Post Olympic Update.

Hi all,

Welcome back to my blog!

I didn't realize how long it has been since I've posted anything . It seems like time has been flying by far too quickly. After the Olympics, it was hard to make new plans and make changes in my life right away, but with time and motivation everything seemed to come together.My latest aspirations and adventures include going back to college ,a part time job, a trip to Singapore & Thailand and a puppy!

First off, I know all of you are anxious to hear about my plans with Olympic windsurfing, so I'll start out with that.

As far as doing a 2012 Olympic campaign, I decided it was best to put my focus back on my studies and take full advantage of my scholastic scholarship I earned a few years ago. So for now,
no more RSX training camps, no more traveling to events, and no more RSX competitions. The decision was bittersweet and I think a lot of people were expecting me to do it again. I decided I had other things that I wanted to pursue and a campaign was not something I had in mind (at least for now : ).The Olympics and my 2008 campaign have become a special part of my life . I will always be an Olympian and an ambassador to the sport and the country. That's something I can cherish for a lifetime and I thank you all again for your unwavering support.




In the spring of 2009 I will be attending Miami Dade College pursuing a degree in Nursing. During my first semester I will be taking mostly preselect courses for acceptance into the Nursing program and apply later in May.I'm actually quite nervous to go back to school, since the last time I was in college was 3 years ago, but everyone assures me that it will all come back to me. We'll see...

As for a job, I am now working at Sailboards Miami located on Rickenbacker causeway owned by Ovidio DeLeon. Ovi has been a great friend and mentor to me throughout these past years. I am more that grateful for the opportunity he has given me and it's a great place to work ,right under the sun and on the water. I have always enjoyed teaching others to windsurf. Windsurfing has brought so much happiness in my life and I am happy to share it with others on the water.At Sailboards Miami there is something for everyone ; you can learn to windsurf, ride a kayak, paddle a board and even rent a windsurfer. So if you are in the area, come on by and check us out!

In December I will be going to Singapore and Thailand for the holidays with my boyfriend Sean. It's been a long awaited vacation that we are both looking forward to. We will be celebrating the Christmas holidays and the New Year of 2009 in Singapore, so we are very excited.

And of course, our puppy Brian! I got a Boxer puppy about a month ago, he is 4 months old and a total cutie! I've had dogs all my life and I've been wanting one of my own for such a long time. He is a big goofball! He loves everyone and has been such a good puppy, we are very lucky to have him.


So that's about it. That's what I've been up to and I always have more to share. My next post will be about the exciting things I got to do after the Olympics, which include a baseball pitch,a visit to the White House and a City of Miami recognition.

Thank you all for your time and I hope you enjoy this new part of my blog.

Until next time!

Nancy Rios
2008 Olympian
2008 US Sailing Team -RSX Women
riosnad@yahoo.com

Check out some new photos from the Olympic Games under My Photos link on the top left side of this page, or go to http://picasaweb.google.com/riosnad.

Enjoy!

Hi all - (Sorry about the late updates, enjoy!)

On August 23rd the team flew up to Beijing for our last two days in China at the Olympic Village. On the 23rd we had a team dinner at the USA House and had a great time enjoying these last moments together. After dinner some of my teammates and I got tickets to the women’s gold medal basketball game, and we watched USA defeat the Australians! It was a great game and just awesome to see our girls play and win the gold!!

The next day (Aug 24th) we had closing ceremony in the evening & spent the day at some more final games. First we went to the men’s volleyball gold medal game between USA and Brazil, and our men took it home! It was a very exciting game and fun to cheer on our players.
Afterwards we rushed to the basketball stadium and watched the men’s basketball gold medal game between USA and Spain, it was getting pretty competitive even in the cheering zones and the game was outstanding. What an amazing rush to see these guys play! I was very proud to be supporting the US team among other athletes and we all cheered as loud as we could.

At 6:45 pm the entire USA delegation gathered, dressed in our Polo Ralph Lauren team apparel we made our way to the birds nest stadium for closing ceremony.

Closing was another amazing event; the performances, the crown and the mingling of the athletes were among the best parts of the night. As we walked through the tunnel into the stadium, we stood among the rest of the nations and enjoyed the show.

Scott Weiss (our team physiotherapist) and I walked around the four separate areas of nations, took pictures with several countries, traded pins and had a moment to sit back and take it all in. It was truly special, and something I can't find words to describe.

The event was spectacular all together and it marked the closing of my Olympic Games experience. I have to admit that it was very sad to leave the ceremony and the village yesterday and all of us were both sad to leave but happy to come home to share it with friends and family.

Yesterday as I made the trip back home, I tried to write down special moments down so I wouldn't forget. I found myself having a hard time finding the words to describe the feelings that I experience and really how special this entire experience has been. As I look back from the start. We had an outstanding team and supported each other through everything. I respect every one of our team members and applaud them for their accomplishments. We all raced hard, had good and bad days and were proud to represent our country in the sport of sailing. My results in the end didn't improve much, and I have to move away from that. As I think of what a great accomplishment and opportunity this has been, I know I raced the best I could, and that's all I can give. At 20 yrs of age, I have plenty of opportunities to make the Olympic Team again; I’ll take with me what I learned from this experience and use it to my advantage for the next time I race. Whether I make the Olympic Team again or not, I will cherish this experience and these Olympic Games forever!

I am very proud and happy for Anna Tunnicliffe and Zach Railey, our two medalists & honored to have had the opportunity to share this experience with them. It is very inspiring to see them succeed at their goals and it just reminds me again how special this journey has been.

I'd like to thank each and every one of you who have supported & shared this experience with me. Without your support, I would have never made it this far and it has been a pleasure sharing it with you.
I'm so happy to be back in the U.S.A, it feels good to be home! In the next few days, I will be sharing as much as I can with as many people as I can, including all my friends, supporters and family.

Thank you all for everything and stay tuned for more updates and photos in a couple of days.

Hi all -

Today was the end of the opening series races for the RSX womens class and tomorrow the top ten in the class will battle it out for the medals.Today I finished in 22cnd place in Race 10 ,I was happy to have a better result today and tried no to be so hard on myself with the final results.As I look back at the regatta, I wish I could rewind and make better decisions, but it's done and in the end I put the bad moments behind me, and enjoyed the good moments.

Overall I feel like I've had a great experience and learned a lot. It has been an incredible opportunity to compete with the best in the world and something I will cherish for a lifetime.Four years ago I never though that this sport could bring me all the way to the Olympics. I tried my best and fought hard, but I realize that I still have a lot to learn.Most of my mistakes on the water were made on the start line, and making wrong tactical decisions, which in time I will learn not to make. It's been hard to be in the back of the fleet and triying to catch up all the time, but I think that's what it will takes to get better. In the end I know I raced my best and did all I could to represent my country well and that is all anyone can want.

Thank you all for supporting me throughout this journey, it has been a great accomplishment and something I will have with me forever!

These next few days, I will spend cheering my teammates on with their last races and just enjoying the last bit of this Olympic journey.
On the 23rd, I fly to Beijing for the closing ceremony on the 24th and fly home on the 25th.

I'll keep you updated on anything exciting I do, otherwise ,see you at home soon!!

Nancy Rios

Hi All-

Today was another uneventful day for the RSX fleet, no racing.

Since the 49er class shared course B with us, they sailed 3 races first , we waited for a while,I stayed cool in the container and tried to keep my mind ready for racing at any moment. Then, at 3pm the committee called us out on the water, I warmed up for the race, checked on what the breeze was doing and was ready for some good pumping, but the breeze didn't settle and racing was called off for the day. Tomorrow we are scheduled to start at 12 noon.Looks like some stormy weather is headed our way for early tomorrow morning, we'll see if the winds stick around or if the storm shuts down all the breeze, hopefully we'll have some planning races and have some fun!!

It's getting really exciting to see my teammates battle it out for the medal races, I really look up to all of them and I wish them the best for tomorrow!!

Go Team USA!!