ALWAYS GOOD TO CHECK SOURCES

By CHRIS DUFRESNE

Feb. 10, 1998 12 AM PT

The Info ’98 computers supplied by IBM for the Nagano Games are an invaluable resource, allowing reporters to log on at any time for updated information on Olympic events and athletes.

But, of course, a highly trained journalist must always check the fine print.

Consider the Info ’98 biography on United States Alpine skier Jonna Mendes.

It reports correctly that Mendes resides in South Lake Tahoe and was born on March 31, 1979, which would make her 18 years old.

Then the news gets suspect:

Education: High School.

Spouse: Julio Jose Herminio de la Rosa.

Children: 4 children, Gargamel (12), La La (10), Juan (6), Tuti (6 months).

If true, Mendes would have had her first child at age 6, making her the untold story of the Olympics!

Mendes, for the record, is not married and has no children.

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Chris Dufresne

Chris Dufresne was the Los Angeles Times’ national college football/basketball columnist from 1995 to 2015. He also covered skiing at the Winter Olympics and wrote extensively on most sports. He is a multiple national award winner and was named 2011 California Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Assn. A Los Angeles native, he started at The Times in 1976 as a truck loader and literally worked his way up (two floors to be exact).

ALWAYS GOOD TO CHECK SOURCES

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