MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2022 Regular Session

To: Rules

By: Senator(s) Thompson, Carter, DeLano, Moran, Barnett, Butler (38th), England, Frazier, Jackson (11th), McLendon, Seymour, Simmons (13th), Sparks

Senate Concurrent Resolution 544

(As Adopted by Senate and House)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING OLYMPIAN CORY MCGEE FROM PASS CHRISTIAN, MISSISSIPPI, FOR HER OUTSTANDING TRACK AND FIELD ACCOMPLISHMENT IN THE WOMEN'S 1500-METER FINAL AT THE 2020 TOKYO OLYMPICS AND EXTENDING BEST WISHES FOR CONTINUED SUCCESS.

     WHEREAS, we join the citizens of Pass Christian, Mississippi, and the family of Olympian Cory McGee in celebration of her outstanding Track and Field career and her accomplishments in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics; and

     WHEREAS, Pass Christian's Cory McGee put her hometown on the map on the national stage at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.  In 2021 she returned home, and the former Pass Christian Pirate had become a hometown hero; and

     WHEREAS, a trip down memory lane for first-time Olympian Cory McGee began at the track where it all began at Pass Christian High School.  She still has memories of this starting place that are just as vivid as the ones she made much more recently as a member of Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo Games.  There she advanced all the way to the finals of the Women's 1500-Meter race; and

     WHEREAS, Cory explains her passion, saying she loves "to be able to represent the thing I love and the places I am from and stand on the starting line with women from all over the world."  Cory's father, Jim McGee, fondly remembers that she told him when she was 11 years old she was going to the Olympics.  He encouraged her, and armed with a one-track mind, Cory made it as a Silver Medalist in the Olympic qualifiers in Eugene, Oregon.  Cory ran a personal best of 4 minutes and 67 hundredths of a second; and

     WHEREAS, on August 4, 2021, Olympian Cory McGee got to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Women's 1500-Meter Final for a chance at Gold despite tripping in the Semifinals and not finishing high enough to qualify.  McGee, who lives in Boulder, was allowed to appeal for a shot at advancing to the medal round because she argued that she was tripped, and not long after the race, she won that appeal.  The final of the 1500 Meters took place August 6, 2021, and Cory placed 12th; and

     WHEREAS, in Cory's University of Florida career, she competed for winning six Southeastern Conference Titles as a middle-distance runner.  Her Olympic experience and other career highlights include:

     WHEREAS, Cory is the daughter of James and Shawn McGee of Pass Christian.  She has three sisters, began running at age 9, and she previously lived in Greece and was inspired to begin racing while watching the 2004 Olympic Games.  Cory is not done yet, now just three years away from trying to punch her ticket to the 2024 Olympics.  "When I first got to Tokyo, I wasn't thinking that far ahead but during the closing ceremony, I thought here we go"; and

     WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we recognize a Mississippi Olympian who has brought honor to her hometown and to the State of Mississippi:

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend and congratulate Olympian Cory McGee from Pass Christian, Mississippi, for her outstanding Track and Field accomplishment in the Women's 1500-Meter Final at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and extend best wishes to Cory and her family as she prepares for the 2024 Olympics.

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Cory McGee and her family and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.