Games and Rings
  • A Blog for Olympic Sports Fans

A Little Roundup 01.25.21

1/25/2021

0 Comments

 
The Associated Press shares a handful of examples of athletes having Olympic dreams shattered with the one year postponement of Tokyo 2020. As Irish once-boxing hopeful Dean Gardiner puts it while facing continuing to juggle training with fathergood and a career, "I have other priorities now that are higher up the list than boxing."

More Ireland: Count rower Paul O'Donovan as one still committed to the Games this year, although he faces domestic competition to earn an Olympic seat again for Ireland.
Picture
Javelin thrower Kelsey-Lee Barber is next in World Athletics' series on how 2019 world champions are approaching Tokyo 2020.

Early indoor season was on display at the American Track League's open ing event, led by Ryan Crouser's world indoor record for the shot put.

Team GB promising judoka Nekoda Davis shelves plans for Tokyo 2020 as she struggles to fully recover from a concussion injury that has "robbed" time.

​Skier Johan Clarey: Score one for the (not so) old-timers!

Congratulations to Hungary and the Netherlands, the final two qualifiers for Tokyo 2020's women's water polo tournament. Can the Hungarians improve upon their three​ Olympic fourth-place finishes?

Carolina Marin and Viktor Axelsen are standing their ground as badminton winners with successive tournament championships in Thailand.
Picture
Canada's Olympic swimming team begins to take shape, lead by 2019 world champions Margaret Mac Neil and Kylie Masse.

Tokyo 2020: As she does so often, soccer star Megan Rapinoe says what a lot of us are thinking.

Meanwhile, swimmer Rikako Ikee continues her return from leukemia treatment with qualification to Japan's Olympic trials, despite the "painful reminder that competition is unforgiving."

Nice to see curling have top appreciation in some pockets of the world, as Team Hasselborgs wins "Team of the Year" honors at Sweden's Idrottsgalan sports gala.

Norway's cross- country skiing hasn't lost a step, despite a Covid-19 interruption in FIS World Cup racing, with domination at the Lahti Ski Games.

Suzanne Schulting is the big indiviudal winner at the European Short Track Championships, with three individual race titles and the overall title.
Picture
0 Comments

A Little Roundup 01.21.21

1/21/2021

0 Comments

 
Meet Aaron Heading...Team GB shooter on target to make his Olympic debut this year, after a severe injury setback saw him turn to volunteering in the Coast Guard.
Picture
Nick Willis: 19 years in a row that he's run an official mile under 4 minutes, beating the record by fellow Kiwi John Walker.

Six-time Olympic medalist in track cycling, Anna Meares reviews her career and the challenges of pressure and mental health in the latest [female] athlete project podcast.

Rio 2016 silver medalist in the men's cycling road race, Jakob Fuglsang mulls extending his strong career out to Paris 2024.

Perrine Lafont tells Olympic.org her top goal is to become the first woman to defend an Olympic title in moguls, at Beijing 2022.

Figure skater Evgenia Medvedeva has Olympic and world championship success, but is still targeting more competition despite injury challenges.
Picture
Samantha and Kristie Mewis became the first sisters to each score in a match for the United States women's national soccer team. They appear headed to becoming the next household names of USWNT.

World Rowing starts the year with a feature on Dutchman Koen Metsemakers, world and European champion in quadruple sculls. He has a master's degree in dentistry!

In The Sports Chronicle, Irish field hockey player Anna O'Flanagan pens a look back at how 2020 affected her and her teammates' motivation after securing a historic Olympic qualification.

"I think from a young age, I knew I wanted to go to the Olympics." Canadian Melissa Humana-Paredes is looking to make a mark in Tokyo 2020's beach volleyball tournament with her partner Sarah Pavan.
Picture
0 Comments

A Little Roundup 01.14.21

1/14/2021

0 Comments

 
After a first-time European championship win in the four-man bobsled this past weekend, will Francesco Friedrich win a 47th World Cup event and become the all-time win leader?
Picture
Klete Keller: A star swimming Olympian is caught on camera as taking part of the mob insurrection at the U.S. capitol.

She's back. Mikaela Shiffrin's slalom win this past weekend puts her third on the all-time World Cup win list, and is her 100th podium finish.

Star cyclist Peter Sagan not committing to the Olympics this year, prioritizing the Tour de France in 2021.

Get used to it: Australia's breaking stars defend the sport's Olympics inclusion at Paris 2024.

Without influential pressure from international sport, Iran is set to execute another star wrestler.

With Canada's equestrian jumping Pan Am Games disqualification confirmed, the equestrian quota field is now complete for Tokyo 2020.

No fluke: U.S. women continue to make a mark in cross-country skiing.

​Team GB sailor Luke Patience has an Olympic silver medal, but wants to step up. "It is really gold medal only as my target for Tokyo."
Picture
USA TODAY presents its roundup of 100 Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls to watch for at Tokyo 2020.

Team USA BMX rider Hannah Roberts is now a married woman.

Jordanian Farah Al As'ad is raising support for the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation in a big way...planting the THF flag on Mount Kilimanjaro.

Up and coming sprinter Corinne Humphreys is interviewed by the Five Rings to Rule Them All podcast on her late sport start, how she has adjusted her training during the pandemic, and the impact of being an out gay athlete.

The IHF Men's World Championships start in Egypt, minus two Covid-stricken teams. Are these the first world championships to take place since the start of the pandemic?

Half marathon world record holder Kibiwott Kandie is now focusing on long-distance track success to make the Kenyan Tokyo 2020 team.

R.I.P. to Canadian rowing legend and Olympic champion Kathleen Heddle, who lost a battle with cancer at age 55.

​Runner Alexi Pappas continues opening up on mental health challenges in an interview with katiecouric.com, in advance of her memoir, "Bravey".
Picture
0 Comments

A Little Roundup 01.07.21

1/7/2021

0 Comments

 
Here's a story hard to resist: siblings Uta and Hifumi Abe will both be headed to Tokyo 2020 with judo gold in their sights.
Picture
FINA.org takes a look at Joe Kayes, a New Zealander who "crossed the Ditch" and found water polo success in - and with - arch rival Australia.

Kento Momota: Just when he overcomes injury, now Covid-19 hits the badminton star.

Turin 2006 figure skating medalist Sasha Cohen is the host of "Sasha Sessions: A Team USA Podcast", featuring interviews with numerous fellow Olympians.

​Who is the "World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time"? Olympic champion rhythmic gymnast Evgeniya Kanaeva and Tokyo 2020-qualified sport climber Iuliia Kaplina are two of the 24 nominees.

Irish Central shares the "incredible true story of an Olympic athlete turned cop, turned kingpin criminal mastermind", Melbourne 1956 rowing medalist Murray Stewart Riley.

Golfer Adam Scott "considers" playing at Tokyo 2020. Wasn't the attraction of including the sport in the Games the fact that its stars would all appear?

More Ireland: Cycling star Sam Bennett admits question over an Olympic appearance due to a less than ideal course setup for his speed style. Maybe the time trial is the goal?
Picture
A Muguruza-Nadal pairing is just one of many that would certainly be exciting, in what could be a "mouth-watering" mixed doubles tennis event, considering possible pairs of Bencic-Federer, Sakkari-Tsitsipas, Osaka-Nishikori, or Andreescu-Shapovalov. None are regular doubles players these days, though...

Can Australia secure American-born Bryce Cotton citizenship in time for an Olympic appearance this year in basketball?

Two-time gold-medalist Carli Lloyd is looking to make one last Olympic run this year in women's soccer.

Meanwhile, Brazilian soccer star and two-time Olympic medalist Marta announced her engagement to professional teammate Toni Pressley. Congratulations!
​
Mystery pops up around star gymnast Oleg Verniaiev's "provisional suspension". Even Team Ukraine head coach is tight-lipped.

Happy Birthday to the world's oldest living Olympian, Agnes Keleti! The former gymnast turns 100 on January 9, and celebrates a new biography, "The Queen of Gymnastics".
Picture
0 Comments

A Little Roundup 01.04.21

1/4/2021

0 Comments

 
Need help setting goals for the new year? Diver Steele Johnson advises to dream big.
Picture
Fellow champions help feature Brazilian star Gabriel Medina's rise in surfing ahead of the sport's debut at the Tokyo Games.

Australian swimming champion Emily Seebohm opens up on her eating disorder challenges in order to help others, and herself, treat themselves better.

Long-distance runner Gabriela DeBues-Stafford hopes a quiet 2020 has set up a strong 2021 on the track.

In The New York Times, a look at how would-be marathoner Sara Hall inspired in 2020 despite missing out on Olympic qualification.

World record-holder Joshua Cheptegei hopes to become the eighth man to win the 5,000 and 10,000 meter double at next year's Olympics Games.
Picture
Whether it's England or Great Britain, team selection is always cause for early hand-wringing for soccer pundits and fans, for the women's team, too.

Congrats to sailor Hannah Mills and rower Martin Helseth on their appointment to the team of European Climate Change Ambassadors.

Could Canada's equestrian jumping team reclaim an Olympics berth, and at the expense of Argentina?

Mujerhoy features an interview with tennis star and Rio 2016 Olympian Garbine Muguruza, touching on 2021 plans...including a good run at the Tokyo Games. (note, in Spanish)

Beijing 2008 medalist Becky Hammon becomes the first woman to head-coach an NBA regular-season game, and rightfully acknowledges the "substantial moment".
Picture
Don't forget to check out my recent wishlist for the Tokyo Games this year, featuring Caster Semenya, Team Russia, the end of a gala, and more.
0 Comments
<<Previous

    About This Blog

    Highlights from the world of Olympic sports, focused on the athletes, and as seen through the cheeky lens of this one particular, passionate fan.

    Navigate It

    ​A Little Roundup
    Links to Olympic sport headlines and news, with a focus on the athletes

    Athlete Worth Watching
    Finding emerging names and stories in Olympic sports to keep an eye on

    Let's Get Social
    Sharing intriguing and provocative posts from Olympic sport athletes

    ​Ramblings and Things
    ​
    I have my own thoughts on Olympic sport news and athletes sometimes!
    Read more on me here.

    Picture
    At Rio 2016's Barra Olympic Park
    Header: Kallimamaro stadium in Athens, site of the first modern Olympics in 1896

    Follow Me

    Picture
    Tweets by @GamesandRings

    Picture

    Picture

    Favorite Sites

    The IOC
    The Olympic Channel
    The Olympic Museum
    ​
    Team USA
    World Athletics
    WADA
    ​Athletics Integrity Unit
    Court of Arbitration
    Around the Rings
    Inside the Games
    GamesBids.com
    NBC Olympic Talk
    NY Times ​Olympics
    USA TODAY Olympics
    ​AP Olympics
    Wiki Summer Olympics
    Wiki Winter Olympics
    ​Athlete365
    ​Olympic Historians
    World Olympians Assoc.
    ​Games Architecture​
    Art of the Olympians
    Olympic.org Results
    ​Olympedia
    ​Olympstats
    ​On This Day in Sports
    ​Olympic City Project
    ​
    Keep the Flame Alive
    ​Totallympics Fan Forum
    ​Lost Olympians
    ​
    Olympians 1964 to 2020
    Outsports
    ​
    Queerstory Files
    Rio 2016
    Pyeongchang 2018
    Tokyo 2020
    ​Beijing 2022
    ​Paris 2024
    ​Milan Cortina 2026
    Los Angeles 2028


    Categories

    All
    A Little Roundup
    Alpine Skiing
    Aquatics
    Archery
    Artistic Swimming
    Athens 1896
    Athens 2004
    Athlete Spotlight
    Athlete Worth Watching
    Atlanta 1996
    Badminton
    Baseball
    Basketball
    Basketball 3x3
    Beach Volleyball
    Beijing 2008
    Beijing 2022
    Biathlon
    Bobsled
    Books & Media
    Boxing
    Breaking
    Canoeing
    Cross Country Skiing
    Curling
    Cycling
    Cycling BMX
    Cycling Mountain Bike
    Cycling Road
    Cycling Track
    Diving
    Equestrian
    Fencing
    Field Hockey
    Figure Skating
    Freestyle Skiing
    Golf
    Gymnastics
    Handball
    Ice Hockey
    IOC
    Judo
    Karate
    Let's Get Social
    London 1908
    London 1948
    London 2012
    Los Angeles 1984
    Los Angeles 2028
    Luge
    Melbourne 1956
    Mexico City 1968
    Modern Pentathlon
    Montreal 1976
    Munich 1972
    Nordic Combined
    Olympics
    On This Date
    Other
    Paralympics
    Paris 2024
    Rhythmic Gymnastics
    Rio 2016
    Rome 1960
    Rowing
    Rugby Sevens
    Sailing
    Seoul 1988
    Shooting
    Short Track Speedskating
    Skateboarding
    Skeleton
    Ski Jumping
    Snowboarding
    Soccer (football)
    Sochi 2014
    Softball
    Speed Skating
    Sport Climbing
    Squash
    Surfing
    Swimming
    Sydney 2000
    Table Tennis
    Taekwondo
    Tennis
    Ternnis
    Tokyo 1964
    Tokyo 2020
    Track And Field
    Trampolining
    Triathlon
    Volleyball
    WADA
    Water Polo
    Weightlifting
    Winter Olympics
    Wrestling


    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014


    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly