Intro:

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama surrounded themselves with Olympians and Paralympians at the White House.

They saluted the success of American athletes at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

Script:

A small gathering at the White House for the US Olympians and Paralympians from the Sochi Games.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Michelle Obama:

"You all are so talented. You're dedicated, and honestly, sometimes I don't know how you do it. I really don't. I've watched you guys do some of the craziest stuff. That's the thing with the Winter Olympics. You guys do crazy things -- careening down the face of mountains -- craziness. Throwing each other up in the air, it's like -- the mixed-pair skaters, the women, they're teeny. The big guys take them and throw them, just throw them across the ice. I'm like, are you kidding me? You threw her so hard and she lands on one foot on a blade. And those of you jumping on those cookie sheet things and just sliding down a mountain -- 80 miles an hour -- I mean, who thinks of that? So I am really in awe of everything you do, as so many people here in America and across the globe are. Again and again, you all showed us that being an Olympian is about heart; it's about guts; and it's about giving it your all no matter what stands in your way."

SOUNDBITE: (English) President Barack Obama:

"But most of all, we're here just to celebrate all of you -- our Olympians and Paralympians who brought home a total of 46 medals for the Red, White and Blue. I understand that freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy also brought home a few stray dogs that he adopted. That doesn't count in the medal standings, but it tells you something about the freestyle skiers. Over the past couple of months, we saw some dominating performances by Team USA. American women won more medals in the Olympics than women of any other nation. Way to go, women! Good job. The men swept the podium in slopestyle skiing and Paralympic snowboarding. There you go. Our women's hockey team brought home the silver. Our men's hockey team played a game for the ages with an epic shootout victory over the Russians."