There are going to be a lot of names that we’re used to sitting out of the Olympic Games in Tokyo this year with Steph Curry and LeBron James being the biggest two.
And it makes sense. You’d think that all of the NBA’s biggest stars coming off of a shortened, but condensed, season would want to take a break from basketball at some point.
But nope. It’s quite the opposite, actually. Lots of star players have opted in for the Games so far, starting with Kevin Durant and James Harden.
This star-studded roster should almost certainly win gold. Here are all of the names that have committed to the team so far.
After being postponed one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Olympic Games are scheduled to open on July 24 in Tokyo. Eight teams have already qualified for the men’s basketball competition, including the host Japan and Team USA, arguably the …
After being postponed one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Olympic Games are scheduled to open on July 24 in Tokyo. Eight teams have already qualified for the men’s basketball competition, including the host Japan and Team USA, arguably the runaway favorite – especially with a bunch of All-Stars committing to the squad as of late.
Taking into account official announcements and media reports, we have put together the known rosters as of now. We also include the NBA players who will be competing for the last four spots in qualifying tournaments to be held in Canada, Croatia, Lithuania and Serbia from June 29 to July 4.
The Olympic men’s golf competition is July 29-August 1 at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Tokyo.
Qualifying for various countries’ Olympics mens’ golf teams wrapped up Sunday with the conclusion of the U.S. Open, but the final quota places will not be announced by the International Golf Federation until Tuesday.
Based on how selections are made according to the Official World Golf Ranking, it’s clear which four Americans are eligible and have not declined to compete. As it stands unofficially, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau are on the team.
The Olympics run July 21-August 8 in Tokyo. The men’s golf competition is July 29-August 1 at Kasumigaseki Country Club. The women’s competition is August 4-7 at the same club.
Collin Morikawa hits his tee shot during the first day of the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club. (Photo: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports)
The IGF notes that the Olympic field is restricted to the top 60 men in the OWGR. The top 15 world-ranked players will be eligible for the Olympics, with a limit of four players from a given country. Beyond the top 15, players will be eligible based on the world ranking, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top-15.
That means four Americans can compete, because there are at least four inside the top 15 in the OWGR.
It also means only four U.S. players can compete, despite several others ranked inside the top 15 in the world. Patrick Cantlay, for example, ranks No. 7 in the OWGR but is the fifth-ranked American on that list, meaning he didn’t qualify among the top four. The same is true for Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Webb Simpson and Tony Finau. Each of them will be placed on the Reallocation Reserve List, meaning they are the alternates should any of the top four back out for any reason.
Dustin Johnson would have qualified for the U.S. team as No. 2 in the world, the position he dropped into as Jon Rahm moved to No. 1 with his U.S. Open triumph, but Johnson in March declined to compete in the Olympics.
The women’s qualifying period ends June 28. The various National Olympic Committees then will confirm use of all allocated quota spots for men and women July 1. Entries to the Games close July 5, and quota spots can be reallocated for several more weeks based on players possibly withdrawing.
Meanwhile, the three male medalists from the 2016 Olympics failed to qualify for this year’s Games. Great Britain’s Justin Rose, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and American Matt Kuchar each were too far back in the OWGR standings to make their teams this time around.
Ryan Lochte’s historic swimming career will likely come to an end. The 36-year-old swimmer failed to qualify for the Olympics this summer.
Former Florida swimmer Ryan Lochte had the unfortunate luck that he shined and competed in the same time period as one of the best to ever do it, Michael Phelps. His arch-rival finally retired after the Rio 2016 Olympics where he finally had the chance to have the spotlight all to himself.
That went up in smoke after he finished seventh on Friday in the 200-meter individually medley final at the U.S. Olympic Trials, his strongest last chance to compete in a fifth Olympics games. The 36-year-old Lochte was attempting to become the oldest U.S. Olympic male swimmer in history.
He will always be remembered for his 12 Olympic medals, six for gold, but also the embarrassing international incident with Brazilian security guards at a gas station during the Rio Olympics. He spent five years trying to escape that shadow.
Lochte grew up from that incident and when he spent six weeks in rehab for alcohol addiction during a 14-month ban following an IV infusion of an illegal amount of a legal substance in May of 2018.
To train for this year’s Olympics, he reunited with his old coach at Florida Gregg Troy told The Athletic that he has noticed a more mature Lochte. He will most likely conclude his swimming career as the second-most decorated Olympic male swimmer behind Phelps.
After Lochte finished his final race in Omaha, Nebraska, he stepped out of the pool, hugged and congratulated the winner Michael Andrew.
“This ain’t the end of the road,” Lochte said, according to The Athletic. “There’s a lot more I want to accomplish in the sport of swimming, whether it’s in the pool or outside of the pool making swimming bigger — that’s my biggest goal. But I’m enjoying it. I’m having fun teaching these younger kids everything that I’ve learned and carrying the torch.”
Sha’Carri Richardson dominated in Friday’s 100-meter heat, running a 10.84 to advance to the semifinals as the top qualifier.
The United States hasn’t had a woman win the 100 meters at the Olympics since Gail Devers won her second straight gold medal in 1996. But Sha’Carri Richardson gives the U.S. an opportunity to do just that next month in Tokyo, as evidenced by her dominant performance during Friday’s Olympic trials.
Richardson entered the weekend as the favorite in the 100 meters at U.S. Olympic track and field trials, and she showed exactly why during Friday’s heat, where she blew past the competition running a 10.84 to advance to the semifinals as the top qualifier.
While Richardson didn’t get off to the best start, she took control at the midway mark of the race to pull away from the competition. For comparison sake, second-place finisher Mikiah Brisco ran 11.15.
Take a look at Richardson’s dominating win. And, yes, she really is that fast.
This is just the beginning for Richardson, who is a favorite to represent the U.S. in Tokyo. In April, she ran a 10.72, which is the sixth-fastest 100-meter time in history.
The U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials will begin on Friday night from Hayward Field Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.
The U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials will begin 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.
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.
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The U.S. Olympic Trials for Swimming will continue on Tuesday night, the top two finishers will qualify for the Olympics.
The U.S. Olympic Trials for swimming will be held this week and will be the first time since 2000 without Michael Phelps. The top two finishers in each event will qualify for the Olympic team in this year’s Tokyo Olympics.
These trials will be split into two separate waves, Wave I and Wave II, with Wave II being for the higher-ranked individuals. The Semifinals and finals will begin at 8 p.m. from June 13–17, at 9 p.m. on June 18 and 19, and at 8:15 on June 20.
June 13-17: 8 p.m. ET. June 18-19: 9 p.m. ET. June 20: 8:15 p.m.
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The men’s and women’s Olympic swimming events are finally the same, but the scheduling puts people like Katie Ledecky at a disadvantage.
Katie Ledecky made history Wednesday night when she became the first U.S. woman to ever qualify for the Olympics in the 1,500-meter freestyle — and she did it in her typically dominant fashion.
The women’s 1,500 free will debut at the Tokyo Olympics this summer, finally offering Ledecky a chance to swim her best race on the sport’s biggest stage. She owns the 10-fastest times ever in the event, including her world record.
Yet what should be a celebrated moment in the Olympics — the decades-overdue addition of the women’s 1,500 (often referred to as the mile), along with the men’s 800-meter freestyle, providing identical lineups — is marred by an inexplicable scheduling decision for the women’s events, showing true equity isn’t quite here yet.
Did you know @katieledecky’s broken the world record in the 1500m free SIX times?
Wednesday in Omaha for the U.S. Olympic Trials, Ledecky’s 1,500 final came just one hour, nine minutes and 28.64 seconds — according to USA TODAY Sports’ Christine Brennan on site — after she won the 200-meter freestyle final. And her time of 15:40.50 for the 1,500 was still the fastest in the world this year, despite being about 20 seconds slower than her world record.
Racing 1,700 meters in one day is an unimaginably formidable task, even for the most dominant female swimmer ever. But 24-year-old Ledecky had to do it at trials and will have to again in Tokyo because, for some baffling reason, the women’s 200 free heats and the 1,500 free heats are on the same days, as are the subsequent finals two days later, while the men’s respective events are not.
“I’m just so grateful that we have the mile in (the Olympics) now,” Ledecky said, via USA TODAY Sports. “I’ve spoken about the equity that we finally have there and I think that’s a big step. We’re making history tonight and we will be in Tokyo, so that’s fun in its own way.”
The International Olympics Committee adding the women’s 1,500 was a necessary and stupidly belated step forward, correcting an outdated and sexist approach to the Olympic program. But with the women’s 200 and 1,500 freestyle events held on the same days when the men’s events are not, the IOC still hasn’t reached equity in Olympic swimming.
The IOC did not immediately offer clarification on scheduling decisions.
Throughout the week, NBC Sports’ broadcast of the trials has discussed Ledecky’s grueling task of swimming both the 200 free and 1,500 free in the same day, as she likely will do twice in Tokyo. And it caught the attention of swimming fans on Twitter as well because it’s such a brutal lineup.
At the Olympics, why is the women’s 200FR & 1500FR finals on the same night? When the same events for men are on different nights?
Women finally get to swim the 1500 at the OGs & they have to do it this way.
Racing in — and winning — both the 200 and 1,500 on the same day is beyond amazing and impressive, to be sure, and highlights the absolute beast Ledecky is in the pool.
But she and others in those women’s events shouldn’t have to prep for double duty when those on the men’s side don’t have that pressure.
For the men’s events, the 200 and 1,500 are on different days. The men’s mile, the longest pool event, is logically paired on the same day as their 50-meter freestyle, the shortest. (It’s pretty inconceivable that someone could excel at both events on the Olympic level.)
So why isn’t it the same for the women’s events? Why are the swimmers, like Ledecky, in both the women’s 200 free and 1,500 free at a disadvantage because of the lineup when this situation was clearly avoidable for the men’s events?
On the final day of the Olympic swimming program this summer, the only individual events are the men’s 50 free, the women’s 50 free and the men’s 1,500 free.
And with the addition of the men’s 800 free and the women’s 1,500, the events available are identical, so shouldn’t the lineups be identical too?
This isn’t to say it’s an impossible task for Ledecky and anyone else versatile enough to tackle the 200 and the mile in the same day. It’s definitely doable.
But if the Olympics schedule didn’t have to be set up this way for the men’s events, it certainly shouldn’t be this way for the women’s ones.
In a rare moment, University of Michigan swimmer Jake Mitchell raced alone to try to make the Olympic team.
Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Team USA’s Olympic Trials for swimming are happening this week, and you may have noticed one moment with a swimmer racing alone. If that doesn’t make much sense and you’re curious about why, we’re here to help.
Jake Mitchell’s spot on Team USA’s swim team for the Tokyo Olympics this summer isn’t official yet, but he did everything he could and increased his chances of qualifying at Olympic Trials on Tuesday in Omaha.
And that included the University of Michigan sophomore swimming the 400-meter freestyle by himself, making it very likely that he’ll compete this summer in Tokyo. Let’s break it down…
“I worry, ‘Am I gonna be just as good?'” Simone Biles says in a new docuseries, Simone vs Herself.
The Simone Biles most of the world knows is a fearless, gravity-defying phenom who pushes her body and gymnastics to their limits. She’s a leader and advocate who’s captivating and charming on camera, even when she’s not satisfied with a (still probably victorious) performance.
But when documentarian Gotham Chopra asked her what story she wanted to tell, the answer, he said, was simple: An authentic one that reminds people she’s human, despite her apparent super powers.
In Simone vs Herself — a new seven-part docuseries on Facebook Watch directed by Chopra, who’s done similar projects with athletes like Tom Brady and Steph Curry — viewers get a raw, behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to be the greatest gymnast of all time. Her frustration and struggles, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, are on full display right beside her triumphs.
“She’s in a class by herself,” Chopra told For The Win about Biles, an executive producer for the series. “We see the products, we don’t necessarily see the process. … She’s training seven days a week, twice a day. Sundays are off — she practices once in the morning. And so there’s a lot of frustration. There’s a lot of mistakes. There’s a lot of, ‘Do I really want to do this?’ She’s pretty open about that.”
In interviews for the docuseries, Biles candidly shares her fears and self-doubt about the toll gymnastics is taking on her physically and mentally. At one point in a moment shot in 2020 early in the pandemic, she says: “If they cancel the Olympics, I’m quitting. I can’t do this any longer.”
After the Olympics were postponed to July 2021, she opens up with a vulnerable, seldom-seen side of her, worrying about training so hard for another year. Physically, she says she has no doubt she’ll be prepared with the help of her coaches, Cecile and Laurent Landi.
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“Mentally, on the other hand, I was really worried because I’m like getting older, getting tired, it’s getting harder to get up and go to the gym,” Biles says in the docuseries from September.
“I’m walking in like two minutes before practice starts. I’m like, ‘Who am I? This is so unlike me.’ But I seriously just can’t get up anymore. It’s a very different change, but I still go in there and get my work done.”
Obviously, she opted to push forward, believing the payoff in the Tokyo Games will be worth it. The Team USA Olympics trials are set for June 24-27, with Biles pretty much being a lock.
(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
“During that quarantine process, I got to really relish in my emotions for the first time in my life without any outside voices telling me that it was going to be OK or I can do it,” Biles says in the first episode.
“Deciding to still move forward and train for 2021 Olympics was only up to me, no outside voices. That’s what I was fighting for and training for. … Having to come back, you have to bring a whole new level, and then I worry, ‘Am I gonna be just as good?’ That’s my real fear, to see if I can get back to 2019 shape and ability. Can I do it again?”
Biles almost always looks calm and collected when she’s competing, but her poised look is far from the full story, Chopra noted. He said he was talking with Biles prior to her doing the Yurchenko double pike at the U.S. Classic, and she candidly explained her mental approach to the challenging vault.
“She was saying every time she’s about to start running down the runway for the vault, she’s afraid,” Chopra said. “I thought it was interesting because mostly when you talk to athletes, there’s a sense of fearlessness. They get in the zone, they talk about being in flow state, and there’s just no emotion. They’re just totally in the moment and focused on the process.
“And Simone and her candor, she’s like, ‘Oh no, I’m terrified. Every single time I do it, I’m envisioning the worst possible outcome up until the point I’m done with it.’ And there’s a level of honesty — I think it has a lot to do with her age also — that is pretty, pretty great.”
However, Simone vs Herself goes beyond the incredible heights she reaches the competition floor, Chopra said. She’s a regular and vocal critic of USA Gymnastics and said in an interview from April with the TODAY show that part of the reason she returned to gymnastics was to hold the governing body accountable because if she’s there, it can’t ignore her as she pushes for change within the sport.
The docuseries, Chopra said, delves into the Larry Nassar abuse scandal with Biles opening up about how she’s still processing being a survivor. She remains candid because she wants to tell her own backstory about her life and experiences, the director said. And in that, she addresses her mental health and being a survivor and advocate.
“You want to get where they really feel ownership over the stories,” Chopra said.
“She’s a survivor — she talked openly about that. She talked about her mental health and treatment and the good days and the bad days as an advocate,” he added. “Look how she’s continuing to win that battle off the mat, and I think that’s probably the thing that she’s most proud of — that she will continue and probably grow and evolve. And I think that’s the thing that she wants to communicate because that’s what this series is really about.”
Similar to Chopra’s projects with Brady and Curry, Biles’ story and docuseries is incomplete.
Of the seven total episodes, Facebook Watch will release the first five on Tuesdays leading up to the Summer Olympics. The remaining two will be based on what happens in Tokyo, Chopra said, and Biles could return to the states with five gold medals — which would be a record for an American woman in a single Games.
“She’s a superhero,” Chopra said. “Literally, she flies through the air. She does these things that no other human being on the planet has done in the history of her sport.
“But there’s also … this vulnerability and this humanness inside and underneath, and it’s pretty remarkable.”
