Tag Archives: Olympics

US Olympic Swimming Star Refuses COVID Vaccine

USA Today reports: Michael Andrew, a U.S. swimming star who will compete in multiple events in Tokyo later this month, became the biggest Olympic name yet to reveal that he has not been vaccinated, saying he didn’t want taking the vaccine to interfere with his training schedule. As an unvaccinated athlete in the midst of a locked-down Olympic Games, Andrew’s …

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Japan Declares COVID Emergency, Olympics Bans Fans

The Wall Street Journal reports: The Tokyo Olympics will be held without spectators, the organizers said, after Japan declared a new state of emergency that will continue through the end of the Games due to a rise in Covid-19 infections. Hundreds of athletes and officials from around the world have already arrived for the Olympics, which open on July 23. …

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US Sprinter Left Off Olympics Team For Marijuana Use

The Wall Street Journal reports: Team USA’s roster of track and field athletes at the Tokyo Olympics will be missing its biggest newsmaker ahead of the Games: sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson. The 21-year-old winner of the U.S. Olympic track and field trials’ women’s 100 meters last month was left off the team named Tuesday by USA Track & Field, after an …

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US Olympian Suspended Over Positive Marijuana Test

Oregon’s The Olympian reports: American champion Sha’Carri Richardson cannot run in the Olympic 100-meter race after testing positive for a chemical found in marijuana. Richardson, who won the 100 at Olympic trials in 10.86 seconds on June 19, told of her ban Friday on the “Today Show.” She tested positive at the Olympic trials and so her result is erased. …

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Japan To Allow Up To 10K Spectators At Olympics

Reuters reports: Up to 10,000 domestic spectators will be allowed in Tokyo 2020 venues, Olympics organisers said on Monday, a decision that cuts against the recommendation of medical experts who said holding the event without fans was the least risky option. The announcement ends months of speculation and highlights Japan’s determination to push on with the Games and salvage the …

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Japan Won’t Honor Olympic Charter On LGBT Rights

The Guardian reports: Japan’s ruling party has been accused of violating the Olympic charter after it failed to approve a bill to protect the rights of the LGBT community, during discussions marred by homophobic outbursts from conservative MPs. Closed meetings held this month to discuss a bill, proposed by opposition parties, stating that discrimination against LGBT people “must not be …

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Official: Tokyo Olympics May Be Canceled Over COVID

Reuters reports: The Olympic Games scheduled to be held in Tokyo this summer may have to be canceled depending on the coronavirus situation, a senior member of Japan’s ruling party said Thursday. The remarks were the first public admission by the ruling party that cancellation or postponement were under serious consideration, though the challenges of holding the Games have become …

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Olympics Torch Relay Fans Told To “Cheer Quietly”

The Associated Press reports: Organizers plan to exercise extreme caution when the Olympic torch relay starts next week, knowing any stumble could imperil the opening of the Tokyo Games in just over four months. The organizers spoke in detail on Tuesday about their plans for the relay, which is scheduled to begin on March 25 from northeastern Fukushima prefecture. The …

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Former US Olympics Gymnastics Coach Commits Suicide Hours After Sex Crimes Charges Filed [VIDEO]

The Chicago Tribune reports: A former U.S. Olympics gymnastics coach with ties to disgraced sport doctor Larry Nassar died by suicide Thursday after being charged with two dozen crimes, including forms of human trafficking, the state attorney general said. The announcement from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel came about three hours after a news conference where Nessel announced that John …

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Tokyo Olympics Leader Resigns Over Sexist Remarks

Reuters reports: Tokyo 2020 Olympics chief Yoshiro Mori resigned on Friday and apologised again for sexist remarks that sparked a global outcry, leaving the troubled Olympics searching for a chief five months from the opening ceremony. The resignation of former prime minister Mori, 83, will further erode confidence in the organisers’ ability to pull off the postponed Summer Games during …

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Sorry Florida, Japan Says Tokyo Olympics Will Happen

USA Today reports: The president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee had a simple message Tuesday for fellow members of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The games will happen. “No matter what situation would be with the coronavirus, we will hold the games,” Yoshiro Mori, who is also a former Japanese prime minister, told lawmakers. “We should pass on the …

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Olympic Gold Medalist Arrested Over Capitol Riots

CNBC reports: Klete Keller, a three-time U.S. Olympic swimmer and gold medalist, was criminally charged Wednesday with participating in the Capitol riot, where he was identified in a video showing him wearing his USA Swimming jacket. Keller is charged with obstructing law enforcement, knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and violent entry and …

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Russia Sanctioned For Next Two Olympics For Doping

The Associated Press reports: 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. Russian athletes and teams will still be allowed to compete …

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Breakdancing To Be Official Sport At 2024 Olympics

ESPN reports: Break-dancing became an official Olympic sport on Monday. The International Olympic Committee’s pursuit of urban events to lure a younger audience saw street dance battles officially added to the medal events program at the 2024 Paris Games. Also confirmed for Paris by the IOC executive board were skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing. Those three sports will make their …

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Tokyo Plans Test Events For Postponed Olympics

The Associated Press reports: The postponed Tokyo Olympics are getting a kickstart. Local organizers on Friday announced a series of 18 test events set to begin in March and run into May. The Tokyo Olympics are set to open on July 23, 2021, after being postponed eight months ago because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement in an online news …

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IOC Decides To Postpone 2020 Tokyo Olympics

USA Today reports: Veteran International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound told USA TODAY Sports Monday afternoon that the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games are going to be postponed, likely to 2021, with the details to be worked out in the next four weeks. “On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided,” Pound said in a phone …

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Officials Mull 2020 Tokyo Olympics Without Spectators

The New York Times reports: It remains unclear how any decision about the Olympics would unfold if officials in Tokyo conclude they have to alter plans for the Games. Seiko Hashimoto, Japan’s Olympic minister, said this week that Japan’s position was that as long as Tokyo held the Games in 2020, the I.O.C. could not cancel them. The 80-page contract …

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IOC Officials: Tokyo Olympics Still On For Now [VIDEO]

Time Magazine reports: A spokesman for the Japanese government on Wednesday said the International Olympic Committee and local organizers are going ahead as planned with the Tokyo Olympics despite the threat of the spreading coronavirus. The comments from spokesman Yoshihide Suga follow the assertion by former IOC vice-president Dick Pound that organizers face a three-month window to decide the fate …

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Iranian Olympic Medalist Reveals Her Defection

CNN reports: Iran’s sole female Olympic medalist, Kimia Alizadeh, has announced that she’s permanently left her country for Europe. “Let me start with a greeting, a farewell or condolences,” the 21-year-old wrote in an Instagram post explaining why she was defecting. “I am one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran who they have been playing with for years.” …

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Olympic Committee Sets Rules On Protests In Tokyo

Axios report: The International Olympic Committee issued a set of guidelines on Thursday to strengthen a rule that bars athletes from certain forms of political protest at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo. The Committee warns: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.” Activism such as kneeling, …

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