Sports
Team USA has owned the Olympic swimming pool — is that about to change in Paris?
Follow our Olympics coverage in the lead-up to the Paris Games.
For many years across Olympic swimming venues, the sound of “The Star-Spangled Banner” was ubiquitous.
From the 1992 Games in Barcelona through the pandemic-delayed 2021 Games in Tokyo, the United States swim team won more gold medals than any of its peers. Its anthem played, over and over again, as the Americans received their gold medals atop the podium. The last time Team USA did not win the most golds at a single Olympics was in 1988, when it finished second to East Germany. None of the swimmers on the current roster were alive then.
U.S. swimmers have won the overall medal count and the gold medal count so often over the years that it almost has been taken for granted. Of course, it helps that Michael Phelps won 23 alone over four Olympics, but it wasn’t just him. The Americans were often the best in the world in their best events, and they often cleaned up in relays as well.
Now, that dominance is far from certain. Heading into the Paris Games, the Australians will be favored to win the most gold medals in the pool. The Aussies topped the Americans a year ago at the world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, winning 13 gold medals to the Americans’ seven. Though Team USA won the overall medal count (38 to 25), its haul’s hue was less golden than usual.
Paris could be the same. It’s a possibility the Americans are not shying away from and one they are determined to avoid.
“Historically, the U.S. has done the best job of any country in the world of being better and performing at a higher level,” U.S. head women’s coach Todd DeSorbo said. “Certainly, there are some events for both genders where we’ve got a significant amount of ground to make up, but I’m confident in the motivation and excitement and commitment of everybody — men and women — on the team that are prepared to do that and do some pretty special things.”
Count Australian star Cate Campbell among those hoping for the opposite. She enjoyed what she heard at worlds — or rather, what she didn’t.
“Australia coming out on top is one thing, but it is just so much sweeter beating America,” Campbell told Australia’s Channel 9 last August. “There were a couple of nights, particularly the first night of competition, where we did not have to hear ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ ring out through the stadium, and I cannot tell you how happy that made me.
“If I (ever) hear that song again, it will be too soon.”
It was the first time since 2001 that the U.S. did not take home the most gold medals at a world championship meet. Of the nine swimmers who won multiple individual gold medals, Katie Ledecky was the only American swimmer to do so. “The world is getting better,” Bob Bowman, the U.S. men’s head coach at worlds, told reporters in Japan. The Aussies set five world records at that meet alone. Neither seven-time Olympic gold medalist Caeleb Dressel nor two-time gold medalist Simone Manuel competed in Japan, and both will swim in Paris.
Katie Ledecky is the gold medal favorite in the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle in Paris, but beyond that, most races are too competitive to predict. (Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
Campbell failed to qualify for Paris, but her comments have reverberated loudly — including one that called the Americans “sore losers” for celebrating the most overall medals when the Aussies nearly doubled their tally of gold. It struck a nerve with Phelps, who served as a commentator for NBC during the U.S. trials last month. He said if a competitor spoke like that about him, he’d “make them eat every word they just said about me” and hoped the Americans would use the clip as motivation.
“Well, the good news is the Olympics will be here shortly, and we’ll be able to see what the results are,” Phelps said.
For the first time in a long time, it’s hard to know what to expect. Ledecky, a seven-time Olympic gold medalist, will be favored to win gold in the 800-meter and 1,500-meter freestyle events. Beyond that, the races are too competitive to confidently predict. And Ledecky’s rival, Australian Ariarne Titmus, will be favored to win the 400-meter freestyle, with fellow Aussie Mollie O’Callaghan the headliner for the 100-meter and 200-meter freestyle events.
Dressel, the Americans’ star sprinter, will have a chance to defend his gold medals from Tokyo in the 50-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly. He looked strong at trials, but he’s still amid a comeback to the sport after an eight-month break from swimming from mid-2022 to early 2023. (At trials, he failed to qualify for the 100-meter freestyle in Paris as an individual event, so he will not get to defend his gold.) Bobby Finke will be favored to win the 1,500-meter freestyle, and Ryan Murphy will be expected to contend in both backstroke events. But overall, the three aren’t obvious locks to repeat their Tokyo success.
Caeleb Dressel returns as the face of the U.S. men’s team, with a chance to defend his gold medals in the 50-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly. (Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
Gretchen Walsh, Regan Smith and Kate Douglass will headline the women’s team alongside Ledecky, but the trio brings far less Olympics experience than she does. Walsh (100 fly) and Smith (100 back) set world records at trials and will be in contention in Paris in their respective events, but this will be Walsh’s first Games, and Smith took home two silvers (200 fly, medley relay) and one bronze (100 back) in Tokyo. Those events are loaded, too. Australian Kaylee McKeown will be tough to beat in both backstroke events, and Canadians Maggie Mac Neil and Summer McIntosh will be top contenders in the 100 fly, as will China’s Zhang Yufei.
Douglass took bronze in the 200-meter individual medley in Tokyo, though she will be swimming a more comprehensive program after qualifying to swim individually in the 200 fly and 200 IM at trials. (She also qualified in the 100-meter freestyle but later dropped it.) Though she set multiple championship records at trials, she faces a tough road ahead with McIntosh, the Canadian phenom, and McKeown in the 200 IM (and her teammate Alex Walsh, too).
Of the biggest names on Team USA, many are likely to medal at the Games, though it might not be gold. Two-time gold medalist breaststroker Lilly King, versatile distance swimmer Katie Grimes and male breaststrokers Nic Fink and Matt Fallon could all medal. So could Carson Foster, though he likely won’t take gold in either IM race because of the heavily favored Frenchman, Léon Marchand.
Relays will also be extremely competitive. Team USA will be favored in the men’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay and the women’s medley relay, but the American women lag behind the Aussies in both freestyle relays, and the men will face stiff competition from China in the men’s medley and Great Britain in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. The Brits took home gold in that relay in Tokyo for the first time. It was the first time the U.S. (men or women) failed to medal in an Olympic relay event.
But what is perhaps most glaring is that the complexion of the team is fairly different from what it was even just two Games ago, with Phelps and Ryan Lochte headlining the roster in Rio de Janeiro alongside Ledecky in peak form and a schedule that stretched from the 200 free through the 800 free. Even with Ledecky and Dressel headed to Paris, this roster doesn’t have the same star power American swimming typically does, particularly on the men’s side. Dressel will swim multiple events, but he’s long been an enigma and not someone who wants the world to know every little thing about himself. Phelps and Lochte were endlessly captivating figures, and they were on TV nearly every day of the Games in their heyday because of the breadth of their events.
Still, USA Swimming president and CEO Tim Hinchey III has said the organization’s goal is to win the total medal count and the gold medal count. But is that attainable? The Americans will find out soon enough.
“I thought we were in a good place relative to the rest of the world prior to trials, and coming out of trials, I think we were in even a better place,” DeSorbo said. “We’re just ready to get to camp (in Croatia), get to Paris and let the Games begin.”
GO DEEPER
U.S. Olympic swim trials takeaways: Caeleb Dressel is back, Katie Ledecky is still here
(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; photos of Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel: Tom Pennington and Al Bello / Getty Images)
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LAS VEGAS – Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio were once brothers in arms in the Judgment Day. The two helped the faction run “Monday Night Raw” for several years.
As championships and opportunities came and went, the rift between Balor and Mysterio grew. It came to a head when Balor caused Mysterio to lose the Intercontinental Championship to Penta. Balor leaving the Judgment Day left Mysterio and Liv Morgan as the leaders with JD McDonagh, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez sticking around.
Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The latter four chose to ride with Mysterio and attacked Balor on one episode of Raw.
The bitter war led to a match Sunday night at WrestleMania 42. To make matters more interesting, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce made the match a street fight hours before the show was set to begin.
Balor had vowed to bring the “Demon” out and he certainly did.
JACOB FATU PUTS DREW MCINTYRE IN THE ‘REAR VIEW’ IN UNSANCTIONED MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA 42
Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Balor made his way to the ring in his “Demon” gear, dripping with red and black paint. Mysterio was in a mask with other Mysterio supporters.
The two then proceeded to beat the crud out of each other.
Mysterio wrapped Balor’s head in between a chair and hit a 619 on him. He tried to pin Balor, but to no avail. At another point, Mysterio tossed Balor through a table set up in the corner.
As many have learned, it’s hard to keep your demons down. Mysterio learned the hard way.
Balor would not give up. Balor clotheslined Mysterio, hit him with a chair multiple times before wrapping his head in between the chair and drop-kicking him into the corner. Balor put Mysterio onto a table and hit the Coup de Grâce for the win.
Dominik Mysterio is introduced before his match against Finn Balor during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Balor excised his own demons, while Mysterio is still haunted.
DENVER — What do you know? The once-stampeding Dodgers have been caged by the Colorado Rockies.
With a 9-6 loss Sunday at Coors Field, the two-time defending World Series champions lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Dodgers again couldn’t hold a lead, letting the Rockies tee off for 15 hits.
Nor could the Dodgers keep up offensively at the hitter-friendly park — though they put some pressure on in the ninth inning, when Shohei Ohtani led off with a ground-rule double and the Dodgers scored twice to cut the lead to three runs. Then the new guy, Ryan Ward, made the final out in his big league debut, robbed of a hit and a chance to keep chipping away by a diving Troy Johnston in right field.
Before that, the Rockies — who beat the Dodgers twice in 13 meetings all of last season — chased starter Roki Sasaki from the game in the fifth inning and then ruffled the Dodgers’ relievers. That included closer Edwin Díaz, who came on in the eighth and promptly gave up three singles, a walk and two runs before being pulled with the Dodgers trailing 8-4.
Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki gave up three runs on seven hits in 4-2/3 innings Sunday against the Rockies in Denver.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
He and Blake Treinen combined to face eight batters without getting an out.
“They both weren’t sharp,” said manager Dave Roberts, who had theories but not many answers — though he did have real concern, especially about Díaz, who recently had his right knee checked out by the medical staff.
Roberts said the closer wanted to pitch after nine days off, even though it wasn’t a save situation. But his velocity was slightly down (95.4 mph vs. 95.8) and so, “today was a tough evaluation,” the manager said.
“It really was,” Roberts said. “Because, you know, I know what it’s supposed to look like, and when it doesn’t look like that, it gets a little concerning, really.”
And losing for the second time to the Rockies, who are now 9-13? Being in danger of losing their four-game series, after arriving in Denver without having lost to a National League opponent, against a club that hasn’t made the postseason since 2018?
It’s well below the bar the Dodgers have set, and it added a bitter note to Ward’s otherwise sweet debut.
Ward punched a big league clock for the first time wearing No. 67 and cranked his first hit off Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the fourth inning, lining a changeup to right field for a single that scored Andy Pages, made it 3-0 and got the 20-some members of Ward’s party up, jumping in place, hugging and high-fiving.
“When I was on first base, I got to see them all jumping around up there,” Ward said. “That was a pretty special moment.”
He also singled in the sixth and swung on the first pitch in his first at-bat, a fly out in the third inning.
The Dodgers gave Sasaki a 2-0 lead in the third. Alex Freeland drove in Hyeseong Kim, and Shohei Ohtani doubled in Freeland — and extended his career-best on-base streak to 51 games, moving past Willie Keeler into third place in Dodgers history.
Sasaki went 4-2/3 innings, threw 78 pitches and gave up three runs on seven hits, striking out two and walking two. His ERA after his fourth start: 6.11, worst in the six-man rotation.
The Dodgers fell behind 6-5 in the seventh when Treinen — who was cleared Friday after he was struck in the head by a batted ball during batting practice — gave up four consecutive hits, including a two-run home run by Mickey Moniak.
The result likely will be a minor detail when Ward tells the story years from now about getting the call after first baseman Freddie Freeman was placed on the paternity list.
The Dodgers’ No. 19 prospect and reigning Pacific Coast League MVP spent the last seven years in the minors. Last season, he hit 36 home runs and drove in 122 runs with a .937 on-base-plus-slugging percentage for triple-A Oklahoma City, and he has a 1.020 OPS and four homers this year.
Ward made it a point to improve his chase rate, draw more walks and get on base more frequently, everything the Dodgers asked of him. He also passed the broadest patience test.
“The plate discipline, being a better hitter … he’s done all that,” Roberts said. “He’s improved his defense. But honestly, for me, just not to let his lack of opportunity in the big leagues deter him. That’s easy when you get frustrated and let it affect performance, and he hasn’t done that.”
If anything, Ward said, the waiting made him better.
“I used it to keep going. ‘OK, if I’m not there yet, what do I have to do to get there?’” he said. “‘What part of my game do I need to work on to keep getting better?’
“I used it as fire to keep working.”
That will be the Dodgers’ assignment too.
In the finale of the four-game series Monday, the Dodgers are expected to start left-hander Justin Wrobleski (2-0, 2.12) against Colorado left-hander Jose Quintana (0-1, 5.63).
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LAS VEGAS – Danhausen’s curse may be real after all – just ask Stephen A. Smith and the New York Mets.
While the latter dropped their 10th game in a row, Smith got his share of the curse on Saturday night during Night 1 of WrestleMania 42. Smith was in attendance for WWE’s premier event of the year and heard massive boos from the crowd.
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith was sitting ringside to watch the action. The ESPN star appeared on the videoboard above the ring at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He appeared to embrace the reaction and smiled through it.
The boos came after Danhausen appeared on “First Take” on Friday – much to the chagrin of the sports pundit. Smith appeared perplexed by Danhausen’s appearance. Smith said he heard about Danhausen and called him a “bad luck charm.”
Danhausen said Smith had been “rude” to him and put the dreaded “curse” on the commentator.
WWE STAR DANHAUSEN SAYS METS ‘CURSE’ ISN’T EXACTLY LIFTED AS TEAM DROPS NINTH STRAIGHT GAME
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith is far from the only one dealing with the effects of the “curse.”
Danhausen agreed to “un-curse” the Mets during their losing streak. However, he told Fox News Digital earlier this week that there was a reason why the curse’s removal didn’t take full effect.
“I did un-curse the Mets. But it didn’t work because, I believe it was Brian Gewirtz who did not pay Danhausen. He did not send me my money so it did not take full effect,” Danhausen said. “Once I have the money, perhaps it will actually work because right now it’s probably about a half of an un-cursing. It’s like a layaway situation.”
Danhausen enters the arena before his match against Kit Wilson during SmackDown at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on April 10, 2026. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
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On “Friday Night SmackDown,” WWE stars like The Miz and Kit Wilson were also targets of Danhausen’s curse.
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