The Sports Moment

This Saturday, the two best teams in the National Women’s Soccer League face off in the championship. The NWSL is booming after years of scandal and struggle. Today on this special episode of "Post Reports," how the league became so successful and what it shows about the potential for women’s sports. Read more: Just a few years ago, the National Women’s Soccer League was a relatively small busines...

After two-plus weeks of the Games, the Closing Ceremonies arrive today. Between the Parisian backdrop, the incredible athletic performances and celebrity buzz, these Olympics will stand apart – especially from the pandemic-era ones that preceded it. The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace speaks with reporter Rick Maese and columnist Jerry Brewer about their favorite moments covering the Games. This is...

The Paris Olympics have been an incredible success story for the southern Caribbean islands of Dominica, Saint Lucia and Grenada. Most of those wins came on a single night in track.  The meaning of the Olympics from Grenadian bronze-medalist Lindon Victor. Plus: Host Ava Wallace gives a rundown of the latest news from Paris. Subscribe to Ava’s newsletter here .  Subscribe to The Washingt...

It was a blockbuster day at the track on Thursday, and it was supposed to begin with Noah Lyles being anointed with his second gold medal – this time in his signature event, the men’s 200 meters. But as the sprinters turned the corner on the track, it was clear something was wrong. The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace speaks with Post reporter Adam Kilgore and Post columnist Barry Svrluga about the a...

Snoop Dogg, Flavor Flav, pins: The Paris Games are a bounty of cultural weirdness. And for people attending the Games in person, you can add to the list “hospitality houses” – party houses where people can pay a fee to watch sporting events with their countrymen . The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace talks with Post features writer Dan Zak about his experience of covering the Olympics as a cultural e...

Lauren Scuggs remembers being the only fencer in her Queens neighborhood: “It was a very weird thing for me to do.” In a sport that has been historically dominated in the United States by White people, Scruggs became the first Black American woman to win an individual fencing medal at the Olympics. The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace sat down with Scruggs to talk about her journey to the Olympics an...

The U.S. women’s basketball team is a dynasty – and it didn’t need Caitlin Clark. Host Ava Wallace talks with columnists Candace Buckner and Jerry Brewer about that and drama on the track. Plus: How NBC brings the sounds of the Games to your living room. Subscribe to Ava’s newsletter here .  Subscribe to The Washington Post here . Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edi...

Yesterday, Noah Lyles defended his title as fastest man in the world by winning the men’s 100-meter dash. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic bested Carlos Alcaraz, to whom he lost in Wimbledon just a month earlier. No matter where you turn, the Paris Olympics are packed with redemption stories. The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace speaks with Post reporters Rick Maese about some of the best games from over th...

Correction: A previous version of this episode misidentified Josh Kerr, the British middle-distance runner, as Sam Kerr, the Australian soccer player. The audio has been updated to remove the error. At the last Summer Olympics, not a single American man won gold in track. This year, track superstars, including Noah Lyles, are trying to set the record straight on Paris’s purple track. The Washingto...

Many of the superstar athletes at the Paris Olympics are older than their peers have been in the past. Superstars like LeBron James, Katie Ledecky and Simomne Biles are forcing people to rethink how old is “too old” to be competing at the Olympics .  Ava Wallace talks with Post sports reporter Emily Giambalvo and Post sports columnist Jerry Brewer about the significance of Biles’s gold-medal...

There are 223 former NCAA swimmers who trained in the United States at the 2024 Olympics. But only 46 represent the United States. It’s caused some awkward situations in Paris. Host Ava Wallace talks with Post sports columnist Barry Svrluga about the drama swirling around France’s star swimmer, Léon Marchand . Plus: What it’s like for the parents of athletes to be back at the Olympics to support t...

The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace recaps a big day for American gymnasts and women’s rugby, and what to watch out for yet today. Plus: How social-media stars like Ilona Maher, the US women's rugby player, are creating viral moments online. Subscribe to Ava’s newsletter here .  Subscribe to The Washington Post here . Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Joe Tone...

For years, the United States and Australia have duked it out for dominance in the Olympic swimming pool. Now, with U.S. legend Michael Phelps retired and Katie Ledecky slipping in some races, it might be Australia’s turn at the top of the podium. The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace speaks with Post reporters Dave Sheinin and Rick Maese about the newest stars in the pool this year and which races not...

The U.S. men’s basketball team has won 16 of the 20 Olympics tournaments in history. They are one of greatest team dynasties at the Summer Games. But the rest of the world might be catching up. The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace speaks with Post NBA reporter Ben Golliver about the team’s quest for redemption after their embarrassing defeat at the FIBA World Cup last year. Subscribe to Ava’s newslet...

As the Paris Olympics get underway, everyone's watching to see what world records get broken this cycle. But what happens if some records are actually unbreakable? The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace talks with sports reporters Adam Kilgore and Emily Giambalvo about what their months-long analysis of world records says about the limits of human potential , and what that might mean for the future of...

Paris’s audacious plan for the Opening Ceremonies had the city and organizers on edge. But despite the rain, the show went on.  From Céline Dion on the Eiffel Tower to Flavor Flav at Team USA House, The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace gives you the rundown of the biggest moments from yesterday’s performances, and what events to follow today. Subscribe to Ava’s newsletter here .  Subscribe...

Today is the culmination of years of planning and billions of dollars in investments for Olympics organizers and officials. It hasn’t come without controversy, though, and its impact on the lives of everyday Parisians is profound. The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace speaks with Post foreign correspondents Claire Parker and Rick Noack, who are covering these Games, about the price and stakes of pulli...

U.S. women’s soccer is in a moment of transition at these Olympics. There’s a brand new coach, and star players like Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan are not on the roster in Paris.   The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace speaks with Post soccer reporter Steven Goff about how a new generation of players have a chance to remake U.S. women’s soccer – and perhaps bring home another medal in the proces...

There are a lot of questions heading into the Summer Olympics: Is Paris prepared to host the Games? Who are the star athletes this year? What exactly is a “horsey passport”? The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace speaks with Post sports columnist Jerry Brewer and sports feature writer Rick Maese about those questions and more in the first episode of The Sports Moment. Subscribe to Ava’s newsletter here...

Ava Wallace, sports reporter at The Washington Post, is heading to France to report on the Summer Games — and eat a lot of croissants. Join her starting July 24, continuing through the entire run of the games, for several episodes a week as she captures the highs, the lows and the Paris of it all, along with other Post colleagues. Sign up for The Sports Moment: Olympics Edition newsletter here .