Athletics

Former team doctor Larry Nassar was handed an effective life sentence after being accused of abuse by more than 250 athletes – including Simone Biles; Biles, now 23, says if she had a daughter she would not allow her to train with USA Gymnastics

Olympic champion gymnast Simone Biles has said she would stop her daughter joining the USA Gymnastics set-up following the organisation’s handling of the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal.

Nassar, a former doctor for USA Gymnastics, was convicted and sentenced to upwards of 300 years behind bars in 2018 after being accused of abuse by more than 250 athletes – including Biles.

Biles, now 23, has said that if she had a daughter, she would not allow her to train with USA Gymnastics.

Larry Nassar, a former team USA Gymnastics doctor, pleaded guilty in November 2017 to sexual assault charges

When asked on CBS’s 60 Minutes, she said: “No. Because I don’t feel comfortable enough, because they haven’t taken accountability for their actions and what they’ve done.

“And they haven’t ensured us that it’s never going to happen again.”

Biles, who has dominated artistic gymnastics since making her debut as a teenager in 2013, said she feels personally let down by USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic Committee.

Biles says she would not let her daughter join the USA Gymnastics set-up

“We bring them medals,” the four-time Olympic champion said.

“We do our part. You can’t do your part in return? It’s sickening.”

Asked what questions remain unanswered, she replied: “Just who knew what, when?

“You guys have failed so many athletes. And most of us underage. You guys don’t think that’s a bigger problem?

“If that were me and I knew something, I’d want it resolved immediately.”

Nassar heard more than 100 women speak out against him in court

In January 2020, USA Gymnastics announced a plan to pay a $215m (£164m) settlement to the group of athletes abused by Nassar.

USA Gymnastics president and chief executive Li Li Leung told CBS they “recognise how deeply we have broken the trust of our athletes and community, and are working hard to build that trust back”.

US Olympic and Paralympic boss Sarah Hirshland said she wanted to “repeat” the organisation’s apology “to all those who have been harmed”.

Yoshiro Mori has apologised but is facing calls to resign after he made the comments at a Japanese Olympic Committee board meeting last week, where he is reported to have complained that women in meetings talked too much; Toyota, a worldwide Olympic sponsor, has condemned the remarks

Organisers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will meet on Friday to discuss their response to sexist remarks made by president Yoshiro Mori.

According to the committee, members “will be invited to express their opinions on President Mori’s remarks and to discuss the future of gender equality initiatives of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee”.

Mori has apologised but is facing calls to resign after he made the derogatory comments at a Japanese Olympic Committee board meeting last week, where he is reported to have complained that women in meetings talked too much.

The IOC released a statement yesterday to condemn the 83-year-old’s remarks as “absolutely inappropriate”.

Hundreds of people who signed up to volunteer at this summer’s rescheduled Games are thought to have resigned in protest at the former Japanese prime minister’s remarks.

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International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach is confident the Tokyo Games go ahead this summer but has admitted that there may be no crowds

Toyota president ‘disappointed’ by Mori’s comments

Toyota president Akio Toyoda said on Wednesday his company was disappointed by the recent comments from Mori that were contrary to the values the Japanese automaker supports.

Toyota is a worldwide Olympic sponsor and became a top-level partner because it shared the values with “the spirit of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which through sports aim to create a peaceful and an inclusive society without discrimination in which anyone can participate,” Toyoda said.

“We are disappointed by the recent comments from the President of TOCOG, which are contrary to the values that Toyota respects and supports,” he said.

Other Olympic sponsors have also expressed their views, with Asahi Holdings saying they believed Mori’s comments were “disappointing and inappropriate considering the spirit of gender equality espoused” by the Games.

An Eneos executive said on Wednesday the company “deplored the sexist remarks from a viewpoint of respect for human rights”.

Helen Glover, who won Great Britain’s first gold medal of the London 2012 Olympics alongside Heather Stanning, bids for a spot at the Tokyo Games; 34-year-old wants to become the first woman in British rowing history to make an Olympic team after having children.

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‘I took up trying to get to another Olympic Games!’ Two-time Olympic champion Helen Glover reveals why she is targeting selection at the delayed Tokyo Games

Double Olympic champion Helen Glover says a desire to break down barriers for athletes returning to sport following pregnancy is motivation to compete at the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Games.

Glover won pairs gold at the 2012 and 2016 Games alongside Heather Stanning and has not competed for more than four years.

But the 34-year-old mother-of-three to Logan (2), Bo and Kit (1) now wants to become the first woman in British rowing history to make an Olympic team after having children.

Helen Glover says her three children come first as she juggles family life with elite training

“Hand on heart I don’t know if it is possible,” Glover told Sky Sports News.

“I am juggling two things; one I am juggling the time out of the boat, the time out of the sport and two my return is not in the same vein as when I was a full-time athlete.

“I am juggling a family life and that is always my priority. The kids come first, they come ahead of training sessions, they come over everything. So, is it possible? I really don’t know.”

British Rowing director of performance Brendan Purcell has said “all options are open”.

Glover, who has re-joined the British team at their Caversham training base, added: “If it hasn’t been done before the pathway won’t be there. With a sport like rowing you have got to be in a boat with other people and running on a schedule that other people run by.

“As a mum that is something I am starting to challenge.”

Glover says she sought advice from 2012 Olympic gold medallist Anna Watkins, who attempted to make the Great Britain squad for Rio 2016 following the birth of two children.

Watkins, who partnered Katherine Grainger to double sculls gold in London, ultimately withdrew from the British programme because she felt she was not at the required level.

Anna Watkins (right) returned to training in 2015 after a three-year absence, during which she had two children

Glover, who hopes she can help to inspire young girls and mums alike to achieve their goals, added: “Even if I am not the one to do it, even if it isn’t me who makes it I could be the next person to break down a few more barriers and give a bit more advice to the next person.

“Because there will be another person after me who wants to do it. That is really important.”

Glover, who is married to naturalist Steve Backshall, says her decision to resume her career came from a desire to build up her fitness, following the birth of twins in January 2020.

Glover is one of British Rowing’s all time success stories

“I started seeing numbers and scores that reminded me of what I was like four or five years ago,” she said.

“I looked at my kids and thought what I could do this year that makes you really proud.

“My husband Steve did point out most people take up crochet as a lockdown project and for me I took up trying to get to another Olympic Games! It is what motivated me and got me in a good head space.”

Glover concedes she had “essentially retired” from rowing before the Games in Japan was postponed by a year last March as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I hadn’t officially retired but I hadn’t rowed for four to five years,” she said.

“Another four years to Paris would have been too long. The six months towards Tokyo wasn’t enough after having the twins. It wasn’t really on my horizon.”

Glover and Heather Stanning (right) successfully defended their Olympic title by winning gold in the women’s pair at Rio 2016

Glover and Stanning, who retired in November 2016, became the first British female rowers to defend their Olympic title, which sealed an imperious unbeaten run which stretched across five years and 39 races.

Glover is determined to ensure her experience can prove an asset to the British team as they aim to finish a fourth Olympics in a row as the most successful nation in rowing.

“If I don’t make it in a boat, I really hope the people that get on the plane that I have rowed with will be stronger for it,” she said.

Amid mounting uncertainty over the delayed Tokyo Games, Glover is confident the right decisions will be reached amid the potential for crushing disappointment for athletes across the world.

Glover also believes athletes should not be given priority to receive a vaccination and says expectations must be “realistic” over whether spectators will be present at the Games, set to take place between July 23 and August 8.

“For a long time, I have seen Olympians and sports people hailed as heroes and that has never sat comfortably with me,” she said.

“We are really seeing the true heroes and those are the people who should be getting the vaccine [first]. If and when the time comes, I would happily be prepared to take that vaccine.

“My thoughts about how I physically go to the Olympics haven’t really happened yet because I wait until I am in that boat before I start thinking about that start line.”

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary denies a report in The Times on Friday that the Japanese government privately concludes that the Tokyo Olympics will have to be cancelled because of the coronavirus; Report suggested Japan’s focus is now on securing the Games for Tokyo in 2032

The Japanese government insists there is “no truth” they have decided the Tokyo Olympics will have to be cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tokyo 2020 organisers have vowed to stage the rescheduled Games this summer despite much of Japan being under a state of emergency due to a third wave of Covid-19 infections.

However, The Times, citing an unidentified senior member of the ruling coalition, said the government’s focus was now on securing the Games for Tokyo in the next available year, 2032.

“We will clearly deny the report,” Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Manabu Sakai said in response at a news conference.

The governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, and the Games’ organising committee said its partners, including the government and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), were “fully focused” on hosting the games as scheduled.

Event organisers told Sky Sports News last week they remained committed to holding the showpiece event this summer and had not discussed another postponement.

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Masa Takaya of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee is confident the Games will be staged in 2021 and there will be no need the postpone them for a second time due to the coronavirus pandemic.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said in an interview with Kyodo News on Thursday there is “no Plan B” for Tokyo 2020.

“We have at this moment, no reason whatsoever to believe that the Olympic Games in Tokyo will not open on the 23rd of July in the Olympic stadium in Tokyo,” Bach said.

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Sky Sports News’ Geraint Hughes explains that IOC president Thomas Bach is confident that the Tokyo Olympic Games will go ahead as scheduled this year.

The IOC said last year they would not delay the Games beyond 2021.

A recent surge in coronavirus cases has forced Japan to close its borders to non-resident foreigners and declare a state of emergency in Tokyo and other cities.

Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto said he was cautiously hopeful that successful Covid-19 vaccine campaigns could help ensure the safe staging of the world’s largest sporting event.

Games spokesperson Masa Takaya told Sky Sports News they would watch how the J.League football and baseball seasons in Japan started over the coming weeks to determine how spectators can be accommodated.

Tokyo reported new daily coronavirus cases of more than 1,000 for nine straight days through Thursday and set a single-day record of more than 2,400 infections earlier this month.

The death toll from the respiratory disease stands at nearly 4,900 people in Japan.

About 80 per cent of people in Japan do not want the Games to be held this summer, recent opinion polls show.