Women's sports
Rugby Australia President David Codey speaks during a media event ahead of the final vote for the hosting of the Rugby World Cups in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, May 12, 2022. World Rugby will announce the host nations for the men's and women's World Cups for the period 2025-2033 with Australia heavily favored to host the men's 2027 and women's tournaments in 2029. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
US to host men's and women's Rugby World Cups for first time

By Steve Douglas May. 12, 2022 01:58 PM EDT

FILE - General Secretary of the Russian Boxing Federation, member of the Executive Committee of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) Umar Kremlev holds a news conference in Moscow, Russia, on Oct. 27, 2020. The challenger to the Russian incumbent in the presidential election at the troubled International Boxing Association has been ruled ineligible a day before the vote. Umar Kremlev is standing for re-election amid sanctions on Russian sports and concern the IBA is financially dependent on Gazprom. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Vetting panel takes out candidate ahead of boxing election

By Graham Dunbar May. 12, 2022 11:02 AM EDT

United States expected to be named host of Rugby World Cups

By Steve Douglas May. 11, 2022 07:12 AM EDT
With the full support of the White House, an American bid to stage the men's and women's Rugby World Cups is expected to receive the green light on Thursday as the...

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

FILE - Kamalpreet Kaur, of India, competes during the qualification round of the women's discus throw at the 2020 Summer Olympics, on July 31, 2021, in Tokyo. Indian discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur has tested positive test for an anabolic steroid. The case was announced Wednesday nine months after she placed sixth at the Tokyo Olympics. Kaur tested positive for stanozolol in a case the agency dated to March 29. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Indian Olympic athlete Kaur tests positive for steroid

May. 04, 2022 01:21 PM EDT

Obstacle racing set to replace horses in modern pentathlon

May. 02, 2022 04:36 PM EDT
MONACO (AP) — Under pressure to remove horse riding, modern pentathlon will test obstacle racing as a replacement in time for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. ...

Figure skating body details proposal to hike age limit to 17

By Graham Dunbar May. 02, 2022 06:13 AM EDT
GENEVA (AP) — Figure skating’s governing body has detailed a proposal to raise the athlete age limit to 17 at the Olympics and other international events. ...

Team Australia celebrate their win over New Zealand in the gold-medal match on the final day of the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series in Langford, British Columbia, Sunday, May 1, 2022. (Chad Hipolito/The Canadian Press via AP)
Australia wins Langford title, clinches sevens world series

May. 01, 2022 10:02 PM EDT

Olympic stars Ledecky, Dressel headline US team for worlds

May. 01, 2022 05:07 PM EDT
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel highlight a 41-member U.S. swimming team that will compete at this summer’s world championships in Budapest,...

FILE - "LB #22," in honor of James Madison softball catcher Lauren Bernett, is written on the infield behind Liberty pitcher Emily Kirby, right, during an NCAA college softball game against Tennessee at Liberty Softball Stadium in Lynchburg, Va., April 27, 2022. There has been a lot of talk about the mental health struggles that many young athletes face, the pressures and vulnerabilities that can seem overwhelming — especially to those who feel compelled to shield their pain from the outside world. (Kendall Warner/The News & Advance via AP, File)
Column: May deaths of Katie, Sarah and Lauren not be in vain

By Paul Newberry Apr. 30, 2022 12:40 AM EDT

U.S. hockey player Haley Skarupa, center, demonstrates a drill during a hockey clinic presented by the Washington Capitals and the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association, Friday, March 4, 2022, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Girls hockey programs show promise in nontraditional markets

By Stephen Whyno Apr. 28, 2022 03:06 PM EDT

Putin backs Russian skater Valieva as she faces doping case

Apr. 26, 2022 12:20 PM EDT
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed support for figure skater Kamila Valieva on Tuesday, saying she did not compete “dishonestly” after her doping case...

FILE - Then-USA Hockey women's General Manager Reagan Carey is interviewed in Plymouth Township, Mich., Dec. 15, 2016. Reagan Carey is bringing her Olympic gold-medal-winning resume to lead the Premier Hockey Federation through a critical offseason of expansion and the looming threat of competing for talent with a second North American pro women’s hockey league. The PHF announced Tuesday, April 26. 2022, that the former head of USA Hockey’s women’s programs is its new commissioner heading into it eighth season. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
Former USA Hockey women's director named PHF commissioner

By John Wawrow Apr. 26, 2022 08:00 AM EDT

FILE - Evgeny Rylov of the Russian Olympic Committee poses with his gold medal for the men's 100-meter backstroke final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. A statement from swimming's world governing body, FINA, on Thursday, April 21, 2022, announced that Rylov has been banned from the sport for nine months for appearing at a rally in support of President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
Russian swimmer Rylov banned for appearing at Putin rally

Apr. 22, 2022 03:39 PM EDT

Boston Marathon women's division winner Peres Jepchirchir, of Kenya, left, and men's winner Evans Chebet, of Kenya, pose at the finish line Monday, April 18, 2022, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Olympic champ Jepchirchir wins 50th women's Boston Marathon

By Jimmy Golen Apr. 18, 2022 12:16 PM EDT

This photo provided by Figure Skating in Harlem shows Figure Skating in Harlem students performing in the 2022 Ice Show, City of Dreams - A Skating Love Letter to NYC at Riverbank State Park in New York, March 20, 2022. The organization’s objective always has been helping girls of color transform their lives by growing in confidence, leadership and academic achievement. (Larua Differender/Figure Skating in Harlem via AP)
Figure Skating in Harlem: 25 years and growing

By Barry Wilner Apr. 18, 2022 01:21 AM EDT

FILE - A silhouette of a snowboarder in action in a heat during the FIS World Cup snowboarding big air competition at the Battersea Power Station in London, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008. When former members of the U.S. snowboarding team sought to report sex-abuse allegations against a longtime coach, they received conflicting information that left them unsure of where to turn — or whether they wanted to pursue the cases at all. (AP Photo/Sang Tan, File)
Sex abuse case in snowboarding exposes flaws in reporting

By Eddie Pells Apr. 14, 2022 12:50 PM EDT

FILE - Allyson Felix, of United States races in a heat of the women's 400 meters at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Aug. 3, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. Felix says she will retire after the 2022 season. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
Allyson Felix says she's retiring after 2022 track season

By The Associated Press Apr. 13, 2022 11:49 PM EDT

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

Auburn gymnast Sunisa Lee performs during a meet at the University of Michigan, Saturday, March 12, 2022, in Ann Arbor, Mich. A record crowd came out to watch Lee, the reigning Olympic champion, and Auburn take on defending national champion Michigan. The arrival of Lee and several of her Olympic teammates at the collegiate level is helping fuel a spike in interest and participation in NCAA women's gymnastics. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
EXPLAINER: The differences between Olympic & NCAA gymnastics

By Will Graves Apr. 13, 2022 05:50 PM EDT