Political and civil unrest
From left, International Olympic Committee (IOC) Sports Director Christophe Dubi, IOC member Sari Essayah, Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation President Giovanni Malago', 2026 Winter Olympics Committee member Andrea Varnier meet the press in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Malagò: 2026 Olympics on track after difficult few years

By Daniella Matar Dec. 14, 2022 12:09 PM EST

Athletes check the venue prior to the women's and men's lead semi-final of the IFSC Climbing World Cup Friday, Oct. 21, 2022, in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. After Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi joined a growing list of female athletes who have been targeted by their governments for defying authoritarian policies or acting out against bullying, a number of others have spoken out on their concerns of politics crossing into their sporting world. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Iran's Rekabi latest female athlete at risk in home country

By Stephen Wade Oct. 21, 2022 11:59 AM EDT

The president of Iran's national Olympic committee (NOC) Mahmoud Khosravi Vafa answers a reporter's question during an interview in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. Khosravi Vafa claimed that competitive climber Elnaz Rekabi will not be punished or suspended after competing in South Korea over the weekend without wearing her nation’s mandatory headscarf. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Iran's Olympic chief claims no punishment coming for climber

By Kim Tong-Hyung Oct. 20, 2022 08:43 AM EDT

Ukraine boycotts judo Olympic qualifier as Russians compete

Jun. 24, 2022 12:16 PM EDT
ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — Ukraine has begun a boycott of international judo events because the Russian team was allowed to compete as Olympic qualification began...

FILE - Former members and members of the U.S. Women's National soccer team, from left, Briana Scurry, Margaret 'Midge' Purce, Kelley O'Hara, Julie Foudy, and Cindy Parlow Cone, President of U.S. Soccer, pose for a photo with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., before an event to celebrate Equal Pay Day and Women's History Month in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, March 15, 2022, in Washington. The U.S. Soccer Federation reached milestone agreements to pay its men's and women's teams equally, making the American national governing body the first in the sport to promise both sexes matching money. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
ATP Challenger Roseto Degli Abruzzi 2, Italy Men Singles

May. 21, 2022 02:44 AM EDT

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to deliver his speech at the concert marking the eighth anniversary of the referendum on the state status of Crimea and Sevastopol and its reunification with Russia, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 18, 2022. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian Olympians face backlash after Vladimir Putin rally

Mar. 23, 2022 07:26 AM EDT

Italy's Matteo Remotti Martini moves in front of the Agitos outside the Paralympic Village ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games, Beijing, China, Thursday, March 3, 2022. (Thomas Lovelock/OIS via AP)
Russians, Belarusians out of Paralympics amid boycott risk

By Stephen Wade Mar. 03, 2022 02:04 AM EST

A house stands in the shadow of snow-capped mountains in predominantly-Tibetan Garze county in southwestern China's Sichuan province, on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. Ahead of the Beijing summer Olympics 14 years ago, Tibet was on fire. Deadly clashes between Tibetans and security forces in Lhasa made global headlines, and for weeks, monks and herders battled bullets and batons. But today, Tibet has fallen silent, even as the Olympic games come to Beijing for a second time. (AP Photo/Dake Kang)
This time, Tibet stands silent as Olympics return to China

By Dake Kang And Sam Mcneil Feb. 16, 2022 12:25 AM EST

A house stands in the shadow of snow-capped mountains in predominantly-Tibetan Garze county in southwestern China's Sichuan province, on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. Ahead of the Beijing summer Olympics 14 years ago, Tibet was on fire. Deadly clashes between Tibetans and security forces in Lhasa made global headlines, and for weeks, monks and herders battled bullets and batons. But today, Tibet has fallen silent, even as the Olympic games come to Beijing for a second time. (AP Photo/Dake Kang)
This time, Tibet stands silent as Olympics return to China

By Dake Kang And Sam Mcneil Feb. 16, 2022 12:08 AM EST

FILE - Britain's Katie Ormerod competes during the women's slopestyle qualifying at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
Winter Olympians champion climate, peace amid muted activism

By Kelvin Chan Feb. 15, 2022 03:06 AM EST

In this frame from video, Vladyslav Heraskevych, of Ukraine, holds a sign that reads "No War in Ukraine" after finishing a run at the men's skeleton competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (NBC via AP)
Olympian flashes 'No War in Ukraine' sign after competing

By Tim Reynolds Feb. 11, 2022 08:28 AM EST

Christopher Grotheer, of Germany, finishes the men's skeleton run 4 at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Olympics Live: IOC won't act on 'No War in Ukraine' sign

Feb. 10, 2022 08:29 PM EST

Chinese President Xi Jinping, bottom second from right, waves as he arrives for the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
In opening of Winter Olympics, chances at politicking abound

By Adam Schreck Feb. 04, 2022 07:08 AM EST

Opening ceremony for Beijing Winter Olympics begins amid severe pandemic restrictions and diplomatic boycott

Feb. 04, 2022 07:01 AM EST
BEIJING (AP) — Opening ceremony for Beijing Winter Olympics begins amid severe pandemic restrictions and diplomatic boycott. ...

Dancers perform during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Emboldened China opens Olympics, with lockdown and boycotts

By Sarah Dilorenzo Feb. 04, 2022 04:01 AM EST

Exile Tibetans burn a Chinese flag during a protest against Beijing Winter Olympic Games in New Delhi, India, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022. Hundreds of Tibetan exiles are marching outside the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, denouncing the Beijing Winter Olympics and demanding freedom for their region. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Tibetans in India demonstrate against Beijing Olympics

By Shonal Ganguly Feb. 04, 2022 02:46 AM EST

FILE-In this photograph provided by the Indian Army, army officers of India and China hold a meeting at Pangong lake region in Ladakh on the India-China border on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. India will not attend Friday's opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, after one of the torchbearers reportedly chosen by Chinese authorities riled up New Delhi's anger. India's foreign affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi on Thursday said it was "regrettable that the Chinese side has chosen to politicize an event like the Olympics." (Indian Army via AP, File)
EXPLAINER: Why India won't send diplomat to China Olympics

By Sheikh Saaliq Feb. 04, 2022 02:13 AM EST

FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin enter a hall for talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, June 5, 2019. The U.S., Britain and a handful of others aren’t sending dignitaries to the Beijing Games as part of a diplomatic boycott, but the Chinese capital is still attracting an array of world leaders for Friday’s opening ceremony. Russia’s athletes will be competing under a neutral flag, but the presence of Putin, an enthusiastic skier and hockey player, will reinforce that they are the Russian national team in all but name and soothe wounded national pride. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool, File)
World leaders: Who's coming, who isn't to Beijing Olympics

Feb. 03, 2022 09:43 PM EST

Kamaltürk Yalqun holds the aluminium Olympics torch he carried at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games at the age of 17, on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, in Boston. The decade after the Games saw Beijing impose policies on his region of Xinjiang that split apart his family and Uyghur community. Today, he is an activist in the United States calling for a boycott of the 2022 Winter Games, which will see the Olympic flame returned to Beijing. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
For Uyghur torchbearer, China's Olympic flame has gone dark

By Huizhong Wu Feb. 03, 2022 01:08 PM EST

FILE - A woman holds up a ligt candle and a phone showing the image of the 1989 tank man protester during a candle vigil to mark the anniversary of the military crackdown on a pro-democracy student movement in Beijing, outside Victoria Park in Hong Kong, Friday, June 4, 2021. As Beijing prepares to hold the Winter Olympics opening in February 2022, China's president and party leader Xi Jinping appears firmly in control. The party has made political stability paramount and says that has been the foundation for the economic growth that has bettered lives and put the nation on a path to becoming a regional if not global power. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
From Tiananmen to Hong Kong, China's crackdowns defy critics

By Ken Moritsugu Jan. 27, 2022 12:20 AM EST