The Paralympic Games don’t usually generate the same level of hype as the Olympics, but they certainly weren’t lacking in the incredible story department in 2016. For instance, one might assume a Paralympian would automatically clock a slower time than his Olympic counterpart in say, a 1,500-meter race. One would be wrong. Four visually impaired athletes—Abdellatif and Fouad Baka of Algeria, Tamiru Demisse of Ethiopia and Henry Kirwa of Kenya—all ran a faster time in the 1,500-meter T13 final than the Olympic champion, American Matthew Centrowitz Jr. Abdellatif Baka’s gold medal-winning time…
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The strangest champion of the Tokyo Olympics
Everyone spends the moment of victory at the Olympic Games in different ways. Someone is exulting uncontrollably, someone falls to his knees in tears… But the athlete from Iran met his Olympic triumph in the most original way. Sajjad Ganjzadeh became an Olympic champion when … he was lying unconscious on a stretcher. And without the fatal blow that sent him to the knockout, Sajjad had almost no chance of gold. This is truly the strangest champion of the 2020 Olympics! Karate debuted not without problems It is unlikely that…
Read MoreMount Olympus and how the Olympics are connected with it
Olympus occupied a central place in the ancient Greek civilization, but no one can say for sure whether it was a specific location or a metaphorical name for the house of the twelve gods. Even the etymology remains unclear – the name “Olympus” could come from” round”,” luminous ” or from a few more words. The most convincing evidence indicates that Olympus was called the mountains that include the highest point of modern Greece. The warriors dedicated their victories on the battlefield to the local gods, and the athletes dedicated…
Read MoreTropical Storm Nepartak could make landfall Tuesday on Japan's main island
A tropical storm could make landfall on Japan’s main island on Tuesday, the weather agency said, as Olympic organizers said they had no plans to reschedule events beyond those already moved. But because Tropical Storm Nepartak is expected to move west and approach east and northeastern Japan, some Olympic events may be affected by the weather, with the Meteorological Agency warning of heavy rain, winds and high waves. The eighth storm of the year was moving northwest at about 30 kph in the Pacific as of 3 p.m. Monday. It…
Read MoreThe flame of the previous Olympics in Tokyo was lit by the “atomic boy”: torchbearer Yoshinori Sakai
On July 23, the flame of the 2020 Olympics will be lit in Tokyo. This will be the second time for the city, and for the first time it hosted the Games in 1964-and the real symbol was the torchbearer Yoshinori Sakai, nicknamed “atomic boy”. On August 6, 1945, at 8:15, American troops dropped a Baby atomic bomb on Hiroshima (with an explosive equivalent of 20 kilotons of TNT). Most of the city was destroyed, only 70 thousand people died immediately from the explosion, and another 60 thousand-later: from wounds,…
Read MoreJapan to ease COVID-19 state of emergency, focus on Games spectators
Japan is set to outline how it will lift its “state of emergency” curbs while keeping some restrictions, including spectator numbers at big events, amid fears that next month’s Olympics could trigger a new wave of COVID-19 infections. Media reports say the government is considering allowing up to 10,000 spectators into stadiums during the Games, in line with a plan endorsed by health experts on Wednesday (Jun 16) for local events. Instead of removing all lockdown measures, the government is seeking to call a “quasi-emergency” in seven of those prefectures, meaning…
Read MoreTokyo to vaccinate 18,000 Olympics workers, volunteers
About 18,000 Tokyo Olympics workers including referees and volunteers will be vaccinated from next week, organisers said Friday (Jun 11), as they try to build confidence that the Games will be safe. With just six weeks until the pandemic-postponed Games open, officials are still battling domestic opposition and fear that the event could spread the coronavirus. Japan’s vaccination programme got off to a slow start and, while it is now picking up pace, just over 4 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated, with close to 13 per cent…
Read MoreIOC reallocates North Korea's qualification spots for Tokyo Games
North Korea’s qualification places for next month’s Tokyo Olympics were reallocated on Tuesday after it decided not to attend the Games, the International Olympic Committee said. North Korea said in April it would not be attending the Olympics due to coronavirus concerns, dealing a blow to the IOC’s efforts to have 206 national Olympic committees, including both North and South Korea, at the Games in Japan. “In April they (North Korea) held a general assembly and there was a decision at the time,” James Macleod, the IOC’s director of Olympic…
Read MoreSingapore athletes, coaches and officials have completed COVID-19 vaccinations
About 220 of Team Singapore’s athletes, coaches and officials have completed their COVID-19 vaccinations, with the inoculation of athletes travelling to the Tokyo Olympics and the Paralympics an “immediate priority”, said Sport Singapore (SportSG) on Thursday (May 27). “We started the vaccination for our athletes, coaches and officials in February and, so far, about 220 have completed their vaccinations,” said Mr Toh. “We will continue to progressively vaccinate athletes, coaches and key officials representing Singapore at the upcoming major Games, by end-May 2021. In the same way, more athletes, coaches and other officials will be vaccinated progressively…
Read MoreAsahi daily, an official Tokyo Olympics partner, urges Games cancellation
Japanese newspaper publisher Asahi Shimbun, an official partner of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, called for the Summer Games to be cancelled in an editorial on Wednesday, citing risks to public safety and strains on the medical system from the COVID-19 pandemic. Several polls have shown the majority of the public is opposed to holding the Games this summer, concerned about tens of thousands of athletes and officials descending on a country where vaccinations have proceeded slowly. Doctors’ associations have protested holding the Games, investors have talked up the benefits of…
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