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KEARNS, Utah (AP) -- Former Olympic gold medalist Derek Parra is taking over as U.S. speedskating national all-around coach for the upcoming Olympics.
In a Wednesday posting on its Web site, U.S. Speedskating said Parra will supervise the training of Olympians Chad Hedrick and Catherine Raney-Norman, among others, heading into next year's Vancouver Games.
Parra won gold and silver medals at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. He has been working as coach and program director for Wheels on Ice, which develops inline skaters into elite-level speedskaters on ice.
Parra replaces Bart Veldkamp, who was let go earlier this month without explanation after coaching for two seasons. The 41-year-old Veldkamp represented the Netherlands and Belgium at three Winter Olympics.
Meanwhile, Veldkamp has filed a lawsuit against the organization. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Veldkamp contends in the lawsuit that he never resigned and that federation officials plotted to fire him without paying the remainder of his contract. He had about one year remaining on a three-year deal that paid an $80,000 annual salary and a $50,000 "premium," according to the newspaper.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
