Nigeria shocked the United States 90-87 in a pre-Olympic basketball friendly in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday. Nigeria, with six NBA players and former NBA head coach Mike Brown at the helm, became the first African nation to beat the USA, who were playing the first of a five of tune-up games before the Tokyo […]
Olympics
Britain name Laura and Jason Kenny in Olympic cycling squad
Multiple Olympic champions Laura and Jason Kenny were on Monday named in a powerful British cycling squad for the delayed 2020 Tokyo games. The 26-strong team also features previous gold medallists Geraint Thomas, who won the 2018 Tour de France, Ed Clancy, Elinor Barker and Katie Archibald. Twin brothers Adam and Simon Yates have been […]
Hackett says abusive swim coaches must be banned
Australian swimming great Grant Hackett demanded on Monday that abusive coaches be banned after complaints about “misogynistic perverts” and as new claims of “degrading” conduct emerged. The former Olympic champion called the allegations shocking and said the sooner those at fault were “weeded out” the better. “We need to be supporting young girls, we need […]
Tokyo to vaccinate 18,000 Olympics workers, volunteers
Around 18,000 Tokyo Olympics workers including referees and volunteers will be vaccinated from next week, organisers said Friday, as they try to build confidence that the Games will be safe. With just six weeks until the pandemic-postponed Games open, officials are still battling domestic opposition and fear that the event could spread the coronavirus. Japan’s […]
India’s Olympic team to be fully vaccinated: sports chief
India’s Olympic contingent will be fully vaccinated by early July ahead of their journey to Tokyo for the Games, the country’s top sports official Narinder Batra told AFP. India will send nearly 200 athletes, coaches and support staff to the Tokyo Games scheduled to run from July 23 to August 8 after last year’s event […]
China says US ‘politicising’ Winter Olympics as boycott talk mounts
China on Tuesday accused the US of “politicising sports”, after Washington’s top diplomat said he was seeking consensus among allies before any possible call to boycott next year’s Beijing Winter Olympics. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a congressional hearing in Washington that the US was “consulting very closely with allies and partners to look […]
Olympic swim champ Chalmers admits Covid-hit Tokyo a ‘bit scary’
Defending Olympic 100m freestyle champion Kyle Chalmers has admitted the prospect of being in Japan is a “little bit scary”, with the Australian expecting Covid-19 to impact the Tokyo Games. The 22-year-old, one of Australia‘s top swimming gold medal prospects, is ramping up preparations as he readies for an expected Olympic showdown with American Caeleb […]
Kenya to train as planned in Japan ahead of Tokyo Games
Kenya said Friday its preparations for Tokyo would go ahead as planned and blamed a “misunderstanding” for Olympic officials believing their Japanese hosts had cancelled the team’s pre-Games training camp. The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) announced earlier this week that the Japanese city of Kurume has withdrawn from hosting the Kenyan team for […]
Olympic 100m hurdles champ Brianna McNeal banned for doping violation: AIU
Olympics 100m hurdles champion Brianna McNeal has been banned for five years for tampering with the anti-doping testing process, the Athletics Integrity Unit announced on Friday. McNeal, 29, can still take part in the US trials for the Tokyo Olympics later this month while she appeals the ban, which is backdated to August 15, 2020, […]
Japan ‘cornered’ on Tokyo Olympics, says national committee member
Japan has been backed into a corner over the Tokyo Games, a member of the country’s Olympic committee said Friday, arguing the virus-postponed event has “lost meaning” but it is too late to cancel. Public opposition to holding the Olympics this summer remains high, but organisers insist they will go ahead safely under strict Covid-19 […]