T-Minus 24 Hours By Ken Whiting and Kevin Varette June 22, 2001 Here in Sort, the weather has been heating up every day as the sun keeps beating down with no clouds in sight and very little wind - it's a good thing the water comes straight from the Pyrenees without much time to warm up! It hit at least 33° (92°F) today plus the scorching-sun factor and this siesta idea doesn't seem so strange anymore! It has stopped cooling down quite so much at night now, resulting in even more restlessness around town. The constant sounds of partying from the discos, children running around until all hours and the random clock-tower bell that just seems to ding whenever it wants! FAR outdoing everything else however, are the never-ending and ear-shattering blasts of fireworks that seem to get louder and more prevalent as the day progresses! 10 year-olds with lighters mean watch your step!! The Canadians had their first training slot this afternoon, drawing a large crowd to the newly built bleachers at the site and putting on an impressive show. With the second largest team here (next to the US) and a line-up of top ranked athletes, the Canucks displayed the talent that makes them strong contenders for medals in every class. (Click each for video!) Ken Whiting, Tyler Curtis, Brad Sutton, Billy Harris, Brendan Mark, James Mole, Julie Dion, Anna Levesque, Tiffany Manchester, Charlene Starck, Saskia Van Mourik, Lisa Beckstead, Hal "Motif" Monkman, Mitch "Vanilla" Braun, Andrew "Pinky" Sainsbury, Mikkel St. Jean, Kate Townsend, Laura Cockins, Emily Lussin, Graham Harada, Kevin Henderson, Dave Galasso, Lars Romeskie, James Roddick, Cindy Jamieson, Valerie, Tyler Elm, Tim Davies and Dave Dungie are all here and training hard so they can rip it up for Canada this coming week. The Pit was out in full force again, taking its toll on those who either ventured into it, lost control or got tired during their ride! With fingers crossed for no injuries or serious mental discouragement to anyone, it sure does provide some great entertainment!! Unintentional triple loops, canoes cartwheeling without their owners in them, swimmers getting big mystery moves, helmets being stripped off, the fastest upstream rolls ever witnessed and foam outfitting tumbling around in the trough - all images that athletes must disregard when their turn comes to throw down here in Sort! What a great hole!! Day 4 Videos 2 versions available: Cable or High Speed (better quality, slower upload and larger) Modem (smaller, lower quality, faster upload) Some of the practice action today! Sean Brabent (Modem AVI 783 MB) Chris Manderson (Modem AVI 656 kb) Corran Addison (Modem AVI 957 kb) Back to Worlds coverage

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