In Lauren's words

Lauren Perdue achieved the ultimate prize Wednesday, earning a gold medal. Lauren, who has dreamed of participating in the Olympics for years, reached the top of the podium during the swimming events in the London Olympics.


Moments after sending her a congratulatory text message, mere minutes after the U.S. women's team won the 4x200 meter relay race in Wednesday's London Olympics, Lauren texted back, "Yayy thankssss."

It was a dream-come-true for the first time Olympian. She sent me her thoughts on achieving gold in a text message not long after the race.

"What an incredible few weeks it has been leading up to this moment! I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to fulfill my lifelong dream of competing in the Olympics and also contribute to a gold medal relay tonight. The relay tonight was spectacular."

Lauren, who overcame back surgery to make the Olympic team, didn't swim in the finals. Instead, the foursome of Missy Franklin, Dana Vollmer, Shannon Vreeland and Allison Schmitt won the gold medal. They did so in a time of 7:42.92, which set a new Olympic record. Australia (7:44.41) earned the silver and France (7:47.49) took the bronze.

Lauren earned a gold medal herself for being a part of the team. The Greenville, N.C., resident, who has had a sensational career at the University of Virginia, had the lead leg for the relay team during the morning's preliminary race. She helped her team win the heat, and enter the finals with the second-best time overall (behind Australia). From there, Lauren cheered her teammates on to victory.

"It was so exciting being able to cheer them on tonight and getting to share this unforgettable experience with all six women. Each one of us had worked incredibly hard for this moment and I could not be more proud of my USA teammates!"

Here is a story (http://www.wdnweb.com/2008/07/20/perdue-looking-to-make-big-waves/) I wrote about Lauren in July of 2008. She talked about her dream of swimming for the Olympics. I ended the story this way, "It surely seems that this gifted swimmer would be a great representative to wear the red, white and blue."

Lauren certainly did that, and more. She is a beautiful lady, inside and out, and I couldn't be prouder of her, or happier for her.