WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama tells U.S. Olympians and Paralympians they are the “portrait of what this country is all about” as he, Vice President Joe Biden and first lady Michelle Obama salute their achievements at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London
The Obamas and Biden saluted the U.S. teams at a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House.
Obama says: “You could not have been better ambassadors for the United States.”
The athletes presented the Obamas with the U.S. flag carried during the events’ opening ceremonies.
At the Olympics, the U.S. won 104 medals, 46 of them gold, their highest total at an Olympics not held in the United States.
The Paralympics, which came immediately after, attracted 2.7 million spectators, a record.
