Basketball at 2028 Los Angeles Olympics to tip off two days before opening ceremony

Basketball is going to get a head start at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

FIBA — the international basketball governing body that oversees Olympic basketball — announced this week that the revised schedule for the event has the first games on July 12, two days before the July 14 Opening Ceremonies.

"This adjustment allows the Quarter-Finals to be played over two days and will also ensure that no game will start earlier than 12:00 PM, enhancing the overall experience for players, teams, fans and broadcasters," FIBA said in a statement announcing the change.

What was not announced is whether this change impacts the men's or women's tournaments, or both. Those tournaments are made up of a dozen men's and women's teams — who qualify for the Olympics via results at the World Cup as well as qualifying tournaments — and those tournaments will run through the gold medal games on July 29 and 30 (July 30 is the final day of the Los Angeles Olympics). All the basketball games are scheduled to be played at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, the home of the Los Angeles Clippers.

The USA is the defending gold medalists for both the men (who have won five Olympic golds in a row) and women (the eight-time Olympic defending champions).

US women set world record in relay at swim worlds, while Summer McIntosh wins fourth gold

  • US break own record in last event of worlds

  • China’s 12-year-old prodigy Yu Zidi finishes off-podium

Summer McIntosh capped a brilliant world championships with the 400 meters individual medley (IM) title and a fourth individual gold medal, while the United States set a world record in the women’s 4x100 medley relay to win the final title in Singapore on Sunday.

France’s Leon Marchand roared to victory in the men’s 400 meters IM, while the United States topped the medals table with nine golds, one more than Australia.

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German Olympic champion Laura Dahlmeier dies after mountaineering accident in Pakistan

  • Former biathlete struck by rockfall at altitude of 5,700m

  • Tributes paid to athlete ‘with heart, attitude and vision’

The German double Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier has died after a mountaineering accident in Pakistan, her management confirmed on Wednesday.

The accident occurred at around noon on Monday, at an altitude of approximately 5,700 metres at Laila Peak, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said on Tuesday. Dahlmeier was climbing with her mountaineering partner when she was struck by a sudden rockfall in the Hushe Valley, part of the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region.

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Katie Ledecky captures yet another gold in signature event at swimming worlds

  • Ledecky’s 1,500m gold is her 31st overall

  • American now has two medals at Worlds

Katie Ledecky has ceded a tiny bit of ground in other events, but she’s still unbeatable in the 1,500-meter freestyle.

She won it again Tuesday in the swimming world championships in Singapore, finishing in 15 minutes, 26.44 seconds. Simona Quadarella of Italy took silver in 15:31.79 – a European record – with bronze for Lani Pallister of Australia in 15:41.18 in a very quick-paced race.

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US Olympics officials quietly bar trans women from competing in women’s sports

Olympic and Paralympic committee tells federations it has ‘obligation to comply’ with executive order issued by Trump

The US Olympic and Paralympic committee has in effect barred transgender women from competing in women’s sports, telling the federations overseeing swimming, athletics and other sports it has an “obligation to comply” with an executive order issued by Donald Trump.

The new policy, announced on Monday with a quiet change on the USOPC’s website and confirmed in a letter sent to national sport governing bodies, follows a similar step taken by the NCAA earlier this year.

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Qatar wants to host Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036

  • Country in discussions with IOC over staging the Games

  • A move from event’s traditional summer slot may be required

Qatar has confirmed its interest in hosting the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The country’s Olympic committee (QOC) confirmed on Tuesday it was in “ongoing discussions” with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over staging the Games.

The Middle East nation hosted the men’s football World Cup in 2022.

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Former MMA fighter ‘died four times’ amid double lung transplant

Ben Askren, a former Olympic wrestler, had been hospitalized in Wisconsin with a severe case of pneumonia

Former Olympic wrestler and MMA star Ben Askren, who has been hospitalized in Wisconsin after a severe case of pneumonia, said in a post on social media Wednesday that he had undergone a double lung transplant and is in recovery.

Askren said during the Instagram video that he recalls very little of what happened over a month-long stretch from late May through the first two days of July. His wife, Amy, had said in a series of social media posts that Askren was put on a ventilator in June and placed on the donor list for a lung transplant on 24 June.

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French fencer cleared of doping charge on account of kissing her partner

  • Ysaora Thibus tested positive for ostarine in 2024

  • Partner Race Imboden was taking ostarine, Cas says

French Olympic fencer Ysaora Thibus was cleared of a doping allegation Monday because the judges accepted she was contaminated by kissing her American partner over a period of nine days.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) ruling echoed a verdict clearing another French athlete with a similar defense in a doping allegation – tennis player Richard Gasquet in the celebrated “cocaine kiss” case in 2009.

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NHL, NHLPA, IOC and IIHF finalize agreement for players to participate in 2026 Olympics

ZURICH — The NHL, NHLPA and international officials finalized a long-ago agreed-to deal to send players to the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.

The league, union, International Ice Hockey Federation and International Olympic Committee confirmed the participation of NHL players at the games for the first time since 2014. The groups negotiated the agreement and announced it initially last year.

IIHF president Luc Tardif called it “a major step forward for our sport.”

The final touches took time to figure out after officials insisted for months they were not concerned about the lack of a signed document. The deal opens the door for NHL participation to continue in 2030, something that had also been agreed to in February 2024.

The 12 participating countries unveiled the first six players on their Olympic rosters. The men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Games is scheduled to run from Feb. 11-22.

IOC’s Kirsty Coventry announces ‘scientific approach’ to protect ‘female category’

  • Task force of scientists and federations to revise policy

  • Trans and DSD athletes expected to be banned from female category

Kirsty Coventry has said there is now “overwhelming support” among International Olympic Committee members to protect the female category in a significant shift in its gender eligibility policy.

Coventry, who was chairing her first meetings as the IOC’s new president, said that a taskforce of scientists and international federations would be set up within weeks to come up with a new policy.

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Kirsty Coventry takes over as Olympic president and promises to change lives

  • First woman in the role replaces Thomas Bach

  • ‘We are guardians of the Olympic movement’

Kirsty Coventry has promised to change lives and inspire hope during an official ceremony to mark her taking over from Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee.

The 41-year-old from Zimbabwe, who in March became the first woman and the first African to be elected to the most powerful job in sports politics, also paid tribute to the strong women in her life as she was given the golden key to the IOC by Bach.

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Coventry makes history and has steel to make IOC role more than a puppet show | Sean Ingle

Bach’s successor is already making a positive impression but will need all her resolve at mammoth organisation

A new day has broken, has it not? For several reasons, Tony Blair’s 1997 election victory speech comes to mind on what will be a historic and symbolic day for sport. Because in Lausanne on Monday, after plenty of handshakes and platitudes, the 41-year-old Kirsty Coventry will become the first female and first African president of the International Olympic Committee in its 131-year-old history.

It has been, by any measure, a dizzying ascent. In 2016, Coventry stepped out of an Olympic pool for the final time in Rio. Now, nine years later, she is the most powerful person in sport. Yet as she takes charge, there are some who suspect that the new dawn will look rather like the old one – and that her predecessor, Thomas Bach, and his administration, will remain puppet masters behind the throne.

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Canada Olympic hockey roster: Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid among first players named for Milan Cortina 2026

Sidney Crosby is going to his third Olympics in 2026, and he'll be joined by a decorated Canadian cast of Olympic rookies.

Crosby, a gold medalist in 2010 and 2014, headlines the first six players named to the Canada men’s hockey roster for the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.

The others: Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Brayden Point and Sam Reinhart.

All 12 Olympic men's hockey teams are naming their first six players on Monday.

2026 Olympic hockey rosters
All 12 Olympic men’s hockey teams are naming their first six players on June 16.

Crosby, 37, can become the first men's hockey player to win a third Olympic gold medal since the NHL began participating in 1998.

Other Canadians who won gold in 2010 and 2014 are still active and could also be named to the final 25-man roster closer to the Games.

The rest of Canada's first six, though, are going to their first Olympics as the NHL participates for the first time since 2014.

McDavid, a three-time Hart Trophy winner as NHL MVP, is the most decorated active player yet to play at an Olympics. The Edmonton Oilers forward scored the golden goal in February's 4 Nations Face-Off final against the U.S.

MacKinnon, the 2024 Hart Trophy winner for the Colorado Avalanche, makes it two Halifax-born players among the first six along with Crosby.

Makar, MacKinnon's teammate on the Avs, is the two-time and reigning Norris Trophy winner as the NHL's top defenseman.

Point is a Stanley Cup winner with the Tampa Bay Lightning, whose coach, Jon Cooper, will be Canada's Olympic head coach.

The Florida Panthers' Reinhart is already a gold medalist at the junior and senior World Championships, plus a Stanley Cup champion. He will be looking to join the Triple Gold Club, of which Crosby is one of the 30 current members.

Sochi Olympics Ice Hockey Men
France replaces Russia in the 2026 Olympic men’s and women’s hockey tournaments.

Olympic champion Kyle Snyder to focus on ‘Lord Jesus and family’ after prostitution arrest

  • Wrestler was detained during sting operation in Ohio
  • Snyder was Trump appointee to sports council

Olympic wrestling champion Kyle Snyder has made his first public statement since his arrest in an Ohio prostitution sting last week.

In a post on X on Wednesday, the 29-year-old said he would lean on his faith and family, but did not directly address his arrest. “I want to thank everyone who has reached out with kindness and support. My focus is on my relationship with the Lord Jesus and my family. This is not conclusion of my journey. 1 Peter 4:17-18,” he wrote.

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Jimmer Fredette talks new USA Basketball role, retirement, Olympic 3×3 change he'd like to see

Jimmer Fredette announced both his retirement from basketball and his new role in the sport — USA Basketball men’s 3x3 national team managing director — last month.

Fredette recently discussed both moves as he ventures into the administrative side of the sport.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity:

OlympicTalk: When did you know you were ready to retire?

Fredette: My original plan was play the Paris Olympics, hopefully medal, and then be able to ride off into the sunset, right? Of course, what happened — getting injured right in the beginning of the Olympics and not being able to compete the full time — was definitely difficult. I had a long rehab ahead of me. I knew it was going to be an eight-, nine-month rehab. As I was going through it, I wasn't playing basketball, but I was just kind of preparing to kind of get back into shape.

As I thought about it, I was like, man, I kind of don't love the grind anymore. I don't love being out there and trying to work out and be in the gym every single day like I had been. For me, that was a big sign, because I loved that throughout my career. That was my favorite part was the grind of it, was the practicing, was the getting better. That's what made me the player that I was. So when I had that type of feeling, I was like, I don't want to force it, it's probably a good sign. Then decided to make it official. It just felt like the right time. Now being home with the three kids, and being the dad and doing all those things has been really rewarding.

OlympicTalk: If you could change one thing about Olympic 3x3 basketball, what would it be?

Fredette: I would have, in our case of what happened in Paris, if someone does get injured, that you would be able to sub a guy in so that they could still have four players. That's one of the biggest things that we've talked about, just because it's such a difficult and unfair advantage to have four versus three players when you're going through the Olympic process.

I get it completely (why they don't have it). There's costs involved. There's stuff that goes on, but a general FIBA 3x3 event is only two days, and you only play five games if you win it. You can play with three guys and get away with it.

Whereas the Olympics, you're playing seven days and 10 games (if you get to the final). It's just a way longer period. It's a way different time frame than we normally do, so if someone does go down with a rolled ankle or whatever happens, I feel like you should be able to have at least one person that's an alternate that can sub in, and then that's it, just one time, and then it's over with.

OlympicTalk: Would you like to see a U.S. Olympic Trials type event for 3x3?

Fredette: It's fun to watch trials, right? People like to get familiar with the players before the Olympics. I think we can do some type of form of that, but it's a little interesting. With 3x3, you're not just going through and being like, all right, I'm going to pick this guy, this guy, this guy, and they're just going to come together, and then I pick the team, and then it's over.

These guys are going to be playing a lot for the next three to four years. It'd be fun to have, maybe, a tournament or a trials or something like that, where you could see the collection of players together that we would be able to at least showcase — this is who is in the pool. These are the guys that have been playing for the last two to three years that care about the sport, that have gotten better. They're playing professionally, and now you get to see them and know who they are. It wouldn't be like the final pick or anything like that for me, because it would be a whole long process, right?

From that perspective, you can have a bad tournament, but still be on the team, because you have had a whole body of work. But I think it would be fun to be able to do that in a capacity where the USA would be able to see it.

OlympicTalk: For the first two Olympics in 3x3, eligibility rules made it difficult for NBA players to participate — they needed to have competed in 3x3 events outside of the Olympics. Would you like to see those rules relaxed to make it more accommodating for NBA players?

Fredette: I think it would be great for the sport somewhat. But I also do love the fact that it's (currently) kind of like a true Olympic story, where these guys are going through for years, and some of them have had other jobs, or do other things or play in other leagues, and then they play 3x3 as well professionally.

It's fun to see guys that have been homegrown, that have been doing 3x3 for so long, to be able to get rewarded and play in the Olympics at the end.

I think it would be good from a marketing standpoint. Obviously, if you had some of the top NBA players that aren't on the 5x5 team, maybe come and play 3x3. From a branding perspective, obviously, people would watch and be aware of that. But I do like the idea of guys that are kind of homegrown and playing professionally being able to get their shine as well.

OlympicTalk: The 3x3 World Cup is next month. Are you selecting that team so early in your USA Basketball tenure, and if so, how is that looking?

Fredette: For sure, I'll still pick that team, but our USA Basketball player pool is pretty small right now. That was intentional, because we had myself and all of my team were kind of playing through the Olympics, and that's who they kind of put their money into, and all that stuff.

There were other guys playing, obviously, but not necessarily through USA Basketball. So coming into 2025 we knew we were going to have a little bit of a smaller pool, but we still have a really good team that's out there playing in Team Miami on the FIBA World Tour, which is the team I played for. One of the guys, Dylan Travis, was on the Olympic team. He's still playing on that team. Then some other guys that were alternates and have been playing professionally for a while. So we have some really good guys to play at the World Cup and to build.

My opportunity is to now try to find more guys as we move forward for the next several years. These guys that are playing now will continue to be in that mix, obviously, and be able to help us as we push forward and then integrating some new players and some new talent. So by the 2026 World Cup, and all the things that we have coming up, we'll be able to have more players in our pool.

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