August 8, 2024

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Noah Lyles had a chance to become the first American since Carl Lewis to win the Olympic sprint double. He just fell short in the 200-meter race, traditionally his best event. Will it hamper his goal of elevating his sport?

— Colin Salao [[link removed]] and David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Noah Lyles Falls Short of Double After Testing Positive for COVID-19 [[link removed]]

James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

Noah Lyles ran the 200-meter sprint in Paris after testing positive for COVID-19 and settled for bronze in the event for the second straight Olympics.

The U.S. sprinter was trying to become the first man since Usain Bolt in 2016—and the first American since Carl Lewis in 1984—to win the double, the combination of the 100- and 200-meter races, in the Olympics. But he settled for third behind Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo and fellow American Kenny Bednarek.

Lyles fell to the ground after the race and was surrounded by medical personnel. He tested positive Tuesday, USA Track & Field announced. He reportedly [[link removed]] visited medics after his semifinals heat Wednesday.

“I’ve never been more proud of myself for being able to come out here and getting a bronze medal,” Lyles said [[link removed]], in a mask, after the race.

Lyles finished with a 19.70, nearly four-hundredths back of his own personal best of 19.31, the third-fastest time in history. He still would’ve had his work cut out for him even if he were fully healthy, as Tebogo finished with a 19.46, faster than Lyles’s gold medal time in the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.

Chasing History

Even if Lyles won the gold Thursday, it was unlikely he would surpass Bolt’s eight gold medals.

Unfortunately for Lyles, he is running out of time to try to achieve the double in the Olympics, which Bolt did three times in 2008, 2012, and 2016. Lyles will be 31 years old by the 2028 L.A. Olympics, and Bolt was just weeks away from turning 31 when he won his third and final double in Rio.

The American still has other records to strive for, including a fourth world championship in the 200 meters—tying him with Bolt for the most in history—which he can achieve by the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

However, the Olympics showed that Lyles’s competition is deep. The American won a photo finish in the 100-meter race over Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson. Tebogo will continue to be a threat—and perhaps win a double himself—as he is only 21 years old and placed silver in the 100-meter event at the 2023 World Championships.

Perhaps more important than a medal tally, Lyles has expressed he wants to break world records [[link removed]]. Last year, he posted [[link removed]] two target times on social media: 19.10 in the 200 meters, 0.09 seconds faster than Bolt’s world record, and 9.65 in the 100 meters, short of Bolt’s 9.58 world record but faster than anyone else in history.

A Marketing Dream

While the bronze medal adds to his résumé, falling short of the double in the sport’s grandest stage does hamper his ultimate goal of transcending the sport.

“After you get the medals, more and more people gain interest,” Lyles said after winning the double in Budapest. “You can go into fashion, you can go into music. You can start collaborating with people and start meeting bigger and better athletes. From athletes, you go to artists, and from artists, you go to the world.”

He already expressed he wants his own signature sneaker—a training shoe, not a running spike—after winning the 100 meters Sunday. Bolt has signature sneakers with Puma, and contrary to what Lyles said Sunday, so did U.S. legend Michael Johnson, with Nike [[link removed]]. They just didn’t sell well.

Lyles has been with Adidas since he turned pro [[link removed]] in 2016, though it remains to be seen how the brand approaches its partnership with the sprinter after his performance in Paris.

Sports Giants Shine on Wall Street, but Not All Escape Revenue Declines [[link removed]]

David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been a testy week for the stock market at large, as many companies with heavy sports ties saw big dips.

But on Thursday, several notable publicly traded sports entities reported revenue gains from their most recent quarters. From baseball to racing to fighting, here are some of the biggest winners on Wall Street.

Formula One: Owned by Liberty Media, it saw a 20% revenue spike to $871 million. However, the period included eight Grands Prix compared to six races during the same three months in 2023. Braves: The MLB team saw revenue grow 4% to $266 million despite hosting only 40 home games in the quarter, compared to 43 during the same time last year. TKO: The company that was formed [[link removed]] out of the $21 billion UFC-WWE merger in September 2023 reported revenue of $851.2 million. UFC’s revenue increased 29% from the same quarter last year to $394.4 million. WWE’s revenue increased 11% from the same period a year prior to $456.8 million.

The revenue growth continues recent upward trends for all three organizations.

A Different Story

Two other sports-centric companies were able to beat analysts’ expectations despite reporting quarterly revenue dips.

Under Armour’s revenue dropped [[link removed]] 10% to $1.2 billion, but that was $40 million higher than anticipated. Apparel was down 8% to $758 million, while footwear fell 15% to $310 million. The brand reported a net loss of $305 million for the quarter.

Penn Entertainment, which operates the fledgling ESPN Bet app, reported revenue of $1.66 billion, just under 1% down from 2023, and $10 million more than what was expected. Revenue in Penn’s interactive unit, which includes ESPN Bet, dropped 9% to $232.6 million.

SPONSORED BY U.S. BANK

Beyond the Fairway With Collin Morikawa

Behind every great athlete is a dedicated team that turns personal aspirations into collective triumphs. From coaches and mentors to family and friends, this support system plays a crucial role in an athlete’s success. That’s the power of us [[link removed]].

Collin Morikawa began his PGA Tour career with 22 consecutive made-cuts—second only to Tiger Woods’s 25 cut streak. He is also a two-time major champion and two-time Olympian. Behind his success, he has a team committed to building his legacy and perfecting his game.

Learn how JJ, Kip, and Rian are dedicated players on Collin’s Untold Team [[link removed]].

ONE BIG FIG Age Is Just a Number

The Register Guard

16

Age of Quincy Wilson (above), who is set to become the youngest American male to compete in an Olympic track and field event. He will be part of Team USA’s 4×400-meter relay team, which is favored to win the gold medal and will run its first heat Friday morning at Stade de France. Wilson is a rising junior at Bullis School, a private K–12 preparatory academy just outside of Washington, D.C., that has a notable list of alumni like the late NFL quarterback Dwayne Haskins and college basketball analyst Seth Davis.

STATUS REPORT Two Up, One Down, One Push

Andrew Nelles-USA TODAY Sports

Seine ⬆⬇ The women’s swimming marathon [[link removed]] finished without a hiccup in the Paris river. It’s a positive sign for city officials, especially after the men’s triathlon was postponed. “Of course I’ve swum in better places, and I was only caring about not feeling sick, but it was fine,” women’s marathon bronze medalist Ginevra Taddeucci said. The successful women’s marathon has not alleviated all concerns about the river’s safety, as men’s marathon swimmer Victor Johansson of Sweden pulled [[link removed]] out of the event scheduled for Friday.

Angel Reese ⬆ Reebok released [[link removed]] its first collection for the WNBA rookie, called “Reebok by Angel.” Reese’s line includes three sneakers and seven apparel pieces, including a T-shirt, bodysuit, and wide-leg pants, in a silver chrome and icy blue color palette. Reebok signed [[link removed]] Reese last year—during her final season at LSU—and she was the first endorser signed by Shaquille O’Neal since he was named the brand’s president of basketball in October.

Renee Montgomery ⬆ The part-owner of the Atlanta Dream is continuing her show Montgomery & Co.—covering sports, culture, business, and activism—on Atlanta station WABE for a second season. The two-time WNBA champion is the first player to become an executive and co-owner of a franchise, and a documentary [[link removed]] on her journey is in the works. Last week, she dropped by the FOS Huddle in the Hamptons event and talked about her unique journey [[link removed]].

Lane Kiffin ⬇ The Ole Miss football coach is being sued for copyright infringement, according to the Clarion Ledger [[link removed]]. Swimming psychologist Dr. Keith Bell wrote a book in 1981 called Winning Isn’t Normal, and the lawsuit he filed against Kiffin claims the coach retweeted in 2016 a passage from the book, then posted a seven-paragraph passage in 2022 that was nearly identical to his book.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS EVENTS

ESPN’s McNutt to Join Us at Tuned In

Tuned In [[link removed]], Front Office Sports’ media franchise, led by senior media reporter Mike McCarthy, appears across FOS platforms through editorial coverage, social storytelling, and newsletter segments.

On Sept. 10, Tuned In will come to life as a one-day event in New York City with the biggest newsmakers in sports media.

The daylong event will feature intimate discussions with leaders within the sports media space—ranging from athletes and on-air talent to media moguls and league executives who are instrumental in shaping the future of how fans view sports.

Joining the conversation is ESPN basketball analyst Monica McNutt. Check out the full lineup [[link removed]] for the event or get your tickets [[link removed]] now.

Conversation Starters Nike dropped another ad in its “Winning Isn’t for Everyone” campaign featuring A’ja Wilson. Check it out [[link removed]]. Travis Kelce is hosting a new game show called Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? It launches Oct. 16 on Amazon Prime Video. Take a look [[link removed]]. Twenty bucks can get you eight different food and beverage items at Mercedes-Benz Stadium during Falcons games. Here’s the spread [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks WADA Claims to Be Furious USADA Uses Informants to Catch Dopers [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]USADA used several positive-testing athletes as undercover agents. Samsung Olympic Swag Bags May Accidentally Violate International Sanctions [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]The IOC now says North Korean athletes don’t have the phones. Carli Lloyd on USWNT: ‘My Criticism Was Correct’ [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Lloyd famously criticized the team for being chipper after a loss. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Sports Careers [[link removed]] Written by Colin Salao [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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