Word: parra
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Winter Olympians, happily, aren’t as objectionable. It’s very difficult to dislike David Parra and I certainly rooted for Chris Klug, who came back from a liver transplant to win a bronze in snowboarding’s giant slalom...
...Elsewhere in the Olympic cosmos at the same time, a 5'4", 34-year-old man named Derek Parra churns several swift laps in the 1,500-meter speed skate race, and charges toward the finish, hoping to hold on. Meantime, the Games' marquee event, women's figure skating, is well underway. The usual suspects - Irina Slutskaya of Russia and American teenagers Sasha Cohen and Sarah Hughes - are already placed 1-2-3 as the elegant 21-year-old veteran Michelle Kwan skates to center ice to begin her short program...
...When the ice chips settle all over town, Bakken and Flowers have upset the mighty Germans and set off a frenzy at Olympic Park, Parra has broken the world record and Kwan has spun and jumped flawlessly. More significantly, Flowers has become the first black athlete to win a gold medal in the Winter Games. She is joined in success on this magical night by Bakken, a former soccer player at Oregon State who was one of many U.S. National Guardsmen in attendance in Salt Lake last week; Parra, a Mexican American who had learned to skate on rollers...
...Flowers' was only one of many feel-good stories in Salt Lake City. Chris Klug, liver transplant recipient, won a bronze medal in giant slalom snowboarding. Bode Miller, with his ferocious final runs in event after event, established himself as the most exciting comeback kid in skiing history. Parra, separated for much of the last year from his wife, who was back home in Miami giving birth to their first-born while he was training with the team in Utah, said he hoped his dedication would inspire kids of Latin heritage. Cuban American speed skater Jen Rodriguez...
...other athletes selected for the honor guard were Kristina Sabasteanski, a biathlete who serves in the military; skeleton racer Lea Ann Parsley, a firefighter in Ohio; curler Stacy Liapis; luger Mark Grimmette; speedskater Derek Parra; and freestyle skier Chris Klug, who is back in the games after a liver transplant...