President Joe Biden hosted the U.S. teams from the two most recent Olympics on Wednesday, honoring the athletes from the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing and from the delayed 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.
“You represent the very soul of America, and that’s not hyperbole,” Biden told the athletes during their visit to the White House.
"I’m sorry you had to wait that year" before being able to compete in the Tokyo Olympics, President Biden tells Team USA at the White House. "You’ve been through so damn — darn much." pic.twitter.com/wnwKBCFqIQ— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 4, 2022
"I’m sorry you had to wait that year" before being able to compete in the Tokyo Olympics, President Biden tells Team USA at the White House. "You’ve been through so damn — darn much." pic.twitter.com/wnwKBCFqIQ
Olympic bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor also spoke at the event, addressing the contentious climate the Olympians endured to compete.
“As a team, Olympians, Paralympians, summer athletes, winter athletes, we’ve been through a lot,” she said. “We came together, and we persevered, and we hope we’ve made this country proud.”
Jill Biden took her first solo overseas trip as First Lady to Tokyo to attend the Summer Games in 2021. Team USA left Japan with 113 medals, the most of any nation competing.
The United States brought home 25 medals from the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, including eight golds.