Rafer Johnson, who won the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Olympics and helped subdue Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin in 1968, died Wednesday. He was 86. He died at his home in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles, according to family friend Michael Roth. No cause of death was announced....
Snowbound: White Says He'll Skip Skateboard, Stick to Snow
VAIL, Colo. — If the world sees Shaun White at an Olympics again, it will be in 2022, not later this year. The three-time snowboarding champion told The Associated Press that he is taking skateboarding off his plate and won’t try to qualify for that sport’s Olympic debut later this...
LeBron James Among 44 US Olympic Basketball Team Finalists
LeBron James is considering a return to the Olympics. James — a two-time gold medalist and three-time Olympian — is among 44 players announced by USA Basketball on Monday as finalists for the team that will play in the Tokyo Games this summer. James played in 2004, 2008 and 2012,...
Snowboarding Visionary Jake Burton Carpenter Dies at 65
Whether you had a gold medal hanging from your neck, were just learning how to stand on a snowboard, or were one of those flustered skiers wondering where all the kids in the baggy pants were coming from, you knew the name “Burton.” Jake Burton Carpenter, the man who changed...
Semenya Case: A Clash Over Ensuring an Even Playing Field
NEW YORK — A court ruling requiring Olympic running sensation Caster Semenya to lower her testosterone levels goes to the heart of a dilemma facing the sports world: How to avoid discrimination against intersex or transgender athletes while ensuring that competitions are fair. The challenges faced by Semenya — a...
Money Games: Revised LA Olympics Budget Nearly $7 Billion
The price tag on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics is now $6.88 billion, a $1.36 billion increase that comes mainly because of accounting measures designed to better reflect inflation over the long lead-up to those games. Most key numbers the organizing committee released Tuesday are essentially the same as those...
USA Gymnastics Files for Bankruptcy After Sex-Abuse Scandal
USA Gymnastics is turning to bankruptcy in an attempt to ensure its survival. The embattled organization filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition on Wednesday in an effort to reach settlements in the dozens of sex-abuse lawsuits it faces and to avoid its potential demise at the hands of the U.S....
Sex Abuse Victims Accept Courage Award at ESPYs
LOS ANGELES — More than 140 survivors of sexual abuse by a former team doctor for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University joined hands on stage to be honored with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the ESPYs. The women who spoke out against the abuse by Larry Nassar...
U.S. Silver Medalist: Competition Is Small Part of Olympic Experience
Editor’s Note: On Feb. 11, 2018, Chris Mazdzer won the Olympic silver medal in men’s singles luge, becoming the first American to medal in the event. The five Olympic rings whose blue, yellow, black, green and red colors represent every flag in the world, is the most recognizable symbol worldwide....
U.S. Silver Medalist: Competition Is Small Part of Olympic Experience
Editor’s Note: On Feb. 11, 2018, Chris Mazdzer won the Olympic silver medal in men’s singles luge, becoming the first American to medal in the event. The five Olympic rings whose blue, yellow, black, green and red colors represent every flag in the world, is the most recognizable symbol worldwide....