Alysa Liu, the 20-year-old American from California who won women’s single figure skating gold at the ongoing Winter Olympics 2026, has quite a background story, including Chinese spies. Yes, shocking as it may be, the Chinese government was reportedly spying on Liu’s family.

The disturbing episode came to light in 2022 when the US Justice Department charged five men with carrying out spying activities in the country on behalf of the Chinese government. One of the families they spied on was that of Alysa Liu.

Why?

This is where the story gets even more interesting. Alysa Liu’s father, Arthur Liu, is a former Chinese citizen who fled the country in 1989 after organising pro-democracy protests.

Alysa Liu spied by Chinese agents

Just before the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Arthur received a call from a person pretending to be a US Olympic official. That man asked him to share the copies of Arthur and Alysa’s passports, but the father refused.

“I felt something fishy was going on,” Arthur told the Associated Press in 2022.

Later the US Justice Department revealed that a man named Matthew Ziburis was allegedly hired by China to spy on the Liu family.

“In a weird way, I was like, ‘Am I in some prank show? Is this world real?” Alysa Liu had said in October while talking about the spying incident during a Team USA media event.

🇺🇸 THE ULTIMATE AMERICAN REVENGE STORY 🇺🇸
​The script couldn’t have written it better. In 1989, Arthur Liu fled China as a political refugee after the Tiananmen Square massacre. He came to America with nothing but a dream for a free life.
​Decades later, his daughter Alysa Liu… pic.twitter.com/VH6ScPB9Cu

— Afshine Emrani MD FACC (@afshineemrani) February 20, 2026

On Thursday, she now has reasons to forget the scary experience as she won the women’s single figure skating gold.

“I think my story is more important than anything to me, and that’s what I will hold dear,’’ Alysa said after winning the gold. “And this journey has been incredible and my life has just been, I have no complaints and I’m just so grateful for everything.”

How did her Alysa Liu’s father escape China?

Arthur was a student at Zhongshan University in 1989 when he organised multiple pro-democracy protests and hunger strikes. His political activity increased after hundreds of students and citizens were killed at Tiananmen Square by the military.

“I was outraged!” Arthur once wrote. “How could the People’s Liberation Army use its force against its own students and residents of Beijing? I organized another protest.”

But his growing political influence and activities put him on the “most wanted,” after which he escaped to Hong Kong with the help of an acquaintance. He risked his life while escaping on a boat.

“We got on the boat and he took off so quick that the four of us had to hold on to the boat so tight that a muscle on my chest area was painfully torn,” he wrote. “The boat was skimming on top of the ocean leaving huge waves behind us.

“I was told that this boat is faster than the boats the military and border (patrol) used to chase smugglers so that they won’t be caught. The smuggling business was booming between mainland China and Hong Kong in that era. Goods and people!”

After living in Hong Kong for a while, Arthur left for the USA, earning a law degree from Hastings College and starting his own firm.

Jutta Leerdam, the Dutch speed skater and fiance of internet star and boxer Jake Paul, will not face any punishment after revealing her bra following her gold medal win at the Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina last week.

Leerdam took gold in the 1000m speed skating event on Sunday and was seen by cameras unzipping part of her tight speed suit, revealing a white Nike sports bra. The moment quickly went viral after being shared on Nike’s Instagram account. She also won a silver medal in 500m event.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has strict rules about advertising during the Games, which led to speculation that Leerdam might face sanctions. However, IOC Television & Marketing Services Managing Director Anne-Sophie Voumard clarified the situation.

Why Leerdam will escape punishment

Voumard explained that unzipping the suit after a race is “normal practice” in speed skating because the uniforms are very tight. She added, “It is normal practice and not a case of ambush marketing.”

“I’m not an expert in speed skating. But I understand this (unzipping the uniform after a race) is normal practice for speed skaters when they finish their race because the suit is very tight. It is normal practice and not a case of ambush (marketing),” she said.

Leerdam, who has 6.4 million Instagram followers, is also known for sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses of her life, including private jet trips with Paul and a new Hermes Birkin bag she bought after her Olympic victory.

The IOC has welcomed such content as it helps bring a new dimension to the Games. Kaveh Mehrabi, IOC Director of the Athletes’ Department, said, “Athletes have generated over 1.3 billion social engagements, about half a million per athlete, and we are proud they want to show their own experience.”

Jutta Leerdam alone has generated over 100 million engagements. The most appealing content has been behind the scenes. We changed the guidelines since Paris (2024 Olympic Games), allowing athletes to show their experience first hand.”

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Pakistan’s hockey captain, Shakeel Ammad Butt, has made a strong appeal to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir over the “serious mismanagement” faced by the team during their tour of Australia.

Speaking to the media, Butt said the players were left “mentally drained” and “helpless” due to poor arrangements by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) and the team management in Australia during the FIH Hockey Pro League 2025-26.

“We cannot work with this management. They have made us mentally ill. How can we perform for Pakistan? When we qualified for the Pro Hockey League, I helped the team with the Pakistan Hockey Federation. It is a great achievement for Pakistan to qualify for the Pro Hockey League after 7 years. When we came back from Argentina, things started getting worse instead of getting better,” Butt said.

He described the tour of Australia as a nightmare. “When I talk about the tour of Australia, I will start with the flight and hoteling. The flight that took us to Sydney, took us more than 12-14 hours. We were roaming around like abandoned people. No one cared about our team. There was no hoteling. We were not given food on time,” he added.

Butt also admitted that he had lied in a video during the tour to avoid embarrassment for Pakistan. “The management told us that the news and videos had reached India. I made a video saying everything was fine, but the reality was completely different. Everything reported was true,” he said.

“I am talking about the team management. Tahir Zaman, Sheikh Usman, Nadeem Khan Lodhi, Dishan Ashraf and Aslam. I am not afraid of anything. They have separated the players and asked each player whether he is with the Pakistan Hockey Federation or Ammad Butt. I am ready to testify about this.”

BIG EMBARRASSMENT for Pakistan – Hockey captain Ammad Shakeel Butt admits “he lied on video” during the Australia tour, saying he was pressured by team management to claim everything was fine.

During the FIH Pro League in Sydney, Pakistan players had no hotel bookings, waited… pic.twitter.com/RvZTOzePBF

— Manish Pangotra🇮🇳 (@ManishPangotra5) February 19, 2026

Butt urges Pakistan Army Chief to intervene 

Butt said Pakistan needs urgent intervention from the top and proper management. “The World Cup qualifying round is a very important round for the Pakistan Hockey Federation and the Pakistan players. I think that the government of Pakistan should take action on this as soon as possible. We have very little time. We cannot work with this management. My team is with me. It is a very important round. We have to qualify for the World Cup. I request the Prime Minister and the Army Chief to take notice of this as soon as possible.,” he said.

Following Butt’s statements, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered an inquiry into the alleged mismanagement.

A husky with lots of enthusiasm but no credentials gatecrashed a women’s team sprint cross-country race on Wednesday, giving an impromptu performance that had spectators howling with delight.

The dog wandered onto the stadium course in Tesero during the qualifying event, spotted a couple of athletes on the finishing straight and decided to join the action.

The canine sniffed around for a bit before racing across the line ahead of the skiers to wild cheers from a crowd clearly entertained by the unexpected addition to the field.

“It was so fun. I like dogs, we have a dog at home,” said Sweden’s Jonna Sundling, who went on to win gold with teammate Maja Dahlqvist.

“When it came to the finish line I was like, ‘Okay we have a new member.’ He or she wanted to go through the mixed zone as well, so it was fun,” she added referring to the area where competitors speak to the media

Not all racers agreed.

“I was cooling down on the bike, and I saw the dog and I was like, ‘That’s crazy’ and I was just happy I wasn’t skiing next to the dog because I’m a bit afraid of dogs. I was happy I was already at the finish,” said Nadja Kaelin of Switzerland.

Watch: Husy gatecrashes women’s team sprint cross-country race

GIVE THE DOG A MEDAL.

🎥 @dog_rates | #WinterOlympicspic.twitter.com/1OJ2bRChzl

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 18, 2026

The Swiss skier won the silver medal with teammate Nadine Faehndrich in the finals race.

Officials eventually got hold of the tail-wagging interloper but not before timekeepers preparing for a photo-finish in the race captured an image of the dog crossing the line.

Russia and Belarus will have a combined 10 para athletes at next month’s Milano Cortina Paralympics the International Paralympic Committee said in a statement on Tuesday.

Both countries were banned from Paralympic competitions after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but regained full membership rights in the IPC after member organisations voted in September 2025 to lift their partial suspensions.

Belarus is a key staging area for the invasion.

International federations for each sport on the Paralympic Games programme had said they would maintain bans on athletes from those countries, but Russia and Belarus won an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport back in December against the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS).

“Following the decision by IPC members at September 2025’s IPC General Assembly … and December’s subsequent Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decision … both NPCs were eligible to apply for bipartite slots through FIS for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in the sports of Para alpine skiing, Para cross-country skiing and Para snowboard,” the IPC said in a statement.

Russia will have two spots in Para alpine skiing, two in Para cross-country skiing and two in Para snowboard.

“NPC (National Paralympic Committee) Belarus has been awarded four slots in total, all in cross-country skiing (one male and three female),” the IPC added.

While the athletes can compete under their own flags at the Paralympics from March 6 to 15, a limited number of Russian and Belarus athletes are competing as independent neutral athletes without flags or anthems at the ongoing Milano Cortina Winter Games, with the Olympic Committees of the two nations still sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee.

The IPC decision left Ukraine’s Vladyslav Heraskevych, who was last week disqualified from the skeleton event at the Milano Cortina Olympics, fuming.

“It’s absurd that they gift some quotas,” Heraskevych, who was disqualified for wanting to wear a helmet depicting Ukrainian athletes killed during Russia’s invasion of his country, told Reuters.

Speaking from Kiev, Heraskevych added: “It’s kind of like we are accepting former soldiers to give them the opportunity to spread Russian propaganda with national flags, with national symbols. So it looks pretty insane.”

The entire ground remains covered in tarpaulin in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 cricket World Cup group stage match between Zimbabwe and Ireland at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on February 17, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The online support for Swiss sports commentator Stefan Renna and his criticism is growing by the minute ever since he made controversial remarks regarding an Israeli athlete and his support for “genocide” in Palestine as he competed in the two-man bobsled race at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.

The video of Renna commentating while Adam Edelman of Israel competed in the bobsled race on Monday has also gone viral.

Just as Israeli athletes were ready to launch their race, Renna could be heard saying, “Adam Edelman, Olympian for the first time, who describes himself as a ‘Zionist to the core,’ I quote, and who posted several messages on social media in support of the genocide in Gaza. I remind you that ‘genocide’ is the term used by the UN commission of inquiry into the region. Adam Edelman said in particular, about the Israeli military intervention, that it was, and I quote, “the morally most just war in history.

“He also mocked a free Palestine on a wall on Hameur Island on the sidelines of the World Cup stage. And he asked his followers to send strength to Fawarset when this member of the Israeli team, who is present here in Cortina, was engaged in an Israeli army operation in the Gaza Bank in 2023.”

🇮🇱🇨🇭 This Swiss commentator has balls of steel. While the Israeli bobsleigh team was racing, he kept reminding viewers of the war crimes the pilot has openly supported.

Absolute legend! pic.twitter.com/5aYOqJOKrK

— Dr. Simon Goddek (@goddek) February 16, 2026

He questioned how Edelman was allowed to compete at the Winter Olympics 2026 when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has already stated that athletes who have publicly supported war will not be allowed and that multiple Russian athletes are suspended due to showing support for their country’s war against Ukraine.

Renna also questioned how Edelman was allowed to compete while Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the Winter Olympics 2026 due to his decision to wear a helmet
honouring compatriots who died in the war with Russia.

Renna’s comments against Edelman, however, have not gone down well with Israeli supporters who have criticised him on social media, and also called for his removal from the Radio Tele Suisse.

“Imagine calling the Olympics and spending 90 seconds defaming an Olympian. @RadioTeleSuisse’s Stefan Renna did that. He says Israeli Bobsledder @reakajedelman supports genocide. I challenge the talking period cramp to show any proof of him supporting genocide,” Dahlia Kurtz wrote on X.

Imagine calling the Olympics and spending 90 seconds defaming an Olympian.@RadioTeleSuisse‘s Stefan Renna did that.

He says Israeli Bobsledder @reakajedelman supports genocide.

I challenge the talking period cramp to show any proof of him supporting “genocide.”

Sue him, AJ. pic.twitter.com/YJU6276s8l

— dahlia kurtz ✡︎ דליה קורץ (@DahliaKurtz) February 17, 2026

Another X user said: “Stefan Renna needs to be fired and sued.”

Meanwhile, Renna also found support from multiple users, with many claiming that he was only speaking the “truth.”

“Principled people appear in every space. Today it’s Stefan Renna from RTS, who spoke truth in his Olympics commentary, knowing it would put his livelihood on the line. But he still called out genociders because it’s the right thing. No one should remain silent in the face of such brazen, unrelenting criminality,” Susan Abulhawa said on X.

Principled people appear in every space. Today it’s Stefan Renna from RTS, who spoke truth in his Olympics commentary, knowing it would put his livelihood on the line. But he still called out genociders because it’s the right thing. No one should remain silent in the face of such… https://t.co/zvQuzvWsjS

— susan abulhawa | سوزان ابو الهوى (@susanabulhawa) February 17, 2026

Another user by the name Dr Nicholas Duron said: “Stefan Renna is a hero who told nothing but the factual truth about Adam Edelman and Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. Propagandists are working overtime to make sure that facts, including Edelman’s own words, are coded as anti-semitic. Meanwhile REAL anti-semites are growing.”

Stefan Renna is a hero who told nothing but the factual truth about Adam Edelman and Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. Propagandists are working overtime to make sure that facts, including Edelman’s own words, are coded as anti-semitic. Meanwhile REAL anti-semites are growing

— Dr. Nicholas Duron (@NicDuron) February 17, 2026

The IOC, Winter Olympic 2026 organisers and Radio Tele Suisse are yet to comment on the matter.

Manchester United’s owners have reportedly mortgaged land around Old Trafford stadium as part of a deal to borrow money that may be used to bid for the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

A government filing from the UK shows that Manchester United Football Club Limited registered a charge (a type of mortgage or security) on property including land west of Sir Matt Busby Way, Manchester on 10 February 2026. This charge lists Bank of America Europe DAC as the lender.

The filing is publicly available on the UK Companies House register, the official database for company documents. It shows a registration of charge #000954890018 was created on 10 February 2026.

🚨RCB SALE UPDATE🚨

– The Glazers have used Man United as collateral to buy a cricket team worth 1.8 billion pounds. pic.twitter.com/vlIM0Ju6tU

— RCBIANS OFFICIAL (@RcbianOfficial) February 15, 2026

The charge document says the company has granted a first legal mortgage over the property, which means the bank has a first claim on the land if the club were unable to meet its financial obligations. It also says that Manchester United cannot easily sell or transfer the land without lender approval.

However, it is not yet confirmed in public documents that the loan is being taken specifically to buy RCB. That part remains based on speculations because no public statement has come from the club or the bidders.

RCB sale process begins

The
sale process for the IPL franchise RCB officially started in January this year. The global drinks company Diageo is said to be selling the franchise, and a number of investors, including foreign sports owners are preparing bids.

There have been reports suggesting that the owners of Manchester United, the Glazer family,
could be one of the groups interested in buying RCB. The valuation is estimated to be in the billion-dollar range for the franchise.

ESPNcricinfo has reported that Lancer Capital owned by Avram Glazer is one of the bidders for RCB along with Ranjan Pai-owned Manipal Group, Adar Poonawalla, who owns Serum Institute of India, Times of India Group, EQT Private Capital, Capri Global, Sanjay Govil, the US-based businessman who owns Washington Freedom in MLC and Welsh Fire in The Hundred, and the private equity firm Premji Invest.

Free condoms distributed at the Olympic Village at Milano Cortina 2026 have run out in just three days, according to Italian newspaper La Stampa. The development has sparked conversation inside the village, with one anonymous athlete saying, “The supplies ran out in just three days. They promised us more will arrive, but who knows when.”

The distribution of free condoms at the Olympic Village is not new. The practice started at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul during the AIDS epidemic to promote awareness about sexually transmitted diseases. Since then, it has become a regular tradition at both Summer and Winter Games.

Also Read:
Italy’s Olympic food wins gold: Milano-Cortina Winter Games is winning hearts for pizzas, pastas and desserts

Why the drop in numbers?

However, the
2026 Winter Olympics saw a big drop in numbers. While around 300,000 condoms were reportedly distributed at the 2024 Paris Olympics, only about 10,000 were reportedly made available for the Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games. In comparison, the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio saw a record 450,000 condoms distributed.

It must be noted that the Winter Olympics has far fewer athletes. Around 2,900 competitors are taking part this year, compared to more than 10,000 at the Paris Games. Many athletes are also staying in Milan instead of Cortina, which may have prompted the organisers to distribute fewer condoms.

However, some athletes still feel the organisers underestimated the demand. An anonymous competitor told La Stampa that organisers were not “particularly generous with the numbers.” Interestingly, the report came out on the ocassion of International Condom Day on February 13.

Meanwhile, Lombardy Governor Attilio Fontana has praised the initiative of distributing condoms at the Games. He said there should be no embarrassment about providing condoms and reminded people that it is part of an established Olympic practice focused on health and prevention.

He even shared a viral video by Spanish figure skater Olivia Smart, who showed condoms stamped with the Lombardy Region logo and joked that the village has “everything you need.” Smart shared a video on her TikTok account captioned, “Yes, there are OLYMPIC condoms,” showing condoms placed in the athletes’ village.

The Winter Olympics 2026 in Italy’s Milan and Cortina have been struck by a “Penisgate” scandal in which ski jumpers are allegedly injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid to help them fly further. So far, no ski jumpers at the Milano Cortina 2026 are using such malpractices, but similar things have happened in the past, and there’s a fear some may do the same at the world’s biggest stage.

Keeping the concerns in mind, World Anti-Doping Agency president Witold Banka was recently bombarded with questions over athletes injecting hyaluronic acid into their penises to gain a competitive advantage. Banka didn’t have a clear answer as he said with a smile that “Ski jumping is very popular in Poland [his home country], so I promise you I’m going to look at it.”

It may be new for WADA, who are tasked with catching the wrongdoers and dopers, but it’s not some conspiracy theory. German newspaper Bild reported in January that there are “heated discussions behind the scenes” in the ski jumping community that athletes might be turning to injections before undergoing the 3D scan for their competition suit.

How does it help?

Injecting hyaluronic acid into a penis could result in increasing the size of the athlete’s package just before the 3D scanning. This way, a jumper would be able to get a larger size suit. Now, if you are wondering that even with the help of the injection, the change in size might be just a few centimetres, it’s important to note that a 2cm change in the suit size could also lead to a massive competitive advantage.

According to a study in the scientific journal Frontiers, a 2cm increase in suit size circumference increased the lift by 5% and reduced drag by 4%. Reportedly, with a 2cm size, an extra 5.8 metres in jump length can be gained.

Last year, two Olympic medallists from Norway, Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang, were handed a three-month suspension after it was found that their team had illegally altered the seams of their suits around the penis area during the World Ski Championships 2025.

The suspension was handed because a larger size suit reduced the descent rate due to a bigger wingspan, giving unfair advantage to the jumpers.

Norway head coach Magnus Brevik, assistant coach Thomas Lobben, and staff member Adrian Livelten were also suspended for 18 months.

Ski jumpers using injection, clay to increase penis size

According to Bild, jumpers do not want to take the risk of adjusting their suits, and have moved on to more ingenious methods like injecting penises with hyaluronic acid or putting clay inside underwear before the 3D scan that is taken from the lowest point of their genitals.

This helps athletes make their genitals larger temporarily, resulting in much bigger suits and better performance. After the 3D scan, the injection would be dissolved or removed.

Talking about the news performance-enhancing malpractices, Dr Kamran Karim of the Maria-Hilf Hospital in Germany told Bild, “It is possible to achieve a temporary, visible thickening of the penis with injections of paraffin or hyaluronic acid. However, this does not result in any lengthening. Such an injection is not medically indicated and carries risks.”

But organisers are not yet alarmed.

Oliver Niggli, the director general of the Winter Olympics 2026 organisation team, has said that he was “not aware of the details of ski jumping and how it can improve, but if anything was to come to the surface, we would look at anything if it is actually doping related.”

“We don’t do other means of enhancing performance, but our list committee would certainly look into whether this would fall into this category. But I hadn’t heard about that until you mentioned it.”

Only time will tell how many athletes inject their penises with chemicals or use clay to gain an advantage, but it’s clear that some are ready to go to ‘great lengths’ to win a medal.