[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12940]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING WASHINGTON STATE ATHLETES COMPETING IN THE 2012 SUMMER 
                                OLYMPICS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ADAM SMITH

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 31, 2012

  Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Aretha 
Thurmond, Ariana Kukors, Courtney Thompson, and Tejay van Garderen from 
the State of Washington for representing the United States and 
competing in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London.
  The 2012 Games will be Aretha Thurmond's fourth appearance at the 
Olympic Games when she competes in the discus throw. She began throwing 
discus in high school and competed in her first Olympic games at the 
1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, just after finishing her sophomore 
year at the University of Washington. She went on to participate in the 
2004 Athens Games and 2008 Beijing Games. Aretha has remained one of 
the top American discus throwers for over a decade.
  Ariana Kukors will be making her Olympic debut and participating in 
the 200M Individual Medley. Shortly after the 2008 Olympic Trials, 
Ariana continued to train hard and won the 200M Individual Medley at 
the 2009 World Championships, setting a world-record of 2 minutes, 6.15 
seconds.
  Courtney Thompson will also make her Olympic debut in London as 
backup setter for the United States Women's Volleyball Team. Her 
professional career began when she joined the national team in 2007 and 
competed in the 2007 and 2009 Federation Internationale de Volleyball 
World Grand Prix tournaments. Her strong appearance in the 2012 Grand 
Prix grabbed the attention of many, which led her to this year's 
Olympic Games. Courtney and the women's volleyball team hopes to 
improve upon the silver medal they won at the 2008 Beijing Games.
  Tejay van Garderen has been named one of the most talented cyclists 
in America and will compete in this summer's Olympic Games. He was born 
in Tacoma, Washington and spent the majority of his early years living 
and cycling in Europe. During his rookie years, he signed with HTC 
Highroad, which was at the time was the world's top cycling team. Tejay 
finished third overall in the 2010 Criterium du Dauphine Libre and made 
his very first appearance at the Tour de France in 2011. He has also 
competed in the Tour de California and in Colorado's inaugural Pro 
Cycling Challenge.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I commend these athletes 
from the State of Washington for their dedication and honor all 
Olympians taking part in the 2012 Summer Games.

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