Olympic Result

Well the games didn't exactly go as I would have liked. !!! And in saying that my result was 5th Place

I fought Canada and the scores went 0-0 into the 4th deciding round...and again it was 0-0 even though I swear I scored the loudest running kick in the history of running kicks...to no advantage nothing was scored and the referees decided to give the match to Canada. She went through to the final....I fought on beating Argentina 9-2 and then losing my Bronze Medal Match to France 4-1. I wish it was my day......I am continually haunted by this competition. I will forever remember... not losing the bronze medal, but rather my match against Canada and that moment where I truly lost faith in the fairness of my sport.

Some of the athletes I met....

Its really so surreal meeting some of the athletes I look up to myself. I missd out on catching up with Federer this time round, but meeting Nadal was just as good. Above are some of the pics with me sizing u to them...looks like Im not that tall after all!

OPENING CEREMONY

Flag Raising and Flag Bearer Presentation

OLYMPICS 2008

Well its been a long while since I have written, mainly because its so hard to know what I can and cannot put up on my blog during the games. .......unfortunately I can't show you the fanastic shots I have at the opening ceremony, or pics of myself with the Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bogut, and or the William sisters to name a few...only mainly lonesome ones of myself:)...lol! (Promise to post all the good ones aftr the games!!!!!!)

I can however, share my experience of being an Olympian and the lead up I have had.

Right now I am back in Korea finishing off my last preparation before I compete. In case you have forgot...thats the 22nd of August! I went across to China for the Flag Raising Ceremony, Flag bearer presentation and Opening Ceremony! All of which I had an amazing time (and sweaty time too!!! ) China at present is extremely hot and you can't walk too far without breaking a sweat! oooooooooh and to answer the pollution question, yes I feel it is still a problem and I feel for all the athletes who compete in outside events. I think China has done the best job they could cleaning everything up but unfortunately the environment can't handle the lifestyle here. ....But despite that issue the Olympic Games here is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! Everything else appears perfect! The olympic village is green, green, green----the food hall ...has everything (even McDonalds with a McCafe!), and the units we live in are very comfortable! So comparing things to Athens, I am much prefering these games so far!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!

Back in Korea for another birthday!!! I would have to count that now as my 4th birthday spent in this country! Lucky number 26!!!

Anyways...it was a pretty busy day, being Sunday! We had to train in the morning and the afternoon. I was suprised by two birthday cakes in the evening! WOAH! How much cake do they think I can eat!
Check out the pics...those strawberries are massive!

Thanks to Wattle Grove Year Ones!

I recently received some letters from the Year One's at Wattle Grove Primary School! Just want to say a huge thankyou to them. I remember when I was 6 years old with a dream of going to the Olympics. Perhaps there is an elite athlete amongst this bunch waiting for....2024?

Team Australia Vs France/USA/Korea

For the past few weeks, 4 Korean, 2 French, and 2 USA athletes have come to Australia to help us prepare for the upcoming games. Each Saturday we have practice matches with them. So far I have ben successful on all occasions, winning USA 7-4, Korea 7-4, USA 1-0, and Korea 8-6.
Its great having more people in the gym to make some noise and push us higher. I find whilst they have totally different styles to me, I am learning alot more about myself as a fighter and person.

ASADA Hurts Sometimes!

I know they are doing a great thing, keeping sport clean and athletes honest! ...But I think when they take blood it would be nice if they took a little bit more care on how they jab us! 8 years in the tank and I got an 8 day bruise to match!

Backwards Walking to Beijing

Yesterday was an interesting one for me....Dale, the physiologist, got me to do incline, backwards walking on the treadmill....! I know it might sound strange - and let me assure you I was thinking the same thing as you ( how can u have an inclined walking machine and walk backwards on it!)...hmmmmmmm well there is one here at the AIS and my purpose for using it, is to assist in preventing calf/achilles injuries! After only 30 minutes of walking backwards my calves were shaking as I got off and still shaking at training that afternoon. Today Im really quite sore from the experience, but I am sure next week should be a bit easier:)

MEDIA: From Aussie Olympic Site

For anyone who would like to see abit more on video, below are two links: one for a quick take on our announcement and taekwondo in Beijing. And secondly, a link to my short answers about myself on video....

1) http://www.olympics.com.au/Portals/3/MediaCentre.html#/search/429
2) http://www.olympics.com.au/Portals/3/MediaCentre.html#/search/434

Canberra Friends

Carson Kressley when I first bought him:)
Tanya and Rachael sometimes scare me! hehe ..No thats not how you wear headguards!

The Girls L to R: Michelle (race walking), Petrina (high jump), Kelly (race walking), Chloe (hurdles), Me, and in the front is Tanya (race walking)

Well what can I say about the last few weeks other than - busy, busy, busy!!! Since the team has been announced there has been an increase in the amount of training we do, a greater intensity in the gym and of course more trips to the massage therpaists to keep our bodies in tip top shape!

Since the team has been announced I have also had to come to terms with some of my friends finishing up here at the AIS. First Rachael from Netball left, then Ruth and Amy(TKD)went home, and now Tanya (Racewalking) is in the process of packing to leave! Aaaahh!!! What am I going to do without all these cool chicks here to share laughs with! heheh I dont know if that was a question to anyone, but the answer I came up with was to buy a fish! ...SOOOOOOOOOOOO I now have the coolest, pimped out fish on the block called Carson Kressley. CK is red/purple, has an awsome style sense, a purple tree and fluro pink rocks to match. Whilst he can't talk, cuddle or show any sign he even knows who I am, he does bring joy to my day watching him dart across his surroundings!

OLYMPIC ANNOUNCEMENT

Taekwondo 2008 Olympic Team:

Ryan Carneli: -58kgs
Burak Hasan: -68kgs
Tina Morgan: -67kgs
Carmen Marton: +67kgs

Daniel Trenton: Coach
Taeho Uhm: Coach
Bryan Wilson: Section Manager

Back in Canberra - FREEZING!

Im back at the AIS now, preparing for the games! The last few days have been absolutely freezing and I wish I was somewhere else! The team is formally announced this week so for some of us we are happy to be continuing on with a new chapter in our Olympic journeys, however, most of the squad is in a state of bitter saddness because their time here is ending. For me, although happy to be selected on the Olympic Squad I am also sad to see my friends go through the emotions of not being chosen. I know how it feels to work so hard and have your dreams shattered at the last moment. ...But I am sure they will pick themselves up again and achieve great things in the future.

The past week we have endured swim, gym, soccer and intense training sessions. I learnt how to do a clean and jerk, and snatch for the first time in the gym!!! THAT WAS SO COOL! I thought I was pretty special being able to clean and jerk 40 kilos and I went home to check Olympic records for weightlifting to see if I might be able to change sports later hahaha!!!... I think the record was 142kgs ...so I will just stick to what Im good at and thats taekwondo:)

We also had a pre-team announcement dinner at the AIS. It was basically to thank all the support staff here and to welcome our sport into the Institute. Again, although it was a pleasant evening, the tension amongst the squad was high regarding selection and non selection.

Anyways this Friday the 23rd is the teams formal announcement for all those interested! I'll keep you posted on whats coming up!

SPANISH OPEN: Alicante

The Spanish Open was held in Spain, Alicante on the 25-27th of April. I fought the 57-67kg division. It was a round robin competition comprised of two pools. I fought and beat the current World Champ from Canada 5-3, Spain 6-4 and Sweden in the final 6-3. I was also meant to fight New Zealand in the early stages however she pulled out. It was a good result for me, especially considering on the day I was so sick!

The pictures I have in the album above are of the competition and of our time in Spain. Because we hadn't seen much sun in Korea we enjoyed it at the beach doing recovery sessions. There was also a gym set on the beach we decided to test out!

MY RESULT:

GOLD: Australia - Tina Morgan
Silver: Sweden - Lye Kilborn
Bronze: Canada - Karine Sergerie
Bronze: Morocco - Mounia Abbersoule

KOREA TRAINING CAMP!

Well it definately was a long six weeks in Korea this time.... having been my 15th time...???

I don't know how much I would rate Korea this time round. I normally love going there however it was a long 6 weeks with everyone and everyday felt like groundhog day. During the week we would gym it, eat, sleep, train, eat some more and then sleep again. Saturday afternoon and Sunday we could treasure as our own and make of it what we wanted. I suppose to sum it up, it was an intense fighting camp that tested not just our physical and taekwondo capibilities but also our mental toughness.

Some of the things we got up to other than training then was:
1) We went to Lotte World: A massive amusement park. I swear I will never ever ever go on the ride that plumits all the way to the ground! I dont know what was more scarier, going up slowly or waiting at the top to drop!
2) Visited MyeDong! We mainly went here for an amazing chicken salad they served! Other than that it was a good place to shop and look around.
3) Spaghettia: Number one Spaghetti place we visited alot!
4) Dongdaemoon: A night shopping market.
5) Jin jing Ban: A Korea sauna! The place we went to was three levels high...the first floor had all cold and hot water pools. The second and third floors consisted of hot and cold sauna rooms. Each room had a different scenery with tvs inside. Also on this level was an oxygen room. This room appeared more like lots of little dog kennels.

Theres lots MOre to talk about....but having travelled for 2 days straight, with no sleep!.. I have to come back to this!

GERMAN OPEN ---GOLD

Above are some pics from the German Open where I am still very sweaty and messy from fighting! The awarding ceremony was quick on court due to the large number of competitors at this event (1200...so thats why I am upstairs~!)

I fought:
1) Kazhakhstan: 7-1
2) Germany, disqualified
3) Spain, 1-0
4) Netherlands, 4-1
5) Croatia, 7-0

It was great to be out there again! It was a little different this time because we used electornic scoring...which meant you had to score your own points and not rely on referees to press the buzzer thus trying to eliminate bias. The system has definately progressed since last time I used it but there is always room for further improvement.

5th Place - Olympic Test Event

Bronze Medal Match (Final of Repacharge)
Losing the Bronze Medal Match (5-4)

The comp finished a few days ago and I am now in Germany preparing for the German Open. I ended up equal 5th place on the tally in China.

I opened up strongly in the competition, winning against Japan 7-0 and then Sweden 3-1. In the semi final I was edged out by China 2-1 and then I went into a reparcharge system to fight off for bronze. In the final of that reparcharge I lost again to a chinese athlete 5-4. My mistakes came from a split second lack of concerntration, conservatism and perhaps lack of matt time. Although I am very dissapointed with the result (no medal) I am happy that I am back fighting fit again!!!

When I look at things in perspective, 10 months ago I could not kick at all - let alone walk, and now I am back doing the thing I love so much. This was my first official international comp since my injury and as far as I can see the only way is up!

.........Towards Gold in Beijing!>>>>>>>>>>>HUNGRYYYYYYY!

BEIJING: GOOD LUCK OLYMPIC TEST EVENT

The time has finally come to compete at the Olympic Test Event in China. From the 26th Feb to the 29th, four Aussie athletes will fight to test themselves against the best and see how they will fair come this Olympics. Although not all the athletes qualified for the games will be present, there will be other athletes to fill the quota and make the gold medal just deserved. As I see it, it is a look, a see and a feel....

Bits n pieces about Beijing so far:
1 = The weather is quite cold but not as bad as we expected. -3 is just ...crisp!
2= Good healthy food is a little hard to come by but we all have our protein power bars to keep us in check!
3= The competition venue looks amazing! We saw the referees do a trial run and trained in the warm up area! You can see some of the pics above from 2 venues.
4= Daniel J has discovered a new excting way to train by himself!

The schedule :

1st day: Safwan -58kgs: First fight against Japan
2nd Day: Daniel -68kgs: First fight against China
3rd Day: Tina -67kgs: First fight against Japan
4th Day: Carmen +67kgs: First fight against Brazil.

Since it is a test event, the comp will be run exactly like it is at the Olympics. So we will have 4 fights to win gold, and if in the case we lose to the gold or silver medallist we will go through a repacharge system. To ensure the bronze here we would have to make the final of this system.

Anyhoooo Wish us luck! xxx