SUFFOLK

LaShawn Merritt, the two-time Olympic gold medalist, will be honored Saturday when he and his mother, Brenda Merritt Stukes, participate in the Peanut Festival Parade.

The parade, which begins at 10 a.m., will travel from South Broad Street to West Washington Street to North Main Street and end on Finney Avenue, according to a news release from the city of Suffolk.

 PORTSMOUTH The city plans to honor Olympic gold medalist and Portsmouth native LaShawn Merritt with a parade and celebration Sept. 19. The event is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. and proceed down Crawford Parkway to the nTelos Pavilion at Harbor Center, according to a city news release.

PORTSMOUTH Portsmouth native LaShawn Merritt has been a little busy since winning gold medals in the 400-meter and 4x400-meter relay events during the Beijing Olympics. He's flown from races in Switzerland and Miami to New York, where he was inducted into the Friar's Club and appeared on BET's music video show "106 & Park."

PORTSMOUTH The parade scheduled for Olympic gold medalist and Portsmouth native LaShawn Merritt has been canceled. Merritt will not be able to make the Sept. 5 celebration, according to a city news release. Portsmouth officials are still determining whether to reschedule the event.

Portsmouth's LaShawn Merritt won another gold medal at the Beijing Games, this time as part of the 1,600-meter relay team Saturday. Merritt, the 400-meter Olympic champion, teamed with Angelo Taylor, David Neville and Jeremy Wariner to set an Olympic record in a time of 2 minutes, 55.39 seconds.

Portsmouth Mayor James W. Holley was at home Thursday morning when he learned that LaShawn Merritt had won Olympic gold in the 400 meters in Beijing.

PORTSMOUTH Owen Merritt had a dream Wednesday night. In the dream, his son, former Wilson High grad LaShawn Merritt, sprinted to gold in the 400 meters. Then he woke up. When Owen Merritt arrived at work Thursday morning, he was greeted by many eager co-workers who wanted to know how his son had fared.

By NANCY ARMOUR

BEIJING They came to the Beijing Olympics as a team trying to find its way, still adjusting to a new coach and each other, still smarting from a loss that brought humiliation on and off the field.

LaShawn Merritt’s life is about to change. Until Thursday, Merritt had been the overlooked champion – winner of the 400 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials in July, but not even the favored American in Beijing. That role went to rival and defending Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner.

Field hockey Kate Barber, (Va. Beach) Angie Loy (ODU), Caroline Nichols (ODU/Salem), Dana Sensenig (ODU) Tiffany Snow (ODU): Loy and Sensenig scored goals in United States' 3-2 loss to Spain in seventh-place game.   Track David Payne (Hampton), 110-meter hurdles: Posted a time of 13.21 in semifinals to advance to final.