Wimbledon bans plastic straws at this year’s championships
Wimbledon has joined the plastic war after it announced it will scrap straws at this year’s championships. Last year more than 400,000 plastic straws were used during the tournament.
Athletics & sport
This archive covers progress in athletics and sport — from accessibility and inclusion initiatives to record-breaking achievements and policy reforms that expand who gets to compete. Stories here explore how sport shapes communities, health, and human potential.
Canada’s Eric Radford becomes first openly gay athlete to win Winter Olympics gold
Eric Radford became the first openly gay Olympic champion in the history of the Winter Games, by virtue of his role among Canada’s gold medalists in team figure skating. He and partner Meagan Duhamel took the top spot in the pairs free skate program with their show-stopping routine set to Adele’s Hometown Glory.
First ‘zero-emissions’ Winter Olympics kicks off in South Korea
The POCOG will aim to make the games environmentally friendly at all stages before during and after the events. The overarching goal is to make the games responsible for their carbon emissions and in the process release zero emissions.
Cleveland Indians will stop using Chief Wahoo logo on uniforms in 2019
The smiling red-faced logo which has for years been criticized as racist by the Native American community and others will be removed from the team’s jersey sleeves and caps starting in the 2019 season, the MLB announced Monday.
Nicholas Clinch leads the first American ascent of Mount Vinson
Mount Vinson, the highest peak in Antarctica, was first climbed in December 1966 by a ten-person American team led by Nicholas Clinch. Over three consecutive days, every member reached the 4,892-meter summit — a mountain spotted from the air only eight years earlier, approached without the guidance of any local climbing tradition.
Hillary and Norgay become first humans to summit Mount Everest
Mount Everest was summited for the first time on May 29, 1953, when Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached 29,035 feet at 11:30 in the morning. They lingered just 15 minutes at the top before oxygen forced them down. Their climb opened a new era of high-altitude mountaineering and brought overdue recognition to the Sherpa community.
Chamonix hosts the world’s first Winter Olympics, uniting nations on snow and ice
The first Winter Olympics opened in Chamonix, France in January 1924, drawing athletes from 16 nations to race, skate, ski, and slide through the French Alps. American Charles Jewtraw took the inaugural gold in the 500-meter speed skate, and an 11-year-old Sonja Henie finished last — then returned to win gold twice. A quiet start to a century of winter sport.
Britain’s public schools begin shaping football into a rule-governed sport
Football codification began in the early 1800s in Britain’s elite schools, where Eton, Harrow, and Rugby started playing with defined goals, goalkeepers, and limits on rough contact. Versions of the Cambridge Rules followed in 1848, and by 1863 the Football Association set the shared rulebook. It was the quiet start of the world’s most universal game.
The Great Ball Court of Chichen Itza rises as the Maya build their grandest arena
The Great Ball Court of Chichen Itza, built in the Yucatán lowlands around 1050 C.E., remains the largest pre-Columbian playing field ever found — roughly 168 meters long, with walls rising nearly 8 meters. Players directed a rubber ball through stone rings using only hips, knees, and elbows. It was the peak of a Mesoamerican tradition stretching back 3,000 years.
Ancient China’s cuju becomes the world’s first documented kicking sport
Cuju, an ancient Chinese kicking game, emerged during the Warring States era (roughly 475–221 B.C.E.) and is the earliest kicking sport with surviving written evidence. By the Song dynasty, it had professional players, a formal league, and paying audiences. FIFA now recognizes it as football’s documented ancestor — a reminder that organized sport long predates the modern age.