The 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo have been postponed until July 2021 due to the pandemic. The delay is forcing some elite American athletes to permanently give up on their Olympic dreams and seek new careers. This is not the first time America has unexpectedly withdrawn from Olympic competition, although the reasons for skipping the games, and their effect on the athletes, have varied. Listen to learn why America has missed Olympic games in the past and how the athletes scheduled to compete in those games coped when their plans suddenly changed.
Story Length: 5:41
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February 19, 2018
3:52
One of the biggest names from Team USA at the Winter Olympics is Maame Biney. She is only 18 and has explosive speed on the ice. She came to the United States from Ghana when she was 5 years old and became the first African-American woman ever to qualify for a U.S. Olympic speed skating team on the short track speed skating. Her father is with her in South Korea, where she is competing against the best speed skaters in the world. Listen to this story to hear Biney describe herself on the ice.
Read MoreFebruary 14, 2018
3:42
The Olympic sport of skeleton involves athletes tobogganing through an icy path at extreme speeds. Some athletes love the rush of running onto the ice then relaxing their bodies enough so that they can focus on the curves ahead on the track. To observers of the sport, it is terrifying to see someone going this fast with what seems like no control. Listen to learn what it feels like for these athletes and what type of athlete is ideal for the sport of skeleton.
Read MoreFebruary 8, 2018
3:35
In North Korea, most citizens are not allowed to leave the country. However, for the Winter Olympics hosted in South Korea, the North Korean regime is permitting athletes to compete. North and South Korea will be united under one flag, and a pair of figure skaters from North Korea has qualified for the games. The International Olympic Committee gave them quota places, a rarely-used form of wild card, to allow them to compete since they missed the registration deadline. Many people are looking forward to a cultural exchange and interaction between North and South Korea. Listen to learn more about these North Korean figure skaters who will compete in the Olympics.
Read MoreFebruary 12, 2014
3:41
In past Olympics, vote trading, where one judge trades for votes with another judge, skewed judging in ice skating; however, when anonymity was enacted, vote trading just got worse. Listen to this story to learn how subjectivity has a role in judging.
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