Olympics News Archives

A top Cuban umpire has defected to the United States. The Spanish-language newspaper El Nuevo Herald reports that Nelson Diaz arrived in Miami on Sunday with his wife and two daughters.

Jeremy Abbott was a total slob when he lived at home, clothes strewn all over his bedroom back in Colorado.

This is a Sept. 11, 2009, file photo showing J.R. Celski, right, leading Apolo Anton Ohno, left, and Anthony Lobello Jr.

Canadian Manuel Osborne-Paradis claimed the first super-giant slalom victory of his career Sunday at Lake Louise.

China has charged 48 government and mining officials and 10 journalists with covering up a deadly mine accident to avoid embarrassing Beijing ahead of last year's Olympics, state media says.

Five-time Olympic speedskating champion Claudia Pechstein hasn't given up hope of resuming her career even though the Court of Arbitration for Sport denied her appeal of a two-year ban for blood doping.

University students prepare intricate red ribbons on a street during an HIV/AIDS awareness rally ahead of World AIDS Day in Shenyang, Liaoning province, Sunday.

The World Health Organization is sending a representative to the 2010 Winter Olympics to monitor for potential disease outbreaks, and organizers and health experts have taken steps to protect against the H1N1 virus.

Guenther Weidlinger, a former 3,000-meter steeplechase runner at the 2007 world championships, won the 15-kilometer Great Australian Run on Sunday and local runner Nikki Chapple took the women's event.

When reigning World Cup overall champion Aksel Lund Svindal was asked a few weeks ago which alpine skier would win the circuit in 2010, the Norwegian curiously didn't choose himself.

Australia have gone clear at the top of the Champions Trophy men's hockey tournament table after demolishing The Netherlands 7-2 in Melbourne on Sunday.

It was all systems go for Athletics South Africa today as the nine-member interim board met with ASA administrator Ray Mali with the focus on the coming domestic season and the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

IGLS, Austria - Natalie Geisenberger has led a German 1-2-3 sweep at a women's luge World Cup race, and world champion Erin Hamlin of the U.S. finished ninth.

Lindsey Vonn managed to chuckle after her right ski hit a rock and she failed to qualify for the second run of a World Cup giant slalom Saturday.

For members of Canada's men's alpine ski team the message leading up to the 2010 Games is clear: win and you're in.

At 23, world luge champion Erin Hamlin is still considered to be relatively young within her sport.

So comfortable on steep mountains, U.S. skier Julia Mancuso can't resist the temptation of big, breaking waves, either.

These days, 2002 Olympic bobsled champion Vonetta Flowers is pursuing other kinds of victories.

Google is planning to give the world a sneak peek at the venues of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

University of Ottawa student Melissa Brunet, 19, will carry the Olympic torch to Marion Dewar Plaza, in front of Ottawa City Hall.

With less than six weeks to go until Steve Yzerman unveils Team Canada, Don Cherry thinks he's found a first line.

Sarah Schleper closely consults her checklist to make sure she leaves nothing behind before leaving for a ski competition.

The money goes where the medals are - one of those Darwinian truths that often undercuts the oft-told Olympic fairy tale about the journey being as important as the result.

Europe's football chiefs have backed a proposal to limit the age of players featuring at the Olympics to under 21.

London organizers have proposed moving badminton and rhythmic gymnastics to Wembley Arena in north London rather than build a temporary venue near the Olympic Park in east London.

Winger Pavol Demitra is the only Vancouver Canucks player remaining on the injury list and he's swimming to rehabilitate a damaged shoulder.

Before he was an Olympian, much less a gold medalist, Ted Ligety was making precision turns and effortless cutbacks in front of an admiring audience.

Tony Benshoof's back problem is back, already causing concern for the Olympic season.

Andrei Lutai finished 10th at Skate America, which took place Nov.12-15. Russian figure skater Andrei Lutai will miss the Winter Olympics after being banned from competition for a year for allegedly stealing a car in the United States and driving it while drunk.

The Olympic torch relay enlisted the help of a world-class swimmer on Tuesday to ensure the flame would traverse one of New Brunswick's largest swimming pools with ease.

In this Sept. 7, 2009 file picture German speed skater Claudia Pechstein skates during her practice in Berlin, Germany.

In this Nov. 15, 2009 file photo, Kim Yu-na, of South Korea, performs in the ladies free skating at Skate America figure skating in Lake Placid, N.Y. Yu-na has discovered that the spoils of being a world champion are matched by the obligations.

"I've always been an adrenaline junkie," says Breanna Rosencrance of Yakima, an up-and-comer on the USA Luge Junior National Developmental Team.

Canada's women's basketball team will face Australia, China and Belarus in the opening round of next year's FIBA world championships.

Former Canadian speed skater Catriona Le May Doan has some sage advice for Canadian athletes heading to the 2010 Winter Olympics: Stop second-guessing yourself and get on with the business of racing.

Vernon Davis stepped onto the ice and started moonwalking, fully confident he could conquer the sport of curling -- or at the least be respectable.

Kristina Groves of Canada competes in the women's 1000 m - Division A race during the Essent ISU World Cup Speed Skating on November 7, 2009 in Berlin, Germany.

Michael Phelps is ready to put an up-and-down post-Olympic year behind him and focus on the challenges that await in 2010, including adjusting to a ban on the high-performance suits that rocked his sport.

The projected final cost of construction for the 2012 London Olympics has risen slightly, but the overall budget for the games remains unchanged.

Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir skated a world's best performance to capture gold Sunday at HomeSense Skate Canada International, a solid ending to an up-and-down week for the Canadian team less than three months before the Vancouver Olympics.

Steven Holcomb said the U.S. bobsled team was going to be a powerhouse this year.

Tony Benshoof's back problem is back, already causing concern for the Olympic season.

Sprinter Usain Bolt of Jamaica and 400-meter runner Sanya Richards of the United States have won their second IAAF World Athlete of the Year awards.

In this Aug. 21, 2009, file photo, Rena "Rusty" Kanokogi shows her gold medal for the 1959 New York State YMCA Judo Championships she received in a ceremony in New York.

Comedian Stephen Colbert took the "Night Train" and it nearly left him speechless.

Ski Patrol members pull a sled with U.S. Ski racer Resi Stiegler on it to an ambulance after she was injured in a crash while downhill training at Copper Mountain, Colo., on Friday.

John Napier practically grew up on the bobsled track at Mount Van Hoevenberg. For one day, he owned it.

Canadaa s Mellisa Hollingsworth dominated on Friday the second World Cup skeleton race of the season, as she captured the gold medal in Lake Placid, N.Y. The veteran national team member from Eckville, Alta., posted the fastest time in the first run , then was quickest down the track in her second run to finish with a total time of one minute 54.85 ...

With a stunning victory in his hometown, Andre Ward proved he's ready for the world.

Kaillie Humphries of Calgary and Heather Moyse of Summerside, P.E.I., won the bronze medal Saturday at the women's bobsleigh World Cup.

German doubles sliders Patric Leitner and Alexander Resch overcame an average first run with a sizzling second to win gold Friday at the first World Cup luge event of the season.

Nine-member interim board to replace Athletics SA president Leonard Chuene and his executive is named.

Petter Northug enters the Olympic season as the man to beat in cross-country skiing, and he isn't doing much to downplay expectations.

A tearful world women's ski jump champ Lindsay Van reacts to the B.C. Court of Appeal decision Nov.

The home-ice advantage for the U.S. skeleton team vanished for the second straight week in World Cup competition and Canada and Germany took advantage in the snowless Adirondack Mountains.

Listening to her coach paid off for Joannie Rochette. Big time. The world silver medalist scored a personal-best 70 points in the short program at Skate Canada on Friday, putting her well in front of Americans Alissa Czisny and Mirai Nagasu.

Athletics clubs in the North West province have passed a motion of no confidence in former Athletics SA president Leonard Chuene, Athletics Central North West said in a statement on Friday.

Olympic luge slider Tony Benshoof's back is aching again, just as the international racing season is set to begin.

KITCHENERa 'The neat thing about Patrick Chan is this kid's got no filter. No canned or politically correct answers for him.

An Olympic housing plan in which thousands of visitors would have stayed on cruise ships has been called off because of the rough economy.

Oprah Winfrey at the premiere of the film Precious in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov.

Are you satisfied with the selection process followed by Memorial Universitya s board of regents and its search committee in selecting MUNa s new president? Yes No Undecided view past polls CONTESTS Last updated at 8:31 AM on 19/11/09 Steven Stamkos wasn't at Team Canada's summer orientation camp, but his fast start to the NHL season has to have ...

In this Feb. 20, 2009, file photo, United States' Erin Hamlin, of Remsen, N.Y., races down the track during her first run at the Luge World Cup in Whistler, British Columbia.

Is the world ready for a sport played with a headless goat carcass? Haji Abdul Rashid thinks it is and has big plans: corporate sponsors, television rights and beyond.

When Mike Rizzo was given the Washington Nationals' full-time general manager's job in August, he imagined a dream team of accomplished scouts, executives and baseball thinkers surrounding him in a revamped front office. Near the top of his list of dream hires was Davey Johnson.

On Wednesday, Rizzo completed the stunning overhaul of the franchise's braintrust by officially naming Johnson as his senior adviser -- Rizzo's 17th hire, including part-time international scouts, for the Nationals since the end of the regular season.

Sidney Crosby has added another iconic piece of hardware to the collection he's hoisted in his stellar hockey career - the Olympic torch.

Difficult task ... Anna Meares Map: Melbourne 3000 Her arch-rival will be absent, but another fierce competitor should keep Australian cycling star Anna Meares busy in Melbourne.

The prosthetic legs of double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius give the South African a 10-second advantage over a 400-meter race, according to a new study.

Canadian hockey star Sidney Crosby is gearing up to run with the Olympic torch when it arrives in the Halifax area today.

International Equestrian Federation members will vote this week on cleaning up the sport's drug problems.

The syrup-suckers at Richmond have laid down the gauntlet to the Colbert Nation.

NBC might have a partner in the cable company that wanted to be its Olympic rival.

Davide Rebellin has been stripped of his Olympic cycling road race silver medal after a positive dope test.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 BERLIN: Beijing Olympic star Michael Phelps insisted on Sunday he would use his poor form at Berlin's world record-laden shortcourse World Cup meet as future motivation with an eye on the London 2012 Games.

Kate Hansen clinched a spot on the USA Luge national team for the first two World Cup races Sunday, giving the 17-year-old a chance at making the Olympics.

THE federal government should question its funding bias towards Olympic sports and direct more resources towards sports that attract high participation, an independent review panel says.

Athletics South Africa will not accept a take over of the federation by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee .

POLICE detained dozens of activists and petitioners in Beijing and elsewhere in China as President Barack Obama arrived on his first state visit to the country, friends, family members and a human rights group said on Monday.

The IOC voted in 2006 not to include women's ski jumping at the 2010 Winter Olympics, contending the sport had not met requirements.

Leisel Jones broke two world records in Berlin. Olympic gold medallist Leisel Jones has finished the Berlin short-course World Cup meet with two world records after adding the 200 metres breaststroke success to her 100m triumph.

Canada's four-man bobled team, with pilot Lyndon Rush, won gold at a World Cup event in Utah on Saturday.

A couple hours after South Korea's Yu-na did about everything but carve 007 into the ice with her world-record 76.28 points in the women's short program, Lysacek won his first crown at this event.

Canada's Christine Nesbitt captured her third victory of the World Cup long-track speedskating season Sunday, racing to gold in the women's 1,000 metres.

YOKOHAMA, Japan - Russia's Inga Abitova has won the inaugural Yokohama Women's Marathon, a race that featured the top two finishers from the Beijing Olympics.

Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 10:11 a.m. PARK CITY, Utah - Knowing plenty of eyes will be on their sleds during the Olympic season, the U.S. bobsled and skeleton teams have come up with a way to capitalize.

Quebec's Michel Menard used the hammer effectively early in Friday's match against Newfoundland and Labrador skip Brad Gushue, shown here at the Briar earlier this year.

Thousands of people scored tickets to the Olympic Games on Saturday following a computer error that left would-be buyers frustrated last week.

Chinese couple wins short program Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang of China perform during the Pairs Short Program at Skate America in Lake Placid, New York November 13, 2009.

Michael Phelps finished fifth in the 200-meter butterfly Saturday at a short-course World Cup meet that featured six world records.

Michael Phelps, who won a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is not expecting to produce any eye-popping displays at this weekend's World Cup event in the German capital.

Zach Lund had a bad leg. Eric Bernotas had a bad run. Noelle Pikus-Pace had some bad luck.

Pilot Cathleen Martini and Romy Logsch of Germany take their first run in the FIBT Women's Bobsled World Cup Friday in Park City, Utah.

Shani Davis of the United States set a track record in the 1,500-meters Friday at a speedskating World Cup meet overshadowed by an injury to two-time Olympic champion Marianne Timmer.

"Pingpong diplomacy" thawed relations between the United States and China in 1971.

Russian biathletes Albina Akhatova and Yekaterina Iourieva have lost their appeal against two-year doping bans.

The Athens Olympic champion Liu Xiang won the men's 110m hurdles comfortably with 13.50 seconds at the Asian Athletics Championships, igniting the passion of home crowd.

ESPN has bought the South American broadcast rights to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and 2012 London Games.

Supporters of women ski jumpers outside the B.C. Court of Appeal in Vancouver. Lawyers for women ski jumpers fighting to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics appeared before B.C.'s Court of Appeal on Thursday in their final bid to force the hand of Games organizers.

The U.S. Olympic Committee turned to former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue on Thursday to study how its oft-criticized board does business and determine if changes are needed.

Two Belarusian hammer throwers stripped of their Olympic medals for doping must wait until next year to try to win them back at an appeal hearing.

The Italian Olympic Committee has rejected a bid by Bari for the 2020 Summer Games.

Michelle Kelly's quest to reach the Olympics has resumed. An appeals panel voted unanimously Tuesday to reinstate the Canadian skeleton racer after she was disqualified last month for using improper sled runners.

Multi-sport star Jeremy Bloom has abandoned his attempted comeback in freestyle skiing so he can devote more time to his Wish of a Lifetime foundation for low-income elderly.

Nov 11 - The wave-shaped steel roof of the Aquatics Centre, built for the London 2012 Olympic Games, is set into place in Stratford, east London.

Michael Phelps catches his breath after the 200 medley in Stockholm. Michael Phelps finished second in the 200-metre medley final at the short-course World Cup in Stockholm on Wednesday, struggling in the old-style swimsuit that will become standard next year.

Power went out for more than two hours in Rio de Janeiro , Sao Paulo and several other major cities after transmission problems knocked one of the world's biggest hydroelectric dams offline.

Former slalom champion Marlies Schild will return to the World Cup circuit on Saturday, 13 months after breaking her left leg.

Helsinki will host the European Athletics Championships for a third time in 2012, which will also be the first occasion the event switches to a two-year cycle.

After four unsuccessful Olympic bids, Istanbul will enter the race to host the 2020 Games.

London Olympic organizers are working to reduce the travel time for athletes in the two sports whose venue for the 2012 Games is being changed to save money.

Jim Boeheim stood at the center of the Carrier Dome court that bears his name, smiling broadly following his 800th victory.

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva are the leading contenders for the IAAF athlete of the year awards.

DENVER - Ski.com has come up with a list of what it calls the '10 most affordable ski resorts', including Whistler-Blackcomb, site of the Winter Olympics.

Premier Jean Charest with the Quebec contingent of artists and athletes for the Vancouver Olympics, at the Maurice Richard arena in Montreal, Oct.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Michael Phelps plans to test his form and the old-style swimsuit that will become the standard next year at the upcoming European World Cup meet in Stockholm.

Figure skater Sasha Cohen has withdrawn from Skate America, putting her comeback to the sport on hold.

TOKYO'S governor says he wants to bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics - less than a month after Japan's capital lost out to Rio de Janeiro for the rights to host the 2016 edition.

Apolo Anton Ohno's heart and mind are squarely focused on spinning his high-speed magic around the short track rink at the Vancouver Games.

Dr. Tim Alford, a family physician in Kosciusko, has been selected by Coca-Cola as an Olympic torchbearer for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games to be held in Canada in February.

Canadian Christine Nesbitt picked up her second gold medal in as many days Sunday, decisively winning the 1,500 metres Sunday at the season-opening speedskating World Cup.

Katherine Reutter of the United States won the women's 1,500 meters at the short track speedskating World Cup event on Saturday, and U.S. star Apolo Anton Ohno took second in the men's 500.

American comedian Stephen Colbert accused Canada of cheating at the upcoming Olympics on Thursday night during an episode of The Colbert Show .

SEGA heats up the slopes and announces cover athletes for Vancouver 2010 - The Official Videogame of The Olympic Winter Games.

Canada rallied from an early 1-0 deficit to beat the United States, 5-1 , in the final of the Four Nations Cup in Tikkurila, Finland, the last international women's tournament before the Vancouver Olympics in February.

The sale of the final batch of tickets for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver has been delayed after a website malfunction on Saturday blocked fans from purchasing seats for the big show.

Canadian long-track speedskater Christine Nesbitt is picking up where she left off last season.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has rejected Claudia Pechstein's request to compete in speedskating World Cup races while she awaits a ruling on her appeal of a doping suspension.

Oprah Winfrey arrives at the AFI FEST 2009 in Hollywood, California. If one can't yet set a watch by the frequency of reports that Oprah Winfrey is poised to give up her top-rated syndicated talk show, it's almost possible to mark one's calendar by it.

Jamaican Glen Mills has resigned as head coach of the national athletics team, local media reported on Friday.

Olympic bronze medallist Priscilla Lopes-Schliep and others will have a chance to race in front of a home crowd when the Pan American Games come to Toronto in 2015.

Speedskater Denny Morrison, of Fort St. John, won sixth place in the World Cup Friday.

Brian Joubert of France finished first in the men's short program at the NHK Trophy on Friday, edging Jeremy Abbott of the United States.

Willy Bogner has been named head of Munich's bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics. The former two-time Olympian skier, who won the famed Wengen downhill as a 17-year-old, later became a movie maker and directed and filmed skiing scenes in four James Bond movies, as well as movies from several Winter Games.

EIJING: A Chinese collector of Olympic memorabilia will put some of his mementos on the auction block later this month, including a batch of 5,000 condoms given to competitors at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Rhode Island Olympic swimmer Elizabeth Beisel has announced that she plans to attend the University of Florida next fall.

Five-time Olympic speedskating champion Claudia Pechstein must wait to discover if she has won her appeal against a two-year ban for blood doping.

The South African track chief who lied about his role in runner Caster Semenya's gender tests was suspended Thursday, the nation's top sports body said.

A very confident adolescent boy stopped skating around the Rockefeller Center rink to ask Gretchen Bleiler something.

A A Taylor Swift on - SNL' Taylor Swift chats about pulling double duty as host and musical guest on "Saturday Night Live" and which songs she will perform.

Ralph Lauren's affinity for Americana will be on full display on athletes at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver - complete with red, white and blue, stars-and-stripes flags and, of course, polo ponies.

The countdown Days until the opening game of the 2010 Olympic hockey tournament on Feb.

Taylor Phinney had a simple plan. The budding American cycling star was going to spend four years working toward four minutes, which is about how long his final race would have taken at the 2012 London Games.

Zhang Yimou says his first movie in three years has shades of comedian Stephen Chow's outlandish humor and marks the first time the "Raise the Red Lantern" director shot in digital format.

Chinese officials continue to struggle to find uses for the Bird's Nest Stadium, the iconic centerpiece of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

BEIJING'S Bird's Nest stadium has been transformed into a motor racing track, with some of the world's top drivers gearing up to compete in the 2009 Race of Champions here on Wednesday.

The United States men's Olympic hockey team's roster will be announced live on national television during NBC's Jan.

The leaders of the U.S. Olympic Committee are going through the kind of year that won't look good on their resumes.

With the help of Canadian Olympians Catriona Le May Doan, right, and Simon Whitfield, The Olympic Flame, which travelled all the way from Athens, began a 106-day cross-country relay trek last week - an event ending in Vancouver on Feb.

The depth of the financial crisis that hit the world last year was so severe that the International Olympic Committee felt it had to offer extraordinary help to the organizers of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, IOC president Jacques Rogge said.

Paula Radcliffe has insisted she was right to defend her ING New York City Marathon title despite picking up a knee injury two weeks before the race.

Of the many countries participating at the Vancouver Olympics, add Colbert Nation to the list.

Britain's top sports body has turned to the International Olympic Committee to resolve a dispute with Vancouver 2010 organizers over what the U.K. officials consider unfair restrictions on video cameras to be used by their athletes for analyzing tactics and ice conditions during February's Winter Games.

Joan Benoit Samuelson wore her trademark white cap and ran with her familiar shuffle to set another record in the New York City Marathon.The 52-year-old Samuelson finished in 2 hours, 49 minutes, 9 seconds along the five-borough route Sunday.

China bagged home three gold medals at the ITTF Pro Tour English Table Tennis Open while South Korea's Kim Kyung Ah and Park Mi Young snatched the women's doubles title here on Sunday.

Meb Keflezighi wrote a letter to Alberto Salazar 11 years ago explaining how American distance runners could again find success.

Any suggestions that Great Britain's track cyclists have been soft-pedalling post-Beijing were laid to rest at the World Cup with a torrent of world-class, indeed world record, performances at the Manchester Velodrome.

The crowds in Central Park have become accustomed to watching Paula Radcliffe celebrating with a Union Jack stretched around her shoulders but on Sunday they witnessed another kind of drama as she crossed the finish line in fourth place before dissolving into tears.

Doug Hodges says he doesn't like how much money is being spent on the Vancouver Olympics.

The Canadian Cowboys want to make an immediate impact at their home Olympics. The men's downhill is slated for 11:45 a.m. on Day 1 of the Vancouver games - Feb.

WITH less than 1,000 days until the start of the 2012 Olympics, these aerial pictures of the main stadium show the site is beginning to take shape.

The Olympic flame continued its journey across Canada on Saturday as torchbearers ran - and rolled - the torch through several Vancouver Island towns.

The head of the International Olympic Committee says a violent drug war in Rio has not increased security concerns as Brazil prepares to host the Olympics in 2016.