Olympics

Dutch BMX Olympic medallist out of coma

london - Emirates voice

Dutch BMX cyclist Jelle van Gorkom has awoken from a coma and his life is no longer in danger, officials said Monday, cautioning however that he faced a long recovery. The 27-year-old is "making good progress, and is out of acute danger," the Royal Dutch Cycling Union (KNWU) said on its website. Van Gorkom, who won a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics,Read more

Failed ski resort looms over Pyeongchang Games' legacy

Dubai - Emirates Voice

Only an hour's drive from the Winter Olympics venues in South Korea, a stained mattress lies in an abandoned ski resort, a possible harbinger of the gleaming new facilities' fate. The Alps Ski Resort was one of the country's first winter sports destinations, attracting tens of thousands of skiers every year until it abruptly shut its doors in 2006. Now SouthRead more

S. Korea well prepared if N. Korea

Seoul - Emirates voice

Host South Korea is well prepared should North Korea decide to take part in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, with a cruise ship ready to transport and accommodate its athletes, organisers said Wednesday. Lee Hee-Beom, head of the 2018 Olympic organising committee, said they had long been preparing for the North's attendance at what he described as the "largest-ever winter festival in history".Read more

Russian bobsledder banned over doping

Zurich - Emirates Voice

Russian bobsledder Alexey Voevoda has been given a life ban from the Olympics for anti-doping violations at the Sochi Games where he won two gold medals, the International Olympic Committee IOC) said on Monday. The decision comes two weeks after the IOC banned Russia from next year’s Pyeongchang Winter Olympics for what it called “unprecedented systematic manipulation” of the anti-dopingRead more

Figure skating: Injury-hit champ Hanyu faces race for fitness

Tokyo - Emirates Voice

Defending Olympic figure skating gold medallist Yuzuru Hanyu said Thursday that a slow recovery from his injuries is preventing him from resuming practice, with less than two months until the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Hanyu has been off the ice for nearly five weeks on doctors' orders to nurse his damaged right ankle ligaments, after injuring himself in practice onRead more

Star newsman Matt Lauer fired over sexual misconduct claims

Washington - Emirates Voice

Star news anchor Matt Lauer has been sacked over allegations of sexual misconduct, US broadcaster NBC said Wednesday, in the latest fall from grace of a power player in the media and entertainment industry. The 59-year-old, known to millions as host of morning show "Today" for more than 20 years, led coverage of numerous major news events, from the SeptemberRead more

Special Olympics to start a new movement

Abu Dhabi - Emirates Voice

The Mena Special Olympics Regional Games 2018 and Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 are not just major sporting events but it will be a start of a new movement, officials said. World Games higher committee CEO Peter Wheeler noted it is for the first time the Games will be held in the Middle East. "The Abu Dhabi eventRead more

Paris wants to phase out diesel cars by 2024

Paris - Emirates Voice

Paris city authorities said Thursday they aimed to phase out the use of diesel cars by the time the French capital hosts the Olympics in 2024, and petrol cars by 2030. Mayor Anne Hidalgo's office said the goals -- which are more ambitious time-wise than a government plan to end sales of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 -- wouldRead more

Bolt departure great for rivals, bad for athletics

Abu Dhabi - Emirates Voice

Usain Bolt's rivals will, for once, be glad to see the back of a man who has dominated global sprinting for the last decade but the sport of athletics will be far less enthusiastic about bidding a final farewell to the charismatic Jamaican. Bolt has completed the sprint double at the last three Olympics and had he not been disqualifiedRead more

"Small-town boy" Kendricks making it big

Abu Dhabi - Emirates Voice

As he cleaned up after horses in his father's barn, a teenaged Sam Kendricks thought how cool it would be to travel the world and pole vault in the Olympics. A decade later, the globe-trotting Mississippi native still calls himself "a small-town boy who loves to have big adventures". Kendricks, 24, competes in the world championships in London starting thisRead more