Simone Biles leads U.S. women to record 7th straight team title at gymnastics world championships

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN
Updated 4:58 PM CDT, October 4, 2023



ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) — Simone Biles and her teammates were far from perfect, and yet nothing could stand in the way of a victory that set a record for both the U.S. women’s team and the greatest gymnast in history.

The U.S. women earned a record seventh consecutive team title at the gymnastics world championships on Wednesday night. For Biles, it was also her 33rd major championship medal — across the worlds and Olympics — to make her the most decorated female gymnast ever.

And it’s fitting that it came in Antwerp, the Belgian port city where Biles came to international prominence 10 years ago by winning her first world title in 2013.

“It wasn’t Team USA’s best day,” Biles said. “It’s crazy, we still pulled it out. So I’m really, really proud of the team.”

The American team of Biles, Shilese Jones, Skye Blakely, Joscelyn Roberson and Leanne Wong combined for a total of 167.729 points to edge second-place Brazil and France.

The U.S. team won by a margin of 2.199 points as the final proved to be a closer contest than anticipated after the Americans put up a dominant performance in qualifying to finish more than five points ahead of the field.

“We had some mistakes here and there, but just keep going, keep relying on our training,” Biles said. “But I think this team that we have brought this year has the most great courage and fight. ... We had so many emotions going throughout the day.”

The U.S. women have won gold in the team event at every world championship that included a team competition since 2011. Their victory in Antwerp broke a tie with the Chinese men for the longest streak of consecutive team titles.

Biles now has 26 world championship medals, 20 of them gold, to go with her seven Olympic medals, including the 2016 Olympic title.
Her 33 combined medals at the sport’s two biggest events are one more than what Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union achieved.

Russia was banned from the event because of sanctions imposed by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) as a result of the war against Ukraine. In the absence of their Russian rivals — the defending Olympic champions — the Americans were the overwhelming favorites.

But the U.S team overcame an early scare as Roberson was forced out of the event even before it started after she seemed to hurt an ankle while warming up at the vault. She was helped off the mat and subbed by Wong.

“My ankle just ... popped,” Roberson said.

Jones then kicked off the competition smoothly for the Americans with a Double Twist Yurchenko, with only a small hop. Wong responded to the last-minute call with a clean effort before Biles opted for the slightly safer “Cheng” vault rather than the Yurchenko Double Pike she performed during qualifying on Sunday.

The Americans amassed 42.966 points and were second behind China after the first rotation following the Chinese gymnasts’ excellent display on uneven bars.

Biles and her teammates then bested their Chinese opponents’ performance on bars as they took the overall lead with a margin of 1.467 points. They increased it a bit further after the beam — despite a sixth-place finish on that apparatus — as Biles made up for the modest 11.700 Wong received by scoring 14.300 with a solid routine.

Biles capped off a successful night for the U.S team with a spectacular floor routine rewarded by a 15.166.

Biles is competing at her first international competition following a two-year absence. Her previous appearance was at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics, where she was hampered by a bout with a mental block known as “ the twisties ” that gymnasts can experience while in the air, and withdrew from several events.

Now she’s back in the same city that catapulted her to international fame a decade ago, winning the first of her five world all-around titles as a 16-year-old prodigy.

“Each and every time you are crowned world champion, it feels a little bit different,” Biles said. “I’m still surprised that I’m still going, I’m 26, I’m a little bit older. It’s different, but it’s exciting.”

Biles, who posted an overall score of 58.732 points, is also the favorite to add a sixth all-around title on Friday, although she will likely face a strong challenge from Brazilian Rebeca Andrade, the reigning world all-around champion. The event finals are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

Andrade led Brazil to its first medal ever in the women’s team competition. The French team, spurred on by the hundreds of fans cheering for them, secured their first women’s team medal at the world championships since a silver in 1950.

https://apnews.com/article/usa-biles-gymnastics-world-championships-b091160759582c14afb62c92d647822c

Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023



The Special Olympics World Games are the world's largest inclusive sports event. Thousands of athletes with intellectual disabilities compete together in 26 sports. Nine days of exciting and inspiring competitions, by athletes and for athletes.

From 17 to 25 June 2023, the Special Olympics World Games will take place in Berlin – the first time that Germany will host the Games!

We are looking forward to a colorful international festival of sports – with the aim of achieving greater recognition and social participation of people with intellectual disabilities in our society.

https://www.berlin2023.org/en

==================================

Thank you so much! The Berlin 2023 Games are over

25 June 2023, 20:22

We are overwhelmed! The Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 were full of emotions, high-class sports and exuberant parties. Everyone experienced their own personal highlights and gained unforgettable experiences. Let us reminisce together.

On the eighth and last day of competitions, our athletes were once again in action in five sports and gave their best until the end.

The last award ceremonies followed before everyone spent the evening dancing, singing and celebrating together at the Closing Ceremony at the Brandenburger Tor.

But not only all the athletes gave their full commitment, but also all the people who helped in the background and made this great event possible in the first place.

We especially thank the irreplaceable volunteers, sports officials, visitors and simply everyone who was part of the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023!

To underline what everyone has achieved together, here are a few facts and figures:

6,500 athletes
18,000 volunteers from 126 countries
9,000 family members
3,000 coaches and support staff
100,000 tickets sold for the competitions
15,000 Healthy Athletes® screenings
4002 medals (1st-3rd place), 6,670 ribbons (4th-8th place)
71 translators for Plain Language
1,100 referees

All this and more made this unique experience possible for everyone, but especially for our athletes.

https://www.berlin2023.org/en/news/thank-you-berlin-2023

'There is no timetable, no rehab': Mikaela Shiffrin opens up on grief, father, Beijing Olympics
Cassandra Negley
Cassandra Negley·Writer
April 28, 2022·6 min read
In this article:

Mikaela Shiffrin
Mikaela Shiffrin
American alpine skier
Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin does not know what happened in Beijing. She can and did put on a brave face to deliver what she called a "generic" answer, but, she said, she truly doesn't know.

Shiffrin penned a piece in "The Players' Tribune" published on Thursday largely about her late father, but also about coming up short at the Beijing Olympics two months ago. It provides a parallel message to what she delivered in the finale of the Outside+ series "Passion & Purpose" that followed her life on and off the hill before and after the Games. The fifth and final episodes capture events and interviews at Beijing and in France for the World Cup.

Both focus on grief; the sudden and heart-wrenching loss of her father, Jeff, in February 2020 at the age of 65, and the impact that has had on every aspect of her life.

"It's like you have an injury in your soul," she wrote in The Players' Tribune. "There is no timetable. There is no rehabilitation. Some days you wake up and think, 'What's the point?'"

Shiffrin reflects on Beijing: 'I don't know'
The highly decorated alpine skier shockingly crashed out of three events and failed to podium in the five individual events she entered at her third Olympics. She was a favorite for multiple medals and the face of NBC's marketing plans leading up to and throughout the contests.

"I don't know. It was like whatever progress that I felt I made over the last two years was completely gone," Shiffrin, 27, said in the Outside+ series. "But it's also strange to talk about it as progress because you're just trying to, again, accept a circumstance of living without somebody who is supposed to be one of your key people in life for much longer. I mean ... he's supposed to be here. And I can't let go of that, yet. I haven't yet.

"So on tough days it's really tough. And there were a lot of really, really tough days at the Games. And I don't really know what more to say about that except for, I suppose, life is not a linear journey and we just have to take each day as it comes."

Weeks after the disappointing showing and media frenzy, Shiffrin won her fourth overall World Cup title to far less fanfare and some claimed she was "back." She questioned that in the Players' Tribune:

"After Beijing, when I turned things around and ended up winning the World Cup, people would say things to me like, 'Mikaela, now that you’re in a much better place …'

And I never said it out loud, but I would always think: Am I?

We equate winning with being OK, and failure with being not OK.

The real truth is that I’m neither OK nor not OK. It really depends on the day, and it has almost nothing to do with how fast I came down a mountain."

Shiffrin called it "rollercoaster years" since winning her last overall World Cup globe trophy and noted on the series while it was exciting to win, it also came with sadness. Eileen Shiffrin, her mother and coach, said Shiffrin was probably trying to enjoy the day "for once."

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin celebrates on the podium with the trophy for the alpine ski women's overall World Cup title, in Meribel, France, Sunday, March 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
Mikaela Shiffrin celebrates on the podium with the trophy for the alpine ski women's overall World Cup title, in Meribel, France, on March 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
Shiffrin raced 6 events weeks after pause in training
Shiffrin tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 27, 2021, pulling her off the mountain in the weeks leading up to the Games. She was stuck in a hotel room without much ability to train and said on the series it is incredibly rare to go one week, let alone nearly two, without doing so.

Eileen said on the show her team might have chosen a different Olympic path in hindsight.

"Looking back on it, we would probably have chosen to not have her do the speed races there," she said. "Because she got COVID a couple weeks before we were supposed to leave for the Olympics and she missed a lot of training — almost two weeks of training. I think that going into those races just knowing the number of races that she had to do might have been a little bit overwhelming. We actually never really talked about that specifically, but it couldn't have been [easy]. I think it was probably daunting for her to look at having to ski every single day for 20 days."

Shiffrin raced the slalom, giant slalom, Alpine combined, super-G, downhill and mixed-team parallel event at the Olympics. Her finishes, respectively: DNF, DNF, DNF, ninth, 18th, fourth. She matched Slovakia's Petra Vlhova (2018) for most Alpine events skied at an Olympics. And her three Olympic medals (two gold, one silver) remain one short of tying Julia Mancuso for most by an American Alpine skier.

Shiffrin on media expectations, hateful messages
Shiffrin was the story of the Games, but not for the reasons most believed would be the case heading into it. And that meant social media hate and online vitriol from all corners. She reposted samplings of it while in Beijing, writing "there will always be turkeys" and confirming she would get back on the hill to try again.

"It was a privilege to be one of the athletes that was followed with the expectation that I would provide something to follow. That I might win a medal. That I might win multiple medals," Shiffrin said. "And I think every time I look back on the Beijing Olympics, I'm going to have the feeling that I let people down and that's going to be something that follows me around forever. And you just can't reframe it."

Many stood in her defense, noting the mounting pressures and sympathy for a focus on mental health. That included Simone Biles, who months prior exited her own Olympic competition while experiencing the "twisties" and then hate online. Fans also blasted NBC for the expectations it puts on a few athletes every four years.

The fourth episode of the Outside+ series focused on Biles' Olympic experience and Shiffrin's team wanting to avoid the same happening. It provided a fascinating look into the team's mind before Beijing and how Shiffrin dealt with those pre-Olympic questions about mental health.

'You're not alone'
The response to Shiffrin's Player's Tribune piece about memories of her father has been largely positive and supportive. Shiffrin thanked fans later Thursday for their kind words.


Shiffrin said it was "extremely hard to relive this pain," but was hoping to help others as a stranger helped her. People took to Twitter to share their own stories of loss and how they dealt with the overwhelming grief.

https://sports.yahoo.com/there-is-no-timetable-no-rehab-mikaela-shiffrin-opens-up-on-grief-father-beijing-olympics-144627075.html

I WANT TO REMEMBER EVERYTHING by MIKAELA SHIFFRIN

https://signature.theplayerstribune.com/mikaela-shiffrin-olympics-team-usa-skiing/p/1

Scenes From the 2022 Winter Paralympics

Alan Taylor March 10, 2022 29 Photos In Focus

Athletes from around the world are gathered in and around Beijing, China, to compete in the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.
More than 560 competitors from 45 National Paralympic Committees have come to take part in 78 events in six sports over nine days, including alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, biathlon, snowboarding, wheelchair curling, and para ice hockey.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Paralympic Committee announced that it had banned athletes from Russia and Belarus from the games. Gathered here, images of the 2022 Winter Paralympics after day six of competition.
Hints: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing

https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2022/03/scenes-2022-winter-paralympics/627020/


1. Davide Bendotti of Team Italy competes in the men's giant slalom standing run 1 on day six of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics at Yanqing National Alpine Ski Center in Yanqing, China, on March 10, 2022. #


2. Flagbearer Maksym Yarovyi of Team Ukraine, in the parade of nations during the Winter Paralympics opening ceremony in National Stadium in Beijing on March 4, 2022 #


22. Scott Meenagh of Team Great Britain races in the para cross-country skiing men's long distance sitting event at the National Biathlon Center in Zhangjiakou, China, on March 6, 2022. #

How Ukrainian Paralympians Pushed Through Fear and Worry
By day in Beijing, athletes raced and trained. By night, they spent time on their phones, connecting with loved ones under attack back home in Ukraine.




Photo Essay by Chang W. LeeText by David Waldstein
March 12, 2022
BEIJING — With heavy hearts and unimaginable worry, athletes from the Ukrainian national Paralympic team arrived in China two weeks ago, seeking to win medals and draw attention to the plight of their country through their athletic achievement.

They did both.

Isolated from loved ones, many of whom were sheltering in basements and garages under bombardment from Russian weaponry, Ukraine’s athletes became a central theme at a quadrennial event based in part on their perseverance.

Ukraine won 28 medals, including 10 gold, through the first eight days of the event (the second-most of any nation), and their courage and determination in the face of daunting emotional and physical circumstances earned widespread sympathy and respect.

“We can’t even imagine what they are going through,” said Jake Adicoff, an American cross country skier, who was one of the few to win gold while competing against Ukrainian skiers. “We all support them.”


Image
Credit...Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Even before the Games opened, Ukraine was the focus of the event as the International Paralympic Committee banned all Russian athletes over their government’s invasion of Ukraine. The Belarusian delegation was also banned for that nation’s support of the invasion.

At a news conference the next day, Valerii Sushkevych, the president of Ukraine’s Paralympic delegation, thanked the I.P.C. and informed the world that Ukraine’s athletes would remain in China to serve their country by competing at the Games, as difficult as it may have been.

“Our soldiers have battles in Ukraine,” he said. “We, the Paralympic team, have our battles in Beijing.” He added that if the team chose not to come to Beijing to compete, it would be like “capitulation.”

Ukraine has a proud history of success at the Paralympics, especially at the Winter Games, where it dominated the only two sports it entered — biathlon and cross-country skiing.

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By day, athletes raced and trained. By night, they spent time on their phones, connecting with loved ones under attack in Ukraine. Most of the athletes said they could not sleep from the worry and fear, and when they showed up to race, the mental strain was visible on their faces, and in their subdued demeanor.

Still, on the first day of competition, Ukrainians set the tone by winning three gold medals in biathlon and seven medals in total, including a sweep of the men’s vision-impaired sprint. They barely celebrated.

Medal ceremonies became both somber and uplifting moments, as athletes and observers alike were overcome by emotion and admiration. It was difficult to imagine what the skiers, like the gold-medalist Oksana Shyshkova, were thinking as they received their medals underneath Ukraine’s blue and yellow flag, or how they managed to focus on racing.

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Updated
March 13, 2022, 1:30 p.m. ET7 minutes ago
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“All of us have families back there,” Shyshkova said. “We just don’t know what to do. We’re really scared.”


Image

Credit...Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Some coped with the trying circumstances by concentrating on achievement, like Vitalii Lukianenko, who is from Kharkiv, a city under recent attack. As he prepared to compete, his family sought shelter underground and he went days without sleeping from worry, according to Sushkevych, the president of the delegation.

Sushkevych said Lukianenko was so physically and emotionally worn down that Sushkevych did not think he should compete.

Russia-Ukraine War: Key Things to Know
Card 1 of 4
On the ground. Russian forces, battered by the local resistance, have stepped up their bombardment across Ukraine. In western Ukraine, Russian missiles hit a base near the Polish border, killing at least 35 people and bringing the war closer to NATO’s doorstep.

Punishing measures. President Biden and other Western leaders moved to further isolate Russia from the global trading system, saying they would strip the country of normal trade relations and take other steps to sever its links to the world economy.

Iran nuclear deal. A European Union official said that talks on reviving the 2015 deal were put on pause following the invasion. Russia, a signatory to the accord, has tried to use final approval of the deal as leverage to soften sanctions imposed because of the war.

The coronavirus threat. With millions of Ukrainians on the move fleeing the invasion, health systems disrupted, and testing and vaccination programs suspended in many places, health officials warned that conditions could fuel a new Covid surge across Ukraine.

But Lukianenko took the starting line vowing not to feel any pain, and he won gold.

“If you know the situation,” Sushkevych said, “this was a miracle.”

For others, the fear and sleepless nights took a toll on the snowy racecourses, and their times were slower than normal. Juliia Batenkova-Bauman, whose husband and daughter were still in Kyiv, spoke to numerous reporters from various countries, telling her story over and over through tears, in the hope that it might generate international support for Ukraine. She spoke of nightmares and said the constant worry was “killing” her.

“I can’t show my best results here because I can’t sleep at night,” she said. “I always think about my family.”





Early in the first week, Sushkevych, who uses a wheelchair, made certain to drew attention to the plight of people with disabilities trapped in buildings in Ukraine. “Wheelchair people cannot run from bombs,” he said. “Blind people cannot run from bombs.”

In the second week, as Ukrainian athletes continued to pile up medals, they held an unusual vigil for peace in the athletes’ village and held up a banner calling for peace.

Two days before that, Anastasiia Laletina was forced to withdraw from her biathlon event. Ukraine’s Paralympic committee announced that the 19-year-old’s father, a soldier in the Ukrainian army, had been captured by Russian troops.

But on Friday, she returned to competition, with the support of her teammates.

“We are emotionally and physically exhausted because of this situation,” said Shyshkova, who won two gold medals and a silver. “But we’re here to represent our country, to glorify our country, to tell the world that Ukraine exists, and we exist.”


Image


https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/12/sports/olympics/ukraine-paralympics-beijing-russia-war.html

The Paralympics president denounces Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the Games’ opening ceremony.

BEIJING — The president of the International Paralympic Committee broke protocol on Friday when he denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in his speech at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games.

With President Xi Jinping of China in attendance, the committee president, Andrew Parsons, said he was “horrified” by the invasion. “Tonight, I want to begin with a message of peace,” Parsons said.

The International Olympic Committee in recent years has reaffirmed its ban on protests and political messages at the Olympics, rules that are generally aimed at athletes. But in this case it was the head of the organization who defied the rule, as the invasion of Ukraine continues to dominate the I.P.C.’s agenda in the days leading up to its quadrennial winter showcase.

The delegation from Ukraine, about 20 athletes, entered the stadium to modest applause, some with their fists raised as the walked around the floor of the stadium during the colorful and elaborate ceremony.

Shortly after Parsons spoke, social media users in China noted that a portion of his speech was not translated on Chinese television for about one minute, beginning when he said, “At the I.P.C., we aspire to a better and more inclusive world, free from discrimination, free from hate, free from ignorance and free from conflict.”

During that time, the televised sign language interpretation of the speech also temporarily stopped.

Parsons praised the Chinese for their hospitality, calling the venues “magnificent,” and noting that “hundreds of thousands of facilities were made barrier free,” for people with disabilities. But he also incurred the wrath of social media users, who noted that in his opening line, Parsons, who is from Brazil, referred to the “Republic of China,” which is the official name of Taiwan. He may have meant to say “The People’s Republic of China,” and did so accurately later in the speech.

For days, as the invasion forced the I.P.C. to hold meetings and deliberate how it would treat the Russian and Belarusian athletes, Parsons continually stressed that it was incumbent upon the organization to avoid politics and to practice neutrality according to the I.P.C.’s rules. But he eventually conceded that taking action was unavoidable, noting that the war had interfered with the Games.

Referring in his speech Friday to the Olympic Truce adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, Parsons said, “It must be respected and observed, not violated.”

On Thursday, Parsons announced that the I.P.C. had barred Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing, an unusual step taken in response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine, which was staged with the support of Belarus.

The decree was a reversal of the I.P.C.’s decision the day before to allow the athletes from those countries to participate.

But in the hours after that first announcement, Parsons said, the athletes and delegations from many other countries threatened to boycott and he added that tensions were rising in the Olympic Village, where the athletes stay. He said the viability of the Games would be in doubt if the Russians and Belarussians were allowed to compete.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/04/world/russia-ukraine

2022 Paralympic Winter Games: Day-by-day viewing guide to the Beijing Winter Paralympics

https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2022/03/03/2022-paralympic-winter-games-day-by-day-viewing-guide-to-the-beijing-winter-paralympics/

The 2022 Winter Paralympics are starting now with an opening ceremony in Beijing
March 4, 20227:08 AM ET

The Beijing Paralympic Games kick off on Friday, as much of the world's attention is focused on Russia's war in Ukraine and its consequences at home.

In fact, organizers have just banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing – reversing their original decision just a day before the Games were set to begin.

Some 700 world-class athletes will participate in this year's events, which run through March 13.

They will compete in 78 events across six sports in two disciplines, from ice sports like para ice hockey and wheelchair curling to snow sports including alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, biathlon and snowboarding.

Armchair athletes can gear up for a marathon, too: NBC Universal says it's airing 230 hours of Paralympic programming, including a record 120 hours on TV. Three of those hours will be on primetime, in what it calls a Winter Paralympics first.

You can watch events on NBC, Peacock, USA Network, Olympic Channel as well as NBC's Olympics website and sports app. Here's a day-by-day viewing guide.

Friday's opening ceremony runs from 7 a.m to 9 a.m. ET, available on USA Network and streaming on Peacock. Check back on this page for more key details and moments.
https://www.npr.org/2022/03/04/1084458799/2022-beijing-winter-paralympics-opening-ceremony

Where can I find a full Olympics schedule?
The New York Times’s Olympics results page lists the date and time of every medal event in Eastern time, and will show who won gold, silver and bronze.

The official Olympics site also has a schedule of every event, including non-medal events. The events are listed in Beijing time, but you can click “change to my time” or use this converter.


Olympic Schedule & Results

https://olympics.com/beijing-2022/olympic-games/en/results/all-sports/olympic-schedule.htm

When Are the Olympics? Here Is the Schedule for Beijing.
The opening ceremony will be held on Friday. A few sports start early, but the bulk of the action begins on Saturday. Here’s when to watch what.



By Victor Mather
Feb. 3, 2022, 12:33 a.m. ET
Follow our live coverage of the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The 2022 Winter Olympics are ready to start in Beijing. The time difference between China and the United States may make it tricky to figure out what will happen when, but we’re here to help.

When do the Olympics start?
The opening ceremony is scheduled for Friday evening, at 8 p.m. Beijing time. That will be 7 a.m. Eastern time and 4 a.m. Pacific. Unlike in some previous years, NBC will telecast the ceremony live in the United States morning, and then repeat it in prime time.

A handful of preliminary events are being held through Friday. But the bulk of the athletic action starts on Saturday, Feb. 5.

What is the time difference?
Beijing is 13 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. So when it is evening in China, it is morning in the United States and vice versa.

For a quick conversion, take Beijing time, subtract one, and flip the a.m. and p.m. to get Eastern time. So 8 p.m. in Beijing is 7 a.m. Eastern. And 11 a.m. in Beijing is 10 p.m. Eastern, the day before.

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Many key events will be held in the evenings in Beijing, and therefore will be in the early morning hours for U.S. viewers.

How can I watch the Olympics?
NBC, the broadcaster in the United States, has in the past saved some morning events to broadcast on tape delay in prime time on television. But the network will also livestream or telecast nearly every event live for those who want to watch in real time. In many cases, especially for West Coast viewers, watching events live will require waking up very early.

NBC has said that it plans to cover just about every event on NBC stations, various NBCUniversal-owned cable channels, nbcolympics.com and the NBC Sports app.

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The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation will televise the Games in Canada.

How are the Olympics structured?
After the opening ceremony, the Games take place over 16 days. Many events, notably figure skating, Alpine skiing, hockey and curling, stretch over nearly every day of the Games. Others cover briefer periods: Luge, for example, is held in the first week, bobsled mostly in the second.


Image
Mariah Bell of the United States practiced ahead of the figure skating competition.
Mariah Bell of the United States practiced ahead of the figure skating competition.Credit...James Hill for The New York Times
When is figure skating?
Soon! The team event, which includes many of the top stars, gets underway on Friday, even before the opening ceremony. Men’s individual competition starts Tuesday morning, Feb. 8, which is Monday night in the United States. The men’s final is two days later.

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Then after ice dancing on Feb. 12 and 14, the women have their short program on Feb. 15, in the evening in Beijing and the U.S. morning. The free skate that will decide the medals is on Feb. 17. The figure skating competition wraps up with the pairs event on Feb. 18 and 19.

When is skiing?
The men’s downhill kicks off Alpine skiing on Sunday morning (Saturday night in the United States) and competition continues throughout the Games with a gold medal event nearly every day.

When is hockey?
The women’s competition begins on Thursday, a day before the opening ceremony. The U.S. women open against Finland at 9:10 p.m. (8:10 a.m. Eastern). The men don’t get underway until Feb. 9. The gold medal games are Feb. 16 at 11:10 p.m. Eastern for the women and Feb. 19 at 11:10 p.m. Eastern for the men.


Image
Christopher Plys, center, and Victoria Persinger of the United States beat Australia in an early mixed doubles curling match.
Christopher Plys, center, and Victoria Persinger of the United States beat Australia in an early mixed doubles curling match.Credit...Gabriela Bhaskar/The New York Times
When is curling?
The first matches in the mixed doubles competition began on Wednesday. Curling continues every day through the end of the Games.

What are some of the new events?
There have been no new sports added, but there are some new events in existing sports. One of the most noticeable will be monobob, a single-woman bobsled race. Also being added are a new “big air” freestyle skiing jumping event and some mixed-gender competitions, including a snowboard cross relay, a short-track speedskating relay, and team events in ski jumping and freestyle skiing aerials.

When do the Olympics end?
The final events will be held on Sunday, Feb. 20, Beijing time, and the closing ceremony is scheduled that evening at 8 p.m. in Beijing, which is 7 a.m. Eastern and 4 a.m. Pacific.

When are the Paralympics?
The Winter Paralympics will open on March 4 and end on March 13.

Where can I find a full Olympics schedule?
The New York Times’s Olympics results page lists the date and time of every medal event in Eastern time, and will show who won gold, silver and bronze.

The official Olympics site also has a schedule of every event, including non-medal events. The events are listed in Beijing time, but you can click “change to my time” or use this converter.


https://www.nytimes.com/article/winter-olympics-schedule.html

Beijing Winter Olympics 2022

Live Updates: Beijing Olympics
18 minutes ago
Brianna Decker, a U.S. hockey star, exits the team’s first game with an injury.
One of China’s picks for a torchbearer is an army commander who clashed with India.
An Olympic rule and warnings from China have made it risky for athletes to speak out.
In pictures: Skaters, skiers, suits and, yes, a giant panda.
The Year of the Tiger overshadows the Olympic panda.
Thomas Bach won’t request an inquiry of Peng Shuai’s accusations unless she asks: ‘It’s her life.’
Alpine skiers tackle an unknown course three days before their race.
https://www.nytimes.com/news-event/winter-olympics-beijing

BEIJING 2022 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES
4 February - 20 February

https://olympics.com/en/beijing-2022/


Relive Past Games

https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games
The Olympic Games are the world's only truly global, multi-sport, celebratory athletics competition.
With more than 200 countries participating in over 400 events across the Summer and Winter Games, the Olympics are where the world comes to compete, feel inspired, and be together.

Politics/boycotts should be kept at bay to embrace the brotherhood of Olympic sport but acute offenders of same should be dealt:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58459128
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/04/beijing-2022-180-human-rights-groups-call-for-winter-olympics-boycott
 “The IOC knows the Chinese authorities are arbitrarily detaining Uighurs and other Muslims, expanding state surveillance, and silencing numerous peaceful critics,” said Sophie Richardson, HRW’s China director. “Its failure to publicly confront Beijing’s serious human rights violations makes a mockery of its own commitments and claims that the Olympics are a ‘force for good’.” 

Unity and diversity: Tokyo bids farewell to the Paralympic Games in a spectacular ceremony

5 Sep 2021

The Paralympic flame is extinguished, and the curtain has come down on a memorable and historic Tokyo 2020 Games; more than 4,400 elite athletes participated, and many celebrate their achievements at a spectacular closing ceremony before the baton was handed over to Paris 2024.

https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/news/unity-and-diversity-tokyo-bids-farewell-to-the-paralympic-games-in-a-spectacular

-------------------------------------------

Featured News

https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/news/

Top moments from the Closing Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games

5 Sep 2021

https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/news/top-moments-from-the-closing-ceremony-of-the-tokyo-2020-paralympic-games

Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - Day 12

5 Sep 2021

https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/news/highlights-tokyo-2020-paralympic-games-day-12

Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - Day 11

4 Sep 2021

https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/news/highlights-tokyo-2020-paralympic-games-day-11

Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - Day 10

3 Sep 2021

https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/news/highlights-tokyo-2020-paralympic-games-day-10

Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - Day 9

2 Sep 2021

https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/news/highlights-tokyo-2020-paralympic-games-day-9

AP PHOTOS: Images of the first week of Paralympic Games

August 29, 2021

The Paralympic Games have been under way for almost a week in Tokyo and will continue until the closing ceremony on Sept. 5.

Here are some photos from the first week of competition.

There are 22 sports in the Paralympics. Some carry the same name as in the Olympics, such as swimming track and field, archery, badminton, rowing, track cycling, road cycling, and so forth.

But there are sports that are unique to the Paralympics: sitting volleyball, boccia, goalball, and 5-a-side-football. In addition, there are four sports that are contested by athletes in wheelchairs, but the sports will sound familiar: wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing, and wheelchair tennis.


4 of 20
Daomin Liu competes at Women's 200m Individual Medley - SM6 Heat 1 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. Each athlete has unique differences that have to be classified according to individual impairments. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)


United States's Susannah Scaroni competes in the women's 5000-meters T54 final during the 2020 Paralympics at the National Stadium in Tokyo, Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021. Each athlete has unique differences that have to be classified according to individual impairments. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)


Joshua Wheeler of the United States, right, is blocked by Britain's Stuart Robinson during the wheelchair rugby gold medal match at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. Each athlete has unique differences that have to be classified according to individual impairments. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)


Swimming athlete Siyazbek Daliyev, from Kazakhstan, stretches before the Men's 50m Backstroke - S5 final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. Each athlete has unique differences that have to be classified according to individual impairments. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

[...]

14 Photos of the Day 8

1 Sep 2021

https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/news/photos/galleries/photo-of-the-day-01-09-2021

Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - Day 8

1 Sep 2021

Follow the highlights from the eighth day of competition at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games as they happen via our blog below.

https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/news/highlights-tokyo-2020-paralympic-games-day-8

Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - Day 7

31 Aug 2021

Follow the highlights from the seventh day of competition at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games as they happen via our blog below.

https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/news/highlights-tokyo-2020-paralympic-games-day-7

Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - Day 6

30 Aug 2021

Follow the highlights from the sixth day of competition at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games as they happen via our blog below.

https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/news/highlights-tokyo-2020-paralympic-games-day-6

Paralympics coverage Sunday on NBCSN 8:00PM-2:00AM

Paralympic coverage airs on NBC for the first time on Sunday

By JOE REEDY yesterday

NBC’s Olympics coverage has long been built on a foundation of human-interest stories and showcasing athletes’ road to the Games. The same philosophies will apply to the coverage of Paralympics, which will air on the network for the first time.

Sunday will mark the first time that Paralympics coverage will air on the main NBC network and is part of 1,200 hours of programming airing across NBC, NBCSN, Olympic Channel and digital properties. The Paralympics began in Tokyo on Aug. 24 and continues through Sept. 5.

NBC will have three weekend docu-follow series episodes which will show the stories and performances of athletes competing in Tokyo.

Sunday’s episode, which will air at 7 p.m. EDT, will feature U.S. team flagbearers Melissa Stockwell (triathlon) and Chuck Aoki (wheelchair rugby), along with swimmer Jessica Long.

NBC’s Mark Levy, the SVP of Original Production and Creative, said the one-year delay of the Games due to coronavirus allowed them to be able to dive deeper into athletes’ back stories.

“We really want our viewers to feel connected to the Paralympians. We want to give them a chance to care and cheer for them,” Levy said. “It’s our opportunity through the primetime shows to reach a lot of people and share these back stories.”


Jessica Long of the U.S. sits on the side of the pool after the Women's 100m Backstroke - S8 Final Swimming, at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo Friday, Aug. 27, 2021. (Thomas Lovelock for OIS via AP)

Long — who entered Tokyo with 23 career medals, including 13 gold — has had part of her story shown on Toyota ads that premiered earlier this year during the Super Bowl. Sunday, though, will allow viewers to see her visit to Russia for the first time in 2013 and meeting her birth mother for the first time.

Long was born with fibular hemimelia, a genetic abnormality which caused her lower legs to not develop properly. She was given up for adoption and was adopted at 13 months old. Her lower legs were amputated five months later.

Future episodes will show Long in competition, as well as how her Toyota ad has inspired people.

Stockwell is the first female American soldier to lose a limb in active combat when a roadside bomb exploded while she was leading a convoy in Iraq. She was also the first Iraq War veteran who qualified for the Paralympics in 2008.

Aoki and the wheelchair rugby team are looking to win gold after a tough loss to Australia in Rio in 2016.

The shows will also show swimmer Abbas Karimi, who is part of the six-member Paralympic Refugee Team

“To be able to showcase all these athletes with disabilities and the opportunity to create a dialogue, we’re hoping that people’s perceptions might change,” Levy said. “That’s really compelling for us and a real important reason why we’re sharing these stories.”

Levy is also hoping that people who watch Sunday will possibly tune in at some point to the 12 hours of daily coverage that is on NBCSN.
NBC’s other Paralympic docu-follow series will air on Sept. 4 and 5.

https://apnews.com/article/paralympic-games-entertainment-sports-tv-arts-and-entertainment-9a48505e622f3bf9a0f0c9b4be11c0e9

Afghans arrive for Paralympics; to be mostly out of sight

By STEPHEN WADE today


In this image made from a video, Afghan athletes Zakia Khudadadi, left, and Hossain Rasouli arrive at Haneda airport in Tokyo Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021. They have arrived in Tokyo, via what's been described as a harrowing journey from Kabul to Paris, to compete in the Paralympics. (TBS via AP)

TOKYO (AP) — Afghan athletes Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli have arrived in Tokyo, via what’s been described as a harrowing journey from Kabul to Paris, to compete in the Paralympics.

For now, they are sequestered in the Paralympics Village alongside Tokyo Bay, will not be available for media interviews during their stay — before or after they compete. And where they go after the Games close on Sept. 5 is unclear.

The International Paralympic Committee said they arrived in Tokyo from Paris early on Saturday evening, having passed all the required COVID-19 tests to enter Japan. IPC spokesman Craig Spence said they’d need a few days to get their bearing and needed some privacy.

“This is a really complex situation, one of the most complex we’ve ever been involved in,” Spence told a briefing Sunday. “So what we can say is limited. Human life is the most important thing here. Having the athletes here isn’t about getting media coverage. It’s about these athletes fulfilling their dream of being able to attend the Paralympic Games.”

Spence did not say how they got out of Kabul, but mentioned the help of several governments and other agencies. He had said for several days that the IPC was monitoring their whereabouts, and at the opening ceremony on Aug. 24, a volunteer carried an Afghan flag to represent the absent team.

The addition of the Afghan team means that 163 delegations are participating, which includes a refugee team.

“We always knew there was a remote chance both athletes could participate at Tokyo 2020 which is why the Afghan flag was paraded at the Opening Ceremony,” IPC President Andrew Parsons said in a statement from the IPC.

“Like all the athletes here at Tokyo 2020, we never gave up hope, and to now have Zakia and Hossain in the Paralympic Village alongside 4,403 other Paralympians shows the remarkable power of sport to bring people together in peace.”

Khudadadi would become the first female Afghan athlete to compete in the Paralympics since 2004. She will challenge in the women’s 44-49-kilogram weight category in taekwondo on Thursday.

Rasouli has a tougher road.

He was to run the 100-meters in the T47 class, but arrived too late for that. So organizers placed him in a 400-meter race for next Friday. Apparently, he was not enthused about that choice, which Spence revealed in quoting Rasouli.

“Look, I’m a 100-meters sprinter. Doing 400 is going to be pretty exhausting,” Spence quoted Rasouli as saying.

Instead, he’s been entered in Tuesday’s long jump in the T47 class — and without much practice.

The question of asylum hangs in the air and will they return to Paris?

“That is a question that will be open to the athletes to choose,” Spence said.

“We have a duty to protect these athletes,” Spence added. “And that starts with their welfare and their mental health. The last thing they want at the moment is to be asked multiple questions about what’s going on, or the future.”

Spence choked back tears a few times as he described a meeting on Saturday evening at the Paralympic Village with Khudadadi and Rasouli, IPC President Parsons, and other officials.

“As you can imagine the meeting was extremely emotional,” Spence said. “There were lots of tears from everyone in the room. To actually see them in person — they’re actually here — was remarkable.”

___

More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2020-tokyo-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports


https://apnews.com/article/paralympic-games-sports-f6c8f186d9eb291d9b308c288fd5c875

Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - Day 5

29 Aug 2021

Follow the highlights from the fifth day of competition at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games as they happen via our blog below.


https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/news/highlights-tokyo-2020-paralympic-games-day-5

Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - Day 4

28 Aug 2021

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games are underway with 12 days of competition across 22 sports.

Follow the highlights from the fourth day of competition at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games as they happen via our blog below.


https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/news/highlights-tokyo-2020-paralympic-games-day-4

Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - Day 3

27 Aug 2021

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games are underway with 12 days of competition across 22 sports.

Follow the highlights from third day of competition at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games as they happen via our blog below.


https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/news/highlights-tokyo-2020-paralympic-games-day-3

Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - Day 2

26 Aug 2021

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games are underway with 12 days of competition across 22 sports.

Follow the highlights from second day of competition at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games as they happen via our blog below.


https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/news/highlights-tokyo-2020-paralympic-games-day-2

Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - Day 1

25 AUG 2021

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games are underway with 12 days of competition across 22 sports.
Follow the highlights from first day of competition at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games as they happen via our blog below.



https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/news/highlights-tokyo-2020-paralympic-games-day-1

Watching taped Opening Ceremony on NBCST, 6:00-9:00

LET THE 2020 PARALYMPIC GAMES BEGIN!

The Paralympic Games have wings and take flight in a spectacular Opening Ceremony

24 Aug 2021


Japanese Para athletes Yui Kamiji, Shunsuke Uchida and Karin Morisaki turn and wave after lighting the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Flame ?OIS/Joel Marklund

The wait is over! The uncertainty surrounding the Paralympic Games has been put to rest and the light that radiates from the flame at the Olympic Stadium symbolises the human defiance over the COVID-19 pandemic and the will to move onwards and upwards.

The curtains went up on the 16th Paralympic Games in Tokyo on 24 August in a glittering Opening Ceremony that connects the world, even without the presence of fans in the stadium. The excitement was clearly palpable among the Para athletes and everyone associated with Para sports.

For the 4,403 athletes, this is the moment they had been waiting for, as the world tries to get back on its feet from a pandemic that pressed pause across the world. Now they represent their countries, wearing their pride on their sleeves.

Former German speedster Henrich Popow aptly sums up the feeling that athletes will have heading into the first day of the Games: “For Para athletes, crisis are always an opportunity. It is OK to be angry and OK to be mad about the crisis right now. It is OK to be against the pandemic. We all need to learn and it is not good to stop. If we stop, we lose.

“All we need to do is breathe in and breathe out. Get the understanding for the environment for society and people who are different.”

With the premise of 'Moving Forward', the Opening Ceremony acknowledged the way the world came together to face a global threat.

Nye Cruickshank, flagbearer for Grenada, reiterated this sense of togetherness on entering the stadium: "It's been a very wonderful experience meeting people from all around the world, learning about their culture and teaching them about mine as well. So that's been a very good experience."

"It feels awesome. I feel on top of the world, the first Paralympic swimmer from Grenada. I hope I make them very proud," the 19 year old swimmer reiterated.

The ceremony kicked off with dancing from 'crew members' who supported a countdown timer before fireworks filled the skies to commence the evening.

Following the firework spectacular, the Japanese national flag was carried out by specially chosen flagbearers including athletes Mineho Ozaki, Miki Matheson, Taiyou Imai, Erina Yuguchi, Kaori Icho and Takumi Asatani, a rescue worker in the Tokyo Fire Department.

The national anthem sung by Sato Hirari would have given goosebumps to the Japanese people tuning in from the comforts of their home. Hirari, who was born with optic nerve hypoplasia causing her to be completely blind, had also performed the Japanese national anthem at the 34th National Cultural Festival in front of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress.


Local performers wow at the Paralympic Opening Ceremony © OIS

The theme of the Opening Ceremony was 'We Have Wings'
And so it is only fitting that the ceremony setting was the 'Para airport'. The airport was chosen as a symbol of diversity and inclusion and is where the main protagonist of the ceremony performance 'lives'.

More than 15 per cent of the airport crew dancers were persons with disabilities, all wearing a purple tank top with the #WeThe15 logo under their jumpsuits. A total of 5,500 applicants auditioned to take part, from the youngest just five years old to those in their 70s - from this only 75 were selected.

Each and every person had a different motivation for applying: some wanted to show loved ones how they had recovered from their illness while others wanted to demonstrate to the world how everyone can be awe-inspiring, regardless of impairment.

The audience was then blown away by a dance performance with three inflatable Agitos stirred up by three gusts of wind created by propellers at the Para airport. These came together to form the Paralympic symbol Agitos.

The party started for the athletes when our attention was drawn to the DJ booth on the stage. Thirty two-year-old DJ Keita Tokunaga from Tokyo who has cerebral palsy, took spotlight when his airport style announcement welcomed the athletes into the stadium in the perfect way.

The Refugee Paralympic Team (RPT) walked into the stadium first, leading a total of 162 delegations, including five nations making their Games debut. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) displayed the Afghanistan flag in solidarity. The sentiment the audience can take away is that the athletes are heroes who can transform the world by bringing about winds of change.

We were then introduced to our protagonist who sums up this sentiment: a Little One-Winged Plane dreams of flying through the sky, but since she only has one wing, she has given up on her dream. She is yet to realise that she too has wings. As the star of our ceremony, we followed her through a personal journey to find her wings.


The Little One-Winged Plane was the star of the Opening Ceremony © OIS

"Many doubted this day would happen"
The President of the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (TOCOG), Seiko Hashimoto, and the President of the IPC, Andrew Parsons, delivered their speeches on the Protocol Stage to officially open the Games.

IPC President started his speech by saying: “I cannot believe we are finally here. Many doubted this day would happen. Many thought it impossible. But thanks to the efforts of many, the most transformative sport event on Earth is about to begin.”

He went on to thank the Japanese Government, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and the International Olympic Committee for never losing faith and working tirelessly, alongside the International Paralympic Committee.


IPC President delivers Opening Ceremony speech © OIS
WWe thank our hosts for trusting we can deliver safe Games for the athletes and officials, but also for Japanese society. From the bottom of my heart, arigato Japan! Arigato, Tokyo!

“We will honour your trust, your omotenashi, so that the outstanding legacy these Paralympic Games leave this country is a new perception of persons with disabilities. But we want more. We want to change the entire world.

“Over the next 10 years, WeThe15 will challenge how the world’s 15 per cent with disabilities are perceived and treated at a global level. With the support of 20 international organisations, civil society, the business sector, and the media we will put the world’s 1.2 billion persons with disabilities firmly at the heart of the inclusion agenda.

"The Paralympic Games are for sure a platform for change. But only every four years is not enough. It is up to each and every one of us to play out part, every day, to make for a more inclusive society in our countries, in our cities, in our communities.”

The Games were officially opened by His Majesty the Emperor as six athletes carried the Paralympic flag to the Protocol Stage where they handed it to a group of essential workers. The flag was raised by members of the Self-Defence Forces on the Protocol Stage as the Para band played the Paralympic anthem.

The Para airport story was finished with the little one-winged plane finding her wings through the acceptance of those around her, including GIMICO, Japan’s first 'amputee model'. Through a powerful and colourful performance with rock concert vibes and a dazzling truck with music led by Tomoyasu Hotei, one of Japan’s most iconic guitarists, the group created an emotive exchange with our little protagonist.

Through the performance she is told: “The only thing stopping you from flying, is you.” — just as we too may discover our wings by watching the incredible acts of sporting brilliance and tenacity from the Para athletes.

This is a beautiful story that moved many watching from home, and fully characterised the ethos behind the Paralympic Movement shared by so many athletes.


Australia enters the stadium at the Opening Ceremony, led by flagbearers Lisa Di Toro and Ryley Batt © OIS

Lisa Di Toro, flagbearer for the Australia team summed this up perfectly, saying: "This is my seventh Paralympics, I've seen it go through a lot of stages. This is a Movement that is extremely powerful. It has the opportunity to change people's lives, people's perceptions. That's the hope.

"This is a great vehicle for people with disability, but if we can be seen as incredible contributors to communities around the world, that's where it really matters. In the schools, in the boardrooms, in all the committees, that's where it matters so there's genuine diversity, thought and experience, that's what this movement brings," Di Toro concluded.

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games sets the record for the most athletes and women at a Paralympic Games, breaking barriers and changing perceptions on a scale never before achieved.

Buckle up for the next 12 days of breath-taking action, joy and be a part of some amazing life changing moments!

RELATED STORIES

[...]

https://www.paralympic.org/news/let-paralympic-games-begin

Another version https://www.bbc.com/sport/disability-sport/57396986

Tokyo 2020 Paralympics: Everything you need to know

22 Aug 2021


As the Paralympics edge closer, here's everything you need to know; from athletes to keep a look out for, to the schedule, and how you can watch.

The Paralympics are next to take centre stage in Tokyo in 2021.

With an action packed two weeks on the horizon, here's everything you need to know ahead of the Opening Ceremony.


When and where are the Paralympics?

The Paralympics will be held in Tokyo - one year on from the initial planned date in summer 2020.

Action will begin on Tuesday 24 August, beginning with the Opening Ceremony.

The next day will welcome to start of events, where seven will get Paralympic action underway - featuring track cycling, goal ball, swimming, table tennis, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing and wheelchair rugby.

Over 20 events will be showcased across two weeks, before it all comes to a close on Sunday 5 September when the action is concluded with the Closing Ceremony.

[...]

https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/news/tokyo-2020-paralympics-everything-you-need-to-know

100 things to know about the 2020 Paralympic Games

August 24 - September 5

10 Aug 2021

Countdown to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics with some fascinating facts, historical moments and key information, from the founder of the Movement to the tallest Paralympian!

Maybe you did not know much about the father of the Paralympic Movement, Sir Ludwig Guttmann. Or perhaps the differences between Paralympic sports and their Olympic counterparts. There is so much about the Paralympics that will surprise you, apart from the outstanding abilities of Para athletes.

With 17 days until the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, check out what you might have (and not have) known:

( Most have embedded links )

1. Badminton and taekwondo will make their Paralympic debuts at Tokyo 2020.

2. Tokyo will make history as the first city to stage the Paralympic Games for a second time, having hosted the event in 1964.

3. The Paralympic mascot for Tokyo 2020 is called Someity, which comes from someiyoshino, a popular cherry blossom variety, and additionally echoes the English phrase “so mighty”.

4. A Refugee Paralympic Team consisting of up to six athletes will compete at Tokyo 2020 and will be led by Chef de Mission and US Paralympian Ileana Rodriguez, herself a former refugee. She competed in swimming at London 2012.

5. The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic torch is designed to depict the shape of a flame. The five flames generated from the petal unite at the centre of the torch, emulating even greater brilliance.

6. Boccia and goalball are the two only sports in the Paralympic programme that do not have an Olympic counterpart.

7. The Rio 2016 Paralympics smashed TV viewing records with a 4.1 billion cumulative audience. With more broadcasters than ever before covering the action, Tokyo 2020 is expected to surpass that number.

8. Hungarian Pal Szekeres became the first and so far only athlete to win Olympic and Paralympic medals after taking wheelchair fencing gold at Barcelona 1992. He had won bronze at the Seoul 1988 Olympics as a professional fencer before suffering a bus accident in 1991.

9. All top four finishers in the Rio 2016 Paralympic 1,500m T13 final, won by Algeria’s Abdellatif Baka (3:48.29), clocked fastest times than the top four finishers in the equivalent event at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

10. The Paralympic Games were founded by Sir Ludwig Guttmann, a Jewish doctor who fled Nazi Germany to England, where he opened a spinal injuries centre at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

[...]

95. In wheelchair races, athletes are considered to have finished the race when the centre of the racer’s front wheel reaches the finish line.

96. Celebrities Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Liza Minnelli, and Hall & Oates all performed at the Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Opening Ceremony.

97. Coldplay, Rihanna and Jay Z performed at the Closing Ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympics.

98. Algeria made history at the 2016 Paralympics as the first African women’s wheelchair basketball team playing in the Games.

99. A total of 83 countries won at least one medal at Rio 2016, the most ever at a Paralympic Games.

100. China have been the country with most gold medals at each Paralympic Games since Athens 2004. They won 63 in the Greek capital city, followed by 89 at Beijing 2008, 95 at London 2012 and 107 at Rio 2016.

https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/news/100-things-to-know-about-the-paralympic-games

Polish Olympian auctions medal to pay for toddler's heart operation
"This silver can save lives, instead of collecting dust in a closet," Maria Andrejczyk said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/olympics/polish-olympian-auctions-medal-pay-toddler-s-heart-operation-n1277086


Medals rarely go to auction. I vote to give her one as a keepsake after the auction.

No money for that..
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58261659

https://www.sportbible.com/australia/news-afghanistans-paralympic-team-forced-to-withdraw-from-tokyo-games-20210818

See you at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games

01:36
https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/news/videos/see-you-at-the-tokyo-2020-paralympic-games

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Paralympic competition schedule

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will feature 539 events across 22 sports hosted at 21 venues.

Below you will find the complete Paralympic competition schedule.
Simply tap on the icon for each schedule to see it in detail.

*The competition schedule was amended to reflect the new dates following the postponement of the Paralympic Games and may be subject to change.

August 24 - September 5

https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/schedule/

Tokyo’s Olympic Bubble? Wait Till You See Beijing’s.
For the Winter Games, just six months away, China plans far more elaborate Covid-19 precautions than were taken at the Summer Olympics.


By Keith Bradsher and Tariq Panja
Aug. 9, 2021
Updated 9:07 a.m. ET
BEIJING — Guards in biohazard suits, ready to stop anyone from leaving. Athletes giving interviews from behind plastic walls, speaking through microphones. All-day armpit thermometers, with tiny transmitters to sound the alarm should someone develop a fever.

With the Winter Olympics in Beijing just six months away, the Chinese authorities are detailing some of the elaborate precautions they plan to take against Covid-19. The measures are expected to go far beyond those taken at the Tokyo Games, which ended Sunday with more than 400 infections reported.

China has made clear that containing the virus is its top priority. On July 30, as case numbers were climbing in Tokyo, Beijing organizers announced plans to redesign their 39 Olympic venues. Workers are now dividing passageways lengthwise and installing new toilets and other facilities.

The design changes are supposed to ensure that athletes have practically no contact with referees, spectators or journalists, groups that will also be kept separate from one another as well. The goal is to minimize cross-infection.


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Signaling from off camera during a medal ceremony at the Tokyo Olympics. More than 400 infections were reported during the Games.
Signaling from off camera during a medal ceremony at the Tokyo Olympics. More than 400 infections were reported during the Games.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times
“These supplementary epidemic prevention measures are not very large in terms of construction scale, not difficult in terms of construction difficulties,” said Liu Yumin, an official with the Beijing Olympics’ organizing committee. “All venues will be delivered on time.”

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China has taken a zero-tolerance approach to the coronavirus since bringing it largely under control last year. The borders are almost completely sealed, and the authoritarian government has quashed sporadic outbreaks by locking down entire cities and mobilizing large numbers of people to test and trace infections. Scattered outbreaks of the Delta variant in recent days have officials even more concerned than usual.

In Tokyo, the authorities barred almost all Olympic spectators and told participants from overseas to stay in designated hotels and ride special buses to events. But enforcement was haphazard, and news outlets found many violations. Residents of Japan, who were allowed to commute from home to the Olympic “bubble,” represented about two-thirds of the infections reported at the Games.

China plans a stricter approach. For the Winter Games, to be held from Feb. 4 to 20, the authorities intend to wall off China’s 1.4 billion people from essentially all athletes, judges, drivers, guides, journalists and others associated with the event.

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Liu Yumin, center, a Beijing Olympics official, described plans to remodel all 39 venues, with the goal of making Covid-19 infections less likely.
Liu Yumin, center, a Beijing Olympics official, described plans to remodel all 39 venues, with the goal of making Covid-19 infections less likely.Credit...Andrea Verdelli/Getty Images
When the Games end, practically everyone involved will be required to leave China or endure several weeks of total isolation in government-run quarantine centers, undergoing numerous medical tests, according to people familiar with Beijing’s preparations.

That will include thousands of Chinese staff, who will have to live in the bubble throughout the Games and then “re-enter” the rest of China after a lengthy quarantine. No decision has been announced on vaccination requirements for participation in the Games, or on the shorter quarantines for people arriving for the Olympics from overseas.

China will consider the Games a success if they unify the nation and strengthen its global image without causing outbreaks, especially outside the bubble, said the people familiar with the planning, who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. They said no threat of any sort to the nation’s health and safety would be tolerated.

Organizers have not revealed the full extent of the preventive measures, which will evolve in the coming months. The Beijing committee responded to emailed questions by promising official announcements.


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Photographing hockey players during another April test run in Beijing.
Photographing hockey players during another April test run in Beijing.Credit...Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
But some details have been made public. Journalists will interview athletes through sturdy plastic walls. Microphones will be equipped with protective sponges, to be changed after each interview.

Like Tokyo, Beijing plans to severely limit the number of people allowed to attend the opening and closing ceremonies. Japan barred foreign spectators, but it let more than 42,000 accredited Games participants into the country. Beijing has already said that fewer than 30,000 people, including accredited participants, will be allowed to enter China for the Winter Games, although no decision on foreign spectators has been announced.

“A simpler and streamlined Olympics will become a must because of safety concerns,” Zhong Bingshu, a Beijing municipal official said this year.

No information has been released about Olympic quarantine facilities. But, in general, China’s top medical experts have concluded that hotels, while comfortable, do not provide sufficient infection control. So they have invented new approaches. For example, nearly 2,000 prefabricated, stackable metal containers for individual quarantines were built during an outbreak early this year in Shijiazhuang, about a four-hour drive south of Beijing.


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A quarantine center in Shijiazhuang, China, in January.
A quarantine center in Shijiazhuang, China, in January.Credit...Yang Shiyao/Xinhua, via Associated Press
The International Olympic Committee has largely shied away from discussions about Covid protocols at the Beijing Games. At a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday, the committee’s spokesman, Mark Adams, suggested that little had been decided.

“It’s very difficult for me to talk about the Games in February,” he said. “All I can say is we will make every attempt to make sure that we can find the best conditions possible for all participants within the framework of dealing with a continuing pandemic, which I’m afraid will most certainly be having some quite large effects on us in February next year.”

During the Tokyo Games, officials on various national Olympic committees traded information as anxiety grew about the measures China might enforce in Beijing. Most appeared to believe that the unprecedented restrictions they had seen in Tokyo would be almost nothing by comparison.

Some athletes urgently need to know what to expect. Those in sliding sports like luge, skeleton or bobsled, for example, must familiarize themselves with windy tracks that they will traverse at dangerous speeds. On the eve of the Vancouver Games in 2010, a 21-year-old Georgian luge hopeful, Nodar Kumaritashvili, was killed when he lost control of his sled during a trial run, flew off the track and slammed into a support structure.


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An Olympic ski jumping venue in Zhangjiakou, China, during a tour for the news media last month.
An Olympic ski jumping venue in Zhangjiakou, China, during a tour for the news media last month. Credit...Noel Celis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Britain plans to send a group of its sliders to Beijing as early as October. They have been told to expect to stay there for more than a month in conditions described as a “severe lockdown.”

The Beijing organizers have provided elaborate videos of the tracks, shot by drones, for teams unable to come to China early for training runs. Some expect Chinese athletes to do better in sliding sports than they otherwise might have, given the challenges facing their competitors.

Many people in Japan criticized the decision to hold the Olympics at all, fearing that visitors would bring more infections. While there has been little public discussion of the Winter Games so far on China’s censored internet, the government is wary of public discontent and has every reason to try to assure people that the Olympics won’t introduce risks.


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Watching the Tokyo Games’ opening ceremony from a Beijing restaurant.
Watching the Tokyo Games’ opening ceremony from a Beijing restaurant. Credit...Tingshu Wang/Reuters
China has touted its use of technology to fight the virus. On Friday, the state-run People’s Daily promoted an invention being used in Wuhan, where the virus first emerged: a robot that takes samples for Covid tests, putting a swab down a person’s throat. It makes people “feel more comfortable in the sampling process,” the newspaper said on Twitter.

People’s Daily gave no indication that such a robot would be used at the Olympics, and the Beijing committee did not respond to a question about it. But China has test-run a different technology that will be deployed at the Games: armpit thermometers that stick like Band-Aids and transmit the person’s temperature.

More than 600 people were outfitted with the devices during an experiment at a Beijing stadium last spring, and one did develop a fever that was quickly spotted. “The venue immediately activated the rescue and epidemic prevention mechanism and carried out an epidemic review until a negative result from a nucleic acid test was confirmed,” the government said afterward.

Keith Bradsher reported from Beijing and Tariq Panja from Tokyo. Li You contributed research.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/09/world/asia/beijing-winter-olympics-covid.html

Olympics Closing Ceremony being re-broadcast 7:00 PM CST.

Find on your local channel

Olympics Closing Ceremony being re-broadcast 7:00 PM CST.

Find on your local channel

I think over all we did a decent job with updates between the 2 of us.

I'm looking forward to the ParaOlympics now and hope they have the same success.

I wonder if that particular horse will have difficulty performing again.

I hope the games survive. Every 4 years we see the best and sometimes the worst.

The guy punching the horse comes to mind.

Tokyo Olympics Closing Ceremony in Pictures

Wrap up an extraordinary Olympics and see Tokyo hand off to Paris with the top moments in pictures from the Tokyo Olympics closing ceremony

Published August 8, 2021 • Updated 5 hours ago


Fireworks erupt above the stadium during the Closing Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on Aug. 8, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.


The United States of America athletes walk in during the closing ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan.



https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/sports/tokyo-summer-olympics/tokyo-olympics-closing-ceremony-in-pictures/2666901/
Athletes carry their nations' flags to the field of play during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, on Aug. 8, 2021 at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo.

[...]

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/sports/tokyo-summer-olympics/tokyo-olympics-closing-ceremony-in-pictures/2666901/

Y/W. There were alot of interesting results, stories, interviews, etc.

And the top quality photos from various sources adds to all of it

For both of us it is a labor of love every 4 years.

There have been some great stories coming out from these games.

Great job covering the Olympics! - thanks.