The IOC on Thursday lifted its ban on Belarusian athletes competing in the Olympics, although restrictions on Russian athletes remain in place. Competitors from Russia and their allies Belarus had been banned from international competition following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, although some were permitted to compete as neutrals. Russians will still only be able […]
Olympic
Miura and Kihara snatch Olympic pairs gold for Japan
Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara pulled out the best performance of their careers to move from fifth overnight to grab Olympic figure skating pairs gold on Monday. The Japanese had been trailing after errors in their short programme but sealed gold with a rousing performance to the “Gladiator” soundtrack to give their country not […]
Brazil’s Braathen in pole for historic Olympic giant slalom medal
Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen put himself in pole position for a historic medal for South America in the men’s giant slalom at the Winter Olympics in Bormio on Saturday. The Norwegian-born Braathen was first out of the start hut and clocked a dominant 1min 13.92sec down the Stelvio course. Only Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt, who won […]
‘Skimo’: Adrenalin-packed sprint to make Olympic debut
Ski mountaineering, or ‘Skimo’, will make its Olympic debut at the Milan-Cortina Games, offering spectators an adrenaline-packed sprint requiring athletes to negotiate uphill climbs on ski and foot before descending by ski. Bormio’s Stelvio course, where the men’s alpine skiing programme will be staged — and a regular feature on the skiing World Cup circuit […]
Franzoni gains Olympic boost edging Odermatt in Kitzbuehel downhill
Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni set himself up perfectly for next month’s Winter Olympics on home snow by winning Saturday’s World Cup downhill in Kitzbuehel, considered the Holy Grail of alpine skiing. Franzoni clocked 1min 52.31sec for just his second victory on the circuit, pushing Swiss master Marco Odermatt, who retained his super-G title on Friday, into […]
Arshad wins Global Breakthrough Athlete honour in Dubai
Pakistan’s Olympic javelin champion Arshad Nadeem has received the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Sports Award in the Global Breakthrough Athlete category at the World Sports Summit in Dubai. Nadeem was honoured for his record-breaking performance at the Paris Olympics, where he threw 92.97 metres to win gold and set a new Olympic and […]
Hector leads the pack after 1st run, Shiffrin 8th
Olympic champion Sara Hector led a tight women´s World Cup giant slalom after the opening run Saturday as discipline leader Alice Robinson skied out. Chasing her first victory in nearly a year, Hector was 0.02 seconds faster than Austria´s Julia Scheib and 0.13 faster than Italian-born Lara Colturi, who starts for Albania. “It´s not easy, […]
Olympic organisers defend underfire ice hockey rinks
The organising committee of next year’s Winter Olympics on Monday defended the size of ice rinks for the Games after criticism from the sport’s governing body. The Santa Giulia arena is set to host preliminary and knock-out games at the Milan-Cortina Olympics which run between February 6-22 but the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and […]
‘Quad God’ Malinin ramps up Olympic preparations at Grand Prix Final
United States figure skater Ilia Malinin can burnish his credentials as the red-hot favourite for Olympic gold when he faces his rivals at the Grand Prix Final in Japan this week. The 21-year-old, whose dazzling array of quadruple jumps has earned him the nickname “Quad God”, is a two-time world champion and front-runner to claim […]
Kosovo Olympic body seeks action against Djokovic
LONDON: Kosovo Olympic authorities have asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to open disciplinary proceedings against Novak Djokovic, accusing the Serbian of stirring up political tension by saying “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia” at the French Open. Djokovic wrote the message on a camera lens following his first-round win on Monday, the same day that 30 […]