Category Archives: Olympics

The 2022 Track and Field World Championships take place on Friday, July 15 through Sunday, July 24 in Eugene, Oregon at Hayward Field located at the University of Oregon. This year marks the first time that an outdoor Athletics World Championships is taking place on U.S. soil and viewers can expect to see an extravaganza of talent as the best and brightest stars from all over the world gather to compete.

RELATED: 2022 USATF Outdoor Championships results, world championships roster

See below for just a few of the top U.S. names competing at the 2022 Track and Field World Championships as well as a list of the featured events for each day.

RELATED: How to watch 2022 World Track & Field Championships

Christian Coleman (26, Atlanta, Georgia) Mens 100m: The defending 100m world champion returns to the action after serving an 18-month suspensionwhich included the Tokyo Olympicsfor whereabouts failures, or missed drug tests (Coleman has never tested positive for a banned substance).

Noah Lyles (24, Alexandria, Virginia) Mens 200m: Noah Lyles heads to Eugene, Oregon with a Worlds Wild Card where he will attempt to defend his 200m world title. The Japanese Anime enthusiast made his Olympic debut in Tokyo where he took home the bronze medal in the 200m behind Canadian Andre De Grasse and American Kenny Bednarek.

Dalilah Muhammad (32, Queens, New York) Womens 400m Hurdles: Three-time Olympic medalist (two gold, one silver) Dalilah Muhammad is not only the reigning world champion but she is one of two athletes to ever run the womens 400m hurdles in under 52 seconds. The Queens native and former USC All-American won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics and also won gold in the 4x400m relay, running the third leg.

Sydney McLaughlin (22, Dunellen, New Jersey) Womens 400m Hurdles:After taking the gold medal and setting a world record of 51.46 in the Tokyo Olympic final, two-time Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin (400m Hurdles, 4x400m Relay) will attempt to add an individual world title to her impressive resume. The former Kentucky wildcat and new husband Andre Levrone Jr., a former wide receiver, celebrated nuptials on May 6th in Virginia.

Grant Holloway (24, Chesapeake, Virginia) Mens 110m Hurdles:Grant Holloway looks to defend his 2019 world title and become the first repeat world champion in this event since American Allen Johnson (2001/2003). Holloway was the gold medal favorite at the Tokyo Olympics and finished second behind Jamaicas Hansle Parchment.

Devon Allen (27, Phoenix, Arizona) Mens 110m Hurdles: Former Oregon Duck Devon Allen is hoping to win his first world title after finishing 4th at the Tokyo Olympics and 7th at the 2019 Worlds. In June, Allen ran 12.84 for the win in the 110m hurdles at the NYC Grand Prix, making him the third-fastest man all-time in the event. In addition to track, Allen played wide receiver at Oregon, and in April, he signed a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles and plans to balance the two sports this summer.

Allyson Felix (36, Los Angeles, California) Womens 400m, 4x400m Relay: After making her fifth Olympic appearance in Tokyo (and first as a mom), Allyson Felix announced in April that this will be her final season. The 11-time Olympic medalist is the most decorated woman and American athlete in Olympic track and field history. With 13 world championship titles, Felix already has the most world titles by any track and field athlete, man or woman, and now looks to earn another, likely competing in the womens 4x400m relay.

RELATED: Allyson Felix has a retirement date, but her legacy is still evolving

DeAnna Price (29, Troy, Missouri) Womens Hammer Throw: Two-time Olympian DeAnna Price returns to the world stage to defend her title in the womens hammer throw. In 2019, she became the first American to win a global title (or world medal of any kind) in the event. Price, who had been dealing with a painful bone bruise throughout Trials and the Games, finished 8th at the Tokyo Olympics.

Ryan Crouser (29, Boring, Oregon) Mens Shot Put: Two-time reigning Olympic shot put gold medalist Ryan Crouser currently owns the indoor and outdoor world record in this event and looks to take the world title after finishing second at the 2019 World Championships, just one centimeter behind Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pennsylvania).

RELATED: Karsten Warholm clears new hurdle to get to world track and field championships

RELATED: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce matches worlds fastest 100m of 2022

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When and where are the 2022 Track and Field World Championships? - Home of the Olympic Channel

Olympic legend, Michael Phelps, does not need any introduction. The American swimmer is undoubtedly the greatest Olympian in history. Despite being the most celebrated athlete in the world, Phelps always remains to be humble and kind to everyone. And that is one of the many reasons streets will never forget his name.

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Known for his insane swimming records, Phelps has a soft corner for baseball. Yes! Michael Phelps, the great Olympian, is a huge fan of baseball, and he roots for the American League side, Baltimore Orioles.

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Born and raised in Baltimore, Phelps has been an Orioles fan since childhood. However, Phelps once revealed how his favorite Orioles player broke his when he did not give an autograph to a seven-year-old Michael Phelps.

In an old interview with Dan Patrick, the 23-time Olympic gold medalist revealed how heartbroken he was when he did not get an autograph from an Orioles pitcher, Bob Milacki. Michael Phelps said that he will never forget that day.

I was getting autographs memorials and a bunch of them snubbed me. And I was kind of bummed about that I must have been seven years old, I mean, there was one pitcher, in particular, Ill never forget. I know exactly his name, Phelps said on The Dan Patrick Show in 2016.

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A Real Cool Experience- When Olympic Swimming Champion Michael Phelps HitBatting Cage for Baltimore Orioles

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He played for the Orioles in the late 90s. And I wanted his autograph so bad and he snubbed me That stuck with me my whole life. I dont even know if you remember the name Bob Milacki.

Now, three years later, Phelps was on The Dan Patrick Show again. And this time, the show host, Dan Patrick, had a beautiful gift to compensate Phelps by gifting him a Bob Milacki autographed baseball, his cards, a letter from the former Orioles pitcher, and an autographed jersey.

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Phelps had no words to thank Patrick for this kind gesture. Even though he has won multiple Olympic medals, this gift from his favorite baseball player will always be special to Michael Phelps.

WATCH THIS STORY: ST. Louis Cardinals Top 5 Moments In MLB Postseason

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Wanted His Autograph So Bad and He Snubbed Me- Olympics GOAT Michael Phelps Recalls Run-in With Former Orioles Pitcher That Stuck With Him His Whole...

A Portuguese player celebrates her countrys gold medal in futsal at the 2018 Youth Olympics. Futsal is a version of soccer played on a hard court.

Kevin C. Cox / FIFA via Getty Images

The 2022 Youth Olympic Games were slated for Dakar, Senegal, in October and November, the first Olympic event to be staged in Africa. Like many other events during the COVID-19 pandemic, the quadrennial event was postponed by the International Olympic Committee. But in this case, the IOC took the step of moving the event back to 2026, a full four-year cycle, instead of giving Senegal a year or two to host the event safely.

Increasingly, the IOC has used the YOG as a test for potential future Olympic sports. Skateboarding and sport climbing both made their debuts in the 2014 YOG before featuring in the 2020 Olympics, and freestyle skiings big air event made its debut at the 2020 YOG before featuring in the 2022 Olympics. Breaking will make its debut in Paris 2024 after a successful trial at Buenos Aires in 2018. Dakar 2022 was set to showcase Wushu and a street variation of baseball called Baseball5.

All of the athletes who had planned to compete in the 35 sports scheduled for Dakar will feel the loss of the event. Without a YOG in 2022, many elite athletes in the age range of 15 to 18 this year will lose out on a high-performance event as they develop toward the ultimate goal of being an Olympian. When we were at the Youth Olympics, it was like a proper Olympic set-up, Emma McKeon, Australias most decorated Olympian, told the IOC in an interview about her experience swimming at the YOG. We had a village, and we had all the different sports; I really enjoyed it and it gave me a little taste of what the Olympics would be like.

The first Youth Olympic Games were held in 2010 under the leadership of then-IOC President Jacques Rogge, who had pushed for the event in 2007, believing that interest in sports among young people was waning. Immediately, the event was designed to promote a balance between high-performance competition and fun, so that it did not seem that the IOC was pushing teen athletes to view sports solely as a vehicle for competition.

It must be fun, it cannot be too serious, there should not be a gravity that you have at the traditional games. Thats for later, Rogge said at the time. They are between 15 and 18, and that is the age to celebrate, not necessarily the age to achieve. For me, the measurement of success lies in the happiness of the athlete. If the athletes are happy, then for me the experience is a success.

Since its first edition, the event has grown to around 4,000 athletes and 32 sports in the latest Summer YOG and 1,800 athletes and eight sports in the latest Winter YOG.

Bidding to host the YOG has been fully integrated into the IOCs future host commissions, with the process undertaken by the same members who decide which preferred cities around the world should be recommended to the organizations membership for Olympic hosting.

This process was first tested with the 2022 YOG cycle in 2018 before becoming the official way for selecting new host cities the following year. Dakar was chosen from four African cities, specifically to bring the event to the continent in an effort to produce a viable African Olympic bid in the future.

McKeon, the swimmer, was part of a crop of athletes who had success at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore and would go on to repeat that success at the Olympic Games. A FiveThirtyEight analysis found 49 individual medalists who competed in Singapore and went on to medal at a future Olympic Games, according to data from Olympedia.

Of those medalists, 15 athletes medaled immediately at the 2012 Olympics in London. Four years later, that number nearly doubled to 28 medaling athletes at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and four years after that, 21 of those 2010 YOG medalists took home hardware from the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

For many Youth Olympians, there is some opportunity to replicate that success in the immediate Olympic cycle and more opportunities to develop into Olympians in the coming cycles.

Number of athletes who medaled in a Youth Olympic Games and went on to medal in a future Olympic Games, by length of time after the YOG that the athlete medaled

Individual sports only, with relays included.

Source: Olympedia

These trends extend far beyond just medalists. According to an IOC spokesperson, nearly 1,100 athletes have gone on to compete at the Olympics following appearances at the YOG. The number of YOG alumni who have competed in the Olympics has grown from 201 Summer YOG athletes in London 2012 to 713 at Tokyo 2020, and 67 YOG alumni at the 2014 Winter Games to 341 at Beijing 2022.

This shows that there may not be much of an impact for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics without a 2022 YOG in Dakar, but its absence could affect young elite athletes as they work their way toward the following 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Researchers say that access to a single high-level sporting competition is rarely the most important part of developing young elite athletes. Athlete development includes many factors and rarely happens in a linear fashion.

Carrie W. LeCrom, the executive director of the Center for Sport Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University, told FiveThirtyEight that qualified and effective coaches are much more critical to future athlete success than going to a single YOG. Having a coach that can help elicit the best of an athlete in a supportive, impactful environment will help them ultimately overcome the lack of a YOG, especially when taking a long-term view of athlete development.

What they will miss out in not having the Games are things like the camaraderie thats built through competitions like these, the cultural communication and understanding thats built when people from different countries come together, and the educational components to the Youth Olympic Games that are such a great learning experience, LeCrom said.

The lack of opportunities for different events will be felt disproportionately around the world. In some countries, it is likely that YOG athletes will not have opportunities to compete in other high-level events or maintain access to facilities without a showpiece to look forward to like a Youth Olympics.

Eric Legg, a professor at Arizona State University who studies community sport experiences, told FiveThirtyEight that the events postponement will certainly be a big disappointment for all athletes who were looking to go to Dakar this year. However, broadly speaking, the YOG has not increased sports participation around the world as much as its creators had hoped.

Without an event in this cycle, the empty space could give sport organizations the chance to look at the overall landscape and make adjustments needed to fill the void more comprehensively to help foster a supportive and robust environment for youth athletes that is, if those organizations choose to invest the resources. Also, promoting goals and accomplishments that athletes can reach below the YOG will make both the YOG and the Olympics more attainable and help athletes stay involved in sports longer, so they arent discouraged by not being on the elite athlete pipeline.

There are a small number of youth who are interested and capable of competing at elite levels, Jon Solomon, editorial director of the Sports & Society Program at The Aspen Institute, told FiveThirtyEight. The challenge is that in our societys quest to keep up, weve created a youth sports system that leaves too many children behind due to income and ability.

With a gap in the YOG timeline afforded by the postponement to Dakar 2026, and no events scheduled except the 2024 Winter edition in Gangwon, South Korea, this postponement could afford an opportunity for the organization to rethink its place in the youth sports landscape. Some investments in high-level youth events have been made at the continental level, but an examination of the effects of these events on grassroots youth sports is warranted.

The race to the top among youth athletes has created a divide in who has access to sports. Like much of society, our sports opportunities for kids have become the haves versus the have-nots based on affordability and ability, Solomon said. If you dont have those resources, there are fewer and fewer options in recent decades for affordable, quality, local sports opportunities.

Fewer and fewer options put stress on events like the YOG to live up to its mandate of getting more people interested in sport, competing at a high level and learning more about each other and the values of the Olympics.

The YOG has been successful in its mission as it continues to grow in size, incorporate new events and provide high-level opportunities for athletes in smaller, less-funded countries. Keeping the Games in Dakar in four years guarantees the IOC will fulfill its mission of bringing an Olympic event to Africa.

Until that happens, the IOC says it plans to distribute its educational program to international federations and continental organizers so that these bodies can use them in youth-level championships that are still taking place this year. Even without a YOG to train for, these events are essential to allow [athletes] to continue to develop their sporting careers at the elite level, the spokesperson said. The IOC and Senegal understood that the postponement of Dakar 2022 was disappointing for many young athletes. Both parties can only appeal to their understanding.

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What Happens When You Cancel The Youth Olympic Games? - FiveThirtyEight

Eight events have been added to the program for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina dAmpezzo, Italy.

Ski mountaineering, a new sport added to the 2026 program last year, will have a mens sprint, womens sprint and a mixed-gender relay.

New events in existing sports include mens and womens dual moguls in freestyle skiing, breaking up the open luge doubles event (where only men have competed) into mens doubles and womens doubles, a mixed-gender skeleton team event and a womens large hill event in ski jumping to match the mens individual ski jumping program.

The Alpine skiing team event, which debuted at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games, has been cut. Also in Alpine skiing, the combined events are being included provisionally on the 2026 program and are subject to further review with a final decision no later than April.

On the Alpine World Cup, there were no combined events either of the last two seasons and there are none planned this upcoming season as more emphasis has been on the newer individual parallel event. The combined is still on the biennial world championships program.

The IOC said that Nordic combined is in a very concerning situation for staying on the Olympic program beyond 2026.

The IOC said Nordic combined had by far the lowest audience numbers over the last three Olympics. It noted that the 27 medals won in the sport among 2014, 2018 and 2022 were spread across only four nations.

Its inclusion in the 2030 Winter Olympics depends on significant developments in global participation and audience.

Nordic combined is the lone Olympic sport without female representation.

The International Ski Federation (FIS) began holding womens Nordic combined World Cups in December 2020. A womens event debuted at the world championships in February 2021. FIS hoped it would help lead to 2026 Winter Olympic inclusion.

The IOC chose not to add a womens event for 2026, citing having only one world championship to date that had 10 nations represented and the medals won by one nation (Norway).Karl Stoss, chair of the IOC Olympic program commission, said those numbers do not meet universality criteria.

Nordic combined officials believed that their sport was in danger of being dropped from the Olympic program if the IOC opted against adding a womens event.

The decisive argument for keeping mens Nordic combined on the 2026 program without a womens event was the proximity male athletes are already preparing for the Games.

Mens events in Nordic combined, which includes ski jumping and cross-country skiing, have been on the program since the first Winter Games in 1924 in Chamonix, France.

The IOC said the overall event changes will make 2026 the most gender-balanced Winter Games in history, upping female participation from 45.4 percent in 2022 to 47 percent.

Due to event quota changes, the overall number of athletes is expected to remain around 2,900.

ON HER TURF: Womens Nordic combined shut out of 2026

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2026 Winter Olympics add eight events, cut Alpine skiing team event - Home of the Olympic Channel

Whether its in 2030 or 2034, Utah is more ready and capable to host a Winter Olympics than any other place on earth.

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee knows this. So, we believe, does the International Olympic Committee. Utah has active venues in place, and still operating, from the 2002 Winter Games. It has demonstrated the fiscal smarts to host the Games while controlling costs. And it has consistent support from the public, many of whom served as volunteers in 2002, helping to keep costs low while providing a friendly, hometown atmosphere to a major international event.

Unfortunately, the Olympics is seldom completely divorced from international politics. IOC officials said recently that the U.S. governments decision to wage a diplomatic boycott of this years Beijing Games to protest Chinas human rights record left a bad feeling among some members, as did a congressional hearing on Olympic sponsorship by American companies.

As the Deseret News reported, IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi told a virtual news conference it is important to have everybody aligned in support of the host venue, wherever that happens to be.

We trust these ultimately will be minor issues. Unlike the 1980 U.S. boycott of the Moscow Games, U.S. athletes were allowed to participate in Beijing. Diplomatic relations continue between Washington and Beijing.

The other, more relevant concern is that the IOC may be reluctant to stage the Winter Games on U.S. soil only 18 months after staging the Summer Games in Los Angeles in 2028. That might make 2034 in Salt Lake City the viable option.

Either way, Utah is ready and able to put on a great show, as it did in 2002.

As we have said before, the Olympics are fraught with challenges, from unforeseen pandemics to the possible effect of inflation or global recession. But everyday life is also filled with risks and in this case, winning the bid to host another Olympics is worth every risk.

Utah likes to refer to itself as the Crossroads of the West. It is rapidly becoming a global crossroads in both trade and influence, and as an example of managing diverse interests to the benefit of mankind.

For example, the international spotlight focused on World Trade Center Utah and on Utah Valley University recently when they hosted an international summit on U.S.-China relations that attracted some of the best thinkers on the subjects of economic, political and security interests.The Silicon Slopes area of the Wasatch Front is already a center of innovation and new ideas, recently attracting Apple CEO Tim Cook to a summit meeting of the states leading entrepreneurs.

In 2002, northern Utah was the focus of the world for 17 days. An international audience saw its culture, its beautiful landscape and its friendly and helpful people. Mitt Romney, who guided those Games with the strongassist of Fraser Bullock as COO, was able to host a splendid Olympics in 2002, less than six months after 9/11. Romney, now a U.S. senator, asked for 25,000 volunteers and received 50,000. Less than 1% of those who signed up to help dropped out during the Games, and many raised funds to provide better equipment for Paralympic athletes.

By 2030, and certainly by 2034, a generation will have passed since those days. The states fast-growing population already has added a million people since 2002 people who didnt experience what that celebration was like. A new set of Utahns would get the chance to experience the magical transformation that took place along the Wasatch Front as the world descended.

The world should have little doubt that Utah is a prime venue for Olympic competition. Neither Utah nor the IOC can control the outside variables that seek to impose themselves on the games. But Utahs ability to rise above challenges and stage a successful event that brings honor to itself and the Olympic movement should be beyond question, whether it is given that opportunity in 2030 or 2034.

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Will Utah host the Winter Olympics in 2030 or 2034? |Opinion - Deseret News

The Olympic Games carry a lot of sway on the world stage. Televised moments of history make or break an athlete's career, but the games can also affect myriad small businesses feeding overwhelming numbers of visitors from across the globe. That's exactly what happened with a bakery called Furenpan and the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, according to the Japanese Food Guide.

Three years prior to the opening games, the owners of Furenpan came up with the idea of cutting their sandwiches diagonally to better display the interior contents. But these weren't just any kind of sandwich; the company specialized in making Japanese fruit sandwiches. Fruits, once a luxury item in Japan, became more accessible in the early 1900s, giving rise to dedicated fruit parlors dishing out delicacies such as fruit shortcakes, parfaits, and, eventually, fruit sandwiches for easy eating at business centers and train stations. As the story goes, Fuhrenpan received a patent for the sandwich design as well as its accompanying wrapping style. But as the Olympics drew closer, they relinquished their patent in order to popularize the diagonal cut with Olympic visitors.

It worked. Long after the Olympic games came and went, diagonally cut fruit sandwiches are a mainstay on menus across Japan. The sandwich typically features large cuts of fresh fruit and sweetened cream between slices ofshokupan, which is a sort ofJapanese milk bread, explains Chopstick Chronicles.

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How The Olympics Made Diagonal-Cut Sandwiches A Sensation In Japan - Tasting Table

As the 2028 Olympicsset to be hosted in Los Angelesdraw nearer, Long Beach continues to prepare for its role in the international event.

Mayor Robert Garcia announced the 8 by 28 initiative in 2016, which highlights eight major development projects the city is aiming to complete by the time the Olympics arrive in town.

Some of the projectswhich are mostly being funded by Tidelands Operating Fundswere conceived prior to the announcement of the initiative, but they were brought under the umbrella as a representation of the citys efforts to revitalize the areas that will act as the Long Beach Sports Park, the main hub for the Olympics in the city.

Here is a look at the progress of the eight projects that are part of the initiative.

Metro Blue Line improvements

Improvements to the Metro Blue Linenow known as the A Lineis one of the first projects completed as part of the initiative. LA Metro pumped around $350 million into the improvements to the agencys oldest line in service, which launched in 1990.

The renovation, which wrapped up in November 2020, modernized the connection between the Seventh Street Metro Center in Long Beach and the Compton Station.

Weve been pushing Metro for a long time to really upgrade the A line, City Manager Tom Modica said. Now we have brand new stations that got redone and brand new cars that got redone.

These improvements were made by Metro mainly to bring the line up to modern safety and technology standards. That includes the addition of new crossover tracks and signal system and the addition of digital displays to stations on the line.

This project helps connect Los Angeles with Long Beach, which will be two of the main hubs of the 2028 Olympics.

Beach concession stands

Improvements to three of four concession stands along several of the citys beaches have already been finished.

The completed standswhich are located at Bayshore Beach, Junipero Street and Granada Streeteach host their own food vendors.

At Bayshore Beach is Grill em All, a heavy metal themed burger establishment that caught the publics eye when it was featured as a food truck on Food Networks Great Food Truck Race. A water play area was also installed by the city at this stand, which has been such a success that Joshua Hickman, who serves as the Business Operations Bureau Manager for the Department of Public Works, said inspired a similar project in Downtown currently under construction. (Those projects are not related to the newly installed Wibit at Alamitos Beach.)

The vendor for the Granada location has yet to start operations as it works through the Coastal Commission permit process, but the stand is open after receiving a major facelift and a water feature playground.

Juniperos location received a similar renovation to the Granada location, but it was given a different color scheme to differentiate the two stands. It has welcomed Saltwater Deck, which serves grass-fed beef burgers, wraps, breakfast burritos and frozen yogurt.

The fourth location, which is currently under construction at Alamitos Beach, is the largest project among the concession stand improvements. Unlike the other projects, an entirely new structure is being built at Alamitos Beach. The core and shell constructionwhich refers to the construction of the structure of a building before developing individual unitswas recently completed, Hickman said.

Gaucho Grillan Argentine steakhousewill set up shop at the Alamitos Beach stand, which will include a full kitchen and bar for the restaurant. The restaurant is working through its final permits. The stand is expected to be in full operation by next year.

Its going to be a cool, cool place once that gets opened, Hickman said.

Airport improvements

At the Long Beach Airport, which will welcome many Olympic attendees, the Phase II Terminal Area Improvement Project is set to improve the travel experience.

A new ticketing lobby opened to passengers at the airport in May, which has already helped to expedite the check-in process. Improving the baggage claim area is another point of focus, which Modica expects to be completed at the end of this year.

COVID didnt knock this project off of its timeline, but it did put the status of the project as a whole into question.

COVID almost ended that project completely as people werent flying anymore, Modica said. But I would say because we had such a long lead time, were not really that far off schedule.

Other amenities that will be included in the improvement project are a rental car return lot to facilitate smoother rental car use, general terminal improvements including to the roadways, and an overhaul of the airports Meet and Greet Plaza.

Modica said he expects the overall project to wrap up by the 2028 deadline.

Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier

A redesign of the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier, which was originally built in 1916 at 39th Place and moved 100 feet away from its original location in 1965, envisions the site as a venue to view sailing events during the Olympics.

The pier is currently straight, at about 1,620 feet long and 26 feet wide through most of its length, but the redesignwhich went through a visioning phase in which community members provided input on four potential designscould change that.

A memo released by the city in April stated Long Beach was bringing an engineering firm to study a rainbow-shaped design, which community members said reminded them of the iconic Rainbow Pier.

The community really wholeheartedly preferred the horseshoe shaped pier, which harkens back and pays homage to the Rainbow Pier that was once a focal point Downtown, Hickman said.

While the design has been agreed upon, Hickman said that the timeline is still up in the air. He said that the project is still set to be completed by the 2028 deadline, but the exact timing is unclear.

It is going to take a little while to get through the concept phase, get through the technical studies, Hickman said, but this project is currently in line for that 2028 deadline.

Lifeguard towers

Another item on the list is replacing the citys 23 lifeguard towers, which are nearing the end of their service lives. But that process has proved more complex than initially anticipated.

One challenge came when one of the towers, painted with a rainbow of colors and dubbed a Pride Tower to celebrate the LGBT community during 2020s Pride Month, was vandalized and burned down almost a year later. A new Pride Tower was erected in June last year.

While the timeline for this project has not been significantly impacted by COVID or this incident, the cost may have been. Hickman estimated that the cost for each lifeguard tower was around $60,000, but that figure is from prior to the pandemic.

Theres been some inflation and other things that have impacted different costs, Hickman said. So, those are somewhat old numbers.

Hickman could not provide current estimates for the cost.

Long Beach Arena

The Arena itself received renovations in the form of the Pacific Ballroom in 2013, but there is still one major step that needs to be taken to prepare the venue for the Olympics.

Our arena is heavily used right now, but the seats arent really used, Modica said.

Once a place that hosted a plethora of concerts and some of the biggest sporting events in the world, including volleyball events at the 1984 Olympics, the arena has since seen its use shift to events like conferences that fit within the arena space itself and dont require use of the built-in seating.

Now, the city is looking to prepare the arena for a return to its rootsand the seating needs to be upgraded. The arenas seating is the primary issue that needs to be addressed for spectators to view handball events, which Modica expects to be completed by the 2028 deadline.

On top of seating upgrades, Modica said there will be small improvements to HVAC and other systems that keep the building functioning behind the scenes. The full scope of the improvements has yet to be finalized.

Convention Center hotel

While there are plenty of hotels in the Downtown area, city officials hope to provide even more accommodations in the immediate vicinity of the Long Beach Convention Center to maximize convenience for visitors.

To that end, work on conceiving a new hotel at 100 E. Ocean Blvd., at Pine Avenue, was key to facilitating the hosting of the Olympics. Plans for the project were shown to the public in 2019, and the land for a 30-story hotel has been sold to American Life, Inc., Modica says, but COVID-19 caused a long delay in the process.

Obviously in the pandemic hotel financing has become difficult, Modica said. Theyre looking to get their project up and going.

Despite this, Modica expects the project to be complete in time for the Olympics, but the timeline is still unclear. The hotel will join a long list in Long Beachs Downtown scene, but its location is crucial for Modica and his team.

That will be a huge, 20-plus story hotel right there on our key corridor overlooking the entire event, Modica said. So thatll be a customer experience as well.

Belmont Beach and Aquatics Center

The largest and longest standing project is also one of the only pieces of the 8 by 28 initiative that will not be ready in time for the Olympics.

Work to build a new Belmont Pool started in 2014, soon after the previous buildingwhich played host to the 1968 summer Olympic swimming trialswas demolished due to safety concerns related to the buildings age. The city has been using an outdoor pool in its stead, but a new swimming complex has been in the works ever since.

However, delays in receiving approval from the Coastal Commission pushed the project beyond the Olympic deadline. After designs for the pool were held up for years in legal challenges and appeals by residents, the commission tasked the city with making concrete changes to the plans for the complex last February to make the pool more accessible for those in less affluent communities.

Plans for the new complex feature a 50-meter Olympic-sized swimming pool alongside a shallower pool for classes and youth. Diving boards will be installed at several different heights, and the existing outdoor pool will be replaced by another more permanent pool as part of the complex, which will be outfitted with new restrooms and showers.

Seating is also key for spectators, and plans for the project call for almost 2,000 seats to be built throughout the complex, including 1,555 at the main pool.

Currently, Modica said the project is in its financing stages, and the team working on the project is hoping to have that completed by the end of the year, with construction expected to start soon after.

While the pool is on track to be completed before 2028, city officials said it will not be ready for use in time for the Olympics. The cost, meanwhile, is expected to be in excess of $100 million. Modica said more specific projections on the costs for the pool and other projects will be shared in an upcoming town hall on the initiative.

Editors note: This story has been updated to clarify the timeline for the Belmont Beach and Aquatics Center. It is on track to be completed before 2028, according to city officials.

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Work on 8 by 28 Olympic initiative continues - Long Beach Business Journal - Long Beach News

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The 29-year-old biological male who came in first place at a New York women's skateboarding competition is a father of three and a combat veteran who was previously rejected from the Olympics for having too much testosterone.

Ricci Tres, who also goes by Ricci And Tres, won over Shiloh Catori, a 13-year-old girl who is ranked 133rd in the Boardr Global Ranks, which are based on performance in skateboarding competitions. Tres, by comparison, sits at 838 in the rankings.

Tres took the top title in the women's division of The Boardr Open, taking home $500.

"I have three kids, I'm married, I did my timein the military, I own a company. I've decided that I like being pretty and cute," Tres said in an interview about skateboarding last year. "So everything that goes with that is female. I love female bodies. I think it's a work of art."

LOS ANGELES 29-YEAR-OLD TRANS WOMAN BEATS 13-YEAR-OLD GIRL TO FIRST PLACE IN NYC WOMEN'S SKATEBOARDING CONTEST

Tres does not intend to medically transition outside hormone therapy.

Tres has taken hormones but was previously informed that his body still had too much testosterone to compete.

"I know I'll never be a woman because women are miraculous. They have babies and create life and do all that awesome stuff," Tres said in the interview. "I'll never have that ability. But I feel like I'm a woman. I would have wished to be born one. So I'll try to fill that image as much as I can for myself."

Many on social media excoriated the tournament for the biological and age disparities between the competitors, including female skateboarder Taylor Silverman, who spoke out in May after repeatedly placing second in skateboarding contests against biological males.

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The skateboarding competition comes amid a national debate over whether biological men have a competitive advantage over biological women.

On the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the Biden administration has indicated that it wants transgender athletes to enjoy the same protections that Title IX initially afforded women when it passed half a century ago.

Fox News' Jon Brown contributed to this report.

Timothy Nerozzi is a writer for Fox News Digital. You can follow him on Twitter @timothynerozzi and can email him at timothy.nerozzi@fox.com

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Trans skateboarder who won first prize against teen is a combat vet, dad who was rejected from the Olympics - Fox News

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(Andrew Vera-Jackson Photo)

For Tucson-native Andrew Vera-Jackson, wrestling isnt just a sport its a lifestyle. Since he first stepped foot on the mats back in middle school, the initial spark Vera-Jackson had for the sport has continued growing into a fire still burning bright within him.

Sports have always been my escape in life, Vera-Jackson said. I just kind of fell in love with wrestling while still doing multiple sports. As I was transitioning to high school, I knew I had to focus on something if I wanted to go to college, so I ended up choosing wrestling.

While Vera-Jacksons overall journey has been vastly different than most other athletes, his relentless dedication and commitment to his goals opened doors to opportunities he never dreamed of having.

A 2015 graduate of Cienega High School, Vera-Jacksons legacy on the Bobcat program isnt limited to being a school record holder; He also was a two-time state medalist, an All-American wrestler and a member of Team Arizona.

Vera-Jackson earned a scholarship to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, AZ where he continued his wrestling career, but he said making the decision of where to attend was far from easy. Receiving nearly three dozen letters from universities across the nation, Vera-Jackson said he had little guidance in terms of navigating the process, leaving him to figure it out on his own.

If you got a letter, then you just reach out to the coaches and go from there, Vera-Jackson said. My first two letters were from Stanford and Columbia, which was really exciting.

After exploring the degree options and speaking with numerous coaches, Vera-Jackson settled on Embry-Riddle because of their academic programs directly aligning with his field of study.

I knew a lot of other schools would be better for wrestling, but at the time, I was like, Yeah, just get through college and then be done, Vera-Jackson said. What I wanted to do with my life and Embry having the program of Global Security Intelligence Studies, it really drew me into them.

While in college, Vera-Jackson also minored in Middle Eastern studies and learned Arabic, his third language. Despite touting a rigorous course load going hand-in-hand with his athletic commitments, Vera-Jackson found a way to transition from the daily grind of high school to college with ease.

Following his junior year, Vera-Jackson was forced to take some time away from both school and wrestling to attend to some family issues. Helping to take care of his mother while she recovered from medical procedures, Vera-Jackson knew his family needed him more at that point in time and made the tough decision to return to Tucson.

When he returned to Tucson in 2018, he began working with the Arizona Department of Corrections, where he stayed for the next three years until he was finally able to return to Embry-Riddle.

It was nerve-wracking at first, Vera-Jackson said. You grow up quickly there. They sent me to a Level 5, Max Capacity Detention Center When I finally took a step away from that and finished school, I was very, very happy I did.

Being the first one in his family to graduate from college, earning his degree was a big deal.

Im proud of what I did and Im excited, Vera-Jackson said. I hope I made my family proud with that. It was a very long road and they just really believed in me.

After finally earning his Bachelors, Vera-Jackson relocated to Fort Worth, TX to join the Spartan Mat Club at Texas Wesleyan University.

They offered me a full ride to my masters program, Vera-Jackson said. I was talking to schools, but this one I felt benefited my program. If I want to take the time to do schooling, I need it to be something thats going to benefit my future.

Anticipating his return to the mat, Vera-Jackson knew it was also going to be a grueling battle to get there. After three years away from training, it was going to take a lot of conditioning and time in the weight room to transition back to peak competition shape.

Grinding his way back to being in training shape, Vera-Jackson started floating the idea of trying out for the Bolivian National Team with his coaches. Initially hesitant, saying he didnt want to waste any more time, he decided to go out and at least try.

His decision to go for it ended up paying off, as Vera-Jackson was named as a member of the 2022 Bolivian World Team back in November. Since then, his sights have been set on making it to the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Im in the process of trying to find a Regional Training Center, Vera-Jackson said. A couple of places are interested, its just going to take a little more time, getting my name out there a little more and bringing back some hardware.

The time between now and the end of 2023 will be a crucial time for Vera-Jackson in his quest to become an Olympian. Not only will he look to compete all over the globe to continue challenging himself against the competition, but he also will continue traveling across the nation for training, working with numerous different training partners while improving and learning new techniques.

My struggle is trying to find more freestyle clinics, Vera-Jackson said. Im trying to get more exposure.

The Tallinn Open took place in Estonia in March, and the Pan-Am Championships took place in Chile in May. Both provided him the opportunity to get more exposure while preparing him for whats to come; The Bolivarian Games taking place in Colombia in July and the South American Games in Paraguay in October.

Competing in so many international competitions can get costly. Flights, hotels, meals and tournament fees are just some of the many expenses competing abroad can rack up, and it doesnt factor in any basic funds needed to continue training at a high level back in Texas.

Every time I go to Bolivia, it costs between seven hundred and a thousand dollars each trip, Vera-Jackson said. Everything I pay is out of pocket. Bolivia doesnt help with any of the financial burden, being a third world country.

Vera-Jackson is currently working towards raising money for his upcoming competitions, and is looking for sponsors interested in continuing to support him on his journey. Individuals looking to donate to his goals directly can do so by visiting his GoFundMe.

Brittany Bowyer is a freelance journalist who started her career as an intern for a small sports website back in 2015. Since then, shes obtained her masters degree in Sports Journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at ASU and is in her fourth year of covering various levels of sports across a broad range of platforms in Arizona. You can follow her on twitter @LittWithBritt

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Grappling to the top, Tucson-native Andrew Vera-Jackson locks in on 2024 Paris Olympics - All Sports Tucson