2016 Olympics

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Australia Team: Olympic Village Unfit for Habitation

The mayor says he'll give them a kangaroo

(Newser) - Australian athletes and coaching staff are in hotels instead of Rio's Olympic Village because the accommodations are in terrible shape, the head of the country's delegation says. Kitty Chiller says the problems include "blocked toilets, leaking pipes, exposed wiring, darkened stairwells where no lighting has been installed,...

Russia Ducks Full Doping Ban in IOC Ruling

But Olympics panel leaves it to global federations to decide which athletes to ban

(Newser) - The IOC has decided against a complete ban on Russian athletes from the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, reports the AP . The International Olympic Committee says it is leaving it up to global federations to decide which Russian athletes to accept in their sports. The IOC says it will deny...

Here&#39;s How to Fix the Olympics
 Here's How to Fix the Olympics 
OPINION
Jul 21, 2016 1:58 PM CDT

Here's How to Fix the Olympics

It's time to 'decentralize,' says columnist

(Newser) - The Rio Olympics have gotten a lot of bad press thanks to Zika's proliferation in Brazil, but it's not just this year's Olympics that are in trouble, writes Paul Christesen in The Conversation . Other host cities have faced problems from funding to environmental impacts. "It seems...

Russia Swapped Urine Samples Through 'Mouse Hole': Report

It led to a room full of clean, frozen samples

(Newser) - During the day, it looked like an impenetrable wall. Only under cover of darkness was the small "mouse hole" at ground level uncovered to reveal a passage from Russia's anti-doping lab to a room where clean urine tests sat waiting, frozen. "At a convenient moment, usually around...

There's a Silver Lining to Zika at the Olympics

It's weeding out the athletes who have no business being at the Games: David Kahn

(Newser) - Top athletes including Rory McIlroy have pulled out of the Rio Olympics over Zika concerns. Good riddance, argues David Kahn. "Golfers, along with stars from other already enriched sports, have no place in the Olympics," he writes at Bloomberg . Golfers and tennis players, who compete in international tournaments...

Rio's Newest Problem: 'Super Bacteria' in the Water

And a nasty oil slick in Guanabara Bay, right where sailors are set to compete

(Newser) - Rio de Janeiro has been plagued by body parts on beaches , muggings , and Zika fears ahead of the Summer Olympics, and now a "super bacteria" has entered the mix. Brazilian scientists say the drug-resistant bacteria was found along the coast of popular beaches including Flamengo and Botafogo, both of...

It's Unprecedented: Triplets Going to Olympics

Luik sisters of Estonia are about to make history

(Newser) - Two hundreds sets of twins have competed at the Olympics, but an Olympic historian says he's "99.9% sure" that triplets never have—in the same Olympic Games, or even separate ones. That will change next month when Estonian sisters Leila, Liina, and Lily Luik—the Trio to...

Doping Gets Another Russian Team Booted From Olympics

Rower's urine sample had banned substance in it

(Newser) - World rowing's ruling body says that the Russian men's quadruple sculls team has been disqualified from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics for a doping violation, and will be replaced at the games by New Zealand, the AP reports. The World Rowing Federation says that trimetazidine, a banned substance,...

Rio's Latest Problem: Body Parts on Olympic Beach

Foot, other body parts found Wednesday

(Newser) - The beaches of the Rio Olympics just added gory to gross : Police say a foot and other body parts possibly belonging to a young adult turned up on Copacabana beach Wednesday—right in front of the Olympic Beach Volleyball Arena, reports CNN . Little is known about the case, but it'...

Rio Governor: Olympics Could Be 'Big Failure'

Acting governor warns that federal government payout is needed

(Newser) - Rio de Janeiro's acting governor warned Monday that the Olympic Games could be a "big failure" because of budget shortfalls that threaten to compromise security and mobility during the games. In an interview with Rio's O Globo daily, Francisco Dornelles said the state is still awaiting an...

Using Jaguar in Olympic Ceremony Ends Up Being Terrible Idea

It was chained up during Brazil torch relay

(Newser) - Using a live jaguar at an Olympic torch relay ceremony—what could go wrong? Officials in Manaus, Brazil, discovered the answer to that question Monday when the animal was shot dead after escaping its leash and approaching one of the soldiers sent to recapture it, Reuters reports. In what the...

Athletes Are Already Getting Robbed in Rio

Australian Paralympian robbed at gunpoint on Sunday

(Newser) - The Olympics are still six weeks away, yet several athletes have already become victims of crime in Rio. Australian Paralympic sailor Liesl Tesch, 47, says a man with a gun demanded money, then pushed her off her bicycle as she rode in a park on Sunday. A second man stole...

Russian Track Team Banned From Olympics

Doping scandal results in bad news for the nation

(Newser) - In what the New York Times calls "an extraordinary punishment that might be without precedent in Olympics history," the Russian track and field team has been banned from competition at the Summer Olympics. Seven months ago, the World Anti-Doping Agency published a scathing report accusing Russia of a...

Pregnant Savannah Guthrie: I'm Skipping Olympics

She's the highest-profile NBC employee to opt out so far

(Newser) - Today co-host Savannah Guthrie is pregnant with her second child—which means she won't be heading to Brazil to cover the Olympics this summer. "I’m not going to be able to go to Rio, so you’ll have to go to beach volleyball without me," she...

US Olympic Basketball Team Loses NBA's MVP

Stephen Curry won't be going to Rio Olympics in August

(Newser) - Stephen Curry has withdrawn from consideration from the Olympics, leaving the US basketball team without the NBA's MVP. Curry said Monday in a statement that he has decided to pull out for "several factors—including recent ankle and knee injuries." He didn't specify what the other...

Detroit Tigers Pitcher Contracted Zika

Francisco Rodriguez said he didn't feel like himself for 2 whole months

(Newser) - When he's not pitching for the Detroit Tigers, Francisco Rodriguez heads home for some R&R in his native Venezuela. But the 34-year-old came back from the last offseason with more than just memories: He contracted the Zika virus , and it wasn't pleasant, ESPN reports. For two entire...

Hot Fashion for S. Korea's Olympic Team: Zika-Proof Attire

Training, ceremonial clothing for Rio Games to be 'impregnated' with chemicals

(Newser) - South Korea's Olympic committee on Wednesday unveiled Zika-proof long-sleeved shirts and pants it says will help protect the country's Olympic athletes from the mosquito-borne virus at this year's games in Rio de Janeiro, the AP reports. The sets of clothing will be impregnated with mosquito-repellent chemicals and...

Rio's Olympic Flame Begins Its 15-Week Odyssey

Officials promise 2016 Games will be a success

(Newser) - The Olympic flame has been kindled at the birthplace of the ancient games in Greece, heralding the start of a 15-week journey leading to the Aug. 5 opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, reports the AP . IOC and Rio organizing committee leaders attended Thursday's flame-lighting at Ancient Olympia, where...

'Shocking Downfall' for the Country That Gave Us Nadia

Romanian women's team fails to qualify for Rio

(Newser) - The Romanian women's gymnastics team has scored a medal in every Olympics since 1976, making it the longest Olympic medal streak in the sport—and one that has now been broken, reports NPR . The team failed to nab a spot at the Rio Olympics during a qualifying "test...

Brazil's New Weapon Vs. Zika: Gamma Rays

Officials hope by sterilizing male mosquitoes they can curb spread of virus

(Newser) - With the 2016 Olympics in Rio right around the corner, Brazil is bringing in the big guns to fight Zika—specifically, a gamma ray device to sterilize the mosquitoes that carry the virus, Reuters reports. A nonprofit group will breed up to 12 million of the male insects a week...

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