Olympics

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Lindsey Vonn Matches All-Time Wins Record

Skier records 62nd World Cup victory

(Newser) - Lindsey Vonn never thought she would make it this far. Perhaps that's why, after matching the World Cup's all-time record for wins today, she rated it "right below" her Olympic gold medal on her lengthy list of career achievements. "It's hard to really compare the...

US Skaters Get Olympic Bronze 50 Years Late

IOC finally adds Josephs to record books

(Newser) - There's no Olympics this winter, but the US still managed to claim two bronze medals in figure skating yesterday—from the 1964 Innsbruck Olympics. Siblings Vivian and Ronald Joseph came in fourth place in pairs figure skating but were given bronze medals a couple of years later after the...

Female Sprinter Fights Ban—Over Her Testosterone

Sprinter Dutee Chand doesn't want to change her natural body to compete

(Newser) - Indian sprinter Dutee Chand was born with what may be a blessing and a curse: hyperandrogenism. The medical condition results in unusually high levels of testosterone—high enough, in fact, that it crosses the threshold for what determines whether one can compete against women. She is fighting the International Association...

Host 2022 Olympics? Cities Say No Thanks

Costs make gig increasingly unappealing

(Newser) - The race is on for the 2022 Winter Olympics—the race to get out of hosting, that is. Four cities that were considering hosting, including two finalists for the job, have dropped out of the running. Four finalists remain, but only two of those bids look robust. Cities just don'...

In Rio's Olympic Waters: Corpses, Sewage

Rio has a long way to go in clean up of Guanabara Bay

(Newser) - With the clock ticking on Rio's 2016 Olympics and tongues wagging about its lack of preparedness , the New York Times today turns to a rather disgusting item on the Games' checklist that Brazil seems to have missed: Guanabara Bay, the site of the sailing and windsurfing events. Despite Brazil'...

Rio's Olympic Planning 'Worst' I've Ever Seen: IOC Official

But 'there is no plan B': vice president

(Newser) - Brazil's efforts ahead of the 2016 Olympics are "the worst" International Olympic Committee VP John Coates has "ever experienced," he says. Construction of some venues hasn't even started, Coates notes, and IOC officials have been forced to join local organizers to plan the Games. The...

Russian Hockey Coach to Reporter: 'Eat Me Alive'

Comment comes after Russia gets bounced in quarterfinals

(Newser) - Russia's hockey team went down in spectacular fashion today, losing to Finland 3-1 in the Olympic quarterfinals, and it's fair to say that the hockey-crazed nation is a bit disappointed. (The US, meanwhile, advanced with a 5-2 win over the Czech team.) Reporters swarmed coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov...

Ligety Wins US&#39; 1st Giant Slalom Gold
 Ligety Wins US' 1st 
 Giant Slalom Gold 
Olympics
Feb 19, 2014 7:28 AM CST

Ligety Wins US' 1st Giant Slalom Gold

Ted Ligety becomes just the second US skier with 2 gold medals

(Newser) - After lousy finishes in both the men's super-combined and super-G skiing events, Sochi was looking like a bust for Ted Ligety—until today. Ligety became the first American ever to earn a gold medal in the men's giant slalom, according to Bleacher Report . Ligety came in as the...

US Takes Gold in Skiing Halfpipe

Daivd Wise soars while world's top-ranked skiier disappoints

(Newser) - David Wise won the gold medal in the Olympic debut of halfpipe skiing today, cutting through heavy snow to easily outclass the field. The 23-year-old American scored a 92 on his first run through the halfpipe clogged by wet, soggy rain and snow all night. Mike Riddle of Canada took...

Alpine Skiing Ends in Historic Gold-Medal Tie

Two downhill skiers tie for gold at the Sochi Olympics

(Newser) - Slovenia's Tina Maze and Switzerland's Dominique Gisin tied for gold at the Sochi Olympics today—a first in Olympic alpine skiing history, NBC reports. Maze and Gisin finished today's downhill skiing event with identical times; Switzerland's Lara Gut won the bronze. "It’s a great...

Snowboarders: Sochi Halfpipe Is a Mess

Officials working on the problem as competition gets under way

(Newser) - Snowboarders in Sochi have been raising serious concerns about the state of the Olympic halfpipe, the scene of actual competition today: "Everyone is not happy right now," 2006 US gold medalist Hannah Teter told the Washington Post after yesterday's practice. But that hasn't stopped the event...

Spilling the Secrets of Today's Opening Ceremony

A lot has been kept under wraps, but we know a lot, too

(Newser) - The Olympics opening ceremony starts at precisely 11:14am Eastern time today—that's 20:14 in Sochi, meant to "symbolize the year of the first-ever Russian Winter Games," the official press release explains. (NBC won't air the ceremony until 7:30pm Eastern, Time notes.) What...

Here Are Your Olympic Medal Predictions

Norway, US predicted to come out on top in Sochi

(Newser) - Though the opening ceremonies aren't until tomorrow, the 2014 Olympics officially kick off today in Sochi—and the Wall Street Journal is ready with its extremely complex medal prediction system, which proved to be accurate to within just a few medals at the last two Olympics. So who's...

Sochi Mayor: There Are No Gays Here

At least, 'I don't bloody know them'

(Newser) - There aren't any gay people in Sochi—or so its mayor claims ahead of the Winter Olympics. Anatoly Pakhomov told the BBC that being gay is "not accepted here in the Caucasus where we live. We do not have them in our city." Questioned further, he acknowledged...

Norway's Curling Team Is Wearing This to Olympics

The crazy pants are back, and crazier

(Newser) - This may be the best ( or at least second-best ) Olympic photo so far: Norway's men's curling team, decked out in their fantastic new outfits. The team was a sensation at the Vancouver Olympics when members competed wearing boldly-colored, crazily-patterned golf pants instead of the standard black...

5 Olympic Teams Receive Threat Letters

But Olympic bosses say they're fake

(Newser) - More terror concerns are plaguing the Sochi Olympics following threatening letters sent to at least five teams—but authorities say they're a hoax. The letters, written in Russian, went to Olympic committees in Italy, Hungary, Germany, Slovenia, and Slovakia, Reuters reports. The letter to Hungary said "persons attending...

Why the Olympics Should End
 Why the 
 Olympics 
 Should End 
OPINION
Jan 21, 2014 10:17 AM CST

Why the Olympics Should End

Human costs now outweigh benefits: Charles Lane

(Newser) - The founding ideals of the modern Olympics were admirable: France's Pierre de Coubertin wanted to foster peace and understanding between nations. But things haven't worked out that way, and the Games have ultimately caused more harm than good, writes Charles Lane in the Washington Post : "What we...

Athlete Gives Up Olympic Spot—to Twin Sister

Tracy Barnes says Lanny would have beat her if she wasn't sick

(Newser) - Tracy Barnes won a spot on the US Olympic biathlon team Sunday, but she's not taking it. She gave up her place so her twin sister, Lanny, could go instead. Lanny had been too sick to compete in all the selection races, but Tracy believes her sister had a...

Torch Bearer Carries Olympic Flame, Then Dies

Vadim Gorbenko has heart attack

(Newser) - A Russian wrestling coach carried the Olympic flame 500 feet, had his photo taken, said he didn't feel well ... and ended up dead of a heart attack, an official said today. Vadim Gorbenko, 73, who had trained top wrestlers and also acted as a sports school director, was taking...

Banned at Next Olympics: Brake Fluid

Weather-tracking gear, Thermoses, TVs are among barred items

(Newser) - Those attending the Sochi Olympics in February should be careful what they pack. Officials have unveiled a list of banned items, and it's full of some rather odd selections. Among them, via Mashable :
  1. You won't be able to bring in antifreeze or brake fluid.
  2. All your meteorological gear
...

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