Jackson Free Press

No country in the history of the Olympics has been more successful than the United States of America. The U.S. has won 2,404 total medals since the modern games began in 1896.

In second place is the dissolved Soviet Union, which only had 1,123 total medals. No other country has broken the 1,000-medal mark.

While the U.S. dominates several sports in the summer games, there are sports in which we struggle. There are six sports in which America has never won a gold medal.

The U.S. has a bronze medal in men’s and women’s field hockey. The men earned their medal in 1932 when they finished third out of three teams, and the women took home the bronze in 1984.

In the triathlon, the U.S. women earned a bronze medal in 2004. Men’s soccer won a silver medal in 1904 but hasn’t been as successful as the women. The U.S. has no gold medals in the modern pentathlon but does have a handful of silver and bronze medals.

Strangely, the U.S. has never won a gold medal in BMX, either. The country’s best finishes were the men’s silver in 2008 and the women’s bronze in 2012.

Mountain biking is another sport in which the U.S. has failed to strike gold. The women scored a bronze medal in 2012, but the men have never landed on the medal podium.

While the U.S. has earned medals in the events above, there are also five events in which America has never even won a bronze medal. These events are among the weakest showings from Team USA.

Handball might be the weakest event for the U.S. This year will mark the fifth Olympics that the USA won’t send a men’s or women’s handball team to the Olympics. The last time the U.S. had a handball team in the Olympics, it was the host country and didn’t have to qualify.

Forest Gump might have been able to take on China in ping-pong, but the real-life American teams have been no match. China dominates table tennis so soundly that the rules had to be changed so that countries could only send two players rather than three, just to keep China from sweeping the medals.

Badminton is another event that Asian countries have dominated over the years. China, Indonesia and South Korea are the top three medal winners, but the U.S. has never gotten on the podium.

While the U.S. nearly always sends a strong gymnastics team, it struggles in two of the disciplines that the International Olympic Committee lumps together.

Russia owns the first, rhythmic gymnastics, with 13 medals, and Belarus and Ukraine come in second and third, respectively. European countries dominate the sport, with Canada and China winning just one medal.

Trampoline is the other event in gymnastics in which the U.S. struggles to catch the top countries. China has won the most medals with eight, and Canada comes in a close second …

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves has denied Gov. Phil Bryant and executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services John Davis' motion to stay the preliminary injunction Reeves initially issued, which blocked House Bill 1523 from becoming law.

In his 6-page order, Reeves says that the state did not prove irreparable injury in their motion.

"A Mississippian – or a religious entity for that matter – holding any of the beliefs set out for special protection in § 2 [of HB 1523] may invoke existing protections for religious liberty, including Mississippi’s Constitution, Mississippi’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the First Amendment to the United State Constitution," Reeves wrote. "HB 1523’s absence does not impair the free exercise of religion."

Reeves' order means he has officially passed HB 1523's fate into the hands of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

"The motions are denied," Reeves concludes. "The baton is now passed."

Gov. Bryant and Davis have also appealed to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals separately, asking them to lift Reeves' preliminary injunction. For more stories on HB 1523, visit jacksonfreepress.com/lgbt.