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Olympics

Kelsey Mitchell, left, an Olympic gold medallist in track cycling, and pilot Bianca Ribi practice starts as Mitchell tries out for the Canadian bobsled team in Calgary, Alta., Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Olympic cycling champion Kelsey Mitchell auditions for Canadian bobsled team

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 4:57 PM CDT

CALGARY - Potential is a magic word for Kelsey Mitchell.

The Olympic gold medallist in track cycling heard it at a spring bobsled tryout camp and went all in. 

"They said I had potential," Mitchell said Friday in Calgary. "That's my favourite word ever."

Mitchell will travel with the Canadian bobsled team Sunday to a training camp in Whistler, B.C.

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Champion runner Caster Semenya ending legal fight against sex eligibility rules, lawyer tells AP

Gerald Imray, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Champion runner Caster Semenya ending legal fight against sex eligibility rules, lawyer tells AP

Gerald Imray, The Associated Press 5 minute read Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Olympic champion runner Caster Semenya is ending a seven-year legal challenge against sex eligibility rules in track and field, her lawyers said Thursday, despite winning a ruling at the European Court of Human Rights in July that appeared to have reignited one of sports' most contentious cases.

Patrick Bracher, a lawyer for Semenya, said in an email to The Associated Press that they wouldn't take her appeal back to the Swiss supreme court, which was an option and what many presumed to be Semenya's next step after the European rights court ruling.

“Caster’s legal challenge reached the highest possible court with a highly successful outcome and will not be taken further in the circumstances,” Bracher wrote.

Landmark case

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Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025

FILE - Caster Semenya, of South Africa, competes during a heat in the women's 5000-meter run at the World Athletics Championships on July 20, 2022, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)
FILE - Caster Semenya, of South Africa, competes during a heat in the women's 5000-meter run at the World Athletics Championships on July 20, 2022, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)

France’s court of auditors reports modest economic impact from 2024 Paris Olympics

Samuel Petrequin, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

France’s court of auditors reports modest economic impact from 2024 Paris Olympics

Samuel Petrequin, The Associated Press 3 minute read Monday, Sep. 29, 2025

PARIS (AP) — Hosting the 2024 Paris Olympics generated only moderate revenues for France, with an almost negligible impact on growth, while total public expenditure exceeded six billion euros ($7 billion), the country’s court of auditors reported on Monday.

Public spending linked to the Olympics organization included €3.02 billion for the event organization, and €3.63 billion for infrastructure investment, some €690 million more than the auditors’ initial estimate published in June.

The Paris Games also generated public revenues from taxes and commercial activities, estimated at €293.6 million. According to the Cour des Comptes report released ahead of the 2030 Winter Olympics — also awarded to France — the organizing committee of the Paris Games, funded mainly through private resources, posted a profit of €75.7 million.

“The Games’ impact on annual economic growth in 2024 is estimated at +0.07 percentage point of GDP once indirect effects are factored in," auditors said. "The benefits have been modest, both in the run-up — when soaring prices limited the real effect of infrastructure spending — and during the Games themselves, as regular tourism was partly crowded out. The medium to long-term economic benefits remain uncertain.”

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Monday, Sep. 29, 2025

FILE - French athletes wave flags as they sail in a boat on the Seine River during the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Franck Fife/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - French athletes wave flags as they sail in a boat on the Seine River during the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Franck Fife/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Olympic veteran John Coates stands down as head of sports court citing cancer treatment

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Olympic veteran John Coates stands down as head of sports court citing cancer treatment

The Associated Press 2 minute read Monday, Sep. 29, 2025

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Veteran Olympic official John Coates stood down early Monday as head of sport’s highest court after being treated for cancer.

“Mr Coates indicated that, after completing six months of chemotherapy treatment for cancer, his current health did not allow for international travel,” the Court of Arbitration for Sport said in a statement.

The 75-year-old Australian lawyer was an influential vice president of the International Olympic Committee, and close ally of its then-president Thomas Bach, until his membership expired last year.

Coates joined the IOC in 2001 one year after overseeing the bidding and organizing committees for the Sydney Olympics. His status at the IOC was key to Brisbane being fast-tracked as host of the 2032 Summer Games.

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Monday, Sep. 29, 2025

FILE - International Olympic Committee member and Court of Arbitration for Sport president John Coates delivers a report on the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics during the 132nd IOC Session prior to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - International Olympic Committee member and Court of Arbitration for Sport president John Coates delivers a report on the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics during the 132nd IOC Session prior to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Snoop Dogg returns to NBC’s Olympic coverage team this winter at the Milan-Cortina Games

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Snoop Dogg returns to NBC’s Olympic coverage team this winter at the Milan-Cortina Games

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press 3 minute read Sunday, Sep. 28, 2025

Snoop Dogg is headed back to the Olympics.

NBCUniversal announced Sunday night that the global megastar — who was a roving correspondent for its coverage of the Paris Games in 2024 — will be part of the coverage for the Milan-Cortina Games coming in February.

“Guess who's back?” Snoop — dressed in full Team USA red, white and blue regalia, as snow swirled around him and the Olympic anthem played — asked in a 15-second video that was released Sunday night by NBC.

Much in the same way that he did in Paris, Snoop will speak with NBC host Mike Tirico at times to give his perspective on what's happening in Italy. He's expected to be at numerous events during the Winter Olympics, “and cheer alongside the athletes, their friends, and families,” NBC said.

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Sunday, Sep. 28, 2025

FILE - American artist Snoop Dogg, center, sits in the audience prior to the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin, File)
FILE - American artist Snoop Dogg, center, sits in the audience prior to the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin, File)

International Paralympic Committee lifts the partial suspensions of Russia and Belarus

The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

International Paralympic Committee lifts the partial suspensions of Russia and Belarus

The Associated Press 3 minute read Saturday, Sep. 27, 2025

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The International Paralympic Committee has lifted the partial suspensions of Russia and Belarus.

The IPC general assembly in Seoul, South Korea on Saturday first voted against a full suspension for Russia by 111 to 55, with 11 abstentions, and then voted against a partial suspension by 91-77 (with eight abstentions). 

It also voted against a full suspension for Belarus by 119 to 48, with nine abstentions, and against a partial suspension by 103-63 (10 abstentions). 

The decisions raise the possibility of a clash with each sport’s governing body ahead of the Milan-Cortina Paralympics in Italy from March 6-15 next year.

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Saturday, Sep. 27, 2025

FILE - President of the International Paralympic Committee Andrew Parsons passes the Paralympic flag to Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass, not in photo, after receiving it from Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, not in photo, during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paralympics, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
FILE - President of the International Paralympic Committee Andrew Parsons passes the Paralympic flag to Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass, not in photo, after receiving it from Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, not in photo, during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paralympics, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

Olympic hopeful Alysa Liu scraps short program amid investigation involving artist behind its music

Dave Skretta, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Olympic hopeful Alysa Liu scraps short program amid investigation involving artist behind its music

Dave Skretta, The Associated Press 4 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 24, 2025

World figure skating champion Alysa Liu is scrapping her short program for the upcoming season, including the Milan Olympics should she make the U.S. team, amid an investigation involving one of the artists who performed the music for it.

Liu had been fine-tuning a program set to the song “This Is How It Feels,” performed by Icelandic singer Laufey and American artist d4vd. But that was before the body of a missing teenage girl was found earlier this month in an impounded Tesla that was reportedly registered to d4vd (pronounced “David”), who first rose to fame with a viral TikTok in 2022.

The Los Angeles Police Department has not implicated d4vd in the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, though authorities have confirmed that his home has been searched. His representatives have not replied to requests for comment.

“I have to change it, you know? Forced to change my hand, basically. But that's alright,” Liu told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview Wednesday. “I almost was grieving the process — ‘Oh, I have my programs. They were going to grow and evolve, and I was going to add more to it.’ But there's nothing like a fresh start.”

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Wednesday, Sep. 24, 2025

FILE - Alysa Liu of the U.S. competes in the women's free skating at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)
FILE - Alysa Liu of the U.S. competes in the women's free skating at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)

As part of reforms, SafeSport center seeks greater efficency, improved communication on long cases

Eddie Pells, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

As part of reforms, SafeSport center seeks greater efficency, improved communication on long cases

Eddie Pells, The Associated Press 3 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 24, 2025

DENVER (AP) — The U.S. Center for SafeSport will try to cut down on the amount of time it takes to resolve cases and better explain to people involved in investigations that such “long duration” cases are possible, as part of reforms designed to improve on what some complain is a confusing, drawn-out process.

The center's interim CEO, April Holmes, sent a letter Wednesday to athletes, sports organizations and others involved in the SafeSport process outlining changes stemming from a series of community outreach efforts earlier this year.

Among the nine changes the center announced:

— “Better explain(ing) what happens when the Center declines a case.”

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Wednesday, Sep. 24, 2025

FILE - Paralympic gold medalist April Holmes answers questions at the Jordan Brand's Flight Experience, Friday, Feb. 15, 2013 in Houston. (Omar Vega/Invision for Jordan Brand/AP Images, File)
FILE - Paralympic gold medalist April Holmes answers questions at the Jordan Brand's Flight Experience, Friday, Feb. 15, 2013 in Houston. (Omar Vega/Invision for Jordan Brand/AP Images, File)

Canadian ski jumper Loutitt to undergo knee surgery, will miss 2026 Winter Games

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Canadian ski jumper Loutitt to undergo knee surgery, will miss 2026 Winter Games

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

CALGARY - Canadian ski jumper Alex Loutitt will miss the 2026 Winter Olympics after sustaining a knee injury during a Summer Grand Prix competition.

Loutitt, a 2023 world champion and part of Canada's bronze-winning mixed team at the 2022 Olympics, was injured Friday during an event on the 2026 Olympic jumps in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

Ski Jumping Canada said Loutitt was treated in a local hospital before returning to Innsbruck, Austria, where she will undergo knee surgery this week.

The 21-year-old from Calgary is expected to have a one-year rehabilitation period from her surgery before she will be cleared to return to competitive jumping.

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Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

Alexandria Loutitt of Canada competes at the Women Normal Hill HS102 Individual Ski Jumping event at the Nordic World Ski Championships, in Trondheim, Norway, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Alexandria Loutitt of Canada competes at the Women Normal Hill HS102 Individual Ski Jumping event at the Nordic World Ski Championships, in Trondheim, Norway, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Russian Petr Gumennik wins Olympic figure skating qualifier as neutral athlete

The Associated Press 2 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

BEIJING (AP) — Russian figure skater Petr Gumennik showed he could be a contender for the Olympic podium at next year's Milan-Cortina Games after he won the final qualifying event by a vast 34-point margin Sunday.

Competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete, Gumennik performed five high-scoring quadruple jumps in the free skate, despite some shaky landings, on his way to a total score of 262.82, securing him a place at next year's Olympics. That score would have placed him 10th at last season's world championships.

Among the other skaters in the top five qualifying men's spots Sunday were Mexico's Donovan Carrillo, a fan favorite on his Olympic debut in 2022, and Ukrainian Kyrylo Marsak.

Neutral athletes qualify for Olympic spots for themselves as individuals, while other skaters qualify quota places for their country.

Russian figure skater Adeliia Petrosian wins Olympic qualifier for Milan-Cortina

James Ellingworth, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Russian figure skater Adeliia Petrosian wins Olympic qualifier for Milan-Cortina

James Ellingworth, The Associated Press 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

Russian figure skater Adeliia Petrosian is set to be a contender for the gold medal at next year's Winter Olympics after winning the final qualifying event Saturday.

Skating as an Individual Neutral Athlete without national symbols, Petrosian beat two former European champions with a total score of 209.63 points in Beijing on Saturday, with a Michael Jackson-themed short program and Argentine tango-style free skate.

This week marks the first time that Russian figure skaters have taken part in international competitions since the 2022 Olympics.

The International Skating Union president defended its stance on allowing Russian skaters to compete as neutrals, in comments to The Associated Press ahead of Saturday’s free skate.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

Adeliia Petrosian of Russia, competing as a neutral athlete, performs during the Women short program at the ISU Skate to Milano figure skating qualifier 2025, in Beijing, China, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
Adeliia Petrosian of Russia, competing as a neutral athlete, performs during the Women short program at the ISU Skate to Milano figure skating qualifier 2025, in Beijing, China, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

IOC confirms Russians competing as neutrals at Milan-Cortina Games and no talks on Israel

Daniella Matar, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

IOC confirms Russians competing as neutrals at Milan-Cortina Games and no talks on Israel

Daniella Matar, The Associated Press 4 minute read Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

MILAN (AP) — Russians will be allowed to compete at next year’s Milan-Cortina Winter Games but the International Olympic Committee said on Friday it had never discussed banning Israel.

The IOC confirmed after an executive board meeting in Milan that it will follow the system it used at the Paris Games last year, allowing Russians to compete as Individual Neutral Athletes — using the French acronym AIN.

“We also spoke about the individual neutral athletes at Milano-Cortina, this will be nothing new for all of you,” IOC president Kirsty Coventry said. “The executive board will take the exact same approach that was done in Paris, so it’s just a continuation … nothing has changed from Paris.”

The Russian Olympic Committee has been suspended since 2023 by the IOC for breaking the Olympic charter by using an administrative land grab to incorporate regional sports bodies in occupied eastern Ukraine.

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Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

IOC President Kirsty Coventry attends a final press conference with Executive Board members after visiting Olympic and Paralympic Village and various venues in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
IOC President Kirsty Coventry attends a final press conference with Executive Board members after visiting Olympic and Paralympic Village and various venues in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Fourcade, Bjorndalen getting Olympic biathlon medal upgrades from Russian doping case

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Fourcade, Bjorndalen getting Olympic biathlon medal upgrades from Russian doping case

The Associated Press 2 minute read Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

MILAN (AP) — More than 15 years after the Vancouver Olympics, retired French biathlon star Martin Fourcade was allocated another gold medal on Friday after a Russian doping case was resolved.

The International Olympic Committee executive board reallocated medals from events that Russian biathlete Evgeny Ustyugov won medals in at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and the 2014 edition at Sochi.

The revised Sochi result in men’s relay means Norwegian biathlon great Ole Einar Bjorndalen gets a 14th career Olympic medal, extending his record as the most decorated male athlete in Winter Games history. Norway is upgraded to bronze with Ustyugov and the Russians stripped of gold.

Ustyugov’s blood doping was confirmed by rulings at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2020 and on appeal last year. They forced his disqualifications in five Olympic events that finally let the IOC reallocate medals to athletes who did not get their rightful prize at the Winter Games.

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Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

FILE - Russia's gold medal winner Evgeny Ustyugov is flanked by France's silver medal winner Martin Fourcade, right, and Slovakia's bronze medal winner Pavol Hurajt during the medal ceremony for the Men's 15k mass start Biathlon race at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)
FILE - Russia's gold medal winner Evgeny Ustyugov is flanked by France's silver medal winner Martin Fourcade, right, and Slovakia's bronze medal winner Pavol Hurajt during the medal ceremony for the Men's 15k mass start Biathlon race at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)

Italian skier’s death prompts early safety debate before the Milan-Cortina Olympic season starts

Andrew Dampf, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Italian skier’s death prompts early safety debate before the Milan-Cortina Olympic season starts

Andrew Dampf, The Associated Press 6 minute read Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

It’s usually not until December or January and after a series of tumbles, twisted knees, torn ACLs and worse that the debate over safety in World Cup skiing becomes an annual topic.

Not this season.

The death of Italian skier Matteo Franzoso this week following a crash in preseason training in Chile has resurfaced concerns over how to limit risks in the high-speed sport more than a month before the racing even starts.

The debate also comes less than five months before the Milan-Cortina Olympics.

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Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

FILE - United States' Ryan Cochran Siegle crashes onto the safety net during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill in Kitzbühel, Austria, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati, File)
FILE - United States' Ryan Cochran Siegle crashes onto the safety net during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill in Kitzbühel, Austria, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati, File)

IOC president praises progress of Milan’s Winter Games venues

Daniella Matar, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

IOC president praises progress of Milan’s Winter Games venues

Daniella Matar, The Associated Press 3 minute read Thursday, Sep. 18, 2025

MILAN (AP) — International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry hailed the progress being made in the construction of key venues for next year’s Winter Games after visiting sites in Milan on Thursday.

Coventry, along with members of the IOC executive board and local organizers, toured the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in the south of the city as well as the Olympic Village in Milan.

“We’re here in this beautiful venue that is making me want to become a winter athlete,” joked Coventry, who competed at six Summer Olympics as a swimmer — winning seven medals, including two golds.

The Zimbabwean added: “We’ve had a wonderful tour this morning. We were earlier at what will be the home of ice hockey and it was really wonderful to see the fast pace and the progression.”

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Thursday, Sep. 18, 2025

IOC President Kirsty Coventry, right, and Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation President Giovanni Malago visit the Olympic and Paralympic Village in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
IOC President Kirsty Coventry, right, and Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation President Giovanni Malago visit the Olympic and Paralympic Village in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

IOC impressed as sliding center for Milan-Cortina Olympics surpasses expectations

Daniella Matar And Colleen Barry (), The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

IOC impressed as sliding center for Milan-Cortina Olympics surpasses expectations

Daniella Matar And Colleen Barry (), The Associated Press 4 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 17, 2025

MILAN (AP) — A controversial new sliding center for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics has “surpassed expectations” said the International Olympic Committee — one of its fiercest opponents.

The century-old track in Cortina became a contentious issue as it had to be completely rebuilt in a tight timeframe, necessitating a Plan B option that would have required moving bobsled, luge and skeleton events all the way to Lake Placid, New York.

The local organizing committee went ahead with the project despite staunch opposition from the IOC, which wanted to use an existing track in nearby Austria or Switzerland instead.

And the gamble has paid off.

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Wednesday, Sep. 17, 2025

From left, Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi, member of the IOC Kristin Kloster, President of the Italian Olympic Committee Giovanni Malago' and CEO of Milano Cortina Andrea Varnier attend a news conference of the Organising Committee of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, following the meeting of the IOC Coordination Commission, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
From left, Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi, member of the IOC Kristin Kloster, President of the Italian Olympic Committee Giovanni Malago' and CEO of Milano Cortina Andrea Varnier attend a news conference of the Organising Committee of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, following the meeting of the IOC Coordination Commission, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

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