The 48-year-old teacher at Mid-Pacific drove for nearly a week, from Los Angeles to Gainesville, Ga., the venue for the canoe-kayak competition. But Kissner wasn't completely alone... he had a trailer filled with some 50 boats in tow.

The 2,200-mile cross-country trek gave Kissner plenty of opportunity to become familiar with his cargo. During the next few weeks, he'll be sharing that knowledge with canoe and kayak sprint paddlers from all over the U.S. as the team's boathandler at Lake Lanier.

Georg Kissner

"Basically, I'll be a gofer," said Kissner, who paddles for Hui Nalu Canoe Club in Hawaii Kai. "My job is catering to each individual athlete, trimming their boat and preparing it for their races.

"There's a whole other side to the Olympics, the one that's not glamorous with a lot of work and day-to-day stuff. I know I'm going to be putting in 10-16 hours a day nonstop."

Paddling was the furthest thing from Kissner's mind when he moved to Hawaii from Germany. His thoughts were on playing football for the University of Hawaii. But he soon fell in love with the water.

Kissner helped out Don "Spud" Botelho with the Pac-Five football team. When the Hawaii Canoe/Kayak Team was formed in 1988, Kissner, who had taken up surfskis, moved over permanently to the water.

He began touring with the U.S. junior national team, which had a number of Hawaii paddlers on the roster, taking them to Europe for regattas. Applying for the Olympic job was a natural step.

"The competition will be tough for the U.S.," said Kissner. "I think if we get three medals, we will have done well. It's a small sport, compared to powerful teams of Poland and Hungary.

"The course is fairly good but the heat will be a problem and there could be thunderstorms in the afternoon."

Kissner said he was excited when he first learned he got the job, but his enthusiasm cooled when he started thinking about the work. He expects that to change within a week.

"It hasn't hit me yet that I'm going to be at the Olympics," he said. "I'll be excited again when the competition starts."

Age: 48.
Hometown: Hawaii Kai.
Occupation: Teacher, Mid-Pacific Institute.
Olympic duty: Canoe/kayak team boathandler.