(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE San Francisco 2, Kansas City 0 St. Louis 2, Cleveland 1 San Diego 4, Chi White Sox 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE Boston 8, Minnesota 1 Boston 9, Minnesota 3 Detroit 4, Baltimore 3 Tampa Bay 4, Toronto 3 Texas 6, Seattle 5 LA Angels 9, Houston 8 NY Yankees 7, Oakland 4
NATIONAL LEAGUE Pittsburgh 2, Cincinnati 0 Atlanta 5, Miami 4 Chi Cubs 5, Washington 0 Milwaukee 10, Arizona 9 LA Dodgers 6, Colorado 5 NY Mets 2, Philadelphia 1
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PRESEASON Calgary 6 Seattle 1 Florida 3, Nashville 2 Philadelphia 6, Washington 2 Utah 5, St. Louis 3 NY Rangers 3, Boston 2 Edmonton 3, Winnipeg 2 (OT) Florida 6, Nashville 2 NY Islanders 4, New Jersey 2 Ottawa 6, Toronto 5 (OT) Vegas 4, San Jose 2
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE Denver 26, Tampa Bay 7 Green Bay 30, Tennessee 14 Indianapolis 21, Chicago 16 Minnesota 34, Houston 7 NY Giants 21, Cleveland 15 Philadelphia 15, New Orleans 12 Pittsburgh 20, LA Chargers 10 Carolina 36, Las Vegas 22 Seattle 24, Miami 3 Baltimore 28, Dallas 25 Detroit 20, Arizona 13 LA Rams 27, San Francisco 24 Kansas City 22, Atlanta 17
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS Las Vegas 78, Seattle 67 (Las Vegas leads series 1-0)) New York 83, Atlanta 69 (NY leads series 1-0) Connecticut 93, Indiana 69 (Conn. leads series 1-0) Minnesota 102, Phoenix 95 (Min. leads series 1-0)
(PARIS) — Noah Lyles came up short in his quest for the 100-meter, 200-meter double at the Paris Olympics. He did get the bronze, but had been aiming to be the first American to win both in 40 years.
Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo took the gold in 19.46 seconds, running away from American Kenny Bednarek — who took silver — and Lyles. Lyles was the favorite in the event, but ran only 19.70.
Usain Bolt is the last person to accomplish the 100 meters and 200 meters — in 2016 — when he did it for the third straight Olympics. Carl Lewis was the last American to win the 100 and 200 when he did the double at the Los Angeles Games in 1984.
Lyles won the 100 meters on Tuesday in a historically close race. He edged out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by just 0.005 seconds.
Lyles was attempting to win three golds at the Paris Games by also winning in the 100-meter relay. Lewis is also the last person to win the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4×100-meter relay when he did it in 1984.
Following his win in the 100 meters, Lyles was asked how he felt about completing the triple.
“Pretty confident,” he said. “I can’t lie.”
Lyles ran the anchor leg in the qualifying heats Thursday, taking first place in the group. The final will be held Friday at 1:47 p.m. ET.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Five-time Olympic swimmer Dara Torres felt nervous about asking her doctor if she could compete three weeks after giving birth.
Her doctor asked her to wait. She could start some light exercise tomorrow, though.
Torres, now the head coach of Boston College’s swimming and diving teams, remembers running into her doctor 10 days later at the gym.
“I don’t know if the endorphins were going, because I was at a gym and I was working out and I was feeling good,” Torres told ABC News. But she asked her doctor, “I have a meet in a week and a half. Can I swim in it?”
Torres did end up swimming in that meet. Her impressive performance there paved the way for her 2008 Olympic comeback only 16 months after giving birth.
The spotlight on elite athletes like Allyson Felix returning to competition after having a baby has contributed to increased resources for parents competing in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. However, shortfalls in research and guidance for athletes in the 12-week “postpartum” period following the birth of a child can hinder their return to competition and make it harder to achieve their peak performance.
Sparse advice for athletes post-childbirth
“There’s very little data out there about how postpartum women should progress, that’s supported by science. It’s mostly expert opinion,” said Dr. Ellen Casey, a sports medicine physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
This opinion is to listen to your body. “Your body’s going to tell you when you’ve pushed its limits,” said Dr. Melissa Simon, an OB-GYN at Northwestern Medicine.
“Just like if you’re trying to go from the couch to running a 5K, there’s a ramp up,” Simon said. “And for an athlete, that ramp up period obviously changes depending on the particular sport or event that they’re participating in.”
Olympian Ashley Twichell got back in the pool seven weeks after delivery. “I vividly remember my first day getting back in the water,” she told ABC News. Her time was slower than she hoped for. “My training times have never really gotten back to what they were pre-pregnancy,” but her competition times are catching up.
She remembers telling herself “this might be a little bit longer of a journey and maybe a little bit harder of a journey than I expected.”
Twichell is part of USA Swimming’s Board of Directors as the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee Athletes’ Advisory Council representative.
Torres, on the other hand, said that her joints were more flexible after giving birth, and her swim times reflected this. “My body changed, but it was for the better,” she said.
At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Torres shaved time off the 50-meter freestyle performance at the 2000 Games in Sydney.
“I was probably in the best shape of my life after I had my daughter,” said Torres.
But the scientific jury is out on how pregnancy and childbirth affect performance. According to a review of the existing studies regarding postpartum performance in athletes, most were considered low quality.
One of the few studies to examine this question looked at the 150 best female marathoners worldwide. Of the 37 who had given birth, 70% posted their best times after giving birth.
More research is needed to understand how postpartum athletes should return to competitive sports, and “we have a long ways to go,” said Pamela Geisel. Geisel, an exercise physiologist, is the director of performance and wellness services at HSS.
Regaining core strength is key
The postpartum bounceback can be hard for athletes — and anyone for that matter — for a multitude of reasons: increased metabolic demands with breastfeeding, sleep deprivation and postpartum blues or depression.
Healing the pelvic floor and abdominal wall after delivery can be a particular problem for a lot of new moms.
Torres said “my core was so mushy,” after giving birth. This “mushiness” can be due to a condition called rectus diastasis, where the connective tissue between the abs muscles is separated or torn.
“Some statistics say that 100% of pregnant women will have some degree of separation,” in this connective tissue for the baby to grow, said Casey.
For 30% to 60% of postpartum women, the tissue doesn’t go back to how it was before pregnancy, Casey continued. However, “just because it’s common does not make it normal,” she emphasized.
Pelvic floor and core strengthening exercises can reduce pain and other complications from rectus diastasis, she said. Other experts say Kegels and squats can help strengthen the pelvic floor, while planks and crunches help the core.
“Strengthening the core was pretty key for me,” Torres agreed.
New taskforce advocates for more resources
The USPOC launched the Women’s Health Taskforce in 2022, which has focused on creating plans to support the women of Team USA. Casey is a part of this 16 person panel that has generated guidelines for postpartum return.
Advocacy for parent athletes resulted in the first ever Olympic village nursery. The nursery offers a childcare center, free diapers and wipes, and private spaces for breastfeeding.
“This is probably the most parent friendly Olympics ever,” said Simon.
However, Geisel said there is still much work to be done.
“We have a group of athletes that had to choose between becoming mothers or winning gold medals,” in the past, Geisel said. “I’m excited about the future and that women no longer will have to choose one or the other.”
Sejal Parekh, M.D., is a practicing pediatrician and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
(NEW YORK) — The wife of Columbus Blue Jackets star Johnny Gaudreau is speaking out after the hockey player and his brother Matthew Gaudreau were killed last week while riding bicycles in New Jersey, according to police.
Meredith Gaudreau, who shares two children with her late husband, wrote about the bond she saw between her husband and his brother, who are also survived by their parents and two sisters, in a series of Instagram posts Sunday.
“John and Matty. U don’t hear one name without the other. Always side by side. Even in large group settings, u can find them hip to hip,” Meredith Gaudreau captioned a series of photos of the brothers. “John’s younger brother- but he looked up to Matty and relied on him for everythinggg. And Matty was always there. Absolute best friends and biggest fans of each other despite polar opposite personalities. Everyone wanted to be around them, including me.”
In separate posts, Meredith Gaudreau also reflected on the late NHL star as a father and a husband, writing, “Thank you for the best years of my life. Despite losing you, I am still the luckiest girl in the world to have been yours.”
Alongside photos of Johnny Gaudreau with their two children, she wrote, “The absolute best dad in the world. So caring and loving. The best partner to go through parenthood with. John never missed a single appointment. Was the best at putting the baby to sleep and the Apple of Noa’s eye. I love how much she looks like him. We are going to make you proud. We love you so so so much daddy.”
Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and Matthew Gaudreau, 29, were cycling in Salem County on Aug. 29 “close to the fog line of the roadway” when they were hit from behind by a driver who was trying to pass another car, according to New Jersey State Police.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean Higgins, who told police he had about 5 or 6 beers before the crash, failed a field sobriety test, according to the probable cause affidavit. Higgins is charged with two counts of death by auto, according to police.
His detention hearing is scheduled for Sept. 5.
The Gaudreau brothers’ deaths came the night before their sister Katie was set to get married, according to their former coaches.
Matthew Gaudreau’s wife, Madeline Gaudreau, is pregnant with their first child.
Madeline Gaudreau also wrote on Instagram Sunday about the brothers’ bond, and how she and her sister-in-law Meredith Gaudreau will now be there for each other.
“To Meredith- we will forever share this extreme heartbreak and terrible bond.. however , the boys couldn’t have picked stronger woman as their wives and mothers of their children,” she captioned a series of photos. “We will carry each other through every season .. as the boys would do for each other. They blessed us with children.. through them we will always have a part of them earth side with us forever.”
Describing the brothers as each other’s “biggest cheerleaders,” she added, “I find extreme comfort knowing they are together , as they always were. I know they are still messing with each other up there and will continue to look over their families.”
Both brothers played hockey at Boston College.
Before attending BC, the brothers played hockey at Gloucester Catholic High School in their native New Jersey. Matthew Gaudreau returned to the high school as a hockey coach, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said.
Johnny Gaudreau, a winger, won the Hobey Baker Award in 2014 as the best player in college hockey. He was also a finalist for the Calder Trophy, given to the league’s best rookie, in 2014-15, and named to the All-Star Game in 2015. He played nine seasons for the Calgary Flames before joining the Blue Jackets before the 2022-23 season. He had 12 goals and 48 assists last season.
The brothers’ uncle wrote in a statement after their death, “Last night we lost two husbands, two fathers, two sons, two brothers, two sons and brothers in law, two uncles, two nephews, two cousins, two family members two teammates, two friends but truly two amazing humans.”
ABC News’ Emily Shapiro, Ben Stein, Jason Volack, Kendall Coughlin and Lena Camilletti contributed to this report.