[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 14650]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          TRIBUTE TO 2012 OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST KAYLA HARRISON

  Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts. Mr. President, I rise today in tribute to 
a young woman from Marblehead, MA, who made us so proud during the 30th 
Olympiad. Like all our Olympians and Paralympians, judoka Kayla 
Harrison practiced for years, put in thousands of hours in training, 
sacrificed mightily and defeated countless competitors just to make 
Team USA.
  At 6 years of age, Kayla's mother, herself a black belt, introduced 
Kayla to judo. Kayla excelled at the sport and by the time she was in 
her teens, was a two-time national champion. Yet, while this talented 
and dedicated athlete, still just a girl, was taking the judo world by 
storm, she was doing so while suffering in silence from the pain of 
sexual abuse.
  If Kayla had never fought again or if she simply faded away, people 
would have understood. But with Wakefield coach Jimmy Pedro at her 
side, Kayla used martial arts to transcend the trauma, anger, and pain. 
Judo wasn't a way out, it was a way through. She went on to fight 
harder, and better, than ever. Watching Kayla compete, you get the 
sense that she is fighting at a whole different level. Kayla doesn't 
just defeat her opponents; she leaves them wondering why on Earth they 
ever fought her in the first place. Kayla would go on to win countless 
American and international competitions, all of which led to the 2012 
London Olympic games.
  In London, Kayla and countless others inspired our Nation. For the 
millions who themselves have suffered abuse, Kayla's gold medal was far 
more than a point of national pride, it was the most powerful reminder 
that there is hope. She reminded us that we can rise above any obstacle 
and that we don't have to be ruled, defined, or limited by the evil 
done to us. In the pursuit of a gold medal, Kayla taught us that we can 
be free.
  Days before her first Olympic match, Kayla recorded a video in which 
she described each step she would take, from waking and eating 
breakfast on the morning of her first Olympic match, to her victory 
over her final competitor, and even predicting her tears of joy upon 
hearing our national anthem at her gold medal ceremony. Her commitment 
to her vision and her determination to see it through are a lesson in 
true perseverance.
  We cannot understate the odds that Kayla faced in her chosen sport; 
no American man or woman had ever won an Olympic gold medal in Judo. 
Yet there is the enduring image of Kayla in London, overcome with 
emotion, standing at the highest point on the podium, hearing the notes 
of the ``Star Spangled Banner.'' Kayla Harrison's immense courage, raw 
talent, and pursuit of an audacious dream inspire us all.
  In closing I congratulate all our Olympians and Paralympians. In a 
time of uncertainty where there is so much focus on what separates and 
divides us, for a few weeks in late summer Kayla Harrison and her 
fellow athletes helped us come together as a nation and showed the 
world the best of America.

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