FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                    RELEASE NO.  12-08

FACULTY MEMBER NAMED OLYMPIC HALL OF FAME FINALIST – March 3, 2008

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Mr. John Morgan, winner of thirteen gold medals in swimming in the Paralympic Games, was recently named one of five Paralympic nominees for the United States Olympic Hall of Fame. 

     Morgan, the lead researcher in the Department of Foreign Language’s Center for Languages, Cultures, and Regional Studies, dominated the 1984 and 1992 Paralympic games.  During the Barcelona games, he won 10 medals and set six world and two Paralympic records.  In the two Olympiads, Morgan won a combined 15 medals.

     Morgan is one of five finalists in the Paralympian category, and online voting to help determine the winner will continue until March 28. 

     According to the U.S. Olympic Committee, the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame was “envisioned as a lasting tribute to the pursuit of excellence and the Olympic ideals” and was established “to celebrate the achievements of America’s premier athletes in the modern Olympic games.”  The 2008 inductees, including six individual finalists, one Paralympian, and one team, will be announced during the week of April 14.  

     An awards ceremony to honor this year’s inductees will take place on June 19 in Chicago, Ill.

     To vote, go to the U.S Olympic Hall of Fame Web site.