| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker ·Jul 28, 2021 | | 👋 Good morning! The U.S. men's basketball team destroyed Iran, 120-66, while you were sleeping. Here are some highlights. 🚨 Breaking overnight: After pulling out of Tuesday's team finals, Simone Biles has now withdrawn from Thursday's individual all-around final. Today's word count: 1,685 words (7 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🥇 Simone Biles is still a winner |  | | | Photo: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images | | | | Simone Biles' leadership on the mat has never been questioned. After her shocking withdrawal from Tuesday's team final, she proved just as capable a leader off of it, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. What happened: During the first rotation, Biles performed an uncharacteristically bad vault, appearing to lose herself in midair. - Within minutes, she pulled herself from the competition, later explaining that she wasn't in the right headspace and felt she'd be a liability to the team.
- Her teammates still put together a brilliant, silver-medal performance. The Russians won gold.
What they're saying: "At the end of the day, I have to do what's right for me and focus on my mental health," Biles told reporters. - "I'm not going to lose a medal for this country and for these girls ... They worked too hard. ... It's not worth it, especially when you have three amazing athletes who can step up."
- Biles supported her teammates from the sidelines, and afterward, they returned the favor: "This medal is definitely for [Simone]," said Jordan Chiles. "If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't be here."
- "We have a fundamental misconception of what it means to be tough," Olympic performance coach Steve Magness told NYT. "It's not gritting our teeth through everything; it's having the space to make the right choice despite pressure, stress and fatigue."
The backdrop: This didn't come out of nowhere. The day before her withdrawal, Biles wrote on Instagram that she feels "the weight of the world on [her] shoulders at times." - She also said in the docuseries, "Simone vs Herself," that she was "nervous she might freak out" without her parents present because they've never missed a competition of hers.
- Aly Raisman, who won team gold in 2012 and 2016, told Today: "The amount of pressure that everyone has been putting on her is just, it's too much."
The big picture: Biles, 24, is nearing the end of a historic gymnastics career. But by becoming the latest high-profile athlete to speak openly about mental health, her next chapter could be even more meaningful. - When Michael Phelps opened up about his mental health struggles, he became a role model for those fighting the same demons.
- Now, two of the greatest and most famous Olympians in history will share that mantle, serving as constant reminders that even superhuman athletes are still just people.
What's next: Biles has withdrawn from Thursday's individual all-around competition, with Jade Carey set to take her place. It's unclear if she will compete in the four individual events. - All-around: Sunisa Lee and Jade Carey (Thursday)
- Vault: Biles and Carey (Sunday)
- Uneven bars: Biles and Lee (Sunday)
- Floor: Biles and Carey (Monday)
- Beam: Biles and Lee (Tuesday)
|     | | | | | | 2. 🇺🇸 The only parent in the arena | | Pat (R) and Brooke (second from right) Forde. Courtesy: Pat Forde There are no parents at the Olympics. But there are journalists. And today in Tokyo, one of those journalists happens to be a parent. Driving the news: 22-year-old Brooke Forde will compete for Team USA in the 4x200-meter relay this morning (nighttime in Tokyo). Her father, Pat, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, will be in the arena. - Brooke, who swam at Stanford alongside Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel, is competing in her first Olympics.
- Pat, a veteran sports journalist, is covering his seventh Summer Olympics dating back to 1992.
Go deeper ... Pat on Brooke's long journey (SI subscription) | | | | | | | | 3. 🇯🇵 Photos from Tokyo | | Photo: Tom Pennington/Getty Images Katie Ledecky (15:37.34) and teammate Erica Sullivan (15:41.41) went gold-silver in the women's 1500-meter freestyle debut. Ledecky becomes the fourth woman in Olympic history with six swimming gold medals. Photo: Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Japan beat the U.S., 2-0, to claim its second straight Olympic gold in softball. This one came 13 years after the last, but incredibly featured the same starting pitchers on both sides. - What's next: Softball won't return in 2024, and its future beyond that remains uncertain.
Photo: Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images Tokyo reported at least 2,848 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday — its most in a single day since the pandemic began. At least 160 cases have been linked to the Olympics. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Sign up for Axios' Referral Program | | |  | | | | When you refer your family, friends, colleagues, or anyone to any Axios newsletter you can earn free Axios swag. Better yet, if you refer 5 or more new subscribers by July 31st, you'll be entered for a drawing to win a 13" MacBook Pro and AirPods Pro. Start sharing. | | | | | | Bonus: 🥇 Olympics dashboard |  Data: International Olympic Committee; Chart: Connor Rothschild/Axios - 📆 Coming up: Today's key events include swimming finals for both Caeleb Dressel (100-meter free) and Katie Ledecky (4x200 free relay). Full schedule.
- 🥇 Medal tracker (as of 7:30am ET): Team USA (30) has the most medals, followed by China (24) and Japan (21). Full list.
- 🇺🇸 Wild stat: The U.S. men finished fourth in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, marking the first time in Olympics history that the U.S. — men or women — failed to medal in a swimming relay.
Stories: - 🏉 Fiji back on top: Fiji just won its second consecutive gold medal in men's rugby sevens, an event that made its debut at Rio 2016. Prior to 2016, Fiji had never won an Olympic medal. Of any kind. In any event.
- ⛳️ Hitting the links: Men's golf has featured in just three previous Olympics. Here's everything you need to know about the tournament that starts tonight (women's begins Tuesday).
- 🤕 Quick recoveries: Russian gymnast Artur Dalaloyan tore his Achilles in April and British mountain biker Tom Pidcock broke his collarbone in June. On Monday, both won gold.
Highlights: - 🏊🏼♀️ Titmus, again: Aussie swimmer Ariarne Titmus won the 200-meter freestyle finals with an epic comeback in the final 50 meters, setting a new Olympic record (1:53.50).
- 💍 No medal, one ring: Argentine fencer María Belén Pérez Maurice lost in the round of 32, but during a post-match interview her coach — and boyfriend of 17 years — proposed.
- 🇨🇳 Diving dominance: Chen Yuxi and Zhang Jiaqi coasted to gold in women's 10-meter synchronized diving, giving China its sixth straight win in the event. This sport is mesmerizing.
Go deeper: The Olympic mascots aren't winning any medals (NYT) | | | | | | | | 4. 🏒 Chart du jour: Ovechkin vs. Gretzky |  Data: Hockey Reference; Chart: Will Chase/Axios Alex Ovechkin has signed a five-year deal with the Capitals, which will keep him in Washington through the 2025-26 season. Why it matters: Ovechkin is within striking distance of Wayne Gretzky's goal-scoring record — a mark once considered untouchable. - He'll need to average 33 goals per season over the length of his contract to break Gretzky's record of 894 career goals.
- Ovechkin, who turns 36 in September, has never scored fewer than 33 goals in a full season.
Side-by-side: Gretzky was a sniper who possessed one of the most accurate slap shots ever, while Ovechkin is a volume shooter and the best power-play goal scorer in history. - Gretzky: 894 goals on 5,088 shots (17.6%); 204 power play goals
- Ovechkin: 730 goals on 5,727 shots (12.7%); 269 power play goals
| | | | | | | | 5. ⚽️ Patrick Mahomes, the sports team owner |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | Patrick Mahomes is now a part-owner in Sporting Kansas City, joining a growing list of superstar athletes with ownership stakes in MLS teams. - Kevin Durant owns a stake in the Philadelphia Union.
- James Harden owns a stake in the Houston Dynamo.
- Russell Wilson and his wife, Ciara, own a stake in the Seattle Sounders.
The big picture: With team values in the hundreds of millions (average: $550 million), MLS offers a viable entry point for athletes interested in co-owning a sports franchise. Of note ... Mahomes is also a part-owner of the Royals and his fiancée, Brittany Matthews, is a co-owner of the Kansas City NWSL team. Go deeper: MLS valuations (Axios) | | | | | | | | 6. 📺 "Ted Lasso" a huge hit for Apple TV+ |  | | | Courtesy: Apple | | | | Season 2 of "Ted Lasso" debuted as one of the most in-demand TV shows in the U.S. and globally over the weekend, according to data from Parrot Analytics provided exclusively to Axios. Why it matters: The comedy is Apple's first major hit since introducing Apple TV+ in 2019. Unlike many of the popular series taking off on other streaming services, it isn't a super hero show, Axios' Sara Fischer writes. - Apple says the Season 2 premiere brought in its biggest audience of any original film or TV show on Apple TV+, per Variety.
- As of Saturday, the series was the second-most in-demand digital original in the U.S., just behind Disney+'s new Marvel series "Loki." And globally, it was the 18th-most in-demand show in the world.
Go deeper: How TV went from David Brent to Ted Lasso (NYT) | | | | | | | | 7. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images | | | | ⚾️ Stat du jour: Shohei Ohtani — who went yard again Tuesday — is hitting a HR every 9.4 at-bats this season. The last player with fewer at-bats per HR in a full season? Barry Bonds in 2004 (8.3). 🏈 Barstool Bowl: The Arizona Bowl will now be known as the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl, and Barstool will stream the game itself. That's right: a longtime sports blog is now broadcasting its own bowl game. 🏀 NBA tourney returns: The NBA's play-in tournament is back for at least one more season. Same format: The Nos. 7-10 teams in each conference will play to determine the No. 7 and No. 8 playoff seeds. | | | | | | | | 8. 📆 July 28, 1928: Amsterdam Olympics |  | | | Elizabeth Robinson wins the inaugural women's Olympic 100-meter dash. Photo: Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images | | | | 93 years ago today, the Games of the IX Olympiad opened in Amsterdam. Why it matters: These were the first Olympics to include women's events in both gymnastics and track & field. - Of the 2,883 competitors that year, just 277 were women.
- Roughly a century later, there are nearly as many women as men in Tokyo — and stars like Simone Biles, Allyson Felix, and so many more made their names in those very sports.
Overnight star ... 16-year-old Elizabeth Robinson made Team USA in 1928 after a high school teacher happened to see her running to catch a train. - Despite having run fewer than five official races up to that point, Robinson won the first-ever gold in the 100-meter dash.
- She also added silver in the relay.
🎥 Watch: Robinson's 100-meter victory (YouTube) | | | | | | | | 9. 🏈 NFL trivia | | Aaron Rodgers enters his 17th season with 412 passing TDs, seventh-most in NFL history. - Question: Can you name the six QBs ahead of him?
- Hint: Just one is active.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🍿 Countdown: Best Olympics movies (No. 3) |  | | | Photo: Keystone/Getty Images | | | | Tokyo Olympiad (1965) is a documentary about the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the first to be held in Asia. - Runtime: 2 hours, 5 minutes
- In one word: Beautiful
- Watch for free: YouTube
What makes it great: Watching this film is like stepping into a time machine. It's about so much more than medals, focusing on the atmosphere of the Games and the human side of the athletes. ICYMI: No. 5 Foxcatcher, No. 4 Miracle | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Sign up for Axios' Referral Program | | | | | | | | When you refer your family, friends, colleagues, or anyone to any Axios newsletter you can earn free Axios swag. Better yet, if you refer 5 or more new subscribers by July 31st, you'll be entered for a drawing to win a 13" MacBook Pro and AirPods Pro. Start sharing. | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Click to travel back in time" Baker Trivia answer: Tom Brady (581); Drew Brees (571); Peyton Manning (539); Brett Favre (508); Philip Rivers (421); Dan Marino (420) 🙏 Thanks for reading. Don't forget to refer friends (axios.com/referral) and follow us on Twitter: @thekendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. |  | | It'll help you deliver employee communications more effectively. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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