Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
March 6, 2002
Trying times prepare skater Derek Parra for success in life, Olympics
By Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda
SALT LAKE CITY (CNS) — Speed skater Derek Parra found himself part of a lifetime's worth of golden imagery during the 2002 Winter Olympics.
In the opening ceremonies, Parra proudly held the tattered flag that flew over the World Trade Center. He made the sign of the cross as he stepped up to the line before every race.
Accompanied by the U2 song, "Elevation," Parra took his coach Bart Schouten on his victory lap, then looked up at the stands to say, "I love you," to his wife, Tiffany. Parra wrapped himself in the Stars and Stripes that belonged to his late grandfather for the victory lap after his gold-medal race.
And then there was the image of Parra, the 31-year-old from Southern California, breaking into tears at the Olympics Medals Plaza after receiving the gold medal for the men's 1,500-meter race.
Yet, as meaningful as the 2002 Winter Olympics were for him, nothing is as important to Parra as his Catholic faith.
"My faith affects my whole life," Parra said in an interview Feb. 23. "I've always believed that I'm here for a reason, for a purpose. And my faith has been my foundation."
When faced with difficult times in his life, "I reminded myself that God allows things to happen for a reason," he remarked.
"I've always felt that I was on this path. I just don't believe in coincidences," he added. "There were times when I had no money and all of a sudden a job opportunity would come up. Or times when I had nothing and something happened and simply inspired me, keeping me going."
At 5 feet 4 inches and 140 pounds, Parra, was the shortest male skater on the U.S. team, as well as the first Mexican-American athlete to participate in the Winter Olympics.
On the first day of Olympic competition, he earned a silver medal in the 5,000-meter race, which he said was "quite a surprise." He followed that performance by winning a gold medal — shattering a world record along the way — in the 1,500 meters.
But for Parra, the person he is away from athletics is his greatest accomplishment.
He credited his success to the people who offered continuous support, including his co-workers at the Home Depot, where he is part of the Olympic Job Opportunities Program.
"I've always tried to live my life as the best person I can be," said the soft-spoken Parra. "I challenge myself to be a better person. When I die, what's going to matter is the life that I led and the way I lived it, not whether I won a gold medal."
But he's not adverse to using his position and celebrity for good.
"I think if you're in a position as an athlete where people look up to you, you owe it to your community to be a role model," he said. "So if I can cause a child to believe in himself, to make that jump and to say, `I can do it,' then I want to go back and show the kids what's possible. I want to tell them they can have dreams because dreams do come true. I'm living proof of that."
Parra was born in San Bernardino, Calif., and grew up in a neighborhood that was "not super tough, just a normal (one)."
He began roller-skating in "cheap, rental skates" at a local skating rink and over time he gained confidence as a skater.
He took accelerated classes in high school, and graduated at age 17. Hoping to skate professionally, he moved to Florida.
As an in-line skater he was a three-time national champion and two-time overall world champion, as well as a two-time world record holder who earned 18 individual gold medals.
Then, six years ago he switched over to ice in the hopes of competing in the Olympics. He made the U.S. long-track team but someone contested his spot on it. He responded by moving to a Wisconsin town "in the middle of nowhere," and training on his own.
"I lived in a trailer with no electricity. I'd train during the day and at night I'd read by candlelight," he remembered. "I started reading the Bible and asking myself, `Why am I here? What's my purpose in life?' When you're by yourself and you're searching, faith is that something inside you that brings you back."
Primary in his mind, he said, is being a husband and a father to his newborn baby girl, Mia Elizabeth, born two days before the Olympic trials began.
As for life after the Olympics, Parra said it will all be up to his wife, Tiffany.
"She's been following me around for years, putting her life on hold while I finished my career," he said. "My wife needs to be No. 1 now."
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