U.S. Olympic Nordic combined team finalized

By OlympicTalkJan 19, 2022, 6:47 PM EST

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The five-man U.S. Olympic Nordic combined roster was completed Wednesday with the announcement that 2018 Olympian Jasper Good received the last spot.

Previously, three-time Olympian Taylor Fletcher, plus 2018 Olympian Ben Loomis and first-time Olympians Stephen Schumann and Jared Shumate qualified — Fletcher by winning the Olympic Trials and Loomis, Schumann and Shumate by their international results this season.

The fifth and final spot was a selection committee pick.

MORE: U.S. athletes qualified for 2022 Winter Olympics

All of the U.S. Olympic Nordic combined medals came at the 2010 Vancouver Games — Bill Demong‘s gold, Johnny Spillane‘s two silvers and a team silver.

Fletcher is the last member of the 2010 roster still competing (though he wasn’t selected to compete in the team event in Vancouver).

The best U.S. finish in Nordic combined in 2018 was 10th in the team event. The last time an American finished in the top 10 individually on the World Cup was nearly four years ago.

Nordic combined is the lone Olympic sport without female representation, though a women’s event could be added for the 2026 Olympics in Italy.

In recent years, Norway has challenged Germany for Nordic combined supremacy. The Norwegians won the team event at last year’s world championships. Norwegian Jarl Magnus Riiber has won seven of the 12 individual World Cups this season and the last three World Cup season titles.

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2023 French Open women’s singles draw, scores

By OlympicTalkJun 2, 2023, 5:56 PM EDT

At the French Open, Iga Swiatek of Poland eyes a third title at Roland Garros and a fourth Grand Slam singles crown overall.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Swiatek, the No. 1 seed from Poland, can join Serena Williams and Justine Henin as the lone women to win three or more French Opens since 2000.

Having turned 22 on Wednesday, she can become the youngest woman to win three French Opens since Monica Seles in 1992 and the youngest woman to win four Slams overall since Williams in 2002.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Men’s Draw

But Swiatek is not as dominant as in 2022, when she went 16-0 in the spring clay season during an overall 37-match win streak.

She retired from her last pre-French Open match with a right thigh injury and said it wasn’t serious. Before that, she lost the final of another clay-court tournament to Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, the No. 4 seed and Wimbledon champion, are the top challengers in Paris.

No. 3 Jessica Pegula, the highest-seeded American man or woman, was eliminated in the third round.

No. 6 Coco Gauff, runner-up to Swiatek last year, is the best hope to become the first American to win a Grand Slam singles title since Sofia Kenin at the 2020 Australian Open. The 11-major drought is the longest for U.S. women since Seles won the 1996 Australian Open.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Women’s Singles Draw

2023 French Open men’s singles draw, scores

By OlympicTalkJun 2, 2023, 5:56 PM EDT

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The French Open men’s singles draw is missing injured 14-time champion Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2004, leaving the Coupe des Mousquetaires ripe for the taking.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Novak Djokovic is not only bidding for a third crown at Roland Garros, but also to lift a 23rd Grand Slam singles trophy to break his tie with Nadal for the most in men’s history.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Women’s Draw

But the No. 1 seed is Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who won last year’s U.S. Open to become, at 19, the youngest man to win a major since Nadal’s first French Open title in 2005.

Now Alcaraz looks to become the second-youngest man to win at Roland Garros since 1989, after Nadal of course.

Alcaraz missed the Australian Open in January due to a right leg injury, but since went 30-3 with four titles. Notably, he has not faced Djokovic this year. They could meet in the semifinals.

Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No. 2 seed, was upset in the first round by 172nd-ranked Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild. It marked the first time a men’s top-two seed lost in the first round of any major since 2003 Wimbledon (Ivo Karlovic d. Lleyton Hewitt).

No. 9 Taylor Fritz and No. 12 Frances Tiafoe are the highest-seeded Americans, looking to become the first U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003. Since then, five different American men combined to make the fourth round on eight occasions.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Women’s Singles Draw

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

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