Summer Olympics

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Ahead of Paris Olympics, a Pesky Issue: 'No One Is Safe'

Bedbugs are overrunning France, with the Games less than 10 months away

(Newser) - The Summer Olympics kick off in Paris in a little under 10 months, but France is now contending with a pesky issue it hopes it can contain before then. NPR reports on a nationwide "resurgence of bloodsucking bedbugs," six-legged insects about the size of an apple seed that...

2 Big Names Return to Gymnastics Competition

Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee are looking ahead to the 2024 Olympics

(Newser) - Next year's Summer Olympics in Paris could be particularly epic for fans of US gymnastics: Two huge names are returning to competition, with the Paris games in mind. Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee will participate in the US Classic on Aug. 5 outside Chicago, NPR reports. It's the...

Olympics Booze Ban Has an Elite Exception

VIPs will get to swill alcohol, while the masses will drink water, soft drinks

(Newser) - Paris has deemed that the hoi polloi will not be getting a buzz on at its 2024 Olympics—but there's a notable exception to its booze ban, and that is the folks in the VIP section. As the Guardian reports, VIPs can swill champagne to their hearts' content under...

Olympic Medal Sells for $488K: 'Hitler Must Have Gone Crazy'

Silver medal won by Germany's Luz Long, who embraced gold winner Jesse Owens at '36 Games

(Newser) - The silver medal captured by Luz Long, the German long jumper who befriended Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, sold at auction for more than $488,000, a sum the auction house said was a record price for a publicly sold second-place prize. Long walked arm in arm...

Track Dad Who Helped Son Finish Memorable Race Has Died

Jim and Derek Redmond participated in 'one of the most inspirational moments in Olympic history'

(Newser) - Jim Redmond wasn't supposed to be on the track at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. He wasn't even an athlete, yet he played a key role in what the Olympic Committee calls "one of the most inspirational moments in Olympic history." Per NPR, Jim Redmond died...

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...

Fleeing the Games, Sprinter Made a Last-Minute Switch

Wary of security, Belarus sprinter changed flight plans from Warsaw to Vienna at last minute

(Newser) - Change of travel plans for Krystsina Tsimanouskaya—she's headed to Vienna instead of Warsaw, at least initially. The Washington Post reports on the continuing drama swirling around the 24-year-old Olympic sprinter, who boarded a plane bound for Poland on Wednesday, less than three days after Belarus authorities took her...

Both Beat the World Record, but Only One Could Win Gold

Sydney McLaughlin of the US wins Olympics' 400-meter hurdles event

(Newser) - Sydney McLaughlin broke the world record. Dalilah Muhammad broke it, too. Only one of the world's best hurdlers could win the Olympic gold medal—and McLaughlin came out ahead in the latest installment of the best rivalry in track, the AP reports. The 21-year-old out of East Orange, NJ,...

US Medalist Raven Saunders Does Protest Gesture at Podium

The 'X' arms likely violated Olympic rules, according to reports

(Newser) - After Raven Saunders won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, the US shot-putter raised her arms in an 'X' above her head at the podium following the medal ceremony. The 25-year-old told the AP the X symbolizes "the intersection of where all people who are...

Romania's Olympians Were Welcomed With a Dracula Pic
Broadcaster Says Sorry for
'Inexcusable' Gaffe at Olympics
in case you missed it
Jul 31, 2021 1:40 PM CDT

Broadcaster Says Sorry for 'Inexcusable' Gaffe at Olympics

Among stereotypical pics used in opening ceremonies: Chernobyl for Ukraine, pizza for Italy

(Newser) - Ukrainians tuning in to the opening ceremonies of the Tokyo Olympics on Friday were likely looking forward to catching a glimpse of the athletes representing their country, not a photo of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster that wreaked havoc within its borders in 1986. If they happened to watch the sporting...

Biles Pulls Out of 2 More Finals in Tokyo

No vault or uneven bars for gymnast as she focuses on her mental health

(Newser) - Simone Biles is opting not to defend her Olympic vault title, pulling out of Sunday's event finals for both vault and uneven bars while she focuses on her mental health. The 24-year-old six-time Olympic medalist removed herself from competition during the team finals on Tuesday and sat out Thursday'...

Things Will Be More Chaotic Than Usual in Pool on Saturday

In an Olympic first, men and women will team up for the 4x100-meter mixed medley relay

(Newser) - Swimming is nothing if not orderly, but get ready for a little chaos. Here comes the 4x100-meter mixed medley relay, making its Olympic debut in Tokyo on Saturday: two men and two women per country doing backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle, per the AP . The teams get to decide who...

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's 1500
Ledecky Finally Tastes Gold
Jul 28, 2021 12:23 AM CDT

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...

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...

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,...

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