Olympics

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach, left, arrives to chair an IOC Executive Board meeting to discuss the Paris 2024 olympic plans and the upcoming editions of the Olympic Games, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023 in Paris. IOC executive board members will also meet with the Paris 2024 Organising Committee and visit a venue. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

France, Utah picked as preferred hosts for 2030, 2034 Winter Olympics

Salt Lake City 2034 expected, French Alps a surprise as IOC works to negotiate final deals

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach, left, arrives to chair an IOC Executive Board meeting to discuss the Paris 2024 olympic plans and the upcoming editions of the Olympic Games, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023 in Paris. IOC executive board members will also meet with the Paris 2024 Organising Committee and visit a venue. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Langley’s Tiffany Foster, riding Figor, helped Team Canada earn silver in show jumping during the Pan American Games this week in Chile, earning a berth in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. (Cealy Tetley/Special to Langley Advance Times)

B.C. rider helps clinch silver at Pan Am Games

Team Canada show jumper Tiffany Foster, of Langley, clears 2 rounds, helping secure Olympic berth

Langley’s Tiffany Foster, riding Figor, helped Team Canada earn silver in show jumping during the Pan American Games this week in Chile, earning a berth in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. (Cealy Tetley/Special to Langley Advance Times)
Sanoa Dempfle-Olin of Canada competes in the shortboard women’s surfing final during the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games in Pichilemu, Chile on Monday, Oct.30, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS-HO-Pan Am Games-Jorge Loyola

Tofino teen set to become Canada’s first-ever surfing Olympian

Sanoa Dempfle-Olin rides to Pan Am silver in Chile, barring the unexpected qualifies for Paris 2024

Sanoa Dempfle-Olin of Canada competes in the shortboard women’s surfing final during the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games in Pichilemu, Chile on Monday, Oct.30, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS-HO-Pan Am Games-Jorge Loyola
Canada’s men’s volleyball team has punched its ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics.Canada’s Stephen Timothy Maar, left, hits the ball during their game against Italy at the Men’s Volleyball Nations League leg in Manila, Philippines on Thursday July 6, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Aaron Favila

Canadian men’s volleyball team punches ticket to 2024 Paris Olympics

Team’s win against Mexico Sunday guaranteed them the spot

Canada’s men’s volleyball team has punched its ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics.Canada’s Stephen Timothy Maar, left, hits the ball during their game against Italy at the Men’s Volleyball Nations League leg in Manila, Philippines on Thursday July 6, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Aaron Favila
Canada’s Ivanie Blondin skates during the women’s 1000-metre competition at the ISU World Cup speed skating event in Calgary on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Ivanie Blondin, Connor Howe, Isabelle Weidemann and Ted-Jan Bloemen, all Olympians, won gold on Friday at the Canadian long-track speedskating championships.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

4 Olympians win at long-track speedskating Canadian championships

Blondin, from Ottawa, won the women’s 1,000-metre event in one minute 15.62 seconds

Canada’s Ivanie Blondin skates during the women’s 1000-metre competition at the ISU World Cup speed skating event in Calgary on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Ivanie Blondin, Connor Howe, Isabelle Weidemann and Ted-Jan Bloemen, all Olympians, won gold on Friday at the Canadian long-track speedskating championships.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Fencer Kirsten Hawkes poses for a portrait at a fencing studio Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, in San Diego. The former elite fencer feels let down by the U.S. Center for SafeSport after filing a complaint to the agency formed six years ago to combat sexual misconduct in Olympic sports. Hawkes’ former coach, who she accused of forcing an unwanted kiss on her and other abuse, never went on a list of the agency’s disciplinary database — not after SafeSport handed him a three-month probation, nor after the probation was overturned by an arbitrator. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Forced kiss claim reveals shortfalls of Olympics abuse-fighting agency

Former elite fencer Kirsten Hawkes says complaints process left her with ‘sense of helplessness’

Fencer Kirsten Hawkes poses for a portrait at a fencing studio Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, in San Diego. The former elite fencer feels let down by the U.S. Center for SafeSport after filing a complaint to the agency formed six years ago to combat sexual misconduct in Olympic sports. Hawkes’ former coach, who she accused of forcing an unwanted kiss on her and other abuse, never went on a list of the agency’s disciplinary database — not after SafeSport handed him a three-month probation, nor after the probation was overturned by an arbitrator. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Canada’s Rene Cournoyer competes on the floor exercise during Men’s Qualifications at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, Sunday, Oct.1, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Virginia Mayo

Canada’s men’s artistic gymnastics team qualifies for Olympics

First time team will compete in Olympics since 2008

Canada’s Rene Cournoyer competes on the floor exercise during Men’s Qualifications at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, Sunday, Oct.1, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Virginia Mayo
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach delivers his speech during IOC invitation ceremony, exactly one year for the 2024 Olympics, Wednesday, July 26, 2023 in Saint-Denis, outside Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Paris marks 1-year countdown to war-clouded Olympic Games

Olympic president invokes John Lennon’s memory as Russia, Belarus not invited

  • Jul 27, 2023
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach delivers his speech during IOC invitation ceremony, exactly one year for the 2024 Olympics, Wednesday, July 26, 2023 in Saint-Denis, outside Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
This photo provided Tuesday July 25, 2023 by the Paris 2024 Olympics committee shows the torch that will be used for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (Paris 2024 via AP)

Sleek and shiny torch for Paris Olympics unveiled with carbon footprint in mind and a year to go

The torch that will be used to carry the Olympic flame around…

This photo provided Tuesday July 25, 2023 by the Paris 2024 Olympics committee shows the torch that will be used for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (Paris 2024 via AP)
Bill May, left, part of the United States team, competes in the team acrobatic of artistic swimming at the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Saturday, July 15, 2023. Largely unnoticed by the general public, men have been participating in artistic swimming, formerly known as synchronized swimming, for decades. (AP Photo/Nick Didlick)

Men to compete in artistic swimming – formerly synchro – at Paris Olympics

Snicker if you wish. Guffaw for good measure. Bill May and other…

Bill May, left, part of the United States team, competes in the team acrobatic of artistic swimming at the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Saturday, July 15, 2023. Largely unnoticed by the general public, men have been participating in artistic swimming, formerly known as synchronized swimming, for decades. (AP Photo/Nick Didlick)
FILE - In this Nov. 22, 2017 file photo, Dr. Larry Nassar appears in court for a plea hearing in Lansing, Mich. Nassar, who was convicted of sexually abusing female gymnasts, was stabbed multiple times during an altercation with another incarcerated person at a federal prison in Florida. Two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press the attack happened Sunday at United States Penitentiary Coleman in Florida. The people said he was in stable condition Monday. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

Disgraced sports doctor Nassar stabbed multiple times at federal prison

Larry Nassar sexually assaulted athletes at Michigan State University and at USA Gymnastics

FILE - In this Nov. 22, 2017 file photo, Dr. Larry Nassar appears in court for a plea hearing in Lansing, Mich. Nassar, who was convicted of sexually abusing female gymnasts, was stabbed multiple times during an altercation with another incarcerated person at a federal prison in Florida. Two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press the attack happened Sunday at United States Penitentiary Coleman in Florida. The people said he was in stable condition Monday. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
Workers stand in the water storage tank construction site in Paris, Wednesday, April 5, 2023. A costly and complex clean-up is resuscitating the River Seine just in time for it to play a starring role in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The city and its region are rushing to make the Seine’s murky waters swimmable, so it can genuinely live up to its billing as the world’s most romantic river. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Fancy a dip? An Olympic reboot underway for Paris’ toxic River Seine

A costly and complex cleanup is resuscitating the Seine with an eye on 2024

Workers stand in the water storage tank construction site in Paris, Wednesday, April 5, 2023. A costly and complex clean-up is resuscitating the River Seine just in time for it to play a starring role in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The city and its region are rushing to make the Seine’s murky waters swimmable, so it can genuinely live up to its billing as the world’s most romantic river. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Japanese Olympic Committee President Yasuhiro Yamashita, from left, and Sapporo Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto listen to International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, right, speak during a news conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Jan. 11, 2020. Sapporo’s bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics has been slowed, but not stopped, by fallout from the still-developing corruption scandal around the 2020 Tokyo Games. (Masashi Inoue/Kyodo News via AP)

Sapporo may delay Olympic bid to 2034 after Tokyo scandal

International Olympic Committee struggling to find a host for the 2030 Winter Games

Japanese Olympic Committee President Yasuhiro Yamashita, from left, and Sapporo Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto listen to International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, right, speak during a news conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Jan. 11, 2020. Sapporo’s bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics has been slowed, but not stopped, by fallout from the still-developing corruption scandal around the 2020 Tokyo Games. (Masashi Inoue/Kyodo News via AP)
Sapporo Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto, left, speaks during a news conference at a proposed site for the Olympics ski jump in Sapporo, northern Japan, on July 30, 2022. Sapporo’s bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics has been slowed, but not stopped, by fallout from the still-developing corruption scandal around the 2020 Tokyo Games. (Yuta Omori/Kyodo News via AP)

Sapporo election could restart bid for 2030 Winter Olympics

Sapporo and Vancouver were the only known candidates for 2030

Sapporo Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto, left, speaks during a news conference at a proposed site for the Olympics ski jump in Sapporo, northern Japan, on July 30, 2022. Sapporo’s bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics has been slowed, but not stopped, by fallout from the still-developing corruption scandal around the 2020 Tokyo Games. (Yuta Omori/Kyodo News via AP)
Vernon’s Elena Gaskill, Beijing Olympian in 2022, will join four-time NFL Super Bowl winner Rob Gronkowski at a dinner fundraiser in Vancouver March 28. (Contributed)

Vernon Olympian raising funds with Super Bowl winner Gronk

Elena Gaskell and four-time champ Rob Gronkowski part of fundraiser in Vancouver March 28

Vernon’s Elena Gaskill, Beijing Olympian in 2022, will join four-time NFL Super Bowl winner Rob Gronkowski at a dinner fundraiser in Vancouver March 28. (Contributed)
Ronnie Paterson (inset) was a member of the Canadian men’s national hockey team that competed at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. The White Rock Whalers owner is a B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2023 inductee. (The Canadian Press photo)

Junior ‘B’ hockey team owner Ronnie Paterson ‘very proud’ to be BCHHF 2023 inductee

Former Team Canada goalie saw ‘Miracle’ game at Lake Placid at 1980 Olympics

Ronnie Paterson (inset) was a member of the Canadian men’s national hockey team that competed at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. The White Rock Whalers owner is a B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2023 inductee. (The Canadian Press photo)
Photo of runner Percy Williams seen July 28,1932. THE CANADIAN PRESS

Olympic gold medals won by B.C.’s Percy Williams replaced 43 years after theft

Williams took first place in the 100 and 200-metre races at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam

Photo of runner Percy Williams seen July 28,1932. THE CANADIAN PRESS
IOC (International Olympic Committee) President Thomas Bach, right, stands in the finish area of the alpine ski, men’s World Championship downhill, in Courchevel, France, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
IOC (International Olympic Committee) President Thomas Bach, right, stands in the finish area of the alpine ski, men’s World Championship downhill, in Courchevel, France, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
A tiger is depicted on the helmet of Italy’s Federica Brignone at the finish area of an alpine ski, women’s World Championships super G, in Meribel, France, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Lack of Winter Olympic bids may lead to rotating fixed hosts

Vancouver among the spots being talked about as part of the rotation

A tiger is depicted on the helmet of Italy’s Federica Brignone at the finish area of an alpine ski, women’s World Championships super G, in Meribel, France, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
Canada’s Markus Thormeyer (left) huddles with Brent Hayden, Yuri Kisil and Joshua Liendo following a fourth place finish in the men’s 4 x 100m freestyle relay during the Tokyo Olympics on Monday, July 26, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn photo)

B.C. Olympian Markus Thormeyer banned 12 months for doping violation

Sanction stems from unintentionally ingesting a banned agent in his partner’s water bottle last year

Canada’s Markus Thormeyer (left) huddles with Brent Hayden, Yuri Kisil and Joshua Liendo following a fourth place finish in the men’s 4 x 100m freestyle relay during the Tokyo Olympics on Monday, July 26, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn photo)