감사합니다! (Thank you)!
The USA Track & Field staff on the ground in Daegu, particularly Katie Landry in her first ever world championships;
The media relations staff at the Daegu 2011 local organizing committee;
Nick Davies, Anna Legnani, Yannis Nikolaou, Laura Arcoleo, Chris Turner and all the folks at the IAAF, all of whom I consider close friends after working with them for all these years at various world championships, both in track and cross country;
The IAAF mixed zone crew that was very helpful in grabbing tired athletes for interviews and flash quotes;
The folks at Nikon Professional Services in Daegu. The images you saw on the Facebook page, and on this web site were not possible without the loaner lenses and bodies to supplement my trusty Nikon D70 (try a Nikon D3S, and all those lenses used to capture the emotion of athletes running, jumping, and throwing).
Thank you for the hospitality at the photographers' dinner, the powerful photo mural of the Japanese earthquake this spring & entertainment featuring Drumcat and for the awesome photographer's backpack with compartments for all of the lenses and laptop (as a side note, thanks to all those photographers who took the time to advise me on using the D3S--it's not every day I get to play with a world class pro level camera!)
By the way, here's Drumcat:
The media relations staff at adidas, Asics, Nike and Puma for assisting with athlete interviews and feeding relevant information. Special thanks to Megan Saalfeld and John Capriotti at Nike, and Annie Adams at Asics for your hospitality!
The volunteer manning the desk at the Novotel that somehow got in touch with the bus driver after my iPhone fell out of my pocket. If you've lost a cell phone before, you know the feeling!
Ha Mi-yong, the lady who was our tour guide on the media tour of the surrounding area outside Daegu;
All the volunteers working in the stadium, transportation, and media services. A special tip of the hat to the young lady who arranged my travel from Daegu to Incheon airport, as this was the first world championship meet where I literally left the stadium immediately after the conclusion of the event to start the journey home (FYI, I was in the press room finishing up my story on Bernard Lagat's second place finish when I looked up on the monitors and saw the Usain Bolt anchored Jamaican squad set the only world record of the meet in the men's 4 x 100 meters, the final event of the meet);
Martin Rudow, the publisher of Northwest Runner, who has the faith and the belief that elite track and field is just as important to the readership as covering the local community races and offering tips for beginning recreational runners;
The staff at the Motel Ritz-Carlton, which was our home base during our stay in Daegu, along with the cast of suspects that I've traveled and worked with over several world championships: Brian Russell (NBC Sports), Cheryl Treworgy (prettysporty.com; daughter Shalane Flanagan was in the women's 10000), Randy Miyazaki (trackandfieldphoto.com); Jeff Hines and Patti Stirk (Runner's Gazette in Pennsylvania).
By the way, the world famous football did make it to Daegu!
A thank you to the folks at Alaska Airlines and Cathay Pacific, and especially to the flight attendant on the Hong Kong-Los Angeles leg, and the ladies at the Alaska Airlines lounge at Sea-Tac International Airport.
Finally, thanks to all of you who read this blog, and followed the journey of the athletes with ties to the state of Washington, as we chronicled their highs and lows in the months before the Daegu world championships. Believe me, the athletes appreciate all of you that followed them!
감사합니다!
PS--Below is a screen capture of the nightly highlight show of the world championships by the host broadcasters...let's just say the jackets are interesting!
Comments