[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 7 (Thursday, February 5, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E119]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        JENNIFER RODRIGUEZ PARTICIPATION IN THE WINTER OLYMPICS

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                        HON. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 5, 1998

  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise 
today, just one day before the Opening Ceremonies at the 1998 Winter 
Olympics in Nagano, Japan to congratulate Jennifer Rodriguez, the first 
Cuban-American to participate in this most important event. Ms. 
Rodriguez, who will compete in the women's speedskating tournament, 
also has the distinction of being the first Hispanic athlete and the 
first Miamian to participate in a Winter Olympics. As a Hispanic, a 
Cuban-American and a resident of South Florida, I am immensely proud of 
Ms. Rodriguez great accomplishment.
  We are blessed to be the heirs of an extraordinary tradition of 
athleticism, competition and camaraderie which began over 2,000 years 
ago in Ancient Greece and lives on in our modern Olympic games. These 
celebrations bear witness to the best in the human spirit--the Spirit 
of the Olympiad. As elected officials, we too partake of an arena which 
itself is marked by conflict. All too often, however, we forget to play 
fair--the old cliche that it is not just about winning. These games 
should remind us of the inherent value of sportsmanship.
  I salute Ms. Rodriguez for her dedication. Her effort serves as 
testimony that those virtues the Ancient Greeks so valued are alive and 
well, so much so that they have driven a young woman from the warm, 
semi-tropical climate of her native South Florida to the ice-cold 
weather of Milwaukee where she has been training rigorously since 1996 
for this upcoming event.
  Good luck Ms. Rodriguez and best wishes to your family! They, like 
me, must be very proud.

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