General news
Swiss snowboarder Patrizia Kummer works out in her hotel room in Beijing on Jan. 19, 2022 where is undergoing a 21 day quarantine. Three weeks alone in a hotel room is hardly an ideal setting for a snowboarder preparing for the Olympics. Kummer, a Swiss competitor who won a gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, is unvaccinated against the coronavirus by choice, so she is spending 21 days in isolation in China before the Winter Games begin in Beijing on Feb. 4. (Patrizia Kummer via AP)
In 3-week isolation, unvaccinated athlete waits for Olympics

By James Ellingworth 15 hrs ago

A student poses for a photo with the Olympic flame and torch during an event to display the Olympic torch and flame at the Beijing University of Posts and Communications in Beijing, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. China is limiting the torch relay for the Winter Olympic Games to just three days amid coronavirus worries, organizers said Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. The flame will be displayed only in enclosed venues that are deemed "safe and controllable," according to officials speaking at a news conference. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
China mandates 3-day Olympic torch relay amid virus concerns

23 hrs ago

Pennsylvania's Lia Thomas is shown during the playing of the national anthem before a swim meet, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022, in Philadelphia. The NCAA has adopted a sport-by-sport approach for transgender athletes, bringing the organization in line with the U.S. and International Olympic Committees. NCAA rules on transgender athletes returned to the forefront when Penn swimmer Lia Thomas started smashing records this year.(AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
Penn pledges to work with NCAA, support transgender swimmer

Jan. 20, 2022 08:54 PM EST

FILE - A worker labors to assemble the Olympic Rings onto of a tower on the outskirts of Beijing, China on Jan. 5, 2022. The Beijing Winter Olympics are fraught with potential hazards for major sponsors, who are trying to remain quiet about China's human rights record while protecting at least $1 billion they've paid to the IOC. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
Column: 'Games must go on' spiel grows weaker by the day

By Jim Litke Jan. 20, 2022 06:55 PM EST

Team USA Beijing winter Olympics footwear designed by Ralph Lauren is displayed Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Ralph Lauren unveils Team USA's opening Olympic uniforms

By Leanne Italie Jan. 20, 2022 08:38 AM EST

Injured Polish luge athlete picked for Beijing Olympics

By Tim Reynolds Jan. 19, 2022 12:31 PM EST
A Polish luge athlete who was seriously injured in a November training crash at the track built for next month’s Olympics plans to head back to that venue and...

France moves closer to banning veils in sports competitions

By Samuel Petrequin Jan. 19, 2022 05:31 AM EST
The French Senate has voted in favor of banning the wearing of headscarves in sports competitions, arguing that neutrality is a requirement on the field of play. ...

A man gets a throat swab for the COVID-19 test at a mobile coronavirus testing facility a residential area in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. With just over two weeks before the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, residents of the Chinese capital say they’re disappointed at not being able to attend events because of coronavirus restrictions that have seen parts of the city placed under lockdown. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Beijing residents disappointed Olympics will be closed event

Jan. 19, 2022 04:12 AM EST

Mark Waechter, owner of Nordic Ultratune, a ski retail and repair shop in Winthrop, Washington, stands with a new batch of skis that arrived for the 2021-22 winter ski season. When COVID-19 hit in the winter of 2020, many escaped cabin fever by hitting the ski trails and Nordic skis quickly became the new toilet paper – they were hard to find and sold out in stores. The ski boom has continued as the pandemic makes winter outdoor recreation appealing, but climate change means its future is uncertain. (AP Photo/Martha Bellisle)
Climate change makes the future of Nordic skiing uncertain

By Martha Bellisle Jan. 18, 2022 01:06 PM EST

A group of cross country skiers glide along the freshly groomed trails at Cabin Creek Sno Park near Easton, Wash., on Dec. 19, 2021. When COVID-19 hit in the winter of 2020, many escaped cabin fever by hitting the ski trails and Nordic skis quickly became the new toilet paper – they were hard to find and sold out in stores. The ski boom has continued as the pandemic makes winter outdoor recreation appealing, but climate change means its future is uncertain. (AP Photo/Martha Bellisle)
Climate change makes the future of Nordic skiing uncertain

By Martha Bellisle Jan. 18, 2022 01:05 PM EST

Student activists wear masks with the colors of the pro-independence East Turkistan flag during a rally to protest the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, outside the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. Dozens of students staged the rally demanding the cancellation of the Beijing Olympics over alleged human rights violations against Muslim Uyghur ethnic minority in China's region of Xinjiang. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
Olympic athletes urged by activists not to criticize China

By Graham Dunbar Jan. 18, 2022 11:56 AM EST

FILE - Fireworks explode over the National Stadium during the opening ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing on Aug. 8, 2008. Ai is one of China's most famous artists, and many regard him as one of the world's greatest living artists. Working with the Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron, he helped design the Bird's Nest stadium, the centerpiece of Beijing's 2008 Summer Olympics. The stadium will also host the opening ceremony for Beijing's Winter Olympics on Feb. 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)
The AP Interview: Exiled artist Ai Weiwei on Beijing Games

By Stephen Wade Jan. 18, 2022 12:01 AM EST

FILE - From left, American discus winners pose on the podium at the Olympic Games in Rome, Sept. 7, 1960. From left are bronze medalist Richard Cochran, gold medalist Alfred Oerter and silver medalist Richard Babka. Babka, a former world record holder who was part of a U.S. medals sweep in the discus at the 1960 Olympics, died Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. He was 85. (AP Photo/File)
Rink Babka, discus medalist at 1960 Olympics, dies at 85

Jan. 17, 2022 04:27 PM EST

FILE - Los Angeles Lakers' Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) hooks a shot over Portland Trail Blazers' Jim Brewer (52) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles on March 12, 1980. Abdul-Jabbar wins his sixth MVP award after claiming five in the 1970s. He averaged 24.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.4 blocks. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon, File)
Timeline of NBA in 1980s as league celebrates 75th season

By The Associated Press Jan. 17, 2022 10:45 AM EST

A woman wearing a face mask to protect against COVID-19 stands next to figures of the Winter Paralympic mascot Shuey Rhon Rhon left, and Winter Olympic mascot Bing Dwen Dwen on a pedestrian shopping street in Beijing, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. As the Beijing Winter Olympics loom, the Chinese capital is stepping measures to keep the coronavirus at bay including suspending most access to Tianjin, an adjacent major city which is dealing with an outbreak of the highly contagious omicron variant. These outbreaks are posing a test to its "zero-tolerance" COVID-19 policy and its ability to successfully host the Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Beijing to offer Olympic tickets to 'selected' spectators

Jan. 17, 2022 09:09 AM EST

Reporters use smartphones to film Yao Ming, head of the Chinese Basketball Association and Ice Snow Sports Promotion Ambassador, left, as he speaks during a Linjia 7 Salon afternoon tea with journalists at Beijing International Club in Beijing, Monday, Jan. 17, 2022. Former NBA great Yao Ming said Monday he and others had a pleasant talk when they met last month with Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, whose disappearance after making a sexual assault allegation against a former government official raised international concern. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Former NBA great Yao Ming addresses Peng Shuai, Olympics

By Ken Moritsugu Jan. 17, 2022 06:22 AM EST

FILE - Women's snowboardcross gold medalist Michela Moioli, of Italy, celebrates during the medals ceremony at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. Defending Olympic gold medalists Sofia Goggia and Michela Moioli both come from the Bergamo area that was the first epicenter of COVID-19 in Europe. Goggia skis with a design of Bergamo's skyline on the back of her racing helmet. Moioli lost her grandmother to the virus. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
From Bergamo to Beijing, Italy aims for more Olympic success

By Andrew Dampf Jan. 17, 2022 05:18 AM EST

Naomi Osaka of Japan reacts during her first round match against Camila Osorio of Colombia at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
Osaka, Nadal advance in Australia after Djokovic flies home

By John Pye Jan. 17, 2022 02:14 AM EST

Workers wearing face masks to help protect from the coronavirus set up a decoration for the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022. Beijing has reported its first local omicron infection, according to state media, weeks before the Winter Olympic Games are due to start. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Chinese city Xi'an lifts some restrictions after lockdown

Jan. 15, 2022 11:13 PM EST

A woman wearing a face mask to protect against COVID-19 walks past a clock counting down the time until the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. As the Beijing Winter Olympics loom, the Chinese capital is stepping measures to keep the coronavirus at bay including suspending most access to Tianjin, an adjacent major city which is dealing with an outbreak of the highly contagious omicron variant. These outbreaks are posing a test to its "zero-tolerance" COVID-19 policy and its ability to successfully host the Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Clap, don't chant: China aims for 'Zero COVID' Olympics

By Candice Choi Jan. 15, 2022 12:44 AM EST