Olympics

Team USA swimming superstar, Caeleb Dressel, was truly down on himself just months before winning 5 gold medals at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo ... revealing the severely harsh criticism he wrote in his practice journals prior to trials.

The 25-year-old Olympic hero opened up about the dark side of his swimming experience on "In Depth With Graham Bensinger" this week ... listing off the negative reactions to workouts he wrote in his notebooks before trials.

"Yeah, F*** me, f***ing terrible. My body is done,'" Caeleb read from his log during the interview. "Oh jeez ... I know I'm laughing a little bit, but when you're writing this, this isn't as a joke. This is good information."

"'F*** me. F*** my body. F*** swimming,'" he continued. "Jeez. Yeah, there's a totally different side of the sport that a lot of people don't see ... I try to be as honest with myself as I can in these books, 'cause these aren't for -- well until now -- these aren't really for anybody else's eyes."

As it turns out, Caeleb has battled panic attacks and depression as a result of his swimming career ... including when he first became prominently known as one of the best in the country during his senior year of high school.

"I didn't want to do anything," Caeleb said. "Wasn't going to school, wasn't swimming. [I] was pretty much just laying in bed for all hours of the day, for a couple months."

Dressel went on to compete in two Olympic games -- racking up 7 golds.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim is taking a break from competitive snowboarding -- saying she needs time to "reset" and focus on her mental health.

Kim -- who started snowboarding at 4 years old -- is coming off a huge victory in the 2022 Winter Olympics ... winning a gold medal in the halfpipe event.

The 22-year-old says it was fun but exhausting ... and will take this season off to get herself right.

"I will be taking a full season off of competition just for my mental health," Kim said on Cheddar News last week.

"Just want to reset. Don't want to get right back into after such a fun but draining year at the same time."

This isn't the first time Kim has taken a break from boarding ... after winning the gold medal in the 2018 Winter Olympics, she took the following season off and went to Princeton University to study anthropology.

Kim says going to the prestigious school was "refreshing," and being around people who weren't snowboarders or athletes helped.

"It was nice to know I can make friends with people that weren't snowboarders or in the industry," she said. "It's just nice to have that separation and to get away from the thought of working."

Kim does plan on returning for the 2026 Games in Italy -- saying, "I just want to enjoy this moment, take it all in and then get back to it when I feel like I'm ready."

"As of now, the plan is most definitely to go after a third medal."

Besides the two Olympic gold medals, Kim is also a six-time X Games gold medalist and is the first to win the championship in all four major events (World, Olympic, Youth Olympic and X Games).

Paralympian Jen Lee's three Paralympic gold medals were stolen from his car over the weekend -- and JL asked for the public's help by sharing footage of the alleged thief in action.

And, it worked ... 'cause the medals have been found!

The incident happened Saturday when the U.S. hockey sled player says someone broke into his Tesla as it was parked in his San Antonio garage.

"First time for everything," Lee said via Instagram.

"Got my car broken into, and all my Paralympic gold medals stolen. Not 1, not two, but 🥇🥇🥇☹😭"

The 35-year-old athlete shared surveillance video of the alleged suspect in action -- and you can see a man in a black Levi's shirt, shorts and tan cap walk up to Lee's vehicle.

He then started breaking into the back passenger side window with the help of a tool that he used to break the glass.

Once it shattered, the man is seen running off with Lee's "USA" backpack that contained his three gold medals from the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Winter Paralympics.

Lee -- whose left leg was amputated (above the knee) after a motorcycle crash in 2009 -- was the starting goalie in this year's games.

"Just want to share this as I’m seeking for help," Lee said, "and see how I can get my gold medals back."

Well, great news ... the medals were found at a local fire dept. station.

"The Officers were able to confirm that the three gold medals were the same medals that had been stolen a day prior and were in immediate contact with the victim - Jen Lee," a San Antonio PD rep told us on Monday.

"It is unknown who dropped off the medals at the fire station."

Despite Jason receiving his medals, SAPD says they're still actively investigating the alleged theft.

NFL tight end Zach Ertz and his wife, Julie, just shared some exciting news on Monday -- the married couple is having a baby!!

The Arizona Cardinals and USWNT stars dropped the news on Instagram ... with the two posting photos of Julie's baby bump, and Zach kissing her growing tummy.

"Adding to our starting lineup ... Baby Ertz!" Zach captioned the pics.

The 10-year NFL veteran has been with the U.S. women's national team defender for nearly a decade ... and tied the knot in March 2017.

Of course, Julie was there to celebrate with Zach after Super Bowl LVII, which he won as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Ertz had one of the key plays in the game when he caught what proved to be the go-ahead touchdown from Nick Foles ... propelling Philly over New England in the end.

Julie is a star in her own right -- the two-time Olympian and one-time Olympic gold medalist is one of the most decorated in her position.

Although the baby isn't here yet, having a football and soccer star as parents means the sky is the limit when it comes to sports ... if that's what the youngin' is into, of course.

Hope Solo, U.S. soccer legend, was arrested Thursday in North Carolina for driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest ... and cops say her two children were in the car when she was busted.

The 40-year-old retired goalkeeper -- a 2x Olympic gold medalist and World Cup winner -- was taken into custody in a Walmart parking lot off Parkway Village Circle in Winston-Salem, North Carolina ... and was taken to the Forsyth County jail for processing.

Officials tell us Solo was booked for impaired driving (DWI), resisting arrest, and misdemeanor child abuse.

It's not the first time Hope, who was arguably the best goalkeeper in the world during her time with the USWNT, has been in trouble with the law.

Solo has previously been arrested for domestic violence. She was accused of berating a police officer in 2014, and threatening to "kick his ass." She was also busted for allegedly getting into a physical confrontation with her teenage nephew.

Solo is married to ex-NFL player Jerramy Stevens. Hope and JS have two young kids together, twins, who just celebrated their 2nd birthday. It's unclear if the kids in the car were Jerramy's ... but it seems likely.

If Solo is ultimately convicted, she could face time behind bars.

Team USA superstar Caeleb Dressel just put on another gold-medal performance -- this time, the Olympic swimmer did a drum cover of "Good 4 U" by Olivia Rodrigo ... and the dude's got skills!!

Of course, the 7-time gold medalist LOVES to bang on his drums all day (when he's not training his ass off) ... and has previously opened up about how he uses the beats per minute from his drum riffs to help with his stroke rate in the pool.

The 25-year-old showed off his talents with the sticks on Monday by playing along to OR's Billboard-topping hit track ... and we are impressed!!

"Well good 4 u," Dressel captioned the video.

The superstar swimmer also shared his new drum kit setups at his home ... and you can tell he's pumped about his toys.

Dressel learned how to play when his dad got him a drum set as a kid ... and it's been nothing but rocking ever since.

Olympic legend Florence Griffith Joyner -- AKA Flo-Jo -- had her priceless memorabilia returned to Olympic gold medalist and husband Al Joyner ... and it's all thanks to "Storage Wars" Star Rene Nezhoda!

Rene tells TMZ ... after our story broke about his acquired collection, family members and friends of Flo-Jo started reaching out to him, including Al, hoping to buy it back.

Rene and Al met up in San Diego to strike a deal, with Rene making a profit much smaller than he could've snagged on the open market. Rene says the important thing was restoring the gold to the fam.

The item that held the most value to Al was her weight belt, something they'd use together working out. The belt was going in the trash after the locker -- originally owned by Al -- was picked through. Luckily, the piece was saved and it's back in Al's hands.

As we reported, Rene bought a ton of Flo-Jo's belongings and collectibles off of his pal George, who purchased Al's lockers at auction. Inside were Olympic jackets, autographed Flo-Jo Barbie dolls, and signed track shoes -- the same ones worn while breaking the world record!

It was in 1998 when Flo-Jo unexpectedly died of suffocation in her sleep after suffering an epileptic fit.

Carli Lloyd might be retired from football, but she could find another career in American football -- 'cause the U.S. soccer superstar tells TMZ Sports she's open to the idea of playing in the NFL!!

Of course, the 39-year-old World Cup champ and Olympic gold medalist went viral in 2019 ... when she was spotted nailing 55-yard field goals while hanging out with the Philadelphia Eagles.

We spoke with the soccer legend -- just a few months after she decided to hang up her cleats -- and she told us thanks to the free time she has now, an NFL push could be in her future.

Lloyd believes one position women can play in the NFL is kicker, and her confidence in that belief was reinforced after her experience with the Eagles.

"Yeah that was wild how that all unfolded," Lloyd said. "Something I never would've predicted would have happened. It was a cool day to go out there and just hit some field goals."

Lloyd said had it not been for her Olympic journey, she would have seriously entertained the idea of being an NFL kicker.

We also spoke with Lloyd about being the first female ambassador for USA Teqball (think Ping-Pong for soccer) ... and she attributes the pandemic -- as well as seeing guys like Beckham, Messi, and Ronaldinho playing the game for sparking her interest.

"I'm thrilled because it keeps me somewhat around the game in a little bit of a different fashion, but its a really, pretty amazing sport," Lloyd said.

Shaun White is starting off retirement with a bang ... the legendary snowboarder took a trip to Costa Rica with his girlfriend, Nina Dobrev, and judging from the pics, life's good. Very, very good.

"It means no worries….🦁 #retired," Shaun wrote on an Instagram post of himself on vacay.

White -- a five-time Olympian and three-time gold medalist -- retired last month after competing in his final Winter Olympics. The 35-year-old was overcome with emotion as he concluded his final Games ... crying in front of the media.

In a recent interview with NBC in Boston, White told the outlet "Yeah, I'm retired, that's the last of it. Every step of the way has been great. I’ll finally have the time to do some things I’ve always wanted to, take some vacations, ride some powder."

Shaun kept true to his word ... going on a vacation with his famous GF. The two went to Costa Rica ... taking in sights on the beautiful islands at Hacienda Altagracia -- a local luxury resort.

White and Dobrev -- star from the hit  TV show "The Vampire Diaries" -- have been dating for years ... and announced they made it official while quarantining together during the early stages of the pandemic.

Nina considers herself an avid lover of snowboarding -- and, well, her boyfriend happens to be one of the greatest snowboarders in the sport's history.

Ukrainian Anastasiia Laletina pulled out of a major event at the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games on Tuesday ... after an official says her father was captured by Russian troops back home.

Team spokeswoman Natalia Harach said the 19-year-old's dad -- a soldier in the Ukrainian army -- was taken and beaten ... and Laletina was so understandably shaken up over it all, she withdrew from the middle distance sitting para biathlon.

Harach added Laletina, a nordic skier, did receive care from a team doctor after she learned of the horrifying news.

"She was very upset," Harach told media members Tuesday, "and couldn't take part in the race."

Laletina is still scheduled, for now, to compete in another skiing race at the Games. It's unclear what the status is of her father at the moment.

Ukraine has sent over nearly two dozen athletes to compete in the Games despite the ongoing conflict with Russia ... and the competitors have found big success.

"Storage Wars" star Rene Nezhoda scored big on his latest find ... unearthing tons of memorabilia that belonged to Olympic legend Florence Griffith Joyner -- Flo-Jo!

Rene tells TMZ ... his friend George bought Flo-Jo's storage locker 8 years ago in the San Diego area. Rene says he dropped several thousand dollars to take the Olympic content off his hands ... and the haul is impressive!

Rene walked away with Florence's Olympic jacket and even her signed track shoes -- the ones that she wore while breaking world records! As you'll recall, Joyner broke records in the 1988 Seoul Olympics ... for both the 100m and 200m dash! She took home 3 gold medals that year.

Also bought by Rene are rare photos, magazines featuring her, and autographed Flo-Jo Barbie dolls ... talk about a blast from the past!

Rene says he'll likely sell the pieces of history on eBay or through collectible auction house Heritage Auctions ... but if a member of Flo-Jo's family reaches out, he might work out a deal with them to return her personal items.

Flo-Jo died in 1998 after suffering a fatal epileptic seizure in her sleep. Apparently, her family paid the bills for the storage rental for years, but for some reason stopped, and that's why the locker went up for action.

Not everyone is happy about the $24 million settlement between the U.S. Women's National Team and the U.S. Soccer Federation -- Hope Solo says the deal is "infuriating" and is calling out Megan Rapinoe in the process.

"This settlement is not a 'huge win,'" the 2-time Olympic gold medalist said via Instagram on Wednesday.

"It's heartbreaking and infuriating. A 'promise' of equal pay from the Federation and backpay for a select group of players isn't equal pay and it's not what this fight was about."

As we previously reported, the USSF agreed to dispense $22 million amongst the players ($2 million for post-career ventures) after players sued for "institutionalized gender discrimination" in 2019.

Solo says she went through all the details ... and felt some type of way about the "Contingent upon the negotiation of a new collective bargaining agreement" part.

"It doesn't exist yet and is not guaranteed," Solo said.

"If the players had ever been successful in negotiating an equal CBA, there would've been no reason to sue the Federation in the first place."

Solo also slammed former USWNT teammates Rapinoe and Alex Morgan for accepting the deal -- just a day after Rapinoe said on "Good Morning America" that she was proud of all the hard work.

"Throughout the entire process, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan were the two most agreeable with the Federation," Solo said, "and to this day, continue to accept terms that are nowhere near what we set out to do."

There might be a whole bunch of mini Simone Biles's tumbling around soon ... 'cause she just revealed her fiancé, NFL player Jonathan Owens, wants "a football team" of kids in the future!!

The Olympic gold medalist had a Q&A with fans on Monday night just days after she got engaged to the Houston Texans safety ... and questions about future kids popped up several times.

One fan eventually asked how many kids the couple is planning on having -- and the 24-year-old gymnast said she wants two ... but Owens wants a whole lot more.

"So, I want two kids," she said. "He always says he wants a football team."

For those who aren't familiar, there are 53 players on an NFL roster -- and 11 starters when on the field!

But, Biles said afterward, "he usually says three. We'll see."

Biles also dropped some more info about the couple's future ... saying the two -- who got engaged on Valentine's Day -- will have their wedding on a beach, and that they're in the process of building a house.

"Wedding planning has been going well so far, it's so exciting for me," Biles said. "I'm obsessed."

"Also I'll definitely hire a planner because between this & building a house, our hands are full."

Olympic skier Remi Lindholm says it was so cold during a race at the Games in Beijing over the weekend ... his penis literally froze while he was competing.

Lindholm says the horrifying injury happened during Saturday's men's 50km mass start event ... where temps dipped so low, officials actually delayed the start and even shortened the race's overall distance to 30km to try to keep competitors safe.

The precautions, though, clearly didn't help Lindholm too much ... because he said after spending over an hour racing on the course, his junk turned into a popsicle.

"You can guess which body part was a little bit frozen when I finished," Lindholm told reporters after the race. "It was one of the worst competitions I've been in."

Lindholm said he needed a heat pack to thaw everything out -- but added that once he got warm, "the pain was unbearable."

The worst part for Lindholm? His efforts only resulted in a 28th place finish.

Turns out, this was not the first time Lindholm has experienced the terrifying race wound -- he said it happened to him in a race in Finland in 2021.

Hidden underneath this circular face is an award-winning snowboarder who has been competing at the Beijing Winter Olympics ... and now it's on you to peel back the frazzled face to guess the golden boy in the photos.

This oblong athlete may have missed his opportunity to bring home some heavy metal for his home turf of the USA ... but he's got an impressive collection of Olympics medals, ESPYs and X Games gold to reflect upon whenever he feels like it.

Gold medal-winning figure skater Tara Lipinski's good looks have been on ice for over two decades!

Here's a 15-year-old version of the Team USA ice skater smiling to the cheering fans in Nagano, Japan moments after scoring the gold medal in the women's long program beating out her teammate Michelle Kwan at the 1998 Winter Olympics XVIII. (left).

TP ... now 39 years old ... shared this selfie on her social media page while covering this year's Winter Olympics alongside her friend, co-anchor and figure skater Johnny Weir (right).

Her beauty is frozen.

The question is ...