Talk show host Oprah Winfrey threw a rousing welcome home party for more than 150 US Olympic medal winners on Wednesday that was a salute¹ to the athletes and a pep rally for efforts to bring the 2016 summer games to America.

Winfrey, whose program is seen 140 countries and boasts a weekly US audience of 46 million, filled an open-air concert venue² on Chicago's Lake Michigan waterfront with more than 4,000 people who jumped, shouted and cheered in swirling³ red, white and blue confetti as the medalists walked through the aisles⁴ 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, for which the city is bidding against 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 his feat⁵ had not sunk 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 makers⁶ of Speedo swimwear.

Wednesday's show, which will air on September 8, marked the start of Winfrey's 23rd season.

Another swimming star, silver medalist 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.

"When you're in the water the water doesn't know your age," she added.

The venue for the 2016 games will be announced in October next year. Phelps was scheduled to meet with Chicago community leaders later in the day to help provide support for the city's bid.

美国脱口秀“名嘴”奥普拉•温芙瑞于本周三邀请美国150多名奥运奖牌得主做客一个凯旋欢迎派对，一是庆祝奥运选手们凯旋归来，二来是为美国申办2016年奥运会动员造势。

当天的派对在芝加哥密歇根湖边的一个露天音乐会场举行，当奥运选手们穿过走廊、走上舞台，现场四千多名观众欢呼跃雀，尽情抛洒着红、白、蓝的彩色纸条。奥普拉主持的脱口秀节目共在140个国家播出，在国内，每周有4600万观众观看。

在节目结束时，奥普拉对运动员们说：“美国队，你要让我们站得更高。”她说她希望2016年运动员们能有机会“故地重游”，参加在芝加哥举行的奥运会。芝加哥将与马德里、里约热内卢和东京角逐2016年夏季奥运会的举办权。

在上月的北京奥运会上打破纪录、一举夺得八金的游泳名将迈克尔•菲尔普斯说，尽管他还沉浸在胜利的喜悦中，但他“得回到马里兰”，看朋友和他的宠物犬。

“我想做的最重要的一件事就是发展游泳运动。”他说，他已将自己从（赞助商）Speedo泳衣公司获得的100万美元奖金全部用于创立一个慈善基金会，以促进游泳运动的发展。

这期节目将于本月8日播出，也是奥普拉脱口秀第23季的第一集。

另外一位泳坛名将、北京奥运会银牌得主达拉•托雷斯说，尽管自己已是41岁“高龄”，但仍坚持在奥运赛场上。

她说：“我还是想继续游下去。”

“泳池里的水又不知道你的年龄。”

2016年夏季奥运会的举办城市将于明年10月揭晓。菲尔普斯定于当天晚些时候与芝加哥的社区负责人见面，参加一个申奥活动。