Daily Archives: December 27, 2023

Aaron Pico has an idea about what he might do if he doesnt get another MMA fight booked soon, and its going to sound a little out there.

If the Bellator featherweight contender doesnt know what his next step is reasonably soon now that Bellator is owned by the PFL, he might take a shot at making the Olympic wrestling team. But the Californian wont be trying to get on the mats to chase a medal for the U.S. It would be for Mexico.

Give me a time frame of when you think Im going to fight, because if its six months, eight months listen, I have goals, Pico told MMA Junkie Radio. Ill go wrestle, honestly. Ill go try to make the Mexican Olympic team, Paris in 2024. Ill go box. Ill keep myself active. But I just want to have some sense of direction of time of when Im going to fight.

Pico said dual citizenship in the U.S. and Mexico means he could try to make the Mexican national team and represent that country in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, even though he lives and trains in the U.S.

Pico acknowledged such a thing would come with plenty of obstacles, which means his most likely next step remains in MMA. But hes just uncertain of what that will be after the merger. Some Bellator fighters will continue to fight other Bellator fighters in Bellator-branded events in 2024. Others will fight their PFL champion counterparts, the PFL has said. And still others might just get folded into the PFL and make runs ini the 2024 seasons.

I have two fights left on my (Bellator) contract, Pico said. Im No. 2 in Bellator (in the featherweight division). And a big goal of mine was to become a world champion in Bellator. I would love to fight for the belt. Thats something that I want to have on my resume is a Bellator championship. I felt like I really had momentum to be a world champion. Im right there. Im starting to come into my own as a fighter. I have everything in order with my team. I feel solid.

So to be quite frank, I would love to fight for the Bellator world championship and my dream was to have Scott Coker wrap the belt around my waist because I started with him. He stuck by me through the ups and downs. Im forever grateful for him. Hes always been by my side and encouraging me to keep going through the tough times and through the good times.

Coker, however, has not been announced as one of the Bellator personnel who will make the transition to the PFL after the sale.

Pico said he wants to fight Bellator featherweight champion and all-time pound-for-pound great Patricio Freire. But Pitbull may be targeted for one of the aforementioned champ-vs.-champ fights.

Jeremy Kennedy also has been stumping for a fight with Freire, though, even though Freire has 2023 PFL featherweight $1 million winner Jesus Pinedo on his radar, too. They faced off in the cage after Pinedos win.

So when the signs for Pico point toward him continuing to wait for whats next, the Olympic thing or boxing sound a lot more realistic.

And he said if somehow Kennedy jumps him in line, hell ultimately deal with it. But at 27, hed take fights with all those names.

Iwant to be remembered and, to be up front, I want to make money, Pico said. I want to put on classic fights. Im exciting andI want to fight the best guys in the world and in all organizations. I only have a certain amount of time in this game, and I dont want to waste it. I want to fight.

But, uh, that, that wouldve, that was a dream of mine. But, uh, I, Im optimistic that, uh, well see. I just have to be prepared for anything.

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Aaron Picos unknown Bellator-PFL future has him thinking Olympics - MMA Junkie

While cities host the Olympic Games to showcase their community, locals leverage the heightened media attention for other reasons some good, some not so good. It is on this landscape in which the organizers plotted the most public of Opening Ceremonies for the Paris 2024 Games. Will they regret it? Heres an update from insidethegames:

If France is hit again by extremist attacks or a security crisis in the run-up to the 2024 Olympics, the huge opening ceremony Paris plans to hold on the banks of the Seine could be postponed, French President Emmanuel Macron has said.

Security, involving tens of thousands of police and soldiers, will be tight: athletes will be paraded in boats on the Seine through the heart of the French capital in the first Summer Games opening ceremony to be held outside the usual stadium setting. Hundreds of thousands of spectators will fill both banks of the river.

We are preparing a unique opening ceremony that I hope will make the French very proud, Macron told France 5.

It will be a moment of beauty, true art, a celebration of sport and our values, with the Seine and the capital as the theatre, he added. He did say, however, that the plans could be revised for security reasons. Full report

Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Program*: Mens One Person Dinghy ILCA 7 (41) Womens One Person Dinghy ILCA 6 (41) Mixed Two Person Dinghy 470 (19) Mens Skiff 49er (20) Womens Skiff 49erFX (20) Mens Kiteboard Formula Kite Class (20) Womens Kiteboard Formula Kite Class (20) Mens Windsurfing iQFoil (24) Womens Windsurfing iQFoil (24) Mixed Multihull Nacra 17 (19) * Quota per event in parenthesis but does not include Universality Places (2 men, 2 women)

Venue: Marseille, France Dates: July 28-August 9

Details: Paris website: https://www.paris2024.org/en/the-olympic-games-paris-2024/ World Sailing microsite: https://paris2024.sailing.org/

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Paris 2024: Will they regret it? >> Scuttlebutt Sailing News - Scuttlebutt Sailing News

Sunisa "Suni" Lee may be the reigningall-around women's gymnastics champion, but for a while she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to return to defend her title at the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer.

The 20-year-old, who enrolled at Auburn University after winning gold at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, made the tough decision to step off the mat and end her college career in Aprildue to a "non-gymnastics health related issue" that she later shared was an incurable kidney disease.

And though she declined the invitation to attend the U.S. team selection camp for the world championships in September, she is still hoping to recover in time to compete in Paris, an impressive feat considering her health issues almost ended her career permanently.

"It was really scary and really, really heartbreaking," Lee told E! News in an exclusive interview. "I definitely went through a little bit of a mental spiral because gymnastics is my outlet and it's my safe space."

Link:

How Suni Lee Refused to Let "Really Scary" Kidney Illness Stop Her From Returning For the 2024 Olympics - E! Online - E! NEWS

Patterson is right.

Returning to the Games after taking all-around gold is difficult and something that hadnt been done by any female winner since the legendary Nadia Comaneci returned to the 1980 Games after securing the all-around crown four years earlier in Montreal.

Douglas and Biles did the same more than 30 years later.

Liukin and Patterson say part of the challenge that comes with returning to the sports biggest stage is the way life changed after their golden triumphs as a new world of opportunity opens up.

I didnt see what happens after you win an Olympic gold medal [as a kid], explained Patterson. So, when that happened for me, I truly did not know what to expect or what life was going to look like after the Olympics.

I thought I was going to go home and go right back into the gym and just keep doing what I always did because that was my life and all I knew was being in the gym every day," she continued. "When I got home, I realised, Oh, life is really different.

While Douglas, Biles and Lee all enjoyed their moments in the sun following their Olympic triumphs, each found their way back to the sport with Douglas continuing to the Rio Games, Biles returning for the Tokyo Games and Lee competing first in collegiate gymnastics before returning to elite competition last summer.

Each has hinted at a love for the sport - and unfinished business.

I think you obviously have to have a passion if you want to continue going, especially after youve reached the pinnacle of what you can do in your sport, said Patterson. The passion definitely has to be there for you to continue after something like that.

Liukin, who attempted to make the 2012 U.S. Olympic team, agreed: I still loved the sport, that love has never gone away or changed, she said of her careers continuation. What I struggled with the most was, 'wait, just because I achieved that thing, which Im so proud of why is that I need to now move on or why is it expected that you do it and youre done?'

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Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles, and Sunisa Lee: Can USA Gymnastics have its own 'Dream Team' at Paris 2024? - Olympics

Surfing in Jamaica is never a solitary experience.

While surfers in other countries tend to look for a secluded spot, the waves near Wilmots home surf in Bull Bay are one big party.

"In Jamaica, the surfing community is very close," Wilmot said. "There are only, I would say, less than 100 of us on the island so you know everybody. And the big difference is we want to go surfing with each other. A lot of places in the world, you try to find that spot where there's nobody surfing. We don't want that. That's boring. So you call people up, you get on WhatsApp, you say, 'Hey, are you surfing here? Are you surfing there?' And you try to put a group of people together."

Having enjoyed the benefits of being part of this community, Wilmot is eager to have other female surfers experience it as well. To that effect, she has started up Surf Girls Jamaica a women-only surf camp that gives girls essential skills to get started in the sport.

Aside from the physical benefits of surfing, Wilmot said there are many mental benefits as well.

The athlete has multiple certifications in surf therapy and follows the Blue Mind Theory. Originating from marine biologist Dr. Wallace Nichols, this theory looks at the way that people can use water to improve well-being, creativity and productivity.

"It's been proven that being in the ocean actually reduces your blood pressure and it calms you down," Wilmot said. "One of the cool things I've learned doing surf therapy is that the salinity of the ocean is the same as the amniotic fluid, so once you're in the ocean your body will start to heal and reset because it's a familiar environment for you."

On a psychological level, the Blue Mind Theory suggests that being in or near the water can help with trauma, inflammation and anxiety. And when it comes to societies where girls regularly find themselves in vulnerable situations, the ability to tap into these benefits through surfing can be priceless.

"It can be very empowering," Wilmot said. "It also is a very grounding sport. It takes your mind off of everything else that's happening. The only thing you can really think about in the water while you're surfing is surfing. You can't focus on anything else. And I think translating that into real life is something that is beneficial to these girls, like dealing with issues one day at a time, one step at a time, one wave at a time."

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Jamaica's surf healer Imani Wilmot taps into ocean forces to empower women - Olympics

Will the men's 100m or 200m world records fall first?

There's only one man to answer that: the current holder of both records, the eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt.

Despite having been retired from athletics since 2017, the Jamaican still holds the title of "the world's fastest man": 9.58 seconds in the 100m and 19.19 seconds in the 200m.

"It's a great title," Bolt told World Athletics Inside Track. "It's something that I enjoy even if I say it's not the most important it's always the (medals), but it's a great title to have.

"It's something I enjoy knowing."

So which record will go first? "Not worried about none of them," Bolt laughed.

"I really don't know, I think the 100m's going to be harder (to break) because it's quicker, and if you make a mistake during the race you're not going to get it.

"It's a lot more technical so I think maybe the 100m's going to go last."

United States sprinter Noah Lyles, the current world champion in both the 100m and 200m events, targeted Bolt's 200m 19.19 in 2023 but did not achieve his goal. The American's 19.31 national record remains the third-fastest time ever.

Reflecting on his 100m world record in Berlin in 2009, Bolt said: "I remember actually we had a bet: me, my coach and my masseuse, on how fast I was gonna run.

"I knew I was gonna break the world record because I was in such good shape at the time. I was running great throughout the season."

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Usain Bolt: My 200m world record will be broken before 100m - Olympics