Category Archives: Olympic Games

Greek president praises Sofia Bekatorou for reporting alleged sexual assault

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  • Olympic sailing gold medallist alleges assault occurred in 1998
  • Katerina Sakellaropoulou praises athlete’s ‘brave revelation’

Greece’s president, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, has praised the Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou for dissolving a potential “conspiracy of silence” by reporting a historic allegation of sexual assault by a sports official.

Bekatorou, who won a gold medal at the Athens Games in 2004, told the Greek edition of Marie Claire last month that she suffered the assault in 1998, when she was 21. Sakellaropoulou met Bekatorou on Monday and said her courage offered hope to other women in her situation.

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Tokyo’s Covid outbreak adds to doubts over hosting Olympic Games

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Emergency measures expanded to cover more than half of Japan’s population

A dramatic rise in coronavirus cases in Tokyo has reignited speculation about the Olympic Games, which are due to open in the city in just over six months’ time.

Japan widened its coronavirus state of emergency to cover more than half the country’s population on Wednesday, as surging infections sparked warnings of intense pressure on hospitals.

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Festivals, holidays, Euro 2020… will summer’s big events still go ahead?

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Burgeoning hopes for a normal sporting and cultural calendar are now in question again as infections increase

As Covid-19 cases rise across the world, hopes that life could get back to some semblance of normality by summer are fading. What chance do we have of going to a festival, flying off for a holiday or attending a major sporting event?

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Olympics official says he is not certain Tokyo Games will go ahead

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IOC’s Dick Pound voices concern after host city declared state of emergency due to third wave of coronavirus

Dick Pound, a senior member of the International Olympic Committee, has said he “can’t be certain” that the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games will go ahead this summer, as a coronavirus state of emergency was declared in the host city.

Asked about the prospects that the Games will open on 23 July, the Canadian told the BBC: “I can’t be certain because the ongoing elephant in the room would be the surges in the virus.”

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IOC seeks Covid vaccines for athletes in second wave so Olympics can go ahead

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  • IOC: athletes do not want to ‘jump queue’ but must get jabs
  • Confidence remains delayed 2020 Games will go ahead in July

The International Olympic Committee is working on ways to get athletes the coronavirus jab in the second or third wave so that the Tokyo Games can go ahead safely in July, the Guardian has been told.

While insisting that we “do not want to queue jump”, IOC sources are hoping athletes from around the globe will be high up on the vaccination list, once key workers and the vulnerable are given the jab.

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Fresh fears for Tokyo Olympics as host city sees surge in Covid-19 infections

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  • Tokyo reported 1,300 new coronavirus infections on Thursday
  • Health experts concerned over stretched medical infrastructure

When Japanese and International Olympic Committee officials finally accepted defeat in March and postponed the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, there was general agreement that a one-year wait would give the world ample time to overcome the coronavirus pandemic.

The delayed Olympics, the then prime minister Shinzo Abe said, would be an opportunity to pay tribute to the human spirit in overcoming the world’s biggest public health crisis for a century.

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World Athletics accused over ‘abusive sex testing’ of athletes from global south

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Human Rights Watch says testing regulations are demeaning and target women based on racial stereotypes

World Athletics, the sport’s global governing body, targets women from countries in the global south for “abusive sex testing” based on arbitrary definitions of femininity and racial stereotypes, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

A report by the rights group, published on Friday, claims female runners are being pushed out of competitive events, which some rely on for their livelihoods. Athletes struggle with emotional trauma and feel discriminated against and humiliated by the testing, said HRW.

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Russia’s cyber-attack plan for Olympics part of a familiar pattern

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The reach of the GRU spy unit behind attacks on Japan and South Korea is remarkable

In the aftermath of Moscow’s hacking of the 2016 US election, many analysts expected the GRU to be punished. After all, Russia’s powerful military spy agency had been caught red-handed. The FBI indicted several GRU hackers in humiliating fashion. The spies who stole Democratic party emails – tens and thousands of them – were named and shamed.

In fact, the GRU avoided any repressions. In recent years Vladimir Putin has carried out a sweeping and brutal reorganisation at the top of government, sending a shiver down the spine of nervous bureaucrats. He has sacked or had arrested regional governors and ministers. Even the FSB, Putin’s old spy agency and a rival to the GRU, has seen generals fired.

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Russia planned cyber-attack on Tokyo Olympics, says UK

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Foreign secretary condemns ‘cynical and reckless’ bid to disrupt Games, before they were postponed

Russian military intelligence services were planning a cyber-attack on the Japanese-hosted Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo this summer in an attempt to disrupt the world’s premier sporting event, the UK National Cyber Security Centre has revealed, disclosing a joint operation with the US intelligence agencies.

The Russian cyber-reconnaissance work covered the Games organisers, logistics services and sponsors and was under way before the Olympics was postponed due to coronavirus.

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‘The Kremlin wants me dead’: Russia’s sports doping whistleblower speaks out

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Grigory Rodchenkov was head of Russia’s ‘anti-doping’ centre but, in 2015, he fled to the US. He talks to the Observer’s former Moscow correspondent about the lies, the truth and life on the run

The man in front of me is wearing a disguise. We are talking on Skype. I’m at my home near London and Dr Grigory Rodchenkov is at an undisclosed location somewhere in America, guarded 24/7 by armed FBI agents. How is he? “My life is good. My mood is very good,” he says. He’s grinning, I think. Since he’s wearing a black scarf over his face and dark glasses, it’s hard to tell.

The cloak-and-dagger atmospherics surrounding our interview might seem a little overblown. Until, that is, you remember, Vladimir Putin’s roving assassins are trying to establish Rodchenkov’s secret location so they can snuff him out, a traitor to the state. Russia’s president has a long list of enemies. But Rodchenkov – the most significant sports whistleblower of the 21st century – is probably at the top.

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A year to go, but does Tokyo still want to host the Olympics after Covid?

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Public enthusiasm for next year’s Games is waning, as city believes Covid-19 infections will ‘flare up’ if it pushes ahead

This Wednesday the reset Olympic countdown clock will show there are 365 days to go until the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Games. But with a year left to finalise arrangements, the prospects for a traditional Olympic spectacle in the city are looking grim.

Even if Japan, which has seen a comparatively low number of infections and deaths, could contain the outbreak, the virus is expected to rampage through the US, Brazil, India and other parts of the world.

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French Olympic hopeful climber Luce Douady, 16, dies after cliff fall

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  • Douady seen as one of the sport’s brightest young talents
  • French climbing federation expresses ‘immense sadness’

Teenage French climbing prodigy Luce Douady was killed on Sunday when she fell on a footpath in a climbing area in the French Alps, the French Mountain Climbing Federation (FFME) and its club in Chambery said.

The 16-year-old reigning world junior champion fell 150m as she and a group of friends were crossing a tricky path equipped with a handrail between two climbing areas.

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Japan to explore ‘simplified’ Olympics, says Tokyo governor

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  • Possible changes for Games next year being discussed
  • Mandatory testing and limited movement among options

Tokyo’s governor Yuriko Koike has said it may be necessary to a stage a “simplified” Olympics next year due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and that organisers were already discussing possible changes.

Koike’s comments come after the Yomiuri newspaper reported that various options, such as mandatory coronavirus testing and having fewer spectators, were being considered by organisers.

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Holding Tokyo Olympics in 2021 ‘difficult’, Japan medical association chief warns

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Yoshitake Yokokura is the latest expert to cast doubt on plans to hold the Games in Tokyo next year

The head of the Japan Medical Association (JMA) has added his voice to speculation that the Tokyo Olympics, now due to be held next summer, could again be delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Unless an effective vaccine is developed I think it will be difficult to hold the Olympics next year,” JMA president Yoshitake Yokokura told reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday. “I’m not saying at this point that they shouldn’t be held. The outbreak is not only confined to Japan ... it’s a worldwide issue.”

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Tokyo Olympics organisers considering options to delay – reports

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As thousands flock to the Olympic flame in Japan, the organising committee is reportedly drafting plans to postpone the Games

As huge crowds defied coronavirus fears to queue for hours to see the Olympic flame in northern Japan, a report emerged that organisers of Tokyo 2020 have begun drafting alternatives to holding the Games this summer.

In contrast to the official line from the Japanese government and the IOC, two sources familiar with the talks have told news agency Reuters that options for postponing the Games are now being drawn up.

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Abe insists Olympics to go ahead as planned despite Covid-19

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Japan’s prime minister say country will host the Games ‘without problem, as planned’

Japan is still preparing to host the Olympics, Shinzo Abe has said, despite growing concern about the viability of the summer Games because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Japan’s prime minister and his government have been adamant that the Olympics will go ahead, even as other global sporting events have been put on hold. Speculation about a delay of the July start date has grown since the Donald Trump said organisers should consider a one-year postponement.

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2020 Olympics: Tokyo accepts ‘painful’ decision to move marathon to Sapporo

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Move follows Olympic committee’s sudden decision to relocate event to avoid sweltering heat

Tokyo’s governor, Yuriko Koike, has reluctantly dropped her opposition to the International Olympic Committee’s surprise decision to move next year’s Olympic marathon and walking events from the capital to the northern Japanese city of Sapporo due to concerns about the heat.

“We cannot agree with the final decision, but the IOC [International Olympic Committee] has the authority to change [the location],” Koike said on Friday in a meeting with IOC representative John Coates. “The most important thing is to assure the success of next year’s Games.”

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Kaillie Humphries stood up to her sport’s abusive culture. It ended how you’d expect

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The double Olympic champion was denied her bid to escape a coach she says abused and harassed her, exposing a numbingly familiar truth: the system is not set up to support survivors

Kaillie Humphries brought glory to Canada time and again on the world stage, winning a gold medal in the two-woman bobsleigh at the Vancouver Olympics and becoming the first woman ever to successfully defend her title in Sochi four years later. She has challenged gender norms in sport by being one of the first few women to compete in mixed gender racing, then in 2016 drove an all-woman team against men in international competition.

Technically speaking, Humphries is badass, and Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton has adored her. The true north has only started to utter it’s polite disdain since last week when Humphries announced that she wanted to leave the national federation because she had endured verbal and mental abuse from head coach Todd Hays. Humphries declared her intention to switch federations and compete under the American flag moving forward. “I need to be the best athlete I can be and go where it’s safe and where I have an opportunity to continue my career” she said in an interview with CBC Sports. “And unfortunately, that is not with Bobsleigh Canada anymore.”

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‘This is not a “what if” story’: Tokyo braces for the earthquake of a century

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They call it X Day – a major earthquake striking the heart of the world’s most populous city in the most calamitous event since the second world war. Can hi-tech solutions save Tokyo?

Every day, at 5pm, the gentle melody of the children’s song Yuyake Koyake chimes across the Minato area of Tokyo from a loudspeaker – one of hundreds dotted across schools and parks throughout this megacity of 37 million people.

The daily jingle does more than signify the arrival of evening. It is a test for the system that is designed to save Tokyoites from what would be one of the worst natural disasters in recorded human history: an earthquake striking the centre of the most populous city on Earth.

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