Come every four years, and all the sports-mad people of the world are glued to their televisions, hot chocolate/beer in hand, watching the Olympics. As it's currently February, we have the Winter Olympics to lighten up our gloomy evenings, and yes, that means we get to ooh-and-ahh over the skills of some of the most talented athletes of the world, and stare longingly at their enviable figures. However, it's evident that the sportspeople this year aren't just one trick ponies. Case in point: Adam Rippon. He's not only one of the United States' best figure skaters, but he's also one of the most hilarious people on Twitter - which is quite the mean feat, considering we already have Chrissy Teigen, Ryan Reynolds and of course, Donald Trump to entertain us for hours on end. His personal talent? Telling the haters where exactly to go. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/Be6p3IPlvNb/?hl=en&taken-by=adaripp]] On Tuesday, Adam Rippon directed this tweet at everyone who hopes he fails. "To all those who tweet at me saying that they “hope I fail”, I have failed many times many times in my life," he asserted. "But more importantly, I’ve learned from every setback, proudly own up to my mistakes, grow from disappointments, and now I’m a glamazon bitch ready for the runway." Woah. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Adaripp/status/963402728704638976]] And I think we can all agree that he's certainly ready for the runway. I mean, just look at him go! [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/962862710835875841]] But this isn't the first time that Rippon has let it rip over Twitter. The 28-year-old became a household name after joining the USA's Olympic team as the country's first openly gay Olympian, and made headlines after refusing to meet Vice President Mike Pence, who has made overtly homophobic statements in the past. "I personally have nothing to say to Mike Pence. Given the chance to talk after the Olympics, I would want to bring with me people who’s lives have been hurt by legislation he has championed," he wrote. He followed up by adding, "I will let the VP’s words speak for themselves. You can very easily find these quotes and more online. His position and intentions are clear". [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Adaripp/status/954744703399768065]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Adaripp/status/954744700656762881]] And just because we can't get enough of the man, here are a few more of his best zingers. "I was recently asked in an interview what its like to be a gay athlete in sports," wrote the figure skater in late December. "I said that it’s exactly like being a straight athlete. Lots of hard work but usually done with better eye brows." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Adaripp/status/946186899793756161]] And because we like to save the best for last, here's this beauty: "Heading into the competition tomorrow, I just want everyone to know that my mom thinks I’m the best and I really hope the judges take that into consideration." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Adaripp/status/928544085308084224]] Well, there you have it. It's clear that Adam Rippon is just as talented off-ice as he is on it. I mean, if there were medals awarded for having a sense of humour on social media, I think that Rippon would definitely take home the gold.

There have been a lot of entertaining moments at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un impersonators crashed the opening ceremony to show they're not enemies; they're BFF's. A teenage U.S. snowboarder overslept after a late night of watching TV, and still won Olympic gold, yelling "f--k yeah!" A French ice skater carried on with her routine after an awkward wardrobe malfunction. And U.S. figure skater Mirai Nagasu made history by landing the first triple axle in Olympic competition. (Suck it, Tonya Harding! Learn how to tie your laces!)

But today there was a truly weird, unexpected moment. After the 1,000-meter men’s speed skating competition and medal ceremony, a random dude crashed the ice. The unnamed man climbed over the rail, and stripped away his shirt and breakaway pants, revealing a striking outfit: a pink tutu, and monkey underwear - actually, a "monkey penis pouch," if you will. A junk-covering monkey. Junkey? Anyway, he was almost naked. And on his chest, he wrote the words "PEACE + LOVE." Eat your heart, Adam Rippon. You wish your outfit was this good.

As he proceeded onto the ice, he neglected to remember something important: Ice is slippery. Like, really, really, slippery. And since he was wearing sneakers, not skates, he didn't have the best grip. (Rookie mistake.) He wound up to perform what would have sure been a stunning move, but slipped, and fell on his face. Too bad. The move probably would have been the long-awaited history-making octuple axel. But he was denied. What a shame.

Spectator Maarten Kooij captured the moment on video and shared the clip on Instagram. Unfortunately, it's a little blurry, but I don't think it's a problem with the focus. I think the streaking skater was so awesome the camera couldn't handle his greatness. When you watch the video, you may want to put on some sunglasses. Much like the solar eclipse, it isn't safe to look directly at this with your naked eye.

[[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BfibcEkjWSe/]]

Streaking is a longstanding tradition at the Olympics, which is surprising, because you'd think people want to wear clothes in the winter. Reportedly this brave soul is a Mark Roberts, a legendary streaker, and yes, that is a thing. Mark has streaked more than 500 times at various events, from the Olympics to The Super Bowl to soccer games. I guess there's nothing he loves more than taking his clothes off, and being carried out of arenas by police. But it's all worth it for the joy he brings into people's hearts.

In a 2015 interview with The Guardian, Roberts said, "I’ve just had this taste for doing crazy things, mostly just to make people laugh. I love to see people smile and laugh if I do something silly or tell a joke whatever it may be."

Well, at this point the Olympics should just embrace it, and give Mark Roberts the Gold Medal for streaking. You have to admit, he's earned it.

Donald Trump has branded the US women's soccer team "Leftist Maniacs" after they won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

According to The Independent, the former President of the United States hit out at the players - and appeared to single out Megan Rapinoe in particular - in the aftermath of the team's loss to Canada on Thursday.

Trump commented in an official statement delivered to the press, which read: "If our soccer team, headed by a radical group of Leftist Maniacs, wasn’t woke, they would have won the Gold Medal instead of the Bronze."

Credit: Alamy/Pictorial Press Ltd

He continued: "Woke means you lose, everything that is woke goes bad, and our soccer team certainly has. There were, however, a few Patriots standing. Unfortunately, they need more than that respecting our Country and National Anthem.

"They should replace the wokesters with Patriots and start winning again. The woman with the purple hair played terribly and spends too much time thinking about Radical Left politics and not doing her job."

"The woman with the purple hair" is believed to be a shot at USWNT forward Megan Rapinoe.

Commenting on the result in a later interview with reporters, 36-year-old Team US captain Becky Sauerbrunn stated: "That bronze means so much. It feels like we really had to earn that thing. And we’re very proud of it."

She continued: "Obviously we wanted to get a gold medal. Everyone wants to get a gold medal, Americans love golds. The fact is we potentially didn’t deserve to get a gold medal. We had to change the goal, and it became: 'Let's get that bronze.'"

Canada's win may be a huge moment for the team as a whole, but could also be historic for their midfielder, Quinn - who is the first-ever publicly out trans/non-binary athlete ever to compete at the Olympics.

Although Quinn represented Canada at the 2016 Olympics, they did not come out as transgender until last year. Quinn is now destined to be the first publicly out transgender medalist in Olympics history, which could be the prestigious gold.

Commenting on the honor of this important LGBTQ+ milestone in a recent Instagram post, Quinn wrote:  "I feel sad knowing there were Olympians before me unable to live their truth because of the world. I feel optimistic for change. Change in legislature. Changes in rules, structures, and mindsets.

"Mostly, I feel aware of the realities. Trans girls being banned from sports. Trans women facing discrimination and bias while trying to pursue their Olympic dreams. The fight isn't close to over… and I'll celebrate when we're all here."

Featured Image Credit: Alamy/UPI

Megan Rapinoe has slammed former President Donald Trump for not supporting the US soccer team at the Tokyo Olympics.

Trump raised eyebrows after he called the team "Leftist Maniacs" after they won a bronze medal, and went on to add that they would have won a gold medal if they were not so "woke".

Trump commented in an official statement delivered to the press, which read: "If our soccer team, headed by a radical group of Leftist Maniacs, wasn’t woke, they would have won the Gold Medal instead of the Bronze."

He continued: "Woke means you lose, everything that is woke goes bad, and our soccer team certainly has. There were, however, a few Patriots standing. Unfortunately, they need more than that respecting our Country and National Anthem.

"They should replace the wokesters with Patriots and start winning again. The woman with the purple hair played terribly and spends too much time thinking about Radical Left politics and not doing her job."

"The woman with the purple hair" is believed to be a shot at USWNT forward Rapinoe.

Now Rapinoe has spoken out after being singled out by the former POTUS.

"It's a real sad dig into an old bag," Rapinoe said, per Insider, after she was asked about the comments. "I'm just like, 'You’re rooting for people to do bad?' Yikes."

Rapinoe has been an outspoken voice on the gender pay gap and has demanded fair pay from the US Soccer Federation.

The athlete has also kneeled for the national anthem to protest racial injustice issues, which was not welcomed with open arms by Trump.

Rapinoe said that despite it not being "the tournament we wanted" after falling short in the semi-final by Canada, she was proud of the team's achievements at the Olympics.

"The performance we had in the last game, that’s who we want to be and that’s who we are," she said.

Commenting on the result in a later interview with reporters, 36-year-old Team US captain Becky Sauerbrunn said, per New York Times: "That bronze means so much. It feels like we really had to earn that thing. And we’re very proud of it."

She continued: "Obviously we wanted to get a gold medal. Everyone wants to get a gold medal, Americans love golds. The fact is we potentially didn’t deserve to get a gold medal. We had to change the goal, and it became: 'Let's get that bronze.'"

Featured image credit: Independent Photo Agency / Alamy

The 2018 winter Olympic games, held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, have provided an invaluable opportunity to cool down the diplomatic tensions which have threatened to boil over into outright war over the last year. President Donald Trump's hardline stance on North Korea, coupled with the totalitarian state's growing nuclear capacity, has led many to fear the outbreak of actual conflict in the region. However, at the largest sporting event in the world, with athletes from across the globe competing to win gold for their home countries, North Korean representatives have been surprisingly cordial. However, none have provoked more fervent speculation than the North Korean cheerleading squad.

The smiling assembly of 230 women, colloquially dubbed "Kim Jong-un's beauties," outwardly project an image of glamour and positivity that few outsiders would associate with a nation that relies on foreign aid to support its ailing infrastructure. They wear matching uniforms and act in almost complete synchronicity, clapping and cheering from the stands with a military precision, wearing either blood-red wool overcoats with black fur trim or more cheerful blue and red acrylic snowsuits inspired by the colours of the North Korean flag.

The appearance, and sometimes bizarre behaviour, of these propaganda figures has inspired intense media scrutiny and divided commentators. Some see them as a "charm offensive" designed to distract from the Workers' Party's horrific human rights abuses. Others view them as a friendly olive branch extended sincerely to the South and the United States. But is there an even more sinister side to their story, one that's been carefully hidden from the eyes of the watching cameras? A North Korean defector claims that Kim Jong-un's cheerleading team are actually, in private, little better than a squad of hostage sex slaves, who have been repeatedly sexually abused, raped and exploited by the despot and high-ranking members of his politburo.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, 42-year-old Lee So-yeon, a former military musician who fled to South Korea in 2008, alleged that the cheerleading team, (known to insiders as the "Pleasure Squad") are expected to provide sexual favours on request during trips to the Olympic games and at home.  She stated: "It might seem like a fancy show on the outside [but] they also have to go to parties and provide sexual services ... They go to the central Politburo party’s events, and have to sleep with the people there, even if they don’t want it.”

[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz1lC0jWxtY]]

So-yeon, who now heads the New Korea Women’s Union, (an organisation which helps acclimatise female defectors with PTSD to life in South Korea) added that: "North Korea’s art troupe came here and performed with fancy dances and songs, but not only do they have to be in charge of Kim Jong-un’s propaganda ... These parties are held every day for the Central Politburo. And even if they don’t want this they have to serve with their bodies, like a human rights infringement. The women there, when they attend, they have to undress. They are asked to undress like objects. That’s the physical pain they have to go through."

Their lives are tightly regimented and they are under strict surveillance, indoctrinated from an early age to accept their sexual bondage. In an additional Bloomberg interview, 54-year-old Kim Hyung-soo, who escaped the dictatorship in 2009 with his competitive skier son, stated: "Even the coaches are slaves to Kim Jong-un, and to the North Korean regime ... Because in North Korea, Kim Jong-un and the regime is the entire world ... The cheerleaders, too. They select people who are unlikely to defect, and people with loyal backgrounds. This factor is crucial from a very early stage."

A defector who fled the country in 1982, Lee Il-nam, claimed that the Olympic cheerleading squads are often coerced into attending inner party orgies against their will, where erotic games are commonplace. In his book, "Kim Jong-il’s Royal Family," Il-nam wrote that: "The routine at the parties included eating, drinking and dancing, but usually ended with erotic games. A favourite was a game in which the losers had to take off clothes one by one. It was enforced, regardless of men or women. If they got heavily drunk, they also played a hair-shaving game. If men lost, part of their head hair was shaved, as if it was mown. For women, their pubic hair was shaved."

Despite the abuse these young women suffer, inclusion into the Pleasure Squad is considered by North Koreans to be a great honour. The girls typically come from elite families in Pyongyang and are carefully selected from various performance troupes around the capital. They are expected to commit to months of training before attending an international event, wholly disregarding their existing occupation. Cheerleaders are required to be in their early 20s, good-looking, devoted to the regime, and taller than the minimum height requirement of 160 centimetres (or five foot and three inches). The women are not paid for the services, but are allowed the opportunity to travel overseas, a privilege that very few North Koreans ever afford. Once they retire, the cheerleaders are typically married off to the elite guards or party members and their silence is bought to ensure that reports of their treatment never leak to the public.

At the games themselves, the girls are accompanied at all times by older male chaperones who guard them vigilantly, ensuring that they do not talk to anyone without express permission. When their athletes are competing, their enthusiasm is palpable, particularly when the North Korean team is performing badly. Their rousing, flag-waving chant of "cheer up!" and swaying clapping has already gone viral. Yet, at other times, they appear apathetic and oblivious to their surroundings. In one memorable incident, when four South Korean cheerleaders gyrated to the song Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne, the North Korean cheerleaders responded by drowning them out with their own song with a completely different beat.

We may never know the precise details of what these women are subjected to behind closed doors, but there is no doubt that the cheerleaders represent a powerful propaganda tool for the ruling Kim dynasty. For more disturbing details about the communist autocracy, check out the seven ways that North Korea is exactly like George Orwell's 1984.

 

Featured illustration by Egarcigu