Olympics

Kayla Harrison is locked in on her UFC 307 opp Ketlen Vieira ... but the 2x Olympic gold medalist tells TMZ Sports she's SO prepared, she's ready to also kick both Julianna Peña and Raquel Pennington's asses, too -- same night!

We caught up with the UFC bantamweight contender this week ... ahead of what'll almost surely be a title eliminator when she squares off with Vieira in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.

While she is not scheduled to face Pennington or Peña ... Harrison said she's heard that if either the champ or challenger drops out of the title fight, she could be called upon to step in.

Wrestling star Alan Vera -- who just narrowly missed qualifying for Team USA's Olympic roster earlier this year -- has sadly died at 33 years old ... after he suffered a medical emergency while playing soccer earlier this summer.

USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender announced the tragic news on Wednesday ... revealing Vera had been in the hospital fighting to recover from a July 29 cardiac arrest when he passed away.

"The wrestling community mourns the loss of a great champion, whose incredible life impacted so many within USA Wrestling and around the world," Bender said.

LeBron James may have played in his last Olympics, but that doesn't mean the Games won't be part of him forever ... the NBA legend got a new tattoo -- the Olympic rings!

The Los Angeles Lakers superstar recently hit up famed artist Ganga Tattoo just months after he led Team USA to a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The five interlaced rings were tatted near his right elbow ... with the logo representing the union of five continents, America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.

Team USA rugby star Ilona Maher has skyrocketed in fame this year ... so could a career in Hollywood be in her future??

Well, don't count it out ... 'cause she tells TMZ Sports she's already got an idea for how she could get on one of the biggest shows in TV!!

We caught up with the bronze medalist out and about at recent Emmy festivities ... when we naturally asked if she'd ever consider giving her acting chops a try at some point.

Simone Biles took some time from her post-Olympics tour this week to get a new finger tattoo ... and, check it out, it seems to be a tribute to Jonathan Owens.

The seven-time gold medalist stopped by Syzygy Precision Tattooing in Phoenix, Ariz. while on a brief break from her appearances in the Gold Over America shows ... and she first got a tiny "J" etched into her left hand from tattoo artist Sydney Smith.

While it's unclear exactly what the significance of it is ... the safe guess appears to be it's an homage to her NFL player husband's first initial.

Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles is moving forward in the fight to get her bronze medal back -- filing an appeal in Swiss court to overturn the controversial ruling surrounding her Olympic floor routine results.

Chiles' legal team released a statement on Monday ... saying they're looking to get the Court of Arbitration for Sport's decision reversed once and for all by filing docs in the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland.

Chiles' reps claim there are two major issues with the handling of the decision -- the first being the CAS not honoring her "right to be heard" by refusing to watch video that will prove the initial inquiry into her score was submitted within the permitted timeframe.

Jordan Chiles' Wednesday got a whole lot better thanks to Flavor Flav ... 'cause hours after she was in tears over her lost Olympic medal -- the rapper gifted her a custom bronze clock that cheered her up right away.

Flav waited for the perfect moment to dole out the present to the Team USA gymnastics star -- at the VMAs in New York City, while the two were on stage presenting an award.

Flavor Flav turned to Chiles mid-speech and told her, "I know they tried to take your medal away. But you know what? I got you something that they can't take away from you."

Jordan Chiles is still clearly not over losing her Olympic bronze medal ... as she was seen fighting back tears while discussing the ordeal on Wednesday.

The emotional scene played out at the Forbes Power Women's Summit in New York City ... after the Team USA gymnast was asked to open up about the Paris Games controversy for the first time since it all went down.

She had to pause for several seconds to collect herself before she get her words out ... and when she ultimately answered the questions -- she said she felt like she had lost a part of her when officials took her bronze away.

2:08 PM PT -- Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital tells TMZ Sports that Dickson Ndiema's cause of death was due to "inhalation burns and sepsis with resultant pulmonary edema."

Pulmonary edema happens when too much fluid is in the lungs which makes it difficult for someone to breathe.

The ex-boyfriend of Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei has died from the injuries he sustained after allegedly killing the runner in a fiery attack, according to local reports.

Dickson Ndiema succumbed to the ailments at a local hospital, authorities said. At the time, it was reported he suffered severe burns in the domestic violence incident that claimed Cheptegei's life.

"At the ICU he developed respiratory failure as a result of the severe airway burns and sepsis that led to his eventual death on Monday at 6:30 PM despite life-saving measures," Kenya's Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital CEO Dr. Philip Kirwa said.

Rebecca Cheptegei -- the Olympic distance runner who sustained burns on roughly 75 percent of her body after being attacked by her boyfriend -- has died at the age of 33.

The Uganda Athletics Federation confirmed the devastating news via X on Thursday ... saying, "We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei early this morning who tragically fell victim to domestic violence."

According to local authorities, Cheptegei -- who placed 44th in the women's marathon at the Paris Olympics -- got into an argument with her partner, Dickson Ndiema, prior to the burning on Sunday.

Washington Spirit midfielder Croix Bethune will not play again this season ... and it's all because she hurled out a ceremonial first pitch at a Nationals game last week.

The 23-year-old was tapped by the MLB org. to kick off its tilt with the Yankees on Aug. 28 following her gold medal success at the Paris Games ... and, initially, everything appeared to go off without a hitch.

The soccer star -- who was at the D.C. game with several other Olympians -- toed the rubber, threw the ball to a catcher ... and was all smiles throughout the process.

Viral Olympic breaker Rachael Gunn -- AKA "Raygun" -- is issuing a mea culpa to the entire community for all the backlash it faced following her Paris 2024 performance ... saying despite the end results, she truly tried her best.

Raygun did a sit-down interview with "The Project" on Wednesday ... where she addressed all the hoopla surrounding her infamous routine last month -- including the not-so-nice reactions.

"It is really sad to hear those criticisms, and I am very sorry for the backlash that the community has experienced," Raygun said. "But I can't control how people react."

Distance runner Rebecca Cheptegei -- who just competed in the 2024 Olympics in Paris -- was set on fire by her boyfriend in a brutal attack in Kenya over the weekend, cops say.

Trans Nzoia County Police Commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom told reporters the incident happened on Sunday ... after the athlete and her partner, Dickson Ndiema, had gotten into an argument over property.

"During the altercation," Kosiom said, "the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her."

The USA men's 3x3 squad failed to bring home the hardware, but Jrue Holiday thinks he and his NBA brothers could yield different results if they teamed up for the Olympics ... telling TMZ Sports he likes their chances!!

We caught up with the Celtics champion and Paris gold medalist while he was working an honorary shift at Raising Cane's in Boston this week ... and he talked all about his "whirlwind" 2024.

"It's been fun," Holiday said. "Winning's not too bad."

Caitlin Clark had a pretty good night Wednesday -- she broke yet another WNBA record, logged a big victory ... and got to meet Simone Biles!!

It all happened at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiana ... as Clark and the Fever were taking on the Connecticut Sun in a huge matchup.

Biles pulled up to watch the contest with Gabby Thomas -- and the two Olympic superstars were treated to quite the show from Clark.

Team USA rugby player Ilona Maher is continuing to ride the high of her 2024 Paris Olympic experience ... as she just posed in front of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cameras with her medal!!

The publication announced the bronze winner was its September digital issue cover model on Wednesday ... sharing the news with a ton of shots from a photoshoot in New York.

Maher joins names like Livvy Dunne, Angel Reese and Naomi Osaka who have shown off their athletic figures for the S.I. photogs in recent years.