#ioc-ban-article-50

#ioc-ban-article-50

The report describes the situation as a 'human rights emergency' and points to what it calls a 'recognizable pattern of authoritarian practices' in the country.

"Athletes who screen negative for the SRY gene permanently satisfy this policy's eligibility criteria for competition in the female category. Unless there is reason to believe that a negative reading is in error, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime test."

During the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina, the crowd at San Siro stadium cheered when the US team entered during the parade of nations. When the camera cut to Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance, the jeers began. A few days prior, protesters had gathered in Milan following reports that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would be coming to the Italian city for the Games.

Some of the world's greatest winter sports athletes have called on the International Olympics Committee to stop taking fossil fuel industry money, including from Italian oil giant ENI, a "Premium Partner" of the 2026 Winter Olympics. "The time has come to question the ethical implications of...normalizing the connections between our sports and the detrimental effects of the product that [fossil fuel companies] sell," reads a petition delivered yesterday to IOC officials in Milan, Italy, where the Games' opening ceremony takes place on Friday.

But there's also the matter of making sure one's equipment is up to snuff - and, beginning with this year's Winter Olympics, that means not having any PFAS, or "forever chemicals," in the mix. What happens if a competitor does turn out to have such chemicals in their equipment? They'll find themselves disqualified. As GearJunkie's Mary Andino reports, three skiiers have been disqualified so far due to their use of fluorocarbon wax, also known as "fluoro wax."

In 2014, rule changes established by the International Skating Union (ISU) and taking effect after the Sochi Winter Olympics allowed figure skaters to perform their routines to background music containing sung vocals, taking the sport out of the realm of classical music and creating opportunities to use contemporary music with lyrics. In Milan Cortina, several figure skaters performing their routine without any music clearance issues for months suddenly faced legal issues leading up to the Games.

"At the Olympics, ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is supporting the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations," according to . "All security operations remain under Italian authority."

USA's Katie Uhlaender, a five-time Winter Olympian in skeleton, accused the Canadian team of deliberately pulling four of its six athletes from a race in Lake Placid, New York, last weekend in order to make it harder for athletes from other countries to qualify. The reduced field meant fewer qualifying points were available and Uhlaender, who won the event, missed out on a place at this year's Games, which will take place in Milan-Cortina, Italy.

A massive international outcry following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a war that will enter its fifth year two days after the closing ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Games, forced most major international sports bodies to ban all Russian athletes from competition. The IOC has allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete in Italy as individual neutral athletes, which means they cannot compete on teams nor wear their national team colors or flag.

Nutrition expert Sharon Madigan says taking weight-loss drugs to improve performances will deliver unexpected side effects

I think anything that is distracting from these Games is sad, right? But we've learned over the many years ... there's always been something that has taken the lead, leading up to the Games," Coventry said. "Whether it has been Zika, COVID, there has always been something.

The 2030 Commonwealth Games will be held in India, and the country is making strong efforts to host the 2036 Olympics, with the aim of giving more and more players greater opportunities to compete,