LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AFP) – IOC president Thomas Bach said Wednesday that athletes and federations face tough sanctions up to a lifetime ban as he warned that doping has hit “an unprecedented level of criminality”. The International Olympic Committee leader also stepped up calls on Russia to clear up accusations of interference in testing at its doping laboratory during the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. In a new sign of pressure on Russian sport, the New York […]
Tag: Olympics
Olympics: S. Korea unveils mosquito-repellent Rio kit
SEOUL, Sout Korea (AFP) — South Korean athletes at the Rio Olympics will wear long-sleeved training kit impregnated with mosquito repellant to protect them from the Zika virus, the national Olympic committee said Thursday. Brazil — the epicentre of the mosquito-borne Zika virus outbreak — hosts the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro from August 5 to 21. The virus is blamed for birth defects in babies born to women infected with the virus. Brazil […]
In crushing defeat, Brazil’s Rousseff moves close to impeachment
(Reuters) Brazil’s leftist President Dilma Rousseff suffered a humiliating loss in a crucial impeachment vote in the lower house of Congress on Sunday and is almost certain to be forced from office months before the nation hosts the Olympics. Fireworks lit up the night sky in Brazil’s megacities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro after the opposition comfortably surpassed the two-thirds majority needed to send Rousseff for trial in the Senate on charges […]
Pacman excited to join the Olympics
MANILA, Philippines – Boxing champion Manny Pacquiao is excited with the prospect of participating in the Olympics but added that he still has many things to consider before joining said sports event. (Eagle News Service Described by Jay Paul Carlos, Video Editing by Jericho Morales, Uploaded by MRFaith Bonalos)
Brazil unveils $10 billion infrastructure budget for Rio Olympics
(Reuters) – Brazilian authorities unveiled an infrastructure budget of 24.1 billion reais ($10.76 billion) for the Rio 2016Olympic Games, 25 percent more than planned, as they try to reassure the world they can deliver facilities on time. The budget covers 27 projects in urban development and public transport, including 8 billion reais for a newly added fourth metro line for Rio, Brazil’s congested second largest city, where getting around town is an ordeal. Other initially envisaged […]
Pistorius faces second day of cross-examination in murder trial
South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius has again taken the stand to testify in his own defense at his murder trial. Pistorius has admitted shooting his girlfriend dead, but has said it was an accident. The Paralympic and Olympic sprinter faced a second day of cross-examination by the chief prosecutor, Gerrie Nel on Thursday, in a trial that has drawn widespread international media attention. Nel began Thursday’s proceedings by accusing Pistorius of being selfish in his […]
Russia lightens up with softer image at closing ceremony
Feb 23 2014, 6:03 PM EST – By Mike Collett-White SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) – An emotional closing ceremony at Russia’s first Winter Olympics painted the hosts in soft colors, in contrast to the muscular, assertive spectacle that kicked off the Games, and there was even room for a joke at the home nation’s expense. The show at the Fisht Stadium on the Black Sea coast opened with a volley of fireworks and a boat suspended […]
Canada beats Sweden 3-0 to win Olympic gold medal in ice hockey
Canada has won the gold medal in men’s ice hockey, the last event of the Sochi Winter Olympics. The Canadians beat Sweden 3-0 in the final. The Canadian men beat Sweden in Sunday’s final 3-0 to defend the gold medal they had won on home ice in Vancouver four years ago. Sweden skated off with the silver medal, while Finland, who defeated the United States 5-0 on Saturday, took bronze. The Canadians, who had defeated the […]
Lone Filipino Olympian Eager For 2018
At the age of just 17 Michael Christian Martinez is the first Filipino to compete as a figure skater at the Olympics and although he came 20th in the competition that ended on Friday (February 14), he has come a long way in a short time from a humble start to be his country’s flag bearer and sole representative inRussia. “At first me and my mum went to a shopping mall and I saw the skaters doing jumps […]
NHL expects ruling on 2018 within six months
By Frank Pingue SOCHI, Russia Tue Feb 11, 2014 10:28am EST (Reuters) – A decision on whether to send National Hockey League players to the 2018 Olympics will be made in about six months, the NHL said on Tuesday. It took nearly four years of intense negotiations with the International Olympic Committee before the NHL finally agreed to shut down its league for two weeks so its players could compete in the Sochi Games. But […]
India returns to the Games as IOC lifts ban
(Reuters) – India has returned to the Olympic fold after the IOC lifted a ban on the country’s Olympic association on Tuesday, and its athletes will now be able to march behind the Indian flag at the closing ceremony of the Sochi Winter Games. The country’s athletes have been competing in Russia under the Olympic flag due to the suspension, imposed after it held a 2012 Indian Olympic Association (IOA) election in which a corruption-tainted […]
Winter Games to open, Putin keen to prove doubters wrong
(Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics on Friday determined to prove his doubters wrong after militant attacks, and ballooning costs overshadowed preparations. Putin has staked his reputation on hosting a safe and successful Games in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where a spectacle before 40,000 spectators at the new Fisht Stadium will signal the start of the full sporting programme. He will be joined by […]
