Olympics

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In 1968, Lee Evans Followed Olympics Protest With His Own

Hall of Fame sprinter became a committed activist for social justice

(Newser) - Lee Evans, the record-setting sprinter who wore a black beret in a sign of protest at the 1968 Olympics and then went on to a life of humanitarian work in support of social justice, died Wednesday. He was 74. The San Jose Mercury News reported that Evans' family had started...

As Olympics Loom, Japan Expands State of Emergency

IOC Chairman Thomas Bach's trip has been canceled

(Newser) - Japan is set to further expand a coronavirus state of emergency , currently in Tokyo and five other prefectures, to nine areas as the government is determined to hold the Olympics in just over two months. Japan, where less than 2% of the public has been fully vaccinated, has been struggling...

An Olympic Visit Illustrates COVID Tensions in Japan

IOC president's planned visit to Tokyo is likely to be canceled because of lockdown

(Newser) - The International Olympic Committee president is supposed to attend a torch relay ceremony in Japan in days, though the visit is looking less and less likely because of COVID. Broadcaster NHK reported Friday that Thomas Bach's visit was likely to be canceled, reports Reuters , the latest development in growing...

Runner Told His Height Will Keep Him Out of Olympics

Blake Leeper's prosthetic legs are the issue

(Newser) - Blake Leeper's height could keep him out of the Tokyo Olympics. The New York Times has the story of the runner, who was born without legs below the knee and in 2012 decided to make the switch from competing against athletes who are disabled to ones who are not;...

After Long Delay, More Bad News for Olympics Fans

Spectators from overseas have been banned from the summer event in Tokyo

(Newser) - Spectators from abroad will be barred from the Tokyo Olympics this summer. The decision was announced after a meeting of the International Olympic Committee, the Japanese government, the Tokyo government, the International Paralympic Committee, and local organizers, reports the AP . Officials say the risk was too great to admit fans...

Tokyo Olympics Official Resigns Over Cringey 'Olympig' Idea

Creative director Hiroshi Sasaki quits after idea involving plus-sized comedian Naomi Watanabe

(Newser) - Japan just may have an Olympic-sized problem with its "old men's club." One month after the 83-year-old head of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee stepped down for sexist comments, another top Olympics official is quitting in the wake of his own eyebrow-raising remarks. This time, per the...

IOC Makes Surprise Vaccination Deal With China

But Japan says its athletes won't take China's vaccine

(Newser) - Japan will not take part in China's offer—accepted by the International Olympic Committee—to provide vaccines for participants in the postponed Tokyo Games and next year's Beijing Winter Games. Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa said Friday that Japan had not been consulted by the IOC about the Chinese...

Tokyo Olympics President Calls It Quits

Yoshiro Mori resigns over sexist comments

(Newser) - As expected , the president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee is stepping down. Yoshiro Mori officially announced his resignation Friday, the AP reports. The 83-year-old former Japanese prime minister had come under fire for sexist comments he made on Feb. 3, after which he initially refused to step down...

Another Blow to Troubled Tokyo Olympics

Olympics chief Yoshiro Mori expected to resign over sexist remarks

(Newser) - The chief of the postponed Tokyo Olympics is apparently feeling the pressure, because after refusing to resign for sexist comments he made on Feb. 3, he's now expected to call it quits. Former Japanese prime minister Yoshiro Mori, 83, is expected to resign during a Friday meeting of the...

Open Letter Asks Governments to Boycott 2022 Olympics

180 groups call for boycott over human rights abuses

(Newser) - A coalition of 180 rights group on Wednesday called for a boycott of next year's Beijing Winter Olympics tied to reported human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in China, reports the AP . The games are to open in one year, on Feb. 4, 2022, and are set to go...

Source Says Japan Has Given Up on Tokyo Olympics

But many, many bodies are denying that report and say the 2020 games will go on

(Newser) - The 2020 Olympics were rescheduled to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, and officially, Japan is not wavering in its commitment to host the games in Tokyo starting July 23. But behind the scenes, wavering is indeed apparently happening—big time. According to an anonymous senior member of the ruling...

Capitol Mob Included a Gold Medal Winner

Klete Keller was wearing his Olympic team jacket

(Newser) - The mob that attacked the US Capitol last week included a swimmer who won two Olympic gold medals for his country. Former teammates and coaches picked Klete Keller out of the crowd on a video posted online, the New York Times reports. Not only was his face uncovered and visible...

Racism Allegation Blocks Doping Ban
Racism Allegation
Blocks Doping Ban
Dec 24, 2020 2:50 PM CST

Racism Allegation Blocks Doping Ban

Sun Yang can swim again after court agrees decision was compromised

(Newser) - Sun Yang, the first Chinese man to win a Olympic gold medal in swimming, is free to return to international competition—for now. A federal court in Switzerland on Wednesday threw out Sun's eight-year doping ban , which was imposed in February, agreeing that the neutrality of one of the...

Court: Russian Name, Flag Banned From Next 2 Olympics

Punishment for a 2014 Olympics doping scheme

(Newser) - Russia was banned Thursday from using its name, flag, and anthem at the next two Olympics or at any world championships for the next two years. The Court of Arbitration for Sport's ruling also blocked Russia from bidding to host major sporting events for two years, per the AP...

'World's Greatest Athlete' May See Justice 100 Years On

Jim Thorpe was stripped of his 1912 Olympic golds

(Newser) - A Native American athlete whose gold medals were infamously stripped from him in the wake of a scandal following the 1912 Stockholm Olympics is getting a renewed push for justice more than a century later. Jim Thorpe, widely viewed as the greatest athlete of his day, handily clinched that year'...

Breakdancing Is Now an Olympic Sport

Skateboarding, surfing will also be on the Paris roster

(Newser) - Old notions of what constitutes an Olympic sport are going to be turned on their head and spun around at the Paris 2024 Games. Breakdancing became an official Olympic sport Monday, and skateboarding, surfing, and sport climbing were added to the Paris roster, the AP reports. The latter three sports...

For Now, Olympics Are Still On. But First, a Test

18 spring test events will include some athletes, fans

(Newser) - The postponed Tokyo Olympics are getting a kick-start. Local organizers on Friday announced a series of 18 test events set to begin in March and run into May, before the Tokyo Olympics are set to open on July 23, 2021, reports the AP . The announcement in an online news conference...

Ruling Finds Prostheses Make Runner Unfairly Tall

Blake Leeper sees an effort to keep disabled athletes out of Olympics

(Newser) - Blake Leeper has been running in top events, including the Paralympics, with the help of prostheses for five years. He was working toward making the next US Olympic team, to compete against able-bodied runners. But Leeper, 31, hit a major obstacle Monday, when the top sports court in the world...

Olympic Figure Skater in Lewd Photo Inquiry Retires

Morgan Cipres allegedly sent lewd pictures to 13-year-old female figure skater

(Newser) - Less than a year after an investigation was launched into allegations that he'd sent lewd photos to an underage girl, Olympic figure skater Morgan Cipres is out of the sport. The French Federation of Ice Sports announced Tuesday that both Cipres, 29, and his pairs skating partner Vanessa James,...

Tokyo's Winning Olympics Bid Linked to Big, Alleged Bribe

$2.3M was paid to consulting firm linked to IAAF officials convicted of corruption

(Newser) - A former head of the largest Olympic sports federation and his son have been convicted in France of accepting $4 million in bribes from athletes in exchange for hiding positive doping tests. And from that case has sprung another claim of corruption, this one tied to Tokyo's bid for...

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