teammates, visited the White House on Thursday to
receive congratulations from President Obama for
their gold medal at this summer's London games. The
President, it seems, pays attention to his pop culture.
For a few moments in August, Maroney was the most
famous Olympian in the world, thanks to a photo
snapped in the wake of her falling short of a gold medal
in the vault competition; her face was drenched with
disappointment, her pursed mouth pushed to the side,
an angry stare in her eyes. The photo captured the
imagination of the internet, with blogs dedicated to
spoofing the look sprouting up nearly instantly, a fun
consolation prize in which she participated (and earned
a TV guest spot from, too)
"I think it looks like I am," she told THR this September,
of whether she really is a stern person. "Sometimes I
scare myself a little bit. I'm just really focused and really
serious, I guess, and I think it's really funny.
It makes them and me laugh all the time."
At the White House, Maroney tweeted about how awed
she was by Obama's helicopter, so at the very least, we
know something impresses her.
