WH Press Release: First Lady To Lead Presidential Delegation To 2012 Summer Olympics

Let's Move! goes to London...
First Lady Michelle Obama visited Bender Arena Sports Center at American University on Tuesday for a Let's Move! mini-Olympics event in honor of the Official Visit of Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife, Mrs. Samantha Cameron. After watching local students participate in sports events with Olympians and Paralympians, Mrs. Obama announced that she will lead the Presidential Delegation to the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. (Above: Mrs. Obama during her remarks; Mrs. Cameron is in pink)

The White House announcement is below. It notes that it has been a past tradition for First Ladies to lead such delegations. In 2009, President Obama and Mrs. Obama traveled separately to Denmark to make an impassioned appeal to the International Olympics Committee for the 2016 Summer Olympics to be located in their hometown of Chicago. They were unsuccessful. CLICK HERE for links to all posts about the Camerons' visit.

The White House announcement:

Washington: First Lady Michelle Obama will lead the Presidential Delegation to the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. Mrs. Obama made the announcement at an event with Mrs. Samantha Cameron celebrating the Olympic Games and Mrs. Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative. At the event, Olympians and Paralympians including Kortney Clemons, Dominique Dawes, Tom Dolan, April Holmes, Lisa Leslie, Lori Ann Lindsey, Dan O’Brien, Becky Sauerbrunn, David Wagner and Mal Washington led DC-area school children in activities inspired by the Olympic Games.

Mrs. Obama emphasized her hope that the Olympic Games will inspire more young people to get active and healthy, the goal of her Let’s Move! initiative.

“In the months ahead, I’ll be talking to Americans all across the country to encourage even more young people to tap into that Olympic spirit and turn their inspiration into action,” said Mrs. Obama. “As the Olympic creed states, ‘the most important thing … is not to win, but to take part.’ And that doesn’t just mean sitting and watching, it means getting up and getting active as well. I hope we use the upcoming games as motivation for all of us to get up and get moving. This is especially true for our young people. You don’t have to be a gold medal winner or the best athlete at your school to take part. You don’t even have to play an organized sport. You can dance in the living room, ride your bike around the neighborhood, or go for a walk with your friends. Everyone can find some way to be healthy, get active, and have some fun.”

“Olympians are ambassadors of their country so it is only fitting that our nation’s leaders show support for the Games. Mrs. Obama’s support will only further invigorate the athletes’ desire to bring home the gold and motivate all Americans to be active,” said Dominique Dawes, three-time Olympic gymnast and co-chair of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, who emceed today’s event. “Today my work on behalf of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition is a way for me to give back to the country that supported me during my Olympic journey.”

It is traditional for a delegation to travel to the Olympic Games to represent the United States. In the coming months, the White House will announce the official delegates accompanying Mrs. Obama to London. Other First Ladies that have led a Presidential Delegation to the Olympic Games include First Lady Laura Bush to the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy and then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton to the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.

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The Olympians and Paralympians who joined Mrs. Obama at the event were Dominique Dawes, co-chair of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition; Kortney Clemons, April Holmes, Lisa Leslie, Lori Ann Lindsey, Dan O’Brien, Becky Sauerbrunn and David Wagner.

Photo by Eddie Gehman Kohan/Obama Foodorama