Welcome Home
by Eric Everett
LaShawn returned to his hometown of Portsmouth on Friday to celebrate his Olympic triumph with the people who have supported him the longest.
As detailed by the Virginian-Pilot, the 400m champion -- in his first visit home since Beijing -- wasted no time getting to his favorite spots with his favorite people.
The 22-year-old's first stop when he returned to Portsmouth on Friday was his friend Michael Carr's Midtown eatery, the Up Top Restaurant and Lounge.
"I'm happy to be home," the Woodrow Wilson High School graduate said.
Flanked by his father and Portsmouth Mayor James W. Holley, Merritt said the first thing he wanted to do when he got back was to celebrate with the people who sent him off and knew he could do it before he won the medals.
WORK PAYS OFF
As Mayor Holley explained, LaShawn's success is a lesson for all children who might aspire to be like him -- particularly in light of how hard Virginia's Best worked to get there.
"We encourage them to realize that you can do whatever you want to do," Holley said. "But you've got to work, you have to make sacrifices."
A parade is going to be held in the near future.
RELATED STORIES
Olympic medalist LaShawn Merritt returns to Portsmouth (Virginian-Pilot, Sept. 6, 2008)
http://www.hamptonroads.com/2008/09/olympic-medalist-lashawn-merritt-ret...
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