2016 Olympics

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North, South Korean Gymnasts Unite for Selfie
 North, South Korean Gymnasts Unite for Selfie
OLYMPICS
Aug 9, 2016 12:33 AM CDT

North, South Korean Gymnasts Unite for Selfie

Moment hailed as triumph of Olympic spirit

(Newser) - "This is why we do the Olympics," tweeted political scientist Ian Bremmer after an iconic moment in Rio. Gymnasts Lee Eun-ju of South Korea and Hong Un-Jong of North Korea posed for a selfie during training, where they were seen chatting happily despite the tension between their nations,...

NBC Announcer Sorry for Tweet About Biles' Parents

Al Trautwig said the gymnast's parents aren't her parents

(Newser) - NBC announcer Al Trautwig said Monday he regrets tweeting that the adoptive mother and father of American gymnastics star Simone Biles were not her parents, a declaration that angered advocates for adoption. Trautwig had been scolded by a woman on Twitter for not referring to Ron and Nellie Biles as...

No, Those Aren't Hickeys on Olympic Athletes

They're bruises from 'cupping therapy'

(Newser) - If you watched Michael Phelps snag his 19th gold medal in Rio Sunday, you might also have noticed he had several red dots on his upper body like "a Gatorade bottle had given him a hickey," per Fox Sports . That's essentially what happened, but instead of a...

Woman Raises Cash for Her Uber Driver to Watch Son in Rio

Ellis Hill is scheduled to fly to Rio next week

(Newser) - Ellis Hill's son is competing in shot put in the Rio Olympics next week—and thanks to one of Hill's Uber passengers, Hill will be there to watch him do it. Hill was driving Liz Willock from the Philadelphia airport to her hotel last week when Willock mentioned...

Fencer in Hijab Makes History for Team USA

Ibtihaj Muhammad hopes to inspire change

(Newser) - At age 12, Ibtihaj Muhammad chose to learn fencing because she considered it the easiest sport in which she could compete while wearing a hijab. Eighteen years later, she's made history as Team USA's first hijab-wearing Olympian, reports the BBC . The 30-year-old former world champion, ranked eighth in...

Swimmer Has Single-Finger Gesture for Doping Rival

American Lilly King, Yulia Efimova face off in Monday's finals

(Newser) - American Lilly King has her sights set on winning Olympic gold and she's not about to let anyone get in her way, especially not world champion breaststroker Yulia Efimova of Russia. King made that clear in a finger-waving display worthy of Dikembe Mutombo as she disparaged the Russian for...

No One Even Close as US' Katie Ledecky Wins Gold

Michael Phelps wins gold medal No. 19

(Newser) - Katie Ledecky is competing only with herself, it seems, and Michael Phelps has to clear out more space in his medal case. Phelps, the most decorated athlete in Olympic history, added to his staggering haul Sunday night in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, giving the US a lead it never relinquished,...

'Estados Unidos' Kicks NBC's Ratings When They're (Way) Down

Like, really down from 4 years ago

(Newser) - An estimated 26.5 million people watched NBC's coverage of the Olympic opening ceremony, a sharp 35% drop from the record-setting viewership of the curtain-lifter in London four years ago, reports the AP . The opening ceremony of the London Games was seen by 40.7 million people in the...

Olympic Officials Use Bolt Cutters After Losing Stadium Keys

Whoops

(Newser) - Not exactly an auspicious start to the Rio Olympics: Officials couldn't find the keys for one of the Maracana Stadium gates Wednesday, so they had to use bolt cutters to let fans into a soccer game, Fox Sports reports. (As Sports Illustrated notes, competition has already begun for some...

Boxer Blows Olympic Chances With Arrest in Rio
Boxer Blows Olympic Chances With Arrest in Rio
OLYMPICS
Aug 5, 2016 1:03 PM CDT

Boxer Blows Olympic Chances With Arrest in Rio

Morocco's Hassan Saada is accused of sexually assaulting 2 women

(Newser) - Morocco's Hassan Saada was set to square off in the boxing ring against a Turkish competitor at the Olympics on Saturday, but instead he'll be in a Rio jail. The 22-year-old athlete was arrested Friday morning at the Olympic Village on charges that he sexually assaulted two maids...

Report: 1K US Spies Helping Brazil Monitor Olympics

All 17 US intelligence agencies are reportedly involved

(Newser) - There may be more US spies than Zika-carrying mosquitoes in Rio over the next couple of weeks, per a "highly classified" intelligence report seen by NBC News . With the blessing of Brazil's government, some 1,000 espionage experts—about 350 of them onsite in Rio—are positioned and...

IOC Bars 118 Russians, Allows Rest to Compete

More than two-thirds have avoided doping ban

(Newser) - The International Olympic Committee approved the entry of 271 Russian athletes for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Thursday, meaning 70% of the country's original team will compete after a doping scandal that has dominated the buildup to the games, the AP reports. Also Thursday, the rule barring Russian...

Rio Crowd Really Doesn&#39;t Like Hope Solo
 Rio Crowd Really 
 Doesn't Like 
 Hope Solo 
the rundown
Aug 4, 2016 10:57 AM CDT

Rio Crowd Really Doesn't Like Hope Solo

Nothing like playing to chants of 'Zika!'

(Newser) - The opening ceremonies air Friday at 8pm ET in the US, but the 2016 Summer Olympics actually started Wednesday with a slate of six women's soccer games . The US women's team—2012 gold medalists gunning for their fourth gold in a row—played New Zealand and won 2-0,...

Olympian Racks Up $5K Bill Playing Pokemon in Brazil

Some athletes complained about game's absence

(Newser) - Olympians can now go for their Pokemon Go medals. The hit augmented-reality game, in which players roam around the real-life world to collect virtual monsters and medals, became available in Brazil late Wednesday. There had been much disappointment among those at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic games that they couldn'...

Team USA's Most-Decorated Athlete Will Be Its Flag-Bearer

Star swimmer will be Team USA's flag-bearer at Friday's opening ceremony

(Newser) - "King of the Olympic Rings" Michael Phelps already has more medals than any other athlete in history, Fox Sports notes. Now he's going to add a flag to the mix as Team USA's flag-bearer at the opening ceremony in Rio on Friday, the Olympic National Committee announced...

Pro Tip for Rio Travelers: 'Don't Put Your Head Underwater'

AP study finds waters in Olympic city are still dangerously contaminated

(Newser) - Just days ahead of the Olympic Games, Rio waterways are as filthy as ever, contaminated with raw human sewage teeming with dangerous viruses and bacteria, according to a 16-month-long study commissioned by the AP . Not only are some 1,400 athletes at risk of getting violently ill in water competitions,...

Saudi Arabia Doubles the Women It's Sending to Rio

That would be to 4 female athletes, but it's only sending 11

(Newser) - Saudi Arabia will send four women to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, doubling its female participation after two women competed for the first time at the 2012 London Games. Hosam al-Qurashi, executive director of the Saudi Olympic Committee, told the AP on Sunday that two of the women will participate...

Australians Report Theft from Olympic Village

It happened during a small fire

(Newser) - The head of Australia's delegation at the Rio Olympics says a laptop and team shirts were stolen from the team's accommodation at the athletes' village on Friday while the building was being evacuated because of a small fire, the AP reports. Delegation head Kitty Chiller on Sunday called...

All Russia's Weightlifters Banned From Olympics

Federation says test results were 'extremely shocking'

(Newser) - All of Russia's weightlifters were banned from the Rio Olympics on Friday for doping after what the international federation called "extremely shocking" test results that brought the sport into disrepute. The eight competition spots have been offered to other countries. The International Weightlifting Federation says the "integrity...

19 of 31 Olympic Village Buildings Not Ready

Safety checks a little behind schedule, Rio authorities admit

(Newser) - Olympic authorities in Rio are scrambling to complete safety tests in the Olympic Village that should have been carried out a long time ago—or at least before hundreds of athletes started arriving daily. The Guardian reports that 19 of the 31 apartment buildings, each of them 17 stories, have...

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