Olympian Clay adds his praise of McCain

» Hawaii delegates join electrified celebration

ST. PAUL, Minn. » A night after his name was invoked on the floor of the Republican National Convention to symbolize Hawaii, Olympic gold medal decathlete Bryan Clay made an appearance himself.

Clay made a brief speech last night in support of U.S. Sen. John McCain.

The Castle High School graduate spoke of his family and God and his experience in the Beijing Games last month.

"Now, the big difference between the decathlon and politics is that when my race ends, I go back home and start training for the next Olympics," he said. "But when the election ends, that's when the real work begins.

"And whether your platform is a classroom, a conference room, a track or the White House, we all must stay true to our principles. Whether you're a decathlete or a politician, we must stand together and believe in each other, and this great nation."

Lenny Klompus, Gov. Linda Lingle's senior adviser for communications, said the idea came up last week, after the Governor's Office honored the Olympian with a ceremony proclaiming Bryan Clay Day in Hawaii.

Klompus said Clay told Lingle he was strong supporter of McCain and that he "would love to go to a convention."

"The conversation became, 'You'd be a great speaker. Let's just get the right people on the phone and see what we can do,'" he said. "We got it approved and they invited Bryan and his wife to come."

On Wednesday night, during the roll call of states, Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona announced: "Hawaii, the home state of the world's greatest athlete, Olympian decathlon champion Bryan Clay, and 22 other Olympians; Hawaii, the home of the Waipio Little League World Champions, proudly casts its 20 votes for the next president of the United States, Sen. John McCain, and the next vice president of the United States, Gov. Sarah Palin."