Ten days later, he won gold in his specialty, the 1,500. In a black leather jacket with tears running down his face, Parra raised his arms in triumph on the podium.
“As they played the national anthem, I was singing it and all of a sudden someone down in the crowd started to sing it and it just grew. You ever see rain coming at you? It was like you could hear the volume increase and see the people’s mouths starting to move and spread throughout the whole awards plaza.
“I closed my eyes for a second and started seeing all the faces of everyone who was ever a part of my journey.”
To repeat that feeling, he needs to qualify in his middle-distance events. The 35-year-old Parra is up against younger teammates Shani Davis, Chad Hedrick and Joey Cheek.
“As far as long track, we have a lot of depth on the men’s side,” he said.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
NEW YORK (AP) - As the glow fades from the Giants' Super Bowl triumph, some New York sports fans are tuning in to basketball and hockey, with the Rangers in first place and the Knicks' overnight sensation, Jeremy Lin, sparking "Lin-sanity.''
Robins: This year, six new breeds will be making their debut on the green carpet for the Westminster Dog Show, which begins Monday.
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