Ana Paula ditches L.A. holiday for Olympics

BEIJING -- Ana Paula Connelly was dreaming of a week’s holiday in Los Angeles rather than sweating on the sand in Beijing when Brazil called her as a last minute replacement for the Olympic beach volleyball.

The 36-year-old was resting at home, phones off, with a ticket to fly and see her boyfriend in California when news came through that Juliana Felisberta da Silva was pulling out of the Games with a knee injury.

When her sister saw the news on television and ran to tell her she had to go to China, Ana Paula presumed it was an invitation to commentate on television.

“I was in shock...I said ‘No, no, I’m not going’ because they all knew I was going to L.A.,” the three-time Olympian said.

“Then it was just chaos to get everything ready. I had five hours before my flight, my son was crying his lungs out saying ‘Don’t go, Mummy’.”

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here
Write a Comment
CAPTCHA Code Image
Type in image code
Change the code
 Receive China Post promos Respond to this email
Subscribe  |   Advertise  |   RSS Feed  |   About Us  |   Career  |   Contact Us
Sitemap  |   Top Stories  |   Taiwan  |   China  |   Business  |   Asia  |   World  |   Sports  |   Life  |   Arts & Leisure  |   Health  |   Editorial  |   Commentary
Travel  |   Movies  |   TV Guide  |   Classifieds  |   Bookstore  |   Getting Around  |   Weather  |   Guide Post  |   Student Post  |   English Courses  |   Terms of Use  |   Sitemap