Kevin Wong displays his security identification from Sydney. Photo courtesy of Kevin Wong

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

• Tania Brunton

The former Wahine basketball player arrived in the Olympic Village Tuesday. She and her New Zealand teammates spent 23 days training in Australia before moving in.

"I have waited so long for this moment," Brunton said. "All the early morning workouts, long, long practices and fake smiles, pretending I’m not tired, but I’m really completely shagged. Well, I’m ready for the next step, the biggest dance of all."

• Peter Newton

Newton shot a promotional "postcard" for NBC. It will be aired during prime-time Olympic coverage.

Newton, Kathy Colin and the U.S. kayak team spent two weeks "altitude training" in Mammoth, Calif., before going through Olympic processing in San Diego. They paddled at 6,500 feet, lived and cross-trained (biked) at 8,500 feet for conditioning purposes, and also to get away from distractions, according to Newton.

He was semidistracted by the food. Newton discovered a Hawaiian restaurant called Mushii’s in the mountains.

• Chris Duplanty

Assistant coach Duplanty and his women’s water polo team are in a nine-room house. Men’s water polo, including Sean Kern, is next door. Duplanty, who played in the last three Olympics, has already talked with Kern and volleyball player Mike Lambert, who is across the street. All three are Punahou graduates.

Duplanty saw Waipahu’s Brian Viloria running through the village with the boxing team, and Kevin Wong, whose push for a medal in beach volleyball could be at the mercy of the elements. Sydney has been extremely windy - sometimes as high as 45 mph - and organizers are worried about the impact on outdoor sports.

• Amy Tong

An Olympic judoka, Tong hasn’t lived in Hawai‘i since she was little, but she is still drawn to anything remotely related to the islands. That includes Olympic boxer Brian Viloria, whom she met on a shuttle bus soon after moving into the village.

Tong has spent time in the village "surf shack," creating a home page. She says IBM has approximately 100 computers available for athletes.

• Kevin Wong

The beach volleyball player compares the village to Disneyland: "There are no cars, only big shuttles. The athletes are all wearing their country colors, there’s security everywhere, all making for a great spectacle. The organization has been running smoothly, with tons of friendly helpful volunteers."

• Maureen O’Toole

The former Wahine swimmer, who came out of retirement for the first women’s water polo Olympic competition, admits she "is so truly excited that I can’t even explain it." O’Toole, 39, was part of an NBC Nightly News report on "older Olympic athletes."

At Tuesday’s press conference at Olympic Park, coach Guy Baker was asked if his team’s exceptionally slippery suits would provide a significant advantage. "We’ve been wearing these suits for awhile," Baker said, "and no one said anything until we won the Holiday Cup."

• Heather Bown

The former Wahine volleyball player says the Olyjmpic volleyball players were "barred from the basketball team" by coaches. She hopes to catch up with UH swimmers Matt Kwock and Nick Folker in the village.