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This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

Patrick Redford

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JUNE 1: Gabby Thomas, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, and Tamari Davis compete in the women's 100m race at Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania on June 1, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Roger Wimmer/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

Track And Field

Michael Johnson’s Track Start-Up Declares Bankruptcy

Barry Petchesky

Chris Robinson of the United States stands at the finish line after competing in the Men's 400 Meters Hurdles during the third leg of the Grand Slam Track series at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, on May 31, 2025. (Photo by STR/NurPhoto)

Life's Rich Pageant

Hurdler Wins 400-Meter Race Despite His Dick And Balls Falling Out Several Times

Tom Ley

A woman wearing Save Girls Sport hat records a video of transgender athlete AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley (not pictured) during the girls long jump at the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet at Moorpark High School on May 24, 2025 in Moorpark, California.

Youth Sports

It’s A Great Time To Be A Pathetic Loser

Samer Kalaf

A photo finish of the 100-meter at the 2024 Olympics, with Noah Lyles winning.

Olympics

Noah Lyles Wins The 100-Meter Gold By A Skin Cell

Owen Lewis is a former Defector intern and has written for The Guardian, The Second Serve, The Athletic, n+1, Texas Monthly, Air Mail, and other publications.

Owen Lewis

The Great Outdoors

I Hate Running. I Miss Running.

Michael is a writer who has worked with The Atlantic, The New Yorker, WIRED, Vox, The New York Times, and other publications. His first book, The Other Olympians, which uncovers the stories of several European athletes who transitioned gender in the 1930s, is now available for purchase.

Michael Waters

Helen Stephens running in the 1936 Olympics

Olympian Helen Stephens Suffered Through An Anti-Queer Panic That Still Reverberates

Dennis Young is the news editor at Front Office Sports.

Dennis Young

Amy Cragg from Portland, Oregon, celebrates at the finish line after winning the US Women's Marathon Olympic Team Trials with a time of 2:28:27 in Los Angeles, California on February 13, 2016. Highlighted Joanna Zeiger behind her, who finished last, the image is a GIF and zooms into her

At The Olympic Trials Marathon, DFL Means Pain Over Regret

Figure Skating

Gymnastics

Swimming

Table Tennis

A runner (2nd R) looks at his watch as he stands at the start line during the 2015 Shanghai International Marathon in Shanghai on November 8, 2015. Shanghai marathon kicked off in the morning of November 8, with 35,000 runners starting their race from the Bund, local media reported.

Negative Splits

Embrace The Second-Dumbest Running Watch You Can Find

A white man in running gear clutching his right quad while laying on the sidewalk.

‘Limits’ Is Funnier Than Any Movie About Running Has A Right To Be

Kelvin Kiptum celebrates after winning the Chicago Marathon

Freak Athletes And Freakier Technology Have Tamed The Marathon

Sha'Carri Richardson celebrates her 100-meter final win at the 2023 track and field world championships.

American Track Now Has Its Most Electric Sprinters In Years

Dave McKenna

Somali sprinter Nasro Abukar Ali jogs to the finish line.

Sprinter’s Slothful Stroll Scandalizes Somalia

Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.

Dan McQuade

Bunch of people dressed like Rocky, woman standing on a blue car talking to them

They Can’t Take The “Rocky Run” Away From Us

A wide shot of the Penn Relays at Franklin Field

At Penn Relays, It’s About The Vibe

Joasia Zakrzweski runs in the Taipei 48-Hour Run, holding a UK flag

Ultra Runner Rides In Car During Race, Finishes Third, Uploads Data To Strava

Laura Wagner

Lead Runner Collapses During NYC Marathon Amid Record-High Temps

TOPSHOT - Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge crosses the finish line to win the Berlin Marathon race on September 25, 2022 in Berlin. - Kipchoge has beaten his own world record by 30 seconds, running 2:01:09 at the Berlin Marathon. (Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)

Eliud Kipchoge Breaks Own Marathon World Record. No Not That One, The Other One

EUGENE, OREGON - JULY 24: Tobi Amusan of Team Nigeria crosses the finish line in the Women's 100m Hurdles Final on day ten of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 at Hayward Field on July 24, 2022 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)