Political and civil unrest
Ai Mori of Japan speaks after attending the women's lead semi-final of the IFSC Climbing World Cup Friday, Oct. 21, 2022, in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. After Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi joined a growing list of female athletes who have been targeted by their governments for defying authoritarian policies or acting out against bullying, a number of others have spoken out on their concerns of politics crossing into their sporting world. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Iran's Rekabi latest female athlete at risk in home country

By Stephen Wade Oct. 21, 2022 11:59 AM EDT

President of the Association of National Olympic Committees's, ANOC, Robin Mitchell answers questions during a news conference in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. The president of Iran’s national Olympic committee claimed Thursday that competitive climber Elnaz Rekabi will not be punished or suspended after competing in South Korea over the weekend without wearing her nation’s mandatory headscarf. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Iran's Olympic chief claims no punishment coming for climber

By Kim Tong-Hyung Oct. 20, 2022 08:43 AM EDT

Ukraine boycotts judo Olympic qualifier as Russians compete

Jun. 24, 2022 12:16 PM EDT
ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — Ukraine has begun a boycott of international judo events because the Russian team was allowed to compete as Olympic qualification began...

FILE - Former members and members of the U.S. Women's National soccer team, from left, Briana Scurry, Margaret 'Midge' Purce, Kelley O'Hara, Julie Foudy, and Cindy Parlow Cone, President of U.S. Soccer, pose for a photo with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., before an event to celebrate Equal Pay Day and Women's History Month in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, March 15, 2022, in Washington. The U.S. Soccer Federation reached milestone agreements to pay its men's and women's teams equally, making the American national governing body the first in the sport to promise both sexes matching money. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
ATP Challenger Roseto Degli Abruzzi 2, Italy Men Singles

May. 21, 2022 02:44 AM EDT

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to deliver his speech at the concert marking the eighth anniversary of the referendum on the state status of Crimea and Sevastopol and its reunification with Russia, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 18, 2022. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian Olympians face backlash after Vladimir Putin rally

Mar. 23, 2022 07:26 AM EDT

Italy's Matteo Remotti Martini moves in front of the Agitos outside the Paralympic Village ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games, Beijing, China, Thursday, March 3, 2022. (Thomas Lovelock/OIS via AP)
Russians, Belarusians out of Paralympics amid boycott risk

By Stephen Wade Mar. 03, 2022 02:04 AM EST

Prayer flags festoon a structure by Hailuogou Glacier in Chagsam County, in southwestern China's Sichuan province on Sept. 7, 2020. Ahead of the Beijing summer Olympics 14 years ago, Tibet was on fire. Deadly clashes between Tibetans and security forces in Lhasa made global headlines, and for weeks, monks and herders battled bullets and batons. But today, Tibet has fallen silent, even as the Olympic games come to Beijing for a second time. (AP Photo/Dake Kang)
This time, Tibet stands silent as Olympics return to China

By Dake Kang And Sam Mcneil Feb. 16, 2022 12:25 AM EST

Monks walk in Labrang monastery in Sangqu county, in southwestern China's Sichuan province on Monday, Sept. 19, 2020. Ahead of the Beijing summer Olympics 14 years ago, Tibet was on fire. Deadly clashes between Tibetans and security forces in Lhasa made global headlines, and for weeks, monks and herders battled bullets and batons.  But today, Tibet has fallen silent, even as the Olympic games come to Beijing for a second time. (AP Photo/Dake Kang)
This time, Tibet stands silent as Olympics return to China

By Dake Kang And Sam Mcneil Feb. 16, 2022 12:08 AM EST

FILE - Britain's Katie Ormerod competes during the women's slopestyle qualifying at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
Winter Olympians champion climate, peace amid muted activism

By Kelvin Chan Feb. 15, 2022 03:06 AM EST

In this frame from video, Vladyslav Heraskevych, of Ukraine, holds a sign that reads "No War in Ukraine" after finishing a run at the men's skeleton competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (NBC via AP)
Olympian flashes 'No War in Ukraine' sign after competing

By Tim Reynolds Feb. 11, 2022 08:28 AM EST

Vladyslav Heraskevych, of Ukraine, stands in the mixed zone after finishing the men's skeleton run 4 at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Olympics Live: IOC won't act on 'No War in Ukraine' sign

Feb. 10, 2022 08:29 PM EST

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives for the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Beijing. (Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP)
In opening of Winter Olympics, chances at politicking abound

By Adam Schreck Feb. 04, 2022 07:08 AM EST

Opening ceremony for Beijing Winter Olympics begins amid severe pandemic restrictions and diplomatic boycott

Feb. 04, 2022 07:01 AM EST
BEIJING (AP) — Opening ceremony for Beijing Winter Olympics begins amid severe pandemic restrictions and diplomatic boycott. ...

Chinese President Xi Jinping waves during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Emboldened China opens Olympics, with lockdown and boycotts

By Sarah Dilorenzo Feb. 04, 2022 04:01 AM EST

Exile Tibetans hold a banner during a protest against Beijing winter Olympic Games in New Delhi, India, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022. Hundreds of Tibetan exiles are marching outside the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, denouncing the Beijing Winter Olympics and demanding freedom for their region. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Tibetans in India demonstrate against Beijing Olympics

By Shonal Ganguly Feb. 04, 2022 02:46 AM EST

FILE-In this photograph provided by the Indian Army, army officers of India and China hold a meeting at Pangong lake region in Ladakh on the India-China border on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. India will not attend Friday's opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, after one of the torchbearers reportedly chosen by Chinese authorities riled up New Delhi's anger. India's foreign affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi on Thursday said it was "regrettable that the Chinese side has chosen to politicize an event like the Olympics." (Indian Army via AP, File)
EXPLAINER: Why India won't send diplomat to China Olympics

By Sheikh Saaliq Feb. 04, 2022 02:13 AM EST

FILE- Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso speaks at a signing ceremony that expands the Galapagos Maritime Reserve by 60,000 square kilometers, aboard the Sierra Negra research vessel in Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. The U.S., Britain and a handful of others aren’t sending dignitaries to the Beijing Games as part of a diplomatic boycott, but the Chinese capital is still attracting an array of world leaders for the opening ceremony on Friday, Feb. 4. Lasso, who is seeking to renegotiate the country's $4.6 billion debt to China, will be in Beijing for the ceremony. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
World leaders: Who's coming, who isn't to Beijing Olympics

Feb. 03, 2022 09:43 PM EST

Kamaltürk Yalqun, who was chosen to help carry the Olympic flame ahead of the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, poses for a photograph in Chinatown, Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, in Boston. The decade after the Games saw Beijing impose policies on his region of Xinjiang that split apart his family and Uyghur community. Today, he is an activist in the United States calling for a boycott of the 2022 Winter Games, which will see the Olympic flame returned to Beijing. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
For Uyghur torchbearer, China's Olympic flame has gone dark

By Huizhong Wu Feb. 03, 2022 01:08 PM EST

FILE - A woman holds up a ligt candle and a phone showing the image of the 1989 tank man protester during a candle vigil to mark the anniversary of the military crackdown on a pro-democracy student movement in Beijing, outside Victoria Park in Hong Kong, Friday, June 4, 2021. As Beijing prepares to hold the Winter Olympics opening in February 2022, China's president and party leader Xi Jinping appears firmly in control. The party has made political stability paramount and says that has been the foundation for the economic growth that has bettered lives and put the nation on a path to becoming a regional if not global power. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
From Tiananmen to Hong Kong, China's crackdowns defy critics

By Ken Moritsugu Jan. 27, 2022 12:20 AM EST

Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Putin backs China over 'politicization' of Beijing Olympics

Jan. 25, 2022 07:07 AM EST