Washington, United States | AFP | Retired track star Usain Bolt showed he’s still a few steps ahead when he posted an AFP picture of him outstripping his rivals at the Beijing Olympics with the cheeky caption: “social distancing”. Bolt’s post, featuring a picture by AFP photographer Nicolas Asfouri of …
Read More »Olympic broadcasters gear up for the biggest show on earth
Madrid, Spain | AFP | Clock-watching is an integral part of any Olympic Games but even the most eagle-eyed sporting anoraks might be forgiven for missing the fact that Sunday marks 600 days until the start of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. For most people, it is not actually a …
Read More »South Sudan snatch dramatic Olympic qualifying win
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | The east African nations were deadlocked at 1-1 on aggregate entering stoppage time in Juba and a penalty shootout was looming in the first round second leg. Makueth Nguet then became the hero of the youngest African nation when he scored to take his …
Read More »Kenya, Ethiopia scoring sprees in Olympics football
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Kenya and Ethiopia went on scoring sprees Wednesday as the African football qualifying competition for the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan kicked off. The Kenyans were two goals ahead of Mauritius within 13 minutes in Nairobi and finished 5-0 winners of a one-sided first …
Read More »Samsung denies Olympics bid corruption allegations
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | South Korean tech giant Samsung on Tuesday denied allegations it illegally lobbied International Olympic Committee members to vote for Pyeongchang to host the 2018 Winter Olympics over the German and French cities of Munich and Annecy. Corruption allegations surrounding Pyeongchang’s successful Olympic bid have …
Read More »LeBron, Curry headline all-star USA squad for 2020 Olympics
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | LeBron James and Stephen Curry were on Friday named in a star-studded 35-man squad which will form the basis of the United States basketball team for the 2019 World Cup and 2020 Olympics. A total of 17 Olympic gold medallists and 30 former members …
Read More »Japan condom makers hope for 2020 Olympic lift
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Japanese condom makers are ramping up preparations ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, seeing a golden opportunity to showcase their world-record ultra-thin products. For years, hundreds of thousands of condoms have been distributed for free to competitors at Olympic Games in a bid to encourage …
Read More »Putin says he ordered plane shot down before Sochi Olympics
Moscow, RUSSIAN FEDERATION | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an order to shoot down a passenger plane he believed would be used in a terror attack at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, he said in a new documentary. The plane was travelling from Ukraine to Turkey when Putin …
Read More »IOC lifts doping ban on Russia
Moscow, Russia | AFP | The International Olympic Committee has lifted a ban against Russia, Moscow officials said on Wednesday, after the country had been barred from the Pyeongchang games over state-sponsored doping. The news, confirmed later by the IOC, was announced as Olympic athletes were feted in the Kremlin, thanking …
Read More »Russia hacked Olympics computers, turned blame on N Korea: report
Washington, United States | AFP | Russian military spies hacked hundreds of computers used by Winter Olympics organizers and tried to make it look like the work of North Korea, the Washington Post reported Sunday, quoting US intelligence sources. South Korea had previously announced that it was investigating the failure of …
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