III 

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; 


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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 worldrecord 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 


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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 worldrecord 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 athVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:45 Oct 01, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR700.ATS SR700

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letes 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 worldrecord 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 worldrecord 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 worldrecord 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 


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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— 


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(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 Fe ́de ́ration Internationale 

de Natation, the international governing body of swimming, diving, water polo, synchronized swimming, and 


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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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate — 

2 (1) congratulates Michael Phelps, Natalie 

3 Coughlin, Ryan Lochte, Dara Torres, Katie Hoff, 

4 Jason Lezak, Aaron Peirsol, Rebecca Soni, and the 

5 other members of the United States Olympic Swim6 ming Team for their record-breaking performances 

7 and commends them for their dedication, courage, 

8 and sportsmanship, and for the exemplary way in 

9 which they represented the United States of America 

10 while competing in Beijing, China; 

11 (2) congratulates and commends for their devo12 tion, professionalism, and tireless advocacy on behalf 

13 of the team and the sport of swimming generally— 

14 (A) National Team Head Coach Mark 

15 Schubert; 


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1 (B) Head Men’s Coach Eddie Reese; 

2 (C) Head Women’s Coach Jack Bauerle; 

3 (D) Assistant Coaches Bob Bowman, 

4 Gregg Troy, Frank Busch, Teri McKeever, 

5 Paul Yetter, and Sean Hutchison; 

6 (E) Men’s and Women’s Open Water Head 

7 Coaches John Dussliere and Bill Rose; 

8 (F) Open Water Chief of Mission Paul 

9 Asmuth; and 

10 (G) the staff of the United States Olympic 

11 Swimming Team; and 

12 (3) requests the Secretary of the Senate to 

13 transmit enrolled copies of this resolution to— 

14 (A) the United States Olympic Swimming 

15 Team at the national headquarters of USA 

16 Swimming in Colorado Springs, Colorado; and 

17 (B) Michael Phelps and the North Balti18 more Aquatic Club in Baltimore, Maryland, in 

19 honor of Michael Phelps’s singular, historic, 

20 and inspirational achievement. 

Æ 


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