my international canoe federation name, the name they put on start lists, is benn fraker. my parents named me thomas which is a huge pain since i go by benn, even more of a pain because i added an extra ‘n’ in the fourth grade. i got tired of people assuming my name was benjamin and not bennett. although, the extra ‘n’ has had no impact on people making that assumption and now i just look pretentious.
i spent every moment i could in a canoe from about age 12 until right after the olympics in 2008 (age 19). i got a little burned after that many straight years and just couldn’t bring myself to train seriously for about two years. i continued to race, but the passion was gone. i had to take some time to round out my life a little.
in my sabbatical, i tried to go to school twice. i withdrew from two full semesters, completing one in between withdrawals. eventually after looking around at my best options, the realization came that i was never going to find a better opportunity than to train full time for another olympics. my experience leading into and through china was the most intense and rewarding of my life, but at times it was a struggle to survive. i’m aiming at london, training to compete not just to survive.
i’m training for two classes now, c-1 and c-2, with long-time friend isaac levinson. we’ve been paddling slalom together since middle school, and not long after that, his extreme race skills made him the guy i’m most comfortable following down rapids that really scare me off the slalom course. i can’t think of a better racing partner than someone i trust with my life.
so, now i’m back, and it’s time to do anything and everything it takes. i can feel nervous excitement growing as i write this, but it’s easy to feel that way in the beginning. there are an inestimable number of steps between me and my goals. many of them will be on frozen mud. time to start walking.
