By Steve Groth
While in Florida last Winter, I met athletes from Denmark who were part of the Danish national canoe team. They came to Satellite Beach, Fla., for eight weeks, February through March to prepare for the Summer Olympic Games.
I met Rasmus Knudsen, one of the athletes, at a local gym, Beach Bodies, where many of the paddlers have trained. Other teams training at the gym and in the Banana River area were from Switzerland, Canada, Germany. Rasmus was quick to share his knowledge and passion for the canoeing. He introduced me to the entire women’s and men’s teams and the coaches. Knudsen set me up with Email, Facebook accounts, and Twitter accounts, for all the athletes, which allowed me to share images with them on a weekly basis.
The team consists of eight women and 12 men, so unfortunately, not everyone have a spot in the Olympic Games this year. However, other exciting competitions are on the calendar, including European and world championships.
The coaches let me ride along in the boat, and I captured images of them training when they maneuvered kayaks on the Banana River and adjacent channels.
Their workouts consisted of two hours of paddling in the morning from 8 a.m. until 10 a.m., followed by a gym workout midday and then back on the water in the kayak from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. and, although the women’s and men’s teams trained separately, some days I attended both workout sessions while riding along in the boat to gather insights from both coaches.
The team welcomed me, so I took total advantage to get to know and photograph these world-class athletes.
Zoltan Bako, the women’s coach, has 50 years of experience in the international and Olympic level. As an athlete, Zoltan was a five-time world champion. The men’s coach, Kim Wraae Knudsen, was a Silver Medalist (second place) in the 2008 Olympics.
The Olympic Games events they qualified for include:
- August 6,, the men’s K-4 team in the 500 meters, and the finals of that event will be August 8;
- K-4 team members: Lasse Madsen, Victor Aasmul, Morten Gravesen, and Magnus Sibbersen;
- August 6, 2024, Renee Holten Poulsen in K-1 1000 meters;
- August 10, 2024, women’s K-2 500 meters with Emma Aastrand Jorgensen and Frederick Haute Mattiesen;
- August 10, 2024, women’s K1 500 meters with Emma Aastrand Jorgensen.
Rasmus Knudson and I still send texts on a regular basis. I assured him the team has a fan base watching from Illinois.
