Irish & International Sports News, Fixtures & Results

The Tokyo Games are due to start on 23 July

Games still in danger, warns Japanese government member

The Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games should be cancelled if the Covid-19 pandemic makes it impossible to host them safely, a senior member of the Japanese government has said.

Olympics • 15 Apr 21

Liam Jegou: 'You feel that lactic acid pretty badly at the end of a run'

Liam Jegou's rapid rise towards his Olympic dream

Liam Jegou got his first taste of life on the rapids when his dad ran a sea kayaking business in Ballyvaughan, Co Clare about 20 years ago. With his place long secured at the Tokyo Games, he's dreaming big.

Olympics • 07 Apr 21

Shane Ryan: "Looking back it's kind of crazy what you're body can do, how it can adapt."

Lean, mean Shane Ryan building towards Tokyo glory

Irish swimmer Shane Ryan is feeling leaner and stronger than ever as he works toward achieving the final leg of what would be a unremarkable hat-trick: an Olympic medal.

Swimming • 31 Mar 21

(Left to right): Robert Dickson, Matt McGovern and Sean Waddilove celebrate qualification.

Irish pair earn Tokyo Games spot in 49er class

Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove have qualified Ireland for the Tokyo Games after a thrilling final fleet race at the 49er Olympic Qualifier in Lanzarote.

Sailing • 26 Mar 21

Jack Woolley: "If I'm fighting 100pc, I know I'm unstoppable in the sport."

Jack Woolley wants to prove 'unstoppable' in Tokyo

Taekwondoin Jack Woolley believes he can prove "unstoppable" in Tokyo after his place on Team Ireland for this summer's Olympic Games was officially confirmed.

Olympics • 19 Mar 21

Leon Reid at the launch of the new Olympic Federation of Ireland campaign, 'Don't Scroll By'.

Leon Reid: Racism & ignorance is not worth my energy

Leon Reid discusses the prevalence of online abuse, the impact of shoe technology and learning from South African star Wayde van Niekerk.

Athletics • 23 Feb 21

Seiko Hashimoto is the Japanese minister for the Olympics and Paralympics

Olympian minister set to take over as Tokyo 2020 chief

The Tokyo 2020 organising committee will reportedly ask Japan's Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto - a woman who competed in seven Games as a skater and a cyclist - to be its new president following the resignation of the former head over sexist comments.

Olympics • 17 Feb 21

A man holds placard outside Japan Olympic Museum calling for the resignation of Yoshiro Mori.

Tokyo Games chief set to step down - reports

The head of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games organising committee is poised to step down after making sexist remarks, according to reports.

Olympics • 11 Feb 21

Team Israel at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Games

Israel aiming to vaccinate all Olympic athletes by May

Israel intends to have all its athletes due to compete at the Tokyo Olympics vaccinated against Covid-19 by May, its National Olympic Committee has said, amid global debate over whether athletes should be given priority access in the rollout.

Olympics • 27 Jan 21

Mo Farah is confident the Tokyo Games will go ahead

Mo Farah: Athletes have been told they'll be vaccinated

Mo Farah has said he will get the chance for a fifth Olympic gold medal later this year despite the Covid-19 pandemic as the Tokyo Games will go ahead and athletes have been told they will be vaccinated.

Olympics • 26 Jan 21

Flag bearer Paddy Barnes leads Ireland during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Games

Tokyo Games will cut numbers attending opening ceremony

Tokyo Olympics organisers said they will slash the number of athletes at the opening and closing ceremonies of this year's Covid-19-delayed Games, as a report said thousands fewer will attend.

Olympics • 18 Jan 21

The Tokyo Games are set to begin on 23 July

Tokyo Olympics organisers insist Games will go ahead

Tokyo Olympics organisers have insisted that the Covid-19-postponed Games will still go ahead despite Japan declaring a state of emergency less than 200 days before the opening ceremony.

Olympics • 08 Jan 21

The Tokyo Games are due to take place next summer

Tokyo governor insists Olympics will go ahead

Tokyo's governor can see "no circumstances" under which the virus-postponed 2020 Olympics will be cancelled, despite rising coronavirus infections in Japan and continued public scepticism.

Olympics • 15 Dec 20

Michael Nevin's Olympic hopes have been on hold

Date set for resumption of European Olympic qualifying

London's Copper Box Arena is set to resume hosting the Olympic qualifying event for European boxers next April.

Boxing • 01 Dec 20

The 2021 Tour de France will begin on 26 June and end on 18 July, six days before the start of the Mount Fuji road race

2021 Tour de France moved forward to avoid Tokyo clash

The start of next year's Tour de France has been brought forward by a week to avoid clashing with the men's road race at the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics,.

Cycling • 29 Jul 20

'Lidl Moves for 20x20' ambassador Ciara Mageean ran a personal best 4:00.15 for the 1500m at the 2019 World Championships

'If it was cancelled, I would be absolutely distraught'

Ciara Mageean has her sights set on making the 1500m final at the Tokyo Olympics and admits the prospect of the Games being cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic is a concern.

Other sport • 16 Jul 20

Christian Taylor want athletes to have the right to protest at the Olympics

Olympic champion Taylor supports Games protest option

Two-time Olympic triple jump champion Christian Taylor has joined calls to allow athletes to protest peacefully during the Games.

Paris 2024 • 16 Jul 20

Kenki Fukuoka: "My greatest desire is to live without regret."

Japanese winger Fukuoka chooses studies over Olympics

Winger Kenki Fukuoka, who helped Japan reach the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals last year, has said he will not be available for the rugby sevens tournament at the Tokyo Olympics as he will be studying for medical school.

Rugby • 15 Jun 20

Clare Cryan: 'It's really strict and it's a little bit weird but actually, it's okay'

Divers happy to throw themselves in at the deep end

A day after five of the country's elite swimmers returned to training at the National Aquatic Centre in Dublin, it was the turn of Swim Ireland's diving squad to hit the water.

Swimming • 09 Jun 20

The Tokyo Games have been delayed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic

Tokyo governor moots 'simplified' Olympic Games

Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike said it may be necessary to a stage a "simplified" Olympics next year due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and that organisers were already discussing possible changes.

Paris 2024 • 04 Jun 20

Thomas Bach (L) is talking with IOC members to get their views on how to handle the consequences of the pandemic.

Thomas Bach holds IOC talks over Covid-19 fallout

Olympic chief Thomas Bach held a series of talks with International Olympic Committee members today on the potential consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic that has seen the Tokyo Games pushed back a year to 2021, sources said.

Athletics • 27 May 20

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) bans are designed to prevent athletes from competing during an Olympic cycle.

Athletes banned until 2020 free to qualify for Games

The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics will allow athletes banned until 2020 to qualify for the Games next year as doping bans are based on time periods and not events, Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) head Brett Clothier has said.

Athletics • 18 Apr 20

Thomas Bach: "We are committed to the success of these Games."

Cancellation not on the agenda, says IOC President Bach

The International Olympic Committee is considering various scenarios for the Tokyo Games amid the coronavirus pandemic but cancellation is not one of them, IOC President Thomas Bach has told the New York Times.

Paris 2024 • 20 Mar 20

A perfomer stands next to the Olympic flame during the handover ceremony for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics

Athens completes scaled-down handover of Olympic flame

Organisers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games received the Olympic flame in a scaled-down handover ceremony in the Greek capital on Thursday, amid the coronavirus spread that has cast doubt on the 24 July to 9 August global multi-billion dollar event.

Paris 2024 • 19 Mar 20

(Left to right): Matthew Pinsent, Ed Coode, James Cracknell and Steve Williams with their gold medals at the 2004 Athens Games

Matthew Pinsent says Olympics stance is 'folly'

Four-time Olympic champion Matthew Pinsent believes it is "folly" for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to insist the Tokyo Games will go ahead.

Paris 2024 • 19 Mar 20