Dylan Martinez/Pool Photo via AP
- First lady Jill Biden attended the Olympics' opening ceremony in Tokyo on Friday.
- In an open letter published with NBC News ahead of the ceremony, she thanked Team USA's athletes.
- Biden said the Olympics are a time when the United States joins together for a "shared joy of rooting for our country."
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
First lady Jill Biden thanked Team USA Olympians for participating in the Tokyo Olympics in an open letter published on Friday.
Biden, who's in Tokyo for the Summer Games' opening ceremony, thanked the athletes for giving the United States a "chance to come together in common awe" of their talent in the letter published on NBC News.
"Becoming an Olympian is a rare accomplishment in a normal time, but you did it during a global pandemic," she wrote. "You are forever one of the most elite, most celebrated and most accomplished athletes in the world."
She added that the Olympics are a time when the United States joins together for a "shared joy of rooting for our country."
"In these moments, we are more than our cities or states or backgrounds. We are more than our jobs or our political parties. We are united. We are all, first and foremost, Team USA," she said.
The Olympics kicked off with an opening ceremony on Friday in a stadium without spectators - as COVID-19 surges in this year's host country Japan.