Author

sportnow

Browsing

There are two humans now whose opinion I really care about, and they’re my kids.” These heartfelt words from Serena Williams‘s husband, Alexis Ohanian, encapsulate his profound devotion to his daughters, Olympia and Adira. Imagine being at the pinnacle of your career, with a calendar brimming with high-stakes meetings, groundbreaking projects, and monumental decisions. Yet, amidst all this chaos, Ohanian always finds a way to prioritize his daughters.

Ohanian’s love for sports is not new. And that can be reflected in his personal life as well ever since the  41-year-old married the tennis star. But besides tennis, he is equally a dedicated fan of Track and Field, an important event at the Paris Olympics. However, despite his love for the sport, he has failed to appear at the event albeit being in Paris. And the reason? His daughters Olympia and Adira. Taking to his Instagram, Ohanian shared a video of himself as he discussed the Paris Olympics.

Speaking in the video, he said, “Alright, today is the start of the Olympic track and field. Now I am actually at Disneyland Paris right now because I promised my girls.” This clearly highlights that the ‘Business dad’ will not be able to make it to the games but he desires to multitask. “But I will be catching some of that later on,” he further said in the video.

And this recent gesture of Ohanian reflects the change of worldview that he has often talked about. Speaking on his podcast Business Dad in June, Ohanian revealed the change of perspectives he encountered because of his daughters. “With two daughters, I have my whole worldview turned upside down. And it was so eye-opening and I love it. They are such sweet, kind, wonderful creatures. I just love them.” He has also revealed his desire to spend as much time as possible with his kids as and when possible.

For the unversed, Ohanian also announced that if any of the 36 female athletes who are part of his Athlos NYC sportswear brand, win a gold medal at the Paris Olympics, he would pay them $60,000 as a reward. Earlier, he had revealed that his venture capital firm Seven Seven Six is investing in women’s track with the 776 Invitational. Scheduled to take place at the end of September, the event aims to modernize the sport and its fandom. The prize money will be $60,000 for first place, $25,000 for second place, and $10,000 for third place in each event.

Despite being unable to mark his presence at the Olympic event, Ohanian has ensured to extend his support to the female athletes. Furthermore, he also wished good luck to the Track and Field athlete Veronica Fraley. Speaking in the video, Ohanian said, “Veronica, we are gonna be cheering for you. Get out there, throw that disc, be great.” Ohanian recently teamed up with Flavor Flav to help Fraley pay her rent after she revealed the challenges she was facing.

I compete in the Olympic Games TOMORROW and can’t even pay my rent,” Fraley wrote on X on Aug. 1. “My school only sent about 75% of my rent while they pay football players (who haven’t won anything) enough to buy new cars and houses.” Her post caught the eye of Flav, who replied that he would help her. “I gotchu… DM me and I’ll send payment TODAY so you don’t have to worry bout it TOMORROW… and imma be rooting for ya tomorrow LETZ GO,!!!” he wrote.

As the tournament progresses, it would be interesting to see if the Reddit co-founder would take a break from his fatherly responsibilities and attend his favorite event in Paris.

There comes victory, and then there are the rituals to celebrate it. In today’s sporting world, the flaunting of rituals has become the new normal, and the Paris Olympics are no different! Last Tuesday, in the women’s all-around gymnastics final, the Simone Biles-starring USA squad grabbed the title with full dominance over the opponents, Team Italy and Team Brazil. Obviously, Simone and Suni Lee wasted no time organizing a spectacular celebration in honor of such a victory. The squad shared a TikTok video later on, comically munching their gold medals. That raised a lot of fanfare and interest in asking who had been the principal planner of it. Well, Jordan Chiles had the answer.

Recently, Suni Lee and Jordan came as guests on Today’s show. There, the host asked them about that viral celebration. Jordan steadfastly admitted that it had been Simone Biles’ idea. She suggested going with such a ritual. But Jordan enjoyed the taste anyway, of course, of her hard-earned medal. “How did they taste? Golden, golden,”  she confirmed at the studio. However, there was already a glimmer of it because the broadcasters’ cameras had not overlooked any minute details.

While the pair of Olympic all-around champions were preoccupied with one another, Simone’s voice projected loudly and was captured by the microphone. She could clearly be heard narrating her wish to pose “chomping on the gold medals”. On the same screen, Suni Lee shared her plan to make another TikTok video to celebrate their victory, and it was nothing short of exciting.

With Suni’s lead, the squad posed in another TikTok video with Kanye West’s voice in the background. The voice repeated those legendary words that had filled the stage of the annual Grammy Award ceremony in 2005: “Everybody wanted to know what I would do if I didn’t win… I guess we’ll never know”. In the meantime, according to Jordan, it had been Simone who suggested posing in the celebration with their gold medals.

Sharing a bit of it, she said, “People would do it with random stuff. And so her point of view, she thought, what if we did it with our gold medals?” Ultimately, the squad followed and in each of the celebration videos on TikTok, the team appeared with the medals hanging around their neck. But those videos also raised questions.

After reclaiming the gymnastics all-around team gold, the USA women’s artistic gymnastics squad enjoyed every bit of the celebration. The shared TikTok videos have exemplified those emotions. But Jade Carey, the Tokyo Olympic floor exercise champion, did not show up in any of the videos. However, on Tuesday evening, she came out to be one of the vital cogs to help the USA squad land the much-awaited victory. The fans couldn’t miss noticing Jade’s absence in those videos. So a fan asked in the comment box the most relevant question: “WHERE IS MISS JADE???” 

Simone Biles played the elder’s role again. Subsequently, her reply came, “She went to the bathroom & then we haven’t seen her since [funny emoji]”. That ended the discussion, though. Yet, with all these brief moments of showing guardianship, Simone Biles made her comeback at the Olympics memorable, not only for the fans but also for her teammates in the squad. So when Jordan claims, “She’s the greatest of all greats”, nothing feels exaggerated.

 

Being a mother is the hardest task of all, but Tiger Woods’s niece, Cheyenne Woods, makes it seem like a piece of cake. The golfer’s life was forever changed when she became a mom to two precious little ones, Cameron and Maya. For her, family is everything, and she quotes it as reaffirming the importance of family and being there when you can. However, every great thing comes with its challenges, and so does motherhood.

The former Tour professional recently gave an update about Maya’s health through a video on her Instagram story. In the video, Tiger Woods’s sweet Maya was seen smiling and giggling while her mother was joyfully helping her say the word Mama. The caption read, “Our baby has been THRIVING on vacation. Love that for her, she deserves it ”, and indeed she does. The golfer seems to be a vacation with her whole family.

While her firstborn was in the pink of health when she was born, she had to face a daunting challenge with her second child, Maya. Maya has had a rough time feeding and gaining weight ever since she was born. She battled severe reflux and laryngomalacia, and as Maya underwent surgery and began using a feeding tube, the golfer started feeling scared and helpless, to the extent that she felt scared to leave the house. Now, things seem to be changing for the better, but is the golfer coming back to the sport anytime soon?

Cheyenne Woods, a professional golfer, has shifted her focus from competing full-time to prioritizing her family. Her secondborn’s medical conditions have made it almost impossible for her to come back to the sport, but there’s still some home. She now enjoys watching golf more than she did during her competitive days. Woods hopes to qualify for another U.S. Women’s Open in the future but doesn’t want to devote herself entirely to the sport. Instead, she wants to balance golf with family time.

After her last performance at the Cambia Portland Classic in September 2021, the golfer’s priorities have significantly changed. She loves the little moments she shares with her family, like making breakfast for her son and late-night feedings with her daughter. After years of traveling alone for golf, she now values family time above all else. Although she may not be seen on the golf course as frequently, Woods actively documents her journey as a mother on Instagram.

She hopes to show her children one day what an amazing golfer she is, and she talked about it in an interview with Golfweek earlier this year. “I would love for my kids to eventually be able to see what mom can do, what mom used to do,” said the golfer. And her son, Cameron, loves the sport as much as his mother: “My son loves watching golf; it’s crazy. He’s really getting into playing and baseball as well.” So, fans may not get to see more of Cheyenne Woods, but they are excited to see this new chapter in the golfer’s life.

 

Chris ‘Mad Dog‘ Russo tuned in for the season’s most anticipated match on Monday, July 29. However, to much surprise, his experience was derailed by Serena Williams‘ coach, Rennae Stubbs, as he found himself chagrined by her coverage. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal locked horns for a record 60th career meet at Court Philippe Chatrier at the 2024 Paris Olympics in a ‘probable last dance.‘ However, the commentary was not up to par for one viewer.

While spectating the legendary tennis duo’s much-awaited spectacle, Russo was not impressed by Stubbs’ commentary. So much so that Mad Dog blasted the Australian coach for an entire segment of his podcast. The sports analyst went on a lengthy rant to address her “atrocious performance.”

The American notably stated that the 53-year-old “never shut up“ throughout the match, ruining the showdown for him. “I watched the match this morning on Peacock and despite the fact that Rennae Stubbs did everything in her power to absolutely ruin it and never shut up and was, poor Mary Carillo, did an awful job.”

Later, he reiterated his stance by claiming that the former Australian tennis player shouldn’t have commentated after every single point owing to fans’ acquittance with Nadal and Djokovic’s rivalry. “I know what’s going on with the crowd liking Nadal. I understand. I’m a tennis fan. I’m into it. I don’t need her every single point.”

However, Stubbs later caught wind of Mad Dog’s comments, and she did not take kindly to his remarks. The analyst criticized Russo for his “misogynist“ words. After acknowledging his opinion, the NBC commentator reposted a user’s comment on X that claimed the former’s rant as “toxic, misogynist nonsense.“ Later, she also took to her social media handle to address the situation first-hand, notably outlining the American’s remarks as ‘sexist‘. However, that wasn’t the end of it.

Chris Russo hits back at Serena Williams’ ex-coach

Russo was still on air when he discovered the tennis analyst’s response and took his comments up a notch. Mad Dog claimed that his opinion was not sexist because his criticism was solely focused on Stubbs and not her broadcast partner, Mary Carillo. “Now I’m annoyed. How in the world can you call me a sexist if I say great things about Carillo and bad things about her?

He later retorted by rhetorically questioning how a sports talk personality like him can not be privy to make remarks on other broadcasters. “To sit there and say I can’t comment about a broadcaster when I’ve done that for 47 years? Come on.

The Serb concluded the former World No. 1’s challenge in straight sets. As for Stubbs, regardless of Mad Dog’s opinion, will stay as the official commentator for upcoming clashes at the quadrennial event in Paris. Will she find favor in the Mad Dog anytime soon?

One medal. That’s all it took to wrap up Simone Biles’ epic redemption tour, which kicked off last year on Saturday, August 5th, 2023. The Tokyo Olympics 2021 “Twsities” traumas? History. She’s done it! Biles took the floor for the last event of the Paris Olympics Team Finals at Bercy Arena with her Floor Routine, and boy, did she deliver!

Kicking things off with a triple-double, she took a big step back out of bounds (OOB). But she nailed the second pass and took a long pause before her switch to the tour jeté full series. Another step forward OOB. Switch full. Double layout—solid! Despite a few slip-ups and out-of-bounds, her difficulty score was sky-high, snagging the Gold back to the USA with a killer performance. Finished strong. 14.666. As she completed her last kiss in her routine, she knew it, and we all knew it. But wait, there’s more!

Simone Biles made history. Yes, again! She’s now the most decorated Olympic gymnast ever. Previously tied with the legendary Shannon Miller at seven Olympic medals (2 Gold, 2 Silver, and 3 Bronze), Biles has just added her 8th Olympic medal to her collection. Now, she stands tall with 5 Gold, 1 Silver, and 2 Bronze. Talk about legendary! And that’s not all!

The Paris Olympics could make her tie for the most decorated gold medalist in gymnastics history! Currently, Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union holds the record with 9 golds, 5 silvers, and 4 bronze medals from the 1956, 1960, and 1964 Olympics. But Simone Biles has four events left at the Paris Olympics—the all-around, vault, beam, and floor finals. This could skyrocket her chances to level up to Latynina’s Olympic gold count! As we soak in this epic moment, let’s take a look back at how Simone Biles has snagged Olympic medals over the years and how her dazzling routines at the Paris Olympics lifted Team USA’s score to new heights!

Simone Biles’ stellar performance that drove Team USA to gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics

Simone Biles has racked up seven Olympic medals, with four golds from Rio 2016, a bronze from Tokyo 2020, and now another gold from Paris 2024. Her performance in the team finals at the Paris Olympics was nothing short of spectacular! In the first rotation, Simone nailed the vault with a Cheng, sticking a large hop back to score 14.900. Next, she took on the uneven bars with some major improvements. She executed a Weiler half to Maloney, though there was a bit of leg separation, and followed with a blind full to a piked Tkachev to Pak. Her Van Leeuwen had minor leg form issues, and her toe full was slightly late before finishing with a double double and a tiny bounce, landing a solid 14.400.

On the balance beam, Simone was on fire, proving she’s a strong contender for gold in both the all-round and beam finals. She nailed her mount and leap series, followed by a back pike and a clean front aerial to split jump to straddle jump. Her bhs loso loso was rock solid, and she finished with a full-in dismount, sticking the landing with just a hop back, earning 14.366. Simone wrapped up the Paris team finals with a flourish in her floor routine, set to Taylor Swift’s “…Ready For It?”.

She kicked off with her signature Triple Double, the “Biles II,” though it came with a big step back out of bounds, but capped off with a great finish and a score of 14.666. Reflecting on her dominance across each apparatus.

A meager 1.5 kg separated Mercedes from reveling in a flawless Belgian GP weekend. George Russell’s bold strategy call for a 1-stop race saw him cross the chequered flag to take the crown of Spa with teammate Lewis Hamilton reluctantly accepting P2. But his victory was as temporary as an F1 car’s pit lane presence during a pit stop. During the post-race FIA checks, the 26-year-old’s W15 was 1.5 kg below the minimum car weight of 798 kg. The stewards disqualified him and Hamilton inherited the win, which was initially his to take if not for Russell’s 1-stop. After this announcement, the 7-time champion’s heartfelt statement for his ‘heartbroken’ teammate drew close confidante Serena Williams’ attention.

Icons of their sports, Williams and Hamilton, have been close friends forever. In 2023, the Mercedes driver revealed how “lonely” it can be at the “top of your sport”. But conversing with 23-time Grand Slam winner Williams was where he found solace. The former American Olympian, who is making headlines for gracing the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony, cheered for her friend’s success remotely.

After Russell’s disqualification, Hamilton penned a sweet post for him and Mercedes on Instagram. “Mixed feelings for today’s result. Obviously happy to get the win but I feel for George and it’s disappointing for the team not to get the 1-2.” Humbly accepting his victory, he also appreciated the team’s efforts to propel themselves to the top spot. A lot of positives to take from today, though. At the start of the weekend, we didn’t expect to be at the front or the pace we had, so it’s great to see just how much progress has been made and that we are in the fight. We take all these positives with us into the break and will come back a stronger team ready to keep the momentum going.”

Taking to the comments section, Serena Williams quite succinctly lauded his success. Encapsulating her emotions in an emoji-only message, she wrote: “”. This isn’t how Hamilton would’ve envisioned himself winning the Belgian for the 5th time, but loving messages from his friends and fans made up for it. Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff’s reaction was also quite heartening.

Toto Wolff labels Lewis Hamilton the “deserving winner” at Spa

George Russell cannot catch a break. The future Mercedes lead driver took two pole positions in 2024, only to lose it both times. He emerged victorious in Austria, but that too didn’t feel deserved enough because he inherited P1 when the Top 2 collided. Finally, when all these events culminated in a masterclass at the Belgian GP, Mercedes’ “mistake in their calculations”, as Red Bull boss Christian Horner described it, cost him.

Even though Russell got disqualified despite taking a deserved victory, Lewis Hamilton fans felt otherwise. Because the 7-time champion lost the race lead after Mercedes agreed to Russell’s 1-stop suggestion, the LH army believes their hero was robbed. Eventually, their wishes were granted. Though Toto Wolff apologized to his younger driver, he emphasized how his Ferrari-bound champ deserved P1.

“We will go away, evaluate what happened, and understand what went wrong. To lose a 1-2 is frustrating and we can only apologize to George, who drove such a strong race,” the Austrian said at Spa. “Lewis is, of course, promoted to P1. He was the fastest guy on the two-stop and is a deserving winner. Despite the disqualification, there are many positives we can take from this weekend.”

The Silver Arrows have won three of the last four races. When F1 returns to the Netherlands after the summer break, Mercedes will look to double down on this momentum. However, toppling the reigning champion, Max Verstappen, on his home turf would be a mammoth task. If nothing, at least, this controversy will be behind them. However, changing how Hamilton fans view Mercedes might be right back on their PR agenda.

Tiger Woods’s Net Worth 2024

Tiger Woods has a net worth of $1.1 billion, as per Forbes. Not only does this make him the first billionaire golfer in history, but it also makes him one of the very few billionaire athletes in the world. Woods undoubtedly owes his high value to his being a savvy businessman and his valuable endorsements.

Woods owes a lot of his wealth to his partnerships and sponsors. One of his most famous and valuable endorsement deals was with Nike, which came to an end after a 27-year partnership that began in 1996. Additionally, the golf pro is sponsored by big names like Bridgestone, Monster Energy, Rolex, and TaylorMade. The golf pro made $60 million in endorsements alone in 2023.

Woods has a sizable portion of his investments put into real estate. One of the most expensive of those investments is his house on Jupiter Island in Florida. In 2006, he spent a whopping $40 million on the property. But that wasn’t the end of it at all! He further went on to construct his $54 million mansion on the property.

Woods also bought both his parents’ houses. In 2007, he spent $2.4 million to buy two plots of land in Jupiter, Florida, for his mother. As per public records, in 2010, a $1.31 million home in Windermere, Florida, was listed under Tiger and Earl’s names.

Tiger Woods’s Early Life

Woods was born on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California. Named Eldrick Tont Woods at birth, he now goes by his widely popular nickname, “Tiger,” which was given to him by his father, Earl Woods, in honor of one of his close army buddies.

From a very young age, Woods began taking a liking to the sport. He became interested in golf at the age of six months after watching his father hit golf balls into a net and imitate his swing. His skills with a club were amazing, and at a very young age, he began being called a golf prodigy.

By the time Woods had reached the age of 2, he had become quite fluid with the game and even showcased his talent by putting alongside the American comedian, Bob Hope, on the Mike Douglas Show. One year later, while regular kids were playing with blocks, Woods shot a low score of 48 across nine holes. At the age of four, Woods flaunted his skills out of a bunker in a short game against a 16-year-old and beat him by four strokes. He was featured in Golf Digest as a 5-year-old, where his abilities were lauded.

Tiger’s father, Earl, was his inspiration to play the sport and was also the one who taught him how to play the game. His first official coach, on the other hand, was Rudy Duran, who began training him at the age of four and continued to do so for six years.

In 1994, Tiger Woods attended Stanford University for two years and pursued a degree in economics. He turned pro in 1996, taking his first steps toward becoming the golf legend that he’s now known as.

Tiger Woods’s Family and His Kids

Tiger is the son of Earl Woods and Kultida Woods. Although he was born an American citizen, Woods’s heritage is part African-American, owing to his father, and part Thai, owing to the fact that his mother is from Thailand. The couple were married for 37 years until Earl sadly passed away at the age of 74 in 2006.

Woods is the only child of Earl and Kultida. But his father had three other children before he was born. Earl Jr. was Woods’ eldest half-sibling and was born in 1955. He is 20 years older than Tiger. Woods has another elder half-brother, Kevin Dale Woods, who is 18 years older than he is and was born in 1957. His third half-sibling is his half-sister, Royce Renee Woods, who was born in 1961.

Woods himself has two children, both with his now ex-wife, Elin Nordegren. His firstborn is their daughter, Sam Alexis Woods, who was born on June 18, 2007. Charlie Axel Woods, her brother and Woods and Elin’s second child, was born on February 8, 2009.

Tiger Woods’s Dating History

In 2001, Woods first met his then-wife-to-be, Elin Nordegren, a former model. The couple dated for a while before getting engaged in November 2003. Less than a year later, in October 2004, the couple tied the knot and were married in Barbados in an intricate ceremony. A little over five years later, they went through a very public and scandalous divorce.

Woods met Rachael Uchitel in 2008. A year later, the two began seeing each other. Allegedly, Uchitel and Woods were seeing each other before his split with his wife, Elin.

Following his messy marriage, Woods started afresh with the American Alpine Olympic skier, Lindsey Vonn. The two made an attractive athlete-power couple. They met in 2012 and began dating soon after. In May 2015, the pair split up due to their hectic athletic lifestyles.

Woods also dated Erica Herman, the former general manager of his restaurant, the Woods Jupiter. The two first made their relationship public in 2017 when she wore a player’s spouse credential at the President’s Cup. The pair broke up in 2023. Following their breakup, Herman also filed a lawsuit against Woods to revoke the non-disclosure agreement she signed when the couple initially started dating. Herman cited the Speak Out Act in her lawsuit, which permits the nullification of NDAs in cases of sexual assault or harassment. However, she later dropped the lawsuit.

Tiger Woods’s Awards and Achievements

Woods has one of the most incredible careers in golf’s history. Having turned pro in August 1996, he straight away began playing on the PGA Tour. Two months into his professional debut, he won his first Tour event, the Las Vegas Invitational, in October. Since then, the golf pro has gone on to win 82 times, the most any player has ever won. He shares this record with Sam Snead.

Less than a year after turning pro, Tiger Woods won his first major championship at Augusta in April 1997 at the Masters. He has gone on to win a total of 15 major championships, second only to Jack Nicklaus, who has won 18 throughout his career, a record Woods is certainly gunning for. Woods won his 15th major at the Masters in 2019.

Woods is quite certainly one of the most accomplished golfers of all time. In terms of numbers, the golf pro has to date gotten his hands on 5 Masters titles, 3 US Open titles, 4 PGA Championship titles, and 3 Open Championships.

The PGA Tour star also holds the record for the most amount of time spent as World No. 1 at 683 weeks (just over 13 years). Through strong resolve, tons of training, and rigorous hard work, the golf pro had earned the legend tag for himself.

Tiger Woods Documentary

All the avid Woods fans eager to find out more about the golfer will be pleased to know that the golf legend has a documentary. Tiger, an HBO sports-biography documentary, aired in 2021. It focuses on his steady rise and abrupt drop, and then his comeback to the sport.

The documentary also explores Woods’ relationship with his father and the effect his divorce had on his career. Fans can watch the biography, which is split into two episodes, on HBO Max.

Tiger Woods’s Car Accidents

Woods has suffered a dark fate when it comes to accidents. He has been involved in three separate car accidents, each life-threatening. The first came in 2009, when the golf pro lost control of his SUV and crashed it into a fire hydrant, soon after pulling out of the driveway of his Florida mansion. He was knocked out and lost consciousness for nearly 6 minutes. His injuries from the accident had been described as “serious.”

Eight years later, in 2017, the golf legend was arrested in Florida for DUI. The police had found him passed out behind the wheel of his Mercedes-Benz. There seemed to have been a minor accident before the cops found him.

In February 2021, Woods was yet again involved in a car accident. Due to a speed crash, his car had flown off the road. He was the only party involved in the accident. The golf pro suffered multiple injuries to his right leg and ankle and sustained injuries to his back. He went through multiple surgeries for his leg injuries and has not yet fully recovered from them. Yet the PGA Tour star found the resolve to compete in major championships in 2022.

Woods’s health struggles continued as he withdrew from the Masters in April 2023 due to a re-aggravation of his plantar fasciitis. After nearly an eight-month-long hiatus, the 82-time PGA Tour winner made a comeback at the Hero World Challenge in December 2023.

The Tiger Woods Foundation, Charity Work, and Philanthropy

Tiger and his father, Earl, started the TGR Foundation back in 1996. It was first set out with the goal of helping children play the sport. But 27 years later, the foundation now aims to educate children on all fronts. They offer college and career programs to students and have, to date, helped turn around more than 2 million students’ lives. They further have one of the highest graduation rates among scholarship programs in the country, at 98%.

The Woods Foundation additionally hosts charity events and sponsors golf events on the PGA Tour to raise money for various charitable ventures. The most popular tournaments among them are the Genesis Invitational and the Hero World Challenge.

 

Name Eldrick Tont Woods, a.k.a., Tiger Woods
Born 12/30/1975
Place of Birth Cypress, California
Nationality American
Education Stanford University
Parents Earl Woods

Kultida Woods

Kids Sam Alexis Woods

Charlie Axel Woods

Marital Status Divorced
Height 6’1
Weight 185 lbs
Caddy Rob McNamara
Achievements 15 Major Championship Wins

82 PGA Tour Wins

683 weeks as World Rank 1

 

Cheers erupted from a packed Bercy Arena as Simone Biles made a triumphant return to the Paris mats, scoring an impressive 59.566 in the qualifications. The crowd’s excitement was palpable, with her entire family, including her look-alike sister Adria Biles, in attendance. The City of Love had drawn not just her loved ones but also a constellation of elite stars like Snoop Dogg, Nina Dobrev, and Ariana Grande, all eager to witness Simone’s spectacular performance.

However, the joyous atmosphere was tainted by an undercurrent of negativity. Adria Biles, caught in the crossfire of online trolls, found her excitement dimmed by unwarranted criticism. Frustration boiling over, she took a stand, declaring, “I’m so tired of being nice and ignoring this stuff…” Her words echoed a sentiment of resilience, turning a moment of adversity into a powerful statement against bullying. This emotional twist added a layer of human drama to the already thrilling spectacle of the Paris Games.

Simone Biles’ sisters shuns a social media troll

Taking to her Instagram, Adria added a story, giving a fitting reply to a troll, who was trying to advise her not to shout during Simone’s performances. They said it was overwhelming for everyone present and ‘not supportive’ to Simone herself. Shockingly, the commenter had sneaked into her profile and added this unwanted message underneath one of Adria’s images. And the culmination of all this led Adria to fly off the handle. Enraged, she questioned in her story, “Please tell me how screaming for my sister goes hand-in-hand with ‘not being supportive’?”

Adria further added that this was the first time she was exposing the name and profile of her troll. While she usually gives people ‘the luxury’ by covering it up! “But people are just so ugly,” that she had to take this stern step.  Evidently upset, she adds how such comments hurt her feelings, and nearly astonish her. “The fact that you went out of your way to type in my profile, find not even the most recent photo, fix your fingers to type this out and hit send bc it bothered you SO bad is beyond me,” she replied.

And then, she penned a fiery warning. “I have nothing to lose and I do not care to hurt your feelings,” she advised people to imprint this in their minds before they crawl back with such comments. Plus, she reminded them every time such a comment is added, it does not go unnoticed. But she was not done yet. “get TF off my page then and go about your day without pissing me bc I have time today,” she continued to lash back at the hater. Thus, the air of tension continued online, a part of which was momentarily seen during Simone Biles’ performance too.

Simone advances past a possible injury in the presence of her family

A star-studded lineup showed up to witness Team USA’s spectacle in Bercy Arena. This includes her niece Ronni Biles, her mother Nellie, her sister Adria, and many notable celebrities. Baby Biles even put on an exclusive outfit, a matching leotard to cheer for Simone’s victory. Why not? Indeed, this is meant to be Biles’ Olympic comeback after her Tokyo stint had abruptly ended. But, on July 27, it looked like all this was in jeopardy for some time. What had happened? Well, it looked like Biles was the newest victim of the injury-plagued Team USA women’s gymnastics side.

During the warmup session of Day 2, Biles apparently slipped during her routine. After that, she exited the floor, accompanied by Dr.Marcia Faustin, the team doctor. During the qualification round, she stunned the world on the balance beam. However, immediately after, she taped her right ankle. Also, the camera audio recorded her speaking of a possible tweak in her calf. Nonetheless, she continued to pull off the Yurchenko Double Pike and a stellar uneven bars routine. And eventually landed on top of the all-around podium.

However, her mother recently assured, “She’s doing much better today. Spoke to her this morning, same thing, just trying to hydrate, get some food, and ready to go.” Do you think Simone Biles can lead to team to a golden end at the 2024 Paris Olympics?

Golf icon Colin Montgomerie relayed in an interview with The Times it may be time for the golf legend, Tiger Woods, to retire from the greens as his form declined. After his statements, Woods slapped back by stating he was a past champion and he got to choose about his retirement and Montgomerie didn’t have a say in it.

Weeks later, the 2-time US Open winner, Bryson DeChambeau shared his opinions on the 15-time major winner and his retirement and joined the bandwagon. At the LIV Golf United Kingdom’s pre-event press conference, the Crushers GC captain was asked about his thoughts on Woods. The 30-year-old strongly disagreed with Woods retiring at 48.

Bryson DeChambeau talks about his thoughts on Woods’s retirement

Bryson DeChambeau and Tiger Woods’s relationship had been torn after the 2-time US Open winner moved to LIV Golf. However, the two are back on talking terms and DeChambeau has once again supported his idol. Talking about how essential Woods has been in golf, he claimed, “He’s probably the most influential figure in the game of golf,”. DeChambeau believed Woods deserved to play in the majors, unlike Montgomerie.

DeChambeau also praised the 82-time PGA Tour winner for all he has accomplished and continues to do for growing the game of golf. Bryson added, “He continues to give back by playing in these tournaments and trying to win. He wants to win. He’s a competitor,” which by the 30-year-old statement was an admirable quality.

Although Woods barely prevailed since winning the 2019 Masters and has missed cuts in the last three major championships, DeChambeau expressed the 15x major winner could still win events, although it might be “a tough road” to beat the young talent. But still, appreciating his skills, DeChambeau relayed, “He’s got that grit and fire in him that he’s not going to stop until he gets it done. I wouldn’t put it [victory] past him.” 

Notably, DeChambeau is not alone in saying that Woods can still play at the highest level, continuing his excellence on the greens. Reigning Open Championship winner, Xander Schauffele had identical thoughts about Woods’s retirement.

Xander Schauffele still believes in ‘El Tiger’

Xander Schaueffele has always been a tremendous supporter of the 15-time major winner and despite his declining legacy, he still maintained that Woods has been the needle mover in golf. His appreciation for the pro stands high. During the pre-tournament presser, he said, “He’s still El Tigre to me.” 

Moreover, the 2-time major winner asserted that the game of golf needed him declining viewership for the events and people’s exhaustion with the division in golf.

Schauffele emphasized how Woods should play events and said, “Selfishly, I want him to play as long as possible. It just helps all of the guys out here, just with the amount of eyeballs that someone like Tiger Woods brings to golf.” Similar to DeChambeau, the 9-time PGA Tour winner also reckoned that Woods gives a lot to golf and has “a lot of bite and fight” indicating that he could still win.

With young pros supporting the 15-time major winner and saying that he still has the prowess to win the majors, the day Woods wins his next Major would be stunning to watch!

I am getting old and I have more to lose,” Simone Biles had said to Lemonde back in February. At 27, Simone is the oldest female US gymnast in the last seven decades. She herself is not sure if she will be back four years later to compete in the Los Angeles Olympics. So she must be looking forward to grabbing it all this time in Paris. But is the thought of losing out on some accolades stronger than the well-being of herself? Probably not.

In a July 22 X post, Washington Post reporter Emily Giambalvo shared part of her conversation with Chellsie Memmel, the technical lead of the US high-performance staff. It indicates that Simone Biles might only appear in some events in the all-around title if she finds something inappropriate. According to Chellsie, the decision is up to Biles but the option is available to “put her mind at ease.” Understandably, the revelation raises the question, if Simone doesn’t show up, then what will be at stake?

Keeping the age factor in mind, if Simone can win the all-around title this time, that will be a befitting finish to her unfulfilled dreams from the Tokyo Olympics. Her present form has already displayed that she can bag almost 60 scores by combining the four apparatuses in a single day—away from anyone’s reach.

In the Olympic trials that concluded on June 30, Simone’s overall score touched the ceiling with a whopping 117.225, whereas on day 1, she earned 58.900. So, in the Paris Olympics, she has a major chance to accomplish the highest all-around score ever. By bowing out, that probability would fizzle out. Not only the title, but Simone might also lose out on grounds that have pained her significantly in the past.

Prioritizing her mental health in Tokyo brought Simone under the scanner of the Kangaroo Court. That brutally tagged her “Simone Biles: the quitter.” Those trolls are still out there and they have already started showing their antics.

Comments like, “Please don’t quit on your team again this Olympics,” have already started flying. Going all-out for the team will bring her comeback from last year to a full circle. Her bowing out in Paris will let the haters bring out their claws again. Then why is Simone keeping her options open?

The answer is simple. She is picking her battles wisely. “They’ll still just say, ‘Oh my gosh, are you going to quit again?’ And if I did, what are you going to do about it? Tweet me some more? I’ve already dealt with it for three years,” Simone was quoted by the New York Times a few days back. Sounds defiant? She had to be. After Tokyo, the battle was not just to be back on the mats. But to find her love for gymnastics once again. And that has been a slow and lengthy process with enormous support from her coaches Cecile and Laurent Landi.

Evidently, Simone does not want to lose that composure in the face of crushing competitive pressure. In the team final three gymnasts perform on each apparatus. Simone is expected to earn a spot in all the routines. That means Simone would compete in all four routines in the qualifying round, the team final, and the all-around final within just five days.

longside, she would probably also perform each routine once again in the individual finals. To safeguard Simone from this, Cecile reached out to Memmel to find out, “If she doesn’t feel like it’s going to be in her best interest to do all four events that day, is that an option for her?”

Memmel nodded to that for the best interest of Simone. But what implications will it have on the team? To tell the truth, the US side is already looking strong this year. four out of the five members are repeaters from the Tokyo Olympics. Youngster Hezly Rivera has also proven her mettle against seasoned Olympians in the trial.

This comes on top of the added advantage of Russia’s absence. So even with Simone not competing in all the events, the USA’s chances look bright. In the 2023 world championships, the USA won the all-around title with a margin of two points despite the last-minute shuffle because of Joscelyn Roberson’s injury.

Taking into consideration all these, Landi and Memmel both are not in favor of overburdening Simone with the expectation of the entire nation. This feels like a paradigm shift in the gymnastic scenario, looking at the pages of history, since Simone’s predecessors did not always have the cushion to opt out. Let us go back to the year 1996.

Simone Biles leading the makeover of the gymnastic scenario

18-year-old Kerri Strug was preparing to perform the vault of her lifetime in the Atlanta Olympics. Target? Destroying the Russian domination. Kerri’s already injured ankle seemed too little an excuse to step aside from this duty. And words of encouragement was also there. “You can do it,” coach Bella Karolyi had said to her. But that was not without the next sentence with might not sound much encouraging. “You better do it,” uttered Karolyi. So Strug did it. Or, better be said she had to do it. But at what cost?

Well, the team did not suffer. Strug stuck the landing propelling herself and the team to history. But her embattled left ankle bore the brunt with two torn ligaments. Unable to walk, she had to be carried to the medal ceremony by her coach, a moment that would later become an iconic one. But few people had raised the question if such pain to a mere teenager was really needed. However, their voices were crushed by the wave of patriotism.

“Well, that particular moment, there was not consideration about how serious the injury is. As long as she was standing on her feet,” Karolyi had said on Today after the so-called triumph. Only recently, this has been questioned by Strug’s teammate Dominique Dawes in the Netflix docuseries “Simone Biles Rising”. And that very question of worthiness of taking such a toll on oneself is what made Simone Biles step aside 25 years later in Tokyo.

Simone was supposed to perform an Amanar vault that requires 2 1/2 rotations in the team competition. One month back, she had flawlessly landed that in the trials, scoring 15.466. But on that fateful day, she could only manage 1 1/2 twists and the world instantly knew that something was wrong. Simone knew it beforehand. She had been sensing the disorientation in practice. Once again it was a choice between national duties and personal well-being. This time the table turned.

Simone chose the latter. She recognized the danger of competing with twisties that meant in midair, she did not have any idea where she was going. “It’s not worth getting hurt over something so silly, even though it’s so big,” she said after withdrawing from team competition and eventually the individual all-around. “It’s the Olympic Games. But at the end of the day, it’s like, we want to walk out of here, not be dragged out of here on a stretcher. So I’ve got to do what’s best for me,” Simone had told later. Wait before you think anything about her.

This is the same Simone who competed in all four events in the 2023 worlds despite having the option to back out. The change here is, that she is the one to decide. No one else is driving her decisions, compete or not. That is what is making the sport better for Simone and many like her. As Memmel pointed out, “Seeing her now, I think she’s in a really good place. She’s more excited about gymnastics. She’s enjoying it, and I think this is a redemption for her. And I think she’s going to go out and do an amazing job and we’re going to support her.”

We are keeping our fingers crossed!