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Neeraj Chopra To Compete In Javelin Event Named After Him
Double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra is living a dream of competing in a javelin event that bears his name and believes that it is start of something significant in Indian athletics which now needs multiple world class events. The Neeraj Chopra Classic, which will feature top-class athletes, is set to take place at the Sree […]
Double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra is living a dream of competing in a javelin event that bears his name and believes that it is start of something significant in Indian athletics which now needs multiple world class events.
The Neeraj Chopra Classic, which will feature top-class athletes, is set to take place at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Saturday.
Chopra said he will try to upscale the event in the coming years.
“I feel like I’m in a dream. Medals are a different thing. But I’ve given something like this to India and to Indian athletes. I’m very happy about that. This is the beginning of a new chapter in our athletics,” Chopra said in a pre-event press meet here Friday.
“The support I’m getting from everyone. From the government, from KOA (Karnataka Olympic Association), from World Athletics, from the sponsors… I feel like we can make this event even better.” Chopra said he wanted to make the athletics competitions in India comparable to the events which are held regularly in the traditional powerhouses like the USA or European nations.
“This is the beginning of international competitions in India. As we see, there are so many international competitions in Germany and such nations – A category, B, C etc and every week, there’s a competition.
“So, this is what I want in India, as there should be at least 4, 5, 6 competitions which are world class. The athletes should get a chance and people should see them play. That will be very good for our sport,” he explained.
While he is very much involved in the conduct of the event, the star athlete said he has not diverted his focus from acing an elite field here on Saturday, and keeping his preparation on track for the upcoming World Championships.
“The athlete in me is always up (for the competition). That’s why I’m trying to manage everything. My team is also handling so many things. But the athlete in me is always up. I’m training hard,” he said.
“After doing everything, I train. I did throw sessions, too. So, yes. I have a mindset for that ahead of tomorrow’s competition.” While winning the event that has been named after him remains his immediate priority, Chopra is aware that he has a bigger challenge coming his way in the World Championships in Tokyo in September.
The ace Indian javelin thrower said he has his eyes firmly set on the blue riband event.
“Of course, tomorrow’s competition is very important and after that we will start preparing for the World Championships. I’m very happy to be here with the coach (Jan Zelezny). Yesterday, I was training in the gym with the coach. This is the kind of competition that will be the target ahead of the World Championship,” he noted.
Beyond the personal glory moment, Chopra was also excited to see a world class event taking place in India.
“I’m very happy that this is finally happening. I was at the gym yesterday and I saw other athletes throwing and that has been my dream. I will say it again that I never thought there would be an event like this.
“I never thought I would represent India and win a medal. All that has happened. Now, there’s peace in my mind that something like this is happening.” ‘Work in progress regarding technical improvement’
Regarding his quest for technical improvement, Chopra said it has been a work in progress.
“Training started a bit late (this season), but we worked on my technique, which I am able to follow well in training. There are a few things I have to improve in my training, and I am working on that,” said Chopra who started working with coach Zelezny only in February.
“It’s tough to work on technique, run-up, throwing it straight, and working on blocking legs — these are some details I am working on and will look to follow in competition as well.” After his win in the Paris Diamond League last month, Chopra had said that he would need to work harder on his core muscles to make his body stronger and fine tune his technique to consistently log 90-plus distances in international competitions.
“I need some more control when I throw, there are things we have to change and I need some, maybe, strong core and stronger body for throwing.
“I go left quickly and it was not good. I need to throw to the front like with the chest and go up with the javelin. We are working on it,” he said.
(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the body by ABP Live.)
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Oregon girls who went viral for refusing to stand on podium with trans athlete file lawsuit
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Oregon is facing its second lawsuit in a month over the issue of biologically male trans athletes competing in girls’ high school sports. Two of the state’s girls’ track and field stars, Alexa Anderson and Reese Eckard, filed a lawsuit against the Oregon School Athletics Association (OSAA) […]
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Oregon is facing its second lawsuit in a month over the issue of biologically male trans athletes competing in girls’ high school sports.
Two of the state’s girls’ track and field stars, Alexa Anderson and Reese Eckard, filed a lawsuit against the Oregon School Athletics Association (OSAA) after an incident on May 31 when they refused to stand on a medal podium with a transgender competitor at a state title meet.
Footage of the stunt went viral, as Anderson later told Fox News that officials instructed them to step away from the podium and get out of the shots of photos.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Their lawsuit alleges that the OSAA not only excluded them from official photos, but also withheld their medals. The suit argues that the girls’ First Amendment rights were infringed upon by the officials.
“I recently competed against a biological male at my state track and field meet, another girl and I decided to step down from the podium in protest to the unfair competition environment,” Anderson told Fox News Digital. “I am fighting to keep women’s sports XX and prevent biological males in women’s sports from becoming normalized. By doing this, I hope that all future generations of female athletes will have a safe and fair opportunity to excel within their sports.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the OSAA for a response.
The girls are being represented by the America First Policy Institute (AFPI).
“These young women earned their place on the podium – and the right to express themselves,” said Jessica Hart Steinmann, executive general counsel at AFPI. “Instead of respecting their viewpoint that girls’ sports should be for girls only, Oregon officials sidelined them. The First Amendment protects the right to dissent – school officials don’t get to reprimand students who refuse to agree with their beliefs.”
TRACKING THE TRANS ATHLETE HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS CONTROVERSIES SHAKING THE NATION OVER THE LAST YEAR
AFPI is also representing fellow Oregon girls’ track and field athletes Maddie Eischen and Sophia Carpenter in a separate lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Education for its policies that allow biological males to compete in girls’ sports.
Carpenter and Eischen cited their experience in withdrawing from a meet that featured a trans competitor on April 18.
“For [Carpenter] the psychological and emotional weight of that moment became overwhelming—she felt helpless, demoralized, and betrayed by the institutions and adults charged with protecting her equal opportunity for fair play. Ultimately, she realized that she was unable to participate in the high jump that day and withdrew from the event,” that lawsuit alleges.
Both Carpenter and Eischen previously told Fox News Digital the experience was “traumatic.”
“My experience at the Chehalem track meet and scratching myself from the meet was traumatic, something I never imagined ever having to do,” Eischen said.
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Carpenter added, “It was emotionally traumatic trying to know what I should do and how I should respond to competing with [the trans athlete].”
Carpenter said she found herself so overwhelmed with emotion from the experience, that she cried on the ride home after the meet. Now, despite being faced with “fear” of potential retaliation for filing a lawsuit, the two girls are officially in it and charging ahead with a legal battle that could garner plenty of national attention.
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Big Brother 27
Everything to know about Jimmy and Ava. Jimmy Heagerty and Ava Pearl on Big Brother season 27. CBS Jimmy Heagerty and Ava Pearl are the two out LGBTQ+ houseguests competing on Big Brother 27 at the moment — and fans have now learned enough about the contestants to break down a list of fun facts […]
Everything to know about Jimmy and Ava.
Jimmy Heagerty and Ava Pearl on Big Brother season 27.
CBS
Jimmy Heagerty and Ava Pearl are the two out LGBTQ+ houseguests competing on Big Brother 27 at the moment — and fans have now learned enough about the contestants to break down a list of fun facts about them.
Only time will tell if Ava and Jimmy will become iconic competitors who’ll enter the pantheon of notable LGBTQ+ houseguests from Big Brother. While we wait and keep “expecting the unexpected” from this cast of BB27 players, here are a few basics for anyone trying to catch up to the queer representatives of the season.
Big Brother 27 contestant Ava Pearl is an aura painter from NYC.
Ava Pearl on Big Brother season 27.
CBS
Originally from Long Island — but a resident of New York City — Ava Pearl is 24 years old and has “aura painter” as her official job description.
“I started doing aura portraits about two years ago,” Ava said in her intro segment on Big Brother season 27. “I was seeing auras around them already, [so] I started drawing people in the park for some extra money.”
Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take long for Ava to start going viral within the BB27 fandom.
Ava has also discussed being bisexual ever since she entered the BB27 home and the Big Brother live feeds went up for the fans to watch. So far, one of the most viral X posts (formerly tweets) associated with her reads:
“I didn’t wanna say it in front of everyone, but this house radiates a chaotic bisexual aura.”
Ava added during her intro segment on Big Brother 27:
“I would say I’m the black sheep of my Long Island family. They are all teachers in the school system. I did get that from them, but I became an art teacher: I love everything 60s, everything flower power, everything go-go and amazing.”
Is she athletic? “No,” Ava explained, “but you have to be competitive to be an artist living in this city, and I’m ready to take those skills into the Big Brother house. As a starving artist, I need this money.”
Here’s where to follow BB27’s Ava on Instagram.
Big Brother 27 fans can follow Ava on Instagram at @childofvenusandmars.
Big Brother 27 star Jimmy Heagerty works in Washington, D.C. and got fired during the Trump administration.
Jimmy Heagerty on Big Brother season 27.
CBS
Jimmy Heagerty is a 25-year-old strategy consultant — more specifically an AI consultant — who’s been living and working in Washington, D.C.
“2025 has been a very stressful year,” Jimmy said during his intro segment on Big Brother. “I used to work for the federal government… And then bam, our contract is terminated. And how do I find out? Twitter!”
In reference to the meme above: Paulie Calafiore came out as bisexual, not as gay. Meanwhile, Hisam Goueli does identify as gay, as does Jimmy. Nonetheless, it is true that all three men won the Head of Household (HOH) competition in week 2 of their respective Big Brother seasons.
Jimmy’s intro segment continued with him explaining that “whether it’s professional or personal, I’ve always had to use strategy to get what I want, and I’m bringing that level of manipulation into the Big Brother house.”
When asked if he’ll lie about his profession while competing on BB27, Jimmy explained that he “can’t tell everybody I have a professional strategy background.” So, what will he say instead? “I was playing competitive tennis for 15, 16 years,” he reasoned. “So, essentially, I’m just going to tell everybody in the Big Brother house that I’m a tennis coach.”
Jimmy — who’s originally from Sarasota, Florida — also revealed that Frankie Grande is one of his biggest LGBTQ+ idols from the Big Brother franchise.
“My mom and I used to watch Big Brother as long as I could really remember,” Jimmy explained. “I got to watch Frankie Grande [as a] loud and proud gay man being successful. He showed me that I had a future and I could be anything I wanted to be.”
Toward the end of his intro segment on Big Brother, Jimmy declared that “The biggest game out there is American government and politics, and I’m ready to bring that energy into the Big Brother house.”
Here’s where to follow BB27’s Jimmy on Instagram.
Big Brother 27 fans can follow Jimmy on Instagram at @jimmyheagerty.
The cast of houseguests competing on Big Brother 27.
CBS
Jimmy and Ava are the only two out LGBTQ+ players competing on Big Brother 27. Unless another contestant comes out in the middle of the season (which would be unusual), these are the queer competitors of the season. So, if you’re an LGBTQ+ fan of the show who enjoys rooting to root for houseguests representing the community, you’ve now found this year’s two out queer BB27 stars!
Big Brother season 27 airs new episodes every Thursday, Friday, and Sunday on CBS, as well as streaming on Paramount+.
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Lancaster City Track Club enters 13th summer of sending athletes to AAU Junior Olympics
Genesis Castro is a proponent for keeping her eyes forward, never revisiting past shortcomings. The recent McCaskey graduate has maintained the approach throughout her throwing career with the Red Tornado track and field team. The mindset helped her strike PIAA Class 3A discus gold in 2024. Additional honors glimmer and sparkle at home. But Castro […]
Genesis Castro is a proponent for keeping her eyes forward, never revisiting past shortcomings.
The recent McCaskey graduate has maintained the approach throughout her throwing career with the Red Tornado track and field team. The mindset helped her strike PIAA Class 3A discus gold in 2024. Additional honors glimmer and sparkle at home.
But Castro admits there’s a fire stoked in her stomach. She’s on her last shot, her final chance. She wants that exclamation point.
Castro is one of 12 Lancaster City Track Club members who are traveling to the AAU Junior Olympics this weekend in Houston, Texas. It’s her swan song in Lancaster — and with many of her former McCaskey teammates — before she sets sail for Monmouth this fall.
“I’ve had a little bit of a rough season,” Castro said, “so I’m just hoping I can at least peak, if not at least get moderately close. … I’m definitely trying to end my high school career, my track and field career, on a good note. Even if things go wrong, I just really want to go out there, give whatever I can, and hopefully come back with something.”
This summer’s edition of the AAU Junior Olympics marks the 13th year of participation for the LCTC. With the help of groups like the Lancaster Police Athletic League, coach Derek Jennings and his staff have been able to provide a competitive avenue, a safe haven for hundreds of kids.
“One of the things I like about the club is it gives kids an outlet over the summer where some of them don’t have a good outlet, and you pick up bad habits,” Jennings said. “But then secondly, I think on trips like nationals, you’re showing kids that when you work hard, good things can happen from that.”
