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Sports

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

Wojciech Chmielewski and Michal Gancarczyk of Team Poland compete in the Men's Doubles Run 1 on day five of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Cortina Sliding Centre on February 11, 2026 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy

High-Level, Actionable Insights From Watching Doubles Luge For The First Time

Barry Petchesky

MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 11: Elias Pettersson #40 of Sweden tries to score against Goalie Damian Clara #i20 of Italy during the Men's Preliminary Group B match between Sweden and Italy on day five of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 11, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by RvS.Media/Robert Hradil/Getty Images)

Damian Clara Was Italy’s Improbable Bastion

Kathryn Xu

Ilia Malinin (United States of America) competes during the Figure Skating Men Single Skating Short Programme Final Figure Skating competition.

Ilia Malinin Brings Figure Skating To The Crossroads

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Laila Edwards #10 of Team United States celebrate her first goal with Hilary Knight #21 during the Women's Ice Hockey - Group A match between Team Canada and Team United States on day four of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 10, 2026 in Milan, Italy.

Team USA’s Speedy Children Delivered A Beatdown Of Canada

Brandy Jensen

Sturla Holm Laegreid from Norway reacts emotionally at the award ceremony.

Adulterous Norwegian Biathlete’s Appeal Denied

Patrick Redford

10 February 2026, Italy, Tesero: Olympia, Olympic Winter Games Milan Cortina 2026, Nordic skiing/cross-country skiing sprint classic, men, race, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (Norway) is on the track. Photo: Daniel Karmann/dpa (Photo by Daniel Karmann/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Johannes Klæbo Ran Everybody Off The Course

Julia Simon of Team France competes in the Mixed Relay 4 x 6km (M+W) on day two of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Anterselva Biathlon Arena on February 08, 2026 in Antholz-Anterselva, Italy. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

The Saga Of The French Teammate-Defrauder Taught Me To Appreciate The Essence Of Biathlon

Kelsey McKinney

Bronze medallist Norway's Sturla Holm Laegreid covers his face on the podium

Norwegian Biathlete, At Summit Of His Life’s Work: I Cheated On My Girlfriend

The President of the Lombardy Region, Attilio Fontana, is welcoming the mascots Tina and Milo of the XXV Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026 in Piazza Citta di Lombardia, in Milan, Italy, on February 27, 2024.

Which Other Olympic Mascots Could Italian Stoats Tina And Milo Slaughter In Cold Blood?

Alex Sujong Laughlin

Italy's Verena Hofer competes in the luge women's singles run 1 at Cortina Sliding Centre during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo on February 9, 2026. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images)

Olympic Photographers: Stop Doing The Lugers Dirty

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

Diana Moskovitz

A black and white photo of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and partner Guillaume Cizeron of Team France competing in the Ice Dance - Rhythm Dance on day zero of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 06, 2026 in Milan, Italy.

France’s Viral Ice Dancing Team Has A Dark Backstory

Albert Burneko

Italy's Stefania Constantini and Italy's Amos Mosaner compete in the curling mixed doubles round robin semi-final between USA and Italy during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo on February 9, 2026.

The Super Bowl Could Not Compete With Tape-Delayed Olympic Curling

a bright light shines through the space between a ski jumper's legs

Artificially Large Skier Penises Should Stay Legal

Ray Ratto

USA's Lindsey Vonn takes part in the second official training for the women's downhill event ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo on February 6, 2026.

Luck Finally Failed Lindsey Vonn

Lauren Theisen

Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner of Team Italy look on against Team Switzerland during the Curling Mixed Doubles Round Robin ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics

Let’s All Say “Buongiorno” To My Favorite Olympic Curlers

Amber Glenn competes in the 2026 United States Figure Skating Championships.

Amber Glenn Will Take Her Triple Axel To The Olympics

MILAN, ITALY - DECEMBER 08: (EDITOR’S NOTE: Multiple exposures were combined in camera to produce this image.) Players competes during 2026 IIHF U20 World Championship Division Group B match between Poland and Italy at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena on December 08, 2025 in Milan, Italy. The event serves as test event for the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)

Here Are The American Hockey Men

E.Y. Zhao is a writer and editor from St. Louis. Her debut novel, <a href="https://astrapublishinghouse.com/product/underspin-9781662603266/">Underspin</a>, set in the world of competitive table tennis, is out now. She holds a BA in history from Harvard College and an MFA from the University of Michigan.

E.Y. Zhao

Arts And Culture

‘Marty Supreme’ Bears Us Into The New World

A screenshot of gymnastics coach Al Fong from his YouTube podcast It shows Fong sitting at a desk, with a laptop screen nearby and a water bottle. He is talking into a microphone.

Gymnastics Coach Al Fong Suspended Five Years For Physical And Emotional Misconduct

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)

Michael Johnson’s Track Start-Up Declares Bankruptcy

Ilia Malinin of the United States performs in the Men - Free Skating on day 3 of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.

The Quad God Performs Another Miracle

MILAN, ITALY - NOVEMBER 26: An general view of the Milano Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena located in the Santa Giulia district on November 26, 2025 in Milan, Italy. For the 2026 Olympic Games, a new multi-purpose arena will be inaugurated, where 16,000 people will be able to watch the best national teams and the great international stars of ice hockey and para ice hockey on November 26, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vincenzo Lombardo/Getty Images)

What’s Going On With The Olympic Hockey Arena?

Dave McKenna

Diana Nyad speaks at the FEMME Awards 2025 at Terranea Resort on March 20, 2025 in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

Diana Nyad Finally Got Her Plaque

Julie Kliegman is a writer and editor in Queens, New York. They wrote <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/mind-game-9798216378051/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/mind-game-9798216378051/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1763134080975000&amp;usg=AOvVaw15Dx3xf4fCxIqYQnD4bF_R">Mind Game: An Inside Look at the Mental Health Playbook of Elite Athletes</a>. Their next book, the biography Finding Renée Richards, is due out in August 2026. Kliegman’s work has also appeared in outlets including The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, The Washington Post, Bookforum, Slate, The Ringer, Texas Monthly, Vulture, BuzzFeed News, and The Verge.

Julie Kliegman

art of a swimmer with their head half above water

What Does A Great Trans Athlete Deserve?

<a href="http://www.ddavisla.com">David Davis </a>is the author of Wheels of Courage: How Paralyzed Veterans From World War II Invented Wheelchair Sports, Fought for Disability Rights, and Inspired a Nation and Waterman: The Life and Times of Duke Kahanamoku. He lives in Los Angeles.
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David Davis

Marty Reisman, holder of 18 International and US National table tennis titles, and author of the 1974 book "The Money Player" in which he described his life traveling the world, playing high-stakes matches. Reisman won the 1997 United States National Hardbat championship. Now at age 77, he is probably the oldest person ever to win an open US national title in a racquet sport. (Photo by Neville Elder/Corbis via Getty Images)