Katie Ledecky wins by 19 seconds at swim nationals, owns top 29 times in history

By OlympicTalkJul 27, 2022, 7:20 AM EDT

Katie Ledecky extended her 12-year win streak in her trademark event by winning the 800m freestyle on the first day of the five-day U.S. Swimming Championships in Irvine, California, on Tuesday.

Ledecky, who owns the 29 fastest times in history in the event, clocked 8 minutes, 12.03 seconds and won by 19.89 seconds over Kensey McMahon.

“I’m happy with that,” said Ledecky, whose time was No. 19 on the all-time list and 1.8 seconds better than the second-best performer in history, Australian rival Ariarne Titmus. “I didn’t really have any expectations coming into this.”

Last month, Ledecky won the 800m free at the world championships to become the first swimmer to win five consecutive titles in an individual event. They go along with her three Olympic golds in the event.

In two years, Ledecky can become the first woman to win four Olympic titles in the same individual event in any sport. The 800m free at the Paris Games is on the 12th anniversary of her first gold medal in the 800m free at age 15 at the London Olympics.

Ledecky is entered in the 100m free, 200m free and 400m individual medley later at nationals.

SWIMMING NATIONALS: Full Results | Broadcast Schedule

Also Tuesday, Olympian Natalie Hinds took the women’s 100m free in 53.53 seconds, a personal best by two hundredths at age 28. Hinds, who prevailed by .33 over Gretchen Walsh, now ranks second in the nation this year behind Torri Huske. Hinds was fourth at the world championships trials in April.

Olympian Zach Apple and Matt King tied for the win in the men’s 100m free in 48.44.

Dakota Luther edged Lindsay Looney in the women’s 200m butterfly by .23 of a second. Both went personal-best times that would have qualified them for worlds at April’s trials.

Luther’s 2:07.02, her first personal best since 2019, ranks her seventh in the world this year and third among Americans behind Olympic medalists Hali Flickinger and Regan Smith. Luther skipped April’s world trials due to academic commitments at Georgia and the quick, one-month turnaround from the NCAA Championships, according to Swimswam.com.

Rising Cal sophomore Gabriel Jett won the men’s 200m fly in 1:54.37, ranking him eighth in the world this year and fourth among Americans behind world team members Carson Foster, Luca Urlando and Trenton Julian. Jett, who was sixth at world championships trials, lowered his personal best by 2.21 seconds on Tuesday.

*Correction: An earlier version of this post stated Ledecky had the 28 fastest 800m free times in history. She has the 29 fastest.

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2023 French Open men’s singles draw

By OlympicTalkJun 7, 2023, 5:18 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 meet in Friday’s 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).

All of the American men lost before the fourth round. The last U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals was Andre Agassi in 2003.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

IOC board recommends withdrawing International Boxing Association’s recognition

Associated PressJun 7, 2023, 2:30 PM EDT

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The IOC finally ran out of patience with the International Boxing Federation on Wednesday and set a date to terminate its Olympic status this month.

While boxing will still be on the program at the 2024 Paris Games, the International Olympic Committee said its executive board has asked the full membership to withdraw its recognition of the IBA at a special meeting on June 22.

IOC members rarely vote against recommendations from their 15-member board and the IBA’s ouster is likely a formality.

The IOC had already suspended the IBA’s recognition in 2019 over long-standing financial, sports integrity and governance issues. The Olympic body oversaw the boxing competitions itself at the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021 and will do so again for Paris.

An IOC statement said the boxing body “has failed to fulfil the conditions set by the IOC … for lifting the suspension of the IBA’s recognition.”

The IBA criticized what it called a “truly abhorrent and purely political” decision by the IOC and warned of “retaliatory measures.”

“Now, we are left with no chance but to demand a fair assessment from a competent court,” the boxing body’s Russian president Umar Kremlev said in a statement.

The IOC-IBA standoff has also put boxing’s place at the 2028 Los Angeles Games at risk, though that should now be resolved.

The IOC previously stressed it has no problem with the sport or its athletes — just the IBA and its current president Kremlev, plus financial dependence on Russian state energy firm Gazprom.

In a 24-page report on IBA issues published Wednesday, the IOC concluded “the accumulation of all of these points, and the constant lack of drastic evolution throughout the many years, creates a situation of no-return.”

Olympic boxing’s reputation has been in question for decades. Tensions heightened after boxing officials worldwide ousted long-time IOC member C.K. Wu as their president in 2017 when the organization was known by its French acronym AIBA.

“From a disreputable organization named AIBA governed by someone from the IOC’s upper echelon, we committed to and executed a change in the toxic and corrupt culture that was allowed to fester under the IOC for far too long,” Kremlev said Wednesday in a statement.

National federations then defied IOC warnings in 2018 by electing as their president Gafur Rakhimov, a businessman from Uzbekistan with alleged ties to organized crime and heroin trafficking.

Kremlev’s election to replace Rakhimov in 2020 followed another round of IOC warnings that went unheeded.

Amid the IBA turmoil, a rival organization called World Boxing has attracted initial support from officials in the United States, Switzerland and Britain.

The IBA can still continue to organize its own events and held the men’s world championships last month in the Uzbek capital Tashkent.

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

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