Breezy Johnson wins Olympic Gold after long road back

Photo courtesy of US Ski and Snowboarding 

By Robert H Kelly

Copyright 2026 All Rights Reserved

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, ITALY (February 8, 2026)  Breezy Johnson’s journey came full circle on one of skiing’s most famous slopes. Four years after a painful crash at Cortina ended her Olympic dreams, the American skier returned and won gold in the women’s downhill at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Johnson finished the race in 1:36.10, earning the first gold medal of her career and the first medal for Team USA at these Games. The 30-year-old skier showed fearlessness from start to finish, attacking the course with speed and confidence. At times, snow sprayed from her skis as she pushed the limits of control. She reached a top speed of 80 miles per hour.

Downhill skiing is known as one of the most dangerous events in the Olympics, and Johnson’s run showed why. She took bold risks, sometimes drifting outside the blue lines that mark the course. Those chances paid off. She gained time at nearly every checkpoint and crossed the finish line in first place.

Germany’s Emma Aicher came close, winning silver with a time of 1:36.14, just four-hundredths of a second behind Johnson. Italy’s Sofia Goggia took bronze in 1:36.69, earning a medal on her home slope.

This was Johnson’s third time qualifying for the Olympics, but only her second time competing. In 2022, she tore her ACL just weeks before the Games. She tried to return, but another crash in Cortina caused more injury and ended her season.

IOC, WHO move to vaccinate athletes prior to Tokyo 2020

By Chris Price

Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND  (January 23, 2021) It is being reported by various media outlets, including Reuters, that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is planning to vaccinate all athletes in order to avoid another postponement, or a possible cancelation of the Tokyo Games due to COVID-19.

Sources have stated that the IOC will work with the World Health Organization (WHO) to fast-tract the vaccine to athletes whose countries are experiencing difficulties in administering vaccinations.

The rescheduled Games of the XXXII Olympiad will occur from July 23 to August 8, 2021.

Sapporo, Japan expresses interest to host 2030 Winter Olympic & Paralympic Games

By Chris Price

Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

TOKYO, JAPAN (December 26, 2019)  Sapporo, Japan is set to enter the race to host the 2030 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games after expressing an interest in hosting the Games a second time. Sapporo hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1972. Read more here.

First Olympic Winter Games begins 95 years ago today

Photo courtsey of imgur.com (dQw4w9WgXcQ)

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

PASADENA, TEXAS (January 25, 2019) Today, January 25, is the 95th anniversary of the first Olympic Winter Games, held in Chamonix, France, from January 25 to February 5, 1924. Two hundred, fifty-four athelets from 16 countries competed in six sports, consisting of 16 events.

The United States brought home four medals, including the first medal awarded in Winter Olympic Games history. Charles Jewtraw, from Clinton County, New York, bested thirty other skaters to win the gold medal in the men's 500-meter speedskating. His time of 44.0 seconds also established an Olympic record. 

Beatrix Loughran (Mount Vernon, New York) took silver in ladies figue skating. She also took the bronze medal in the event in 1928 ans another silve in pairs in 1932. The United States also took silver in men's ice hockey, while Anders Haugen earned bronze in the ski jumping. Thorleif Haug was awarded third place at the event's conclusion, but a clerical error in calculating Haug's score was discovered in 1974 by Jacob Vaage, who further determined  Haugen of the United States, who had finished fourth, had actually scored 0.095 points more than Haug. The International Olympic Committee verified this, and in Oslo in September 1974, Haug's daughter presented the medal to the 86-year-old Haugen.

Lindsay Jacobellis Blows It...AGAIN!!!

By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2010 TexSport Publications

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA (February 16, 2010) Four years ago in this forum, I posted a story on how Lindsay Jacobellis "Hot Dogged" her way out of a gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.

You can read the "post from the past" by clicking here.

Well it seems Ms. Jacobellis could not get the job done....again.

And once again, she has no one to blame but herself.

Looking to redeem herself after giving away a victory four years ago, Jacobellis' return trip to the Olympics was even worse.

Early in her semifinal race on the snowboard cross course Tuesday, she lost her balance on a jump, wobbled and skittered to try to regain her balance, but clipped the outside of a gate.

The result: DISQUALIFIED!!!

I stated this fact four years ago and I still hold it to be true today.

"If you have not noticed in the past 10 years or so, the IOC has been adding new sports and some of them, IMHO, are attempts to gain new viewers and money to the Olympic movement.

Snowboarding was one of these sports. Does the Olympic movement need the influx of this type of sport when “HOT-DOGGING” is the norm? That is a question that some are asking.

What happened to the days went it was an honor to represent your country in the Olympics. If I had been that young ladies coach, I would have certainly said something to her about her performance and attitude in that race.

Give me the days when the USA and the USSR battled in the Olympics. Could you see any Olympian today refusing their medal like the 1972 USA basketball team did? Very few, I think...Most are only concerned with their own performance and what the Olympic Games CAN DO FOR THEM!!!!!"

Well, this humble writer will get off the stage and stop the commentary AFTER THIS ONE LAST THOUGHT

Jacobellis blew it. AGAIN! She could not get the job done. Give me the good old days of the traditional sports in the Winter Olympics and leave these HOT DOG sports to the X-Games.

IOC President Jacques Rogge Predicts Positive Legacy From Games

BEIJING CHINA (August 24, 2008) The Beijing Games raised the bar for the Olympic Movement and brought positive changes to China that are likely to continue well into the future, Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, said Sunday.

Speaking at the closing press conference of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, Rogge said the Beijing Games demonstrated the universal appeal of Olympic values. A record 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) sent athletes to China, and a record 87 NOCs joined the medal count.

The competitors established 43 world records and 132 Olympic records, although some only lasted until the next heat.

“It is clear that China has put the bar very high,” Rogge told reporters.

The IOC president also noted that the Games are likely to be the most-watched Olympic Games in history, seen by more people in more places than ever. The Beijing Games were the first to have worldwide digital coverage.

Rogge left no doubt that the IOC was pleased with its decision in 2001 to bring the Games to China for the first time, a move that gave one-fifth of the world’s population more exposure to Olympic values. He said some benefits from that decision are obvious now and that others will become more apparent in the future.

Rogge said the tangible benefits include the sports venues, a new airport terminal, new roads, improvements to mass transit and other infrastructure that was put in place for the Games. He said most of the sports venues were built near universities to ensure their use after the Olympic Games.

“That means that no white elephant has been built and the after-Games use of these venues will be optimal,” he said. “These venues will be used by the students of the universities, by the owners of the different venues, the workers’ unions. This is, I believe, a great legacy.”

He said the Games would encourage more mass participation in sports in China. He also expressed confidence that Games-related environmental improvements, which he recently reviewed with Chinese authorities, will have a lasting impact.

“The efforts on water cleaning and water remediation will be stepped up. More trees will be planted. All of this, I believe, is a legacy of the Olympic Games.”

Rogge said other benefits are harder to evaluate or will require time to fully assess. As an example, he cited the new media regulations that were put in place for the Games.

“The regulations might not be perfect, and we acknowledge that they are not perfect, but they are a sea change compared to the situation before. We hope, and we have expressed this hope, that they would continue,” he said.

While Rogge declared the Games a big success, he acknowledged issues related to Internet access, media freedom and Beijing protest zones. He said the IOC had made its position clear to Chinese authorities but cannot force changes on sovereign governments.

“We acknowledge that the situation has not been perfect,” he said, referring to the Internet issue. “But we acknowledge, at the same time, that the situation is a major change.”

He expressed hope that the Olympic experience would encourage more openness in China.

“Through the Games, China has been scrutinised by the world, it’s opened up to the world,” he said. “The world has learned about China and China has learned about the world. And I believe that this is something that will have positive effects on the long term.”

Beijing Olympics to Set New Standard for Anti-Doping Efforts

LAUSANNE SWITZERLAND (July 2, 2008) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) emphasised today that the anti-doping effort at the Beijing Summer Games will be more extensive than ever. More than 4,500 tests will be administered — 25 percent more than were conducted in the 2004 Games in Athens and 90 percent more than the number of tests in Sydney in 2000.

“At the International Olympic Committee, we are at the forefront of the effort to eradicate doping,” said IOC President Jacques Rogge. “Most athletes compete honestly and fairly,” said Rogge. “They treasure the Olympic experience. We owe it to these athletes — who train so hard — to ensure the Games are as free of prohibited drugs as possible.”

During the period of 27 July through 24 August, the IOC, in cooperation with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and Beijing Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (BOCOG), will test the competitors at any time and at any place. In a change of policy, athletes will be tested whether they are at an Olympic venue, the Olympic Village or a far-away training facility. All controls will be coordinated under the IOC, while WADA will conduct pre-competition controls during the Olympic period on Olympic athletes not in Olympic venues and BOCOG will conduct controls at the Olympic venues.

In a briefing with journalists, the Chairman of the IOC Medical Commission, Arne Ljungqvist, said the ability to detect doping is improving. “While it is to our advantage to not release all the details, enhanced testing will be administered in Beijing,” said Professor Ljungqvist. “You can expect continued efforts to detect human growth hormone (HGH) and EPO.”

The IOC has been engaged in the fight against doping for almost 50 years. The IOC began a list of banned substances following the 1960 Olympics in Rome, established the IOC Medical Commission and in 1999, founded WADA.


This year, those caught using a prohibited substance will face increased penalties. An athlete who tests positive will be denied the right to participate in the next Olympic Games. This ban will extend to those caught breaking the doping rules from 1 July 2008 and forward.

Chicago Makes Short list to Host 2016 Olympic Games

LAUCERNE, SWITZERLAND (June 4, 2008) International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced today that Chicago (USA), Tokyo (Japan), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and Madrid (Spain) have made it on to the shortlist of cities bidding to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Candidate Cities were accepted unanimously from seven Applicant Cities, which also included Prague (Czech Republic), Baku (Azerbaijan) and Doha (Qatar)*.

“All the bids were of a very high standard,” said IOC President Jacques Rogge. “It is a tribute to the health of the Olympic Movement that the field was so strong. I congratulate the Candidate Cities and I hope that those cities which were unsuccessful this time have benefited from the process.”

The selection was made by the IOC’s Executive Board in Athens, venue for this week's SportAccord conference. The decision was based on a technical analysis of the Applicant Cities’ applications submitted earlier this year. The analysis and subsequent report was made by a working group of Olympic Games experts who assessed each Applicant City's potential for staging successful Olympic Games in 2016. The technical assessment was based on 25 questions, covering a variety of areas such as venues, transport, accommodation and security.

The four Candidate Cities now have until 12 February 2009 to submit their Candidature File to the IOC. These files will be analysed in detail by an IOC Evaluation Commission, which will also visit the Candidate Cities, before issuing a report one month prior to the election. The final decision on the host city for the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in 2016 will be made by the full IOC membership on 2 October 2009 during the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen.

IOC President Jacques Rogge Addressing the World

(LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND, August 8, 2007) Today marks the beginning of the final year’s countdown to the Olympic Games in China, which will open on 8 August 2008 in Beijing. In front of thousands of people during an official ceremony in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, IOC President Jacques Rogge addressed the sports movement, the people in China and those all over the world watching Beijing in anticipation of the Games in 12 months’ time. He symbolically handed over the invitations to the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of countries hosting upcoming Games - China, Canada, Great Britain and Russia, as well as to the NOC of Greece, where the first Olympic Games of the modern era were hosted back in 1896.

The full text of the President's speech

"All my greetings to the people of Beijing and China and indeed to the world, since many people are watching live around the globe.

Today, we are sending the invitation to come to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games to a record number of National Olympic Committees.

The representatives from all these NOCs are present, about which I am delighted.

This marks the beginning of the final year’s countdown to the Olympic Games in China.

The world is watching China and Beijing with great expectations.

The athletes also have great expectations and they are all looking forward to competing in the state-of-the-art Beijing venues.

Many of them will have a taster of what is awaiting them as today also marks the start of pre-Olympic test event competitions.

With one year remaining until the Opening Ceremony, we have reached a place from which we can see both vast achievements behind us and the great potential that lies ahead.

Beijing and China will not only host a successful Games for the world’s premier athletes, but will also provide an excellent opportunity to discover China, its history, its culture and its people, with China opening itself to the world in new ways.

Cultural interchange, respect and understanding will be the win-win of Beijing 2008 for the people of Beijing, China and of the world.

Since July 2001, the Organising Committee, lead by President Liu Qi, has worked extremely hard to give Beijing an Olympic shape. Venues are almost finished and look fantastic.

I would like to thank the BOCOG team, the government and all the people involved in the preparations for their sustained efforts and dedication over the last six years and for the good relationship we have established.

The Olympic Games are the celebration of the values of Olympism and of sporting ideals by the youth of the world. They engender dreams and inspiration in the hearts of young people everywhere.

I therefore call upon you all to enjoy the Games one year from now."