PARALYMPICS

If you got really into the Winter Olympics this year, and you’re missing the excitement, hopefully you can check out the final few days of the Paralympic Games.

Just 14 years after hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing is set to make history by becoming the first city to play host to both a Summer and Winter Olympics when it welcomes the world for the start of the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Fresh off celebrations for the holidays and the new year, Tuesday will mark the countdown to another festive occasion.

China has accused the United States of violating the Olympic spirit after the Biden administration announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Games over human rights concerns.

The Tokyo Paralympics have closed to end a saga that began eight years ago when the Japanese capital was named the host city by the International Olympic Committee.

The Paralympics got underway in Tokyo this past week, and much like the Olympics that were held last month, it didn’t take long for athletes to produce special moments that inspired the world.

The Paralympics have started in Tokyo, and it’s easy to spot sports that are both in Paralympics and Olympics, such as basketball, volleyball, weightlifting, soccer, equestrian and cycling, to name just a few, and with various adaptions.

If you really got into the Summer Olympics this year, and you’re missing the excitement or the nightly events, some good news: There’s a similar competition set to get underway -- starting today, actually.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has officially expanded and extended the nation’s coronavirus state of emergency as government advisers recommend legal changes that would allow penalties for violations.

An American gymnast and a Czech beach volleyball player have been added to the tally of people accredited for the Tokyo Olympics who have tested positive for COVID-19 this month.

Four second-grade classes in the Milan suburb of Verano Brianza have been learning to play basketball this spring from a real pro.

FILE - In this Jan. 15, 2020, file photo, shows tickets for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics displayed in Tokyo. Many fans living outside Japan who bought Tokyo Olympic tickets from middlemen - so-called Authorized Ticket Resellers - will not get full refunds. The question of refunds came into play a week ago when local organizers and the Japanese government decided to bar fans from abroad because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)(Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

An Olympic torch for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is on display in Tokyo, Tuesday, March 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)TOKYO – Japan is halting a public display of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic torches as new virus cases jump in the country and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga orders a state of emergency for Tokyo and the surrounding areas until next month. The rapid spread of the virus in Japan is imperiling plans for the postponed Tokyo Olympics, which are to open on July 23. Japan has attributed about 3,500 deaths to COVID-19, a moderate success rates in controlling the virus for a country of 125 million. In a statement, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said the exhibitions of the torches would be called off starting Thursday.

He's an International Olympic Committee member, a two-time Olympic champion, and the head of the governing body of track and field, known as World Athletics. “Athletes are a part of the world and they want to reflect the world they live in,” Coe said. Coe is in the Japanese capital on a courtesy visit to Tokyo Olympic organizers. Coe pitched Tokyo as a possible venue for a future track world championships. “We don’t know what will happen in the next few months,” Coe said, speaking about the Olympics.

It took more than 100 years for golf to be successfully reinstated as an Olympic sport. Despite golf becoming fully entrenched as an Olympic sport starting with the 2016 Rio de Janerio games, the same can’t be said of the Paralympics, which has not recognized golf as a sport for its event. He said having golf in the Paralympics could give adaptive golf a huge platform to which sponsors can jump on board and possibly help alleviate those costs. A lot of people, this is their vacation.”Beyond providing further awareness to adaptive golf, getting the Paralympics to welcome golf as a sport can further showcase what amputees can do in athletics. Kellie Valentine, a resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, has been competing at adaptive golf tournaments for more than 20 years and knows what the Paralympic stage would mean.