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Unexpected spike: UVU's Kelsi Oldroyd turns from softball to throwing a javelin
Arianne Brown for KSL.com | Posted May 11 - 7:18 a.m. | Save Story
Throwing the javelin wasn't something UVU junior Kelsi Oldroyd thought she'd ever do, yet she threw an Olympic trials qualifying standard distance, shocking no one.
Flavor Flav is the official hype man for the US women's water polo team in the Paris Olympics
Jay Cohen, Associated Press | Updated May 10 - 1:41 p.m. | Save Story
Flavor Flav believes the hype on the three-time defending Olympic champion U.S. women's water polo team, and now he's stepping in to help its quest for another gold medal. The clock-wearing rap icon is sponsoring the team and will be its hype man at the Paris Games. Team captain Maggie Steffens asked for more support on social media, which caught Flav's attention. The Public Enemy member is finalizing a deal that will make him a USA Water Polo sponsor and the official hype man for a program seeking a bigger spotlight.
Torchbearers in Marseille kick off the Olympic flame's journey across France
Sylvie Corbet, Associated Press | Updated May 9 - 1:48 p.m. | Save Story
Torchbearers are carrying the Olympic flame through the streets of France's southern port city of Marseille, the first leg of an 11-week journey across the country. The torch will be carried by about 10,000 bearers as it passes through more than 450 towns until the Games' opening ceremony in Paris on July 26. Former soccer player Basile Boli, who played with the Marseille team in the 1990s, kicked off Thursday's relay from the Notre Dame de la Garde basilica. One of the torchbearers is Ukrainian gymnast Mariia Vysochanska. It's an expression of solidarity with Ukraine as well as a symbolic gesture marking Europe Day,
A Ukrainian gymnast carried the Paris Olympic torch with an EU team, in a sign of support
Sylvie Corbet And Tom Nouvian, Associated Press | Updated May 9 - 10:28 a.m. | Save Story
A Ukrainian gymnast has led a group of European athletes carrying the torch for the Paris Olympics through Marseille, a gesture of European unity and solidarity with her country amid its war with Russia. Mariia Vysochanska was part of a collective that included athletes from each of the 27 EU countries to mark Europe Day. France invited her as a gesture of support to Ukrainian athletes who are struggling to prepare for the Olympics. Vysochanska's participation also highlights Ukraine's push to join the European Union.
Simone Biles wants to turn her post-Olympic tour into a celebration. The guys are coming along too
Will Graves, Associated Press | Posted May 9 - 6:01 a.m. | Save Story
Gymnastics star Simone Biles is taking her show on the road following the Paris Olympics. The 27-year-old Biles will headline the "Gold Over America Tour" this fall. The 30-city tour begins in Southern California in mid-September and wraps up in Detroit in early November. Biles invited men to participate this time around, including world all-around bronze medalist Fred Richard. Biles says she wanted her second tour to be more inclusive and it's her goal to help bring as many people to the sport as possible.
Japan's Olympic medalist and world champion Shoma Uno says he's retiring from figure skating
The Associated Press | Posted May 8 - 10:48 p.m. | Save Story
Olympic medalist and two-time world champion Shoma Uno of Japan says he is retiring from figure skating. Uno placed fourth in March in the most recent world championships. He announced his decision Thursday on social media, saying he'd been skating since he was 5. He has said it was getting more difficult to find motivation. Uno took the silver medal in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and was third in the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. He is expected to formally to step away from the sport at the ceremony on May 14 in Tokyo.
Olympic torch begins journey across France after festive welcome in Marseille before Summer Games
Sylvie Corbet And Barbara Surk, Associated Press | Updated May 8 - 9:25 p.m. | Save Story
Tens of thousands welcomed the Olympic torch in the southern French city of Marseille, marking another milestone in the lead-up to the Summer Games in Paris. A majestic three-mast ship carried the Olympic torch from Greece for the welcoming ceremony at sunset Wednesday in the French city's old port. The ship docked on a pontoon resembling an athletics track and French Olympic swimmer Florent Manaudou carried the torch to mainland France. French President Emmanuel Macron attended the ceremony. With the arrival of the Olympic torch, "the games are entering the lives of the French people," Macron said. The torch was lit in Greece last month before it was officially handed to France.
Ukraine anticipates tensions with Russians at Paris Olympics
Lisa Riley Roche, Deseret News | Posted May 8 - 2:33 p.m. | Save Story
Ukrainian officials are telling their country's Olympic team to stay away from the Russians and Belarusians competing as neutral athletes during the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.
USA Badminton leader's 5-year ban upheld for interfering in reporting of sex-abuse case
Eddie Pells, Associated Press | Posted May 7 - 7:25 p.m. | Save Story
An arbitrator has upheld the five-year suspension of USA Badminton's CEO for interfering in the reporting of misconduct in a long-running case about a coach accused of sexually abusing a teenager. The Associated Press obtained a letter sent by the U.S. Center for SafeSport notifying the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and USA Badminton of the decision regarding Linda French. The letter quoted the arbitrator's decision, saying "French is at the highest level of responsibility, and must be held to the highest standards."
From Marseille to Mont-Blanc: What to know about the journey of the Olympic torch to Paris
Jerome Pugmire, Associated Press | Updated May 7 - 6:09 a.m. | Save Story
The Olympic torch will finally enter France. It's due to reach the southern seaport of Marseille on Wednesday and already, it has been quite a journey. After being lit on April 16 in Ancient Olympia, it was carried around Greece before leaving Athens late last month aboard a three-mast ship named Belem, headed for Marseille. Once it leaves Marseille, a vast relay route will be undertaken before the torch's odyssey ends on July 26 in Paris. Some notable stops include the stunning island of Mont-Saint-Michel. There's a jaunt through France's overseas territories and a sweep up the Chamonix-Mont-Blanc mountain pass.
Double European weightlifting champion Pielieshenko killed in Ukraine war
The Associated Press | Updated May 6 - 12:56 p.m. | Save Story
The Ukrainian Olympic Committee says two-time European weightlifting champion Oleksandr Pielieshenko has died on the front line in the war in Ukraine. The committee posted on Telegram that Pielieshenko "died in the war with the enemy" on Sunday. He was 30. He joined Ukraine's armed forces in the first days of Russia's invasion, the committee added. Pielieshenko came back from a doping suspension in 2013-15 to win the 2016 European under-85 kilogram division by one kilogram. He successfully retained the title in 2017 in Split. Pielieshenko missed out on an Olympic medal by five kilograms at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, where he placed fourth.
Delegation that visited Utah visited the French Alps. Will France host 2030 Winter Games?
Lisa Riley Roche, Deseret News | Posted May 5 - 10:34 p.m. | Save Story
Even though questions remain about a 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps, France's bid team seemed assured after a visit by the same International Olympic Committee delegation that came to Utah last month.
French cyberwarriors ready to test their defense against hackers and malware during the Olympics
John Leicester, Associated Press | Posted May 3 - 1:22 p.m. | Save Story
Just like the Olympic athletes, the cyberwarriors that will be crucial for the success of the Paris Games are deep into training for the big event. They have turned to friendly hackers to probe their cyberdefenses, like boxers who use sparring partners to ready them for a championship fight. They have studied and analyzed the strengths, tactics and weaknesses of their opponents. But unlike the 10,500 Olympians who will converge on France's capital in July, the cybersecurity engineers behind the Games are hoping to stay out of the spotlight. For them, the equivalent of a gold medal will be getting through the Games without a major incident.
Paris inaugurates giant water storage basin to clean up the River Seine for Olympic swimming
Sylvie Corbet, Associated Press | Updated May 2 - 7:11 p.m. | Save Story
French officials have inaugurated a huge storage basin meant to keep cleaner the River Seine, which is to be the venue for marathon swimming at the Paris Games and the swimming leg of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlons. Sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra praised Paris' ability "to provide athletes from all over the world with an exceptional setting on the Seine for their events." The giant hole can hold the equivalent of 20 Olympic swimming pools of dirty water that will now be treated rather than being spat raw through storm drains into the river.
Refugee Team for Paris Olympics has 36 athletes from 11 countries across 12 sports
The Associated Press | Updated May 2 - 8:57 a.m. | Save Story
The Refugee Team for the Paris Olympics will feature 36 athletes from 11 countries in 12 sports. International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach says the team was selected from more than 70 scholarships. Instead of competing under the Olympic flag, the refugees will have their own emblem featuring a heart at its center surrounded by arrows. The team acronym will be EOR from the French name Équipe Olympique des Réfugiés. The team chef de mission Masomah Ali Zada of Afghanistan says, "Having our own emblem creates a sense of belonging." The team will compete in athletics, badminton, boxing, breaking, canoeing, cycling, judo, shooting, swimming, taekwando, weightlifting and wrestling. The Games start on July 24.
Britain's women's gymnastics coach steps down ahead of European event and Paris Olympics
The Associated Press | Posted May 1 - 10:26 a.m. | Save Story
The head coach of Britain's women's gymnastics has stepped down on the eve of the European championships and less than 100 days before the Paris Olympics. David Kenwright has left his role after seven years with British Gymnastics the organization said Wednesday. He had overseen the most successful period for the women's team, which included Britain winning its first Olympic team medal in 93 years at the Tokyo Games in 2021. The European championships start Thursday in Rimini, Italy.
Olympic refugee athlete Lohalith suspended in the team's 3rd doping case ahead of Paris Games
Graham Dunbar, Associated Press | Posted April 30 - 4:48 p.m. | Save Story
A third runner on the Refugee Olympic Team has been suspended for a positive doping test. The doping case of Anjelina Nadai Lohalith was announced two days before the IOC confirms its selection of refugee athletes for the Paris Olympics that open in July. Track and field's Athletics Integrity Unit says Lohalith was notified of her alleged use of the banned heart medication trimetazidine and provisionally banned. It gave no timetable for a disciplinary case. Lohalith fled war in South Sudan as a child to a refugee camp in Kenya. She has been preparing for her third straight Summer Games.
WADA defends pick of Swiss prosecutor under scrutiny in review of Chinese swimmers case
Graham Dunbar, Associated Press | Posted April 30 - 12:06 p.m. | Save Story
The World Anti-Doping Agency has defended its choice of veteran Swiss prosecutor Eric Cottier to review how it handled the case of positive doping tests by 23 Chinese swimmers. WADA says Cottier is "entirely independent" of the agency and international sports. Scrutiny of Cottier is increasing including over his friendship with a longtime colleague who worked with the agency and his enquiries into German broadcaster ARD's previous investigation of a separate Olympic sport. Cottier has until weeks before the Paris Olympics open in July to report on WADA's acceptance in 2021 of China's explanation swimmers were contaminated by a heart medication found in a hotel kitchen.
