The more I trained , the hungrier I became . I was making no money , save for a few design projects for the likes of Wilderness Systems that paid here and there , and eventually , my coach Fritz Haller brought me home with him one day for a meal . His wife was alarmed at how much weight I ’ d lost and insisted that I move in , sleep in a real bed , and eat with them .
1992 OLYMPICS
Here now was stability , a warm place to live , and regular food and a ride to the river with my coach . I trained like this for months , until suddenly the news broke ; South Africa would be allowed back into the 1992 Olympics for the first time in over 20 years ( previously excluded due to apartheid ).
Fritz was clear . There was almost no chance I ’ d be given a spot on the US team . Firstly , I probably would not be fast enough by the 1991 team trials where the 1992 team was selected . Secondly , even if I sneaked in a great run and made the top three without US citizenship , I was not eligible . He insisted that I reach out to Canoeing South Africa and indicate my intent to return to South Africa to make the national team .
This was met unfavourably by the SA Canoeing . In their eyes , I was an American , having emigrated from South Africa at the height of the civil unrest in the mid-1980s to avoid military conscription into an army hell-bent on supporting the apartheid regime . I was unwelcome and told so clearly . Don ’ t come here ! We don ’ t care how fast you are !
I had no money to buy tickets to South Africa for myself or my wife Christine to boot . So Fritz jumped in again and took up a collection amongst friends and paddlers and managed to collect a few hundred dollars . A far cry from what was needed , but a start . Wilderness Systems gave me another boat to design , and my father contributed the rest .
We managed to convince a friend to drive us to NYC , where the flight left from and boarded the flight with my slalom boat and paddling gear , utterly destitute . We slept under the stairs in Heathrow airport for two days waiting for our connection , eating crackers and ketchup swiped off restaurant tables .
Finally , we landed in South Africa , and my father met me with good news . A friend , Wayne Nichol , had a
ThePADDLER 101