Category Archives: Olympics

Erik Tait felt understandably anxious going into the early October trials to rep the North American team at the Fdration Internationale des Socits Magiques (FISM), which the Columbus magician described as the Olympics of magic.

Not only did Tait have to contend with the strict competition rules(performers were given a precise time frame in which to set up, complete a trick and then completely empty the stage), but he was also working with a less familiar brand of cards, which added a degree of difficulty to a trick that had long ago started to feel like second nature.

I elected to use a different brand of cards than my normal deck for reasons specifically related to the competition, and the deck felt a little alien in my hand, said Taitby phone the day after he returned from the competition in Quebec City. The brand of card Ive used for five years, the weight of the deck, the thickness of the paper, the finish, the flexibility and the rigidness of the card stock, its something my hand is very used to.

On top of that, Tait said he has long harbored feelings of discomfort while performing in front of magicians, who made up a majority of the audience during the competition in Quebec City, an unease he traced both to a long-held imposter syndrome Taits belief that he didnt belong on the same stage with the true wizards of the craft as well as the difference in the responses between a lay audience and one filled with performers, where the silences and cheers fall at divergent moments.

In competition, everyone is watching you more critically rather than for entertainment value, said Tait, who has worked with a therapist for much of the past year, the last half centered more intensely on this aspect of performance. Ive spent the last six months working [with my therapist] on my nerves in front of magicians. I get extremely nervous in competition and shake a lot, and then my hands dont quite operate right, and we very specifically worked on that.

As a result of these sessions, Tait was able to better control his nerves in Quebec City, where he performed what he described as an extended version of the invisible three-card Monte trick that he previously did on-air in an episode of Penn & Teller: Fool Us. (Tait also won the International Brotherhood of Magicians Gold Cups International Award of Excellence in Close-Up Performance for the trick in 2018.)

Still, following Taits delivery of the trick, which unfolded precisely as he hoped it would, he wasnt exactly brimming with confidence, believing he might have scored just high enough to scrape by in the qualifying. Instead, when results were announced, Taitlearned that he had placed in the top three for close-up magic, securing a spot on the North American team, which will take on global challengers at FISM 2022, also in Quebec City.

FISM was always kind of an unattainable goal, something for the giants of the industry and the real wizards who live among us, not guys who do a couple of card tricks like me, said Tait, who came to magic two decades ago via juggling and still maintains a similarmindset when he performs, balancing a series of highly technical sleight of hand tricks that he compared with the act of keeping multiple balls in the air. I grew up looking at FISM and thinking, man, it would be cool to do that, but never thinking I actually would. And now Im in that situation, and its pretty overwhelming.

Following the trials, overcome with the emotion of the moment, Tait escaped to a pub across the street from the venue to have a drink and relax his nerves. While seated at the bar, he was approached by a local who noticed him shuffling cards and, after striking up a conversation, requested Tait do a couple of tricks, which left the man gobsmacked. The manthen invited Tait to join him at a table with friends, introducing the magician by saying, This is Erik. Please be quiet. He is the wizard.

And he and his friends were just really enthusiastic, and asking lots of questions, and there wasnt this sense of, Oh, do you do childrens birthday parties? said Tait, who plans to spend the next 10 months working with a team to refine and perfect his trick in advance of FISM. They were really treating what I did as an art form, and asking probing and interesting questions. … They were sharing this sense of wonder that is really unique to the human species, and it was this grounding moment that, yes, we were there for a competition, and, yes, we were there to test our mettle. Butat the end of the day, the reason we do magic is to be able to share this moment of mystery and wonder with other humans. And it kind of brought me back to the real world, and I was like, OK, lets go do this again. Lets share this moment and experience with others.

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Erik Tait ready to represent North America at the Olympics of magic - Columbus Alive

More than 40 Special Olympics teams from around the state competed in a soccer tournament in Owasso Wednesday.

Organizers said these players know the true value of sports.

"It is just as competitive as any other sport you have ever been to," said John Seals with Special Olympics Oklahoma.

It is a very warm welcome back to in-person events for Special Olympics Oklahoma.The players have come from all over the state to be a part of the games.The teams are made up of players with and without intellectual disabilities.

"We think it adds so much to people's lives to come out and compete and we haven't got to do this for almost two years now," saidSeals."We have got 46 teams here from all over the state."

COVID-19 has changed the way these games happen. The public isn't allowed to come watch and cheer the players on, it's just family, players, and coaches but regardless of the changes, the kids were having a ball.

The referees volunteer their time to be here, saying these games are what sports should be.

"This is for the true love of sport- it is not playing for money, it is not playing for college scholarship, it is not people spending all of their money taking their kids all over the country- they are playing for the love of the game,"saidSeals.

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46 Special Olympics Teams Compete In Soccer Tournament In Owasso - News On 6

The commute can't be beat. It takes Maddie Rooney only eight minutes to drive from her home to the Super Rink in Blaine, where the former Minnesota Duluth goalie and her U.S. women's hockey teammates will train for the next four months as they prepare for the Winter Olympics.

A native of Andover, Rooney already knew her way around the Super Rink, where she took skating lessons as a kid. She felt even more comfortable Tuesday, when the U.S. women's national team officially began its pre-Olympic residency program. With new signage and a locker room designed just for them, Rink 6 has been turned into a true home base for the 28 players training toward the Beijing Games in February.

"This is going to be a great setup for us,'' said Rooney, who helped the U.S. win gold at the 2018 Olympics. "We feel welcomed and valued here. And that's so important when you're working toward a goal like this.''

The work started in earnest Tuesday, as the residency program returned to Blaine for the first time in more than a decade. Though players from 13 states are part of the program, it has a pronounced Minnesota flavor.

The group includes six Minnesotans and eight current or former Gophers. Minnesota State, Mankato senior defenseman Anna Wilgren was added last week. The roster will be cut to 23 for the Olympics, with the Winter Games roster expected to be announced Jan. 1 during the NHL Winter Classic at Target Field.

Over the next few months, the U.S. will play nine games against archrival Canada in a series called the "My Why Tour.'' The tour, which includes a Dec. 20 game at Xcel Energy Center, kicks off Oct. 22 in Allentown, Pa.

The U.S. also has scheduled several scrimmages with North American Hockey League teams, local boys' high-performance and elite league teams and a group of top women's players who are not training with the national team.

Like Rooney, USA Hockey is plenty familiar with the Super Rink. Before the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, it held its first-ever women's pre-Olympic residency at the facility, bringing players from all over the country to live and train in Blaine. The locker room was built specifically for the U.S. women's team with $350,000 in donated funds.

USA Hockey moved the program to Boston for the 2014 Sochi Games and to the Tampa, Fla., area for the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. Katie Million, hired in 2019 as director of USA Hockey's women's national teams, didn't know the history in Blaine when she came on board. Once she learned about it, she knew she wanted the program to return perhaps permanently.

"When I came and saw it, I said, 'Why are we not using this space? It's fabulous,' '' said Million, who is based in Minneapolis. "It just made a lot of sense. We really would like to keep it home.''

In addition to the locker room, which has been renovated, Million cited the abundance of high-level local competition and Blaine's central location as factors in the decision to return. Several players already were living in the Twin Cities. So was Joel Johnson, coach of the U.S. women's national program.

Johnson, the longtime associate head coach for the Gophers women, was hired last summer to coach the St. Thomas women's team, about six weeks before he was named the Olympic coach. Having the national team in Blaine will allow him to juggle both jobs. Johnson plans to be behind the Tommies bench whenever possible, with St. Thomas assistant Bethany Brausen assuming head coaching duties when Johnson is busy with the national team.

"I'm here in the morning, then I grab lunch and head down and continue to coach at St. Thomas in the afternoon,'' said Johnson, who coached the U.S. women to a silver medal at the world championships in August. "It's pretty seamless.''

Johnson said the team has everything it needs at the Super Rink, a sentiment shared by his players.

"The locker room, the signs, all the red, white and blue, it makes us feel at home,'' said forward Abbey Murphy, who is taking this season off from the Gophers to train with the national team. "It's awesome.''

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On path to Beijing Olympics, U.S. women's hockey team makes it's home at the Super Rink in Blaine - Minneapolis Star Tribune

BMX star Kye Whyte is swapping his bike for a pair of skates in the New Year.

The Team GB hero has been announced as part of the lineup for Dancing on Ice, with the new series set to air on ITV early in 2022.

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Here's all you need to know about the Prince of Peckham...

Born in September 1999, the 22-year-old began riding BMX when he was just three.

Riding runs in the family, with his father Nigel a co-founder of the famous Peckham BMX Club.

It was from here that Whyte got his 'Prince of Peckham' nickname and began his ascent from the streets of South London to the Tokyo Olympics.

Along with his brother Tre, the pair joined the Great Britain Cycling Team in 2017.

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But it was a rocky start at national level for Kye, who suffered a brain bleed following a crash and was in an induced coma for five days.

He came back strong though and won a European Championship silver medal in 2018, before recording his first Supercross World Cup victory in Manchester a year later.

Whyte was part of Team GB's Olympic team at Toyko 2020 and came away with a silver medal as the Brits took the BMX events by storm.

He was edged out by Dutch star Niek Kimmann in a thrilling contest, with his exploits helping to BMX thrust into the mainstream as an enthralled public watched back home.

On October 7, it was announced that Whyte will appear on the next series of ITV's Dancing on Ice.

The show can be a daunting prospect for some, but 'fearless' Kye is confident his past experience on roller-skates will give him a valuable head-start.

He told CBBC's Newsround: "I roller-skated when I was younger so well see how it goes.

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"When I did the audition I kind of related it to roller-skating so I think I did pretty well I think the thing Im really confident about is I dont really mind if I fall, Im quite fearless.

"My dad and my brother both roller-skate so I think theyre excited.

"I think I can win Dancing On Ice.Id love to see if I can make the final because Im very competitive."

The BMX star is the final celebrity to join the show, along with:

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Who is Kye Whyte? Dancing on Ice 2022 contestant and Tokyo Olympics BMX star... - The US Sun

LONDON, ENGLAND: Teemu Pukki of Norwich City is shut out by Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Norwich City at Emirates Stadium on September 11, 2021. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Over the summer, Gabriel Magalhaes was initially called up to the Brazil Olympic team, but he decided to pull out with tendonitis and swelling in his right knee.

Speaking to ESPN this week, Gabriel admitted he could actually have played at the Olympics. He talked to the doctors, he talked to his family. Eventually, he decided to withdraw, despite the fact it was one of his dreams to take part in the event.

Discussing the decision, Gabriel said he was thinking about the new season with Arsenal. He says he could have risked it, but hes happy with the choice he made.

I could have even played in the competition, Gabriel said of the Olympics. But I thought a lot about the season. I thought of Arsenal too, and that I know they will need me a lot.

I was there watching all the (Brazil) games,rooting for them a lot. Im happy the players who went there were able to respond well by winning the Gold.

But Im happy to have returned (to fitness) and to have returned well and to be able to continue this journey.

And of course, my dream is to play for the Seleo (the Brazil senior national team). So Im going to work for it and Im going to keep going.

Arsenal will certainly be grateful for Gabriels decision. Not only has the initial disappointment and absence set him up in a much better fashion for the coming seasons, but hes also performing excellently for the Gunners right now.

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Gabriel could've made Olympics but prioritised Arsenal & the long-term - Daily Cannon

After a few postponements, its finally time for the Olympic qualification tournaments to kick off!

The tournaments were decided based on each countries IIHF World Rankings points system. First up is the teams ranked 16 through 27 with the highest ranked teams getting the chance to host. The tournaments are seeded from there.

The winners of each round robin tournament will move on to the final qualification tournaments, which will take place Nov. 11 - 14 in Czech Republic, Germany, and Sweden.

Of the 12 teams competing in this first set of tournaments only Italy and Kazakhstan appeared in the Olympics - both in 2002 when Italy was the host nation and Kazakhstan qualified.

Initially South Korea was set to host this tournament. However, due the pandemic, the IIHF moved the tournament to Great Britain.

It looks like streams will be on the Olympic page.

Oct. 7

Korea - Slovenia at 9 a.m. easternGreat Britain - Iceland at 2:15 p.m. eastern

Oct. 8

Iceland - Korea at 9 a.m. easternGreat Britain - Slovenia at 2 p.m. eastern

Oct. 10

Slovenia - Iceland at 8 a.m. easternKorea - Great Britain at noon eastern

Italy will host Spain, Kazakhstan, and Taipei.

All of the games will be streamed on YouTube.

Oct. 7

Spain - Kazakhstan at 10 a.m. easternItaly - Taipei at 2:15 p.m. eastern

Oct. 9Kazakhstan - Taipei at 10 a.m. easternItaly - Spain at 2:15 p.m. eastern

Oct. 10

Spain - Taipei at 10 a.m. easternItaly - Kazakhstan at 2:15 p.m. eastern

Poland plays host to Turkey, Mexico, and the Netherlands.

All of the games except those Poland are playing will be stream on Polands YouTube channel.

Oct. 7

Poland - Turkey at 9:30 a.m. easternMexico - Netherlands at 1:30 p.m. eastern

Oct. 8

Netherlands - Turkey at 10 a.m. easternPoland - Mexico at 2 p.m. eastern

Oct. 10

Netherlands - Poland at 6:15 a.m. easternTurkey - Mexico at 10:15 a.m. eastern

The US, Canada, Switzerland, Finland, Russian Olympic Committee, and Japan already qualified based on their rankings. China also has qualified as the host nation.

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The first Olympic womens hockey qualifying tournaments are here - The Ice Garden

The NHL is heading back to the Olympic Games, after it was announced earlier this month that the NHL and NHLPA came to an agreement to send NHL players to the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

That means the best hockey players in the world will be coming together to represent their home countries and compete for a gold medal. It will be the first time since 2014 that NHL players have competed on the international Olympic stage.

With that, lets take a look at some of those players that could be participating in the Beijing Olympics.

There will be 12 countries competing in mens ice hockey for the gold medal in Beijing. The 12 will be split into three groups of four to kick off the preliminary round.

Group A will consist of the United States, Canada, Germany and China, who automatically got a bid as the host country. Group B will have the Russian Olympic Committee, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Denmark. Group C will be Sweden, Finland, Slovakia and Latvia.

For the first time in five Winter Olympic Games, the NHL did not send its players to the Olympics in 2018.

Previously, the IOC covered travel, insurance, accommodations and other costs for NHL players. However, the IOC decided against it for 2018. When that was announced, the NHL decided to pull its players from going to the Olympics, also citing injury concerns that would affect the rest of the NHL season.

As a result, countries were forced to look elsewhere to fill out their rosters. Players were pulled from the AHL, European professional leagues and the NCAA level to participate in the Olympics.

Part of the reason for the NHLs return in 2022 is because the IOC will cover those costs that they did not in 2018.

Come February, the Washington Capitals could be sending a handful of players to Beijing to play in the Olympic Games.

Coming off his five-year extension, Caps captain Alex Ovechkin will surely be selected to play on the Russian Olympic Committee team. Ovechkin made his Olympic debut back in 2006, meaning this would be the wingers fourth appearance at the Games. He will be one of a very small group of players to play in both 2006 and 2022. The Great 8 has yet to win a medal at the Olympics, as he was not part of the 2018 ROC team that won gold, with NHL players not allowed to participate in the Olympics. In his Olympic career, Ovechkin has eight goals and three assists in 17 games.

Dmitry Orlov is likely to join Ovechkin on the Russian team. The Russians lack depth on the defensive side, so Orlov should see a significant amount of playing time at his first Olympics. Ilya Samsonov will be in the running for the third goaltending spot, but will have his work cut out after signing a one-year deal to stay in Washington. With Tampa Bays Andrei Vasilevskiy and New York Islanders Semyon Varlamov as the 1-2 in net, Samsonov will be battling Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky, Islander Ilya Sorokin and Ranger Igor Shesterkin for the third and final goalie spot.

Evgeny Kuznetsov would have been on the team; however, he is currently serving a four-year suspension from the IIHF for testing positive for cocaine back in 2019 and wont be able to participate.

Nicklas Backstrom surely is going to his third Olympic Games, where he will be representing Sweden. The playmaking center won silver in 2014, dishing out four assists in five games. He also had a goal and five assists in four games in 2010. Backstrom could slot in on the second line as New York Rangers Mika Zibanejad is anticipated to be the No. 1 center.

Despite being a member of the team at the 2014 Olympics and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, Carl Hagelin might not be joining Backstrom at the 2022 Olympics. Hagelin had two goals helping the Swedes to silver. Hes 33 years old and certainly no longer the player he was in Sochi. Dont be surprised to see Sweden pass on Hagelin for younger talent at forward.

Another lock is Lars Eller, who will be a part of Denmark's first Olympic team. Denmark qualified for the Olympics by defeating Norway in the qualifying tournament. Eller did not play for the team in that tournament, as the Capitals were still in the hunt for the Stanley Cup, but hell be one of a handful of NHL players on the team in Beijing.

Turning to Team USA, John Carlson should be one of the only veterans on a relatively young USA blueline. Carlson was on the U.S. team in 2014, scoring the opening goal for the Americans in their opening match against Slovakia. The 31-year-old may end up being the only blueliner to have previous Olympic experience for the U.S.

T.J. Oshie may not get a chance to repeat his spectacular shootout heroics for the U.S.. He famously converted four of six shootout attempts to give the U.S. a 3-2 win over the Russians in the preliminary round in 2014. He was considered a bubble player that year and most certainly will be on the bubble again. With an influx of young American talent at forward, Oshie might be watching the Olympics from his home.

While hes not a top-line defender in the NHL, Michal Kempny could very well play on the top defensive pair for the Czech Republic. It would be the first Olympics for the 31-year-old, who could see top minutes playing alongside Detroits Filip Hronek.

Expect Vitek Vanecek to be in the running to make the Czech Republic team, but he has his work cut out for him. Nashvilles David Rittich and Torontos Petr Mrazek seem likely to grab the first two goalie spots, and Colorados Pavel Francouz was on the Czech team at the 2018 Olympics.

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Which Capitals could play at the 2022 Beijing Olympics? - NBC Sports

Simone Biles offered emotional testimony on Tuesday at a US senate hearing into the Larry Nassar abuse scandal, an episode that rocked the world of gymnastics and involved some of the most famous young athletes in America.

Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics team doctor, is serving an effective life sentence after abusing dozens of athletes under his care. Biles and other Olympic gold medalists such as Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney are among the survivors of the abuse. On Tuesday, they appeared in front of a senate committee to give searing testimony at the hearing into the FBIs failed 2015 investigation into the case.

Biles began her testimony with a quote from Nelson Mandela that: There can be no keener revelation of a societys soul than the way in which it treats its children. She briefly had to pause after becoming overcome with emotion, before she continued.

To be clear, I blame Larry Nassar and I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse, she said. USA Gymnastics and the United States, Olympic and Paralympic Committee knew that I was abused by their official team doctor long before I was ever made aware of their knowledge.

The FBI is accused of failing to properly investigate allegations that Nassar was abusing athletes in his care. Children suffered needlessly because multiple agents in multiple offices at the FBI neglected to share the Nassar allegations with their law enforcement counterparts at state and local agencies, Republican senator Chuck Grassley said in prepared remarks before Tuesdays hearing.

Biles, widely regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time, withdrew from several events at this summers Olympics to maintain her mental health. She acknowledged on Tuesday that the legacy of Nassars abuse had affected her.

The scars of this horrific abuse continue to live with all of us I worked incredibly hard to make sure that my presence could help maintain a connection between the failures [around the Nassar case] and the competition at Tokyo 2020, she said.

That has proven to be an exceptionally difficult burden for me to carry, particularly when required to travel to Tokyo without the support of any of my family. I am a strong individual and I will persevere, but I never should have been left alone to suffer the abuse of Larry Nassar. And the only reason I did, was because of the failures that lie at the heart of the abuse that you are now asked to investigate.

The 24-year-old added that she fears similar cases could arise if proper action is not taken. Nassar is where he belongs. Those who enabled him deserve to be held accountable. If they are not, I am convinced that this will continue to happen to others across Olympic sports, she said.

Meanwhile, Maroney and Raisman described how the FBI had failed to investigate their complaints against Nassar properly.

After telling my entire story of abuse to the FBI in the summer of 2015, not only did the FBI not report my abuse, but when they eventually documented my report, 17 months later, they made entirely false claims about what I said, Maroney testified. They chose to fabricate. They chose to lie about what I said and protect a serial child molester rather than protect not only me, but countless others.

A US justice department investigation found that Nassar was able to abuse up to 70 athletes between the time the FBI first learned of the allegations and September 2016 when he was fired by his main employer, Michigan State University, after a police report was filed against him.

Raisman said that it was not just the FBI that had failed her. My reports of abuse were not only buried by [USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee], but they were also mishandled by federal law enforcement officers who failed to follow their most basic duties.

Raisman described how Nassars abuse continues to affect her. I dont think people realize how much it affects us, how much the PTSD, how much the trauma impacts us There are times where I feel like I forget what Im saying. I feel like my mind isnt working. I feel like I have no energy at all. Im 27 years old and my 80-year-old grandfather has more energy than I do, she said.

FBI director Christopher Wray appeared at the hearing and admitted his agency had failed the survivors of Nassars abuse. I want to be crystal clear: The actions and inaction of the FBI employees detailed in this report are totally unacceptable, he said.

W Jay Abbott, the FBI agent in charge of the initial Nassar investigation, retired in 2018 and was not disciplined over his handling of the case. The US Department of Justice inspector general Michael Horowitz said on Tuesday that Abbott had given false information during the investigation.

It is troubling to me to see that an FBI agent who lied, broke the law, knew he was breaking the law and nothing happens, Vermont senator Patrick Leahy said during the hearing, his voice rising in anger. I understand the procedure but it bothers me greatly that failures by the FBI field office in Indianapolis delayed the start of the investigation of Larry Nassars widespread sexual assaults of over 100 victims. And everybody, I dont care where they are on the political spectrum or anything else, had to be torn apart listening to the testimony of these victims this morning.

USA Gymnastics has announced a plan to pay a $215m (164m) settlement to the athletes abused by Nassar. In February, Li Li Leung, the chief executive of USA Gymnastics, told CBS the organisation recognises how deeply we have broken the trust of our athletes and community, and are working hard to build that trust back.

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Simone Biles says burdens of Nassar abuse remained with her at Olympics - The Guardian

Usain Bolt is arguably one of the greatest sprinters of all-time. During a lengthy career, the Jamaican asserted unprecedented dominance over his opponents, creating a legacy which looks extremely difficult to emulate, let alone better.

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With eight Olympic gold medals, the 35-year-old is one of the most successful Olympians in the events history. However, a sprinter competes in heats to qualify for the final, which decides the medal winners. Although he took home the gold in three consecutive Olympic Games, has he ever lost a race in the quadrennial event? The answer, surprisingly, is yes.

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For this statistic, one needs to go as far back as 2004. In that years Athens Olympics, the Jamaican made his Games debut in the mens 200m category. Prior to that, Bolt established himself as a prodigy during the 2002 World Junior Championships, and the 2003 CARIFTA Games.

However, he suffered a leg injury in his maiden Olympic appearance at the Athens. This led him to suffer a first-round exit as he finished fifth in his hear with a time of 21.05s. Polish sprinter Marcin Jedrusinski won the heat with a time of 20.63s.

Justin Gatlin, with whom he would share an intense rivalry, won the gold medal in those Games. To date, he remains the last American to win a gold medal in that category.

This defeat however, would be the only one in Bolts astonishing Olympic career. He won all his heats prior to winning gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay events in Beijing, London and Rio. However, he lost his 2008 Olympic gold medal in the 4x100m relay due to a doping violation committed by his teammate, Nesta Carter

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After the Rio Olympics, the Jamaican took part in the 2017 World Athletics Championships, which were held in London.

Despite his dominance, Bolt suffered a shock loss in the final, finishing third behind Gatlin and Christian Coleman. He also pulled up due to injury in the 4x100m relay, following which he hung up his spikes.

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WATCH STORY: Five Most Painful Defeats in Usain Bolts Career

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Did Usain Bolt Ever Lose a Race at the Olympics? - EssentiallySports

ATEEZ shared a sweet message for Olympic volleyball star Kim Hee Jin after learning that shes a fan of theirs!

During a recent interview, Kim Hee Jinwho is currently one of Koreas most beloved athletesmentioned that shes a big fan of ATEEZ.

When asked if shed requested any K-pop songs to be played during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the volleyball player replied that she hadnt been given the chance to request a song. However, she went on to share, I like ATEEZ. The reason I like them is because they put so much hard work and energy into their dance. They give it their all.

Kim Hee Jin then revealed that one particular ATEEZ song held special meaning for her after it unexpectedly wound up being a lucky charm for the South Korean team at the Olympics.

People probably dont know this, she said, but during the Tokyo Olympics, whenever there was a crucial moment for us, [ATEEZs] song WIN would always start playing. Every time it played, we would always win. We would turn the game around for an unexpected victory. So Im still listening to that song these days.

Later, during ATEEZs guest appearance on DAY6s Kiss the Radio, DJ Young K brought up Kim Hee Jins interview by remarking, As expected of a group thats all the rage, a person whos very popular these days revealed that shes a fan of yours.

He then asked the group if they wanted to share a message for Kim Hee Jin. Turning to the camera, San said, Thank you so much. I really love volleyball. I was really rooting for you while watching these [Olympic] games. Thank you so, so much for shining so bright. And thank you so much for liking us. Well continue to be a hard-working ATEEZ in the future. We love you. Thank you.

ATEEZ recently made a comeback with the mini album ZERO : FEVER Part.3, which made them the boy group with the fifth-highest first-week album sales in Hanteo history. Check out the music video for their new title track Deja Vu here!

Watch Kim Hee Jin on the latest episode of The Manager below:

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ATEEZ Responds To Olympic Volleyball Star Kim Hee Jin Revealing She's A Fan + Naming The Song That Meant A Lot To Her At Tokyo Olympics - soompi