Olympics

The United States Supreme Court reinstated the death sentence for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for his involvement in the bombing of the Boston Marathon in 2013, per Mark Sherman of the Associated Press.

Tsarnaev was convicted of 30 charges, including using a weapon of mass destruction, for his role in a bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds more at the finish line of the historic race.

A jury in Boston's U.S. District Court ruled in favor of the death penalty for Tsarnaev, but it was later vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals in August 2020. 

The Supreme Court agreed to take on the case, with the Biden administration arguing the initial death penalty ruling in the case was correct. The justices voted 6-3 to overturn the appeals court and reinstate the death sentence for the 28-year-old.

"Dzhokhar Tsarnaev committed heinous crimes. The Sixth Amendment nonetheless guaranteed him a fair trial before an impartial jury. He received one," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the majority.

Dzhokhar's older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was also involved in the bombing but was killed after being run over by his brother during a gunfight with police shortly afterward.

Valeri Liukin, a gymnastics coach who is in the running to be named the high-performance director for USA Gymnastics and considered the favorite to earn the gig, is reportedly "under investigation by the U.S. Center for SafeSport for multiple allegations of verbal and psychological abuse of young gymnasts," per Scott M. Reid of The Orange County Register. 

According to that report, USA Gymnastics and its CEO Li Li Leung, chief programs officer Stefanie Korepin and women's program vice president Annie Heffernan have known about the allegations and investigation since Feb. 9. 

The U.S. Center for SafeSport has reportedly been investigating Liukin since Jan. 27. 

Multiple gymnasts said they were "routinely berated, belittled and screamed at by Liukin, that he forced them to compete and train on broken bones or when they were ill, and they were fat-shamed daily, according to SafeSport complaints and USA Gymnastics documents and multiple interviews by SCNG."

Several said the abuse began when they were as young as 10 years old. 

"Being called fat, worthless, weak, stupid, idiot, etc. was a normal occurrence," former U.S. national team gymnast McKenzie Wofford wrote in a complaint to the U.S. Center for SafeSport. "Going into the gym, I was terrified about what was going to happen that day. While there were multiple incidents that were traumatizing."

Wofford also said that Liukin forced her to continue practicing at a 2011 U.S. national team training camp despite the young gymnast having a fever and diarrhea. He allegedly accused her of "being a wimp and faking" and made her "show the trainer my diarrhea after I went one time in front of everyone."

"Valeri always said I was lazy, he said that I'm fat, I'm useless and I'm not ever going to amount to anything in life and I believed all of it," said Megan Marenghi, who overdosed twice and attempted suicide after she said a feeling of worthlessness continued to fester following her time training with Liukin. "I thought he was right. I amounted to nothing. Why am I still here?"

Liukin is the father of Nastia Liukin, a five-time Olympic medalist who won the all-around gold at the 2008 Beijing Games. Marenghi said she saw the elder Liukin scream at his daughter and push her up against the wall, leaving her in tears. 

He also allegedly forced his young gymnasts to use a treadmill during the summer in Texas while wearing sweatsuits if he decided they were overweight. 

USA Gymnastics has continued to be under the microscope in the wake of former team doctor Larry Nassar allegedly sexually assaulting as many as 500 girls and women during his time with the national team and at Michigan State. 

Nassar was convicted on a number of charges and will spend the rest of his life in prison. The U.S. Olympic Committee settled with the survivors of Nassar's abuse to the tune of $380 million. 

"After Nassar, the biggest promise USA Gymnastics made was they were going to change the culture," Wofford's mother Kristie said. "They were going to clear out who was there when Nassar was there, who was there when all of it went on. Valeri was dead in the middle of it and now for him to come back? I would be very concerned with Valeri bringing back the old culture of mental abuse that he put those girls through."

Former Ukranian biathlete Yevhen Malyshev died at the age of 19 while serving in the Ukrainian military against the Russian invasion, the International Biathlon Union announced Wednesday.

"The executive board once again condemns the Russian attacks on Ukraine and the support provided by Belarus," the IBU said.

The Ukrainian Biathlon Federation also provided a statement in a press release, via Marca: 

"The Federation reports the tragic death of a member of the national team of Ukraine of the Kharkiv juniors, Yevhen Malyshev, born in 2002. The athlete ended his career two years ago. We express our deepest condolences to his family, friends and loved ones. Eternal memory."

According to TMZ Sports, Malyshev was on Ukraine's biathlon junior team in 2018, but he stopped competing in 2020.

Multiple former athletes have been killed since Russia began its attack on Ukraine last week, including soccer players Vitalii Sapylo and Dmytro Martynenko.

Former boxing heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, now the mayor of Kyiv, has said he plans to take on arms to defend the country. His brother Wladimir, also a former heavyweight champion, joined Ukraine's reserve army in February.

The International Olympic Committee urged sports' governing bodies to ban Russian athletes from international competitions after the country's attack on Ukraine, per Graham Dunbar of the Associated Press. 

The potential ban would also apply to competitors from Belarus, which has abetted Russia's invasion.

The IOC says it's acting with a "heavy heart," but it's needed to "protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants."

Russia began its invasion on Feb. 24, which the IOC said was a "breach of the Olympic Truce" during the Olympic games. A United Nations resolution was adopted to keep peace from seven days before the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics on Feb. 4 until seven days after the Paralympic Games end on March 13.

The IOC previously called for competitions held in Russia and Belarus to be moved. 

The latest statement could be more severe for Russian athletes, especially with the 2022 men's World Cup on the horizon.

Russia's men's national team is set to enter a qualifying playoff against Poland, Sweden and Czech Republic beginning March 24, but all three teams announced they would not compete against the Russian squad.

FIFA has not yet banned Russia from its competition but announced the team would not be able to use its nation's anthem or flag. It would compete under the name RFU, an acronym for the Russian Football Union.

IOC took a similar measure with the country's athletes amid a doping scandal, with competitors representing the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).

Teams have also called for Russia to be banned from the upcoming world hockey championships in May.

Olympic athletes from a number of countries, most notably Ukraine, called on the International Olympic and Paralympic Committees to suspend the Russian and Belarusian Olympic and Paralympic Committees amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"Russia's invasion of Ukraine, supported by Belarus, is a clear breach of the Olympic and Paralympic Charters—a breach that must be met with strong sanctions," the letter, which was addressed to IOC President Thomas Bach and IPC President Andrew Parsons, said, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).

The letter included requests from nearly 50 athletes from Ukraine, the United States, Latvia and the Netherlands, as well as members of the Russian fencing team and the Belarus Sport Solidarity Athletes Federation.

It explained more Ukrainian athletes would have joined, but "it has been a challenge to speak with all athletes from Ukraine as they are seeking safety in bomb shelters."

The timing is particularly noteworthy since the Paralympics are scheduled to start next Friday.

The IOC condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine because it violates the Olympic Truce. It said it is "deeply concerned about the safety of the Olympic Community in Ukraine" and "established a task force to closely monitor the situation and to coordinate humanitarian assistance to members of the Olympic Community in Ukraine where possible."

The Olympic Truce calls for peace between nations extending from seven days before the Olympics begin until seven days after the Paralympics end.

While neither the IOC nor the IPC has taken any direct action, they did call for international sporting federations to move events outside of Russia and Belarus.

The IOC is not the only major sporting body speaking out amid the current situation, as Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic all said they will not play against Russia in the FIFA World Cup playoff with games scheduled for March in Moscow.

Tariq Panja of the New York Times reported FIFA does not plan to ban Russia from the event but did advocate for penalties that would force the nation to play in a neutral venue and without its national anthem or flag.

Russia potentially playing those soccer games under a different name resembles previous penalties from the IOC, which required athletes from the nation to compete at the Olympics under the Russian Olympic Committee name as punishment for its state-sponsored doping program.

Even then, Russia once again made headlines at the 2022 Beijing Games when a doping controversy surrounding figure skater Kamila Valieva became one of the biggest stories of the Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee announced Friday that it has asked worldwide sports bodies to cancel or move any events they have scheduled in Russia or Belarus following Russia's invasion of Ukraine this week.

According to the Associated Press, the IOC also suggested that the sports bodies cease using the flags and national anthems of Russia and Belarus during competition.

The UEFA Champions League final scheduled for May 28 has already been moved from St. Petersburg to Paris. The International Ski Federation and Formula One have moved events from Russia as well, per the AP.

Belarus is being condemned by the IOC since it is an ally of Russia and allowed Russian troops to enter Ukraine from its border.

By invading Ukraine just four days after the end of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Russia broke the Olympic Truce, which calls for no conflict between nations from seven days before the Olympics begin until seven days after the Paralympics end.

Regarding Russia's decision to invade, the IOC said sports governing bodies "should take the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian and Belarussian governments into account and give the safety and security of the athletes absolute priority."

This marks the third time in 14 years that Russia has broken the Olympic Truce, as it invaded Georgia during the 2008 Summer Olympics and Crimea after the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Multiple international sporting events are scheduled to take place in Russia in the near future, including the men's volleyball world championships and shooting world championships in August.

There is also a World Cup qualifying match between Russia and Poland scheduled to occur in Moscow on March 24.

As part of its statement Friday, the IOC expressed support for Ukraine, saying: "The IOC [board] expresses its deep concerns about the safety of the members of the Olympic community in Ukraine and stands in full solidarity."

Per Reuters, the United Nations refugee agency said Thursday that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has resulted in more than 100,000 Ukrainian people fleeing their homes.  

An extensive investigation by ESPN and ABC News revealed the U.S. Center for SafeSport, which is tasked with rooting out and investigating sexual abuse and other misconduct within Olympic sports and at the amateur level, "is still struggling to gain the trust of the community it is designed to protect."

Dan Murphy and Pete Madden of ESPN interviewed athletes, attorneys and lawmakers and discovered concerns about a number of topics over the course of their 18-month investigation, including the organization's transparency, how independent it truly is from those it is investigating and how effective it has been from preventing alleged abusers from returning to their sports.

The organization was created in 2017 with the idea it would serve as an independent body from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) while investigating allegations of abuse.

However, Murphy and Madden reported on a number of findings that have undermined confidence in its ability, including "several instances in which the center's investigators substantiated allegations against prominent coaches, compiling detailed dossiers of alleged sexual misconduct that initially led to lifetime bans from their respective sports, only to see those punishments set aside after appeals to independent arbitrators."

In fact, 42 percent of those who finished appealing a SafeSport ruling saw sanctions changed or even removed entirely.

"In some instances, coaches initially found by the center to have sexually assaulted athletes on multiple occasions were allowed to return to their sports without any official public record of the claims made against them, even as their sports' national governing bodies paid millions of dollars to settle lawsuits related to their alleged sexual misconduct, potentially exposing the federations to additional liability for any future alleged misconduct," Murphy and Madden wrote.

It reached a point where some attorneys advised athletes to go elsewhere when seeking justice thanks to U.S. Center for SafeSport rules preventing them from keeping or publicly sharing reports and findings.

Then there is the question of independence after the investigation revealed a portion of the center's fixed $20 million annual contribution from the USOPC comes from federations in individual sports.

More allegations within those individual sports means more fees paid to the USOPC by the federations, which could, in turn, discourage reports of abuse for financial reasons. It should be noted that SafeSport doesn't control how the USOPC raises such funds that are included in the $20 million annual contribution.

"If you're SafeSport, and you're funded by the organization you're investigating, they're likely not going to do the right thing," Olympic gold medalist gymnast Aly Raisman said while testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September. "It's a complete mess, and the priority doesn't seem to be the safety and well-being of athletes."

Murphy and Madden noted some defenders of the U.S. Center for SafeSport point out how difficult it is to both protect young athletes and provide due process for those who are accused with limited funding.

U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) co-authored a law to increase the center's funding, but even they worry it is more of a "paper tiger" than an effective and independent investigatory body.

"The U.S. Center for SafeSport has a tremendous responsibility," Moran said. "And to date, they have not demonstrated their capabilities to the degree that we need, that would protect athletes."

Moran also encouraged more transparency from the center that has not been particularly forthcoming with the public.

"SafeSport cannot do its job, simply cannot do its job, unless it makes its work public," Moran said. "...I would encourage the U.S. Center for SafeSport to outline what they do, to outline their accomplishments, to admit their faults, their failures."

Blumenthal said "we're going to hold them accountable" if improvements aren't made.         

Entering the 2022 Winter Olympics, there was every expectation that the Russian Olympic Committee would win gold in men's hockey. The team was just better, a brute force and obvious favorite ahead of the competition.

Then came the actual tournament.

The Finland team dominated, winning all five of their matches preceding the finals and looking very much like the best team in the competition. That run included a 2-0 shutout of eventual the bronze medal-winning Slovakia squad.

They rolled into the final match of the tournament ready and able to score the upset and assert themselves on the international stage.

They did just that.

The ROC opened the scoring in the first period on a quick wrister from Mikhail Grigorenko, assisted by Nikita Gusev, that he put just past Finnish goalie Harri Sateri.

It would be the only goal scored by a team many expected to leave Beijing with gold.

The ROC roster had depth, sure, but it lacked the dominance that had been a trademark of the country in international competition. It played closer matches than normal early and only advanced to the gold-medal match after a 17-shot shootout against Sweden.

They would not get that opportunity against the Fins.

Finnish defender Ville Pokka narrowly sent the puck past ROC defender Nikita Nesterov, then goalie Ivan Fedotov, to tie the match.

The score was the only thing even from that point on.

In a tough match, against a team known for its physical dominance, Finland proved the aggressor.

Just seconds into the third period, Finland hit its opponent with a barrage of forechecking that cut off any opportunity by the defense to get the puck out of its own zone. It was an aggressive play by the Fins, no longer willing to sit back and wait for a scoring opportunity to come their way.

The strategy worked.

Finland took the lead off a deflection from forward Hannes Bjorninen, with the initial shot coming from Marko Anttila. It was the game-winning score.

The Finnish squad played defense, not allowing the ROC to get in a position to tie things up and send it to a shootout, as it had in previous matches.

As the clock struck zero, the Finnish bench erupted with jubilation, not only happy to have won a match some thought would spell the end of their Cinderella story, but because they were the first squad in their country's history to win gold in the event.

The win was a culmination of a games the team had made its own.

"We battled hard, and we got the first Olympic gold medal in Finnish ice hockey history. It's something something special, and nobody can ever take it away from us," defenseman Sami Vatanen said after the game, per the AP (h/t SI.com).

There will be some who question whether the outcome of these games would have been different with the inclusion of NHL talent, but that is a question the gold medalists neither considered nor could answer. Instead, Finland defeated every opponent put before them and etched their names in the history books.