Monday, January 04, 2016
Thursday, December 15, 2011
OK, apologies that if you aren't immediate family or your name begins with A-D, you likely didn't receive a Christmas card/letter from us this year. Please accept my apologies and know that we loved and cherished all the ones we received from you! So please don't kick us off your list for 2012...maybe I should start working on that one now!!!
_______________________________
Merry Christmas (…Happy New Year, Happy Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras) to friends and family near and far!!! We miss you all and eagerly look forward to this time of year that signals our catching up with each other. For the Bremer’s, 2011 could be summed up in two words: BLESSED TRANSITION! (Ironically, I’m sure we’ll be saying the same thing next year, as we did last year!)
Eli has continued to train for the 2012 Olympics, but knowing it’s his last one, he’s had a very different approach this time around. He’s still training as hard as ever, but he’s filled his “extra” time with all kinds of activities in preparation for this next phase of life in the professional world! In February, he was elected Chairman of the El Paso County Republican Party (the 2nd largest County Party in the nation). Under Eli’s strong leadership, the local Party has drastically increased its fundraising and brought in key national figures such as Karl Rove, Grover Norquist, and Presidential candidate Rick Santorum. As if this weren’t enough to keep him busy, in his typical overachieving style, he’s still managing our rental properties, serving as a Major in the Air Force Reserves, giving speeches, growing his corporate training company 5Ring Insight, fundraising for his alma mater (US Air Force Academy), representing athlete issues to the US Olympic Committee, continuing studies towards a second Master’s degree at George Washington University, AND serving as Chief Operating Officer for a technology startup.
All that makes my crazy transitional year sound like nothing! I began the year as Regional Sales Manager for Ophthalmic Imaging Systems, where my “regional” territory kept growing and peaked at 12 states! I enjoyed the travel and operating in the medical community, but in late July it was announced that the longstanding company was being acquired and I was let go in August. It was a tough time of questioning what God’s will was for our life, but fortunately God answered that one quickly with a particular job posting at Penrose Cancer Center. Since September, I have been a Physician Liaison for the Centura-based Cancer Center and I LOVE IT!!! It seems every position and life experience led me to this perfect fit, and I look forward to a long and stable career using my marketing, communications, administration and even political skills in this incredible medical environment!
Among the year’s highlights, Cami’s youngest sister Marianne married her perfect match Thomas (a wonderful man of God) in July, and we were honored to be a part of the festivities and welcome this beautiful couple into married life!
Uncle Eli and Aunt Cami enjoy being just that to now 8 little nieces and nephews! They’re all over the country in Oklahoma, North Carolina and Georgia, so we never can get enough of them! We actually have a niece we’ve not met yet, but we’re hoping that can happen early this year. Thankfully, both of Eli’s active duty Air Force brothers are home safe and sound and able to spend time with their families for Christmas. Praise the Lord, and prayers for upcoming deployments!
We made the most of life between Cami’s jobs, traveling to Mexico with good church friends Kevin and Kendra. We were blessed and thankful for the opportunity to stay in a friend’s home and experience a REAL Mexican fishing village. Far from full service all-inclusive, the trip was an authentic blast, complete with catching and cooking our own Mahi-Mahi dinner!
We arrived home from Mexico just in time to welcome Cami’s grandparents on their first Colorado visit! Timing was perfect, as the Colorado fall leaves were beautiful and the weather was amazingly pleasant for South Georgia family! Pops had a blast with the mining museums and Air Force Academy, and Gran ate up the shopping and panning for gold! It was a wonderful time of bonding, and we are so grateful for this special time we spent together!
Cami is still mourning the loss of her Bible Study Buddy Scratchy (in photo), and the Itchy and Scratchy show has officially come to an end way too soon. Princess Fiona (the kitten we got to console Scratchy after Itchy died) is just fine being an only-kitty, so no new pets are in our near future. “Fi” is entertaining and energetic—she thinks she’s a dog and will play fetch as long as you can throw to her! She’s not Scratchy, but she’s loved dearly (and she knows it)!
We definitely honor Larry Munson’s “Hunker Down” directive and spend nearly every weekend in the fall and winter tuned into Air Force, Georgia and Broncos football. Tebow has made believers out of us (in pro football, which we never cared for), and between Champ Bailey, Knowshon Moreno and Tebow, it’s like watching SEC football again! Nearly every Sunday, Cami can be found wearing her pink #15 jersey and cheering for the team wearing colors she never thought she’d like!
The basement finish project we started in 2008 is finally winding down, adding another 1500 square feet and 3 bedrooms to our home. In other words, we’re more than ready for visitors, so come and stay as long as you want! We can’t wait to welcome you to Colorado!
Much love and best wishes for a blessed 2012!
Eli & Cami
_______________________________
Merry Christmas (…Happy New Year, Happy Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras) to friends and family near and far!!! We miss you all and eagerly look forward to this time of year that signals our catching up with each other. For the Bremer’s, 2011 could be summed up in two words: BLESSED TRANSITION! (Ironically, I’m sure we’ll be saying the same thing next year, as we did last year!)
Eli has continued to train for the 2012 Olympics, but knowing it’s his last one, he’s had a very different approach this time around. He’s still training as hard as ever, but he’s filled his “extra” time with all kinds of activities in preparation for this next phase of life in the professional world! In February, he was elected Chairman of the El Paso County Republican Party (the 2nd largest County Party in the nation). Under Eli’s strong leadership, the local Party has drastically increased its fundraising and brought in key national figures such as Karl Rove, Grover Norquist, and Presidential candidate Rick Santorum. As if this weren’t enough to keep him busy, in his typical overachieving style, he’s still managing our rental properties, serving as a Major in the Air Force Reserves, giving speeches, growing his corporate training company 5Ring Insight, fundraising for his alma mater (US Air Force Academy), representing athlete issues to the US Olympic Committee, continuing studies towards a second Master’s degree at George Washington University, AND serving as Chief Operating Officer for a technology startup.
All that makes my crazy transitional year sound like nothing! I began the year as Regional Sales Manager for Ophthalmic Imaging Systems, where my “regional” territory kept growing and peaked at 12 states! I enjoyed the travel and operating in the medical community, but in late July it was announced that the longstanding company was being acquired and I was let go in August. It was a tough time of questioning what God’s will was for our life, but fortunately God answered that one quickly with a particular job posting at Penrose Cancer Center. Since September, I have been a Physician Liaison for the Centura-based Cancer Center and I LOVE IT!!! It seems every position and life experience led me to this perfect fit, and I look forward to a long and stable career using my marketing, communications, administration and even political skills in this incredible medical environment!
Among the year’s highlights, Cami’s youngest sister Marianne married her perfect match Thomas (a wonderful man of God) in July, and we were honored to be a part of the festivities and welcome this beautiful couple into married life!
Uncle Eli and Aunt Cami enjoy being just that to now 8 little nieces and nephews! They’re all over the country in Oklahoma, North Carolina and Georgia, so we never can get enough of them! We actually have a niece we’ve not met yet, but we’re hoping that can happen early this year. Thankfully, both of Eli’s active duty Air Force brothers are home safe and sound and able to spend time with their families for Christmas. Praise the Lord, and prayers for upcoming deployments!
We made the most of life between Cami’s jobs, traveling to Mexico with good church friends Kevin and Kendra. We were blessed and thankful for the opportunity to stay in a friend’s home and experience a REAL Mexican fishing village. Far from full service all-inclusive, the trip was an authentic blast, complete with catching and cooking our own Mahi-Mahi dinner!
We arrived home from Mexico just in time to welcome Cami’s grandparents on their first Colorado visit! Timing was perfect, as the Colorado fall leaves were beautiful and the weather was amazingly pleasant for South Georgia family! Pops had a blast with the mining museums and Air Force Academy, and Gran ate up the shopping and panning for gold! It was a wonderful time of bonding, and we are so grateful for this special time we spent together!
Cami is still mourning the loss of her Bible Study Buddy Scratchy (in photo), and the Itchy and Scratchy show has officially come to an end way too soon. Princess Fiona (the kitten we got to console Scratchy after Itchy died) is just fine being an only-kitty, so no new pets are in our near future. “Fi” is entertaining and energetic—she thinks she’s a dog and will play fetch as long as you can throw to her! She’s not Scratchy, but she’s loved dearly (and she knows it)!
We definitely honor Larry Munson’s “Hunker Down” directive and spend nearly every weekend in the fall and winter tuned into Air Force, Georgia and Broncos football. Tebow has made believers out of us (in pro football, which we never cared for), and between Champ Bailey, Knowshon Moreno and Tebow, it’s like watching SEC football again! Nearly every Sunday, Cami can be found wearing her pink #15 jersey and cheering for the team wearing colors she never thought she’d like!
The basement finish project we started in 2008 is finally winding down, adding another 1500 square feet and 3 bedrooms to our home. In other words, we’re more than ready for visitors, so come and stay as long as you want! We can’t wait to welcome you to Colorado!
Much love and best wishes for a blessed 2012!
Eli & Cami
Friday, February 19, 2010
Here's a tribute to Itchy-and-Scratchy. Two individual kitties but very much a team, as you will see. Thank you, Lord, for the 3.5 wonderful years we had with Itchy, who was laid to rest on Valentine's Day 2010.
Labels: Itchy Scratchy
Sunday, December 13, 2009
To everything there is a season…a time to live and a time to die. Unfortunately for us this year has been full of people we love leaving this earth. Perhaps not what you expect to hear in the first line of a Christmas letter, huh? But fortunately for all, God sent a Savior so that we might have eternal life, and there’s no better time than Christmas to reflect on the people he’s blessed our lives with. And those friends’ departures from this earth have defined us more than anything else in the last year.
This Bremer Christmas update is in memory of the following friends and family:
--Nina Bremer (Eli’s grandmother)
--Jimi Flowers (Eli’s swim coach and friend)
--Katie Friedman (dear friend and wife of Eli’s groomsman Jon)
--Dane Nowells (friend and political activist)
Given that I didn’t get my usual Christmas letter out last year, we have a lot to catch you up on! 2008 was full of travel for both of us, as we realized that the opportunity to travel abroad could be closing with Eli’s possible retirement from athletics. So Spring and Summer 2008 were full of trips to Madrid, Prague, Budapest, Palm Springs, Chicago, Washington DC, and of course Beijing. In May, I left my job as Regional Director at the American Heart Association (an organization still VERY close to my heart) to pursue several opportunities. First and foremost, I wanted to support my husband in his Olympic endeavors, and the media, sponsorship and PR opportunities we had been working on developing for years were finally coming to fruition. Eli’s business, 5Ring Insight was also coming to fruition, and we all know that startups work best when they have both a visionary (Eli) AND an implementer (me)! As if that weren’t enough reason, we had 20 friends and family to organize overseas travel for AND I was being presented with numerous opportunities in the political arena. That being said, God made it fairly clear that he had other plans for me…
Eli trained as never before during late 2007 and 2008, and his performances were showing that. After a 5th place finish at a World Cup and a 12th place finish at World Championships, Eli was feeling as if an Olympic medal was within reach. So it was with much excitement, focus and determination that he headed for Beijing in early August. After Opening Ceremonies in Beijing, Eli and his teammates flew to a training camp in Singapore. During that trip, Eli had a horrible riding accident—an accident that threatened his ability to compete just days later in the competition for which he had been preparing his whole life. Medical staff in Singapore was unable to get him the treatment he needed, so just a week before he was supposed to compete in Beijing, Eli was put in a neck collar and flown on a redeye back to the Olympic Village in Beijing for medical treatment of severe whiplash and concussion.
There’s a saying in pentathlon that you’re not an Olympian until you’ve fired that first shot (shooting is the first of the 5 pentathlon disciplines). So as family and friends were arriving to watch Eli, he was unbeknownst to most of us, just struggling to reach the competition day and fire that first shot. That he did, as well as competed through all five disciplines in his Olympic debut. Watching him emotionally struggle through a rocky start was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done, but also the most rewarding. I was so proud of him, and as he finished his long day with an outstanding swim, ride and run, showing his true patriotism and what the Olympics are all about. Friends and family there to witness couldn’t be any prouder. Feel free to hear this story in his own real-time words and emotions at his blog on EliBremer.com.
Eli was disappointed in his 22nd place finish, largely because he knew he had been in the best shape of his life and had been physically prepared up to that point. But with confidence that God reigns supreme in his life, he quickly shifted gears to focus on the upcoming World Cup Final, which was largely against the same Olympic competitors. Eli had promised his teammate Dennis he would train with him just as hard after the Olympics with the goal of Dennis having a good showing at World Cup Final in October. (After being one of three American men to qualify for the Olympics, Dennis was not named to the 2-man team. After that disappointment, Dennis personally committed himself to helping Eli train that last few months before the Games in exchange for Eli’s continuation through World Cup Final in October.) So in Portugal, at what was largely believed to be Eli’s last pentathlon ever, Eli and Dennis showed American strength, finishing 3rd and 4th respectively. Pretty good way to end a career, huh? Maybe…
During the last year and a half since the Olympics, Eli has concentrated on getting 5Ring Insight (5RI) up and running. The company landed its first contract with Lockheed Martin corporate in Washington DC and it’s been off to the races since. Several contracts, alliances and deals are in the works now, and we have confidence that God will provide through at least one of them. Meanwhile, pentathlon underwent a format change, and Eli’s interest in continuing the newly-reformed sport was piqued. So ‘dabbling’ in the new format, building his business, and quite frankly, resting from the pressure of constant performance, was Eli’s story of 2009.
I mentioned earlier ‘political opportunities’ that arose for me last year. After handing over 5RI reins to a newly-hired business manager, I opened my own consulting firm. Specializing in events, fundraising, media and marketing, I have made a name for myself as a political consultant in Colorado. I am continually humbled by the opportunities I am given, and I pray for wisdom as I navigate the ever-changing (and not always reliable) world of politics.
We are also still grateful to have a ‘small group’ of young married friends always with us as we walk through life. Our small group is not so small anymore, as we have grown to 14 couples. (That means there are 28 people around my dinner table when we’re all in town!) We do service projects, dinners, bible studies and outings together, but most of all we enjoy the fellowship of others who are at the same stage of life we are.
On the family front, we have 4 nephews and 2 nieces, and we LOVE being Aunt Cami and Uncle Eli. You will find pictures of many of them in our photo slide show. To sum our life up, we are blessed. Thank YOU for being a part of our blessed lives!
Merry Christmas! Please view our Christmas photo slideshow...
Eli & Cami Bremer
www.EliBremer.com
www.5RingInsight.com
www.CamiBremer.com
This Bremer Christmas update is in memory of the following friends and family:
--Nina Bremer (Eli’s grandmother)
--Jimi Flowers (Eli’s swim coach and friend)
--Katie Friedman (dear friend and wife of Eli’s groomsman Jon)
--Dane Nowells (friend and political activist)
Given that I didn’t get my usual Christmas letter out last year, we have a lot to catch you up on! 2008 was full of travel for both of us, as we realized that the opportunity to travel abroad could be closing with Eli’s possible retirement from athletics. So Spring and Summer 2008 were full of trips to Madrid, Prague, Budapest, Palm Springs, Chicago, Washington DC, and of course Beijing. In May, I left my job as Regional Director at the American Heart Association (an organization still VERY close to my heart) to pursue several opportunities. First and foremost, I wanted to support my husband in his Olympic endeavors, and the media, sponsorship and PR opportunities we had been working on developing for years were finally coming to fruition. Eli’s business, 5Ring Insight was also coming to fruition, and we all know that startups work best when they have both a visionary (Eli) AND an implementer (me)! As if that weren’t enough reason, we had 20 friends and family to organize overseas travel for AND I was being presented with numerous opportunities in the political arena. That being said, God made it fairly clear that he had other plans for me…
Eli trained as never before during late 2007 and 2008, and his performances were showing that. After a 5th place finish at a World Cup and a 12th place finish at World Championships, Eli was feeling as if an Olympic medal was within reach. So it was with much excitement, focus and determination that he headed for Beijing in early August. After Opening Ceremonies in Beijing, Eli and his teammates flew to a training camp in Singapore. During that trip, Eli had a horrible riding accident—an accident that threatened his ability to compete just days later in the competition for which he had been preparing his whole life. Medical staff in Singapore was unable to get him the treatment he needed, so just a week before he was supposed to compete in Beijing, Eli was put in a neck collar and flown on a redeye back to the Olympic Village in Beijing for medical treatment of severe whiplash and concussion.
There’s a saying in pentathlon that you’re not an Olympian until you’ve fired that first shot (shooting is the first of the 5 pentathlon disciplines). So as family and friends were arriving to watch Eli, he was unbeknownst to most of us, just struggling to reach the competition day and fire that first shot. That he did, as well as competed through all five disciplines in his Olympic debut. Watching him emotionally struggle through a rocky start was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done, but also the most rewarding. I was so proud of him, and as he finished his long day with an outstanding swim, ride and run, showing his true patriotism and what the Olympics are all about. Friends and family there to witness couldn’t be any prouder. Feel free to hear this story in his own real-time words and emotions at his blog on EliBremer.com.
Eli was disappointed in his 22nd place finish, largely because he knew he had been in the best shape of his life and had been physically prepared up to that point. But with confidence that God reigns supreme in his life, he quickly shifted gears to focus on the upcoming World Cup Final, which was largely against the same Olympic competitors. Eli had promised his teammate Dennis he would train with him just as hard after the Olympics with the goal of Dennis having a good showing at World Cup Final in October. (After being one of three American men to qualify for the Olympics, Dennis was not named to the 2-man team. After that disappointment, Dennis personally committed himself to helping Eli train that last few months before the Games in exchange for Eli’s continuation through World Cup Final in October.) So in Portugal, at what was largely believed to be Eli’s last pentathlon ever, Eli and Dennis showed American strength, finishing 3rd and 4th respectively. Pretty good way to end a career, huh? Maybe…
During the last year and a half since the Olympics, Eli has concentrated on getting 5Ring Insight (5RI) up and running. The company landed its first contract with Lockheed Martin corporate in Washington DC and it’s been off to the races since. Several contracts, alliances and deals are in the works now, and we have confidence that God will provide through at least one of them. Meanwhile, pentathlon underwent a format change, and Eli’s interest in continuing the newly-reformed sport was piqued. So ‘dabbling’ in the new format, building his business, and quite frankly, resting from the pressure of constant performance, was Eli’s story of 2009.
I mentioned earlier ‘political opportunities’ that arose for me last year. After handing over 5RI reins to a newly-hired business manager, I opened my own consulting firm. Specializing in events, fundraising, media and marketing, I have made a name for myself as a political consultant in Colorado. I am continually humbled by the opportunities I am given, and I pray for wisdom as I navigate the ever-changing (and not always reliable) world of politics.
We are also still grateful to have a ‘small group’ of young married friends always with us as we walk through life. Our small group is not so small anymore, as we have grown to 14 couples. (That means there are 28 people around my dinner table when we’re all in town!) We do service projects, dinners, bible studies and outings together, but most of all we enjoy the fellowship of others who are at the same stage of life we are.
On the family front, we have 4 nephews and 2 nieces, and we LOVE being Aunt Cami and Uncle Eli. You will find pictures of many of them in our photo slide show. To sum our life up, we are blessed. Thank YOU for being a part of our blessed lives!
Merry Christmas! Please view our Christmas photo slideshow...
Eli & Cami Bremer
www.EliBremer.com
www.5RingInsight.com
www.CamiBremer.com
Friday, June 26, 2009
"My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about, and Mary has discovered it."
--Jesus
--Jesus
Monday, August 04, 2008
Friends and family--
First and foremost, thank you SOO much for your prayers and support over the last few years. I am overjoyed to announce that Eli is on his way to Beijing for the Olympic Games! We have had numerous questions recently about what friends and family not travelling to Beijing can do to support Eli. So here's the list...
• PRAY! For peaceable team dynamics (the team will be together for three weeks prior to competing), for health during travel, for mental clarity and focus, for personal bests in each individual discipline of the Modern Pentathlon, for enjoyment, for post-Olympic career plans and FOR THE GLORY!
• VISIT Eli's website at www.elibremer.com often for media updates, news and blog posts. Eli's blog has also been sydicated by Lenovo, USA Today, and NBCOlympics.com, so the blog is updated about every 2 days.
• EMAIL your good luck wishes no later than August 19 either through the website or to 2008Olympian@gmail.com.
• WATCH Eli compete via streaming video. Beginning at 6:30 p.m. MST (8:30 p.m. EST and 5:30 p.m. PST--see schedule at www.elibremer.com) on August 20, Eli's event will be broadcast live via streaming video on the Internet. We will have the link on Eli's homepage, but the broadcast will originate from http://www.nbcolympics.com/modernpentathlon/index.html. We will not know about television coverage until the day-of.
• DONATE online at http://www.elibremer.com/contact.htm to offset training, marketing, and travel costs. Anyone donating $50 or more between now and August 10 will receive a free Eli Bremer T-shirt (to wear on August 20!). The Tshirts can also be purchased separately and mailed to you for $15. For more information about what the money will be used for, see 6/21/08 blog post entitled, "The Cost of Excellence". Again, your order must be received no later than August 10 to receive your shirt before August 20. When using PayPal, just put your requested size(s) and mailing address in the comments section.
Thank you all for your love, support and prayers! Feel free to forward this on...
First and foremost, thank you SOO much for your prayers and support over the last few years. I am overjoyed to announce that Eli is on his way to Beijing for the Olympic Games! We have had numerous questions recently about what friends and family not travelling to Beijing can do to support Eli. So here's the list...
• PRAY! For peaceable team dynamics (the team will be together for three weeks prior to competing), for health during travel, for mental clarity and focus, for personal bests in each individual discipline of the Modern Pentathlon, for enjoyment, for post-Olympic career plans and FOR THE GLORY!
• VISIT Eli's website at www.elibremer.com often for media updates, news and blog posts. Eli's blog has also been sydicated by Lenovo, USA Today, and NBCOlympics.com, so the blog is updated about every 2 days.
• EMAIL your good luck wishes no later than August 19 either through the website or to 2008Olympian@gmail.com.
• WATCH Eli compete via streaming video. Beginning at 6:30 p.m. MST (8:30 p.m. EST and 5:30 p.m. PST--see schedule at www.elibremer.com) on August 20, Eli's event will be broadcast live via streaming video on the Internet. We will have the link on Eli's homepage, but the broadcast will originate from http://www.nbcolympics.com/modernpentathlon/index.html. We will not know about television coverage until the day-of.
• DONATE online at http://www.elibremer.com/contact.htm to offset training, marketing, and travel costs. Anyone donating $50 or more between now and August 10 will receive a free Eli Bremer T-shirt (to wear on August 20!). The Tshirts can also be purchased separately and mailed to you for $15. For more information about what the money will be used for, see 6/21/08 blog post entitled, "The Cost of Excellence". Again, your order must be received no later than August 10 to receive your shirt before August 20. When using PayPal, just put your requested size(s) and mailing address in the comments section.
Thank you all for your love, support and prayers! Feel free to forward this on...
Friday, June 20, 2008
One of Eli’s best pentathlon buddies watched his longtime girlfriend and British teammate Katie Livingston run into the bronze medal position yesterday. I overheard him later talking about how nervous he was while watching the ride (which can sometimes really shake the rankings up). “Welcome to the club,” I thought. The wives club, that is.
It is common knowledge among the US pentathletes that I never quite get to see the full event—that is because I’m turning away or closing my eyes during the first half of Eli’s ride. Eli’s actually a wonderful rider, but it is more nerve wracking than anything to watch your husband ride into a ring on a horse he doesn’t know and just hope that he drew the lucky one…It seems that today he did draw a good one. And as an added bonus, the first round rider (the one in 4th place and the one who will ride Eli’s horse before him) is a very good rider. Sometimes having a bad rider on your good horse is just as bad as drawing a bad horse.
I remember my mom telling me that she was more worn out after swim meets than I was, and I didn’t quite understand. That is, until a married a world-class pentathlete. While Eli is shooting, fencing, swimming, riding and running, my heart is beating harder and faster than his!
Due to overnight shifting ground under the temporary pool, they switched the order of the riding and swimming today. Surprisingly, that does calm the wife’s nerves. Perhaps I’m not as idealistic as I think in that I just want him to ‘survive’ the ride. No, I want him to do well—HE wants to do well and there’s nothing more frustrating than putting together a great competition and then drawing a bad horse. You see, Eli’s strongest sports are swimming and running, both sports of which you are in COMPLETE CONTROL (unlike fencing and riding). So at least this way he will know what he has to do in the swim and run to reach his goal. So, as I compose this email during the break before Eli’s ride, yes, my nerves like this order much better!
And I have to admit that it’s much easier to be watching in person than waiting for results at home. There are a lot of intricacies and dramatic stories that just don’t come across in the results. For example, one looking at yesterday’s women’s results may wonder why Georgina Harland, 2004 Olympic Bronze Medalist and FANTASTIC RUNNER, ran so slowly. But what they couldn’t see from the results was her charge from the 30s into the low teens during the first 2000 meters. And they certainly couldn’t see her when she reentered the stadium clearly hobbling on a badly injured leg. And it’s furthermore unlikely that anyone except for those there saw her teammates hoist her onto the medal podium when their team was awarded the Team silver. THAT is enough to bring tears to any spectator’s eyes. But especially for those whose emotions are uncontrollable by the end of the day—those in the Wives’ Club!
It is common knowledge among the US pentathletes that I never quite get to see the full event—that is because I’m turning away or closing my eyes during the first half of Eli’s ride. Eli’s actually a wonderful rider, but it is more nerve wracking than anything to watch your husband ride into a ring on a horse he doesn’t know and just hope that he drew the lucky one…It seems that today he did draw a good one. And as an added bonus, the first round rider (the one in 4th place and the one who will ride Eli’s horse before him) is a very good rider. Sometimes having a bad rider on your good horse is just as bad as drawing a bad horse.
I remember my mom telling me that she was more worn out after swim meets than I was, and I didn’t quite understand. That is, until a married a world-class pentathlete. While Eli is shooting, fencing, swimming, riding and running, my heart is beating harder and faster than his!
Due to overnight shifting ground under the temporary pool, they switched the order of the riding and swimming today. Surprisingly, that does calm the wife’s nerves. Perhaps I’m not as idealistic as I think in that I just want him to ‘survive’ the ride. No, I want him to do well—HE wants to do well and there’s nothing more frustrating than putting together a great competition and then drawing a bad horse. You see, Eli’s strongest sports are swimming and running, both sports of which you are in COMPLETE CONTROL (unlike fencing and riding). So at least this way he will know what he has to do in the swim and run to reach his goal. So, as I compose this email during the break before Eli’s ride, yes, my nerves like this order much better!
And I have to admit that it’s much easier to be watching in person than waiting for results at home. There are a lot of intricacies and dramatic stories that just don’t come across in the results. For example, one looking at yesterday’s women’s results may wonder why Georgina Harland, 2004 Olympic Bronze Medalist and FANTASTIC RUNNER, ran so slowly. But what they couldn’t see from the results was her charge from the 30s into the low teens during the first 2000 meters. And they certainly couldn’t see her when she reentered the stadium clearly hobbling on a badly injured leg. And it’s furthermore unlikely that anyone except for those there saw her teammates hoist her onto the medal podium when their team was awarded the Team silver. THAT is enough to bring tears to any spectator’s eyes. But especially for those whose emotions are uncontrollable by the end of the day—those in the Wives’ Club!