President Barack Obama, VP Joe Biden to Skip Rio Olympics

Secretary of State John Kerry will lead the U.S. delegation to the games, according to the White House

President Barack Obama and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden are skipping the Olympics.

Secretary of State John Kerry will lead the U.S. delegation to the games, according to the White House. He'll be the highest-level U.S. official attending.

The U.S. delegation will also include swimmer Mark Spitz. He has nine Olympic gold medals β€” including seven won in the 1972 Munich Games β€” plus a silver medal and a bronze medal.

Spitz will join the U.S. Ambassador to Brazil, Lilana Ayalde, as well as Mari Carmen Aponte, the U.S. acting assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere.

Two White House officials, Liz Allen and Ellie Schaefer, will also be part of the delegation, which will attend events and meet with U.S. athletes during the games.

The delegation plans to attend the opening ceremony Friday night at the Maracana stadium.

Rick Freeman contributed to this report.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us