During a visit to the White House Thursday with her fellow athletes, President Barack Obama playfully put on McKayla Maroney’s trademark scowl for a photo with the gold medalist.
“Did I just do the Not Impressed face with the President..?” McKayla Maroney tweeted after the meeting.
Looking their glamorous best, the U.S. Olympics’ Fierce Five visited the White House for the first time earlier today for a private meeting with the President.
As they watched Barack Obama depart from the South Lawn on the Marine One helicopter, Jordyn Wieber, Kyla Ross, Gabby Douglas and McKayla Maroney squealed with delight.
However, taking a leaf out of McKayla Maroney’s book, Aly Raisman looked decidedly unimpressed as a gust of wind blew the girls’ backward.
The 17-year-old eventually came around a few moments later, smiling as Gabby Douglas turned to hide from the gale-force gust.
Heading towards the Oval Office prior, the excitedly nervous girls walked in a straight line in their high-necked mini-dresses, laughing and waving to photographers.
President Barack Obama playfully put on McKayla Maroney’s trademark scowl for a photo with the gold medalist
It’s not the first time the 2012 U.S. Women’s Olympic team have had personal interaction with President Barack Obama however.
Barack Obama expressed his admiration for the team after their gold medal win in August, voicing a bewilderment with the sport that is likely shared by many of his constituents.
At a rally in Ohio on August first he said: “These gymnastics folks – I don’t understand how they do what they do.
“So I told these young ladies as I was congratulating them <<How do you not bust your head every time you’re on that little balance beam?>>”
Barack Obama phoned the members individually to congratulate them on their gold medal while aboard Air Force One.
He said to Aly Raisman: “Michelle and have watched and decided of all the Olympiads you guys amaze us the most.”
“I’m so impressed by how you bounced back and led the team. Tell your parents I’m proud of them too. I don’t think I could watch if I were them,” Barack Obama told Jordyn Wieber.
To McKayla Maroney, he said: “Way to nail that vault. It was unbelievable.”
“I was impressed by how cool you were. I don’t know how you do what you do especially the balance beam,” he said.
And to the star of the team, Gabby Douglas, Barack Obama said: “You just tore it up. I know how hard you worked to get there. Keep at it. Stay cool.”
The Kazakh Olympic team is hoping to boost its chances of sporting success at London 2012 with horsemeat sausages.
Sports officials in Kazakhstan say that the traditional dish may help the athletes’ performance.
But it is unclear whether the sausages will be allowed into the UK, because of strict import controls on meat.
Kazakhstan is fielding 114 athletes at the London games, which begin in two weeks.
The Kazakh Olympic team is hoping to boost its chances of sporting success at London 2012 with horsemeat sausages
Horsemeat is an indispensable part of the traditional Kazakh diet, and a dried horsemeat sausage known as “kazy” is particularly cherished.
The Kazakh team is made up mainly of boxers, wrestlers and weightlifters, all sports associated with a protein-rich diet.
“We’ll bring horse meat and caviar for each team,” sports official Elsiyar Kanagatov said, adding that athletes could achieve “outstanding results” if fed properly.
Oil-rich Kazakhstan is fiercely ambitious and there is also the promise of hard cash should athletes succeed – $200,000 for a gold medal, $150,000 for silver and $75,000 for bronze, our correspondent says.
The team has won 39 medals including nine gold since its debut at the Olympics in 1996.
Zara Phillips, Queen Elizabeth’s granddaughter, will not only look the part at the upcoming London Olympic Games, she will be living like her fellow competitors, too.
Zara Phillips, Princess Anne’s daughter, is to be given no special treatment, it has emerged, staying in the Olympic village and sharing the same security and transport as other athletes.
On Monday, Zara Phillips, 31, told of her excitement at the prospect of rubbing shoulders with the likes of Usain Bolt during her stay.
Zara Phillips, who missed out on two previous Olympics due to injuries to her horse, promised to give her “best performance” in front of a home crowd in London.
Zara Phillips, Queen Elizabeth’s granddaughter, will not only look the part at the upcoming London Olympic Games, she will be living like her fellow competitors, too
She said: “Obviously it will be great to be part of the Olympics and get the atmosphere and the buzz of being a part of it.
“A lot of the time, the equestrian is quite far out so they’ve made a really big effort this time to try and have us part of the Olympics and benefit from that.”
Zara Phillips, who will ride as part of the five-strong eventing team at Greenwich Park, around six miles from the main Olympic park, said Her Majesty had been delighted when she told her that she had made the Olympic team.
The former sports personality of the year missed out on Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 after her then horse, Toytown, suffered late injuries.
“I’m keeping my fingers crossed because we’ve still got a few weeks to go and we all know what horses are like,” she said.
Equestrian performance director Will Connell said the eventing team would stay in the Olympic village – and was adamant their royal member would be well protected by the security put in place by Olympics organizers.
“It’s not an issue,” he said.
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