Race and ethnicity
AP Sportlight

By The Associated Press Aug. 17, 2021 10:00 AM EDT
Aug. 18 1923 — Helen Mills, 17, ends Molla Bjurstedt Mallory’s domination of the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships and starts her...

AP-Sportlight-Week Ahead

By The Associated Press Aug. 12, 2021 12:09 PM EDT
Aug. 17 1933 — Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees plays his 1,308th straight game to break Everett Scott’s record of 1,307. ...

German coach accepts ban for rest of 2021 for racist slur

Aug. 06, 2021 06:33 AM EDT
TOKYO (AP) — The governing body of cycling suspended a German official for the rest of the year on Friday for using a racist slur during the Olympic men’s time...

Stephenie Mcpherson, right, of Jamaica, reacts after winning a women's 400-meter semifinal as Allyson Felix, of the United States, looks on, at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Olympic Latest: Canada wins 1st gold in women's soccer

Aug. 05, 2021 08:36 PM EDT

In this image made from video, Julian Keane, sociologist at the Urban-Culture Research Center of Osaka City University, speaks during a video interview from Osaka, western Japan, on July 27, 2021. The racial diversity Japan showcased at the Olympic opening ceremony also highlights its lack in Japanese society. The population of people with multiracial and cultural backgrounds continues to rise through more international marriages and an influx of foreign workers, but tolerance to diversity still lags in a country that values homogeneity and conformity. (AP Photo)
Olympics carry a question: What does it mean to be Japanese?

By Mari Yamaguchi Aug. 04, 2021 04:42 AM EDT

FILE - In this July 27, 2021 file photo, Simone Biles, of the United States, watches gymnasts perform after she exited the team final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo. Biles and Naomi Osaka are prominent young Black women under the pressure of a global Olympic spotlight that few human beings ever face. But being a young Black woman -- which, in American life, comes with its own built-in pressure to perform -- entails much more than meets the eye. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)
Black women, across generations, heed Biles’ Olympic example

By Aaron Morrison, Astrid Galvan And Deepti Hajela Aug. 03, 2021 10:19 PM EDT

Alice Dearing, of Britain, exits the water after finishing the women's marathon swimming event at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Dearing, who brought swimming diversity debate, loses race

By Paul Newberry Aug. 03, 2021 10:19 PM EDT

United States' Tyler Austin departs after a baseball game against Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021, in Yokohama, Japan. Japan won 7-6. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Japan rallies against bullpen to beat US 7-6 in 10 innings

By Ronald Blum Aug. 02, 2021 02:35 AM EDT

Raven Saunders, of United States, reacts during the woman's shot put final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Incredible Raven: Saunders lends her voice to the Olympics

By Eddie Pells And Pat Graham Aug. 01, 2021 03:14 AM EDT

Dallas Oberholzer, 46, from South Africa, takes part in a men's park skateboarding training session at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 31, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. The age-range of competitors in skateboarding's Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games is remarkably broad and 46-year-old Dallas Oberholzer will go wheel-to-wheel with skaters less than half his age. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
At 46, African skateboarder finally wows mom at Tokyo Games

By John Leicester Jul. 31, 2021 07:54 PM EDT

Simone Manuel, top, of the United States, swims alongside Emma Mckeon, of Australia, during heat 10 of the women's 50-meter freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Ban on 'Soul Cap' spotlights lack of diversity in swimming

By Jenna Fryer Jul. 31, 2021 06:30 AM EDT

German official sent home for racist slur at Olympics

Jul. 29, 2021 06:53 AM EDT
TOKYO (AP) — A German cycling official has been suspended and will be sent home from the Tokyo Olympics after using a racist slur during the men’s time trial. ...

Dmitriy Gruzdev of Kazakhstan, Nikias Arndt of Germany and Mohcine El Kouraji of Morocco compete in the men's cycling road race at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 24, 2021, in Oyama, Japan. (Tim de Waele/Pool Photo via AP)
Olympics Latest: Latvia wins gold in men's 3-on-3

Jul. 27, 2021 08:40 PM EDT

FILE - In this July 13, 2021, file photo, head coach Dawn Staley, center, coaches during practice for the United States women's basketball team in preparation for the Olympics in Las Vegas. Jennifer Gillom says everything is a process. Dawn Staley becoming the first Black female head coach of the U.S. women's Olympic basketball team is no different. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
Gillom sisters: Black ex-assistants paved way for Staley

By Teresa M. Walker Jul. 26, 2021 10:04 AM EDT

Candice Walker, left, and her sister Delissa, co-owners of Power Moves Gymnastics and Fitness, pose in their facility, Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Cedarhurst, N.Y. The business they started in 2012 was in a space so small it's now a barber shop. They moved to a warehouse in 2015 before opening at their current location last August in Cedarhurst, just east of New York City. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
'This can be me': Black participation rising in gymnastics

By Will Graves Jul. 23, 2021 01:24 PM EDT

FILE - In this Oct. 17, 2018, file photo, a statue in honor of former Olympians Tommie Smith, left, and John Carlos is seen on the campus of San Jose State University in San Jose, Calif. Smith and Carlos raised their black-gloved fists while their national anthem played during the 200-meters medals ceremony at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. Rule 50 of the IOC charter states: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.” (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)
EXPLAINER: What's the history of the Olympics protest rule?

By Eddie Pells Jul. 22, 2021 01:37 AM EDT

Donata Katai is seen after a swimming practice session in Harare, Zimbabwe, Saturday, July 10, 2021. The southern African nation is sending the black swimmer to the Olympics, the first from her country to the Games. Seventeen-year-old Katai won African youth titles and broke youth records once held by two-time Olympic champion Kirsty Coventry, who is not only Zimbabwe's most successful swimmer but also Africa's most decorated Olympian. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)
Zimbabwe sends its 1st Black swimmer to the Olympics

By Enock Muchinjo Jul. 21, 2021 07:08 AM EDT

Australia players pose for a group photo with an indigenous flag prior to women's soccer match against New Zealand at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 21, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
Soccer players kneel to start new era of Olympic activism

By Rob Harris Jul. 21, 2021 06:06 AM 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 Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020 file photo, Berlin's Jordan Torunarigha looks at the ball during the German soccer cup, DFB Pokal, match between FC Schalke 04 and Hertha BSC Berlin in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Germany’s Olympic soccer team has walked off the field during a preparation match for the Tokyo Games in response to alleged racist abuse from an opposing Honduras player toward German defender Jordan Torunarigha. The German soccer federation says “the game had to be stopped five minutes before the end with the score at 1-1. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
Germany cuts short Olympic warmup with allegations of racism

Jul. 17, 2021 08:56 AM EDT