Sochi
FILE - Then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears as the Nintendo game character Super Mario during the closing ceremony at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Aug. 21, 2016. Despite his fame as a Japan's longest serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe might have had enjoyed his biggest moment at the closing ceremony of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro. (Yu Nakajima/Kyodo News via AP, File)
Abe impersonated 'Super Mario' to promote Tokyo Olympics

By Stephen Wade Jul. 09, 2022 01:07 AM EDT

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Russian athletes during an awarding ceremony for the Russian Olympic Committee's medalists of the XXIV Olympic Winter Games in Beijing and members of the Russian Paralympic team in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Bach says Russia ban is to protect athletes, not punish them

By Graham Dunbar May. 20, 2022 09:08 AM EDT

Jasmin Bambur of the United States reacts after competing in the men's giant slalom, sitting event at the 2022 Winter Paralympics, Thursday, March 10, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Ukraine stirs flashbacks for US Paralympian Jasmin Bambur

By Pat Graham Mar. 10, 2022 04:50 PM EST

A journalist from Ukraine holds a photo of Yevhen Malyshev, a 19-year-old former athlete on Ukraine's junior biathlon team who, according to the International Biathlon Union, died serving the Ukranian military, as he speaks during a press conference at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Russians and Belarusians at the Winter Paralympics in Beijing will compete as "neutral athletes" because of their countries' roles in the war against Ukraine, the International Paralympic Committee said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Heart-wrenching reaction to Russian athletes in Paralympics

By Stephen Wade Mar. 02, 2022 06:34 AM EST

Britain's Gus Kenworthy crashes during the men's halfpipe finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
'Openly British' Gus Kenworthy wraps up Olympics his way

By Pat Graham Feb. 19, 2022 01:50 AM EST

FILE - A Russian short track speed skater Pavel Sitnikova wears an Olympic uniform with the logo OAR - Olympic Athlete from Russia, during a training session prior to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea on Feb. 3, 2018. Doping and other controversies involving Russian athletes have played a significant role at the Games for over a decade. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Recent Russian doping controversies at the Olympics

Feb. 18, 2022 09:07 AM EST

Miho Takagi of Japan competes during the women's speedskating 1,000-meter finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Olympics Live: Kamila Valieva's falls leave her in 4th place

Feb. 16, 2022 10:09 PM EST

China's Qi Guangpu reacts during the men's aerials finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
China's Qi quint-twists to gold in Olympic men's aerials

Feb. 16, 2022 07:35 AM EST

United States' Andy Miele (51) leaves the ice after the United States lost to Slovakia in a men's quarterfinal hockey game at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022, in Beijing. Slovakia won 3-2 in a shoot-out. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Epic tricks lift US freestyle skiers to 1-2 Olympic finish

By Bernie Wilson Feb. 16, 2022 06:21 AM EST

Mona Brorsson of Sweden, left, Vanessa Hinz of Germany and Dorothea Wierer of Italy ski onto the shooting range during the women's 4x6-kilometer relay at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Olympics Live: US, Canada both out of men's hockey

Feb. 15, 2022 10:23 PM EST

Kamila Valieva, of the Russian Olympic Committee, reacts in the women's short program during the figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Valieva skates into first place after Olympic short program

By Dave Skretta Feb. 14, 2022 09:48 PM EST

Coach Eteri Tutberidze, left top, talks to Kamila Valieva, of the Russian Olympic Committee, during a training session at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Olympic skater's entourage could face trouble under US law

By Eddie Pells Feb. 14, 2022 05:52 AM EST

Kamila Valieva, of the Russian Olympic Committee, trains at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Column: Russia skates again in fight against Olympic doping

By Paul Newberry Feb. 14, 2022 04:31 AM EST

A police officer guards next to a fence surrounding an Olympic hotel at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
EXPLAINER: Halfway through Olympics, what's happened so far?

By The Associated Press Feb. 12, 2022 11:55 PM EST

FILE - The Beijing National Stadium, a venue for the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2022 Winter Olympics, is seen from the main media center Jan. 25, 2022, in Beijing. Beijing will become the first city to host both versions of the Games. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
EXPLAINER: So why is Beijing holding another Olympics?

By Stephen Wade Feb. 12, 2022 02:37 AM EST

Mikaela Shiffrin, of United States makes a turn during the women's super-G at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
No Olympic medal as Shaun White takes flight for final time

By Bernie Wilson Feb. 11, 2022 09:08 AM EST

United States' Shaun White waves in the halfpipe course after the men's halfpipe finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
No Olympic medal as Shaun White takes flight for final time

By Bernie Wilson Feb. 11, 2022 05:49 AM EST

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, of Norway, crosses the finish line during the men's 15km classic cross-country skiing competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Finland's Niskanen wins gold in Olympic classic ski 15K race

By Martha Bellisle Feb. 11, 2022 04:22 AM EST

FILE- A man walks by the Russian Olympic Committee building in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. Russian athletes are competing under the acronym ROC, for Russian Olympic Committee, for the third time. The national colors and flag are banned by the International Olympic Committee because of a massive state-sponsored doping operation during the 2014 Sochi Games, which Russia hosted. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)
At Olympics and beyond, getting away with it is Russia's way

By Brian Carovillano And Ted Anthony Feb. 11, 2022 03:05 AM EST

FILE- Ben Johnson of Canada leads the pack as they churn to the finish of the Olympics 100-meter final, Sept. 24, 1988, in Seoul. Johnson appeared to have won the race in world record time, but he tested positive for an anabolic steroid and had his gold medal taken away. It went to American Carl Lewis instead. (AP Photo/Herbert Knosowski, File)
Johnson, Jones highlight most infamous Olympic doping cases

By Noah Trister Feb. 10, 2022 06:28 AM EST