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U.S. television presenter Oprah Winfrey arrives for the birthday dinner party of former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela at Hyde Park in London June 25, 2008
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Talk show host Oprah Winfrey threw a rousing welcome home party for more than 150 US Olympic medal winners on Wednesday that was a salute to the athletes and a pep rally for efforts to bring the 2016 summer games to America.
Winfrey, whose program is seen 140 countries and boasts a weekly US audience of 46 million, filled an open-air concert venue on Chicago's Lake Michigan waterfront with more than 4,000 people who jumped, shouted and cheered in swirling red, white and blue confetti as the medalists walked through the aisles and took the stage.
"Team USA, you want to make us all stand taller," she told the athletes at the end of the program, adding that she hoped they would have a chance to return to Chicago for the 2016 games, for which the city is bidding against Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.
Swimmer Michael Phelps, who came back from last month's games in Beijing with a record eight gold medals, told Winfrey his feat had not sunk in but "I need to get back home" to Maryland to see friends and his pet bulldog.
"One of the biggest things I want to do is grow the sport of swimming," he added, noting that he has established a charitable foundation to promote the sport using the $1 million bonus he earned from the makers of Speedo swimwear.
Wednesday's show, which will air on September 8, marked the start of Winfrey's 23rd season.
Another swimming star, silver medalist Dara Torres, told Winfrey she was not done with competitive swimming at age 41.
"I kind of want to keep going for a bit," she said.
"When you're in the water the water doesn't know your age," she added.
The venue for the 2016 games will be announced in October next year. Phelps was scheduled to meet with Chicago community leaders later in the day to help provide support for the city's bid.
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(Agencies)
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美國(guó)脫口秀“名嘴”奧普拉?溫芙瑞于本周三邀請(qǐng)美國(guó)150多名奧運(yùn)獎(jiǎng)牌得主做客一個(gè)凱旋歡迎派對(duì)，一是慶祝奧運(yùn)選手們凱旋歸來(lái)，二來(lái)是為美國(guó)申辦2016年奧運(yùn)會(huì)動(dòng)員造勢(shì)。
當(dāng)天的派對(duì)在芝加哥密歇根湖邊的一個(gè)露天音樂(lè)會(huì)場(chǎng)舉行，當(dāng)奧運(yùn)選手們穿過(guò)走廊、走上舞臺(tái)，現(xiàn)場(chǎng)四千多名觀眾歡呼躍雀，盡情拋灑著紅、白、藍(lán)的彩色紙條。奧普拉主持的脫口秀節(jié)目共在140個(gè)國(guó)家播出，在國(guó)內(nèi)，每周有4600萬(wàn)觀眾觀看。
在節(jié)目結(jié)束時(shí)，奧普拉對(duì)運(yùn)動(dòng)員們說(shuō)：“美國(guó)隊(duì)，你要讓我們站得更高?！彼f(shuō)她希望2016年運(yùn)動(dòng)員們能有機(jī)會(huì)“故地重游”，參加在芝加哥舉行的奧運(yùn)會(huì)。芝加哥將與馬德里、里約熱內(nèi)盧和東京角逐2016年夏季奧運(yùn)會(huì)的舉辦權(quán)。
在上月的北京奧運(yùn)會(huì)上打破紀(jì)錄、一舉奪得八金的游泳名將邁克爾?菲爾普斯說(shuō)，盡管他還沉浸在勝利的喜悅中，但他“得回到馬里蘭”，看朋友和他的寵物犬。
“我想做的最重要的一件事就是發(fā)展游泳運(yùn)動(dòng)?！彼f(shuō)，他已將自己從（贊助商）Speedo泳衣公司獲得的100萬(wàn)美元獎(jiǎng)金全部用于創(chuàng)立一個(gè)慈善基金會(huì)，以促進(jìn)游泳運(yùn)動(dòng)的發(fā)展。
這期節(jié)目將于本月8日播出，也是奧普拉脫口秀第23季的第一集。
另外一位泳壇名將、北京奧運(yùn)會(huì)銀牌得主達(dá)拉?托雷斯說(shuō)，盡管自己已是41歲“高齡”，但仍堅(jiān)持在奧運(yùn)賽場(chǎng)上。
她說(shuō)：“我還是想繼續(xù)游下去?！?/font>
“泳池里的水又不知道你的年齡。”
2016年夏季奧運(yùn)會(huì)的舉辦城市將于明年10月揭曉。菲爾普斯定于當(dāng)天晚些時(shí)候與芝加哥的社區(qū)負(fù)責(zé)人見(jiàn)面，參加一個(gè)申奧活動(dòng)。
（英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津姍姍編輯）
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