Olympic judoka Parnel Legros was born 70 years ago

Seventy years ago, on November 11, 1956, Parnel Legros was born, an Olympic-level judoka who represented Haiti before becoming a renowned coach.

Barcelona, 1992

In 1992, he competed in the Barcelona Summer Olympics in the 95 kg category. He finished in 21st place.

A youth coach

From 1993 to 2002, some 1,500 students followed his judo program in Starrett City, which for a time was the largest in the Northeast. In 2002, he was named coach of the year by Real Judo. Mayor Rudy Giuliani presented him with the Sloan Public Service Award for his work with young people. All of his judoka students went on to pursue higher education.

Physical education teacher

He then taught physical education at Intermediate School 364. One day there, he attempted to save a student who had fallen ill after a game of soccer.