Olympics category, Page 9
LeBron James hits winner with 8 seconds left, U.S. avoids upset vs. South Sudan
LeBron James saved the U.S. from what would have been a stunning loss. James’ layup with 8 seconds left was the go-ahead basket Saturday, and the U.S. Olympic team that soon will head to the Paris Games escaped with a 101-100 win over South Sudan in London, rallying from a...
From Sha’Carri Richardson to Katie Ledecky, Team USA packed with stars at OlympicsVideo
From Simone Biles to Sha’Carri Richardson and Diana Taurasi to Katie Ledecky, Team USA will provide some of the biggest star power at the 2024 Olympic Games. And it will be the women leading the way as the U.S. looks to top the overall medal table for the eighth consecutive...
Simone Biles puts Tokyo behind her, will serve as one of the faces at Paris OlympicsVideo
Simone Biles has spent the last three years moving past the Tokyo Olympics. The gymnastics superstar understands not everyone has. No matter how many national titles she wins or how many times she stands atop the podium at the world championships, Biles knows she remains frozen in time to critics...
Diana Taurasi set for Paris Olympics, trying to become 1st basketball player to win 6 gold medals
PHOENIX — Diana Taurasi joked after the Tokyo Olympics that she would see everyone in Paris. The 42-year-old guard turned the joke into reality; she’ll be playing in a record sixth Olympic games when the U.S. women’s basketball team goes for its eighth consecutive gold medal later this month. “Why...
Paris police are sealing off the Seine River ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony
PARIS — A special kind of iron curtain came down across central Paris on Thursday, with the beginning of an Olympic anti-terrorism perimeter along the banks of the River Seine sealing off a kilometers-long (miles-long) area to Parisians and tourists who hadn’t applied in advance for a pass. The words...
Paris mayor dips into Seine to show cleanliness before Olympics
PARIS — Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip Wednesday in the Seine River, fulfilling a promise to show that the long-polluted waterway was clean enough to host swimming competitions during the 2024 Olympics as well as part of the opening ceremony, now only nine days away. Daily water quality...
Stephen Curry strong, U.S. beats Serbia in Olympics warmup
Stephen Curry was relatively quiet offensively during the U.S. Olympic team’s first two exhibitions before the Paris Games. He got a lot more assertive Wednesday with his official Olympic debut less than two weeks away. Curry scored 24 points, Bam Adebayo added 17 and the U.S. beat Serbia, 105-79, to...
Sha’Carri Richardson out to prove she is not just back, but better after drug suspension
Sha’Carri Richardson set the tone for her own comeback story a year ago when she won the 100-meter U.S. title, then the world championship, and brashly proclaimed: “I’m not back, I’m better.” Now, with a trip to her first Olympics approaching, come new questions: Is she still better than a...
LeBron James at 39 still is the center of attention for USA Basketball. That won’t change in Paris
LAS VEGAS — This is how the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team took the floor for warmups before an exhibition game in Abu Dhabi: Stephen Curry opened with a layup, followed by ones from Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards and Derrick White, and then a short jumper from Devin Booker. All...
US wastes most of big lead, holds on to beat Australia 98-92 in tuneup for Paris OlympicsVideo
There was a lot for the U.S. Olympic team to like on Monday. And a lot not to like. Anthony Davis scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Tyrese Haliburton came up with a pair of late 3-pointers that helped stop a freefall by the Americans, and the U.S. beat...
Who is carrying the Olympic torch through Paris? A BTS star, a garbage collector and more
PARIS — From the Louvre Museum to the Champs-Elysees, from Paris’ posh districts to working-class neighborhoods, hundreds of people have carried the Olympic torch through the French capital for two days of celebrations before the Summer Games kick off at the end of the month. Joyful crowds lined up along...
Olympic saga of golfer Joost Luiten takes another turn
Dutch golfer Joost Luiten is back in the mix to play in the Olympics. He just might not have a tee time in Paris. In the latest twist of a strange saga, the International Golf Federation on Saturday put Luiten onto what amounts to the alternate list, all while holding...
Favored U.S. men face many Olympic challengers
There is one goal, and it’s always the same goal for USA Basketball. The only acceptable result from these Paris Olympics is another gold medal. And the most recent gold was one of the toughest to get. At the Tokyo Games three years ago, the U.S. trailed Spain by 10...
U.S. women’s basketball team looks to continue Olympic dominance
The U.S. women’s basketball team is on a historic run, winning seven straight Olympic gold medals. While no one has come close to ending that streak, the rest of the world is getting better. The Americans, who haven’t lost an Olympic contest since 1992, won by an average of 16...
Head-clearing trip to Japan helped refocus Spencer Lee for Olympic bid
Frustrated with nagging injuries, Spencer Lee said he thought about putting wrestling down for a while, maybe even shelving it altogether. Had he done that, though, he wouldn’t be heading to Paris to represent his country and compete for Olympic gold. He took a break, reflected and let his body...
Sha’Carri Richardson, Noah Lyles among track athletes looking for 1st gold medalsVideo
There are big races, and then there are the Olympics. When Sha’Carri Richardson, Noah Lyles and all the other fastest runners and best jumpers and throwers of 2024 line up for the Olympic track and field meet, little of what they’ve done on the road to Paris will mean much....
Simone Biles, LeBron James among athletes expected to bid ‘adieu’ to Olympics in ParisVideo
Icons of their sports. Voices for equality and social justice. Elite performers. Simone Biles and LeBron James lead the list of athletes likely competing at their final Olympics. Add in that Andy Murray will be retiring after the Paris Games and that Rafael Nadal may bid goodbye to tennis, too,...
Kawhi Leonard is off the U.S. Olympic team and USA Basketball is working on a replacement for Paris
LAS VEGAS — Kawhi Leonard will not be part of the U.S. men’s basketball team that will compete in the Paris Games after all. It would have been the first Olympic trip for Leonard, who missed 12 of the Los Angeles Clippers’ final 14 games this past season with right...
Kamala Harris tells U.S. Olympic basketball team ‘Bring back the gold’
LAS VEGAS — Vice President Kamala Harris was a surprise guest at the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team’s practice Tuesday, and her message was clear. “Bring back the gold,” Harris said. Harris — who flew to Las Vegas on Tuesday for campaign appearances — addressed the team briefly at the...
Ukrainian boxer sacrifices Olympic dreams and life to fight against Russia’s invasion
ROMNY, Ukraine — Maksym Halinichev won silver at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires in a match described at the time as “two of the best young fighters going for glory.” He considered the bout a loss — it wasn’t gold, after all — but it gave him a map...
Duke incoming freshman Cooper Flagg takes advantage of time vs. U.S. Olympic teamVideo
LAS VEGAS — A 3-pointer over Anthony Davis, swish. A baseline turnaround over Jrue Holiday, easy. An acrobatic putback after crashing the boards and getting fouled by Bam Adebayo, no problem. Those are three of the best defenders in the NBA. Cooper Flagg is 17 years old. He held his...
U.S. men’s basketball team has 2 goals for Olympics: win gold, see Simone BilesVideo
LAS VEGAS — Bam Adebayo has two primary goals to accomplish at the Paris Olympics. The first one is obvious: a gold medal. The second one: getting a picture with Simone Biles. Among Biles’ biggest fans — literally — going into the Paris Games is a group of fellow Olympians,...
At the Paris Olympics, it will no longer be personal for Ukraine’s athletes. This time, it’s warVideo
KYIV, Ukraine — For Ukrainian hurdler Anna Ryzhykova, each stride on the Paris Olympic track will have meaning far beyond the time she clocks. Her competitions are no longer strictly an individual battle but war on a different front. Her goal is not just gold but also to rivet global...
France’s Leon Marchand could shine brightest among swimmers at Olympics
Most of the big stars from the last Olympics will be back at the pool in Paris. Caeleb Dressel. Katie Ledecky. Ariarne Titmus. Emma McKeon. But the local favorite might just shine brightest of them all. France’s Léon Marchand has drawn comparisons to the great Michael Phelps, a link that...
Brazil tops Latvia 94-69, claims spot in Paris Olympics basketball field
Brazil is going to the Paris Olympics, after a 19-0 run over the final 3:21 of the first quarter set the tone in what became a surprisingly easy 94-69 victory over Latvia in the first of four men’s basketball qualifying tournament finals being played Sunday. Bruno Caboclo led Brazil with...
