WASHINGTON — President Clinton says watching them kept him sleepless for weeks. And Utah Olympic medalists Natalie Williams and Courtney Johnson couldn't be happier.
As the final icing to the Sydney Olympics, Clinton invited the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams to the White House Wednesday to receive his personal thanks and to have pictures taken together. About 525 team members accepted his offer.
"Really, I asked all the team here so I could forgive them for completely destroying my sleep habits for several weeks during the Olympics" as he watched them into late-night hours, Clinton said.
Knowing the president was a big fan thrilled Williams, a WNBA all-star forward for the Utah Starzz and former Taylorsville High School standout, who won a gold medal in women's basketball.
"He's a big sports fan, and I know he really enjoyed watching the Games," she said. "It's really nice to be here, and I'm excited to meet him. I'm glad it's Bill Clinton because I think he's done a great job over the past eight years. I'm sad he's leaving."
Johnson, a silver medalist in water polo and former Skyline High School star, said, "He's the most powerful man in the free world. So it's an amazing honor to be this close. And we actually get to go up and shake hands with him. I think that's something I'll treasure forever."
She can also treasure that Clinton said he especially enjoyed watching her water polo team. The team just missed the gold on a somewhat controversial last-second goal by Australia. The president praised the Olympics for adding women's water polo, weight lifting and pole vaulting to the Games.
Clinton said, "I watched the women's weight lifting and water polo competitions with great interest, and after it was over I couldn't tell which one was rougher."
Water polo star Johnson said, "I think water polo's a little more physical."
Marcus Jensen, the Salt Lake Buzz catcher who won a gold medal with the U.S. baseball team, said their major upset of two-time defending champion Cuba is the highlight of his life, but the White House ceremony "still ranks right up there."
In fact, "I've got it all captured on video camera." He pulled that camera out as he stood in one of the back rows of athletes behind Clinton as he spoke. "Maybe that was a no-no, but. . . ." Actually, most team members also were taking pictures.
While he didn't attend, Greco-Roman wrestling gold medalist Rulon Gardner of Wyoming also received special praise from Clinton. After Clinton recalled many great Olympic moments, he ended by mentioning Gardner.
"And, of course, there was the minor matter of the little farmboy from Wyoming, Rulon Gardner, who defeated Russian Alexandre Kareline," Clinton said to applause from team members. That major upset was one of the highlights of the Australian Games.
While a no-show at the White House, Gardner was on government business of another sort — visiting the U.S. Navy in Europe before scheduled competition in Sweden and Finland in early December.
Clinton urged the athletes to keep the Olympic spirit for the rest of their lives, and to spread it to others.
"I have often said that it seems to me the Olympics capture the imagination not just because we love athletics and love competition but because we think the Olympics and Paralympics work the way life works," he said. "People work together, and if you work hard and play by the rules, you get rewarded."
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