By Pat Hanna
Chris Hipgrave remarked a couple of years ago that at any given time one could find him at home in Bryson City, N.C., at his office in Charlotte or on a plane.
He wasn’t exaggerating. The high performance director for Charlotte-based USA Canoe/Kayak — and very frequent flier — made five trips to China in preparation for last month’s Olympics, then was in an NBC studio in New York during the Games, providing real-time expert text commentary on the network’s live online streaming of whitewater slalom and flatwater sprint competition.
Last week, he returned home from Russia, where he accompanied the U.S. sprint junior national team at the Moscow Junior International Regatta, then jumped in a car and traveled to Summersville to get in some training runs for Monday’s 16th annual Animal Upper Gauley Race.
“I have a little ‘me’ time now,” he said last weekend. “I’m trying to get back on the horse and have fun on the river.”
Despite his hectic work schedule, Hipgrave has found some time to pursue his passion of wildwater racing. In June, he finished second in his master’s division at the World Wildwater Championships in Italy, and he’s in second place, behind Geoff Calhoun, in the 2008 U.S. wildwater rankings.
The 2002 national champion returned to the Gauley last year, finishing second to Calhoun, after missing the 2005 and 2006 races because of his commitments with USA Canoe/Kayak, the national governing body for Olympic kayaking and the sanctioning organization for other forms of canoe and kayak competition, including wildwater.
Hipgrave won the Gauley race in 2003.
“I’m looking forward to the race (on Monday), I really am,” he said. “God, I love this river. It’s been a lot of fun.”
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Hipgrave joined USA Canoe/Kayak as high performance director in 2005. That was also the year he made his first trip to China to begin preparations for the 2008 Summer Games and make sure “everything was set up” when the seven U.S. slalom and flatwater sprint athletes, their coaches and support staff got off the plane in Beijing in early August and traveled to their venue about an hour’s drive away.
“Where they stay, how they get there, what they eat, where they eat, how they get around ... so that the athletes don’t have to worry about anything except going to the venue and competing,” Hipgrave said of his many responsibilities. “If they have an injury, where do they go? If they need physical therapy, where do they go? If they want to review video, where do they go?”
He said the past three years have been challenging but rewarding.
“It’s a huge honor, number one, and tremendously hard work, number two,” he added. “I don’t think the average person realizes how much effort goes on behind the scenes getting the athletes to the competition. The athletes obviously train very hard to get to the Olympics, but behind every athlete is a person behind the scenes to help that athlete.
“It’s been pretty much what I expected, maybe a little crazier. You get busier and busier, then when the competition comes it’s almost anti-climatic. You’re running, running, running, then all of a sudden there are no more e-mails, no more phone calls. It’s kind of weird.
“Last year, I spent about 90 days overseas. This year, I’ve spent about 100 to 110 days traveling with teams. I spent most of my summer going around Europe. I got off a plane from Russia (last) Thursday and drove straight here.
“I’ve met some pretty cool people. It’s a pretty close network, people who do the kind of job I do and the international coaches.”
So what’s in store for Hipgrave for the remainder of the year?
“I’ve got a couple of little trips. I go to Rome in November and Canada in early October,” he quipped. “Other than that, it’s pretty much domestic travel.”
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Hipgrave was accompanied to the Upper Gauley last weekend by three-time Olympian Mark Hamilton, who also plans to return for Monday’s race. Hamilton was the top finisher in the slalom boat class in last year’s 9-mile downriver race, which features five Class IV-V rapids.
“I’m not sure if I’m going to race in my wildwater boat or not,” Hipgrave said. “I know I’m not fit enough right now to beat Geoff. I might race in a slalom boat,” which is shorter and not as fast as a wildwater boat.
Calhoun, a four-time national champion who has dominated U.S. wildwater racing this year, said in an e-mail he will be on hand to defend his Upper Gauley title and seek his third victory overall in the event. He’s expected to be joined by some other top wildwater paddlers from the Bethesda, Md., area, including Peter Lutter, Eric Orenstein and possibly Jason Beakes. Lutter, though still a junior, trails only Calhoun and Hipgrave in the U.S. wildwater rankings, and finished second to Calhoun at the U.S. Nationals last month in Massachusetts.
— E-mail: phanna@register-herald.com
