Sports

(BEIJING) — One of the most popular sports at the Winter Olympics is about to get underway in Beijing: figure skating. Lacing up their skates for the U.S. Olympic team are various world champions, repeat Olympians and history-makers.

The U.S. has multiple athletes competing in all figure skating disciplines — men’s singles, women’s singles, pairs and ice dance. Each member of the team is eligible to compete in their respective Olympic team events.

The action kicks off Thursday night Eastern Standard Time, with the men’s short program team event, and runs throughout most of the Games.

Here’s a look at the 16 skaters representing Team USA at the Beijing Winter Olympics:

MEN’S

Jason Brown, 27

Brown made his first Olympics appearance in the 2014 Sochi Games, where he took home bronze in the team event and placed ninth overall — and also became known for his signature ponytail. After being selected as the first alternate for the PyeongChang 2018 Games, he’s in Beijing for his second Olympics — sans ponytail. The charismatic skater came in fourth at the U.S. Nationals, though fared well at the senior level, including medaling at both of his Grand Prix Series assignments, to make the Olympic team.

Nathan Chen, 22

One of the biggest names in the sport and a clear gold-medal contender, Chen is a three-time World champion (2018, 2019 and 2021) and comes into the Olympics winning his sixth straight national figure skating championship. Beijing marks his second Olympics; at the 2018 PyeongChang Games, he earned bronze in the team event though failed to make the podium in singles, finishing fifth overall. But he made history there, becoming the first skater to land six quadruple jumps in a single program while also earning the highest free skate score ever in an Olympic competition. The athlete took time off from Yale University to train for the 2022 Olympics and plans to return to the school in the fall.

Vincent Zhou, 21

Zhou returns to the Olympics after placing sixth in PyeongChang, where he made history as the first skater to land a quadruple lutz in the Games. He is a five-time U.S. national medalist, who took home bronze at the 2022 championships. Zhou, whose parents are first-generation Chinese immigrants, said he chose “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” as his free skate song in a nod to his heritage.

Watch the competition:

• Feb. 3 at 8:55 p.m.: Short program team event
• Feb. 5 at 10:50 p.m.: Free skating team event
• Feb. 7 at 8:15 p.m.: Short program
• Feb. 9 at 8:30 p.m.: Free skating

WOMEN’S

Mariah Bell, 25

Bell is making her first appearance at the Olympics. She took the 2022 U.S. championship title — becoming the oldest U.S. women’s national champion in 95 years. She previously earned silver (2020) and bronze (2019, 2017) at nationals, and is the 2020 Guaranteed Rate Skate America champion. In her latest World Championships appearance, in 2019, she placed ninth. Her coaches include Olympian and figure skating star Adam Rippon.

Karen Chen, 22

Chen debated retiring from the sport after her 11th-place finish at the 2018 PyeongChang Games and enrolling in Cornell University. But she took time off from school to pursue a second Olympics appearance. She is the 2017 U.S. champion and took silver at this year’s nationals. Her fourth-place finish at the 2021 World Championships helped the U.S. secure three women’s entries for the Beijing Games.

Alysa Liu, 16

The youngest team member, Liu, is making her first Olympic appearance in Beijing. The two-time, back-to-back national champion became the youngest to win the title at 13 in 2019. She had to withdraw from this year’s championships after testing positive for COVID-19, but was able to make the Olympic team after petitioning for a spot. Known for her challenging skillset, Liu is the first American skater to successfully land a quadruple jump in competition and the first woman to land both a quadruple jump and a triple axel in the same program.

Watch the competition:

• Feb. 5 at 8:30 p.m.: Short program team event
• Feb. 6 at 10:35 p.m.: Free skating team event
• Feb. 15 at 5 a.m.: Short program
• Feb. 17 at 5 a.m.: Free skating

Ashley Cain-Gribble, 26, and Timothy LeDuc, 31

The 2022 and 2019 U.S. champions are making their Olympic debut after skating together for six years. LeDuc is also the first openly non-binary athlete to compete at the Winter Olympics. Figure skating is in Cain-Gribble’s blood; she is the daughter of Peter Cain, an Australian who competed at the 1980 Lake Placid Games in pair skating with his sister, Elizabeth Cain. Her mother, Darlene Cain, also competed in ice dance for Canada. Her parents are among their coaches.

Alexa Knierim, 30, and Brandon Frazier, 29

The pair won the 2021 U.S. championships during their first season competing together, earning the highest score ever achieved in U.S. competition. They had to bow out of this year’s U.S. championships after Frazier tested positive for COVID-19, but they were able to be considered for the Olympic team via a petition process. This is Frazier’s first Olympics and Knierim’s second; she competed in the 2018 PyeongChang Games with her husband, Chris Knierim, where they won bronze as part of the team event. Chris Knierim has since retired and is now one of duo’s coaches.

Watch the competition:

• Feb. 4 at 12:15 a.m. ET: Short program team event
• Feb. 6 at 8:15 p.m. ET: Free skating team event
• Feb. 18 at 5:30 a.m. ET: Short program
• Feb. 19 at 6 a.m. ET: Free skating

Madison Chock, 29, and Evan Bates, 32

The 2022 U.S. champions are marking their third Olympic appearance together, while Bates marks his fourth, becoming the first American figure skater to compete at four Winter Games. The pair, who have been skating together for over 10 years, come into the Games ranked second in the world. The two are a couple both on and off the ice and find time to host their own figure skating podcast, “Unlaced with Chock & Bates.”

Kaitlin Hawayek, 25, and Jean-Luc Baker, 28

This marks the first Olympic appearance for the duo, who have been skating together for 10 years. The pair have earned bronze at four straight U.S. championships starting in 2019 and are the 2018 Four Continents champions. Baker is of Olympic pedigree: His mother, Sharon Jones Baker, represented the United Kingdom in ice dancing at the 1988 Calgary Olympics.

Madison Hubbell, 30, and Zachary Donohue, 31

After more than a decade as partners, this marks the second and last Olympics for the pair, who announced they plan to retire after this season. The decorated duo won the U.S. title in 2018, 2019 and 2021, and placed silver in the competition this year. They are also three-time World Championship medalists, most recently winning silver in 2021. At the 2018 Olympic Games, they were just shy of medaling, finishing fourth.

Watch the competition:

• Feb 3 at 10:35 p.m. ET: Rhythm dance team event
• Feb 6 at 9:30 p.m. ET: Free dance team event
• Feb 12 at 6 a.m. ET: Rhythm dance
• Feb. 13 at 8:15 p.m. ET: Free dance

For more Olympics coverage, see: https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/Olympics

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(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
New Orleans 111, Detroit 101
Toronto 110, Miami 106
Milwaukee 112, Washington 98
Chicago 126, Orlando 115
Minnesota 130, Denver 115
Golden State 124, San Antonio 120
Phoenix 121, Brooklyn 111

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Philadelphia 3, Winnipeg 1
NY Rangers 5, Florida 2
Toronto 7, New Jersey 1
Boston 3, Seattle 2
Tampa Bay 3 San Jose 2 (OT)
Washington 4, Pittsburgh 3 (OT)
NY Islanders 4, Ottawa 1
Nashville 4, Vancouver 2
Calgary 4, Dallas 3
Arizona 3, Colorado 2 (SO)
Vegas 5, Buffalo 2

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Auburn 100, Alabama 81
Kansas 70, Iowa St. 61
Michigan St. 65, Maryland 63
Texas Tech 77, Texas 64
Providence 86, St. John’s 82
Creighton 59, UConn 55
Tennessee 90, Texas A&M 80
Mississippi 76, LSU 72

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(WASHINGTON) — The FBI on Monday issued a stern warning for U.S. Olympic athletes traveling to Beijing for the Winter Olympics: keep your personal cellphones at home and use a burner phone.

“The FBI urges all athletes to keep their personal cell phones at home and use a temporary phone while at the Games,” according to a notice sent by the agency. “While there were no major cyber disruptions, the most popular attack methods used were malware, email spoofing, phishing and the use of fake websites and streaming services designed to look like official Olympic service providers.”

“These activities include distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, ransomware, malware, social engineering, data theft or leaks, phishing campaigns, disinformation campaigns, or insider threats, and when successful, can block or disrupt the live broadcast of the event, steal or leak sensitive data, or impact public or private digital infrastructure supporting the Olympics,” the FBI warned.

During the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, there were more than 450 million attempted cyber-related incidents, “though none were successful due to cybersecurity measures in place,” the FBI said.

The agency said the use of digital wallets and mobile COVID-19 vaccination cards “could also increase the opportunity for cyber actors to steal personal information or install tracking tools, malicious code or malware,” adding that athletes will be required to download an app which will be used to track health and travel.

During the 2018 Winter Olympics, Russian cyber actors “conducted a destructive cyberattack against the Opening Ceremony, enabled through spear phishing campaigns and malicious mobile applications,” the FBI said. “The download and use of applications, including those required to participate or stay in country, could increase the opportunity for cyber actors to steal personal information or install tracking tools, malicious code, or malware.”

The Canadian Olympic Committee has also issued a similar statement urging athletes to leave their phones at home.

“The Canadian Olympic Committee works with cybersecurity experts, government agencies, the International Olympic Committee, and other National Olympic Committees to ensure we have appropriate plans for every Games environment we work in.,” a COC spokesperson told ABC News last week. “Some of our recommendations to Team Canada members include leaving personal devices at home, limiting personal information stored on devices brought to the Games, only connecting to official wifi, turning off transmitting functions when not in use, removing any Games related apps when they’re no longer necessary, and to practice good cyber-hygiene at all times.”

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(NEW YORK) — Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is suing the NFL over alleged racial discrimination.

Flores is suing the NFL, alleging that the league has a painful history of racism that continues through the present day — particularly when it comes to the hiring and retention of Black head coaches.

The complaint includes text messages from New England Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick, who congratulated Flores on getting hired by the New York Giants when he hadn’t yet interviewed. The job actually ended up going to former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.

Belichick informed Flores, three days before his interview with the Giants, that Daboll had already been selected for the job.

“Sorry – I f—– this up. I double checked and misread the text. I think they are naming Brian Daboll. I’m sorry about that. BB,” the complaint quoted Belichick.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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(NEW YORK) — Three-time Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor revealed that she tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday after arriving in Beijing ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Taylor said on Tuesday she is staying at an isolation hotel away from her husband, fellow Olympic bobsledder Nic Taylor, and their one-year-old son, Nico, who traveled with her to the games.

The decorated athlete, who has won a medal at each game, is now racing against time to overcome the illness and test negative before the bobsledding events begin on February 13.

“This is just the latest obstacle that my family and I have faced on this journey,” the 37-year-old athlete wrote in a social media post. “So I’m remaining optimistic that I’ll be able to recover quickly and still have the opportunity to compete.”

In addition to being a top contender for the U.S. women’s bobsledding team, Taylor is hoping to vie for the gold in the women’s monobob event, one of seven sports making its debut in Beijing.

She has been training intensively around the clock over the past several years for what may be her final time at the Olympics.

“Every day, it feels like I’m on my feet from sunup to sundown,” she said in an interview with “Good Morning America” before her trip to Beijing.

Getting to the Olympics as a new mom

Training for the Olympics for the very first time as a new mom amid a global pandemic brought a new set of challenges.

Ahead of Beijing, Taylor said her one-year-old son, Nico, whom she welcomed in 2020, was her ultimate inspiration. After giving birth to Nico, Taylor said she faced severe back pain and found it difficult at times to maintain a steady workout plan with most gyms closed down in the early days of the pandemic. However, having Nico motivated her to continue on her Olympic career on the women’s bobsledding team and to train for the monobob event.

“After my 2018 games, I was very happy with my performance and wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue bobsledding,” she said. “But after I had him, I knew I wanted to continue and show that it’s possible to overcome any adversity and continue pursuing your goals.”

She also credits her credits her husband, Nic, for his support on their shared journey.

“None of this would be possible without him and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner, both on and off the ice, and a better father to my son,” Taylor said about her husband, who is also a bobsledder and an Olympic alternate for the U.S. men’s team.

In addition to maintaining her own intense bobsled training, Taylor said that a lot of planning was done with her son’s doctors to ensure he could accompany the family to Beijing. Nico was born with Down syndrome and has profound bilateral hearing loss that’s now aided by cochlear implants. Taylor worked closely with Nico’s doctors to ensure the toddler was medically-stable to travel to Beijing and could receive speech, physical and hearing therapies during her competition.

“It’s really been a balancing act of trying to make sure we’re giving him what he needs because at the end of the day, I love the bobsled, I love what I do, but he’s going to come first in every sense of the way,” she told “Good Morning America.”

Taylor has also become a proud advocate for families of children with special needs.

“Yes, there are hard days, and yes, it’s not always easy. But there’s also so many highs. We live a life that has so much joy and we wouldn’t trade our son for anyone in the world,” she said. “And and we’ve been able to do some incredible things.”

“We just want to encourage people out there that if you get a diagnosis before, during pregnancy or after pregnancy, like it’s going to be OK and you will still live a very happy and joyful life, regardless of what diagnosis they have….A diagnosis is just that. It’s a medical diagnosis. It doesn’t tell you who your kid is,” she added.

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(NEW YORK) — Legendary quarterback Tom Brady announced his retirement from the NFL via Instagram Tuesday morning following days of speculation.

“I have always believed the sport of football is an ‘all-in’ proposition — if a 100% competitive commitment isn’t there, you won’t succeed … I have tried my very best these past 22 years. There are no shortcuts to success on the field or in life,” he wrote on Instagram. “This is difficult for me to write, but here it goes: I am not going to make that competitive commitment anymore. I have loved my NFL career, and now it is time to focus my time and energy on other things.”

As for his future, Brady said it’ll be “exciting.”

“I’m fortunate to have cofounded incredible companies like @autograph.io @bradybrand, @tb12sports that I am excited to continue to help build and grow, but exactly what my days will look like will be a work-in-progress,” he wrote. “I am going to take it day by day. I know for sure I want to spend a lot of time giving to others and trying to enrich other people’s lives, just as so many have done for me.”

The 44-year-old quarterback played 22 seasons in the NFL. Brady spent 20 seasons with the New England Patriots, winning six Super Bowls. He then spent two seasons playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leading them to a Super Bowl win in 2021.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(BEIJING) — When the Olympic athletes take the field during the 2022 Games opening ceremony in Beijing, there will be one group that won’t show off their national pride.

Russian athletes are only able to compete under the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) flag due to an ongoing ban over the country’s previous doping violations.

Doping regulators contend this punishment is justified, given the country’s cover-up.

There are 204 Russian athletes competing in the 2022 Winter Games as “neutrals” under the moniker ROC as part of ongoing sanctions imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Russia cannot officially send any athlete to an international sports competition until December 2022.

While WADA’s ban on the country was severe, the agency and International Olympic Committee have made special arrangements for athletes who have proven to be clean.

Under the IOC’s rules, Russian athletes are prohibited in any form from showing any representation of the country, including its flag or national anthem.

“All public displays of the organization’s participant name should use the acronym ‘ROC,’ not the full name ‘Russian Olympic Committee,'” the IOC rules state.

In any event where a ROC athlete is awarded a medal, a Tchaikovsky song piece is played instead of the Russian national anthem, and the ROC flag, which features the Olympic rings and red, blue and white stripes, will be flown.

This is the third Olympics in a row where the country’s athletes couldn’t officially represent Russia.

The Russians were banned from competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, however, athletes that passed doping screenings were allowed to compete under the Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) delegation.

Russian athletes competed as the ROC during last summer’s Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The punishments date back to 2015, after athletes came forward to WADA and provided evidence of a decade of state-sponsored doping. The Russian government has denied any involvement and has blamed several coaches.

However, in 2016, whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of Russia’s anti-doping laboratory in Moscow, provided evidence that he, other lab officials and Russia’s FSB security service worked to hide hundreds of positive doping tests.

While the Russians appealed WADA’s sanction, the agency found more evidence of doping cover-ups. A WADA compliance report in late November 2019 said it had found that hundreds of likely positive doping tests had been deleted from a database of results held by Russia’s anti-doping lab given to the agency that year.

In December 2019, WADA’s executive committee voted unanimously to ban Russia from fielding any athletes at international sporting events, including the 2020 summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 2022 winter Olympics in Beijing.

“Russia was afforded every opportunity to get its house in order and re-join the global anti-doping community for the good of its athletes and of the integrity of sport, but it chose instead to continue in its stance of deception and denial,” Sir Craig Reedie, WADA’s then-president, said in 2019.

WADA’s ban, which was reduced from four years to two years, also prohibits Russia from officially participating in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Other nations have been banned from competing in past Olympics. The IOC banned Afghanistan from the 2000 summer Olympic Games in Sydney because of the Taliban’s discrimination against women.

In 2016, Kuwait was banned from officially sending athletes to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio due to a national law that conflicted with the Olympic Movement. Athletes from that country took part in the 2016 games under the moniker “athletes from Kuwait.”

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(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Indiana 122, LA Clippers 116
Cleveland 93, New Orleans 90
Philadelphia 122 Memphis 119 (OT)
Boston 122, Miami 92
Toronto 106, Atlanta 100
New York 116, Sacramento 96
Oklahoma City 98, Portland 81
Golden State 122, Houston 108

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Florida 8, Columbus 4
Vancouver 3, Chicago 1
Detroit 2, Anaheim 1 (OT)
Toronto 6, New Jersey 4
Ottawa 3 Edmonton 2 (OT)

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Baylor 81, West Virginia 77
Duke 57, Notre Dame 43

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Atlanta 129, LA Lakers 121
LA Clippers 115, Charlotte 90
Chicago 130, Portland 116
Detroit 115, Cleveland 105
Denver 136, Milwaukee 100
Orlando 110, Dallas 108
Phoenix 115, San Antonio 110
Minnesota 126, Utah 106

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
NY Rangers 3, Seattle 2
Los Angeles 4, Pittsburgh 3
Carolina 2, San Jose 1
Dallas 6, Boston 1
Columbus 6, Montreal 3
Minnesota 4, NY Islanders 3
Colorado 4, Buffalo 1

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Cincinnati 27, Kansas City 24 (OT)
LA Rams 20, San Francisco 17

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Purdue 81, Ohio St. 78
Wisconsin 66, Minnesota 60
Providence 65, Marquette 63

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(TAMPA BAY, Fla.) — Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady is retiring after 22 years in the NFL, ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington reported.

Brady, the most successful quarterback in NFL history, has won seven Super Bowls — six with the New England Patriots and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — and won five Super Bowl MVPs and three NFL MVP trophies. He went to 15 Pro Bowls and was an All Pro in each of his MVP seasons.

“I understand the advanced speculation about Tom’s future,” Brady’s agent, Don Yee, told ESPN’s Schefter in a statement. “Without getting into the accuracy or inaccuracy of what’s being reported, Tom will be the only person to express his plans with complete accuracy. He knows the realities of the football business and planning calendar as well as anybody, so that should be soon.”

Brady’s last season came to an end with a loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round of the playoffs. In true Brady fashion, the quarterback led his team back from a 27-3 deficit, only to lose 30-27 on a field goal by the Rams as time expired.

Brady, 44, played two seasons with the Buccaneers after leaving New England in 2020. In his first season in Tampa Bay, he led the Bucs to their first Super Bowl win since 2003.

He holds virtually every career record by a quarterback, including most passing yards (84,520), pass completions (7,263) and passing touchdowns (624).

While Brady himself has yet to announce the move, his company, TB12 Sports, tweeted the star’s accomplishments and wrote “Thank you for it all, @TomBrady.” The account later deleted the tweet.

Brady has delved into several off-field endeavors in recent years, including his TB12 Sports, a health and wellness company, and the Brady Brand clothing line, which he launched earlier this month and will be sold in Nordstrom stores.

He told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that he has been “very involved” in the clothing line.

“I’ve always kind of, you know, loved fashion and apparel, and I wanted to be as hands-on as possible,” he said.

Following the 2021-22 season, he had said he would talk with his family about whether he wanted to return for another season. Brady is married to supermodel Gisele Bundchen, with whom he has two children. He also has a son with actress Bridget Moynahan.
MORE: Tom Brady forays into fashion with new apparel brand that highlights college athletes

Brady was far from a highly touted prospect as a sixth-round pick out of Michigan by the Patriots in the 2000 NFL draft. But a hit by New York Jets linebacker Mo Lewis on Patriots starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe in Week 2 of the 2001 season launched Brady into stardom in his second season. He ended up starting 14 games, leading the team to an 11-3 record and an upset win against the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl.

He won two more Super Bowls in the next three seasons, establishing himself as a star and the Patriots as a dynasty led by head coach Bill Belichick.

Brady also won Super Bowls with the Patriots in 2015, 2017 and 2019. He’s the only player to win Super Bowls in three different decades.

For years, Brady’s only kryptonite appeared to be the New York Giants and their quarterback, Eli Manning. The Giants defeated Brady’s Patriots in 2008 and 2012. New England had entered the Super Bowl in 2008 with an undefeated record and was looking to become the first team with an unblemished record since the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

Brady’s only other loss in a Super Bowl came in 2018 against the Philadelphia Eagles — despite throwing for over 500 yards and three touchdowns.

The reaction to Brady’s retirement was swift. Former Patriots teammate Julian Edelman tweeted, “Thanks for the memories, babe.”

Several of his Tampa Bay teammates also tweeted about the news. Wide receiver Chris Godwin tweeted, “The best ever. Congratulations bro @TomBrady grateful to have gotten to share the field with you!” Bucs linebacker Devin White shared, “Congrats to the greatest QB to ever lace em up on a helluva career.” Wide receiver Cyril Grayson wrote, “Happy Retirement! THANK YOU FOR ALL THE GAME!”

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