Biden says Olympians brought a bit of unity to weary nation
President Joe Biden praised Team USA for bringing a bit of unity to a pandemic weary nation as he hosted a White House celebration Wednesday with about 600 athletes from this yearโs Winter Olympics in Beijing and the coronavirus-delayed Summer Games held in 2021 in Tokyo.
Simone Manuel swims tonight, other Texans medal contenders this weekend
One of the Texans who became legendary at the 2016 Olympics is vying to prove sheโs still at the top of her game TONIGHT! Sugar Landโs own Simone Manuel is swimming to secure a spot in the finals of the 50m free. While she was a late add to a bronze medal winning relay team, the 50m is how she punched her individual ticket to the Tokyo Games.
What a weekend in Tokyo
Itโs hard to believe weโre only going into the third day of competition in Tokyo given how much action weโve already witnessed at the Games. Of course, there have been highlights as well as letdowns, but thatโs part of the thrill. Imagine... putting in years of training for minutes, even seconds of competition. One misstep or bad day can dash dreams of getting to the medal stand. One outstanding performance can land you gold. Thatโs why we watch.
Podcast: On Her Turf shines light on women athletes at the Games
In this first episode of On Her Turf, hosts Lindsay Czarniak and M.J. Acosta-Ruiz introduce American shooter Mary Tucker, who reflects on her journey to the Games and how it felt to be among the first athletes to compete in Tokyo. Later, the hosts welcome U.S. softball legends Jessica Mendoza and Lisa Fernandez to discuss the state of diversity in softball and the future of the sport.
Simone says: Olympic champ pushes for change in, out of pool
Outside of it, the Olympic champion is pushing herself in a new endeavor to boost the profile of womenโs sports. AdSheโs aiming to defend her 100 free title at the Tokyo Olympics, delayed for a year by the coronavirus pandemic. When Stanford closed its facilities last March, Manuel and training partner Katie Ledecky found a backyard pool to work out in. He failed to make it out of the preliminaries, finishing 32nd in the 100 free and 25th in the 100 breaststroke. Blake Pieroni won the menโs 100 free in 49.19 seconds.
With COVID-19 surging, swimmers return to racing in the US
Irvine is hosting about 240 swimmers โ a mix of national team members, collegians and high schoolers โ competing outdoors under strict safety guidelines at a time when COVID-19 is surging again in many parts of the country. Ryan Lochte, seeking to make his fifth Olympic team at age 36, is competing at the U.S. Open site in Sarasota, Florida. Swimmers enter the complex through a designated spot and follow a progression from the warm-up pool, competition pool, warm-down pool and exit. The number of swimmers who can be in the same lane training at the same time is limited to a maximum of four. Multiple sessions are being staged to keep the number of swimmers at the complex at one time lower.