I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3589 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Greg LeMond, in recognition of 

his service to the Nation as an athlete, activist, role model, and community leader. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 27, 2019 

Mr. THOMPSON of California (for himself, Mr. BLUMENAUER, and Mr. 

GRAVES of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Greg LeMond, 

in recognition of his service to the Nation as an athlete, 

activist, role model, and community leader. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Greg LeMond Congres5 sional Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Gregory James ‘‘Greg’’ LeMond was born 

9 in Lakewood, California, on June 26, 1961. 


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1 (2) Greg began cycling at the age of 14, win2 ning an astonishing 11 straight races to begin his 

3 career. 

4 (3) Greg took home a full suite of medals at the 

5 1979 Junior World Championships, including gold, 

6 silver, and bronze, emerging victorious in the road 

7 race and placing in both team and track pursuit 

8 events. 

9 (4) At age 18, Greg became the youngest cyclist 

10 in the history of the sport to be selected for the 

11 United States Men’s Olympic team. 

12 (5) Greg emerged victorious in the 1980 Circuit 

13 de la Sarthe, becoming the first American in history 

14 and the youngest rider ever to win a major pro-am 

15 cycling event on the European continent. 

16 (6) At age 19, Greg signed his first professional 

17 contract. 

18 (7) In 1982, Greg made the first of several re19 markable recoveries, returning from a broken collar20 bone to win the silver medal at the world champion21 ships in Great Britain. 

22 (8) The Tour de France, the world’s pre23 eminent cycling competition, was first held over a 

24 century ago, in 1903. 


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1 (9) The Tour de France takes place over 23 

2 days, covering an extraordinary 2,200 miles, winding 

3 through multiple mountain ranges, spanning mul4 tiple nations, and is viewed as comparable to run5 ning a marathon every day for three consecutive 

6 weeks. 

7 (10) Greg first competed in the Tour de France 

8 in 1984, finishing third, and finishing second the 

9 following year, in both years deputizing himself to 

10 his teammates, sacrificing a chance to win himself to 

11 boost his teammates toward victory. 

12 (11) Greg emerged victorious in the 1986 Tour 

13 de France, ascending the fabled Alpe D’Huez, de14 feating the field by more than three full minutes, be15 coming the first American and the first non-Euro16 pean to win cycling’s most prestigious race. 

17 (12) In 1987, while recovering from a broken 

18 wrist and collarbone, Greg was tragically shot during 

19 a turkey hunting accident, leaving him in intensive 

20 care, requiring the removal of over 40 shotgun pel21 lets from his abdomen, was deemed unlikely to ever 

22 ride a bicycle again, and likely survived only due to 

23 the abnormal strength of his cardiovascular system. 

24 (13) Greg mounted the greatest comeback in 

25 the history of American sports, taking home an asVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Jul 10, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3589.IH H3589

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1 tonishing victory at the 1989 Tour de France, fol2 lowing multiple surgeries, life-threatening gunshot 

3 wounds, tendon repair, and an appendectomy, win4 ning by eight seconds in the closest finish in the his5 tory of the Tour de France. 

6 (14) Greg would win a third Tour de France 

7 victory in 1990. 

8 (15) Greg is the only American to win the Tour 

9 de France. 

10 (16) Greg has vocally spoken out to champion 

11 healthy sport amongst athletes of all ages and com12 petition levels. 

13 (17) Greg and his wife, Kathy, are active in nu14 merous nonprofit causes, including healthy sport, as15 sisting victims of sexual abuse and various childhood 

16 illnesses. 

17 (18) Cycling offers young people a healthy, ac18 tive, outdoor hobby. 

19 (19) Greg completed his professional career 

20 having won two World Championships, three Tour 

21 de France championships, and twenty-two titles 

22 overall. 

23 (20) More than any other cyclist, Greg personi24 fied the ‘‘breakaway’’ culture of American cycling in 

25 the 1970s and 80s, viewed universally as the epitVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Jul 10, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3589.IH H3589

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1 ome of a young person on a bicycle, attempting to 

2 accomplish feats no other American had achieved. 

3 (21) Greg has not only reached the pinnacle of 

4 international sport, but has devoted his time and re5 sources to assisting his fellow athletes. 

6 (22) Greg has demonstrated the commitment to 

7 excellence, generosity, community, and tenacity that 

8 makes him an example for all to follow. 

9 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

10 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

11 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem12 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

13 for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold 

14 medal of appropriate design to Greg LeMond, in recogni15 tion of his contributions to the Nation as an athlete, activ16 ist, role model, and community leader. 

17 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 

18 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 

19 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec20 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

21 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec22 retary. 

23 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

24 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

25 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 


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1 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

2 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 

3 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 

4 and the cost of the gold medal. 

5 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

6 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu7 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

8 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

9 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 

10 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

11 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

Æ 


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