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President Barack Obama, with Vice President Joe Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama, delivers remarks to the 2012 United States Olympic and Paralympic Teams on the South Lawn of the White House, Sept. 14, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
Imago
President Barack Obama, with Vice President Joe Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama, delivers remarks to the 2012 United States Olympic and Paralympic Teams on the South Lawn of the White House, Sept. 14, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
For the Tokyo Olympics 2020, Team USA sent its second largest contingent in the history of the Games. With 613 athletes competing in 35 different sports, USA look favorites once again to top the medal table at Tokyo.
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One American who has experience with meeting an Olympic contingent is Barack Obama. Ahead of the action on Day 1, the former President of the United States took to Twitter to wish them for the Games.
Barack Obama applauds Team USA’s determination ahead of Tokyo Olympics 2020
Although field hockey and handball are the only sports which won’t see participation from Team USA, they still boast an extremely strong contingent. With 613 athletes in Tokyo, this is their second largest contingent to take part in the Games. Their largest contingent of 648 athletes took part in the 1996 Atlanta Games.
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Serving as the President of the United States for two successive terms, Obama met the 2012 and 2016 Team USA Olympic contingents. While the 59-year-old cannot serve as the President as per law, he still holds a larger-than-life stature among the American people.
On social media, Obama is one of the most popular politicians with almost 130million followers on Twitter. Earlier today, he put out a tweet wishing Team USA luck for the ongoing Games in Tokyo.
I could not be prouder of the incredible athletes representing @TeamUSA at the Olympics. Their determination and hard work got them this far, and they’re ready to seize this moment. We'll be rooting for them all the way.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 23, 2021
He wrote,?“I could not be prouder of the incredible athletes representing Team USA at the Olympics. Their determination and hard work got them this far, and they?re ready to seize this moment. We’ll be rooting for them all the way.”
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Can Team USA top the medal tally for the third time in a row at the Games?
Although Team USA has the largest contingent of any country taking part in Tokyo, they could face stiff competition from China once again. In fact, China is the only country to win more gold medals than USA in the last 25 years, doing so at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Reuters
Tokyo 2020 Olympics – The Tokyo 2020 Olympics Opening Ceremony – Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan – July 23, 2021. Flag bearers Sue Bird of the United States and Eddy Alvarez of the United States lead their contingent during the athletes parade at the opening ceremony REUTERS/Mike Blake
However, Team USA looks a much stronger contingent than the last Olympics in Rio. With names like Simone Biles in gymnastics and Katie Ledecky in swimming, their individual gold medal hopes look exceptional. In addition, USA also boasts strong basketball and women’s soccer teams which also boost their medal chances at Tokyo.
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