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Sports

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Bronze medallists USA celebrate on the podium of the women's 3x3 basketball during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at La Concorde in Paris on August 5, 2024.

Team USA Women Overcome Chemistry Issues, Sport’s Silly Math To Medal In 3×3 Basketball


<p>Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s investigations editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99</p>


Diana Moskovitz

Simone Biles of Team United States competes in the Artistic Gymnastics Women's Floor Exercise Final on day ten of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on August 05, 2024 in Paris, France. Her arms are up in the air, and she is smiling.

Simone Biles’s Greatness Is About More Than Medals

Emma Meesseman #11 of Team Belgium during the Women's Group Phase - Group match between of Team Japan and Team Belgium on day nine of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade Pierre Mauroy on August 04, 2024 in Lille, France.

Emma Meesseman Is Having Too Much Fun To Rush Back To The WNBA

<p>Heather Chen is a former Defector intern and the managing editor at the <em>Columbia Daily Spectator</em>. She loves hockey, photography, and the good ol’ state of Michigan.</p>


Heather Wei-Xi Chen

NANTERRE, FRANCE - JULY 31: Zhanle Pan of Team People's Republic of China celebrates after winning gold in a world record time in the Men's 100m Freestyle Final on day five of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris La Defense Arena on July 31, 2024 in Nanterre, France.

I Am Aging Rapidly While Watching Pan Zhanle Swim

Patrick Redford

PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 04: Kristen Faulkner of Team United States celebrates at finish line as Gold medal winner during the Women's Road Race on day nine of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Trocadero on August 04, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

Kristen Faulkner’s Gold Medal Ride Was A Masterpiece Of Bravery

Kathryn Xu

Olympics, Paris 2024, before the triathlon, view of the murky water of the Seine after the second training session was cancelled due to poor water quality.

I Will Only Swim In The Poop River If It Contains Fewer Than 1,000 Colony-Producing Units Of E. Coli Per 100 Milliliters Of Water

Giri Nathan

PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 04: Gold medallist Novak Djokovic of Team Serbia celebrates during the Tennis Men's Singles medal ceremony after the Tennis Men's Singles Gold medal match on day nine of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Roland Garros on August 04, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Novak Djokovic Finally Adds Olympic Gold To His Hoard


<p>Rose Eveleth is the host of the podcast&nbsp;<a href="https://www.flashforwardpod.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Flash Forward</a>, and author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.flashforwardpod.com/book/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the book by the same name</a>.&nbsp;<br></p>


Rose Eveleth

An illustration of a skeleton with running shoes on sliding into an MRI machine

What Can We Learn From The Biology Of Dead Athletes?

Barry Petchesky

A basalt head portrait of Roman Emperor Nero is pictured at the exibition "Nero" in Rome on April 11, 2011. Nearly two hundred pieces, including sculptures, reliefs, frescoes, paintings and artifacts from recent excavations will be shown during the exhibition from April 12 to September 18. AFP PHOTO / ALBERTO PIZZOLI (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI / AFP) (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Nero Was The Worst Best Olympian Ever

Samer Kalaf

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

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

Simone Biles holds up her gold medal in vault at the 2024 Olympics

Simone Biles Gets Another Olympic Gold With Her Historic Vault

American gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik surrounded by press with cameras at the Olympics in Paris.

Stephen Nedoroscik Pommeled That Horse

Algeria's Imane Khelif (left) following her victory over Hungary's Luca Anna Hamori in the Women's 66kg - Quarterfinal at the North Paris Arena

Imane Khelif Clinches Olympic Medal In Cathartic Quarterfinal Win

Tom Ley

Media Meltdowns

Bigots Need Their Useful Idiots

Zhang Boheng of China stands ready to participate in the pommel horse event.

What’s In An Olympian’s Name?

TEAHUPO'O, FRENCH POLYNESIA - JULY 28: A view of photographers on a media boat during round two of surfing on day two of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 28, 2024 in Teahupo'o, French Polynesia.

Shots

My Favorite Guys In Olympic Surfing Are The Photographers

In Paris, Simone Biles Made Everyone Stand Up And Take Notice

David Roth

Former footballer Zinedine Zidane carries the torch during the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 26, 2024 in Paris, France. during the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris.

Podcasts

Getting Slightly Too French With It, With Patrick Redford

Billy Haisley

Zambia's forward #11 Barbra Banda shoots to score the first goal for Zambia in the women's group B football match between Zambia and Germany during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium in Saint-Etienne on July 31, 2024.

Even Perfection Isn’t Enough For Barbra Banda

Lauren Theisen

Imane Khelif of Team Algeria and Angela Carini of Team Italy exchange punches

J.K. Rowling Invents A Trans Olympian To Get Mad At

Luis Paez-Pumar

Katie Ledecky of Team United States competes in the Women's 1500m Freestyle Final on day five of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris La Defense Arena on July 31, 2024 in Nanterre, France.

Not Even The Cameras Can Keep Up With Katie Ledecky

Head coach of Canada Beverly Priestman gestures during Quarterfinals - 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup between Canada and Costa Rica at BMO Stadium on March 2, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

Canada Manager Did Not Realize Writing Emails About Her Drone Spying Plot Was A Bad Idea

<div class="author-header-content">
<p>Charles P. Pierce is a writer at <em>Esquire</em> and the author of four books, most recently <em>Idiot America</em>, and has been a working journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston with his wife but no longer his three children.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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Charles P. Pierce

Olga Kharlan of Ukraine celebrates as she wins bronze medal after competing against Choi Se-bin (not seen) of South Korea in the Fencing Women's Foil Individual on day three of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Grand Palais in Paris, France on July 29, 2024.

Olga Kharlan Came All The Way Back In Paris

Kelsey McKinney

Peacock Made The Perfect Olympics Experience For Sickos Like Me

US' Coco Gauff speaks with an official after a call goes against her while playing Croatia's Donna Vekic during their women's singles third round tennis match on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Stadium during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris on July 30, 2024.