Paige Greco, Paralympic gold medalist, dies at 28

Sport

Paige Greco, Paralympic gold medalist, dies at 28

2025-11-18 00:31 Last Updated At：00:40

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Australian cyclist Paige Greco, a Paralympic gold medalist, has died. She was 28.

A joint statement by the Australian Paralympic Committee and Australian cycling federation said that Greco “passed away in her Adelaide home after experiencing a sudden medical episode” on Sunday.

“Paige meant everything to us,” her mother Natalie Greco said.” Her kindness, her determination and her warmth touched our family every single day. She brought so much joy and pride into our lives, and the pain of her passing is something we will carry forever.

“While we are devastated by her loss, we are incredibly proud of the person she was and the way she represented Australia.”

Greco, who was born with cerebral palsy, won the first gold medal of the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, breaking her own world record in the women’s C1-3 3,000-meter individual pursuit.

She went on to add bronze medals in the road race and time trial.

Greco also won multiple world championship titles and World Cup medals, after bursting onto the para-cycling scene with three world records, two gold medals and a silver at the 2019 track world championship — just a year after switching to cycling from para-athletics.

Cameron Murray, Chief Executive Officer of Paralympics Australia said the loss one of the brightest young stars of the Australian Paralympic Movement was devastating.

“The sadness being felt across Paralympics Australia today is a reflection of the enormous regard in which she was held,” said Cameron Murray, Chief Executive Officer of Paralympics Australia. “Paige was an extraordinary athlete, but more importantly, a remarkable person.

“Her achievements on the international stage were exceptional, but it was her kindness, her quiet determination and the way she uplifted people around her that will stay with us all. She had a rare ability to make people feel included and supported, and her influence will no doubt leave a lasting impression on so many.”

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Trump awards medals to the Kennedy Center honorees in an Oval Office ceremony

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday presented medals to the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees during an event in the Oval Office, hailing the slate of artists he had a hand in choosing as “perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class” ever assembled.

This year's recipients are actor Sylvester Stallone, singers Gloria Gaynor and George Strait, the rock band Kiss and actor-singer Michael Crawford.

Trump ignored the Kennedy Center and its premier awards program during his first term as president. But the Republican instituted a series of changes since returning to office in January, most notably ousting its board of trustees and replacing them with GOP supporters who voted him in as chairman.

Trump also has criticized the center's programming and its physical appearance, and vowed to overhaul both.

The president placed around each honoree's neck a new medal that was designed, created and donated by jeweler Tiffany & Co., according to the Kennedy Center and Trump.

It's a gold disc etched on one side with the Kennedy Center's image and rainbow colors. The honoree's name appears on the reverse side with the date of the ceremony. The medallion hangs from a navy blue ribbon and replaces a large rainbow ribbon decorated with three gold plates that rested on the honoree's shoulders and chest.

Songs by honorees Gaynor and Kiss played in the Rose Garden just outside the Oval Office as members of the White House press corps waited nearby to be admitted.

The president said in August that he was “about 98% involved” in choosing the 2025 honorees when he personally announced them at the Kennedy Center, the first slate chosen under his leadership. The honorees traditionally had been announced by press release.

It was unclear how they were chosen. Before Trump, it fell to a bipartisan selection committee.

Later Saturday, after the Oval Office event, Trump was scheduled to attend an annual State Department dinner for the honorees. In years past, the honorees would receive their medallions at the dinner but Trump has moved the ceremony to the White House.

Meanwhile, the glitzy Kennedy Center Honors program and its series of tribute performances for each recipient is set to be taped on Sunday at the performing arts center for broadcast later in December on CBS and Paramount+. Trump is to attend the program for the first time as president, accompanied by his wife, first lady Melania Trump.

The president said in August that he would host the show, but the White House has not characterized his level of participation. Presidents traditionally attend the program and sit with the honorees in the audience. None has ever served as host.

“I’ve been asked to host. I said, ‘I’m the president of the United States. Are you fools asking me to do that?'” Trump said back then. “And then Susie Wiles said to me, ‘Sir, I’d like you to host.' I said, OK, Susie, I’ll do it,” Trump said, referring to his White House chief of staff.

Trump spent several hours at the Kennedy Center on Friday. He participated in the FIFA World Cup draw for 2026 and accepted its inaugural peace prize. Trump also met in a group with the leaders of Canada and Mexico.