NEW YORK — When Lindsey Vonn retired from Alpine skiing in 2019, she walked away from the sport as one of the most successful skiers in history. Six years later she’s coming back, with her sights set on competing in a fifth Winter Olympics in February in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
But regardless of how that comeback ends, Vonn isn’t worried about it detracting from what she’s already accomplished.
“This is different because I had nothing to prove,” said Vonn, 41, who climbed a World Cup podium for the first time since 2019 when she finished second at the super-G season finals in Sun Valley, Idaho, last March.
“I don’t think anyone remembers Michael Jordan’s comeback. I don’t think that’s part of his legacy at all,” she continued. “I’ve already succeeded. I’ve already won. I was on the podium. I have the record for the oldest medalist in World Cup by seven years [she set the previous record in 2019]. I feel like this journey has been incredible.”
American Lindsey Vonn poses in 2019 with medals she has won throughout her career in the finish area at the alpine ski world championships in Are, Sweden.
(Marco Trovati / Associated Press)
Vonn has three Olympic medals, but she won her only gold 15 years ago. She’s won eight World Championship medals, but just one since 2017; her last gold came in 2009. But the comeback isn’t so much about rekindling that past as it is about shoring up the present.
“I closed my career, and I definitely would like to close that chapter in maybe a better way than I did in 2019,” said Vonn, who was speaking Tuesday at the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Media Summit in Manhattan. “I feel like I am happy, free. I’m doing it because I love it. I’m not doing to prove anything to anyone.”
Vonn missed the 2014 Winter Games with a right knee injury, an injury that led to her retirement in 2019. But after partial knee-replacement surgery last year, she decided she wasn’t done with skiing yet.
“After the replacement, I knew things were really different,” she said. “My body felt so good, and I just kind of kept pushing myself further and further to see what I was capable of. Skiing and racing seemed like the logical next step.”
American Lindsey Vonn skis during a women’s super-G run at the World Cup finals on March 23 in Sun Valley, Idaho.
(Robert F. Bukaty / Associated Press)
She’s a different skiier than she was when first started competing internationally two decades ago, she said.
“I have a lot more perspective now, having been away from the sport for six years,” she said. “That just allows me to compete in a different way and I think that gives me an advantage actually.
“Downhill skiing has a lot to do with with accumulated knowledge. And I’ve obviously accumulated a lot of knowledge, because I’ve raced for a very long time.”
Vonn, whose comeback landed her on the cover of this week’s Time magazine, said she’s in the best shape of her career. But she still must earn enough points on this winter’s World Cup circuit to qualify for the Olympics.
She said she probably wouldn’t have considered racing at a top level again if next February’s Games weren’t schedule for Cortina, where’s won a record 12 career World Cup races. She also recorded her first of 138 World Cup podiums in Cortina in 2004.
“My goal has always been Cortina again. It’s such a special place for me,” she said.
American Lindsey Vonn speeds down the course during an alpine ski women’s World Cup downhill race in Kvitfjell, Norway, on Feb. 28.
(Gabriele Facciotti / Associated Press)
“I didn’t want to set that as a goal, because I didn’t know if I would even be able to compete, let alone qualify or finish the season. Once I trained more and I got in better shape, I said to myself that this is an attainable goal. I can do this.”
And if she can’t, that won’t detract from the fact that she tried. Or from what she’s already accomplished.
“I’m at peace with where I am in my life,” she said. “I don’t need to be ski racing, but I definitely love to ski race and have nothing to prove. So I don’t feel like I have a lot of pressure, even though my dad says it’s the most pressure I’ve ever had in my whole life.”
He has an unbeaten 9-0-1 record in his professional career, with six of those wins within the distance.
“I think things happen for a reason. I’m at the right stage in my career now to pick the right platform and go for the right fights. So this move just made sense,” said Whittaker.
Hearn described Whittaker as a ” generational talent” who has “the world at his feet”.
“This long-term deal will propel Ben to global superstardom, solidifying his reputation as a household name and steering him towards future world titles. He will be number one,” added Hearn.
The first bout in October 2024 ended in a controversial draw, when both men fell over the ropes and Whittaker was unable to continue because of an injury.
The clip, featuring a Qatar Airways wide-body aircraft, was filmed at Madrid–Barajas Airport in Spain. The zoomed-in footage, filmed from a terminal window, shows the ground staff member outside the plane’s rear door.
William McGee and Milo Boyd Digital Travel Reporter
15:22, 18 Sep 2025
A baggage handler was caught on camera hurling luggage in scenes have left social media users divided.
The zoomed-in footage, filmed from a terminal window, shows the ground staff member outside the plane’s rear door. He can be seen catching items tossed by a colleague and flinging them on.
The clip, featuring a Qatar Airways wide-body aircraft, was filmed at Madrid–Barajas Airport in Spain. The video-taker joked: “I’ll put this bottle of wine in the suitcase, I don’t think it’ll break…”
Social media users were quick to react to the clip. “This video should reach his company so they can see how well this man works,” one said.
The bag could be seen being flung (Image: Jam Press/@pablovs7_)
Raquel questioned: “Is that what we pay for checked baggage for?” While Mónica vented: “This only happens in Spain. I’ve never seen luggage treated so badly anywhere else, it’s unbelievable. Almost every time we come back from a trip, the suitcases arrive wrecked.”
Analú said: “Honestly, that’s a disgrace. I’m sure there are plenty of unemployed people who would be happy to do that job properly.”
But not everyone was convinced the baggage handler was in the wrong.
“For those who’ve never flown or even seen a plane and criticise without knowing: they’re just taking out the blankets to clean the cabin, it’s not luggage,” one commenter pointed out.
Pablo added: “Suitcases aren’t unloaded at the passenger doors.” And Nicolás concluded: “Honestly, I think he’s doing everything right – he’s very efficient at his job.”
Madrid–Barajas Airport and Qatar Airways have been approached for comment.
The sandwich in question(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
The incident is not the only aviation-related outrage to ruffle feathers. Declan Minogue and his wife Claire Minogue, 61, were travelling back from Faro to Dublin Airport on 21 July after seven relaxing nights in Portugal. The 63-year-old felt a bit of hunger coming on, so he decided to order the £5.90 Hot Ham and Cheese Panini from a flight attendant.
However, it was not the hunger-busting snack he had hoped for. Decland claims he was ‘stunned’ to open it up and discover just one piece of ham and the ‘tiniest bit of cheese’ with no butter. Despite polishing off the ‘bland’ sandwich that he compared to ‘something out of Oliver Twist,’ Declan claims he was forced to buy more food when he landed because he was still hungry.
Taking to social media, the dad-of-two shared a photo of the sandwich captioned ‘shocking and insulting’.
Declan who lives in Lusk, Dublin, Ireland, said: “It was the worst airplane food ever. It was a massive rip off. I was shocked when I saw it. I got it and I opened it and couldn’t believe it so I took a picture. It had two slices of ham and the tiniest bit of cheese and the cheese was like butter. There was no substance to it. I was stunned.”
LA28 announced Starbucks as the official coffee partner for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics and Team USA on Tuesday, adding a fourth founding-level partner to the growing sponsorship list with less than three years to go before the Games.
Starbucks will enter the Olympic arena for the first time by providing specially designed coffeehouses in the Olympic and Paralympic village, competition venues and volunteer hubs for athletes, fans and spectators.
“Starbucks is proud to bring connection, culture, community and incredible coffee to the world stage,” said Tressie Lieberman, executive vice president and global chief brand officer of Starbucks Coffee Company.
The Seattle-based coffee giant represents LA28’s second major founding partner of the year, joining Honda, which announced its Olympic deal in April. Longtime partners Delta and Comcast are the cornerstones of the corporate sponsorship program that will be the backbone of what LA28 has promised will be a privately funded Games.
Domestic sponsorships are intended to cover $2.5 billion of the Games’ estimated $7.1 billion budget. As of August, the private organizing committee had contracts for more than 70% of its total sponsorship goal, LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman told The Times. Financial terms for the latest deal were not disclosed.
“This is our chance to co-create a Games that will resonate for generations to come, and welcoming Starbucks to the LA28 and Team USA family marks the coming together of a world-class brand and a globally embraced event, with a shared commitment to shaping culture and community,” Wasserman said in a statement.
LA28 has also announced two other partnerships in September, bringing in equipment rental company Sunbelt Rentals and T-Mobile for Business.
Costa Coffee supplied coffee for the Tokyo and the Paris Games after the British chain was acquired by Coca-Cola — one of the International Olympic Committee’s longest-standing and most prominent partners — in 2019. But Coca-Cola has been exploring a sale of Costa Coffee, according to Reuters. As a worldwide partner, the Atlanta-based soda company has exclusive Olympic and Paralympic rights to non-alcoholic beverages.
USAIN BOLT has stunningly revealed he huffs and puffs when he climbs a flight of stairs.
The Jamaican sprinting legend, the fastest human in living history, won a litany of titles during his career – including eight Olympic gold medals and 11 world titles.
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Usain Bolt is the fatest human in living historyCredit: GETTY
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The Jamaican, who retired from sprinting in 2017, is the fastest man to run the 100 and 200mCredit: GETTY
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But he now huffs and puffs when he goes up a flight of stairsCredit: GETTY
But 23-year-old Hodgkinson remains determined to add the crown to her Olympic and European successes.
Given that the Leigh athlete also wants to break the 42-year-old world record in her event, then the sky really is the limit for the next decade.
Asked if she could become the greatest track-and-field star Britain has ever produced, World Athletics chief Lord Coe said: “Yeah, she absolutely could.
“I have no doubt about that. Absolutely, for sure. She could end up at the top of the heap internationally if she goes on.
“Touch wood, she’s got many athletics seasons ahead of her. And she’s also got good coaches in Jenny Meadows and Trevor Painter.
“Those guys know what they’re doing. It’s a really good example of British coaching at its best.
“I have spoken to her enough times to know that, mentally, she’s mahogany hard. She really is.
“She wants to end her athletics career at the top of the heap — and there’s no reason why she shouldn’t.”
Hodgkinson opened her season on August 16 having not competed for 376 days following two hamstring injuries.
Keely Hodgkinson wins BBC SPOTY 2024 as Olympic gold medallist pips Luke Littler to top prize
And her time of 1min 54.74sec in Poland — the best in the world so far this year — was described by Coe as “unbelievable”.
In her next appearance, four days later in the driving rain of Lausanne, Switzerland, she posted a winning mark of 1:55.69.
British middle-distance legend Coe, 68, a double 1500m Olympic champion himself, admitted: “You just have to marvel at how she has come back.
“To be out injured and then basically you first set foot on the track and you’re running 1:54…
“We’ve been saying for a long time, she is the real deal. What was clever was doing two races back to back.
“She was clearly testing out a thesis: did she have enough in the tank to go back-to-back? That is what she’s going to be asked to do in Tokyo.
“The answer was a resounding ‘Yes’. She’s in good nick.”
The nine-day World Championships begin on Saturday and are being staged in the same national stadium which hosted the Covid-hit Olympics four years ago.
However, Coe insists there are contingency plans in place in case the event is impacted by typhoons in the Far East.
Severe weather saw three matches cancelled during the Rugby World Cup in Japan six years ago.
The British boss added: “Let’s hope there isn’t one!
“We do have full meteorological prediction and predictive teams out there at the moment.”
Greg Louganis is starting a new chapter in his life.
The U.S. diving legend has auctioned off three of the five Olympic medals he won between 1976-1988, sold his home and is parting with most of his other possessions as part of a journey of self-discovery that is taking him, at least for now, to Panama.
“So, as life moves forward, what are you prepared to leave behind?” Louganis wrote Friday in a Facebook post. “I am 65 years old, and I am asking just that. I am no longer who I used to think I was. Not even close to ‘What’ other people or ‘Who’ other people think I am.”
Louganis shared some details of his plan in that post and expanded on them on two Instagram Live posts, one recorded from Los Angeles in his final night in the United States and the other recorded the following day from Panama City, the first stop in a journey that will eventually take him and his dog Gerald to Boquette.
That’s where they’re going to settle down — “for now,” Louganis said on Instagram.
“I don’t know how permanent, or, you know, I don’t know how long it’s gonna be,” he said. “I’m just embracing the ‘I don’t know,’ and also staying open for discovery. I think that’s what this part of my life is about, being open to discover what’s next and really, really, really do my best at being present in every place I go with every person I meet.”
About a year ago, Louganis said, he was in a bad place mentally, feeling “really, really alone and isolated.”
“It was really, really severe, real bad depression,” Louganis said. “And now I’m realizing, I have things to offer. So what that is and what that looks like, I haven’t figured it out. And I think that that’s what this is kind of about, is recalibration and figuring out what is next. … and just discover who I am too. I mean, that’s a big question.”
U.S. diver Greg Louganis spreads his arms and bends at the waist while in mid-dive during a springboard diving competition.
(Sadayuki Mikami / Associated Press)
Louganis says part of the process has been letting go of many of the items he didn’t realize were weighing him down. Last month, he received more than $430,000 at auction for three of his Olympic medals ($201,314 for his 1988 gold medal in 10-meter platform, $199,301 for his 1984 gold medal in 3-meter sprinboard and $30,250 for his 1976 silver medal in 10-meter platform).
“I needed the money,” Louganis wrote on Facebook. “While many people may have built businesses and sold them for a profit, I had my medals, which I am grateful for. If I had proper management, I might not have been in that position, but what is done is done; live and learn.”
Louganis has not mentioned what, if anything, happened with his other two gold medals, won in 1984 for 3-meter springboard and in 1988 for 10-meter platform.
Also on his posts, Louganis mentions that he sold his home last week. Public records list Louganis as the owner of a residence in Topanga. According to Zillow, a house at that address sold on Aug. 28 for $750,000.
As for most of his other belongings, Louganis wrote, “I decided to donate, sell what can be sold, give gifts, and give where things might be needed or appreciated. … A thought occurred to me, I had many friends, people I was close to, lost everything in the Woolsey Fire, and then the Palisades Fire just this year.
“I know I am choosing to do this, but their resilience is an inspiration for me to start anew, with an open heart and an open door. Opening up to possibilities.”
On Instagram, Louganis described the experience as “freeing.”
“The memories will always be in here,” Louganis said, placing his hand over his heart. “And so the other things are just stuff, you know? We don’t realize how much we hang on to, and what I’m also learning now in this process is how oftentimes we don’t realize they weigh us down. You know, like the shipping, the storage, all of that stuff.
“Actually, I was kind of discussing that with Michael Phelps, because he heard that I auctioned my medals. He said, ‘How was that?’ I said, ‘You know what it was? It was a relief, you know, because then it was like it was a weight off my shoulders.’”
THE widow of an Olympic hero and schoolteacher has paid tribute to “a proud Yorkshireman” after his tragic death at the age of 80.
John Sherwood lived in Hillsborough and shot to fame in 1968 when he won the bronze medal in the hurdles at the Mexico Olympics in 1968.
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Both Sheila Sherwood and her husband John Sherwood won Olympic medalsCredit: Alamy
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John won a bronze medal in the 400m hurdlesCredit: Getty
He sadly passed away after a long illness at the palliative care unit at the Northern General Hospital on August 19.
His heartbroken wife, Sheila, who also won an Olympic medal in Mexico has paid tribute to her husband who she said always gave his best whatever he did.
She went on to say: “There were never any half measures. He would do things properly and that was why he had such a great sporting career and was such a good teacher.
“We were unique in 1968, a married couple who both won medals. We’d married six months before the games.
“We were amateurs and both worked full time asteachers. John was at Intake School in Doncaster at that time, I was at Myers Grove.
“After we won our Olympic medals we just carried on as normal.”
John’s wife Shiela has received dozens of messages of condolence from John’s former pupils at Forth Park Comprehensive, where he worked for 37 years.
John, who is survived by his two grown up children, retired from teaching in 2005.
He and his wife trained for the games together and both took home medals.
Sheila said: “We were unique in 1968, a married couple who both won medals. We’d married six months before the games.
“We were amateurs and both worked full time as teachers. John was at Intake School in Doncaster at that time, I was at Myers Grove.
“After we won our Olympic medals we just carried on as normal.”
She taught at Myers Grove School and the pair returned to their careers following their Olympic success.
Sheila added: “He loved teaching, and didn’t want to go into an office as a head of year. He wanted to stay as a PE teacher.”
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John and Sheila trained together for the gamesCredit: Getty
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John Sherwood shot to fame in 1968 when he won the bronze medal in the hurdles at the Mexico OlympicsJohn Sherwood
Wales football chief executive Noel Mooney says being part of Team GB sides at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is “not on our radar at all”.
The British Olympic Association (BOA) said after the Paris Games 12 months ago they wanted a Great Britain men’s football team competing at LA for the first time since London 2012.
Current Wales manager Craig Bellamy was among five Welshmen in Stuart Pearce’s squad who competed on home soil, with Britain ending a 52-year wait to play in an Olympic men’s football tournament.
A GB women’s team last featured at the Olympics at Tokyo 2020 when then-Wales captain Sophie Ingle was part of a 22-strong squad.
Andy Anson, the former BOA chief executive who stepped down from his role in July, said after Paris that the organisation would plan talks with the football associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to recreate a Team GB men’s football side for the LA Olympics.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, however, have long felt that their independence in Fifa and Uefa could be jeopardised if they competed as a single entity in the Olympics.
“The Olympics is not on our radar at all, not at any level,” Football Association of Wales chief executive Mooney told the PA news agency.
“I’ve not heard a single word about it and never discussed it with anybody.
If you browse through social media, it’s easy to find commentary about canceling the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
There are Angelenos who lack confidence in the city and county’s ability to roll out the red carpet due to perceived failures during the Palisades and Altadena fires.
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One syndicated columnist pleaded with L.A. not to work with “a lawless U.S. regime,” while sportswriter and author Jeff Pearlman wondered if Latin American athletes would feel safe in the U.S. due to the Trump administration’s current deportations.
There are pushes from some, but how possible is it that the Games will be canceled?
Why is backing out difficult? We’re three years away
Host cities and host country national organizing committees (in this country, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee) sign a host city contract (HCC) after the International Olympic Committee officially awards the Games.
The contract for the 2028 Games, signed by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti and then-City Council President Herb Wesson in September 2017, includes procedures for termination from the IOC’s perspective but doesn’t leave the same option for the host city or the national organizing committee.
“While one cannot foreclose all potential theories, it is hard to imagine a scenario where Los Angeles could terminate the HCC without facing substantial legal issues,” Nathan O’Malley, an international arbitration lawyer and a partner at Musick, Peeler & Garrett, wrote in an email. “Especially if the reason for ending the contract was a political disagreement between the federal, state and local branches of government.”
When even COVID-19 didn’t stop the Games
After an initial one-year delay of the Tokyo Games, medical professionals pleaded to cancel amid rising COVID-19 cases.
LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman has emphasized that he has assurances from the federal government that the United States will be open, despite recent travel bans and tighter scrutiny of international travelers arriving in the U.S.
Trump’s June proclamation includes exemptions for athletes, team personnel or immediate relatives entering the country for the FIFA World Cup, the Olympics or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State.
If any city should be ready to host the biggest Olympics in history, it should be L.A. Not only because of the existing venues, but because of the unprecedented 11-year planning time after the IOC awarded the Games in 2017.
Now with less than three years remaining, relocating to a city that would likely have to build new venues would be unrealistic for the IOC.
“For Los Angeles, a city whose identity is partly predicated on staging the Olympics twice, and now having a third time,” said Mark Dyreson, a sports historian at Penn State University, “I think it would be really, really difficult for L.A. to give up the Olympics.”
(Illustrations by Lindsey Made This; photograph by Jamie-Lee B.)
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More than 40 years after L.A. produced the most financially successful Olympic Games in history, the 2028 Summer Olympics will feature a new advertising revenue path for the Games.
In an Olympic first, venues used for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics will be allowed to have corporate sponsor names after LA28 and the International Olympic Committee came to a tradition-bucking agreement announced Thursday.
Historically, the IOC has sought to limit corporate influence by keeping venues free from advertising. Major sponsors are still ubiquitous at the Games, where only Visa credit cards are accepted and Coca-Cola products monopolize the concession stands, but venues and fields of play have remained commercial-free. The traditional clean venue policy has forced L.A. organizers to refer to SoFi Stadium, which will host Olympic swimming, officially as “2028 Stadium” or “the Stadium in Inglewood.”
Not only will the new agreement help logistically by not requiring well-known venues to adopt generic temporary nicknames, but it will ease costs as existing signage can remain in place outside of the venue.
“Our job is to push and our job is to do what’s best for the Olympics in Los Angeles,” LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman told The Times. “Our job in those conversations [with the IOC] was to explain why this was more than just about money. It was about experience and value and opportunity.”
Wasserman said the private organizing committee has contracts for about 70% of the projected $2.5-billion domestic sponsorship goal. Any money that comes from the new naming opportunities are additions to the previously estimated revenue, Wasserman said. Needing to cover the budget of $7.1 billion, LA28 has added eight corporate sponsors this year, already surpassing the total from 2024.
“The momentum is meaningful and real,” Wasserman said. “We feel good about where we are, but we certainly don’t take that for granted.”
For venues that already have sponsorship names, such as Crypto.com Arena, BMO Stadium or the Intuit Dome, the existing company can sign on as a founding-level partner to retain its naming rights during the Games, the highest level of domestic sponsorship. Otherwise, the venue will be renamed without a sponsor.
The changes have already begun. LA28 announced that Honda Center will retain its name for the Olympic volleyball competition after the Japanese automaker established its deal with LA28 in June. Squash will make its Olympic debut at the newly named Comcast Squash Center at Universal Studios as the company also holds U.S. broadcasting rights to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Broadcasters can now refer to the venues with their corporate sponsor names, providing a major global stage. Any signage outside of the venue will remain in place for existing structures. Naming rights are available for the 19 temporary facilities with first bidding opportunities going to members of The Olympic Partners (TOP) program.
But the field of play will remain free from visible sponsorships.
“The IOC is always looking to recognize and support the critical role and contributions of Olympic commercial partners, both TOP and domestic. We also want to support LA28 in their efforts to create new approaches and commercial opportunities, whilst maintaining the principles of the ‘clean venue policy’ that is unique to the Olympic Games,” an IOC spokesperson said in a statement to The Times. “It is a reality that many venues in L.A. and in the U.S. already have commercial naming rights and have become commonly recognized as such by the general public. Therefore, following discussions, the IOC is supporting the LA28 initiative that takes into account market realities of venue naming and generates critical revenue to stage the Games.”
With less than three years before the Olympics open on July 14, 2028, the Games delivery process has come with challenges. Soon after the IOC’s coordination commission left the city to glowing reviews of LA28’s planning progress in June, immigration raids and protests began in Los Angeles. This month, President Trump named himself the chair of a task force to oversee the federal government’s involvement in the Games, but concerns about safety and visas for would-be international visitors have persisted.
In L.A., where the city recently closed a nearly $1-billion budget deficit, transportation updates have lagged behind and leaders are in negotiations with Olympic organizers about services including security, trash removal and traffic control. Though LA28 has promised to cover all expenses related to the Games, taxpayers still face potential risk.
If the group goes over budget, L.A. would be responsible for the first $270 million of the deficit.
The organising committee for the Los Angeles Olympics says some deals are already in place for the 2028 Games.
Organisers of the Los Angeles Olympics will sell naming rights for a handful of its venues in deals expected to bring multiple millions of dollars to the 2028 Games while breaking down the International Olympic Committee’s long-sacrosanct policy of keeping brand names off its arenas and stadiums.
The organising committee announced the landmark deal Thursday, saying contracts were already in place with two of its founding partners – Honda, which already has naming rights for the arena in Anaheim that will host volleyball, and Comcast, which will have its name on the temporary venue hosting squash.
LA28 chairman and CEO Casey Wasserman said revenue from the deals goes above what’s in LA’s current $6.9bn budget.
He portrayed the deal as the sort of paradigm-shifting arrangement that Los Angeles needs more than other host cities because, as is typical for American-hosted Olympics, the core cost of these Games is not backed by government funding.
“We’re a private enterprise responsible for delivering these games,” Wasserman said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s my job to push. That doesn’t mean we’re going to win every time we push, but it’s our job to always push because our context is pretty unique.”
Wasserman said he also spent time explaining to IOC members how arena and stadium names are part of the lexicon in US sports.
“People know ‘Crypto’ as ‘Crypto,’ they don’t know it as ‘the gymnastics arena downtown,’” Wasserman said of the home of the Lakers, Crypto.com Arena, which will host gymnastics and boxing in 2028.
Rights for up to 19 temporary venues could be available. The IOC’s biggest sponsors – called TOP sponsors – will have the first chance to get in on the deals. Wasserman said no venues will be renamed – so, for instance, if organisers do not reach a deal with SoFi (opening and closing ceremonies, swimming) or Intuit (basketball), no other sponsor can put its name on the arena.
Not included in this new arrangement are the LA Coliseum, Rose Bowl and Dodger Stadium, some of the most iconic venues in a city that hosted the Games in 1932 and 1984. Organisers said IOC rules that forbid advertising on the field of play will still apply.
The deal adds to a growing list of accommodations pushed through for Los Angeles, which is once again poised to reshape the Olympic brand, much the way it did in 1984.
In 2017, the city was bidding for the 2024 Games against Paris, but agreed to instead host the 2028 Games. It was part of a then-unheard-of bid process that rescued the IOC from the reality that cities were becoming reluctant to absorb the cost and effort to bid for and host the Summer Games.
Olympic watchers viewed the return of softball and baseball for 2028, along with the introduction of flag football, with help from the NFL, as changes that maybe only Los Angeles could have pulled off.
LA will also make a major scheduling change for the Olympics Games, moving track and field to the opening week of the games and swimming to the end.
Wasserman said the organising committee’s position as a private entity plays a major role in its relationship with the IOC.
“We spend the time, we do the work, we make the argument, and we don’t settle for a ‘No,’ because we don’t have that luxury,” he said.
WASHINGTON — President Trump will order the establishment of a White House task force on Tuesday focused on security for the Olympics Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said the president plans on creating the task force by executive order on Tuesday, telling The Times that Trump “considers it a great honor to oversee this global sporting spectacle.”
“During his first term, President Trump was instrumental in securing America’s bid to host the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles,” Leavitt said. “Sports is one of President Trump’s greatest passions, and his athletic expertise, combined with his unmatched hospitality experience will make these Olympic events the most exciting and memorable in history.”
It is unclear whether the executive order will provide relief as city leaders and the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the privately funded nonprofit organization known as LA28 that is planning the Games, negotiate key issues including security costs.
The executive order follows on Trump’s signature legislation, referred to by the president as the “Big Beautiful Bill,” securing $1 billion for security, planning and other costs for the L.A. Games.
Casey Wasserman, chairperson and president of LA28, thanked the Trump administration in a statement “for their leadership and unwavering support as we prepare to deliver the largest and most ambitious Olympic and Paralympic Games ever hosted in the United States.”
“Since we secured this historic opportunity in 2017, President Trump has consistently recognized the magnitude of our responsibility in welcoming the world to Los Angeles,” Wasserman said. “The creation of this task force marks an important step forward in our planning efforts and reflects our shared commitment to delivering not just the biggest, but the greatest Games the world has ever seen in the summer of 2028.”
Los Angeles leaders are in negotiations with LA28 for the use of the city’s police, traffic officers and other employees during the Olympics and Paralympics.
Security, trash removal, traffic control, paramedics and more will be needed during the 17-day Olympics and the two-week Paralympics the following month.
Under the 2021 Games agreement between LA28 and the city, LA28 must reimburse the city for any services that go beyond what the city would provide on a normal day. The two parties must agree by Oct. 1, 2025, on “enhanced services” — additional city services needed for the Games, beyond that normal level — and determine rates, repayment timelines, audit rights and other processes.
Overtime for Los Angeles police officers, and any other major expenses, would be acutely felt by a city government that recently closed a nearly $1-billion budget deficit, in part by slowing police hiring.
Times staff writer Dakota Smith contributed to this report.
L.A.’s plan to host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games was already facing a thorny set of challenges, including the scramble to secure lucrative sponsorships and the search for buses to shuttle athletes and spectators across the region.
Now, organizers could soon be faced with yet another threat: a proposed ballot measure that, according to city officials, could force at least five Olympic venues to go before voters for approval.
Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel and restaurant workers, filed paperwork in June for a ballot measure requiring L.A. voters to sign off on the development or expansion of major “event centers” such as sports arenas, concert halls, hotels and convention facilities. The measure takes aim not just at permanent projects but also temporary structures, including those that add more than 50,000 square feet of space or 1,000 seats.
Former City Councilmember Paul Krekorian, who heads Mayor Karen Bass’ Office of Special Events, identified five Olympic venues that could be subjected to a citywide election, including the Los Angeles Convention Center, the John C. Argue Swim Stadium in Exposition Park and the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area in the San Fernando Valley, which is set to host skateboarding, 3-on-3 basketball and other competitions.
“The proposed measure would make vital projects essential for our city and these Games potentially impossible to complete,” Krekorian said in a statement to The Times. “It would also require costly special elections before even relatively small projects could begin.”
A representative for LA28, the nonprofit organizing the Games, declined to confirm whether any Olympic venues would be affected by the proposal, saying only that it is monitoring the situation.
Unite Here has billed the proposal as one of its responses to a business group that is seeking to overturn the so-called Olympic Wage passed by the City Council in May, which hikes the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers to $30 per hour in 2028.
The union has not begun gathering signatures for the proposal, which is under review by the City Clerk’s office. If it qualifies, it likely wouldn’t appear on a ballot until June 2026. Nevertheless, it has already raised alarms at City Hall, where some elected officials have portrayed it as irresponsible.
Councilmember Traci Park, who represents coastal neighborhoods, said she fears the measure will force a citywide vote on an Olympic venue planned at Venice Beach, which is set to host road cycling, the marathon and the triathlon. She said it would also be more difficult for the city to attract new hotels and possibly expand its Convention Center.
“This is an absolute assault on our local economy. It’s spiteful and politically motivated,” she said.
Park, who voted against the $30 tourism minimum wage, has been at odds with Unite Here for more than a year. Councilmember Tim McOsker, whose 2022 election was backed by Unite Here and who supported the minimum wage hike, also voiced concerns, calling the proposed ballot measure “an attack on workers.”
McOsker, whose district includes the Port of Los Angeles, said he believes the proposal would force a vote on a plan to create a temporary viewing area for Olympic sailing at Berth 46 in San Pedro. He also fears it would trigger a citywide election for a 6,200-seat amphitheater planned in San Pedro’s West Harbor, a project that is not connected to the Games.
“This is bad for people who build things, bad for people who operate things, bad for people who work in buildings like these,” he said. “[The proposal] harms real people and it harms the economy.”
Ada Briceño, co-president of Unite Here Local 11 and also a candidate for state Assembly, declined to answer questions about the criticism of the proposal. Two other Unite Here representatives did not respond to The Times’ inquiries.
The union’s proposal, titled “Ordinance to Require Voter Approval of Major Development Projects,” argues that sports arenas and other major event venues “do not always justify their cost.”
Unite Here spokesperson Maria Hernandez told The Times earlier this year that the proposal would apply to Olympic venues that reach a certain size, but declined to give specifics. She said it was not clear whether the ballot proposal would impede efforts to expand the Convention Center, saying in an email that “it depends on the timing.”
The ballot proposal would not apply to athletic venues planned by LA28 in other nearby cities, such as Long Beach, Carson, Inglewood, Anaheim and El Monte. As a result, L.A. could face the potentially humiliating prospect of hosting a Games where only a handful of venues are within city limits.
“If it makes it on the ballot, there are projects and events that will be moved out of the city of Los Angeles rather than trying to win at the ballot box,” said Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn., a business group.
The city’s future economic health could depend on the success or failure of LA28. Under its host agreement, the city would be on the hook for the first $270 million in losses if the Olympics end up in the red.
Critics have also voiced concern that the quadrennial athletic event could displace low-income tenants, particularly those who live near Olympic venues.
Voters should have been given the opportunity to decide whether L.A. should host the Olympics from the very beginning, said Eric Sheehan, spokesperson for NOlympics, which opposes the 2028 Games. Nevertheless, Sheehan voiced little enthusiasm for the union proposal, saying it doesn’t go far enough.
“What would be stronger would be the chance for Angelenos to vote on whether or not we want the Olympics at all,” he said.
The proposed ballot measure from Unite Here states that hotels can have harmful effects on a city, impeding the construction of new housing and creating a burden on social services. It goes on to offer similar warnings about large-scale development projects, saying they “often involve significant expenditures of taxpayer money” — an argument disputed by some city officials.
Those projects “may take the place of other projects that otherwise could have more directly benefited city residents,” the measure states.
Times staff writer Thuc Nhi Nguyen contributed to this report.
Germany’s double Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier has been “seriously injured” in a severe mountaineering accident in Pakistan.
The incident occurred in the Karakorum mountains on Monday when the 31-year-old was caught in a rockfall.
Bad weather and the remoteness of the area prevented a rescue helicopter from reaching her until Tuesday morning.
Faizullah Faraq, a provincial government spokesperson, said the rescue operation is still under way with the co-operation of the Pakistan army.
In a statement to German broadcaster ZDF, Dahlmeier’s management said: “Laura Dahlmeier was climbing with her mountaineering partner on 28 July when she was caught in the rockfall. The accident took place around noon local time at an altitude of approximately 5,700 metres.
“Her partner immediately called emergency services and a rescue operation began immediately.
“Due to the remoteness of the area, a helicopter was only able to reach the site of the accident on the morning of 29 July.”
Dahlmeier has represented Germany at two Winter Olympics, winning two golds and one bronze medal in Pyeongchang in 2018.
She was the first woman to win both the sprint and pursuit event at the same Olympics, and won a further 15 medals, including seven golds, across five World Championships before retiring from competition in May 2019 aged 25.
July 29 (UPI) — An international team is trying to rescue badly injured former Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier from a peak on Pakistan’s Karakoram Mountains.
A falling rock struck and seriously injured Dahlmeier, 31, on Monday while she was scaling Laila Peak in the Karakoram Mountains in northeastern Pakistan, according to Explorersweb.
“Dahlmeier was climbing with her mountaineering partner … when she was caught in a rockfall,” her management team said in a statement to German broadcaster ZDF.
“The accident took place around noon local time at an altitude of approximately [18,700 feet],” the management team said.
“Her partner immediately called emergency services, and a rescue operation began immediately,” her management team explained.
“Due to the remoteness of the area, a helicopter was only able to reach the site of the accident on the morning of July 29.”
An international rescue team of mountaineers is trying to reach Dahlmeier, who is “at least seriously injured” and showed “no signs of life” when observed by the helicopter crew.
Her climbing partner has joined the other mountaineers and might have reached her already, but the rescue effort was halted when darkness fell on Tuesday evening.
The rescue attempt will resume Wednesday morning, ZDF Heute reported.
Dahlmeier is one of Germany’s most successful biathletes of the past decade and won two gold medals during the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea.
She was the first athlete to win two gold medals during the 2018 games when she triumphed in the women’s 10km pursuit with a time of 30:35.3.
Dahlmeier also won a gold in the 7.5km sprint and a bronze in the 15km individual event during the 2018 Winter Olympics.
She won a total of seven gold medals in the world championships and eight other medals before retiring at age 25 in 2019.
The biathlon combines cross-country skiing with rifle target shooting, which tests athletes’ ability to ski long distances and shoot accurately while their heart rates and breathing are elevated.
Qatar signaled its interest as an Olympic Games host with established infrastructure from 2022 FIFA World Cup a key selling point.
The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) said it was taking part in “ongoing discussions” with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over the election process for the host city of the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the organisation said in a media release on its website.
The country, which hosted football’s World Cup in 2022 and the Asian Cup in 2024, is the latest to join the race to stage the 2036 Games after confirmed bids from Indonesia, Turkiye, India and Chile.
Other Asian countries considering a bid include Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Egypt, Hungary, Italy, Germany, Denmark and Canada have also shown interest.
“We currently have 95% of the required sports infrastructure in place to host the Games, and we have a comprehensive national plan to ensure 100% readiness of all facilities,” Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, the president of QOC, told the state-run Qatar News Agency on Tuesday.
“This plan is rooted in a long-term vision aimed at building a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable legacy.”
Qatar’s capital Doha is set to host the Asian Games in 2030, having staged the event in 2006.
A successful bid would make Qatar the first country in the Middle East to host the Olympics amid the region’s growing influence over major sporting events. Saudi Arabia is set to hold the football World Cup in 2034.
Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup was widely considered a successful staging of football’s largest global tournament [File: Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
LA 2028 organisers have slated matches at the Olympic cricket tournament to start at 09:00 in the morning to cater for lucrative television audiences in India.
One of the major factors behind cricket’s return to the Games after a 128-year hiatus is the desire of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to tap into a lucrative South Asian media rights and sponsorship market.
The six-team T20 tournament, featuring both men’s and women’s teams, will begin on Wednesday, 12 July – two days before the opening ceremony – with all matches staged at a venue which will be constructed at the Fairgrounds in Pomona.
There will be two games played daily at Pomona – located 30 miles from the athletes’ village in Los Angeles – starting at 09:00 and 18:30 Pacific Daylight Time.
Those matches will be shown at 21:30 and 07:00 India Standard Time (17:00 and 02:30 British Summer Time).
The evening fixtures at the ground in Pomona will be played under floodlights.
Kit McConnell, who oversaw cricket’s return to the Games after a 128-year hiatus as the IOC’s sports director, told BBC Sport organisers considered “core cricket markets in the subcontinent” when planning the tournament.
“The vision the International Cricket Council (ICC) has outlined for us is aimed at providing the best players and the best teams on the Olympic stage,” McConnell said.
“There’s three years to go but now we’re very excited about where cricket is, what it will bring to the Games and equally what the Olympics can offer to cricket and its global expansion as well.”
“The Future of Sports Is Here: We are on a mission to redefine superhumanity through science, innovation and sports.”
An unabashedly ambitious goal, or at least choice of words. Yet “redefining superhumanity” isn’t enough for the Enhanced Games, a start-up that plans to hold an Olympic-style competition next year in Las Vegas.
The venture also seeks to “reinvent sports with science.”
Translation: Not just allow performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), not just encourage their use, but celebrate their use.
Or, in the juice-flecked hyperbole of Enhanced Games copywriters, “We are pioneering a new era in athletic competition that embraces scientific advancements to push the boundaries of human performance.”
Breaking a world record in track or swimming sprint events will trigger a $1 million payout to the athlete, one of several performance bonuses promised by Enhanced. Where will the money come from? Investors reportedly include conservative billionaire Peter Thiel, Saudi prince Khaled bin Alwaleed Al Saud, and Donald Trump Jr. From the audacity of the message to the deep pockets funding the venture to the athletes tempted by the prospect of making big money and setting world records, the Enhanced Games are worth a closer look.
Why are the Enhanced Games in the news?
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) president Witold Banka sounded an alarm last week at a meeting of Summer Olympics sports leaders, warning that the Enhanced Games pose a threat to all that’s hallowed and decent in global sport.
“This initiative seeks to normalize the use of potentially dangerous drugs,” Banka said. “For the sake of athlete health and the purity of sport, of course, it must be stopped.
“As the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles approach, we cannot allow what should be a celebration of honest sporting endeavor to be overshadowed by this cynical attempt to undermine clean sport. We will urge the U.S. authorities to find legal ways to block this initiative.”
Witold Banka, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), attends a press conference at the 2024 Summer Olympics on July 25, 2024, in Paris.
(Michel Euler / Associated Press)
Banka’s warning prompted eye-rolling in some quarters. The Senate committee on Consumer Protection, Technology and Data Privacy will hold a hearing Tuesday titled “WADA Shame: Swimming in Denial Over Chinese Doping.”
WADA refused to investigate claims of 23 Chinese swimmers testing positive for a PED before the Tokyo Olympics. With the LA Games in 2028 and Salt Lake City Games in 2034 looming, the Senate committee also plans to address claims that inconsistent enforcement by WADA has resulted in unfair competitions impacting American athletes.
USADA chief executive Travis Tygart accused Banka of mentioning the Enhanced Games to distract from the upcoming Senate hearing, telling the Associated Press, “Banka’s indignation equals his misinformation or ignorance about how free democratic societies and markets work.”
That doesn’t mean Tygart is A-OK with an endeavor that encourages the use of PEDs and the resulting tainted accomplishments.
“As we have repeatedly said, for all of the obvious reasons, the Enhanced Games or any other open competition is a bad idea,” Tygart said in comments emailed to Agence France-Presse. “If he really wants to ask U.S. authorities to do something, he should show up and ask the Senate to do something.”
The first global sports body to push back is World Aquatics, which passed a rule two weeks ago that bans any swimmer who supports the Enhanced Games — even if they’ve never competed — from representing their country again.
Former Olympic athlete Michael Phelps, (from left) Travis Tygart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, and former Olympic athlete Allison Schmitt are sworn in during an Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill on June 25, 2024.
(Nathan Howard / Getty Images)
The rule applies to those who “support, endorse, or participate in sporting events that embrace the use of scientific advancements or other practices that may include prohibited substances and/or prohibited methods,” a World Aquatics statement said.
When and where will the Enhanced Games take place?
The Enhanced Games will take aim at world records in swimming, weightlifting and track at Resorts World in Las Vegas on Memorial Day Weekend, 2026.
Scheduled swimming events are the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle, and the 50-meter and 100-meter butterfly. Weightlifting will include the snatch and the clean & jerk. Track events will include the 100-meter dash and the 110-meter hurdles.
Chef Ray Garcia’s restaurant, ¡Viva!, located inside the Resorts World Las Vegas on Thursday, June 24, 2021.
(Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)
Each event will carry a prize purse of $500,000, with $250,000 awarded to each winner. In addition, bonuses will be paid for world records, including $1 million for records in the 100-meter sprint and 50-meter freestyle, which the Enhanced Games website describes as “the two definitive tests of raw human speed.”
The Enhanced Games will take place within the resort. The competition complex features a four-lane pool, a six-lane sprint track and a weightlifting stage.
Who came up with this and why?
The founder and president of the Enhanced Games is Aron D’Souza, an Australian entrepreneur. D’Souza has been on a crusade to create an alternative to the Olympic Games, which he believes don’t compensate athletes fairly.
He advocates for the use of PEDs, arguing that athletes should have the freedom to make choices about their own bodies and that WADA acts as an “anti-science police force” for the International Olympic Committee.
Previously, D’Souza led Thiel’s litigation against Gawker Media involving the wrestler Hulk Hogan, which resulted in one of the largest invasion of privacy judgments in history, and is the subject of the book “Conspiracy” by author Ryan Holiday.
D’Souza is the founder of Sargon, a technology infrastructure company in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. He sold his stake in the company in 2018.
(L-R) Amy Chua and Peter Thiel attend Inauguration Eve hosted by Uber, X and The Free Press at Cafe Riggs on January 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
(Leigh Vogel / Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press)
The extent to which billionaire investors, such as Thiel, Alwaleed Al Saud and Trump Jr., will fund the Enhanced Games is unclear. Money isn’t a problem, if statements on the event’s website are believed: “We are backed by some of the world’s most successful venture capitalists, allowing us to operate independently without government and taxpayer funding.”
D’Souza told the Associated Press that Trump Jr.’s group, called 1789 Capital, is bringing “double digit millions” to the Enhanced Games. Trump Jr. made a video trumpeting his partnership, that includes an appearance by his father, President Trump.
Trump Jr., in a statement accompanying the announcement of the funding, said: “This is about excellence, innovation, and American dominance on the world stage — something the MAGA movement is all about.”
D’Souza is thrilled by the backing of America’s first family and other moneyed interests.
“To know that some of the most significant figures in American social and political life support the Enhanced Games is more important to us than any investment,” he said on a video call in February. “I’ve had the great fortune of working alongside many members of the administration and other prominent figures of the Trump movement over the years, so it’s a very natural fit.”
D’Souza and his team express lofty goals beyond juicing athletes, setting records and paying race winners. Last week, D’Souza posted as much on LinkedIn:
“This isn’t just about enhancement. It’s about economic freedom. About athletes having a choice. About breaking the monopoly that old institutions hold over human performance.
“At the Enhanced Games, we are unapologetic: We’re not backing down. We will fight — in the courts, in the public square, and in the arena of ideas — for every athlete who’s been silenced, underpaid, or discarded.”
Why are performance-enhancing drugs forbidden anyway?
The list of health risks associated with taking anabolic steroids — which have no medical use approved by the U.S. government — is long and frightening:
Men may see their breasts and prostate gland grow and their testicles shrink. Women may get a deeper voice, grow body hair and lose hair on their head. Both men and women might tear tendons or develop liver tumors, severe acne, elevated blood pressure, heart problems, issues with anger and depression.
The Enhanced Games say the competition will be under the supervision of a medical team, but by the time the games begin, damage from taking PEDs may have already developed.
“Protecting athletes is our top priority,” the Enhanced Games website proclaims. “Every competitor will undergo rigorous, state-of-the-art medical profiling before participating in the competition.”
The first athlete to show results from using the Enhanced Games PEDs regimen is Kristian Gkolomeev, a Greek swimmer who never medaled in four Olympics.
In February, Gkolomeev swam two-hundredths of a second faster than the 50-meter freestyle world record with a time of 20.89. He wore an inline full-body open water suit that is prohibited by World Aquatics.
“I’m kind of like the driver in the car, but I need the team behind me,” Gkolomeev said during an Enhanced Games promotional event last month in Las Vegas.
Greece’s Kristian Gkolomeev competes in the Swimming Men’s 50m Freestyle Semifinal 1 during the LEN European Aquatics Championships, at the Milan Gale Muskatirovic sports centre in Belgrade, on June 22, 2024.
(Andrej Isakovic / AFP via Getty Images)
Many believe that breaking records under the influence of PEDs is meaningless.
Paul Ifrim, a Romanian Luger who finished 20th at the 2010 Winter Olympics, responded to D’Souza’s LinkedIn post with this comment:
“I earned my place at the Olympics through hard, clean work and unwavering dedication over the course of many years. Integrity, fair play, respect, and perseverance are what inspire and shape true athletes. Your argument for ‘enhancing’ drugs, viewed as ‘athlete compensation,’ is a disgrace to those principles.
“What message are we sending young, aspiring athletes? That cheating and cutting corners is a valid path to success? These are pathetic excuses for undermining the true spirit of competition. You’re delusional for promoting this agenda. True athletes rise through grit and honor, not shortcuts and hypocrisy.”
Tygart, the CEO of USADA, had a similar reaction: “While those behind the Enhanced Games might be looking to make a quick buck, that profit would come at the expense of kids across the world thinking they need to dope to chase their dreams. We desperately wish this investment was being made in the athletes who are currently training and competing the real and safe way.
“They are the role models this world so desperately needs and they are the ones who deserve our support — not some dangerous clown show that puts profit over principle.”
A counterpoint was published last summer by anti-doping expert Michael Ashenden, who helped create the athlete blood passport system and develop a test for the blood-boosting drug Erythropoietin (EPO).
Initially opposed to the Enhanced Games, Ashenden changed his mind, writing that the failures of WADA to combat doping in the Olympics make an alternative viable.
“Today I advocate for the concept of an Enhanced Games to co-exist with the Olympic Movement, provided their athletes do nothing illegal,” Ashenden wrote. “I realized that not following the WADA rules was not so radical after all….”
“I acknowledge that by offering incentives for record performances, the Enhanced Games are tacitly encouraging the use of performance-enhancing substances. But by offering a gold medal, the Olympic Movement also incentivizes the use of performance-enhancing substances….
“Although it may be a bitter pill for the Olympic Movement, it was foreseeable that the commercialization of sport under their stewardship would create an environment that seeded a corporate disruptor.”
Tom Daley has opened up about the inner turmoil he experienced after earning Olympic success at the age of 14.
On 1 June, the champion diver released his new documentary Tom Daley: 1.6 Seconds.
Directed by Vaughan Sivell, the film chronicles Daley’s remarkable athletic career, including his beginnings in the diving world and his extensive Olympic journey.
The documentary also takes a candid look at some of the personal struggles he had to deal with behind the scenes, ranging from his coming out announcement to the tragic passing of his father.
In light of the release of Tom Daley: 1.6 Seconds, Daley opened up to Newsweek about some of the topics explored in the film, including his experience with bullying in school.
When asked what it was like to watch back that portion of the film, the 31-year-old talent described it as “very lonely” – adding that no one in his life at the time understood what he was going through.
“I had my best friends– Sophie, who is still my best friend today – who I never spoke to about diving. She’s there to be, like, ‘Yay! That was great!.’ But she doesn’t have any interest in knowing what’s going on within it,” he explained to the news outlet.
“Well, maybe she does have an interest. But she doesn’t see me just as a diver. She’s my best friend. SoI think that’s somethingthat’sreallyquite nice to have, and I’m grateful for her.
“But no one really understood what it was like to be that young when I was going away on team competitions because they were all so much older than I was at the time.”
When addressing the bullying he faced, Daley said he “almost felt guilty” about being picked on, adding that he didn’t want to “bother anyone” with how he was feeling.
“I’m really grateful and really lucky to be in the position that I’m in, yet I’m having this really tough time. It was like being pulled from one side to the other of like, ‘Yay, great. I’m succeeding in this.’ But then, ‘Oh no, I’m being pulled this way,’” he continued.
“It was quite difficult to have that moment where I was just like, ‘You know what, I feel very alone. I don’t really know what to do.’ That’s part of the reason why I think I kept finding myself putting on this other personality to be able to hide from that bit of me that was really struggling.”
Toward the end of his statement, Daley explained that he didn’t want to confront his inner challenges – like being gay, school bullying, or his dad’s terminal illness – because he didn’t “want to come across as the person who felt sorry for themselves.”
“Because I felt so grateful and lucky to be in the position I was, and I didn’t ever feel like I was in a position to ever complain about that,” he added.
“As we get older, I think we both align very well on what we want to achieve. We’re both really big dreamers. I think that was the biggest thing for us, that we’re both so supportive of each other,” Daley told Us Weekly.
“We don’t limit the other person’s dreams. We really make each other feel like we can achieve whatever we set our minds to.”
