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




                          2012 OLYMPICS GAMES

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, tomorrow evening, hundreds of athletes 
from across the world will gather in London for the opening ceremonies 
of the 2012 Summer Olympic games.
  Among those marching in the Parade of Nations will be 20 athletes 
from Illinois.
  Making his Olympic debut in the 100-meter butterfly is Tyler McGill, 
a native of Champaign. After turning in the second-fastest time in the 
world this year at the U.S. Olympic trials, Tyler will be swimming for 
a spot at the top of the podium in London.
  Lake Forest native and Northwestern Wildcat Matt Grevers is already 
an Olympic Gold-medalist as a member of the two winning relay teams in 
Beijing. This year, he'll be swimming for individual Gold--and maybe a 
world record--in the 100-meter backstroke.
  As the son of an All-American, swimming is in Conor Dwyer's blood. 
After achieving personal bests in every event in which he competed at 
the trials, the Winnetka native will compete in the 400-meter freestyle 
as well as a relay at his first Olympic games.
  Star diver Christina Loukas was born in Riverwoods, where she began 
swimming and diving at an early age. Although she moved away from 
Illinois after high school, Christina remained a Cubs fan and returns 
to Chicago often.
  Chatham's Kelci Bryant will join Christina on the women's diving team 
as she competes in the 3-meter synchronized diving event. Already a 
two-time NCAA champion, this will also be Kelci's second Olympics.
  Algonquin runner Evan Jager won four Illinois State titles in cross-
country and track, but he will be competing in a relatively new sport 
for him--the steeplechase--at this year's Olympics. He qualified for 
the team after just a few years training for the grueling event.
  Chicago's track and field star Wallace Spearmon, Jr., will be looking 
for vindication this year in the men's 200-meters--a high-pressured 
sprint that will include many of the fastest runners of all time.
  Dawn Harper, who hails from my own hometown of East St. Louis, will 
be defending her 2008 Olympic Gold Medal in the 100-meter hurdles in 
London. She won in Beijing in a thrilling upset and with a personal 
best time, making her the one to beat in this year's games.
  Member of the Fighting Illini and All-American Gia Lewis-Smallwood 
made her first international team in 2011 after competing in the discus 
for 11 years. She remained in Champaign after graduating, where she not 
only trains but also volunteers at the nearby YWCA and with Parkland 
Community College.
  Competing in the men's discus event will be Lance Brooks, a New 
Berlin high school graduate who attended Decatur's Millikin University, 
where he played for the men's basketball team.
  Growing up in Itasca, Sarah Zelenka tried swimming, soccer, 
volleyball, and basketball. But it wasn't until she went to college 
that this naturally gifted athlete found her sport: rowing. She has 
since won gold at the Rowing World Cup and World Championships and will 
be looking to add an Olympic medal to that collection in London.
  Rowing twins Grant and Ross James have competed next to each other 
their entire lives and share their biggest fan--their mom. After Ross 
captured the final seat on the eight-man boat going to London, the 
twins learned that they had fulfilled their lifelong dream of competing 
next to each other at the Olympics.
  At 6 feet 9 inches, Sean Rooney is a natural for the sport of 
volleyball. He was named Illinois' Player of the Year in 2001 when he 
led his high school team, Wheaton-Warrenville South, to an Illinois 
State championship. He competed in his first Olympics in Beijing, where 
he helped Team USA to a gold medal. He will help them defend that title 
this year.
  Bob Willis grew up in Chicago and learned to sail on beautiful Lake 
Michigan. After qualifying for the Olympic games, he returned briefly 
to Chicago before leaving for London, where ``the first water [his] 
Olympic board touched was Lake Michigan water.''
  Greco-Roman wrestler Ellis Coleman grew up in Chicago's Humboldt Park 
and joined the wrestling team as a way to stay out of trouble in a 
rough neighborhood. His signature move is an impressive leap called the 
Flying Squirrel, which he may employ as he wrestles to win Olympic Gold 
this year in London.
  Growing up in Naperville, Candace Parker was a devoted Chicago Bulls 
fan. So it wasn't surprising when she began to play basketball herself, 
leading her high school team to multiple Illinois State championships 
and becoming the first female high school player to dunk a basketball 
in a sanctioned game. She has been a member of the USA Basketball 
Women's National Team since 2009 and helped win Gold for the United 
States at the Beijing Olympics.
  Swin Cash will join her on the women's basketball team. Swin was 
drafted into the WNBA after leading her college team to an undefeated 
39 to 0 season and her second national championship. She now plays for 
the Chicago Sky.
  Born and raised in Springfield, basketball swingman Andre Iguodala 
will represent the United States on the 2012 Dream Team, or Dream Team 
Three. His jersey number is now retired at Lanphier High School, where 
he was both a star student and athlete.
  Star defender on the women's soccer team, Amy LePeilbet grew up in 
Crystal Lake. Her high school coach at Prairie Ridge remembers her not 
only for her athleticism but for her work ethic and persistence. She 
will compete as a member of the U.S. women's soccer team in London.
  Each of these athletes has arrived in London as a result of years of 
perseverance and hard work. They have woken up in the dark for early 
morning practices and endured aching muscles and sore limbs. They have 
arrived early and stayed late, spending hours at the gym, on the field, 
or in the pool training for this moment and their Olympic dream.
  I congratulate the athletes from Illinois and every athlete 
representing his or her country at these Olympic games. I look forward 
to watching them over the coming weeks as they compete for Olympic 
Gold.

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