On Sunday night, during the Paralympic handover ceremony, Tony Estanguet could be seen bounding on to a stage in Paris in a black polo shirt and stonewash jeans. Full of energy and boasting a big smile, like a radio DJ or Club 18-30 rep, he geed up a maskless crowd to get ready for the … Read more
The closing ceremony of the Paralympics on Sunday will bring to an end what Japan’s deputy prime minister, Taro Aso, last March described as the cursed Tokyo 2020 Games. Aso’s declaration may have been overly pessimistic, but the legacy of these Games is likely to be argued over for some time to come. Just to … Read more
The NHL is set to return to the Olympics in Beijing this winter after reaching an agreement with international officials, though the league and players have the opportunity to withdraw if pandemic circumstances warrant. The NHL, its players’ union, the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation struck a deal Friday that will … Read more
The World Athletics president, Sebastian Coe, led the tributes to the former International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge after his death at the age of 79 was confirmed on Sunday. Rogge, who spent 12 years as IOC president, awarded the 2012 Games to London in 2005 having also competed at three Olympics for Belgium as … Read more
Rogge was succeeded as IOC president by Bach (left) in 2013 Former International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge has died at the age of 79, the organisation announced on Sunday. Belgian Rogge served as the eighth IOC president between 2001 and 2013, when he was succeeded by Thomas Bach and became honorary president. “Jacques loved … Read more
At the Tokyo Games the Australian men’s basketball team, the Boomers, took home their first Olympic medal, a bronze, with a stunning 42-point performance from captain Patty Mills in the decisive game. The proud Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander man speaks to Guardian Australia sport editor Mike Hytner about the most powerful moments in his … Read more
Ujah (left) and Hughes (second left) were part of Team GB’s 4x100m relay silver medal-winning quartet British sprinter Zharnel Hughes says he wants the doping investigation into team-mate CJ Ujah to be allowed to take place “without prejudice” – but insists athletes need a clean sport. It came less than a week after he, Hughes, … Read more
Ujah (left) and Hughes (second left) were part of Team GB’s 4x100m relay silver medal-winning quartet British sprinter Zharnel Hughes says he wants the doping investigation into team-mate CJ Ujah to be allowed to take place “without prejudice” – but insists athletes need a clean sport. It came less than a week after he, Hughes, … Read more
It was going to be the Pandemic Olympics; the cheerless games that would inspire ambivalence at best. And then sport did its thing. Despite the lack of crowds and the looming threat of Covid, Tokyo was amazing. It also became something else: the mental health Olympics. When Simone Biles pulled out of the gymnastics events, … Read more
There will be a sense of the familiar when the Paralympics begin on Tuesday. Senior Games officials, including the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president, Andrew Parsons, and a returning Thomas Bach will witness the start of the second instalment of the most controversial Games in recent history. In his role as honorary patron, Japan’s emperor … Read more