The Padma Awards are the highest civilian honours, which the Government of India confers in recognition of 'distinguished contribution of Indian citizens in various spheres of activity, including the arts, education, industry, literature, science, acting, medicine, social service, sports and public affairs.
In 2026, a total of nine Indian sportspersons were conferred with the Padma awards, out of which eight received the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian honour and Tennis icon Vijay Amritraj was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour.
The eight athletes who were awarded the Padma Shri awards include World Cup-winning India women's team captain Harmanpreet Kaur and former Indian captain Rohit Sharma.
Performance-enhancing drugs are prohibited in professional sports competitions around the world, but one event is attempting to change those norms.
The Enhanced Games are coming to Las Vegas on May 24 and feature many top athletes in a variety of Olympic-caliber sports. However, unlike the Olympics, the Enhanced Games' participants will be allowed to use drugs that increase the chances of them performing at their highest level.
This set of events is aimed at fans who believe athletes should be allowed to use PEDs instead of avoiding them at all costs. As a result, participants are expected to challenge world records with their performances on Sunday night.
Here's a breakdown of the results from the Enhanced Games.
MORE: Which drugs are Enhanced Games athletes taking?
What are the Enhanced Games?
The Enhanced Games are a set of competitive events that encourage participants to use performance-enhancing drugs. While every other professional sports organization has rules against PED usage, the Enhanced Games challenges those norms by instead asking its athletes to use PEDs to get their best results.
According to NBC News, the Enhanced Games' medical games gave participants who elected into taking PEDs an approved drug regimen of "testosterone esters, anabolic agents, peptides and growth factors, metabolic modulators, and stimulants." The Games claim taking these PEDs are "safe, responsible, and clinically supervised."
Additionally, the Enhanced Games describes itself as "a global movement that develops scientific insights, medical discoveries, and record-breaking sports events to unite humanity and inspire scientific innovation."
The Enhanced Games will take place the night of Sunday, May 24, with many famous athletes who have already set records in their respective fields. There will be events in swimming, track, weightlifting, and deadlifting.
Steroid-legal event winner results compared to world record
Swimming:
Event
World Record
Enhanced Games winner
Men's 50m Backstroke
Cameron McEvoy, 20.88
Hunter Armstrong, 24.21 (non-enhanced)
Men's 100m Freestyle
Zhanie Pan, 46.40
Kristian Gkolomeev, 46.60
Men's 50m Butterfly
Andril Govorov, 22.27
Ben Proud, 22.32
Men's 100m Butterfly
Caleb Dressel, 49.45
Men's 50m Breaststroke
Adam Peaty, 25.95
Cody Miller, 26.55
Track:
Event
World Record
Enhanced Games winner
100m Sprint
Usain Bolt, 9.58
Weightlifting:
Event
World Record
Enhanced Games winner
Snatch (+110 KG)
Akbar Djuraev, 196 kg
Yoni Andica, 135kg
Clean-and-jerk
Akbar Djuraev, 237 kg
Dylan Cooper, 205 kg
Strongman:
Event
World Record
Enhanced Games winner
Deadlift
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, 510 kg
Who organized the Enhanced Games?
Australian businessman Aron D’Souza, who is known for beign the founder and CEO of Objections, is privately funding the Enhanced Games, while Maximillian Martin and Christian Angermayer are also co-founders. The games also received with some funding help from Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr. over the past year.
While the Indy 500 finally arrives on Sunday, weather could factor into the plans at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Forecasts have shown the potential for some rain in recent days. Over the years, bad weather has resulted in interrupted or postponed races at "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
With rain possible on Sunday afternoon in Indianapolis, Mother Nature could have an impact on the 2026 results as well.
Here's the latest on the weather at the 2026 Indy 500.
12:55 p.m. — The Indy 500 is underway, as rain has held off for the time being. They're 10 laps in at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but weather could factor in throughout the afternoon.
11:37 a.m. — For now, the storms in Indiana are staying out of the way. With the race approaching, rain is expected at some point in the day in Indianapolis, but it's mostly a matter of when. On-and-off light rain seems to be a strong possibility.
The latest from Accuweather is around a 66% chance of light rainfall over the next three hours, then an additional 69% chance of a thunderstorm around 4 p.m. But there could be enough dry spots in the afternoon to get the race in, especially with lighter rain.
INDY 500: Alright, here we go. A few light, spotty showers are possible for the first part of the day today. We could see some dry windows long enough to run the Indianapolis 500. More showers will develop later this afternoon between 3 and 4 pm. None of the thunderstorms are… pic.twitter.com/zJ7sSroq8k
#indy500 update - we cont to keep showers south of that line and it needs to hold. IF we get no pop-ups & rain stays south then we wait on the front to the west. Staying cautiously optimistic and cheering on lap 101. @ims cc @Indycar_Wxman@raceweatherpic.twitter.com/9C4m0LLMXE
Sunday's forecast as of May 24 (11:44 a.m. ET): "A slight chance of showers before 2pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 2pm and 5pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 5pm. Cloudy, with a high near 74. West southwest wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms."
Curt Cignetti's first offseason as the head coach of an NCAA football national champion will bring him to Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Indiana Hoosiers coach, a few months removed from leading his team to an unbeaten season, will take part in the festivities prior to the 2026 Indy 500.
Cignetti is set to be behind the wheel of a luxurious Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X, helping get the race started in Indianapolis.
Here's what to know about Cignetti's role at the Indy 500.
Every year, the Indy 500 finds a celebrity or notable Indiana figure to claim the role of being the honorary pace car driver. Considering Cignetti recently brought the Hoosiers a title and has become one of the most beloved football coaches in the country, he certainly met the star-level qualifications of helping the Indy 500 get underway.
Cignetti said he turned down most media and speaking requests after Indiana's unbeaten 2025 season, but with the long history of the Indy 500 and its importance to the “fabric of the state," he took on the proposed role to drive the honorary pace car.
“We've turned down a lot of nice opportunities so that I can sit in my chair and run that remote back and forth and watch that tape I love to watch,” Cignetti said, per IndyStar.
After multiple test runs and getting some lessons on driving the car from Sarah Fisher, who will drive the official pace lap for the race, Cignetti will step into a USA-themed Corvette to lead the 2026 Indy 500 drivers to the green flag.
“She's a vet and she knows the ropes and she knows the track,” Cignetti said of Fisher, per IndyStar. “She knows when to start the turn, when to come out of the turn, how the car will function, the trust you've got to have in the car, and she knows the program.
“Most importantly, she wanted to make sure I could get my a-- out of that car real fast because she's the official pace car driver when the race starts, and I've got to get out real quick so she can get in.”
The purpose of the pace car at the Indy 500 is to first help initiate the beginning of the race, leading the 33 drivers through warm-up laps and to the green flag. That's the portion that eventually became an honorary role — in recent years, some names who have driven the honorary pace car include Michael Strahan, Ken Griffey Jr., Tyrese Haliburton, Danica Patrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
From there, an official pace car driver takes over and maintains the safety of the race during caution periods. During yellow flags, the pace car enters the track to pick up the race leader, bunching the field together at a safer and reduced speed until obstructions are cleared.
In 2026, the pace car being driven by Cignetti, then Fisher, will be a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X.
Yes, Cignetti will be behind the wheel for his honorary pace car role. He will be driving the car to lead the field of 33 drivers toward the green flag to start the race; from there, pace car veteran Sarah Fisher will take over the pace car duties during the race.
Cignetti said he went through multiple test runs before his official drive, taking lessons alongside Fisher.
Here's a look at Strahan driving the honorary pace car in 2025:
The one-day classics and monuments of spring are done, and it's time for cycling season to enter the next stage.
The first grand tour of 2026, the Giro d'Italia, unfolds across Italy (and, this year, Bulgaria and Switzerland) over three weeks in May.
Though some of the sport's heaviest hitters are sitting this one out, including recent winners Simon Yates (2025), Tadej Pogacar (2024) and Primoz Roglic (2023), a strong field led by Jonas Vingegaard is set to compete for the honor of wearing the pink jersey in 2026.
Aside from first-time participant Vingegaard, potential general classification contenders include the defending champion's twin brother, Adam Yates, and past winners Jai Hindley (2022) and Egan Bernal (2021).
Who will claim the maglia rosa in 2026? Here's everything you need to know to watch every stage of the 109th Giro d'Italia.
The first two weeks of the Giro d'Italia will be broadcast live by truTV and can be streamed via DIRECTV, which offers a free trial to new users. Fans can stream every stage of the Giro with HBO Max.
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Giro d'Italia schedule, stages 2026
The 2026 Giro d'Italia will be contested across 21 stages, with the first three set to take place in Bulgaria and Stage 16 in Switzerland. Stage 10 will be an individual time trial.
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