[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 15 (Tuesday, February 22, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     HONORING AN AMERICAN OLYMPIAN

  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
special person. A young American from my home State of Idaho who has 
distinguished herself in the international arena.
  Mr. President, I like millions of other Americans, have been watching 
the Winter Olympics from Lillehammer, Norway, and I have marveled in 
the athleticism, spirit, and patriotism of all the competitors. I would 
like to recognize a young woman who not only did her very best, but 
lifted the spirits of all Americans.
  Picabo Street is a 22-year-old, third-generation Idahoan from the 
tiny mining town of Triumph. Like many Idahoans, she began skiing at an 
early age, learning to ski at Sun Valley with her father. At the age of 
12, she told her parents, Ron and Dee, that she would win an Olympic 
medal. Saturday, on the slopes of the Olympic downhill race, she skied 
the race of her life, finishing just sixty-six one hundreths of a 
second away from a gold medal. She won the silver.
  Picabo Street has been described as a freckled-faced, pigtailed, 
free-spirited speedball of a downhill racer. To her teammates, she is 
known for her nonstop chattering and cocky good cheer. She says she was 
confident, but nervous before the race, telling herself to relax before 
the start.
  Much of what made Picabo Street an Olympic hero can be traced to her 
upbringing, and her determination matches the dedicated work ethic of 
the Idaho pioneers. The tiny town of Triumph is in the rugged Sawtooth 
Mountains. As a child, she raced against boys--she had to, she was the 
only girl in town. Picabo credits these early challenges with building 
her competitive drive.
  Her family moved throughout the West, and her father worked many 
jobs. It was not glamorous or filled with all the comforts that many of 
us know well. But the Streets stuck together, they were a family.
  The Idaho pioneer also lived a tough life in the wilderness, and 
those early families stuck together to form the foundation of what is 
now the prosperous State of Idaho. The will to succeed, to be the best, 
to provide a better way of life, are all traits found in those early 
Idaho settlers. Those characteristics can be found in Picabo Street.
  She was named after the small Idaho town of Picabo. The name's origin 
is obscure, but it's believed to be from an Indian dialect, and means 
``Silver Water.'' How appropriate, Mr. President, that an Idahoan whose 
name means ``Silver Water'' won an Olympic silver medal on snow--frozen 
water. And the Street family was there: her mother, father, and brother 
joined her in Norway. Once again, the family stuck together.
  Mr. President, I think all Idahoans join me in congratulating Picabo 
Street not only for her individual achievement, but for lifting the 
spirits of millions of Americans. She is an inspiration to us all.

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