CHICAGO (Sept. 6, 2008) - The 23rd season of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" goes for the gold when it launches Monday, Sept. 8, 2008, as eight members each from the U.S. Olympic Men's and Women's Indoor Volleyball Teams and all four U.S. Beach Volleyball gold medalists are part of a cast of more than 175 Olympic Games medalists in an unforgettable hour of television.
Viewers will cheer as their favorites from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games take the stage at Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago's Millennium Park for a "Welcome Home Team USA" celebration for the record books! A crowd of thousands will show Chicago's Olympic spirit as it bids for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Representing USA Volleyball include beach gold medalists Misty May-Treanor (Costa Mesa, Calif.), Kerri Walsh (Saratoga, Calif.), Phil Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Fla.) and Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.). The U.S. Olympic Men's Indoor Volleyball Team had eight of its 12 gold-medal members represented on the show, including Gabe Gardner (San Clemente, Calif.), Tom Hoff (Park Ridge, Ill.), Rich Lambourne (Tustin, Calif.), David Lee (Alpine, Calif.), Ryan Millar (Palmdale, Calif.), Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.), Riley Salmon (League City, Texas) and Scott Touzinsky (St. Louis, Mo.). The U.S. Olympic Women's Indoor Volleyball Team, also with eight of its 12 silver medalists, was represented by Lindsey Berg (Honolulu), Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif.), Kim Glass (Lancaster, Pa.), Tayyiba Haneef-Park (Laguna Hills, Calif.), Robyn Ah Mow-Santos (Honolulu), Danielle Scott-Arruda (Baton Rouge, La.), Stacy Sykora (Burleson, Texas) and Kim Willoughby (Napoleonville, La.).
In total, USA Volleyball came away from the 2008 Olympic Games with three gold medals and a silver medal. No other country had ever reached the gold-medal match of an Olympic Games in all four volleyball disciplines (men's and women's indoor, men's and women's beach).
Other Olympians including Michael Phelps, Nastia Luikin, Shawn Johnson, Dara Torres, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Lisa Leslie, Jennie Finch and many more will be on hand to answer the questions on the minds of Americans: how does it feel to have achieved their Olympic dreams? What does it take to be the best in the world? What's next for these world-class athletes? Then, Oprah will go behind the headlines for the incredible Olympic stories that you haven't heard.
Plus, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will be presented in high-definition (HD) beginning with the season premiere and throughout the 23rd season. Check your local listings for channel and broadcast time for the show.
"The Oprah Winfrey Show" is partnering with corporate sponsors to help bring together this once-in-a-lifetime event. Partners for the season premiere include United Airlines, The Hilton Family of Hotels and Bank of America, all of whom are also partners of the U.S. Olympic Committee and sponsors of the U.S. Olympic Team.
"The Oprah Winfrey Show" has remained the number one talk show for 22 consecutive seasons, winning every sweep since its debut in 1986. (Source: Nielsen Cassandra Ranking Report - Nov'86 to July '99 and Wrap Sweeps, Nov '99 to July '08. Primary Telecasts Only.) It is produced in Chicago by Harpo Productions, Inc. and syndicated to 212 domestic markets by King World and to 135 countries by CBS Paramount International Television.
The Olympic medalists participating in "The Oprah Winfrey Show" season premiere include the following:
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