American opulence is expected at the Olympics. So even as U.S. athletes were racking up medals at the Tokyo Olympics, much of the conversation seemed to dwell on why we weren’t winning more. Indeed, according to the FiveThirtyEight medal tracker, Team USA was projected to win 16 more medals than it did, with its gold […]
Formiga competed in the first Olympic women’s soccer tournament in 1996. Last week began her record-setting seventh Games. The Brazilian footballer is one of many Black sportswomen who have made Olympic history — whether they are the firsts, the record-setters or the most decorated athletes in their country. These feats have often been achieved despite […]
When the coronavirus pandemic delayed the Tokyo Olympics until 2021, it disrupted every athlete training for the Games, but one group in particular. For athletes whose window of elite performance was closing, the extra year made qualifying that much more difficult — at least in theory. A few American athletes seem poised to defy that […]