Olympics

Rulon Gardner won gold in wrestling in arguably the biggest upset in Olympics history ... and now the American hero, who's 51 years old, tells TMZ Sports he's making a comeback, and the goal is the Summer Games!

"I still wanna give more back to the sport, the sport that I love and that's wrestling. When you have a goal like wrestling it makes you get into shape so I've lost a substantial amount of weight, getting healthy again, getting back after it, and now it's getting on the mat," Gardner said.

"Every day it hurts like heck but it's so fun to be able to get out there and throw with these young kids. It's crazy 'cause I'm wrestling kids half my age."

If you don't know Rulon's story ... he won a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling during the 2000 Games in Sydney. But, that doesn't even begin to tell the story ... 'cause Gardner beat the most dominant and feared wrestler of all time, 6'3", 286 lb. Aleksandr Karelin.

"The Russian Bear" was thought to be unbeatable. He'd won the previous 3 gold medals. He hadn't lost a match since entering the international competition in 1988. For crying out loud, he hadn't given up a single point in 6 years. To this day he's regarded by most as the greatest amateur wrestler ever.

But, somehow, someway ... David slayed Goliath. And now, Rulon wants to do something perhaps equally hard -- compete at a world-class level in his 50s.

The journey started as a way for Rulon to lose weight ... and he tells us he's down about 150 lbs. An incredible achievement, but not his goal.

"Our goal is to go out there and show we can still compete with the top-level wrestlers of the world. I know I can compete with the guys in the U.S., the question is do I have what it takes in my 50s to get back to the Olympic games?"

If he can complete the comeback, we asked Rulon where the achievement would rank in the history of Olympic competition.

"Dara Torres, she did it a few years ago as a swimmer in her 40s and nobody has ever thought about doing it in your 50s and especially a combat sport. It's not easy on the body. Your talking about getting hit in the head, you're talking about getting hit in the body, shoulder, and knees. There's just so many body parts."

"Last year, I started throwing people and I'm like oh my gosh, I was throwing guys and my body is saying, 'what are you doing?' It still says that but it's like getting back on the bike and it feels normal again."

Bode Miller's son suffered a seizure on Monday and was rushed to the hospital ... but, thankfully, the little boy is now home and resting comfortably.

The Olympic skier's wife, Morgan, detailed the horrifying experience in a social media post on Tuesday ... saying it painfully reminded her of when the couple's 19-month-old daughter, Emeline, tragically died following a pool accident in 2018.

"Life is constantly walking a knife edge and it's not something we are unfamiliar with," Morgan wrote alongside a photo of Bode and 3-year-old Asher in a hospital bed.

"Yesterday, Asher had a febrile seizure which scared us half to death. We took the same ambulance to the same hospital we took Emmy to."

She added, "But this time we got to leave with our child."

Morgan then shared a picture of Asher back at home on the couch with Miller ... looking comfortable and happy.

Any Formula One driver looking to send a message next season will have to get permission from the higher-ups first ... 'cause the org.'s governing body just instituted a ban on unapproved political statements at races.

The decision comes after a rise in activism throughout the sport in recent years ... with Mercedes superstar Lewis Hamilton leading the charge in spreading awareness by wearing slogans on shirts under his race suit.

The 7-time champion has worn "Black Lives Matter" and "Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor" on his shirts in the past ... and recently retired star Sebastian Vettel has also shown solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community with his wardrobe as well.

The FIA's new rule now forbids "the general making and display of political, religious and personal statements or comments notably in violation of the general principle of neutrality promoted by the FIA."

The only exceptions to the rule will include any statements that are given the OK prior to being displayed.

David Rudisha, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and one of the best middle-distance runners in the world, survived a horrifying plane crash -- and is grateful to be alive.

Rudisha, a native of Kenya, told the Nation newspaper his plane took off after he attended the annual Maasai Olympics event at the wildlife sanctuary in Kajiado South-East Kenya when disaster struck.

DR told the outlet about seven or eight minutes into the flight the engine malfunctioned, resulting in the plane going down in the Imbirkiana area in Kajiado.

"It was a scary episode where you hold your heart in your hand as you pray to God," Rudisha said. "The pilot did an incredible job to keep the plane afloat and stable for long."

Rudisha was on board with five other people at the time of the crash. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured, and they were all evacuated to Makindu Hospital for treatment.

"We thank God we all came out alive with some soft tissue injuries that were treated before all were discharged save for one," said Rudisha.

Unfortunately for Rudisha (or maybe fortunately), this isn't the first time the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics 800m champion almost lost his life in a serious accident.

In 2019, the two-time Olympic champ's SUV crashed into a bus in a Kenyan village. Luckily, David escaped the crash with minor injuries.

Ukrainian Olympic hero Yuriy Cheban, one of the country's greatest and most decorated sports heroes, is auctioning off his 2 gold and 1 bronze medals ... with the money going to the war effort in Ukraine.

Cheban contacted SCP Auctions ... who put his 2008 Bronze (Beijing), 2012 Gold (London), and 2016 Gold (Rio de Janeiro) medals on the auction block. The medals will be auctioned off separately.

The proceeds are going to Olympic Circle ... an organization "created by sportsmen to help fight Russian occupants in southern Ukraine by funding defense and recovery efforts." OC says they provide everything from equipment to fight, to toys for kids as well as food for Ukrainians in need.

Cheban is one of the greatest sprint canoeists ever ... and it's the event where he won his medals.

Awesome prices for what most would consider a worthy cause ... but if you're interested, you're running out of time! The auction closes on Saturday.

The 2012 and 2016 Gold both have bids of $16k ... meanwhile, the bronze medal has a bid of nearly $7K.

A one-time Olympic boxer has been arrested for threatening to go on a shooting rampage inside a Florida gym.

Azea Augustama was taken into custody in Miami and booked on three felony charges -- two counts of issuing written threats to commit a mass shooting and one count of threatening to kill or do bodily harm.

He was ordered held on $3 million bond at a court hearing.

According to an affidavit, obtained by TMZ, Azea's membership at Miami's Boxr gym got yanked earlier this month after he had a heated argument with someone.

Then, on Tuesday, Azea had the police escort him back into the gym to retrieve the possessions he had left behind, but they had disappeared.

Azea later took to social media to vent his anger over his missing belongings ... making "threats to kill or do bodily harm with a firearm," the affidavit states.

He went so far as to tag the gym in a few of his threatening Instagram posts, which also included a deposit receipt for an AK-47. He later deleted the receipt.

Police were notified about the threats and tracked Azea to the pawn shop where he had originally put down the $150 deposit for the weapon.

Jonathan Owens had full control of Simone Biles' flames on Halloween ... grabbing a handful of his future wife in some steamy fireman-costumed pics!!

The Olympic gold medalist shared the hot photos on Sunday ... showing the Houston Texans safety getting a little handsy for the October holiday.

Biles was rockin' a 2-piece 'fit with flames all over it ... while Owens -- wearing fireman overalls and an FD cap -- made sure the blaze didn't get too out of control.

Biles asked her 6 million IG followers to give the sexy post a caption ... and one fan obliged, writing, "I don't think he wants to put that fire out. He just wants to tame it. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥"

Another person said, "Costumes 🔥. Baby Im on fire, come water me down. 😍" while someone else called Owens the "luckiest firefighter ever."

This is the couple's first Halloween together as future husband and wife ... Owens just proposed to the gymnast with a 3-carat oval diamond ring in February after two years of dating.

Before this kid was shreddin' the gnar and grinding the skatepark bowls, he was just a novice rider ... boarding the San Bernardino Mountains and watching his dad surf the San Diego waves.

This slick guy appears to be a smiling fella ... however, he's deemed as a monster on the slopes, and has 5 Olympic medals to show for it! Even though he recently retired from his sport, he isn't afraid to show you on Insta that he's maintained his ripped figure.

Need one more clue? He made a cameo in "Friends With Benefits" with Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis.

Michael Phelps just shared some heartbreaking news ... announcing his father, Fred, has passed away.

The Olympics superstar provided the update via Instagram on Monday ... saying, "You’ll always be my dad ... And I’ll always be your son ... Love you dad and I will miss you❤️❤️ rip dad."

37-year-old Phelps also posted several throwback pictures of his father ... including several snaps with his grandchildren.

Just like his son, Fred was an athlete -- he played college football and once tried out for the Washington Commanders in the 1970s.

Phelps previously spoke about the trauma he suffered after his parents got divorced in 1994 ... which temporarily affected his relationship with his father. Fred remarried in 2000.

German track star Luz Long battled Black American star Jesse Owens during the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin -- while Hitler watched -- but instead of treating each other like enemies, the men became close friends.

And, now, Luz's famed silver medal from the long jump is on the block at SCP Auctions ... one of the most important medals in Olympic history.

Owens won four gold medals during the '36 Games ... and became a global superstar almost overnight. But, one of the medals almost never was ... 'cause Jesse was one missed jump away from failing to qualify for the medal round of the long jump.

That's when Carl Ludwig "Luz" Long -- born across the world and in very different circumstances than Jesse -- approached his competitor and offered him some advice.

“Why don’t you draw a line a few inches in back of the board and aim at making your take-off from there," Luz said to Jesse, saying, "You’ll be sure not to foul, and you certainly ought to jump far enough to qualify. What does it matter if you’re not first in the trials?”

Owens later talked about what those words meant for him, and did for his performance.

“Suddenly all the tension seemed to ebb out of my body as the truth of what he said hit me. Confidently, I drew a line a full foot in back of the board and proceeded to jump from there. I qualified with almost a foot to spare.”

In the finals, Long and Owens battled, both breaking the previous Olympic record in the process. In the end, Jesse, with a jump of 8.06 meters, beat Luz, and won the gold medal ... while LL took silver.

Luz, could've been mad, jealous, or even seen Jesse as the enemy, but instead was actually the first to embrace the man who just dashed his dreams of Olympic gold.

"You forced me to give my best,” Owens told Luz.

After receiving their medals, in one of the most courageous moments in Olympic history, Jesse and Luz walked side by side around the stadium, waving to the 110,000 spectators in attendance.

And remember, one of those people was Adolf Hitler ... who was annoyed a Black man dominated the Games, exposing his lies about race.

“It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler,” Owens later said.

“You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn’t be a plating on the twenty-four karat friendship that I felt for Luz Long at that moment.”

Berlin, 1936, is the last time Jesse and Luz would see each other. The German track star was killed in 1943 during World War II at the age of 30.

However, shortly before his death, Long wrote a handwritten note to his friend Jesse, where he sadly predicted his impending death, and asked a favor.

"My heart tells me, if I be honest with you, that this is the last letter I shall ever write. If it is so, I ask you something. It is a something so very important to me. It is you go to Germany when this war done, someday find my [son], and tell him about his father. Tell him, Jesse, what times were like when we not separated by war. I am saying -- tell him how things can be between men on this earth.⁣"

In 1951, years after the letter, Owens fulfilled his promise and met Luz's son. Jesse would later serve as his best man at his wedding.

Now, nearly 90 years after he won the medal, Luz's granddaughter, Julia Kellner-Long, the daughter of the son Jesse befriended, has decided to put the medal on the block as a way to keep her grandpa's memory alive.

The auction for the medal -- estimated to be worth between $500K and $1 million -- ends this weekend

Johnny Knoxville was left looking like a real jackass for challenging a track phenom to a race ... because when they finally met up for an epic showdown -- he was left eating her dust!!

Here's the deal -- the stunt legend has been playfully trolling 13-year-old Junior Olympian Jaiya Patillo for months ... demanding a one-on-one battle to prove he can take her on in a 200-meter dash.

Well, that day finally came ... and let's just say Knox has to be wishing it didn't.

Give credit to Johnny for posting footage of the race to his 4 million Instagram followers ... 'cause he couldn't even last a second before he fell far behind, even though he brought his own cheerleaders for the event.

FYI -- Patillo is the top-ranked sprinter in her grade ... and has come in first at the AAU Junior Olympics and USATF National Junior Olympic Championships in the past. She's also gone viral on social media multiple times for showing off her insane speed.

According to her website, Jaiya's fastest 200-meter time is 25.48 seconds ... so, yeah, Johnny never stood a chance.

Knoxville was a great sport about it all ... but said he likes his chances at a second go 'round.

"And just because you NARROWLY beat me this time Jaiya it doesn’t mean there can’t be a rematch!!" Knoxville said.

Jim Redmond -- the man who famously helped his injured son, Derek Redmond, finish a race at the 1992 Olympics -- has died at 81 years old.

The Olympic Games confirmed Jim's passing on Tuesday, tweeting, "Our thoughts are with Derek Redmond and his family following the death of his father, Jim."

"Together, they brought us one of the most inspirational moments in Olympic history."

A cause of death was not revealed.

Jim famously came to his son's aid at the '92 Barcelona Games after Derek suffered a devastating hamstring injury in the middle of the 400-meter semifinal race.

Derek, while clearly too injured to run, began hobbling to the finish line -- and, after a few agonizing moments, Jim came down from his seat in the stands, pushed aside security guards and ran onto the track to help him finish the race.

Jim held Derek's left hand as the track star made his way to the end -- and the two shared an emotional brace, with Derek fighting back tears as his father hugged him.

In a 2012 interview with BBC, Derek admitted his hamstrings felt tight before the race and said he could barely walk after the injury, but his father told him they would finish together.

"He tried to talk me out of it at first," Derek told the outlet. "He was telling me that I had nothing to prove and that I didn't need to do this, but I told him I was going to finish."

"Then he said that we would do it together."

Olympic gold medalist diver Tom Daley's screenwriter husband, Dustin Lance Black, says he's on the mend from a serious head injury that had doctors telling him to "shut off his brain" in order to recover.

Dustin, famous for writing the 2008 movie "Milk," shared the health update Monday on social media, telling folks it's been a month since he "sustained a serious head injury that put me out of commission."

DLB says he initially wasn't showing much improvement and "doctors ordered me to shut off my brain in hopes of it healing." He says Tom took him to the Greek islands this week to make him shut off his mind.

Dustin posted a ton of photos of him and Tom in Greece ... and he says the trip is a step in the right direction to what "has been a challenging, frightening time for a creative type who depends on what's in his skull to work, care and love."

While Dustin does not elaborate on how he suffered a brain injury ... he was reportedly punched in the head last month during an altercation with Teddy Edwardes at a London gay bar.

Lolo Jones tells TMZ Sports she's down to be on a dating show like "The Bachelor" ... on one condition -- the program would need a big change in its age requirements!

The Olympic hurdler and bobsledder explained her stance on it all when we got her out at RiseNY in New York City this week ... saying if producers would make the cast older, she'd be intrigued.

"Why is the Bachelor, Bachelorette never old?" she said. "Tell me that?! 'Cause those are the people that want to get married the most. These 20-year-olds, they're not trying to get married."

The 40-year-old -- who knows a thing or two about reality shows as she's been on "Celebrity Big Brother" and "The Challenge" -- tells us she is single, so it could all work out.

"You guys need to get someone that's like 40-plus," Jones said in a message to dating show producers. "Because they're trying to settle down, have a family."

"Like," she added, "sign me up!"

For now, the World Indoor Champion appears content to continue to use dating apps -- and she tells us it's been hit or miss in that category.

A man is suing skateboarding star Nyjah Huston -- after he says the 27-year-old X Games athlete beat him up during an altercation in Los Angeles earlier this summer.

Alexander Pou filed the lawsuit Wednesday -- alleging the incident happened back on June 6 after Huston and a friend went to Pou's house to retrieve an item they had left the night before.

In the suit, obtained by TMZ Sports, Pou alleges he tried to help Huston find the item ... but when their search was unsuccessful, the skateboarder "became verbally abusive."

Pou claims Huston then "suddenly and without warning" began attacking him, causing injuries.

To make matters worse, Pou says as Huston got in his friend's car to leave the scene -- the friend tried to run him over ... all while Huston "continued to verbally assault" Pou.

Pou is suing for unspecified damages.

This is not the first time Huston has faced a lawsuit alleging he got violent with somebody ... back in 2017, a man claimed the skater broke his nose in a fight at a house party.

Olympic sprinter and former Texas A&M star Shavez Hart was tragically shot and killed after allegedly trying to break up a fight outside of a nightclub in the Bahamas on Saturday. He was only 29 years old.

According to the Royal Bahamas Police, the incident happened in Mount Hope, North Abaco (about 120 miles north of Nassau) around 2 AM.

The report states a group of males got into a physical altercation in the parking lot when one male -- who left and returned with a gun -- opened fire, hitting Hart in the chest.

Hart was transported to the Marsh Harbour Clinic where he was pronounced dead ... just days before his 30th birthday.

The Bahamas Olympic Committee released a statement on Shavez's passing ... saying, "The Olympic family is saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Shavez Hart, a proud native of Abaco."

"He was always very humble, yet proud and determined to offer the very best of himself for the sake of country."

Hart was the third fastest Bahamian sprinter of all time in the 100m dash ... and won the silver medal in the 4x400m relay in the 2016 Indoor World Championship.

Before that, Hart was a Texas A&M star ... winning several competitions, including the gold in the 4x400m relay at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championship and the 100m at the 2015 SEC Outdoor Championship.

"This is so tragic," Aggie track and field head coach Pat Henry said.

"Shavez Hart was of course one of our finest athletes ever, but he was one of the kindest people I have met, and such a soft-spoken man."

RBPF says a suspect has been arrested and the investigation is ongoing.