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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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The highly anticipated 30th WNBA season tipped off Friday with three games, including the expansion Toronto Tempo’s first-ever contest.
The action continued Saturday with a full slate, including Caitlin Clark’s return after an injury-riddled sophomore season.
Clark and the Indiana Fever hosted the Dallas Wings on Saturday afternoon in a matchup featuring the four most recent No. 1 overall picks. The Wings outlasted the Fever 107-104, but the game was defined by Azzi Fudd’s — the most recent top pick — underwhelming debut.
Dallas Wings guards Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers react during the first half of the Fever’s season opener at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on May 9, 2026. (Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Fudd played 18 minutes off the bench, scoring three points — the lowest ever by a No. 1 overall pick in a WNBA debut.
Wings coach Jose Fernandez addressed Fudd’s performance after the game, encouraging the rookie to, “Keep doing what she’s doing, it’s her first year in the league. We got five really talented backcourt players.”
EX-WNBA STAR CRITICAL OF SKY ROOKIE HAILEY VAN LITH, BELIEVES POPULARITY PLAYED ROLE IN DRAFT SELECTION
In addition to Fudd, Dallas’ backcourt features last year’s top draft pick Paige Bueckers, last season’s No. 12 overall pick Aziaha James, four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale and starting guard Odyssey Sims.
Until Saturday, Kelsey Plum held the record for the lowest-scoring debut by a No. 1 pick. Selected first overall by the then-San Antonio Stars in 2017, she scored just four points in her debut. The Stars relocated to Las Vegas in 2018 and was subsequently rebranded as the Aces.
Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd warms up before the game against the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 9, 2026. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Despite the slow start to her first season in the league, Plum ended the year with All-Rookie team honors. In the years since, she’s been named to four All-Star teams and won two championships with the Aces.
The Wings’ decision to take Fudd with the No. 1 overall pick drew controversy, raising questions about whether Bueckers’ personal relationship with her influenced the selection. Late last month, Bueckers said last month it did not.
Azzi Fudd poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected first overall by the Dallas Wings during the 2026 WNBA Draft at The Shed in New York City on April 13, 2026. (Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images)
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“Azzi Fudd was the No. 1 draft pick because she earned it, and it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with who she is as a human being, who she is as a basketball player,” Bueckers said, according to ESPN.
Neither Bueckers nor Fudd has publicly updated their relationship status since the April draft.
“Quite frankly, I believe me and Azzi’s personal relationship is nobody’s business but our own,” Bueckers also said in April. “And what we choose to share is completely up to us.”
Next up, the Wings play their home opener on Tuesday when they host the Atlanta Dream.
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The Lakers are one playoff defeat from their season being over and from the conversation turning to LeBron James’ future.
They are in a hole no team has climbed out of in the history of the NBA, the Lakers’ 131-108 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 putting L.A. down 3-0 in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.
James and his teammates gave a gallant effort Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena, but the defending champion proved to be more than the Lakers could handle.
James finished his night with 19 points on seven-for-19 shooting, eight assists and six rebounds. Rui Hachimura had 21 points and Austin Reaves finished with 17 points and nine assists.
Even so, the Lakers have now lost all three games by double digits.
And the Lakers are fully aware that no NBA team has successfully come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs, with those teams holding a 161-0 record. Only four teams have forced a Game 7 after trailing 3-0, all of which ultimately lost the series, including the Boston Celtics in 2023.
Lakers forward LeBron James shows frustration as Thunder center Chet Holmgren slam dunks during Game 3 on Saturday night.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Game 4 is Monday night, when the Lakers will try to stave off elimination and a night that will determine how the conversations go with James if they lose.
James has been frequently asked this season about retirement, but he has not given any indication of what the future holds for him.
He’s 41 years old and playing in an NBA-record 23rd season.
James is in the final year of his contract that pays him $52 million, making him a free agent this offseason. He can retire, join another team or perhaps return to the Lakers next season.
That will be the conversation if the Lakers can’t win Game 4.
They will see the same Thunder team that had seven players score in double figures, led by Ajay Mitchell’s 24 points and 10 assists and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 23 points and nine assists.
The Lakers went down 13 in the third quarter and had to play catchup the rest of the way. They never did, going down by 112-94 with 6 minutes and 12 seconds left, forcing Lakers coach JJ Redick to call a timeout.
The deficit just kept growing, topping out at 27 points in the fourth.
They were outscored 33-20 in the third quarter. The Lakers didn’t take care of the basketball in the third, turning it over six times, and they didn’t play good defense, allowing the Thunder to shoot 59.1% from the field and 55.6 percent from three-point range,
The Lakers did not give an inch to the Thunder in the first half, even when they fell behind by 10 points.
They just kept grinding until they led 59-57 at halftime.
Hachimura had 16 points in the first half, continuing his hot three-point shooting by making all four of his threes. Luke Kennard came off the bench to give the Lakers 13 points, shooting five for six from the field and three for four from three-point range.
The Lakers kept the pressure defense on Gilgeous-Alexander. Though he had 14 points in the first half, he shot only four for 14 from the field and one for five from three-point range.
The Lakers shot 55% from three-point range in the first half, which went a long way in helping them.
The Lakers lost the first two games by identical margins of 18 points and each loss was magnified because Gilgeous-Alexander was kept under wraps for the most part by L.A.’s defense.
When Gilgeous-Alexander picked up his fourth foul with 10:34 left in the third quarter of Game 2 and went to the bench, the Thunder turned a five-point lead into a 13-point advantage at the end of the quarter.
So, when he wasn’t on the court, the Lakers failed to take advantage.
“Well, you know, again, I’ll repeat what I said after the game: we’ve got to be better in the non-Shai minutes,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
Role players like Mitchell and Jared McCain hurt the Lakers in the second game. Chet Holmgren also was hard to deal with.
“Mitchell and McCain have hurt us in those non-Shai minutes, and then Chet [Holmgren] has hurt us the whole game,” Redick said. “I think you’ve got to be willing to live with something. Shai playing one-on-one, thus far in the series, we haven’t been willing to live with, so you’re going to be in rotation. That can lead to smalls on bigs at the hole, and the offensive rebounding from Chet has really hurt us.”
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In 2025, Alex Palou kicked off the Month of May with a Sonsio Grand Prix win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Based on the odds, it’s likely that Palou will find himself in Winner’s Circle again this Saturday when INDYCAR goes back to IMS on May 9 (4:30 p.m. ET, FOX).
Considering Palou has already captured the checkered flag three times this season, are there any other drivers whose odds are worth a wager?
Here are the latest lines at DraftKings Sportsbook as of May 9.
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.
Sonsio Grand Prix 2026
Àlex Palou: 5/18 (bet $10 to win $12.78 total)
Kyle Kirkwood: 5/1 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
Pato O’Ward: 12/1 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
David Malukas: 14/1 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Josef Newgarden: 16/1 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
Scott McLaughlin: 20/1 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Christian Lundgaard: 30/1 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Scott Dixon: 40/1 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
Will Power: 60/1 (bet $10 to win $610 total)
Felix Rosenqvist: 80/1 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Alexander Rossi: 100/1 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Marcus Ericsson: 100/1 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Marcus Armstrong: 100/1 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Christian Rasmussen: 150/1 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Graham Rahal: 150/1 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Louis Foster: 300/1 (bet $10 to win $3,010 total)
Dennis Hauger: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Romain Grosjean: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Santino Ferrucci: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Rinus Veekay: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Kyffin Simpson: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Caio Collet: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Sting Ray Robb: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Nolan Siegel: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Mick Schumacher: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Here’s what to know about the oddsboard:
Heavy Favorite: It doesn’t look like Alex Palou’s dominance will be slowing down anytime soon. As noted above, he’s already won three of the five races since the INDYCAR season started in March. With 186 laps led, Palou sits first in the standings and has the shortest odds to win the title again. Last season, he started from the pole and led 29 laps before winning the race.
Long Shot to Watch: While his odds of 150/1 to win at IMS are much longer than Palou’s, Graham Rahal is one to watch. At this race in 2025, he started second and led 49 laps before finishing sixth. He finished second at this course in 2015, 2020 and 2023. He’s currently 10th in the INDYCAR standings, with one top five and three top 10s.
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