[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 115 (Monday, September 25, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9190-S9191]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               COMMENDING IDAHO OLYMPIAN, CHARLES BURTON

 Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I rise today to commend the 
remarkable accomplishments of Charles Burton, an Idaho native and 
wrestler for the U.S. Olympic team.
  Charles was born in Ontario, Oregon and raised in Boise, Idaho. He 
graduated from Centennial High School in Boise, where he was a state 
champion, and Boise State University, where he won All-American status. 
In 1997, Charles won the University Freestyle National Championship and 
became a Pan American bronze medalist. Charles earned the number two 
spot on the US National team in 1999 after earning a silver medal at 
the world team trials in Seattle, Washington. He will wrestle in the 
Olympics from September 29th through October 1st.
  This Idahoan, and other devoted athletes, serve as reminders that 
through healthy competition, our challengers can inspire us to excel. 
They unify those of us who watch them through shared pride and passion. 
Their victories leave our souls soaring high and our feet light. In 
times of defeat, we are humbled by the fact that there is more work to 
be done to reach our team's victory.
  The Olympic ideal is perhaps the best evidence that endurance, the 
desire to challenge oneself, and the pursuit of achieving top physical 
form are age-old endeavors. The events demonstrate

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that the will to compete in the athletic arena is nearly universal, 
crossing boundaries of culture and geography to bring together most of 
the world's nations. It is one of the great celebrations of the human 
spirit and one of the finest examples of our time of peaceful multi-
national competition.
  I am very proud of Charles' accomplishments and the role that he will 
play in this international competition. I wish Charles, and all the 
other athletes who are participating in the Olympics this year, the 
challenge of vigorous competition. May they again know the exaltation 
of pushing themselves to their limits and the roar of a crowd that 
lives vicariously through their triumph.

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