The British Olympic Association is resigned to the fact that six Team GB athletes will spend 14 days in enforced quarantine after failing in its attempts to spring them out. Hugh Robertson, the BOA chair, said they had been working “on an hourly basis” to help the athletes in Yokohama, as well as four staff […]

We shall never know, more’s the pity, what advice Sir Peter Blake would have given his niece as she prepared for an Olympic debut. What is at least certain is that Anna Burnet cherishes her family connection with Sir Peter, a famed New Zealand yachtsman who was shot dead at the mouth of the Amazon

After the World Cup in 2019, Manchester City’s Keira Walsh was hit so hard by the criticism she faced that she thought about stepping away from football. In France Walsh did not look like the player who had become so integral to City’s midfield and defensive strategy until the semi-final against USA, where she played

With a blaze of indigo and white fireworks lighting the night sky, the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony has started. In a nearly empty national stadium, devoid of any crowd energy, it began with a single female athlete at the centre of the stadium, kneeling. As she stood, the shadow behind her took the shape of

The Olympics are upon us and even if there are no fans at the stadiums this year due to Covid-19, there are more than 300 events to watch on TV from the comfort of your sofa. Of course, you may have minor things like a job, family or life to spend your time on which

London, UK A canvas from a school in Egypt, is part of Turner prize winning artist Oscar Murillo’s global project Frequencies, at his former school in Hackney Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

So much can happen in the sporting world across four years alone, but throughout the Olympic cycles in recent memory, during a period in which thousands of athletes have had long and fruitful careers before departing into the night, one of the few certainties at each Olympics has been the enduring presence of Oksana Chusovitina.

At the Hokusai Museum, a short ride from where the British athletes are staying in the Olympic village, there is a giant image of the Japanese artist’s most famous work: the Great Wave off Kanagawa. Higher and higher the great wave rises, until it stands taller than Mount Fuji itself. But then, inevitably its tremendous

Forget death and taxes, in Tokyo it’s queues, health questionnaires, and the men’s 100m breaststroke. There aren’t supposed to be any certainties in sport, but Adam Peaty’s chances of winning a second gold in the event here in Tokyo feels as close to inevitable as you can get. His dominance is unprecedented. He’s won it

About 100 of the 613 US athletes arriving in Tokyo for the Olympics are unvaccinated, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s medical chief said hours before Friday night’s opening ceremony. Medical director Jonathan Finnoff said 567 of the American athletes had filled out their health histories as they prepared for the trip, and estimated 83%