AIN TAYA, Algeria — In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in … Read more
Getting a nickname in hockey is not only a sign of affection but a sense that a player has really made it. Wayne Gretzky became the “Great One,” Mario Lemieux was “Super Mario” and the late Gordie Howe remains “Mr. Hockey” to the sport’s players and fans everywhere. “Johnny Hockey” was the one bestowed on … Read more
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Lathan Norton was sick and didn’t play on Saturday at the Little League World Series. But on Sunday he scored the winning run in the championship. Lathan raced home from second base on an overthrow at first as Lake Mary, Florida, rallied to beat Taiwan 2-1 in eight innings and claim … Read more
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Aaron Judge sure got the rock-star treatment from hundreds of Little Leaguers who went wild for the New York Yankees slugger — holding out baseballs for autographs, pleading for selfies, even asking him about the size of his muscles — from the moment he stepped off the plane to his last at-bat. … Read more
ROMNY, Ukraine — Maksym Halinichev won silver at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires in a match described at the time as “two of the best young fighters going for glory.” He considered the bout a loss – it wasn’t gold, after all – but it gave him a map for the future. So Halinichev … Read more
Victor Wembanyama’s on-court warmup session before games when he played in France would last for about an hour. It consisted of plenty of stretching, lots of passing and dribbling drills, then a little bit of shooting. The basics. The skills. Nothing else. “It’s what you’re taught to bring to the game,” he said at the … Read more
MIAMI — Amari Cooper’s football jersey hangs in the Coconut Grove Sports Hall of Fame. So does Frank Gore’s, alongside tributes to Negro League baseball player Jim Colzie and football coach Traz Powell, whose name adorns perhaps the most revered high school football stadium in talent-rich South Florida. They represent West Coconut Grove when it … Read more
COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. — One of freestyle skier Jay Riccomini’s priceless life moments came this year in Switzerland, when he was recognized on the podium for a third-place finish in a major global competition. It was a breakthrough performance — and the announcer used his correct pronouns. “I just thought, ‘It took some time to … Read more
LIMA, Peru — The crack of bat on ball and the sight of Venezuelan children running the bases on the soccer field turned baseball diamond on the outskirts of Peru’s capital are watched with confusion by locals accustomed to soccer. The questioning looks don’t deter the young Venezuelans for whom baseball reinforces a strong bond … Read more
DAKAR, Senegal — Cherif Fall kissed his wife on the lips and they swapped pecks on each other’s foreheads, for good luck. Then he zipped up his wetsuit, grabbed his surfboard and strode into water he didn’t want to be in. Instead of training in the waves off his Senegal homeland, Fall was wistfully preferring … Read more
