Category: Olympics

U.S. gold medal-winning discus thrower began competing so she could get spaghetti

No, seriously.

Olympians: They’re just like us!

From U.S. gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik taking a nap at the arena to Chinese gymnast Zhou Yaqin trying to figure out how to bite her medal properly, the 2024 Olympic Games have been full of moments relatable to the average non-athlete. But perhaps the most relatable of all is the reason two-time gold medalist Valarie Allman began competing in discus throw:

In high school, the throwers had an annual spaghetti dinner. She wanted to go. So she became a thrower.

Now, more than a decade later, she added another gold medal to the count of the United States. For that, the nation can thank pasta.

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Allman attended Silver Creek High School in Longmont, Colorado. According to her Team USA bio, she joined the track and field team as a freshman, jumping and sprinting.

Unfortunately for her, neither of those involved spaghetti. Fortunately for the nation, the throwers told her she could join the dinner if she switched to discus. She did.

After graduating high school, Allman competed for the Stanford track and field team and won the Pac-12 discus championship twice. She has competed in the world championships four times, earning silver and bronze, and won a gold medal in Tokyo. On Monday, she became the first U.S. woman to win back-to-back gold medals in Olympic discus.

All of it started with a hankering for spaghetti.

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Canadian pole vaulter Alysha Newman explains why she twerked after winning Olympic bronze

There’s a story behind the celebration.

Alysha Newman made headlines on Thursday for doing the iconic “I’m injured, ow! No, SYKE! I’m twerking” celebration that we’ve seen before, in the midst of her winning a bronze medal in pole vault for her native Canada a the 2024 Paris Olympics.

But there was a story behind it.

MORE: Best photos of pole vaulters in Paris

As she told CBC Sports, she’s always injured, so she decided to scare her very serious coaches so they’d lighten up.

“So I said, I’m gonna fake an injury and then I’m gonna dance after,” she said. “But it just happened very fluid.”

Here’s that answer around the 5-minute mark:

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3 things to know about breakdancing, or breaking, for its Olympic debut from Team USA’s Sunny Choi

What to know about the new Olympic sport from Team USA’s Sunny Choi.

Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. This is FTW Explains: The Olympics. During the Olympics, some of the sports can be intimidating, especially if you’re not super familiar with them. That’s OK because we’re here to help.

Breakdancing, or simply breaking, is set to make its Olympic debut at the 2024 Paris Games. It was added to the Olympic lineup following success at the Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2018 in Buenos Aires.

Each team at the Paris Olympics could qualify up to four athletes — two each for the men’s and women’s competitions — and Team USA has a full team of four breakers: Sunny Choi and Logan Edra for the women’s competition and Victor Montalvo and Jeffrey Louis for the men’s event.

How does breaking work as an Olympic event? As Olympics.com explains: “Athletes will use a combination of power moves—including windmills, the 6-step, and freezes—as they adapt their style and improvise to the beat of the DJ’s tracks in a bid to secure the judges’ votes and take home the first Olympic breaking medals.”

Ahead of the Games, For The Win spoke with Choi and asked her to explain her top-3 things Olympics fans should know when watching breaking.

1. Breakers have no control over what music is played

“One of the biggest misconceptions that I have gotten along the way is that we choose our music; we do not,” Choi told For The Win. “The DJ picks the track for us, and we don’t know what it’s going to be, and sometimes it’s a brand-new track.

“When we walk out there, it’s definitely possible that the DJ is going to have new music produced for the Games that we’ve never heard before. And it’s not like we get it in advance. They just play it and you go, so I think that adds an element of suspense and excitement.”

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2. Breakers are improvising a ton when they’re competing

“A lot of us are freestyling a lot of our rounds,” Choi said. “Not everyone freestyles 100 percent, and there’s a wide variety. But you’re going to see, especially with the American breakers, freestyling a lot. So even we don’t know what we’re going to do.

“So not only doing not knowing music, but we also don’t really know exactly what we’re about to go throw because it’s dependent on the music. We really want to connect to the moment and to the music and then just go do what feels right. So I might kind of plan anywhere from like 20 to 40 percent of my round, but no more than that. Everything else is just what comes out in the moment.”

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3. Breaking competitions can seem like one big party

For athletes and fans watching, Choi said to just enjoy it and be present in the moment because breaking is a good time.

“Breaking has this energy that I feel like you don’t get in so many other sports,” she said. “It’s like a party. You have an emcee who’s hyping up the crowd. You’ve got a DJ, and then we’re dancing, you know? And so there’s an energy about it that’s so different from so much else that you’re going to see at the Games. And so I’m just like, go out there, be in the moment. Go scream for your favorite people, and have fun because I think it’s going to be a really great event.”

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What does Lydia Ko receive at the Paris Olympics besides the gold medal?

It’s natural to wonder what other perks come with being an Olympic champion.

The gold medal is priceless, of course. But the LPGA Hall of Fame point that comes with it might mean even more to Lydia Ko, who become just the 35th member of the prestigious Hall.

Ko also receives an exemption into the AIG Women’s British Open in two weeks, but she’s already in that field as well as the LPGA majors for 2025.

While this will not count as an official LPGA victory, all players in the field receive Rolex Rankings points.

On the podium, Ko received a long, slender box, which goes to all the medal winners in 2024. The box contains a commemorative poster.

Simone Biles made a surprising admission to Snoop Dogg about attending Olympic events

Okay, this is pretty surprising.

While taking in some of this year’s track and field events at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Team USA women’s gymnastics superstar Simone Biles shared something absolutely fascinating with Snoop Dogg.

Biles told Snoop Dogg that she’s “never watched any other event before, so this is my first time.” Of course, that surprised the rap legend since Biles is such a monumental figure in Olympics history.

As she’s always been very busy with her gymnastics events, it makes sense that Biles has a busy schedule at any Olympic Games.

However, that this was the first time she’d ever just sat back, relaxed and enjoyed an Olympic sport as a spectator is absolutely wild.

If this really is the last time Biles competes at the Olympics, maybe she’ll have more time in the future to enjoy the Games from the stands.

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The 2024 Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony will reportedly feature Snoop Dogg, Billie Eilish and Red Hot Chili Peppers

This is a great music lineup for Sunday’s 2024 Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony.

The 2024 Paris Olympics will be going off with a bang on Sunday.

While it’s been reported that movie star Tom Cruise will make an appearance during this year’s Closing Ceremony, Variety shared three big musical acts who will entertain the globe to close out the Paris Olympic Games.

Billie Eilish, Red Hot Chili Peppers and, of course, Olympics stalwart Snoop Dogg will all reportedly be part of the Closing Ceremony to finish out the latest edition of the Olympic Summer Games.

This is an exciting lineup of musicians, and it’s awesome that Snoop Dogg will get the main stage after being such a delightful ambassador for NBC and Team USA.

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Kevin Durant celebrated Team USA’s comeback win against Serbia in the most wholesome way

This is such a great way to celebrate.

Team USA basketball superstar Kevin Durant knew how to celebrate his team’s comeback victory in the 2024 Paris Olympics semifinals over Serbia on Thursday.

In an absolutely delightful video, USA Basketball shared Durant reflecting on the instant classic comeback while enjoying a meal with his mom, Wanda Durant.

“How can you not celebrate a win like that?” Durant asks in the video, sporting an Atlanta Braves cap and sharing a good bit of perspective about how much of a statement the victory really was.

Durant has already made USA Basketball history at this year’s Olympics, and this very wholesome celebration video is just another highlight in his fantastic Olympic Games.

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Noah Lyles posted a bittersweet message to Instagram after withdrawing from the Paris Olympics

Noah Lyles announced that he’s done competing at this year’s Olympics.

Team USA track and field superstar Noah Lyles‘ 2024 Paris Olympics journey has come to a close.

After he took the bronze in the 200 meter relay and revealed he ran the Olympic race with a COVID diagnosis, Lyles shared on Instagram in a bittersweet post that he would not compete in any other track and field events in Paris this week.

“I believe this will be the end of my 2024 Olympics,” Lyles wrote in the message. “It is not the Olympic I dreamed of but it has left me with so much Joy in my heart. I hope everyone enjoyed the show.”

Lyles took the gold in the 100 meter relay for Team USA before taking the bronze in the 200m on Thursday.

You can read the full message below.

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Letsile Tebogo teased Noah Lyles after winning the 200m gold medal: ‘I’m not an arrogant or a loud person’

The gold medal winner was brutally honest about why he won’t become the face of the sport

Botswana’s Letsile Tobogo had his moment during the men’s 200-meter final at the Paris Olympics on Thursday. The athlete cruised to the gold medal with a time of 19.46, outpacing Team USA’s Kenny Bednarek (silver) and Noah Lyles (bronze), who was notably battling a case of COVID-19.

After the event, Tebogo took questions from the media. He was appropriately asked if he had any ambitions about being one of the faces of sprinting worldwide. In a very matter-of-fact fashion — I’m talking with a completely straight face — Tebogo said he probably couldn’t be one of the faces because he’s not as “loud or arrogant” as Lyles.

It’s not surprising that Tebogo would say something like this. Lyles’ general brashness probably hasn’t exactly endeared him to his fellow competitors. Lyles’ well-publicized beef with NBA superstars might just be the tip of the iceberg there.

It is worth noting that Lyles did congratulate Tebogo after the race:

Kudos to Tebogo for saying something like this after actually beating Lyles, though. That man is almost certainly on top of the world for beating one of his top rivals. He’s earned the right to pontificate as he pleases.

And the irony of it? Even if he might not have meant for it to sound like trash talk, talking about Lyles like this in public is precisely what could make Tebogo one of the faces of sports.

Team USA comes from behind for an Olympic win over Serbia

Team USA completes a comeback to beat Serbia in the Olympic semifinals.

Team USA struggled for most of the game against Serbia on Thursday, after blowing out Brazil in their previous game. They were behind by 13 points heading into the fourth quarter, but they had a comeback in them.

Most of the team struggled to score, but Steph Curry was hot, and poured in 36 points, and led Team USA to a double digit comeback. They out-scored Serbia 32 – 15 in the fourth quarter and got the win by a score of 95 – 91.

Related: Sydney McLaughlin-Davrone wins Olympic gold

It was not a great game for the three former Wildcats on the squad. Devin Booker led the Kentucky stars with six points. However, he only attempted four shots, making two of them.

Anthony Davis took just one shot, and scored four points. He added 2 rebounds, a steal, and an assist.

Bam Adebayo didn’t score in this one, and just tallied a steal and an assist in 10 minutes of play.

It should be noted that with Curry’s big day, the former Cats didn’t need to contribute as much as in previous games.

Team USA moves on the the finals, and will play for the gold medal. They’ll meet France who beat Germany to advance. It should be an exciting game, and fans will be pulling for them to win the top prize.