With 100 days until the start of the Winter Olympics, Beijing is promising a "simple and safe" 2022 Games - although preparations are anything but simple as China readies to host thousands of athletes and personnel as it battles COVID-19 flare-ups.
The honorees smiled, held hands and exchanged hugs as they filled the stage at the glitzy event attended by top athletes and celebrities in downtown Los Angeles.
A torchbearer died of a heart attack after carrying the Olympic flame as part of Russia's torch relay leading up to the Sochi 2014 Winter Games in February, an official said on Monday. Vadim Gorbenko, 73, a sports school director and Greco-Roman wrestling coach, felt ill after walking 150 metres (500 feet) with the torch in his home city of Kurgan in western Siberia, said Roman Osin, spokesman for the Sochi 2014 torch relay.
