The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games couldn't happen without the help of volunteers. T. Christopher Okano, who attended BYU in Utah, is a volunteer for both Games, and he can't believe how lucky he is.
2 years ago
Alex Cabrero and Shara Park, KSL TV & Jeremiah Jensen, KSL Sports
After a year of postponement, the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo have come to an end. Our KSL Team has provided coverage of the intense international competition for the last three weeks, but before they go, they wanted to share a few gold medal moments of their own.
As the Tokyo Olympics wrap up, our KSL team has been able to visit several important religious and cultural sites in Japan, including one that is important to member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — the Tokyo Japan Temple.
We have had possibly more athletes with Utah ties represented in Tokyo than during any other Summer Olympics before, but it's not just athletes going to the Games. KSL's Alex Cabrero spoke with a Kaysville chiropractor who is on the medical crew for the U.S. Track and Field team.
Many Utahns work in some capacity with the Olympics, beyond just athletes. A woman from Salt Lake City has been working with NBC since 2002, doing makeup for athletes and on-air hosts, while Utah-based company, OC Tanner, has spent more than 20 years creating customized rings for every American Olympian.
An airplane based in Wendover, Utah carried and dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. That moment, and another bomb later in Nagasaki, essentially ended World War II. Today, Japan and the United States are close friends, and inside a Wendover museum, there's an example of how things can change over time.
Utah has always been known as a great place to train for winter sports. Now, it appears the secret is out internationally for summer sports as well. KSL's Alex Cabrero caught up with an athlete from another country who spent more than a month training in Utah right before the Tokyo Games.
Athletes are representing the United States in Tokyo, but there is a team behind the team you may not see. Members of the U.S. State Department are in Tokyo keeping American athletes safe.
Another Salt Lake City woman begins her Olympic career Tuesday night as women's climbing gets going in Tokyo, one day after the men began their competition.
Before Alex Cabrero left Utah with the KSL Olympic crew to come to Tokyo, he visited the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City where a brand new exhibit just happened to open around the same time the Games got going.
Track and Field Olympian Nathan Ikon Crumpton is no stranger to Utah after training in Park City for Team U.S.A. in the Skeleton for the Winter Olympics. Now, Crumpton, competing for American Samoa, has his eyes set on gold in the 100-meter dash.
The KSL Olympic crew spoke with a sports psychologist with Intermountain Healthcare, who told them that adjusting to the quiet might not be as easy as it sounds for the Olympic athletes.
Utahns will be cheering on one of their own, a bicyclist who will compete soon on the bicycle trails in Tokyo. Haley Batten trained in Park City where Olympians are known to work out before the Olympics, but most of them do it for winter sports.
For the first time in history, three members of the team have ties to one school — The University of Utah. KSL-TV sat down with Red Rock Coach Tom Farden to get his take on this historic moment.
Team USA eventually made their way into the arena during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, featuring many of the athletes from Utah that are participating in the games.
While these cases among athletes are unfortunate, positive COVID-19 tests were expected. And according to Dr. Brian McCloskey, the Olympic Games' leading health adviser, there has been less than expected, and the system in place is doing its job.
2 years ago
Morgan Wolfe, Keira Farrimond & Madison Swenson, KSL TV
A breakthrough COVID-19 case caused some heartbreak Monday for a Utah Olympian. Kara Eaker, a University of Utah red rock gymnast, tested positive in Japan. Her parents offered support, while her University of Utah coach shared a statement and his thoughts on her skills as a gymnast.
Whether they're born and bred, or brought to Utah to play as a pro, this year, we'll see more locals in the Summer Olympics than ever before. The KSL Tokyo Team introduced us to the athletes who've called Utah home and hope Utah will cheer them on in Tokyo.
Banned sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson was not on the Olympic roster released Tuesday by USA Track and Field, a decision that means the American champion's positive test for marijuana will cost her a chance at running on the relay team in Tokyo, in addition to her spot in the 100-meter individual race.
For the first time in Olympic history, the University of Utah Red Rocks will have three gymnasts representing Team USA. FM 100.3's Rebecca Cressman, who is also the announcer for the Utah Red Rocks, said watching the women Sunday night left her on the edge of her seat.
The fastest climbers in the world went head-to-head at the World Cup of Climbing in Salt Lake City over the weekend. Both spectators and athletes said the crowd, the cheers and the atmosphere made it feel like things were almost normal again.
A World Cup competition for climbers will be held in downtown Salt Lake City over the weekend, bringing out many of the athletes that will compete in the event at the Tokyo Olympics, including one man who was born and raised in Utah.
