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Olympic Beach Volleyball moves to Long Beach after Santa Monica loses chance to host

Long Beach’s Alamitos Beach will host the Olympic beach volleyball tournament during the 2028 Los Angeles Games, organizers announced Tuesday as part of a comprehensive venue plan that spans the Southern California region. LA28, the organizing committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, revealed that beach volleyball will take place at Alamitos Beach in Long […]

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Olympic Beach Volleyball moves to Long Beach after Santa Monica loses chance to host

Long Beach’s Alamitos Beach will host the Olympic beach volleyball tournament during the 2028 Los Angeles Games, organizers announced Tuesday as part of a comprehensive venue plan that spans the Southern California region.

LA28, the organizing committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, revealed that beach volleyball will take place at Alamitos Beach in Long Beach, bringing the popular event to a coastal setting that will also host coastal rowing and open water swimming competitions.

“Los Angeles is the epicenter of sports, culture and entertainment, and every venue selected for the 2028 Games will provide athletes and fans the best possible experience,” said LA28 Chief Executive Officer Reynold Hoover. “The 2028 Olympic venue plan invites communities from across the region to celebrate the Games coming to their backyard.”

The announcement comes after months of speculation about where the beach volleyball competition would be held, following the breakdown of negotiations with Santa Monica, which had originally been anticipated as the host venue.

Long Beach’s selection as the beach volleyball venue represents a significant win for the city, which has been designated as an official “2028 Venue City” and will now host multiple high-profile Olympic events.

Santa Monica was originally considered for the beach volleyball venue but negotiations ended after city officials and LA28 organizers failed to reach terms. A financial analysis commissioned by Santa Monica found that hosting Olympic beach volleyball would bring in $14.09 million but cost the city $15.54 million, resulting in a $1.45 million shortfall.

The same report projected that even without hosting the event, the city could see $11.3 million in tourism revenue with just $650,000 in related expenses, yielding a net gain of $10.65 million. Santa Monica officials cited concerns about “community benefits, operational details and financial guarantees” in a statement explaining why the deal fell through.

The original plan had included a temporary 12,000-seat stadium north of the Santa Monica Pier. Santa Monica City Councilmember Dan Hall said the decision was difficult but suggested the city could better use its resources elsewhere, including “paying down our unfunded pension liabilities, rebuilding our reserves and housing trust fund, repairing infrastructure” and other priorities.

The comprehensive venue plan announced Tuesday spans the entire Southern California region, from San Fernando Valley to San Clemente, and includes both iconic locations and new venues.

Venice Beach will serve as the new home of the triathlon competition, which is relocating from Long Beach. The historic beachfront neighborhood will also host the official starting locations for the marathon and cycling road courses.

“This plan brings the Games to all corners of our city like never before — from the Sepulveda Basin to the iconic shores of Venice Beach, our world-famous neighborhoods as well as our hidden gems will be on full display for all to experience and enjoy,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

The Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area in the San Fernando Valley will host Olympic events for the first time, including 3×3 basketball and modern pentathlon, alongside BMX freestyle, BMX racing, and skateboarding events.

In a nod to Hollywood’s influence, squash will make its Olympic debut at Universal Studios Lot’s Courthouse Square, recognizable from films like “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Back to the Future.”

Dodger Stadium will host baseball as the sport returns to the Olympic program, while cricket will make its Olympic comeback after more than a century at a temporary facility at the Fairgrounds in Pomona.

Surfing competitions will take place at Trestles Beach in San Clemente, chosen for its consistent waves, while equestrian events return to Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, which previously hosted the sport during the 1984 Olympics.

The City of Carson will stage archery at its stadium, while volleyball moves to the Arena in Anaheim. Boxing will be held at the Peacock Theater and Arena in Downtown Los Angeles, and rhythmic gymnastics relocates to the USC Sports Center.

Long Beach will also host sport climbing at the Convention Center Lot and target shooting at the Convention Center, while shotgun shooting events will take place at the Shotgun Center in South El Monte.

Beyond venues, the IOC Executive Board confirmed a record number of Olympic medals will be awarded at LA28, with several new mixed team events and significant steps toward gender equality.

For the first time in Olympic history, the women’s soccer tournament will feature more teams than the men’s competition, with 16 women’s teams compared to 12 men’s teams. Water polo and boxing will achieve gender equality for the first time, with women’s water polo expanding to 12 teams to match the men’s tournament, and boxing adding a new women’s weight class for a total of seven in both men’s and women’s competitions.

Six new mixed gender team events will debut across archery, artistic gymnastics, athletics (4×100 mixed gender relay), coastal rowing, golf, and table tennis.

Swimming will add six medal events with the inclusion of 50-meter races in backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly for both men and women. Sport climbing will separate the previous combined event into three distinct medal competitions: speed, boulder, and lead.

“We are opening the door for more athletes to compete, win, and live out their Olympic dream at the LA28 Games where athletes have always been, and always will be, the heart of the Games,” said LA28 Chief Athlete Officer Janet Evans. “We are proud to champion an athlete-centric vision that celebrates excellence and the unifying spirit of the Olympic Movement.”

The 2028 Olympic Games will bring together approximately 10,500 athletes across the 31 sports on the initial program, with up to 700 more competing in the five additional sports proposed by LA28 and added by the IOC in October 2023.

The Games, which will mark Los Angeles’ third time hosting the Olympics and first time hosting the Paralympics, are scheduled to begin on July 14, 2028.

High School Sports

Summit girls soccer ends season with loss to Golden High School

Summit senior Olivia Lyman breaks down the field during the Tigers’ home game against Steamboat Springs on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.Cody Jones/Summit Daily News The Summit High School girls soccer team concluded the spring season with a loss to Golden High School in Breckenridge on Saturday, May 3. Originally scheduled to take place earlier in […]

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Summit girls soccer ends season with loss to Golden High School
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News
Summit senior Olivia Lyman breaks down the field during the Tigers’ home game against Steamboat Springs on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News

The Summit High School girls soccer team concluded the spring season with a loss to Golden High School in Breckenridge on Saturday, May 3.

Originally scheduled to take place earlier in the season, Summit hosted the Golden Demons on a sunny, warm spring day in Breckenridge. The Tigers attempted to conclude the season with a win, but they were not able to net a goal against the Demons. Golden defeated Summit, 4-0.

Summit ends the spring season with a record of 6-7-1 overall and 3-3 in league play. The record matches the same amount of wins the team saw in head coach Makenzie Meade’s first season as head coach last spring. The program has not surpassed six wins on a season in at least the past 16 years.



Junior Jaime Yim Nadler led the team in goals throughout the season with a total of five with senior Olivia Lyman netting three of her own. Senior Ella Kirschner and junior Penelope Weitake led the stat sheet in assists with two each.

In terms of goaltending, junior Rowan Connelly recorded a total of 101 saves and had five shut-outs.



Summit finished the season ranked third overall in the 4A Western Slope league. Eagle Valley won the league title with a record of 4-1-1 and Battle Mountain took second. Both Eagle Valley and Battle Mountain were one of the 32 teams to make the 2025 Class 4A soccer state playoffs.

Summit will graduate eight players from its varsity roster including Lyman, Kirschner, Delilah Staberg, Sammi Olson, Sadie Slahetka, Ariana Vasquez, Shaylah Nelson and Avery Eytel. The Tigers are expected to have 18 players return next year including a group of eight juniors.

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Professional Sports

Buddy Hield Makes NBA History in Warriors

Coming into the series with just one day of rest, the Golden State Warriors entered Game 1 against the Minnesota Timberwolves far less rested than they were, as the Wolves had over a week of rest before their first second-round contest. However, Golden State seemed to have used that to their advantage, even being on […]

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Buddy Hield Makes NBA History in Warriors

Coming into the series with just one day of rest, the Golden State Warriors entered Game 1 against the Minnesota Timberwolves far less rested than they were, as the Wolves had over a week of rest before their first second-round contest. However, Golden State seemed to have used that to their advantage, even being on the road.

In a night where the Timberwolves connected on just five of their 29 shots from three, Golden State was able to take the 99-88 win over Minnesota despite Steph Curry leaving the game early due to a hamstring injury. In his place, the Warriors looked to their other top shooter, as he led the charge in the second half and made NBA history in the process.

Buddy Hield led the game in scoring with 24 points, connecting on five threes and adding eight rebounds as the Warriors kept off a Timberwolves comeback after Curry’s early exit. Following up a stellar Game 7 performance, Hield caught fire once again and made NBA history combining the two efforts.

Hield became the third player in NBA history to have back-to-back playoff games with 20 or more points, five or more made threes, and zero turnovers. After a hot start to the regular season, Hield cooled off, but now looks just like he did to begin the year.

As Warriors fans await an update on Curry’s injury, Hield assured them they still have a top perimeter scoring threat if he has an extended absence. Game 2 stays in Minnesota on Thursday, with tip-off set for 8:30 p.m. EST.

Draymond Green Makes NBA History in Warriors-Timberwolves Game 1

Warriors Makes Franchise History vs Timberwolves in Game 1

Key Player Suffers Injury Scare in Warriors-Timberwolves Game 1

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High School Sports

Crispus Attucks men's basketball finishes runner up in Class 3A

Support local news Our journalism will always be free because of donations from readers like you. No history of Indiana is complete without mention of the basketball team at Crispus Attucks High School, once the only high school for Black students in segregated Indianapolis. For instance, how many schools do you know that belong to […]

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Crispus Attucks men's basketball finishes runner up in Class 3A

No history of Indiana is complete without mention of the basketball team at Crispus Attucks High School, once the only high school for Black students in segregated Indianapolis.

For instance, how many schools do you know that belong to the National Register of Historic Places? Or connected to a museum? Attucks is.

Thus the 2025 Attucks Tigers upheld a tradition like no other — 70 years after Attucks became the first all-Black school in the nation to win a state title. That Oscar Robertson was a few thumbstrokes away brings it full circle in the Circle City.

“They built their own legacy,” said coach Chris Hawkins, who has exchanged texts with the Attucks great since last summer. “We felt like this team could really do something special.”

Crispus Attucks High School head coach Chris Hawkins (right) watches play on the court March 22, 2025, during the first half of an IHSAA Class 3A semi-state semi-final basketball game against Princeton High School at Southport High School. Credit: Doug McSchooler for IndyStar-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In the end, in the Class 3A boys state championship game March 29, the Tigers lost. They don’t have a first-place trophy. They don’t need hardware to accent hardship.

Other schools tried to recruit their players. They shared one gym with the girls program, freshmen and junior varsity. The boys often were at school from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., assembled at study tables after classes, so the girls could practice first. They lost their best player to injury at midseason, then trailed by 11 points to start the fourth quarter of their first postseason game.

So no apologies. Maybe one regret: Attucks’ 22-7 record was not 29-0.

“I feel if I hadn’t got hurt this year, we could have been undefeated, the group we had,” said Dezmon Briscoe, a 6-foot-9 center and one of the four finalists for Indiana’s Mr. Basketball.

Crispus Attucks ‘deeply personal to so many people’

Playing basketball at Attucks is, well, not like playing elsewhere in this state. Indeed, to be a student there is not like it is elsewhere.

Principal Lauren Franklin said teachers try to instill what the school has meant to Indiana and Indianapolis. It was built near Indiana Avenue, the business and cultural center of the city’s Black community, and opened in 1927. The red brick building occupies just two square blocks, requiring some sports teams to leave campus for practice and games.

Because of declining enrollment, Attucks was converted to a junior high in 1986 and a middle school in 1993. It reverted to a high school in 2006.

Franklin said the school is “deeply personal to so many people.” Her own parents met at Attucks, and all four grandparents attended there.

“You’re hard-pressed still, in 2025, to find Black folks in the city who don’t have some connection to Crispus Attucks,” she said. “Whether it’s ‘my grandmother went here, my great-grandmother went here, my uncle went here, my grandfather played with this person or played with that person.’”

Hawkins and Franklin credited alumni with coming out to support the Tigers, especially in the championship game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where South Bend Saint Joseph ended Attucks’ 12-game winning streak, 56-52.

“They’re incredibly invested in how our students perform and how the games go. And then academically as well,” Franklin said.

Attucks’ graduation rate is 97%, she said, compared with a statewide average of 90%. The school population is 58% Black, 35% Hispanic and 4% multiracial.

An unusual characteristic of this year’s basketball team is that it featured nine seniors. All nine will attend college on scholarship, according to Hawkins. They will be in Divisions I or II or III, NAIA or junior college.

“We try for excellence across the board. Not just in basketball,” Franklin said.

Crispus had ‘never-say-die attitude’

For Briscoe, this season was like an heirloom to be protected. His brother, Derrick, was on the Attucks team that beat Twin Lakes 73-71 for the 3A state championship in 2017.

That was Attucks’ first state championship since 1959. Except for Tech in 4A boys basketball in 2014, it was the first for Indianapolis Public Schools in any sport since Broad Ripple in boys basketball in 1980.

Hawkins’ second season as Attucks coach was in 2017. He remembers young Briscoe as a “fat, chunky, 2-liter Pepsi drinker.”

As the youngster grew, so did the attention. Briscoe said he had “a lot” of coaches try to lure him to other schools. He said his stepfather wanted him to go to North Central. But as early as fourth grade, Briscoe told people he would enroll at Attucks.

“I just knew it was going to be the best fit for me. You can see the legacy I had here,” he said.

Crispus Attucks Tigers forward Dezmon Briscoe (11) gets the fans excited March 29, 2025, during the IHSAA Class 3A boys basketball state championship game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Credit: Grace Smith/IndyStar-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Briscoe became such a local celebrity that when he stepped off the bus to play tennis for Attucks last fall, those on the other team recognized him and asked for autographs.

He was city player of the year as a sophomore and junior. As a senior, he averaged 15.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 5.1 blocked shots in 19 games. He committed to Iowa before a coaching change, then switched to Kent State.

An ankle injury kept him out of four of Attucks’ losses, three to elite opponents: La Lumiere, a perennial prep school power; Fishers, the 4A state champion in 2024 and runner-up in 2025; Jeffersonville, the 4A state champion that ended Fishers’ 43-game winning streak.

Briscoe didn’t sulk or become detached. Hawkins said Briscoe sat by him on the bench and stayed engaged. Moreover, the Tigers continued to play with a chip on their shoulders, the coach said.

While they did not win a sectional in five seasons while in 4A, the pairing in 3A against Cathedral was daunting. Not only had Cathedral beaten Attucks 71-63 for the city championship, Cathedral was No. 2 behind Fishers in statewide computer rankings, irrespective of class.

Crispus Attucks’ Dezmon Briscoe (11) blocks Cathedral’s Brady Koehler (11) from shooting the ball during the City tournament championship game Jan. 27, 2025, at Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis. Credit: Christine Tannous/IndyStar-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cathedral led 48-37 after three quarters in a sectional opener before a comeback sparked by Briscoe resulted in a 59-54 victory. He finished with 20 points.

“Our players had a never-say-die attitude, just stayed together,” Hawkins said.

Chris Hurt named city player of the year

After getting past Cathedral, the pathway to state became easier.

Attucks beat Shortridge 71-55 in the sectional, Northview 57-46 in the regional, No. 6 Princeton 61-55 and No. 3 New Palestine 67-49 in the semistate.

“With this group, it was real competitive,” Hawkins said. “There were no days off. The competitive juices, I think, helped this team grow in certain situations.”

Point guard Chris Hurt grew as much as anyone. He became city player of the year.

Crispus Attucks Tigers guard Chris Hurt (1) is introduced March 29, 2025, at the start of the IHSAA Class 3A boys basketball state championship game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Credit: Grace Smith/IndyStar-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

He was so quiet as a freshman, the coach implored him to talk more, on and off the court. The Tigers couldn’t get Hurt to attempt 3-pointers, either, and he shot 39% from the arc this season.

“Being able to open up, talk, really helped me,” he said.

Six seniors averaged five or more points per game: Briscoe, Hurt (14.1), Kayden English (9.8), Imon Cousins (8.1), Che Brownlow (7.9), Ronsione Thomas (5.7).

Hawkins said he pushed the 6-foot-4 Thomas, in particular, because of unrealized potential. Not only did Thomas “step up big in a lot of games,” the coach said, but this year finally recognized his role and trusted himself.

“I think I came a long way, for sure,” Thomas said.

Saying goodbye is hard

The downside to all this?

Not that the team didn’t win a state title, but that it can never be a team again. Not like this.

The players won’t congregate in a corner on the school’s second floor, doing what they do: joking, dancing, shadow boxing. When players are that close, Hawkins said, those coalesce into the best teams.

Crispus Attucks players celebrate March 22, 2025, as they advance to the 3A state finals game, after defeating New Palestine 67-49. Credit: Clark Wade/IndyStar-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Losing a final game didn’t change any of that.

“Being there, on the big stage with them, being able to fight that last game together, it felt good,” Hurt said. “I didn’t really feel down. I did, but I also felt excited for us because we were able to compete all season, have fun with each other for our last year.”

Hawkins said he will miss the players’ togetherness. Said he will miss seeing them daily.

Briscoe said he will miss practices. Said he will miss everything. “We’re always winners around here.”

Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.

David Woods is a Mirror Indy freelance contributor. You can reach him at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow him on X: @DavidWoods007.

I hope you appreciated reading this article. Gifts from readers like you make Mirror Indy’s journalism possible. Let’s keep informative, local independent journalism free for everyone in Indy.

Oseye BoydEditor in Chief, Mirror Indy

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College Sports

Fort Myers beach volleyball beats Estero for Class 2A

History doesn’t repeat itself often, but for the Fort Myers beach volleyball team, it resulted in the hoisting of a trophy once again against a familiar opponent. And for Estero, the agony of being one set win away once more stung even more than it did the first meeting. The Green Wave closed out the […]

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Fort Myers beach volleyball beats Estero for Class 2A

History doesn’t repeat itself often, but for the Fort Myers beach volleyball team, it resulted in the hoisting of a trophy once again against a familiar opponent.

And for Estero, the agony of being one set win away once more stung even more than it did the first meeting.

The Green Wave closed out the Wildcats in the Class 2A-Region 4 championship game, beating them for the second time this season, and just 13 days apart, in an identical 3-2 decisions.

The Fort Myers High School beach volleyball team celebrates after taking home the district championship on May 6, 2025 as they defeated Estero High School during match play.

“The fact that we are so tiny, our team is chugging along like a train,” Fort Myers coach Kelly Corr said. “They pull together, they do their part, they cheer when they have to, they play their hearts out, we try to touch every ball, we’re working in practice hard so that when we come to the game, they’re just seeing our skills.

“We still have some work to do each and every day just to get ready for state, but I’m proud of the fact that we’re hanging in there. We’re pushing through, and we’re fighting.”

Corr didn’t make any lineup changes relative to the last match against Estero, rolling with her best three pairs on the No. 1, No. 3, and No. 5 courts. After a dramatic three-set win in the district title game two weeks ago, Isabella Higby and Erin McDowell exploited the serve receive of Avery McCarthy and Jordyn Selander on the No. 5 court, cruising to a 21-13, 21-11 win.

The Fort Myers High School beach volleyball team took home the district championship on May 6, 2025 as they defeated Estero High School during match play.

It was a welcoming sign for Corr, who saw Higby and McDowell squander a 20-14 lead in the second set in the first meeting, losing 22-20 after McCarthy and Selander went on an 8-0 run.

“It was relieving,” Corr said. “It stresses me a little because sometimes they can get a little back and forth with it and give a little too much and get in their heads a little bit, but they pulled it together. They proved they deserve to be there. You could tell they wanted it more than anyone out here. The way they were looking and playing and communicating, their one mistake, they just let it fuel them to get the next point.”

Kasey Corr and Amber Englehart moved to 17-0 on the season with an easy 21-9, 21-5 win over Lilly Engle and Capri Phillipine, while Estero got a 21-17, 21-5 win on the No. 4 court from Katie Kuieck and Julia Martus. The No. 2 court saw the Wildcat tandem of Casey Kennedy and Kassia Perkins beat Briley Dodge and Addi Sprecher 21-14, 21-11.The Fort Myers High School beach volleyball team took home the district championship on May 6, 2025 as they defeated Estero High School during match play.The drama then shifted to the No. 1 court, with a battle between Fort Myers’ Gabby Dwyer and Ashlee Tenkley and Brooke Smith and Delayna Kerry of Estero. Dwyer and Tenkley had their way through the duration of the district title match, but received a stiffer fight on Tuesday, especially early.Smith and Kerry capitalized at the service line on misplays from the Fort Myers seniors, and nearly handed them their first set loss of the season. Level at 19-all, Dwyer and Tenkley ended things on a tip to the near side that went past Kerry’s outstretched arms.”Of course you’re pulling for them at that point,” Estero coach John Ban said. “I have so much faith in that team. They’re such great beach volleyball players, I thought we had every shot in the world to take them down in the first set. That would’ve changed the whole momentum of the match.”The Fort Myers High School beach volleyball team took home the district championship on May 6, 2025 as they defeated Estero High School during match play.Smith and Kerry would fall behind early in the second, trailing 7-1. Dwyer and Tenkley would hold that mid-single digit lead the rest of the way, pulling away to win 21-12 with the regional trophy shortly in hand thereafter.For Ban and the Wildcats, Martus and Kuieck are the lone seniors set to graduate from the program, giving them the foundation to be arguably the area’s top squad in 2026.”The team was amazing this year,” Ban said. “We went 15-2 and lost to the same team twice. That’s the only team we lost to. The girls are a bunch of very good volleyball players and can play on the beach as well. Moving forward into the future, we’re just locked and loaded for next year.”But the loss was definitely bittersweet. I’m happy for the Fort Myers kids that I coached in middle school at Saint Francis and the kids I’ve been able to coach in club over the years.”The Fort Myers High School beach volleyball team took home the district championship on May 6, 2025 as they defeated Estero High School during match play.The Green Wave will now head to Tallahassee to take on Gulf Breeze, the No. 2 seed in Region 1, which beat Chiles 3-2 with wins on the No. 2, No. 3, and No. 5 pairs.Having Final Four experience on the roster this year will only help, as Kelly Corr coached Bishop Verot to Tallahassee a season ago. Kasey Corr and Higby were on the team that advanced last year.”We led with that at the beginning of the season,” Kelly Corr said. “These goals are attainable, they’re reachable, they are tough, but you can do it if you put your mind to it. That was literally one of our goals, was to get (to Tallahassee) for our seniors, for the experience of our underclassmen.”To do that, and to be able to say you did it, very few teams get to do that. That’s always been one of the goals and one of the things we’ve talked about… They all know that experience, what it’s like, and they’ll be able to talk it up and hopefully that’ll fuel them to want to play even harder.”Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.

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Professional Sports

Aspiring Paralympian overcoming odds time and time again!

May 7, 2025 | Paul Stimpson Ten-year-old Taylor Lewis is dreaming of competing in table tennis at the Paralympics – and is already showing he has the skills to succeed. Taylor contracted meningococcal septicaemia when he was just eight months old and lost both his legs, and his fingers and thumbs. He has had more […]

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Aspiring Paralympian overcoming odds time and time again!

Ten-year-old Taylor Lewis is dreaming of competing in table tennis at the Paralympics – and is already showing he has the skills to succeed.

Taylor contracted meningococcal septicaemia when he was just eight months old and lost both his legs, and his fingers and thumbs.

He has had more than 90 operations in his short life but has battled through everything and is making great progress in table tennis since first joining the Draycott & Long Eaton club around 18 months ago.

He has been working with para athlete Simon Heaps, who himself is a double leg amputee as a result of diabetes, and Simon’s brother Nick.

And he’s even had Rolls Royce engineers working on designing prosthetics to help him hold a bat and to pick up the ball to serve.

We caught up with Taylor, his mum Terri and Simon at the Mark Bates Ltd National Championships. Watch the film below.

Simon said: “I think Taylor is an absolute inspiration to anybody of any age. I think that word is said very, very lightly, especially about people with disabilities. But this young man really is. He’s not only a lovely lad, but he’s a true inspiration to everybody.”

Been inspired to try table tennis? To find a place to play that suits you, visit the red button below.

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Professional Sports

Home Favourite FLORO Impresses on Opening Day in Bratislava

Only 16 years old, Damian FLORO made a strong start on home soil at the 2025 European Under 21 Championships in Bratislava. Playing at Tipos Arena, the Slovakian, seeded 53rd, defied expectations by defeating croatia’s Ivan HENCL, the 29th seed. “I felt a little pressure before the start because it’s not easy playing at home. […]

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Home Favourite FLORO Impresses on Opening Day in Bratislava

Only 16 years old, Damian FLORO made a strong start on home soil at the 2025 European Under 21 Championships in Bratislava. Playing at Tipos Arena, the Slovakian, seeded 53rd, defied expectations by defeating croatia’s Ivan HENCL, the 29th seed.

“I felt a little pressure before the start because it’s not easy playing at home. It also takes time to adjust to the venue and its conditions. However, once the game started, I felt the ball well, found my rhythm, and that boosted my confidence,” said FLORO.

FLORO previously made his mark by finishing second at the Europe Youth Top 10 two years ago in the Under 15 category in Bucharest. Last year, he was part of the Slovakian Under 19 team that secured bronze at the European Youth Championships in Sweden after a semi-final loss to Germany. In the quarterfinals, Slovakia beat Croatia, with FLORO winning his match against HENCL.

“That win was very important to me today. Despite the ranking difference, I felt confident,” added FLORO.

When asked about his ambitions for the tournament, FLORO was optimistic:

“Now I think I have a good chance to get through the group stage, and hopefully the next round too. I know reaching the knockout phase is very ambitious—but why not?” he said with a smile.

The opening stage of the tournament features 48 players divided into 12 groups (Groups 1–12). The top two players from each group will advance to Stage 2, producing 24 qualifiers. Tomorrow, the eight top-seeded players will join them in the main draw.

Top seeds in the men’s event: Eduard ONESCU (Romania), Andre BERTELSMEIER (Germany), Flavien COTON (France), Iulian CHIRITA (Romania), Tiago ABIODUN (Portugal), Balazs LEI (Hungary), Andrei ISTRATE (Romania), Kas VAN OOST (Netherlands).

See the pictures by T. SEREDA here.

Follow the results here.

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