Dwayne De Rosario is the reigning MVP of Major LeagueSoccer, a four-time Canadian national player of the year and a six-time MLSBest XI honoree. But for all his accomplishment, DeRo may not even be thebest athlete in his own family.
Later this week, De Rosario will be following along closelyas his cousin, Canadian hurdler Priscilla Lopes–Schliep, tries to qualifyfor her second consecutive Summer Olympics. The pair have been close since childhood, when DeRo firstnoticed his younger cousin’s athletic potential.
Priscilla Lopes–Schliep
“We grew up together as [part of] a very close-knit family,”De Rosario said. “As a kid she was always running aroundand could never sit still. It’sfunny how it worked out that she became a track star.”
In 2008, while DeRo was enjoying one of his best MLS seasonsto date in Houston, Lopes-Schliep was entering her name in Canada’s history books. She took home the bronze medal in the 100-meterhurdles at the Beijing Olympics, and in doing so, became the first Canadian tomedal in track and field since 1996. Despite giving birth to a daughter, Nataliya, in 2011, Lopes-Schliephas already reached the Olympic A standard this year with a 12.95 second timein the 100 meter hurdles.
Lopes-Schliep can punch her ticket to London on Saturday at the2012 Canadian Track & Field Championships in Calgary. If she advances – as expected - to theCanadian finals, Lopes-Schliep should run at around 5:50 Eastern StandardTime Saturday night.
With D.C. not slated to kick off against Montreal until 7:30, De Rosario should have plenty of time to watch his cousin’s drive for history.
“Every time she has a major meet I always follow along andwish her the best,” said De Rosario. “She has made the family very proud.”
