Team USA have made Covid vaccination mandatory for any athletes hoping to compete at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics – although traditional powerhouses Norway said they will not be following suit by making jabs compulsory.
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) announced on Wednesday that any athletes and staff hoping to be on the plane to China will have to have received their shots against Covid-19 by December 1.
“This step will increase our ability to create a safe and productive environment for Team USA athletes and staff, and allow us to restore consistency in planning, preparation and optimal service to athletes,” the organization said, adding that any possible exemptions would be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The US had no vaccine mandate in place for athletes at the Summer Games in Tokyo but has changed its stance ahead of Beijing in February.
However, the most successful nation in Winter Olympic history won’t be following in the US’ ski-tracks.
“We are not going to compel athletes to get vaccinated,” Finn Aagaard of Norwegian Sports Federation and the Olympic and Paralympic Committee (NIF) told Reuters.
“Vaccines are freely available in Norway and it is our experience that there is a very high uptake among athletes, but we do not have insight into every individual’s status.”
Elsewhere, Sweden and Finland are unlikely to demand vaccination among athletes while Germany will wait for the release of the Beijing 2022 ‘playbook’ in October, according to Reuters.
The US is set to send around 240 athletes to the Beijing Games, but hundreds more hoping to make the final squad will also need to ensure they are covered.
The USOPC estimated that 83% of its 600+ delegation of athletes in Tokyo had been vaccinated.
However, big names who announced they hadn’t been jabbed included golf star Bryson DeChambeau – who ended up testing positive for Covid just before he was due to depart for Japan.
It remains to be seen whether there are any dissenting voices this time round as the US requires all its stars to roll up their sleeves for a shot at gold in Beijing.
Climber Johanna Farber appears to have removed herself from Instagram after a sexism scandal erupted at the recent World Championships in Moscow when a broadcaster showed close-up shots of the Austrian’s backside.
The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) was forced to apologize when questionable camerawork lingered on some chalk handprints on Farber’s rear during the women’s boulder event.
“The IFSC condemns the objectification of the human body and will take further action in order for it to stop, and to protect the athletes,” said the organization.
The incident was the second involving the 23-year-old Farber this year, following similar outrage at the World Cup event in Innsbruck back in June.
On that occasion, Farber is said to have lashed out on social media, writing: “Honestly wtf?”
“Having this slow-motion clip shown on NATIONAL TV and YouTube live stream is so disrespectful and upsetting.
“I’m an athlete and here to show my best performance. To be honest I do really feel so embarrassed to know that thousands of people saw this. We need to stop sexualizing women in sports and start to appreciate their performance.”
Farber, who finished 19th in the overall standings in Moscow, now appears to have had enough with Instagram as well, with her account disappearing from the platform in the wake of the latest row.
Farber’s account has been removed, according to Instagram
Images from the climber’s account had already been widely shared around the world before it disappeared, with fans now awaiting an explanation as to the situation.
The fact that Farber found herself in the same situation twice caused double the outrage from figures in the climbing world, including IFSC president Marco Scholaris, who issued a personal message.
“How many times will things have to be done wrong before we learn how to do them right?” Scholaris said.
Those sentiments were echoed by the likes of outraged editor-in-chief of Climbing.com, Natalie Berry.
“While the intentions of the camera operators and editors may not be to sexualize an athlete and instead to focus on a visually interesting chalky handprint, in the context of the sexualization of women in sport throughout history, it’s quite simply inappropriate,” said the former Great Britain climber to Sky News.
On both occasions involving Farber, the livestream of the event was removed from the IFSC’s YouTube channel and edited, before being uploaded again with the controversial sequence removed (from 30:53 in the video below).
Commentator Matt Groom issued an immediate apology on the broadcast during the Moscow event, while co-commentator and fellow climber Hannah Meul criticized the scenes.
“I’m sorry for Johanna. There are so many strong women out there, it’s about our performance in the sport,” said Meul
“I think everyone noticed what happened, and I really want everyone to know that it’s not about something like that.”
Climbing is increasing its profile after making its Olympic debut in Tokyo this year, although the latest row will cause concern for bosses as they seek to grow the sport.
Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski branded title challenger Brian Ortega a “f*cking drug cheat” in a heated staredown before the pair meet in their main event at UFC 266 in Las Vegas.
Volkanovski makes the second defense of his 135lbs belt against his American rival at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night, and ahead of the bout the Australian claimed he had only just found out about Ortega’s past ban for taking a prohibited substance.
The 32-year-old champ appears to have only just found out about Ortega’s case despite the pair appearing together as captains of rival teams on the latest edition of reality TV show ‘The Ultimate Fighter’.
In response, Ortega later told ESPN journalist Brett Okamoto that Volkanovski could “come get at me in person, one on one.”
“Where I come from, if you got an issue with me, we f*cking fight, we square up and we do what we want.”
Volkanovski scoffed at that idea, saying: “Don’t think for one minute I wouldn’t fight you in the streets as well. But the beauty of it, we get paid to do it on [Saturday].”
Volkanovski says it’s not a show for cameras #UFC266
The 22-1 Aussie picked up the featherweight strap with a unanimous decision victory over long-time ruler Max Holloway in December 2019, before defending it against the Hawaiian in a split decision win in July of last year.
Volkanovski was dismissive of the threat posed by the “unprofessional” Ortega, whose only defeat in his 17 professional outings came at the hands of Holloway at UFC 231 in December of 2018.
“I’ve said it all week. Unprofessional and weakness, you know what I mean? What upsets me the most is [he’s] unprofessional. I put the hard yards in my whole life, especially in this career. That’s how I got this belt,” said Volkanovski.
“Obviously, showing weakness a few years back popping [for PEDs], producing, that sh*t annoys me. It’s unprofessional and I ain’t about that sh*t.”
Saturday’s co-main event at the T-Mobile Arena also sees a title on the line as women’s flyweight ruler Valentina Shevchenko takes on challenger Lauren Murphy.
Also on the card is the return of fan favorite Nick Diaz to the UFC octagon following an absence of more than six years, as he meets Robbie Lawler in a rematch which comes 17 years after the pair first threw down at UFC 47.
A young MMA hopeful has passed away aged just 22 after he took part in a fight earlier this month and was then hospitalized amid complaints about headaches in the hours that followed the bout in southern Brazil.
Lucas Gabriel Peres hailed from Peabiru in South America’s largest country with his scrap in a K-1 competition taking place two hours away in Marina, Parana state.
Just hours after his match, when already arriving back in Peabiru, Peres complained of suffering from a headache and was taken to a local hospital in Campo Mourao.
His condition gradually worsening, he was then sent to the Metropolitan Hospital in Sarandi and eventually pronounced dead last Saturday on September 18.
El luchador brasileño, Lucas Gabriel Peres de artes marciales mixtas (MMA), murió a sus 22 años a causa de las lesiones sufridas durante una pelea que disputó hace semanas, según diagnósticos. Se dedicaba a las MMA como aficionado y era tan solo su segunda pelea.#IGpic.twitter.com/2X0d2sK0jX
A report from a local branch of domestic media giant Globo has said that the organizers of the event have been in direct contact with Peres’ family and do not plan to make any comment on the development.
The Medical Legal Institute is looking into the cause of the youngster’s passing, with his death certificate detailing that he suffered from head trauma.
His career barely able to get off the ground, Pires competed just once at amateur level and lost a May bout to compatriot Leandro Pires.
The September outing was meant to be his return to competition, but concluded in the most tragic of fashions.
Head trauma is fast becoming one of MMA’s hottest topics of discussion alongside fighter pay, with the president of its most elite championship, the UFC, admitting that more could be done to aid those such as Spencer Fisher and others who have shown signs of the condition.
“Listen, we’re all learning every day about the brain injury stuff,” Dana White admitted to MMA Junkie earlie this year.
“We’ve been invested in this [Lou] Ruvo Center [at the Cleveland Clinic] to try and figure out more.”
“But listen, he’s not the first and he’s definitely not going to be the last,” White said of Fisher.
“This is a contact sport and anybody who’s done this younger, myself included, is dealing with brain issues. It’s part of the gig,” he claimed.
UFC flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko believes she and sister Antonina would make rapid work of YouTube siblings-turned-boxing wannabes Jake and Logan Paul if the foursome ever faced off.
Shevchenko is among the most dominant champions in her sport and is preparing to defend her women’s 125lbs title for a sixth time against American veteran Lauren Murphy in their co-main event at UFC 266 in Las Vegas this weekend.
Alongside Shevchenko to provide support will be sister and fellow UFC combatant Antonina, who together are two of the most fearsome siblings in combat sports.
According to Valentina, the Shevchenkos’ skills would make them more than a match for boxing novices the Paul bothers, both of whom have been forging controversial careers in the ring on the back of some lucrative celebrity and crossover bouts.
When asked at Thursday’s UFC 266 press conference how long it would take her and Antonina to finish the Pauls in an unspecific form of combat, Valentina had little doubt.
“Zero seconds. It’s not a question. Not even one second,” replied the smiling assassin.
Even in the current environment where crossover fights and celebrity ring cameos are all the rage, it seems unlikely that we would ever find out who would come out on top in a meeting between the far bulkier Paul brothers and the Shevchenko sisters.
However, UFC boss Dana White has previously threatened to unleash double UFC champion Amanda Nunes on Jake Paul, claiming the Brazilian would “put him in a coma.”
Leading up to her title defense against US veteran Murphy, Shevchenko has in any event dismissed the idea that she would return to boxing – even though she has stepped into the ring professionally before.
“I don’t see a reason why I have to do it,” said the 33-year-old fan favorite.
“I have like 12 professional boxing fights and I did it. I know exactly what it feels [like].
“For me being UFC champion, fighting in mixed martial arts, the universal style, when the technique is everything…
“It’s kind of like going to boxing, you can, why not but for me it’s a little bit of a downgrade,” said the UFC icon.
Shevchenko’s next challenge comes in the form of the 15-4 Murphy, who is a heavy underdog going into her bout with one of the most dominant UFC forces of all time.
The pair shared an intense staredown at Thursday’s Las Vegas press conference before they clash at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.
“For all the years that I was fighting, it’s kind of hard to surprise me with something special if you’re not a super-human,”said ‘Bullet’ of her rival.
“I know she’s well-rounded, I know she’s strong, I know she’s dangerous. This is everything I have to know about her. But something special, that I put pressure on my shoulders? No.”
