Karsten Warholm Karsten Warholm ran 45.95 to destroy his own world record and win gold in the men’s 400 meter hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics. In front of a mostly empty stadium on a hot afternoon in Tokyo, Norway’s Karsten Warholm broke the men’s 400-meter hurdle world record with a 45.95-second run to take .75 seconds off his own previous world record.  The race easily goes down as one of the best performances in history with six national records set. U.S. Olympic Trials champion Rai Benjamin also got under Warholm’s previous mark of 46.70 to take silver in 46.17. Benjamin … Continue reading Tokyo Olympic: Karsten Warholm demolishes 400 meter hurdles world record

Dutch Olympic star Sifan Hassan completed a remarkable recovery to win her heat in the women’s 1,500m in Tokyo after falling with just 380 meters of the race to go.Sifan Hassan falls while competing in the Women’s 1500m Round 1 at the Tokyo Olympics. Hassan was tripped over with less than a third of the race to go after another athlete tumbled to the ground just in front of her, resulting in an unfortunate tangle of legs. Undeterred, the Ethiopian-born Dutchwoman quickly jumped to her feet and continued on. The reigning world 1,500m champion has set her sights on achieving an unprecedented … Continue reading Incredible: Sifan Hassan wins Olympics race despite falling during final lap

A sprinter from Belarus who refused her team’s order to fly home early from the Olympics is seeking asylum in Poland, activists say. Krystina Timanovskaya says she was forcibly taken to the airport on Sunday for criticizing coaches. She spent the night in a hotel under protection from Japanese police, she voiced fears for her safety if she were to be returned to her country. Belarus says she was removed from the team because of her emotional state. Ms Timanovskaya was pictured entering the Polish embassy in Tokyo on Monday and an opposition group which helps athletes in Belarus told … Continue reading Belarus Olympian seeking asylum in Poland after refusing ‘forced’ flight home

They both cleared the highest bar, but when it came to deciding a winner, two Olympic high jumpers opted not to take it to a tie-breaker.Mutaz Essa Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi embrace after winning gold in the men’s high jump in Tokyo. Instead, they asked to share the gold medal prompting cheers beyond their home countries of Qatar and Italy. During the long competition, 30-year-old Mutaz Essa Barshim from Qatar and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi, 29, executed the first six jumps up to 2.37 meters (7 feet 8 inches). Both then attempted to match the Olympic record of 2.39 meters for sole ownership … Continue reading Best Of Humanity: Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Essa Barshim share Olympic gold in emotional high jump final

Hong Kong police are investigating an incident where a crowd watching the Olympics booed China’s anthem. Hundreds gathered at a shopping mall on Monday to watch a broadcast and cheer on Hong Kong fencer Edgar Cheung, who won gold in the men’s individual foil. When the Chinese national anthem was played, some in the crowd began jeering while others shouted “We are Hong Kong”, video filmed at the scene shows. It is illegal to insult the anthem under a recently passed law. Anyone found guilty of flouting the national anthem law could be jailed up to three years and fined HK$50,000 … Continue reading Hong Kong crowd booing China’s anthem sparks police probe

Yinka Ajayi is among those to have been sent home. Ten Nigerian athletes will be sent home from the Tokyo Olympics after authorities “dropped the ball” and failed to administer enough drugs tests, it was revealed on Wednesday. The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) ruled that the competitors, all of whom have already travelled to Japan, will be unable to take part in the Games because of non-compliance with out-of-competition drug testing requirements. 10 athletes from five other countries – Belarus, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, and Ukraine – have also been ruled ineligible to compete. The AIU said that in the lead … Continue reading 10 Nigerian Olympians will be sent home after being disqualified because authorities ‘dropped the ball’ and didn’t drug test them enough

Members of the Australian athletics team are isolating at the Tokyo Olympics after close contact with American pole vaulter Sam Kendricks, who has tested positive for Covid-19. Kendricks, the reigning world champion, has been ruled out of the Games. The Australian Olympic Committee said in a statement that athletes are isolating in their rooms as a “precautionary measure” and are undergoing testing procedures. The athletics starts on Friday. Kendricks, 28, won Olympic bronze in Rio five years ago and had been expected to contend for a medal in Tokyo. He won the world pole vault title in 2017 and 2019. … Continue reading Australian athletics team isolating after close contact with Covid-19 case

Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka suffered a surprise exit in her home Olympics as Czech Marketa Vondrousova earned a straight-set win in Tokyo. Osaka, 23, has been one of the faces of the Games in the Japanese capital and had the honour of lighting the Olympic cauldron in last week’s opening ceremony. But the four-time Grand Slam champion could not back that up by winning a medal, losing 6-1 6-4 to the world number 42 in the third round. Continue reading Tokyo Olympics: Naomi Osaka loses to Marketa Vondrousova

Hidilyn Diaz of the Philippines reacts after placing first in the women’s 55 kg weightlifting competition during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The 30-year-old weightlifter is the first athlete from the Philippines to win an Olympic gold medal. With her final lift Monday at Tokyo International Forum, she set two Olympic records en route to a triumph in the 55 kg division. “It’s a dream come true,” Diaz said afterward. “I just want to say that we Filipinos are strong. We Filipinos can compete here at the Olympics. We can do it.” The Philippines first sent athletes to the Olympics … Continue reading History Made: The Philippines finally got its first gold medal after nearly a century of competing

Japanese Momiji Nishiya, 13, clinched the Olympic title in the women’s street skateboarding competition on Monday, shedding tears of happiness after nailing her final trick and becoming the country’s youngest gold medal winner. On the Olympic podium with her, two other teenage girls -13 and 16 – stood wearing silver and bronze medals around their necks, rewards for landing tricks most kids their age only get to see on Instagram. The silver went to Rayssa Leal – Brazil’s second silver in skateboarding after Kelvin Hoefler finished second on Sunday in the men’s event, with Funa Nakayama of Japan taking bronze. “I … Continue reading What an accomplishment: Japan’s 13-year-old Nishiya wins Olympics skateboarding gold

Nobody was watching Ahmed Hafnaoui in lane eight of the Olympic pool but all eyes were on the Tunisian teenager at the finish. Hafnaoui was the stunning winner of the 400 metres freestyle at the Tokyo Games on Sunday, beating a field of faster and older swimmers. The 18-year-old finished in three minutes, 43.26 seconds, punctuating his victory with loud yelling that echoed in the mostly empty 15,000-seat arena. He was the slowest qualifier to start the final. “I believed it when I touched the wall and I saw myself first,” he said. “I was so surprised.” Australia’s Jack McLoughlin … Continue reading Amazing: Tunisia’s Hafnaoui wins surprise Olympic swimming gold

The show director of the Olympics opening ceremony has been dismissed, one day before the event is due to be held. Footage of Kentaro Kobayashi from the 1990s recently emerged in which he seems to be making jokes about the Holocaust. Japan’s Olympic chief Seiko Hashimoto said the video ridiculed “painful facts of history”. The dismissal is the latest in a string of scandals to hit the Games. It comes days after a composer quit the team creating the ceremony after it emerged he had bullied classmates with disabilities at school. In March, creative chief Hiroshi Sasaki quit after suggesting … Continue reading Games in Crisis: Olympics opening ceremony director sacked for Holocaust joke