[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 25 (Thursday, March 2, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S1641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          ADDITIONAL STATEMENT

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                    A TRIBUTE TO VERMONT'S OLYMPIANS

 Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the 
outstanding accomplishments of the Vermonters participating in the 
recent Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. These Olympians proudly follow 
a long line of Vermonters competing at the highest levels of winter 
sports.
  Three Vermonters made particularly extraordinary impressions in 
Turin: Hannah Teter, Bud Keene, and Lindsey Jacobellis.
  Hannah Teter, of Belmont, VT, was the first Vermonter to medal in 
Turin when she earned the gold in the women's halfpipe competition. 
Hannah is very much a product of Vermont, growing up amidst the beauty 
of the Green Mountains in a family that embraced the outdoors. More 
importantly, Hannah was raised on homemade maple syrup, one of 
Vermont's most treasured products.
  In her halfpipe competition in Turin, despite already holding a 
comfortable lead, Hannah won the gold medal with a bold and inspired 
final run. Though I will not pretend to perfectly understand terms like 
front-side 900, I can tell you that Hannah's snowboarding acrobatics 
were some of the most impressive athletic sights I have ever seen.
  Coaching Hannah to her success was Bud Keene of Moscow, VT, the U.S. 
Olympic snowboard team's halfpipe coach. Bud was an avid snowboarder 
long before the sport was included in the Olympics. Bud coached at 
Mount Mansfield before becoming an assistant snowboarding coach during 
the 2002 Olympics. Bud was named the head halfpipe coach for the 2006 
Olympics and he led the team to a remarkable performance: the U.S. won 
an amazing two gold medals and two silver medals in the men's and 
women's halfpipe competitions. Bud deserves a lot of credit for the 
unparalleled success of the American snowboarding team at this year's 
games.
  Vermont's second Olympic medal also came in snowboarding when Lindsey 
Jacobellis of Stratton, VT, earned the silver medal in the women's 
snowboardcross. As many know, snowboardcross is a dangerous and 
difficult event that requires snowboarders to navigate a narrow 1,000-
yard course while avoiding the three other competitors trying to 
navigate the terrain at the same time. Lindsey survived two of these 
incredible races just to qualify for the final medal heat, where she 
emerged with a silver medal in a race so challenging that two of her 
competitors crashed and one left the course on a stretcher.
  In addition to Hannah, Lindsey, and Bud, I would like to commend the 
other Vermonters who traveled to Turin for the Olympics. These 
accomplished men and women include snowboarder Kelly Clark of Mount 
Snow, cross-country skier Andrew Johnson of Greensboro, freestyle skier 
Hannah Kearney of Norwich, alpine skier Chip Knight of Stowe, cross-
country skier Andrew Newell of Shaftsbury, honorary Vermonter Jimmy 
Cochran of the famed Olympic ski family in Richmond, and countless 
other athletes who have trained, studied, or lived in Vermont and 
competed in Turin.
  I would also like to acknowledge two Olympians who are currently 
serving our country in the Vermont National Guard: SP Jeremy Teela and 
SGT Tuffield ``Tuffy'' Latour. An Alaskan, Jeremy competed in the 
biathlon in Turin, while Tuffy coached the U.S. Men's bobsled team.
  We are very lucky in Vermont to have the privilege of watching and 
following such an impressive group of athletes. There are many reasons 
why our small State has so many top-tier competitors but, to steal a 
line from Hannah Teter, I bet one of those reasons is Vermont's great 
maple syrup.

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