HR0982 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0982 LRB096 21472 GRL 38082 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Katherine Reutter on the occasion of her silver and bronze medal victories in the speed skating competition at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada; and

WHEREAS, Katherine Reutter was born on July 30, 1988, in Champaign; her parents are Beth and Jay Reutter; she graduated from Centennial High School in 2006; and

WHEREAS, Katherine Reutter learned to skate with her mother during a figure skating class when she was 4 years old; she was inspired to become a speed skater after meeting 5-time Olympic gold medalist Bonnie Blair at her high school; she first started speed skating professionally in 2005 at the age of 17 and began training at the Olympic Training Center in Marquette, Michigan that year; she has trained in Salt Lake City, Utah since 2007; and

WHEREAS, In February of 2009, Katherine Reutter completed a 1,000-meter race in 1 minute and 29.667 seconds in Dresden, Germany; her time is less than 0.2 of a second short of the world record set in 2008; and

WHEREAS, Katherine Reutter won 4 silver medals at the 2009 Short Track Speed Skating World Cup; she won the women's 1,500 meter at the 2009-2010 Short Track Speed Skating World Cup on November 7, 2009, finishing in 2:23.275 seconds and beating Ha-Ri Cho of South Korea; she then made the 2010 U.S. Olympic team after winning the 1,500 meter final at the Olympic short track trials in September of 2009; in December of 2009, she ranked 5th in the 500-meter category and 6th in the 1000-meter category; and

WHEREAS, During the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, Katherine Reutter competed in the women's 3,000 meter relay and won the bronze medal; in the finals of the 1,000 meter event, she earned the silver medal; and

WHEREAS, Katherine Reutter plans to spend any money she will earn for winning an Olympic medal on making improvements to her parents' home in Champaign; and

WHEREAS, Katherine Reutter serves as a model of hard work, integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Katherine Reutter on the occasion of her performance and wish her continued success and happiness in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Katherine Reutter as a symbol of our esteem and respect.