World War II
Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in the launch of a new ferry via a conference call at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 4, 2022. (Andrei Gorshkov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Column: Russian sports ban unlikely to stop Putin's war

By Paul Newberry Mar. 04, 2022 05:03 PM EST

FILE - Chinese authorities test fireworks ahead of the Aug 8 start of the Olympic Games on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, Saturday, Aug 2, 2008. Richer, more heavily armed and openly confrontational, China has undergone history-making change since the last time it was an Olympic host in 2008. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
China 2008 vs 2022: Richer, stronger, more confrontational

By Joe Mcdonald Jan. 25, 2022 11:08 PM EST

Poland's Wilfredo Leon Venero spikes a ball during a men's volleyball preliminary round pool A match against Iran, at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 24, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Shoji brothers highlight family's internment camp history

By Josh Dubow Jul. 24, 2021 12:06 PM EDT

FILE - In this Oct. 10, 1964, file photo, vapor trails from Japanese Self-Defense Force jets from the Olympic emblem of five rings above the National Stadium in Tokyo for the official opening of the XVIII Olympiad, first even held in Asia. The famous 1964 Tokyo Olympics highlighted Japan’s resiliency. It was a prospering country that was showing off bullet trains, transistor radios, and a restored reputation just 19 years after devastating defeat in World War II. Now Japan and Tokyo are on display again, attempting to stage the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the midst of a once-in-a century pandemic. (AP Photo, File)
Looking at Tokyo Olympics through the lens of the 1964 Games

By Stephen Wade Jul. 22, 2021 09:18 PM EDT

FILE - In this Aug. 15, 2020, file photo, a visitor carrying a rising sun flag enters Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo as Japan marked the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. Japan’s “rising sun” flag is raising anger at the Olympics, with some of the host nation’s neighbors calling for it to be banned during the Tokyo Games, which start Friday, July 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
EXPLAINER: Why Japan 'rising sun' flag provokes Olympic ire

By Hyung-Jin Kim And Mari Yamaguchi Jul. 22, 2021 08:42 PM EDT

FILE - In this Tuesday, July 20, 2021, file photo, a woman wearing a protective mask walks in front of a Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics display at the Tokyo Metropolitan government in Tokyo. The Tokyo Olympics have already broken new ground because of the 12-month delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic, pushing it into an odd-numbered year for the first time. But with no fans permitted in Japan, foreign or local, it has the undesirable distinction of being the first Games to be held with no spectators. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)
An Olympics like no other, Tokyo perseveres to host Games

By Chris Lehourites Jul. 20, 2021 01:09 PM EDT

FILE - In this Friday, May 8, 2015 file photo, Soviet war veteran David Dushman, 92, center, speaks to people holding Ukrainian flags as he attends a wreath laying ceremony at the Russian War Memorial in the Tiergarten district of Berlin, Germany. Dushman, the last surviving Allied soldier involved in the liberation of Auschwitz, has died. The Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria said Sunday, June 6, 2021 that Dushman had died a day earlier in a Munich hospital at the age of 98. As young Red Army soldier, Dushman flattened the forbidding fence around the notorious Nazi death camp with his tank on Jan. 27, 1945. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
Last of Soviet soldiers who liberated Auschwitz dies at 98

Jun. 06, 2021 05:11 PM EDT

Seiko Hashimoto, the head of the Tokyo Olympics speaks during a press conference in Tokyo, Friday, April 16, 2021. Tokyo Olympic organizers are again being forced to assure the world that the postponed games will open in just over three months despite surging COVID-19 cases in Japan.(Kyodo News via AP)
Column: The Tokyo Olympics will go on, but in name only

By Paul Newberry Apr. 16, 2021 04:41 PM EDT

FILE - In this March 3, 2020, file photo, the New National Stadium, a venue for the opening and closing ceremonies at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, is seen from Shibuya Sky observation deck in Tokyo. Organizers and the International Olympic Committee are pushing on despite COVID-19 risks, myriad scandals, and overwhelming public opposition in Japan to holding the games. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
100 Days: Tokyo Olympics marked by footnotes and asterisks

By Stephen Wade Apr. 13, 2021 09:35 PM EDT

FILE - In this Oct. 10, 1964 file photo, Japanese runner Yoshinori Sakai lights the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Sakai was born in Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, the day the nuclear weapon destroyed that city. He symbolized the rebirth of Japan after the Second World War as he opened the 1964 Tokyo Games. Sakai was born in Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, the day the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city. Just over 19 years later, he ran with the Olympic flame into the national stadium, left the cinder track, and jogged up a long flight of flower-lined stairs to reach the top. (AP Photo/File)
Man born in Hiroshima lights 1964 Tokyo Olympic cauldron

By Stephen Wade Aug. 05, 2020 03:15 PM EDT

FILE - In this July 29, 1948 file photo, British athlete John Mark holds the Olympic Flame aloft as he makes his circuit of the Olympic track during the opening ceremony of the XIV Olympiad, in Wembley Stadium, London. London was still cleaning up bombing damage from World War II when it staged the Olympics in 1948. Britain was also struggling financially; food, clothing and gas were still being rationed. The athletes had to bring their own towels and, with housing in short supply, were accommodated in schools and Royal Air Force camps. The games were organized in less than two years, and despite the tiny budget it was a success, its legacies including greater sporting opportunities for women. (AP Photo, File)
Austerity Games of 1948 revive Olympic spirit after WWII

By Foster Niumata Aug. 01, 2020 12:43 PM EDT

FILE - In this Oct. 10, 1964, file photo, Japanese runner Yoshinori Sakai lights the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Sakai was born in Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, the day the nuclear weapon destroyed that city. The 1964 Tokyo Olympics are being remembered fondly following the postponement until 2021 of the Tokyo 2020 Games. The '64 Olympics were the first to be televised internationally using communication satellites. (AP Photo/File)
'64 Tokyo Olympics: A man from Hiroshima lights the cauldron

By Stephen Wade Apr. 14, 2020 05:24 AM EDT

Katerina Stefanidi, Greek Olympic Champion in pole vault, runs with the Olympic torch during the Olympic flame handover ceremony for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, in Athens, Thursday, March 19, 2020. The ceremony was held behind closed doors and with the presence of few members of the media because of fears over the new coronavirus. (Aris Messinis/Pool via AP)
A look back at Olympics that never were: 1916, '40 and '44

Paul Newberry Mar. 21, 2020 07:03 PM EDT