Tag Archives: Tokyo Olympics

NBC News reports: At least 182 out athletes from about 30 countries attended the Tokyo Games, more than three times the number who competed in the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, according to the LGBTQ sports site Outsports. At least 55 of those athletes, who competed in 35 different sports, won medals — five nabbed gold for Team …

The Washington Post reports: The Tokyo Olympics concluded Sunday, with the last medals awarded and the stage ceded to the Closing Ceremonies. After the coronavirus pandemic forced a year-long delay, and created an unprecedented environment of empty venues and ever-present restrictions, the Games were held in their entirety without many significant disruptions once they finally got underway. Team USA finished …

The Hill reports: President Biden on Saturday sent out a video message thanking U.S. athletes for representing the country in the Tokyo Olympics ahead of the event’s closing ceremony this weekend, commending their “courage” and resolve to push themselves amid the stress of the coronavirus pandemic. Biden went on to acknowledge that “getting to the Olympics is a long journey, …

NBC News reports: The United States beat Australia 4-3 on Thursday, sealing a women’s soccer bronze medal in what could be a final prize in the international careers of several iconic American stars. Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe sealed the Olympic medal for Team USA with two goals apiece in Kashima, aided by a late defensive effort to survive a …

Reuters reports: A Belarusian athlete who took refuge in the Polish embassy in Tokyo on Monday a day after refusing her team’s orders to board a flight home from the Olympic Games has been granted a humanitarian visa by the Warsaw government. Sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya plans to leave for Poland in the coming days, a Polish deputy foreign minister, Marcin …

Reuters reports: A Belarusian sprinter said she was taken to the airport against her wishes on Sunday to board a flight back home after she complained about national coaches at the Tokyo Olympics. Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who was due to compete in the women’s 200 metres on Monday, told Reuters she did not plan to return to her home country. She …

The Anchorage Daily News reports: Seventeen-year-old Lydia Jacoby of Seward became an Olympic champion in dramatic fashion Monday in Japan to become the first American woman to win a gold medal in swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In third place midway through the women’s 100-meter breaststroke, Jacoby unleashed what has now become her signature fast finish to surge to …

The Associated Press reports: Reigning Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles is out of the team finals after apparently suffering an injury during the vault. The 24-year-old U.S. star, considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time, huddled with a trainer after landing her vault. She then exited the competition floor with the team doctor. Biles returned several minutes later …

NBC News reports: Five out of six U.S. athletes competing in the Tokyo Olympics have been vaccinated against Covid-19, the team’s top doctor revealed Friday just before the Games officially begin. That information was culled from the health histories that 567 of the athletes filled out before they departed for Japan, said Dr. Jonathan Finnoff, who estimated that 83 percent …

Reuters reports: The head of the organizing committee for the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday did not rule out a last-minute cancellation of the global sporting showpiece, amid rising coronavirus cases that have presented organizers with mounting challenges. Asked at a news conference if the Games, which are due to open on Friday, might still be canceled, Toshiro Muto said he …

CBS News reports: With just four days to go until the opening ceremony, the COVID-19 pandemic is casting an ever longer shadow over the Tokyo Summer Olympics. Officials have reported at least 12 new coronavirus cases connected with the Games since Sunday, including a U.S. gymnast and the first cases among athletes inside the Olympic village. Several of the latest …

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. …

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 …

The Associated Press reports: Japan extended a coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas for 20 more days on Friday, with infections still not slowing as it prepares to host the Olympics in just over 50 days. Cases remain high and medical systems in Osaka, the hardest-hit area in western Japan, are still overburdened, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga …

The Washington Post reports: The Japanese government is pushing ahead with the Tokyo 2020 Games this summer even as the State Department issued an advisory warning Americans against visiting the Northeast Asian country, which is struggling with a spike in coronavirus infections. The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee said that it intended to participate in the Games, which begin July …

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 …

ABC News reports: Preparations for the Tokyo Olympics have suffered another setback after a poll found that nearly 60% of people in Japan want them to be cancelled, less than three months before the Games are due to open. The Olympics, which were delayed by a year due to the pandemic, are set to open on 23 July. Japan has …

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 …

The Guardian reports: North Korea’s sports ministry said on Tuesday that it will not participate in the Tokyo Olympics this year to protect its athletes amid the coronavirus pandemic. The decision was made at a meeting of North Korea’s Olympic committee, including its sports minister Kim Il guk, on 25 March the ministry said on its website, called Joson Sports. …

ESPN reports: Spectators from abroad will be barred from the Tokyo Olympics when they open in four months, the IOC and local organizers said Saturday. The decision was announced after an online meeting of the International Olympic Committee, the Japanese government, the Tokyo government, the International Paralympic Committee, and local organizers. The move was expected and rumored for several months. …