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Thursday night, Simone Manuel made history when she became the first black woman in the Olympics to ever earn an individual swimming gold medal and the first African-American woman to win an individual medal. The groundbreaking win, which Manuel shared with Canada’s Penny Oleksiak after a tie, would be worth celebrating in the context of any sport. But the particularly racist history of American swimming pools — and resulting…

Michael Phelps has won more than twice as many gold medals as any other Olympian—and more than many entire nations. Since the modern Olympics began in 1896, 56 countries have taken home fewer gold medals in all than the 22 golds accrued by Phelps in his past four appearances at the Summer Olympics. And that doesn’t include the 47 countries that have participated without winning any gold medals. Phelps won…

In the notoriously unpredictable sport of trampoline–just one bad bounce can send a world-class athlete into last place–it’s much easier to fly into the top ranks of the sport than to stay there. Rosannagh, or Rosie, MacLennan of Canada proved it wasn’t impossible, however, when she became the first trampoline athlete to win two golds at an Olympics. Trampoline has a short history at the Olympics; it only made its debut…

For those who are unfamiliar with my thought process, I aim to add as many home run hitters as possible to my daily fantasy baseball lineups. One way of doing that is to look at a player’s isolated power numbers (ISO). The ISO statistic removes singles and provides a larger weight for each extra-base hit. I also use the weighted on-base average (wOBA) metric. This stat takes every positive outcome into consideration. Last year,…

There is no perfect athlete — no player who exuded nothing but virtue both on and off the field. You can’t find one in this day and age, and if you had a time machine, you wouldn’t be able to go back and find one either. Some imperfect players carry more baggage than others. Some players keep their faults under wraps; some have to wear them like scarlet letters. But…

DAZN will cost €9.99 (£8.60) per month and show 8,000 events a year Fans will be able to watch football from Europe’s top five leagues Tennis, darts, basketball and American Football will also be available   By James Andrew for MailOnline Published: 06:43 EST, 12 August 2016 | Updated: 12:16 EST, 12 August 2016 65 View comments The wayfootball fans watch the beautiful game is about to change for ever – in Germany…

The coverage of Muslim women athletes often emphasizes their traditional roles in an exotic culture, and makes their uniforms and veils into the topic of much fascination and tokenization. According to a 2014 Women’s Media Center report, almost 90 percent of sportswriters are white, straight, able-bodied men. Therein lies much of the problem. When stories on Muhammad emphasize that she is not an oppressed and subservient woman, it just reinforces…

They have a lifelong rivalry in the pool. But take these two Olympians out of the water, and you have a beautiful friendship. After four joint Olympics — not to mention a string of world championships — the athletes have built up a strong bromance. After Rio, Phelps will be returning home to marry his fiancée and enjoy some well-earned time with his new baby, Boomer. Lochte, meanwhile, has said…

A buzzing comes across the sky. This past weekend, on the northwest side of an island in the New York Harbor, roughly 1,000 people witnessed what some believe to be the first new sport of the 21st century. ESPN was there to broadcast the event to anyone with a computer, and well-known international brands like GoPro, AIG, and Ernst & Young were there to sponsor it. But what the brands,…

Media playback is not supported on this device Great Britain win gold in men’s four Great Britain’s rowers claimed a fifth consecutive Olympic title in the men’s four in Rio. Mohamed Sbihi, George Nash, Constantine Louloudis and London 2012 winner Alex Gregory finished in five minutes 58.61 seconds. Australia pushed their rivals hard but eventually came in 1.83 seconds behind to take silver, as Italy won bronze. Britain’s gold came…

A race is a battle to see who is fastest, but sometimes sports and race mix in ways that can inspire. USA TODAY Sports

Thursday night, Simone Manuel made history when she became the first black woman in the Olympics to ever earn an individual swimming gold medal and the first African-American woman to win an individual medal. The groundbreaking win, which Manuel shared with Canada’s Penny Oleksiak after a tie, would be worth celebrating in the context of any sport. But the particularly racist history of American swimming pools — and resulting…

Because of NBC’s policy against GIFs, we used GIFs from Biles’s and Mustafina’s recent competitions. I’ve linked video (NBC does not allow embedding) of the routines that are available online. American gymnast Simone Biles turned the Rio Olympics’ women’s individual all-around gymnastics competition into a coronation. “Simone is so good that the Olympics have become boring,” Dave Lease, the editor of TSL, a figure skating and gymnastics news website,…

Michael Phelps has won more than twice as many gold medals as any other Olympian—and more than many entire nations. Since the modern Olympics began in 1896, 56 countries have taken home fewer gold medals in all than the 22 golds accrued by Phelps in his past four appearances at the Summer Olympics. And that doesn’t include the 47 countries that have participated without winning any gold medals. Phelps won…

RIO DE JANEIRO — A female Chinese swimmer has tested positive for a banned substance at the Rio Olympics, China’s swimming association said Friday — the first competitor in the sport to fail a test at the games. The Chinese Swimming Association said Chen Xinyi tested positive for the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide after she finished fourth in the women’s 100-meter butterfly Sunday, missing a bronze medal by nine-hundredths of a second….

There is no perfect athlete — no player who exuded nothing but virtue both on and off the field. You can’t find one in this day and age, and if you had a time machine, you wouldn’t be able to go back and find one either. Some imperfect players carry more baggage than others. Some players keep their faults under wraps; some have to wear them like scarlet letters. But…

For those who are unfamiliar with my thought process, I aim to add as many home run hitters as possible to my daily fantasy baseball lineups. One way of doing that is to look at a player’s isolated power numbers (ISO). The ISO statistic removes singles and provides a larger weight for each extra-base hit. I also use the weighted on-base average (wOBA) metric. This stat takes every positive outcome into consideration. Last year,…

“Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball,” wrote Columbia University scholar Jacques Barzun in 1954. In the history of baseball, great attention has been justifiably been paid to the sport’s important role in battling racism. The moment when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier will always be one of baseball’s most memorable. Less noticed in our national  pastime‘s history has been its contribution…

Baseball writer Dan Schlossberg, left, with the former Atlanta Brave and Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz. (Courtesy of Dan Schlossberg) (JTA) – For many, summer is all about the three B’s: baseball, beaches and books. With the weather and pennant races sizzling, two journalists and the mayor of baseball’s mythical home village of Cooperstown, New York — all Jewish — have provided their takes about a sport that has…