U.S. Winter Olympians and Paralympians received another honor for their participation in the Milano Cortina Games on Thursday with a trip to the White House and the chance to meet President Donald Trump.
Trump welcomed a large group of Milano Cortina athletes to the East Room of the White House for a ceremony, press conference and photographs. He said the athletes were to tour the Oval Office and receive commemorative coins following the event.
Park City athletes Elizabeth Lemley, Chris Lillis, Nick Page, Noah Elliott, Casey Dawson, Ethan Cepuran, Quinn Dehlinger, Winter Vinecki and Tess Johnson were among the group celebrated.
It is a longstanding tradition for the U.S. Olympic, collegiate and professional title-winning teams to visit the White House and meet with the president.
“It’s such an honor to be invited to the White House and celebrated by the president and his staff,” Page said. “Everyone was so kind and welcoming, and there was a genuine sense of community built behind the athletes that represent the USA. … It was a great experience.”
Trump spoke for about 20 minutes during the press conference, largely lauding the athletes for their accomplishments. He said he was grateful to be surrounded by the “stars” and “winners.”
The U.S. Olympic Team set the record for most gold medals won by any U.S. team at a Winter Olympics with 12. Trump gave a special shout out to Lillis, Kaila Kuhn and Connor Curran, who together set the record by winning the 11th gold in the mixed team aerials competition. He turned and faced a waving Lillis, who was stationed a few rows back from the president. Lemley, who won the moguls gold medal and dual moguls bronze, was standing right behind Trump, who also gave her special recognition and shook her hand.
“We’re truly honored to welcome to the White House perhaps the greatest group of Winter Olympians in American history,” Trump said. “We’re also honored to be joined by many of the members of the U.S. Paralympic Team, who are fantastic. I watched so much of that, and they showed unbelievable strength, persistence and skill. … Along with the athletes, I want to thank the Team USA coaches and staff members who are here today, as well as CEO of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committees, Sarah Hirshland.”
Trump asked the athletes how many of them expect to be participating at future Olympics, to which most raised their hands. He said he can’t wait to watch Team USA at the 2028 and 2034 Games in Los Angeles and Utah, respectively. U.S. opening ceremony flagbearers Laurie Stephens and Frank Del Duca handed Trump a Team USA jacket and shoes, which the president said he’ll don when cheering on future teams.
The ceremony concluded with Trump and the athletes chanting, “USA, USA, USA.”
“I just want to once again thank everybody for representing our nation so incredibly and setting all of those records,” Trump said. “You showed the entire world that the Americans really know how to fight, fight, fight and win, win, win.”