New to long jump, U.S. Paralympians Lambert and Wallace form unlikely partnership
Jarryd Wallace and Noelle Lambert begin competition at the Paralympics in the long jump Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
Afghan taekwondo para-athlete makes history with the first medal for the Refugee Paralympic Team
Zakia Khudadadi has made history at the Paris 2024 Paralympics by becoming the first athlete from the Refugee Paralympic Team to win a medal.
Seine water quality issues resurface for para triathletes at Paralympic Games
Concerns over water quality in the Seine River have resurfaced at the Paralympic Games with organizers changing the schedule for para triathlon races.
Great Britain para archer Jodie Grinham balances competition, motherhood and pregnancy
Great Britainโs Jodie Grinham returned to the Paralympic stage Thursday for the first time since Rio 2016, this time seven months pregnant.
Teenage Paralympians aiming for Team USAโs first badminton medal
Miles Krajweski and Jayci Simon are trying to win Team USAโs first para badminton medal in the SH6 mixed doubles event for players of short stature.
Paralympic social media accounts bypass traditional media with edgy take
Paralympic athletes and even the International Paralympic Committee are raising their visibility on social media with content focusing on and even making fun of their physical disabilities.
Preparing for the Paralympics, Paris reminds residents and visitors that 'game is not over'
As Paris transitions from the Olympics to the Paralympics, the city is adapting both its venues and its energy for the next big event.
Refugee athletes deliver 'a message of perseverance' as they seek medals at Paris Paralympics
Athletes on the Refugee Paralympic Team are looking to send a message of hope as they strive for the podium at the 2024 Paralympic Games that begin in Paris next week.
Pope Francis calls for Olympic truce for countries at war, prays for peace
Pope Francis has voiced his hope that the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games will provide an opportunity for countries at war to respect an ancient Greek tradition and establish a truce for the duration of the Games.
French sports minister takes a dip in the Seine ahead of Paris Olympics
French sports minister Amรฉlie Oudรฉa-Castรฉra has taken a symbolic dip in the Seine in a bid to ease concerns about water quality before the start of the Paris Olympics.
Americans favored to top overall medal count in Paris Olympics. China will challenge for most gold
The United States is strongly favored to win the most overall medals when the Paris Olympics open in a month.
To avoid strikes at Paris Olympics, French government to pay bonuses to civil servants
France's public administration minister says the government will offer bonuses to civil servants mobilized to work in Paris during the Olympic and Paralympic Games in a bid to avoid strikes.
Virginia Western Community College students designing adaptive equipment for para-athlete
Engineering students at Virginia Western Community College are teaming up with a nonprofit to create a sporting tool for a U.S. veteran and para-athlete, who recently made the U.S. Boccia National team.
The Olympic flame for the 2024 Paris Games will be carried for 68 days before the cauldron is lit
The Olympic flame for the 2024 Paris Games will pass through 64 departments and 400 towns over 68 days before the cauldron is lit.
Paris Olympics vows to carry the torch for LGBTQ rights after watershed of Tokyo
Organizers of the 2024 Paris Games intend to seize on the Olympic spotlight to push a message that LGBTQ rights need to progress outside France.
Chasing Gold: Paris 2024, Ep. 1 -- Noah Lyles gets a legendary surprise
As we embark down the road to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, NBC Sports is creating a new monthly program โ Chasing Gold: Paris 2024 โ that will immerse viewers in the world of the Olympic and Paralympic athletes as they prepare for the next Summer Games.
Japan makes arrests on bribery suspicions in Tokyo Olympics
A former Tokyo Olympic organizing committee board member and three people from a clothing company that was a surprise sponsor of the 2020 Games have been arrested on bribery suspicions.
Biden says Olympians brought a bit of unity to weary nation
President Joe Biden praised Team USA for bringing a bit of unity to a pandemic weary nation as he hosted a White House celebration Wednesday with about 600 athletes from this yearโs Winter Olympics in Beijing and the coronavirus-delayed Summer Games held in 2021 in Tokyo.
![Volunteers from abroad ruled out for Tokyo Olympics](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/5iGsztpxqNp3Xf0EnG30_VPLVgg=/2048x1489/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/PW6SKEMLEFGBLLQMXHQELXKU6M.jpg)
Volunteers from abroad ruled out for Tokyo Olympics
Seiko Hashimoto, center, President of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, talks with Kyoko Raita, right, Tokyo 2020 Executive Board member and speaker for a presentation on the Olympic Charter and Gender Equality in Tokyo, Japan, Monday, March 22, 2021. Fujio Mitarai, Honorary President of Tokyo 2020, is at left. Hashimoto said they will take all possible COVID-19 countermeasures as the torch relay opens this Thursday from northeastern Fukushima prefecture. (Kimimasa Mayama/Pool Photo via AP)TOKYO โ Volunteers from abroad will not be allowed into Japan for the postponed Tokyo Olympics, organizers said Monday. Japan's Kyodo news agency, quoting โsources close to the matter,โ said around 500 overseas volunteers would be given exemptions to enter Japan.
![Spectators from abroad to be barred from Tokyo Olympics](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/je7qerNDwT1leGdfKxECGx9xWgc=/2048x1365/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/7ZVSF3PYXJD6RPCBFUTIG633OU.jpg)
Spectators from abroad to be barred from Tokyo Olympics
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, on a screen, delivers an opening speech while Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee President Seiko Hashimoto listens at a five-party meeting of Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games with International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike and Japanese Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa in Tokyo Saturday, March 20, 2021. (Yoshikazu Tsuno/Pool Photo via AP)TOKYO โ At last itโs official after countless unsourced news reports and rumors: spectators from abroad will be barred from the postponed Tokyo Olympics when they open in four months. The decision was announced Saturday after an online meeting of the International Olympic Committee, the Japanese government, the Tokyo government, the International Paralympic Committee, and local organizers. Several surveys have shown that up to 80% oppose holding the Olympics, and a similar percentage opposed fans from overseas attending.
![Tokyo Olympics ready to announce ban on fans from abroad](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/JzNtATvgIV87knqmc4COKwPMnlM=/2048x1365/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/HIVHV3PS5BFEPGCQ5D7D73HTVY.jpg)
Tokyo Olympics ready to announce ban on fans from abroad
Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, speaks during a press conference Friday, March 19, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)TOKYO โ Tokyo organizers and the International Olympic Committee are poised to finally make it official that most fans from abroad will be prohibited from attending the postponed Olympics when they open in four months. Toshiro Muto, the CEO of the Tokyo organizing committee, has said ticket holders from abroad would receive refunds. The local organizing committee budget is sure to take a hit. โWe are looking at the other implications of accommodation, looking at implications for national Olympic committees who have sponsors who might have bought tickets.
![Olympic host Japan will not take part in China vaccine offer](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/OA4hMWFZ_EkmC8LJcbibqBfMisI=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/DL5FBV3BJRBQBKGK5CMVPW6SDE.jpg)
Olympic host Japan will not take part in China vaccine offer
Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020), speaks during a news conference Thursday, March 11, 2021, after attending the International Olympic Committee (IOC) general meeting. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)TOKYO โ Japan will not take part in China's offer โ accepted by the International Olympic Committee โ to provide vaccines for โparticipants" in the postponed Tokyo Games and next year's Beijing Winter Games. Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa said Friday that Japan had not been consulted by the IOC about the Chinese vaccines, and that Japanese athletes would not take them. โWe have been taking comprehensive anti-infectious disease measures for the Tokyo Games in order to allow participation without vaccinations,โ Marukawa said. AdThe IOC has indicated it is a sports body and will not meddle in domestic issues in China.
![IOC members worry about banning foreign fans from Olympics](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/wGRYqPoa-_NnOUzT0YpB__aLfAY=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/B4B7O6EDIVDHLIFGMICGSDHR2Q.jpg)
IOC members worry about banning foreign fans from Olympics
(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)TOKYO โ Several IOC members on Thursday reminded Tokyo Olympic organizers about the potential negative consequences of banning overseas fans from attending the postponed games. Tokyo organizers say a final decision about fans from abroad will be made before the torch relay starts on March 25. Many unsourced reports in Japan, citing unnamed officials, say the decision has already been made to keep fans from abroad out of the country. โSo the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee is not in a position to comment.โAdRecent polls show up to 80% in Japan think the Olympics should be postponed or canceled. Reports in Japan say organizers are considering allowing some fans from abroad to attend if they have tickets from sponsors, national Olympic committees, or sports federations.
![Thomas Bach re-elected as IOC president until 2025](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/7vPGew0XOfQOWtuNOIi1nTYsh-g=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/5TPQPE37EJHTBI2FUYFZGZJVIU.jpg)
Thomas Bach re-elected as IOC president until 2025
FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2020, file photo, ThomasBach, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President,speaks during the joint press conference between IOC and Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) in Tokyo, Japan. (DuXiaoyi/Pool Photo via AP, File)GENEVA โ Thomas Bach was re-elected as president of the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday for a final four-year term with his immediate focus on this yearโs delayed Tokyo Games. โThe question is not whether, the question is how these Olympic Games will take place,โ he said. Despite postponement costs for the Tokyo Games, Bach secured the IOCโs long-term future by extending key broadcasting and sponsor deals through 2032. It was an โunprecedented attack on the integrity of the Olympic Games,โ the German said Wednesday.
![New Tokyo Olympic president tries to assure Japan on safety](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/FZQqEP_peKqiODE-GuPKIfvwLYI=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/GD2DEEIOHJAUFJXCK5YQ3PRWXA.jpg)
New Tokyo Olympic president tries to assure Japan on safety
Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020), speaks before reporters after a five-party meeting at the Tokyo 2020 headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. (Du Xiaoyi/Pool Photo via AP)TOKYO โ The new president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee has begun holding weekly news conferences hoping to win over a doubting Japanese public with the postponed games opening in just under five months. โI understand there are a lot of people in Tokyo and in Japan who have concerns about the games in Tokyo this summer. โPeople need to start to build confidence in the safety of the games,โ Hashimoto said. โPeople in the world are now paying attention to gender issues, diversity issues on the organizing committee," she said.
![Report: No fans from abroad for postponed Tokyo Olympics](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/i2vXB1gPWZGul6wNw7YmxmUxjNM=/1600x843/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/L4OO3YAP2FHPJFGFUO7D635Q3Y.jpg)
Report: No fans from abroad for postponed Tokyo Olympics
This photo shows the opening remark session of a five-party meeting held by the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) at the Tokyo 2020 headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. (Du Xiaoyi/Pool Photo via AP)TOKYO โ The postponed Tokyo Olympics look like they will take place without any fans from abroad when they open in just under five months. The report came just an hour before Tokyo organizers held โfive-partyโ talks online with the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the central government of Japan. The organizing committee has budgeted income of $800 million from ticket sales. Seiko Hashimoto, the new president of the organizing committee, cautioned on Tuesday of the problems that await.
![Tokyo Games offer Playbooks to assure athletes, sway public](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/7hJB_bpZkSYoredMd93IIHCgbEA=/1600x1046/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/EQGEMRAVQJHXTO73GLKIRWQJP4.jpg)
Tokyo Games offer Playbooks to assure athletes, sway public
Christophe Dubi, Olympic Games Executive Director for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), joins other representatives from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) at a Joint press briefing in Tokyo on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. โThere are indeed a lot of questions in the public domain about how the games will take place this summer. And today is a preliminary review of how things will be done," Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi said in a video news conference with Tokyo officials. The rollout of the Playbooks is aimed at assuring athletes, and an attempt to convince the Japanese public that the Olympics should go ahead. The IOC held a similar session earlier in the week with Olympic athletes and their representatives to explain the stringent guidelines in their rule books.
![Amid cancellation talk, Tokyo Olympics `focused on hosting'](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/nEPWNdBoD0bNisPneQwXnerzQxU=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/W3O3TLNLRZHWRIH7364NNSXK3U.jpg)
Amid cancellation talk, Tokyo Olympics `focused on hosting'
FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2020, file photo, ThomasBach, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President,speaks during the joint press conference between IOC and Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) in Tokyo, Japan. The International Olympic Committee is pushing back against reports that the postponed Tokyo Olympics will be canceled and will not open on July 23. The Tokyo Games were postponed 10 months ago at the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, and now their future appears threatened again. (DuXiaoyi/Pool Photo via AP, File)TOKYO โ IOC President Thomas Bach and local organizers are pushing back against reports that the postponed Tokyo Olympics will be canceled. โThere is no doubt the Tokyo 2020 Games will be very different to any previous games and that this summerโs event looks a long way off right now.
![Tokyo Olympics: Q&A on vaccines, fans, qualifying and costs](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/eDd9MniwjLQ2RPWth-wr9yDe2oY=/1600x1067/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/TN3RV5MUM5ELVASZ57LGLPNXGE.jpg)
Tokyo Olympics: Q&A on vaccines, fans, qualifying and costs
Bach said during this week's trip to Tokyo that he is encouraging all Olympic participants and fans to be vaccinated - if one becomes available - if they are going to attend next year's Tokyo Olympics. The Tokyo Olympics were postponed eight months ago, and now are to open in eight months: July 23, 2021. Hanging in the balance are 11,000 Olympic athletes and 4,400 Paralympians. Tokyo said the Olympics would cost $7.3 billion when it was awarded the games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2013. Takahashi is a former executive of the Japanese marketing company Dentsu Inc., the marketing agent for the Tokyo Games.
![Bach issues gentle plea for Olympians to get vaccinated](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/MkcpqTiNAJlgsAxtuNnAJk9rQ08=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/J3AO4LZ54JD67EME4NRB4GM5ZQ.jpg)
Bach issues gentle plea for Olympians to get vaccinated
IOC President Thomas Bach wearing a protective mask talks to journalists during a visit to Olympic and Paralympic Village in Tokyo Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020. (Nicolas Datiche/Pool Photo via AP)TOKYO โ As he toured the Athletes Village on Tuesday, IOC President Thomas Bach issued a gentle plea to all competitors to get vaccinated before the Tokyo Olympics โ if a vaccine is available. In a more private setting, Bach has spoken directly about Olympic athletesโ responsibility to consider the vaccine. In an on-line session last month with the IOCโs Athletesโ Commission, Bach was asked โ among other things โ if athletes would be โforcedโ to be vaccinated. As well as the 11,000 Olympic athletes, there could be tens of thousands of officials, judges, VIPs, and media and broadcasters traveling to Japan for the games.
![Asia Today: New Zealand imposes new mask rules as precaution](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/Lr_A0NBzWVNSRFRYF89Kc12jVjk=/1600x1061/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/4VIGBDL3CFAFFFV67K6BFWXT24.jpg)
Asia Today: New Zealand imposes new mask rules as precaution
ThomasBach, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President,puts on his mask before speaking during the joint press conference between IOC and Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) in Tokyo, Japan, Nov. 16, 2020. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Virus Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced the new rules on Monday after meeting with senior lawmakers. โ South Koreaโs daily coronavirus tally has stayed above 200 for a third consecutive day, as authorities consider raising the countryโs social distancing rules. The 223 additional cases recorded Monday by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency raised the countryโs total to 28,769, including 494 deaths. The agency says 193 of them are locally transmitted cases while the rest was associated with international arrivals.
![Tokyo Olympics and IOC find mostly minor areas to 'simplify'](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/P_XMHB3ad_nQrRCgfWfsP7fPRMo=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/7TLQLCQVAZBZJFUSXNIWHLYDOI.jpg)
Tokyo Olympics and IOC find mostly minor areas to 'simplify'
CEO of Tokyo 2020 Toshiro Muto and President of Tokyo 2020 Yoshiro Mori wear face masks as they leave a joint press conference between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, in Tokyo. (Rodrigo Reyes Marin/Pool Photo via AP)TOKYO โ Tokyo Olympic organizers announced several โsimplificationโ changes Friday for next yearโs postponed games, though with few large-scale cost savings. Simplifying the Tokyo Games has been a pledge of the International Olympic Committee and local organizers since COVID-19 forced the unprecedented delay six months ago. Tokyo organizing committee CEO Toshiro Muto was asked how much was being saved by the simplification. IOC President Thomas Bach, addressing Japanese officials on Thursday, suggested a vaccine could be ready for the Olympics, which open on July 23, 2021.
![Qatar interested in bidding for 2032 Olympics, Paralympics](https://www.wsls.com/resizer/G17LpGoExUMrBSBCd3sb5GVSWl8=/1600x1047/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/7DGVLQW32ZGORKHNXQRDMAGLYQ.jpg)
Qatar interested in bidding for 2032 Olympics, Paralympics
Qatar is keen on on hosting the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Qatar is turning its focus to bringing the Summer Games to the Middle East for the first time as it prepares to host the region's first World Cup in 2022. An interest in bidding for the Olympics comes as Qatar continues to face corruption allegations over how it won the rights to host the World Cup in a FIFA vote in December 2010. FIFA had to move the World Cup from its usual June-July slot to November-December 2022 due to the desert countrys fierce summer heat. The next Summer Olympics are the rescheduled Tokyo Games in 2021, followed by Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028.