Floor Statement by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont to Congratulate Vermont Olympians

By
Bernie Sanders
Posted March 4th, 2010

Congressional Record – Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Mr. President, I rise today to honor the athletes from my home State of Vermont who have reached the highest level of excellence by representing the United States of America at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games. They have demonstrated that from a small state of only 600,000 residents there is a deeply rooted passion and commitment to high athletic achievement and winter sports.
In a variety of sports from the biathlon to the snowboarding halfpipe, Vermont’s eleven athletes brought some of the best competition in the world. Their efforts typify the competitive spirit and high standards of our small excelling state. For many Vermonters, Vancouver was not their first Olympic Games, indicating that these athletes are constantly striving for the perfect performance, setting new goals, and reaching higher than they ever have before.
In the first week of competition Vermont made a strong impression by winning a full set of medals, bronze, silver, and gold. The world watched as Ms. Hannah Kearney of Norwich won the first Gold medal for the United States in these Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. She was closely followed in the women’s snowboarding halfpipe when Vermont took both second and third place on the podium. Ms. Kelly Clark of West Dover brought home the bronze and Ms. Hannah Teter of Belmont the silver. This is an unbelievable feat when you consider that there were a total of eight women on the U.S. snowboarding team, three of them were from the Green Mountain State, and two of them were in the top three.
In true Vermont fashion, our Olympians bring more than talent, excellence, and commitment to their sports. They show exemplary dedication to their communities. When Hannah Teter took gold in the Torino Games in 2006 she combined her prize money with proceeds from maple syrup sales to start a charity called “Hannah’s Gold” which brings aid to a village in Kenya. Liz Stephen, a cross country skier from East Montpelier, supports “Fast and Female,” a charity geared toward getting young girls involved in sports. Lindsey Jacobellis, a snowboarder from Stratton, VT used her love of animals as motivation to get involved with “American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).” From charity efforts to hometown family-owned restaurants, the impacts of these outstanding individuals are felt by many.
The eleven athletes who are recognized today as Vermont Olympians are the following: In cross country skiing- Caitlin Compton, Andy Newell, and Liz Stephen In alpine skiing- Chelsea Marshall, Nolan Kasper, and Jimmy Cochran In ski jumping- Nick Alexander In freestyle skiing- gold medalist Hannah Kearney In snowboarding- silver medalist Hannah Teter, bronze medalist Kelly Clark, and Lindsey Jacobellis
It is with great pleasure that I congratulate these athletes on a spectacular job well done.