Latest news with #OlympicGold
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Venus Williams returns to tennis with a new perspective, victory. 'It's just nice to be able to play'
Venus and Serena Williams were a pretty decent doubles team over the years. The sisters from Compton won 14 majors and three Olympic gold medals as a duo. But it turns out that the older sister was being held back by her younger sibling — at least that's what Venus Williams joked on Monday after winning her first match with new doubles partner Hailey Baptiste during the first round of the D.C. Open. 'I think, from the first point, I could see that we were going to be a good team," Williams said during her on-court interview following the American duo's 6-3, 6-1 victory against Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue. "We just should have started playing earlier, years ago, right? I think Serena was just in the way.' After the capacity crowd of around 3,000 roared with laughter at the quip, Williams smiled and waved to the camera: "Sorry, Serena." Read more: I completed my years-long quest to play at every L.A. tennis court. These 10 stand out Williams, 45, had every right to be giddy after a successful return to the court following a 16-month hiatus, during which she underwent a medical procedure to remove fibroids from her uterus last July. 'It's just nice to be able to play," Williams said during her postmatch news conference with Baptiste. "Where I am at this year is so much different than where I was at last year. It's night and day, being able to be here and prepare for the tournament as opposed to preparing for surgery a year ago.' She added: "Tennis is a game. It's our life. It's literally our obsession. ... But at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter if your health is not there. So it definitely put it in perspective for me and maybe made it easier to make the decision to maybe come back out here and maybe play even freer.' Williams' comeback is just getting started. The seven-time major winner and one-time Olympic gold medalist is scheduled to face Peyton Stearns of the United States in the first round of the women's singles tournament at 4:30 p.m. PDT Tuesday. Read more: A 'floating' tennis club with good vibes and a pinch of country club swagger? These Angelenos created it Later this week, Williams and Baptiste will face the winner of Tuesday's match between Cristina Bucsa/Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Taylor Townsend/Shuai Zhang in the women's doubles quarterfinals. As for Serena Williams, the 23-time major singles champion hasn't played since "evolving away from tennis" following the 2022 U.S. Open, where she and Venus lost in the first round in doubles and she advanced to the third round in singles before losing to Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in her final match. 'I keep saying to my team: The only thing that would make this better is if she was here," Venus Williams said of her sister while speaking to reporters Sunday. "Like, we always did everything together, so of course I miss her.' The Associated Press contributed to this report. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Scheffler 'living dreams' but 'more to life than golf'
Scottie Scheffler says he is "living out his dreams" after winning the Open Championship at Royal Portrush, but reiterated in his moment of triumph that there is "more to life than playing golf".American Scheffler anesthetised his rivals on the final day in Northern Ireland, with a composed exhibition of front-running to maintain his overnight four-shot lead. The 29-year-old world number one has now won four majors in three years, as well as an Olympic gold medal, and needs just the US Open to become one of seven men to complete a career Grand he started this week by questioning why he even plays a sport that has earned him £65m in prize money alone. Scheffler said on Tuesday it was "not a fulfilling life" and that the zealous pursuit of wins is "something I wrestle with on a daily basis".Speaking in the aftermath of his Open success, he conceded that he perhaps did not make his point as well as he had hoped, but stood by his senitments."We live in a day and age where clickbait is what people look for and you can shorten a five-minute clip into three words," Scheffler said. "I think it underestimates what I was trying to communicate. "I've worked my entire life to become good at this game and play for a living. It's one of the great joys of my life and to win The Open is a feeling that's hard to describe."Am I grateful for it? Do I enjoy it? Oh, my gosh, yes, this is a cool feeling. But having success in life is not what fulfils the deepest desires of your heart. "Just because you win a golf tournament doesn't make you happy - but I'm pretty excited to celebrate this one." 'When I saw my family, that was pretty special' Scheffler said he intends to leave for home in Texas later on Sunday and "celebrate with the people that have helped me along the way".After he tapped in on the 18th an hour or so earlier - and the crowds offered their throaty approval - the first person he looked for was wife spotting her, and 14-month-old son Bennett, who was toddling on to the green, Scheffler's typically muted response changed. He hurled his hat into the sky, roared with delight, and lumbered with arms outstretched towards trio embraced before Scheffler retrieved his hat and left the green with a bemused Bennett nestled in crook of his left arm."When I saw my family, that was a pretty special feeling," said Scheffler, who insisted earlier in the week that he would quit golf if it started to impact upon his family."It's one that's very hard to describe. It's something I'm very grateful for and something that I'll hold onto for a long time."
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Olympic Gold medallist visits Wexford gymnastics club
Gorey Guardian Today at 02:00 Gorey Gymnastics club had a visit from Olympic Gold medallist Rhys McClenaghan recently. Gorey was one of eight clubs chosen around the country to take part in the Gymnastics Ireland Club Tour. 'There was great excitement and preparation in the weeks leading up to the visit,' said Angie Dooley, head coach of the club. Rhys McClenaghan made history as he became Ireland's first gymnast to win a gold medal for the Men's Pommel at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. 'Rhys spoke to the gymnasts, giving an account of his journey to the Olympics and making history both as the first Irish gymnast to reach an Olympics final and the first Irish gymnast to win a medal in the Olympics,' Angie said. Angie added that Rhys mentioned his motivations, ups and downs and encouraged gymnasts in Gorey to keep training and working to improve their skills. Gymnasts had the opportunity to be in a group photo with Rhys and hold the Olympic gold medal. A number of students took part in an exclusive training session with Rhys, where he gave expert tips and advice. He also showed the coaches various coaching techniques, demonstrating his extensive knowledge and skills. Speaking on behalf of the club, Angie thanked those involved with the special day. 'The coaches and gymnasts at Gorey Gymnastics Club are very grateful to Rhys McClenaghan for his generosity of time and his dedication to the sport and to Gymnastics Ireland for the opportunity to take part in this club tour,' Angie said.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Xander Schauffele drops hilarious admission on 2020 Olympic Gold Medal
The post Xander Schauffele drops hilarious admission on 2020 Olympic Gold Medal appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Open Championship is at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland this week, ending the major championship season. Xander Schauffele is defending his Open Championship title from Royal Troon amid an injury-filled season. His stellar golf career finally added two majors last year, the PGA Championship and the Open. But Schauffele does not know where his Claret Jug or Olympic Gold Medal is, per Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press. 'Where to keep it all? ' Ferguson asked about Schauffele's trophy collection. 'Not at his house. Schauffele said his parents keep all his trophies, 'probably in a bank vault.' They have a home in San Diego, and his father is building a place on Kauai, living in what Stefan Schauffele calls 'the container.' The gold medal? 'I actually have no idea where that is, to be completely honest,' Schauffele said,' Ferguson wrote. Schauffele has a Claret Jug, Wannamaker Trophy, and Gold Medal, three of the great trophies in sports. He has no idea where they are. His dad, Stefen, might, but Xander says he is not interested in looking at them every day. 'What am I going to do with it? I don't really invite people over to my house. Am I just going to go look at it myself? I don't want to walk into a trophy room like, 'Look how great I am.' I was just raised to think that way, and it's kind of stuck.' What about Schauffele's wife? 'My wife hung up some pictures of me in my gym, of me winning the Olympic medal, and she put it so high up I can't reach it,' Schauffele said. 'I have to get a ladder now, and it bothers me. If anything, put up me in a Masters jacket, like that would piss me off, you know what I mean? Something like that is more motivating.' While Schauffele does not know where his trophies are, he could add another to the collection this week. Despite a poor season, he could change the narrative with a second straight Open Championship. Related: Scottie Scheffler struggles with 'point' in winning before Open Championship Related: Ray Romano hilariously channels Eminem at American Century Celebrity Championship
RTÉ News
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Torvill says secret to friendship with Dean is they 'never got married'
Jayne Torvill has said the secret to her lasting friendship with ice skating partner Christopher Dean is that the pair "never got married". The duo, who took home the Olympic gold at the 1984 Winter Games, announced their retirement from skating together in 2024. The pair ended their farewell tour Torvill and Dean: Our Last Dance, last week with four final performances in their home town of Nottingham to mark the end of where it all began. Speaking about when they first became skate partners and how they have maintained their lasting friendship, Torvill, 67, told BBC Breakfast:"It was all just very new for both of us. As we skated together a few more times, I think we both realised that we both had a passion for it, and we both wanted to get better. Keep doing it, practice, get better. And I think that's what kept us going all these years. "I always say that we never got married, so that's why we are still best of friends and still love working together." Dean, 66, added: "Never leave the ice with an argument though. "We've grown up through all those stages of life, from 15-year-olds to 20-year-olds to 30-year-olds to marriages to children, retirement now. "We've done so much over the 50 years and seen so much together over the 50 years." The pair announced their retirement from skating together 40 years after securing the 1984 Olympic gold in Sarajevo with their ice dance to Ravel's Bolero at the Zetra Olympic Hall. Embarking on the UK leg of their farewell tour in April, they skated to Bolero for one final time – with Dean describing the audience as "phenomenal", adding that they were able to "bow out on a high". Despite it marking the end of the pair performing together, they both said they have other projects in the pipeline and will still meet up and keep in touch. Dean said: "We'll meet up in London and go and watch a show at least once a month, something like that. "We like mentoring. We'll work with other people. I still really enjoy choreographing, so I hope to work with other skaters, and certainly other shows, other skating shows." Torvill added: "We've got other work things coming up, but not performing on the ice together. "We are quite often invited to give talks at events and so on. And normally we wouldn't have had time for that, but we'll have more time to do stuff like that." Alongside their Olympic Gold, Torvill and Dean also saw success at the World, European and British Championships and in 1994 won bronze in the Winter Games at Lillehammer in Norway. After retiring from competitive skating, the pair began touring, coaching and choreographing before becoming the faces of celebrity competition show Dancing On Ice, which ran from 2006 until 2014. When the show was revived in 2018, they became head judges until earlier this year when ITV announced it would be rested. Their farewell tour of London, Belfast, Sheffield, Birmingham, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow included a team of professional figure skaters, some of whom have featured on Dancing On Ice.
