Category: Olympics

Get to know Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce: 5 facts about the fastest woman in the world

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is back and as fast as ever.

For the Tokyo Olympics this summer, For The Win is helping you get to know some of the star Olympians competing on the world’s biggest stage. Leading up to the Opening Ceremony, we’re highlighting 23 athletes in 23 days. Up next is Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce may have won bronze in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, but she’s coming back with a vengeance this year in Tokyo and is looking to take home the gold.

The Jamaican track star is back in rare form and breaking records once again after her disappointing trip to Rio in 2016. Just weeks ago, she just became the second-fastest woman of all-time behind Florence Griffith-Joyner after running the 100 meters at a meet in Kingston.

So what should you expect from Fraser-Pryce in Tokyo? What should you look for?  The answer is greatness. Here are five facts about the fastest woman in the world.

Get to know Katie Ledecky: 5 facts about Team USA’s Olympic swimming superstar

What you should know about Katie Ledecky as she takes on the Tokyo Olympics.

For the Tokyo Olympics this summer, For The Win is helping you get to know some of the star Olympians competing on the world’s biggest stage. Leading up to the Opening Ceremony, we’re highlighting 23 athletes in 23 days. First up is Katie Ledecky.

No matter what happens at the Tokyo Olympics, Katie Ledecky has already cemented herself as one of the greatest and most dominant swimmers of all time.

The soon-to-be three-time Olympian is looking to add to her already impressive haul of five gold medals and one silver this summer, and she qualified in June for the 200-meter freestyle, 400-meter freestyle, 800-meter freestyle and 1,500-meter freestyle (also referred to as the mile). She’ll also swim in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, giving her the chance to return from Tokyo with up to five more Olympic medals.

Like every other Olympic hopeful, training during 2020 was challenging and complicated thanks to the coronavirus pandemic (witch delayed the Games a year), and that included Ledecky practicing in a backyard pool with teammate Simone Manuel before returning to training at Stanford. And after a generally impressive performance at the U.S. Olympic Trials, the 24-year-old swimmer is going to be tough to beat.

Here are five things to know about Ledecky ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

READ MORE FROM OUR TOKYO OLYMPICS 23 in 23 SERIES HERE.

Simone Biles’ boyfriend, Texans’ Jonathan Owens, amazingly ‘didn’t know who she was’ when they met

But how?!

Gymnastics GOAT Simone Biles is dating Houston Texans safety Jonathan Owens, and in August 2020, the pair went public with their relationship, announcing it on Instagram.

Leading up to the Tokyo Olympics — where the superstar gymnast has a chance to win up to five gold medals — Biles stars in a Facebook Watch docuseries called Simone vs Herself with weekly episodes dropping this summer.

Owens plays a big role in the third episode released Tuesday, and he and Biles are adorable together. In this latest episode, they compete in a rope climbing challenge, Biles teaches Owens some gymnastics moves and he teaches her how to throw a football poolside.

“We vibe on the same level,” Biles said in the episode. “We have the same kind of humor. We’re both athletic. We’re both elite athletes, so we definitely get each other. It was like it was meant to be.”

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But at one point in an interview for the series, Owens makes a big confession: He had no idea who Biles was or the level of her fame when they first met. He explained:

“Her work ethic was really the first thing that caught my eye. I never really watched gymnastics before I first started talking to her. When I met her, I honestly didn’t know who she was. It was just kind of like, ‘Oh, she’s got a lot of followers. You know, she must be pretty good or something.’ …

“That’s how I would tell people, and they’re like, ‘Simone Biles?! You for real, the gymnast?!’ And I’m like, ‘Man, she’s good like that?!’ Like I didn’t [know].”

Biles described their relationship as “best friends that are dating,” adding, “So I feel like that just really helps.”

One of her coaches, Cecile Landi, noted that Biles’ obvious happiness in her personal life enables her gymnastics and said: “You can see it; she’s different.”

Continuing his praise of Biles, Owens added:

“The coolest thing for me is that I get to witness someone who’s literally in the pinnacle of their sport. It’s motivating just to see that and the impact that she has on people. We were walking past this group of girls, and they were shaking like, ‘Oh my god, it’s Simone!’ This is when I kind of knew, like, ‘OK, yeah, she’s the real deal.'”

In the latest episode of Simone vs Herself, Biles talked about her family (and their love for Owens) and the challenges she anticipates facing without them in the crowd at the Tokyo Games. It also includes several home videos of Biles as a child and stunning people with her talents at a very young age.

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Florida gymnastics has a signee and commit make Team USA

Florida’s Trinity Thomas announced that she wouldn’t compete for a spot on Team USA. But these two UF signees and commit did this weekend, with a pair earning a trip to Tokyo.

USA Gymnastics star Simone Biles hauls in most of the attention and headlines for good reason. She’s one of the best gymnasts the world has ever seen. But Florida also made noise at the U.S. Gymnastics Olympics Trials this weekend.

The Gators had two signees and one commit vying for a spot to represent the Red, White and Blue at the Tokyo Olympics. When they announced the roster for this year’s games, Florida signee Leanne Wong and commit Kayla DiCello made the Team USA roster as alternates. Riley McCusker, another UF signee, competed Saturday and Sunday only on the uneven bars, but she did not make the team or the roster as an alternate.

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Alternates travel with the team to Tokyo and fill in for any gymnast that can’t compete.

Wong competed in the all-around competition where she finished eighth. DiCello is a rising senior from Maryland and tallied a sixth-place finish in the all-around.

Gators fans can watch these future Florida gymnasts attempt to secure another gold medal for Team USA. Their journey to Tokyo starts July 25 with the women’s qualification.

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Former Florida track star Grant Holloway clinches Olympics berth

Grant Holloway will always be remembered as a Gator great for his three national titles. He earned a spot on Team USA Saturday.

Despite what the NBC graphic stated, Grant Holloway is a former track star for Florida, not Florida State. The broadcast aired the incorrect graphic after he secured his spot on Team USA for the Tokyo Olympics with a win in the 110-meter hurdles final on Saturday in Eugene, Oregon.

This will be Holloway’s first time suiting up for the red, white and blue at the Olympic Games. In the semifinals, he made some more noise. He recorded a time of 12.8, 1/100th of a second from tying the world record. The mark he did post was the fastest in the world this year and set a new U.S. Olympic Trials record.

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He tallied a 12.96 in the finals. In both events, Holloway blasted away the competition, being the only runner to crack the 13-second barrier. It’s not surprising to see him succeed, as he was the favorite after he won the world title in 2019.

Gators fans will want to tune into the Olympics broadcast in August because he has a legitimate chance to earn gold in Tokyo.

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U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials live stream, TV channel, start time, event schedule, how to watch

The U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials will continue on Friday night from Hayward Field Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.

The U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials will continue on Friday night from Hayward Field Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. The trials will begin with the first round of the women’s 1500 meters on Friday. This meet will feature NCAA champions and gold medalists throughout the eight-day schedule.

This should be a fun week of events leading up to the finals, here is everything you need to know to catch the action live.

U.S. Olympic Trials: Track & Field

  • When: Friday, June 25
  • Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: NBCSN
  • Live Stream: fuboTV(watch for free)

Schedule of events

The meet will run for 10 days from June 18 – June 27 with events being held daily except for two rest days (June 22 & 23). The track events will begin with the first round of the women’s 1500 meters

Events will be run beginning at the following times each day: June 19 at 4 p.m. ET, June 20 at 3:15 p.m. ET, June 21 at 6:30 p.m. ET, June 24 at 4:25 p.m. ET, June 25 at 4 p.m. ET, June 26 at noon ET and June 27 at 4 p.m. ET.

We recommend interesting sports viewing/streaming and betting opportunities. If you sign up for a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Leslie Jones delivers a hysterical NSFW rant about Olympic steeplechase qualifying

LOL.

The Olympics are nearly upon us, and once again, comedian/actress/host Leslie Jones is giving us the gift that keeps on giving: rants while watching amazing Olympics action.

This time, she’s going nuts over steeplechase, the track and field sport in which runners have to jump over obstacles (including over hurdles into puddles) as they race for the finish line.

It’s a pretty shocking sight if you’ve never seen a steeplechase, so you could completely understand this reaction.

As you might have figured out from the headline, there’s A LOT of NSFW language, including in the actual text of the tweet. So, WARNING: make sure to put on headphones.

Here you go:

We hope this means more Leslie Jones Olympics coverage.

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Former Florida star Bradley Beal makes USA Basketball Olympic Roster

Beal will make history this summer when he becomes the first former Gators men’s basketball player to make the Olympic team.

Former Florida one-and-done Bradley Beal will help the red, white and blue chase another gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics this summer, as he made the 12-man USA basketball roster. This will be his first time competing with the U.S. senior men’s national team.

Beal finished his latest season with the Washington Wizards just shy of grabbing the award for the league’s top scorer with 31.3 points per game. Because of his stellar play, he earned a spot on the All-NBA third team. He also led his team to the NBA playoffs, where the Philadelphia 76ers knocked the Wizards out in five games.

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In his career so far, he has been named an All-Star on three separate occasions, most recently this season. As a college player at UF, he finished his only season in the Orange and Blue as an All-SEC performer.

Beal will make history this summer when he becomes the first former Gators men’s basketball player to make the Olympic team.

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