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Olympics

Olympics

Federal, Alberta governments invest $52 million in Calgary Olympic Oval upgrade

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Monday, Jul. 27, 2026

CALGARY - Calgary's Olympic Oval is getting an upgrade.

The federal and provincial governments are equally splitting a $52-million contribution to the renewal of the speedskating facility built for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

The federal government also announced Monday an additional $7.67 million for ski racing and snowboard facilities in Quebec, Yukon, Alberta and B.C., as well as a $3-million top-up to the Athletic Assistance Program, which provides Canada's high-performance athletes monthly cheques to help pay their bills.

"This is not just a good day for Canadian sport or speedskating in Canada. This is a good era of Canadian sport because we're making the largest investments our country has ever seen in sport from the playground to the podium, from the people and the places and everything in between that sport requires to continue being Canada's greatest nation-building project," Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden said Monday in Calgary.

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Olympics

IOC won’t pursue its member Infantino over FIFA red-card ruling at World Cup

Graham Dunbar, The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

IOC won’t pursue its member Infantino over FIFA red-card ruling at World Cup

Graham Dunbar, The Associated Press 2 minute read Friday, Jul. 24, 2026

GENEVA (AP) — IOC member and FIFA leader Gianni Infantino will not have to explain to the Olympic body how U.S. President Donald Trump helped to stop a player’s ban at the World Cup.

The IOC said on Friday it has no jurisdiction to investigate Infantino’s alleged lack of political neutrality.

A London-based NGO formally complained this month to the International Olympic Committee ethics commission about Infantino, including his part in ensuring United States forward Folarin Balogun did not serve a mandatory one-game ban despite being sent off in the previous game.

The IOC’s Olympic Charter cites neutrality among “fundamental principles of Olympism” for sports bodies like FIFA and its 100-plus members, which has included Infantino since 2020.

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Friday, Jul. 24, 2026

Olympics

Olympic countdown clock raises venue timeline questions for Brisbane 2032

John Pye, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Olympic countdown clock raises venue timeline questions for Brisbane 2032

John Pye, The Associated Press 4 minute read Thursday, Jul. 23, 2026

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — A pesky native bird appeared on the podium almost on cue as organizers prepared to unveil a countdown clock marking six years to go until the 2032 Olympics.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner noted the timely white ibis in his welcoming remarks, joking with the crowd that it wouldn't be an event in Brisbane without the appearance of a “bin chicken,” as the bird is colloquially known.

There's a small, humorous push locally for the ibis to become a mascot for the Brisbane Games rather than one of Australia's more widely known native animals such as the kangaroo or the koala.

Schrinner didn't miss a beat and the bird moved off before the big digital Omega clock officially started counting down Thursday in the downtown Queen Street mall.

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Thursday, Jul. 23, 2026

Olympics

SafeSport Center to begin publicizing names of people who go on its banned list

Eddie Pells, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

SafeSport Center to begin publicizing names of people who go on its banned list

Eddie Pells, The Associated Press 3 minute read Tuesday, Jul. 21, 2026

The U.S. Center for SafeSport began making public announcements of people placed on its disciplinary database Tuesday, a move designed to increase transparency and bring more attention to what the center believes is one of its top tools in the fight against sex abuse.

The center, in charge of combating abuse in Olympic sports, has long published what it calls its Centralized Disciplinary Database. But without publicizing who lands on the list, people had to access the database and know who they were looking for to learn about banned and restricted people in their orbit.

Now, the center will share weekly updates about people added to the list; the updates will include cases taken to arbitration that have reached a decision.

"Knowledge is power and maintaining safe sport environments improves when information is as accessible as possible,” said the center's CEO, Benita Fitzgerald Mosley. “By sharing weekly news updates of individuals who have been added to the Centralized Disciplinary Database, we hope to improve safeguarding through increased public awareness.”

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Tuesday, Jul. 21, 2026

Olympics

Discussions for major leaguers in 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in early stages

Ronald Blum, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Discussions for major leaguers in 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in early stages

Ronald Blum, The Associated Press 4 minute read Tuesday, Jul. 14, 2026

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Discussions for major leaguers to play in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics baseball tournament remain in the early stages, with players used to top hotels wanting to be assured of accommodations.

Major League Baseball has envisioned an extended 11-day All-Star break. The last regular-season games before the break would be on July 9, followed by the All-Star Game on July 11, likely at San Francisco, and the Olympic tournament at Dodger Stadium from July 13-19. The season would resume July 21.

“In general our players want to play in the Olympics. They’re patriotic, and for them it’s a special opportunity, and we want them to have that opportunity,” union head Bruce Meyer said Tuesday ahead of the All-Star Game. “Having said that, we want to make sure that they have things like travel and accommodations, and things that they deserve based on who they are.”

Five entities are involved in the negotiations: Major League Baseball, the players' association, the International Olympic Committee, the LA28 local organizing committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation.

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Tuesday, Jul. 14, 2026

Olympics

SafeSport hired ex-police officer whose actions led to a $24M civil verdict against her department

Eddie Pells, The Associated Press 5 minute read Tuesday, Jul. 14, 2026

PARKER, Colo. (AP) — The U.S. Center for SafeSport hired a former police officer a year after she quit the force while subject of a malicious prosecution lawsuit that resulted in a $24 million verdict against her department.

The case alleged that detective Shannon Brukbacher wrongfully arrested a man, Robert Dial, on charges of evidence tampering and being an accessory in a fatal shooting involving his son.

Brukbacher's hiring at the center was announced Oct. 27, 2025, a year after she had retired from the force in Parker, Colorado — not far from the headquarters of the Denver-based center, which investigates sex-abuse cases involving Olympic sports.

The hiring also came about a year after Dial filed the lawsuit in which he alleged false arrest and malicious prosecution in a case that stemmed from his son's fatal shooting of a roommate. Dial won the $24 million verdict in May. Brukbacher's lawyers appealed the verdict last week.

Olympics

Suni Lee announces return to gymnastics about two years before the Los Angeles Olympics

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Suni Lee announces return to gymnastics about two years before the Los Angeles Olympics

The Associated Press 2 minute read Tuesday, Jul. 14, 2026

Suni Lee is making a run at a third Olympics.

The America gymnastics star announced she is returning to the sport on Tuesday, about two years out from the Los Angeles Games.

Lee, the 2020 all-around champion and a six-time Olympic medalist, posted a video on Instagram saying she was back in the gym and ready to return to work.

The 23-year-old Lee has been on a break following the 2024 Paris Olympics, in which she helped the Americans win team gold while earning bronze in the all-around and uneven bars.

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Tuesday, Jul. 14, 2026

Olympics

Montreal Olympic Games left a legacy that’s still being felt, 50 years later

Frédéric Daigle, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Montreal Olympic Games left a legacy that’s still being felt, 50 years later

Frédéric Daigle, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Monday, Jul. 13, 2026

MONTREAL - When reflecting on the 1976 Montreal Games, it's hard not to think of the controversies surrounding the Olympic Stadium, whose problem-plagued construction and ballooning costs earned it the nickname the "Big Owe."

But 50 years later, key players in the Olympic movement say the first Games on Canadian soil had a lasting impact on Quebec's sporting culture that went far beyond those negative headlines.

"These Games left a great legacy," said Thomas Bach, who is the honorary president of the International Olympic Committee and a 1976 gold medallist in the team foil fencing event.

"I remember the controversies at the time, like with all the Games to follow elsewhere," he said by video from Lausanne, Switzerland in June.

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Monday, Jul. 13, 2026

Olympics

Women’s hockey at the 2030 Olympics is set to feature 25-player rosters, matching the men

Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Women’s hockey at the 2030 Olympics is set to feature 25-player rosters, matching the men

Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press 2 minute read Thursday, Jul. 9, 2026

Women’s hockey rosters for the 2030 Olympics in the French Alps are expected to include 25 players, up from 23.

The change was quietly included in the event program released by organizers earlier this week. Men’s hockey has had 25-player rosters for each of the past four Olympics going back to Sochi in 2014.

It is being billed as the first Winter Games with gender balance, with 1,525 women and 1,521 men making up the 3,046 athletes across 126 events. That number is 300 men to 250 women in hockey because there are 10 teams in the women’s tournament, compared to 12 on the men’s side.

Women's hockey, which debuted at the Olympics in Nagano in 1998 at the same time NHL players began taking part on the men's side, is experiencing a time of growth. The PWHL is expanding to 12 teams for its fourth season after being at eight in its third and six during its first two.

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Thursday, Jul. 9, 2026

Olympics

Steve Cherundolo to coach US men’s under-23 team through 2028 Olympics

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Steve Cherundolo to coach US men’s under-23 team through 2028 Olympics

The Associated Press 2 minute read Thursday, Jul. 9, 2026

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga (AP) — Former American defender and Los Angeles FC coach Steve Cherundolo was hired Thursday by the U.S. Soccer Federation to lead the American men's under-23 team through the 2028 Olympics.

It was not clear whether the 47-year-old from San Diego would become a candidate to become the national team interim coach if a new deal isn't worked out between the USSF and Mauricio Pochettino, whose contract expires this summer. The national team can play four friendlies in the FIFA international window from Sept. 21 to Oct. 3.

Cherundolo made 87 appearances for the U.S. from 1999 to 2012 and was part of three World Cup rosters. He played for Hannover for 15 seasons through 2014 and made 415 Bundesliga appearances, the most by an American.

He coached the second-tier Las Vegas Lights in 2021 and LAFC from 2022-25, winning an MLS title in his first season and the U.S. Open Cup in 2024. He left LA after the 2025 to move back to Germany.

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Thursday, Jul. 9, 2026

Olympics

Paralympics great Sarah Storey retires at 48 and won’t chase a 10th Games in Los Angeles

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Paralympics great Sarah Storey retires at 48 and won’t chase a 10th Games in Los Angeles

The Associated Press 2 minute read Thursday, Jul. 9, 2026

LONDON (AP) — Paralympics great Sarah Storey retired from competitive racing on Thursday at age 48 instead of training for a 10th Games in Los Angeles in 2028.

The 19-time Paralympics gold medalist won her first titles for Britain in swimming at Barcelona in 1992, and completed her fourth straight sweep of cycling’s road race and time trial at Paris in 2024.

Storey told British broadcaster BBC she now wants to help improve the quality and visibility of Para-sport.

“The years between each Games haven’t been utilized well enough to create the momentum that I and others hoped to see,” she said.

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Thursday, Jul. 9, 2026

Olympics

Montreal’s Les Supremes help usher synchro skating into Olympic Games

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Montreal’s Les Supremes help usher synchro skating into Olympic Games

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Wednesday, Jul. 8, 2026

Canada had a hand in pushing synchronized figure skating over the finish line to Olympic inclusion.

The coach of one of the most successful synchro teams in the world was asked on short notice by the International Skating Union to put together a team for a demonstration performance in April's world synchro championships in Salzburg, Austria, in front of International Olympic Committee members.

"They're like 'we're making a pilot project for the IOC, to push and make sure that this time we get in,'" Marilyn Langlois recounted. 

Langlois coaches Montreal's Les Supremes, who have won four world championships in the last five years in a competition that features teams of 16 skaters. Olympic teams will consist of only nine skaters (the event is called "synchro9") in 2030.

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Wednesday, Jul. 8, 2026

Olympics

FIFA’s Infantino targeted by complaint to Olympic ethics body after Trump lobbying on Balogun ban

Graham Dunbar, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

FIFA’s Infantino targeted by complaint to Olympic ethics body after Trump lobbying on Balogun ban

Graham Dunbar, The Associated Press 3 minute read Wednesday, Jul. 8, 2026

GENEVA (AP) — FIFA’s president Gianni Infantino is being referred to Olympic ethics investigators for a possible breach of political neutrality, a human rights group said Wednesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump helped block a World Cup player’s ban.

Trump took credit Monday for FIFA’s decision — unprecedented in modern World Cup history — to let United States forward Folarin Balogun play Monday against Belgium despite getting a red card in the team’s previous game. A Belgium team clearly fired up by the furor won 4-1 in Seattle. 

The IOC cites neutrality among “fundamental principles of Olympism” for sports bodies like FIFA, and has jurisdiction over Infantino since he joined its exclusive group of 100-plus invited members in 2020.

“FairSquare will file a complaint to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s repeated breach of political neutrality rules,” the London-based sports and human rights NGO said in a statement Wednesday.

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Wednesday, Jul. 8, 2026

Olympics

Kremlin hails ‘important step’ as IOC eases Olympic restrictions on Russia

The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Kremlin hails ‘important step’ as IOC eases Olympic restrictions on Russia

The Associated Press 3 minute read Wednesday, Jul. 8, 2026

The Kremlin has welcomed as an “important step” the International Olympic Committee's decision to remove many of its restrictions on Russia, a big step closer to letting it field a full team when Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Games.

The IOC provisionally lifted a suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and advised Olympic sports bodies they no longer need to be vetting its athletes for permission to compete as neutrals.

“It is an important step toward reinstating our athletes’ legitimate rights to participate in international competitions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday. “Work will continue through our sports authorities. They are conducting this work constantly and consistently, this work will continue.”

Peskov added that “now, it’s very important that all our athletes have the opportunity to compete in major international events.”

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Wednesday, Jul. 8, 2026

Olympics

Luge Canada hires Poland’s Maciej Kurowski as head coach to 2030

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Luge Canada hires Poland’s Maciej Kurowski as head coach to 2030

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Tuesday, Jul. 7, 2026

CALGARY - Three-time Polish Olympian Maciej Kurowski has been named the Canadian luge team's new head coach through to the 2030 Winter Olympic Games in the French Alps.

The 40-year-old from Jelenia Gora coached South Korea in February's Milan Cortina Winter Olympics alongside former Canadian team coach Wolfgang Staudinger. Kurowski has also worked with Korea's development team.

Kurowski coached in the International Luge Federation's development program to help 10 athletes from emerging luge countries qualify for Beijing's Olympic Games in 2022.

The contract of Robert Fegg, who coached Canada's luge team from 2022 to 2026, concluded in May.

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Tuesday, Jul. 7, 2026

Olympics

IOC eases path toward Russia returning with full team at 2028 LA Olympics

Graham Dunbar, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

IOC eases path toward Russia returning with full team at 2028 LA Olympics

Graham Dunbar, The Associated Press 5 minute read Tuesday, Jul. 7, 2026

GENEVA (AP) — Russia has moved closer toward having a full team with its national flag and anthem at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday provisionally lifted a suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and advised Olympic sports bodies to end a three-year program where Russian athletes had to be vetted for permission to compete as neutrals.

The IOC said the timing was because qualifying events are starting for the L.A. Games, and “the need to offer equal access to these competitions to all athletes.”

The move, which also signals a return for Russia in team sports, had been expected since the IOC advised two months ago that athletes from Belarus, which was Russia’s ally when its military invasion of Ukraine started in 2022, should be allowed again to compete with their full national identity.

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Tuesday, Jul. 7, 2026

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