Athletes from the U.S. 2010 Paralympic and Olympic Teams visited the
White House on April 21.
Rain in Washington, D.C. moved the event inside, where members of Team
USA were greeted by Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden, EdD.
“Vice President Biden expressed to us that he is impressed by what
we do on the hill and said he finds what we do to be scary,” Allison
Jones, five-time Paralympian in both Alpine skiing and road and track cycling,
told O&P Business News.
Jones and her teammates also exchanged small talk with President Barack
Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, before posing for photos.
“I love representing the USA,” she said. “It is such a
great honor.”
Jones — along with Olympic speed skaters Shani Davis, Apolo Ohno
and Allison Baver — also met with U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak
(D-Menominee) to discuss his support of the Olympic Education Scholarship
Program, which allows for athletes training at one the of the four U.S. Olympic
training or education centers to be eligible for educational funding.
Davis, Baver and Jones, recipients of the Olympic Education Scholarship,
joined Ohno on Capitol Hill to encourage lawmakers to continue funding for the
program in the fiscal year 2011 budget, according to a press release.
Jones said that she enjoyed her time with members of the government.
“All in all, I felt that my trip to Washington, D.C. was quite an
honor and hopefully will continue to have an impact on life outside of the
skiing and cycling venues,” she said. “This trip continues to spark
my passion for sports and representing Team USA.”
