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Archives for April 2024

Paris 2024: Introduction to Para judo

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BY: paralympics

Welcome to week 10 of Paris 2024 Paralympic Sport Weeks. This week, everything you need to know about Para judo.

Para judo is a sport contested by athletes with vision impairments. There will be up to 148 athletes from around the world competing in 16 medal events at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, which will open on 28 August.

Brief history of Para judo

Judo is a martial art that originated in Japan in the late 19th century.

Para judo was introduced to the Paralympic Games at Seoul 1988. Great Britain’s Simon Jackson became the first Paralympic judo champion after he won the men’s -60kg division, while Japan won four of the six gold medals up for grabs in the Republic of Korea.

Two female judo athletes in action at Athens 2008.
Women’s events were added to the sports programme at Athens 2008. @Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images

Six women’s events were added to the Paralympic sports programme at Athens 2004, where 118 athletes from 30 nations competed in 13 medal events. France’s Karima Medjeded became the first female Para judo gold medallist.

Japan, the birthplace of judo, is the most successful nation at the Paralympics. The country has won more than 30 medals in Para judo, including 12 golds.

Male Para judo athletes in action at Sydney 2000
Japan’s Satoshi Fujimoto won five medals from 1996 to 2016. @Jamie Squire/ALLSPORT

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What to watch in Para judo 

In Para judo, athletes use their sense of touch to “feel” their opponent’s intention. The grip, breathing and body movements trigger their instincts to throw, pin, or lock their opponent during a match, which lasts up to four minutes.

In Para judo, athletes compete in J1 or J2 classes.

In J1, athletes may have varying degrees of vision impairment, from some vision to fully blind. They wear a red circle to let others know that they may need guided support before, during and after a match. J2 athletes are partially sighted.

Two male judokas grapple during competition at London 2012.
At Paris 2024, athletes will compete in J1 or J2 classes. @Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images

Athletes start a match by gripping their opponents’ uniform, known as a ‘judogi’. The quickest way to victory is to score one maximum point, called ‘ippon’, by throwing their opponent on their back, pinning them for 20 seconds, or by arm lock or choke submission.

If ippon is not achieved, athletes can win with the highest score through ‘waza-ari’ (half point) or other minor points.

If a match is tied, judokas enter Golden Score. The first athlete to get any points wins the match.

Alana Maldonado in action during the Tokyo 2020 final
Paris 2024 will feature 16 medal events in Para judo. @Getty Images

Top Paralympic moments 

Over the years, there have been many memorable moments at the Paralympic Games.

At Beijing 2008, Brazil’s Antonio Tenorio topped the podium in the men’s -100kg division and became the first Para judoka to win gold at four Paralympic Games in a row. He went on to win bronze at London 2012 and silver at Rio 2016.

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Sandrine Martinet of France shot to stardom at Rio 2016. After finishing fifth at London 2012 and second at Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004, she topped the podium by beating two-time Paralympic champion Ramona Brussig of Germany in the women’s -52kg final.

Five years later, judo returned to its spiritual home as the Nippon Budokan received athletes from across the world at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Twenty-two countries claimed at least one medal.

Azerbaijan finished atop the Para judo medals table, winning six out of a possible 13 gold medals. Shahana Hajiyeva started the gold rush by topping the podium in the women’s -48kg division on the first day of competition.

Shahana Hajiyeva of Azerbaijan
Hajiyeva beat defending champion Sandrine Martinet of France at Tokyo 2020. @OIS/Joe Toth

Paris 2024 programme 

Men’s events 

-60kg J1 

-73kg J1 

-90kg J1 

+90kg J1 

-60kg J2 

-73kg J2 

-90kg J2 

+90kg J2

Women’s events

-48kg J1 

-57kg J1 

-70kg J1 

+70kg J1 

-48kg J2 

-57kg J2 

-70kg J2 

+70kg J2 

Paris 2024 venue 

The Champ de Mars Arena will stage Para judo and wheelchair rugby competitions at Paris 2024. It is a 10,000 sqm building in the centre of Paris currently known as the Grand Palais Overlay.  

Designed by French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, this beautiful venue, built with sustainable materials, was created to host art, fashion and sports events. 

Paris 2024 Look of the Games featuring Champ de Mars Arena
Para judo competition will take place at the Champ de Mars Arena. @Paris 2024

Book your tickets for the Paralympic Games by visiting the Paris 2024 ticketing website.

SPRINTS SHINE AT WINDY USATF BERMUDA GRAND PRIX

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DEVONSHIRE, Bermuda — Back for its third year, a windy afternoon at the USATF Bermuda Grand Prix produced some quick early-season times in the sprints, highlighted by Tamari Davis’ and Noah Lyles’ wins in the 100s.
 
Defending the crown she won last year, Tamari Davis cruised to an easy 11.04w (+2.2) in the Xfinity Women’s 100, winning by almost a quarter-second over Kortnei Johnson, who was the runner-up in 11.27w.
 
Six-time world champion Noah Lyles was looking for a win in the Xfinity Men’s 100 following his runner-up finish at Bermuda last year. With a +3.0 wind, Lyles clocked a 9.96 for a decisive win at Flora Duffy Stadium with impressive closing speed in the final 10 meters. Canada’s Aaron Brown was second with a 10.09w, with a trio of Americans right behind. Pjai Austin clocked a 10.10w for third, while Kendal Williams and JT Smith both notched 10.11w times. Williams got the nod with a 10.103 to Smith’s 10.105.
 
Despite clipping the seventh barrier and clattering the final hurdle, Amber Hughes was a convincing victor in the women’s 100H, clocking 12.57w with a healthy +3.7 wind. It was the fastest time of Hughes’ career, windy or not, and put her .23 in front of runner-up Ebony Morrison of Liberia.
 
Back from injury late in the 2023 season, Abby Steiner opened her season strong with a successfully defended USATF Bermuda Grand Prix 200 title with a 22.71w. Kynnedy Flannel clocked a 23.01w for second with Jamaica’s Ashanti Moore in third with a 23.12w.
 
A windy day produced some big marks in the women’s long jump for Monae’ Nichols. Her best jump came in the second round, but her 6.91w/22-8 proved untouchable for the rest of the competition. Jamaica’s Chanice Porter landed a 6.62w/21-8.75 in the third round, which stood through the competition for second. Jasmine Moore finished third with a 6.60w/21-8 in the third round while Tiffany Flynn was fourth with a 6.53w/21-5.25.
 
A surprise winner in 2023, Elijah Morrow again ran a very good turn and was a half-step ahead coming into the straight, but Matthew Boling and Trinidad’s Jereem Richards took over from there, with Richards gaining a slight advantage in the final meters to win in a very windy (+4.9) 20.39w over Boling’s 20.42w. Morrow ended up fourth in 20.62w.
 
Overcoming a substantial early lead by Cassandra Tate, Jamaica’s Shiann Salmon pulled away after the final barrier to win the women’s 400 hurdles in 56.59. Tate held on for second in 57.04. In the women’s 800, Britain’s Hannah Segrave eased by Sadi Henderson to win by .1 seconds in 2:06.00. Kendra Coleman was third in a season best 2:06.58.
 
Slowed by crashing through most of the ten barriers in the men’s 110 hurdles, Louis Rollins yielded the lead to Britain’s Josh Zeller over the final half of the race as Zeller came away with a wind-aided (+3.5) 13.35 to win. Rollins fought his way to the finish and placed second in 13.45w.
 
Riding the hefty breezes on the runway just in front of the stands, Jamaica’s Jaydon Hibbert, the NCAA indoor and outdoor champion for Arkansas last year, bounded out to 17.33w/56-10.25 on his first attempt to open his season with a win in the men’s triple jump. Nine-time U.S. champion Donald Scott went 16.72w/54-10.25 on his fifth try to place fourth.
 
Grenada’s Kirani James has won a passel of global medals in the men’s 400, including Olympic gold in 2012 as a teenager, and he showed great maturity in winning his specialty event in 45.96. Battling the strong headwind down the backstretch, James was able to summon reserve energy down the home straight and win by more than a second. Elija Godwin was in contention coming off the final bend but fell back to fourth in 47.38. In the women’s one-lapper, Jamaica’s Stacey-Ann Williams was never seriously challenged as she won in 51.71.
 
Victor Palumbo took the early lead in the men’s 1500 and led through three laps but couldn’t hold off a major kick by Canadian duo Rob Heppenstall and Max Davies. The pair made their move from the back of the pack to finish first and second in 3:53.07 and 3:53.96. Jaxson Hoey was close behind, finishing third in 3:54.86.
 
Stacey-Ann Williams of Jamaica took a decisive win in the women’s 400. Williams clocked a 51.71 – 1.29 seconds faster than her nearest competitor, Jessika Gbai of the Ivory Coast. Courtney Okolo was seventh in 54.77.

Ball magnet: Pies great makes history on Anzac Day stage

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By Martin Smith | AFL

COLLINGWOOD legend Scott Pendlebury has notched up his 10,000th career disposal in front of a sold-out MCG crowd on Thursday, extending his lead as the most prolific ball-winner in VFL/AFL history. Pendlebury started the day just four possessions short of the 10,000 mark and brought up the milestone during the first quarter of the traditional Anzac Day game against Essendon with a handball in the defensive 50 to help repel another Bombers attacking move.

Collingwood champion Scott Pendlebury receives an ovation after becoming the first VFL/AFL player to reach 10,000 career disposals The moment was acknowledged with warm applause from the huge MCG crowd. In a neat piece of symmetry, Pendlebury’s tally of 10,000 was made up of 5,003 handballs and 4,997 kicks. Pendlebury was within reach of the milestone in Collingwood’s past two games, but was subbed out of matches against Hawthorn (after six touches) and Port Adelaide (after 18 disposals). Scott Pendlebury kicks the ball during Collingwood’s clash against Port Adelaide in round six, 2024.

Last year, Pendlebury moved past the all-time VFL/AFL record of most career disposals that had belonged to St Kilda great Robert Harvey. Among current players, only Port Adelaide veteran Travis Boak has had more than 8000 career disposals. Scott Pendlebury is tackled by Lachie Neale during the R3 match between Collingwood and Brisbane at the Gabba on March 28, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos More history awaits the Pies legend this season, provided he can stay on the park. Only five men have ever made it to the magical 400-game milestone and Pendlebury could make it six by the end of the year. Having played 25 games in 2023, Pendlebury could reach the milestone as early as the Pies’ round 18 game against Geelong. And should the Pies manage to surge into September again and their former skipper stay fit, he could well finish the season in third place given Dustin Fletcher (400 games), Kevin Bartlett (403) and Shaun Burgoyne (407) are all within reach.

Beyond that trio, only Brent Harvey (432) and Michael Tuck (426) would stand ahead of him. Most career disposals 9,996 – Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood, 2006-2024) 9,656 – Robert Harvey (St Kilda, 1988-2008) 9,213 – Brent Harvey (North Melbourne, 1996-2016) 9,151 – Kevin Bartlett (Richmond, 1965-1983) 8,896 – Gary Ablett jnr (Geelong & Gold Coast, 2002-2020)

LPGA Tour star Nelly Korda joins elite company with 5th straight win

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 By Scott Thompson Fox News

While Scottie Scheffler is wreaking havoc on the PGA Tour, Nelly Korda is doing the exact same on the LPGA Tour. 

Korda won the Chevron Championship on Sunday, the year’s first major on the LPGA Tour, and it marked her fifth straight victory. 

Korda, 25, joined Annika Sorestam and Nancy Lopez as the only members on Tour who have won five consecutive events. It was also Korda’s second career major victory, having won the Women’s PGA Championship in 2021. 

“It’s been an amazing feeling these past couple weeks knowing that I can go on this stretch and that if I stay in my bubble and I keep golf in a sense simple and let it flow, then I can have so, so much fun out here,” Korda said, via ESPN.

Korda was able to hoist the Chevron Championship trophy after birdying the par-5 18th hole at Carlton Woods in Texas. She beat out Maja Stark, who birdied her final two holes to pull within one stroke of Korda.

Korda’s 13-under performance for the tournament had several highlights, too, including a chip-in birdie on the par-4 10th hole in her final round that left the crowd roaring. 

With the victory, Korda won $1.2 million from the $7.9 million purse for the major. She has now earned $2,424,216 this year. 

There was a time where Korda wasn’t sure when she’d be back on a golf course, as she dealt with a blood clot that required surgery in 2022. 

“Because obviously then I was just more scared for my health,” she said. “Competing was kind of on the back seat. I was not thinking about competing at all. But I think all of the sad times and the health scares that I have gone through have made me who I am today.”

She’s the world No. 1 women’s golfer and miraculously hasn’t lost an event since January. 

Next week, though, Korda isn’t going to make it six in a row, as she announced her withdrawal from the JM Eagle LA Championship. 

“It was not an easy decision. After the unbelievable week at The Chevron and grinding through the mental and physical challenges of four events in the past five weeks, I am definitely feeling exhausted,” she explained. “With so much still to come throughout 2024, I feel I need to listen to my body and get some rest, so I can be ready for the remainder of the season.”

Helen Maroulis makes record third Olympic team

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STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania — Helen Maroulis, the first U.S. female wrestler to win Olympic gold, will this summer become the oldest U.S. woman to wrestle at an Olympics and the first to wrestle at three Games.

Maroulis, 32, headlines the first 13 members of the Olympic wrestling team, decided at trials on Saturday at Penn State University.

She’ll be joined in Paris by veterans, including fellow 2016 Olympic champion Kyle Snyder, and newcomers, including 20-year-old world champion Amit Elor, who was one day too young to compete at the last trials and will become the youngest U.S. Olympic female wrestler in history.

Missing the team: Tokyo Olympic gold medalist David Taylor, who lost to NCAA Wrestler of the Year Aaron Brooks; six-time world champion Adeline Gray, who lost to Kennedy Blades, and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs, who was eliminated on the trials’ first day Friday.

Maroulis swept two-time world medalist Jacarra Winchester in their best-of-three series Saturday to earn the Olympic spot at 57kg.

Maroulis was last beaten for a spot on the national team at the 2012 Olympic Trials. Since, she won four gold, two silver and three bronze medals between the Olympics and world championships, including that breakthrough Olympic title in 2016.

She briefly retired in 2019 due to concussions and post-traumatic stress disorder, then came back to win Olympic bronze in Tokyo and a world medal of every color the last three years.

“I was giving my dad a hard time because, two years ago, he said, ‘Hey, no more medals. Just retire. Get married. Have kids,’” Maroulis said. “I was like, ‘Let me go one more, dad.’”

Leading into these trials, Maroulis said she was in a car accident and dealt with a two-week “deep sickness.”

Snyder, 28, swept Isaac Trumble to make his third Olympic team. Snyder won a 97kg medal at each of the last nine global championships (Olympics/worlds), including becoming the youngest U.S. wrestler to win Olympic gold eight years ago.

“I always say I feel like I’m just getting started,” said Snyder, a former Ohio State Buckeye who has trained at Penn State since 2019. “I don’t even feel like I’ve accomplished anything. I’m hungry and motivated, and I want to keep wrestling, Lord willing, for a long time.”

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Kyle Dake, a four-time world champion, fills the 74kg spot for a second consecutive Games after sweeping fellow Nittany Lion Wrestling Club member Jason Nolf.

Dake’s father, Doug, who introduced him to wrestling and coached him in high school, died last week.

“It’s the first time that I had to do this without him,” Dake said. “I just really miss him and wish he was here. I wanted to do him proud, and it’s hard to find the words to say how much he means to me.”

Like Dake, Sarah Hildebrandt won bronze in Tokyo and is undefeated against Americans since 2017. She made her seventh consecutive Olympic or world team by sweeping 17-year-old Arizona high school senior Audrey Jimenez at 50kg.

Elor succeeds retired Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock as the U.S. rep at 68kg after beating Forrest Molinari. In 2022, Elor became at age 18 the youngest American wrestler to win a world title, then repeated last year, both at 72kg, which is not an Olympic weight. Her last defeat to a countrywoman was at age 11 in 2015.

Brooks, who last month won a fourth consecutive NCAA title for Penn State, became the first American to defeat Taylor since 2017, not counting injury defaults.

Brooks beat Zahid Valencia on Friday at 10:45 p.m., then spent nearly three hours cutting 12 pounds by striding on a treadmill next to UFC fighter, former NCAA champion and coach Bo Nickal, wrestling and spending time in the sauna, went to sleep at 2 a.m., woke up at 6, made weight by 8 and then won his first match over Taylor at 12:45 p.m.

Taylor, his Nittany Lion Wrestling Club teammate, was rested with a bye into the finals as a reigning world medalist.

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Blades, a runner-up to Mensah-Stock at the Tokyo trials at age 17, became the first American to unseat Gray for an Olympic or world team spot since the 2012 London Games. She will become the second-youngest U.S. woman to wrestle at the Olympics after Elor.

“This was, honestly, my goal since I was 7 and we did the calculations, like, OK, I would be old enough (in 2024),” Blades said.

Also Saturday, five wrestlers won weight classes where the U.S. has not yet qualified an Olympic quota spot: Spencer Lee (freestyle 57kg), Zain Retherford (freestyle 65kg), Dalton Roberts (Greco-Roman 60kg), 2012 Olympian Ellis Coleman (Greco-Roman 67kg) and Kamal Bey (Greco-Roman 77kg).

Those five men will clinch Olympic spots if they finish in the top three in their classes at a last-chance international Olympic qualifier in Turkiye in May.

Lindsey Munday Selected as U.S. Women’s Sixes National Team Head Coach

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By Brian Logue | USA Lacrosse

USA Lacrosse has announced that two-time World Cup champion Lindsey Munday has been selected as the U.S. Women’s Sixes National Team head coach. Munday’s appointment will include two international championships – The World Games 2025 in China and the inaugural World Lacrosse Sixes Championship, scheduled for 2026.

Munday, the head women’s lacrosse coach at the University of Southern California, won gold medals with the U.S. at the 2009 and 2013 World Cups, serving as a team captain for the 2013 squad. Munday earned All-World honors at both championships and holds U.S. national team records for assists in tournament (21) and career (35).

“As we look to build our U.S. national team sixes program, Lindsey brings the experience of building a program from scratch at USC,” said USA Lacrosse CEO Marc Riccio. “She carries herself with professionalism and has a great understanding of the international game through her significant contributions to two gold medals.”

“I always knew that I would love the opportunity to coach for Team USA,” Munday said. “To be able to represent your country and play at the highest level is just something that you dream of, so if I had the opportunity to come back as a coach, I knew that’s something that I wanted.”

Munday will coach the new sixes discipline of the sport that will be utilized for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Sixes is a fast-paced version of the sport played on a smaller field (70 x 36 meters), with fewer players (6-v-6), a condensed game length (four 8-minute quarters) and a 30-second shot clock.

“As someone who just loves the sport of lacrosse, I love innovation,” Munday said. “Everyone is still learning, and the game is still growing. I think that is something that drew me to sixes. I’m excited to learn more about the game and to really push sixes forward so that in 2028 the U.S. will be at our very best to compete at the highest level.”

Munday was the first coach in USC history and the program launched with the 2013 season. In just over a decade of leading the Trojans, the program has won four conference championships and qualified for the NCAA tournament six times.

Her 2016 and 2017 teams each reached the NCAA quarterfinal round with her 2016 team winning a school-record 20 games and finishing the year ranked No. 5 in the country. In 2023, the Trojans captured their second Pac-12 championship.

Prior to coming to USC, Munday spent four years as an assistant coach at her alma mater, Northwestern. The Wildcats went 85-4 in her four seasons, winning three consecutive national championships from 2007 to 2009.

As a player, Munday helped Northwestern to its first two national championships in 2005 and 2006, serving as a team captain her senior year. She was a two-time first team All-American and finished her career with 268 career points.

The U.S. has only competed in international competition in sixes on three previous occasions. In 2021, USA Lacrosse hosted a three-team Super Sixes event with Canada and the Haudenosaunee. The U.S. and Canada each went 3-1 at the round-robin event. In 2022, Canada defeated the U.S. 14-12 in the gold medal game at The World Games. Last fall, the U.S. beat Canada 8-7 in the championship game of the Super Sixes event in Canada.

The U.S. Women’s National Team trains and plays using game-changing, high-performance equipment from Cascade Maverik, Gait Lacrosse and STX and best-in-class products from Enovis (sports bracing).

In addition to these partners, Gatorade, MedStar Health and Stryker are official sponsors of the U.S. National Team Program. Team training is also aided by products from Athletic Republic.

Funding for the national teams also comes from generous donors to the USA Lacrosse Foundation. Help support the team.

Acacia Walker-Weinstein Named as U.S. Women’s Senior National Team Head Coach

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By Brian Logue | USA Lacrosse

USA Lacrosse has announced that two-time U.S. gold medalist Acacia Walker-Weinstein has been selected as the U.S. Women’s Senior National Team head coach. Walker-Weinstein’s appointment will run through the 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship, which will be held in Japan.

Walker-Weinsten, the head women’s lacrosse coach at Boston College, was just 14 years old when she was tried out for the 1999 U.S. U19 team. She made the team and helped bring home a world championship from Perth, Australia. In 2009, she played on the U.S. women’s senior team that won the world championship in Prague, Czech Republic.

“Acacia brings a positive energy into every situation and has used that enthusiasm to take the Boston College program to new heights,” said USA Lacrosse CEO Marc Riccio. “From being the youngest player on our 1999 U19 team, to being one of the final cuts from our 2005 senior team to winning gold in 2009, she’s had a long history with our national team program that will help her connect with the players.”

Walker-Weinstein knows the goal is to win a gold medal, but she also wants to make an impact on the sport with the way the U.S. team plays under her leadership, building on the success of the coaches who have come before her.

“I want it to be exciting to watch,” Walker-Weinstein said. “I want the players to feel liberated and free to play with their own personal brand. I want the lacrosse to be exciting to watch. I want it to be difficult for the opponents to stop. I want it to be a product that makes the fans say, ‘That is the way women’s lacrosse should be played.’”

Walker-Weinstein has been the head coach at Boston College since the 2013 season and has transformed the Eagles into one of the nation’s elite programs. Boston College has played in six straight NCAA championship games and won the school’s first national title in 2021.

Walker-Weinstein was the IWLCA National Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2021 and compiled 173 wins in her first 11 seasons, including a school-record 22 in the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Three of her Boston College players – Sam Apuzzo, Dempsey Arsenault and Charlotte North – played on the 2022 U.S. women’s team that won the world championship and another, Kristin Igoe, played on the 2013 world championship team.

She first came to Boston College as the associate head coach and in 2011 helped the school reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. Prior to coming to BC, she spent two seasons as the associate head coach at the University of Massachusetts, helping the team win back-to-back Atlantic 10 championships. From 2005 through 2008 she was an assistant coach at Northwestern, helping the school win three national championships.

As a player, Walker-Weinstein was an All-American and captain at the University of Maryland, helping the Terps reach the NCAA tournament all four seasons. She spent a decade, from 2002 through 2012, as a member of the U.S. women’s senior team.

The U.S. women’s senior team has won a record nine world championships, including the four most recent. The U.S. won the inaugural championship in 1982, followed by Australia winning in 1986. The U.S. then won four straight championships before Australia beat the U.S. in the 2005 gold medal game. Walker-Weinstein was on the 2009 U.S. team that started the current string of four straight world titles, including the 2022 event which marked the first time the host nation had won the championship.

The U.S. Women’s National Team trains and plays using game-changing, high-performance equipment from Cascade Maverik, Gait Lacrosse and STX and best-in-class products from Enovis (sports bracing).

In addition to these partners, Gatorade, MedStar Health and Stryker are official sponsors of the U.S. National Team Program. Team training is also aided by products from Athletic Republic.

Funding for the national teams also comes from generous donors to the USA Lacrosse Foundation. Help support the team.

Gymnast Morgan Price becomes first HBCU athlete to win national collegiate title

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By Cara Tabachnick | CBS News

Gymnast Morgan Price became the first athlete from a historically Black college or university team to win a national collegiate championship on Friday.  

The Fisk University student clinched the title with an all-around score of 39.225 – and became “the first USAG Collegiate National Champion from an HBCU! ” said USA Gymnastics. She was among athletes from 12 college teams joining the competition at the USA Gymnastics’ 2024 Women’s Collegiate National Championships in West Chester, Pennsylvania. 

Price joined the first HBCU intercollegiate team at Nashville’s Fisk University in 2023 after graduating from high school. She initially signed onto Arkansas before switching to attend Fisk, ESPN reported, after Coach Corrine Tarver asked her the simple question: “Do you want to make history?”

Since forming, the gymnastics team has garnered high-profile media attention, competed on ESPN and has sold out meets.

“I have learned that it is enjoyable to be around your culture. Since we are the first, we have a lot of eyes on us, and our support system is excellent. Seeing the fans and little girls cheering us on was super fun,” Price said in 2023. 

Her team celebrated her win with a social media post saying, “THE PRICE IS RIGHT. Etch her name in the HISTORY BOOKS.”

Price will compete on Sunday in the Individual Event finals on vault, bars and floor.

South Carolina defeats Iowa 87-75 to win national championship and complete perfect season

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With undefeated South Carolina jolted onto an unfamiliar backfoot, coach Dawn Staley looked toward her bench to remedy an early 11-point deficit to Iowa — more specifically, she looked toward Tessa Johnson.

The freshman guard outshone her six-point scoring average all tournament long and was a revelation in relief for the Gamecocks. With a team-high 19 points and three triples, Johnson led South Carolina to a slim halftime lead and a dominant third quarter, helping the Gamecocks claim their second national title in three years, 87-75, and cap off a perfect season.

The role players were rolling from the opening tip, as Kate Martin and Sydney Affolter gave Iowa a quick 7-0 lead, but Caitlin Clark scored 13 in a row from all over the court. The newly crowned AP Player of the Year drained a pair of 3s, was fouled on two more attempts and converted at the rim to give her Hawkeyes a 20-9 lead by the first media timeout. Clark finished with 30 points (10 of 28 shooting), eight rebounds and five assists in her last college game.

Iowa’s centers Hannah Stuelke and Addison O’Grady admirably limited star Gamecock post Cardoso to just 2 of 6 shooting in the first quarter, but the Brazilian behemoth partnered with Johnson and inevitably found her opening. Johnson — who led the Gamecocks’ 36-0 bench scoring advantage — took up the mantle for South Carolina and its top-ranked defense. The freshman guard poked away a pair of steals, turning each into transition baskets, before Cardoso finished through contact to tie the game at 27.

That top-ranked defense also took exception to Clark’s early mastery, and a savvy defensive play from Raven Johnson dispossessed Clark and gave the Gamecocks an easy two points before halftime.

South Carolina bottled up this late-half momentum for a roaring start out of the locker room. Chloe Kitts ensured her spot on the floor with two straight baskets out of the intermission, and Te-Hina Paopao nailed a pull-up jumper to give her Gamecocks a 55-46 lead and force Iowa coach Lisa Bluder to burn a quick timeout. 

Cardoso also hauled a career-high 17 rebounds, leading an overwhelming South Carolina rebounding effort that started to wear on the Hawkeyes. The Gamecocks enjoyed a 24-11 rebounding advantage in the second half, including six offensive boards, and a plus-6 advantage in second chance points helped South Carolina maintain its lead.

Paopao nailed a 3 to begin the fourth quarter, one of her three long-range bombs Sunday, and a familiarly balanced South Carolina scoring attack — seven Gamecocks made at least three field goals — proved too much for a late Hawkeyes rally. 

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