Olympics

Kim Kardashian's undergarment line, SKIMS, will be officially repping the U.S. on the biggest stage ... as the gear American athletes will rock in their downtime.

The big news came out Monday when Kim posted photos of Olympians already decked out in SKIMS-inspired products with "Team USA" emblazoned across the front and sides. She has quite a story about how this came about, too.

Kim first discussed her ties to the Olympics, and how she grew up with the games as a big part of her life -- thanks, in large part, to her stepdad, Caitlyn Jenner, who used to compete (and win) when she was growing up. So, in other words ... she already has an Olympic pedigree.

Of the deal itself, she writes, "When I received the call inviting Skims to be a part of @TeamUSA, every moment I’ve spent admiring the strength and energy of the Olympians from the sidelines came full circle" -- going on to explain SKIMS will design the underwear, loungewear and pajamas worn during the Tokyo Games ... which is huge, obviously.

Kim also shouted out the athletes who posed for this campaign ... including Alex Morgan, Dalilah Muhammad, A'ja Wilson, Scout Bassett, Haley Anderson and others.

Gwen Berry -- a U.S. hammer thrower who'll compete at the Tokyo Olympics -- partook in what event honchos have said they won't tolerate come game day ... national anthem protests.

Berry, who's Black, did well enough Saturday at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials in Eugene, OR to qualify for her second Olympics as a pro athlete ... but when it came to accepting her bronze medal on the podium -- "The Star-Spangled Banner" began playing.

She wasn't having any of it ... with several photos capturing the awkward moment, in which GB refused to place her hand over heart, and even turning away from the flag -- unlike her fellow competitors, who did the exact opposite.

At one point, while she was standing up there, Berry busted out a T-shirt she had on her that read "Activist Athlete" ... holding it up high, and then putting it over her head while she continued to snub the flag/anthem as it played. She didn't stop there, either.

Afterward, she was obviously asked about her demonstration. Turns out, she was pretty "pissed" by the whole thing -- accusing organizers of staging the timing of it all and playing the anthem right when they knew Gwen would get up, almost like daring her to react.

She says, "They had enough opportunities to play the national anthem before we got up there. I was thinking about what I should do. Eventually, I stayed there and I swayed ... It was real disrespectful." Berry went on to claim she was told the anthem would be played before the podium ceremony, adding, "I don't really want to talk about the anthem because that’s not important. The anthem doesn’t speak for me. It never has."

A rep for the USA Track and Field Team denied her characterization, saying the anthem is scheduled to play daily at a certain time (5:20 PM, it seems) and no sabotage was in play.

Either way, it'll be interesting to see how Berry handles anthems at the actual games here in a few weeks. The International Olympic Committee has said athletes who compete are forbidden from making scenes like this, be it political, social or otherwise.

Serena Williams will not be Tokyo-bound this Summer ... because she just said she's not heading to the Olympics.

It's a big blow for the games losing that kind of star power -- Serena snagged 4 gold medals in prior years, most recently in 2012.

She said Sunday at Wimbledon, "I'm actually not on the Olympic list, not that I'm aware of," adding, "If so, then I shouldn't be on it."

If that sounds a little vague, Serena cleared it up with this ... "There's a lot of reasons that I made my Olympic decision. I don't really want to. I don't feel like going into them today. Maybe another day. Sorry."

Still not enough? Well, she ended with this ... "I have not thought about it. In the past [the Olympics] has been a wonderful place for me. I really haven't thought about it, so I'm going to keep not thinking about it."

As for her Olympic hardware, in the 2000 games in Sydney she beat Maria Sharapova in singles and won doubles as well, in 2008 she won in Beijing and 2012 won doubles with her sister, Venus.

As for the present ... Serena's eying her 8th win at Wimbledon. She's up against Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus Tuesday.

L.A. Sparks coach Derek Fisher is PISSSSSED OFF that his star player Nneka Ogwumike got left off Team USA's Olympic squad ... and he's letting everyone know!

FYI, 30-year-old Ogwumike is a 6-time WNBA All-Star and was the league MVP in 2016. She's a legend.

So, when Team USA named the squad for the Tokyo 2020 Games and left her name off the list ... Fisher was furious and sounded off to the media.

"We're pissed, honestly" Fisher said ... "I think the thing about Nneka is nothing has to be given to her. She earned it. She deserves it. That's the most frustrating and disappointing part."

Fisher points out Ogwumike turned down opportunities to make more money overseas in order to participate in Team USA events in 2019 ... clearly under the impression she would get a spot on the Tokyo 2020 team.

"[She] could have probably gone overseas maybe to make more money than sacrifice for Team USA. Sacrificing her body in terms of performing well, leading the team in scoring during the tour, won MVP award during their group on the tour. "

"Like, I don't know what else a player is supposed to do. She's been an All-Star 6 times in the last 10 years. She's been the MVP of the league in recent years, 2016, a champion in the league. One of the faces of the league."

Fisher added, "We respect other players, happy for the ones that made it but ain't no way you can tell me you can put a team together and leave Nneke off of it and try to say that it makes sense and that it adds up because it doesn't."

COOL RANCH DORITOS EARRINGS FOR THE WIN!!!

Check out U.S. track star Christina Clemons -- who rocked the snacky jewelry during her 100m hurdles race this weekend ... AND MADE THE OLYMPIC TEAM!!!

The 31-year-old -- who had never made the Olympics team in the past -- put up a scorching 12.53 finish at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials in Oregon on Sunday ... earning her a spot on Team USA!

Now, Christina is smartly hitting up Doritos for an endorsement deal -- and we gotta say ... IT'S GENIUS!!!

Not only does Christina have an incredible backstory ... overcoming injuries and defying the odds ... but she also apparently LOVES the chips!

"I made the Olympic team wearing a bag of @Doritos on my ears," Clemons tweeted ... "Twitter, I need y’all to do your thing! We need to blow Doritos mentions UP 🙌🏾😂"

Hey, the Doritos slogan is "For the Bold" -- and what's bolder than wearing chip bags on your ears for the biggest race of your life ... and then winning!?!?

So far, Doritos hasn't responded to Christina -- but we gotta imagine they're gonna jump all over this.

And, if they need more convincing ... just watch Christina's emotional post-race speech when she explained all that she's overcome.

"I've been going after this team since 2012," Clemons said.

"I ruptured my Achilles in 2013. I wasn't healthy enough in 2016. We had to wait a whole year in 2020 and now here I've been looked over, I've been counted out but when God is with you, it doesn't matter! I'm just so happy!"

"I'm just ready! I'm ready! My teammates, America, we go so hard!"

LET'S GOOOOO!!!!!

For the very first time, a transgender athlete will compete in the summer Olympics ... and shocker, there's already controversy.

43-year-old Laurel Hubbard -- who transitioned from male to female in 2013 -- has been selected to the New Zealand women's weightlifting team to compete in the women's 87-kilogram division.

The issue?? Hubbard competed in men's weightlifting competitions before she transitioned -- and some critics are already blasting the situation as unfair to other athletes.

But, the International Olympic Committee has specific guidelines for transgender athletes to compete -- testosterone levels must be below a certain level -- and Hubbard has met the criteria since 2015.

In other words, she's good to go!!

The CEO of the New Zealand Olympic Committee, Kereyn Smith, issued a statement Monday supporting Hubbard.

"We acknowledge that gender identity in sport is a highly sensitive and complex issue requiring a balance between human rights and fairness on the field of play," Smith said.

"As the New Zealand Team, we have a strong culture of manaaki and inclusion and respect for all. We are committed to supporting all eligible New Zealand athletes and ensuring their mental and physical wellbeing, along with their high-performance needs, while preparing for and competing at the Olympic Games are met.”

Not everyone feels that way ... back in May, Belgian weightlifter Anna Vanbellinghen reportedly called Hubbard's qualifying situation "unfair" and a "bad joke."

Hubbard, though, wasn't letting the disapproval get in the way of her feat Monday ... saying, "I am grateful and humbled by the kindness and support that has been given to me by so many New Zealanders."

"The last 18 months has shown us all that there is strength in kinship, in community, and in working together towards a common purpose. The mana of the silver fern comes from all of you and I will wear it with pride.”

Added Olympic Weightlifting New Zealand President Richie Patterson, "Laurel is an astute student of the sport and technically very good with the lifts. We look forward to supporting her in her final preparations towards Tokyo."

Usain Bolt is not letting that surname of his go to waste -- especially as it pertains to his kids ... including the two latest additions to his family, who've got names that really lean in.

The Jamaican track star rolled out a bit of a Father's Day surprise Sunday, taking to IG to post a photo of his brood -- including his GF, Kasi Bennett, his daughter, Olympia Lightning ... and newborn twins, who go by Saint Leo Bolt and Thunder Bolt. One big Bolt-y family!

The two new kiddos kinda come as news to many -- as it doesn't appear a whole lot of people knew he and Kasi were expecting. All the same, friends and fans sent him well-wishes in his comments.

Kasi, meanwhile, paid tribute to Usain herself, throwing up another shot from the shoot and adding this caption ... "Happy Father’s Day to my forever love! @usainbolt You are the rock of this family and the greatest daddy to our little ones. We love you world without end!"

It's unclear when exactly Kasi gave birth to the babies -- but it appears to be somewhat recent. It also looks like the couple didn't waste much time getting busy for more children -- Olympia was born just last year ... so she's got her about 365 days on her siblings.

One last thing we should note ... it seems like UB is going to be able to enjoy fatherhood fully at the ripe age of 34. He isn't competing in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics ... as he retired from competing a few years back, this after an incredible run and many, many gold medals.

Olympic hero Greg Louganis' marriage is coming to an end after nearly 8 years of matrimony.

The diving legend's husband, John Chaillot, has filed divorce docs. According to court records, John submitted the paperwork last Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Greg, who won 4 gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympic Games, tied the knot with John in Malibu back in October 2013 ... about 4 months after they announced their engagement.

The Olympian and paralegal started dating in 2012, meeting through the online dating site Match. It's unclear what led to the split. They did not have any children together.

It's the first divorce for Greg, who's also famous for his work post his diving career -- he's written books, acted in movies and is a well-known activist for gay rights and HIV awareness.

Moments after Naomi Osaka announced she was withdrawing from Wimbledon to focus on "personal time" ... the tennis superstar was already making good on her word, hitting up a fancy L.A. grocery store with a friend.

Osaka -- sporting a COVID mask -- hit up Monsieur Marcel Gourmet Market, Bistro & Seafood Market.

So, no on French Open ... but yes on French food!

On her way out, Osaka was asked about her decision to take time away from pro tennis to focus on her mental health ... but the 23-year-old wasn't talking.

After all, her team already put out a statement explaining her position -- saying, "Naomi won't be playing Wimbledon this year. She is taking some personal time with friends and family."

"She will be ready for the Olympics and is excited to play in front of her home fans."

In the meantime, Osaka seemed relaxed ... sporting a vintage "Mulan" t-shirt and driving off in her baby blue Ford Bronco.

Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka is pulling out of another Grand Slam ... the #2-ranked player in the world has withdrawn from Wimbledon to spend time with loved ones ahead of the Olympics.

This is the second major tournament 23-year-old Osaka has decided to skip -- she withdrew from the French Open before the second round last month due to her opposition to mandatory media availability.

Now, Osaka will not be making the trip to London, with her agent releasing a statement Thursday.

"Naomi won't be playing Wimbledon this year," the rep said. "She is taking some personal time with friends and family."

It's unclear if Osaka's war with the reporters played a factor -- the All England Club reportedly reached out to the superstar to have a discussion about handling media ops ahead of the tournament.

As we previously reported, Osaka opened up on her battle with depression and social anxiety following her 2018 U.S. Open win ... saying she's struggled with coping with the spotlight.

Osaka has consistently said she has no issue with the journalists who have treated her fairly ... and has apologized to those affected by her decision to avoid talking.

Cody Simpson is staying positive after finishing last at the Australian Olympic swimming trials on Thursday ... saying he's proud of his progress and looking forward to training for the 2024 games!!

The 24-year-old pop singer -- who was a standout swimmer as a kid before focusing on his music career -- has been working out like crazy in hopes of making it to the trials finals in 2021 ... and he did just that!!

Simpson competed in the 100-meter butterfly final on Thursday ... and while he came in last, he's considering it his big win on the year.

"What an experience racing at my first Australian Olympic Trials," Simpson said Thursday. "To make a final was our goal this year and with less than a year of training we did just that."

"I’ve come so much further than I expected to this year and to be racing the best in the country already is a privilege."

FYI -- Simpson finished with a time of 52.94 ... while Matthew Temple came in first at 50.45, an Australian record.

Simpson knew making it to Tokyo was going to be a long shot this year .. but it's clear he wants to go to Paris in 2024.

Simone Biles' brother was acquitted of all charges stemming from a 2018 New Year's Eve shooting in Ohio on Tuesday ... and the scene inside the courtroom was tense.

26-year-old Tevin Biles-Thomas was facing charges of murder, voluntary manslaughter and felonious assault following the incident where his 23-year-old cousin, a 19-year-old and a 21-year-old died.

Biles-Thomas -- who pled not guilty -- was in court in Cleveland when the judge granted his attorney's request to acquit him on all charges due to a lack of evidence.

When announcing the ruling, the judge pointed out several inaccuracies with witness descriptions of the shooter's clothing ... among other issues.

Biles-Thomas' attorney also claims Tevin never fired any shots during the shooting.

Following the ruling, the mother of one of the victims lunged towards Biles-Thomas ... saying, "You have to be f***ing kidding me. I’m going to kill you."

The woman was held back by security and will reportedly NOT face charges.

Biles-Thomas' attorney, Joseph Patituce, addressed the confrontation following the acquittal ... saying, "We get it, she’s angry. She was led to believe Mr. Biles was guilty, when he wasn’t, and she reacted like a mother. We don’t fault her for that,"

"She lost a son and we understand, and we respect the fact that she has suffered horribly, her family has suffered horribly, just like the other families -- including Mr. Biles," Patituce said.

"I mean, Mr. Biles’ own cousin was murdered in this case and he had to sit there and stand trial with the accusation that he was responsible, murdered his own cousin, which simply wasn’t true."

Biles-Thomas was a soldier in the U.S. Army ... although his current status is unknown.

The Olympic gold medalist -- who was separated from Biles-Thomas during childhood -- addressed her brother's arrest back in 2019, saying, "My heart aches for everyone involved, especially for the victims and their families."

Team USA superstar Simone Biles is finally revealing what led to the bedazzled goat on her leotard ... and it's a big middle finger to all of her haters!!!

You may have noticed ... the 24-year-old gymnastics G.O.A.T has added the extra flair to her competition 'fits since 2019 -- most recently rocking the goat (named "Goldie") on her leo during the U.S. Championships earlier this month.

As it turns out, it's not because Biles considers herself the greatest gymnast to ever walk the earth (although she certainly IS) ... but more so a major clap back to all the naysayers out there.

"The idea was to hit back at the haters," the 4-time gold medalist told Marie Claire. "I didn't feel like it was necessarily fair how they could keep saying whatever they wanted, but then if I said something, it wasn't fair."

She added ... "[The haters] were joking like, 'I swear, if she put a goat on her leo, blah, blah, blah.' That would make them so angry. And then I was like, 'Oh, that's actually a good idea. Let's make the haters hate it, and the fans love it.'"

"And so that's exactly what we did and why we did it."

Biles goes on to explain she wants to be an example for all the kids out there who are also incredibly good at what they do ... saying she wants them to embrace it and acknowledge their skills.

Shelby Houlihan -- arguably the USA's best female runner -- is insisting she is NOT a cheater despite a recent positive steroid test ... claiming it's all a mixup caused by a pork burrito.

The 28-year-old Olympian spelled it all out in a social media post Monday ... explaining she believes she's been wrongfully hit with a 4-year suspension due to a trip to an "authentic Mexican food truck" in Oregon several months ago.

Shelby says back on Jan. 14, the Athletics Integrity Unit informed her a sample she submitted on Dec. 15, 2020 had contained the banned substance Nandrolone.

The anabolic steroid is considered a performance enhancer, and Shelby says she was immediately suspended for having it in her system.

But, Houlihan says after she did her research ... she found the substance can wrongfully show up in tests if the person consumes pork products prior to giving out their sample.

And, Houlihan says just 10 hours before she gave her December sample ... she had gotten a pork burrito from a local stand near her house in Beaverton.

The problem for Shelby? She says despite a mountain of evidence proving the Mexican food feast was the reason for the positive test -- the World Anti-Doping Agency denied her appeal and formally hit her with a 4-year ban from competitive running last Friday.

Of course, that means Houlihan -- who owns U.S. records in the 1,500- and 5,000-meter runs -- will now be barred from competing in this summer's Tokyo Olympics.

"I feel completely devastated, lost, broken, angry, confused and betrayed by the very sport that I've loved and poured myself into just to see how good I was," Houlihan said.

"I want to be very clear. I have never taken any performance enhancing substances. And that includes that of which I am being accused," Houlihan wrote. "I believe in the sport and pushing your body to the limit just to see where the limit is. I'm not interested in cheating. I don't do this for the accolades, money, or for people to know my name. I do this because I love it. I have so much fun doing it and it's always the best part of my day."

Australian silver medalist swimmer Maddie Groves is making a powerful statement and pulling out of the Olympic trials ... ripping the "misogynistic perverts in the sport" in the process.

26-year-old Groves -- who finished second in the 200m butterfly and 4x100 medley at the 2016 Games -- has been calling out the swimming community for months ... claiming men have made her feel uncomfortable by staring at her swimsuit or making "creepy" comments.

Now, Groves says she's fed up -- going OFF as she explained her decision to sit out the trials in Adelaide.

"Let this be a lesson to all misogynistic perverts in sport and their boot lickers," Groves said on Twitter Wednesday.

"You can no longer exploit young women and girls, body shame or medically gaslight them and then expect them to represent you so you can earn your annual bonus."

"Time’s UP."

Groves previously tweeted in November 2020 about an experience she had when she was 20 ... saying, "Just remembering the time a well known coach (not mine) asked me about [university] and I told him one of my subjects was ‘Love, Relationships and Sex’ and he said in this creepy af voice 'oh, you’d know allllllll about that.'"

She added the man later apologized, but believes it was because he was ordered to do so by the team psychologist.

Groves also shared in December she previously made a complaint about "a person that works at swimming" staring at her swimsuit.

Swimming Australia released a statement on Groves' claims ... saying it reached out to her for more information, but she declined.

"All allegations concerning child abuse or sexual misconduct are taken seriously by Swimming Australia" the org. said in a statement.

"We consider the welfare, safety and wellbeing of children and young people as paramount, and we have a duty to make inquiries to uphold the standards of our sport."

Another major blow for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics ... nearly 10,000 volunteers have QUIT over COVID fears just 50 days before the Games are set to begin.

The number of people who just opted out represents 1/8th of the 80,000 unpaid volunteers who signed up to work the event, which is still set to kick off on July 23.

As we previously reported, there is serious backlash in Japan about hosting the Olympics -- considering only about 2 to 3% of the population is vaccinated ... and the country reported a surge in cases in May.

In fact, officials extended a State of Emergency in Japan to June 20 because hospitals and other medical care facilities in major cities are being pushed to the brink.

There have been protests in the streets of Tokyo recently from people concerned the Games will serve as a superspreader event.

There are also reports out of Japan showing 80% of Japanese citizens are AGAINST the Olympics beginning on July 23, as currently scheduled.

Still, Olympics officials have reiterated the Games WILL go on as planned.