MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2017

By: Representatives Baria, Watson, Barker, To: Rules Byrd, DeLano, Johnson (87th), Pigott, Staples, Touchstone

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 23

1 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING TORI 2 BOWIE FOR HER NUMEROUS ATHLETIC ACCOLADES IN THE SPORT OF TRACK 3 AND FIELD, PARTICULARLY HER GOLD MEDAL IN THE 4X100 METER RELAY, 4 SILVER MEDAL IN THE 100 METER DASH, AND BRONZE MEDAL IN THE 200 5 METER DASH DURING THE 2016 SUMMER IN , 6 BRAZIL. 7 WHEREAS, Tori Bowie, the second-fastest woman in the world 8 and a native of Sand Hill, Mississippi, sprinted her way to

9 medaling in three different events during the 2016 Summer Olympic 10 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and 11 WHEREAS, born on August 27, 1990, Frentorish "Tori" Bowie 12 attended Pisgah High School, where she began her rise to become 13 one of the most elite track athletes in the world, as she won two 14 state championships in the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash and the 15 long jump, as well as three state championships in the 4x100 meter

16 relay; and 17 WHEREAS, Tori's athletic prowess and track accolades landed 18 her a scholarship to the University of Southern Mississippi in 19 Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where she flew down her lanes like the

H. C. R. No. 23 *HR31/R1052* ~ OFFICIAL ~ N1/2 17/HR31/R1052 PAGE 1 (ENK\JAB) 20 wings of a Golden Eagle in each of her and long jump 21 competitions; and 22 WHEREAS, during her tenure at Southern Mississippi, Tori, a 23 two-time NCAA champion, soared to new heights in the long jump 24 category, sweeping the titles in the NCAA Women's Indoor Track and 25 Field Championship during her junior year in 2011, setting two

26 school records and earning the premier status of NCAA Female 27 Athlete of the Year, and she set high marks at each Conference USA 28 indoor and outdoor meets she participated in; and 29 WHEREAS, in 2013, Tori began competing professionally in 30 , finishing that year as the fifth best long jumper 31 in the United States and held the tenth best jump in the world, 32 and in 2014, she was the long jump runner-up at the 2014 USA

33 Indoor Championships, which earned her a trip to the World Indoor 34 Championships in Sopot, Poland, for the first time in her career; 35 and 36 WHEREAS, in 2015, Tori placed first at the USA Track and 37 Field Outdoor Championships, first at Baie Mahault Meeting

38 Caraibes Région, first at Clermont NTC Pure Athletics Sprint Elite 39 Meet, second at Shanghai, second at Stockholm,

40 third at the IAAF World Championships, third at the Nike 41 , and third at Zürich; and 42 WHEREAS, during the 2016 Summer Olympics, Tori arrived hungry 43 for medals and left satisfied, excelling in each category that she 44 participated in, winning bronze in the 200 meter dash, silver in

H. C. R. No. 23 *HR31/R1052* ~ OFFICIAL ~ 17/HR31/R1052 PAGE 2 (ENK\JAB) 45 the 100 meter dash, and the coveted, illustrious gold in the 4x100 46 meter relay race; and 47 WHEREAS, Tori ran the fourth and final leg of the relay race, 48 and once she was handed the baton, she never looked back, as the 49 fate of her entire team and their gold medal dreams rested on her 50 shoulders, but the pressure did not faze her, as she finished with

51 gusto and her team finished in 41.01 seconds, the second-fastest 52 time ever in that event; and 53 WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to recognize 54 and commend the lives of fine Mississippi athletes, especially 55 those such as Tori Bowie, whose dedication and triumph has 56 inspired all Mississippians, both young and old, to strive for 57 excellence in all facets of their lives, bringing glory and honor

58 to the Sand Hill Community and this great Magnolia State: 59 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF 60 REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING 61 THEREIN, That we do hereby commend and congratulate Tori Bowie 62 upon her many track and field accomplishments, especially

63 receiving the gold medal in the 4x100 meter relay, the silver 64 medal in the 100 meter dash, and the bronze medal in the 200 meter

65 dash during the 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, 66 Brazil, and express deepest wishes for continued success in all of 67 her future endeavors.

H. C. R. No. 23 *HR31/R1052* ~ OFFICIAL ~ 17/HR31/R1052 PAGE 3 (ENK\JAB) 68 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be 69 furnished to Tori Bowie and to the members of the Capitol Press 70 Corps.

H. C. R. No. 23 *HR31/R1052* ~ OFFICIAL ~ 17/HR31/R1052 ST: Tori Bowie; commend for winning gold, PAGE 4 (ENK\JAB) silver and bronze medals in track and field during 2016 Summer Olympic Games.