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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Kristin Armstrong had just put together another golden effort in an Olympic time trial, this time slicing through driving wind and rain, when her 5-year-old son approached her at the finish.Mama, Lucas asked, why are you crying? You won!Once again.The American cyclist made it three consecutive gold medals on Wednesday, the ageless wonder conquering a brutal course at the Rio Games. Her time of 44 minutes, 26.42 seconds topped reigning bronze medalist Olga Zabelinskaya of Russia by the slimmest of margins: 5.55 seconds.As for the tears, well, thats a great question from a 5-year-old, Armstrong said with her now-familiar grin. Thats what we do, we cry when were happy.Im going to have to explain that one to him a little later.Zabelinskaya earned silver just days after she was cleared to compete by the Court of Arbitration, while Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen added bronze to her gold from the road race.Dutch rider Ellen van Dijk slid off the wet road along the southern coast of Rio de Janeiro and finished fourth, the miscue likely costing her a medal. Road race bronze medalist Elisa Longo Borghini of Italy was fifth and world champion Linda Villumsen of New Zealand sixth.It was very hard today. The roads on the downhills were very slick, Villumsen said. I didnt want to take chances and that cost me some time. The race didnt go the way I wanted.It went perfectly for Armstrong who, one day shy of her 43rd birthday, joined speedskater Bonnie Blair as the only American women to win three gold medals in the same event at any Olympics.Ive had the hardest journey this Olympics that Ive ever had, she said. There was a lot of pressure, and I didnt realize this until this year but third place was a really bad result for me. I had to win everything. ... But I knew how to get it done on one day.Despite her pedigree, Armstrong was a controversial selection for the U.S. team.She retired for a second time shortly after the London Olympics, then decided earlier this year to pursue a third gold medal. But she eschewed competing in the toughest races in Europe to spend more time with her family, much to the chagrin of rival riders who made the sacrifices of racing abroad.Then there were the accusations of bias: Her longtime coach, Jim Miller, also directs the national team for USA Cycling, though he recused himself from all deliberations over her selection.Ultimately, two Americans filed for arbitration to try to make the team. One of the riders had beaten Armstrong in the national championships, putting her place on the team in doubt.It wasnt until a week before she departed for Brazil that Armstrongs place was confirmed.When youve already been two times at the pinnacle of the sport, why risk coming back for the gold medal? The best answer I can give is that I can, she said. Today the stars aligned.Her latest gold medal was almost certainly her toughest.Armstrong led by nearly 5 seconds after 10 kilometers but dropped 3 seconds back of Zabelinskaya by the second time check. She made up the difference over the final, flat run to the finish, precisely the kind of terrain that suits her riding style perfectly.(My coach) kept on telling me, `This is it, she said. And about 5k to go, he said, `Here we go. Its up to you what color of medal you want. And I was like, `Well, its up to me?She was embraced at the finish by Zabelinskaya, a controversial figure coming into the race.The Russian tested positive for the substance octopamine in July 2014 and accepted an 18-month ban, and that doping violation was poised to keep her from the Rio Games when the International Olympic Committee set in place rules that barred Russian athletes for previous doping offenses.In the morning they told us we could participate. In the evening, they said we wont. It was two weeks like this, she said. I had my ticket to go back to Russia.Last week, the CAS ruled the IOCs rules were unenforceable, allowing Zabelinskaya to compete in Saturdays road race and ride down the starting ramp in Wednesdays rainy time trial.Im not the only cyclist that has a doping problem in the past, said Zabelinskaya, who has always maintained her innocence. I believe all athletes that they are clean. Nike Air Force 1 Discount Uk . 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Nike Air Force 1 Cheap Online . -- Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis was charged Thursday with driving while intoxicated, a day after he was suspended for an NFL substance-abuse policy violation. The decision to downgrade the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes and Wood Memorial to Grade 2 status in 2017, which was announced Friday by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, has elicited a visceral reaction in some quarters.Right here, I think its important to note that these adjustments, and the downgrading of the Mother Goose from Grade 1 to Grade 2 and the upgrading of the Pennsylvania Derby from Grade 2 to Grade 1, are not part of a larger reset by the AGSC. There will be 464 graded stakes races in 2017, the same number as this year. And the 107 Grade 1 races in 2017 represent a net loss of only two.Clearly, these Grade 1 stakes adjustments for 2017 were the result of a judgment call on the part of the AGSC.I understand the inclination to rail against authority. I am part of a generation that made an art form of it. So while Im naturally predisposed to protest moves like this, in the case of the downgrading of the Blue Grass and Wood Memorial, I cant. I agree with these races being downgraded.When you consider that the main function of the Blue Grass and Wood Memorial is to serve as prep races for the Kentucky Derby, it is impossible to avoid this fact: These two races have significantly underperformed over an extended period of time in comparison with the other major final Kentucky Derby preps -- the Florida, Santa Anita, and Arkansas Derbies -- which were left untouched by the UGSC.Street Sense (2007), Thunder Gulch (1995), and Sea Hero (1993) emerged from losses in the Blue Grass to win the Kentucky Derby. However, the last actual winner of the Blue Grass to win the Derby was Strike the Gold all the way back in 1991. Moreover, the last winner of the Blue Grass to win any Triple Crown race was Prairie Bayou, winner of the Preakness back in 1993.The Wood Memorial has performed only slightly better than the Blue Grass. While Funny Cide (2003) and Monarchos (2001) emerged from losses in the Wood to win the Derby (Funny Cide, of course, also won the Preakness), the last actual winner of the Wood to win the Derby was Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000. And the last winner of the Wood to win any Triple Crown race was Empire Maker, who won the 2003 Belmont Stakes.So to be crystal clear here, the last winner of the Blue Grass to win the Derby came 25 years ago, and the last winner of the Wood to win the Derby came 16 years ago. Thats simply too long when you see how the other major final Kentucky Derby preps have performed.Two Arkansas Derby winners who went on to do more than just win the Kentucky Derby -- American Pharoah (2015) and Smarty Jones (2004) -- won the Kentucky Derby since the last winner of the Wood also won the Derby, or since the last winner of the Blue Grass won the Derby. Also, Super Saver (2010) emerged from a loss in the Arkansas Derby to win the Kentucky Derby.Two of the last five Santa Anita Derby winners went on to win the Kentucky Derbby -- California Chrome in 2014 and Ill Have Another in 2012 (they both also went on to win the Preakness) -- and Giacomo (2005) won the Kentucky Derby after a loss in the Santa Anita Derby.ddddddddddddFour of the last 11 Florida Derby winners won the Kentucky Derby -- Nyquist (this year), Orb (2013), Big Brown (2008), and Barbaro (2006).To put it another way, between the Wood and Blue Grass, the Wood was the last of the two to produce a winner in the Kentucky Derby. Since that Wood-Kentucky Derby winner, the Florida, Santa Anita, and Arkansas Derbies have had a combined eight winners go on to win the Kentucky Derby.There isnt much room for debate here. The Blue Grass and Wood Memorial are races with histories, but when compared with analogous races such as the Florida Derby, Santa Anita Derby, and Arkansas Derby, they have not kept step for many years. It might hurt proponents of the Blue Grass and Wood, but these downgrades make sense.So does the upgrade of the Pennsylvania Derby. It is important here to understand the distinction between a race like the Pennsylvania Derby, and races like the Blue Grass and Wood. The Blue Grass and Wood are out-and-out prep races, and their worth can really only be measured by how their winners go on to perform in the race (the Kentucky Derby) they serve.The Pennsylvania Derby is much more of a standalone event. Sure, its a serviceable springboard to the Breeders Cup Classic. A cynic would also say its a means for horsemen to avoid meeting older horses with their 3-year-olds for one more time. But the Pennsylvania Derby is in no way a pure prep in the sense the Blue Grass and Wood are. And with such horses as Will Take Charge, Bayern, California Chrome, and Frosted (a winner of the Wood, by the way) having competed in it in recent years, and with the first two finishers this year (Connect and Gun Runner) having very recently won Grade 1 races over older horses, it would have been an injustice if the Pennsylvania Derby was not elevated to Grade 1 status.The ironic thing about the agonizing over the downgrading of the Blue Grass and Wood is that hardly a word has been mentioned about the downgrading of the Mother Goose, which, in my view, was totally unwarranted, and a complete mistake.Not that anything can be done about it now, but heres why I forcefully oppose the downgrading of the Mother Goose: Counting Songbird as champion 3-year-old filly this year (daring, I know), three of the last 12 3-year-old filly champions won the Mother Goose -- Smuggler in 2005, Rachel Alexandra in 2009, and Untapable only two years ago!The Mother Goose has operated at a high level for not only a long time, but also, as noted, in very recent years, too. Lowering it to a Grade 2 appears arbitrary, capricious, and I frankly see no justification for it. ' ' '