President and Michelle Obama host athletes

WASHINGTON --- Daria Schneider skipped two of her college courses at Columbia today. She spent the day in the nation’s capital instead, and she knew full well that she when she returned to New York she would have some catching up to do on for Russian and music classes.

But no one can say she fell behind in her education.

Instead of sitting in a lecture hall, Schneider, a U.S. fencer and a hopeful for the London 2012 Olympic Games, had a field trip of sorts on the South Lawn of the White House and the class was taught by none other than President Barack Obama and the First Lady Michelle Obama.

Schneider was one of about 15 athletes who either had competed in the Olympic or Paralympic Games or are among contenders to compete in the Games to visit the White House today. They were there in addition to U.S. Olympic officials such as USOC acting CEO Stephanie Streeter and Olympic rower and IOC member Anita DeFrantz as well as organizers of the 2016 Chicago bid such as Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and chairman of the Chicago 2016 bid committee Patrick Ryan. And everyone was doing their best to show the world how much they support Chicago in the city’s attempt to win the bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In 16 days, in Copenhagen, Denmark, the International Olympic Committee will vote to determine the 2016 host site, and organizers of the Chicago bid wanted to make sure that the Obamas were very much on their side.

“I told my mom about 10 days ago that I might go to the White House but I told her not to tell anyone,’’ Schneider said. “Then my mom asked, ‘Can I tell your father?’ ’’

Schneider received more details about the presidential gathering on Monday and then was on a train from New York to Washington Wednesday morning.

“Everyone was telling me what to say to Obama,’’ said Schneider, the NCAA fencing champion. “Even my coach, Aladar Kogler, who is 78 years old, wanted me to talk to him about retirement taxes.

“I was just excited I could come.’’

As the athletes filed in through White House security, many of them could hardly contain their emotions on the prospect of meeting the president. Even veterans like Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee, one of the most accomplished and steadiest competitors in the history of the Games was shaking visibly as she passed by the Rose Garden. She had made several visits to the White House before but this was her first with Obama as president, and she wasn’t going to miss the opportunity.

 “I dropped everything,’’ said Joyner-Kersee, whose smile didn’t leave her face the entire day. “This was a no brainer. This really is unbelievable. What Chicago is trying to do … and to be able to sit down with the President and the First Lady and know they support the bid is just really important.

“The great thing about sports is that it’s given me an opportunity to see the world,’’ added Joyner-Kersee, who has spent much of the last two and a half years helping with the Chicago 2016 bid. “That’s why the Olympics are important. It’s about opportunities and they understand that.’’

If there was any doubt before today that Obama, who lived in Chicago and served as a U.S. Senator for the state of Illinois before becoming president, was behind the city’s Olympic and Paralympic bid for the 2016 Games, those thoughts were squashed. Both Obama and his wife, who was born and raised on Chicago’s South Side, rallied for the city to host the Games.

“I think it’s safe to say that everyone here is feeling the Olympic spirit today,’’ Michelle Obama told the athletes, Olympic and Paralympic officials, Washington-area school children and a crowd of about 150 members of the media who attended the event.

Chicago is in a tight race with Madrid, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro to play host to the 2016 Games. The heads of state from Spain, Japan and Brazil are expected to attend the IOC vote in Copenhagen and it has been widely reported that Obama’s presence in Denmark would greatly help Chicago’s cause. Although Obama said he was going to focus on domestic issues, particularly when it comes to health-care reform and with the upcoming G20 Summit, he said he was fully behind the bid for Chicago and said, “I’m sending a more compelling superstar’’ to Copenhagen instead: his wife. Michelle Obama will travel to Denmark along with one of Obama’s top advisors, Valerie Jarrett.

Michelle Obama has been an avid Chicago sports fan saying that she has spent many hours in front of the TV watching the Chicago teams.

“We are there,’’ Michelle Obama said of Chicago fan support.

The race to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games is one of the few events in which there is only one winner. There is a gold medal and no prizes for silver and bronze. Obama, for one, wanted to ensure everyone in attendance today as well as the rest of the world, that he wants Chicago on the top of that podium.

“I promise you,’’ Obama told the crowd. “We are fired up about it. … We want these Games.’’

The support was welcomed by all.

“It is absolutely clear that the president and this administration and his wife completely support the bid, and that’s very important that they are part of it,’’ DeFrantz said.

At times, it was hard to tell who was more excited to meet who --- the President and the First Lady seemed thrilled to meet the athletes almost as much as the athletes were thrilled to meet them. Arlene Limas, an Olympic gold medalist in taekwondo, walked right up to Obama and told him that she graduated from Whitney Young, a Chicago high school which happened to be Michelle Obama’s alma mater.

“Hey Michelle,’’ Obama called to his wife. “Here’s a taekwondo Olympian from Whitney Young!’’

Michelle Obama instantly stopped what she was doing and hugged Limas.

“That,’’ Limas said, “was awesome.’’

The President and First Lady, along with Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, spent a little more than an hour with athletes and school children on the South Lawn. They also were treated to exhibitions for fencing, judo and gymnastics. The athletes, some wearing their full athletic gear, lapped up every minute. After all, it’s not every day that they get to train outside of the White House. After today, routine workouts on the treadmill are going to seem all the more mundane. But the athletes are well aware that it’s the kind of day-to-day training that got them invited to the White House in the first place.

Although health care and other domestic issues are at the forefront of his mind, the president took a break from politics to learn from the athletes. Under the president’s watchful eye, Ryan Reser, a 2008 judo Olympian, and Paralympic judo athlete Myles Porter were showcasing their throws.

“I was trying my hardest to get the president to try it out,’’ Porter said.

The president kindly declined the invitation, but Reser said, “If he had said yes, yeah, I would try to throw him.’’ Then he added, “But I guess it’s good that he said no. It probably wouldn’t be good if I hurt the president of the United States.’’

Meeting him certainly sufficed. Although both admitted they initially were nervous about talking with the president, Obama’s down-to-earth style quickly put them at ease.

“I told him that after today, I will never, ever get anxious or nervous for a meet again,’’ Porter said.

Another sport demonstration was on a balance beam. Olympic gold medalist Dominique Dawes, a member of the “Magnificent Seven’’ team at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, was wearing a dress and wedged heel shoes and was in no position to perform any gymnastics tricks on the beam. But she did chat with some youngsters and offered pointers.

The president also spent time with some youngsters, like Louie Schaab, 14, and Nate Muray, 12, who have competed in various wheelchair sports and sled hockey. They got their photos taken with the president. Hannah McFadden, an eighth-grader from Clarksville, Md., who despite missing one leg has broken several swimming records, came to the White House with her mother, Deborah. Hannah’s sister, Tatyana, an international wheelchair racer, competed in the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

“I wrote a note to Hannah’s teachers that Hannah’s been requested by Michelle Obama and president Obama to attend an event at the White House,’’ Deborah McFadden said. “I think that will work.’’

LaVon Clark, 13, who is a wheelchair basketball player in Southeast Washington, didn’t know she was going to the White House until her mother, Lakita Simpson, surprised her by picking her up early from school.

“She asked me, ‘Are we going home?’ ’’ Simpson said. “I said, ‘No, we’re going to meet the president.’ ’’

Obama especially enjoyed the fencing demonstration put on by Schneider and Olympic silver medalist Tim Morehouse. Obama took a few jabs with a plastic blue light saber, which he soon discovered was much different than the sabre swords Schneider and Morehouse had brought with them.

“It is true that I always wanted to fence,’’ Obama said. “That would be cool.’’

As Obama fiddled with the light saber, his wife chuckled and said, “Now you know that will be on YouTube in a few minutes.’’

Schneider and Morehouse, a two-time Olympian, was especially impressed with the questions that Obama asked them about their sport. Obama questioned Schneider about defensive strategies and wanted to better understand how to earn points. It’s clear he scored a few with them.

They even liked it when he poked fun at them. Morehouse showed off his Olympic silver medal for the president and then Obama asked where Morehouse keeps his medal.

“In my sock drawer,’’ Morehouse said.

“In your sock drawer?’’ Obama said with a gasp. “Come on, now, man.’’

All Morehouse could do was blush and laugh.

When the event ended, Morehouse and Schneider, still wearing their full fencing garb, began to pack up their swords and catch a taxi to Union Station. Both were heading back to New York.

When asked what would be the first thing Schneider would tell her friends and family about the day, she said, “The first thing I’d say is that Obama asked us to teach him some tips.’’

Schneider will be able to make up her college homework. But what she learned today couldn’t be learned from any text book.

Tags: Chicago 2016, First Lady Michelle Obama, Myles Porter, Paralympics, President Barack Obama, Ryan Reser, Taekwondo, Team USA, Tim Morehouse, USA Fencing, USA Gymnastics, USA Wrestling, USOC