Oprah Winfrey hosts Olympians in Chicago
The Olympics got the Oprah Winfrey touch today, as the talk show host taped a show featuring America’s medal-winning athletes at Millennium Park.
“Is it comfortable in those bikinis?’’ Winfrey asked beach volleyball medalist Misty May-Treanor.
(AP)
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Oprah Olympic event
“You get used to it,’’ May-Treanor said.
Winfrey told 41-year-old swimmer Dara Torres that she didn’t envy her body or her strength but the athlete’s ability to eat unfettered. Female Olympic swimmers can consume about 6,000 calories per day — about three times the normal amount.
“I had a 16 oz. steak and desert and a baked potato last night,’’ said Torres.
And what of the star of the show — the star besides Oprah? Swimmer Michael Phelps merely laughed when Winfrey mentioned wedding bells. “Ding-dong?’’ said Winfrey.
“My private life is something I want to keep a little private,’’ said Phelps, smiling.
The show, which will air Monday, featured more than 150 American Olympic athletes. Appearing on stage under the billowing flourishes of the Pritzker Pavilion, the group seemed genuinely happy to be there. The athletes entered and left the stage by walking through the crowd, slapping high-fives with the predominantly female audience, as red and blue confetti fell.
The show is considered a boon to Chicago’s efforts to host the 2016 Summer Games. Indeed, Phelps wore a Chicago 2016 golf shirt during Oprah’s interview.
Asked if he’s watched the tapes of his eight gold medal contests, Phelps said not all of them — yet. He generally reviews his performances, he said, to see if “I can pick up anything.’’
“I don’t think you need to pick anything up, now,’’ said Winfrey.
Gymnast Nastia Liukin told Winfrey she was a fan of her show, and, before the Olympic Games in Beijing, had seen an episode featuring author Joyce Schwarz, author of The Vision Board: The Secret to an Extraordinary Life. (Schwarz recommends people design collages reflecting their dreams and aspirations.)
About a month before Liukin left for Beijing, she designed one featuring a gold medal. She came home with the real thing.
The taping took about one hour and 20 minutes. During time allotted for commercials, people in the audience shouted out the names of their favorite athletes. The NBA players who represented the United States in basketball appeared to be particularly popular.
Among the crowd was Mayor Daley, the first time he has appeared at an Oprah taping Winfrey said, but he did not speak.
Winfrey and many of the athletes made pitches for the Olympics to be held in Chicago in eight years — a decision the International Olympic Committee will make in October of 2009.
Softball player Jennie Finch noted that softball has been eliminated from the next summer Games, in London in 2012. “What better place to bring it back than Chicago?’’ said Finch.
The Pritzker Pavilion’s 4,000 fixed seats were filled; the lawn, which seats about 7,000, was about a quarter filled.
Lincoln Park resident Celia Dec said she has been to two other Oprah tapings but this one was special.
“I had tears in my eyes,’’ said Dec. “I feel very proud.’’
The taping “will give [the bid] more exposure nationwide,” said Dec’s son Billy, who is a Chicago 2016 committee member and the owner of Rockit Bar and Grill. The bid “isn’t just a Chicago thing; it’s an American thing,’’ he said.
The show ended with 2008 American Idol winner David Cook on acoustic guitar. Sang Cook: “This is the time of my life . . .’’
For fans like Celia Dec, it really was.