US Olympians at State Dinner

Two US Olympians from PyeongChang were the only sports figures at a state dinner for the president of France.

The dinner was the first of the Trump administration. The 130 guests included business executives, members of Congress, the Supreme Court chief justice, and two gold medalists from the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Meghan Duggan was captain of the US women’s ice hockey team. John Shuster won the gold in curling.

The two athletes stopped at the press pool before going into the dinner. The Washington Post says Shuster told reporters "in case you don’t know who we are" as he and Duggan pulled their gold medals out of their pockets to show to the press.

Shuster later Tweeted a photo of him with Duggan.

What.An. Evening. Hugely honored for the invitationto the State Dinner at The White House last night. So cool for@mduggan10 and I to get a chance to get dressed up and represent our amazing teams and @TeamUSA.

Duggan, 30, competed in her third winter Olympics. Shuster, 35, was the leader of the first us team ever to win a gold medal in curling. He has competed in four Olympic Games beginning in Turin in 2006.

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was the only other guest at the dinner from the US with an Olympic connection. Kissinger, 94, is the last of the small group of IOC members of honor. He was named in 2000 by IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch and was honored for his work in reforms to the IOC following the Salt Lake City bid scandal.

French President Macron, who is an enthusiastic backer of the Paris 2024 Olympics, did not mention the Games in any of his public remarks, including the joint address to Congress Wednesday morning.

The White House will host team USA for the customary post-Games reception on April 27.

Written by Ed Hula

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