Olympics

Stories 101 - 120 | << Prev   Next >>

This Is Now the Tiniest Country to Ever Medal

Alessandra Perilli earns bronze in trap shooting for San Marino

(Newser) - Twenty-fifth time’s the charm for San Marino, the European enclave surrounded by north-central Italy, home to fewer than 35,000 people, which was awarded its first-ever Olympic medal on Thursday. Alessandra Perilli shot 29 targets in the women's trap shooting final, coming in third after Kayle Browning of...

Olympian in Quarantine Blasts 'Inhuman' Living Conditions

Dutch skateboarder Candy Jacobs decries lack of fresh air at hotel, calls it 'mentally super draining'

(Newser) - An Olympic skateboarder who was put in quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19 called the conditions at the hotel "inhuman" on Wednesday. Candy Jacobs has been in isolation for eight days and missed the street event in skateboarding's debut as an Olympic sport, per the AP . She said...

Ledecky Wins First-Ever Olympic Gold in Women&#39;s 1500
Ledecky Finally Tastes Gold

Ledecky Finally Tastes Gold

Hours after failing to medal, US swimmer claims first-ever gold in women's 1500

(Newser) - When Katie Ledecky finally saw that familiar number next to her name, the emotions flooded to the surface at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. She tumbled over the lane rope to give her runner-up teammate a hug. She let out an uncharacteristic scream toward the American cheering section in the mostly...

Simone Biles: It Wasn't a Physical Injury

'I have to focus on my mental health,' says gymnast after exit from team competition

(Newser) - Simone Biles is shedding some light on the Olympic stunner that saw her exit from team competition on Tuesday. While USA Gymnastics cited a "medical issue," Biles herself clarified that it wasn't a physical injury, reports the Washington Post . "I just felt like it would be...

Alaska Has an Olympic Champion in an Unexpected Sport

Lydia Jacoby pulls off stunning swimming upset

(Newser) - Alaska is renowned for its majestic natural beauty. The snowy peaks. The glistening glaciers. The sparkling fjords. An Arctic paradise, for sure. Swimming? That’s never been much of a thing in the 49th US state. Until now. Seventeen-year-old Lydia Jacoby pulled off a stunning victory in the women’s...

Olympic Gymnast Ends Floor Routine With BLM Tribute

Luciana Alvarado of Costa Rica raised fist in the air, knelt

(Newser) - The first-ever Costa Rican gymnast to qualify for the Olympics used the end of her floor routine Sunday to make a big statement. Luciana Alvarado, 18, took a knee with one arm behind her back and the other raised in the air with a fist, NBC Olympics reports. (Watch the...

She Broke Away at Start of Race, Figured She'd Be Caught—but Wasn't

Anna Kiesenhofer stuns Olympic cycling with her gold medal win

(Newser) - As Dutch champion cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten crossed the finish line of the Olympic women's road race Sunday, she raised her arms in the air, assuming she'd come in first. Not so: Anna Kiesenhofer, an Austrian cyclist who wasn't on any pre-race list of contenders, had crossed...

False Start in Olympic Triathlon After Boat Gets in Way

Some competitors were stuck on dock as boat with cameras tried to reverse

(Newser) - Let's try that again, triathlon. The Olympic men's triathlon needed a do-over Monday when a bizarre start sent dozens of competitors into the water only to have others stuck on the dock, helplessly blocked by a boat containing cameras that got in the way, the AP reports. The...

Here's Who Won First-Ever Olympic Skateboarding Medals

Japan sweeps golds, takes first in both men's and women's contests

(Newser) - Thirteen-year-old Momiji Nishiya of Japan won the first Olympic skateboard competition for women on Monday, giving the host nation a sweep of golds in the street event after Yuto Horigome won the men’s competition, also the Olympics' first ever, the AP reports. Rayssa Leal, a Brazilian who is also...

Australia's Olympic Chief Slammed for 'Mansplaining'

He ordered Queensland premier to attend opening ceremony in Tokyo

(Newser) - As leader of an Australian state, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has much greater responsibilities than John Coates, the country's Olympics chief—but he didn't appear to think so during a press conference in Tokyo after Brisbane was awarded the 2032 Games . Coates was accused of patronizing Palaszczuk after...

Allegations Against US Fencer Keep Him Out of Olympic Village

Alen Hadzic appealed the decision, lost

(Newser) - An alternate on the US fencing team is in Tokyo with the rest of the team, but he had to fly separately and is not allowed to train or live in the Olympic Village due to accusations of sexual misconduct that three women have made against him. Alen Hadzic, 29,...

Olympics Opening Ceremony Director Fired for 1998 Joke

Kentaro Kobayashi made a Holocaust joke during a comedy show

(Newser) - The Tokyo Olympic organizing committee fired the director of the opening ceremony on Thursday because of a Holocaust joke he made during a comedy show in 1998, the AP reports. Organizing committee president Seiko Hashimoto said a day ahead of the opening ceremony that director Kentaro Kobayashi has been dismissed....

Team USA Hit With Another COVID Case

This time it's reportedly beach volleyball player Taylor Crabb

(Newser) - Team USA has suffered another COVID case, this time in a player who was slated to compete in just days. Per NBC News' reporting, beach volleyball player Taylor Crabb has tested positive and could soon be headed back to Hawaii. USA Volleyball said only this: "The health and safety...

Why Some Olympic Athletes Are Sporting Tourniquets

Blood flow restriction is an in-vogue training technique, according to the 'NYT'

(Newser) - Not a sentence you'd expect to read in relation to the Olympics: "This year, the hot thing appears to be tourniquets." But that's exactly what the New York Times proclaims in looking at the trendy training/recovery method some of this Games' athletes have adopted. The idea...

2 Days Before Games, Tokyo COVID Cases Hit a High

Worst count the city has seen in 6 months

(Newser) - Tokyo's COVID-19 infections surged to a six-month high Wednesday with the Olympic host city logging 1,832 new cases just two days before the Games open. Tokyo is currently under its fourth state of emergency, which will last until Aug. 22, covering the entire duration of the Olympics that...

Athletes Will Really Feel the Heat in Tokyo

This could be the hottest Olympics on record, bringing risk of heatstroke

(Newser) - Tokyo claimed "mild" summer weather made it an ideal candidate to host the Olympic Games in 2020. Consider that an oversell, as athletes could now be in for the hottest Olympics on record. The daily maximum temperature recorded at a Summer Olympics was in Sydney, Australia, in 2000 and...

Toyota May Be Distancing Itself From the Games

Company will not run Olympic ads in Japan

(Newser) - Coronavirus cases in Japan have risen to 1,000 per day just as the Tokyo Olympics are set to start. Now Toyota, a top sponsor of the Games, says it will not run any Olympics ads in the country, and its chief executive won’t attend the opening ceremonies, the...

Tokyo Olympics Was Infiltrated by Oysters

And it wasn't a cheap problem to fix

(Newser) - It turns out COVID-19 wasn't the only foe Olympic organizers were battling in 2020. Add oysters to the list. The BBC reports the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo Bay will host canoeing and rowing events, and the preparation for those events involved the installation of floats designed to prevent...

Scottie Pippen: Come Watch the Olympics at My House

Retired basketball star offering stays at his Illinois vacation home on Airbnb

(Newser) - You could watch the Tokyo Olympics from Scottie Pippen's home and, in his words, "sleep in my bed." The six-time NBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist has turned to Airbnb to offer three one-night stays at his vacation home in Illinois' Highland Park where fans can...

At Tokyo Olympics, a 'Very Significant Change'

Athletes will put on their own medals to protect against COVID

(Newser) - Athletes at the Tokyo Olympics will put their medals around their own necks to protect against spreading the coronavirus. The "very significant change" to traditional medal ceremonies was revealed Wednesday by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, per the AP . "The medals will not be given around the...

Stories 101 - 120 | << Prev   Next >>