Even Olympic champions described the Winter Games in Beijing, China, as the most controversial since the Berlin Olympics of 1936 under Hitler’s Nazi regime These Winter Olympics were dubbed “The Genocide Games” because of China’s appalling human rights record ( Image: Valery Sharifulin/TASS) Almost 2,000m up a mountain 55 miles from Beijing, a guard stands … Read more
Unlike the first Olympics pandemic in Tokyo last summer, which featured all but empty seats at the opening and closing, a modest but energetic crowd populated the seats of Beijing’s “Bird’s Nest” stadium. It felt somewhat incongruous — a show bursting with color and energy and enthusiasm and even joy, the very things that couldn’t … Read more
The Beijing Winter Olympics is drawing to a close Sunday, rounding off the Games that will go down in history as much for their coronavirus restrictions and geopolitical tensions, as their nail-biting competitions and emotional moments. The closing ceremony kicks off at 8 pm local time (7 am ET) at Beijing’s famous Bird’s Nest stadium. … Read more
Four years ago, Japan and Great Britain’s women’s curling teams met up in the bronze medal game. This week, Great Britain came out ahead when they faced Japan for an even bigger medal. In 2018, Japan got the best of Great Britain in the 10th after skip Eve Muirhead made a mistake on the final … Read more
The pressure on the young athlete was palpable as she fell to the 4th Thursday after entering the day with the lead in the competition. Valieva bobbled on a triple axel early in her routine before hitting the ice twice, all the while trying to compose herself. Then after she’d finished the teenage phenom crumpled … Read more
Russian star Kamila Valieva burst into tears Thursday as she missed out on a medal in the women’s figure skating after a performance filled with mistakes and haunted by the doping saga that has come to dominate the Winter Olympics. The 15-year-old prodigy and gold medal favorite made several errors in her routine, momentarily hitting … Read more
US star skier Mikaela Shiffrin crashed out of the slalom section of the Alpine combined at the Beijing Olympics on Thursday, ending her last chance for an individual gold at these Games. It was the third early exit in five events for Shiffrin, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who had been a favorite going into … Read more
Defending champion Oleksandr Abramenko won Ukraine’s first medal of the Beijing Olympics on Wednesday and celebrated by getting a hug from Russian skier Ilia Burov at a time of rising tensions between the countries. Qi Guangpu of China won the men’s aerial event, while Abramenko took silver. Burov earned bronze for the second straight Olympics. … Read more
The US men’s hockey team was eliminated Wednesday after falling to Slovakia in a shootout in the quarterfinals at the Beijing Olympics. With a final score of 3-2, Slovakia moves on to the semifinals, where they will face the winner of the Canada vs. Sweden match. The US got off to a solid start against … Read more
The Rangers were thrilled to get back to game action Tuesday night against the Bruins at Madison Square Garden, but for certain players, watching the 2022 Beijing Olympics go on without them this past week was difficult. “It’s hard, to be honest with you,” said Mika Zibanejad, who was one of the first three players … Read more