Bidens to host 2020, 2022 US Olympic Teams at White House

May 2, 2022 GMT
President Joe Biden speaks during a reception to celebrate Eid al-Fitr in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, May 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
President Joe Biden speaks during a reception to celebrate Eid al-Fitr in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, May 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to host the 2020 and 2022 U.S. Olympic Teams at the White House on Wednesday, celebrating athletes from the most recent winter Games while staging a much delayed, in-person celebration for participants of last summer’s Tokyo Olympics.

The president and first lady Jill Biden will host Olympians from the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, on the South Lawn, the White House announced Monday. Vice President Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman, will also attend.

Jill Biden made her first solo overseas trip as first lady by traveling to Japan to attend the 2020 Olympics, which were delayed until last year because of the pandemic — though access remained restricted because of the coronavirus.

Last summer, the Bidens hosted a virtual celebration for Team USA from 2020′s Tokyo Olympics from their home in Delaware. The president said then that he’d like to host the team at the White House in the future.