Russ Feingold: “I would like to take a brief moment to congratulate all of the athletes who competed in Lillehammer, Norway, the last…”

“I would like to take a brief moment to congratulate all of the athletes who competed in Lillehammer, Norway, the last several weeks who have made this year's winter Olympic games such a success and pleasure to watch. The Olympic games provide the world a friendly forum in which nations can showcase their people's athletic talents and compete with each other in a noncombative and productive manner. Over the years the Olympics have symbolized that at least for a few weeks every 4 years the nations of the world can come together and forget their differences and compete in a spirited and peaceful fashion. We know that the American team made a strong showing in this year's winter games, and I was proud to see that athletes from the State of Wisconsin were again able to make significant contributions to the team. I am honored to represent the State of Wisconsin which produced close to 20 Olympic team athletes who either grew up in the Badger State or adopted it as their home in order to train for the competition. In particular, I would like to commend two of these athletes who were the true American heroes of this year's winter Olympics--Bonnie Blair and Dan Jansen--who combined to win half of America's gold medals.”