Olympian Payton Otterdahl Forget the Gold, Here's a Diamond!!! Proposes to GF After Narrow Loss
Payton Otterdahl may not have won any medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but the U.S. shot putter nabbed an even greater prize ... love.
The U.S. Olympian proposed to his girlfriend, Maddy Nilles, beneath the Eiffel Tower and went on to share the sweet news with his followers on Sunday.
PO took to Instagram over the weekend, sharing several adorable photos from the engagement ... which showed the athlete getting down on one knee right next to Paris' most iconic landmark. Maddy, for her part, looked delighted and surprised by the gesture ... and said yes.
USA Fencer Nick Itkin Olympic Village Is 'Good Vibes' ... Despite Rumors
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Coco Gauff and Emelia Chatfield may not like the Olympic Village, but USA fencer Nick Itkin says he's havin' a great time in Paris ... telling TMZ Sports it's been "good vibes" since touching down with his fellow athletes.
We talked to the right-handed foil fencer this week ... fresh off big names like Gauff, a Team USA tennis star, revealing her teammates were leaving the village due to its living conditions -- i.e., overcrowded bathrooms.
Haitian hurdler Chatfield also ripped the athlete residential area ... claiming the cafeteria simply wasn't up to snuff.
3 Time Olympian John Roethlisberger 'Memba Him?!
American gymnast and 3-time Olympian John Roethlisberger was 22 years old when he first represented Team USA at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics -- and later qualified for the Summer Games in Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000).
John comes from a long line of family gymnasts including his father, Fred Roethlisberger, who was a member of the 1968 Olympics gymnastics team, and his sister, Marie Roethlisberger, was an alternate for the 1984 Olympic gymnastics team -- where Mary Lou Retton made history!
After retiring, John started an annual summer Gymnastics Camp and is a correspondent for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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Italian Swimmer Thomas Ceccon Sick and Tired of the Olympic Village ... I'm Sleeping Outside!!!
Thomas Ceccon's putting his bed where his mouth is ... lying on a blanket and catching a few winks after publicly slamming the Olympic Village.
The Italian swimmer was filmed taking a nap outside in a post from Saudi Arabian rower Husein Alireza ... fully stretched underneath a park bench, backpack down as a pillow.
Alireza wrote, "Rest today, conquer tomorrow," on the post ... and, it's getting a ton of circulation online -- mainly 'cause the dude publicly trashed conditions in the village.
Noah Lyles Eat Your Heart Out, NBA Champs ... Literally World Champion!!!
Noah Lyles is a true world champion ... crowned the "World's Fastest Man" after winning the 100m dash -- months after he told NBA champs to stop calling themselves world champions.
The Olympian just took gold in the men's 100m in a heart-stopping finish ... narrowly edging out Jamaica's Kishane Thompson by .005 seconds to win Olympic Gold.
NOAH LYLES’ OLYMPIC DREAM COMES TRUE!
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 4, 2024 @NBCOlympics
100M GOLD MEDALIST. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/qR6bkXLHhE
In fact, the race was so close commentators initially thought Thompson won ... before the photo finish proved otherwise.
Taylor Swift My Olympic Girls Will Never Go Out of Style!!!
Taylor Swift is all in with the Paris Olympics, narrating a promotional video celebrating the U.S. women who have kicked ass.
Waiting for your permission to load TikTok Post.
The track to the promo is her 1989 hit, "Style." Taylor pays homage to the 2024 greats ... Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky and Sha'Carri Richardson.
Gotta say ... the words mirror Taylor's own journey ... “Never be afraid to show them who you are, especially when the whole world is watching. Because there’s no one way to be the best. No one way to inspire everyone else who will someday follow. You do what you love. You love what you do. You believe in your style, whatever it is.”
Celebrity Scramble Guess Who!
Smothered inside this professional athlete is a talented boy born and raised in Green Cove Springs, Florida and has been flapping his fins since age 4. Do you have the athletic capabilities to know the swimmer underneath the cap?
He specializes in freestyle, butterfly AND the individual medley ... and is an 8-time Olympic gold medalist to back it all up! No surprise he holds several world records including the 100m butterfly.
Paris 2024 will mark his 3rd time back at the games!
Blow your whistle and see if you can guess the tatted Olympic stud!
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French Pole Vaulter My Pole Betrayed Me ... Clips Bar with Privates!!!
A pole vaulter's walking away empty-handed because his pole malfunctioned ... no, not the one he uses to vault -- the one barely contained by his leotard!
Anthony Ammirati -- a prominent French pole vaulter -- had his first heat Saturday morning ... and, while he expected to flip over the bar and land in the final, he ended up catching his smaller vaulting pole on the crossbar.
French athlete Anthony Ammirati failed the 5.70 height pole vault because of his asset. #IKYK #Paris2024 https://t.co/qWnr1QbFzy
— @pauloinmanila and 99 others (@pauloMDtweets) August 3, 2024 @pauloMDtweets
Check out the clip ... AA goes up just fine, but when he's coming back down he ends up knocking the bar down with his impressive bulge -- and down comes the bar.
Olympian Imane Khelif Emotional After Quarterfinal Win ... Week of Gender Controversy
Update
2:05 PM PT -- Yep, no way this controversy's going away ... 'cause Republican VP candidate J.D. Vance just mentioned it during his rally in Georgia -- claiming the far left thinks it's okay for men to punch women in the face.
Imane Khelif's dealt with a very emotional week ... with tons of people online questioning her gender and calling her names -- and, she let it all out after her quarterfinal win.
The Algerian Olympian beat Hungary's Anna Luca Hamori Saturday morning ... winning by a unanimous decision in her QF match -- and, tears immediately came pouring down her face.
Imane Khelif bursts into tears after her victory, advancing to semifinals even after millions of people say cruel, hateful things about her online. Her strength and resilience is unbelievable.
— Women Posting W's (@womenpostingws) August 3, 2024 @womenpostingws
pic.twitter.com/C62AuYMttZ
Watch the video, Imane leaves the ring and her team has to comfort her -- with racking sobs coursing through her. It ain't just about the punishment in the ring obviously ... it's about all the pressure outside of it too.
Adele Yeah, I'll Sing 'Hello' in A Minute ... Let Me Watch the Race First!!!
Adele's getting the gold medal in Olympics obsession ... 'cause it seems she's so into the event she put her entire show on pause -- all to watch an 11-second race.
The singer-songwriter performed in Munich, Germany Saturday ... and, in the middle of the show she took a break to watch the women's 100-meter final -- broadcasting it on the stadium's massive screens
Adele halts her show in Munich to display the Women’s 100m Final at the #Olympics. pic.twitter.com/98n9SrLGj5
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) August 3, 2024 @PopCrave
A hush falls over the crowd as the race begins ... taking just under 11 seconds for Julien Alfred from Saint Lucia to win the gold. U.S.A. stars Sha'carri Richardson and Melissa Jefferson took silver and bronze respectively.
Simone Biles I'm Coming For That Gold Record ... Needs to Sweep Final Events
Simone Biles took another step toward co-owning a gold-medal record ... but, she's going to need to be perfect over her last two events to etch her name in history once more.
The most decorated U.S. gymnast in Olympics history won a gold medal in the vault final Saturday ... the seventh gold medal of her career, putting her just two away from tying the record of nine gold medals -- the most of any female gymnast.
SHOOK 🔥@Simone_Biles just nailed the Biles II on vault!
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) August 3, 2024 @TeamUSA
📺: @NBCOlympics & @peacock #ParisOlympics
pic.twitter.com/RkL89htBiP
If you haven't watched the event yet -- spoiler alert -- but, it's worth checking out anyway, 'cause Simone's still pulling off moves the world's barely ever seen ... some named after her BTW.
Terence Crawford No Regrets Missing Olympics ... Gold Medal Wasn't My Dream!
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Terence Crawford's career is far from over and he's achieved more than just about any active professional boxer ... there's just one thing he's missing, an Olympic medal.
But, Bud ain't sweatin' it!
TMZ Sports spoke with the undefeated champ as the 2024 games in Paris were in full swing -- including boxing -- a sport Crawford currently dominates.
Sexy Olympic Swimmers In Speedos ... Say Less!
Swimmer's take your mark ... and show 'em what you're workin' with! These famous fellas are the total PACKAGE and making quite the splash with these snaps!
The Olympics are in full swing and after seeing these pros in action, you yourself will be swimming circles around these sexy studs in speedos!
Keep an eye out for USA's Hunter Armstrong flexing poolside and Brazil's Guilherme Basseto is also making quite the flash splash!
We've assembled shredded swimmers from all over ... Australia, Brazil, France and let's just say: God Bless the USA!
Dip into our gallery and see which pro swimmers are sportin' some speedos!
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Steph Curry Fanboys Over US Table Tennis Team ... Gets Signed Ball!!!
Stephen Curry is used to people approaching him asking for autographs and pictures, but the tables were turned in Paris -- with the Golden State Warriors superstar geeking out over the Team USA women's table tennis squad!!
The cool moment occurred at the men's basketball practice ... when Curry made sure to hang out with the guests of the hour -- and was handed the ball by one of the coaches. Curry then asked the team to add their Hancocks to the tiny surface area.
Curry returned the favor to the team ... as he signed some merch as well -- much to the group's delight.
Olympic Medalist Proposes To Teammate On Live TV ... She Said 'YES!'
Paris really is the City of Love ... 'cause Chinese badminton player Huang Yaqiong got more than just a gold medal at the Olympics -- she also received an engagement ring after her teammate proposed to her on live TV!
The beautiful moment happened right after Yaqiong and her partner Zheng Siwei beat South Korea in the badminton doubles contest at the Adidas Arena in Paris on Friday.
"I’ll love you forever! Will you marry me?"
— Li Zexin (@XH_Lee23) August 2, 2024 @XH_Lee23
"Yes! I do!"
OMG!!! Romance at the Olympics!!!❤️❤️❤️
Huang Yaqiong just had her "dream come true", winning a badminton mixed doubles gold medal🥇with her teammate Zheng Siwei
Then her boyfriend Liu Yuchen proposed! 🎉🎉🎉 pic.twitter.com/JxMIipF7ij
You can see the 30-year-old right-hander receiving her award at the medal ceremony when her boyfriend, and Team China badminton star Liu Yuchen, popped up for the big moment.
Logan Paul Walks Back Remark On Imane Khelif ... Amid Olympic Gender Controversy
Logan Paul is clarifying his comments on Algerian Olympic boxer Imane Khelif, admitting he might've jumped the gun in criticizing Olympic officials ... while still making it crystal clear he believes biological men should never compete against biological women.
ICYMI, Khelif won her opening-round contest against Angela Carini ... after the Italian boxer threw in the proverbial towel after 46 seconds.
Prior to this bout, it was revealed that Imane failed an undisclosed gender test in 2023, which made her ineligible for World Championships.