2016 Olympics

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Dissident Marathoner Returns Home From Exile

After protest on Rio Olympics stand, Feyisa Lilesa finally goes back to Ethiopia

(Newser) - The Ethiopian marathon runner who made global headlines with an anti-government gesture at the Rio Olympics returned from exile on Sunday after sports officials assured him he will not face prosecution. Feyisa Lilesa's return from the United States came several months after a reformist prime minister took office and...

Simone Biles: I Was Sexually Abused by Larry Nassar

The revelation comes one day before Nassar's sentencing hearing

(Newser) - American Olympic superstar Simone Biles added her name to the list of women who say they were molested by former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar Monday, CNN reports. In a statement released on her Twitter account alongside the hashtag "MeToo," the four-time Olympic gold medalist wrote, "...

Rio Revenge? Russian Hackers Hit Medical Info of US Athletes

'What we're seeing here is a digital temper tantrum,'

(Newser) - In what one analyst calls a "digital temper tantrum," hackers linked to the Russian government have hacked into the World Anti-Doping Agency's Olympic database and released information on star American athletes, including Serena and Venus Williams. WADA has confirmed the security breach, and the hacking group "...

Ryan Lochte to Be Slapped With 10-Month Suspension
Lochte in Line
for Long Suspension
Sep 8, 2016 1:19 AM CDT

Lochte in Line for Long Suspension

IOC, USA Swimming will ban him for 10 months

(Newser) - Ryan Lochte has been hit with a 10-month suspension for his behavior in Rio, sources tell USA Today , CNN , and other outlets. The punishment handed down by the International Olympic Committee, the United States Olympic Committee, and USA Swimming also includes a ban from 2017's world championship meet in...

'17 F---ing Years and It's Over!': Solo on Suspension

Soccer star didn't take news well in documentary clip

(Newser) - Hope Solo didn't react well to her team losing to Sweden during the Rio Olympics, earning her a six-month suspension from US Soccer for her remarks that the Swedes were "a bunch of cowards." Her reaction upon finding out about her suspension was similarly explosive, and USA ...

Hope Solo's Name-Calling Leads to a Suspension

Goalkeeper suspended from national team for 6 months

(Newser) - Goalkeeper Hope Solo was suspended Wednesday for six months by US Soccer for making disparaging comments about Sweden following the Americans' early departure from the Rio Olympics. Solo called the Swedes "a bunch of cowards" for focusing on defense rather than attacking the three-time defending champion US team, the...

Ethiopia's Assurances Don't Convince Olympic Medalist

Silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa didn't fly out from Rio with rest of team

(Newser) - Silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa said the Ethiopian government would likely kill or imprison him if he ever returned to the country from Rio, where he crossed his wrists above his head in solidarity with protesters in his homeland as he crossed the marathon finish line. Ethiopia shot back that he'...

Ethiopia Says It Will Welcome, Not Imprison, Marathoner

It's unclear if Feyisa Lilesa will ever return home

(Newser) - The Ethiopian marathon runner who made an anti-government gesture at the Rio Games while approaching the finish line will not face prosecution upon his return home and will have "a heroic welcome," a government spokesman said Monday. But it was not clear whether the runner would go back,...

10 Best Olympic Moments
10 Best Olympic Moments
OLYMPICS
Aug 22, 2016 5:37 AM CDT

10 Best Olympic Moments

Simone Biles' jaw-dropping performance makes the list

(Newser) - The 2016 Olympics came to an end when Rio officially handed things over to 2020 host Tokyo Sunday night in a jubilant closing ceremony that featured, among other things, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rising from a pipe dressed as Super Mario. A look back at some of the...

After Protest Gesture, Medalist Can Never Return Home

Ethiopian says government will kill or jail him

(Newser) - If they awarded Olympic medals for bravery, Feyisa Lilesa would have a gold to add to his marathon silver. The Ethiopian runner crossed his wrists above his head at the end of the men's marathon in Rio to show solidarity with protesters in his homeland, and he says the...

NZ, US Runners Win Fair Play Awards
NZ, US Runners Win
Fair Play Awards
OLYMPICS
Aug 22, 2016 12:07 AM CDT

NZ, US Runners Win Fair Play Awards

D'Agostino, Hamblin helped each other finish race

(Newser) - One of the most touching moments of the Rio Olympics has been rewarded with this year's Fair Play Awards. American runner Abbey D'Agostino and New Zealand's Nikki Hamblin, who helped each other finish the race after falling during a women's 5,000-meter heat, were given the...

Rio Closing Ceremony Feels Like Carnival

Brazil bids farewell to the games

(Newser) - Shaking to samba and expressing a sense of longing with uniquely Brazilian words, Olympians and fans said goodbye to the Rio Games with one last big bash that was both revelatory and a sigh of relief. The closing ceremony Sunday celebrated the 16-day spectacle that was the Rio Games, which...

Ryan Lochte: Sorry for 'My Immature Behavior'

Swimmer admits he 'over-exaggerated' his telling of the story

(Newser) - If backpedaling were an Olympic sport, Ryan Lochte might have a 13th medal to add to his pile. Furthering the apology tour by the four American swimmers in Lochte's fantasy robbery at the Rio Games, Lochte tells NBC News that as for the version of events he spun last...

Lochte on Twitter: I'm Sorry for Not Being 'Candid'

Swimmer says he should've handled himself better after 'traumatic' experience

(Newser) - Is Ryan Lochte trying to wrest back control of Lochte-Gate ? USA Today points out the US swimmer posted a lengthy mea culpa—though TMZ labels it nothing more than a doubling down—on social media Friday morning. In it, he says he's sorry to "my teammates, my...

USOC Apologizes Over 'Robbed' Swimmers
USOC Apologizes
Over 'Robbed' Swimmers
THE RUNDOWN
Aug 19, 2016 2:46 AM CDT

USOC Apologizes Over 'Robbed' Swimmers

2 athletes allowed to fly home

(Newser) - An embarrassed US Olympic Committee apologized Thursday night for what it called a "distracting ordeal": the alleged robbery of four US swimmers, which Brazilian police now say was a fabrication. In a statement , USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said sorry to "our hosts in Rio and the people of...

Bolt Scores 3rd Straight 200M Gold
Bolt Scores Amazing
3rd 200M Gold
OLYMPICS
Aug 19, 2016 12:39 AM CDT

Bolt Scores Amazing 3rd 200M Gold

'I've proven to the world I'm the greatest'

(Newser) - Usain Bolt completed an unprecedented third consecutive sweep of the 100- and 200-meter sprints in Rio Thursday, an accomplishment that further elevated his status as the most decorated male sprinter in Olympic history, the AP reports. He won the 200-meter race with a time of 19.78 seconds to defeat...

Lochte, US Swimmers Were in Gas Station Fight: Sources

'Robbery' of Ryan Lochte, teammates in Rio now coming under question

(Newser) - Even more controversial than Ryan Lochte's new hairstyle: the murky story of what happened with him and other US swimmers in Rio. Although Lochte says he was robbed at gunpoint in a taxi over the weekend with Olympic teammates Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, and Jimmy Feigen, the story got...

2 US Swimmers Pulled Off Plane Home
Brazil Yanks
2 US Swimmers
Off Plane Home
OLYMPICS
Aug 18, 2016 6:27 AM CDT

Brazil Yanks 2 US Swimmers Off Plane Home

Ryan Lochte changes details but insists robbery took place

(Newser) - American swimmers Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz are going to be staying in Brazil for longer than they bargained for. Authorities pulled the men off their flight back to the US at Rio's international airport on Wednesday for questioning over their alleged robbery , the New York Times reports. Their...

Ellen Insists She's Not Racist After Controversial Bolt Tweet

She tweeted picture of herself riding the sprinter

(Newser) - Ellen DeGeneres is in hot water after tweeting a photo Monday showing her riding on the back of Usain Bolt. The photo of the Jamaican sprinter grinning back at his competitors as he won gold in the 100-meter dash in the Rio Olympics quickly got turned into quite a few...

Irish IOC Exec Wanted for Ticket Scalping

Arrest warrant issued for Patrick Hickey

(Newser) - An International Olympic Committee executive is in big trouble for allegedly scalping tickets to the Rio Games. Brazil authorities issued an arrest warrant for Patrick Hickey, and said Wednesday that he and six others were involved in the illegal ticket sales plot, the AP reports. Hickey, a member of the...

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