Sports

Sports

San Francisco Giants' Prospect Gets Attention For His Wind-Up

6:57am March 05, 2020

Pitcher Yapson Gomez kicks one leg back, then stomps the other leg in front of him three times. He then taps that foot three times, rears back, and after a dramatic delay, launches the ball.

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Sabrina Ionescu's Decision To Return To Oregon May Pay Off In March

4:20pm March 04, 2020

by Tom Goldman

In 2019, University of Oregon basketball star Sabrina Ionescu decided to delay a pro career and return for her senior season. Now, Oregon is primed for an NCAA championship.

Should Transgender Students Be Allowed To Compete In Women's Athletics?

6:36am March 03, 2020

by Frankie Graziano

Attorneys for three female high school athletes in Connecticut have filed a lawsuit in federal court to stop transgender athletes from running track events against their clients.

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Tiny Field In Tokyo Marathon Another Casualty Of Japan's Coronavirus Response

4:19pm March 02, 2020

by Kat Lonsdorf

The Tokyo Marathon had just a tiny fraction of its usual runners this weekend. Japan is canceling events both big and small in an attempt to curb coronavirus spread ahead of the summer Olympics.

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Panos Triantafyllou (left), in his fencing uniform and mask, trains with Vasilis Ntounis, his fellow Paralympic athlete and close friend.

Greek Paralympic Fencer Hopes To Show What's Possible In A Wheelchair

7:00am March 01, 2020

by Demetrios Ioannou

Meet Panos Triantafyllou as he trains in Athens for this year's Paralympics, and Faidros Panagopoulos, the man behind a Greek company for custom-built wheelchairs.

Sports

The Week In Sports: Rumblings About Coronavirus And Tokyo Olympics

8:21am February 29, 2020

by Tom Goldman

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with sports correspondent Tom Goldman about the big sports stories of the week.

40 Years Later, The Olympics Still Leave A Legacy On Lake Placid, N.Y.

4:10pm February 28, 2020

by Emily Russell

The tiny town of Lake Placid, N.Y. hosted the Winter Olympics 40 years ago. Now, while millions of people visit to relive the glory, the renewed attention comes with a cost.

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China's Sun Yang leaves the pool deck following the men's 4x200m freestyle relay heats at the World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, in 2019.

Champion Chinese Swimmer Sun Yang Gets 8-Year Ban For Doping Violation

3:05pm February 28, 2020

by Brakkton Booker

Sun is accused of violating doping rules by smashing a vial containing his blood sample when anti-doping officials came to his home to retrieve it. He is expected to appeal the ban.

A tourist wearing a mask poses for a photo with the Olympic rings in the background, at Tokyo's Odaiba district, in a photo taken last month.

Olympic Officials Dismiss 'Speculation' That Coronavirus Could Disrupt Tokyo Games

9:37pm February 27, 2020

by H.J. Mai

The statement comes in response to remarks made earlier this week by a longtime International Olympic Committee member who suggested a late May deadline to decide the fate of the Tokyo Games.

"How lucky am I to have found a kind of ground on which I felt so exposed and yet so comfortable?" Maria Sharapova wrote in an essay, published Wednesday, for Vanity Fair and Vogue.

Sports

Maria Sharapova Retires At 32: 'Tennis —I'm Saying Goodbye'

12:43pm February 26, 2020

by Brakkton Booker

In an essay, Sharapova says she is stepping away from the sport she's been playing for 28 years. She's a five-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1, who also served a 15-month ban for doping.