With a radiant smile, Rebecca Giddens drifted in the current beyond the finish line knowing she had just put down two fast and clean runs on a tough, physically demanding Olympic whitewater course. The skill, experience, training, fitness, focus, mental toughness and love of the sport that brought her a World Championship in 2002 propelled her from fourth place after a difficult Semi-final run, to second place, and a Silver medal, in the 2004 Athens Olympics! Olympic competition requires a level of dedication and strength of character that very few possess. Rebecca epitomizes the Olympic ideal in every way. Way to Go Rebecca!!

Rebecca's husband and coach, Eric, was a member of the 1996 Olympic team. In 2000, he placed 5th overall in men's kayak on the World Cup slalom circuit. Rebecca & Eric divide their time between residences in Kernville and San Diego. Eric is a graduate student in Oceanography at Scripps, and when Rebecca isn't training in Kernville, she trains at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista. Some Rebecca and Olympics "News & Info" links follow. These are just a sampling of many, many news items.

• 10/07/04 Green Bay Press-Gazette - Navigating life is reward, Giddens tells alma mater.
• 10/06/04 Green Bay Press-Gazette - Green Bay council gives Giddens key to go with silver medal.
• 09/29/04 Kern Valley Sun - Party thrown in honor of returning Olympic medalist.
• 09/20/04 USACK - Giddens’ Rule USA Canoe/Kayak Whitewater Slalom National Championships.
• 09/14/04 U.S. Newswire - Rebecca Giddens Statement on Protecting Wild Forests and Rivers for Future Generations of Kayakers.
• 09/09/04 U.S. Newswire - Olympic Silver Medalist, Canoe/Kayak Team Athletes to Attend Reception in Their Honor.
• 08/29/04 USACK - 2004 Olympic Games Recap.
• 08/20/04 NBCOlympics.com - Video of Rebecca's Silver medal-winning run. (U.S. Visa cardholder registration required.)
• 08/18/04 Kern Valley Sun - Olympic silver for Giddens.
• 08/18/04 WIStv.com - Melissa Fletcher, Olympic Diary 4: US Silver.
• 08/18/04 The Bakersfield Californian - Kern kayaker wins silver.
• 08/18/04 NBCSanDiego.com - San Diego Kayaker Brings Home Silver.
• 08/18/04 USOC - Comments from Women's Double Trap gold medallist Kimberly RHODE (USA) and Canoe/Kayak Slalom silver medallist Rebecca GIDDENS (USA).
• 08/18/04 The Bakersfield Californian - Kern County's Giddens wins silver medal in K1 kayak.
• 08/18/04 San Diego Union-Tribune - San Diego's silver medalist, kayaker Giddens has solid-gold love for sport.
• 08/18/04 USACK - Rebecca Giddens Wins Silver Medal in Slalom.
• 08/18/04 NBCOlympics.com - Giddens grabs Silver in K-1. Slideshow with commentary from Jon Lugbill.
• 08/17/04 The Bakersfield Californian - Giddens fifth after qualifying heats.
• 08/17/04 The New York Times - Saltwater Is a Challenge for Canoe and Kayak
• 08/17/04 USACK - Rebecca Giddens Qualifies in Fifth Place Heading into Semifinals.
• 08/16/04 Seattlepi.com - Canoe-kayak competitors praise course.
• 08/16/04 NBCOlympics.com - Kerry calls U.S. [slalom] team to offer best wishes.
• 08/16/04 USACK - Whitewater Venue a Big Hit in Athens.
• 08/12/04 The Bakersfield Californian - Let Games begin, but you can keep the remote.
• DaveyHearn.com - The Rebecca Reports.
• 07/13/04 NBCOlympics.com - Giddens takes fourth at World Cup event in Prague.
• NBCOlympics.com - Whitewater: Who to Watch.
• NBCOlympics.com - "(Rebecca) was always a cutie," says Eric, who placed 20th in K-1 in the 1996 Olympics. "But she was a little young to actually approach without getting arrested."
• NBCOlympics.com - Rebecca Giddens has been one of the top paddlers in the world for the past five years, ranking no lower than seventh in the World Cup standings and placing no lower than fifth in three world championships.
• SI.com - America's 531 Olympians include artists, doctors, soldiers, physicists, high school students and even a 52-year-old retiree... Rebecca Giddens, kayaking, is distantly related to suffragist Susan B. Anthony.
• NBCOlympics.com - Meet the U.S. whitewater team.
• 07/12/04 San Diego Union-Tribune - OTC kayaker Giddens on squad for Athens.
• SignOnSanDiego.com - Whitewater kayaker Rebecca Giddens Photo Gallery
• 06/28/04 San Diego Union-Tribune - San Diego resident Rebecca Giddens, a five-time national champion, has been paddling toward an Olympic medal her whole life.
• 03/30/04 DaveyHearn.com - Rebecca Giddens sits down to talk with Davey & Jennifer Hearn just prior to the 2004 Olympic Team Trials on East Race Waterway in South Bend, Indiana.
• DaveyHearn.com - Rebecca Giddens is a veteran whitewater slalom kayaker with her sites set on an Olympic medal during the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, August 17-20.
• 09/17/02 USOlympicTeam.com - Q&A with kayaker Rebecca Giddens on her 2003 World title.