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Top five moments from the 2022 Winter Paralympic Games

Team USA’s Oksana Masters (Michael Steele/Getty Images)

After nine days of thrilling competition, the 2022 Winter Paralympics have come to a close. The Beijing Games were filled with bold performances, record-breaking runs and compelling wins.

We break down the top five moments below:

1. Ukraine sweeps the biathlon podium

Ukraine completed a podium sweep in the women’s standing 10km race, with Iryna Bui beating out fellow countrywoman Oleksandra Kononova by 13 seconds for gold and Liudmyla Liashenko finishing just behind Kononova for bronze.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was top of mind for Ukraine’s Paralympians, and Bui addressed those conflicting emotions after the race.

“We would like to dedicate our results and medals to each and every Ukrainian and all the soldiers in the Ukrainian army who protect us,” said Bui, per Japan’s Kyodo News. “With our performance, we represent the whole country, and this is our battle, here.”

Kononova and Bui also topped the podium in women’s middle distance standing. Kononova clinched gold by a winning margin of 28.5 seconds, while Bui took home bronze.

2. Oksana Masters breaks records

Oksana Masters broke the Team USA record for the most medals at a single Paralympics, medaling in seven events in Beijing. The 32-year-old leaves the Winter Games with one gold and three silvers in para cross-country skiing and two golds and one silver in para biathlon, bringing her career total to a U.S. Paralympic-record 14 medals.

3. Brenna Huckaby brings home the hardware

Brenna Huckaby won bronze in snowboard cross and gold in banked slalom in Beijing, adding to her two medals from the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympics. With the first-place finish, Huckaby tied Dutch snowboarder Bibian Mentel-Spee’s record for the most gold medals by a Paralympic snowboarder.

Prior to the Winter Paralympics, Huckaby petitioned to compete in the Games when SB-LL1 banked slalom and snowboard cross were removed from the lineup due to limited participation. Huckaby’s initial request was denied, but the American gold medalist pursued an injunction that led to the ruling being overturned, allowing her to compete in Beijing.

4. China dominates the medal count

Team China ran away with the lead in the the medal count at the 2022 Games. Mengqiu Zhang won gold in the Super-G standing, China’s first individual para-alpine gold, as well as the giant slalom standing events, adding to her three silver medals for a haul of five medals.

Para-cross country athlete Hongqiong Yang clinched gold in the long-distance sitting, middle-distance sitting and sprint sitting events. Yujie Guo topped the podium as well, winning Beijing’s para biathlon sprint standing competition. China closed out the Paralympics with a total of 61 medals, including 18 gold.

5. Canada wins big

Team Canada had an impressive Paralympic outing, placing third in the final medal count. Mollie Jepsen added two medals to her country’s haul, winning gold in the women’s downhill standing and silver in the women’s giant slalom standing. The dominant Winter Paralympics performance earned Jespen a spot as Canada’s flag bearer for the closing ceremony.

Para cross county star Natalie Wilkie also came up big for Canada, securing three medals in Beijing. Wilkie took home gold in the long distance standing and spring standing events and silver in the standing middle distance race. The 21-year-old now has six career Paralympic medals.

Cameron Brink likes Caitlin Clark for 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year

Cameron Brink poses with Caitlin Clark at 2024 wnba draft in new york
Cameron Brink poses with fellow draftee — and possible WNBA ROY —Caitlin Clark. (Photo by Emily Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images)

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

Watch more of Kelley on the Street:

Dash winger Maria Sanchez confirms trade request a day shy of NWSL deadline

María Sanchez of Houston Dash during a NWSL game
In December, Sanchez signed a new three-year contract with the club worth $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. (Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images)

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

Seattle Storm debut state-of-the-art $64 million practice facility

Jewell Loyd #24 of the Seattle Storm during warms up during practice on July 11, 2020 at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida
Jewell Loyd, seen here practicing at Florida's IMG Academy, and her team are in for a major upgrade this season. (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

Mystics relocate game to accommodate Caitlin Clark fans

Maya Caldwell, Erica Wheeler, and Lexie Hull of the Indiana Fever celebrate Caitlin Clark
Get ready — Caitlin Clark is coming to town. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.

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