INSIDER
US women's team has new vibe, work to do before World Cup
Read full article: US women's team has new vibe, work to do before World CupThe U.S. women's national soccer team has a new look with young talent, and coach Vlatko Andonovski has tweaked its traditional straightforward and speedy attack to take a more nuanced approach.
Tuning in for the Paralympics? You will be after you read this
Read full article: Tuning in for the Paralympics? You will be after you read thisIf you really got into the Summer Olympics this year, and youโre missing the excitement or the nightly events, some good news: Thereโs a similar competition set to get underway -- starting today, actually.
Americans seek more swimming medals on Day 3 of Tokyo Games
Read full article: Americans seek more swimming medals on Day 3 of Tokyo GamesThe Americans will try to add to their impressive first day haul of swimming medals on Day 3 of the Tokyo Games when some of their top competitors get back in the pool Monday.
WNBA teams jockey for position before Olympic break
Read full article: WNBA teams jockey for position before Olympic breakWith less than a week remaining before the WNBA begins its Olympic break, teams are jockeying for position in the standings knowing that it will be a sprint to the finish once play resumes in August following the Tokyo Games and a monthlong hiatus.
AP source: Harden commits to US Olympic men's team for Tokyo
Read full article: AP source: Harden commits to US Olympic men's team for TokyoBrooklyn's James Harden has committed to playing for U.S. men's national basketball team that will play in the Olympics that begin next month, says a person familiar with the situation.
Uganda Olympic team member tests positive for coronavirus
Read full article: Uganda Olympic team member tests positive for coronavirusA member of Ugandaโs Olympic team has tested positive for the coronavirus and was barred entry into Japan, in the first detected infection among arriving athletes for the Tokyo Games opening in five weeks.
IOC VP: Tokyo Olympics go ahead even if state of emergency
Read full article: IOC VP: Tokyo Olympics go ahead even if state of emergencyThe IOC vice president in charge of the Tokyo Olympics says the games will open in just over two months even if the city and other parts of Japan are under a state of emergency because of rising COVID-19 cases.
Olympic host Japan will not take part in China vaccine offer
Read full article: Olympic host Japan will not take part in China vaccine offerSeiko 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 members worry about banning foreign fans from Olympics
Read full article: IOC members worry about banning foreign fans from Olympics(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)TOKYO โ Several IOC members on Thursday reminded Tokyo Olympic organizers about the potential negative consequences of banning overseas fans from attending the postponed games. Tokyo organizers say a final decision about fans from abroad will be made before the torch relay starts on March 25. Many unsourced reports in Japan, citing unnamed officials, say the decision has already been made to keep fans from abroad out of the country. โSo the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee is not in a position to comment.โAdRecent polls show up to 80% in Japan think the Olympics should be postponed or canceled. Reports in Japan say organizers are considering allowing some fans from abroad to attend if they have tickets from sponsors, national Olympic committees, or sports federations.
Fans from abroad unlikely for postponed Tokyo Olympics
Read full article: Fans from abroad unlikely for postponed Tokyo OlympicsThis 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. The organizing committee has budgeted income of $800 million from ticket sales. The Tokyo Games have been haunted by problems. A bribery scandal tied to the bid in 2013 forced the resignation two years ago of Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda. Last month, former organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori was forced to resign after making sexist comments about women.
IOC, Tokyo Olympics to unveil rule book for beating pandemic
Read full article: IOC, Tokyo Olympics to unveil rule book for beating pandemicThe 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.
Popovich knows filling US Olympic roster may be a challenge
Read full article: Popovich knows filling US Olympic roster may be a challengeAnd 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.
The Latest: Tom Izzo tests positive for COVID-19
Read full article: The Latest: Tom Izzo tests positive for COVID-19(AP Photo/Michael Woods)The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo has tested positive for COVID-19. 20 Auburn and Mississippi State because of positive COVID-19 and quarantining within the Bulldogsโ program that the school says left the team below the minimum threshold of 53 available scholarship athletes. 5 Texas A&M paused in-person activities on Monday after a player and a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 after the team returned from its weekend trip to South Carolina. ___Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman has tested positive for COVID-19 and could miss the Razorbacksโ game at No. Pittman was tested Sunday as part of the teamโs regular protocol and learned Monday that his test came back positive.
AP Interview: Italian swimmers locked up in Alpine resort
Read full article: 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
Read full article: IOC gives assurance to sports bodies that Tokyo is on trackTOKYO 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
Read full article: Bach offers pep session for Tokyo Games and talks up vaccineYuriko 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
Read full article: New Japanese PM gets word out: He supports Tokyo OlympicsTOKYO 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
Read full article: Postponed Tokyo Olympics hit 1-year-to-go mark -- againThe 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
Read full article: American sprinter Stevens banned 18 months for missed testsOlympic 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
Read full article: World 100-meter champ suspended for missing drug testsChristian 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
Read full article: Tokyo Olympics just beginning the race to reset themselvesTOKYO 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.