Obama, First Lady Welcome Team USA to White House -- On the Scene

More than 200 Olympians and Paralympians are toasted at the White House by Barack Obama and the First Lady.

The gathering in the East Room is a tradition after every Olympics. For Obama, this is his third time meeting and greeting the Olympians; he should get one more chance to do so after Rio 2016.

First Lady Michelle Obama opened the reception with words of condolence for victims of the Fort Hood shooting Wednesday in Texas.

In her comments about the performances of U.S. athletes in Sochi, Mrs. Obama saluted the "craziness" she saw in sports such as snowboarding and freestyle skiing.

For his part, the U.S. President took delight in being able to mention by name some of the tricky moves carried out on the slopes of Sochi.

"Back to back double-cork 360," said Obama with relish, staking claim to being the first U.S. president to utter the name of the snowboard trick. The audience of athletes erupted in cheers.

Obama kept his remarks to the sports success of the U.S. team, which won 43 medals across Olympics and Paralympics, and did not stray into comment about the political issues he’s facing with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"It’s pretty cool to be at the White House," bobsleigh medalist Steven Holcomb tells Around the Rings. "It’s something you work for," he said, adding "it’s great to relax – and not have to worry about competing tomorrow."

Written by Ed Hula

Homepage photo: Getty Images

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