Team USA swim coach opens up about lessons learned from his father

Team USA swim coach opens up about lessons learned from his father
Team USA swim coach opens up about lessons learned from his father
Mike Stobe/Getty Images, FILE

(NEW YORK) — Anthony Nesty attributes his recent appointment as U.S. men’s Olympic swim team head coach to his hard work ethic, determination and family.

Nesty, who is also the head coach of the University of Florida’s men’s swimming and diving team, was selected to lead the U.S. men’s swim team at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics back in September.

“I tell our athletes, being a head coach and coming from a third world country, most of these kids in the states, they don’t know,” he said, speaking with ABC News. “I always realized that I had to work hard. I had to do things at a higher level, obviously, being somebody of color … all eyes are on you. From day one coming to the states, everybody doubted me and my abilities as a swimmer. But I overcame that. When I became a coach, everybody doubted my abilities as a coach, but I became head coach [of Team USA].”

The Olympic gold medalist also addressed what his late father Ronald Nesty, who raised him in Suriname, would say now about his success.

“He probably wouldn’t say much,” Anthony Nesty said. “But he underst[ood] that the lessons that he taught me, I took to heart.”

Ronald Nesty was the one who introduced Anthony Nesty and his four siblings to swimming when they were children in in Suriname, a culturally Caribbean country perched on the north coast of South America.

Ronald Nesty put a high value on discipline, hard work and consistency, his son said, and thought individual sports like swimming brought out the best in athletes because it was completely up to the individual on how well they could perform.

Still, he said, “I had no clue what training was all about until I got to the states. So, that was a big challenge for me.”

Anthony Nesty first arrived in the U.S. as a student-athlete at The Bolles School, a private prep and boarding school in Jacksonville, Florida. Swim practices there were grueling and he was competing against the best swimmers he had ever faced. Even though his father was still in Suriname, Anthony Nesty said his father’s lessons stuck with him.

“My dad was a driven man. He did everything for his kids,” he continued. “And my feeling was, and still is, I have to do everything I can to uphold the family’s name, and that’s why I worked so hard at what I do.”

Anthony Nesty used the lessons his father taught him as a child to eventually attain gold and bronze medals in the men’s 100-meter butterfly at the 1988 and 1992 Olympics, respectively. His 1988 victory over Team USA’s Matt Biondi made Anthony Nesty the first Black male swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal.

His hard work later earned him his current head coaching role at the University of Florida, as well as an assistant coaching role for Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where he trained world-class swimmers such as Katie Ledecky, Bobby Finke and Caeleb Dressel.

Anthony Nesty now shares his father’s lessons with his 17-year-old daughter Lillie Nesty and his swimmers. His daughter is a qualifier for the Paris Olympic trials and in February committed to the University of Texas swim team.

“They have to believe in their ability to do things on a day-to-day basis, and when the time comes, just bring all those pieces together,” Anthony Nesty said, sharing his advice for bother Lillie and his swimmers. “You’ve got to believe, and it’s in anything in life that you do. Pretty simple.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Bills running back Damien Harris taken off field by ambulance

Bills running back Damien Harris taken off field by ambulance
Bills running back Damien Harris taken off field by ambulance
Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images

(ORCHARD PARK, N.Y.) — Buffalo Bills running back Damien Harris was taken off the football field by ambulance during Sunday night’s game with the New York Giants.

Harris was tackled after receiving the ball from quarterback Josh Allen and stayed on the ground following the play.

Bills staff ran onto the field and Harris was strapped to what appeared to be a gurney.

Damar Hamlin, Harris’ teammate, who went into cardiac arrest earlier this year on the field, watched from the sidelines, looking distraught.

Harris was seen giving a thumbs-up as he was lifted into the ambulance and driven out of the stadium.

According to a post on the team’s X account (formerly Twitter), which was retweeted by the team’s page, Harris was out of the game with a neck injury.

“Injury Update: Damien Harris (neck) is out for the game. He has movement in his arms and legs. Harris is being taken to hospital for further testing,” the post read.

The incident happened shortly before the end of the second quarter when the Giants were up 6-0.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Scoreboard roundup — 10/15/23

Scoreboard roundup — 10/15/23
Scoreboard roundup — 10/15/23
iStock

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

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Texas 2, Houston 0 (Texas leads series 1-0)

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PRESEASON
Charlotte 117, Oklahoma City 115
Toronto 134, Cairns 93
Miami 132, Memphis 124
Milwaukee 108, L.A. Lakers 97
Denver 116, Chicago 102
Golden State 121, Sacramento 115 (OT)

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Ottawa 5, Tampa Bay 2
Anaheim 6, Carolina 3

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Baltimore 24, Tennessee 16
Cincinnati 17, Seattle 13
Cleveland 19, San Francisco 17
Houston 20, New Orleans 13
Jacksonville 37, Indianapolis 20
Miami 42, Carolina 21
Minnesota 19, Chicago 13
Washington 24, Atlanta 16
Las Vegas 21, New England 17
Final Detroit 20 Tampa Bay 6
LA Rams 26, Arizona 9
NY Jets 20, Philadelphia 14
Buffalo 14, NY Giants 9

WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
New York 87, Las Vegas 73

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Scoreboard roundup — 10/12/23

Scoreboard roundup — 10/12/23
Scoreboard roundup — 10/12/23
iStock

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

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Philadelphia 3, Atlanta 1

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PRESEASON
Orlando 108, Cleveland 105
Washington 98, Charlotte 92
Detroit 128, Oklahoma City 125
Brooklyn 135, Maccabi Ra’anana 103
Atlanta 103, Memphis 102
Houston 120, New Orleans 87
Chicago 133, Denver 124 (2OT)
Phoenix 122, Portland 111

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Vegas 4, San Jose 1
Philadelphia 4, Columbus 2
NY Rangers 5, Buffalo 1
New Jersey 4, Detroit 3
Nashville 3, Seattle 0
Minnesota 2, Florida 0
Dallas 2, St. Louis 1 (SO)

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Final Kansas City 19 Denver 8

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Scoreboard roundup — 10/11/23

Scoreboard roundup — 10/11/23
Scoreboard roundup — 10/11/23
iStock

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

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Houston 3, Minnesota 2 (Houston wins 3-1)

NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Philadelphia 10, Atlanta 2 (Philadelphia leads 2-1)
Arizona 4, LA Dodgers 2 (Arizona wins 3-0)

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PRESEASON
Boston 112, Philadelphia 101
LA Lakers 109, Sacramento 101

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Colorado 5, Los Angeles 2
Carolina 5, Ottawa 3
Toronto 6, Montreal 5 (SO)
Boston 3, Chicago 1
Calgary 5, Winnipeg 3
Vancouver 8, Edmonton 1

WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Las Vegas 104, New York 76

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Scoreboard roundup –10/10/23

Scoreboard roundup –10/10/23
Scoreboard roundup –10/10/23
iStock

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

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Houston 9, Minnesota 1
Texas 7, Baltimore 1

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PRESEASON
Madrid 127, Dallas 123
Washington 145, Cairns 82
Atlanta 108, Cleveland 107
Miami 113, Charlotte 109
Orlando 122, New Orleans 105
Memphis 108, Milwaukee 102
Houston 122, Indiana 103
LA Clippers 103, Utah 98
Portland 106, New Zealand 66
Denver 115, Phoenix 107

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Vegas 4, Seattle 1
Tampa Bay 5, Nashville 3
Chicago 4, Pittsburgh 2

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Scoreboard roundup — 10/09/23

Scoreboard roundup — 10/09/23
Scoreboard roundup — 10/09/23
iStock

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

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Atlanta 5, Philadelphia 4 (Series tied 1-1)
Arizona 4, LA Dodgers 2 (Arizona leads series 2-0)

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PRESEASON
New York 114, Boston 107
Oklahoma City 122, San Antonio 121
LA Lakers 129, Brooklyn 126

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Las Vegas 17, Green Bay 13

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Scoreboard roundup — 10/8/23

Scoreboard roundup — 10/8/23
Scoreboard roundup — 10/8/23
iStock

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

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Texas 11, Baltimore 8
Minnesota 6, Houston 2

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PRESEASON
Milwaukee 105, Chicago 102
Phoenix 130, Detroit 126 (OT)
Boston 114, Philadelphia 106
Toronto 112, Sacramento 99
Memphis 127, Indiana 122 (OT)
Utah 101, LA Clippers 96

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Jacksonville 25, Buffalo 20
Atlanta 21, Houston 19
Detroit 42, Carolina 24
Indianapolis 23, Tennessee 16
Miami 31, NY Giants 16
New Orleans 34, New England 0
Pittsburgh 17, Baltimore 10
Cincinnati 34, Arizona 20
Philadelphia 23, L.A. Rams 14
Kansas City 27, Minnesota 20
NY Jets 31, Denver 21
San Francisco 42, Dallas 10

WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Las Vegas 99, New York 82

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Simone Biles wins 6th Worlds title, becomes most decorated gymnast in history

Simone Biles wins 6th Worlds title, becomes most decorated gymnast in history
Simone Biles wins 6th Worlds title, becomes most decorated gymnast in history
Naomi Baker / Staff/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Simone Biles has made gymnastics history.

On Friday, the gymnastics superstar, 26, won her 27th world championship medal when she earned the gold for the individual all-around title at the world championships in Antwerp, Belgium with a score of 58.399 in the women’s all-around.

The win was her sixth all-around title, which makes her tied for the most in history (man or woman). She is tied with Vitaly Scherbo, who competed for the Soviet Union, the Unified Team and Belarus throughout his career.

Biles now holds 34 World and Olympic medals, making her the most decorated gymnast in history.

Shilese Jones, Biles’ Team USA teammate, also earned bronze in the women’s all-around category with a score of 56.332. Rebeca Andrade of Brazil earned a score of 56.766 and won silver.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Team USA (@teamusa)

At the podium after her win, Biles was in tears as the national anthem played in the background.

The win comes two days after the Women’s National Gymnastics Team cemented a spot in sports history with its seventh consecutive world championship title.

Biles, who leads the team, helped carry Team USA to a record-breaking gold medal at the world championships. The gymnast performed a floor routine, which earned the highest score of the day and solidified the team’s victory by more than two points over Brazil.

Biles’ history-making win on Friday was also a full-circle moment for the athlete. A decade ago, the U.S. gymnast won her first individual all-around title in the same city when she made her global debut at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.

ABC News’ Jill Tatara and Rachel Katz contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Soccer player Da’Vian Kimbrough, 13, talks historic debut as youngest pro

Soccer player Da’Vian Kimbrough, 13, talks historic debut as youngest pro
Soccer player Da’Vian Kimbrough, 13, talks historic debut as youngest pro
SasinT Gallery/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Soccer player Da’vian Kimbrough had a moment this week unlike most of his fellow 13-year-olds.

On Sunday, Kimbrough made history as the youngest professional athlete in American team sports when he made his debut with the Sacramento Republic, a USL Championship team based in Sacramento, California.

“At first, I was a little nervous but I feel like once I stepped on, it was more exciting than anything,” Da’vian told Good Morning America in an exclusive television interview Friday. “I tried to silence the noise and just play soccer.”

Da’vian, of Woodland, California, made his debut in the 87th minute of Sunday’s game, which Sacramento went onto win 2-0 against the Las Vegas Lights.

At 13 years, seven months and 13 days old, Da’vian beat the previous record held by Axel Kei, who was 13 years, nine months, and nine days old when he made his debut in 2021 for the Real Monarchs, according to ESPN.

After the game, Da’vian said he celebrated his history-making performance with his family and fans.

“I celebrated by going up to my family first of all, of course, taking pictures,” he said. “And then I also went over to fans at the end, to sign some stuff and take pictures.”

Da’vian, a forward, played for the Republic’s training academy for two years before signing with the team in August, according to the team.

At the time of his signing, Da’vian also made history as the youngest American to agree to a professional deal, according to ESPN.

He told GMA that he feels like his skill level really increased three years ago, during the coronavirus pandemic, when he was homeschooled and trained twice a day, both morning and night.

“I feel like that helped push my game to another level,” Da’vian said.

His father, Dominique Kimbrough, told GMA that when Da’vian started playing soccer at age 4, no one could have predicted he would make soccer history less than one decade later.

“I actually just didn’t think it would go this far, at that point. His love for the game took it here,” Kimbrough said. “At 4-years-old, it was just alright, let’s get into something, and then that something turned into this amazing human being that’s sitting here with me right now.”

Both Kimbrough and his wife, Da’vian’s mom, Jessica Cervantes, were college athletes.

Kimbrough said his advice to his son has always been to “just keep working” at his game.

“There’s going to be a lot of noise. As long as you focus on what you want and you continue to work at it, and work hard, whatever you ask and whatever you want can happen, but you have to be willing to put in the work,” Kimbrough said. “That’s a constant conversation for us.”

Da’vian said his advice for other kids is the same, to, “just keep working hard.”

“Persevere through everything, no matter what,” he said. “And everyone has a different path, so even if you don’t make it at the same age as me, keep pushing hard so you can make it eventually.”

 

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