Olympic Games

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IOC Loosens Guidelines on Transgender Athletes

Surgery will no longer be required

(Newser) - Transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in the Olympics and other international events without undergoing sex reassignment surgery, according to new guidelines adopted by the International Olympic Committee. IOC medical officials say they changed the policy to adapt to current scientific, social, and legal attitudes on transgender issues. The...

Beijing Olympics Song Sounds Oddly Familiar

Critics accuse officials of copying 'Let It Go' from Disney's Frozen

(Newser) - Olympic anthems aren't usually chart-toppers, but one of 10 official theme songs for the 2022 Beijing Olympics, awarded to China on Friday , sure sounds like one. Unfortunately for Beijing, it sounds like one already made popular around the world: "Let It Go" from Disney's Frozen. The Olympic...

80 Years Later, Jewish Games to Be Played in Nazi Venue

Berlin is hosting the European Maccabi Games at Olympic Park

(Newser) - Berlin is kicking off the all-Jewish European Maccabi Games tomorrow—a 10-day event where 2,300 athletes from nearly 40 countries will compete in 19 disciplines, from soccer and basketball to chess and bridge, reports the Local . If Berlin seems like an odd venue, well, "these are the games...

Host 2022 Olympics? Cities Say No Thanks

Costs make gig increasingly unappealing

(Newser) - The race is on for the 2022 Winter Olympics—the race to get out of hosting, that is. Four cities that were considering hosting, including two finalists for the job, have dropped out of the running. Four finalists remain, but only two of those bids look robust. Cities just don'...

Alpine Skiing Ends in Historic Gold-Medal Tie

Two downhill skiers tie for gold at the Sochi Olympics

(Newser) - Slovenia's Tina Maze and Switzerland's Dominique Gisin tied for gold at the Sochi Olympics today—a first in Olympic alpine skiing history, NBC reports. Maze and Gisin finished today's downhill skiing event with identical times; Switzerland's Lara Gut won the bronze. "It’s a great...

Spilling the Secrets of Today's Opening Ceremony

A lot has been kept under wraps, but we know a lot, too

(Newser) - The Olympics opening ceremony starts at precisely 11:14am Eastern time today—that's 20:14 in Sochi, meant to "symbolize the year of the first-ever Russian Winter Games," the official press release explains. (NBC won't air the ceremony until 7:30pm Eastern, Time notes.) What...

Here Are Your Olympic Medal Predictions

Norway, US predicted to come out on top in Sochi

(Newser) - Though the opening ceremonies aren't until tomorrow, the 2014 Olympics officially kick off today in Sochi—and the Wall Street Journal is ready with its extremely complex medal prediction system, which proved to be accurate to within just a few medals at the last two Olympics. So who's...

Norway's Curling Team Is Wearing This to Olympics

The crazy pants are back, and crazier

(Newser) - This may be the best ( or at least second-best ) Olympic photo so far: Norway's men's curling team, decked out in their fantastic new outfits. The team was a sensation at the Vancouver Olympics when members competed wearing boldly-colored, crazily-patterned golf pants instead of the standard black...

Why the Olympics Should End
 Why the 
 Olympics 
 Should End 
OPINION
Jan 21, 2014 10:17 AM CST

Why the Olympics Should End

Human costs now outweigh benefits: Charles Lane

(Newser) - The founding ideals of the modern Olympics were admirable: France's Pierre de Coubertin wanted to foster peace and understanding between nations. But things haven't worked out that way, and the Games have ultimately caused more harm than good, writes Charles Lane in the Washington Post : "What we...

Internet Heaps $187K on Broke Jamaican Bobsledders

Team is crowdfunding its Sochi trip

(Newser) - If you're a fan of Cool Runnings, consider this: You can help send this year's Jamaican bobsled team to the Olympics. The team qualified for the games for the first time since 2002 , but needs to raise tens of thousands of dollars to actually travel to Sochi. Fortunately,...

Athlete Gives Up Olympic Spot—to Twin Sister

Tracy Barnes says Lanny would have beat her if she wasn't sick

(Newser) - Tracy Barnes won a spot on the US Olympic biathlon team Sunday, but she's not taking it. She gave up her place so her twin sister, Lanny, could go instead. Lanny had been too sick to compete in all the selection races, but Tracy believes her sister had a...

Torch Bearer Carries Olympic Flame, Then Dies

Vadim Gorbenko has heart attack

(Newser) - A Russian wrestling coach carried the Olympic flame 500 feet, had his photo taken, said he didn't feel well ... and ended up dead of a heart attack, an official said today. Vadim Gorbenko, 73, who had trained top wrestlers and also acted as a sports school director, was taking...

Olympic Torch Blasts Off for Space Station

Cosmonauts aren't planning on lighting it

(Newser) - The Russians are taking the Olympic torch relay to a new height—the International Space Station. The 2014 Sochi torch, which will not be lit during its five days in space, blasted off on a Soyuz rocket this morning accompanied by Russia's Mikhail Tyurin, American Rick Mastracchio, and Koici...

Tokyo Snags the 2020 Olympics

Beats Istanbul, Madrid, despite concerns about Fukushima

(Newser) - Tokyo has been awarded the 2020 Olympics, capitalizing on its reputation as a "safe pair of hands" and defying concerns about the Fukushima nuclear crisis. Tokyo defeated Istanbul in the final round of secret voting today by the International Olympic Committee. Madrid was eliminated earlier after an initial tie...

Vonn: I'll Be Back in Time for Olympics

But injury has her out for the rest of this season

(Newser) - Despite the fact that Lindsey Vonn was airlifted out of a race yesterday after suffering a major knee injury, the US Ski and Snowboard Association expects her to recover in time for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Over at the Los Angeles Times, Chris Dufresne is skeptical, speculating that the skier...

Now Armstrong's Olympic Bronze Under Investigation

IOC to 'immediately start the process' of reviewing Sydney win

(Newser) - Lance Armstrong's fireplace mantel could get a little emptier: The International Olympic Committee today announced that it will investigate the cyclist's 2000 Olympics win. Armstrong took a time trial bronze at Sydney, reports Reuters . "The IOC will now immediately start the process concerning the involvement of Lance...

Lolo Jones Makes US Bobsled Team

Olympic hurdler could head to winter games

(Newser) - From hurdles to ... bobsledding? Yes, Olympian and famous virgin Lolo Jones showed up in Lake Placid three weeks ago, unsure where her first foray into bobsledding could lead. The answer might be another Olympics—only this time, the winter one. Jones, a two-time Olympic hurdler, was one of 24 athletes...

Olympic Eye Now on Sochi ... and Its Potential Woes

Russia preps for 2014 amid concerns about snow, terrorist attacks

(Newser) - The London Olympics are over, which means it's time to start looking toward the next Games: Winter 2014 in Russia. Preparations are ongoing in Sochi, a resort city on the Black Sea complete with palm trees. Yep, palm trees. Whether it will get cold enough to produce a sufficient...

Olympic Sports in History&#39;s Dustbin
 Olympic Sports 
 in History's Dustbin 
OLYMPICS
Aug 12, 2012 3:10 AM CDT

Olympic Sports in History's Dustbin

Olympics much bigger now, but many sports dropped over years

(Newser) - Not a fan of synchronized swimming in the Olympics? Dressage? Rhythmic gymnastics? Sure, the number of sports in the Olympics Games has grown dramatically since they were restarted in 1896, going from nine sports and 43 events to 26 sports and 302 events. But plenty of odd sports have been...

Games&#39; Strangest Job: Sweat Mopper
 Games' 
 Strangest Job: 
 Sweat Mopper 
olympics
Aug 8, 2012 1:33 PM CDT

Games' Strangest Job: Sweat Mopper

Volunteers compete for elite, but kinda gross, position

(Newser) - One of the most unusual—and sought-after—volunteer positions in the London Olympics? Sweat mopper. These surprisingly high-profile volunteers are in charge of keeping the players safe from slips on a wet court, and even though they're not athletes themselves, the job is quite intense. Teams of two moppers...

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