https://www.scmp.com/rss/316027/feed The 2016 Summer Olympics, to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from August 5 to 21, 2016, will be the 31st Olympiad. It is the first time a South American city has hosted the world’s biggest multi-sport event. There will be 306 events in 28 sports. The opening and closing ceremonies will be held at the Maracana Stadium. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The flag-bearer who represented Tonga at the 2016 Summer Olympics, 2018 Winter Olympics, and 2020 Summer Olympics has raised more than US$340,000 in relief funds for the country to recover from a recent tsunami and volcanic eruption. The small island nation of Tonga lost most of its communication with the rest of the world on January 15, 2022, after a devastating tsunami hit its islands following an enormous volcanic eruption. Olympian Pita Taufatofua, who rose to international prominence for... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3164009/tsunami-hit-tongas-oiled-olympic-flag-bearer-pita-taufatofua?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3164009/tsunami-hit-tongas-oiled-olympic-flag-bearer-pita-taufatofua?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jan 2022 22:00:16 +0000 Former Chinese women’s volleyball star Wei Qiuyue has donated her Olympic gold medal won at the 2016 Rio Games to the country’s sports museum. The Olympic gold medal was presented at the opening of an exhibition on Chinese Sports Culture held at the Capital Museum in Beijing, Xinhua said. Wei said she hoped the spirit of the Chinese women’s volleyball team shown “in fighting for the glory of the motherland through united and coordinated efforts could inspire all”. The 33-year-old captained the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3161778/former-chinese-volleyball-star-wei-qiuyue-donates-olympic-gold-medal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3161778/former-chinese-volleyball-star-wei-qiuyue-donates-olympic-gold-medal?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Jan 2022 04:11:35 +0000 Olympic champion volleyball player Liu Xiaotong has announced her retirement from the sport after a career filled with “ups and downs”. The 31-year-old outside spiker will reportedly assume the role of assistant coach at long-time Chinese Women’s Volleyball League team Beijing Baic Motor, whom she captained to a first title in 2018-19 when she was named the league’s best outside spiker. “I have been planning this for a while,” the Jilin native said in a video posted on the China national women’s... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3157323/liu-xiaotong-retires-chinese-olympic-volleyball-champion-become-coach?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3157323/liu-xiaotong-retires-chinese-olympic-volleyball-champion-become-coach?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Nov 2021 06:03:49 +0000 Rio 2016 Olympic gold medal winning race walker Liu Hong has decided to hang up her shoes after finishing fourth at the China National Games in Xian. The 34-year-old from Guangdong won Olympic bronze in Tokyo this summer but finished off the podium in the women’s 20km event before announcing that it was her last race for the time being. “I don’t have the goal and motivation to practice for the time being, but with the passage of time, my thinking may change. It’s hard to tell.” It was a hard... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3149961/rio-2016-race-walk-champion-liu-hong-retires-after-fourth-place?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3149961/rio-2016-race-walk-champion-liu-hong-retires-after-fourth-place?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Sep 2021 07:48:58 +0000 Tia-Clair Toomey is hoping to create such an exclusive club this coming February that she may be the only person who is ever a member of it. If the Australian qualifies for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in the two man bobsleigh, she can add that to a resume which also includes the Summer Olympics, the Commonwealth Games and the CrossFit Games. Toomey is the five-time reigning women’s champion in CrossFit, having won this past August at the 2021 CrossFit Games. Her dominance on the women’s... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/crossfit/article/3149252/crossfit-star-tia-clair-toomey-has-beijing-2022-winter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/crossfit/article/3149252/crossfit-star-tia-clair-toomey-has-beijing-2022-winter?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Sep 2021 14:00:30 +0000 Singapore swimming sensation Joseph Schooling could be set for a lengthy absence from the pool after it was announced by the country’s ministry of defence that the 26-year-old’s national service deferment will not be extended. Schooling, who shocked the world when he claimed the gold medal in the 100-metre butterfly at the Rio 2016 Olympics, had hoped his deferment of national service, which is compulsory for all Singaporean men, would be extended beyond August this year. But those hopes were... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3148991/joseph-schoolings-career-hold-national-service-calls-following?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3148991/joseph-schoolings-career-hold-national-service-calls-following?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Sep 2021 09:16:05 +0000 Follow our live coverage of day four of the Tokyo Olympics here The record will show the China’s women’s volleyball team has played two and lost two at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Another 3-0 defeat at the Ariake Arena came their way at the hands of the world No 1 USA team to sit above only the lowly Argentina in group B. That does not tell the whole story for the Rio 2016 Olympic gold medal winners and, along with the US, the favourites to stand atop the podium at these Games. China were much... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3142664/tokyo-olympics-usa-beats-china-womens-volleyball-leave-reigning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3142664/tokyo-olympics-usa-beats-china-womens-volleyball-leave-reigning?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jul 2021 04:43:46 +0000 Rivalries are the essence of sport and nowhere are these battles more fervently fought out than at the Olympic Games. The more intense the animosity between two world-class opponents the deeper the divisions for fans, neutrals and the media. Aside from the classic hero vs villain narratives, there are the good-natured rivalries where adversaries maintain mutual decorum and respect but – in elite competitor fashion – fight like their lives depended on it. Here is a look back at some of the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3140691/iconic-olymic-games-rivalries-through-history-johnson-vs-lewis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3140691/iconic-olymic-games-rivalries-through-history-johnson-vs-lewis?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jul 2021 00:00:15 +0000 They are like election promises. They sound good and you want to believe but the chances of fulfilment are only 50-50. Such is the case for sport’s biggest white elephants – the grandiose Olympic stadiums, arenas and even roads that are built for a two-week global gathering but are sometimes abandoned and left to rot after the event. A common theme among bidding cities is the need to “build a legacy” that goes beyond the Olympics in terms of facilities and national pride. Too often, though, the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3140441/olympics-legacy-what-happened-stadiums-and-venues-past-games?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3140441/olympics-legacy-what-happened-stadiums-and-venues-past-games?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jul 2021 04:52:39 +0000 A number of big names will miss the Tokyo 2020 Olympics later this month after the Chinese Swimming Association confirmed its team for the delayed Games. Aside from triple Olympic champion Sun Yang, who was banned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport last month until the Paris Olympics in 2024, others to miss the cut were Rio 2016 breakout star Fu Yuanhui, London 2012 double gold medallist Ye Shiwen and another world-record breaker, Liu Xiang. Fu’s Tokyo chances had long been a topic of... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3140004/tokyo-olympics-star-chinese-swimmers-fu-yuanhui-ye-shiwen-and-liu-xiang?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3140004/tokyo-olympics-star-chinese-swimmers-fu-yuanhui-ye-shiwen-and-liu-xiang?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jul 2021 08:03:28 +0000 China’s triple Olympic swimming champion Sun Yang will not be in Tokyo next month to defend the 200m crown he won at the Rio 2016 Games. Despite being handed a reduced ban (four years and three months) by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Tuesday, the censure rules him out of the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the Asian Games next year, which will be held in his hometown of Hangzhou. So how did we get here, to the point where one of China’s greatest Olympians and most decorated swimmers in... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3138397/sun-yang-why-chinas-star-swimmer-missing-tokyo-2020-olympics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3138397/sun-yang-why-chinas-star-swimmer-missing-tokyo-2020-olympics?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Jun 2021 03:37:24 +0000 Hong Kong badminton star Angus Ng Ka-long is the latest athlete to celebrate qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games but the shuttler says this is only the start. Writing in a post on Instagram, the world No 8 told of his pride at a second Games appearance following his debut in Rio in 2016. “I am so proud to announce that I am qualified for my 2nd Olympics, Tokyo 2020,” Ng wrote. “It’s just the first part of the mission, the more important thing is coming in late... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3137069/hong-kongs-angus-ng-celebrates-tokyo-2020-place-just-start-mission?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3137069/hong-kongs-angus-ng-celebrates-tokyo-2020-place-just-start-mission?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Jun 2021 07:28:41 +0000 Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui, one of the media darlings of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, will not swim at Tokyo 2020 this summer, according to reports in mainland domestic media. Fu went viral after her surprised reaction to winning the 100-metre backstroke bronze medal in Rio was shared online, but she is not likely to repeat the feat next month. The swim star was absent from China’s National Games and Tokyo 2020 qualifiers on Tuesday, which included the 100m backstroke – Fu’s pet event. Yesterday... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3135715/tokyo-2020-viral-chinese-swimmer-fu-yuanhui-not-going-olympics-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3135715/tokyo-2020-viral-chinese-swimmer-fu-yuanhui-not-going-olympics-after?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Jun 2021 04:27:15 +0000 Chinese swimming star Sun Yang’s upcoming trial at the Court of Arbitration for Sport will take place behind closed doors, domestic media reported. Citing a letter from the CAS press office, Sun’s hearing will be held in private via video link rather than a public hearing, which Sun requested for his original hearing in November 2019, as neither side asked for it to “be opened up to the public”. “Accordingly, it will be conducted in private between the parties, exclusively by video conference,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3133885/tokyo-2020-sun-yang-cas-hearing-be-held-private?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3133885/tokyo-2020-sun-yang-cas-hearing-be-held-private?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 May 2021 07:39:30 +0000 Will Spurs star Son Heung-min play at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games? It’s a question that fans of the English Premier League club want answered. The Tokyo 2020 men’s football tournament finishes on August 7 while the English Premier League’s 2021-22 season kicks off a week later on Saturday August 14. Last summer there was hardly any break between the seasons thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic and Son’s form has suffered in the middle of this season, although some of that could be down to the team... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3133526/will-son-heung-min-go-tokyo-2020-olympics-coach-hopes-so-qatar-2022?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3133526/will-son-heung-min-go-tokyo-2020-olympics-coach-hopes-so-qatar-2022?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 May 2021 01:00:20 +0000 Chinese superstar Sun Yang is right to feel he was treated unfairly by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) at his hearing in November 2019, an Australian anti-doping lawyer said. Catherine Ordway, assistant professor at the University of Canberra, said those who watched the live-streamed hearing that resulted in an eight-year doping ban for Sun – subsequently reversed – would feel the system was working against him. The 29-year-old triple Olympic champion will try to save his career on May... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3132565/sun-yang-right-feel-unfairly-treated-cas-panel-australian-anti?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3132565/sun-yang-right-feel-unfairly-treated-cas-panel-australian-anti?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 May 2021 01:52:14 +0000 The last week was not a great one for Chinese sport on the international stage. UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili lost to Rose Namajunas in the most dramatic fashion at UFC 261 in Florida. The other three Chinese fighters on the card, all graduates of the China Academy based out of the UFC’s Shanghai Performance Centre, each lost their debut fights too. Some Chinese fans turned on Zhang after her first round loss, with complaints that they had paid six yuan (US$0.93) to watch. It also... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3132050/tokyo-2020-chinas-women-putting-men-shame?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3132050/tokyo-2020-chinas-women-putting-men-shame?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 May 2021 08:00:11 +0000 China’s star swimmer Sun Yang will not swim at the Chinese Nationals, despite reports that he would return to the pool for the first time since the 2019 World Championships. The official athlete list was shared on Weibo by CCTV-5 sports reporter Sun Xiaoxue on Thursday, the day before the start of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games qualifying event in Qingdao, Shandong province. This followed a post earlier in the day from the Zhejiang Provincial Sports Bureau that did not list Sun among their... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3131883/tokyo-2020-sun-yang-not-china-nationals-could-still-swim-olympic-games?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3131883/tokyo-2020-sun-yang-not-china-nationals-could-still-swim-olympic-games?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 May 2021 08:18:33 +0000 China were handed as kind a draw as could be expected at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games women’s football tournament in Zurich on Wednesday. The Steel Roses, who sealed Asia’s last spot at the Summer Games by beating South Korea in the play-offs, will face Brazil, Netherlands and Zambia in group F. They have avoided tournament favourites and world No 1 USA as well as the two highest-rated teams in pot two – Rio 2016 runners-up Sweden (No 5) and Great Britain (No 6). Holders Germany did not... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3130458/tokyo-2020-chinas-women-avoid-united-states-olympic-football-draw?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3130458/tokyo-2020-chinas-women-avoid-united-states-olympic-football-draw?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Apr 2021 09:32:08 +0000 Following the success of Chinese women’s football team in qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, netizens are asking why the country’s women are outperforming the men. The hashtag “Why China’s three major women’s teams have better results than the men’s team” has been read more than 100 million times on the country’s Twitter-like Weibo. China’s women’s teams have qualified for football, basketball and volleyball in Tokyo, while the men’s teams have failed to do so. It is the same story... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3129826/tokyo-2020-chinese-netizens-ask-why-womens-teams-are-better-mens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3129826/tokyo-2020-chinese-netizens-ask-why-womens-teams-are-better-mens?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Apr 2021 07:40:08 +0000 This year, like any other, China’s women will lead the way to the country’s sporting success. That has been the case for some time, across both team sports and individual. Even in sports such as table tennis where China’s men are among the best in the world, the women are stood right alongside them. The next 12 months are massive for Chinese sport with the delayed Tokyo 2020 Summer Games on the horizon and the Beijing 2022 Winter Games next February. In recognition of International Women’s Day,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3124453/ufcs-zhang-weili-and-beijing-2022-olympics-hope-eileen-gu-lead-big-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3124453/ufcs-zhang-weili-and-beijing-2022-olympics-hope-eileen-gu-lead-big-year?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Mar 2021 00:00:17 +0000 Four-time CrossFit Games champion Tia-Clair Toomey has won her first bobsleigh competition, grabbing two victories at the New Horizon races in South Korea last weekend. Toomey, who will be looking to win her fifth straight title this summer at the 2021 CrossFit Games, partnered pilot Ashleigh Werner, who is also Australian. Toomey is a brakewoman, push-starting the bobsleigh along the ice in freezing temperatures, and then hitting the brakes once they cross the finish... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/crossfit/article/3121314/crossfit-tia-clair-toomey-wins-first-bobsleigh-race-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/crossfit/article/3121314/crossfit-tia-clair-toomey-wins-first-bobsleigh-race-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Feb 2021 09:24:36 +0000 Chinese swimming star Sun Yang is one of the 14 most hated athletes in world sport according to Spanish sports newspaper Marca, who have included the three-time Olympic champion in their list of the “World’s Most Hated Athletes”. Sun, an 11-time world champion, has long proved to be a controversial figure in the sport with several spats with his fellow swimmers, notably Mack Horton of Australia. Their dispute dates back to the Rio 2016 Olympics, which came after Sun had served a drugs ban in... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3119955/sun-yang-really-one-worlds-most-hated-athletes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3119955/sun-yang-really-one-worlds-most-hated-athletes?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Jan 2021 05:43:38 +0000 As athletes around the world enthusiastically welcome 2021, not all the problems from Covid-19-stricken 2020 will disappear just like that. It has been increasingly difficult to remain optimistic amid the postponements and cancellations of hopes and dreams – but this is what true professionals do best: learn to overcome. Hong Kong’s top representative athletes have been through it all: the mental toll of been locked down in a sports institute over winter and being unable to compete; not being... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3115747/tokyo-2020-how-hong-kongs-olympians-have-been-coping-training-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3115747/tokyo-2020-how-hong-kongs-olympians-have-been-coping-training-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Dec 2020 07:00:09 +0000 The anti-doping regime in sport is demanding. Athletes must cooperate with random testing during and outside competition. There are few if any excuses for banned substances in the blood or urine or for refusing or aborting tests. The consequences are punitive suspensions from competition that can be career-ending and financially devastating. The reputational taint is lasting. In the case of China’s swimming superstar and Olympic champion Sun Yang, an eight-year ban by the Court of Arbitration... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3115716/test-fair-play-sporting-arena?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3115716/test-fair-play-sporting-arena?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Dec 2020 13:30:15 +0000 The World Anti-Doping Agency says a Swiss court has overturned an eight-year doping ban against Chinese swimmer Sun Yang and ordered the case back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for a second time but with a different chairman of the judges. In February, CAS found the three-time Olympic champion guilty of refusing to cooperate with sample collectors during a visit to his home in September 2018 that turned confrontational. Wada brought the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3115193/sun-yang-wada-says-swiss-court-overturns-8-year-doping-ban-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3115193/sun-yang-wada-says-swiss-court-overturns-8-year-doping-ban-case?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Dec 2020 00:55:14 +0000 Pigs will fly before we see an Olympics without doping. Fantastic as that sounds, it’s practically a guarantee. Let’s be clear: The Olympics, and all big-time sports for that matter, were never really “clean”. But with the establishment of anti-doping agencies worldwide, there was at least the hope they would be “cleaner”. Yet, even that modest aspiration got tossed out the window on Thursday, when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decided to halve what would have been an already lenient... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3114466/tokyo-olympics-diluted-ban-lets-scandal-ridden-russia-hook-again?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3114466/tokyo-olympics-diluted-ban-lets-scandal-ridden-russia-hook-again?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Dec 2020 05:19:49 +0000 Disgraced swimmer Sun Yang lost the 2019 best athlete provincial title for Zhejiang to teammate Xu Jiayu, despite capturing more gold medals at the world championships in Gwangju, South Korea. Sun, who claimed golds in the men’s 200m and 400m freestyle, was deemed inferior to Xu, the 100m backstroke world champion, with mainland media saying the decision was made because of “obvious reasons”. In September 2018, the 28-year-old Sun was subjected to an out-of-competition doping test at his home in... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3108737/sun-yang-snubbed-obvious-reasons-says-mainland-media-after-losing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3108737/sun-yang-snubbed-obvious-reasons-says-mainland-media-after-losing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Nov 2020 06:40:49 +0000 Three-time Asian Games silver medallist Lee Ka-man announced her retirement on Monday after a stellar career spanning two decades. The 34-year-old Lee, who represented Hong Kong at the 2008 Beijing and 2016 Rio Olympic Games, has been battling a recurring injury during her final push for qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Games, which have been postponed until next summer. She was Hong Kong’s longest-serving and most successful rower, having represented the city since the age of 14. “I have... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3106099/hong-kong-rowing-star-lee-ka-man-succumbs-injury-ending-stellar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3106099/hong-kong-rowing-star-lee-ka-man-succumbs-injury-ending-stellar?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Oct 2020 07:15:26 +0000 The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) spent more than US$600,000 on their successful appeal against Chinese swimmer Sun Yang and swimming governing body Fina, their annual report has revealed. “A number of high-profile anti-doping cases also required additional resources. Wada’s successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport [CAS] in the case of swimmer Sun Yang was a particularly significant one with more than USD600,000 invested,” the report read. Wada took Sun and Fina to the CAS over... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3105017/sun-yang-cas-appeal-cost-wada-over-us600000-report?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3105017/sun-yang-cas-appeal-cost-wada-over-us600000-report?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Oct 2020 03:46:40 +0000 Jamaican track sensation Usain Bolt said on social media on Monday he is awaiting the result of a coronavirus test and is quarantining himself as a precaution. The 34-year-old retired sprinter who won gold in the 100 and 200 metres at the last three Olympics posted a video on social media to explain the situation. “Good morning everybody. Just waking up. Like everybody, checked social media and saw that social media says I’m confirmed of Covid-19,” he said. “I did a test Saturday, because I... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3098707/usain-bolt-stay-while-awaiting-results-coronavirus-test?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3098707/usain-bolt-stay-while-awaiting-results-coronavirus-test?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Aug 2020 04:45:08 +0000 “Can Manchester United score? They always score. “Name on the trophy. “… and Solskjaer has won it. “Manchester United have reached the promised land. All iconic lines from ITV’s Clive Tyldesley’s commentary of Manchester United’s 1999 Uefa Champions League comeback win over Bayern Munich in Barcelona that still gives shivers 21 years on, but there is another that is often forgotten. “Forever and a day, United fans will ask ‘Where did you watch the 1999 European Cup Final?’ ... and 50,000 or so... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3097551/showboating-usain-bolt-defined-beijing-2008-and-has-carried?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3097551/showboating-usain-bolt-defined-beijing-2008-and-has-carried?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Aug 2020 07:00:14 +0000 It was nearly all over before it started for Sun Yang. At 7.39pm on August 4, 2012, the eight swimmers were atop the starting blocks of the men’s Olympic 1,500m freestyle final. “Take your mark,” said the announcer inside the Aquatics Centre at London’s Olympic Park. Then there was an audible groan as China’s Sun was in the pool, the only swimmer who had left the blocks, and the favourite was facing disqualification in his favoured event. The official had told the swimmers to stand up after... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3095959/day-sun-yang-smashes-1500m-world-record-london-2012-after-false-start?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3095959/day-sun-yang-smashes-1500m-world-record-london-2012-after-false-start?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Aug 2020 07:54:48 +0000 South Africa’s Olympic 400 metres champion Wayde van Niekerk tested positive for Covid-19 in Italy last week, according to the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper. Van Niekerk, who romped to Olympic gold four years ago in a world record time of 43.03 seconds, was set to participate in a meet in Trieste, Italy – his first competition outside of South Africa since 2017 following a serious knee injury. “I don’t know how it’s possible. Wayde has been training for the whole week and never had any... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3095709/south-african-olympic-gold-medallist-van-niekerk-tests-positive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3095709/south-african-olympic-gold-medallist-van-niekerk-tests-positive?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Aug 2020 12:43:54 +0000 Any of Peter Burling’s accomplishments in sailing would be the pinnacle of another man’s career. But what makes each so impressive is his ability to switch seamlessly between varied disciplines. Burling won gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in a 49er, a small and nimble dinghy. In 2017, he helmed Emirates Team New Zealand to an America’s Cup victory in a large and technologically advanced multihull. In 2017 and 2018, he sailed round the world, claiming bronze in the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR)... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/extreme-sports/article/3089754/peter-burling-balances-olympics-americas-cup-and-volvo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/extreme-sports/article/3089754/peter-burling-balances-olympics-americas-cup-and-volvo?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Jun 2020 01:00:05 +0000 Hong Kong’s young sportsmen and women are expanding their stardom beyond the arenas. Some of them are using their charisma and gaining strong fan followings online. STYLE takes a look at the city’s top five athletes turned digital influencers. Stephanie Au @stephaniehsau View this post on Instagram How much time I've left? 0.13 sec My decisive second, to be accurate, millisecond. I'm currently 0.13 seconds away from my 100 backstroke Olympic A cut.... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3089434/stephanie-au-tony-wu-and-3-other-hong-kong-athletes-who?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3089434/stephanie-au-tony-wu-and-3-other-hong-kong-athletes-who?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Jun 2020 23:00:13 +0000 Just five months ago, when Tokyo was still hoping that their Olympics were going to take place in 2020 and not 2021, the IOC doubled down on its commitment to eradicating politics from sport. Cynics might suggest it actually reaffirmed its stance on keeping politics away from its commercial partners. Things change. As we have seen in the past two or so weeks, where even Olympic partners like Adidas have got involved in the Black Lives Matter protests that have spread across first the US and then... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3088983/tokyo-2020-olympics-needs-stand-athletes-take-knee?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3088983/tokyo-2020-olympics-needs-stand-athletes-take-knee?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Jun 2020 07:00:18 +0000 Zhu Ting, the captain of China’s all-conquering women’s volleyball team has dismissed concerns about the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games being postponed until 2021. Speaking to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV’s “Face to Face” programme, Zhu acknowledged that it had disrupted every country’s training plans but said that, “You can think of it as a difficulty or an opportunity.” She said that there was more time to prepare and more time to work hard in her view, as well as joking that she got to spend more... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3087197/olympic-mvp-zhu-ting-confident-despite-tokyo-2020-delay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3087197/olympic-mvp-zhu-ting-confident-despite-tokyo-2020-delay?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2020 09:55:01 +0000 Chinese volleyball legend Lang Ping is the subject of a new documentary on her career which will debut globally this week. The Iron Hammer, named after Lang’s nickname, will be available to watch on June 7 as part of an online film festival. Lang, 59, was part of the Chinese women’s volleyball team that won gold at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the country’s first major international sporting breakthrough and made her a star back home. Her legacy was secured as she later coached China’s... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3086952/joan-chens-lang-ping-film-screens-free-moving-olympic-channel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3086952/joan-chens-lang-ping-film-screens-free-moving-olympic-channel?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jun 2020 06:46:58 +0000 China’s star swimmer Sun Yang is losing support as he awaits his appeal with the Swiss Federal Tribunal, with his global supporters group disbanding and social media users unfollowing the Olympic champion. The Sun Yang Global Support Association announced its intention to dissolve in a post on Weibo, written by a user named “Novak_ark”. “For some time there has been a lot of criticism on the internet for Sun Yang fans, we sincerely accept that. To all those who have been forced to pay attention... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3084758/sun-yang-fan-group-disbands-supporters-ditch-swimmer-chinese-social?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3084758/sun-yang-fan-group-disbands-supporters-ditch-swimmer-chinese-social?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 May 2020 07:14:45 +0000 In the 2007 financial crisis the banks were “too big to fail”; 13 years on and amid a very different global crisis the Olympics are too big to succeed. There were a record 207 nations at the last Games in Rio four years ago and more than 200 at each Games since that barrier was broken at Athens in 2004. Tokyo was expecting 206 and it is a literal A-Z of countries from Afghanistan (first Games in 1936) to Zimbabwe, who have been at every Games since 1980. Nothing else compares to it on a global... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3083566/tokyo-2020-what-are-chances-olympics-happening-next-year-pretty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3083566/tokyo-2020-what-are-chances-olympics-happening-next-year-pretty?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 May 2020 01:00:21 +0000 Chinese swimmer Sun Yang has filed his appeal with the Swiss Federal Tribunal against his eight-year ban from the Court of Arbitration for Sport, according to Swimming World. The website, which is run by the International Swimming Hall of Fame, said that Sun had until April 30 to file the appeal, with the date extended because of the impact of the coronavirus on Switzerland’s highest court of appeal. Sun’s legal team filed the appeal on April 29, a full day ahead of the deadline. The triple... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3082881/sun-yang-files-appeal-swiss-federal-tribunal-against-cas-ban?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3082881/sun-yang-files-appeal-swiss-federal-tribunal-against-cas-ban?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 May 2020 04:38:38 +0000 Chinese social media users have responded to the claims of Australian swimmer Mack Horton’s family that they were systematically terrorised by Sun Yang fans after the two Olympians feuded from the Rio 2016 Summer Games. In an extensive interview with The Australian, headlined “Horton torment after poking the dragon”, Horton’s parents Andrew and Cheryl revealed that the family home was broken into, broken glass was placed on the bottom of their pool and dog excrement was hurled over the garden... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3081630/chinese-swim-fans-respond-mack-horton-familys-claims-abuse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3081630/chinese-swim-fans-respond-mack-horton-familys-claims-abuse?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Apr 2020 13:02:40 +0000 The Chinese Swimming Association has issued a statement to reaffirm that Sun Yang is suspended after reports in Chinese media appeared to confirm he was still training with the national team for the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. China’s superstar swimmer was banned from the pool for eight years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in February. “Sun is still under suspension after the CAS decision, even if he is in the process of appealing,” the CSA’s statement on Thursday said. “Therefore... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3081184/tokyo-2020-banned-sun-yang-training-china-team-delayed-olympic-games?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3081184/tokyo-2020-banned-sun-yang-training-china-team-delayed-olympic-games?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Apr 2020 04:24:34 +0000 Sun Yang’s Court of Abritration for Sport hearing last November was the subject of debate on the video channel of The Beijing News on Sunday. The newspaper interviewed Chinese sports lawyer Cai Guo, sports reporter Wang Qinbo and Jeffrey Benz, a US sports lawyer who regularly works as an arbitrator at CAS, for the “Case Observation” show. Cai argued that triple Olympic champion Sun should have pleaded guilty and faced a possible two-year ban, instead of the eight-year ban he was given, while... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3079625/sun-yangs-cas-performance-ranked-one-out-10-us-sports-lawyer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3079625/sun-yangs-cas-performance-ranked-one-out-10-us-sports-lawyer?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2020 07:25:58 +0000 The Fiji Rugby Union has criticised two of its top professional players who have been arrested for failing to self-isolate after returning to Fiji from overseas. Fiji media named one of the players as backrower Semi Kunatani who plays for London-based Harlequins. He was a member of the Fiji sevens team that won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. The other player has not yet been named. Both players returned to Fiji via Singapore. They were arrested for failing to observe a 14-day... https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/3078562/two-fiji-rugby-players-arrested-breaking-coronavirus-quarantine-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/3078562/two-fiji-rugby-players-arrested-breaking-coronavirus-quarantine-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Apr 2020 04:25:27 +0000 China’s volleyball superstar Zhu Ting has been featured in a UK children’s book aimed at inspiring the next generation of athletes, earning her praise on Chinese social media. Zhu, who was named MVP at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as China won gold, features along with seven other household names in When I Grow Up: Sports Heroes published by British publishing house Dorling Kindersley. The book, which is aimed at pre-schoolers, features US gymnastics star Simone Biles, Jamaican sprint champion... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3077541/zhu-ting-joins-lebron-james-lionel-messi-and-simone-biles-british?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3077541/zhu-ting-joins-lebron-james-lionel-messi-and-simone-biles-british?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2020 06:22:34 +0000 It is now a month since China’s superstar swimmer, Sun Yang, was handed an eight-year ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and what a 30 days it has been. Sun has been abandoned by his Australian coach, while many of the swim star’s former fans have apologised to long-time rival Mack Horton following the verdict. On top of this, editorials in the once supportive state media have begun to turn on the triple Olympic champion. There has been no word from the country’s star athlete who has... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3077378/no-word-sun-yang-cas-ban-appeal-tokyo-2020-delay-raises-olympics-hopes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3077378/no-word-sun-yang-cas-ban-appeal-tokyo-2020-delay-raises-olympics-hopes?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Mar 2020 02:00:18 +0000 IOC president Thomas Bach was only half right. Yes, it is premature – four months out – to talk about postponing the Olympics, though that conversation may realistically be only days away. But no, we cannot go “full-steam ahead”. The statement was tactless in its dismissal of the Games’ number one stakeholder – the athletes – with more than a hint of Nero-esque oblivion. Bach must at least pretend to perform a balancing act to earn any credibility. But his alacrity for a July 24 opening ceremony... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3076291/tokyo-2021-turn-olympic-games-year-long-festival-ioc-indecision?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3076291/tokyo-2021-turn-olympic-games-year-long-festival-ioc-indecision?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2020 00:25:30 +0000 The long-time coach of Chinese swim star Sun Yang has washed his hands of the swimmer and retired from the sport, Australian media reported on Sunday. “I have terminated my contract with (the) Chinese Swimming Association,” Denis Cotterell told The Sunday Telegraph. The veteran distance coach also said that he did not support Sun’s impending appeal against his eight-year ban from the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Cotterell had coached Sun off and on since 2007, training the then 15-year-old... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3074212/sun-yang-coach-denis-cotterell-drops-swimmer-after-cas-ban-over-doping?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3074212/sun-yang-coach-denis-cotterell-drops-swimmer-after-cas-ban-over-doping?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2020 05:25:15 +0000