U.S. Senator Charles Schumer and U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer, introduced bipartisan legislation in the Senate to award Congressional Gold Medals to the “Miracle on Ice” U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team that won a gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.
The team defeated the four-time Olympic champion Soviet Union Team in the semi-final game of the tournament, and went on to win a gold medal in a thrilling come-from-behind game against the Finnish National Team. Schumer and Cramer’s legislation will award the team with three Congressional Gold Medals, including one to be displayed at the Lake Placid Olympic Center in Upstate New York.
“In one of the greatest sports moments in American history, our nation witnessed a miracle when 20 college and minor league athletes on our U.S. Men’s Ice Hockey Team beat the vaunted Soviet Union Team at the 1980 Winter Olympic games in Lake Placid. The U.S. Team demonstrated great American fighting spirit and a gritty determination to prevail against all odds, that propelled them to a miraculous victory over the Soviet Red Army juggernaut and sparked pride and patriotism across the nation that has inspired generations of Americans since. They then went on to a come-from-behind win in the gold medal game against the Finns, cementing Lake Placid’s hallowed place in American sports history. I’m proud to introduce this legislation to award Congressional Gold Medals for one of America’s favorite and inspirational Olympic gold medal teams,” said Senator Schumer. “Great moments are born from great challenge, and 45 years later this win still resonates with so many Americans and serves as an indisputable moment of pride that unites the country. To paraphrase the broadcast that day by Al Michaels, decades later we ask: Do you still believe in miracles? YES! That is why we should commemorate this moment and Lake Placid’s place in American history by awarding this Olympic Gold Medal team with Congressional Gold Medals to be displayed at the Lake Placid Olympic Center and other Olympic and hockey exhibits across the country.”
Schumer and Cramer’s legislation – which is co-sponsored by , along with U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, U.S. Senator Gary Peters, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper, U.S. Senator Mike Rounds, U.S. Senator Tina Smith, and U.S. Senator John R. Curtis – will recognize the 45th anniversary of the game, awarding three Congressional Gold Medals to members of the team for display at the Lake Placid Olympic Center, as well as the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado and the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Minnesota to recognize this remarkable achievement.
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