Articles filed under Olympics

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Olympics come to rocking end with a pop party Aug 12, 2012 12:00 AM
With a little British pomp and a lot of British pop, London brought the curtain down on a glorious Olympic Games on Sunday in a spectacular, technicolor pageant of landmarks, lightshows and lots of fun. The closing ceremony offered a sensory blast including rock ‘n’ roll rickshaws, dustbin percussionists, an exploding yellow car and a marching band in red tunics and bearskin hats.
Arm’s length: Does smartphone photography hold reality at bay? Aug 11, 2012 12:00 AM
Matthew Driller was holding a navy umbrella, blocking the view of spectators standing five deep and waiting to see the Olympic women's cycling road race flash past. The police came by, signifying that the leaders were closing. The crowd leaned in. "Don't worry," Driller said. "I'll move it before they come." He did, and the first thing Jane Armston did was raise her camera, trading one obstruction for another. And understandably so: She needed to capture an image.
The Soapbox Aug 11, 2012 12:00 AM
Our editors muse about local talent, local Olympians and local sports and make other observations about the suburbs.
Olympic stamp collecting ‘the sport of the spectator’ Aug 11, 2012 12:00 AM
The Royal Mail has been busy paying tribute to the country's Olympians in the last two weeks with special-issue stamps for gold medalists. The stamps feature the athlete in an action photo taken as they were competing — and with Britain in third place on the gold medal table, Royal Mail's been on overdrive printing those new stamps. "For ordinary people, this is the only chance you have to touch the spirit of the Olympics,"said Herman Sanchez, a postal worker from Los Angeles who has traveled to almost every Summer Olympics for 20 years.
Review: Following foreign athletes is cumbersome Aug 11, 2012 12:00 AM
It should come as no surprise that much of the Olympics coverage in the U.S. is focused on American athletes and top performers from other countries. You're not going to hear much about the swimmer from Albania who won a preliminary heat or the Benin athlete who failed to advance in judo. But in this land of immigrants, every athlete has a fan somewhere, no matter how obscure the sport or how slim the chances of medaling.
Images from 2012 London Olympics Games Aug 11, 2012 12:00 AM
Images from the 2012 London Olympics on Saturday, August 11.
Spellman’s Scorecard: Some things you notice watching OlympicsAug 10, 2012 12:00 AM
Other sports stories, notes, photos and graphics
Images from the 2012 Summer Olympics on Friday, August 10 Aug 10, 2012 12:00 AM
Athletes competed in BMX cycling, kayaking, basketball, and many other events at the 2012 London Olympics Friday, August 10th.
Olympic champ Lysacek makes return official Aug 10, 2012 12:00 AM
Olympic figure skating champion Evan Lysacek's decision to return took all of an hour. In training for the past year, Lysacek made his return official Friday and announced that he is entered for Skate America in October — his first competition since winning the gold medal in Vancouver in 2010. The Naperville native will aim for a spot on the U.S. team at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. "I'm locked and loaded, so to speak," Lysacek said. "Nothing's made me happier than training every single day."
US heading for win over China in both medals races Aug 10, 2012 12:00 AM
With a surge of medals in track and field, the United States has sprinted ahead of China and is poised to finish atop the medals table at the London Olympics — maybe with the most golds ever collected by the Americans on foreign soil. Heading into the final weekend of competition, the U.S. led both the gold and overall medals races after trailing the Chinese most of the games. Midway through Friday's events, the Americans led China in total medals, 90 to 81, and golds, 40 to 37.
London Olympics lead to gold-medal procrastination Aug 10, 2012 12:00 AM
Chores piling up. DVRs stuffed and groaning with unwatched favorites. Late, bleary strolls into the office. Welcome to the Great Olympic Time Suck, that unsung sport that has millions glued to coverage of the London Games rather than tending to real life.
Felix, Jeter help US break 1985 record in 4x100Aug 10, 2012 12:00 AM
Eyeing the trackside clock as she approached the finish line, Carmelita Jeter pointed the black baton in her left hand at those bright orange numbers. She wanted to make sure everyone saw what she saw: The United States was breaking the world record in the women's 4x100-meter relay — and it wasn't even close. "As I'm running, I'm looking at the clock and seeing this time that's like 37, 38, 39. In my heart, I said, 'We just did it!' I definitely knew we ran well," Jeter said.
Bolt wins 200, Rudisha gets 800 record at OlympicsAug 9, 2012 12:00 AM
Usain Bolt won the 200 meters in 19.32 seconds Thursday night to become the first man with two Olympic titles at that distance. Bolt beat countryman Yohan Blake by .12 seconds, and Warren Weir took third to make it a 1-2-3 sweep for Jamaica.
Openly gay athletes still scarce at Olympic Games Aug 9, 2012 12:00 AM
There are more than 10,000 athletes competing at the London games, but when the gay website OutSports.com set out to count how many were openly gay, it came up with 23. "It's an absurdly low number," said site co-founder Jim Buzinski. He said that compared to the arts, politics or business worlds, "sports is still the final closet in society."
AP: IOC to strip U.S. cyclist Hamilton of Athens gold Aug 9, 2012 12:00 AM
The IOC is set to formally strip American cyclist Tyler Hamilton of his gold from the 2004 Athens Games and reassign the medals after his admission of doping, according to an Olympic official familiar with the case.
The Olympics: World’s Fairs of the 21st century? Aug 9, 2012 12:00 AM
It rose in England's capital with the promise of showcasing humanity's best: supreme accomplishments, fresh technologies, people from far-flung lands and their cultural traditions. It was both trumpeted as a global achievement and dismissed as overly commercialized "trumpery." It was not the Olympics.
Taylor wins Olympic triple jump gold for US Aug 9, 2012 12:00 AM
Christian Taylor won the Olympic triple jump gold medal Thursday night, overtaking U.S. teammate Will Claye with his fourth jump in the final. Taylor, the world champion, earned the Olympic title with a best jump of 17.81 meters.
Images from the 2012 Summer Olympics on Thursday, August 9 Aug 9, 2012 12:00 AM
Athletes from the United States competed in water polo, soccer, and many other sports at the 2012 London Olympics Thursday, August 9th. Crystal Lake native Amy LePeilbet is a member of the gold medal soccer team, and Hoffman Estates native Melissa Seidemann is on the gold medal water polo team.
Semenya advances to 800-meter final at Olympics Aug 9, 2012 12:00 AM
Closing in on an Olympic medal three years after being forced to undergo gender tests, Caster Semenya of South Africa won her 800-meter semifinal heat in 1 minute, 57.67 seconds on Thursday night. "I'm very happy to get through to the finals," Semenya said. "It was very hard, but I tried my best. I just have to go to my bed."
Images from the 2012 Summer Olympics on Wednesday, August 8, 2012 Aug 8, 2012 12:00 AM
Athletes from the United States competed in volleyball , taekwondo, decathlon, and many other sports at the 2012 London Olympics Wednesday, August 8th.