WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden could not make it to the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris this past summer, so he brought the athletes to the White House Monday morning.
Leading off the celebration with American Olympic and Paralympic athletes was Rayvon Owen, who sang the national anthem. Owen was a fourth-place finisher on “American Idol.”
Hundreds gathered on the South Lawn of the White House as Biden celebrated the athletes and their successes. While many Americans associate the summer games with gymnast Simone Biles or sprinter Noah Lyles, Monday offered an opportunity for the administration to honor those athletes whose stories of victory are just as dramatic and poignant, if not more.
“Thank you for representing the very best of America,” Biden told the athletes.
Biden said he couldn’t go to the Olympics because of security measures and he chose to stay and meet the athletes in Washington while First Lady Jill Biden travels to the inauguration of Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s first female president, slated for Tuesday.
Biden told the crowd that over the summer, he and other White House staff watched the Olympics on television at work.
“Staff would have their TVs on watching you as I was trying to get briefed on national security,” Biden said as the audience laughed. “But in fairness, I had the TV on in the Oval Office as well.”
Biden said American athletes brought home 230 total medals from both the Olympics and Paralympics. He said 28 athletes also wore uniforms representing both the country and a branch of the armed services, and thanked those athletes for their service.
Biden said the United States is the “greatest sports nation in the history of the world” and mentioned future sporting events set to be hosted in the country, such as the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Biden concluded his speech with a brief story about the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal Jim Thorpe, who he recently posthumously awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom. He paved the way for future generations, Biden shared.
“It’s your turn,” Biden said. “Your turn to take the torch from those before you, to run the race to the fullest, and then pass the torch to those who follow.”
Jim and Ying Huske, the parents of Olympic swimmer Torri Huske, spoke first on behalf of Olympic parents.
“As you know, none of them made it today to where they are without the help of others,” Jim Huske said.
Huske introduced his daughter, Torri, who spoke about the medals as a symbol of the hard work and determination of each athlete.
Three years ago, Huske fell short of winning a medal at the Tokyo Summer Olympics by one-hundredth of a second in the 100-meter butterfly race. However, Huske later won gold in that same race this past summer in addition to other medals. The number of medals collected by U.S. athletes in the Olympics and Paralympics show serves as proof that U.S. athletes are a part of what makes the United States “the best country in the world,” but the games are more than achieving personal accomplishments, she said.
“Everyone talks about how the Olympics and Paralympics foster peace and international solidarity, and it’s true,” Huske said. “They unite countries into the spirit of competition.”
Adrina Castro, a wheelchair basketball player from Arizona, said it takes a community to accomplish goals, and growing up with a disability can be an isolating learning experience.
“I believe if we take the same approach as a community, then we can change the perception of disability and change the world for the bed,” Castro said.
Paul Schulte, a paralympic wheelchair basketball player, said “having the heart” of an Olympian or Paralympian means persistent gratitude for and making sacrifices for a country.
“Each of us here has faced challenges so strong that no one that knew us would have blamed us for backing down or choosing the easy path, but we chose to rise above expelling feelings of defeat and striving for something greater,” Schulte said.
