http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/sports/othersports/22oklahoma.html?ex=1366516800&en=d3409a08b2f16f6c&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Forgive me if I this has been posted elsewhere. I didnt see it.

"Take that, John Steinbeck."

"Kayakers at the weekend Olympic trials, which drew between 10,000 and 15,000 spectators, said they had heard about Oklahoma City through their friends in rowing. Aside from some concerns about the city’s ferocious winds, the athletes said they were pleased."

Ferocious winds?...Constant 30 MPH is just a gentle breeze people

As for the 100 rodeo mentions...Are we really that big of a rodeo town?...Guess I need to get out more

I was in chicago on business recently and a man from Norway I met at a cigar lounge asked if I'd ever sailed on lake hefner...apparenlty he'd heard of it through sailing buddies across the pond...amazing to get exposure like that and we gotta keep it up through stuff like this@!

I just love to read articles like this.

We really need to keep improving upon this feature of our city.

Same here Karried. It makes you wonder what other small things we can do like that.

Wow. I totally just stumbled upon this article myself. I check nytimes.com many times a day--and was in disbelief to see OKC on the front page for a very positive reason!

this was great exposure. Maps 3 should be majority core 2 shore were sitting on a gold mind with that river..were the only major city in the U.S with a clean slate to design this massive area of land.

...but... Hogan...

Very nice things said there.

Most people in the nation aren't use to a consistant 30-50mph wind for 75% of the year.

I was just sitting outside and I realized, do you know how muggy it could be in oklahoma if we didn't have the wind...

Have the I-35 and I-44 bridges over the River been dressed up with good looking lights and what not?

If you look at the "Today's Paper" link at the top of nytimes.com, it shows you what is on the front page of the print edition. It's there! Page One New York Times - not bad!

The wind also helps in blowing the pollution out along the river basin that OKC sits in, that is why on calm days the pollution and ozone tend to hover over the city.

Two rather fab quotes in that article ...


The river’s potential as a sporting site has become an integral part of city leaders’ dreams for the future. Of course, the city continues to pursue other sports projects. Last week, for example, N.B.A. owners approved the relocation of the Seattle Supersonics to Oklahoma City. Still, little has captured the community’s imagination more than boating.

Gotta love it. How many in OKC, Ok for that matter, would expect to ALREADY see the NBA pursuit be an 'oh yeah, they went after that too' reference. Made me smile and then bust a gut from the pride swell. OKC is already being seen as more than an NBA town in the NYT. neat stuff!




Perhaps the best test, he said, was that he got few questions when he told people where the Olympic trials were being held. In the boating world, “it seems like a very natural, logical statement to make,”

Like Blazerfan's example above, being not just known, but ACCEPTED, as an excellent "but of course it's there' venue is down right impressive, particularly for something that was so far removed from this state less than a decade back.

Absotively, posilutely awsome exposure.

I'm grinning ear to ear! Great stuff! Thanks for the find, lpecan!

Blazerfan, Lake Hefner is considered one of the premier sailing lakes in the country and often has hosted the national championships in some divisions "J22's" I believe. There's an old thread, I'll see if I can find it.

I agree Doug, a very proud moment for us. I'm a little disappointed in the turnout though, they were expecting 30,000. We usually draw at least 20,000 for the Regatta in the fall.

here is a nice post from an Olympian that was here last weekend for the trials

Gold Medal Living: Thank you, Oklahoma City (http://goldmedalliving.blogspot.com/2008/04/thank-you-oklahoma-city.html)

Awesome, awesome PR!

I know they are working on it but holding a triathlon (or series of them) is a natural fit for the area with the river and trail system.

I just did a tri this weekend in La Quinta (near Palm Springs) and there were about 1,000 racers plus three times that many at the accompanying festivals. These events draw people from all over the region -- and, as you might imagine, it tends to be a very motivated and high-profile group.

Triathlon is another fast growing sport and I think it could really take off in Oklahoma with the growing bike trail system -- but there are very few events.


The potential of the river and surrounding area is just beginning to be scratched.

Pete -

We were riding the trial system along the river a few weeks ago and I made that same comment - there needs to be more events on the river like tri's!

I think it would be awesome to utilize the new docks they have with bands and musicians, get the boats out on the water to watch the paddling, swimming, whatever.

It makes for a great place to create community and publicity for OKC.

Good call on a series of triatholons.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/sports/othersports/22oklahoma.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

besides sailing: the bigger kite surfing gets, the more known okc will be as well.

thanx for sharing... that article was way awesome!

Very good article. She did a lot of research and it was all very accurate.

There was a thread about this last night when it showed up on the NY Times website.
http://www.okctalk.com/okc-metro-area-talk/12689-okc-top-ten-ny-times-articles.html

Great stuff!

Posting from GOLD MEDAL LIVING Blog

"The racing between the start and finish lines at the Flatwater Olympic Trials this past weekend could have taken place just about anywhere and a good, capable group of athletes would have taken a step closer to paddling at the Olympic Games this summer in Beijing. But for the elements that make a canoe/kayak event special, memorable and world-class, Oklahoma City and its Chesapeake Boathouse (http://www.chesapeakeboathouse.org/index2.html) set a new benchmark for paddlesports and on a personal note, I just wanted to say thank you to the amazing people who made the Olympic Trials in Oklahoma City a reality."

(emphasis is mine)

More comments about the city at Gold Medal Living at this link.
(http://goldmedalliving.blogspot.com/2008/04/thank-you-oklahoma-city.html)

My old Mass Comm Prof and a couple of other guys helped in a huge Tri that happened out at Lake Hefner.. I'm trying to remember the name of it.. I think it's redman or something to that affect.

Yes, Redman Triathlon is held every September in and around Lake Hefner. But that's an Ironman and half-Ironman length race and the river area would be better suited towards sprints and Olympic (.9 swim, 24.8 bike, 6.2 run) races.

I'd like to see one in the spring and at least one more in the early fall.

Just not enough events in Oklahoma even though Redman does okay.