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OPRAH TAPES OLYMPIC SHOW: More than 150 gold medalists from Beijing filmed in Chicago for Sept. 8 season premiere.
*Oprah Winfrey welcomed home more than 150 U.S. Olympic medal winners on Wednesday as part of her talk show's 23rd season premiere.
The salute on Chicago's Lake Michigan waterfront doubled as a pep rally for efforts to bring the 2016 summer games to America, reports Reuters. More than 4,000 audience members cheered wildly amidst 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, should the city beat competing locations 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 the feat had yet to sink 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.
Fellow swimmer, 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, unlike past Olympic competitions after which, she said, she didn't want to go near the water again. "When you're in the water the water doesn't know your age," she added.
Wednesday's show will air in syndication on Sept. 8. The venue for the 2016 games will be announced in October 2009.
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