Michelle Obama formally opened her stint as leader of the U.S. Olympics delegation on Friday, attending a breakfast with Olympians and saying she was “just in awe” of their company.
The U.S. first lady mingled with the U.S. athletes afterward, posing for photos, shaking hands and sharing hugs with dozens who had signed up to attend.
“Try to have fun. Try to breathe a little bit,” Mrs. Obama said. “But also win, right?”
The first lady had a busy itinerary Friday, including promoting healthy living with more than 1,000 children, a reception hosted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace and then the opening ceremony at Olympic Stadium.
She told the U.S. athletes that some of her fondest memories in sports stemmed from watching the Olympics on television. She also shared the story of her father, who was athletic but contracted multiple sclerosis “in the prime of his life.”
“He retained his love of sports, truly,” Mrs. Obama told the athletes. “And the Olympics was a special time for him to watch amazing athletes of all abilities compete on the world stage.”
Later, the first lady met with hundreds of children on the lavish grounds of Winfield House, the official residence of the U.S. ambassador in London.
Mrs. Obama, who later tried out a host of sports alongside the children, offered a tribute to military families who had been invited to take part in the event.
“The military families who are joining us from U.S. bases that are stationed here in the U.K., we are so grateful for your service because you all sacrifice so much — you as kids, your mums, your dads,” said the First Lady. “You sacrifice so much for this country and we are so very proud of you.”
In stark contrast to the positive representation of our First Lady, Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney managed to cause an angry stir from the Prime Minister and the Mayor of London. Huffington Post reports people in both parties wondered aloud how the former Massachusetts governor could have complicated the opening leg of a three-nation tour carefully crafted to highlight his diplomatic strengths and personal Olympic experience.
British press reports laced with lingering resentment targeting Romney's initial comment – that problems with Olympic preparations were "disconcerting" – made it difficult for him to turn the page.
A day after London Mayor Boris Johnson assailed Romney by name in a rally before tens of thousands, Britain's Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, the cabinet minister in charge of the Olympics, lashed out at him.
"When we have the opening ceremony tonight and we tell the world that eight of the world's top 10 sports were either invented or codified in Britain – and only two in America – I hope Mr. Romney is watching," he said Friday.Mitt Romney fails to resonate with senior Conservative Party figures, most of whom have a much closer connection to Barack Obama, a Cabinet minister has disclosed to The Huffington Post on Friday. Their comments will add to the sense that the presidential hopeful's trip to London on the eve of the Olympics has been something of a PR disaster for the Republican party.
"Our head is with Romney, but our heart is with Obama," said a senior Tory.
Romney is leaving London on Saturday. His efforts to highlight his leadership during the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City were lost.
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