Cathy Marino is a two-time Olympic kayaker and 8 times National Champion, who overcame a number of obstacles since her career to pursue her dream. In 1983, she was sixth at World Championships, and was the leading candidate to make the Olympic Team when she injured her shoulder right before the qualifying finals for the 1984 Olympic Team. However, she came back from this disappointment to make two straight Olympic Teams in 1988 and 1992. In 1996 in Atlanta, NBC News Anchor, Tom Brokaw was so impressed with her approach and work ethic that he mentioned her as an example of the 'true spirit' of the Olympic Games in a keynote address that included 100 of the "Greatest American Olympians" of all time. She was featured on his national news program with Tom Brokaw on NBC Nightly News, 'American Dream' segment in 1997. Today, she is the Past President of the Southern California Olympians, and Current Vice President for Koroibos Foundation, whose mission is to assist Olympic hopefuls, which assisted her in 1984. She served on the USOC Olympic Assembly planning committee to bring the best Olympic Assembly to the Olympic Family and Partners.She was the first female fire recruit to pass the Santa Ana College Fire Academy in 1981. She became an Orange City firefighter in 1981 and then joined the Long Beach Fire Department in 1986 and rose to the rank of Fire Captain in 2000.After the attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11/01, Cathy organized and directed the softball tournament for the National Fallen Firefighters Vegas Games, which raised over $45,000 for the victims families of 9/11. This event included a memorial reception with over 2000 firefighters from across the country. Cathy was successful in securing the Governor of Nevada, the Mayor of Las Vegas, Senators and Congressman for this event. Cathy is a single mother to two adult children, Jared Marino and Carly Denise and four grandchildren.Specialties: Motivational Speaker corporate, community, service groups.