A National Treasure on the Rise, Then Hit With a Doping Allegation

A star Olympic runner from Australia was suspended over a positive drug test of a kind that critics have called alarmingly open to human error.

#adidas-ag, #australia, #doping-sports, #olympic-games-2020, #running, #tests-drug-use, #track-and-field

An American Paralympian Says He Was Sexually Abused by a Teammate

Parker Egbert, 19, said in a lawsuit that he was repeatedly assaulted by a fellow swimmer at the Tokyo Paralympics and a training center in Colorado.

#abuse-of-the-disabled, #colorado-springs-colo, #olympic-games-2020, #suits-and-litigation-civil, #swimming, #united-states-olympic-and-paralympic-committee, #us-center-for-safesport

In Track and Field, Money Flows to the Flashy and Stylish

Winning is important when it comes to making a living in the sport. But so is finishing in style.

#bolt-usain, #olympic-games-2020, #track-and-field

Yaroslava Mahuchikh High Jumps for Ukraine But Can’t Go Back

An Olympic medalist high jumper from Ukraine, fearful of returning home because of the war, arrives at the world championships with a heavy heart — and expectations to win.

#content-type-personal-profile, #mahuchikh-yaroslava, #olympic-games-2020, #russia, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022, #track-and-field, #ukraine

Jakob Ingebrigtsen Does Not Plan on Losing at the World Championships

The Kardashians of Norway are middle-distance runners who have competed on the global stage. But it’s Jakob, 21, who transformed from onetime prodigy to generational talent.

#content-type-personal-profile, #ingebrigtsen-jakob, #norway, #olympic-games-2020, #running, #track-and-field

Cuba Allows Its Boxers to Fight Professionally

A move to allow boxers to fight professionally is a big shift for Cuba’s communist government.

#boxing, #cuba, #defectors-political, #embargoes-and-sanctions, #olympic-games-2020, #wages-and-salaries

Boston Marathon: Natasha Wodak and Malindi Elmore Make Their Debuts

After taking breaks from the sport, Natasha Wodak, 40, and Malindi Elmore, 42, expect to be in the mix among the elites at the Boston Marathon.

#boston-marathon, #marathon-running, #olympic-games-2020, #running

‘The Sport of Love’: Ping-Pong, the Great Equalizer

Wally Green has played everywhere from Brooklyn to Pyongyang, becoming a beloved American ambassador for table tennis — and international understanding — in the process.

#china, #content-type-personal-profile, #green-wally, #international-relations, #jha-kanak-2000, #kim-jong-un, #new-york-city, #nigeria, #north-korea, #olympic-games-2020, #race-and-ethnicity, #rodman-dennis, #sarandon-susan, #table-tennis, #wade-dwyane-1982

Olympic Marathoner Goes From Kenya to Front Lines in Ukraine

Mykola Nyzhnyk was training in Kenya, the world’s distance running hotbed, when he was called up to fight in the war.

#marathon-running, #olympic-games-2020, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022

Like Biles, Winter Olympians Are Focusing on Their Mental Health

Simone Biles’s public struggles gave other Olympians tacit permission to share their vulnerabilities. Some of them have.

#anderson-jamie-1990, #athletics-and-sports, #biles-simone, #fear-emotion, #freestyle-skiing, #goepper-nick, #jacobellis-lindsey, #olympic-games-2020, #olympic-games-2022, #white-shaun

NBC Opens Olympics With ‘Worst Hand Imaginable’

The Games are central to the network’s brand, and NBC will have to navigate complications resulting from the pandemic and politics.

#advertising-and-marketing, #athletics-and-sports, #coronavirus-2019-ncov, #costas-bob, #national-broadcasting-co, #nbc-news, #news-and-news-media, #olympic-games-2020, #olympic-games-2022, #politics-and-government, #ratings-audience-measurement, #super-bowl, #television

Heather MacLean is Back on Track at the Millrose Games

For many 2020 Olympians, the return to competition comes after an inevitable post-Olympic question: What’s next?

#millrose-games, #olympic-games-2020, #running, #track-and-field

Kristian Blummenfelt Is the Triathlon’s Data-Driven Future

The most advanced science in the triathlon world can be found in Norway, where athletes embrace the data found in heat sensors, oxygen measuring masks and their feces.

#blummenfelt-kristian, #bu-olav-alexander, #coaches-and-managers, #content-type-personal-profile, #ironman-world-championship, #norway, #olympic-games-2020, #records-and-achievements, #research, #triathlon

Texas Man Is First Charged Under New Antidoping Law in U.S.

The law targets people who would skirt doping regulations in international competitions, but it does not apply to major American leagues like the N.F.L. and Major League Baseball.

#athletics-and-sports, #doping-sports, #okagbare-blessing, #olympic-games-2020, #rodchenkov-grigory, #track-and-field

The Sports World’s Most Memorable and Human Moments of 2021

Most of them happened off the courts and playing fields, when the competitions were over and the athletes were at their most human.

#augusta-national-golf-club, #biles-simone, #djokovic-novak, #dressel-caeleb-1996, #golf, #gymnastics, #horse-racing, #lee-sunisa-2003, #masters-golf-tournament, #matsuyama-hideki, #mccarthy-michael-w-1971, #mensah-stock-tamyra, #olympic-games-2020, #osaka-naomi-1997, #swimming, #tennis, #united-states-open-tennis, #wrestling

Why the International Concern over Peng Shuai?

The tennis star’s allegation that a senior official sexually abused her ignited global concern. Her comments retracting that claim seem unlikely to end the matter.

#china, #olympic-games-2020, #olympic-games-2022, #peng-shuai, #politics-and-government, #sex-crimes, #tennis, #women-and-girls

Sports in 2021 Tried to Return to Normal

The coronavirus pandemic still had an impact, but players and leagues had their moments.

#aaron-hank, #antetokounmpo-giannis-1994, #athletics-and-sports, #biles-simone, #brady-tom, #coronavirus-2019-ncov, #djokovic-novak, #football, #golf, #gymnastics, #horse-racing, #irving-kyrie, #kentucky-derby, #lee-sunisa-2003, #masters-golf-tournament, #nba-championship, #olympic-games-2020, #osaka-naomi-1997, #pga-championship, #soccer, #softball, #tennis, #united-states-open-tennis

How Slowing Down Helped Marathoner Molly Seidel Speed Up

The American runner says she owes her Olympic bronze medal to her coach, Jon Green, who turned her training approach upside down. New York’s 26.2 miles could be her toughest challenge yet.

#new-york-city-marathon, #olympic-games-2020, #running, #seidel-molly-1994

Italy’s Lamont Jacobs: a Surprise Hero After Olympics Gold

Lamont Marcell Jacobs, a mixed-race Italian athlete, was not well known heading into the Olympics but he emerged as the world’s top sprinter, with two gold medals.

#content-type-personal-profile, #italy, #jacobs-marcell-1994, #olympic-games-2020, #race-and-ethnicity, #tokyo-japan, #track-and-field

Connor Fields, BMX Racer, Doesn’t Know If His Brain Will Let Him Ride Again

Connor Fields’s gruesome crash on the Olympic BMX track left him with serious brain trauma, a fractured memory and a lot of questions about the future.

#content-type-personal-profile, #fields-connor-1992, #henderson-nev, #olympic-games-2020, #sports-injuries, #tokyo-japan

Can a Mantra Make You Run Faster? This Olympic Medalist Has No Doubt.

“I love these words and phrases because usually they start in practice or in conversation,” Courtney Frerichs said. Those words and phrases helped her win a silver medal.

#olympic-games-2020, #running, #track-and-field

Tom Daley Is All-Around Gold

The Olympic diver made waves in Tokyo this summer, both during rounds and while knitting on the sidelines. He’s been keeping busy ever since.

#daley-tom-1994, #knitting-and-knit-goods, #olympic-games-2020

The Moving Moments as the Paralympics Ended

Sights from Tokyo as the Games wrapped up.

#olympic-games-2020, #paralympic-games, #photography, #tokyo-japan

Dispatch From the Paralympics

What happened in competition during the first week of competition in Tokyo.

#olympic-games-2020, #paralympic-games, #photography, #tokyo-japan

Goalball Teammates Set Paralympic Record for Longevity

Asya Miller and Lisa Czechowski, who have won three Paralympic medals as teammates, first competed together at the Sydney Games in 2000.

#blindness, #content-type-personal-profile, #czechowski-lisa, #disabilities, #goalball, #miller-asya, #olympic-games-2020, #paralympic-games, #records-and-achievements

Isaiah Jewett’s Nightmare Scenario at the Olympics Was Anything But

Falling on the Olympic stage is an unthinkable scenario for any athlete. Isaiah Jewett turned it into something else entirely.

#mental-health-and-disorders, #olympic-games-2020, #track-and-field

Can Novak Djokovic Be Invincible Again?

For months, the Serbian champion was unbeatable at the sport’s biggest tournaments. Then came the Olympics.

#djokovic-novak, #olympic-games-2020, #tennis, #united-states-open-tennis

Buckie Leach, Coach of U.S. Gold Medal Fencer in Tokyo, Dies at 62

Under his tutelage, Lee Kiefer became a first for the United States. Leach led the women’s national foil team in five Summer Olympics. He died in a motorcycle accident.

#buckie-leach, #coaches-and-managers, #deaths-obituaries, #fencing-sport, #olympic-games-2020

Paralympics to Open With Empty Stands but a Bigger Stage

Television exposure and new interest from sponsors are raising hopes that the Games can build on their momentum.

#coronavirus-2019-ncov, #disabilities, #hunter-darlene, #international-olympic-committee, #international-paralympic-committee, #long-jessica-1992, #mcfadden-tatyana-1989, #national-broadcasting-co, #nbcuniversal, #nugent-greg, #olympic-games-2020, #paralympic-games, #united-states-olympic-and-paralympic-committee

Sha’Carri Richardson Finishes Last in 100-Meter Return

Racing the 100 meters for the first time since a drug test kept her out of the Tokyo Olympics, Richardson lost to a field that included all three medalists from the Games.

#doping-sports, #fraser-pryce-shelly-ann, #olympic-games-2020, #richardson-shacarri, #thompson-herah-elaine, #track-and-field

Afghan Paralympic Athlete Pleads for Help to Leave the Country

“My intention is to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Please hold my hand and help me,” Zakia Khudadadi, a taekwondo athlete pleaded in a video from Kabul.

#afghanistan, #afghanistan-war-2001, #international-paralympic-committee, #kabul-afghanistan, #khudadadi-zakia, #olympic-games-2020, #paralympic-games, #politics-and-government, #taekwondo, #taliban, #womens-rights

What Is Mental Skills Coaching?

Part counselor, part strategist, mental skills trainers have helped pro competitors wrap their heads around success for decades.

#anxiety-and-stress, #audio-neutral-informative, #coaches-and-managers, #content-type-service, #olympic-games-2020, #psychology-and-psychologists

Gold Medals in Style From the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Athletes, performers and commentators offered up winning looks while competing at the highest level.

#athletics-and-sports, #fashion-and-apparel, #olympic-games-2020, #telfar-fashion-label, #tokyo-japan, #uniforms, #your-feed-fashion

Sifan Hassan Won Three Olympic Medals in Tokyo

Hassan won Olympic medals in three grueling events: the 1,500, the 5,000 and the 10,000 meters.

#hassan-sifan-1993, #olympic-games-2020, #track-and-field

Seven Olympic Moments Worth Revisiting

A spicy rhythmic gymnastics finale. A 62-year-old medalist. A former prodigy with a gold. The Olympic magic was spread across sports.

#ashram-linoy, #averina-dina, #daley-tom-1994, #diving-sports-event, #grael-martine, #hiraki-kokona, #hoy-andrew, #kunze-kahena, #lopez-mijain-1982, #mensah-stock-tamyra, #nageotte-katie, #olympic-games-2020, #rhythmic-gymnastics, #sidorova-anzhelika-1991, #tokyo-japan, #wrestling

What is An Olympic Gold Medal Actually Worth?

Some former Olympians have resorted to selling their medals because of financial hardships or to raise money for charity.

#auctions, #awards-decorations-and-honors, #collectors-and-collections, #copper-brass-and-bronze, #gold, #international-olympic-committee, #memorabilia-and-souvenirs, #olympic-games-2020, #rr-auction, #russell-william-felton-1934, #scp-auctions-inc, #silver

U.S. Wins Gold in Women’s Volleyball at the Olympics

A program with two silvers and a bronze from its three most recent Games claims its first Olympic championship.

#kiraly-karch, #olympic-games-2020, #university-of-california-los-angeles, #volleyball

Why India Struggles to Win Gold Medals in the Olympics

The government has overhauled an athletic system that was once underfunded and corrupt, but the pressure to perform weighs on competitors.

#india, #olympic-games-2020, #women-and-girls

He’s the Chiropractor to Olympic Track and Field Stars

How did John Ball become the go-to health professional for track and field athletes with creaky hips and balky knees? A devotee answers: Have you seen his hands?

#ball-john-t, #chandler-ariz, #chiropractors, #content-type-personal-profile, #olympic-games-2020, #sports-injuries, #track-and-field

The Race When Everyone Set a Record

On a sunny summer evening in 2012, eight runners elevated the 800 meters into high art. One set a world record. Several others were never the same.

#mu-athing, #olympic-games-2012, #olympic-games-2020, #running, #symmonds-nick, #track-and-field

Russia Scoffs at Tokyo Olympics Ban: ‘Let Them Listen to Classical Music’

Sports fans and officials in the country have no trouble seeing through the thin fiction of a doping-related ban on their national symbols at the Tokyo Olympics.

#athletics-and-sports, #moscow-russia, #olympic-games-2014, #olympic-games-2020, #russia, #russian-olympic-committee, #tokyo-japan

Laurel Hubbard Had Her Olympic Moment. Now She’d Like Her Privacy.

“I’m looking forward to this being the end of my journey,” a barrier-breaking weight lifter says after an excruciating week in the spotlight.

#hubbard-laurel-1978, #international-olympic-committee, #olympic-games-2020, #weight-lifting

Mondo Duplantis Gets More Swedish as He Goes

Mondo Duplantis has a world record and a good chance at Olympic gold. But he’s endeared himself to Sweden (his mother’s home country) by buying into its culture.

#content-type-personal-profile, #duplantis-mondo, #olympic-games-2020, #pole-vault, #sweden

Russian Athletes Compete as R.O.C. at the Tokyo Olympics After Ban

A doping punishment changes a country’s official name but little else about its Olympic experience.

#doping-sports, #international-olympic-committee, #olympic-games-2020, #russia, #russian-olympic-committee, #world-anti-doping-agency

Shot Putter’s Gesture Renews Controversy over Podium Protests at Tokyo Games

Raven Saunders of the United States crossed her arms over her head. A second athlete, the American fencer Race Imboden, accepted a medal with a symbol drawn on his hand.

#berry-gwen-1989, #fencing-sport, #imboden-race, #international-olympic-committee, #olympic-games-2020, #pan-american-games, #tokyo-japan, #united-states-olympic-and-paralympic-committee

Tokyo Convenience Store Chicken Gizzards Saved My Life

Cut off from most restaurants because of coronavirus restrictions, thousands of international visitors at the Olympics make do — and delight — in convenience store offerings.

#7-eleven, #convenience-stores, #coronavirus-2019-ncov, #food, #lawson-inc, #olympic-games-2020, #quarantine-life-and-culture, #snack-foods, #tokyo-japan

Olympics History Shows Why We Watch

New York Times readers recall the moments from Olympics history that moved them.

#international-olympic-committee, #olympic-games, #olympic-games-2020

Mixed-Gender Relays Make Their Olympic Debut

In Tokyo, men and women are teaming up in a series of mixed-gender events that are making their Olympic debuts.

#international-olympic-committee, #olympic-games-2020, #swimming, #track-and-field

As Covid Cases Hit Record High in Tokyo, Can the Olympic Bubble Hold?

With the Games approaching their midway point, promises of a “safe and secure” event are being put to the test.

#coronavirus-2019-ncov, #international-olympic-committee, #japan, #olympic-games-2020, #suga-yoshihide, #tokyo-japan, #vaccination-and-immunization

Medals On, Masks Off at Tokyo Olympics During Coronavirus Pandemic

The pandemic has changed the way Olympians receive their medals. But in the rush of elation, coronavirus rules and social distancing policies are routinely forgotten.

#coronavirus-2019-ncov, #coronavirus-risks-and-safety-concerns, #disease-rates, #international-olympic-committee, #masks, #olympic-games-2020