[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 122 (Wednesday, September 12, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1494]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 ROCHESTER, NEW YORK OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 12, 2012

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate a group of 
Olympic champions from my home area of Rochester. All Rochesterians--
and Americans--are incredibly proud of these dedicated athletes who 
have trained to be the best and who achieved their dreams at the XXX 
Olympic Games in London.
  Abby Wambach led the United States Women's Soccer team to their third 
straight Olympic gold medal. Abby grew up in Rochester, NY where she 
played soccer and basketball at Our Lady of Mercy High School, and was 
named to Parade Magazine's high school All-America team. She attended 
the University of Florida, where she was a first-team All American and 
led her team to the Final Four in her senior season. In 2001, Abby 
joined the Women's National Team and played in her first Olympic games 
in Athens in 2004, contributing four goals and one assist to the gold-
medal effort for Team USA. She missed the 2008 games in Beijing because 
of a broken leg sustained in a collision in the final match before the 
Olympics. Abby was back with a vengeance in 2012, however, and scored a 
goal in every game leading up to the final match where the USA was 
victorious in dramatic fashion.
  Jenn Suhr soared to a hard-fought Olympic gold in the Pole Vault. 
Jenn was born in Fredonia, NY and was a multi-sport athlete at Fredonia 
High School, playing softball, basketball, soccer, and track and field. 
As a senior in high school in 2000, Jenn won the New York State 
pentathlon. She then went on to Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester 
and focused her athletic energy on basketball and track and field. Not 
only did she take her basketball team to the NCCAA national 
championship game and become the team's all-time leading scorer in 
basketball with 1,819 points, but she also graduated with a degree in 
psychology and began a graduate degree in school psychology. Jenn did 
not even begin working on her pole vaulting skills until 2004, but she 
quickly proved her excellence in the sport. She was an Olympic silver 
medalist in 2008 in Beijing, and fought her way to the gold medal in 
London.
  Meghan Musnicki was one of the women's eight team who rowed to their 
second straight Olympic gold in London. Meghan was born in Naples, NY 
and attended Canandaigua Academy for high school, where she played 
soccer and basketball. She first picked up an oar as a freshman in 
college at St. Lawrence University in 2001. Later Meghan transferred to 
Ithaca College, where she helped row her team to NCAA Championships in 
2004 and 2005, including an undefeated season in 2004. Meghan graduated 
from Ithaca College with a degree in psychology. She was first selected 
to the U.S. National Rowing Team in 2010, after narrowly missing a 
chance at the Olympics in 2008, and was part of two World Championship 
eight boat teams prior to winning the gold in her first Olympic games 
in 2012.
  Ryan Lochte swam to five medals in the 2012 Olympics, adding two 
golds, two silvers and a bronze to bring his total to 11 medals over 
three Olympic games. Ryan was born in Rochester, NY and attended school 
in Canandaigua before his family moved to Florida, where his father 
coached swimming. He was a 7-time NCAA Champion while swimming for the 
University of Florida and was named an NCAA All-American twenty-four 
times. Even more laudable than Ryan's athletic achievements is his 
commitment to raising awareness for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a 
neuromuscular illness to which Ryan lost a family member. He has helped 
Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy ``Go for the Gold'' by raising money 
for research projects towards finding a cure for the disease.
  Henrik Rummel rowed with his team to a bronze medal in men's four 
race of the 2012 London Olympics. Born in Denmark, Rummel moved to 
Pittsford, NY with his family in 2000 and attended Pittsford Mendon 
High School. Previously a basketball player and a skier, Henrik began 
rowing on the Pittsford Crew Team in 2001. He made his first national 
team just three years later in 2004. Henrik was recruited to Harvard, 
where he studied applied mathematics and economics while rowing for one 
of the most renowned crew teams in the country. He swept the Harvard-
Yale regatta in 2008 and 2009 and won gold in the pair with coxswain at 
the 2009 World Rowing Championships. Henrik's bronze medal with the 
men's four came in his first Olympics games.
  Jason Turner competed in sport shooting events in London for the 
third time as an Olympian. Jason is originally from Rush, NY and 
graduated from McQuaid Jesuit High School. At just 12 years old, Jason 
began shooting competitively in 1987, and was named to the 2004 Olympic 
team in the free pistol and 10m air pistol events. He won a bronze 
medal in the 10-meter Air Pistol at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. In 
London, Jason finished 34th with a score of 569 in the qualifying 
round.
  Kara Lynn Joyce spent time in both Irondequoit and Webster, NY as she 
grew up, and still holds two school records in Webster. She attended 
the University of Georgia where she was an All-American three years in 
a row, and became the first female swimmer to win the 50-meter, 100-
meter and 200-meter freestyle events. The London Olympics were also the 
third for Kara, who earned a pair of silver medals in the 2004 Olympics 
in Athens, and two more silvers in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Kara 
competed in the 50m free in London, and after finishing her heat tied 
with two other swimmers for sixteenth and final semi-final spot, 
treated fans to an exciting swim-off that was won by the host country's 
swimmer.
  Jim Boeheim, best known to Western New Yorkers as the Hall of Fame 
coach of the Syracuse University men's basketball team, traveled to 
London to coach in his second Olympic games as an assistant coach for 
the USA Basketball team. Jim is a native of Lyons, NY and graduated 
from Lyons Central High School before attending Syracuse University 
where he attained a degree in social science. His remarkable career as 
a college basketball coach, which includes 34 consecutive years at one 
school--and the record for most career wins at one school--has now been 
enriched by leading the U.S. men's basketball team to two gold medals.
  Gloria Peek made history in London as an assistant coach for the 
first-ever women's boxing event at the Olympics. Making history was 
nothing new for Gloria, a native of Geneva, NY and a former counselor 
for juvenile delinquents in Rochester, who was banned from amateur 
boxing in the 1970's for being a woman. She founded the Montgomery 
Boxing Club in the basement of the West Avenue Methodist Church in 
Fairport, NY in 1988 to keep young people off the streets, and she 
helped them finish school, apply to college and find jobs. At the 2012 
Olympic games, Gloria helped coach the three women who qualified for 
the U.S. boxing team, including Claressa Shields, the first woman--and 
only member of the 2012 U.S. boxing team--to win Olympic gold.
  Mr. Speaker, I am extremely proud of these men and women who 
dedicated themselves to excellence, and took advantage of the 
opportunity of the Olympic games to showcase to the world what 
Rochester can do. I look forward to following their future careers, as 
well as those of all the young Rochesterians that they have undoubtedly 
inspired to pursue dreams of their own.

                          ____________________