Olympics

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News Flash: The Olympics Start Today

Soccer, archery kick off early

(Newser) - The Opening Ceremonies aren’t until Friday, but the Olympics actually start today, 400 miles away from London. Soccer and archery start early, so as not to wear out the athletes with the number of games that are required, the Detroit Free Press explains. The US women’s soccer team...

How Olympics Hurt Host Cities More Than Help

3 reasons cities should avoid Games: Andrew Zimbalist

(Newser) - Cities go nuts trying to bring the Olympics home—and they may not be doing themselves any favors. Sure, if everything runs smoothly, the Games might offer a "small windfall." But the economic reality is far more complicated, writes Andrew Zimbalist at the Atlantic :
  • Private companies, not cities,
...

Olympic Torch Bearer Gets Unfortunate Tattoo
Olympic Torch Bearer Gets Unfortunate Tattoo
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Olympic Torch Bearer Gets Unfortunate Tattoo

Jerri Peterson will always remember the 'Oylmpics'

(Newser) - For the rest of her life, Jerri Peterson will remember the role she played in the 2012 Oylmpic Games. That little typo comes courtesy of a tattoo artist who permanently inked it on Peterson's ankle. The 54-year-old Atlanta woman was selected as a torch bearer, so she wanted to...

Runner With No Country Can Compete at Olympics

IOC makes exception for Guor Marial, born in southern Sudan

(Newser) - Root for Team USA, sure, but save a spot for Guor Marial, too. The marathon runner will compete as an independent athlete—a first—and run under the Olympic flag, reports the AP . The IOC made an exception given Marial's circumstances: He was born in southern Sudan but fled...

This Woman Will Be the Most Pregnant Olympian Ever

Malaysian shooter will be 8 months pregnant when she competes

(Newser) - Malaysian shooting champ Nur Suryani Mohamed isn't just the first pregnant woman to compete in a summer Olympics since 1920, she's so far along that she may become the first person to give birth at the Games. The 29-year-old athlete, who discovered that she was pregnant just two...

Buses Carrying Olympians Get Lost in ... London

Bus with US athletes took 4 hours to cover 24 miles

(Newser) - At least three busloads of Olympic athletes arriving in London yesterday received an extended tour of the metropolis courtesy of hopelessly lost bus drivers. "Athletes are sleepy, hungry and need to pee. Could we get to the Olympic Village please," tweeted American 400-meter hurdler Kerron Clement. "We’...

Romney's Olympic Uniforms Were Made in Burma

Salt Lake outsourcing caused outcry in 2002

(Newser) - Mitt Romney hasn't had much to say on the controversy over Team USA's made -in-China uniforms , and the Huffington Post thinks it knows why: When Romney was running the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, production of more than 10,000 torchbearer uniforms was outsourced to Burma. The Southeast...

Libya's Olympic Honcho Kidnapped

Ahmed Nabil al-Taher al-Alam hauled from his car

(Newser) - Gunmen abducted the president of the Libyan Olympic Committee in the nation's capital yesterday, grabbing him from his car and bundling him into a waiting vehicle, his brother said today. He said there has been no contact with Ahmed Nabil al-Taher al-Alam or the captors since. Security officials said...

Runner Speaks Out After Dead-Heat Controversy

Jeneba Tarmoh thinks 100-meter results should have been handled better

(Newser) - Jeneba Tarmoh is heartbroken over the "dead heat" controversy that kept her from a spot on the Olympic 100-meter team , she tells the New York Times . Tarmoh felt cheated after being unofficially declared the third-place winner, then not learning that the result had been changed to a tie with...

London Olympics Forecast: Wet

Organizers attempting to prepare for lots of rain

(Newser) - Massive downpours, double the average rainfall, record-setting wet weather, flash floods … not exactly the weather London Olympics organizers were hoping for in the weeks leading up to the summer games. We're less than three weeks out now, and forecasts indicate that though the rains probably won't be...

Team USA Uniforms Made ... in China

And they weren't even cheap

(Newser) - The Team USA uniforms for this summer's London Olympics are quite patriotic, with one tiny exception: They were made in China. The red, white, and blue uniforms, designed by Ralph Lauren, will be worn by US athletes at the opening ceremony. ABC News was shocked to discover "Made...

Saudis Add Females in Big Olympics for Women

It's sending 2 female athletes to London Games

(Newser) - London 2012 is shaping up to be the year of the woman. Three big Olympic firsts are set to happen when the Games kick off in a few weeks:
  • Saudi Arabia will indeed send female athletes to the Olympics, announced the IOC today, putting an end to its males-only history.
...

London Olympics Bans Non-McDonald's Fries

Fish and chips the sole exception

(Newser) - Spectators at the London 2012 Olympics who want fries with that are going to have to go to McDonald's. The organizing committee has informed the 800 food retailers at 40 Olympic venues across Britain that the fast food chain's sponsorship deal gives it "sole rights to sell...

'Bladerunner' Pistorius to Race in Olympics

As part of South Africa's 4x400 relay team, and in the 400m race

(Newser) - The London Olympics have yet to begin, but Oscar Pistorius has already entered the record books. The double amputee has been selected as a member of South Africa's 4x400 relay team, making him the first amputee track athlete ever to compete at the Games. And in a big surprise...

Michael Phelps Kills Chance of 2008 Repeat

Coach announces he's pulling out of 200M free

(Newser) - Remember how thrilling it was when Michael Phelps managed to grab eight gold medals in the 2008 Olympics? Yeah, that won't be happening this time around. Phelps pulled out of the 200 meter freestyle today, though he had qualified for it. His coach broke the news via Twitter , tweeting...

40 Years Later, Prefontaine's Last Big Record Is Busted

Galen Rupp beats his 5K meter record by 0.13 seconds

(Newser) - It took 40 years, but Steve Prefontaine's US record in the 5,000 meters finally fell Thursday night. It was the last major record held by Prefontaine, who died in a 1975 car crash at age 24, reports the Wall Street Journal . Galen Rupp finished his race at the...

Saudis Allowing Women to Compete in Olympics

Women will wear 'sport hijabs' covering hair, but not face

(Newser) - Whoah. Saudi Arabia has decided to allow female athletes to compete in the Olympics for the first time in history. The move ends speculation that the country might have faced banishment from the London Olympics for gender discrimination. The only female competitor currently up to Olympic standards is show jumper...

Olympic Torch Bearer Proposes During Relay

David State stopped mid-relay and handed off torch

(Newser) - Olympic torch bearers probably don't often stop in the middle of their relays, but David State had good reason: He got down on one knee today between England's Marske-by-the-Sea and Loftus, handed the torch to a security official, and proposed to his girlfriend Christine Langham. She said yes,...

Neo-Nazi Linked to Munich Olympics Massacre

Willi Pohl chauffeured attacks' mastermind

(Newser) - The killings of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972 have long been blamed on a Palestinian terrorist group—but Black September didn't act alone. The planner of the attacks was assisted by German Neo-Nazi Willi Pohl, 40-year-old German intelligence documents released by Der Spiegel reveal. When...

British Royal Makes Olympic Team

Zara Phillips chosen for equestrian team

(Newser) - Princess Anne has long been the only British royal to have competed in the Olympic Games but daughter Zara Phillips is about to join the ranks. Phillips, the queen's granddaughter, has been selected as one of five members of Britain's equestrian team at this year's London Games,...

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