Japan
FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2020, file photo, United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland listens during a briefing with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Los Angeles 2028 organizers in Beverly Hills, Calif. At their keynote addresses at this week's annual assembly of U.S. athletes and administrators, both CEO Sarah Hirshland and chair Susanne Lyons said the federation's top-line priority for the upcoming year is on athlete excellence and expanding revenue. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Tensions sparking change in US Olympic world, but how much?

By Eddie Pells Jun. 24, 2022 03:26 PM EDT

FILE - A person walks near Tokyo 2020 logo in Haneda Airport on June 14, 2021, in Tokyo. Tokyo Olympic officials, meeting Tuesday, June 21, 2022, before the body is dissolved at the end of the month, were to detail the final numbers that were driven up by the pandemic, but were in record range even before that. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
Tokyo closes books on delayed Games; $13 billion price tag

By Stephen Wade Jun. 21, 2022 03:08 AM EDT

Katie Ledecky of United States celebrates after finishing first in the women's 400m freestyle final at the 19th FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, June 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Ledecky reclaims 400 title at swimming worlds, eyeing more

By Ciarán Fahey Jun. 18, 2022 03:37 PM EDT

Naomi Kawase, who directed the official documentary of the Tokyo Olympics, speaks to The Associated Press in Tokyo Friday, June 17, 2022. Kawase said her work was a challenge because public opinion was painfully divided, costs kept mounting, a scandal emerged over the logo design, disgruntled opening ceremony artists resigned and the Games were postponed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Yuri Kageyama)
Olympic filmmaker needed 2 movies to cover Tokyo turmoil

By Yuri Kageyama Jun. 17, 2022 09:50 AM EDT

FILE - The Olympic rings are displayed during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, on Feb. 20, 2022, in Beijing. A small band or protesters gathered Sunday, June 12, in central Tokyo and in the northern city of Sapporo to oppose Japan’s overtures to hold the 2030 Winter Olympics.(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
Small protests in Tokyo and Sapporo against Olympic bid

By Yuri Kageyama Jun. 12, 2022 08:38 AM EDT

FILE - A volunteer walks past the Olympic rings ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo on July 22, 2021. Japan's northern city of Sapporo on Monday, June 6, 2022, rejected holding a referendum to give voters a choice over bidding for the 2030 Winter Olympics. The city's assembly, controlled by Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, which is also in charge of the national government, turned down having a public vote. Its meeting was streamed online. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)
Sapporo rejects holding referendum over bidding for Olympics

By Yuri Kageyama And Stephen Wade Jun. 06, 2022 03:09 AM EDT

Brazil's Neymar, second left, warms up with teammates during an official training session at the National Stadium in Tokyo Sunday, June 5, 2022. Brazil national soccer team will play a friendly soccer match against Japan on June 6. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Brazil vs Japan 6/6/2022

Jun. 05, 2022 06:52 AM EDT

Japan team members warm up during an official training session at the National Stadium in Tokyo Sunday, June 5, 2022. Japan national soccer team will play a friendly soccer match against Brazil on June 6. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Brazil faces Japan in friendly with lesser focus on Neymar

By Stephen Wade Jun. 05, 2022 06:50 AM EDT

Antti Pihlakoski, evaluation panel chairman of the World Athletics (WA), center left, and Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, surrounded by other WA members, pose for a photo before their talk in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. Council member Nawal El Moutawakel, back, from left, Vice President Ximena Restrepo and Director of Competitions & Events Jakob Larsen join the photo session. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Tokyo a candidate for track and field world championships

By Stephen Wade May. 25, 2022 12:44 AM EDT

FILE - Japanese film director Naomi Kawase speaks during a press conference in Tokyo on Oct. 23, 2018. The documentary film produced by Kawase about the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics premiered on Monday, May 23, 2022, shown to reporters and other invited guests in the Japanese capital. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
Tokyo Olympic film debuts in Japan; headed next to Cannes

By Stephen Wade And Yuri Kageyama May. 22, 2022 10:07 PM EDT

FILE - Japan's Rui Machida (13) drives around United States's Brittney Griner (15) and Breanna Stewart (10), right, during the women's basketball gold medal game at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021, in Saitama, Japan. Machida is a 29-year-old rookie on the WNBA Washington Mystics. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
Perseverance paying off for older rookies in the WNBA

By Pat Eaton-Robb May. 20, 2022 12:08 PM EDT

FILE - Team Australia, with Tom Slingsby holding the trophy, celebrates after winning the $1 million, winner-take-all Season 2 finale of the Mubadala United States Sail Grand Prix, on March 27, 2022, in San Francisco. The Champagne showers from Team Australia's Season 2 championship have barely dried and it's already time for SailGP to start another dash for $1 million in cash. The third season of tech tycoon Larry Ellison's global league starts this weekend on the turquoise water of Bermuda's Great Sound, where, to no one's surprise, Tom Slingsby's juggernaut Aussie crew remains the one to beat. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
Slingsby's Aussies aim for SailGP 3-peat, another $1M check

By Bernie Wilson May. 13, 2022 07:33 PM EDT

FILE - South Africa's RG Snyman takes a restart during the Rugby World Cup semifinal at International Yokohama Stadium between Wales and South Africa in Yokohama, Japan, Oct. 27, 2019. The United States has landed another World Cup. The Rugby World Cup, in 2031. (AP Photo/Mark Baker, File)
Column: US lands 2031 Rugby World Cup, if anyone cares

By Paul Newberry May. 13, 2022 04:12 PM EDT

Ukraine team members climb on the Olympic Rings to pose for photo in the Olympic Village at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. Backers of Sapporo, Japan, to hold the 2030 Winter Olympics have gotten together to promote their bid. The Japanese city is competing with Salt Lake City, Vancouver, and a Spanish group that wants to return the Olympics to Barcelona. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
All-Japan committee meets to promote Sapporo Olympic bid

By Stephen Wade And Yuri Kageyama May. 10, 2022 02:41 AM EDT

FILE - Belgium's Emma Meesseman (11) drives to the basket between China's Siyu Wang, left, and Yueru Li, right, during a women's basketball preliminary game at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Aug. 2, 2021, in Saitama, Japan. Meesseman, the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP, decided to join the league's reigning champion Chicago Sky as a free agent. Meesseman missed last season while helping Belgium prep for the Tokyo Olympics. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
China's 6-10 Han among international WNBA players to watch

By Doug Feinberg May. 06, 2022 02:20 AM EDT

President Joe Biden speaks during a reception to celebrate Eid al-Fitr in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, May 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Bidens to host 2020, 2022 US Olympic Teams at White House

May. 02, 2022 06:39 PM EDT

FILE - The Olympic rings are seen during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics on Feb. 20, 2022, in Beijing. Will it be 2030, the first opening on the IOC calendar? Or might the International Olympic Committee make a double award and also name the 2034 host, which it did 4 1/2 years ago when it had two strong candidates and named Paris for the 2024 Olympics and Los Angeles for 2028. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
Salt Lake, Sapporo head race to 2030 Olympics, and maybe '34

By Stephen Wade May. 02, 2022 01:08 AM EDT

American Armstrong sets swimming world record in 50 back

Apr. 29, 2022 09:33 AM EDT
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — American Hunter Armstrong has set a swimming world record in the men's 50-meter backstroke. Armstrong posted a time of 23.71...

FILE -Auburn gymnast Sunisa Lee performs during a meet at the University of Michigan, Saturday, March 12, 2022, in Ann Arbor, Mich. Lee is one of the leading contenders for the NCAA women’s all-around championship, which will be decided on Thursday in Fort Worth Texas. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
Olympic gymnasts face outsized expectations at NCAAs

By Will Graves Apr. 13, 2022 07:48 PM EDT

FILE - The Olympic rings during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022, in Beijing. Officials in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo say there is public support for holding the 2030 Winter Olympics. However, Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto says the city has no plans to hold a binding public referendum for the final word. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
Tokyo Olympics expected to reveal final costs in June

By Stephen Wade Mar. 24, 2022 08:53 AM EDT