BAD FORM; U.S. SPEED SKATER GROUNDED.Byline: Doug Ferguson Douglas 'Doug' Ferguson (born March 4 1947, in Carlisle, Cumbria) is a British musician known mostly for playing the bass guitar in the progressive rock band Camel from 1971 to 1976, his reason for leaving being the evolution of Camel's music towards jazz [1]. Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Derek Parra Derek Parra (born March 15, 1970) is a Mexican-American speed skater from San Bernardino, California who won two medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics, held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Parra was originally a world champion inline speed skater. had the track and his thoughts to himself. He moved briskly down the backstretch back·stretch n. The part of an oval racecourse farthest from the spectators and opposite the homestretch. and through the turn, then came out of his crouch and breezed around the M-Wave oval one last time, looking like a speed skater on a victory lap. The former in-line skater from California never expected a medal in the 5,000 meters. All he hoped for was a chance to race. But only a few hours after the Olympic flame The Olympic Flame, Olympic Fire, Olympic Torch, Olympic Light, Olympic Eye, and Olympic Sun is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, when a fire was lit, his Games were over because of a dispute on how to fill out an entry form. ``If they would have told me I wasn't going to race, it wouldn't have mattered,'' Parra said after leaving the ice Saturday morning. ``Now, it's like somebody saying, `Here's the keys to a new car!' Then you get to the driveway to leave the dealership and it's, `Nope, can't have 'em.' '' The U.S. team, infuriated in·fu·ri·ate tr.v. in·fu·ri·at·ed, in·fu·ri·at·ing, in·fu·ri·ates To make furious; enrage. adj. Archaic Furious. that Parra won't be skating, claims the International Speedskating Union allowed Kazakstan to change its application form after the entry deadline had passed. ``The rules say after the entry deadline, nothing can be changed,'' said U.S. coach Gerard Kemkers Gerard Kemkers (born March 8, 1967 in Groningen) is a former speed skater from the Netherlands, who represented his native country at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada. There he won the bronze medal in the men's 5000 metres. . ``Kazakstan made a mistake, and we have to pay for it. Derek has to pay for it.'' An ISU ISU Iowa State University ISU Issue ISU Idaho State University ISU Illinois State University ISU Indiana State University ISU International Skating Union ISU International Space University ISU I-Shou University (Taiwan) official said Kazakstan unintentionally entered its skaters as substitutes - meaning they could only replace their countrymen instead of taking open spots based on World Cup times. Once the mistake was caught, Parra was bumped and replaced by Sergei Kaznacheyev, who ranked three spots ahead. ``There is no way to say the U.S. did it wrong and Kazakstan did it right, or the other way around,'' said Tron Espeli, technical commission member of the ISU. Parra came to Nagano realizing he might not race. While he qualified for the U.S. team, his World Cup time ranked 41st, and only 32 skaters can compete. But he at least could march in the open ceremony, mingle in the Olympic Village Frequently, an Olympic Village is built within an Olympic Park or elsewhere in a host city. Olympic Villages are built to house all participating athletes, as well as officials, trainers, etc. The idea of the Olympic Village comes from Pierre de Coubertin. and in the M-Wave with the greatest speed skaters The following is a list of notable ice speed skaters. The list is sorted by speed skating discipline (long track or short track), gender and competing nationality. Long track Male American
That would have been sweet consolation for someone who had never even set foot on ice until four years ago, when he was passing through Milwaukee on his way to a wedding and stopped by the only indoor speed-skating oval in the United States. He had won 21 gold medals during a nine-year career as a in-line skater, winning world titles and setting world records. Two years after switching to ice, he was headed to the Olympics. And when the entry deadline passed Tuesday for the 5,000 meters, his name was on the list. ``They told me I was in and I wanted to scream,'' Parra said. ``I couldn't have been happier than at any time in my life. I won a lot of world championships, but none of that compared to when they told me I was going to race. I probably spent $30 that night calling all my relatives.'' Now he might never get another chance. He trained the past two years using money he had saved from his in-line career, and that account is about drained. His improved performances in the past month make him want to gear up for Salt Lake City in 2002, but the money crunch makes that unlikely. ``This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,'' he said. Done skating for the day, Parra put on his sneakers sneakers Noun, pl US, Canad, Austral & NZ canvas shoes with rubber soles sneakers npl (US) → zapatos mpl de lona; zapatillas fpl and jogged slowly around the inside of the oval. He was in no hurry to leave, nor was he about to let his situation affect his teammates. ``When I'm around them, I try not to let them see my pain or sorrow, because they've got the biggest day of their lives coming,'' he said. ``I'm going to be out there rooting for them. That's all I can do. I don't want to ruin their dreams.'' CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color) United States speed skater Derek Parra was not allowed to compete because of an error on his entry form. Associated Press |
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