Urban regeneration and tourism development are habitually touted as central reasons for a city to host the Olympics. Research shows that local people, however, often fail to benefit
Malaysia’s Chew Wei Lun plays a shot during a gold medal Boccia match at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. Boccia is only one of three summer Paralympic sports where athletes can compete while using a powerchair.
(AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Within the parasport community itself, inclusivity and access is a real issue, especially for those who do not fit the mold of how we think an athlete “should” look or move.
Canada’s Zak Madell (right) and France’s Jonathan Hivernat (left) compete during a semifinal wheelchair rugby match at the Tokyo Paralympic Games.
(AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
The #WeThe15 movement is rooted in good intention and falls short in a big way by using the Paralympic Games as a backdrop to its launch.
Manuela Schaer of Switzerland, right, and Tatyana McFadden of the United States, second from right, compete in the women’s 1500m wheelchair racing T54 final during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics Games.
(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
The media determines how Paralympians are depicted to viewers. What it chooses to focus on can help change attitudes about disability.
Annika Schleu of Germany cries when Saint Boy, the horse she was assigned to ride, wouldn’t co-operate in the equestrian portion of the modern pentathlon at the Tokyo Summer Olympics.
(AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
The treatment of the horse Saint Boy has ignited fierce discussion about horses in modern pentathlon, and reanimated ethical debates about horses’ jobs beyond the Olympics.
Wheelchair tennis players benefit from greater support than other sports in dealing with hot conditions.
dpa picture alliance archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Since the Games’ post-war beginnings, the Paralympics have become the second-largest mega-event in the international sporting calendar. Is the core purpose being lost?
Swimmer Nikita Howarth of New Zealand competes at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
(Simon Bruty/Olympic Information Service)
From skateboarding and climbing to baseball, the new Olympic events had varying degrees of success.
The Olympic flag is lowered during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics – the first Games to be held without spectators because of concerns of spreading COVID-19.
(AP Photo/David Goldman)
The Olympics will have to be adaptable in order to keep up with the rapidly shifting economic landscape and changing interest in the Games if it wants to continue to turn massive profits.
US swimmer Michael Andrew has been seen using blood flow restriction training during practice at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
European Pressphoto Agency/ Patrick B. Kraemer
Many athletes have been seen strapping cuffs around their muscles during workouts – but does it have any affect on their performance?
Attendees wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus look at an exhibit at a visitors center at the Winter Olympic venues in Beijing in February. Human rights groups have called for a boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics due to reported human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in China.
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Instead of boycotting the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing, activists should pressure the IOC to let anyone attending the Games to express their views on China without fear of penalization.
Zion Wright of the United States takes part in a men’s park skateboarding practice session at the Tokyo Summer Olympics.
(AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Although it’s now an Olympic sport, at its core skateboarding is still a counter-cultural activity that represents creativity, community and personal expression.
The German gymnastics team at the Tokyo Olympics wore full-legged unitards that went down to their ankles, eschewing the traditional bikini cut that ends high on the hip. The athletes said they were trying to combat the sexualization of young women and girls in their sport, which is trying to recover from a decades-long sexual abuse scandal.
(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
The Tokyo Olympic Games are being called the most gender-equal Games ever — but does that label hold up under scrutiny?
Simone Biles’ sponsors, including Athleta and Visa, are lauding her decision to put her mental health first and withdraw from the gymnastics team competition during the Olympics. It’s the latest example of sponsors praising athletes who are increasingly open about mental health issues.
(AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
Two of the world’s top athletes have raised awareness of mental health issues on the Olympic stage. An Olympian explains why mental training can be as important as physical training.
Pressure to take on ever more high pressure work and ever more responsibility is familiar to many. But saying ‘no’ can be especially difficult for people from racially minoritised backgrounds.
Canada’s Lisa Roman, Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, Christine Roper, Andrea Proske, Susanne Grainger, Madison Mailey, Sydney Payne, Avalon Wasteneys and Kristen Kit celebrate on the podium after winning the gold medal in women’s eight rowing competition at the Tokyo Olympics.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Canadian women’s success at the Tokyo Games bodes well not only for our future generations of athletes, but for our nation as a whole.
The 1964 Olympics in Tokyo banned all athletes who took part in a counter-competition a year earlier called the Games of the New Emerging Forces, which were dubbed the left-wing Olympics
(AP Photo)
Clinician Scientist, Canada Research Chair in Injury Prevention and Physical Activity for Health, Sport Medicine Physician, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University