(We'll do our best to pass on to
Renee and then to Craig and John)
Below all of our past Badminton Olympians share their
personal experiences of their games, what they learned and advice for others
pursuing an Olympic Badminton dream. Thanks to them
for taking the time to let us in on their view of the Olympics.
Friends Forever Song For the Beijing Olympics
1992
Barcelona
Dean Galt -
Singles and Doubles
For me it
was my first really major competition. I found the
whole atmosphere very very intense. Everyone seemed
more tense and focused compared to the more relaxed
friendly nature of the Commonwealth Games which I was to
experience later.
Some of us had been a late inclusion.
Added to the NZ Olympic team about 1 and a half
weeks after the original team was announced. So we had thought
the dream was over and now here we were playing.
On court I was so
nervous. In the singles my first game was against the No.1
from the United States who I had played just a
couple of weeks before in London. Then I had been very
competitive however this time my feet were like concrete
and I got done.
The next game was with Kerrin in the
doubles. We faced the 2nd seeds from Denmark -
previous silver medalists - and we lost that too. For us
though qualifying for the games was a huge achievement.
The faxes and support from the badminton community at home was
really fantastic.
The village is just an
amazing and weird experience in a way as you see people from all
round the world speaking different languages all walking round
beside you. You see your sporting heroes - e.g. I saw Carl
Lewis, Linford Christie
and others there. And at the same time everything,
absolutely everything you need is in the village it is it's own
city.
Advice: I would say to those going
this year that it's important to keep your feet on the ground
and put any expectations from home to one side and set realistic
goals. Even getting past the 1st round can be a huge
achievement in an exceptionally strong field of badminton
players.
Kerrin Harrison - Singles and Doubles
(no picture available)
It was like moving into a small town.
It was different to the Commonwealth Games which is a smaller
community and where we stayed in halls of residence. At
the Olympics we had big rows of apartment blocks.
Everything was free - free food, free movies, free physio, free
everything.
For me on court was not a big problem, I
was quite relaxed. It was bit like moving straight
into the 2nd or 3rd round of a normal tournament because there
were a lot less players. Only so many from each country
can enter so where you may normally have 8 Chinese in the draw
there were less than that. I felt I performed ok in terms
of the playing pressure etc. Our preparation wasn't
quite as we had hoped being a late inclusion in the team but it
was a proud moment for us to be representing our country and
sport at the Olympics.
We were the first Badminton Olympians so
we got a lot of home town support from the badminton community.
However for me off court was the big
change. It may be different now but in the village it was
quite disruptive to routine. The fact that we were
sharing rooms and being in the village meant that privacy was a
bit harder to get and having everything free on hand meant it
was easy to lose your get distracted from your routine.
At night it was quite noisy and garbage trucks would often come
around frequently. During the day it is also very very
busy with lots of delays - e.g. getting into the village can
take 30 to 40 minutes with the crowds and security checks can
take up a lot of time. So keeping to routine was the
toughest part.
For the big stars e.g. the US
basketballers it was even harder as they tended to get mobbed
when they came into the village by athletes - sort of
celebrities mobbing even bigger celebrities like fans so some
top athletes preferred to stay outside the village.
Advice: My advice to the badminton guys would be
to stick to your routine as much as you can and try and not to
get distracted by all the things in the village too much.
1992
Barcelona
& 1996 Atlanta
Rhona Robertson (Now Rhona
Bramwell) - Singles and Doubles
My first impression at Barcelona was
WOW!!!!!. It was only my second major event and I was 21.
I had just had my 2nd knee reconstruction so wasn't fully fit
which impacted the preparation. But it was the first time
badminton was at the Olympics and I remember that more clearly
than Atlanta.
The big thing about the Olympics was how
much work we put in. It is the hardest event I have ever
trained for. We learned alot from Barcelona. Before
Atlanta we were training 20 hours a week then we went to an
Olympic Camp and then to China where we were up to 20 to 30
hours a week training at high intensity before going on to
Atlanta.
Atlanta was alot more commercial than
Barcelona - there were fast food and major sponsor stores and
vending machines everywhere with competitions designed to get
you to go to as many of them as possible. All of the food,
even the vending machines were free. At both games
we received free gifts as well - e.g. sunglasses, cutlery sets,
towels. Athletes from some of the really big countries
even got free mobile phones, pagers and video cameras.
it is a huge achievement getting there
because you have to train so hard and work so hard to qualify.
They have a sports psyche person in the
village to help athletes who need help adjusting to the
environment.
We tried to stay out of the village for as
long as possible so that we could do our own training as once in
there you have to share all the facilities so it is harder to do
your normal training routines when you want to.
When playing I wasn't nervous. I won
my first round in the singles at Barcelona - lost my 2nd round
to a Thai girl when I was up and should have won that - it went
to setting in the third set (old scoring where you only scored
off your serve). If I had won I would have made the last
16. In the doubles we had the Koreans 1st round.
At Atlanta I had Camilla Martin from
Denmark 1st round and lost in the Doubles we made the last 16
winning the first round and losing to the Indonesians in round
two. Sometimes the draw has a big impact but at the
Olympics all the games are hard.
The opening ceremony was huge. But
being "N" from New Zealand we would wait for hours and hours in a
big stadium before walking in. Some athletes if
competing the next day would miss the opening as it can be quite
draining. In the main arena we could see pockets of kiwi
supporters and would make sure we waved to them. After our
event we had Nationals back home so Chris Bullen our coach would
have us running laps after the events were over on the track at
11pm and midnight to keep up our fitness.
Looking back now the Olympics is still a
WOW thing for me and it's a special thing to have been there.
Advice: I would say to the athletes to get the job
done first - focus on the badminton event and do that. Then
enjoy the trappings of the village. It is really easy to
get distracted by that, when you are first there.
Tammy Jenkins - Doubles
It's just a big WOW factor.
it takes a while for everything to sink in when you are first
there so that you can then re focus on your game.
The biggest thing I remember is
the actual size of the event and the village itself. I
think the village accommodated 15,000 people - more than some
towns in NZ. It is go big in size that there are buses put
on to take you from one part of the village to the other.
There are super sport stars
everywhere - you could be sharing a bus with Carl Lewis. I
saw Stefan Edberg at the food hall. Everywhere you look
are these sporting icons. It is all a bit surreal
and hard to take in that it is really happening at first.
At Barcelona I had no experience
even of say a Commonwealth Games but once I was on court it was alot
easier. The players were the same as we (Rhona and I) had
faced at other tournaments. So for me it was just like a
normal tournament really like the All Englands etc.
Rhona and I had a good
understanding on court although you always have to work at it as
even we had the odd moment where someone was where we didn't
expect them to be.
I was at both Barcelona and
Atlanta. At Atlanta we did things alot differently having
learned from the Barcelona experience - which was the first
Olympic experience for everyone coaches and players. At
Atlanta we prepared more professionally, our training was
harder and we had learned more about what was required to both
train physically and mentally focus for Olympics which is a
unique event with unique challenges.
The extra preparation and
understanding helped our performance a huge amount at Atlanta
compared to Barcelona.
Advice: The only thing I would say to
badminton players going to the Olympics would be to take a day
to really soak up the atmosphere. Absorb it then put it to
one side and get on with business. Focus on the job you
are there to do and do your sport. Do you Olympic spotting
on the 1st day then get into the badminton preparation Don't
just go to the Olympics...be an Olympian. And don't eat ALL the
ree McDonalds.
2004 Athens
Daniel Shirley - Mixed Doubles
In terms of badminton it is like
no other event on the circuit. As soon as you walk in you
can feel the tension. Everyone is under pressure.
Often the Olympics doesn't result in the greatest quality of
badminton being produced but the mentally stronger player
usually wins. There can be heaps of upsets. At
Athens Lin Dan was put out in the 1st round.
One big difference compared to
say the World Champs is that you are part of a much bigger NZ
team. You are with other athletes from other sports but
all representing NZ. The village can also be a big
distraction
When I went out to play I was
nervous. We were the only badminton players from NZ so I
felt an obligation to perform well not only for us but for our
sport and people in NZ. That has been a huge motivating
factor for me - to help the sport grow back home but it can also
be a big contributor to pressure and nerves as well. So
you have to manage that.
While maybe not absolutely at
our best we still performed and played pretty well. In the
1st round we beat the Canadians pretty comfortably then were
just beaten by the Danish pair in the 2nd round.
Athens really helped me
afterwards as after such a big event that you train and prepare
so hard for you take stock. I focused on what I
wanted to do with my badminton and I think that helped me as we
went on to win the first ever Bronze Medal for NZ at the World
Champs in 2005 so I'm glad I kept going.
Advice: I would say to any badminton
player going to the Olympics to prepare well - years out, months
out, days out and hours out to make sure you are really ready
for your match physically and mentally. Also make the most
of being part of that bigger NZ Olympic team and to turn that
round into a motivating factor
Sara Runesten-Petersen - Mixed Doubles
I remember all the excitement that
was around the Olympics and the village i remember all the
colour of the different countries black for NZ, orange for the
Netherlands, blue and yellow for Sweden, red and white for
Denmark. Also all the different shapes and sizes from a really
tall basketballer to a small gymnast it was just totally unique.
In the food hall I remember there was seating for over
10,000 of all these different types of people from all around
the world all here for the same thing.
When we first went into the NZ camp
we were greeted by a Haka from some of the NZ team it was really
cool. Then everyone lined up and we all touched noses in
the hongi one by one which was a very personal thing but really
allowed us to bond together in a good way. The NZ team
really made us feel very welcome. There was a special
greenstone which we touched for Mana. All of these things
made it very very special. Later we got to take part in a
haka it was so emotional and we kept building it like a mantra
and the adrenaline was really flowing. When Sarah Ulmer
won gold the haka for that was very special and it was an
electric atmosphere - very very special memories.
On court at first I was very nervous
but also very excited and focused on the game. I focused
on each rally and we played really well thrashing the Canadians
in the first round. What we learned there really
helped us later at playing at big events and by the time we went
to the World Champs in 2005 where we won the bronze medal and
the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006 we were really "in the
zone" and I think we played our best badminton at those two
events.
If I was asked for advice or what I
learned I would say that you gotta be focused and not jus
satisfied with having qualified for the Olympics. You must
go out to win and never be happy with just being there.
You have to find your own way, which is different for everyone,
to get to a zone where you can be focused and really enjoy the
matches.
Advice: For me one of the keys was using all
the positive feelings I had from things like the haka, the
greenstone, the whole good experience and memories of the event
to get me into a good state. That would then free me up to
really focus on every single rally and really enjoy being in
that moment and of making the most of the opportunity to play
each rally. I used those positive feelings and
memories to do this even after the games was over for later
tournaments.
Passing
the Torch
My first impression at Barcelona was
WOW!!!!!. It was only my second major event and I was 21.
I had just had my 2nd knee reconstruction so wasn't fully fit
which impacted the preparation. But it was the first time
badminton was at the Olympics and I remember that more clearly
than Atlanta. 
It's just a big WOW factor.
it takes a while for everything to sink in when you are first
there so that you can then re focus on your game.
In terms of badminton it is like
no other event on the circuit. As soon as you walk in you
can feel the tension. Everyone is under pressure.
Often the Olympics doesn't result in the greatest quality of
badminton being produced but the mentally stronger player
usually wins. There can be heaps of upsets. At
Athens Lin Dan was put out in the 1st round.
I remember all the excitement that
was around the Olympics and the village i remember all the
colour of the different countries black for NZ, orange for the
Netherlands, blue and yellow for Sweden, red and white for
Denmark. Also all the different shapes and sizes from a really
tall basketballer to a small gymnast it was just totally unique.
In the food hall I remember there was seating for over
10,000 of all these different types of people from all around
the world all here for the same thing.