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Tag: medalist

NFL star Tyreek Hill and Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles agree to race

A challenge between NFL star Tyreek Hill and Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles has materialized into a real race.

The two superstars announced this week that their months-long back-and-forth, which began after the 2024 Paris Olympics, will finally be put to the test when the two square off in a race to determine who really is the fastest.

American track star Noah Lyles celebrates winning a gold medal after winning the men’s 100-meter final at the 2024 Paris Olympics. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

“This has been an ongoing thing for quite some time now, and, I mean, everybody’s seen the back-and-forth on social media,” Hill told People, which first reported the news Thursday.

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“I’ve been very adamant to show people what real, true speed looks like.”

“Everybody says that they’re gonna be the world’s fastest, but when it comes down to it, you gotta be the winner every time, each and every time. And every time I show up to the biggest moments, I win.” Lyles told the outlet.

“That’s why I’m the world’s fastest,” he continued. “I did at the Olympics. I do it at world championships. I do it wherever it’s needed to be done. And if I gotta go down and, you know, beat up on Tyreek to prove that I’m the world’s fastest, then it’s gonna be done.”

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill reacts after a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Hard Rock Stadium in Florida Sept. 8, 2024. (Sam Navarro/Imagn Images)

OLYMPICS STAR NOAH LYLES TAUNTS NFL WIDE RECEIVER TYREEK HILL AFTER WINNING SPRINT

The debate between the two athletes began in August when the Olympic sprinter won 100-meter gold. But he refused to wager his medal in a race against Hill after the Miami Dolphins receiver said he could easily beat him in a race.

The social media war shifted when Lyles taunted Hill after winning the 60-meter race at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix earlier this month.

After crossing the finish line, he turned his bib around to the camera to reveal a message, “Tyreek could never.”

Noah Lyles of the United States holds a sign that says “Tyreek could never” after winning the men’s 60 meters at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix Feb. 2, 2025, in Boston. (Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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In their joint interview with People, the two athletes expressed mutual respect but didn’t hold back on the trash talk.

The date of the race and the length of it has yet to be determined.

Hill said Lyles is “scared” to face him in a 40-meter dash, but Lyles said a 100-meter race would be a “blowout” victory for him. The two will likely agree to some distance in the middle.

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February 15, 2025
US Olympic gold medalist Ryan Crouser grades his acting skills in upcoming Super Bowl commercial

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Shot putter Ryan Crouser parlayed his record-setting third gold medal into an acting gig.

The USA Olympian became the first person to win three golds in the shot put this past summer in Paris, and now he is set to appear in a Super Bowl commercial next Sunday.

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“For me as a track and field athlete, [I] never would’ve even thought that a Super Bowl commercial could be a possibility. It’s been great,” Crouser said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.

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Gold medalist Ryan Crouser of Team USA looks on during the men’s shot put medal ceremony on day 9 of the Olympic Games Paris at Stade de France on August 4, 2024. (Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

“I mean, I don’t know how much of an acting career I would call it, because I’m kind of playing myself. But no, it was a really fun shoot, a lot of fun out flying out to L.A. Really just a dream come true, and I’m really excited about it.”

The Michelob Ultra commercial features Crouser, Randy Moss and Sabrina Ionescu playing pickleball. What makes the commercial great, though, is that Crouser wasn’t exactly doing a whole lot of acting while on the court.

“For me, being competitive, it made it pretty easy. The reason I’m good as a professional shot-putter is because I hate losing and [am] competitive by nature,” he said. “They had me lined up against a professional pickleball coach, player, and he was just bringing the heat on these serves. And I was trying to return them. It was a little bit of acting, but it was also pretty genuine.

Ryan Crouser of Team USA reacts during the men’s shot put final on day 8 of the Olympic Games Paris at Stade de France on August 3, 2024. (Michael Steele/Getty Images)

OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST SAYS DC PLANE CRASH HITS HOME AS AN ATHLETE: ‘THAT COULD HAVE BEEN ME’

“And I got a $60,000 camera in front of me, so they’re like, “Try to return it, but don’t hit the camera.”

Crouser has partnered with Michelob Ultra for some time now, which he calls a “genuine partnership.”

“They’ve been great. They do a lot to support Team USA, track and field. They’ve been so supportive of me through the Olympics. I don’t drink too much, especially in season, but when I’m out of season, it’s a beer that I tend to drink. What I’m doing 24 hours a day, I have to be accountable as a professional athlete. So a high-quality light beer is something that if I do drink, I can bounce back from the next day and have a quality training day. It’s a true genuine partnership, which always makes it so much easier,” Crouser said.

As for his camera skills, Crouser gave himself a pat on the back.

Ryan Crouser of Team USA competes in the men’s shot put final on day 8 of the Olympic Games Paris at Stade de France on August 3, 2024. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

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“I think I did pretty well,” he quipped.

“I’ve played pickleball. It’s a fun weekend activity. As a professional athlete, you have to find that balance between low risk but still fun activities. Nobody wants to be injured, like, skiing as a professional athlete, so pickleball’s a good happy medium. I can see why it’s so popular.”

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February 3, 2025
Olympic medalist Scott Hamilton recalls final meeting with champion Russian skaters days before plane crash

Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton held back tears on Friday as he remembered the victims from the figure skating community who died after an American Airlines flight traveling from development camp in Kansas to Washington, D.C., collided with an Army helicopter in midair late Wednesday night.

The four-time men’s singles world champion spoke fondly of the victims during an appearance on TODAY but called the reality of this week’s tragedy “overwhelming.”

Figure Skater Scott Hamilton of the United States competing in the figure skating competition in the XIV Olympic Winter Games circa 1984 in Sarajevo, Bosnia. ( Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

“For this to happen just days after those championships were over is just devastating, shocking – it just doesn’t make any sense. . . .We’re no stranger to tragedy but this was just beyond devastation.”

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Officials have said that 14 skaters, coaches and family members were aboard American Airlines Flight 5342 when it collided with a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport, near D.C., at around 9 p.m. local time.

Many of the victims have been identified, including Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, the renowned ice skating coaches who won a world championship title together in 1994.

World champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov of Russia execute a throw during the pairs short competition at the World Figure Skating competition in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on March 19, 1996. (Dave Buston/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

YOUNG FIGURE SKATING SISTERS FROM VIRGINIA AMONG VICTIMS KILLED IN DC PLANE CRASH

Hamilton became emotional when he spoke of the couple, who settled in America to become coaches following their successful career, which culminated in two Olympic appearances. He saw them just days before the crash while attending the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Kansas.

“I actually sat with them for a nice visit in Wichita,” Hamilton recalled Friday.”

“To think that they’re gone is, um, I can’t wrap my head around the last 36 hours. It’s just been devastating, and the loss is just beyond description. My heart is shattered.”

Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov of Russia perform during free skating in the pairs event of the NHK Trophy International Figure Skating Competition at Nagoya, Japan, on Dec. 9, 1995. AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File

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Shishkova and Naumov married in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in 1995, and they moved to Connecticut. They had a son, Maxim, who competed in men’s singles in the U.S. He was in Kansas but did not travel back with his parents. The Russian pair were coaches for the Skating Club of Boston.

Sixty passengers and four crew members on the American Airlines plane and three soldiers aboard a training flight on the helicopter are presumed dead.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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January 31, 2025
Olympic gold medalist says DC plane crash hits home as an athlete: ‘That could have been me’

The plane crash near Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night struck the sports world when it was revealed that members of the figure skating community were among those on the American Airlines flight.

Six members of the Skating Club of Boston were aboard Flight 5342, and U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement that “several members of our skating community” were on the plane.

The commercial jet collided with an Army helicopter, resulting in the presumed deaths of all 67 people on board the two aircraft combined.

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Rescuers set out after a passenger jet collided with an Army helicopter at Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday. (AP) (Associated Press)

After hearing that the flight carried athletes, potentially those with Olympic dreams, gold medal shot putter Ryan Crouser said the news hit closer to home.

“It’s really difficult to kind of process. As an athlete you spend a lot of time traveling and getting on planes,” Crouser said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. “It’s a really difficult time, I think, right now just as a country, and as an athlete as well, just thinking about, ‘Shoot, that could have been me.’”

Ryan Crouser of Team USA competes during the men’s shot put final on day 8 of the Olympic Games Paris at Stade de France on Aug. 3, 2024. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

SKATING BROADCASTERS TARA LIPINSKI, JOHNNY WEIR EMOTIONAL DISCUSSING ‘UNIMAGINABLE’ LOSS FROM PLANE CRASH

For the three-time gold medalist, it was another reminder to not take what he has for granted.

“My heart goes out to the families, and if nothing else, just to be thankful for every day. You have so many great opportunities ahead of you, but you don’t know when that can be taken away, and in a crazy accident like that, definitely a tough time, and my heart goes out to the families.”

First responders switched to recovery efforts on the Potomac River after it was believed that there were no survivors. There were 60 passengers and four crew members aboard the American Airlines flight and three soldiers aboard the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.

FBI agents stand near debris on Thursday after American Eagle Flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter while approaching Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed into the Potomac River the previous night. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

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Two former Olympians, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, were also believed to be among the victims of the crash, the Kremlin confirmed.

Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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January 31, 2025
Olympic gold medalist Klete Keller speaks out after Trump Jan. 6 pardon: ‘Something has been restored to me’

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Klete Keller was among the 1,500 defendants charged in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capital pardoned by President Donald Trump on Monday.

“It didn’t feel real,” Keller told The Washington Post in his first interview since being arrested.

Klete Keller from Phoenix shows off his bronze medal in the men’s 400-meter freestyle final at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre at the Olympics in September 2000. (IMAGN)

“And waking up this morning, I was like, ‘My gosh. Wow, this is over. I don’t have to check in with my probation officer anymore.”

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Keller was one of approximately 1,500 defendants pardoned after Trump signed an executive order granting clemency to those who stormed the Capitol. He pleaded guilty in September 2021 to a felony charge and was sentenced to six months house arrest and three years of probation.

“I really regret the actions I took that day. I love this country,” Keller said in the interview published Tuesday. “I’m just so grateful that I have the opportunity now to move forward.”

Keller acknowledged in court records that he tried to obstruct Congress’ certification of former President Biden’s Electoral College victory and that he brushed away officers who tried to remove him from the Capitol Rotunda. He also admitted to yelling profane comments about former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Klete Keller looks at the clock, confirming he won bronze with a time of 3:44.11 in the men’s 400-meter freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics. (IMAGN)

TRUMP PARDONS NEARLY ALL JAN. 6 DEFENDANTS ON INAUGURATION DAY

Keller, a three-time Olympic swimmer, also admitted to tossing his U.S. Olympic team jacket that he wore that day and destroying his phone.

He told The Washington Post that he struggled under “the weight of the justice system,” but he accepted the consequences of his decisions. While never expecting a pardon, Keller expressed his appreciation for Trump’s intervention.

“I’m still trying to comprehend it. I feel like something has been restored to me,” he told the outlet. “You know, I’m not angry. I’m not a victim. I feel blessed to have this opportunity of life again. I’ve learned a lot of lessons. And I’m going to take these lessons forward.”

Klete Keller at the Beijing 2008 Olympics. (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle, File)

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Keller, 42, competed in three Games, winning five medals. He won his second gold in the men’s 4×200 meter freestyle relay alongside Michael Phelps in the 2008 Beijing Games.

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January 23, 2025