Olympics news

Plano-born BMX champion Connor Fields injured in horrific crash at Tokyo Olympics

Connor Fields is the defending Olympic gold medalist in BMX racing.

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UPDATE 8-6-2021: Fields has returned home to Henderson, Nevada to continue his recovery. According to news reports, Fields was treated for a brain hemorrhage and was released from a hospital in Tokyo earlier this week.

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Plano native Connor Fields, the defending Olympic gold medalist in BMX racing, was hospitalized after suffering a terrifying crash in a semifinals race at the Tokyo Games on Friday, July 30.

According to footage of the event, Fields tangled with another athlete on the first turn of the bumpy course, fell hard face first, and was hit by other riders.

"Fields was in a tight pack of riders and came down wrong from a jump, crashing headfirst onto the ground," recounts NPR. "Paramedics strapped him to a stretcher, as he appeared to be unconscious, and carried him off the course."

He was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he remains under observation, a Team USA doctor says.

"We can confirm that Connor Fields is awake, stable, and awaiting further medical evaluation," said Dr. Jon Finnoff, the chief medical officer for the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, in a statement. "He will remain in the hospital under observation."

Fields' father, Mike Fields, toldSports Illustrated that his son was “alert, answering questions, and moving all his limbs” after the crash, but also in pain and "quite subdued," undergoing CT scans on his head, spine, and abdomen.

Connor Fields, 28, was born in Plano but calls Las Vegas home. The three-time Olympian won the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games — the first American BMX racer to do so — and was expected to win the event again in Tokyo.

Despite the crash, his previous scores still qualified him for the final, and he placed eighth overall.

Dutch racer Niek Kimmann won the gold.

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E-Cigarette News

Dallas City Council places restrictions on vaping in public

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Man vaping

Vaping will now be banned exactly like smoking, thanks to a new ordinance from the Dallas City Council.

At their December 11 meeting, the council passed an ordinance to ban vaping in all the same areas where smoking is not allowed. It'll go into effect on December 11, 2025 — giving everyone a year to get into compliance.

Proposed by City of Dallas Environmental Commission (EVC) and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability (OEQS), the ordinance amends the definition of “smoking” in the Dallas City Code to include the use of vaping devices.

The ordinance does not ban vaping — it only bans where you can vape: no vaping in all indoor and enclosed spaces; within 15 feet of building entrances; and on park property. The ordinance also bans marijuana smoking in those same places.

In addition, the amendment requires restaurants, hotels, fitness centers and other businesses to update their signage to clearly state that both smoking and electronic smoking devices are prohibited.

The ordinance already earned widespread support from health organizations such as the Dallas County Health and Human Services, the American Lung Association, and the American Heart Association. These organizations, along with the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Surgeon General, have all raised concerns about the health risks of direct and second-hand exposure to vaping aerosols, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and older adults.

Dallas is not the first city to impose such a ban: San Antonio enacted a similar ban in October. Theirs goes into effect on January 1, 2025.

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