City to host Texas-sized welcome home for Austin Olympians

For immediate release
Sept. 8, 2008

The City of Austin, in partnership with The University of Texas at Austin and Austin Sports Commission, is hosting a citywide event at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, to honor local athletes and coaches of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The festivities will begin with a procession along Congress Avenue followed by a ceremony at the Texas Capitol. An autograph-signing session will take place with the athletes on the Capitol grounds immediately following the ceremony.

This event, sponsored by Austin City Council Members Mike Martinez, Laura Morrison, and Lee Leffingwell, is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to wear red, white, and blue in a show of support for the American athletes who call Austin home. Those who would like autographs are encouraged to bring something for the athletes to sign.

All of the participating Olympians are current or former UT athletes who competed in swimming and track and field. Two of the confirmed participants, Ricky Berens and Dave Walters, are gold medalists in swimming. Other confirmed Olympians include Kathleen Hersey, Scott Spann, Trey Hardee and Leo Manzano. City officials will present each athlete with a certificate of honor signed by Austin Mayor Will Wynn.

Event participants include state, county, and City officials; the Austin Fire Department Honor Guard and Pipe and Drum Corps; the Austin Police Department Mounted Patrol; athletes from Special Olympics Texas; members of the UT Cheer Team; and children of the Neighborhood Longhorns Program.

The procession will begin at 7 p.m. at Republic Square Park at Fourth and Guadalupe streets. Invited participants will march from Fourth Street to Congress Avenue and Congress to the Capitol grounds. The ceremony will take place on the Capitol steps beginning at 7:30 p.m.

No roadways will be closed for any length of time during the procession, and traffic impact is expected to be minimal. The Austin Police Department will block traffic as the procession passes along Fourth Street and through each intersection along Congress, and then immediately reopen the roadways to vehicular traffic. No barricades will be needed.