Grand fireworks and spectacular choreography brought to a close the Beijing Games Sunday as one of the most remarkable Olympics in recent history were declared at an end.
Fani Halkia, who won gold in the women's 400 meters hurdles at the 2004 Athens Olympics, has tested positive for a banned substance, the Greek TV station Skai TV reported Saturday.
Greek sprinter Tassos Gousis was excluded from the Beijing Olympics on Saturday after failing a pre-games doping test in his home country, while Russian steeplechase runner Roman Usov has been pulled out amid reports he tested positive last month.
Fireworks, athletes and pageantry on a scale never before seen in the Olympics opened the Summer Games in Beijing on Friday as the Asian nation kicked off the biggest and most scrutinized Games in history.
The modern Olympic Games have always been a chick-flick moment for women who finally have the camera long enough to turn America's head. They haven't batted their eyes, but performed flips for enough mass adoration to last Mary Lou Retton's lifetime. They haven't vanished as fly-by darlings, but endured as women who have delivered iconic nicknames (Suzy "ChapStick" Chaffee) and haircuts (The Dorothy Hamill 'do) and first-name familiarity (Mia, as in Hamm).
Grand fireworks and spectacular choreography brought to a close the Beijing Games Sunday as one of the most remarkable Olympics in recent history were declared at an end.
Fani Halkia, who won gold in the women's 400 meters hurdles at the 2004 Athens Olympics, has tested positive for a banned substance, the Greek TV station Skai TV reported Saturday.
Greek sprinter Tassos Gousis was excluded from the Beijing Olympics on Saturday after failing a pre-games doping test in his home country, while Russian steeplechase runner Roman Usov has been pulled out amid reports he tested positive last month.
Fireworks, athletes and pageantry on a scale never before seen in the Olympics opened the Summer Games in Beijing on Friday as the Asian nation kicked off the biggest and most scrutinized Games in history.
The modern Olympic Games have always been a chick-flick moment for women who finally have the camera long enough to turn America's head. They haven't batted their eyes, but performed flips for enough mass adoration to last Mary Lou Retton's lifetime. They haven't vanished as fly-by darlings, but endured as women who have delivered iconic nicknames (Suzy "ChapStick" Chaffee) and haircuts (The Dorothy Hamill 'do) and first-name familiarity (Mia, as in Hamm).
Australia's Olympic chief criticized Beijing organizers on Friday over their "wishy-washy" assurances on Internet access and says bus transportation and pollution remain problem issues.
I'm like anybody else. I watch the Olympics because I want to see who wins. But the 2008 Summer Games are intriguing for reasons that go well beyond the 100-meter final, Michael Phelps' bid to become the greatest Olympian ever or the daily mine-is-bigger exercise of comparing medal counts.
This year's Summer Olympic Games have been seen as China's coming-out party, destined to be as significant for the host country as the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo were for Japan.
A forest of blue-green algae is choking the coastal waters near the Chinese port city of Qingdao, causing problems and threatening Olympic events scheduled there
Chicago was among the four cities picked as finalists Wednesday for the 2016 Summer Olympics, setting the stage for a high-profile bidding contest between candidates
Hip-hop performer will.i.am is no stranger to the political arena -- having spearheaded the Internet-favorite "Yes We Can" music video in support of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
Yes, we have Roger. Yes, we developed the "Bird's nest" Olympic stadium. But in Switzerland, the 2008 Summer Olympics are still far away -- and not just geographically.
Islamic terrorists planned to attack Beijing, Shanghai and other Chinese locations with poisonous gas and explosives to sabotage the Summer Olympic Games, China announced Thursday.
The Olympic flame on Monday began its 34-day journey around the world ahead of the 2008 Beijing Games. Here are some facts about the centuries-old traditions behind the relay and its modern development.
The Olympic torch begins a 130-day, 85,000-mile journey Monday that will take it from the site of ancient Olympia in Greece to Beijing, China, where the 2008 summer games will begin in August.
Tibet's spiritual leader Thursday said he was powerless to stop anti-Chinese violence as authorities in Beijing acknowledged for the first time that unrest had spread into neighboring Chinese provinces.
New video from China suggests that security forces have yet to gain complete control of Tibet and neighboring provinces which have suffered eruptions of anti-Chinese violence since last week.
Hollywood director Steven Spielberg's decision to quit the Beijing Olympics over the Darfur crisis is drawing condemnation by China's state-controlled media
Double gold medalist Ben Ainslie headed the first nine names -- all from the sport of sailing -- officially selected for Britain's line-up at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
The IOC formally stripped Marion Jones of her five Olympic medals Wednesday, wiping her name from the record books following her admission that she was a drug cheat
The IOC (International Olympic Committee) should consider a country's record in human and animal rights, as well as its respect for the environment, before granting the said country the honor of hosting the Olympics. The 2008 Beijing Olympics is a result of polical concession and lobbying by prominent businesses. Oscar Lei, Toronto, Canada
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- Phoenix Suns guard Leandro Barbosa on Tuesday broke his silence after Brazil's disappointing performance in the Americas Olympic qualifying tournament.
The jagged logo for the London 2012 Olympics has attracted a barrage of criticism, with thousands signing an online petition calling for it to be scrapped.
Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou, who was banned from all competitions for two years following a controversial doping rule violation at the 2004 Athens Olympics, has competed in her first race since the ban ended.
West Ham United have ended months of speculation by agreeing an £85 million ($161.3 million) takeover from a consortium led by Icelandic Football Association president and UEFA member Eggert Magnusson.
Jack Lemley, the U.S. engineer drafted in to oversee construction for the London 2012 Olympics, has said that he quit because of fears that political rows would delay projects and raise costs.
Construction of the venues for the 2008 Beijing Olympics has hit problems but organizers are confident they will still be delivered on schedule at the end of next year.
London's winning bid for the 2012 Olympics could have been helped by an IOC member pressing the wrong button during the voting, according to a BBC report.
When the Winter Olympics get under way from February 10, a record number of athletes will descend on Torino, Italy, to compete for glory in more events than ever before.
China will be remembered not so much for its dominance of the 2005 East Asian Games as by the performances of a handful of star athletes who stole the show.
London has defeated European rival Paris to host the 2012 Summer Games, bringing the Olympics back to Britain for the first time in more than half a century.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge opened their four day annual session in Singapore on Tuesday, telling delegates they had a tough decision to make between the five cities competing for the 2012 Olympics.
After a final, furious lobbying effort by an elite who's who of politicians and athletes, members of the International Olympic Committee are meeting in Singapore to decide which of five cities will host the 2012 Olympic Games.
The five cities wanting to host the 2012 Olympics are highlighting how they will not make the financial mistakes of previous hosts -- the cost overruns, the under used venues, the budget deficits.
Greek weightlifter Leonidas Sampanis, stripped of Olympic bronze after a doping offense in Athens, has withdrawn his appeal to the international Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Kenyan world marathon record holder Paul Tergat believes he could better his mark of two hours four minutes 55 seconds in Sunday's London race if the elements are in his favor.
Striking French workers took care to express support for Paris's bid to host the 2012 Olympics when the IOC's evaluation commission toured the capital on Thursday.
Paris 2012 Olympic bid chiefs insist a visit by the IOC's evaluation commission will not be affected by a national stike called by French public sector unions for March 10.
Defiant London Mayor Ken Livingstone has again refused to apologize for a tirade in which he accused a Jewish reporter of behaving like a Nazi concentration camp guard.
Ian Thorpe may skip next year's world championships in order to stay focused for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Australian's coach Tracey Menzies has said.
The International Weightlifting Federation said on Thursday it had suspended two more weightlifters who failed out of competition drugs tests, bringing the total number to seven.
American swimmer Michael Phelps and NBC have something in common: With expectations high, both got off to a shaky start at the Olympics, but both are now showing signs that things have turned around.
NBC Universal, the New York-based General Electric unit that owns Olympics broadcast rights, will flood viewers with live sports and tales of against-the-odds quests for gold medal over the next 19 days.
The 2004 Olympics are only a hop, skip, and long jump away. But just when corporate sponsors should begin cashing in on the Games' historic return to their birthplace, they're instead looking beyon...
Landing in a special jet painted in Olympic colors and dubbed the "Zeus," the Olympic flame was greeted Thursday by a throng of spectators as it began its relay through Stockholm, the site of the 1912 Summer Games.
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