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NBC Sports
14-07-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
LA 2028 Olympics daily competition schedule released
Los Angeles 2028 Olympics organizers announced the daily competition schedule for the Games that will have a record 351 medal events. Action starts on Wednesday, July 12, 2028 -- two days before the Opening Ceremony, as usual -- with preliminary competition in basketball, cricket, field hockey, handball, rugby sevens, soccer and water polo. It will mark the most sports to have competition before the day of the Opening Ceremony since the 1920 Antwerp Games, according to the OlyMADMen. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, preliminary competition in archery, handball, rugby sevens and soccer was held before the Opening Ceremony. LA 2028 will mark the first time that basketball games will be held on a day before the Opening Ceremony date since the 1952 Helsinki Games, according to the OlyMADMen. Further schedule details by event are expected to be announced later in 2025. On July 14, the day of the Opening Ceremony (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT), one sport will have competition. Canoe slalom will be held at the Oklahoma City Whitewater Center. Softball will also be held in Oklahoma City in the second week of the Games — at Devon Park, the annual host of the NCAA Women's College World Series. LA 2028 On July 15, the first medals of the Games will be awarded in triathlon, which will be held along Venice Beach. As previously announced, track and field and swimming will switch places in the Olympic schedule — track and field in the first week and swimming in the second week. The switch will aid SoFi Stadium's transition from co-hosting the Opening Ceremony on July 14 to becoming the first NFL stadium to host Olympic swimming starting July 22. The marathons will still be held on the last weekend of the Games, keeping with tradition. Flag football, which makes its Olympic debut, will be in the first week from July 15-22. If NFL players take part, having that competition early could be helpful given NFL preseason training camps typically open in mid-to-late July with preseason games ramping up in early August. Baseball, which returns to the Games, will also be in the first week from July 15-20 at Dodger Stadium (which hosted baseball as a demonstration sport at the 1984 LA Games). Though Major League Baseball has not made decision on whether to allow active big leaguers to participate in the Olympics for the first time, note that the MLB All-Star breaks the past five seasons have been: July 12-14, 18-20, 10-13, 15-18 and 14-17. Nick Zaccardi,
The South African
17-06-2025
- Sport
- The South African
South Africa's first Olympic swimming gold medallist Joan Harrison dies
Joan Harrison, South Africa's first Olympic swimming gold medallist, has died at the age of 89. Born on 29 November 1935 in East London, Harrison rose to international prominence as a teenage swimming prodigy, earning her place in history at just 16 years old. At the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games, Harrison won gold in the 100m backstroke with a time of 1:14.3, making her the first South African swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal. It would be another 44 years before another South African woman – Penny Heyns – would replicate that feat. Harrison entered the Helsinki Games as an underdog. 'I did not put too much pressure on myself. I was not the favourite, the girl from Holland (Geertje Wielema) was,' Joan Harrison recalled in a recent interview. 'Team South Africa was made up of more than 80 people and I was the only female swimmer.' She added that although the gold medal stirred public celebration, her life remained grounded. 'People made a fuss about it. But my life did not really change. I was still an ordinary girl from East London. When we arrived back in the city there were thousands of people waiting for me at the city hall.' Joan Harrison's talent was evident early: at 13, she already held three South African junior and two senior national records, and had won national titles in the 220- and 500-yard freestyle events. In 1950, at age 14, she competed in the British Empire Games in Auckland, New Zealand, where she won gold in the 440-yard freestyle, breaking the Games record by 13 seconds. She was named the Outstanding Woman Swimmer of the Games. She returned to the international stage at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, collecting two golds, one silver, and one bronze. Despite retiring from international competition at just 17, Harrison returned in 1956 to win national titles in both the 100m backstroke and 300m individual medley. In recognition of her achievements, Harrison was awarded the Helms Foundation Award in 1952 for the best athletic performance by an African athlete. In 1982, Harrison was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an Honor Swimmer. She joined a distinguished class that included swimming legends from around the globe. At the ceremony in Fort Lauderdale, she was honoured with a commemorative display and left her footprints in cement – a lasting tribute to a trailblazing career. Post your condolences below, by … Leaving a comment below, or sending a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
CBS News
20-02-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Mabel Staton, trailblazer who was US team's only female long jumper at the 1952 Olympics, dies at 92
Mabel Staton, the Black track and field standout who broke through racial barriers and became the only woman to compete for the United States in the long jump at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, died Thursday. She was 92. Staton, who went by the name of Mabel Landry when she attended DePaul in the 1950s, before the school had a women's track team, was inducted into the university's athletic Hall of Fame in 2011. Senior associate athletic director Thad Dohrn said Landry's daughter notified the school of her mother's death, which came after a long battle with cancer. Staton was the only American woman to meet the Olympic qualifying standard in the lead up to the Helsinki Games, where she finished seventh. Her best jump at those Olympics was 5.88 meters (19 feet, 3 1/2 inches) in qualifying, which made her the Olympic record holder for 13 minutes. "For about 13 minutes, I had the record by myself. That was funny," Staton said in a recent interview with CBS News Philadelphia at her home in South Jersey. New Zealand's Yvette Williams jumped 6.16 (20-2 1/2) later in the same round. "Being on the Olympic team was not about winning; it was about taking part," Staton said earlier this year. Staton grew up on Chicago's South Side and ran for the Catholic Youth Organization. Her journey in the sport began with a simple walk in the park with her father. As they watched a local race, her father challenged her to race. Staton won after taking up the challenge. As a story on the DePaul website recounts, when she was a teenager, Staton's coach bought her a spot in a sleeping compartment for a train ride to Texas to compete in her first national AAU meet. Early in the morning, a conductor banged on her door and told her the train had crossed the Mason-Dixon Line and she had to move out and sit with other Black passengers. The CYO went on to sue the Illinois Central Railroad in a civil rights case and won. That afforded her the money to form an interracial track team that was thought to be the first of its kind in the Midwest. "Living in the era of segregation wasn't a bed of roses. What helped me was my faith and the support of family, coaches and teammates," Staton said in the story on the DePaul website. She went on to win four national long jump titles and anchored the winning 4x100-meter relay team for the United States at the 1955 Pan American Games.
Chicago Tribune
20-02-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Mabel Landry Staton, Chicago native who was US team's only female long jumper at the 1952 Olympics, dies at 92
Mabel Landry Staton, the Black track and field standout who broke through racial barriers and became the only woman to compete for the United States in the long jump at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, died Thursday. The Chicago native was 92. Staton, who went by the name of Mabel Landry when she attended DePaul from 1951-54 — before the school had a women's track team — was inducted into the university's athletic Hall of Fame in 2011. Senior associate athletic director Thad Dohrn said Landry's daughter notified the school of her mother's death, which came after a long battle with cancer. 'At DePaul I was treated royally by fellow students,' she told the Tribune in May 2008. A long jumper and sprinter, Staton was the only American woman to meet the Olympic qualifying standard in the long jump in the lead-up to the Helsinki Games, where she finished seventh. Her best jump at those Olympics was 5.88 meters (19 feet, 3½ inches) in qualifying, which for a few minutes made her the Olympic record holder. New Zealand's Yvette Williams jumped 6.16 (20-2½) later in the same round. 'Being on the Olympic team was not about winning; it was about taking part,' Staton said in a recent interview with CBS News Philadelphia. Staton grew up on the South Side. At 13, the coach from St. Elizabeth's, where Staton attended grammar school and high school, 'discovered' her and by 16, she was running for a Catholic Youth Organization team, winning national AAU events. Calling it a 'team,' however, was a stretch because Staton was its only member. Staton's coach bought her a spot in a sleeping compartment for a train ride to Texas to compete in her first national AAU meet. Early in the morning, a conductor banged on her door and told her the train had crossed the Mason-Dixon Line and she had to move out and sit with other Black passengers. She did what she was told, joining her visibly upset coach, who did not let it go. When they returned home, the CYO sued the Illinois Central Railroad and won. That afforded her the money to form an interracial track team that was thought to be the first of its kind in the Midwest. 'And we beat everybody,' she told the Tribune. Three years later, at 19, she was competing in Helsinki at the 1952 Olympic Games. In the '55 Pan Am Games, Staton won a gold medal in the 400-meter relay and a bronze in the 60-meter dash. She was the co-holder of the American 50-yard dash record. She went on to win four national long jump titles and anchored the winning 4×100-meter relay team for the United States at the 1955 Pan American Games. Originally Published: February 20, 2025 at 3:24 PM CST
