[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 34 (Thursday, March 21, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E437-E438]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNITION OF MARK GRIMMETTE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. PETER HOEKSTRA

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 20, 2002

  Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the hard 
work and achievement of Mr. Mark Grimmette, who won the silver medal in 
the doubles luge at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic games. Mr. 
Speaker, this is not the first time Mr. Grimmette has won an Olympic 
medal. He also won a bronze medal at the Winter Olympic games held in 
Nagano, Japan in 1998. In winning the bronze, Mr. Grimmette helped end 
a 34-year medal drought for America in the Olympic luge event.
  In addition to his excellence in the Olympics, Mr. Grimmette is also 
a three-time U.S. national champion in the luge with his doubles 
partner, Brian Martin. The duo won the World Cup championship in 1998, 
and won two bronze medals during the 2001-2002 World Cup season.
  Mr. Grimmette took his first luge slide at the age of 14 on a track 
he helped build in his hometown of Muskegon, Michigan, which is located 
in the 2nd Congressional District of Michigan. That slide began a 
momentous journey that has taken him to the top in Olympic achievement 
and ultimately earned him recognition as one of the world's best 
lugers.
  Mr. Speaker, Mark Grimmette represents a proud and longstanding 
Olympic tradition in Michigan. He has earned much deserved recognition 
for his accomplishments, and I salute him on his recent Olympic 
success.

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