Never Promised A Rose Garden, 600+ Team USA Olympians & Paralympians Visit One At White House

Continuing a decades-long tradition, The White House formally hosted Team USA’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes of Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 on Wednesday morning. 

The gathering was a well-organized, grand celebration of America's best, delivering fun memories for all on the scene. 

Approaching 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. on foot, positive vibes channeled with sounds of a military marching band (playing a five-ringed John Williams medley) and sights of aptly-branded "Chariots for Hire" buses from which arriving athletes descended. 

When the musicians performed "One Moment In Time" as media waited by the West Wing, I was beaming, sensing the day might be enough of a consolation prize for missing two pandemic Olympiads.

For this blogger, this third time visit was a charmer in terms of stepping "on campus" (lingo of those employed there) at the Executive Residence. 

Previously, I posted from the October visit following Rio 2016 hosted by the Obamas and the comparatively muted festivities of April following PyeongChang 2018 with many of the Clown Car (err, Insane Clown Posse?) cabinet members of that era in attendance. 

All three events took place on overcast days, with 2016's gathering in one of the ballrooms and 2018's remarks delivered under the North Portico. 

The May 5 ceremony, held on the South Lawn of the Executive Residence, was perhaps the first in history to include competitors of both summer and winter Olympiads together with over 600 uniformed athletes filling a temporary grandstand. 

Hundreds of invited guests including family members of attending sportspersons -- as well as several dozen White House correspondents or visiting Olympic media -- also enjoyed remarks by President Joe Biden, first lady and five-time bobsleigh medalist Elana Meyers Taylor. 

Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff also attended, receiving with the Bidens a set of special uniforms and shoes presented by the Olympians and Paralympians. A brief clip featuring the national anthem performed live is here:

“The Bidens are a big sports family, and we love watching the Olympics,” said President Biden after brief remarks by the first lady, who led the Team USA delegation in Japan. “Jill came home from Tokyo, all she could do was talk about you all constantly. You think I'm kidding – I'm not!”

Though he was playing for laughs, Biden was serious about his Games-time fandom. Similar to the FLOTUS, as vice president, Biden led a Team USA delegation to Vancouver 2010 (my first of several converging paths with Joe). 

On Wednesday the president also expressed appreciation for the uniting spirit the athletes provide, citing 18 U.S. military veterans among the 2020 and 2022 competitors. He also noted the challenges of COVID-19 navigated on the journeys to Tokyo and Beijing. 

“The pandemic made training and competing especially difficult and draining, but you did it,” said Biden. “You all did it, and we were in awe not just of your incredible athleticism but your endurance and your state of mind -- but most of all your character.  You all have such incredible character.”

“As a team … we’ve been through a lot,” said Meyers Taylor. “We came together, and we persevered, and we hope we’ve made this country proud.”

As she spoke, I reminisced about meeting Meyers Taylor in Sochi, her second stop along the journey to become the most decorated Black Winter Olympian and the most decorated female Olympic bobsledder. 

Opting to maintain a celebratory tone for the occasion, during their South Lawn remarks, the president and first lady did not mention Olympians of other nations—such as the unresolved Russian doping controversies of Beijing 2022 that prevented medal presentations for the figure skating team competition—nor world events such as the Russo-Ukrainian War. 

Also unmentioned: Team USA’s two-time women’s Olympic basketball champion and WNBA center Brittney Griner, who was detained for allegedly possessing vape pen cartridges with hashish oil upon arrival at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport on Feb. 17. 

In an interview with USA Today published Monday, U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland said the organization supports efforts to hasten Griner’s return stateside. 

Speaking of the national Gannett newspaper, I wound up spending most of the ceremony in proximity to legendary sports columnist Christine Brennan—a fellow May 14 birthday celebrant—and she kindly swapped Games-time stories of 1984 to present while newsgathering for her column and also introducing other reporters and Olympic figure skating champion Sarah Hughes (thanks, Christine!).

In a media scrum at a White House visit countdown event on Monday, Hirshland also called for sporting sanctions of Russia, according to the Washington Post Olympic reporter Les Carpenter, who was also reporting from the South Lawn. 

No basketball athletes from USA attended Wednesday’s South Lawn event, according to a list distributed to media by The White House Press Office. Also absent: Shaun White, Mikaela Shiffrin, Simone Biles, soccer stars and A-listers of track and field. 

The festive mood and camaraderie, however, seemed to bestow many with all the feels. 

Over in the Rose Garden, tables were stacked with healthy snacks, and some athletes posted selfies or other photos and videos including an impromptu dance from ground floor rooms of the Executive Mansion, revealing some interiors illuminated in red and blue. 

After the president’s South Lawn remarks, the Bidens and the vice president remained with the athletes for several minutes to shake hands, share congratulatory messages and pose for photos. 

We spotted White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki uncharacteristically fangirling with a few Olympic stars (believe it, I was also star-struck, but then again, "When in Rome ..." or "When on The White House campus" applies, yes?).  

Soon after Wednesday’s gathering, pole vault champion Katie Nageotte shared videos online, captioned with the message, “White House visit with Team USA! Truly a once in a lifetime opportunity!”

In some ways, the post-event wind-down created the most impactful and funny moments of the experience. 

In addition to brief intros with Hughes and Olympic beach volleyball champion April Ross, Olympians Katie Ledecky, Reggie Jagers III, monobob champion Kaillie Humphries and figure skating medalist Vincent Zhou each worked the rope line with reporters. 

The nicest surprise was a brief reunion with Olympic diver Katrina Young. 

A few days after her Olympic debut in Rio, we first met in a crowd of wishful fans vying to talk our way into the men's basketball final with only our Games credentials. Equally ticketless, she made it to the game. Sadly, I did not. 

Months later, recalling that brief introduction, we got acquainted at the Team USA Gala for 2016 Olympians in Washington the night before each of our first visits to The White House. We both got in the building that time, but by earning her Olympian status, only Young got to sit in the rooms where it happens. It was fun to reconnect in person after occasional Facebook Messenger or Instagram messages during the pandemic. 

There was also a renewal of Olympic joy—severely depleted by the pandemic's many challenges—in the form of a few pin trades, including the hot design du jour given to White House visitors by the USOPC in patriotic, high-quality cloissone (see photo). 

If only the designers at pin manufacturer HONAV could get the Olympic rings on these Team USA designs! 

And finally, the day provided a return visit to the James Brady Press Briefing Room, the theater/workroom for many of the nation's best reporters and publicists/political advisers-turned-press secretaries. I have a lot of respect for Psaki restoring professionalism and decency to this hallowed ground, and was hoping to shake her hand and tell her so. 

As it turned out, the Team USA visit delayed the afternoon's scheduled briefing, creating a short window for me to instead strike a pose, all in good fun. My caption on social channels was, "Psaki was at lunch, so ..." 

Quoting Nageotte again, "Truly a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

Looking ahead to 2024 and beyond, here's hoping this horseplay avoided inspiring placement of my name on future no-entry lists, and that additional Olympic reporters may enjoy Team USA visit to The White House down the road.

According to The White House Historical Association, U.S. Olympic athletes have visited the mansion as far back as 1924, with a Team USA delegation from Tokyo 1964 among the earliest-cited full-team ceremonies hosted by a sitting president. In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt hosted members of the U.S. Olympic team of London at his “Summer White House” home on the north shore of Long Island, N.Y. 

Earlier in the week I was hopeful the team at Keep The Flame Alive might be able to attend on the heels of their first in-person Games reporting from Beijing. Though there are no promises of a rose garden, in conversation we concured next time is a must!

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver. Portions of this post were first published by Around The Rings on May 5.