paralympics What It's Like Repping the U.S. Wheelchair Basketball Team For the 1st Time Wheelchair basketball athlete Zoe Voris is in Tokyo representing Team USA. She spoke to LX News Now host Eric Alvarez about traveling and being apart from her family due to COVID restrictions at the events. Plus, we hear from her teammates and coach at UT Arlington, which has sent 14 athletes to this year’s Paralympics representing 3 different countries.
people with disabilities Paralympian Blake Leeper Wants More Safe Spaces For Disabled People to Work Out Paralympic runner Blake Leeper is fighting for the next generation of disabled kids. His dream was to represent them by competing in the Tokyo Olympics with his prosthetic legs. But after losing that appeal, he has turned his focus to creating safe spaces for the disabled community to work out.
black women How Ashleigh Johnson Went From ‘Just Playing' to Inspiring Others Ashleigh Johnson was the first Black woman to join the U.S. women’s national water polo team in 2016, and won gold in 2016 and 2020. At first, she didn’t dwell on the significance of her achievements, but eventually was able to embrace her Blackness. Johnson talks about coming into her own and the advice she gives to young athletes who...
paralympics More LGBTQ Athletes Than Ever Are Competing at Tokyo's Paralympic Games While acceptance of LGBTQ athletes is growing in the sports world, Alex Reimer from Outsports has noticed less of this trend in men’s sports. He tells us more as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games celebrate a record number of LGBTQ athletes competing this year.
skateboarding Skateboarding Medalist Cory Juneau Shows Us How to Do One of His Hardest Tricks (Kind Of) Cory Juneau says it’s still “surreal” that he took home the bronze medal for park skateboarding from the Tokyo Olympics. As the 22-year-old San Diego native looks to the future, he stopped by NBCLX to look back at his experience — and attempted to show us how to do one of the trickiest kickflips he nailed in Tokyo.
COVID-19 Congratulations! Now, Get Out. Olympians Get Rushed Out of Tokyo as Games End As the Tokyo Olympics wind down, its athletes — and even its most decorated medalists — are getting rushed out of the country almost immediately after stepping off the podium. That’s due to Japanese visa restrictions related to worries about the spread of COVID-19. NBCLX storyteller Chase Cain explains.
LX News Couldn't Make it to the Olympics? Take a Tokyo Tour with Us Get a look behind the scenes of the Olympic Games, and see Tokyo from our staff visiting the megacity.
Olympic Torch How Tokyo Turned the Olympic Flame Into a Symbol of a Sustainable Future Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe — and it may just be the key to a carbon-free world. During its time on the world stage, the city of Tokyo is using it to fuel the Olympic Flame as a way to showcase its possibilities as a green energy source. NBCLX storyteller Chase Cain reports from the Tokyo...
LGBTQ LGBTQ Olympians Are Breaking Records and Boundaries in Tokyo There are at least 180 openly LGBTQ Olympians in Tokyo this summer — that’s more than three times the number of athletes who were out in Rio at the 2016 Olympics. That’s a testament to the overwhelming acceptance of queer athletes, especially in women’s sports, and the power of social media to give athletes a platform to show their authentic...
Tokyo Olympics Japan's Over-55 Cheerleading Troupe Shows Age is Just a Number Japan Pom Pom started 25 years ago as a cheerleading troupe for people 55 and older. Today, the troupe wants to show the country that senior citizens can be just as active as younger members of society. NBCLX Storyteller Fernando Hurtado talks with members of the troupe about the importance of staying active.