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Olympics category, Page 9

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
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 medals 
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 Paris 
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 team 
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 Biles 
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 war 
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...
Russia won’t send wrestlers to Paris Olympics as neutrals
LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Russia said Saturday that 10 of its wrestlers who were offered spots at the Paris Olympics as neutrals will refuse to compete. The Russian wrestling federation said in a statement that its officials, coaches and athletes held a meeting and “came to an unanimous decision — to...
USA Basketball men’s Olympic team arrives for camp in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS — Something that Kobe Bryant said has stuck with U.S. men’s Olympic basketball coach Steve Kerr and seems especially important now. It was about how other nations have made big strides in basketball, how the gap between the rest of the world and the U.S. is closing and...
An American swims in Paris’ Seine River before the Olympics despite contamination concerns
PARIS — A 76-year-old American swimmer took a dip in the Seine River on Thursday, braving the murky waters in central Paris to celebrate the Fourth of July and highlight the French government’s efforts to clean up the river for the Olympic Games. He had good timing: Hours later, regional...
World swimming federation confirms U.S. federal investigation into Chinese swimmers’ doping tests
GENEVA — The international swimming federation says its executive director has been ordered to testify as a witness in a U.S. criminal investigation into the case of 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned substance in 2021 yet were allowed to continue competing. The news comes just three...
Post-pandemic Paris Olympics signal a return to normal for athletes and fans
Any athlete with Olympic dreams knows the feeling of lungs burning, arms and legs turning to jelly, as they near the closing moments of another grueling race or excruciatingly close match. For that last shot of adrenaline, they often tap into the energy provided by the roaring crowd. At the...
Olympic men’s soccer offers underdogs hope for medals in Paris
Sure, it was fun to dream about a Paris Olympics in which Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé renew their rivalries after that epic World Cup final. But men’s Olympic soccer is more about emerging players than established stars. It’s good for a few surprises, too. Past winners include Mexico, Nigeria...
Hezly Rivera serves as ‘underdog’ on heavily favored U.S. Olympic gymnastics team
MINNEAPOLIS — Hezly Rivera planned to spend a significant portion of this summer learning how to drive. The 16-year-old is going to have to postpone that learner’s permit test for a bit. She’s joining Simone Biles on the U.S. gymnastics team at the Olympics instead. Heady territory for a self-proclaimed...
Hempfield grad Bridget Williams reaches new heights by qualifying for Olympics in pole vault
When Bridget (Guy) Williams first started to pole vault in seventh grade in the Hempfield Area School District, she always dreamed big. Williams went on to help the Hempfield girls win consecutive PIAA team titles, and she won the Class 3A pole vault title with a jump of 12 feet,...
U.S. women’s soccer in transition heading into Olympics as other teams look to pounce
The signs that the U.S. national team’s dominance was slipping started to emerge back at the Tokyo Olympics. The United States was vying to become the first team to win an Olympic gold medal after winning a Women’s World Cup. But the team stumbled along the way. The U.S. lost...
Simone Biles secures 3rd trip to the Olympics after breezing to victory at U.S. trials
MINNEAPOLIS — Simone Biles is heading back to the Olympics. So are some of her friends. The gymnastics superstar earned a third trip to her sport’s biggest stage by cruising to victory at the U.S. Olympic trials on Sunday night, posting a two-day all-around total of 117.225 to clinch the...
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone runs 50.65 to break world record, qualify to defend Olympic title 
EUGENE, Ore. — Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone lowered her world record once again, running the 400-meter hurdles in 50.65 seconds Sunday to win the U.S. Olympic trials. In only her fourth long hurdles race of the season, the 24-year-old defending Olympic champion cleared all 10 barriers with ease, then went on a...
Hempfield grad Bridget (Guy) Williams qualifies for Olympics; Connellsville’s Madison Wiltrout likely to join her 
Bridget (Guy) Williams is headed to the Olympics and earned her spot in impressive fashion Sunday night. The 2014 Hempfield graduate finished first in the women’s pole vault final at the U.S. Olympic Trials after clearing 4.73 meters (15 feet, 61⁄4 inches) with no misses at Oregon’s Hayward Field. She...
Lyles pushed hard by Bednarek but wins 200 to keep hope of Olympic sprint double alive for Paris
EUGENE, Ore. — In the wee hours the night before his 200-meter final, Noah Lyles sent a shout-out on social media to the sprinters in Jamaica, egging them on to help make the upcoming Paris Olympics great. Then, the final rolled around, and all Lyles had to do was look...


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