Öffentlich » winner, Fields has made good on most of thos

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Shortly after the 2012 London Olympics, U. Jermaine Carter Jersey .S. BMX racer Connor Fields returned to his hometown of Las Vegas, bought a house and immediately set to work decorating. As a kid, hed adorned a wall in the family garage by writing a promise to himself to one day become a national champion, a world champ and an Olympic champ. A two-time Olympian and three-time World Cup winner, Fields has made good on most of those goals. But one still eludes him.So on the wall of his new home in Vegas, he placed another reminder. Among the pieces of art he purchased to commemorate the countries hed visited while competing around the world -- New Zealand, South Africa, France, Australia -- he placed a 6-foot wide panorama of the Rio de Janeiro skyline behind its famed Christ the Redeemer statue. It was an image of a city hed yet to visit, but held his aspirations for the next four years.Im not going to lie, says Fields, 23. There are days when you dont want to get up and go to work. Its nice to have a reminder of why youre getting off the couch, strapping on the helmet and going down an 8-meter-tall starting hill with seven dudes trying to kill you.After a strong start in the early rounds in London, Fields finished off the podium in seventh. It was a respectable showing for the youngest rider in the race (he was 19 at the time), but one that left him dissatisfied and wanting more. I was happy with my performance until finals, says Fields, who missed the latter half of the 2016 season with a broken hand but returned to competition in time to be granted a coachs selection for Rio. I had one bad start. But thats BMX racing. You could run the Olympic race 10 times and get 10 different winners. Thats what makes it so exciting for spectators. The fastest guy doesnt always win. But Im going to be more prepared this time for that bigger moment at the end.The same could be said for all five members of the U.S. team. Four of the five -- Fields, Nic Long, Alise Post and Brooke Crain -- competed in London. Corben Sharrah, who rounds out the Rio team and won the U.S. Olympic trials race in July, traveled to London as an alternate.In Beijing, the Americans won three medals in BMX cyclings Olympic debut, including a team-best silver by Mike Day. Each rider in London hoped to be the first to bring a gold medal back to the States, the birthplace of the sport. But Post crashed in her semifinal heat. Crain, a last-minute replacement when Arielle Martin was injured, finished last in the final, and Long was eliminated in quarterfinals.Being successful at the Olympics is about handling the pressure and remembering why you are where you are and not worrying about the little things, Post says. Staying focused so you dont build up this race to be something special, where everyones eyes are on you. In London, people kept telling me how I would feel, and I expected to feel overwhelmed. So by the end of it, I was.All five members of the U.S. team have the potential to medal or win in Rio. But in the years since the sport made its Olympic debut, that task has become tougher as the rest of the worlds riders have caught up with their American peers. Some countries, such as Australia and France, have well-funded, well-developed Olympic programs. Others such as Colombia, which produced 2012 womens champ Mariana Pajon, have passionate, hungry athletes who perform well in big moments.After Beijing, many countries invested in their programs and built tracks, which took away the advantage the U.S. had pre-2008, when the Olympic replica track in Chula Vista, California, was the only one like it in the world. (Well, except for the Olympic track in Beijing.) Most countries now have open-door policies at their facilities, including the U.S. In the weeks leading up to the Rio Games, the U.S. riders remained in Chula Vista to train, but top riders from several countries lined up in the start gate alongside them, as well. Thats a big change from pre-2012, and one USA Cycling BMX director Jamie Staff believes will be invaluable to his riders.I saw value in allowing our competitors to train here, he says. The advantage of having the only track in the world is gone. I wanted to expose our athletes to the stresses of competition on a more frequent basis. If they are on the gate with the best in the world more often, they will be uncomfortable more often. Theyll know where they stand, and it keeps the pressure on them. Besides, where would you rather have your competition? Next to you where I can film them and time them or on the other side of the world?In those late-July practices, Staff saw greatness in his riders and believes they match up well no matter who is in the start gate next to them come Fridays finals. For their part, his riders hope all their hard work adds up to the first BMX Olympic gold medal for the U.S.It was disappointing to not have hardware from anyone on the team in London considering we were so successful in Beijing, Post says. We were a young team, and now were back with experience. To get a gold medal and be the first U.S. rider to win would be amazing. This is our sport, and to bring it back to our country would mean a lot. Its hard for a sport to stand out in the U.S. without a gold medal. Itd be cool to be the person to bring it home.If its Fields who does so, its likely he already knows precisely where the medal will hang in his home. Chris Hogan Jersey .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. Jason Vander Laan Jersey . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. http://www.cheappanthersjerseyselite.com...eanpiere-jersey .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. ENCINITAS, California -- A row of girls in hot-pink helmets huddle around the bowl at Encinitas Community Park. With skateboards in hand, they know they can do anything. I feel free, 11-year-old competitor Stella Reynolds says before her heat. There are competitors between the ages of 4 and 40, donning turquoise helmets, carrying neon-orange skateboards, wearing shirts that say Boss and Fearless. With the bowl, vert and street courses their canvas and the tricks their paint, these girls and women ripped from morning to sunset.Welcome to Exposure Skate 2016, the premier female skateboarding event in the world, held in Southern California each November since 2012. This years competition featured 171 amateurs and pros from all over the world, competing on three types of courses: vert, bowl and street. Vert, short for vertical ramp, is similar in many ways to a snowboard halfpipe, and the bowl is just what it sounds like -- a giant bowl that skaters stay inside. Street involves tricks in public spaces like down stairs and on railings.At this years event, the parking lot was already jammed by 8 a.m. Girls and women go to compete -- but also hope to get a glimpse of pros like Lizzie Armanto, Brighton Zeuner and Lacey Baker. This is the competition that, if youre a girl, you have to be here. This is it. There is no bigger competition, said Hagan McCreath, 40, of Monster Skatepark in Sydney, Australia, who also served as an emcee at Exposure.Amelia Brodka couldnt have pictured this scene when she co-founded the nonprofit organization Exposure Skate, dedicated to empowering girls and women in skateboarding. The idea came after she directed the documentary Underexposed, which highlighted the lack of opportunities for female skateboarders. Exposure the event was born in 2012, with proceeds going toward helping survivors of domestic violence. It feels like a community, it feels like a family out here, Brodka said. These women want to see the sport grow and they want to support all the other girls.There were winners, like Zeuner, age 12, in pro bowl; Armanto, 23, in pro vert; and Alexis Sablone, 30, in pro street. But skateboarding veteran Dave Duncan, emceeing the event, reminded the crowd of something equally important: It doesnt matter if you win or lose. If youre having a good day, if youre having fun, thats what skateboardings all about.What does this event mean to the girls and women who compete each year? We talked to seven of them to find out.Quinne Daniels, 8, and Julie Daniels, 52; Manhattan Beach, CaliforniaQuinne wouldnt stop smiling, even as her mother, Julie, placed a bandage on her bloody knee from a recent skateboard fall. With a temporary, red star tattoo on her other thigh, rainbow socks, turquoise laces and a Girl is not a 4 letter word shirt, Quinne was ready to ride in the amateur 14-and-under bowl.She has been skating for a year and a half. Her mother suggested she try the sport since she had mastered her scooter. Soon, she attended her first skateboarding camp. I dropped in my first day, Quinne said, beaming. It felt pretty awesome.This was her first time competing at Exposure, though she attended the event last year with her mother. She saw other girls competing and she was just google-eyed, Julie said. We were going to come back again as spectators, but she was asked to compete. She had so much fun!Jordyn Barratt, 17; Encinitas, CaliforniaJordyn Barratt has racked up numerous skateboarding medals, including first place at the 2016 Girls Combi Classic in the 15-and-over amateurs division, and third at this years X Games in Austin, Texas, in womens skateboard park. But Exposure provides somethhing equally special for her: Everyone is empowering each other to land a trick, Barratt said. Luke Kuechly Jersey. Its not like, Dang she landed it. Its like, Yeah! She landed it! Thats so rad!Winning is always a fun thing to do and being competitive is super fun, said Barratt, who took second in both the pro bowl and vert competitions, but hanging out with your friends at a skate park and pushing each other to do a trick, finally getting that trick and being so stoked for each other, knowing how hard it is -- no matter if youre an older guy or a young little girl -- were all here supporting each other.Stephanie Allen, 40; Oceanside, CaliforniaStephanie Allen double-checked with Exposure to make sure she was the oldest competitor. By a long shot, Allen said, proudly, as her cheetah elbow and knee pads and her lime-green board glimmered in the sun.Its been a journey, said Allen, who began skating last year. She had been sick for the past nine years, and extremely ill for the past two. Thats when she was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder, hypogammaglobulinemia.She was barred from surfing due to monthly blood plasma transfusions, which left her immune system unable to fight off the germs and bacteria in the ocean. I was like, Thats it. Im going to learn how to skate. I dont care that Im 39! Allen said.To me, this is kind of a rebirth. This is showing me that life can really turn around, said Allen, who said she feels healthier than ever. For me to just be here and celebrate being alive and healthy and being able to skate, Im amped. Skateboarding saved my soul.Sari Simpson, 16; Sydney, AustraliaSimpson followed Exposure veterans on Instagram over the past few years. She aspired to come to the United States and compete, practicing daily on a bowl at the end of the block of her Sydney home.Im used to competing against two girls at the most, maybe three, Simpson said. Its so good when you go to a skate park and the guys will be like, What are you doing here? Whats a girl doing here? Then you start skating and they see that girls can skate too.Simpson no longer feels like an outsider. Exposure allowed her to meet new friends and push her skills to a new level, as she took first in the amateur 15-and-over vert and third in the amateur 15-and-over bowl.To compete against this many girls, has been so much fun, Simpson said. Its been a dream seeing all these girls who love skateboarding like I do.Kendra Sebelius, 37; Vista, California and Aubrey Kelsay, 9; Encinitas, CaliforniaThough Sebelius and Kelsay are 28 years apart, the two friends share a love of skateboarding. They also happen to share the same birthday -- on the day of Exposure -- where they both competed in bowl.It was meant to be, said Sebelius, taking off her purple helmet, recalling how the two met at Alga Norte Community Park in nearby Carlsbad.Sebelius originally frequented skate parks to follow her crush, a skater boy. Then, she grew tired of watching. She wanted to drop in, despite her fear of heights. Skateboarding has taught me perspective, patience and persistence, Sebelius said. You have to keep going.Kelsay, who has watermelon grip tape spray-painted on her skateboard, started skating a year ago after it was getting too cold to surf. She loved the challenge. It helps prove that girls can do the same things that boys can do, Kelsay said.The pair often practices together. We just fell in love with each other, Sebelius said. She makes me want to be better and to do it, because if she can do it, why am I letting it stop me? Wholeslae Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Cheap College Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap Baseball Jerseys ' ' '