[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 37 (Wednesday, March 5, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S1311]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             2014 OLYMPIANS

  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate athletes with 
strong Idaho ties who competed in the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and 
contributed to three of the U.S. Olympic team's 28 total medals. Their 
dedication is inspiring.
  Idaho-connected Olympians earned two gold medals and one silver medal 
in the Olympic Games in Sochi. Kaitlyn Farrington, who was raised on a 
ranch in Bellevue, Idaho, earned a gold medal competing for the first 
time as an Olympic snowboarder in the halfpipe competition. Hilary 
Knight of Sun Valley competed once again in women's hockey in the 2014 
Winter Olympics where the team earned a silver medal. Additionally, 
Sage Kotsenburg, a Coeur d'Alene native, took home the first-ever gold 
medal in the new men's slope style event and the first U.S. gold medal 
in the 2014 Winter Olympics.
  Six other remarkable athletes also represented our state and nation 
well on the U.S. Olympic team. Nick Cunningham, a graduate of Boise 
State University and Sergeant in the New York National Guard, earned 
12th place in both the two-man bobsled and four-man bobsled 
competitions. Erik Fisher, an alpine skier from Middleton, Idaho, went 
to Sochi as part of the U.S. Olympic team. Simi Hamilton, a Sun Valley 
skier, competed in cross country skiing, and he placed 6th in the men's 
team sprint classic and 11th in the men's 4x10k relay. Nate Holland, 
who grew up in Sandpoint, Idaho, placed 25th in men's snowboardcross in 
Sochi. Jessika Jenson of Rigby competed in the first Olympic snowboard 
slopestyle competition in Sochi where she finished 13th. Sara 
Studebaker from Boise competed in her second Olympics in biathlon 
competitions at Sochi where she helped earn a 7th place finish in the 
Women's 4x6k Relay Biathlon.
  These athletes, like their fellow Olympic athletes from communities 
across the country and around the world, inspire us to push beyond the 
limits of what we may think is possible. They commit themselves to 
significant training and turn that preparation into achievements. 
Congratulations to Idaho and American Olympians for their extraordinary 
efforts leading up to and during these Olympics.

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