Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of all Canadians to honour one of my constituents and one of our country's greatest and most courageous athletes. Silken Laumann, Olympic medalist and world champion rower, announced her retirement yesterday.
While her accomplishments include three Olympic medals and the 1991 single sculls World Championship, it was her determination to triumph over adversity that won the hearts of a nation.
Just months before the 1992 Barcelona games her leg was seriously injured in a collision at a German regatta. Doctors said she would never race again. But she refused to give up. She endured eight operations and battled back to win the bronze medal.
If they awarded an Olympic medal for courage and determination, I can think of no other recipient more worthy of a gold than Silken Laumann. She is a shining example of what it means and what it takes to be a true Olympian in every sense of the word.