OLYMPIC BLOG: part 3 from canoeist Anna Hemmings

Olympic canoeist Anna Hemmings is being sponsored in Beijing by Marlow-based media company SpinVox. Read her blog as she soaks up the atmosphere in the biggest competition of her life.

15 August 2008 at 08:45 am

Speaking Freely   
 
"It is a beautiful day here in Beijing. Blue skies, sunshine and very low humidity in contrast to yesterday when it rained all day and there was a bad thunderstorm that went on all afternoon.

"The rowing on the lake was cancelled and we were unable to get on the water for a few hours. It was rather annoying because we were supposed to be doing our last race practice routine yesterday afternoon. Never mind you can't control the weather.

"We had a surprise special guest at the hotel yesterday. Princess Anne came to visit us during lunch. She had lunch with us and although I didn't sit on her table she was introduced to everyone and we had a brief chat with her. I've met Princess Anne a couple of times now. She is very nice and down to earth.

"This afternoon we have a paddle and then the rest of the weekend will be spent resting. We have done our last hard training session.

"I'm very excited because my mum and my sister arrived in Beijing this morning and my boyfriend Neil comes out tomorrow night. It's great to have them here supporting us.  Four days to go."

Anna's blog is spoken through SpinVox, a service that converts voicemail messages into text. To find out more log onto http://www.spinvox.com.