Olympics

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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
...

Olympic Medal That Enraged Hitler Up for Auction

Jesse Owens' only surviving 1936 gold hits the block

(Newser) - A precious piece of sports history—and history itself—is hitting the auction block: the only known original Jesse Owens gold medal. It's unclear which of Owens' four 1936 Olympic wins the medal is attached to, and the whereabouts of the other three are unknown. But it's the...

Olympic Torch Blasts Off for Space Station

Cosmonauts aren't planning on lighting it

(Newser) - The Russians are taking the Olympic torch relay to a new height—the International Space Station. The 2014 Sochi torch, which will not be lit during its five days in space, blasted off on a Soyuz rocket this morning accompanied by Russia's Mikhail Tyurin, American Rick Mastracchio, and Koici...

Now They're Cheating in ... Rhythmic Gymnastics?

Judges caught cheating on tests

(Newser) - The athletes all look so innocent in those sequined neon unitards, but rhythmic gymnastics (that's the one with the ribbons and hoops) is the latest Olympic sport caught up in a cheating scandal. But it isn't the athletes under fire. This time, the judges are the ones in...

Wrestling Back at Olympics? It's a Big Step Closer

IOC makes it one of 3 finalists, along with squash and baseball-softball

(Newser) - Wrestling might be back at the Olympics after all. The sport will be one of three finalists—along with squash and a combined bid from baseball and softball—vying for the last open spot in the 2020 Games, reports USA Today . The International Olympic Committee, which outraged purists three months...

Olympic Planners Hoarding Snow for Sochi Games

'Odd winter' has been warm in Sochi

(Newser) - It's been a warm winter in Sochi, Russia, and Olympic planners are worried about next year's Games. So they're hoarding 450,000 cubic meters of snow in a local mountain range, Reuters reports. "I want to assure all the competitors that there won't be any...

Wrestling Axed From 2020 Olympics

Even though it's one of Games' oldest events

(Newser) - The pentathlon looked most likely to get the ax in a review of the 26 Olympic sports, but it's wrestling that's been cut from the 2020 Games. Dropping a sport allows the International Olympic Committee to pick one up for that year—and now, wrestling will be competing...

Olympics May Ax Cycling Over Armstrong Scandal

Sport needs time to clean up, IOC member says

(Newser) - Lance Armstrong's doping scandal could end up sidelining his entire sport from the Olympics, International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound warns. Armstrong—who confessed to doping in an Oprah interview set to air tomorrow—reportedly plans to implicate cycling's world governing body, which could leave the IOC feeling...

Now Armstrong's Olympic Bronze Under Investigation

IOC to 'immediately start the process' of reviewing Sydney win

(Newser) - Lance Armstrong's fireplace mantel could get a little emptier: The International Olympic Committee today announced that it will investigate the cyclist's 2000 Olympics win. Armstrong took a time trial bronze at Sydney, reports Reuters . "The IOC will now immediately start the process concerning the involvement of Lance...

Lolo Jones Makes US Bobsled Team

Olympic hurdler could head to winter games

(Newser) - From hurdles to ... bobsledding? Yes, Olympian and famous virgin Lolo Jones showed up in Lake Placid three weeks ago, unsure where her first foray into bobsledding could lead. The answer might be another Olympics—only this time, the winter one. Jones, a two-time Olympic hurdler, was one of 24 athletes...

Olympic BMX Cyclist Killed in Car Accident

33-year-old was three-time world champ

(Newser) - Olympic BMX cyclist Kyle Bennett has been killed in an automobile accident in eastern Texas. He was 33. A statement from USA Cycling says the single-vehicle crash happened early yesterday in Conroe, north of Houston. Bennett was a three-time BMX world champion and won an automatic spot on the first...

US Olympian Gets Sued ... by Her Parents

Lawsuit says Tianna Madison spread bad stories about them

(Newser) - The Ohio parents of Olympic gold medalist Tianna Madison have sued her, saying she spread stories they had been selfish and bullying and cheated her financially. Robert and Jo Ann Madison filed the libel, slander, and defamation lawsuit yesterday in Cleveland. They say they've been loving, supportive, and generous...

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