Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Wednesday, July 31.

OLYMPICS

As today’s Remix is being written, I’m watching the first official event of the day. It’s 8 AM in Paris and the men’s 20 km Race Walk gold medal contest has begun. Check in at the end of today’s issue to find out who won this explosive display of stamina and extreme hip flexibility… or just Google what Race Walking is, because I think you’ll enjoy what you see.

Anyways, there were some great moments from yesterday’s competition–

Team USA:

• Katie Ledecky tied the record for Olympic medals by a US woman. Her 12th medal was gold, as she once again dominated the 1500 meter freestyle event. She’s one of the greatest Olympians of all-time, and she’s inspiring a new generation.

• Bam Adebayo led the way with 18 points as Team USA beat South Sudan 103-86. The favorites in men’s basketball have clinched a spot in the quarterfinals, although they will play one more game in group play this week. Playing time has become the big story, as Joel Embiid took Jayson Tatum’s role from game one and played zero minutes.

• The American beach volleyball duo of Kelly Cheng and Sarah Hughes beat France in a tightly contested match. They’re in a good position to advance to the final eight.

• Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram upset a lot of tennis fans yesterday. The American doubles specialists took down Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, showing how strategy and doubles experience can neutralize even the greatest of singles champions. If this was the end for Rafa… what an incredible career.

Around the world:

• French swimmer Leon Marchand is the most popular person in France. The 22-year old became the first swimmer in 48 years to win two individual golds in the same day. First, Marchand chased down the world record holder to win the 200 meter butterfly. About an hour later, Marchand was first to the wall in the 200 meter breaststroke. Truly spectacular swimming from the young Frenchman.

• There were whispers that Paris had a “slow pool” because no world records had been set at this year’s games. Then Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle won the 100 meter freestyle, crushed the rest of the field, and broke the WR he had previously set! Not so slow anymore, huh?

• Despite their coach being fired and suffering a severe six-point penalty, Canada women’s soccer has qualified for the quarterfinals in Paris. Apparently the strange drone/spygate scandal that rocked the Canadian soccer federation has not impacted the team’s play on the pitch.

MEDAL COUNT (TOP 10)

MLB

Baseball is a sport where players walk all the time. As you can guess, the race is still going. In the meantime, I’ll tell you what happened yesterday in the Big Leagues:

• The number one prospect in baseball, Jackson Holliday was called up from the minors yesterday for the second time in his young career. Unlike his first stint in the majors, this time he was ready to hit. Holliday smashed a grand slam for his first career home run, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Blue Jays 10-4. And he shared a beautiful moment with the father and son who caught the ball.

• Matt Olson and Travis D’Arnaud hit back-to-back home runs twice in the same game! Behind their power surge, the Atlanta Braves won 6-2 over the Brewers.

• DJ LeMahieu hit a grand slam and drove in all six runs as the Yankees beat the Phillies 6-5. New York remains undefeated since acquiring Jazz Chisholm.

• San Francisco Giants starter Logan Webb pitched a complete game shutout against the Oakland Athletics. The Giants won the battle of the bay 1-0.

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

The Big 10 announced that their conference basketball tournament will no longer be in the midwest every year. Las Vegas has been added to the rotation, starting in 2027 for the women and 2028 for the men. Who knows what schools will be part of the Big 10 three years from now?

PLAY OF THE DAY

The US Women’s soccer team beat Australia 2-1 and advanced to the quarterfinals. The win was highlighted by this superb long-range strike:

Like soccer, did you know there are red cards in Race Walking? A lot less awesome goals, though.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

NFL PRESEASON: Texans vs Bears, 8 PM on ABC

• You are, in fact, reading this correctly: the NFL is back today with their annual Hall of Fame game. Will anyone important play? Will anyone actually watch? To most fans, that doesn’t matter– there is a real-life professional football game on today’s schedule.

MLB: Cardinals @ Cubs, 8:05 PM

• The scene: Wrigley Field. The pitchers: Sonny Gray and Shota Imanaga. Two historic rivals with their aces on the mound as the calendar turns to August. Is there anything else you could ever ask for in a sporting event?

THE OLYMPIC GAMES: Today, The Remix is highlighting some stand-out athletes. You can view the entire Team USA schedule in the embedded tweet below…

• Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele: golf round one, 4:11 AM and 5:55 AM

• Andy Murray (Great Britain): doubles quarterfinals vs USA, beginning no sooner than 8 AM

• Simone Biles: gymnastics all-around final, 12:15 PM

• Summer McIntosh (Canada): 200 meter butterfly, 2:30 PM

• Katie Ledecky: 4×200 meter freestyle relay, 2:30 PM

• Jimmer Fredette: 3×3 basketball, 5:05 PM

And you can check out the Olympics app for a complete schedule of all events!

“I’ll never join you!” –Luke Skywalker

Enjoy your Thursday!