Olympics

Olympic skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin's BF, Aleksander Kilde, is doing everything in his power to keep his GF's spirits up ... after she suffered yet another devastating loss at the Olympics on Wednesday.

Kilde -- an Olympic skiing star himself -- posted a photo of Mikaela sitting on the mountain, head down, along with a touching note to his girlfriend ... after she was disqualified for missing a gate and skiing off the course during the competition.

"When you look at this picture you can make up so many statements, meanings and thoughts," Aleksander wrote.

"Most of you probably look at it saying: 'she has lost it', 'she can’t handle the pressure' or 'what happened?' ... Which makes me frustrated, because all I see is a top athlete doing what a top athlete does!"

He continued ... "It’s a part of the game and it happens. The pressure we all put on individuals in the sports are enormous, so let’s give the same amount of support back.. It’s all about the balance and we are just normal human beings!!"

"I love you Kaela"

The 26-year-old -- regarded by many as the greatest skier in the world -- is off to a rocky start in Beijing ... earning 2 DQ's. In fact, it's the first time that's happened since 2011 ... when she was a teenager.

Shiffrin recently appeared on "Today" and opened up about the death of her father, who died after suffering a severe head injury.

She says the tragedy made her contemplate walking away from the sport she's been competing in her entire life.

Mikaela -- who's expected to participate in three more events at the Games -- was thankful for her man's support.

Team USA superstar Chloe Kim says she was close to passing up the opportunity to defend her gold medal at the 2022 Olympics ... admitting the anxiety she experienced the first time around was overpowering.

The 21-year-old snowboarder made the revelation on "Today" this week ... saying her newfound fame post-2018 Olympics was a lot for her to handle.

"My first one was really overwhelming," Kim says. "I was not expecting that kind of response."

She continued ... "So, then I like kind of got scared. I got really bad anxiety and I was like, maybe I can't do that again, 'cause I just don't know if I can handle it."

Kim says she needed to reset mentally and took her talents to Princeton University in search of a fresh start ... but was unable to escape her stardom there, too.

Kim says she even started to hate snowboarding because of what came with it ... which led to her two-year hiatus from the sport she grew up loving.

But, Chloe never ruled out the possibility of returning ... saying she knew she would come back if she missed it while at Princeton -- and she did.

It's not the first time a Team USA hero has opened up about their mental struggles -- Simone Biles most recently backed out of the 2020 Games -- and it certainly won't be the last.

Caitlyn Jenner mastered winning races with her legs ... and now, the Olympic gold medalist is literally shifting gears -- launching the "Jenner Racing" team.

TMZ Sports has learned the 72-year-old 1976 Olympic Decathlon champ's team will race in the W Series this season ... starting in May.

FYI, the W Series is an "international single-seater motor racing championship for female drivers."

We're told Jenner will oversee the day in, day out operation of the team.

Jenner is no stranger to motorsports. Back in 1979, she won a celebrity F1 race in Long Beach, CA. Then, in 1986, Jenner made her debut as a real deal pro driver, racing for Ford and Jack Roush.

She made 56 starts over a 6 year period.

So, Caitlyn is super familiar with racing ... but this is about more than winning or losing for the gold medalist.

"As a believer in fair competition, a lover of motor racing, and a supporter of all women in sport from the grassroots to elite level, W Series ticks every box for me and is a fusion of the different aspects of my career,"

Olympic stars Lisa Buckwitz and Janine Flock bared all before heading to Beijing ... by posing nude for Playboy to promote body positivity!!

Buckwitz -- a gold medalist for Germany in the 2018 Winter Olympics -- wore only an open green top and black heels in her cover shoot for the popular mag's Germany edition.

Flock -- a 10-time world champ from Austria -- sat nekkid in a chair draped in a fur blanket for her cover.

27-year-old Buckwitz said she jumped at the opportunity to be photographed in the buff to encourage women to maintain a positive perception of their body.

"Every woman can be naked and nobody should be ashamed of her body," Lisa told the Sun. "For example, I have a few more muscles -- so what? I wanted to show that this is also a woman's body."

She added ... "I don't have to hide as a competitive athlete. No woman has to hide."

Much like Buckwitz, Flock said the motivation for doing the shoot was her desire to remind women to be proud of their bodies.

"I haven't had any cosmetic surgeries and I stand by what I have," Flock told the outlet. "Every woman can be proud of her body."

An Olympic athlete at the 2022 Games in Beijing says the food she's been given during her quarantine period has been so bad, she's in physical pain and cries every day.

Russian biathlete Valeria Vasnetsova made the claims on her Instagram page earlier this month ... attaching a photo of some unappealing food that she says she was given while in COVID-19 isolation at a local hotel.

The picture appears to show a plate of plain pasta, some meat, a few potatoes and a sauce ... none of which looks incredibly appetizing.

In her comment on the picture ... Vasnetsova trashed the food as inedible, and claimed the meal was what she was receiving for "breakfast, lunch and dinner for five days already."

"My stomach hurts," Vasnetsova said. "I’m very pale and I have huge black circles around my eyes. I want all this to end. I cry every day. I’m very tired."

Vasnetsova added that the lack of nutrition in the food has caused her to drop weight ... saying, "my bones are already sticking out."

According to the Associated Press, things have improved for Vasnetsova following her complaints ... the outlet reported Russian biathlon team spokesperson Sergei Averyanov said Vasnetsova was getting delivered better meals over the weekend, including salmon and cucumbers.

Vasnetsova is far from the only athlete to complain about quarantine conditions at the Games ... there have been several others from countries all around the world who have griped about the living conditions.

Before this pipsqueak throwing up the peace sign was landing some of the most difficult tricks in the rink, she was just another baby with bangs training for the Olympics in Arcadia, California.

This cute kid is best known for representing the United States with her amazing figure skating skills ... she hasn't only made a remarkable impact for America in Winter Olympic Games, but also on the future of the sport itself.

She has won numerous bronze and silver medals over the course of her career but only has taken home the gold once.

Kristi Yamaguchi deserves the gold medal for these good looks!

Here's the 20-year-old version of the figure skater during the medal ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France back in 1992 (left). She had become the world champion by winning the gold medal for her talents ... becoming the first Asian American woman to do so.

And, 30 years later ... the now 50-year-old elite athlete still showing her support for the USA team on Instagram as they gear up for the 2022 Winter Olympics Games in Beijing, China this weekend (right).

She sticks the landing!

The question is ...

The torch is lit and the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing have begun!

While most events require braving the cold on the ice and in the snow, these elite athletes are bringing the heat and proving they have a lot more to show than just their determination for the gold medal.

It doesn't matter if they are an expert in Luge or skating in unison with their doubles partner in the rink, these Olympians all have one thing in common ... and that's their fit physiques!

The Beijing Olympic Winter Games are officially underway ... kicking off with an elaborate opening ceremony at Beijing National Stadium.

Chinese President Xi Jinping officially declared the games open ... marking the start of the historic sporting event.

The Olympics are being held in China -- across three different time zones -- as various athletes from all over the world compete for medals in 15 different sports.

These games mark the second time China is hosting the Olympics -- they previously held the Summer Games back in 2008 -- and won the bid for the 2022 Winter Games in 2015.

Beijing -- where the games are being played -- is the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

Of course, Team USA will be there ... and is expected to perform well. But, they'll have to do it without the support of their govt. officials -- at least, in person, that is.

President Biden and his administration are imposing a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games ... due to China's "ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity."

The move from #46 is a deviation from the norm -- it's tradition for the U.S. to send high-profile delegates to represent the country and support America's athletes.

The boycott, however, does not stop the athletes from competing ... and the White House still supports Team USA in their endeavors. In fact, a "record number" of 177 US athletes walked during the opening ceremony, according to CNN.

Figure skater Timothy LeDuc is set to become the first openly nonbinary American athlete to ever compete at the Winter Games ... but they don't want to make it a big deal about themself -- their goal is to make all queer people feel accepted in sports.

31-year-old LeDuc -- who came out as gay at 18 before opening up about being nonbinary (not exclusively identifying as male or female) in 2021 -- said when they take the ice alongside partner Ashley Cain-Gribble in Beijing this month, they hope the storyline isn't, "Timothy is the first nonbinary person to achieve this level of success in sports."

Instead, the 2-time national champ wants to use this opportunity to show all members of the LGBTQ+ community there is a place for them in competitive sport.

"We’ve always been here, we have always been a part of sports. We just haven’t always been able to be open," LeDuc said, according to the AP.

In fact, Adam Rippon became the first openly gay American skater to earn podium while competing at the Olympics in Pyeongchang in 2018 ... but former American stars like Brian Boitano and Johnny Weir did not come out until after their competing days.

The Games have seen a rise in LGBTQ+ athletes recently -- Canadian soccer player Quinn was the first openly transgender and nonbinary Olympian to medal in Tokyo ... New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard became the first transgender athlete to compete.

LeDuc says it hasn't been easy identifying their gender ... but luckily, they had a strong support group to help along the way.

"It’s been a really long journey for me, embracing my gender," they added.

The 2022 Olympics haven't begun yet, but they're already off to a not-so-hot start for USA skier Kai Owens, who sustained a gnarly eye injury during preparation for the Beijing event on Tuesday.

The 17-year-old Owens was practicing for the Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park in China ... when photographers captured her falling on the slopes.

Kai needed medical care from personnel on hand ... but, fortunately, she was able to stand up on her own. Photos from the scene, though, showed she did suffer a black eye in the fall.

Thankfully, it does not appear she sustained any further serious injuries.

It's not exactly the start Owens was hoping for ... remember, she told us out at LAX just a few days ago that she was pumped for the Games, particularly considering the location of it all.

Owens was abandoned by her birth parents in China as an infant and was adopted by a Colorado couple when she was 1 year old.

Ryan Lochte is reflecting on the 2016 gas station incident in Brazil that changed his life forever ... saying he was so distraught over it all, he at one point felt like the worst man in the world.

Lochte -- a 12-time Olympic medalist -- joined ex-NFL QB Jay Cutler on his "Uncut" podcast this week ... and the two discussed the infamous incident that landed him in hot water.

"I had rude awakenings," Lochte says, "being where everyone loved me and I was on top of the world, I felt like." "And then in one stupid night ... gone. I was like the worst guy in the world or something at one point."

Remember, Ryan claimed he and other U.S. swimmers had been robbed at gunpoint at a gas station during the world's biggest sporting event.

After looking into Lochte's allegations, Brazilian authorities ultimately charged him with filing a false police report ... but he claims -- aside from one detail -- he was telling the truth.

"They did the investigation," Lochte said. "I didn't do anything wrong. What I said was right. The only thing I fabricated was when the gun was pointed to me, I said it was pointed to my head, but it was like three or four feet away."

The swimmer's lawyer told USA Today Sports a few months ago that the charges against Lochte had been dropped ... after a judge ruled Brazilian prosecutors could not prove their case.

Lochte later returned to the pool after serving a suspension, but failed to qualify for the 2021 Olympics.

"That was very tough," Ryan said. Throughout my whole swimming career and everything I've been through, I never went through depression."

"It was one of the hardest things besides 2016 ... was just waking up and looking myself in the mirror like, 'Damn, I'm a failure.'"

The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing will be a homecoming for 17-year-old skiing phenom Kai Owens ... and the Team USA superstar tells TMZ Sports she can't wait to return to her birth country for the very first time.

Owens' story is inspirational -- she was abandoned by her birth parents as an infant and was adopted by a Colorado couple when she was around 16 months old.

Now, the mogul skier is set to make the ultimate return and compete at the highest level during the 2022 Games ... and she tells us it's going to be an incredible experience.

"I'm just trying to explore everything I can and enjoy the moment," she told us at LAX this week.

Owens says she won't try to track down her biological parents during the trip ... but plans to make a return to China after the Games if the pandemic calms down.

"Right now, I'm mainly focused on competing, but my family and I have plans to return to China once COVID allows us to, to kind of go back to the province that I was born in and maybe do some birth parents research," Owens said.

"My primary goal for this trip is the Olympic games, but I'm definitely hoping to do a cultural experience later this year."

Simone Biles appears to be on her way to putting the twisties in her past ... 'cause she recently hit a bunch of insane flips in the gym, showing no signs of the mental block that plagued her in Tokyo.

Biles posted the videos on her social media page Monday ... revealing she's once again hitting some of the crazy stunts that made her an Olympics legend.

Biles did the tricks into a soft foam pit ... and captioned the footage, "did some flips the other day just to make sure."

No word yet on if Biles is officially 100 percent free of the infamous twisties that first hit her at the 2020 Olympics in July ... but the video is an encouraging sign nonetheless.

It's the first time Biles has been seen hitting the tricks since she said she was struggling to find up from down while performing the stunts on the sport's biggest stage.

Biles had said back in October she was still fighting the problem ... and noted she was keeping any twisting out of her routines during her performances in the Gold Over America Tour in the fall.

Scary moment for Olympic gold medalist Sofia Goggia ... the alpine skier banged her head and busted her leg during a violent crash at the World Cup on Sunday -- just weeks before she's supposed to defend her title at the winter games in Beijing.

Luckily for Goggia, the injuries aren't catastrophic.

The frightening incident was caught on video ... showing the 29-year-old going full speed downhill at the Cortina d'Ampezzo Super-G event.

Everything appeared normal until the Italian skier lost control on a turn ... sending Goggia flying through the air.

Goggia -- who was wearing a helmet -- eventually landed and slid headfirst down the mountain before finally coming to a complete stop.

It looked very bad ... but thankfully, the Italian Ski Federation announced she suffered a left knee strain, a partial tear in her cruciate ligament and a small fibula fracture.

Goggia's rehabilitation will start on Monday as she's determined to defend her downhill gold medal title at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing ... which happens on Feb. 15.

"It's a shame that this injury comes in a very important moment of the season," Goggia said, "but in the next few hours I'll start the physio treatment so I can try to defend my title in the discipline I love the most."

"Cool Runnings" actor Rawle D. Lewis says it's time for a reboot of the classic 1993 film -- telling TMZ Sports it should represent the Jamaican women's bobsled team this time around ... and Lupita Nyong'o should have the starring role.

Of course, the OG flick was a Disney adaptation of the story of the Jamaican bobsled team's appearance in the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Lewis tells us he wants to see the story hit the silver screen again -- with the focus on the women's team.

"People don't realize that women [bobsledders] also did well," the Cool Runnings actor told us this week. "I think the reboot might be like the whole women doing their thing."

And, Lewis is shooting for the stars with his idea ... saying he'd love to pass the "Cool Runnings" torch to Nyong'o.

"She can play anything," RDL says.

The whole movie convo came up after we spoke to Lewis about the four-man Jamaican bobsled team that made it to the 2022 Winter Olympics for the first time in 24 years.

RDL played Junior Bevil in the OG flick ... and he's ecstatic about the real team making it back to the Games.

"I was watching it and I was like, 'God, that is so f**king amazing,'" RDL said.

"There's no snow in Jamaica. Like, none! Like, I don't know if people understand the concept of what they're able to accomplish here, but that's amazing."