2020 Tokyo Olympic Games

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Olympic Champs Tell Congress: No Faith Left in Anti-Doping Agency

Michael Phelps, Allison Schmitt rip World Anti-Doping Agency

(Newser) - US Olympic athletes have lost faith in the World Anti-Doping Agency to rid their sports of cheaters ahead of next month's Summer Games in Paris, two former gold medalists told a House subcommittee on Tuesday night. The testimony by Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt followed revelations this spring that...

In Reversal, Cap for Black Swimmers Is Approved

FINA says the Soul Cap is OK after all

(Newser) - Update: It's a victory for Black swimmers. FINA, aka the International Swimming Federation, has reversed its decision and now says a swimming cap designed specifically for natural Black hair can be worn at the Olympics and other top-level competitions, reports the BBC . The sport's governing body previously declared...

Simone Biles: I Should Have Quit Before Olympics

Gymnast talks to 'The Cut'

(Newser) - In an extensive profile at The Cut , Simone Biles says she should not have competed in the Tokyo Olympics—but that she refused to let abusive team doctor Larry Nassar have that impact on her. "If you looked at everything I’ve gone through for the past seven years,...

Aussie Gold Medalist Hospitalized With COVID

'I feel extremely unlucky,' says Madison Wilson

(Newser) - Australian swimmer Madison Wilson has been hospitalized with COVID-19 less than two months after she won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The 27-year-old, who is fully vaccinated, says she tested positive while in Italy for an International Swim League event, reports the Guardian . In an Instagram post Sunday,...

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...

Lambda Variant Turns Up in Japan, Linked to Olympics

Japanese health ministry didn't disclose case until after Games ended

(Newser) - The delta variant is spreading in the population and in the news. But the lambda variant of the virus that causes COVID, which popped up in South America, is definitely attracting the attention of researchers, who fear it might be more resistant to vaccines than other variants. And now it’...

Hurdler Who Won Gold Thanks Volunteer Who Got Him to the Race

Hansle Parchment almost missed his chance at Olympic medal after he went to wrong venue

(Newser) - If your mother always told you give yourself plenty of time to get to the airport, or to your Olympic 110-meter hurdling competition, we hope you've listened. Hansle Parchment will likely leave the house way early from now on, after the Jamaican hurdler almost missed his chance to compete...

IOC Says It's Replacing Medal Munched by Mayor

Nagoya mayor apologizes for biting softball pitcher Miu Goto's medal

(Newser) - An Olympic athlete in Japan is getting a new gold medal to replace one that a mayor decided to chomp on during a ceremony last week. Tokyo 2020 organizers say they will give softball pitcher Miu Goto a new medal to replace the one Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamure bit into...

Odd, Uneven Olympics End
Odd, Uneven Olympics End
photos
Aug 8, 2021 11:10 AM CDT

Odd, Uneven Olympics End

IOC president praises athletes as Paris accepts the challenge of hosting the next Games

(Newser) - It began with a virus and a yearlong pause. It ended with a typhoon blowing through and, still, a virus. In between: just about everything. The Tokyo Olympics, christened with "2020" but held in mid-2021 after being interrupted for a year by the coronavirus, glided to their conclusion in...

US Victory Over Brazil Brings First Volleyball Gold

Women's team had taken silver and bronze, but never won an Olympic championship

(Newser) - Jordan Larson fell to the floor, put her head in her hands and cried after Brazil couldn't return her spike on match point. The frustration of being so close but not quite good enough was replaced by a feeling of relief after the US women's volleyball team finally...

Unconscious Iranian Wins Karate Gold at Olympics

Opponent was disqualified for kick to the neck

(Newser) - Iran’s Sajad Ganjzadeh won the Olympic gold medal in men’s over-75 kilogram karate after final opponent Tareg Hamedi was disqualified for kicking Ganjzadeh hard in the upper body or head, per the AP . It happened in the final bout of karate's Olympic debut in Japan when...

Sue Bird Ends Team USA Career With 5th Straight Gold

Team beat Japan 90-75 to cap basketball legend's 17-year Olympic career

(Newser) - US women have won their seventh straight gold medal in basketball , beating Japan 90-75 to cap Sue Bird's 17-year Olympic career. Per the AP , Bird and Diana Taurasi walked off the basketball court together, arm-in-arm, one last time at the Tokyo Games. They started their journey together five Olympics...

Gold Medalist Faces Questions on 'a Woman's Life'

Social media backlash follows interview of Chinese shot put champion

(Newser) - Now that Gong Lijiao had won an Olympic gold medal in the women's shot put competition, an interviewer for Chinese state media evidently figured, it's time to move on. "Do you have any plans for a woman's life?" the champion was asked last Sunday, catching her...

Newest Olympic Medalist Has a Famous Dad

Jessica Springsteen, daughter of Bruce, and US equestrian team take home the silver

(Newser) - The Springsteen family has gone platinum many times over. Time to make space for a little silver, too. Jessica Springsteen and the US equestrian jumping team came up just short of Olympic gold, falling to Sweden in a jump-off Saturday night that still left the Americans with a record 10th...

After a Shaky Start, Another Gold for Men's Basketball

Kevin Durant helps lead Team USA to 87-82 win over France, team's 4th straight Olympic win

(Newser) - Nothing about the summer was easy for the US men's basketball team, and neither was the gold-medal game. The Americans expected nothing less. And in the end, their Olympic reign lives on. Kevin Durant scored 29 points and joined Carmelo Anthony as the only three-time men's gold medalists...

She Just Medaled in Her 5th Straight Summer Games

Allyson Felix collects 10th medal, most of any female track star in history

(Newser) - US track star Allyson Felix earned some serious bragging rights on Friday when she won the bronze in the 400 meters. The medal is the 10th in her career, making the 35-year-old the most decorated female track athlete not just in the US but in any country, reports NPR . It...

US Women Win Beach Volleyball Gold
US Women Win
Beach Volleyball Gold
Aug 6, 2021 4:45 AM CDT

US Women Win Beach Volleyball Gold

While indoor volleyball team avenges 2016 loss to Serbia

(Newser) - Americans April Ross and Alix Klineman have won the women’s beach volleyball gold medal. The US pair beat Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy of Australia 21-15, 21-16 for the championship on Friday. It’s Ross’ third medal in as many Olympics, to go with the silver she...

IOC Asks 2 Belarus Coaches to Leave Olympics Immediately

IOC says they tried to force sprinter to board plane back to country

(Newser) - Two Belarus team coaches have been removed from the Olympics, four days after they were involved in trying to send sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya back to their country. The International Olympic Committee said Friday it has canceled and removed the credentials of Artur Shimak and Yury Maisevich, the AP reports. "...

Mayor's Medal Bite Does Not Land Well

Japan's Takashi Kawamura apologizes after his jokey move ignites intense criticism

(Newser) - Olympic athletes have a little tradition of biting their medals. A Japanese mayor tried to join in on the fun, and the joke did not land. The trouble for Mayor Takashi Kawamura of Nagoya began Wednesday when he publicly congratulated a local medalist, softball player Miu Goto, reports Reuters . After...

His Medal Marks a Rare Feat for US Olympians

Eddy Alvarez is only the third to medal in Summer and Winter Games

(Newser) - Earning a medal at either the Summer or Winter Olympics is an impressive feat. Winning a medal at both? Exceedingly rare. Eddy Alvarez became only the third American to do so Thursday when the US baseball team beat South Korea to gain a berth in this weekend's gold medal...

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