“Bananas are an athlete’s favorite thing. We anticipate getting two or three million bananas.”
Search results
The Olympics Are Ditching PFAS Waxes—and the ‘Ridiculous’ Speed They Gave Skiers
“After years of concern over so-called “fluoro” waxes, the Milan Cortina Games will be the first Olympics without them.”
The Spiritual Realm of Sydney McLaughlin
“The 400-meter hurdles world-record holder is once again on the cusp of Olympic glory. To get there, she had to find transcendence—both on and away from the track.”
The Worst Shot Ever Taken
“The author and his closest basketball confidantes undertake a formal analysis of Steph Curry’s shot at the Paris Olympics as art object.”
Becoming El Jefe
“Before Ryan Wedding landed on the FBI’s Most Wanted list as a high-level associate of El Chapo, he was a bright-eyed kid from Thunder Bay. The inside story of how an Olympic snowboarding prodigy became one of the world’s most dangerous and powerful drug lords.”
How Far Can Running Take You After a Decade of Addiction?
“Ammons thinks his experiences as an addict help him endure the worst that running can dish out.”
Eurovision Reminds Me of a Country That No Longer Exists
“Europe’s pop music Olympics makes me nostalgic for my motherland before war splintered it.”
The Tree of Life Is Falling Down
“How one death-defying spruce became the mascot, tourist trap, and spiritual center of the Washington coast.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
In this edition: Bezos, paper, scissors; feast or famine; one reason to stay here; any way you slice it; the real Winter Olympics, and more.
The Agony and Ecstasy of being a Viral Trickshot Video Star
“Think you could throw a basketball off a 540ft dam, into a hoop—while blindfolded? Meet the talented and ludicrously patient people putting hours into the internet’s most joyful (and pointless) clips.”

