Olympics

Isaiah Thomas is hell-bent on continuing his career in the NBA ... telling TMZ Sports his No. 1 -- and only -- plan right now is getting back into the Association.

"My only option is the league," Thomas said while out at LAX this month. "For sure."

The former Boston Celtics star, though, said right now there hasn't been much movement on his quest to land on a team. But, he told us he is staying patient.

"Just waiting it out," said the 34-year-old, who last played for the Charlotte Hornets in the 2021-22 season. "Staying ready to be on an NBA roster."

Of course, there are other pro leagues outside the NBA that Thomas could thrive in -- including the EuroLeague, the Australian National Basketball League and the Chinese Basketball Association ... but the two-time All-Star made it clear he wants to see NBA hardwoods only.

We also talked to Thomas about his former teammate, LeBron James, recruiting players for the 2024 Olympics following the country's loss in this year's FIBA World Cup semifinals ... and he told us if LBJ gets the guys he wants, it should be an easy win for Team USA.

Jonathan Owens is firing back at a fan who said his wife, Simone Biles, was a complete jerk while out on a recent shopping trip ... saying the accusations are all a lie.

The fan claimed the unpleasant run-in with the gymnastics star happened several months ago at a makeup store she had been working at.

In a series of tweets, the woman said Biles was "so f***ing rude" ... and, at one point during the shopping spree, denied her coworker a picture with her daughter while at check out.

She claimed Biles said at the time, "Absolutely not. Your daughter is 4 she doesn't even know me." She also said the 26-year-old complained to the store manager about being watched while she was perusing through items.

"For months after," the woman wrote in one of her tweets, "every time I'd see new about her and they would call her sweet I just recall how mean she was for no reason. When she left we all were like 'what the f*** just happened.'"

But, Owens -- the Green Bay Packers defensive back who married Biles earlier this year -- called cap on the story in his own series of posts on X on Thursday ... saying Biles is the "sweetest person in the world."

"Spreading lies on the internet is crazy," he said. "It's okay for her to deny a picture. People don't understand sometimes you just want to shop in peace, if she stops and takes one picture people will just keep following her and won’t leave us alone."

"And another thing," he continued, "I've never heard her talk to someone like that, especially to someone who asked her for a picture, like why would you try to make her look like that."

"I’m not going for that, I don't play bout my baby."

Lindsey Vonn went from shredding the gnar to icing down her backside real quick on Tuesday ... 'cause she was attacked by a jellyfish several minutes into a wakesurfing sesh.

The former Olympic skier said the incident happened as she was trying to get up on her board while out somewhere on a large body of water.

"I literally rode over it," she said on her social media page.

The 38-year-old told her followers that the jellyfish bit and stung her so badly ... it caused her left hamstring to swell up and turn red. Eventually, it morphed into more of a road-rash-like wound.

Thankfully, after asking her fans for remedies, she seems to be doing better now ... even getting in a joke about it all on Wednesday.

"Think it’s gonna leave a mark for a while … 🤕," she said, "at least I caught some waves before!"

Of course, Vonn is no stranger to dealing with pain ... she just had yet another surgery on her knee back in July -- and has rehabbed from that just fine.

Justin Gatlin is officially retired from competing, but that doesn't mean the USA track legend's done running ... in fact, the Olympic gold medalist is currently perfecting his 40-yard dash, and believes he can run a blistering 4.19 seconds!

"The project is Project 40. I ran a 4.2 yesterday, first day of practice," Gatlin told Michael Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

FYI, the fastest 40 ever electronically timed at the NFL Combine was 4.22 by John Ross in 2017. Chris Johnson holds the second-best time at 4.24.

Justin believes he can beat that time by a substantial margin.

"I'm thinking a 4.19. I definitely can dip under the 4.2s, for sure!" Gatlin said confidently.

Ultimately, Gatlin wants to train athletes to be quicker on the field or court.

"I've been training since I've left the world of track and field and I have an idea that I wanna be able to do speed agility training or professional athletes, being football, baseball, basketball, that's why we're here."

Justin says they're often a debate about who's faster ... and while he does want to rep for the track athletes, he also wants to help out other pros in different sports.

"There's a lot of talk about track and field athletes and football players, who's faster and I said you know what, this is what we work on. We work on speed constantly and I wanna show the world that we understand speed, we're the king of speed but I also wanna teach speed to other athletes that want [to learn.]"

Justin sure sounds like someone who still has the competitive juices flowing ... so we asked him if there was a chance he could make a comeback competitively, despite being 41 years old.

"Let's say if I get myself back into shape and say 'Hey, you know what? I wanna get back in track and field,' especially Olympic year coming up, it's not far-fetched."

"I've been away from the track, what, I retired in 2021? I'm not that far off. I think that if I wanna come back, I can make that Olympic team for sure."

There's more with Gatlin ... including whether he'd be down to race Tyreek Hill -- "Cheetah" -- who most fans believe to be the fastest player in the NFL.

So, would Justin race Cheetah? Damn straight.

"I think [Tyreek's] a remarkable athlete. He has a big background in track and field. He grew up running track and field. He still uses track and field workouts to make sure his speed on the football field is superior."

Gatlin continued ...  "And when it comes to me racing Tyreek, holla at me in about eight weeks. I'll be ready for you, man. If you want that, I can give you that smoke.

We also talked to Justin about Noah Lyles ... both his epic performance at World's and his shading of NBA "world champions!"

Jake Paul took matters into his own hands to make sure his girlfriend's wax figure is just like the real thing ... cupping its ass and comparing it to the human Jutta Leerdam right on the spot!!

The Problem Child just posted footage of his visit at Madame Tussauds in the Netherlands this week ... where he got a truly up-close look -- and feel -- of his superstar athlete GF's recently opened exhibit.

Jake walked right up to the figure, squeezed its behind and then turned to the real Jutta ... and proceeded to grab her tush as well.

The Olympian laughed and pulled his hand away ... but you can tell she appreciated his dedication to the cause.

If the video wasn't enough indication that Paul's a big fan of the completed project, he even rapped about it on his newest song, "Witness" ... saying, "Madame Tussaud’s wax figure of my girl do that mean I got 2 oooo?"

Paul and Leerdam have been enjoying their time together in her home country following his big win over Nate Diaz ... and the boxer's even been hitting up her recent training sessions.

Alexandra Paul, former Canadian Olympic figure skater, died in a horrific car crash.

The multi-vehicle accident occurred near Toronto this past Tuesday. The collision occurred when a semi-truck plowed into a line of cars stopped at a construction zone.

Her baby boy was in the car and taken to a hospital for what was described as non-life-threatening injuries.

Three others were hurt, including one man who was injured seriously enough to be airlifted to a trauma center.

The 31-year-old figure skater was married to her dance partner, Mitchell Islam. They were incredibly successful, winning numerous medals, including 3 for the Canadian Championship.

The pair also competed in the 2014 Olympics. Alexandra retired from skating in 2016 and became a lawyer in 2021.

Jamaican runner Andrew Hudson was left with shards of glass in his eye after a freak cart crash at the track world championships ... when two vehicles collided en route to the race.

The incident happened on Thursday ... when Hudson, Team USA superstar Noah Lyles, and other sprinters were being escorted to the 200-meter semifinals at Budapest’s new National Athletics Centre.

Aerial footage shows one cart smash into another on a pathway ... forcing one passenger out of their seat.

Another video from inside the cart Hudson was in shows the 26-year-old was clearly injured ... as he's shown rubbing his right eye following the collision. According to reports, Lyles could tell Hudson was in trouble ... saying, "He thinks he got glass in his eye."

As it turns out, Hudson did have pieces of broken glass in his eye ... which medics removed prior to the race. Luckily, the Jamaican athlete was cleared to compete.

"I can't see out of my right eye, but I'm okay," Hudson said after the race. "The doctor flushed out some shards of glass."

Lyles -- who won the event in 19.76 seconds -- explained the crash in more detail, saying everyone was really worried about Hudson.

"We just wanted to make sure that he got his chance to run," Lyles said, "and everybody got their fair chance to see the hard work that they did."

Hudson -- who's ranked 11th in the world this year -- ended up finishing fifth in 20.38 for his first world championship.

The World Athletics said everyone, including the volunteer who was thrown out of the cart, is okay, and "the Local Organising Committee is investigating the incident and reviewing the transport procedures."

Helen Smart, an Olympic swimmer who represented Great Britain in the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, died suddenly at the age of 43, according to the school where she was working.

"It is with great sadness and regret that I have to announce the sudden death of our beloved Headteacher, Mrs. Helen Smart," an administrator announced on social media, breaking the awful news to students and parents.

As a 19-year-old, Smart (known by her maiden name of Helen Don-Duncan), the British backstroke champion, competed for GB in the 50-meter backstroke and 200-meter backstroke in Australia.

She retired from swimming shortly after, going into education, where Helen became a principal at Worsley Mesnes Community Primary School in England.

After the school announced Helen's passing, her husband Craig Smart received a ton of love from the community. He responded with a comment of his own, despite dealing with the tremendous loss of his wife.

"Thank you for your kind words. She loved the school, staff, children and parents so much. She was so proud to reach her goal of being Head Teacher. She used to say to me all the time she could never see herself at another school. She was Worsley Mesnes through and through!"

Craig continued, offering some sage life advice ... "Please learn from this and live your best life, no regrets, take lots of photos, make memories and keep smiling just like Helen always did! Love to you all! Xx"

In addition to competing in Sydney, Helen won the bronze medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, in addition to several other titles.

Kim Kardashian is putting her name in the hat for the Team USA gymnastics team ... showing off her tumbling skills while rocking a bikini at the beach!!

The reality TV star and business mogul decided to put her athleticism to the test with a cartwheel during a luxurious getaway this week ... and she stuck the landing!!

Now, is KK destined for the 2024 Olympics in Paris?? No ... but she certainly appeared to be enjoying herself nonetheless.

Kim -- who doesn't have the biggest background in sports but played a cheerleader in "Disaster Movie" -- subbed a leotard for a black thong and white t-shirt for the stunt ... making it quite the cheeky affair.

The comment section cracked lighthearted jokes under the pics ... with one user saying, "thank you Kim Kardashian for putting gymnastics on the map."

Another account wittingly added, "Kimone Biles."

Kim may not be an Olympian herself, but she's still connected to the world's biggest sporting event -- her SKIMS clothing line was an official sponsor for Team USA for the summer games in Tokyo.

Larry Nassar was reportedly stabbed multiple times while in prison over the weekend ... after he was involved in an altercation with another inmate.

The attack, according to the Associated Press, happened inside Florida's United States Penitentiary Coleman on Sunday.

The outlet reports the 59-year-old disgraced sports doc suffered wounds to his back and his chest ... though as of Monday, he was in stable condition. No further details surrounding the incident were released.

We've reached out to United States Penitentiary officials for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Nassar is currently serving decades behind bars ... after hundreds of female gymnasts -- including former Team USA stars Aly Raisman and Jordyn Wieber -- testified that he sexually abused them.

Nassar has been involved in at least one conflict with a fellow inmate before ... back in 2018, his attorney said he was assaulted just hours after he was released into general population at the United States Penitentiary in Tucson, AZ.

The incident actually led to his transfer to United States Penitentiary Coleman.

Story developing ...

Megan Rapinoe is retiring from soccer -- but she's got one last thing to achieve on her checklist before doing so ... winning another World Cup.

The longtime U.S. women's soccer legend -- who's been on the national team since '06 -- made the announcement Saturday at a presser, telling reporters this upcoming tourney would be her last as a professional ... and that she'd be hanging up her cleats afterward.

She does say there'll be more to come for her down the road -- presumably meaning she'll still be involved in soccer in some capacity -- but first, her focus is on snagging the gold.

During her remarks ... MR got a little choked up as she reflected on her storied career, thanking teammates, coaches, fans and everyone who's supported her over the years. She also touched on the game itself and commented on just how far it's taken her in her life.

She also shouts out her partner, WNBA star Sue Bird, for giving her inspiration in coming to the decision -- ICYMI, SB announced her retirement from pro basketball just last year.

Megan's thoughts are touching ... and it's a huge moment, seeing how she's been on several U.S. Women's Soccer teams, having played with some of the greats of the modern era. She's played with the likes of Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Hope Solo and so many others ... and is, by and large, considered to be one of the final players of the old guard to still be on the pitch today. She's also served as a captain on the team for years now.

Of course, her accolades are many. Megan's helped the U.S. win the World Cup twice, and she's also led the U.S. to a gold medal in the Olympics before. MR's won a lot of awards, too, including the Golden Boot and Golden Ball from FIFA for her standout performances.

Lance Armstrong's opinions on transgender athletes have rubbed a lot of people the wrong way recently … including a pair of his "Stars on Mars" castmates, who actually confronted him about it all while he was on the competition show.

The former cycling star has shared his two cents on the matter over the last few weeks repeatedly ... especially after filming an episode of his "The Forward" podcast with Caitlyn Jenner.

On the pod, he and Jenner spoke about trans women competing against biological females -- and the two appeared to share the opinion that there should be a separate category for the parties, due to what they believed was an unfair advantage of being born a male.

While filming "Stars on Mars," Armstrong made no attempts to distance himself from that stance ... telling Ronda Rousey he doesn't see why it'd be "unfair" to introduce a new category to the sports competition landscape to assuage the issues.

Quickly, however, Tinashe jumped in to confront him over the thought process.

"We just have to care about if you other-ise people," the "2-On" singer said on the new Fox show. "It's not good for their mental health."

When Armstrong asked her to expound, she added, "Like, kind of, like, exclude them from the same spaces and places that everyone else is."

Armstrong swore he wasn't trying to exclude anyone with his ideas ... saying, "I sound like a right-wing lunatic. I'm not. I'm the most liberal person -- but from a sporting perspective ..."

But, Tinashe wasn't having any of it ... later telling Fox cameras, "I definitely didn't think that he should be the spokesperson for that."

Adam Rippon -- an openly gay figure skater -- also chimed in on Armstrong's remarks ... making it clear he was not a fan of them either.

"That is so disheartening," he said.

Rippon further explained he believed Armstrong's words could shake up the whole dynamic of the show going forward.

The NFL's full of blazing-fast guys, but there's one who's a little bit quicker than the rest ... and no, it's not Tyreek Hill.

That distinction belongs to 28-year-old Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Devon Allen ... who happens to be an elite-level hurdler. The 3x track national champ and NCAA football champ recently competed in a USATF event in NYC, where he clocked a 13.04, the fourth-fastest time in the world in 2023.

Days after the race (where Devon finished 2nd), TMZ Sports talked to the former Oregon track star and 2x Olympian ... and asked him if he was the fastest player in the league.

"I definitely am [the fastest]," Allen said matter of factly.

Of course, Hill (60m) and DK Metcalf (100m), two bonafide stars considered among the fastest in the league, also recently tried their hand on the track ... something Devon says he respects.

"I'm not gonna roast those guys because what they did was impressive. I raced Tyreek Hill when I was in high school. We raced and he smoked me when we were in high school and DK Metcalf ran a 10.3 a couple years ago is super impressive for a guy that's 6'4", 6'3", 225, but I think especially at the top level, top 5, top 10 in the world, there's a big gap in terms of just performance."

We also talked to Devon, who once ran a 12.84 in the 110m hurdles (the world record is 12.80), about his return to football ... after a 6-year layoff following college, when he focused solely on track.

"The first whirlwind for me was training camp, getting thrown into the fire, and realizing this isn't college anymore. I played at the University of Oregon, which is high-level ball, but the NFL takes it the another level," Allen told us.

Simone Biles is BACK -- the 26-year-old gymnastics legend is set to make her big return to the sport at the U.S. Classic later this year ... her first competition since withdrawing from multiple events at the Olympics to focus on her mental health.

Team USA announced Wednesday Biles will compete at the Aug. 5 event ... saying, "BILES IS BACK."

By the way, Biles is no stranger to the competition -- she's the five-time women's champion.

Biles famously backed out of the individual all-around and the majority of the team final at the Tokyo Games in July 2021 ... revealing she was dealing with a bad case of the "twisties," which could have resulted in serious injury had she fought through the issue.

Biles -- the seven-time Olympic medalist -- went on to win a bronze medal in the balance beam finals ... but since traveling back to the States in 2021, she has only trained her skills in the gym.

"It means more than all of the golds," the two-time Olympian told the Today Show about her third-place finish in 2021.

On Team USA's announcement on Instagram, two-time Olympic gold skier Mikaela Shiffrin celebrated Biles' return ... writing, "Yes!! 🙌 "

Recently, there's been plenty more for the gymnastics G.O.A.T. to celebrate about -- she tied the knot with the Green Bay Packers' Jonathan Owens in May ... and who knows, maybe the couple could take another honeymoon in Paris ... at the 2024 Summer Olympics!!!

Shaun White and Nina Dobrev are basically morphing into the same person at this point -- the couple threw on some matching outfits and shared an electric scooter as they zoomed through NYC this week!!

The retired snowboarder and his actress girlfriend decided to squeeze together on one vehicle as they coasted to their destination ... but they didn't seem to mind, 'cause they were both smiling from ear to ear!!

To make things even more adorable, White and Dobrev matched for the occasion ... rocking all black tops and bottoms, white shoes and sunglasses.

36-year-old Shaun took control of the steering during the joyride ... while Nina, 34, appeared to multitask and check out her phone. Gotta give the "Vampire Diaries" star some props 'cause she was wearing a bit of a heel!!

White and Dobrev first met in 2019 ... and have been inseparable ever since.

Offset made the most of his time at Paris Fashion Week ... which he capped off by burning down the runway with a surprise performance!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained video of Offset blazing through the perfect song for modeling ... his Metro Boomin-produced classic hit "Ric Flair Drip," which he performed Tuesday during the Li-Ning Menswear Spring/Summer 2024 show.

The collection is designed by Oscar Wang and titled "My-Verse" ... which Offset ripped through his on the track.

Offset virtually managed to be in 2 places at once for the evening ... Pharrell also had his debut fashion show as Louis Vuitton's Men's Creative Director, and Offset was also among the many celebrity guests to support. He even dapped up Jay-Z at the event.