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Great articles, every Saturday.

Tags

Olympics

Sports

The Bubble of a Dream

On trying, and failing, to qualify for the USA Olympic Marathon Trials.

Peter Bromka Medium Nov 2020 40min Permalink

Sports

Simone Biles Would Like to Thank Herself

A profile of the gymnast.

Dvora Meyers Vice Aug 2020 30min Permalink

Sex Sports

Will You Still Medal in the Morning?

Sex in the Olympic Village.

Read more

Previously: The Longform Guide to the Olympics.

Sam Alipour ESPN Jul 2012 15min Permalink

Sports

The Long Shot

Can the king of ultrarunning conquer a race as short as the marathon?

Joseph Bien-Kahn New York Times Magazine Feb 2020 30min Permalink

Crime Sports

44 Years. 41 Allegations. Now the Past Is Catching Up.

For more than 40 years, a former Olympian allegedly has been molesting boys and young men. Now, they’re speaking out.

Mike Kessler, Mark Fainaru-Wada ESPN Aug 2019 40min Permalink

Best Article Sports

Water's Edge

On Bill May, considered to be the greatest male synchronized swimmer who ever lived, and his long quest for Olympic gold.

Taffy Brodesser-Akner ESPN Mar 2016 20min Permalink

Sports

The Olympics Are Over, but Tessa Virtue Is Just Getting Started

How do you move on from being the best?

Genna Buck The Walrus Feb 2019 20min Permalink

Sports

Justin Olsen Will Get Lost

A profile of the leader of America’s bobsled team, who is competing in the Olympics months after the death of his mentor.

Nick Pachelli Esquire Feb 2018 10min Permalink

Sports World

After the Flame

What the 2016 Summer Games left behind in Rio.

Wayne Drehs, Mariana Lajolo ESPN Aug 2017 15min Permalink

Sports

Do You Really Still Hate Ryan Lochte?

On fireworks, massages, Olympic gold, reality TV, marriage, fatherhood—and that incident in Rio.

Allison Glock ESPN Jun 2017 15min Permalink

Sports Health

The Rise and Fall of Gerd Bonk, the World Champion of Doping

An East German weightlifter ingested more anabolic steroids than any other athlete in recorded history. It didn’t end well.

Brian Blickenstaff Vice Aug 2016 15min Permalink

Sports

Simone Biles Is the Best Gymnast in the World

A pre-Olympics profile of the now-gold medalist.

Reeves Wiedeman New Yorker May 2016 25min Permalink

Arts World

Can Brazil Be Saved?

Colossal corruption. Political chaos. The worst recession in its history. How a once-booming nation fell.

Franklin Foer Slate Aug 2016 25min Permalink

Sports

Michael Phelps' Final Turn

“Rio is about far more than Phelps adding to his legacy. It’s the next step toward achieving the same peace and balance on land as he’s had in the water.”

Wayne Drehs ESPN Jun 2016 15min Permalink

Sports

The Slow Descent of Houston McTear, the Greatest Natural Sprinter Ever

He set a world record in the 100-yard dash as a teenager. He was mentored by Muhammad Ali and a man who orchestrated the largest bank embezzlement in U.S. history. He was homeless for part of his adult life before making a comeback at age 34. Throughout it all, Houston McTear was really, really fast.

Michael McKnight Sports Illustrated Aug 2016 35min Permalink

Sports

The Spirit of a Legend

In the midst of a tribal burial, Jim Thorpe’s third wife burst in to remove his body, setting in motion a decades-long battle over the Native American athlete’s final resting place.

Kurt Streeter ESPN Jul 2016 15min Permalink

Sports

The Longest Run

The story of the Refugee Olympic team.

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S.L. Price on the Longform Podcast

S.L. Price Sports Illustrated Jul 2016 20min Permalink

Sports

Arrow Heads

Life as an Olympic-level archer.

Reeves Wiedeman Harper's Jul 2016 25min Permalink

World

S. Korea Covered Up Mass Abuse, Killings of 'Vagrants'

How the government cleared the streets in advance of the 1988 Olympics.

Kim Tong-Hyung, Foster Klug Associated Press Apr 2016 15min Permalink

Sports

The Johnny and Tara Show Is the Main Event

Can Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski make the casual audience care about figure skating?

Leander Schaerlaeckens SB Nation Apr 2016 15min Permalink

Business Crime

The Departed

On a November morning, Olympic rower and financial advisor Harold Backer left for a bike ride and never returned. His disappearance remained a mystery – until letters began arriving at the homes of his investors.

Kip McDaniel Chief Investment Officer Feb 2016 25min Permalink

Sports

The Best African American Figure Skater in History Is Now Bankrupt and Living in a Trailer

The unexpected evolution of Olympic medalist Debi Thomas.

Terrence McCoy Washington Post Feb 2016 10min Permalink

Best Article Arts Media

The Mourning Anchor

On the talent, ego, and late father of Bryant Gumbel.

Rick Reilly Sports Illustrated Sep 1988 20min Permalink

Science Sports

The DIY Scientist, the Olympian, and the Mutated Gene

How a woman whose muscles disappeared discovered she shared a disease with a muscle-bound Olympic medalist.

David Epstein ProPublica Jan 2016 30min Permalink

Sports

After Rehabilitation, the Best of Michael Phelps May Lie Ahead

Michael Phelps returns to his Olympic training after a 45-day stint at The Meadows.

Tim Layden Sports Illustrated Nov 2015 25min Permalink

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