Member News

March 15, 2008    

Paralympic Medalist Jim Mastro Nominated for U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame

Vote for Mastro by March 28!

The United States Olympic Committee announced the finalists for the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Class of 2008 and invites the public to vote online at usolympichalloffame.com to help determine who will comprise the next class of inductees. Six individual Olympians, one Olympic team and one Paralympian, along with a coach, a veteran and a special contributor, will be honored during the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Presented by Allstate.

The awards-show style ceremony will take place at 7:00 p.m. on June 19 at the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater in Chicago, Ill. Additionally, a nationally-televised special will enable sports fans across the United States to re-live the moments that catapulted the Class of 2008 inductees to U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame status. Additional information regarding the telecast of the induction ceremony will be released at a later date.

Jim Mastro (Bemidji, Minn.) , who lost his vision while in high school, has competed in seven Paralympics, inseveral sports, since 1976. The first Paralympic athlete ever to medal in four different sports - Judo, Wrestling, Track and Field, and Goalball—Mastro has earned 10 medals including five gold, three silver, and two bronze. He has earned also 17 international medals in the various sports. He was a member of the U.S. team in the World University Games in 1973, a three-time bronze medalist at international competitions, and became the first blind athlete to be a member of an Olympic team, when he was an alternate on the U.S. Greco-Roman Wrestling team in 1976. In 1996, Mastro was elected flag bearer for the U.S. Paralympic team. The following year, Mastro was inducted into the Augsburg College Athletic Hall of Fame.

Envisioned as a lasting tribute to the pursuit of excellence and the Olympic ideals, the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame was established to celebrate the achievements of America’s premier athletes in the modern Olympic Games.

“The U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is a celebration of the unique spirit and heritage of the Olympic movement in America,” said USOC Chief Executive Officer Jim Scherr. “We appreciate the support of Allstate Insurance Company for their continued support of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and their commitment to honoring the accomplishments of America’s Olympic greats and, in doing so, preserving the Olympic ideals.”

In 2008, the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame induction ceremony will once again be held in Chicago where the charter class was enshrined in 1983, with such Olympic legends as Bob Beamon, Cassius Clay, Peggy Fleming, Al Oerter, Jesse Owens, Wilma Rudolph, Mark Spitz, Jim Thorpe and the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” Hockey Team. Annual additions continued through 1992, adding Olympic legends such as Bart Conner, Donna de Varona, Dorothy Hamill, “Sugar Ray” Leonard, Carl Lewis, Greg Louganis, Phil Mahre, Meyer, John Naber and Mary Lou Retton. Corporate support from presenting sponsor Allstate sparked the Hall’s revitalization in 2004. The Hall of Fame consists of 192 Distinguished Members, including 84 athletes from individual sports, seven teams and 12 special contributors.