Olympic athletes

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Olympian Suspended Over 'Most Awful Video'

Dressage competitor Heath Ryan says he administered 40+ lashes in Nico's best interests

(Newser) - An Olympic equestrian just earned himself an indefinite suspension after a video emerged showing him whipping the horse he was riding dozens of times. The clip , which has been circulating on social media, shows Heath Ryan, a 66-year-old dressage competitor, riding Nico, reports TMZ , which counts upward of 40 lashes...

Man Sentenced for Stray Bullet That Killed Olympian's Mom

Jasper Greene, 23, gets 33 years for death of mother of rifle shooter Yarimar Mercado Martinez

(Newser) - A Connecticut man was sentenced to 33 years in prison on Tuesday for the stray-bullet killing of a Puerto Rican Olympic athlete's mother. Jasper Greene, 23, of New Haven was one of three men charged in the death of Mabel Martinez Antongiorgi on April 9, 2022. The 56-year-old woman...

Olympian Avoids Jail for Actions Preceding Wife's Death

Rohan Dennis, widower of Melissa Hoskins, receives 17-month suspended sentence

(Newser) - Australian Olympic cyclist Rohan Dennis, who authorities say was driving a vehicle that fatally struck his wife, fellow Olympic cyclist Melissa Hoskins, will avoid prison for the time being. After pleading guilty to committing an aggravated act likely to cause harm, which carried a maximum sentence of seven years, Dennis...

Female Track Olympians Will Have Had DNA Sex Testing

Track's governing body announces plan to introduce it

(Newser) - The head of track's governing body on Tuesday announced a policy change designed to "doggedly protect the female category": all female athletes participating in World Athletics track and field events will have to undergo DNA sex testing. The New York Times reports that makes it the first Olympic...

Holocaust Survivor, 103, Was Oldest Living Olympic Medalist

Agnes Keleti assumed a false identity before winning gold in gymnastics five times

(Newser) - Ágnes Keleti, a Holocaust survivor and the oldest living Olympic medal winner, has died. She was 103. Keleti died Thursday in Budapest, the Hungarian state news agency reported, after being hospitalized with pneumonia on Dec. 25. She won a total of 10 Olympic medals in gymnastics, including five golds,...

Husband Pleads Guilty in Case of Dead Olympic Cyclist

Melissa Hoskins died a year ago after an incident involving her husband's car

(Newser) - Australian Olympic cyclist Rohan Dennis on Tuesday pleaded guilty for the hand he had in the death of his wife, Melissa Hoskins, who was also an Olympic cyclist. The New York Times reports Hoskins died a year ago at age 32 after police say Dennis drove with her on the...

Lindsey Vonn Shakes Off Retirement at 40

Olympic champ rejoins US ski team to 'share my knowledge'

(Newser) - Lindsey Vonn is coming out of retirement to rejoin the US Ski Team, she announced Thursday, intending to race again at age 40—and six years after her last Olympics, per the AP . Vonn is a three-time Olympic medalist, including a downhill gold and super-G bronze at the 2010 Vancouver...

Olympic Runner Dies After Ex's 'Cowardly, Senseless' Attack

Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei was doused in gasoline, set on fire

(Newser) - Less than a month ago, Ugandan runner Rebecca Cheptegei competed in the marathon at the Paris Olympics. On Thursday, she died in a hospital in Kenya with burns over 80% of her body, days after police said her ex-boyfriend doused her in gasoline and set her on fire . "We...

Table Tennis Selfie May Haunt North Korean Players
Table Tennis Selfie May Haunt
North Korean Players
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Aug 31, 2024 1:20 PM CDT

Table Tennis Selfie May Haunt North Korean Players

Silver medalists reportedly in hot water over photo with South Korean rivals at Olympics

(Newser) - At the time, it was hailed by NPR as an example of "selfie diplomacy" and later chosen by People as one of the best sportsmanship moments from the Olympics. But a selfie featuring two North Korean table tennis players may have landed both in hot water back home, reports...

Viral Breakdancer: The 'Hate' Has Been 'Devastating'

Australian Olympic Committee blasts 'malicious untruths' about Rachael Gunn/Raygun

(Newser) - Australian b-girl Raygun made some fans at the Olympics . But she also faced a whole lot of hate after the Games' breakdancing competition . "So much hate, which has frankly been pretty devastating," the breaker, whose real name is Rachael Gunn, described Thursday in a video shared on Instagram....

Musk, Rowling, Trump Tweeted About Her. Now She's Suing

Olympic boxer and gold medalist Imane Khelif files criminal complaint over cyberbullying on her gender

(Newser) - The Algerian boxer who faced global scrutiny over her gender on the path to an Olympic gold medal is suing her bullies. Imane Khelif has filed a criminal complaint in France alleging "aggravated cyber harassment" from Elon Musk, JK Rowling, and others on Musk's social platform X. Though...

The Sport Is New to the Games—and Destroys Your Hands

Speed climbing can tear athletes' hands to shreds

(Newser) - American Sam Watson managed to set a new record on Tuesday when he scaled a 15-meter climbing wall in Paris in just 4.75 seconds. Whether he ends up with gold won't be known until Thursday, when the men's speed-climbing quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals will take place. It'...

No Golden Send-Off for Simone Biles

She fails to medal on the beam, takes home silver in her signature floor event

(Newser) - Simone Biles didn't get the golden send-off she'd hoped for. Biles earned silver in the floor exercise finals Monday—her 11th Olympic medal—after a routine that included a couple of costly steps out of bounds. Brazil's Rebeca Andrade became the first gymnast to beat Biles in...

Olympians Find Steamy Side Hustle on OnlyFans

Rower Robbie Manson says OnlyFans income is double what he receives as an athlete

(Newser) - New Zealand rower Robbie Manson has some advice for Olympic athletes looking to bolster their income: Join OnlyFans. "I am making more from OnlyFans than I am from rowing at this stage," Manson, 34, told Reuters on Wednesday, the eve of the Olympic men's double sculls final,...

Olympic Boxer Sticks Up for Rival in Gender Hubbub
Olympic Boxer Sticks Up
for Rival in Gender Hubbub
THE RUNDOWN
Aug 2, 2024 2:23 PM CDT

Olympic Boxer Sticks Up for Rival in Gender Hubbub

Italian boxer Angela Carini apologizes to Algerian foe Imane Khelif

(Newser) - Outcry continues to swirl around an Olympic women's boxer who some say shouldn't have been fighting other women. Italy's Angela Carini bowed out of her match on Thursday against Algeria's Imane Khelif after taking a pretty hard hit right in the face from Khelif, renewing questions...

Some Olympians Return Home to More Than Just Applause

In Hong Kong, gold medalists earn $768K for their efforts; other nations offer lots of other perks

(Newser) - For some Olympic medalists, after the podium come the perks. CNBC notes that the International Olympic Committee doesn't hand out prize money itself to those who take home gold, but Forbes looked into the more than 200 countries participating in the Paris Games and found more than a handful...

Olympian's Sister-in-Law Dies While in Paris

Water polo captain Maggie Steffens' sister-in-law suffered medical emergency

(Newser) - During what should be one of the best times of Maggie Steffens' life, the Olympic water polo player is mourning a family member. Her sister-in-law Lulu Conner, the younger sister of Steffens' husband, Bobby Conner, died Tuesday after traveling to Paris to support Steffens, the water polo team captain for...

This Isn't a Mistake on Korea You Want to Make at Olympics

Games organizers apologize after introducing South Korean team as North Korea's competitors

(Newser) - Olympic Games organizers said they "deeply apologize" for introducing South Korea's athletes as North Korea during the opening ceremony in Paris. As the South Korean athletes waved their nation's flag on a boat floating down the Seine on Friday evening, they were announced in both French and...

Dutch Child Rapist Is Competing in Olympics

Beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde sexually assaulted 12-year-old girl a decade ago

(Newser) - Beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde will compete in the Paris Olympics, but he won't be staying in the athletes village, and he won't be talking to reporters, as per the Dutch Olympic Committee. That's because the 29-year-old competitor from the Netherlands served time in prison...

Transgender US Runner Is Headed to Paris Olympics

Nikki Hiltz earns their spot with stunning finish in 1,500-meter race at US trials

(Newser) - Transgender and nonbinary runner Nikki Hiltz not only qualified for the Paris Olympics by winning the women's 1500-meter race at the US Olympic Trials on Sunday, they did so in record time . Hiltz, who uses they/them pronouns, finished with a personal best time of 3:55:33, cementing a...

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