Fans have mixed opinions about team USA’s basketball jerseys that were just revealed on Thursday.
It is a rite of passage for every single iteration of Team USA’s basketball team.
Their jerseys have to be judged. They just have to be. It’s all part of the process. And they’re all always going to be compared to two other versions: Either the 1992 Dream Team jerseys that are now one of the greatest retro jerseys ever or the 2012 Olympic team that had so many classic moments.
It’s unfair. But that’s just the way it is. And so, here we are. The new 2020 Olympic team jerseys were revealed with official photos on Thursday and they were…OK?
The gradient color scheme feels sort of extra here â just give us some solid colors. These would be great in just an all blue or an all-red scheme. Instead…we have this.
There will be no fans at the Tokyo Olympics, making the Olympic golf competitions some of the only tournaments without galleries.
There will be no fans at the Tokyo Olympics.
The announcement Thursday followed the declaration of a new state of emergency, which takes effect Monday and goes through Aug. 22. The Games begin July 23 and end Aug. 8.
The Olympic golf competitions will be played July 29-Aug. 1 (men) and Aug. 4-7 (women) at Kasumigaseki Country Club. In the U.S., fans have returned in force to professional golf tournaments. Even next week’s British Open at Royal St. George’s in England, will feature up to 32,000 fans, according to the R&A.
âThe priority will be to determine safe and secure Games,â Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto said at a news conference following a meeting with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the government of Japan, the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee.
âWe wanted to full stadium so community people could get involved in welcoming the athletes so we could have a full presentation of the power of sports,â she added. âHowever, now faced with COVID-19 we have no other choice but to hold the Games in a limited way.â
There is still a chance fans could be allowed at events held outside of Tokyo in areas that are not under a state of emergency.
âWe will discuss,â Olympic minister Tamayo Marukawa said.
Foreign fans were banned in March, and organizers repeatedly delayed a decision on whether to allow Japanese fans. On June 21, organizers announced there would be a limited number of spectators, with venue capacity capped at 50 percent and a maximum of 10,000 fans.
The restrictions for those in attendance were to be severe, including no cheering or chanting and no sales of alcohol. Organizers also asked fans to go straight home after events, fearing people would gather at bars and restaurants afterward.
But Hashimoto warned then that the Games could still be held without fans if cases continued to rise in Tokyo, and they have.
Tokyo reported 896 new cases on Thursday, up from 673 a week earlier. It’s the 19th straight day that cases have topped the mark set seven days prior. New cases on Wednesday hit 920, the highest total since 1,010 were reported on May 13.
âThere are many people who were looking forward to the Games, those people who purchased tickets as well as the local community, and we are very sorry we are unable to deliver on the limited Games,â Hashimoto said. âBut we want to have a thorough operation to ensure safe and secure Games.â
The announcement is a blow for Tokyo organizers and will add to the cost of the Games for the Japanese people. Local organizers get the revenue from ticket sales, and Tokyo 2020 had originally budgeted that to be $800 million.
The shortfall will now have to be made up by the Japanese. The official cost of the Games is already $15.4 billion, but itâs believed to be much higher â perhaps twice as much.
The Associated Press and Golfweek’s Julie Williams contributed to this report.
Get a glimpse into the Duke product’s Olympics preparations.
Boston Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum was working out in Las Vegas Nevada Wednesday with fellow members of Team USA in anticipation of a series of exhibition games to be held in that city ahead of the team’s competition in the Tokyo Olympics.
Team USA will play the Nigerian, Spanish, Argentinian and Australian national teams to tune up ahead of the trip to Japan starting on Saturday. Forbes Sports’ Chris Grenham tracked down some footage of Tatum working out with lifelong friend and fellow St Louis native Bradley Beal, Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard and others for your viewing pleasure.
Watch the clip embedded below to see Tatum and his teammates gearing up for the Olympics, and be sure to tune in to NBC Sports to watch the exhibition games.
Nets star Kevin Durant had an inspiring message for Team USA at training camp.
A 12-day training camp is underway for Team USA ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. Only two days into Team USAâs camp, Kevin Durant had something inspiring to tell the squad.
All-Star Bradley Beal revealed to reporters that Durant wants everyone to be special:
âHe said something very unique today. He said âbe special. Thatâs why weâre here.â And that stuck on to me. So hopefully, we can keep that mentality and understand that weâre here for a reason.â
Beal, who is a guard for the Washington Wizards, just finished playing his best NBA season. He averaged a career-high of 31.3 PPG along with 4.7 RPG and 4.4 APG. For someone of his caliber talent-wise, hearing this is still motivational. Durantâs record playing for Team USA is 39-0 and he has two gold medals already. He knows what it will take to win gold this year. Itâs no wonder this message stuck with the Wizards star.
The Nets forwardâs leadership will be key for the squad moving forward. Expect more of these types of inspiring gestures from Durant as we rapidly approach the Tokyo Olympics.
April Ross is an Olympic veteran. Alix Klineman has been waiting for this chance.
For the Tokyo Olympics this summer, For The Win is helping you get to know some of the star Olympians competing on the worldâs biggest stage. Leading up to the Opening Ceremony, weâre highlighting 23 athletes in 23 days. Up next up is the duo of Alix Klineman and April Ross.
While much of the attention surrounding the U.S. Women’s Beach Volleyball team will focus on who isn’t there — Keri Walsh Jennings will miss her first summer Olympics of the century — you should go ahead and get to know what would have been the country’s best medal hope, anyway.
Recent Symetra Tour winner Morgane Metraux chose to play the Amundi Evian Championship close to her childhood home, backing out of the Olympics.
For Morgane Metraux, the biggest goal in 2021 is crystal clear: earn her LPGA card.
The 24-year-old Swiss player currently ranks fourth on the Symetra Tour money list thanks to a maiden victory last month at the Island Resort Championship in Harris, Michigan. That triumph actually earned Metraux an exemption into the Amundi Evian Championship in France, fulfilling a lifelong dream for a player who grew up just across Lake Geneva in Lausanne, Switzerland.
It also presented a tough decision as Metraux also qualified for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which take place Aug. 4-7 at Kasumigaseki Country Club.
âI basically had to make a choice between Evian and Olympics,â said Metraux, who didnât think she could afford to miss that many weeks on the Symetra Tour to compete in both.
Ultimately, Metraux chose the Evian and backed out of the Olympics, leaving Albane Valenzuela as the lone player representing Switzerland. Ladies European Tour player Tonje Daffinrud of Norway replaced Metraux in the Tokyo field.
âIt was honestly tough to say no,â said Metraux. âIt feels like I could regret it one day, but at the same time right now itâs what I needed to do.â
Metraux, who played with older sister Kim at Florida State, started attending the Evian â her first professional event â in elementary school with a group of girls shortly after taking up the game. She wasnât good enough or old enough at the time to even realize who she was watching, she was simply excited to watch women compete.
Thereâs a hat covered in signatures back home in her room. It has faded a bit since then, but she can still make out the names of Morgan Pressel, Ai Miyazato, Natalie Gulbis and Paula Creamer.
Qualifying for Evian fulfills a lifelong dream, and Metraux plans to head back home after this weekâs Symetra stop in French Lick, Indiana, to prepare.
âFor me thatâs a priority because itâs just an hour away from where I grew up,â she said.
Metraux came from three back with a closing 67 to win on the Symetra Tour the same day former FSU teammate Matilda Castren, who will compete in Tokyo representing Finland, won on the LPGA. Metraux won three times at Florida State; Castren won a school-record seven.
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âI kind of won first because of the time change,â said Metraux, âthat was really fun to do the same week. It just gives me that much more confidence that I can do it, too.â
In 2019, Metraux suffered a shoulder injury that kept her away from the game for 10 months. The pain started in mid-February as she was prepping for the Symetra Tour season and lasted until the fall. When she came back, sheâd lost distance, too. It took nearly two years, she said, to be completely gone.
In 2020, Metraux competed some on the Ladies European Tour, where sister Kim currently plays.
There are nine events left on the Symetra Tour this season. Metraux will miss two of them to compete in the Evian. In addition to her victory in Michigan, Metraux also finished runner-up at the Casino Del Sol Golf Classic in April. A total of 10 players will earn LPGA cards for the 2022 season.
As Metraux preps for Evian, she also has her sights set on 2024, when the Olympics return in Paris, though she knows that much can change in the span of three years.
âIâm really hoping to make it next time,â she said.
Sha’Carri Richardson will not compete in the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
Sha’Carri Richardson is the fastest American woman on the track right now, but she won’t be competing this summer at the Tokyo Olympics.
USA Track and Field released its Olympic roster Tuesday, and the 21-year-old sprinter’s name was not on it for the women’s 4×100-meter relay.
Richardson was suspended for one month after testing positive for marijuana following her 100-meter dash victory at Olympic Trials last month, and her victory in her signature event was invalidated. Marijuana is legal in Oregon, where trials were held, but it’s still prohibited in competition, per World Anti-Doping Agency rules.
Richardson said she used it to help her cope because she was in “a state of emotional panic” after learning at trials that her biological mother had died.
âIt definitely was a very heavy topic on me,â she told the TODAY show last week following the news of her suspension. âAnd people donât really understand what itâs like to have to … put on a face and have to go out in front of the world and hide my pain.â
In a statement about Richardson’s situation, USA Track and Field said:
“First and foremost, we are incredibly sympathetic toward Sha’Carri Richardson’s extenuating circumstances and strongly applaud her accountability â and will offer her our continued support both on and off the track.
“While USATF fully agrees that the merit of the World Anti-Doping Agency rules related to THC should be reevaluated, it would be detrimental to the integrity of the U.s. Olympic Team Trials for Track & Field if USATF amended its policies following competition, only weeks before the Olympic Games.
“All USATF athletes are equally aware of and must adhere to the current anti-doping code, and our credibility as the national governing body would be lost if rules were only enforced under certain circumstances.
“So while our heartfelt understanding lies with ShaâCarri, we must also maintain fairness for all of the athletes who attempted to realize their dreams by securing a place on the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team.”
After news of Richardson’s suspension broke, fans and other professional athletes expressed their love and support for her. And, while devastated for her and still in disbelief, many continued to do so after she was left off the Olympic team.
The trio will represent their home country in the Tokyo Olympics at the end of July.
The Boston Celtics don’t just have All-Star small forward Jayson Tatum heading to Japan at the end of July to take part in the Tokyo Olympics; veteran shooting guard Evan Fournier is also planning to play in them, though perhaps against his teammate in the NBA, as the St. Maurice native is playing for the French National Team and Tatum for Team USA.
Fournier will also be joined by two Celtics alumni in big man Vincent Poirier and center Guerschon Yabusele according to a graphic recently posted by fellow French National team member Nando De Colo on his Instagram account.
Vinny Sexpants and the Dancing bear — as Poirier and Yabusele were affectionately dubbed in their time in green and white — have since moved on from the Association to successful stints playing overseas.
And with his Celtics not among the final teams standing in the postseason, the St. Louis native is reportedly in Miami, Florida honing his craft in a local gym. The folks over at Overtime manning that outlet’s Twitter account recently shared some footage of Tatum getting in some buckets at that gym, with the Celtics star knocking down step-back 3s and a veritable buffet of other offensive attacks.
So, enjoy the clip embedded below unless you happen to be connected to one of the other national teams who will be competing against Tatum in a little less than a month.
Jayson Tatum getting ready to SHINE for Team USA đ @jaytatum0
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 up is Sam Mikulak.
Sam Mikulak is out on the gymnastics floor proving that age is just a number.
At 28 years old, Mikulak is about to be a three-time Olympian, and the six-time U.S. all-around champion is the only member of Team USA’s men’s gymnastics team with Olympic experience. He’ll also be the first U.S. gymnast to compete in three Olympics since Blaine Wilson in 2004.
After dealing with several injuries in the last year, the Newport Beach, California native finished fourth at Olympic Trials. He’s joined by Brody Malone, Yul Moldauer, Shane Wiskus and Alec Yoder.
In the 2012 London Games, Mikulak finished fifth on vault, and in the 2016 Rio Games, he was fourth on high bar (also called the horizontal bar), eighth on floor and seventh in the all-around competition. The U.S. also came in fifth in the team competition in both those Games.
And now he’s off to Tokyo to compete for his first Olympic medal. Here are five things to know about Mikulak.
