Ukraine's Zelenskyy slams idea of Russian athletes returning to Olympics: 'Their flags are stained in blood'
Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke out against the International Olympic Committee's recent decision to explore options that would allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete.
foxnews.comIOC president Bach discusses 'challenges' for 2026 Games
Costly construction delays, a leadership vacancy linked to a volatile political climate and a lack of sponsors amid a spreading financial crisis has prompted International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach to acknowledge the โchallengesโ facing organizers of the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina dโAmpezzo.
Russia steps up legal fight against isolation in sports
Russia stepped up its legal fight against isolation in sports because of the war in Ukraine when its national Olympic body made an urgent appeal Friday to overturn a ban on its athletes competing at a European youth winter sports festival. The Court of Arbitration for Sport said it was setting a timetable for the case ahead of the Winter European Youth Olympic Festival being held in Finland from March 20-25. The International Skating Union is organizing that event in Montpellier, France.
news.yahoo.comRussians heading home; reserve right to later legal action
The Russian Paralympic Committee will leave Beijing and has no immediate plans for legal action. The RPC issued a statement Friday criticizing the decision to exclude Russian athletes from the Paralympics and said the move was "absolutely politicized.โ It said its lawyers had determined that the Court of Arbitration for Sport would not be able to render a decision โduring the accelerated proceedings.โ
news.yahoo.comUkraine athletes defend country, demand sanctions for Russia
With Russian troops encircling the capital of Kyiv, more than 60 athletes from Ukraine and elsewhere sent an open letter to Olympic and Paralympic leaders urging them to immediately suspend the Russian and Belarussian Olympic and Paralympic Committees.
Lows far outweigh highs in Olympic figure skating program
The Olympic figure skating program at the Beijing Games probably won't be remembered for the soaring performances of American gold medalist Nathan Chen, French ice dancers Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron or the Chinese pairs team of Sui Wenjing and Han Cong.
IOC president Bach disturbed by Valieva's meltdown, criticizes entourage
Olympic chief Thomas Bach said on Friday it was "chilling" to witness Russian teenage skater Kamila Valieva crumble under pressure at the 2022 Winter Olympics as a doping scandal continued to swirl, criticizing the 15-year-old's entourage.
Olympics Live: China pair breaks figure skating world record
Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China shattered their own world record for a short program at the Beijing Games on Friday night, giving them the narrowest of leads over Russian rivals Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov heading into the free skate to decide the Olympic champion.
Olympics Live: Bach notes 'coldness' of Valieva's entourage
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach has criticized Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva's entourage for their โtremendous coldnessโ toward the 15-year-old skater after her mistake-filled free skate at the Beijing Olympics. Bach says it was โchillingโ to see on television. Valieva, who has been at the center of a controversy over a positive doping test, finished fourth overall despite placing first in the women's short program earlier in the week.
news.yahoo.comFirst case of coronavirus infection inside Olympic Village confirmed six days before Opening Ceremony
The first positive coronavirus case has been confirmed inside the Olympics Village just six days before the Opening Ceremony, officials confirmed Saturday, amid growing fears about the spread of the virus during the Games.
washingtonpost.comIOC's Bach brings attention to Hiroshima -- some unwanted
Many residents of Hiroshima welcome attention from abroad, which IOC President Thomas Bach will bring when he visits on Friday. The western Japanese city has been in the forefront of the world peace movement and a campaigner for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Bach and Coates are using the backdrop of the cities, hit with atomic bombs by the United States in 1945, to promote the first day of the so-called Olympic Truce, a tradition from ancient Greece that was revived by a United Nations resolution in 1993.
news.yahoo.comOlympic athletes to put on own medals at Tokyo ceremonies
Athletes at the Tokyo Olympics will put their medals around their own necks to protect against spreading the coronavirus. The โvery significant changeโ to traditional medal ceremonies in the 339 events was revealed Wednesday by International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach. โThe medals will not be given around the neck,โ Bach told international media on a conference call from Tokyo.
news.yahoo.comBach meets Suga as Tokyo virus cases approach 6-month high
Tokyo reported its highest number of new COVID-19 cases in almost six months on Wednesday, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said with the Tokyo Olympics opening in just over a week. The surging numbers came out on the same day that International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach paid a courtesy call in Tokyo on Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Suga and Bach have both pledged that the Tokyo Olympics will be โsafe and secureโ despite the games opening with Tokyo and neighboring prefectures under a national government-imposed state of emergency.
news.yahoo.comIOC president quickly corrects slip up in Olympic pep talk
IOC President Thomas Bach appeared in public on Tuesday for the first time since arriving in Tokyo last week with the pandemic-postponed Olympics opening in just 10 days. Bach spent his first three days in isolation at the International Olympic Committee's five-star hotel in central Tokyo, and his movements in Tokyo are limited โ like almost everyone entering for the Olympics โ for the first 14 days. Organizers and the IOC decided last week to ban fans from all but a handful of outlying venues, a move that came after the Japanese government instituted a state of emergency in Tokyo forced by rising coronavirus cases.
news.yahoo.comOlympics likely to open during COVID 'state of emergency'
Surging COVID-19 cases in Tokyo have hit a two-month high that almost guarantees the Japanese government will declare a new state of emergency to start next week and continue for the duration of the Tokyo Olympics. IOC President Thomas Bach is scheduled to arrive in Tokyo on Thursday, when he will be greeted by the rising cases as he self-isolates for three days in the International Olympic Committee's five-star hotel in the capital. A new state of emergency could lead to a ban even on local fans.
news.yahoo.comBach arrives in Tokyo on July 8; infections on rise again
IOC President Thomas Bach will arrive in Tokyo on July 8 and spend three days in isolation before holding meetings leading up to the opening of the postponed Tokyo Olympics on July 23, Tokyo organizers and the the International Olympic Committee said Wednesday. Bach is also expected to visit Hiroshima on July 16, at the same time as his vice president and colleague John Coates is to visit Nagasaki. Ahead of Bach's visit, COVID-19 cases are rising in Tokyo.
news.yahoo.comCoates gets backlash saying Olympics are on, no matter virus
If John Coates was trying to stir controversy, he succeeded. An International Olympic Committee vice president, Coates was asked a few days ago by a Japanese reporter at an online news conference if the Tokyo Olympics would go ahead, even if a state of emergency were in force in Japan. Coates replied: โAbsolutely, yes.โ
news.yahoo.comJapan to expand virus emergency ahead of Tokyo Olympics
Japan is set to further expand a coronavirus state of emergency, currently in Tokyo and five other prefectures, to nine areas as the government is determined to hold the Olympics in just over two months. Japan has been struggling to slow the infections ahead of the Games. The three additions include Japanโs northern island state of Hokkaido, where the Olympic marathon will be held, as well as Hiroshima and Okayama in western Japan.
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