Today is the formal beginning of the 17th World Transplant Games. It started with Cheryl and the woman's 3k road race (running). With her broken foot, Cheryl is only supposed to walk. However, with the competitive juices flowing, Cheryl ran more than she wants to admit...including the last 300 meters as she out-kicked an Aussie. She credits Doug for that strong finish. Cheryl didn't medal, but Rita and Tracy took silver and Ann took gold in her age group.
After the 3k we all stayed down on the beach for the DonateLife Walk 'n Talk. This involved four giant beach balls (the largest must have been 15 foot across) and hundreds of walkers strolling 5k down and
back on Broadbeach. I believe the intent was to engage swimmers and surfers in a conversation about organ donation as we made our way down the beach. I am not sure there was much engagement, but I believe it looked really good on TV.
After that it was all about preparing for the opening ceremonies. Molly and I went swimming while Cheryl took a nap and got cleaned up. The athletes had to report an hour and a half before the
spectators, so Molly had enough time to become Miss America. With Dani's help, Molly had 'USA' and the flag on her cheeks and that awesome wig. All that was missing was a "Proud to be an American" soundtrack and montage of eagles and Mt. Rushmore.
The Opening Ceremonies were as long as every other Transplant Games Opening Ceremonies we have attended. It seemed the key difference was that at the US Games, the bulk of the time is speeches and personal stories. Here the speeches were kept short and fairly formal, but there was a full on musical extravaganza that involved bagpipes, interpretive dance, cheerleading, opera singing, String Diva, 12-string guitar, the Queensland Children's Choir, Tania Doko, show tunes, and two didgeridoos. Molly slept through the whole thing.
Afterwards, we were supposed to have a BBQ dinner. Instead we had hotdogs/sausages and hamburger patties without buns, green bean salad, and assorted buffet potatoes in a giant convention hall. No wonder they put prawns on the barbie instead of meat. They did, however, have a band playing 'Waltzing Matilda' and other Australian classics to make up for it.
Tomorrow is our only off day of the Games. Jim and Dani are taking a flight up to the Great Barrier Reef, while we are going on a tour to the mountains and rainforest. We will take lots of pictures.
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