'Final Five' Visit Empire State Building Before Heading To White House
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The "Final Five," the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic gymnastics team, was welcomed home during a visit to the Empire State Building on Tuesday.
Surrounded by flashing cameras and gawking crowds, Gabby Douglas, Madison Kocian, Aly Raisman, Simone Biles and Laurie Hernandez got the star treatment on the 86th floor of the iconic skyscraper.
Five-time Olympic medalist Biles reflected on her team's performance and the honors she's received.
"The Olympic experience for me kept getting better and better: We won team gold and then brought home a couple more medals, and then I got to carry the flag," the 19-year-old said. "It was a huge honor."
Her five medals tie the most for an American female gymnast in a single Olympics, and her four golds tie an Olympic record shared by four others.
Biles even got a special shoutout from President Barack Obama on Twitter.
"Couldn't be prouder of #TeamUSA. Your determination and passion inspired so many of us. You carried that flag high tonight, @Simone_Biles!" the president tweeted.
Couldn't be prouder of #TeamUSA. Your determination and passion inspired so many of us. You carried that flag high tonight, @Simone_Biles!
— President Obama (@POTUS44) August 22, 2016
But Biles said the best part of the Olympics was winning team gold.
"It was amazing. It was everything I ever dreamed of," she said. "It was a phenomenal experience for all of us as a whole, and we went over there and broke a couple records, and I don't think we could be more proud of ourselves."
Biles and her teammates are off to the White House before enjoying what she calls some much-needed time to relax with friends and family, WCBS 880's John Metaxas reported.