NewsWhore
08-26-2008, 03:00 PM
Today at 2:30 pm boxer Felix Diaz and taekwondo medalist Gabriel Mercedes will be arriving home to a hero's welcome. They fly into Las Americas International Airport on American Airlines flight 1529. Sports Minister Felipe Jay Payano says that Aerodom, AMET and the Dominican Olympic Committee have organized the welcome ceremony at the airport and asked Dominicans to go to the airport to welcome the nation's new heroes. A press conference will be held for the gold and silver medalists to address the public and the media. The success of these two athletes has caused immediate changes around the Dominican Republic. Government officials have announced that more funds will be provided for boxing in the next national budget. Vicente Bengoa, Minster of Hacienda, said he would ask President Leonel Fernandez for funding to build a new boxing center to house and train the next generation of Dominican boxers. Bengoa added that although baseball is the national sport, boxing has brought the DR two of its four medals in the Olympics.
Diaz and Mercedes's wins at these games will hold a special place in the heart of Dominicans. Although Felix Sanchez won the DR's first-ever gold medal in the 2004 Athens Games, Dominicans appreciate that Diaz and Mercedes were born and bred in the rough conditions of the DR, unlike Sanchez who was born and raised in the US.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#9)
Diaz and Mercedes's wins at these games will hold a special place in the heart of Dominicans. Although Felix Sanchez won the DR's first-ever gold medal in the 2004 Athens Games, Dominicans appreciate that Diaz and Mercedes were born and bred in the rough conditions of the DR, unlike Sanchez who was born and raised in the US.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#9)