Paralympics

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France Readies a Plan B for Olympic Ceremony

Amid heightened security concerns, opening of Paris Games may be moved

(Newser) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics planned on the River Seine could be shifted instead to the country's national stadium if the security threat is deemed too high. France is on a high security alert ahead of the Paris Olympics and...

Paris' Olympic Medals Feature a Little Something Special

Yep, that's an actual piece of the Eiffel Tower going home with victorious athletes

(Newser) - An Olympic medal with an inlaid piece of the Eiffel Tower. How's that for a monumental prize? A hexagonal, polished chunk of iron taken from the iconic landmark is being embedded in each gold, silver, and bronze medal that will be hung around athletes' necks at the July 26-Aug....

US Paralympic Swimming Champion Allegedly Sexually Abused Teammate

Lawsuit filed against Robert Griswold, 25

(Newser) - Robert Griswold, a 25-year-old US Paralympic champion swimmer, is accused of grooming a younger teammate with intellectual and developmental disabilities starting last year, then sexually abusing him at the Tokyo Games last summer. A lawsuit filed against Griswold, who has cerebral palsy, also accuses him of continuing the abuse at...

Ukrainian Athletes Make It to Paralympics: 'It's a Miracle'

As war rages on back home, Paralympians converge on Beijing, with Russian athletes banned

(Newser) - The Winter Paralympics open Friday in Beijing, with the Russian athletes sent home and the Ukrainian team escaping a war zone to get to China. "It's a miracle that we have made it to the Paralympics," Ukrainian delegation head Valerii Sushkevych said, per the AP . Russia's...

Paralympics Does U-Turn on Russia, Belarus Athletes

They're now banned from Beijing Games

(Newser) - The 2022 Winter Paralympic Games kick off in Beijing Friday—and after an abrupt reversal from the International Paralympic Committee, athletes from Russia and Belarus will not be taking part. In a statement , IPC President Andrew Parsons said an "overwhelming number" of national committees had contacted the organization, with...

Shot Putter Loses Gold Because He Was 3 Minutes Late

Malaysian athlete's fate causes controversy at Paralympics

(Newser) - Controversy at the Paralympics Games: Malaysian shot putter Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli appeared to have won gold in the shot put in the F20 class. But after the victory on Tuesday, he was disqualified because he had shown up three minutes late for the competition. International Paralympic Committee rep Craig Spence...

2 Evacuees Reach Tokyo to Compete in Paralympics

International effort gets athletes safely out of Kabul, to Paris, then to the Paralympic Village

(Newser) - An international, multi-organization effort has delivered two Kabul evacuees to Tokyo, by way of Paris, in time to compete in the 2020 Paralympics. Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli have safely arrived in Paralympic Village, CNN reports. The Afghanistan Paralympic Committee had said they wouldn't be able to go to...

2020 Paralympics Open in Empty Stadium

A volunteer carried Afghanistan's flag in Tokyo

(Newser) - The Paralympics began Tuesday in the same empty National Stadium—during the same pandemic—as the opening and closing ceremonies of the recently completed Tokyo Olympics. Japanese Emperor Naruhito got it all started again, this time under the theme “We Have Wings.” Among the few on hand were...

Stands Will Be Empty for Tokyo Paralympics

Rising coronavirus infections cause Japan to lengthen its state of emergency

(Newser) - As they did with the just-completed 2020 Summer Olympics, fans will have to sit out the Paralympic Games, organizers announced Monday in Tokyo. The coronavirus situation is worsening in Japan, where the lambda variant has arrived and the government has extended its state of emergency until Sept. 12; the Games...

2 Controversies, Same Theme: Female Athletes' Bottoms


2 Controversies,
Same Theme:
Female Athletes'
Bottoms
in case you missed it
Jul 24, 2021 1:20 PM CDT

2 Controversies, Same Theme: Female Athletes' Bottoms

One is told her briefs are too small, while a team is scolded for wearing bigger shorts

(Newser) - Two different athletic controversies were making headlines Tuesday, but both revolved around the same theme—the clothes women wear during competition. In one case, an athlete was told by a judge that her briefs were too revealing. In the other, a handball team was scolded because they ditched bikini bottoms...

Deaf-Blind US Swimmer Makes 'Gut-Wrenching' Decision to Withdraw

Becca Meyers is not being allowed to bring assistant to Paralympic Games

(Newser) - An American swimmer who brought three golds and a silver home from Rio de Janiero in 2016 says she is heartbroken to be pulling out of the Tokyo Paralympic Games—but US Olympic authorities have left her no choice. Becca Meyers, who is deaf and blind, has been told she...

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...

Paralympian Dies Trying to Row Across Pacific Ocean

Angela Madsen was attempting to set world record

(Newser) - A spinal cord injury during her time in the Marines left Angela Madsen a paraplegic, but it didn't slow her down. She went to the Paralympics three times, including a 2012 trip during which she won bronze in the shot put event, and won several gold medals at the...

Famed Paralympian in Coma After Terrible Crash

'All of Italy is fighting with you,' PM tells Zanardi

(Newser) - After a horrific CART racing crash in 2001 cost him both his legs, Alex Zanardi built his own prosthetics and made an incredible comeback as a Paralympic athlete, winning gold in handcycling four times. Now, a second horrific crash for Zanardi. The 53-year-old former Formula One driver was placed in...

Paralympic Athlete Legally Ends Her Life

100m champ Marieke Vervoort was 40

(Newser) - Paralympian athlete Marieke Vervoort made the most out of her life—and ended it at a time of her choosing. The 40-year-old died Tuesday by euthanasia, which is legal in Belgium. Vervoort, who won the 100 meters gold and 200 meters silver medals in wheelchair racing at the London Paralympics...

Big Surprise for Strangers Who Helped Stranded Wheelchair Racer

Woman they assisted during NYC Marathon was Paralympic gold medalist Zou Lihong

(Newser) - In a New York minute, a Paralympic athlete's distressing experience turned into an inspiring one thanks to a smartphone app and the kindness of strangers. The New York Times reports on the plight of Zou Lihong, a Chinese wheelchair racer who beat US favorite Tatyana McFadden to win gold...

Paralympics Ends With Celebration, Mourning

Brazil's 1,192-day run of mega-events is over

(Newser) - The Paralympic Games came to an end Sunday night with a closing ceremony before 45,000 spectators at Rio's Maracana stadium filled with tributes to Bahman Golbarnezhad, the Iranian cyclist who died after a crash Saturday , the BBC reports. International Paralympic Committee president Philip Craven said the movement is...

Iranian Cyclist Killed in Paralympics Crash

Bahman Golbarnezhad believed to be first athlete killed in Paralympics

(Newser) - An Iranian cyclist died after crashing in a road race at the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics on Saturday. Bahman Golbarnezhad, 48, received emergency treatment on the course and was transported to a Rio hospital where he died, reports the AP . "This is truly heart-breaking news, and the thoughts and...

Improving Paralympian Tech Causes Controversy

Some worry technology is making double amputees unbeatable

(Newser) - Here's how good technology for prosthetic running blades has become. The AP reports Greek runner Michail Seitis set a world record for his division with a time of 49.66 seconds in the men's 400-meter final on Thursday. He came in sixth place out of eight runners. The...

4 Paralympics Runners Best Olympic Gold Time

Visually impaired athletes impressive in 1500 meters

(Newser) - Four visually impaired runners in the 1500 meters at the Rio Paralympics Games just earned some bragging rights: All put up times better than the US runner who took gold in the same Olympics competition, reports the Independent . Their times ranged from 3:48.29 (by gold medal winner Abdellatif...

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