[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12373-12374]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           2012 OLYMPIC GAMES

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I am honored on the opening day of the 
2012 London Olympics to congratulate our U.S. Olympic and Paralympic 
Teams. Proudly, 14 of our top Olympian athletes hail from Connecticut, 
including 6 women, who played for our legendary University of 
Connecticut women's teams and will represent our State and Nation as 
members of the U.S. women's basketball team.
  These athletes will make history on a global stage, representing the 
United States and sharing personal stories that fuel their drive to 
win. They have this momentous opportunity and responsibility because 
they have worked hard, demonstrated unremitting character and 
integrity, and believed in the power of athletic excellence to bring 
our nation and the world together.

[[Page 12374]]

  Six extraordinary UConn alumni will compete as members of the 2012 
U.S. women's basketball team: Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Tina Charles, Asjha 
Jones, Maya Moore, and Diana Taurasi. All six players brought UConn 
teams to national championships during their college careers. The head 
coach of the U.S. Olympic team, Geno Auriemma, has led the University 
of Connecticut teams through many exciting seasons while serving as a 
tremendous role model and mentor. Both Asjha Jones and Tina Charles 
currently live in Uncasville and play for the Connecticut Sun. Although 
the others may no longer list Connecticut as their formal residence, 
these players remain a part of our lives.
  Charlie Cole, Ken Jurkowski, Nick LaCava, Sara Hendershot, and Sarah 
Trowbridge will compete in London as members of our U.S. rowing team. 
Mr. Cole grew up in New Canaan, CT, and attended New Canaan High School 
and Yale University where he rowed for the heavyweight team. He has 
received many national and international titles, including most 
recently winning the pair at the 2012 National Selection Regatta number 
1 and finishing fourth in the four at the 2011 World Rowing 
Championships. He has been named USRowing's 2011 Athlete of the Year.
  Mr. Jurkowski was raised in New Fairfield and attended New Fairfield 
High School and Cornell University, where he walked onto the team his 
freshman year, competed all 4 years, and graduated with a degree in 
biological engineering. He has also served as a volunteer assistant 
coach for the University of Texas women's rowing team. In London, he 
will compete in the single sculls event an event that he placed 11th in 
during the 2008 Beijing games.
  Mr. LaCava is from Weston, CT, and attended Phillips Exeter Academy 
and Columbia University. Among other distinctions, he placed fifth in 
the lightweight eight at the 2011 World Rowing Championships and placed 
first at the lightweight eight at the 2011 Head of the Charles Regatta. 
In London, he will compete in the men's lightweight four.
  Ms. Hendershot grew up in West Simsbury Connecticut, only starting to 
row in 2003 as a high school freshman. Already by 2004 and again in 
2005, she won the open eight at the USRowing National Championships. 
She rowed for Princeton University and graduated in 2010. She will 
compete in the Women's Pair in London with Sarah Zelenka of Illinois.
  Ms. Trowbridge was born in Washington, DC, and is a member of the 
Potomac Boat Club. She was raised in Guilford, CT, and attended 
Guilford High School. She rowed at University of Michigan on a 
scholarship. Most recently among her international and national 
results, she finished ninth in the double sculls at the 2011 World 
Rowing Championships and won the double sculls at the 2011 National 
Selection Regatta No. 2. She cites her parents, coaches, teammates, and 
Olympic hero, Nadia Comaneci, as inspirations. She will compete in the 
Women's Double Sculls event.
  Craig Kinsley and Donn Cabral will represent the United States in 
track and field. Hailing from Fairfield, CT, Mr. Kinsley brings his 
experience at high jump and javelin at Fairfield Preparatory High 
School and Brown University to the international arena. He won the NCAA 
title in the javelin event in 2010 and in the same year was named 
Academic All-American and Northeast Region Field Athlete of the Year by 
the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. At 
Brown University, he studied geology and economics.
  Mr. Cabral was born and raised in Glastonbury, CT. He attended 
Princeton University, where he received All-American titles in track 
and field and cross country, and in 2012 won the NCAA title and set the 
U.S. collegiate record in the steeplechase event. He will compete in 
the Men's 3000M steeplechase this Olympic games.
  Rob Crane will hit the water in sailing. Born in Stamford and raised 
in Darien, he went on to attend the Holderness School and Hobart 
College. He continues a family legacy of sailing, joining the ranks of 
his mother and father, who won world and North American championships, 
respectively. In 2011, he finished 14th in the International Sailing 
Association and Federal's Sailing World Championships. This Olympics, 
he will participate in the men's singlehanded laser dinghy sailing 
event.
  In addition to the successes of these 14 accomplished and inspiring 
athletes, I wish to recognize all around the world poised to 
participate in the USA Paralympics. Guided by the U.S. Olympic 
Committee's Paralympic Military, Veteran, and Community Program, State 
and local communities have developed important programs to enable 
individuals with physical or visual disabilities to participate and 
compete in sports. The growing prevalence of community level sports 
clubs, such as the paralympic sports clubs, offers disabled Americans 
the opportunity to come together as a community, share their love of 
sports, and rally around each other.
  Our American competitors are inspirational to athletes and 
nonathletes of all generations. Athletics and sportsmanship connect us, 
reaching the core of our humanity. They represent our hopes, dreams, 
and aspirations. They serve as national and international diplomats, 
working together as a team to best represent our country. Along with my 
Senate colleagues, I wish our athletes from Connecticut and around the 
Nation the best of luck and thank them for their incredible public 
service as leaders during these Olympic games.

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