General news
Injured Polish luge athlete picked for Beijing Olympics

By Tim Reynolds an hour ago
A Polish luge athlete who was seriously injured in a November training crash at the track built for next month’s Olympics plans to head back to that venue and...

France moves closer to banning veils in sports competitions

By Samuel Petrequin 8 hrs ago
The French Senate has voted in favor of banning the wearing of headscarves in sports competitions, arguing that neutrality is a requirement on the field of play. ...

A woman wearing a face mask to help protect from the coronavirus takes a selfie with her companion against a Beijing Winter Olympics Mascot and Olympic Tower in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. China has locked down parts of Beijing's Haidian district following the detection of three cases, just weeks before the capital is to host the Winter Olympic Games. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Beijing residents disappointed Olympics will be closed event

10 hrs ago

Clouds move over newly groomed cross country ski tracks at the Cabin Creek Sno Park near Easton, Wash., on Dec. 19, 2021. When COVID-19 hit in the winter of 2020, many escaped cabin fever by hitting the ski trails and Nordic skis quickly became the new toilet paper – they were hard to find and sold out in stores. The ski boom has continued as the pandemic makes winter outdoor recreation appealing, but climate change means its future is uncertain. (AP Photo/Martha Bellisle)
Climate change makes the future of Nordic skiing uncertain

By Martha Bellisle Jan. 18, 2022 01:06 PM EST

A cross country skier glides along the freshly groomed trails at Cabin Creek Sno Park near Easton, Washington on Dec. 19, 2021. When COVID-19 hit in the winter of 2020, many escaped cabin fever by hitting the ski trails and Nordic skis quickly became the new toilet paper – they were hard to find and sold out in stores. The ski boom has continued as the pandemic makes winter outdoor recreation appealing, but climate change means its future is uncertain. (AP Photo/Martha Bellisle)
Climate change makes the future of Nordic skiing uncertain

By Martha Bellisle Jan. 18, 2022 01:05 PM EST

A person speaks while gathering with others in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022 for a protest ralley against the Olympic games in Bejing 2022. A coalition of human rights organizations is calling on German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to diplomatically boycott the Winter Olympics in and around Beijing. The World Uyghur Congress (WUC), the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV), the Tibet Initiative Germany (TID), the Ilham Tohti Initiative and the Association of Hongkongers in Germany e.V. cordially invited for a protest march from the Brandenburg Gate to the Foreign Office. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
Olympic athletes urged by activists not to criticize China

By Graham Dunbar Jan. 18, 2022 11:56 AM EST

FILE - Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei poses by his sculpture "Forever Bicycles" during a press preview of his new exhibition "Rapture" in Lisbon on June 3, 2021. Ai is one of China's most famous artists, and many regard him as one of the world's greatest living artists. Working with the Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron, he helped design the Bird's Nest stadium, the centerpiece of Beijing's 2008 Summer Olympics. The stadium will also host the opening ceremony for Beijing's Winter Olympics on Feb. 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Armando Franca, File)
The AP Interview: Exiled artist Ai Weiwei on Beijing Games

By Stephen Wade Jan. 18, 2022 12:01 AM EST

FILE - From left, American discus winners pose on the podium at the Olympic Games in Rome, Sept. 7, 1960. From left are bronze medalist Richard Cochran, gold medalist Alfred Oerter and silver medalist Richard Babka. Babka, a former world record holder who was part of a U.S. medals sweep in the discus at the 1960 Olympics, died Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. He was 85. (AP Photo/File)
Rink Babka, discus medalist at 1960 Olympics, dies at 85

Jan. 17, 2022 04:27 PM EST

FILE - Boston Celtics Larry Bird, right, passes off to teammate as Milwaukee Bucks Marques Johnson steps in to block his path during NBA action in Boston, Nov. 7, 1980. (AP Photo/John Martell, File)
Timeline of NBA in 1980s as league celebrates 75th season

By The Associated Press Jan. 17, 2022 10:45 AM EST

A woman wearing a face mask to protect against COVID-19 stands next to figures of the Winter Paralympic mascot Shuey Rhon Rhon left, and Winter Olympic mascot Bing Dwen Dwen on a pedestrian shopping street in Beijing, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. As the Beijing Winter Olympics loom, the Chinese capital is stepping measures to keep the coronavirus at bay including suspending most access to Tianjin, an adjacent major city which is dealing with an outbreak of the highly contagious omicron variant. These outbreaks are posing a test to its "zero-tolerance" COVID-19 policy and its ability to successfully host the Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Beijing to offer Olympic tickets to 'selected' spectators

Jan. 17, 2022 09:09 AM EST

Yao Ming, head of the Chinese Basketball Association and Ice Snow Sports Promotion Ambassador, left, reacts during a Linjia 7 Salon afternoon tea with journalists at Beijing International Club in Beijing, Monday, Jan. 17, 2022. Former NBA great Yao Ming said Monday he and others had a pleasant talk when they met last month with Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, whose disappearance after making a sexual assault allegation against a former government official raised international concern. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Former NBA great Yao Ming addresses Peng Shuai, Olympics

By Ken Moritsugu Jan. 17, 2022 06:22 AM EST

FILE - Women's snowboardcross gold medalist Michela Moioli, of Italy, celebrates during the medals ceremony at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. Defending Olympic gold medalists Sofia Goggia and Michela Moioli both come from the Bergamo area that was the first epicenter of COVID-19 in Europe. Goggia skis with a design of Bergamo's skyline on the back of her racing helmet. Moioli lost her grandmother to the virus. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
From Bergamo to Beijing, Italy aims for more Olympic success

By Andrew Dampf Jan. 17, 2022 05:18 AM EST

Masked spectators arrive for the first round matches at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
Osaka, Nadal advance in Australia after Djokovic flies home

By John Pye Jan. 17, 2022 02:14 AM EST

Workers wearing face masks to help protect from the coronavirus set up a decoration for the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022. Beijing has reported its first local omicron infection, according to state media, weeks before the Winter Olympic Games are due to start. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Chinese city Xi'an lifts some restrictions after lockdown

Jan. 15, 2022 11:13 PM EST

FILE - A staff member stands near a sign outlining COVID-19 protection measures during the Experience Beijing Ice Hockey Domestic Test Activity, a test event for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, on Nov. 10, 2021. The prevention protocols will be similar to those at the Tokyo Games this summer, but tighter. It won't be a stretch for Beijing organizers, with China having maintained its zero-tolerance policy to the virus nationally since early in the pandemic. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Clap, don't chant: China aims for 'Zero COVID' Olympics

By Candice Choi Jan. 15, 2022 12:44 AM EST

Residents line up for mass coronavirus tests in Huaxian County in central China's Henan Province, Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. China further tightened its anti-pandemic measures in Beijing and across the country on Friday as scattered outbreaks continued ahead of the opening of the Winter Olympics in a little over two weeks. (Chinatopix via AP)
Anti-coronavirus measures tightened across China

Jan. 14, 2022 04:28 AM EST

FILE - Canadian figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier compete in the pairs free program in the Winter Olympics at the Salt Lake Ice Center in Salt Lake City, Monday, Feb. 11, 2002. Tara Lipinski, the 1998 Olympic gold medalist and now an analyst for NBC, partnered with husband Todd Kapostasy on a four-part documentary series on Peacock, NBC's streaming outlet. It's called “MEDDLING” and looks deeply into the impact the judging misdeeds had on the two pairs teams involved: Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, Russians Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze.(AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau, File)
Tara Lipinski and husband examine 2002 skating scandal

By Barry Wilner Jan. 13, 2022 03:02 AM EST

Blessing Okagbare, of Nigeria races in a women's 200 meter heat at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, Sept. 30, 2019. U.S. prosecutors charged a Texas man on Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022 with providing performance-enhancing drugs to athletes competing in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, including Okagbare. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, file)
Texts, pictures lead to 1st doping case under new US law

By Eddie Pells Jan. 13, 2022 02:44 AM EST

Olympic Rings assembled atop of a structure stand out near a ski resort on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. The Chinese capital is gearing up for the Winter Olympics the midst of COVID-19 outbreaks in several Chinese cities which have been locked down. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
China faces omicron test weeks ahead of Beijing Olympics

By Huizhong Wu Jan. 13, 2022 01:15 AM EST

Blessing Okagbare, of Nigeria races in a women's 200 meter heat at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, Sept. 30, 2019. U.S. prosecutors charged a Texas man on Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022 with providing performance-enhancing drugs to athletes competing in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, including Okagbare. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, file)
Man charged with giving Olympic athletes performance drugs

By Jim Mustian Jan. 12, 2022 12:03 PM EST