Michelle Obama Counts Down to the Olympics in N.Y.C. with an Inspiring Speech

Michelle Obama
Photo: Ed Mulholland/Getty Images

The 2016 Summer Olympics are only 100 days away, and Michelle Obama wants you to get excited. The First Lady attended Wednesday's “100 Day Countdown” event in New York City, and gave a speech that will inspire you to get up and get moving.

In the heart of Times Square, FLOTUS spoke with a team of U.S. Olympians and Paralympians at her back, ramping up the excitement for this summer’s games in Rio de Janeiro. “This is kind of a dream come true for me, because I'm here today not just as the First Lady, but as a real, lifelong, die-hard Olympics fan. To this day, I still remember the excitement that I felt as a little girl growing up on the South Side of Chicago when Olympic season would roll around,” she said.

“My family and all the kids in our neighborhood, we would gather around somebody’s TV somewhere in the neighborhood, and we would watch for hours.”

Obama wants that same excitement to take over the nation during this summer’s games. Acknowledging that the importance of bringing home the gold and proudly representing the U.S. to the rest of the world, the First Lady also spoke about the impact that the event has back at home.

“The Olympics are also about inspiring young people here at home, truly, to get them active, and to live up to the example that our Olympic and Paralympic athletes have always set with their dedication, their determination, their unyielding commitment to excellence,” she said. “And we want to bring that Olympic spirit all across this country and into big cities and tiny towns, and to kids and families like mine.”

Going along with her Let’s Move! Initiative, Obama hopes the spirit of the games will inspire young people to get healthy and active, a message we can all get behind.

“And, of course, go, Team USA!”

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