Category: Sports

(LONDON) — Wimbledon is about to get bigger. A lot bigger.

If all goes ahead as planned, the Wimbledon Park Project will be a new and ambitious endeavor aimed at transforming the historic Wimbledon grounds by adding an extra 27 acres of land while simultaneously preserving its legacy and enhancing its community impact, according to Andrew Wayro, Wimbledon’s senior design landscape manager.

“I think it’s fundamental to us going forward as a championship,” Wayro told ABC News in an interview a few days before the start of the 2024 Championships. “It’s fundamental for tennis in the U.K. and for us as a Grand Slam, but it’s also fundamental in terms of what we can offer in terms of other benefits to compete with the other Grand Slams as well as what we can offer to patrons who come to the event each year.”

The project promises to bring significant changes to Wimbledon by expanding the tennis landscape and offering new opportunities for both players and the local community.

The primary vision for the Wimbledon Park Project is to extend the grounds, more than doubling the size of the current grounds. Those changes would focus on the former golf course across the street, which is at the heart of the project.

The expansion aims to enhance practice arrangements and facilities for players, improve facilities for qualifying rounds — which is currently held offsite, the only Grand Slam where this happens — and offer a greater number of courts for wheelchair and junior competitions.

“We did a lot of work before we even submitted our first planning application to the Greater London Authority,” Wayro said. “We have made some adjustments, but by the time we got to submitting, we’d already worked through all the statutory consultees in the U.K., Historic England being a key partner in that. We also talked to people like Sports England and Natural England, to inform the design in the best possible way. We’ve made some minor tweaks along the way, like opening up an additional piece of parkland to the public because the Greater London Authority said that that was really important to them and that was something we could do.”

The project, as planned, is divided into several zones. The northern part of the site will host the qualifying rounds, creating a seamless transition for players who, after qualifying, will be just a stone’s throw away from Centre Court.

During the two-week period of The Championships, the grounds will utilize courts on the former golf course, including four main championship courts and the new Parkland Show Court which will have a capacity of up to 8,000 people and is currently slated to be built last, the crown jewel of the new project.

Wayro says that this setup not only increases flexibility in terms of practice but also allows the courts to rest and be maintained, ensuring they are in the best condition throughout the tournament. Meanwhile, following The Championships, these new courts will be opened to the community and offer locals the opportunity to play on grass courts, extending the Wimbledon experience beyond just spectatorship.

“We’re very keen to give as much benefit back as we can from the project,” says Wayro. “We’re very sure about the robustness of what we’ve designed in terms of this master plan.”

A significant component of the Wimbledon Park Project is the creation of additional parkland which will open up 9.7 hectares of parkland to the public year-round with another 1.1-hectare section that will be accessible outside of the championships.

“This transformation will essentially restore the landscape to its former glory, reminiscent of the works of the famous landscape architect Capability Brown, with rolling grasslands and scattered trees,” said Wayro.

However, during the championships, these new parklands will serve as entrances with airport-style security which will reduce queuing times and allow fans to quicker and easier access to the tournament itself.

The final phase of construction will see the Parkland Show Court built right in the middle of the burgeoning new expansion. Designed to seat 8,000 spectators, this court will feature a roof, meaning more matches can be played in inclement weather, as well as new sustainability features — in line with Wimbledon’s ongoing sustainability project — along with all hospitality and essential services that will be housed underneath the raked seating, “minimizing the footprint and maximizing functionality,” according to Wayro.

“Has it been as complicated as it sounds? Yeah, it has,” Wayro said. “It’s been very detailed because you need to capture all of the technical data from all these different disciplines and bring it together into a big comprehensive project like this. That takes time and we have been working on it for the past five years before we even sent it for the Greater London Authority to consider.”

Complicating matters even further is the fact that Wimbledon Park is a Grade II listed historical site and part of it is on the at-risk register due to its fragmented ownership and previous use.

Wayro said the new Wimbledon Park Project has addressed that by aiming to restore the landscape and bringing back historical features such as the original lake and opening up two brooks currently confined in concrete pipes along its perimeter. The ecological restoration will also include desilting the lake and enhancing existing habitats with reed beds and aquatic marginals — the goal being to not only return wildlife to the area but to grow the wildlife population with a minimum of 10% biodiversity net gain.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime project. There aren’t many that come along like this,” said Wayro. “After the 2012 Olympics, I think this is really the next biggest new park and it is a massive expansion in terms of sporting events.”

The next immediate step will be for Wimbledon to secure planning permission from the Greater London Authority with a decision expected later this year. If it is approved, it will take a minimum of a year before construction even begins, says Wayro, with the entire project expected to span over eight years and executed in phases around the new grounds.

The initial phase will focus on the lake and parkland restoration, followed by the construction of the qualifying courts and, eventually, the Parkland Show Court being completed by 2034 if all goes ahead as planned.

Ultimately, the Wimbledon Park Project hopes to ensure that Wimbledon remains at the forefront of Grand Slams and other global tennis tournaments and even though there are still a few steps to go, Wimbledon officials are quietly hopeful about the future of the grounds.

“It’s a big deal,” said Wayro. “But it’s been a pleasure for all of us. If you talk to anybody in the design team that we work with, they’ve all enjoyed being part of this project. This is our estate for hopefully hundreds and hundreds of years more and it is exciting to be a part of that legacy.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

INTERLEAGUE
Kansas City at St. Louis PPD
Seattle Mariners 8, San Diego Padres 3
Toronto Blue Jays 3, San Francisco 4
Chicago Cubs 9, Baltimore Orioles 2
Houston Astros 4, Miami Marlins 3

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Minnesota vs. Chi White Sox PPD
Texas Rangers 5, Los Angeles Angels 4
Tampa Bay Rays 5, New York Yankees 3
Cleveland Guardians 9, Detroit Tigers 8
Boston Red Sox 12, Oakland A’s 9

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Atlanta Braves 6, Arizona Diamondbacks 2
Philadelphia Phillies 10, Los Angeles Dodgers 1
New York Mets 7, Washington Nationals 5
Cincinnati Reds 12, Colorado Rockies 6
Pittsburgh Pirates 12, Milwaukee Brewers 2

WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Minnesota Lynx 82, Los Angeles Sparks 67

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Texas Rangers 9, Los Angeles Angels 4
Detroit Tigers 1, Cleveland Guardians 0
Minnesota Twins 8, Chicago White Sox 6

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Atlanta Braves TBA
Pittsburgh Pirates 8, New York Mets 2
St. Louis Cardinals 6, Washington Nationals 0
Cincinnati Reds 6, Colorado Rockies 0

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

INTERLEAGUE
Detroit 5, Cincinnati 1
Cleveland 5, San Francisco 4
Miami 7, Chi White Sox 4
Chi Cubs 5, LA Angels 0
Kansas City 10, Colorado 1

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Minnesota 3, Houston 2
Texas 13, Tampa Bay 2
Baltimore 6, Oakland 3
Toronto 5, Seattle 4
Boston 3, NY Yankees 0

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Atlanta 6, Philadelphia 0
St. Louis 8, Washington 3
NY Mets 3, Pittsburgh 2
Arizona 9, San Diego 1
Milwaukee 9, LA Dodgers 2

WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Connecticut 80, Atlanta 67
Las Vegas 104, Dallas 85
Seattle 84, Chicago 71
Phoenix 84, Los Angeles 78

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Los Angeles FC 0, Houston 0 (Tie)
Sporting Kansas City 3, FC Dallas 2
San Jose 1, Chicago 0
Colorado 4, St Louis City 1
Minnesota 0, LA Galaxy 0 (Tie)
Nashville 0, Portland 0 (Tie)

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — There is only one place in the world where you can be greeted by Wimbledon stewards and invited to immerse yourself in the quintessential experience of British tradition and fare, with iconic strawberries & cream and Pimm’s served in a beautiful garden bar.

Well, now you can make that two as Wimbledon expands its experience across the pond in New York City.

It might not be as big as the British Invasion — a cultural movement in the mid 1960s when all aspects of British music, lifestyle and entertainment exploded onto the scene and became popular in the United States — but, already in its third year and having moved to a much larger and more picturesque location, Wimbledon’s invasion of New York City already seems to be a smash hit.

The Hill in New York — the name of Wimbledon’s New York City event — is a reference to the famed hill at Wimbledon where thousands of spectators on “Henman Hill” or “Murray Mound” gather at this natural tennis amphitheater with their picnics to cheer on the biggest matches that are being shown on the giant screen attached to Court One.

“We want to engage people and give them the opportunity to be able to experience the magic of Wimbledon, Wimbledon’s Director of Commercial and Marketing, Usama Al-Qassab, told ABC News during a visit just days before the start of Wimbledon. “We have the most beautiful grounds, probably outside of Augusta for any sports tournament and we want people to be able to experience beyond the tennis, beyond what they can watch on a screen, and it made perfect sense for us to be able to take what we have as our iconic hill into new destinations. It is great that we can geographically expand and give people the opportunity to experience that because not everyone’s got the opportunity to jump on a plane across the pond, much less be able to get a ticket to Wimbledon.”

Starting in 2022, the event is set to be bigger and better than ever after successful runs the previous two years.

Wimbledon organizers think that The Hill in New York’s new location next to a nine-acre area of Brooklyn Bridge Park in the Dumbo neighborhood, which offers a picturesque location and sweeping views over Manhattan and the East River, will offer an idyllic setting for fans to experience Wimbledon, even if it is not on the grounds of SW19 more than 3,000 miles away.

In fact, the third installment of the British event on American soil will double the event’s capacity to 3,500 fans each day, ensuring that more tennis enthusiasts can participate in the experience.

“We are delighted that The Hill in New York will be back for a third edition. The event has really begun to establish itself as a special occasion where Wimbledon fans can gather, enjoy the live tennis, and feel part of The Championships, even from afar,” said Wimbledon’s Chief Executive Sally Bolton. “This year’s edition will be bigger and better, with our new location at Brooklyn Bridge Park allowing even more people to come along and enjoy the mix of music and tennis. We look forward to celebrating Wimbledon finals weekend with New York’s passionate tennis fans.”

The festivities do not run for the full 14 days of the tournament but, instead, will run the last three days over the final weekend when the men’s and women’s singles and doubles finals will take place.

Beginning on the last Friday, July 12, The Hill on New York kicks the tennis celebration off with a free concert headlined by former Pussycat Doll and Broadway star Nicole Scherzinger, who will be joined by American singer-songwriter AJ Mitchell as the supporting act.

The event then pivots to championship weekend on Saturday as thousands of fans will be invited into the event from 8:30 a.m. each day with play set to begin at 9 a.m., complete with Wimbledon stewards and stands selling strawberries and cream along with Pimm’s and lemonade — two British staples that have become a tradition of the Wimbledon experience.

“I am delighted that we are returning to New York for a third year, continuing our commitment to broadening the Wimbledon fan experience beyond SW19. Our new location for The Hill in New York is bigger and better, so that even more fans can experience the magic of Wimbledon, even from afar,” said Usama Al-Qassab, Marketing and Commercial Director at The All England Lawn Tennis Club. “We could not be more excited to be in Brooklyn Bridge Park this summer, and the special performance by Nicole Scherzinger should take the fan experience to another level.”

The event, which aims to replicate the atmosphere of The Hill at Wimbledon, will air the ladies’ singles and gentlemen’s doubles finals on Saturday, and the gentlemen’s singles and ladies’ doubles finals on Sunday. Additionally, when the live matches finish for the day, The Hill in New York plan on airing sunset screenings of notable Wimbledon matches featuring tennis legends as the tournament draws to a close.

“What you’ll be able to experience is the food, so strawberries and cream that are iconic with Wimbledon. You’ll be able to drink Pimm’s, you’ll be able to sit on your rug and bring in a picnic and enjoy food and drink as you would on the Henman Hill, and most importantly, have a communal experience enjoying Wimbledon and all it has to offer,” Al-Qassab said. “We’re planning on the service standards that we have here at Wimbledon to be exactly the same in New York and we’re hoping to bring a little slice of Wimbledon SW19 to Brooklyn.”

Nicole Scherzinger expressed her enthusiasm about her involvement with Wimbledon, saying “I’ve been fortunate enough to call London my second home for many years, and I am looking forward to returning to Wimbledon which is always such a wonderful day out. I am thrilled to be a part of bringing the spirit of Wimbledon to New York City, creating an iconic event that blends the excitement of world-class tennis with the vibrant energy of this incredible city.”

The New York event will be free, unlike the tournament, but fans must secure their tickets through an online ballot or try getting in on a limited number of walk-in spots.

With the expansion of Wimbledon to include a burgeoning event in New York City for the third year in a row, it is clear that the growth of the game — and of Wimbledon — is something that organizers will look to keep doing and perhaps replicate in other global cities, especially in light of the tournament’s announcement in June that The All England Club’s total prize money fund for The Championships 2024 will be a record £50 million.

In fact, during just the last 10 years alone, total prize money for The Championships has doubled, from £25 million in 2014 to £50 million in 2024, according to Wimbledon, with the gentlemen’s and ladies’ singles champions and runners-up set to receive £2.7 million and £1.4 million respectively.

Said Deborah Jevans, Chair of the All England Club: “Interest in attending Wimbledon has never been greater, with unprecedented demand for tickets through our public ballot and corporate hospitality. A thriving, successful Championships gives us the opportunity to give back: to the sport, to our local community, and to strategically invest for the future.”

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(LOS ANGELES) — Firefighters battling flames amid a heat wave in Southern California are struggling to gain control of a wildfire that exploded over the weekend to more than 13,000 acres, prompting evacuations and threatening homes, including Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch, officials said.

The Lake Fire burning in Santa Barbara County near the Los Padres National Forest was 0% contained as of Sunday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (CAL FIRE).

The Lake Fire is one of 21 wildfires burning in California on Sunday, CAL FIRE said.

Lake Fire in Santa Barbara County

The wildland blaze about 40 miles north of the city of Santa Barbara started on Friday afternoon near Zaca Lake in the Los Padres National Forest.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department issued evacuation orders on Saturday night as the blaze grew to 13,264 acres. The evacuation orders included the 5000 block of Figueroa Mountain Road, where Michael Jackson’s former ranch is located, officials said.

Warnings were also issued for residents in the surrounding area to be prepared to evacuate, according to the sheriff’s office.

The wildfire erupted during a heat wave that has enveloped the area and most of California.

“An EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING through next week continues to affect the fire with high temperatures, drying vegetation and little relief at night. The National Weather Service has reported that a heat wave this intense, this long, has not been experienced in this region in 20 years,” CAL FIRE said in a statement.

The fire grew rapidly on Saturday amid temperatures in the high 90s and with a relative humidity of around 11%.

“When relative humidity decreases, fire behavior increases because fine fuels like grass and pine needles become drier quickly,” according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association (WFCA).

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Thompson Fire in Oroville

Fire crews were gaining the upper hand on the Thompson Fire, which started on Tuesday in the Butte County town of Oroville and caused the evacuations of nearly 30,000 residents as it grew to 3,789 acres, according to CAL FIRE. The blaze — which destroyed at least 25 structures, including homes — was 86% contained on Sunday.

Firefighters battled both flames and dangerous temperatures on Saturday in the Oroville area ranging from 110 to 116 degrees, according to CAL FIRE.

“For Sunday, hot and dry conditions will continue although high temperatures will be a couple of degrees cooler. However, the heat will still be at very dangerous levels and the EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING will remain in effect,” CAL FIRE said in a statement.

Most of the evacuations caused by the Thompson Fire were lifted on Saturday.

Basin Fire in San Joaquin Valley

The largest and most stubborn fire in the state, the Basin Fire burning in the foothills east of Fresno in the San Joaquin Valley, was 60% contained on Sunday after burning 14,027 acres, according to CAL FIRE. The blaze started on June 26 in the Sierra National Forest north of Pine Flat Lake and south of Shaver Lake and Wishon Reservoir.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Temperatures in the area of the Basin Fire are forecast to reach 113 degrees on Sunday and remain in triple digits throughout the week.

French Fire near Yosemite National Park

The French Fire near Yosemite National Park in Mariposa County has burned 908 acres since erupting Thursday and was 45% contained as of Sunday morning, according to CAL FIRE.

Three firefighters were injured battling the wildfire, which has destroyed four structures, CAL FIRE said.

McCain Fire in San Diego County

Another significant fire is the McCain Fire, which started on July 1 in southeast San Diego County.

As of Sunday, firefighters had the fire almost completely out, having achieved 95% containment on the blaze that has burned 1,595 acres.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

INTERLEAGUE
Cincinnati 8, NY Yankees 4
Boston 6, Miami 5
San Diego 3, Texas 1

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Minnesota 12, Detroit 3
Houston 5, Toronto 3
Cleveland 8, Chi White Sox 4
Oakland 5, LA Angels 0
Seattle 7, Baltimore 3
Tampa Bay 10, Kansas City 8

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Washington 1, NY Mets 0
St. Louis 3, Pittsburgh 2
Chi Cubs 10 Philadelphia 2
San Francisco 4, Atlanta 2
Colorado 4, Milwaukee 3
Arizona 9, LA Dodgers 3

WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Connecticut 78, Minnesota 73
Las Vegas 98, Washington 77

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
FC Dallas 3, Portland 2
Colorado 2, Sporting Kansas City 1
Los Angeles FC 0, LA Galaxy 0

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — Hattie Park, the sustainability manager at the All England Club where the Championships at Wimbledon are held every year, walks around the bucolic 42-acre tennis grounds with a sense of pride combined with a sense of purpose.

Sustainability might be something that takes a back seat to the 700 tennis matches played by the best in the world as millions of people watch around the globe, but to Park, that is almost exactly the point.

“Wimbledon is essentially played in an English garden,” Park told ABC News during a visit this spring. “If we want to continue playing tennis and enjoying outdoor sport, whether it’s at the elite level that you have at Wimbledon or at the grassroots level, we’ve simply got to ensure that we have a resilient environment to carry out that sport.”

Park’s job is a big one. She wants to find a balance between the environment, natural resources and human needs — constantly pushing for fundamental and foundational change without disrupting the aura and tradition that Wimbledon brings to the table.

A study conducted by Cardiff University in the United Kingdom in 2017 found that the average person who attends a sporting event generates a footprint seven times greater than someone going about their normal, everyday activity. That’s primarily due to increased travel both to and from the event, but also food and drink consumption and the energy and resources required to produce them — all problems Park is well acquainted with.

“People can often be incredibly resistant to altering their patterns so the biggest challenge, for me, is just the time things can take to activate change,” said Park. “During The Championships, you can usually make a quick tweak here and there quickly to help meet our sustainability goals but something like decarbonizing our entire site, that’s just going to take time because there’s an awful lot of planning that needs to go into it. It’s easy for me to say ‘this is what we need to do’ but the reality of doing it involves an awful lot of programming and investment plans before implementation.”

One of the areas that Wimbledon has put a lot of immediate focus on is through their food-and-drink program across The Championships and throughout the year-round operation of the site.

“Last year we were pleased to be able to highlight dishes with a low carbon weighting across a wide variety of menus available to the public, members and competitors,” Wimbledon officials told ABC News. “The low carbon options on our menus are indicated with an ‘A’ – very low carbon – or a ‘B’ – low carbon — and are calculated based on how much carbon is produced per 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of meals.”

“To encourage the circular culture of reuse, this year will see the continuation of a £1 deposit applied to the purchase of a first drink,” Wimbledon officials said. “Guests are given the option to redeem this deposit or place their cup in a charity return point — in doing so donating the entire deposit to The Wimbledon Foundation.”

This scheme, which was instituted several years ago, has already become a resounding success. The reusable cup deposit initiative raised £139,102 ($178,000) in 2023 with loftier goals ahead for Park and Wimbledon’s sustainability mission.

“What I try to demonstrate in a holistic way is that there is something that every single one of us can do to be part of the solution to help the environment. Ultimately, we want to build a community of environment-positive champions and get everyone involved,” said Park.

While schemes like this are effective short-term solutions, Wimbledon has loftier goals down the line for later this decade and beyond by focusing on what they have identified as the “four pillars” of their sustainability program — operational emissions, resource efficiency, biodiversity gain and inspiring wider actions.

By 2030, Wimbledon plans to reduce their emissions to “net zero,” becoming completely resource efficient by generating as little waste as possible while increasing the proportion of recycled content as well as the amount of materials reused and, finally, pushing for a net gain in biodiversity by protecting habitats and ecology across their landholdings while also increasing the abundance and diversity of plant and animal species.

“While we aim to exemplify best practice through our day to day actions and decisions, we believe it is equally important to work together with partners and stakeholders to use our collective platforms so that we can amplify the benefits of a sustainable approach, using our influence to reach beyond our boundaries through partnership, leadership, and collaboration with other major events and bodies in the sports industry and beyond,” Wimbledon officials said.

For Park, this doesn’t just mean setting an example at The Championships for the two weeks they are staged, but a complete and holistic year-round, long-term commitment.

“We are absolutely not just showing up and doing it for The Championships,” said Park. “We have an aim to have a positive impact on the environment and, arguably, using our influence to inspire wider action is the biggest thing that we can do as a huge global sporting event because we just reach so many people.”

From a broader perspective, sporting events have good reason to become more sustainable as governments, particularly in the West, are increasingly passing environmentally-friendly legislation related to sustainability meaning that, at least in some parts of the world, non-compliance may no longer be an option.

“[Sporting events] can potentially reduce costs and better attract funds and sponsors, leading to bigger revenue streams and better economic outcomes,” according to INSEAD. “Displaying commitment towards positive environmental and social change could ensure long-term viability and resilience in a highly competitive field. To this end, high-profile international sporting events are the perfect platform [and] companies can use these global showcases with millions of viewers to drive positive change.”

The task ahead of Park may seem daunting but, for her, it is just about starting somewhere — anywhere — and making sure she affects long-lasting and positive change, the first flutter of wings in a sustainability butterfly effect.

“You’ve got to break it down into manageable chunks,” Park said. “What we have to do is take action behind the scenes for the things that people can’t see in terms of how we operate our estate but also make it visible when you come to Wimbledon so that we can involve the guests in this environment-positive journey. We’ve got to mitigate our impacts, but we also need to adapt and be ready for whatever is thrown at us.”

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(NEW YORK) — Team USA middle-distance runner Nikki Hiltz discusses their journey to the 2024 Paris Olympics and their LGBTQ+ advocacy after coming out as transgender and nonbinary.

Hiltz came out as a nonbinary, transgender person right before the Olympic trials in 2021. They wanted to walk away from the sport in 2021 after expecting a weight to be lifted. But it was the opposite. Hiltz mentioned that they didn’t set out to be an advocate for LGBTQ rights, but were forced into the spotlight after coming out as trans-nonbinary.

Having qualified for the Olympics on Sunday, Hiltz is now fully focused on the next goal.

ABC News sat down with Hiltz on qualifying for the Olympics and the recent media attention they received.

ABC NEWS: Mid-distance runner Nikki Hiltz is headed to the Olympic Games this summer in Paris, all while fighting an endurance race on another front. A forthcoming documentary about Nikki explains why.

ABC NEWS: Thanks so much for joining us, Nikki. You said after that race, you thought you were saying goodbye to your Olympic dreams. Then on Sunday you qualified for the Olympics in the 1500 meters, taking the lead in the last 60 meters at the finish line. You earned the second fastest time by an American runner ever. Walk us through that feeling. Walk us through this journey of yours.

NIKKI HILTZ: Yeah. I mean, you said it perfectly. It’s, it’s definitely been a journey. At the end of the last Olympic trials in 2021, I, like you said, I wanted to walk away from the sport completely. And, you know, I just, I just changed a lot of things in my life and showed some patience. And then, yeah, the hard work all paid off, and. yeah, that feeling was just joy when I crossed the finish line.

ABC NEWS: I bet you’ve said that you didn’t really set out to be an advocate for LGBTQ rights, but were forced into the spotlight after coming out as trans nonbinary. Why is that visibility so important to you?

HILTZ: Yeah. I mean, I just feel so grateful for all the queer and trans people who have come before me. And so now it’s kind of like, I want to be that for the next generation. And yeah, it’s it’s hard to be something that you can’t see. And so I just think representation and visibility is what helped me so much growing up. So, yeah, I just want to do that for even just one kid who watches the Olympics, maybe sees themselves in me, like it’ll be all worth it.

ABC NEWS: Representation certainly does matter. Now, if you can imagine a perfect future in which your sport and professional sports broadly embraces athletes of all gender identities, what changes would that require?

HILTZ:  Yeah. I mean, it’s just an ongoing conversation. For me, just a lot more inclusive language has been really helpful. You know, announcers, broadcasters using my correct pronouns, referring to, you know, people in my event as, “Here are the athletes competing in the women’s 1500” instead of, “Here are the women 1500 runners.”

Just little changes like that I think we can all do, to yeah, just make spaces and sports just a safer place for all and allowing everyone to show up as themselves. Because when we can show up as ourselves, that’s when, you know, our dreams can come true.

ABC NEWS: Absolutely. So what would you say to those who say it’s unfair for trans women to compete in women’s sports, and vice versa What would be your message to those folks?

HILTZ: I would encourage people to educate themselves. You know, the guidelines that are in place now, a trans woman can’t compete until they’ve taken, I think it’s a year or more of HRT, which is hormone replacement therapy. And, you know, it’s, I think it’s a fair guideline. And, yeah, I think there’s a lot of ignorance right now. As someone who has competed in women’s sports my entire career, there’s a lot of issues in it, but trans woman is not one of them, and I don’t think that we need protecting from them.

ABC NEWS: You’ve worked so hard to get to the Olympics in Paris. It is coming up. How are you feeling ahead of these games and what are you most excited about?

HILTZ: Yeah, just focus on the next goal. And I think I’m really excited for the opening ceremonies. You know, I tried on all the Ralph Lauren stuff a couple of days ago, and, yeah, that just really got me excited to just be in Paris and and meet other members of Team USA across all the different many sports.

ABC NEWS: Such a wonderful experience. We are so excited to see you compete. We hope to have you back on soon. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us and really best of luck to you in Paris.

HILTZ: Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Houston Astros 3, Toronto Blue Jays 1

NATIONAL LEAGUE
New York Mets 9, Washington Nationals 7
Milwaukee Brewers 7, Colorado Rockies 8

WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Connecticut Sun 83, Phoenix Mercury 72
Dallas Wings 71, Seattle Storm 95

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.