Reigning Olympic Track & Field champion Athing Mu will not have the opportunity to defend her 800-meter title in Paris after falling during the event's US Track & Field Trials final on Monday. 

About 200 meters into the race, Mu uncharacteristically got tangled up in the middle of the track and lost her footing. Coming to her defense, her coach Bobby Kersee said that she had been spiked, suffered track burns, and hurt her ankle. The 22-year-old filed an appeal that saw USA Track and Field officials sorting through replays, but it was later denied. 

As a result, Mu did not qualify to run the 800-meter at the 2024 Summer Games, as the US has a standing rule that only the top three Trials finishers make the official Olympic-bound roster. 

At her first-ever Olympics in 2021, Mu took home the gold at the 800-meter final, crossing the line in 1:55.21 to break the American record.

"I’ve coached it, I’ve preached it, I’ve watched it," Kersee told The Associated Press after Mu's appeal was rejected. "And here’s another indication that regardless of how good we are, we can leave some better athletes home than other countries have. It’s part of our American way."

Mu finished more than 22 seconds behind eventual winner Nia Akins, but could still make the Olympic team as part of the US relay pool. Mu was a key part of the Team USA's 4x400-meter gold medal win three years ago in Tokyo.

Wimbledon will begin on Monday, with French Open-winner Iga Swiatek looking to take her first grass court major title. 

Others looking to challenge her include Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, Ons Jabeur, and 2023 Wimbledon champ Marketa Vondrousova. 

Grass isn't the strongest surface for some of the world’s heaviest hitters, including Swiatek, Gauff, and Sabalenka. Jabeur, meanwhile, will be looking to win her first Grand Slam singles title after falling short in last year’s final. 

But the tournament’s proximity to the Paris Olympics — combined with the fact that the Olympics will be played on clay courts — has resulted in a number of key players dropping out of the Summer Games.

Sabalenka, Jabeur, and American Madison Keys are among a group of top players declining to participate in the Summer Games, citing health and fitness concerns in relation to a tight schedule played on multiple surfaces.

"We have decided that the quick change of surface and the body’s adaptation required would put my knee at risk and jeopardize the rest of my season," Jabeur posted on social media regarding her Olympic withdrawal.

"It’s too much with the scheduling," Sabalenka echoed. "It’s just too much. I made the decision to take care of my health."

Both Swiatek and Gauff, who excel on clay courts, are still planning to participate this summer in Paris.

Despite a recent slump, the Aces are off to a three-game winning streak following Thursday’s 95-83 victory over Chicago.

Star point guard Chelsea Gray, who spent the first part of the season rehabbing from a lingering injury suffered in last year's WNBA Finals, has provided some much-needed depth in her return to the starting lineup. A'ja Wilson, Jackie Young, and Kelsey Plum all scored 20+ points in the win, with Wilson extending her league record of consecutive regular season games with 20+ points to 20.

But all was not lost for Chicago rookie Angel Reese, who tied Candace Parker's WNBA record for longest double-double streak in a single season with her ninth double-double in a row.

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Compliments abound for the Aces after the whistle blew on what was Theresa Weatherspoon and Becky Hammon’s first WNBA matchup as head coaches. The WNBA legends played together on the New York Liberty from 1999 to 2003.

"Look at [Hammon's] team," Weatherspoon told reporters in a joint press conference with her former teammate. "What they’re doing, where they’re going, how they play, and how much fun they have — that’s how we play. It’s beautiful to see, and of course a measuring stick."

The 2024 US Olympic Track & Field Trials returned to action on Thursday, with track stars Sha’Carri Richardson and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone both in the mix. 

Richardson is competing in the 200-meter after winning the 100-meter and securing her spot on the Olympic team. McLaughlin-Levron, meanwhile, is competing in the 400-meter hurdles — an event in which she currently holds the world record. 

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McLaughlin-Levron won Thursday's heat handily, and will now advance to Saturday's semifinal. Her time of 53.07 bested Anna Cockrell's second-fastest time by 1.64 seconds.

"[That] felt good," she told NBC after the win. "I'm honestly excited to be out here and shake off the nerves. My stride pattern felt good. Just getting the feel of the rounds again; I really feel good."

Richardson also made light work of Thursday's heats, winning the 200-meter hurdles with a time of 21.99 — the second-fastest recorded this year — and advancing with ease to the semifinals.

"I’m really just focusing in on executing the curve to make the straightaway much, much easier," she told reporters. "Any time I touch the track it's an opportunity for me to work on my best self."

Elsewhere, discus thrower Valarie Allman confirmed that she too would defend her Tokyo medal in Paris this summer, winning her event on Thursday by more than eight meters. 

Nominees for the ESPY Awards dropped Wednesday, with Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark topping the list with three nods, followed closely by Aces' A'ja Wilson with two. 

Both Wilson and Clark snagged Best Athlete in Women’s Sports nominations, alongside Coco Gauff and Nelly Korda. Clark was also nominated for the Best Record-breaking Performance for breaking Pete Maravich’s record to become the NCAA DI all-time scoring leader. Joining her in that category is newly retired Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, who became the winningest coach in NCAA basketball history this year. 

LSU gymnast Haleigh Bryant and USC basketball player JuJu Watkins was nominated in the Best Breakthrough Athlete category, while superstars Simone Biles and UConn's Paige Bueckers are among the nominees for Best Comeback Athlete. 

Boston College lacrosse player Kayla Martello and Gotham FC’s Midge Purce received nominations for the Best Championship Performance.

In addition to the nominations, ESPN announced that South Carolina coach Dawn Staley will receive the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance for her work in advocating for cancer research and bone marrow donors as well as her advocacy for women’s sports. Past recipients include Dick Vitale, Kay Yow, and Liam Hendriks. 

"I’m grateful to ESPN for their coverage and the honor of this award," Staley said in a statement. "We’ve come a long way, and we will continue to move the women’s game forward and push for equity and visibility for our sport."