling—four slow strokes, four fast strokes (three sets), 10 slow strokes, 10 fast strokes (two sets); backwards paddling—four slow strokes, four fast strokes (three sets), 10 slow strokes, 10 fast strokes (two sets); cross-bow strokes; roll.
10:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.: Three 20-minute freestyle skill sessions on a specific feature—ex. space Godzillas, phonix monkeys, lunars. One run down whitewater course practicing each move in every feature.
1:00 p.m.: Lunch—sandwich, fruit and cereal bar. Video review of morning session.
2:30 p.m.: Warm up—dry land and on water, as above.
Far left: After successfully defending her women’s squirt title with a decisive, 366-point lead, Claire O’Hara (GBR) snatched gold in the K1 finals with a clean 663-point ride. The surprising victory ousted defending champion Emily Jackson (USA), who scored much higher earlier in the competion but settled for silver at the finals with a 583-point ride. Jackson’s training partner and 2007 world champ Ruth Gordon Ebens (CAN) took home bronze. PHOTO: BALINT VEKASSY
Center left: After scraping through semis, James “Pringle” Bebbington (GBR) found his stride in the finals, throwing consecutive high-scoring rides to grab men’s K1 gold in the event’s second surprise coup. Bebbington, who started training for competi- tion only three years ago, finished with 1,053 points, just 33 points ahead of European Champion Peter Csonka (SVK). Worlds veteran Stephen Wright (USA) claimed bronze. Defending champion Nick Troutman (CAN) slipped into fourth, while four- time world champion Eric Jackson, 47, attributed his disappointing 11th place finish to an unexpected, late night heat. PHOTO: BALINT VEKASSY
At left and main: At her first World Championships, 15-year-old Lauren Burress (USA) impressed the judges with a huge loop and space Godzilla on her good-for-gold winning ride. Youngest of the junior women’s finalists, Burress is a regular heavy hit- ter on the U.S. competitive circuit, where she finished fourth in the senior women’s division of the 2011 Teva Mountain Games. Courtney Kerin (NZL) and Gabby Bates (GBR) took silver and bronze, respectively. PHOTOS: KATHLEEN BURRESS
3:00–5:00 p.m.: Three 20-min- ute linking sessions on a specific feature—ex. loop to mcnasty, cartwheel to phonix, splitwheel to phonix. One fun run down whitewater course playing in every feature.
5:30–5:45 p.m.: Stretching.
7:00 p.m.: Dinner—roast beef and turkey, potatoes, vegetables, gravy, water and lemonade.
8:30 p.m.: Video analysis from second session. Complete session review sheet and prep for tomor- row’s sessions.
10:00 p.m.: Go to bed.
*O’Hara’s training schedule also includes strength and cardio days involving weight training and running.
www.rapidmag.com 31
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56