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Neither Lindsey Vonn nor Eileen Gu are scared to fail at the Olympics

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CNN
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More than sporting excellence and closets stuffed full of medals, skiing legends Lindsey Vonn and Eileen Gu have something in common: perseverance in the face of failure.

While Gu – who became the youngest Olympic champion in freestyle skiing at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 at 18 – is known for her successes, they weren’t always guaranteed.

Gu, who competes for China, became the first woman to land a double cork 1440, and in the moment leading up to the trick, she admits she had to be OK with the idea of not being successful in her attempt.

“In this moment, if I (saw) that I’m free to try, it’s going to be a story and a legacy in and of itself regardless of if I land,” Gu said speaking to CNN Sports at the recent Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid.

“If I didn’t land, I would be equally proud of myself for trying because what often holds women, particularly young women, back is the fear of trying – and that’s what happens when girls drop out of sports precipitously from age 11 to 14.

“Really the story that I wanted to tell was: go out there, do your very best, and if you landed, awesome, but if you don’t, still be proud of yourself,” she added.

Eileen Gu, pictured with an X Games Aspen 2024 gold medal for Women's Ski SuperPipe, has her sights set on next year's Winter Olympics.

Now 21, Gu has her sights on her second Winter Olympics when the Games come to Milan-Cortina in 2026. Also hoping to compete is American skier Lindsey Vonn, who earlier this year came out of retirement and concluded her comeback season with a second-place finish in a World Cup super-G race.

“A lot of women and girls are afraid to try because of the fear of failure, and I’ve fallen a million times and I’ve always gotten back up, so I’m not afraid to fail at anything,” Vonn said.

It is this defiance in the face of potential failure which is key to Vonn’s success. The American star came second in the super-G at the World Cup finals in March to become the oldest female Alpine skier to make the podium of a World Cup race by six years.

She retired from the sport in February 2019 but announced last year she would be returning to the slopes after undergoing a successful partial knee replacement in April 2024.

Vonn acknowledged that there are factors that some consider detrimental to her ability to win.

“Is my age a factor? Yeah. (Are) my, are my injuries a factor? Yes, but … you’ve got to do what you love, and if I fail, so be it, but I always believed in myself, and it’s gotten me this far,” Vonn told CNN.

“A lot of people say as they get older, the fear increases – that’s your mind. Do what you set your mind to. If you believe you can’t do it, then of course.”

Vonn returned to skiing after undergoing a successful partial knee replacement.

Vonn has already expressed her desire to conclude this chapter of her career at the Winter Games. She already has a record 12 World Cup wins at Cortina d’Ampezzo.

She told the Associated Press that she was “definitely am thinking about (the Olympics) and I hope that I can get there.”

“I have to keep things going and if I can make it, it would be a thrilling and a great way to kind of close the loop on my career – I guess the second chapter of my career. But I’m really trying not to think that far ahead,” she told AP.

Vonn has plenty of supporters who think she has a shot at medaling again.

“I’m pretty sure Lindsey can win at least one medal,” three-time Olympic champion Maria Höfl-Riesch told CNN Sports.

”I mean she could do it in both events, of course. I think it depends on if it’s working in the first one, then maybe the second one is coming easier.”

Vonn said she was hopeful for herself and Gu when it came to bagging medals.

“I would say you (Eileen) got three last Olympics. My best was two and I have three potential events. So I think, on average, we should hopefully come away with three or four. I think four would be a pretty solid bet,” Vonn said.



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The Colorado Rockies are having a historically bad start to the season. They lost 21-0 in their latest defeat.

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With every game, the Colorado Rockies’ season seems to be getting worse.

Now at 6-33, they have endured the worst start to the season since the Baltimore Orioles in 1988. Before that, you must go back to before baseball’s modern era, back to the 1884 Kansas City Cowboys and 1876 Cincinnati Reds, to find another team with such a bad record at this point in the season.

And on Saturday, they had another historically bad night, succumbing to a 21-0 loss against the San Diego Padres at Coors Field.

It was the Rockies’ worst ever shutout loss, the Padres’ largest ever margin of victory and just one run shy of the largest shutout victory in the league since at least 1900.

Padres’ pitcher Stephen Kolek made history too on just his second-ever MLB start, equaling the record set by Red Ruffing in 1939 and Ed Siever in 1901 for the largest individual shutout.

“I’m actually feeling pretty good right now,” Kolek said afterward, as his teammates dumped a cooler of water on him in celebration. “Anything like this is amazing, I’m just grateful.”

San Diego Padres outfielder Jason Heyward celebrates his fourth inning three-run home run with Gavin Sheets and Jackson Merrill.

And it could have been even worse for the Rockies. At the top of the sixth inning, the Padres already had a 20-0 lead and were on course to challenge both the MLB record for runs in a game (30) and hits (33). As it was, San Diego finished with 21 runs and 24 hits.

“You feel for a lot of people, right?” Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt told reporters even before his franchise’s loss on Saturday, per MLB.com. “Because there are a lot of people that care. You keep trying to grind through it. That’s all you can do.

“I know we’re better than we’ve played. We’re not good right now. We’re going to have to battle through it and come out on the other side.”

The Rockies have been hobbled by injuries to key players like 2024 Gold Glove shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and former NL MVP Kris Bryant.

“We’ve got to get guys back. That’s the big thing. Try to withstand the storm,” Schmidt added.

Their losses this season have been so lopsided that they have allowed 134 more runs than they’ve scored, 65 worse than the next closest team in MLB.

The Rockies’ struggles come after the Chicago White Sox lost 121 games last season, setting the unwanted record of the most losses in a single season in baseball’s modern era. At the moment, the Rockies are on track to surpass even that tally though, of course, there is still a long way to go.



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Shedeur Sanders aiming to ‘prove himself right’ instead of other ‘people wrong’ as he begins NFL career

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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders said his “job here isn’t to prove people wrong” but to “prove myself right” as he spoke to the media for the first time since his dramatic slide and fifth round selection during the NFL Draft.

The 144th pick is among the next generation of NFL players being put through their paces with rookie minicamps taking place across the league.

And, after being one of the main storylines during the NFL draft, the 23-year-old said he is grateful for the opportunity with the Cleveland Browns.

“I’m just thankful for the opportunity. Things could have been a lot worse, but I’m here smiling in front of you all at this facility right now.”

Such was the discussion around Sanders’ slide down the draft, US President Donald Trump even posted on social media in support of the former Colorado star.

Sanders said Saturday he was “truly thankful” for the support from the president, as well as “other fans, people in barber shops, just lots of fans.”

He added that “other people’s opinion of you is gonna be based off their own.”

“Ninety-nine percent of hatred is towards pops and then I’m just his son, so it really just comes from that. And I’ve told him that too,” he said, laughing.

Sanders is the son of Colorado Buffaloes head coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders.

“It’s the older generation that do it to me rather than the younger people because when I come in person there’s no negativity I see,” he added. “But it’s all over online.”

Elsewhere at Browns practice, No. 5 pick Mason Graham was seen vomiting in his helmet after a workout.

Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski joked that he may have had too many wings before practice.

“He did, that was gross,” Stefanski told reporters, confirming Graham’s struggles. “I think he ate too much. The cooking in the kitchen was too good, a few less wings next time.”

It’s clear that Graham is going to leave it all on the field for the Browns, but the defensive tackle will be hoping for easier days in the future.

Mason Graham left it all on the field during practice.

The top two picks in the 2025 NFL Draft have also been refining their skills in their rookie minicamps.

Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall pick, has been training with the Tennessee Titans looking to get sharp ahead of the new season.

Ward had an impressive college career, most recently at the University of Miami, and will be hoping his collegiate performances carry over to the NFL.

One of the most exciting picks of the 2025 draft was the No. 2 overall selection, Travis Hunter.

Hunter has the rare ability to play on both sides of the ball and anticipation has been growing as to whether he can do this in the NFL.

Fans will be eagerly waiting to see if the Heisman Trophy winner does play both offense and defense in practice and then in games as the season gets underway.

The schedule for the 2025 NFL season is released on May 14 and these rookies will be hoping to be game ready for the season opener.



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Jannik Sinner has ‘remarkable’ return to tennis at Italian Open after doping ban

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Jannik Sinner enjoyed a winning return to tennis on Saturday after serving a three-month doping ban, as he defeated Mariano Navone in front of a rapturous crowd at his home Italian Open.

The Italian still holds the world No. 1 spot despite his enforced absence from the sport and he lived up to that mantle, overcoming an impressive Navone 6-3, 6-4 in Rome.

But it was the reaction from his home crowd who gave him a standing ovation that “means much more than any result,” he told reporters.

One fan held up a sign that read “Bentornato Jannik (Welcome back Jannik),” others dressed in orange, referencing Sinner’s ginger hair, or hung over the railings while he practiced to take photos of him.

The crowd in Rome gave Sinner a warm welcome.

Sinner was playing in his first match since returning from a three-month ban having twice tested positive for the banned substance Clostebol, an anabolic steroid, in March last year.

The three-time grand slam champion previously escaped a ban when the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) ruled that he wasn’t at fault for the positive tests, accepting that the contamination was caused by a physio applying an over-the-counter spray.

However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) subsequently lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), leading to Sinner accepting a suspension from February 9 to May 4.

The saga around Sinner has shone the spotlight on the current anti-doping protocols in tennis, with several players raising concerns about possible preferential treatment for the top stars.

As he returned from that ban, just in time for the French Open which begins later this month, Sinner notched up a 22nd consecutive tour win, picking up where he left off after winning the Australian Open in January.

“I’m happy about the win today. It has been very difficult,” he said afterward in his on-court interview. “He is such a great player, especially on this surface. I tried to move around the ball.

“At times it went very well, at times it could be better, yes, but in any case, it doesn’t matter about the result today. It has been a remarkable day for me, so I’m very happy.”

He took the first set with relative ease, producing 11 winners as his typical hard-hitting at times forced Navone off the court. The second set seemed to be unfolding in a similar fashion as Sinner once again broke Navone early on but the Argentine fought back, breaking the world No. 1 as he snatched at a forehand that went into the net.

Sinner will now play Jesper de Jong in the tournament’s third round on Monday.

Elsewhere in the Italian Open, American Danielle Collins upset world No. 2 Iga Świątek, who has dominated this tournament recently, winning it three of the last four years as she has been almost invincible on clay.

Collins, the No. 29 seed, ultimately cruised to a comprehensive 6-1, 7-5 win over Świątek who endured a poor serving display and was broken five consecutive times during the match.

Danielle Collins upset Iga Świątek at the Italian Open.

Following the loss, Świątek will lose her world No. 2 ranking, ending a remarkable run of more than three years when she has occupied one of the top two spots in the world.

For Collins, the result marked just her second win over Świątek in nine meetings and means she will progress to the fourth round where she will face Elina Svitolina.

“After losing to Iga so many times, you obviously learn from those experiences, matchups,” she said afterwards, per the WTA. “Even though the last couple times we’ve played she’s beaten me, I’ve played some of my best tennis in those matches.

“So that gave me confidence.”



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