[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 117 (Friday, August 2, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H9837-H9838]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 GAIL DEVERS; SAN DIEGO'S OLYMPIC HERO

  (Mr. FILNER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, Americans in every corner of this great 
Nation let out a collective cheer last Saturday as Gail Devers won her 
second straight Olympic gold medal in the 100 meters.
  Everyone in San Diego County, CA, is familiar with Gail's 
achievements. A graduate of Sweetwater High School in National City, 
Devers became only the second woman in history to win consecutive gold 
medals in the 100 meters.

[[Page H9838]]

  Even without this impressive accomplishment, Gail Devers would be a 
modern day hero. She won 10 area track titles in various events for 
Sweetwater High while setting seven section records and winning three 
State titles. She was so widely known in San Diego's South Bay that 
Sweetwater High named its stadium after her.
  Her high school yearbook inscription read, ``follow your dreams 
wherever they may lead.'' Little did she know that those dreams might 
never have been fulfilled on the track. In 1988, she developed Graves' 
disease and could not run for almost 2 years. She suffered through 
radiation therapy to counter the disease, which nearly forced the 
amputation of her feet in 1991. Only a year later, she won the first of 
her two 100 meter gold medals at the Barcelona Olympics.
  Despite consecutive disappointing finishes in the 100 meter hurdles, 
including a fall over the final hurdle to surrender the lead at the 
Barcelona Olympics, Gail Devers has been a model champion with her 
bright smile and uplifting demeanor.
  Gail led the San Diego County contingent of athletes at the Atlanta 
games--a contingent that numbers 98 strong. Many of these athletes, and 
others from across the Nation and around the world, trained prior to 
the games at the ARCO Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista in my 
district.
  The San Diego community deserves to be proud of its athletes and its 
support of the American Olympic effort through the Olympic Training 
Center. We are especially proud of Gail Devers, who has overcome life-
threatening adversity to become an heroic Olympic champion.

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