Late Night: Piers Morgan profiles American athletes on July 4

With virtually all of his prime-time and late-night rivals airing reruns Wednesday night, CNN’s Piers Morgan had the airwaves to himself on the Fourth of July. The British host chose to commemorate Independence Day with a special called “Pride of America.”

The show featured interviews with several American athletes who will be competing later this month at the Olympic Games in London. On a more meta level, it was also a glimpse ahead into the soft-focus stories of personal triumph that form such a major part of television coverage of the Games.

Morgan kicked off the night by talking to John Orozco, a gymnast who grew up in a rough area of the Bronx. The young man recalled an incident when, on the way home from church, his brother was attacked by a gang of 20 or 30 men and wound up in the hospital.

Although the event was traumatizing, “it’s not something that I keep with me, because if I did, it would destroy me,” Orozco said.

While most of us were out watching fireworks, Morgan also checked in with men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and women’s track and field star Allyson Felix.

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