Aussie teen Keegan Palmer takes historic gold, USA's Cory Juneau nabs bronze in skateboard park final
Australian teenager Keegan Palmer skated his way to gold in the first-ever Olympic men's skateboarding park final Thursday at the Tokyo Games, where American Cory Juneau moved up from eighth in qualifying to earn bronze.
Tokyo winds gain strength just as Olympic sailing events pick up
Like the winds at the Enoshima Yacht Harbour, the sailing competitions at the Tokyo Games were a little slow to get going, but with the first medal races due to take place at the weekend the tempo is picking up, along with the wind and the waves.
Podcast: Lawson Craddockโs bumps, bruises and fundraising prowess
Lawson Craddock covers a wide array of topics in this episode of In The Village with podcast host Elizabeth Beisel. The cyclist discusses raising big bucks to repair his hurricane battered velodrome back home in Houston, his collection of too many bicycles and he imparts this piece of wisdom: โI can tell you that racing these days is a whole lot easier when you donโt have a fracture in your shoulder blade.โ
Podcast: Roker and Melvin share magical Olympic memories
In todayโs episode of The Podium, Roker banters with his friend and Today partner Craig Melvin as they reflect on magical Olympic Opening Ceremony memories from Atlanta, Beijing and other Games. They also discuss the heightened appeal and excitement delivered by live sports โin an era where so much is on demand.โ
Olympic host Japan will not take part in China vaccine offer
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 โ Japan will not take part in China's offer โ accepted by the International Olympic Committee โ to provide vaccines for โparticipants" 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. โWe have been taking comprehensive anti-infectious disease measures for the Tokyo Games in order to allow participation without vaccinations,โ Marukawa said. AdThe IOC has indicated it is a sports body and will not meddle in domestic issues in China.
IOC, Tokyo Olympics to unveil rule book for beating pandemic
The Olympic rings are seen at the empty Odaiba waterfront in Tokyo, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. The Tokyo Games, postponed in the midst of a pandemic, are scheduled to open on July 23. The rollout at Olympic headquarters in Switzerland is planned for Feb. 4, with Tokyo likely to present on Feb. 5. The World Health Organization said earlier this week that Olympic athletes should not be a priority ahead of health care workers, the elderly and the vulnerable. The president of the Japan Medical Association sounded a warning last week when asked about the Olympics and possible patients from abroad.
Japan denies report Tokyo Olympics could be cancelled
DETROIT โ The Japanese government is denying a report in a British newspaper that itโs considering canceling the already postponed Summer Olympics. The Olympic host city, Tokyo, is under a state of emergency. READ: 6 months until postponed Tokyo Olympics -- will it go on? More than 11,000 athletes from more than 200 nations compete in 33 sports during the Olympics. READ: Tokyo governor: Japan can host Olympics despite virus spike
6 months until postponed Tokyo Olympics -- will it go on?
Saturday, Jan. 23 marks six months until the Tokyo Olympic Games, which were postponed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. READ MORE: Japan minister says โanything can happenโ with Tokyo GamesAthletes have had to be resourceful with training since many competitions have been cancelled or postponed. Vanderkaay is hopeful the postponed summer Olympics will still take place amid the pandemic, even without spectators. Tokyo Olympics Q&A: 6 months out and murmurs of cancellationThe Tokyo Olympics are to open in six months on July 23, and organizers have no public program planned to mark the milestone. Should they take place during a spreading pandemic โ vaccine or no vaccine?
Popovich knows filling US Olympic roster may be a challenge
And when presented with this potential scheduling conundrum, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich โ who will coach USA Basketball menโs national team at the next Olympics โ came up with a very quick, very lighthearted solution. โI donโt think weโre going to let the finals go seven games,โ Popovich said. Popovich will be head coach of the Olympic team for the first time, succeeding Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. โThe Olympics is always on my mind, just as Coach K told me it would be,โ Popovich said Tuesday. The 2016 Olympic team was picked about six weeks before the start of the Rio Games, allowing time for a training camp and exhibitions before heading to Brazil.
AP Interview: Italian swimmers locked up in Alpine resort
(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, file)ROME โ The high-altitude training camp in the Alps was supposed to represent ideal preparation for the Tokyo Olympics. Instead, a large portion of the Italian swimming team โ 13 elite athletes โ has been locked in their tiny hotel rooms for nearly two weeks with the coronavirus. โWe gave them some exercises to do and some of the athletes have told us they are doing them. Simone Sabbioni and Alice Mizzau, two more Italian swimmers from a different club, are quarantined in another hotel. All of the swimmers tested positive again in the latest round of tests on Thursday, although they are now all asymptomatic.
IOC gives assurance to sports bodies that Tokyo is on track
TOKYO โ The International Olympic Committee tried to assure dozens of international sports federations on Thursday that the postponed Tokyo Games will open on July 23. The IOC and Tokyo organizers have been holding on-line sessions this week with about 200 national Olympic committees, and with the more than 30 summer sports bodies that are represented on the program. Earlier this month, local organizers announced cuts to the Olympic program amounting to about $280 million โ about 2% of the official budget. Andrew Ryan, the executive director of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, touched on the cuts in his opening remarks on Thursday. Each of the international federations jealously guard their events at the Olympics, expecting the best facilities, which must be paid for by local organizers.
Bach offers pep session for Tokyo Games and talks up vaccine
Yuriko Koike, right, reacts before an on-line meeting focused on how to pull off the delayed Tokyo Games, in Tokyo, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. โWe have very encouraging news about the development of a vaccine โ and not only a vaccine, but vaccines,โ he said. Back repeated several times that next year's games have to be โfit for the post-Corona world.โ He said the Tokyo Olympics were the โbest preparedโ in history, but that will not be enough. He also said the IOC and local organizers would not be rushed to reveal details of exactly how the Tokyo Olympics will take place. It forced the resignation last year of Tsunekazu Takeda, the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee.
New Japanese PM gets word out: He supports Tokyo Olympics
TOKYO โ Japanโs new prime minister has gotten the word out to the president of the International Olympic Committee that he is behind next yearโs delayed Tokyo Games. Yoshiro Mori, the head of the local organizing committee and also a former prime minister, said Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has a โstrong commitment" to the Tokyo Olympics. Bach was very pleased when he heard this," Mori said, speaking on Thursday at the organizing committee offices. Mori told Bach the reappointment of the two ministers directly connected to the Olympics โ Education Minister Koichi Hagiuda and Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto โ showed the government's continued support. โMaking the Olympics and Paralympics a success, using all means, is the strong commitment of Japan,โ Haiguda said, speaking alongside Mori.
Postponed Tokyo Olympics hit 1-year-to-go mark -- again
The postponed Tokyo Olympics have again reached the one-year-to-go mark. That was before COVID-19 postponed the Olympics and pushed back the opening to July 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)TOKYO The Tokyo Olympics have hit the one-year-to-go mark again. That was before the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the Olympics and pushed back the opening to July 23, 2021. The Tokyo Games would be canceled this time if they can't be held.
American sprinter Stevens banned 18 months for missed tests
Olympic finalist sprinter Deajah Stevens was banned for 18 months on Thursday for missing doping tests and will miss the Tokyo Games. The Athletics Integrity Unit, which prosecutes cases in track and field, said Stevens was unavailable for three doping controls in 2019 in Oregon and West Hollywood. It will expire days after the scheduled closing ceremony of the postponed Tokyo Olympics in August 2021. A 200-meter specialist, Stevens placed seventh in the final at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, and fifth at the 2017 world championships in London. Stevens was the 2017 national champion over 200 and a former NCAA champion in the 4x400 relay running for the University of Oregon.
World 100-meter champ suspended for missing drug tests
Christian Coleman, the reigning world champion in the 100-meter dash, was suspended Wednesday by the Athletics Integrity Unit for missing drug tests. He is temporarily banned from competition until a final decision at a hearing conducted under the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules or the Integrity Code of Conduct. Coleman said earlier on Twitter that drug testers were unable to find him Dec. 9 while he was at a nearby mall Christmas shopping. He said in his post hes been appealing the latest missed test for six months with the AIU, which runs the anti-doping program for World Athletics. I am willing to take a drug test EVERY single day for the rest of my career for all I care to prove my innocence.___More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Tokyo Olympics just beginning the race to reset themselves
TOKYO Just two months after the unprecedented Olympic postponement, organizing committee CEO Toshiro Muto was asked Thursday about progress toward rescheduling next year's Tokyo Games. In the last week, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and IOC member John Coates, who oversees preparations for Tokyo, have speculated more openly on how the games might be held. Coates, speaking last week at a News Corp Australia digital forum and reported in The Australian newspaper, was very frank. He ran off the numbers: 11,000 Olympic athletes, 5,000 technical officials and coaches, 20,000 media, and 60,000 volunteers. Muto has always said the games are on, though Bach and Tokyo organizing committee President Yoshiro Mori agree they cannot be delayed again.