Rebecca Giddens, who lives and trains in San Diego, California, looked at one point to be a shoo-in for the gold when she completed a clean fast run. But top competitor Elena Kaliska, in the last of the ten boats competing in the finals, slipped by her score with a sleek perfect run of her own.
But for supporters of Rebecca Giddens, the color of the medal didn't matter.
"I am so proud of my sister right now," Lindsey Bennett commented with tears in her eyes. "This was one of her dreams and now she's achieved it." Lindsey and Rebecca began kayaking together when she was twelve and Rebecca was ten. Both were naturals at the sport, but Rebecca, according to Lindsey, showed a clear edge. Their parents saw the potential and engaged a top coach to help the girls refine their skills. Lindsey eventually left the water and went on to medical school, but Rebecca stayed in her kayak. Though divorce separated the family, both parents made sure that nothing interfered with the girls' love of kayaking, and summers saw them enjoying double doses of vacations spent primarily on the water.
"It's been difficult," her mother told me. "Kayaking and women's kayaking enjoys a lot of support in Europe, but not much in the United States." But her daughter's success may go a long way to changing that.
Will Rebecca be going on to Beijing in 2008? "I honestly don't know," Lindsey told me. "I haven't asked her. She has so many dreams she wants to achieve, nothing would surprise me. She might go on in kayaking, or she might do something else entirely."
For those watching her flawless runs under the sun at Hellinikon today, it's hoped those dreams include visiting the Great Wall of China -- or perhaps the Yangtze River.
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Some of The Best Greek Islands
Temple-crowned Aegina - Natural Alonissos - Traditional Carpathos - Chewy Chios - Cos, The Doctors' Island - Queenly Crete - Dignified Delos - Do it all on Donoussa - Hydra, Artist's Island - Odysseus' Ithaca - Kalokairi "Mamma Mia" Island - Spongy Kalymnos - Aphrodite's Kythira - Lesvos, More than Sappho - Lovely Leros - Mighty Mykonos - Paros Paradise - Pirate Islands - Pastoral Patmos - Volcanic Santorini - Sexy Skopelos - The Dreamy Small Cyclades - Easy Spetses - Symi Summers - Very Greek Syros - Honeyed Thassos - Tilos, Island of Elephants
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