Sports
Paralympic equestrian rider reflects on finally winning gold in fifth Games in Paris
When Becca Hart was a child, she didn’t have the same experience as everyone else her age or almost anyone else growing up.
While other kids were playing sports and taking dance lessons, Hart was often on the outside looking in, as she had been born with familial spastic paraplegia, a hereditary condition that weakens her legs.
“You’re going to be like everyone else. But the world quickly pounds into you that that’s not the case. And I was really mad about that,” Hart told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
But one day, she got on a horse. And nearly 25 years later, she’s a Paralympic gold medal winner.
Becca Hart poses with her three gold medals from Paris. (Mercury LLC)
Hart says she “struggled with my disability as a kid” as the “magic” of enjoying childhood was essentially gone. That is, however, until she rode a horse for the first time.
“But I was a horse-crazy little kid, and something clicked in my brain. This horse doesn’t care if my legs don’t work, they will do everything I need them to do. It was this light-bulb moment, and all of a sudden, I was able to take all the anger I felt and push it into a passion for horses and sport, and that was the catalyst for my obsession with horses and competing that has spanned over 25 years.”
Hart first participated in the Paralympics in Beijing in 2008, and it finally took until this past summer to earn gold; she is the captain of the USA’s equestrian dressage team.
But while she is not competing, Hart has worked at Starbucks since the year she made her Paralympic debut. But the company has become so much more than her place of employment.
“Starbucks has been wildly a part of my journey since before I was on the international scene. I was a working student trying to make my break into international performance. I needed a job, and Starbucks was there.
Becca Hart competes in Paris. (Mercury LLC)
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“My manager knew I was doing ‘professional sports’ on the side, and he said, ‘Why don’t you look at this elite athlete program? It might be something useful for you.’ I looked into it, and they’ve been one of my main corporate sponsors for the last 16 years. Having the flexibility to travel the world, keep my job and have the financial backing to support that has been kind of paramount to getting triple gold this year.”
Hart jokes that the alarm clock going off at 3 a.m. to head to work shortly after winning gold was a tough kick back into real life, but on her return to work, she got a champion’s welcome.
“They decked the store out in gold, everything, streamers, sparklers, balloons. And the entire community came in at the end of my shift, the entire fire department, sheriff’s department, the mayor, my friends, customers, they all came in, and we just had a blast,” she said.
Hart admitted there were times she had to keep herself from getting distracted while competing.
“When I glance to my right, there’s the [Château Versailles], the gardens, the waterfront, and I’m like, ‘Focus. Focus.’ I had to remind myself to really hone in,” Hart said. “I enjoy the pressure. Pressure is a privilege, but it’s tight. I needed a good performance, but I also needed a personal best, which is asking a lot in the Olympics, but we were able to pull it off.”
Gold medalist Rebecca Hart of Team United States poses for a photo during the Paris Summer Paralympic Games at Château de Versailles on Sept. 3, 2024, in France. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
And while her goal is finally accomplished, the best part about her sport is that there is longevity. Now, she wants USA equestrian to become a dynasty, and she will be in Los Angeles in 2028.
“We worked too hard and too long. We’re just getting good, we’ve just brought the U.S. into the spotlight, and I want to stay there, especially on home turf in four years.”
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Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo made NBA history on Tuesday night.
Adebayo scored 83 points, all while setting league marks for free throws made and attempted in a game for the Miami Heat in a 150-129 win over the Washington Wizards. It is the second-highest scoring game for a player ever, only to Wilt Chamberlain’s famed 100-point game.
“An absolutely surreal night,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters after the game.
Adebayo started with a 31-point first quarter. He was up to 43 at halftime, 62 by the end of the third quarter. And then came the fourth, when the milestones kept falling despite facing double-, triple- and what once appeared to be a quadruple-team from a Wizards defense that kept sending him to the foul line.
He finished 20 of 43 from the field, 36 of 43 from the foul line, 7 for 22 from 3-point range.
After the game, he was seen in tears while he hugged his mother, Marilyn Blount, before leaving the floor after the game.
“Welp won’t have the highest career high in the house anymore,” Adebayo’s girlfriend, four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, wrote on social media, “but at least it gives me something to go after.”
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Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat celebrates during the fourth quarter of the game against the Washington Wizards at Kaseya Center on March 10, 2026, in Miami, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
The NBA’s previous best this season was 56, by Nikola Jokic for Denver against Minnesota on Christmas night. The last player to have 62 points through three quarters: one of Adebayo’s basketball heroes, Kobe Bryant, who had exactly that many through three quarters for the Los Angeles Lakers against Dallas on Dec. 20, 2005.
He wound up passing Bryant for single-game scoring as well. Bryant’s career-best was 81 — a game that was the second-best on the NBA scoring list for two decades.
Adebayo scored 31 points in the opening quarter against the Wizards, breaking the Heat record for points in any quarter — and tying the team record for points in a first half before the second quarter even started.
He finished the first half with 43 points, a team record for any half and two points better than his previous career high — for a full game, that is — of 41, set Jan. 23, 2021, against Brooklyn.
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Adebayo’s season high entering Tuesday was 32. He matched that with a free throw with 5:53 left in the second quarter, breaking the Heat first-half scoring record.
Adebayo’s 43-point first half was the NBA’s second-best in at least the last 30 seasons — going back to the start of the digital play-by-play era that began in the 1996-97 season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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BOSTON — Charlie McAvoy scored 39 seconds into overtime and Jeremy Swayman stopped 14 shots on Tuesday night to earn the Boston Bruins their 13th straight victory at home, 2-1 over the Kings.
Mason Lohrei scored midway through the third period to break a scoreless tie. But the Kings tied it five minutes later when Drew Doughty’s shot from the blue line deflected off the heel of Bruins forward Elias Lindholm and into the net.
It was the seventh straight time the teams had gone to overtime in Boston.
In the overtime, Mark Kastelic blocked a shot in the defensive zone and made a long pass to David Pastrnak, who waited for McAvoy to come into the zone. The Bruins’ defenseman and U.S. Olympian, who went to the locker room at the end of the second period after taking a puck off his mouth, skated in on Darcy Kuemper and went to his backhand for the winner.
Kuemper stopped 21 shots for the Kings, who entered the night one point out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The victory kept Boston in possession of the East’s second wild-card spot.
Swayman tied his career high with his 25th win of the season. The Bruins haven’t lost at the TD Garden since before Christmas.
After the game, Kings forward and future Hall of Famer Anze Kopitar stayed on the ice to shake hands with the Bruins after what is expected to be his last game in Boston.
Sports
Jon Jones requests UFC release after Dana White says legend was ‘never’ considered him for White House card
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Mixed martial arts legend Jon Jones ended his retirement from UFC simply because he wanted a spot on the “Freedom 250” fight card at the White House in June.
But, when UFC CEO Dana White announced the card during UFC 326 this past weekend, Jones wasn’t among the fighters. As a result, he has requested a release from his UFC contract.
White was candid when asked about Jones following the UFC 326 card.
Jon Jones of the United States of America reacts after his TKO victory against Stipe Miocic of the United States of America in the UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16, 2024 in New York City. ((Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images))
“Never, ever, ever, which I told you guys a hundred thousands times, was Jon Jones ever even remotely in my mind to fight at the White House,” White explained, per CBS Sports. “Some guy with Meta Glasses filmed him talking about his hips – that his hips are so bad. And I don’t know if you guys saw that flag football game where he can barely run. Jon Jones retired because of his hips. He’s got arthritis in his hips. Apparently, doctors say he should have a hip replacement.”
White added that “the Jon Jones thing is bulls—,” saying that he texted the fighter’s lawyer saying he would never be on the White House card despite Jones saying he was in negotiations for it.
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The Meta Glasses incident White is referring to came from a viral video, where Jones, unaware he was being filmed, discussed issues with his hips to a fan.
On Monday, Jones composed a thorough response to White’s comments about him and the White House Card. He previously posted and deleted social media explanations, but Monday’s appeared to be his final statement on the matter.
UFC President Dana White speaks after UFC Fight Night at Toyota Center on Feb. 21, 2026. (Troy Taormina/Imagn Images)
“Yes, I have arthritis in my hip and it’s painful, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fight,” Jones, who retired a heavyweight champion in 2025, said. “So let me get this straight, if I had accepted the lowball offer, suddenly my hip would be fine and I’d be on the White House card? That doesn’t make sense. I even received stem cell treatment last week to get ready for the White House card, and training camp was scheduled to start today. I was preparing to be ready.
“I understand business deals fall through sometimes, but going out publicly and saying things that aren’t true isn’t right. After everything I’ve given to the UFC, the years, the title defenses, the fights, hearing that I’m ‘done’ is disappointing. Especially when as recently as Friday UFC was calling me trying to get me on that White House card for a much lower number.”
Jones finished his statement by saying he “respectfully” asks to be released from his UFC contract.
Jon Jones enters the ring before facing Stipe Miocic in the UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City, New York. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
“No more spins, no more games. Thank you to the real fans who know what’s up,” he wrote.
The UFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital.
Jones is considered one of the best UFC fighters of all time, owning a 28-1-1 record, which includes his last bout with Stipe Miocic, knocking him out to take the heavyweight title belt. He is also a two-time light heavyweight champion.
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