AP National Sports

BEIJING (AP) — International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has spoken at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games, thanking those around the globe who he says has gone “beyond the call of duty” to make the events happen as a global pandemic continues raging. These Olympics are the second to take place during the

BEIJING (AP) — President Xi Jinping stood and waved as the Chinese delegation entered the Bird’s Nest to complete the parade of athletes at the opening ceremony for the Beijing Games. The host nation always is the last team announced in the parade, and there were loud roars and flag-waving throughout the stadium as the

BEIJING (AP) — It has become an Olympic tradition: the shirtless athlete in the opening ceremony. And Tonga’s Pita Taufatofua now has some company. Meet Nathan Crumpton. Born in Kenya, resident of Utah, graduate of Princeton, skeleton athlete formerly with the U.S. and now competing for American Samoa — and he grabbed attention Friday night

BEIJING (AP) — At least two of the women who would have been flagbearers at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics were not in the parade of athletes on Friday night because of virus-related issues. U.S. bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor had to give up her spot to speedskater Brittany Bowe, who shares the flagbearer

BEIJING (AP) — In China, Friday was “Lichun” — which translates to the beginning of spring. And in this case, the start of the Winter Olympics. “Beginning of Spring” is the first of the 24 solar terms of the year, and that number — 24 — carried significance in the early moments of the opening

By ADAM SCHRECK Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — For all the talk of a diplomatic boycott, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has managed to attract a globe-spanning roster of presidents, royals and other dignitaries to the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. The fact that most of them represent countries that are unlikely to win any

By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer BEIJING (AP) — The clock is ticking for American speedskater Casey Dawson to get to his first Olympics. He tested positive for COVID-19 three weeks ago but recently had been testing negative and believed that by producing two consecutive negative tests he would be cleared to join his teammates

By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer BEIJING (AP) — A freak of nature. A beast. Ironman. The Arnold Schwarzenegger of skiing. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde has been called each of those names and more for his unusually high ability to withstand pain and set lifting records in the weight room. It’s a big part of what

By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer BEIJING (AP) — American mixed doubles curlers Vicky Persinger and Chris Plys survived an extra end against Sweden for a much-needed victory in the Olympics. They quickly hugged and then found two friendly faces to wave to in a far corner of the eerily quiet and mostly empty Ice

BEIJING (AP) — Finland women’s hockey coach Pasi Mustonen is leaving the Beijing Winter Games to return home and attend to a family emergency. General manager Tuula Puputti tells The Associated Press that assistant coach Juuso Toivola will assume head-coaching duties. The switch comes a day after Finland opened the tournament with a 5-2 loss

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer BEIJING (AP) — The U.S. men’s hockey team is trying to get up to speed quickly at the Olympics despite missing three important players. Star college defenseman Jake Sanderson remains in Los Angeles in coronavirus protocol. Veteran forward Andy Miele and defenseman Steven Kampfer are in isolation in the

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer ZHANGJIAKOU, China (AP) — American-born daredevil Eileen Gu will be trying to win gold medals for China at the Beijing Olympics. Gu’s mother is from the host country and the 18-year-old freestyle skier decided to compete for China instead of the United States. It’s a decision that has caused

By SARAH DiLORENZO Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — China has launched a locked-down Winter Olympics. The country where the coronavirus outbreak emerged two years ago is projecting its might on the most global of stages even as some Western governments stage a diplomatic boycott over the way China treats millions of its own people. Beijing

By PAT GRAHAM and HOWARD FENDRICH AP Sports Writers It is not uncommon for athletes who compete in Alpine skiing to get left behind and miss an Olympics because of injury. They tend to accept that as a by-product of throwing their bodies down the precipitous side of an icy mountain as fast as they

By SHONAL GANGULY Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Hundreds of Tibetan exiles are marching near the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, denouncing the Beijing Winter Olympics and demanding freedom for their region. The protesters waved Tibetan flags and held placards bearing messages like “No Rights, No Games” and “Say No To Genocide Games,” while

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer ZHANGJIAKOU, China (AP) — The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee says 177 of its 223 athletes signed up to go to the opening ceremony at the Beijing Olympics. That put to rest any notion that the athletes would skip the celebration as a sign of protest. They instead left