Jan. 25, 2008
University Park, Pa. - Penn State head field hockey coach Charlene Morett was recently awarded a Congressional Gold Medal as the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team was officially confirmed as recipients of the Congressional Gold Medal on December 17. Morett was a member of the 1980 USA Field Hockey team that was scheduled to compete at the 1980 Moscow Olympics prior to President Jimmy Carter's boycott of the games.
The U.S. Congress originally authorized President Carter to present the Congressional Medal back in 1980 but the athletes were denied full recognition due to a technicality in production. As a result, the Olympians were never officially documented as having received the medal until last month.
Morett was part of the 16-member 1980 U.S. Olympic Field Hockey team that earned a spot in the Olympic games after finishing third at the 1979 International Federation of Women's Hockey Associations (IFWHA) World Championship. The 1980 games were the first year of field hockey at the Olympic games. Morett was later one of 13 members of the 1980 team that also were on the 1984 U.S. field hockey team that went on to win the bronze medal at the Los Angeles games. Former Nittany Lion field hockey player Chris Larson, a teammate of Morett at Penn State and on the 1980 and 1984 Olympic teams, also received Congressional Gold Medal.
The full story from USA Field Hockey can be read at the link below.
http://www.usfieldhockey.com/news/2007/congressional_gold_medal80.html