[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 158 (Tuesday, September 30, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10128-S10129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CONGRATULATING MICHAEL PHELPS AND THE U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMING TEAM

  The resolution, (S. Res. 700) congratulating Michael Phelps and the 
members and coaches of the United States Olympic Swimming Team for 
their record-breaking performance at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in 
Beijing, China, was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 700

       Whereas, on August 10, 2008, Michael Phelps of Baltimore, 
     Maryland, set a world-record time of 4:03.84 and won the gold 
     medal in the men's 400-meter individual medley event, and 
     Ryan Lochte of Daytona Beach, Florida, won the bronze medal 
     in the same event;
       Whereas, on August 10, 2008, Katie Hoff of Towson, 
     Maryland, won the bronze medal in the women's 400-meter 
     individual medley event;
       Whereas, on August 10, 2008, Natalie Coughlin of Vallejo, 
     California, Lacey Nymeyer of Tucson, Arizona, Kara Lynn Joyce 
     of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Dara Torres of Los Angeles, 
     California, set a record time for athletes from the United 
     States of 3:34.33 and won the silver medal in the women's 
     400-meter freestyle relay event;
       Whereas, on August 10, 2008, Larsen Jensen of Bakersfield, 
     California, set a record time for athletes from the United 
     States of 3:42.78 and won the bronze medal in the men's 400-
     meter freestyle event;
       Whereas, on August 11, 2008, Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-
     Gale of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Cullen Jones of Irvington, New 
     Jersey, and Jason Lezak of Irvine, California, set a world-
     record time of 3:08.24 and won the gold medal in the men's 
     400-meter freestyle relay event, with anchor Jason Lezak 
     coming from behind to edge the team from France by \8/100\ of 
     a second in 1 of the most dramatic finishes in Olympic 
     swimming history;
       Whereas, on August 11, 2008, Katie Hoff won the silver 
     medal in the women's 400-meter freestyle event;
       Whereas, on August 11, 2008, Christine Magnuson of Tinley 
     Park, Illinois, won the silver medal in the women's 100-meter 
     butterfly event;
       Whereas, on August 12, 2008, Michael Phelps set a world-
     record time of 1:42.96 and won the gold medal in the men's 
     200-meter freestyle event, and Peter Vanderkaay of Rochester, 
     Michigan, won the bronze medal in the same event;
       Whereas, on August 12, 2008, Natalie Coughlin set a record 
     time for athletes from the United States of 58.96 and won the 
     gold medal in the women's 100-meter backstroke event, and 
     Margaret Hoelzer of Huntsville, Alabama, won the bronze medal 
     in the same event;
       Whereas, on August 12, 2008, Aaron Peirsol of Irvine, 
     California, set a world-record time of 52.54 and won the gold 
     medal in the men's 100-meter backstroke event, and Matt 
     Grevers of Lake Forest, Illinois, won the silver medal in the 
     same event;
       Whereas, on August 12, 2008, Rebecca Soni of Plainsboro, 
     New Jersey, won the silver medal in the women's 100-meter 
     breaststroke event;
       Whereas, on August 13, 2008, Michael Phelps set a world-
     record time of 1:52:03 and won the gold medal in the men's 
     200-meter butterfly event, edging Laszlo Cseh of Hungary by 
     the width of a fingernail;
       Whereas Michael Phelps then teamed with Ricky Berens of 
     Charlotte, North Carolina, Ryan Lochte, and Peter Vanderkaay, 
     to set a world-record time of 6:58.56 and win the gold medal 
     in the men's 800-meter freestyle relay event, beating the 
     team from Russia by more than 5 seconds and winning the tenth 
     and 11th gold medals of Michael Phelps's career, more than 
     any other athlete in history;
       Whereas, on August 13, 2008, Natalie Coughlin won the 
     bronze medal in the women's 200-meter individual medley 
     event;

[[Page S10129]]

       Whereas, on August 13, 2008, Katie Hoff set a record time 
     for athletes from the United States of 1:55.78 and finished 
     fourth in the women's 200-meter freestyle event;
       Whereas, on August 14, 2008, Allison Schmitt of Canton, 
     Michigan, Caroline Burckle of Louisville, Kentucky, Natalie 
     Coughlin, and Katie Hoff set a record time for athletes from 
     the United States of 7:46.33 and won the bronze medal in the 
     women's 800-meter freestyle relay event;
       Whereas, on August 14, 2008, Jason Lezak tied Cesar Cielo 
     of Brazil for the bronze medal in the men's 100-meter 
     freestyle event;
       Whereas, on August 15, 2008, Michael Phelps set a world-
     record time of 1:54.23 and won the gold medal in the men's 
     200-meter individual medley event, and Ryan Lochte won the 
     bronze medal in the same event;
       Whereas, on August 15, 2008, Ryan Lochte set a world-record 
     time of 1:53.94 and won the gold medal in the men's 200-meter 
     backstroke event, and Aaron Peirsol won the silver medal in 
     the same event;
       Whereas, on August 15, 2008, Rebecca Soni set a world-
     record time of 2:20.22 and won the gold medal in the women's 
     200-meter breaststroke event;
       Whereas, on August 15, 2008, Natalie Coughlin tied the 
     record time for athletes from the United States of 53.39, 
     which she herself set, and won the bronze medal in the 
     women's 100-meter freestyle event;
       Whereas, on August 16, 2008, Michael Phelps set an Olympic-
     record time of 50.58 and won the gold medal in the men's 100-
     meter butterfly event, tying 1972 Olympian Mark Spitz for the 
     most gold medals, 7, won by an individual in a single Olympic 
     Games;
       Whereas, on August 16, 2008, Margaret Hoelzer won the 
     silver medal in the women's 200-meter backstroke event;
       Whereas, on August 17, 2008, Brendan Hansen of Havertown, 
     Pennsylvania, Aaron Peirsol, Michael Phelps, and Jason Lezak 
     set a world-record time of 3:29.34 and won the gold medal in 
     the men's 400-meter medley relay event;
       Whereas, on August 17, 2008, Dara Torres set a record time 
     for athletes from the United States of 24.07 and won the 
     silver medal in the women's 50-meter freestyle event;
       Whereas Dara Torres then teamed with Natalie Coughlin, 
     Rebecca Soni, and Christine Magnuson to set a record time for 
     athletes from the United States of 3:53.30 and won the silver 
     medal in the women's 400-meter medley relay event;
       Whereas Caroline Burckle, Larsen Jensen, and Allison 
     Schmitt each won 1 bronze medal;
       Whereas Matt Grevers, Kara Lynn Joyce, and Lacey Nymeyer 
     each won 1 silver medal;
       Whereas Ricky Berens, Brendan Hansen, Cullen Jones, and 
     Garrett Weber-Gale each won 1 gold medal;
       Whereas Margaret Hoelzer won 1 silver medal and 1 bronze 
     medal;
       Whereas Christine Magnuson won 2 silver medals;
       Whereas Peter Vanderkaay won 1 gold medal and 1 bronze 
     medal;
       Whereas Katie Hoff won 1 silver medal and 2 bronze medals;
       Whereas Jason Lezak won 2 gold medals and 1 bronze medal;
       Whereas Aaron Peirsol won 2 gold medals and 1 silver medal;
       Whereas Rebecca Soni won 1 gold medal and 2 silver medals;
       Whereas Ryan Lochte won 2 gold medals and 2 bronze medals;
       Whereas Dara Torres--
       (1) is the first swimmer from the United States to compete 
     in 5 Olympic Games, representing the United States in the 
     Summer Olympic Games of 1984, 1988, 1992, 2000, and 2008;
       (2) won 5 medals at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in 
     Sydney, Australia, as the oldest member of the women's 
     swimming team at the age of 33;
       (3) at the age of 41 is the oldest member of the women's 
     team by 15 years;
       (4) won the silver medal in all 3 events in which she 
     competed in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games;
       (5) has won 12 Olympic medals, including 4 gold medals, 4 
     silver medals, and 4 bronze medals, over the course of her 
     career;
       (6) has won at least 1 medal in each of the 5 Olympic Games 
     in which she has competed, making her 1 of only a handful of 
     Olympians to earn medals in 5 different Olympic Games;
       Whereas Natalie Coughlin won 1 gold medal, 2 silver medals, 
     and 3 bronze medals, becoming the first female athlete from 
     the United States to win 6 medals in 1 year's Olympic Games, 
     breaking the record of 5 medals she tied in the 2004 Summer 
     Olympic Games;
       Whereas Michael Phelps has trained under the expert 
     tutelage of coach Bob Bowman for 12 years, first at the North 
     Baltimore Aquatic Club and more recently at the University of 
     Michigan;
       Whereas, during the awards ceremony for the men's 400-meter 
     medley relay event, the Federation Internationale de 
     Natation, the international governing body of swimming, 
     diving, water polo, synchronized swimming, and open water 
     swimming, honored Michael Phelps for his historic 
     accomplishment of--
       (1) setting 7 world records and 1 Olympic record;
       (2) winning 8 gold medals, the most ever by an individual 
     athlete in a single Olympic Games; and
       (3) winning 14 gold medals over the course of his Olympic 
     career, another record for an individual athlete at the 
     Olympic Games;
       Whereas Michael Phelps's Olympic performance places him in 
     the pantheon of the greatest athletes of all time; and
       Whereas the United States Olympic Swimming Team 
     collectively won 31 medals, including 12 gold medals, 9 
     silver medals, and 10 bronze medals: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate --
       (1) congratulates Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, Ryan 
     Lochte, Dara Torres, Katie Hoff, Jason Lezak, Aaron Peirsol, 
     Rebecca Soni, and the other members of the United States 
     Olympic Swimming Team for their record-breaking performances 
     and commends them for their dedication, courage, and 
     sportsmanship, and for the exemplary way in which they 
     represented the United States of America while competing in 
     Beijing, China;
       (2) congratulates and commends for their devotion, 
     professionalism, and tireless advocacy on behalf of the team 
     and the sport of swimming generally--
       (A) National Team Head Coach Mark Schubert;
       (B) Head Men's Coach Eddie Reese;
       (C) Head Women's Coach Jack Bauerle;
       (D) Assistant Coaches Bob Bowman, Gregg Troy, Frank Busch, 
     Teri McKeever, Paul Yetter, and Sean Hutchison;
       (E) Men's and Women's Open Water Head Coaches John 
     Dussliere and Bill Rose;
       (F) Open Water Chief of Mission Paul Asmuth; and
       (G) the staff of the United States Olympic Swimming Team; 
     and
       (3) requests the Secretary of the Senate to transmit 
     enrolled copies of this resolution to--
       (A) the United States Olympic Swimming Team at the national 
     headquarters of USA Swimming in Colorado Springs, Colorado; 
     and
       (B) Michael Phelps and the North Baltimore Aquatic Club in 
     Baltimore, Maryland, in honor of Michael Phelps's singular, 
     historic, and inspirational achievement.

                          ____________________