OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – When you think of the best places to canoe or kayak, Oklahoma City may not be the first place that comes to mind. But the city is being eyed as the site of his 2024 U.S. Canoe Slalom and Kayak Cross Olympic Team Trials, which will be held at the Adventure Park.
Athletes from all over the country are competing at RiverSport OKC to make their Olympic dreams come true in Paris. For some, canoeing and kayaking is a long-established family business, with the Olympic Trials being one part of that chain.
“We've been doing this since 1989,” said audience member Tom Long. “So it's like a generational tradition.”
Small workouts have also become a tradition, with Long running up and down the sides and watching his two grandsons compete for a spot on the U.S. team. All the way from Idaho, his jacket bears the family name of the raft company and kayaking school.
“We move them to Chile in South America in the winter so they don't have to wear long pants,” he says.
It is now run by his children. He has three sons, two of whom represented the United States in the World Cup. But Long said he still coaches to continue the family tradition downstream.
“This is a hard sport,” he said.
It's a difficult sport for adults as well as 16-year-old girls like Isabella Altman. She entered the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. when she was three years old. Friday was her first Olympic run.
“It's basically pretty cool to be on the same level as an Olympian,” Altman said.
Her father, Jonathan, a former racer himself, works for her club team and films her and her teammates at races. He's trying to keep himself busy so he doesn't get stressed out, he said.
“It helps keep the mood down a little bit and it gives you something to do so you don't focus too much,” he said.
As proud as I am of my daughter, the difficulty of the sport doesn't help me focus on my love for it. It never fades and it gives rise to hopes and dreams of Olympic glory.
“The goal is to keep doing this until your body tells you to stop or it's no longer enjoyable,” she said. “But this is what I want to do with my life.”
The Olympic trials will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, weather permitting.
