Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles has slammed the Wall Street Journal for posting a photo of her teammate in a story about her.
The 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships witnessed an iconic moment. In the All-Around finals, three young, talented Black women ascended to the top of the podium: Simone Biles, Rebecca Andrade of Brazil, and Shilese Jones. Millions around the globe proudly celebrated the moment, recognizing the significance of three athletes of color standing together. Biles expressed her excitement, saying, “We had our Black podium of girls. So, I thought that was amazing. Black girl magic. So, hopefully, it just teaches all the young girls out there that you can do anything.”
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When we look at the landscape of USA Gymnastics today where the women’s world championship team was predominantly composed of gymnasts from diverse ethnic backgrounds, it’s difficult to fathom a time not so distant when there were no black gymnasts competing at the elite level. Not too long ago, in 2008, the USA Squad consisted entirely of white athletes representing the United States at the Beijing Olympics. Then came Gabby Douglas.
How the spark of change was ignited
According to The Washington Post, Gabby Douglas emerged as a star of the 2012 Olympics, becoming the first Black all-around champion at the Olympics. Her victory resonated with kids who finally saw someone who looked like them succeeding in the sport. This led to a surge in enrollments for young kids in academies and training centers. Biles even shared in an interview, “I remember when Gabby Douglas won I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, if she can do it, then I can do it.’” However, the real transformation occurred with the arrival of the most decorated gymnast of all time, Biles herself.
Biles became the first woman of color to win an all-around title at the world championships, just a year after Gabby Douglas claimed the top spot at the Olympic Games. Despite facing hate and degrading remarks, Biles persevered, and her “Black girl magic” became an inspiration world-wide. Cecile Landi, who served as Biles’ co-coach, remarked, “Simone has opened the eyes of so many women of color, saying, ‘Hey, you can do this, too.’” In 2021, at the US Championships, all three athletes on the podium were women of color. Biles took first place, Sunisa Lee, who later became the first Asian American to win all-around Olympic gold, secured second place, and Jordan Chiles came in third. Lee also became the first Hmong-American Olympian. And from there on out the historic moments continued.
Simone Biles inspires a new era of diversity in gymnastics.
In 2022 at the US Gymnastics Championships, three Black gymnasts stood on the all-around podium for the first time. Konnor McClain, Shilese Jones, and Olympic silver medalist Jordan Chiles made history once again. When Jordan Chiles joined the WCC owned by Biles’ parents in 2019 her mother said, “At our home gym, Jordan was the only one. It was refreshing to be able to see people of all colors. But to see the amount of little Black girls doing gymnastics, it just did my heart so good. It’s hard to explain. It just felt like ‘Wow.’” The presence of young Black girls and women of different ethnicities in the sport has grown, with athletes like Jordan Chiles, Zoe Miller, Tiana Sumanasekera and others who now train and compete alongside Biles. However, the “Biles effect” hasn’t remained limited to women’s gymnastics.
In 2023, the U.S. men’s gymnastics team won bronze at the world championships, ending a two-decade-long medal drought. Three gymnasts of color and different ethnicities graced the podium at the Men’s Artistic Gymnastics All-Around Final, marking a historic moment. Fred Richard from the United States put an end to the decade-long drought and wrote his name in history. Khoi Young, a 20-year-old native of Bowie, also made a significant impact, winning two silver medals during the 52nd Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. The team also included Yul Moldauer, a South Korean-born American artistic gymnast who proudly represented the United States at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Seeing the ever-emerging diversity in gymnastics today the legacy of “Black girl magic” continues to inspire generations. Ushering a new era of diverse gymnasts to reach for the stars in the world of gymnastics and beyond.
Frank Bruno has weighed in with his assessment of the upcoming undisputed heavyweight world title fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
After seemingly an eternity of public back and forth and stalling negotiations, the pair have finally signed terms for a history making four belt unification bout, which is expected to land in Saudi Arabia in either late December or early January.
Though both men compete in the same division, the difference in size between Fury and Usyk is vast and ‘The Gypsy King’ will be significantly heavier than his Ukrainian foe on fight night.
Speaking on GBNews, former heavyweight world champion Bruno explained that this made the prospect of the two in the ring together “very scary.”
Despite the weight advantage he will benefit from on the night, Fury has had trouble with lighter, more nimble fighters in the past and there are plenty of pundits picking Usyk to defeat him.
That said, Fury is a favourite with the bookmakers to emerge with all four world titles and cement his status as the number one heavyweight of this generation.
He has to emerge unscathed from his crossover bout against former UFC star Francis Ngannou later this month, though it would be a huge shock if anything Ngannou does on the night causes any significant delays to the undisputed clash.
Fighting the next available welterweight contender doesn’t excite Terence Crawford. He’s 36 now and has punched people in the face for a living for a decade and a half. It’s been fun. It also made him a rich man.
The demolition job he pulled on Errol Spence Jr. pushed his fame to another level. Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) has been spotted on practically every radio and television show in America. His trophy case might be filled to the brim with countless world titles but his newly won welterweight belts haven’t been able to fill the void that now exists.
The Omaha, Nebraska, native isn’t totally interested in facing Errol Spence Jr. in a rematch. Nor does he find a showdown against Jermell Charlo even remotely interesting anymore. Instead, Crawford wants to add a few more portions of food onto his plate, move up 21 pounds, and take on Canelo Alvarez for the undisputed super middleweight throne.
Currently, Alvarez has a long list of names that want to fight him. Demetrius Andrade, of course, is one of them. News of Crawford wanting to brazenly stomp around his division was somewhat surprising. All in all, Andrade likes Crawford. He also reveres him. Still, he isn’t willing to be mendacious towards the pound-for-pound star and his chances at doing anything at 168 pounds.
“That’s my boy but don’t come up here and get f—– up,” Andrade told BoxingScene.com. “It’s a big difference, it’s a big difference.”
It’s all about big money fights that will enhance his legacy at this point. Crawford admitted that the sand in his hourglass is running low.
Getting into the ring with Alvarez would likely give Crawford the sort of money that would set up his family tree forever. And, if he grabs the win, he’ll eternally be mentioned in the greatest of all-time conversation.
Andrade doesn’t want to be flippant. Crawford is a great fighter, Andrade has acknowledged that several times over. But you know the old saying right? Skills pay the bills. There’s a lot of truth in that. However, skills and abilities are thrown out the window when you step into the ring with someone who weighs significantly more than you.
“He got the skills but there’s skilled fighters up here. Plus we’ll be able to bully him at the end of the day.”
American heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr is one of the country’s best hopes of challenging for a heavyweight world title in years to come.
However, the 24-year-old has admitted that he got his ‘butt kicked’ by the current undisputed welterweight champion, Terence Crawford – albeit not in the boxing ring.
Torrez won a rare Olympic super-heavyweight silver medal for the USA at Tokyo 2020 and has made a stellar start to life as a professional. The 24-year-old southpaw has gone 6-0 since debuting in March 2022, with each of those wins coming via knockout and four of those stoppages occurring in the opening round.
However, that power proved to be no match for Crawford, who showed he can handle himself against the bigger men in a wrestling match, Torrez told FightHype.
The verdict bodes well for Crawford as he continues to push for a fight with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez three divisions up.
Torrez Jr will aim to make it seven straight knockouts as a professional as he takes on Tyrell Herndon (21-4) on Saturday night on the Alimkhanuly-Gualtieri undercard, live on ESPN.
Uncharted fame brings within self a variety of unsolicited opinions and public scrutiny of even the tiniest of movements. Such is the fate of Phil Mickelson who received much fame at the earlier part of his career and since then has been in constant limelight.
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While hundreds of media information circulate about him every day sometimes some hurtful comments find their way to him and leave some damage. And such an exact incident happened with Mickelson in the 1999 PGA Championship when he came face to face with his nemesis Alan Shipnuck.
When Phil Mickelson fiercely confronted journalist Alan Shipnuck
Phil Mickelson’s life choices have always been a subject matter of media debate. When he chose to move on with LIV Golf this decision received much highlight. But this was always the case with him. Even two decades ago when Mickelson was suffering from an eating disorder his problem was much pursued by a media person.
Last month, sports journalist Alan Shipnuck released a book named Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar in which he covered the life and career of the lefty. In an extract in this book, Shipnuck explains how Mickelson confronted him after the 1999 PGA Championship at a press conference because of his remarks.
Fortnite has been nothing short of a cultural icon ever since its release in 2017. Although the battle royale has been extremely popular among the younger generation of gamers, there are cases where a lot of adults engage in this multiplayer platform. And now, a certain LIV Golfer has made it into the spotlight due to his love for the same.
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There have been many instances where the realm of golf interacts with that of video games. Similar has been the case with the player, who expressed his affection for the game while revealing himself to be a ‘Lefty’, and surprisingly, it’s not Phil Mickelson!
LIV golfer reveals to be a part of the Fortnite frenzy
With the inception of the PIF-funded league, a lot of spotlight was brought to the players who defected to the Saudi-backed circuit. But now, a LIV golfer has found himself turning heads for a completely different reason ahead of the event in Jeddah. Joaquin Niemann, a while back, disclosed some truths about Fortnite in his life that drew a lot of attention from both communities.
The 24-year-old shared a video on the official Instagram handle where he mentioned how the golfer still plays the game during his off-time. Moreover, he disclosed how he would not spend not more than two hours in the multiplayer.
The video showcases the Chilean warming up ahead of what can be guessed as a practice round or a run at the gym. But nevertheless, the training coupled with some Fortnite on his break time to ease the tensions has helped him a lot for sure seeing as how the little-known left-hander is in 21st place as opposed to the popular ‘Lefty’ who is at 38 in the 2023 standings before the season-ending tournament in Jeddah.
It does not come as a surprise when a golfer has his life entangled with the world of video games. Although not to this extent, there has been another similar case where the professional found himself unable to endure the frenzy, and it’s none other than Ian Poulter.
Ian Poulter unable to escape from Fortnite fever
The 47-year-old shared a story on his Instagram handle which showcased a video of his son, Joshua, playing the Epic Games release. The youngster, an avid gamer, was seen communicating with his friends while making sure they were ready to be dropped off on the map at the start of the game.
The English professional was spotted to be in a surprise of sorts as he asked his son what he was playing. The 11-year-old went on to answer his Dad’s question while getting ready to play the game. The duo seems too good to be true, right? Well, that’s the truth!
What do you think? Do you reckon a good game of Fortnite can ease the tensions that athletes accumulate during their performance
Last night in Las Vegas, on the under card of Canelo Alvarez’ one-sided win over a disappointing and reluctant Jermell Charlo, 17 year old Curmel Moton made his pro debut. One of Floyd Mayweather’s proteges, Moton has big things expected of him, very big things. Already, with “Money” guiding him, there is some talk of Moton fighting reigning WBA featherweight champ Leigh Wood soon after Wood’s upcoming fight with Josh Warrington (should Wood win on October 7). And last night, after scoring a first round win in his debut, Moton was having his time in the spotlight at the podium.
Before Mayweather took apparent umbrage over what a reporter had the sheer nerve to say about him. The reporter, who was in the process of asking Moton a question, preceded his question by stating how Moton is guided by “arguably one of the greatest of all time.”
What’s wrong with those words, a person might ask. Nothing. But then we have to factor in Mayweather’s gigantic ego. Floyd felt to need to berate the reporter, doing so in a humiliating way akin to how a teacher might scold a student – a bad teacher, anyway.
What are we rating ourselves on?” Mayweather said, speaking directly to the reporter. “In the least amount if fights, I didn’t have to have 70 fights, 150 fights, 300 fights. Did I or did I not beat the most world champions? (pointing at the reporter) In the least amount of fights? Who got the highest gate? Who made the most money? Who was the most accurate? It’s basically saying that…”
The reporter, backed into a most uncomfortable corner, agreed with all of Mayweather’s statements and ultimately agreed that Mayweather is indeed the greatest of all time. But is he? Heck, no. Biggest gate, most champions beaten in least number of fights aside, Mayweather cannot be ranked above a number of boxing greats….Sugar Ray Robinson for one, Muhammad Ali for two, Roberto Duran for three, Henry Armstrong for four, Sam Langford for five……I could go on and on, and so could you. Maybe you will, and at the same time maybe you will be equally critical of Mayweather for not only treating an established member of the media so embarrassingly, but at the same time stealing some of his young fighter’s glory time. Floyd has had his time, now the younger talent he promotes should be allowed to have theirs.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull have been a class above their F1 rivals over the last two seasons with the likes of Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team starved of success as a result
Max Verstappen’s Formula 1 dominance alongside Red Bull is so strong that their rivals need to be faultless to beat them.
That’s the view of Damon Hill as he reacted to the Dutchman’s title success at the Qatar Grand Prix. With still the main race in Losail and five more to go this year, Verstappen made certain of the 2023 drivers’ championship.
And his Red Bull team had already clinched the constructors’ title two weeks earlier. Only once this season has another team won a race, when Carlos Sainz secured victory for Ferrari in Singapore to take full advantage of a rare off weekend for Verstappen’s team.
The speed of Red Bull’s car and the consistently high level of performance Verstappen has been able to extract from it means, as far as 1996 world champion Hill is concerned, the likes of Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team face a near-impossible task.
“They’ve got a tall order to match or overturn the Red Bull combination with Max Verstappen driving,” he told Sky Sports. “They have come close to perfection this season, they really have, and they’ve broken a lot of records that have stood for a long time.
“I think Max is on target to break a record that Jim Clark set back in the ’60s which is the percentage of race wins in a season. He’s ticked off loads of records this year and they seem unstoppable. So, you need to achieve perfection to be able to beat them.”
Verstappen only turned 26 at the end of September and is already a three-time world champion. Though he has said on many occasions he plans to leave F1 earlier than most, his Red Bull contract until the end of 2028 gives him enough time to add several more titles to his name and threaten the record Hamilton shares with Michael Schumacher.
Hill is backing the Dutchman to continue improving more and more. “He’s a new breed of driver whereby he started very young,” he added. “In Max’s case, his father was a Formula 1 driver so he had all that experience of Jos Verstappen coaching him and giving him all the right direction.
“Michael Schumacher lived on a go-kart track but his dad wasn’t a famous Formula 1 driver – he started very young, as did Lewis Hamilton. Max, from a very early age, has been groomed and coached in the right way to understand what is required and he’s got the most extraordinary talent.
“He’s got a good head on his shoulders and is mature. He came into Formula 1 aged 17, before he could even driver a road car, and was both volatile and quick. He’s managed to combine his youth and speed with experience now and I think understands now what the job is. He’s just getting better and better.”
With his legendary, proud promoter standing beside him, Curmel Mouton exuded confidence that defies his age.
The highly touted, 17-year-old featherweight prospect predicted that he’ll become a better fighter than Naoya Inoue when he was informed that Shakur Stevenson compared his skill set to that of the renowned Japanese superstar the day before Moton made his impressive pro debut. Stevenson stated that Moton reminds him of a busier Inoue and expressed respect for his potential based in part on their sparring session early this year
“I’ve known Shakur for a long time, throughout the amateurs,” Moton said during his post-fight press conference. “He watched me grow up in the amateurs, too. And with the comparison, I mean, Inoue is a solid fighter. He has skills. He’s fast, strong. But I feel like I’ll be a lot bigger than him. I’ll be a lot better fighter than him when it’s all said and done. And I’m just getting started. I’m 17. This is my pro debut, and I feel like I have a lotta potential, and I’mma show it.”
Moton demolished Ezequiel Flores late Saturday night immediately after Canelo Alvarez beat Jermell Charlo by unanimous decision in the main event of a Showtime Pay-Per-View telecast from T-Mobile Arena. Las Vegas’ Moton overwhelmed Flores (4-1, 3 KOs) with his speed, precision and power, dropped the Riverside, California resident and later stopped him just 1:48 into their non-televised four-rounder.
The destructive Inoue, of course, is a four-weight world champion who is commonly considered one of the top three boxers, pound-for-pound, in the sport. Inoue (25-0, 22 KOs) became boxing’s first fully unified bantamweight champion of the four-belt era last December and has since defeated Philadelphia’s Stephen Fulton (21-1, 8 KOs) by eighth-round technical knockout to win the WBC and WBO 122-pound championships.
The 30-year-old Inoue is expected to attempt to fully unify the junior featherweight titles in December against the Philippines’ Marlon Tapales (37-3, 19 KOs), who owns the IBF and WBA belts.
Mayweather, whose company promotes Moton, has mentored Moton since he was a child. He wasn’t as bold as his young, ambitious boxer when asked about Stevenson’s comparison, yet the undefeated five-division champion did note that Inoue-Moton might be a fight that eventually gets put together.
“I can’t really say who his style is like,” Mayweather said regarding Moton. “You know, that kid from Japan, he’s a hell of a fighter, hell of a fighter. And what we doing in today’s time, we makin’ dream matches, no different from [when] we done the Mayweather-Canelo, we done the Mayweather-McGregor, we done the Mayweather-Pacquiao. We do the biggest matches out there. So, in due time, we never know. It can be [Moton] and, you know, I don’t really know how to pronounce his name, but the kid from Japan – if that’s OK, you know, no disrespect.
“But, and we know Shakur is one hell of a fighter. You know, and soon [Moton will] be in a position where he’s beating everybody. Then, eventually, everybody will be calling [Moton] out, no different from everybody wants to fight Tank. That’s just how it works in the sport of boxing.”