[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 41 (Monday, March 6, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3510-S3511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       THE 1996 PARALYMPIC GAMES

  Mr. NUNN. Mr. President, last month I spoke on the floor detailing 
for my colleagues the exciting history of the Paralympic games. Many 
Americans are aware of, and excited about, the 16 days of Centennial 
Olympic games competition to be held in Atlanta during July and August, 
1996. However, a number of people remain unaware of the 12 days of 
Paralympic competition that will be held less than 2 weeks after the 
conclusion of the Olympic Games. Atlanta is proud to host the 
Paralympics games along with the 4,000 athletes, 1,000 coaches, and 
team staff that it will bring to Georgia from more than 100 nations.
  The Paralympic movement, dating back to 1946, has involved scores of 
outstanding men and women with a wide variety of disabilities. Last 
month, I spoke of the accomplishments of Al Mead, an above-the-knee 
amputee. Al lost his leg due to a fall he took as a nine year old that 
led to complications requiring amputation. He is a former world record-
holder in the long jump and the 100 meters, and a long jump silver-
medalist in the Barcelona Paralympics. His accomplishments are awe-
inspiring, and I look forward to watching Al perform, along with 
thousands or other people, in Atlanta in 1996.
  Today, I would like to call attention to another outstanding 
Paralympian, a young woman named Trischa Zorn. Trischa has been legally 
blind since birth with a condition called anaridia--the absence of an 
iris. Despite her condition, she has been a top performer in both the 
Paralympics and the Olympic swimming competitions. At age 7, she began 
swimming along with her sister's swim team in Tustin, CA. By the age of 
10, her family moved to Mission Viejo where she began training in 
earnest.
  Due to her 20/1000 vision, Trischa had difficulty knowing when it was 
time to make her turns at the end of each length of the pool. Over the 
years she trained herself to count each stroke across the length of the 
pool so that she would know when she was approaching turns. With 
incredible dedication and determination, Trischa, in 1980 at the age of 
16, was named first alternate on the U.S. Olympic swimming team. As we 
all know, to be selected as first alternate for the U.S. Olympic team 
is a tremendous achievement for the most able-bodied among us. It means 
competing at levels most of us will never approach. However, to be 
named first alternate to the U.S. Olympic team and to be legally blind 
is truly an incredible achievement.
  After a highly successful high school swimming career, Trischa was 
recruited by the University of Nebraska's women's swimming program. By 
her sophomore year at Nebraska, Trischa was named to the Big Eight all-
academic team along with receiving All-American honors her junior and 
senior years.
  After graduating from Nebraska in 1987, Trischa got her master's 
degree in school administration from Indiana University/Purdue 
University at Indianapolis. She obtained her certification to teach 
both in the pool and in the classroom, all the while maintaining her 
vigorous training schedule.
  At the 1992 Paralympic games in Barcelona, Trischa was the top 
overall medalist. She won 12 medals--10 gold, 2 silver--and broke 6 
world records. At the 1990 World Championships for the Disabled, she 
scored a ``Perfect 11,'' winning a gold medal in every swimming event. 
In the 1988 Seoul Paralympics, she won 12 gold medals, 
[[Page S3511]] earning the nickname ``The Golden Girl.'' Trischa has 
been awarded such titles as the first-ever Physically Challenged 
Athlete of the Year, Indianapolis Woman of the Year, and she was 
nominated for the 1988 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year Award.
  Obviously, Mr. President and my colleagues, this is a woman who has 
focused on her abilities and almost dismissed her disabilities. She is 
now focusing on the 1996 Paralympics. All of us in Atlanta, and all who 
will be coming from all over the world to those events, look forward to 
watching ``The Golden Girl'' add more medals and records to her already 
impressive list of accomplishments.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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