
Simone Biles wins two ESPYS, beating out Stephen Curry, Freddie Freeman and Rory McIlroy
The 11-time Olympic medalist claimed the night's first award, best championship performance, for her efforts at the Paris Games. She won three golds and a silver while helping the U.S. women's gymnasts win their first team title since 2016.
'That was very unexpected, especially in a category of all men,' Biles said after kissing husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens.
She beat out Stephen Curry, Freddie Freeman and Rory McIlroy.
Biles' Olympic teammate, Sunisa Lee, won the best comeback award for overcoming two rare kidney diseases. She brought one of her doctors to the show.
Comedian Shane Gillis' opening monologue as host of the show that honours the past year's top athletes and sports moments went over awkwardly.
Early on, he called out various famous faces in the Dolby Theatre crowd, including retired WNBA star Diana Taurasi, who shared the Icon Award. Gillis said, 'Give it up for her' after calling her 'Deanna.' The camera showed an unsmiling Taurasi shaking her head. Gillis quickly caught his mistake, saying, 'My bad on that.'
Taurasi and U.S. national women's football team star Alex Morgan shared the Icon Award in recognition of their careers and major impact on sports.
The women touched their trophies together in a toast.
'Our mission has always been very similar,' Morgan said. 'We fought to leave our game in a better place than where we found it just as a generation before us did. We're standing on the shoulders of giants.'
Alex Morgan, left, and Diana Taurasi react as they accept Icon Awards at the ESPY Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles | Photo Credit: MARK J. TERRILL
Taurasi, who retired in February after a 20-year basketball career, mentioned her parents who immigrated to the U.S. from Argentina. She also had words for the next generation.
'Keep going, don't wait for someone to hand you anything, outwork them, be loyal, bring that damn fire every day,' she said. 'We're proof you can do it. We did it our way. No shortcuts, no apologies, and no regrets.'
An emotional Katie Schumacher-Cawley accepted the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance with her husband and children joining in the standing ovation. The Penn State women's volleyball coach was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer in September. She continued coaching without missing a practice and became the first woman to guide a team to the NCAA national championship.
'Cancer changed my life but it didn't take it. It didn't take my belief, it didn't take my spirit and it didn't take my team,' she said.
Basketball player Cameron Boozer and track and field athlete Jane Hedengren were named the Gatorade Best Male and Female Players of the Year.
Olympic track champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford revealed the winners from the ESPYS stage.
Boozer will be playing at Duke in the fall, following in the collegiate footsteps of his father, Carlos, a former NBA All-Star. The younger Boozer, a 6-foot-10 forward from Miami, Florida, averaged 22.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals as a senior at Christopher Columbus High.
Hedengren will compete for BYU in her hometown of Provo, Utah. The senior at Timpview High won the 3,000 meters at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in a national record of 8 minutes, 40.03 seconds, lowering the old mark by more than 18 seconds. Hedengren also set national prep marks in the mile, 2-mile and 5,000.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Fever vs Liberty: Jonquel Jones shines in return as New York Liberty beat Indiana Fever
Jonquel Jones made a strong return from an ankle injury, scoring 18 points to lead the New York Liberty to a 98-84 win over the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night. The victory marked the Liberty's second straight over the Fever, following a 98-77 win before the All-Star break. Breanna Stewart and Leonie Fiebich added 17 points apiece, while Sabrina Ionescu and Isabelle Harrison chipped in 13 points each. Ionescu also dished out nine assists as New York improved to 15-6 on the season. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Data Science Finance Healthcare Public Policy CXO Data Analytics Product Management Digital Marketing Data Science Operations Management Management others healthcare Artificial Intelligence MBA PGDM Technology Leadership Others Cybersecurity Design Thinking MCA Project Management Degree Skills you'll gain: Duration: 30 Weeks IIM Kozhikode SEPO - IIMK-AI for Senior Executives India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Prof Cert in DS & BA with GenAI India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months IIM Kozhikode CERT-IIMK DABS India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Postgraduate Cert in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months IIT Madras CERT-IITM Advanced Cert Prog in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details — WNBA (@WNBA) by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villas For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Villas In Dubai | Search Ads Get Rates Indiana, now 12-11, was once again without star rookie Caitlin Clark due to a groin injury. Kelsey Mitchell stepped up in her absence, scoring a game-high 29 points. — WNBA (@WNBA) The Liberty got off to a slow start, with both Ionescu and Stewart uncharacteristically quiet in the first half — scoring just three and six points, respectively. Indiana took advantage of New York's turnovers to lead 46-42 at halftime and held the edge for much of the third quarter. Live Events Momentum shifted late in the third when Stewart hit a key 3-pointer followed by a layup to put the Liberty back on top. Ionescu, who had been quiet in the middle quarters and spent much of the third on the bench, returned in the fourth to spark a scoring surge. She dropped 10 straight points to help New York open up the game's first double-digit lead. — WNBA (@WNBA) Jones, playing for the first time since June 19, provided a crucial boost, helping the Liberty control the paint and secure the win.


Hans India
2 hours ago
- Hans India
BCCI will be covered in National Sports Governance Bill
The BCCI will come under the purview of the National Sports Governance Bill that is set to be introduced in Parliament on Wednesday and will be required to take recognition from the proposed National Sports Board even though it is not reliant on government funding. This was revealed by a top Sports Ministry source on Tuesday. 'Like all National Sports federations (NSFs), the BCCI will have to comply with the law of the land once this Bill becomes an Act. They don't take ministry funding but an Act of Parliament applies to them,' the source said. 'They will remain an autonomous body like all other NSFs but their disputes, if any, will also come to the proposed National Sports Tribunal which will become the dispute resolution body for sports matter ranging from elections to selection,' the source added. 'However, this Bill does not mean government control on any NSF. Government will be a facilitator in ensuring good governance, not an enforcer.' The BCCI has become a part of the Olympic movement after cricket was included in the 2028 Los Angeles Games where it will be played in the T20 format. The long-awaited Sports Governance Bill seeks to institutionalise a strong framework for timely elections, administrative accountability, athlete welfare and reduction in litigation through a slew of measures. The National Sports Board (NSB), appointed entirely by the central government, will have sweeping powers to grant and even suspend recognition of federations based on complaints or 'its own motion' for violations ranging from electoral irregularities to financial misappropriation. The Bill makes some concessions on the thorny issue of age cap of administrators by allowing those in the bracket of 70 to 75 to contest elections if the concerned international bodies do not object. In electoral matters, the Bill will accept the 'supremacy' of the Olympic Charter and the statutes of the International Federations. The proposed NSB will comprise a chairperson, and its members will be appointed by the central government from 'amongst persons of ability, integrity and standing.' The appointments would be done based on the recommendations of a search-cum-selection committee, according to the Bill that has been finalised after extensive consultations with stake-holders and public inputs. The selection committee would be made up of the Cabinet Secretary or Secretary Sports as chairperson, the Director General of the Sports Authority of India, two sports administrators who have each served as the President or Secretary General or Treasurer of a National Sports Body and one eminent sportsperson who is a Dronacharya, or Khel Ratna or Arjuna awardee.


Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee bans transgender from women's events, citing Donald Trump order
File Pic - The Olympic rings (AP Photo) In a sweeping policy shift aligned with a recent federal directive, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has officially barred transgender women from competing in women's events at the Olympics and Paralympics. The ban, effective July 21, 2025, stems directly from President Donald Trump's executive order titled 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports.' The USOPC updated its Athlete Safety Policy with a new subsection titled 'Additional Requirements,' referencing both the executive order and the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! "The USOPC is committed to protecting opportunities for athletes participating in sport," the policy states. "We will continue to collaborate with stakeholders... to ensure women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with Executive Order 14201." In a memo, USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland and President Gene Sykes told Team USA athletes: 'As a federally chartered organisation, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations.' Poll What impact do you think this policy will have on the 2028 Summer Olympics? Positive, it promotes fairness Negative, it creates division No significant impact Trump's executive order, issued in February 2025, mandates that any school or institution permitting transgender girls to compete in girls' sports will risk losing federal funding. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Many Filipinos don't know about this! Read More Undo It requires the immediate enforcement of single-sex sports teams and locker rooms, citing Title IX protections for women's sports. "Our revised policy emphasises the importance of ensuring fair and safe competition environments for women," the USOPC reiterated in its message to national governing bodies, urging all affiliated organisations to align with the new standards. The decision also mirrors changes within the NCAA, which recently revised its transgender participation rules to restrict women's competitions to athletes assigned female at birth. The timing of the policy change is significant, as Los Angeles prepares to host the 2028 Summer Olympics. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!