Member News

September 12, 2007

Carrie Chandler Athlete Blog

A two-time World Team member and five-time National Champion, check out Chandler's blog from her first few days in Rio...

Greetings from Brazil !   

I was not here for the Pan Am Games like most of my teammates so I am more into the sights and sounds of Rio.  It's gorgeous here!  After all of us flying from different parts of the country to meet up in Atlanta we had a 9 hour plane ride to Rio .  We took a bus to the hotel where our rooms weren’t quite ready so we took another 30 minute bus ride to check out the Venue.  The venue is about 30 minutes from the hotel.  The official weigh-ins are at another hotel about a 5 minute drive from our hotel so we will see how smoothly that goes for us.  The last few days we have been waking up and eating breakfast and then going over to the venue for a team workout from about 11-12:30.  The workouts are light and mostly for weight cutting purposes.  Our hotel is right on the beach… Like you walk out the door and onto the beach!  The fun thing to do for our team seems to be getting henna tattoos from a local artist who befriended Val.  Most of the team have gotten some sort of tribal marking or flower (myself excluded).  Although the other girls say they are going to break me down and make me get one before the trip is over (6 days to go!).  The tournament starts tomorrow and I am eager to cheer on my teammates.  We get the draw for the entire event in a few hours and it seems like its taking forever!  Our nights are mostly sauna sessions for the weight cutters and low key dinners for those who don’t have to watch that carefully.  There will be much more to say when the tournament gets started…

Carrie