Photo: McSmit / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Derek Parra

デレック・パーラ　/　でれっく・ぱーら

American speed skater

March 15, 1970 (age 56)　・　San Bernardino, California, United States

California
speed skater

My Take

Parra's story moves me more than most. He came from inline skating, off the ice entirely, and reinvented himself well enough to win two medals at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics on home soil. At just 162 cm he was small even by speed-skating standards, which to me only sharpens the picture of sheer will overcoming physical limits. There is something deeply American-dream about a kid from San Bernardino chasing gold across the ice, and I find that reinvention genuinely inspiring. He strikes me as a pure grinder who simply refused to quit.

Overview

Derek Parra (born March 15, 1970) is an American inline skater and speed skater from San Bernardino, California, who graduated from Eisenhower High School in Rialto, California, in 1988. Parra won two medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics, held in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1. Profile

Name (English): Derek Parra
Name (Japanese): デレック・パーラ
Reading: でれっく・ぱーら
Born: March 15, 1970 (age 56)
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac: Pisces / Dog
Origin: San Bernardino, California, United States
Blood type: Private
Height: 162 cm
Agency: Private
Occupation: speed skater

2. Background

Elementary school: Private
Junior high: Private
High school: Private
University: Private

3. Relationships

Spouse: Private
Children: Private
Parents: Private
Siblings: Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

6. Links

Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%87%E3%83%AC%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%83%BB%E3%83%91%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A9

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