Connect with us

Sports

Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky is an ‘incredible leader for Team USA,’ swim legend Missy Franklin says

Published

on

Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky is an ‘incredible leader for Team USA,’ swim legend Missy Franklin says

Join Fox News for access to this content

Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account – free of charge.

By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive.

Please enter a valid email address.

Having trouble? Click here.

The expectations for seven-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky are high heading into the Summer Olympics, but it’s not just her dominance in the pool that makes her an invaluable member of Team USA’s success. 

Fellow Olympian Missy Franklin believes it’s Ledecky’s role outside pool lanes that makes her one of the greats. 

Advertisement

Katie Ledecky of the United States reacts after the preliminary heat for the women’s 400-meter freestyle on the first day of the 2024 U.S. Olympic team swimming trials at Lucas Oil Stadium June 15, 2024, in Indianapolis. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

Speaking to Fox News Digital ahead of the Paris Games, Franklin spoke optimistically about Ledecky’s chances at this year’s Games.

“I think she’s going to show up like she always does. Katie knows when to perform. She’s been doing it since 2012.” 

It will be Ledecky’s fourth Olympics, and she is expected to solidify her spot during this weekend’s U.S. swimming trials. But the challengers are already lining up. Australia’s Ariarne Titmus and Canada’s Summer McIntosh present the biggest threat in the women’s 400-meter freestyle. 

Advertisement

Ledecky won gold in that event in 2016 but lost to Titmus in Tokyo. McIntosh then took over the world record in the women’s 400-meter freestyle, but Titmus claimed it back later that year at the world championships. 

Franklin agrees the competition will be fierce, but that’s when Ledecky shines. 

USA’s Katie Ledecky celebrates after winning the final of the women’s 1500-meter freestyle during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo July 28, 2021.  (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)

OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST MISSY FRANKLIN ON THE ‘MOST EPIC MOMENT’ FOR EVERY AMERICAN SWIMMER AHEAD OF 2024 GAMES

“Katie relishes the challenge,” Franklin said. “She loves the competition. She loves having people that are going to push her to be even better.”

Advertisement

Ledecky, 27, already has six individual Olympic gold medals, more than any female swimmer in the history of the sport. Anything more in Paris would only compliment her legendary career. But Franklin knows Ledecky’s role in Paris goes beyond the medal count. 

“I think Katie’s an incredible role model,” Franklin said. “She’s an incredible leader for Team USA. I think alongside her accomplishments in the pool, she’s also going to have amazing accomplishments outside of it when it comes to being that veteran for Team USA and really showing and leading the way with her experience or her knowledge.” 

Missy Franklin, left, of the United States celebrates with teammate Katie Ledecky after the women’s 200-meter freestyle semifinals of the 16th FINA World Championships at the Kazan Arena Aug. 4, 2015, in Kazan, Russia. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

Ledecky was off to a strong start in the U.S. Olympic swimming trials Saturday. She finished the 400-meter freestyle with a time of 3:59.99. Her first-place finish was more than five seconds ahead of second-place finisher Paige Madden. 

Advertisement

The final is scheduled for Saturday night. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Advertisement

Sports

WWE Survivor Series: WarGames heads to Houston in November

Published

on

WWE Survivor Series: WarGames heads to Houston in November

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

WWE will swing for the fences for the second straight year when it hosts one of its major premium live events of the year at a Major League Baseball ballpark.

The company announced on Monday that Survivor Series: WarGames will take place at Daikin Park in Houston – the home of the Astros – on Saturday, Nov. 28. It follows up the success of last year’s Survivor Series: WarGames event, which took place at Petco Park in San Diego – the home of the Padres.

COMPLETE PRO WRESTLING COVERAGE ON FOX NEWS DIGITAL

Roman Reigns lands a Superman Punch on Brock Lesnar during Survivor Series at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif., on Nov. 29, 2025. (Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images)

Advertisement

“Houston is the perfect host city to celebrate this milestone chapter in Survivor Series’ storied history, and we look forward to partnering with Houston First and the Houston Astros to deliver an unforgettable event,” WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque said in a news release.

WarGames is a highly anticipated match, which has taken place yearly among wrestlers on the WWE roster since 2022. The premium live event has also seen some dramatic returns.

Stephanie Vaquer enters the ring during Survivor Series at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images)

In 2023, CM Punk came back to WWE at the end of the show and shocked the entire sports world. Randy Orton also made his in-ring return during the match. Last year, a mystery attacker interrupted the WarGames match and gave the win to The Vision and company.

Advertisement

It’s unclear what is in the cards right now for the 40th edition of the event.

“We are proud to be able to help bring one of the world’s premier entertainment brands to Houston for what promises to be an unforgettable holiday weekend,” said Michael Heckman, President and CEO of Houston First, which partnered with WWE to bring the event back to Houston.

Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio celebrate their win during Survivor Series at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif. (Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Hosting WWE Survivor Series will bring thousands of passionate fans to our city and generate a significant economic impact for community. Houston has earned a reputation for delivering world-class entertainment events, and we look forward to welcoming the WWE Universe to our destination.”

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Sports

Commentary: Inside the Shohei Ohtani Economy driving a wild auction for his worn cleats

Published

on

Commentary: Inside the Shohei Ohtani Economy driving a wild auction for his worn cleats

How much would you pay for a pair of shoes? Someone else’s shoes, I mean.

Would you pay $7,000 for a chair on which Taylor Swift sat in a basketball arena — for an NBA playoff game, not for her wedding? Someone did.

There was one Swift chair up for bid. The Dodgers gave away 52,000 trading cards as part of a promotion for the Japanese animated series “One Piece” this month, and the current asking prices for one of those cards on eBay range from $784 to $15,656. Even at the low end … strike that, there is no apparent low end to the collectibles market these days.

Now add Shohei Ohtani to the mix. A pair of his cleats hit the auction block Monday, hyped by the promoter as “one of the most significant baseball artifacts ever” and “the greatest baseball footwear ever made available” and “the most culturally significant footwear ever worn on Japanese soil.”

In this case, the adjectives are more than breathless. Ohtani is the best player in baseball, the favorite to win his fifth most valuable player award in six years, an international tourist attraction, and a global pitchman making an estimated $125 million in sponsorships and endorsements this year.

Advertisement

So, the footwear: These are the cleats Ohtani wore when the Dodgers opened the 2025 season in Japan, decorated with art of his world-famous dog Decoy and signed by Ohtani with Asian kanji characters rather than English letters.

The cleats were purchased last year by Take to the Universe (TTU), a Japanese company that distributes beauty and wellness products in Japan and throughout Asia. State records show the company registered a subsidiary in Los Angeles two months ago.

The cleats Shohei Ohtani wore during the Dodgers’ 2025 season opener in Japan are on the auction block.

(The Realist)

Advertisement

“We thought, hey, we could actually use this to market our company and enter into the U.S. market,” said Ryoji Iguchi, chief executive of the subsidiary. Iguchi declined to say how much TTU paid for the cleats.

For a Japanese company to leverage Ohtani and the Dodgers to introduce itself to an American audience is nothing new — not just for tangible consumer goods, but also for animated characters.

You wouldn’t actually go into a store and ask for a TTU product, though. You eventually might go into a store and ask for a beauty product made by another company. TTU would just get it there.

So how does selling a pair of cleats create brand awareness for a brand consumers would not even know?

“This interview,” Iguchi said.

Advertisement

The Ohtani Economy strikes again: You don’t know us, but we’re coming to America, we want to help you sell your wares — and we’re selling Ohtani’s cleats!

The sale was arranged by Scott Keeney, founder of the Realest, a Los Angeles-based enterprise specializing in sports and entertainment memorabilia.

The cleats Shohei Ohtani wore during the Dodgers' season opener in Japan in 2025 are on the auction block.

The cleats Shohei Ohtani wore during the Dodgers’ season opener in Japan in 2025 are on the auction block.

(The Realist)

Keeney talks about the “museum-grade” and “investment-grade” quality of the cleats. You might find a trading card marketed as one of one, but someone could make another. In this case, no one can make another pair of cleats worn by Ohtani on that particular day.

Advertisement

“It’s no different than art, where you’re seeing paintings selling for tens, hundreds of millions of dollars,” Keeney said. “The top grails are in a category of their own.

“It’s what the ultra, the top 0.0001% want, and they appreciate faster than anything else in the category.”

So how much might the Ohtani cleats command, given the combination of sport and celebrity?

Kobe Bryant’s sneakers from the game in which he tore his Achilles tendon — and hit two free throws before he left the court — fetched $660,000. Michael Jordan’s “Flu Game” shoes sold for $1.4 million. Kanye West wore “Air Yeezys” to the Grammys, and the pair sold for $1.8 million.

The ball Ohtani hit for his 50th home run in his 50-50 season: $4.4 million. And, speaking of holy grails: Judy Garland’s ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz” fetched $32.5 million.

Advertisement

I cannot afford that, in this lifetime or any other. Perhaps you can. If you cannot, the Realest is offering this free-to-enter contest: Guess the sale price of the Ohtani cleats and, if you come closest to the actual sale price, you win 1% of the price. In the event of a tie, the first submission wins.

The cash would be nice, because this is just a pair of someone else’s worn shoes. But, since everything else Ohtani does seems to be unprecedented, this auction just might be too.

Continue Reading

Sports

Stefon Diggs, still seeking new NFL home, insists no team has a better No 2 receiver ‘than me’

Published

on

Stefon Diggs, still seeking new NFL home, insists no team has a better No 2 receiver ‘than me’

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Stefon Diggs is still looking for his next NFL team after one season with the New England Patriots, which ended in a Super Bowl LX defeat.

With NFL training camps across the country set to kick off at the end of the month, Diggs, who will be entering his 12th season, made quite the statement during a recent YouTube video on his channel.

Diggs stated that he is the best No. 2 receiver in the league, and he explained why.

Advertisement

New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs (8) walks to the podium to speak to the media after a minicamp held in the WIN Field House at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on June 10, 2025. (Eric Canha/Imagn Images)

“Everybody got a 1,,” he said. “Opportunities aside, people might say there’s seven real 1s. In my opinion, I can compete with anybody, but take those as your 1s. You can’t name a No. 2 better than me. There’s not a No. 2 on a team. Let’s presumably give people the credit and just say, ‘OK, you want to take the No. 1 spot away.’ Name your No. 2 receiver right now. Tell me how much he makes. My last question is: Is he better than me?”

Diggs put up 1,013 yards in his 11th season, his first and only with the Patriots, on 85 receptions (102 targets) with four touchdowns from breakout star quarterback Drake Maye . It marked Diggs’ seventh 1,000-yard season in the NFL, which have come in seven of the last eight seasons.

ODELL BECKHAM TOLD GIANTS COACH HE’S READY TO ‘GO OUT ON MY SWORD’ TO EARN ROSTER SPOT

The 32-year-old did note being a No. 2 option, which means he could be willing to take a pay cut to join a squad that he could help get back to the playoffs and, as ever player hopes, the Super Bowl. But no team has pulled the trigger just yet.

Advertisement

Could Diggs’ off-the-field issues be a factor? He faced some serious allegations in December after being charged with felony strangulation and misdemeanor assault in a dispute with his private chef.

New England Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs speaks during his introductory press conference on March 28, 2025. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

However, Diggs was found not guilty by a jury, with the NFL closing its review on the matter, stating there was insufficient evidence to warrant a suspension for violating its personal conduct policy. Diggs’ attorney said that “professional athletes have a target on their back” following the non-guilty verdict.

“We have taken these allegations seriously from Day One and that’s exactly why we were eager for the facts to come to light through the legal process,” Mitch Schuster of Meister, Seelig & Schuster, the firm that represented Diggs, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital in May.

The Patriots released Diggs in March, but he has been staying in shape and looking for the next opportunity since the league cleared him last month.

Advertisement

New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs plays against the Seattle Seahawks during Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Feb. 8, 2026. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Teams to watch could be the Los Angeles Chargers, New York Giants, Washington Commanders, Kansas City Chiefs, or even a Buffalo Bills reunion with Josh Allen, who built such a rapport with him to earn four straight Pro Bowls from 2020-23.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Advertisement

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending