[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 21 (Wednesday, March 2, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     THE PRIDE OF GREATER ROCHESTER

                                 ______


                          HON. JOHN J. LaFALCE

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 2, 1994

  Mr. LaFALCE. Mr. Speaker, as a nation we had much to be proud of at 
the performance of our athletes at the winter Olympics in Norway. Like 
millions of their fellow Americans, the residents of the 29th 
Congressional District of New York, which I am privileged to represent, 
cheered and applauded as the United States collected 13 medals this 
year.
  But they were especially proud and especially supportive of one of 
their fellow New Yorkers, Cathy Turner, a resident of the town of 
Clarkson and an entrepreneur in the village of Hilton, both in my 
congressional district. Cathy garnered two--gold and bronze--of those 
medals in the short-track speed skating competition, adding to the two 
medals--gold and silver--she won 2 years ago at the winter games in 
France.
  Cathy might very well have captured three medals this year, except 
for her disqualification in the 1,000-meter race. For many of her fans, 
including me, watching that event, it seemed like a classic case of 
``the wheel that squeaks the loudest is the one that gets the grease.'' 
As we all know, Cathy's disqualification came in the wake of strident 
protests from Chinese and Canadian skaters after an earlier race Cathy 
won.
  The following editorial from the Rochester Times-Union on March 1, 
1994, puts that disqualification in just the right perspective. I would 
like to share it with my colleagues and congratulate Cathy Turner on a 
job well done. She's proved she is not just a good skate. She's a great 
skate.

                  Turner Deserved a Last Shot at Gold

       Maybe our eyes are biased in favor of the hometown star. 
     But, as we repeatedly watched the replays over the weekend, 
     we just couldn't see the ``dirty moves'' that led to Olympic 
     speedskater Cathy Turner's disqualification in Friday's 
     1,000-meter race.
       Turner, of Hilton, won gold and bronze medals at the 
     Lillehammer Games, to go with the gold and silver medals she 
     won two years ago. But she might well have won another medal, 
     perhaps the gold, in the 1,000-meters, had she been allowed 
     to compete in the finals.
       We think Turner was right, that the judges were ``waiting 
     for something to happen''--that they were looking for an 
     excuse to disqualify her after Chinese and Canadian skaters 
     accused her of illegal contact during the 500-meter finals.
       We watched that videotape, too, and while there was contact 
     as Turner passed China's Zhang Yanmei, she certainly never 
     grabbed Zhang's leg, as was alleged.
       Short-track speedskating inevitably involves contact, and 
     Turner is aggressive. She is also very good, and she deserved 
     a shot at a third gold medal.
       Sour grapes? Nope--just the truth.

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