Michelle Obama Takes Let's Move Campaign to Olympics: "It's What I Live For!"

Catt Sadler spoke with the First Lady, Apolo Ohno, Shawn Johnson and more

By John Boone Jul 27, 2012 9:08 PMTags
Watch: Michelle Obama Hosts Olympic Event

As if all the festivities leading up to the start of the Olympics wasn't enough to get you motivated to hop off the couch and try your hand at synchronized swimming or javelin throwing, Michelle Obama brought her "Let's Move" campaign to London today.

The FLOTUS—who gushed she's "proud to be leading" the U.S. delegation during tonight's Opening Ceremony—held her event at the U.S. Ambassador's residence, Winfield Manor, in London and was joined by askater Apolo Ohno and gymnasts Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin.

"It's what I live for!" Mrs. Obama told E!'s very own Catt Sadler about the event. "The truth is, the Olympics is inspiring for everyone around the country but not every kid has a chance to kind of experience it. So this is an event for U.S. military families as well as some of the kids in the area who won't have access to the games."

During a touching speech to attendees, Michelle praised the troops, saying, "Let me just say, we are so grateful for your service, because you all sacrifice so much...And we are so incredibly proud of you. And any time I get the chance to show you guys love, I do it."

While Ms. Obama showed her support for the military, gold medalist Ohno fawned over the first lady: "I think it's amazing!" he told Catt. "The Let's Move Campaign is very dear to most Olympians if not all Olympians' hearts. I was lucky enough in my career to find sports early and it kept me out of a lot of trouble."

And all those Olympians got a special pep talk from Barack Obama's wife when she met with them in the U.K.

Michelle revealed what she told the athletes, explaining, "First of all, I told them to try to have some fun, because for so many of them they've never had this experience before. You can just get lost in the pressure. I just encouraged them to step back and breathe it in a little bit."

So, with all those athletes around her, what sport would the first lady compete in if she were to compete in London 2012?

"If I were smaller, it'd be gymnastics," she confessed. "I can barely do a cartwheel, but in my wildest dreams I could flip like that."