Can an Australian take home heavyweight gold in boxing at Tokyo 2020? Justin Huni is ready to try.

Tanya Watson makes history for Ireland, qualifying to the Olympics in women's diving, after a semifinal placement at this past World Cup in Tokyo.

Badminton stars P.V. Sindhu and Michelle Li are named as ambassadors to the IOC's "Believe in Sport" campaign, joining a roster of other global athletes.

Gymnast Pranati Nayak is in line to receive an unexpected Olympic spot for this summer. Now she has to unexpectedly train for it.

Timna Nelson-Levy and Gili Cohen discuss Israeli strength and legacy in judo with Tokyo 2020.

​Congrats to two Rio 2016 basketball medalists - Breanna Stewart and Marta Xargay - on their engagement!

Benoit Paire earns an Olympic-sized slap-on-the-wrist from the French tennis Federation.

Meanwhile, Tokyo 2020 tennis qualifications start to take shape, more than a month before final rankings come are calculated.

Can 3x3 star Karlis Lasmanis follow in his father's footsteps and make it to the Olympics for Latvia?

Brazilian Italo Ferreira helps launch The Olympic Channel's Olympic State of Body, discussing how he trains optimally to be an elite surfer.

And...ahead of today's Laureus World Sports Awards announcement, Olympians Jessica Ennis-Hill and Lindsey Vonn are named Laureus World Sports Academy members. Congrats!

The New York Times offers the story of wrestler Nick Suriano, another victim of the Covid-19 pandemic, with long-held Olympic dreams in wrestling cut abruptly.

Italian rhythmic gymnast Milena Baldassari is the latest to be immortalized as her own Barbie figure. Congrats!

Karol Dobek - known in the 400 meter hurdles - continues to showcase his 800 meter potential. What will he do come Tokyo 2020?

Ecuador's female sprinters - led by Angela Tenorio - make history for their country at last weekend's World Athletics Relays to qualify for the Olympics as a team.

Tom Daley and Matty Lee are in pre-competition mode.

Luigi Samele takes a sip.

Yusra Mardini contemplates spring.

Epp Mae, pretty in pink...

Anna Korakaki takes a stroll.

Tom Daley - and his "knitting and crochet" - are ready to take on bubble life in Tokyo this summer.

Can rising archer Elisa Tartler earn her way onto Germany's Tokyo 2020 team after a strong 2021 start?

Pan Am Sports goes Face to Face with track cyclist Nicholas Paul, poised to make a mark for Trinidad & Tobago in his Olympic debut. (subscription)

Singapore will have Olympic fencers for the first time, thanks to both Tokyo 2020 qualifiers Amita Berthier and Kiria Takanah.

FEI.org: Hiroyuki Kitahara shares thoughts on the state of Japan's equestrian dressage riders and the inspiration for a younger generation.

Spanish star Carolina Marin makes history again with her fifth European championship in badminton, tying Peter Gade with five career wins.

Off the Ball Sports catches up with Irish gymnast Rhys McClenaghan on Tokyo 2020 goals, training, astrophysics, and much more.

More gymnastics: get to know U.S. stalwart Sam Mikulak, chasing his first Olympic medal at his third Games.

One of the surest bets at Tokyo 2020 will be that an Averina will win the individual all-around gold in rhythmic gymnastics.

Judoka Charline van Snick's recovery from serious injury suffered a few months ago is surprisingly well on track.

Adam Scott may be a no, but count on Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith to target Tokyo 2020 for Team Australia in golf.

U.S. water polo star Kiley Neushul announces retirement, a few months before the Tokyo Games.

Beijing 2008 decathlon medalist Andrei Krauchanka makes a strong statement in support of democracy.

You can call three-time Olympic medalist sprinter Lauryn Williams an author now, with her just released guide for track & field athletes looking to build their business profile.

And, check out what is happening lately with track Olympians Clayton Murphy and Devon Allen on their podcast, The Track Boys.

​Count Adam Gemili as one track star against the IOC's confirmation of controversial Rule 50.

Before the Ingegritsens, there were - and still are - the Borlees as the preeminent brothers of track. Tokyo 2020  goes in deep.

Milena Baldassari is ready.

Johannes Vetter celebrates a good throw.

Sally Fitzgibbons enjoys a sunset.

Fabio Basile on a breather...

Sarka Pancochova crosstrains.

Over the Limit (2017)
​A Quick Film Review

"To hell with you."
"You piece of shit."
"What a stupid loser."

These are just some of the bon mots offered by Irina Viner-Usmanova to rhythmic gymnast Margarita Mamun as the athlete works toward Rio 2016. Training moments are captured intimately by director Marta Prus in "Over the Limit", released in 2017 as a behind-the-scenes look at Mamun's journey to the Olympics.

That Prus chose Mamun as a subject proved prescient, as Mamun did win gold at the Rio Games after a stellar 2016 season in which she won all-around titles at the MTM Tournament, Thiais Grand Prix, Brno Grand Prix, and the Minsk, Guadalajara, and Kazan World Cups. And at the Baku World Cup just ahead of the Games, she set a new record for point totals (77.150) in her win.

But you certainly don't get a sense of all that success from Mamun in Over the Limit, as the main focus is in her training sessions, where she is  subjected to withering criticism from Viner-Usmanova, the head of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics. It's a legendary program, in which Russians have won every Olympic gold medal since Sydney 2000 in both individual and group events. Mamun is sternly reminded by Viner-Usmanova that she's competing for Russia, and her teammate Yana Kudryavtseva dutifully stresses that importance in a joint press stop shown early in the film.

It's often argued that there's a fine line between strong, pointed coaching and emotional abuse. Whereas programs in the United States and Great Britain, notably, have received scrutiny for crossing that boundary, I'm guessing that Russia hasn't had their moment of introspection on the matter. While the sport is not widely popular in the United States, it is in Russia and much of Eastern Europe, from where the top competitors generally come. Would viewers there cringe at the "tough love"? It's hard to say where Prus falls on the matter, as she correctly lets the camera to be an impartial witness.