The 1980 US Olympic team receives the 'Congressional Gold Medal'

On June 25th 1980, the 96th congress of the House of Representatives voted 374-28 in favor of awarding the 1980 US Olympic team the Congressional Gold Medal - But that is not what they received! Instead, they received was a gold plated bronze medal from the USOC which the USOC had to pay for. (Who were the 28 people who voted against it and why?)
So the athletes get their medal but it's called an Olympic Medal instead of a Congressional Medal.

So, Congress, after being prodded and corrected by Dave Sims and Ron Neugent, have changed the designation of the medals with a certificate now entered into the public record.

From the USOC website: "... COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Twenty-seven years after Congress authorized President Jimmy Carter to present a congressional medal to the 461 athletes of the 1980 United States Olympic Team, the medal has now been confirmed as being the highest civilian honor that can be bestowed by Congress. Until this recent designation, the medals awarded to the 1980 Olympic Team have been denied full recognition due to a technicality in production. ..." [Link]

Swimming World asked Glenn mills for his reaction to this last December and this is what he said: "... First, a very heartfelt thank you to Dave Sims and Ron Neugent. Thanks for caring enough to research and fight for recognition. Regardless of the significance of the medals, or the loss we all feel for not having had the chance to participate and represent our country, I feel the overriding message in this story is how we've all remained friends over the years. This is a team that shares a special bond. Dave and Ron's caring for all the athletes, and the heartfelt letter he wrote to all of us is a testament that no matter what our signification to the outside world, we remain The 1980 U.S. Olympic Team." [Link]

Now I wanted to find out if Congress followed through so I wrote Glenn Mills and asked if he could send me a photo as evidence that they followed through. Above is Glenn Mills holding up the certificate validating his medal as a Congressional Medal.

Winning the Congressional Medal is a big deal! Here is a page to the US House of Representatives of those that have received the Congressional Gold Medal. It's quite impressive, it includes Pope John Paul II; Navy Commander and de facto father of the navy, John Paul Jones; Prime Minister Tony Blair; Mother Teresa of Calcutta; Simon Wiesenthal; Gold Medalist, Jesse Owens, and many more. [Link]

Here is a link to Glenn Mills' (Congressional Medal Mills) website, GoSwim.tv

This is "Tin Medal Tony's" Swimmer's Network!

And my medal is tinted with a real bronze color too! Watch out Gold Medal Mel!

Below are 19 links to extraordinary swim sites. These are the pages I have bookmarked and read often. There are a couple of sites that I am on the fence about; (Swim Network is one for I am waiting for them to develop a track record before I commit), and there are a bunch of sites I missed since I am tired tonight after competing at SPMA Regionals and I need to recharge for tomorrow. I will get to you! Also, I have race video of SPMA Regionals that I will post soon.

Swim.Net - A landing page for Southern California Aquatics or SCAQ. The largest Swim club in America. It's the club I swim with and a club that has Olympians; plural, and national champions for coaches.

Go Swim - Glenn Mills has made a virtual online swim school. Since most people learn a sport with their bodies rather than the written word, his swim videos are an amazing asset in regards to intellectually learning the art of swimming.

Omega Timing - Results captured and archived really fast. This is the site that those who cover races go to so as to report any results.

FINA - The governing body for all things aquatic. I like the new redesign of their site but I wish they would finish it. Their masters page is lacking but they do keep it current with aquatics related news.

Flowswimming - Delicious and informative; original and groundbreaking. See workouts, interviews and raw workout footage; totally yummy! Mark Savage would call it, "swim porn."

Timed Prelims - Started out as an edgy satire site but has grown into a great site for interviews. They are also very charitable to their local swim community. (I wish they would do another home page redesign for reversed out type on a blue background is hard to read. Still a great site though.)

Merritr - Merrit is quite accomplished as a swimmer, an automotive engineer, and a contributor to She can discussed with ease all about the dark arts of fluid dynamics, passive drag and drag coefficient models and how it relates to a swim suit.

Here is a Google map she made with every freaking kick buck pool on the West Side and surrounding LA area. (She skipped the Valley but that is okay!) Yes, she rules; so go be blown away about our selection of pools. Especially those in the UK! [Link]

Swimming World - You all know why this site is not only an asset but a daily read. I use their swim calculator at least once a week as well. [Link]

WCSN - this site has been very good to us. They let me post their content and all they ask in exchange is that I include a link. Note, they continually post videos to You Tube they have provided more swim content than any other website or media outlet I know off. Check out their innovative website.

Swim Room A swim site dedicated to elite swimmers which leans more towards personality profiles than race content. The site is full of photos, high quality video and wonderfully innocent blogs. On occasion they have linked to me and I am very flattered by that.

Just Add Water - San Francisco swimmers do not fear cold water and it astonishes me. Great info there regarding swimming in the San Francisco Bay. (I wish it was updated more though.)

The 17th Man - Joel Swims in West L.A. and blogs about his workouts and observations therein. If you want to get inside a swimmers head and read what it is like to to live and swim in West L.A., this is the blog.

Canuckswimmer - Scott was one of the first people to leave a comment at my blog. He is the Canuck swimmer and when he has an controversial opinion, it goes global. One subject he wrote about had a USMS message board topic on fire for about 12 or so pages.

Vanderbilt Y Masters - I love reading about open water events in New York and this is a charming blog filled with a New Yorker's; (a Noo Yourka), masters swimming point of view.

Uinnista - Famous people leave comments there and they are usually a week or so ahead of me. A GREAT swim blog with an edgy sense of humor.

Swim News - Craig Lord has been writing some really good stuff lately. He has really found a voice as of late and it is thoughtful.

USA Swimming - Our national governing body for the sport of swimming. I am a bit cross with them right now over the Flowswimming fiasco but the content still is good

Southern Pacific Masters Association - This is my local USMS afiliat. They do a great job of helping clubs put on meets in the Southerm Pacific Masters Zone. I called "Spee-Ma" for short and I get yelled at for doing so.

LMU Woman's Team - One of the pools that SCAQ swims at is LMU. Bonnie Adair, and Clay Evans coach the LMU womens team and hence I support that team and follow their meets.