Back in 1996, Amy Van Dyken entered her first Olympics as a relative unknown. She wasnt expected to do much of anything -- and then did something no other woman had ever done before in Olympic history: She won four gold medals in a single Games and became the most successful athlete of the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.Today Van Dyken says she continues to draw strength and motivation from her Olympic success as she continues to recover from a spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed from the waist down. Although 20 years have passed since her historic run in Atlanta, the memories are as strong as ever.I didnt feel any different until I got to the Olympics. I joke that after I made the Olympic team, I woke up and was excited to look in the mirror because I was an Olympian now and everything would change. But that wasnt true until we got there. All of a sudden youre handed all of this stuff with USA on it. You get that swim cap with the flag and your last name on it. Youre just like, Oh my gosh, this real. Ive been dreaming about this since I was 10 years old and its finally happening.People didnt really care who you were, they just cared that you were an American -- and they went nuts for you. To be in our own country was amazing -- it was really, really neat to have an entire crowd behind you every time out there. At my first race, you could see my eyes were huge because Id never swam in front of a crowd like that before.Then, all of sudden, you start to feel pressure. A lot of it. But Im one those people who wouldnt do a book report until the night before it was due. I love pressure, so I started to feed off of it. I always wanted to show people what I could do.No one knew who I was. No one cared who I was. I was supposed to win one bronze medal as part of a relay team. The media was not focusing on me at all before the Games, so I had the luxury of being able to sit back and really enjoy the experience and process it without all of the cameras in my face. I watched my friend Janet Evans and she didnt have that luxury; cameras and people were around her all the time. She didnt even have a second to stretch by herself.The first gold I won was in the 4x100 relay. Relays are always so much fun because youve got these other three girls that youve competed against your entire career and then youre put together on a team. You all get to swim together for a common goal, which is incredible! I actually ended up posting the fastest split in history, which is really cool, and the only reason I did that was because of the motivation I drew off those other three girls. I didnt want to disappoint them -- and thats more pressure than anything.People were wondering if I should pull out of the next race. It was the 100-meter butterfly, and when I made the team in the butterfly, it was kind of shock to everybody. I was just not one of the top two butterflyers in the US. I was definitely one of the top three or four, but not top two. So there was a little bit of controversy around that race leading up to the Games. People were saying that I should let someone else swim it who would have a better shot than I would. But I thought to myself, there is a reason that I made it in this event and Im going to do best that I can do.So winning it, I mean, that was crazy! There are some words you will never forget. When they said: The gold medal goes to Amy Van Dyken from the United States of America thats something Ill always remember.On the podium, there is an emotion that overtakes you that is unbelievable. It does not feel real; you feel like youre floating above yourself, watching yourself in a dream and youre going to step off the podium into a big sea of Skittles and then youre going to take off on a unicorn.That race is probably the one that I will most vividly remember forever. Like, when I am on my deathbed, Ill be telling my great-grandchildren about it. Because I was not supposed to win it. But I did.And thats when I realized: If I can win an event thats not my strongest, whats the limit for me at these Games?As I started winning gold medals, everything was different. The birds sang louder. Next up was the 4x100 medley relay. I was the anchor leg and we won gold in that. Then I started looking at my stash and suddenly I had three gold medals. I was not supposed to do this! And now Ive got my best event coming -- the 50-free -- and that was my jam.You want to talk about being in the zone? Before that race, everything got really quiet, really calm. I remember standing on the blocks and just thinking to myself, this is going to cap off your whole Olympics. Before the gun went off, the last thing I said to myself was, Its yours. Go get it.We got in the water and started swimming and my main competitor was from China. I always took one breath in the 50-free. I took my breath and she took her breath at exactly the same time and we looked at each other. I put my head back in the water and the things that I said to myself, I cannot repeat because they are so foul. I was basically like, This is my home turf. This is my race.I didnt really know what that fourth gold medal meant in the grand scheme of it. It wasnt until I saw my coach, Jonty Skinner, crying on the pool deck that I realized something big had just happened. I remember sitting on the deck of the warm-down pool and my feet were in the water thinking to myself, I just wanted to make the team -- and I made history.I always wondered, why dont women get the same TV coverage as men??But in 96, the women took over in such a way that the TV networks had no choice but to show all these amazing women and what they were accomplishing. It seemed like every time you were watching an event, an American woman was just killing it. Then to hear that they were calling it the Olympics of the Woman was the coolest thing ever. To know that I had some part in that is really special.I think back to when I watched the Olympics growing up and the people I cheered for. Besides Janet Evans, the hallmark athletes everyone focused on were men. I thought it was so cool that little girls sitting at home in 96 were able to watch women dominate and have someone their own gender to look up to and aspire to be.From the moment everyone walked off the field, we knew what we had done as women. It used to be the Olympic fraternity. Because of the 96 Games, we now have a sorority. Gabe Holmes Jersey . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. Ricky Seals-Jones Jersey . The 28-year-old from Calgary matched his career best after missing just one shot in his two rounds of shooting in the mens 10-kilometre sprint competition. Smith finished in 23 minutes 15. http://www.cheapcardinalsjerseyssale.com/?tag=corey-peters-jersey-sale . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. Haason Reddick Jersey .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. Chandler Jones Jersey . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. NEW ORLEANS -- The Latest on the trial of Cardell Hayes, charged in the April shooting death of former New Orleans Saints star Will Smith (all times local):---10:45 p.m.A Louisiana jury has found the man who fatally shot retired New Orleans Saints star Will Smith guilty of manslaughter.Sunday nights verdict capped the week-long trial of 29-year-old Cardell Hayes, who also was found guilty of attempted manslaughter for wounding Smiths wife.The shooting happened the night of April 9 after a car crash in New Orleans.Hayes claimed he fired only after an irate and drunken Smith punched him and then retrieved a gun from his damaged SUV.The prosecution said evidence showed Smith never armed himself and Hayes was not justified in firing.Smiths wife Racquel was wounded in the legs by gunfire that night.---8:35 p.m.The jury in the second-degree murder trial of the man who killed retired New Orleans Saints star Will Smith has asked the judge for information on possible lesser verdicts, which the judge said include manslaughter and negligent homicide.Jurors received the case around 5 p.m. Sunday after a day of closing arguments. In addition to information on other verdicts, they also requested to hear instructions regarding reasonable doubt and legal self-defense.Defendant Cardell Hayes insisted on the witness stand that he shot Smith following an April 9 traffic crash only because Smith had grabbed a gun from his vehicle. Prosecutors said there is no evidence Hayes was armed when he was shot.Hayes is also charged with attempted second-degree murder for wounding Smiths wife in the April confrontation.---4:55 p.m.A New Orleans jury now has the case of the man who fatally shot retired New Orleans Saints star Will Smith.On trial is 29-year-old Cardell Hayes, who is charged with second-degree murder. He claims self-defense in the shooting death of Smith following an April 9 car crash.Prosecutors say Hayes lied when he told the jury in the week-long trial that Smith had retrieved a gun from his damaged SUV following the crash.Conviction of second-degree murder would mean a mandatory life sentence for Hayes.In her instruction to jurors Sunday evening, Louisiana District Judge Camille Buras said other possible verdicts include manslaughter and negligent homicide.---4 p.m.A New Orleans assistant district attorney pointed to the prosecution of disgraced NFL star Darren Sharper as evidence that her office doesnt play favorites.Laura Rodrigue referred to Sharpers rape case as she made her final remarks to the jury Sunday in the trial of Cardell Hayes.Hayes is on trial for second-degree murder. He claims self-defense in the shooting of retired Saints star Will Smith following an April 9 car crash.His lawyer, John Fuller, told jurors that police rushed the investigation and that prosecutors had political motivations for swiftly prosecuting the killer of an NFL star.Rodrigue pointed to the case of Sharper, who was prosecuted in New Orleans and other jurisdictions where he pleaded guilty to drugging and raping women. Sharper is serving a 20-year sentence.---2:30 p.m.The defense lawyer for the man who shot New Orleans Saints star Will Smith has wrapped up a nearly four-hour closing argument for the jury.John Fuller represents Cardell Hayes, who says he shot Smith to death on April 9 in self-defense following a car crash and argument. Hayes is charged with second-degree murder.Fuller on Sunday railed against what he called a rushed investigation into the shooting and he derailed what he characterized as unfair attacks on the defense. He urged jurors not be swayed by thee star power of some of Smiths NFL teammates who visited the weeklong trial or by sympathy for Smiths widow.ddddddddddddJurors were to hear a final word from prosecutors and instructions from the judge before beginning deliberations.---2 p.m.The attorney defending the man who killed ex-New Orleans Saints star Will Smith is blaming a passenger in Smiths vehicle for inciting much of the chaos that led to Smiths shooting death following a traffic crash.Cardell Hayes is charged with second-degree murder in Smiths April 9 shooting death.In a Sunday closing argument that has lasted three hours, defense lawyer John Fuller reminded jurors of Richard Hernandez, a passenger in the SUV drove that was rear-ended by Hayes vehicle.Trial testimony indicated Hernandez jumped out of Smiths SUV and wildly stripped of his shirt as though readying for a fight.Hayes testified Saturday that he believed Hernandez had a knife. Hayes said he only shot Smith after Smith grabbed a gun from the damaged SUV. Prosecutors said there is no evidence Smith or Hernandez was armed.---10:30 a.m.The attorney defending the man accused of killing ex-New Orleans Saints star Will Smith in April has told jurors not to be swayed by other football stars attending the trial.John Fuller told jurors in the trial of Cardell Hayes not to be swayed by the parade of fellow football stars that have visited the courtroom and angrily accused prosecutors of unfairly attacking the defense lawyers credibility.Fuller said police failed to thoroughly investigate Smiths death and insisted prosecutors havent proven Hayes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.Hayes says he shot Smith in self-defense during a confrontation after an April 9 traffic crash. Hes on trial for second-degree murder.Fuller told jurors to consider what would have happened if the situation had been reversed -- if the shooter had been a beloved football star and the victim had been an unknown.---9:30 a.m.A prosecutor is telling a New Orleans jury that former Saints star Will Smith was executed in April by a man who shot him eight times and wounded his wife.Jason Napoli (NAP-oh-lee) made the assertion as closing arguments began Sunday morning in the trial of 29-year-old Cardell Hayes. Hayes is charged with second-degree murder for shooting Smith during a confrontation over an April 9 car crash. Hes also charged with attempted second-degree murder because Smiths wife was wounded that night.Hayes testified Saturday and that he only fired after Smith had retrieved a gun from his damaged SUV.Napoli says Hayes was an aggressor who rammed Smiths car. He dismissed defense claims that Smith was the aggressor and that Hayes is not guilty under Louisianas stand your ground law.---8 a.m.A jury could begin deliberating Sunday in the fatal shooting of New Orleans Saints star Will Smith.Closing arguments are expected in the trial of 29-year-old Cardell Hayes, who would face a mandatory life sentence if convicted of second-degree murder.Hayes fatally shot the former NFL player in April following a collision between his Hummer and Smiths SUV. Hayes also is charged with attempted second-degree murder for shooting Smiths wife, Racquel, in the legs.Hayes took the stand Saturday and said he heard what sounded like a gunshot before he fired in self-defense. He also said Smith grabbed a gun during their confrontation. No other witness said Smith was armed. Prosecutors said the loaded gun remained untouched inside Smiths damaged car. Cheap Adidas Hockey Jerseys Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Nike Basketball Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Baseball Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys China Stitched NFL Jerseys Cheap Custom Jerseys China Cheap Basketball Jerseys Authentic NFL Jerseys China Cheap College Jerseys Wholesale Football Jerseys ' ' '