Category Archives: Olympic Games

Brisbane Olympics infrastructure body urges LNP to fast-track controversial venues with special laws

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Save Victoria Park says it has briefed barristers and could launch a legal challenge to protect the site

The infrastructure authority for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games is pushing the Queensland government to suspend normal procurement rules and consider special planning laws to fast-track the approval and construction of controversial new venues.

The Queensland government announced its venues plan for the Olympics on Tuesday, including plans to build a new stadium in the heritage-listed Victoria Park, Brisbane’s largest inner-city parkland.

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Brisbane Olympics 2032: why these Games could turn out nothing like we had planned

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The IOC – which gave us 11 years to plan – must be nervous about the state of affairs

The 2032 Olympic Games loom for Brisbane residents with equal parts promise and fear.

On one hand, there is the opportunity to write Brisbane’s name alongside some of the world’s great cities.

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FBI offers $10m reward for ex-Olympic snowboarder turned drug kingpin

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Ryan Wedding, 43, wanted for role in billion-dollar cross-border drug trafficking operation and several homicides

Authorities in the United States have offered a $10m reward for information that leads to the arrest of a Canadian former Olympic snowboarder-turned-international drug kingpin.

Police in Los Angeles said on Thursday that Ryan Wedding – also known as “El Jefe”, “Giant” and “Public Enemy” – is wanted for his role in a billion-dollar cross-border drug trafficking operation and for several homicides linked to his drug sprawling network.

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Doubts raised over US travel system during 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics

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  • US will host 2026 tournament with Canada and Mexico
  • Report raises concern about visas and infrastructure

The United States is unprepared for the burdens placed on its air travel system when the country hosts the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, according to a report released on Wednesday.

The US Travel Association, a non-profit that represents the travel industry, commissioned a report written by former government officials and industry experts. The report raises concerns about visas, creaking infrastructure and poor security technology.

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Tributes pour in for Chris Hoy after terminal cancer diagnosis

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Olympic cycling champion says doctors have told him he has two to four years to live

Tributes have poured in for the Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy after he revealed he had received a terminal cancer diagnosis.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Hoy, who won six golds and one silver medal for Team GB, said doctors had told him he had between two and four years to live.

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Viral South Korean Olympic shooter Kim Yeji scores first acting role – as an assassin

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  • Pistol shooter’s coolness shot her to prominence in Paris
  • Kim will play a killer in upcoming short-form series

South Korean pistol shooter Kim Yeji, whose skill and nonchalance won the internet at the Paris Olympics, has landed her first acting role – as an assassin.

The 32-year-old took silver in the women’s 10m air pistol in July and her ultra-calm demeanour, combined with her wire-rimmed shooting glasses and baseball cap, turned her into a worldwide online sensation.

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Man charged after Olympic medals allegedly stolen from ‘Oarsome Foursome’ rower’s car in Melbourne

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Victoria police arrest 47-year-old after alleged theft of Drew Ginn’s medals in Docklands last week

A man has been charged after four Olympic medals – including three gold – belonging to one of the members of Australia’s popular “Oarsome Foursome” rowing team were allegedly stolen from a car in Melbourne.

Victoria police said Drew Ginn’s medals from four consecutive Olympics were in the back of a Land Rover that was parked on Cumberland Street in Docklands when they were allegedly stolen last week.

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Paris gives Paralympic Games a send-off for the ages

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Stade de France transformed into huge electronica dance party with world’s elite para athletes doing farewell conga

With an explosion of fireworks, laser beams, breakdance and a thumping set by the giants of French electronica, France bid goodbye to the Paralympic Games on Sunday night with the biggest party it had ever thrown.

The feelgood summer of athletic achievement in Paris had turned crowds hoarse from so much cheering and for ever changed the nation’s attitude to sport and disability, and now Parisians were desperately sad to say goodbye to it all.

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Paris Olympics gives eurozone economic boost after rise in spending

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French service sector drives growth but experts warn strong figures mask disappointing performance elsewhere

The Paris Olympics have provided a boost to the eurozone economy after a sharp rise in spending as athletes and spectators descended on the French capital for the summer sporting event.

Figures from a closely watched survey of businesses showed monthly French private sector output rose to its highest level in 17 months in August.

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‘Vulgar racism’: outrage after mural of Italian volleyball star is vandalised

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Defacing of Rome artwork celebrating Olympic champion Paola Egonu widely condemned across political spectrum

A mural celebrating the Italian Olympic volleyball champion Paola Egonu has become the target of “vulgar racism” after the athlete’s skin in the image was spray-painted pink.

The mural by the street artist Laika was defaced within a day of being unveiled on a wall close to the headquarters of the Italian Olympic committee (Coni) in Rome.

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Dutch beach volleyball player who raped child breaks silence over Olympics

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  • Steven van de Velde spent 13 months in prison for rape
  • Netherlands pair reached quarter-finals at Paris Games

The Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, who was convicted of raping a 12-year-old British girl in 2016, has said that he considered quitting the Paris Olympics amid the controversy surrounding his participation.

Van de Velde and his beach volleyball partner Matthew Immers reached the quarter-finals in Paris, where they lost to Brazil in straight sets. The pair played four matches in the tournament and Van de Velde was subjected to a stream of boos and whistles.

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‘No-car Games’: Los Angeles readies for its 2028 Olympics closeup

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Expanding public transportation and finding shelter for unhoused people are key elements of city’s planning

As the Olympics came to a close this weekend, stars gathered from Paris to Long Beach to help mark the end of this year’s events and usher in the 2028 games, which are set to take place in Los Angeles.

In a closing ceremony this weekend, the R&B artist HER sang the national anthem in Paris where Tom Cruise rappelled from the roof of the Stade de France and the actor, Simone Biles and the LA mayor, Karen Bass, took part in a flag hand-off. In southern California, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish and Snoop Dogg performed on the beach.

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Asian cities and countries jostle in Paris for right to host 2036 Olympic Games

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  • IOC says it has ‘double-digit’ nations interested in hosting future events
  • Asia seen as strong option to follow Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032

If historic waterway settings are the new must-have accessory for Olympic host cities, then Istanbul’s mayor wants the IOC to know his city has one.

If the key to getting the 2036 Summer Games is having hosted world championships in top-tier Olympic sports, then Qatar can point to its track record over the past decade.

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USA edge past China with gold in final event of Paris 2024 to top medal table

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Plus ça change: after more than two weeks of frenetic competition across 32 sports involving more than 10,000 athletes, the US finished the Paris Olympics top of the medal table once again, although they required victory in the final event of the Games to do so.

The US entered Sunday with 38 golds, one behind China’s tally of 39, although they were heavy favourites for victory in women’s basketball, an event the Americans have won at every Olympics since 1996. The US also had chances for gold in track cycling, wrestling and volleyball, while China could add to their tally in weightlifting.

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Georgia Bell leads rush of medals as Team GB enjoy super Saturday

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The runner, who has set a new British record, only took up sport again to stay fit during pandemic

Georgia Bell, an occasional runner during lockdown who made it to the Olympic final of the women’s 1500m, set a new British record to take bronze as a rush of success including silvers in artistic swimming and taekwondo took Britain’s rivalry with France in the medal table into the last day.

At the age of 30, this was Bell’s first Olympic appearance but in a lightning quick race in the Stade de France that saw Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon set a new Games record, the British runner stayed with the leading pack in the first 800m before finding the strength to kick on in the final leg.

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LA’s mayor says 2028 will be ‘no-car Games’ despite city’s notorious traffic

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  • City will host Games for third time in its history
  • Businesses will be asked to allow home working

The Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, has said the 2028 Olympics will be a “no-car Games” as the city prepares to host the event in four years’ time.

Bass and Casey Wasserman, the chairman of the LA 2028 organizing committee, highlighted some of the planning that has already been completed. Bass was preemptive about the city’s notorious traffic, addressing the issue in her opening remarks at a press conference in Paris on Saturday.

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Travis Scott arrested in Paris over altercation with security guard

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The rapper was arrested for an incident involving a hotel security guard while he is in the city for the Olympics

Rapper Travis Scott was arrested at a Paris hotel after an altercation with a security guard, French prosecutors said Friday.

The arrest occurred after police were called to the Georges V hotel early Friday to arrest a man “nicknamed Travis Scott for violence against a security guard”, according to a statement from the Paris public prosecutor’s office.

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Romanian PM to boycott Olympic closing ceremony in gymnastics protest

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  • Ana Barbosu demoted from bronze while celebrating
  • Romanian great Nadia Comaneci also criticises decision

Romania’s prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu, said he will boycott the Olympic closing ceremony after his country were denied a medal in the women’s gymnastics.

Ana Barbosu had already begun celebrating her bronze for the floor event on Monday when coaches for Jordan Chiles, of the United States, entered an appeal to judges over Chiles’s score. The inquiry resulted in a 0.1 boost for Chiles, enough to overtake Barbosu for the last spot on the podium.

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Mac and cheese for life! Philippines’ heartfelt gifts to Carlos Yulo after double Olympic gold

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Pledges of pesos, property and pasta as ‘Caloy’ makes history for his country with floor exercise and vault victories in artistic gymnastics

The Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo’s historic double gold medal win at the Paris Olympics has been celebrated across the Philippines, with businesses showering the athlete with gifts – from cash and a new home, to a lifetime supply of mac and cheese.

Ferdinand Marcos, the president, said the Philippines had “witnessed history” when Yulo became the first Filipino man to win an Olympic gold medal after competing in the artistic gymnastic floor exercise on Saturday. He is only the second Filipino athlete to win an Olympic gold, after weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz in 2020. On Sunday, Yulo soared to the top of the podium again in the vault, thus becoming the first Filipino to win two golds – and at a single Olympics.

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Jubilation in Caribbean at St Lucia’s and Dominica’s first Olympic medals

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Sprinter Julian Alfred and triple jumper Thea LaFond both win gold on Saturday

There was jubilation in the Caribbean on Sunday after St Lucian sprinter Julian Alfred and Dominican triple jumper Thea LaFond secured their countries’ first ever medals, both golds.

From entering the Games as a little-known competitor, Julian Alfred demonstrated immense athletics prowess by winning the women’s 100-metre finals on Saturday, in 10.72sec.

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