Sports

A government spokesman has said that, despite talks with the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB), the International Ice Hockey Federation (DEB) and others, the impasse caused by last week's Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling remains. Since the October 30 decision, several leading ice hockey nations — including Finland, Sweden and Czechia — have said they would refrain from playing against Russia in any tournament in which it is allowed to take part. Several key sponsors have also threatened to pull out, should the Russians be allowed to play. The first tournament to be affected would be the Men's World Juniors, which opens in Canada in late December, followed by the IIHF's premier event, the Men's World Ice Championship, to be hosted by Germany in May. Hosting Worlds 'practica...

Why is the tournament being held in November? Since it's inception in 1990, the Women's Ice Hockey World Championship has almost always been held in the spring – apart from 2021 and 2022, when the COVID-19 pandemic saw it moved to the summer. This year, though, the tournament, being hosted by Denmark from November 6 to November 16, is being held in November for the first time. The idea is make it easier for all of the world's best players to participate. Since its inception in 2023, the North America-based Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), widely considered the world's best, has had to pause its season to allow its players to take part in the Worlds. This is no longer necessary, as the PWHL's regular season doesn't open until December. "This gives the women's game a unique selli...

Fresh questions have emerged over Russia's return to world sport after figures reviewed by DW showed that only four of the 16 Russian weightlifters competing at this year's world championships underwent out-of-competition testing by the International Testing Agency (ITA). Two-time European champion Anastasiia Romanova, who previously served a two-year doping ban, was among those not tested by the ITA during the first nine months of 2026, according to its quarterly anti-doping reports. By comparison, all 13 members of the North Korean team underwent at least one ITA test during the same period. North Korea, like Russia, has a history of doping violations in weightlifting.Men, muscles, and the pursuit of the ‘perfect body’To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading ...

Fresh questions have emerged over Russia's return to world sport after figures reviewed by DW showed that only four of the 16 Russian weightlifters competing at this year's world championships underwent out-of-competition testing by the International Testing Agency (ITA). Two-time European champion Anastasiia Romanova, who previously served a two-year doping ban, was among those not tested by the ITA during the first nine months of 2026, according to its quarterly anti-doping reports. By comparison, all 13 members of the North Korean team underwent at least one ITA test during the same period. North Korea, like Russia, has a history of doping violations in weightlifting.Men, muscles, and the pursuit of the ‘perfect body’To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading ...

Cristiano Ronaldo took to social media on Thursday to announce that he had played his last game for Portugal. "To the Portuguese people, the day has come for me to hand back the number seven shirt of our national team," the 41-year-old Ronaldo said in a video on his Instagram account. "I never felt it belonged to me alone, but for 23 years I had the privilege and the responsibility of wearing it, defending it and carrying it with me into stadiums all around the world." The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus forward represented his country 234 times, scoring 146 goals — making him the men's record-holder for ⁠international ​appearances and for international goals. Decision made with 'head and heart' He captained Portugal ​to their first major trophy at ​Euro 2016 and le...

"After the referee lifted my hand to show I'm now a two-time world champion, it was a very overwhelming feeling," Mariam Bsharat said. "Making history once is something, but making it twice is really something else. I felt very happy and I felt a big relief. Only I know how many sacrifices I made and how many hardships I needed to overcome." Themes of relief, joy and sacrifice are commonplace in the reflections of athletes after a big win. In Mariam Bsharat's case, it's about more than just dedication to training and taking care of the body. The 17-year-old won her second under-21 World Karate Championship gold medal competing for the Palestine national team in Poland in October. "It was everyday life, seeing people get killed around me and houses getting bombed," she told DW of her upbr...

"After the referee lifted my hand to show I'm now a two-time world champion, it was a very overwhelming feeling," Mariam Bsharat said. "Making history once is something, but making it twice is really something else. I felt very happy and I felt a big relief. Only I know how many sacrifices I made and how many hardships I needed to overcome." Themes of relief, joy and sacrifice are commonplace in the reflections of athletes after a big win. In Mariam Bsharat's case, it's about more than just dedication to training and taking care of the body. The 17-year-old won her second under-21 World Karate Championship gold medal competing for the Palestine national team in Poland in October. "It was everyday life, seeing people get killed around me and houses getting bombed," she told DW of her upbr...

"After the referee lifted my hand to show I'm now a two-time world champion, it was a very overwhelming feeling. Making history once is something, but making it twice is really something else. I felt very happy and I felt a big relief. Only I know how many sacrifices I made and how many hardships I needed to overcome." Themes of relief, joy and sacrifice are commonplace in the reflections of athletes after a big win. But in Mariam Bsharat's case, it's about more than just dedication to training and taking care of the body. The karate athlete, 17, won a second under-21 World Championship gold medal in Poland earlier this month competing for her native Palestine. "It was everyday life, seeing people get killed around me and houses getting bombed," she told DW of her upbringing in the occup...

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) said in a statement on Wednesday that the impact of last week's Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decision requiring it to reinstate Russia to international play had been "significantly underestimated."  It added that it "maintains" its disagreement with the decision and that it remained "in dialogue with Member National Associations, organizing committees, host authorities and other key stakeholders to determine the best way forward." Shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the IIHF barred its teams from competing in international ice hockey tournaments, citing security concerns. In last Friday's ruling, the CAS said that the IIHF's concerns were "not supported by sufficient evidence." Wednesday's state...