[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 700 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 700
Congratulating Michael Phelps and the members and coaches of the United
States Olympic Swimming Team for their record-breaking performance at
the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 30 (legislative day, September 17), 2008
Mr. Cardin (for himself, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Levin, Ms. Stabenow, Mr.
Martinez, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Dole, Mr. Menendez, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr.
Shelby, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Burr,
Mrs. Boxer, and Mr. Lautenberg) submitted the following resolution;
which was considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Congratulating Michael Phelps and the members and coaches of the United
States Olympic Swimming Team for their record-breaking performance at
the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Whereas, on August 10, 2008, Michael Phelps of Baltimore, Maryland, set a world-
record time of 4:03.84 and won the gold medal in the men's 400-meter
individual medley event, and Ryan Lochte of Daytona Beach, Florida, won
the bronze medal in the same event;
Whereas, on August 10, 2008, Katie Hoff of Towson, Maryland, won the bronze
medal in the women's 400-meter individual medley event;
Whereas, on August 10, 2008, Natalie Coughlin of Vallejo, California, Lacey
Nymeyer of Tucson, Arizona, Kara Lynn Joyce of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and
Dara Torres of Los Angeles, California, set a record time for athletes
from the United States of 3:34.33 and won the silver medal in the
women's 400-meter freestyle relay event;
Whereas, on August 10, 2008, Larsen Jensen of Bakersfield, California, set a
record time for athletes from the United States of 3:42.78 and won the
bronze medal in the men's 400-meter freestyle event;
Whereas, on August 11, 2008, Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale of Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, Cullen Jones of Irvington, New Jersey, and Jason Lezak of
Irvine, California, set a world-record time of 3:08.24 and won the gold
medal in the men's 400-meter freestyle relay event, with anchor Jason
Lezak coming from behind to edge the team from France by \8/100\ of a
second in 1 of the most dramatic finishes in Olympic swimming history;
Whereas, on August 11, 2008, Katie Hoff won the silver medal in the women's 400-
meter freestyle event;
Whereas, on August 11, 2008, Christine Magnuson of Tinley Park, Illinois, won
the silver medal in the women's 100-meter butterfly event;
Whereas, on August 12, 2008, Michael Phelps set a world-record time of 1:42.96
and won the gold medal in the men's 200-meter freestyle event, and Peter
Vanderkaay of Rochester, Michigan, won the bronze medal in the same
event;
Whereas, on August 12, 2008, Natalie Coughlin set a record time for athletes
from the United States of 58.96 and won the gold medal in the women's
100-meter backstroke event, and Margaret Hoelzer of Huntsville, Alabama,
won the bronze medal in the same event;
Whereas, on August 12, 2008, Aaron Peirsol of Irvine, California, set a world-
record time of 52.54 and won the gold medal in the men's 100-meter
backstroke event, and Matt Grevers of Lake Forest, Illinois, won the
silver medal in the same event;
Whereas, on August 12, 2008, Rebecca Soni of Plainsboro, New Jersey, won the
silver medal in the women's 100-meter breaststroke event;
Whereas, on August 13, 2008, Michael Phelps set a world-record time of 1:52:03
and won the gold medal in the men's 200-meter butterfly event, edging
Laszlo Cseh of Hungary by the width of a fingernail;
Whereas Michael Phelps then teamed with Ricky Berens of Charlotte, North
Carolina, Ryan Lochte, and Peter Vanderkaay, to set a world-record time
of 6:58.56 and win the gold medal in the men's 800-meter freestyle relay
event, beating the team from Russia by more than 5 seconds and winning
the tenth and 11th gold medals of Michael Phelps's career, more than any
other athlete in history;
Whereas, on August 13, 2008, Natalie Coughlin won the bronze medal in the
women's 200-meter individual medley event;
Whereas, on August 13, 2008, Katie Hoff set a record time for athletes from the
United States of 1:55.78 and finished fourth in the women's 200-meter
freestyle event;
Whereas, on August 14, 2008, Allison Schmitt of Canton, Michigan, Caroline
Burckle of Louisville, Kentucky, Natalie Coughlin, and Katie Hoff set a
record time for athletes from the United States of 7:46.33 and won the
bronze medal in the women's 800-meter freestyle relay event;
Whereas, on August 14, 2008, Jason Lezak tied Cesar Cielo of Brazil for the
bronze medal in the men's 100-meter freestyle event;
Whereas, on August 15, 2008, Michael Phelps set a world-record time of 1:54.23
and won the gold medal in the men's 200-meter individual medley event,
and Ryan Lochte won the bronze medal in the same event;
Whereas, on August 15, 2008, Ryan Lochte set a world-record time of 1:53.94 and
won the gold medal in the men's 200-meter backstroke event, and Aaron
Peirsol won the silver medal in the same event;
Whereas, on August 15, 2008, Rebecca Soni set a world-record time of 2:20.22 and
won the gold medal in the women's 200-meter breaststroke event;
Whereas, on August 15, 2008, Natalie Coughlin tied the record time for athletes
from the United States of 53.39, which she herself set, and won the
bronze medal in the women's 100-meter freestyle event;
Whereas, on August 16, 2008, Michael Phelps set an Olympic-record time of 50.58
and won the gold medal in the men's 100-meter butterfly event, tying
1972 Olympian Mark Spitz for the most gold medals, 7, won by an
individual in a single Olympic Games;
Whereas, on August 16, 2008, Margaret Hoelzer won the silver medal in the
women's 200-meter backstroke event;
Whereas, on August 17, 2008, Brendan Hansen of Havertown, Pennsylvania, Aaron
Peirsol, Michael Phelps, and Jason Lezak set a world-record time of
3:29.34 and won the gold medal in the men's 400-meter medley relay
event;
Whereas, on August 17, 2008, Dara Torres set a record time for athletes from the
United States of 24.07 and won the silver medal in the women's 50-meter
freestyle event;
Whereas Dara Torres then teamed with Natalie Coughlin, Rebecca Soni, and
Christine Magnuson to set a record time for athletes from the United
States of 3:53.30 and won the silver medal in the women's 400-meter
medley relay event;
Whereas Caroline Burckle, Larsen Jensen, and Allison Schmitt each won 1 bronze
medal;
Whereas Matt Grevers, Kara Lynn Joyce, and Lacey Nymeyer each won 1 silver
medal;
Whereas Ricky Berens, Brendan Hansen, Cullen Jones, and Garrett Weber-Gale each
won 1 gold medal;
Whereas Margaret Hoelzer won 1 silver medal and 1 bronze medal;
Whereas Christine Magnuson won 2 silver medals;
Whereas Peter Vanderkaay won 1 gold medal and 1 bronze medal;
Whereas Katie Hoff won 1 silver medal and 2 bronze medals;
Whereas Jason Lezak won 2 gold medals and 1 bronze medal;
Whereas Aaron Peirsol won 2 gold medals and 1 silver medal;
Whereas Rebecca Soni won 1 gold medal and 2 silver medals;
Whereas Ryan Lochte won 2 gold medals and 2 bronze medals;
Whereas Dara Torres--
(1) is the first swimmer from the United States to compete in 5 Olympic
Games, representing the United States in the Summer Olympic Games of 1984,
1988, 1992, 2000, and 2008;
(2) won 5 medals at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia,
as the oldest member of the women's swimming team at the age of 33;
(3) at the age of 41 is the oldest member of the women's team by 15
years;
(4) won the silver medal in all 3 events in which she competed in the
2008 Summer Olympic Games;
(5) has won 12 Olympic medals, including 4 gold medals, 4 silver
medals, and 4 bronze medals, over the course of her career;
(6) has won at least 1 medal in each of the 5 Olympic Games in which
she has competed, making her 1 of only a handful of Olympians to earn
medals in 5 different Olympic Games;
Whereas Natalie Coughlin won 1 gold medal, 2 silver medals, and 3 bronze medals,
becoming the first female athlete from the United States to win 6 medals
in 1 year's Olympic Games, breaking the record of 5 medals she tied in
the 2004 Summer Olympic Games;
Whereas Michael Phelps has trained under the expert tutelage of coach Bob Bowman
for 12 years, first at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club and more
recently at the University of Michigan;
Whereas, during the awards ceremony for the men's 400-meter medley relay event,
the Federation Internationale de Natation, the international governing
body of swimming, diving, water polo, synchronized swimming, and open
water swimming, honored Michael Phelps for his historic accomplishment
of--
(1) setting 7 world records and 1 Olympic record;
(2) winning 8 gold medals, the most ever by an individual athlete in a
single Olympic Games; and
(3) winning 14 gold medals over the course of his Olympic career,
another record for an individual athlete at the Olympic Games;
Whereas Michael Phelps's Olympic performance places him in the pantheon of the
greatest athletes of all time; and
Whereas the United States Olympic Swimming Team collectively won 31 medals,
including 12 gold medals, 9 silver medals, and 10 bronze medals: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate --
(1) congratulates Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, Ryan
Lochte, Dara Torres, Katie Hoff, Jason Lezak, Aaron Peirsol,
Rebecca Soni, and the other members of the United States
Olympic Swimming Team for their record-breaking performances
and commends them for their dedication, courage, and
sportsmanship, and for the exemplary way in which they
represented the United States of America while competing in
Beijing, China;
(2) congratulates and commends for their devotion,
professionalism, and tireless advocacy on behalf of the team
and the sport of swimming generally--
(A) National Team Head Coach Mark Schubert;
(B) Head Men's Coach Eddie Reese;
(C) Head Women's Coach Jack Bauerle;
(D) Assistant Coaches Bob Bowman, Gregg Troy, Frank
Busch, Teri McKeever, Paul Yetter, and Sean Hutchison;
(E) Men's and Women's Open Water Head Coaches John
Dussliere and Bill Rose;
(F) Open Water Chief of Mission Paul Asmuth; and
(G) the staff of the United States Olympic Swimming
Team; and
(3) requests the Secretary of the Senate to transmit
enrolled copies of this resolution to--
(A) the United States Olympic Swimming Team at the
national headquarters of USA Swimming in Colorado
Springs, Colorado; and
(B) Michael Phelps and the North Baltimore Aquatic
Club in Baltimore, Maryland, in honor of Michael
Phelps's singular, historic, and inspirational
achievement.
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