PARALYMPIC GAMES

Chasing Gold: Paris 2024 introduces fans to Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls from around the world.

As we embark down the road to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, NBC Sports is creating a new monthly program – Chasing Gold: Paris 2024 — that will immerse viewers in the world of the Olympic and Paralympic athletes as they prepare for the next Summer Games.

The U.S. women's national sled hockey team wants to see a competition in the Paralympic Games.

A former Tokyo Olympic organizing committee board member and three people from a clothing company that was a surprise sponsor of the 2020 Games have been arrested on bribery suspicions.

The man accused of attacking Dave Chappelle previously had released a song named after the comedian. Jericka Duncan has the story.

President Joe Biden praised Team USA for bringing a bit of unity to a pandemic weary nation as he hosted a White House celebration Wednesday with about 600 athletes from this year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing and the coronavirus-delayed Summer Games held in 2021 in Tokyo.

NBC Sports officials say their plan of covering the Olympics from its Stamford, Conn., facility is a similar strategy used to cover the delayed 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics last year.

Instead of selling tickets to the general public, organizers announced Monday that they would invite groups of spectators to attend the games in person.

Under a diplomatic boycott, American athletes would still compete in the Beijing Winter Olympics, but U.S. government officials would not attend the games.

Matt Scott is wheelchair basketball legend who has played in five Paralympic Games.

From running blades to $16,000 handbikes, high-tech gear helped athletes shatter records in Tokyo

Sprinter Keula Nidreia Pereira Semedo, who is visually impaired, didn't qualify for the semifinals. But she did accept a surprise proposal from her sighted partner, Manuel Antonio Vaz da Veiga.

There are still gold medals up for grabs in Tokyo. Several of the athletes in the Paralympics have ties to Michigan, especially to Metro Detroit.

Afghanistan's Paralympic team won't compete in the Tokyo Paralympics following the country's fall to the Taliban and the closure of all commercial flights at the Kabul airport, NPR reports. Why it matters: Zakia Khudadadi would have been the first woman to represent Afghanistan at a Paralympic Games, which begin Aug. 24, per Reuters. Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.Afghanistan was banned at the 2000 Paralympic games due to the Taliban's treatment of wom

Japan will ban spectators from Paralympic venues in and around Tokyo due to the spread of coronavirus, organizers announced Monday, similar to the ban on fans attending the Olympics.

All fans will be barred from the Paralympics because of the coronavirus pandemic just as they were from the recently-completed Tokyo Olympics.

This will be Australia's third time hosting the Olympic Games after Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000.

Two more prefectures outside the immediate Tokyo area are also barring fans from attending Olympic events because of rising coronavirus infections.

Japan is famous for running on consensus.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said he's "not sure that there is a huge risk attached" to the Tokyo Olympics going ahead.

USA Basketball took to Twitter today to announce its first every women’s 3-on-3 team roster.

Kaylee McKeown has broken the 100-meter backstroke world record on the second night of the Australian Olympic swim trials.

About 10,000 of 80,000 unpaid volunteers for the Tokyo Olympics have told organizers they will not participate when the games open on July 23.

An online petition calling for the Tokyo Olympics to be canceled has gained tens of thousands of signatures since being launched in Japan only days ago.

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said Tuesday that it will allow athletes to kneel during the national anthem and raise their fists at Olympic trials, as the organization continues to review the decades-long policy of banning protests at the Games ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. In a nine-page document released Tuesday, the committee outlined racial and social demonstrations that would "not be punished or undermined" by the USOPC or impact an athlete's participation in the Olympic and Paralympic Trials events. The International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee have jurisdiction over the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and could enforce the controversial Rule 50. Under the rule, participating team members and athletes are not allowed to partake in any demonstration during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. But each country's governing athletic organizations, such as the USOPC, are tasked with punishing athletes for a violation.

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said Tuesday that it will allow athletes to raise their fists and kneel during the national anthem at Olympic trials, as the organization continues to review the decadeslong policy of banning protests at the Games ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. In a nine-page document released Tuesday, the committee outlined racial and social demonstrations that would "not be punished or undermined" by the USOPC or impact an athlete's participation in the Olympic and Paralympic Trials events. The International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee have jurisdiction over the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and could enforce the controversial Rule 50. Under the rule, participating team members and athletes are not allowed to partake in any demonstration during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. But each country's governing athletic organizations, such as the USOPC, are tasked with punishing athletes for a violation.

Seiko Hashimoto, center, President of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, talks with Kyoko Raita, right, Tokyo 2020 Executive Board member and speaker for a presentation on the Olympic Charter and Gender Equality in Tokyo, Japan, Monday, March 22, 2021. Fujio Mitarai, Honorary President of Tokyo 2020, is at left. Hashimoto said they will take all possible COVID-19 countermeasures as the torch relay opens this Thursday from northeastern Fukushima prefecture. (Kimimasa Mayama/Pool Photo via AP)TOKYO – Volunteers from abroad will not be allowed into Japan for the postponed Tokyo Olympics, organizers said Monday. Japan's Kyodo news agency, quoting “sources close to the matter,” said around 500 overseas volunteers would be given exemptions to enter Japan.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, on a screen, delivers an opening speech while Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee President Seiko Hashimoto listens at a five-party meeting of Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games with International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike and Japanese Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa in Tokyo Saturday, March 20, 2021. (Yoshikazu Tsuno/Pool Photo via AP)TOKYO – At last it’s official after countless unsourced news reports and rumors: spectators from abroad will be barred from the postponed Tokyo Olympics when they open in four months. The decision was announced Saturday after an online meeting of the International Olympic Committee, the Japanese government, the Tokyo government, the International Paralympic Committee, and local organizers. Several surveys have shown that up to 80% oppose holding the Olympics, and a similar percentage opposed fans from overseas attending.

Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, speaks during a press conference Friday, March 19, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)TOKYO – Tokyo organizers and the International Olympic Committee are poised to finally make it official that most fans from abroad will be prohibited from attending the postponed Olympics when they open in four months. Toshiro Muto, the CEO of the Tokyo organizing committee, has said ticket holders from abroad would receive refunds. The local organizing committee budget is sure to take a hit. “We are looking at the other implications of accommodation, looking at implications for national Olympic committees who have sponsors who might have bought tickets.

Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020), speaks during a news conference Thursday, March 11, 2021, after attending the International Olympic Committee (IOC) general meeting. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)TOKYO – Japan will not take part in China's offer — accepted by the International Olympic Committee — to provide vaccines for “participants" in the postponed Tokyo Games and next year's Beijing Winter Games. Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa said Friday that Japan had not been consulted by the IOC about the Chinese vaccines, and that Japanese athletes would not take them. “We have been taking comprehensive anti-infectious disease measures for the Tokyo Games in order to allow participation without vaccinations,” Marukawa said. AdThe IOC has indicated it is a sports body and will not meddle in domestic issues in China.

FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2020, file photo, ThomasBach, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President,speaks during the joint press conference between IOC and Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) in Tokyo, Japan. (DuXiaoyi/Pool Photo via AP, File)GENEVA – Thomas Bach was re-elected as president of the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday for a final four-year term with his immediate focus on this year’s delayed Tokyo Games. “The question is not whether, the question is how these Olympic Games will take place,” he said. Despite postponement costs for the Tokyo Games, Bach secured the IOC’s long-term future by extending key broadcasting and sponsor deals through 2032. It was an “unprecedented attack on the integrity of the Olympic Games,” the German said Wednesday.

Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020), speaks before reporters after a five-party meeting at the Tokyo 2020 headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. (Du Xiaoyi/Pool Photo via AP)TOKYO – The new president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee has begun holding weekly news conferences hoping to win over a doubting Japanese public with the postponed games opening in just under five months. “I understand there are a lot of people in Tokyo and in Japan who have concerns about the games in Tokyo this summer. “People need to start to build confidence in the safety of the games,” Hashimoto said. “People in the world are now paying attention to gender issues, diversity issues on the organizing committee," she said.

This photo shows the opening remark session of a five-party meeting held by the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) at the Tokyo 2020 headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. (Du Xiaoyi/Pool Photo via AP)TOKYO – The postponed Tokyo Olympics look like they will take place without any fans from abroad when they open in just under five months. The report came just an hour before Tokyo organizers held “five-party” talks online with the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the central government of Japan. The organizing committee has budgeted income of $800 million from ticket sales. Seiko Hashimoto, the new president of the organizing committee, cautioned on Tuesday of the problems that await.

Christophe Dubi, Olympic Games Executive Director for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), joins other representatives from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) at a Joint press briefing in Tokyo on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. “There are indeed a lot of questions in the public domain about how the games will take place this summer. And today is a preliminary review of how things will be done," Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi said in a video news conference with Tokyo officials. The rollout of the Playbooks is aimed at assuring athletes, and an attempt to convince the Japanese public that the Olympics should go ahead. The IOC held a similar session earlier in the week with Olympic athletes and their representatives to explain the stringent guidelines in their rule books.

FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2020, file photo, ThomasBach, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President,speaks during the joint press conference between IOC and Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) in Tokyo, Japan. The International Olympic Committee is pushing back against reports that the postponed Tokyo Olympics will be canceled and will not open on July 23. The Tokyo Games were postponed 10 months ago at the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, and now their future appears threatened again. (DuXiaoyi/Pool Photo via AP, File)TOKYO – IOC President Thomas Bach and local organizers are pushing back against reports that the postponed Tokyo Olympics will be canceled. Now set to open July 23, the Tokyo Games were postponed 10 months ago at the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, and now the event appears threatened again.

Bach said during this week's trip to Tokyo that he is encouraging all Olympic participants and fans to be vaccinated - if one becomes available - if they are going to attend next year's Tokyo Olympics. The Tokyo Olympics were postponed eight months ago, and now are to open in eight months: July 23, 2021. Hanging in the balance are 11,000 Olympic athletes and 4,400 Paralympians. Tokyo said the Olympics would cost $7.3 billion when it was awarded the games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2013. Takahashi is a former executive of the Japanese marketing company Dentsu Inc., the marketing agent for the Tokyo Games.

Bach says a “reasonable number” of fans should be able to attend the venues — vaccine or no vaccine. On Tuesday Bach was visiting the Athletes' Village alongside Tokyo Bay, and the new $1.4 National Stadium in central Tokyo. In a more private setting, Bach has spoken directly about Olympic athletes' responsibility to consider the vaccine. In an on-line session last month with the IOC's Athletes' Commission, Bach was asked — among other things — if athletes would be “forced” to be vaccinated. He acknowledged some athletes would see taking the vaccine as a "sacrifice.”“But again we are not there yet,” Bach said of any decision.

ThomasBach, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President,puts on his mask before speaking during the joint press conference between IOC and Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) in Tokyo, Japan, Nov. 16, 2020. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Virus Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced the new rules on Monday after meeting with senior lawmakers. — South Korea’s daily coronavirus tally has stayed above 200 for a third consecutive day, as authorities consider raising the country’s social distancing rules. The 223 additional cases recorded Monday by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency raised the country’s total to 28,769, including 494 deaths. The agency says 193 of them are locally transmitted cases while the rest was associated with international arrivals.

CEO of Tokyo 2020 Toshiro Muto and President of Tokyo 2020 Yoshiro Mori wear face masks as they leave a joint press conference between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, in Tokyo. (Rodrigo Reyes Marin/Pool Photo via AP)TOKYO – Tokyo Olympic organizers announced several “simplification” changes Friday for next year’s postponed games, though with few large-scale cost savings. Simplifying the Tokyo Games has been a pledge of the International Olympic Committee and local organizers since COVID-19 forced the unprecedented delay six months ago. Tokyo organizing committee CEO Toshiro Muto was asked how much was being saved by the simplification. IOC President Thomas Bach, addressing Japanese officials on Thursday, suggested a vaccine could be ready for the Olympics, which open on July 23, 2021.

Qatar is keen on on hosting the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Qatar is turning its focus to bringing the Summer Games to the Middle East for the first time as it prepares to host the region's first World Cup in 2022. An interest in bidding for the Olympics comes as Qatar continues to face corruption allegations over how it won the rights to host the World Cup in a FIFA vote in December 2010. FIFA had to move the World Cup from its usual June-July slot to November-December 2022 due to the desert countrys fierce summer heat. The next Summer Olympics are the rescheduled Tokyo Games in 2021, followed by Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced on Tuesday that Japan and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have agreed to postpone the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games by one year. The International Olympic Committee's decision to delay the Tokyo Olympic games until 2021 was "difficult but wise" as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across the globe, World Health Origination officials said Wednesday. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing Wednesday that the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed over 16,000 people globally, continues to take its toll, including the IOC's "difficult but wise" decision to postpone the 2020 Summer Games. Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through the year 2032.

Despite the unprecedented decision to delay the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, the negative impact on Japan's economy pales in comparison to the blow from the coronavirus outbreak, economists and market strategists say. He said the positive impact generally comes from building infrastructure and stadiums and "Japan has already done that." Japan is officially pumping $12.6 billion to organize the Olympics, but a national audit board says spending could hit twice that amount, according to NBC News. Kathy Matsui, chief Japan strategist at Goldman Sachs, agreed that the coronavirus could be a bigger threat. "So, in the grand scheme of things, relative to Japan's overall economy, the impact is not that large," Matsui explained.

The coronavirus pandemic has hit the biggest sporting event in the world the Summer Olympics. The International Olympic Committee postponed the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, officials announced Tuesday. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he and the head of the International Olympic Committee agreed to delay the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo for about a year. The Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee withdrew the from the 2020 Summer Games over the weekend. Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics.

A pedestrian wearing a face mask walks past a banner promoting the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games outside the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building on February 26, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. While some analysts say that it could be "a huge blow" to the Japan economy, others say the impact may be "modest." Japan has been under pressure to either cancel or delay the games, set to take place in Tokyo from Jul. Fitch Solutions said in a report that the postponement or cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics Games could deal "a huge blow to Japan's economy and prestige." "In a hypothetical scenario without the coronavirus pandemic, such a step would have a significant impact," Angrick said.

The beds to be used by the athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, made partially from recyclable cardboard, are displayed during a press preview in Tokyo, Japan January 9, 2020. The athletes competing in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo will be sleeping on cardboard. These beds align with the Tokyo 2020 Games' sustainability concept of, "Be better, together - For the planet and the people." The Tokyo 2020 Games set five main sustainability themes to follow while preparing, organizing and operating the games that include climate change and resource management, according to its website. Tokyo 2020, along with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Government of Japan and other delivery partners are aiming for zero waste.

Pistorius teammate talks about their friendship Sprinter Samkelo Radebe was a member of the 2012 gold medal-winning 4x100 Paralympic Games relay team alongside Oscar Pistorius. Radebe talks to CBS News correspondent Debora Patta about their record-breaking win and his recent conversation with Pistorius.