BANGKOK -- Amanda Carr didnt let the disappointment of missing selection for the 2012 Olympics hold her back for long.She got back on her BMX, changed direction and is now finalizing her packing plans for Rio de Janeiro, and harboring genuine medal ambitions. Just not for the U.S.Carr will be representing Thailand in Rio, having switched allegiance after missing a spot on the U.S. team for London four years ago. She has already won a gold medal for Thailand at the 2014 Asian Games.A dual U.S.-Thai citizen from Punta Gorda, Florida, Carr been racing BMX since she was five.She won her age-group events at the BMX World Championships in 2005 and 2006 but, realizing she would not be quite old enough to be eligible for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, she put the sport aside and decided to work toward becoming a student athlete. She won a soccer scholarship to North Carolina State. After a transfer to Florida State she trained in heptathlon.It was in her dorm room in North Carolina, watching the Beijing Olympics on TV, when she had a sudden realization.Thats when I saw BMX and thought `Ive raced all those girls before, I can do this, she told The Associated Press during a recent visit to Thailand. From there, that was when the path came back to BMX and to the Olympics.Carr joined the U.S. national team training program and, with her years of top-level experience and elite fitness standards, she had a strong chance at qualifying for London. Final selection came down to performances at the world championships in Birmingham, England.I really did have a fighting shot, Carr recalled. In the quarterfinals the top four would transfer on to the semifinals. I was top four going into the first turn, and the first person fell. One person lost a little bit of control, and it caused us to domino.After years of preparation, her London Olympic dream was over because of a collision in which she was blameless.It is ruthless, and thats what a lot of us love and hate about it at the same time, Carr said. Growing up, we just understood thats what the sport entails. You just have to roll with the punches.It was a mature response, but reflects a sense of perspective that she developed after witnessing the family home burn down in 2007.We lost everything in the fire, I lost trophies, Carr said. We were very lucky to walk away from the fire. I was only 17, so I didnt process it like my parents did because I didnt go through the financial sacrifices of building it. But I have learnt all the material things can be replaced but family things cant be replaced.So despite the disappointment of missing the 2012 Olympics, she wasnt surprised when the same competition presented her with an alternative direction.I saw a gentleman sitting there -- the Thai national coach, she said. Under Thai culture, if you see another Thai you walk up and politely say hello. He looked at me and said `Youre half Thai? You should consider racing for Thailand.Within months, she followed up the offer.Switching allegiance was a pragmatic decision for Carr. Olympic berths are allocated on the basis of countrys ranking points, not those of individuals. Rather than face the intense competition for the spots reserved for the U.S., she had a much easier path and less competition under the Thai flag.I have no hard feelings toward the U.S. team, Carr said. My chances of making the U.S. team for 2016 were still very high, but I knew I would have a better chance of making the Olympics if I competed for Thailand.It was no flag of convenience, though. Carr has strong connections to Southeast Asia.He mother Lamoon is from Udon Thani, in northeast Thailand near the Laos border. It was there Lamoon met Amandas father, Darol, who was stationed at the U.S. Air Force base during the Vietnam War.Lamoon moved to Florida at age 26 and was 39 when Amanda was born.Regular visits home with her daughter followed. And Carr, since officially becoming a Thai athlete, now visits two or three times a year and has become fluent in the language. Her affection for the country and its people is more than reciprocated, especially since the Asian Games.That was a very cool moment, Carr said. I won the race, but didnt understand the magnitude of it until I watched my Facebook jump by the thousands, and thats when I thought `this is a really big deal.Flying back to Thailand, walking through the airport, we came out and there was an orchid arch, and we met the minister for the airport and there was all this media. I was like `Ok, that was really important for the country.The switch of allegiance to Thailand, she insists, was no snub to the U.S. program or people.The U.S. girls, I see them almost more than I see my own family because Im on the U.S. circuit, Carr said. Now I show up at a race and its like `Whats up, whats up, fist bump, lets roll. Before it was like `Oh God, Ive got to do better than her because that determines funding for the next race. Now we can just enjoy racing each other.That camaraderie will be tested in Rio, with the frantic nature of BMX competition creating a very level field.Of all the girls at this Olympic Games, there is not one without a chance, Carr said. Being an extreme sport, anything can happen. Id love to be in the final, and once Im in the final, Ill let it all hang and roll with it.Its obvious to say `Ill go for gold, but the realistic and honest answer for me is to be in the final, enjoy it, and keep Thailand proud. Air Max 95 Australia . Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey last Sunday. The fine is the fourth this season for Goldson. He was fined $30,000 for a hit on the New York Jets Jeff Cumberland in Week 1. Air Max 95 Cheap Authentic .com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open. http://www.wholesaleairmax95australia.com/ .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. Cheap Air Max 95 For Sale . 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The BCCI said the bench headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur had a prejudiced approach against the board and he should recuse from hearing the matter.The BCCI also contended that the judgement was unreasoned and seeks to frame legislative measures for a private autonomous society in a field already occupied by legislations, both parliamentary and state.The board further said the judgment authored by Thakur and Justice FMI Kalifullah, since retired, has neither noted the contentions and facts correctly, nor dealt with the same.The judgment is unconstitutional and contrary to many binding precedents of this Court and adversely affects and nullifies the fundamental rights granted to citizens under Article 19(1)(c) of the Constitution, the plea said, adding the judgment outsources judicial power to a committee of retired judges, which is impermissible in law.The judgment is a nullity as the judges were functus officio after passing of the main judgment of January 22, 2015 and the matter could not have been revived suo motu as no provvision of law empowers the same and is contrary to the doctrine of separation of powers and contrary to settled law that the judiciary cannot make laws.ddddddddddddHowever, the most important aspect of the review petition, which also demanded an open court hearing, is the plea for recusal of the Chief Justice of India.Chief Justice T S Thakur seems to have a prejudiced approach to BCCI which is evident by statements such as BCCI treatment is to be meted out to another entity i.e. the All India Football Federation in another case, ex-facie shows that the Chief Justice has a closed mind and will summarily dismiss the review petition without listing the same before another bench of five judges for hearing in the open Court, the plea said.The Supreme Court, on July 18, had accepted major recommendations of the Lodha Committee on reforms in BCCI, including a bar on ministers and civil servants and those above 70 years of age from becoming its members, but left it to the parliament to decide whether it should come under RTI and whether betting on the game should be legalised. 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