Summer Olympics

After launching a new track league earlier this summer, four-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson is hoping to have some of the biggest stars in the sport participate.

While speaking to TMZ, Johnson revealed that he's been pursuing Team USA star sprinter Noah Lyles to join Grand Slam Track and already signed world-record hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone as an ambassador.

"We're looking for the fastest people," Johnson said. "We needed to wait until after Paris, and now we know who the fastest are, and so we're signing more of those athletes now."

Lyles won the gold medal in the 100-meter and took the bronze in the 200-meter at the Paris Olympics this summer. He revealed after running the 200-meter that he was diagnosed with COVID-19, which forced him to withdraw from the men's 4x100-meter relay race.

Johnson also revealed that the four events in Grand Slam Track will provide a prize of $100,000 for first place. He said the $10,000 award for last place is equivalent to the first-place prize for the current top track circuit. He also noted that runners will be receiving a base compensation for participating in the league.

Lyles and the rest of this year's Olympic competitors would certainly add some star power to Grand Slam Track, so fans will certainly be curious to see if Johnson is able to convince them to join the upstart league.

Coming off the high of winning a gold medal at the Paris Olympics, a trio of Team USA stars had their celebration interrupted.

During an appearance alongside star forward Kevin Durant for Boardroom Talks at Fanatics Fest this weekend, Anthony Edwards revealed the two of them were drug-tested after the final against France along with Stephen Curry.

"We couldn't even really celebrate for real because me, him and Steph had to take like a drug test or something," Edwards said (6:40).

It's somewhat unsurprising that Curry was checked after the game, as the star point guard put on a dazzling performance with 24 points on eight three-pointers to lead Team USA to a 98-87 win over France.

Durant added 15 points, and Edwards chipped in with eight points off the bench.

"It's only right that they gave Steph one, the way he closed that deal, because that was crazy," moderator Jalen Rose quipped.

"He was supposed to get one after the first Serbia game," Edwards said jokingly of Durant, referring to the 35-year-old's 23-point performance in Team USA's Olympic opener.

Still, the drug tests were just a small deterrent to the ongoing victory lap for Edwards, Durant and the rest of Team USA's stars.

Australian breakdancer Rachael "Raygun" Gunn said she was "honored" to represent the country at the 2024 Summer Olympics but that some of the negative reaction she has received has been "devastating."

In a video posted to Instagram, Gunn also addressed an online petition that alleged she had manipulated the qualifying process to ensure she reached the Olympics.

Australian Olympic Committee chief executive officer Matt Carroll came to her defense and assailed the petition.

"It is disgraceful that these falsehoods concocted by an anonymous person can be published in this way," he said, per ESPN.com. "It amounts to bullying and harassment and is defamatory. We are demanding that it be removed from the site immediately. No athlete who has represented their country at the Olympic Games should be treated in this way."

Gunn attained viral fame in Paris thanks to her performance. Each of her three individual matchups ended with scores of 18-0, and her unique style set her apart from the field.

Martin Gilian, an experienced breakdancer and judge for the competition, credited Gunn for her originality.

"Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region," he told reporters. "This is exactly what Raygun was doing. She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was a kangaroo."

However, Gunn was the subject of plenty of mockery online, and things went a step further with the anonymous petition. The ESPN.com report noted as well that "unattributed social media comments also suggested Gunn and her husband, fellow breaker Samuel Free, had held positions within Australian breaking organizations."

The Australian Olympic Committee denied Gunn or her husband had official roles with AUSBreaking or DanceSport Australia. It said Gunn qualified for the Olympics on merit and through the proper channels.

While the International Olympic Committee approved adding breaking to the official program for the Paris Games, it isn't included in the upcoming slate for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Sha'Carri Richardson's iconic stare as she closed the United States' victory in the women's 4x100 relay will go down as one of the Paris Summer Olympics' most memorable moments.

In an interview published Tuesday, Richardson revealed her thoughts during that final stretch to Kathleen Newman-Bremang of Unbothered.

"Honestly, that look over, if I had to just highlight anything, the look over was — it's almost like it was a mirror on that side of me, and I'm just looking at a version of myself that nobody but me could see, if that makes sense.

"I looked over and I just knew that no matter what was going on, there was nobody that I was going to allow — even myself — to be in front of me. I know that sounds crazy, but I was in that lane and feeling like I'm always my biggest competitor [so I had to] leave my best on the track. I was just like, there's no way that I'm not going to leave my best on the track.

"And so just looking over, it was more so showing that the hard work that all of us ladies in that 4x1 put in was not going to be in vain. I wasn't going to even allow myself to not cross that finish line in first place and not get that medal, or to let down those ladies and the support that we received when it comes to us crossing the finish line, in first place as Team USA."

Richardson, Gabby Thomas, Twanisha Terry and Melissa Jefferson made up the American team that won the 4x100 with a time of 41.78 seconds. Richardson received the baton in fourth place but flew to the finish in first, marking the third time in four Summer Games that the United States has won the event.

The gold medal marked another accomplishment for the 24-year-old Richardson, who also took silver in the 100m. Richardson also won gold at the 2023 World Championships in the 100m and 4x100m and took bronze in the 200m.

Richardson also won the 100m at the NCAA Division I Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships during her first and only season at LSU in 2019 before turning professional.

The Olympic Games are coming to Los Angeles in 2028, and hip-hop icon Dr. Dre is hoping not only to perform but also to compete.

"I'm try'na try out for the Olympics in 2028," Dre told Nischelle Turner of Entertainment Tonight, per TMZ. When asked which event he'd compete in, the 59-year-old responded, "Archery. I'm dead ass serious. Yup."

Dre went on to reveal that he's been an archer for decades, dating back to when he was a member of a team in junior high school.

While archery took a backseat when he embarked on his career in music, his interest was reignited recently when his son bought him targets and equipment for Father's Day.

"I have it set up in my back yard and I heard qualifying for the Olympics is 77 feet. I practice at 90," he said.

Dre has four years to continue working on his craft so he can earn a spot on the Olympic team. It would be an incredible accomplishment for the seven-time Grammy Award winner to add "Olympic competitor" to his long list of titles.

USA Gymnastics hit a snag in its quest to get Jordan Chiles the Olympic bronze medal that she was forced to give up over the weekend.

After submitting evidence to a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Sunday, USA Gymnastics announced on Monday that it was informed that the court's rules don't allow for the situation to be reconsidered. USA Gymnastics said it will continue pursuing methods of appeal to get Chiles her medal back:

Christine Brennan of USA Today provided another update on the situation:

Chiles was awarded the bronze medal in the floor exercise after an inquiry by Team USA coach Cecile Landi led to her score being changed and moving her from fifth place to third ahead of Romanians Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea. However, the CAS voided Landi's appeal and the International Olympic Committee announced that Chiles would be required to return her medal so it could be reallocated to Barbosu.

The CAS reportedly determined that Landi's inquiry came after the one-minute window allowed by the International Gymnastics Federation, saying that it occurred one minute and four seconds after Chiles' score was posted. In its submission of evidence on Sunday, USA Gymnastics said it found that Landi's appeal came within the window.

"USA Gymnastics on Sunday formally submitted a letter and video evidence to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, conclusively establishing that Head Coach Cecile Landi's request to file an inquiry was submitted 47 seconds after the publishing of the score, within the 1-minute deadline required," Sunday's announcement stated.

Chiles appeared to address the situation when she wrote in an Instagram story on Saturday that she was "taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thank you."

Chiles also earned a gold medal in the team competition along with her United States teammates Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jade Carey and Hezley Rivera.

WNBA legend Sue Bird called the embarrassment of talent riches available to the United States "a gift and a curse" because it inevitably means star players will get bypassed for major tournaments.

Bird cited Candace Parker in 2016 as the most notable example in an interview with Rachel Nichols on Open Run. This summer, Caitlin Clark's omission from the 2024 Summer Olympics squad sparked a lot of conversation.

"It's the reason for the dominance. We have so much talent," Bird said. "We've always said—and not said it lightly—we could probably field another Olympic team, another World Cup team. And so sadly, that always leads to this idea of snubs."

When USA Basketball named its 12-player Olympic team, Clark was averaging 16.3 points on 37.3 percent shooting along with 4.9 rebounds and 6.0 assists. Her production was solid for a rookie but not necessarily good enough to automatically consider her one of the 12 best American players. Missing out on the national team camp in April because she was in the Final Four with Iowa proved costly as well.

Maybe the United States would've been better with Clark instead of another guard in Paris. Winning an eighth straight gold medal at least refuted the notion Team USA needed the Indiana Fever rookie.

As long as she stays healthy, Clark is all but a lock to represent the U.S. at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

By that time, her rivalry with the Chicago Sky's Angel Reese may have helped to lift women's basketball to another level. Bird told Nichols the sport has had rivalries before but has not captured the attention in the same way Clark and Reese have.

"The fact that these two they literally stole the college stage, both with their play and their trash talk, and then they're taking into the WNBA," she said. "It's just going to mean good things for the landscape of women's basketball, so I'm all for it. I think it's great. They've come in and they've taken over."

Viewership for the 2024 Summer Games was up across the board compared to the Tokyo Games. Staging the event in the U.S. all but ensures it will get strong ratings among American fans, and having Clark and Reese on Team USA would only generate more excitement.

Noah Lyles is setting the record straight.

The 100m gold medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics denied a rumor that he turned down a chance to attend Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards' shoe release in 2023 due to Edwards not having won a championship yet.

Lyles said his absence was due to a scheduling conflict and that Edwards "definitely deserves his shoes" and that he is an "amazing player." He also congratulated Edwards for winning the gold medal with Team USA at the Olympics.

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In an interview with Sean Gregory of Time which published in June, Lyles—who had been in contract negotiations with Adidas—discussed being invited to an Adidas shoe-release event for Edwards

"You want to do what? You want to invite me to [an event for] a man who has not even been to an NBA Finals? In a sport that you don't even care about? And you're giving him a shoe? No disrespect: the man is an amazing athlete. He is having a heck of a year. I love that they saw the insight to give him a shoe, because they saw that he was going to be big. All I'm asking is, 'How could you not see that for me?'"

This situation was widely talked about during his and Team USA's Olympic runs this year. Lyles won a gold and a bronze at the 2024 games and the U.S. men's basketball team earned a fifth-consecutive gold medal with an undefeated run in its Olympic slate.

Team USA appeared to reference Lyles' comments after winning the gold medal, stating "are we World Champs now?" in a post on X.

Lyles' comments about Edwards we critically received, and his denial of it shows that he likely desires putting it all in the past.