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Norway's beach handball players were each fined 150 euros for wearing shorts rather than the required bikini bottoms. A spokeswoman for the International Handball Federation said she didn't know the reason for the rule.

Norway's women's beach handball team was fined after wearing shorts instead of bikini bottoms during a game on Sunday. Credit... Norwegian Handball Federation

Norway's women's beach handball team was fined by the European Handball Federation on Monday, after players wore shorts, instead of the required bikini bottoms, during a game over the weekend.

The International Handball Federation requires women to wear bikini bottoms "with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg." The sides of the bikini bottoms must be no more than four inches. Men, on the other hand, can wear shorts as long as four inches above their knees as long as they are "not too baggy."

A spokeswoman for the International Handball Federation, Jessica Rockstroh, said on Tuesday that she did not know the reason for the rules. "We're looking into it internally," she said.

Ms. Rockstroh said that the organization's focus at the moment was on the Olympics, not uniforms, and that the organization had not received official complaints previously. She later said Norway was the only country that had officially complained. "Globally we know that other countries like to play in bikinis, for example, especially in South America," she said.

Norway's team had been planning for weeks to flout the rules to point out the double standard for female athletes. The players wore shorts for Sunday's bronze medal game against Spain at the European Beach Handball Championships in Varna, Bulgaria.

"I don't see why we can't play in shorts," said Martine Welfler, one of the Norwegian players. "With so much body shaming and stuff like that these days, you should be able to wear a little bit more when you play."

Each Norwegian player was fined 150 euros (about $177), for a total fine of €1,500.

Kare Geir Lio, the head of the Norwegian Handball Federation, said the organization would pay the fine. He said Norway had repeatedly complained about the bikini bottom requirement to the international federation since 2006. "Nothing has happened," he said.

Female athletes have spoken out against the double standards for their uniforms many times in recent decades. Women are required to wear more revealing outfits in several sports, including track and field, beach volleyball and tennis. In 2011, the Badminton World Federation decreed that women must wear skirts or dresses to play at the elite level in order to help revive flagging interest in women's badminton.

In some cases, women have been fined for their uniforms being too long. In others, the uniforms have been too short.

During the English track championships over the weekend, the Paralympian sprinter and long-jumper Olivia Breen said she was told by an official that the running briefs she was wearing were inappropriate.

"I was just chatting with my teammate, really happy, and this official came up to me and she was like, 'Can I speak to you, Olivia?'" Ms. Breen said in an interview on Tuesday. "She was just like, 'I think your briefs are too revealing and I think you should consider buying a new pair of shorts.'"

Ms. Breen said she was taken aback. "My first response was 'are you joking?'" she said. "And she just said: 'No, I'm not. And I think you should honestly consider buying a pair of shorts.'"

The exchange left Ms. Breen and her teammate speechless, she added. "It just made me so angry," she said. "We shouldn't be told what we can wear and what we can't wear. Why would you make a comment like that?"

Norway's men's and women's beach handball teams in 2019. Credit... Norwegian Handball Federation

Mr. Lio, of the Norwegian Handball Federation, said there was no reason women should be required to wear bikini bottoms in games. "Women should have the right to have a uniform they think is suitable for performing in their sport," he said.

In a 2006 letter to the International Handball Federation, Norway's handball federation said the requirement for women to wear bikini bottoms was insensitive to some countries' cultural norms and could be embarrassing for those who did not want so much of their bodies exposed, according to a copy seen by The New York Times. In handball, a sport that combines elements of soccer and basketball, goalkeepers should be allowed to wear less-revealing uniforms because they use all parts of their bodies to block shots, the letter argued.

Thomas Schoeneich, spokesman for the European Handball Federation, said on Tuesday that the organization was simply enforcing rules set by the international federation. "Change can only happen on an International Handball Federation level," he said.

The Norwegian Handball Federation suggested changing the uniform requirements for female athletes during a meeting of the European Handball Federation in April. The motion was expected to be discussed by the International Handball Federation in November, Mr. Schoeneich said.

Ms. Welfler, the Norwegian handball player,said there were players in Norway who did not want to compete at an international level because of uniform requirements. (In domestic tournaments, Norwegian players can wear shorts.)

"That's really sad because maybe the best players won't participate," she said. She also said female players were tired of being scrutinized in skimpy attire. The focus should be on the game, she said.

Janice Forsyth, an associate professor of sociology at Western University in Canada and a former director of the university's International Center for Olympic Studies, said that certain uniforms, especially in track and field and swimming, could give athletes an edge. But in the case of beach handball, wearing shorts instead of bikinis would not allow athletes to jump higher or move faster in the sand.

"I don't see how that argument holds any weight," she said. "To say that wearing less clothing, as the women are required to do, allows them to be better athletes is just silly."

Amanda Morris contributed reporting.

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Women's Handball Players Are Fined for Rejecting Bikini Uniforms

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Norway's beach handball players were each fined 150 euros for wearing shorts rather than the required bikini bottoms. A spokeswoman for the International Handball Federation said she didn't know the reason for the rule. Norway's women's beach handball team was fined by the European Handball Federation on Monday, after players wore shorts, instead of the required bikini bottoms, during a game over the weekend.

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Check out the event schedule and results.

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Olympic Schedule & Results | Tokyo 2020 Olympics

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Official Tokyo 2020 Olympic schedule. View the competition schedule and live results for the summer Olympics in Tokyo. | (Jul 23-Aug 8, 2021)

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Banned sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson was not on the Olympic roster released Tuesday by USA Track and Field, a decision that means the American'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.

Richardson's positive test nullified her win at Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon last month and the spot that went with it in Tokyo in the 100. Her 30-day suspension will end before the start of the relays on Aug. 5, which left open the possibility she could win a medal as part of the 4x100 relay team.

But her name was not on the roster USATF sent out. The federation had two discretionary picks beyond the top four finishers in the 100-meter final at trials but chose not to offer a spot to the 21-year-old sprinter, who was expected to challenge for Olympic gold.

Asked about how Richardson was taking the news, her agent, Renaldo Nehemiah, responded: "We haven't spoken about it at all. It was actually not a topic we focused on."

In a statement, USATF said it was "incredibly sympathetic toward Sha'Carri Richardson's extenuating circumstances" and "fully agrees" that international rules regarding marijuana should be reevaluated.

"So while our heartfelt understanding lies with Sha'Carri, we must also maintain fairness for all of the athletes who attempted to realize their dreams by securing a place on the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team," the statement read.

In this case, that meant offering the remaining relay spots to the sixth- and seventh-place finishers, each of whom moved up in the pecking order after Richardson's disqualification. They are English Gardner and Aleia Hobbs.

Richardson tested positive for a chemical found in marijuana after her victory on June 19. She said the stress of her biological mother's recent death combined with the pressure of preparing for trials led her to use the drug.

"I know I can't hide myself, so in some type of way, I was trying to hide my pain," she said on NBC's "Today" show.

Over the weekend, she sent out a pair of tweets: "All these perfect people that know how to live life, I'm glad I'm not one of them!" and "2022-2025 undefeated!"

Richardson also told "Today" that this isn't the end of her Olympic dreams.

"This is just one Games," she said. "I'm 21, I'm very young. ... I have plenty of Games left in me to compete in and I have plenty of talent that backs me up, because everything I do comes from me naturally. No steroid, no anything. This incident was about marijuana, so after my sanction is up I'll be back and able to compete, and every single time I step on the track I'll be ready for whatever anti-doping agency to come and get what it is that they need."

Shortly after the 2012 Olympics, international regulators loosened restrictions on marijuana use, increasing the threshold for a positive test to a level designed to catch athletes who were using it in the immediate hours before competition. Potential bans were reduced from two years to as little as the 30-day suspension that Richardson is serving.

But where some professional leagues, such as the NFL, NHL and NBA, have greatly reduced enforcement of marijuana rules, with the acknowledgement that the drug does not enhance performance, the Olympic world continues to test for and punish use in some circumstances. According to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, in addition to substances that trigger performance enhancement, the banned list can include drugs that can pose health risks to athletes or violate the "spirit of sport."

It's a stance that has triggered a wide-ranging debate, largely in the realm of social media but also in Washington. Last week, President Joe Biden said that while he was proud of the way Richardson handled her ban, "the rules are the rules."

"Whether they should remain the rules is a different issue, but the rules are the rules," Biden said.

Meanwhile, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York tweeted out a letter she and Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland sent to the leaders of both the U.S. and world anti-doping agencies, urging them to overturn the decision.

"Please strike a blow for civil liberties and civil rights by reversing this course you are on," the letter said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Sprinter Richardson left off relay list for Olympics

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Banned sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson was not on the Olympic roster released Tuesday by USA Track and Field, a decision that means the American's positive test for marijuana will cost her a chance at running on the relay team in Tokyo.

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View the book Japan Through the Lens of the Tokyo Olympics

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TOKYO - Thirteen-year-old Momiji Nishiya dazzled during the Olympic women's skateboarding street competition. She skated through a park of rails, ramps and stairs meant to mimic city street parks at the Ariake Urban Sports Park.

When she finished, she became Japan's youngest-ever gold medal winner and one of the youngest Olympic champions of all time. Nishiya shared the podium with two other teenagers.

It "could very well be the youngest Olympic podium ever," the official Olympics news outlet says.

Nishiya's win also sealed Japan's domination of the street competition. It debuted at these Summer Olympics and organizers hope it infuses the global sports event with youthful energy. In fact, half of the women in the eight-skateboarder final were 16 or younger.

Brazil's Rayssa Leal, a few months younger than Nishiya, took silver. Another Japanese skateboarder Funa Nakayama, 16, won bronze. Nishiya's victory came the day after Japan's Yuto Horigome, 22, took the gold in the men's street competition.

The sport is one of several new games at the Olympics this year including surfing, three on three basketball and rock climbing.

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Teenagers Win All 3 Medals In Women's Street Skateboarding Event

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TOKYO - Thirteen-year-old Momiji Nishiya dazzled during the Olympic women's skateboarding street competition. She skated through a park of rails, ramps and stairs meant to mimic city street parks at the Ariake Urban Sports Park. When she finished, she became Japan's youngest-ever gold medal winner and one of the youngest Olympic champions of all time.

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After a 13 year wait, British diver Tom Daley has won the first gold medal of his Olympic diving career.

Following his gold medal win on Monday, Daley delivered an inspiring message to his fans in the LGBTQ community.

"I hope that any young LGBT person out there can see that no matter how alone you feel right now, you are not alone and that you can achieve anything and there is a whole lot of your chosen family out here ready to support you," Daley said after his win. "I feel incredibly proud to say that I am a gay man and also an Olympic champion," he added.

Daley took home the gold in the men's synchronized 10-meter platform event alongside his diving partner Matty Lee. The duo beat the Chinese team of Cao Yuan and Chen Aisen by just 1.23 points.

Daley, 27, won bronze in the individual 10-meter platform in London back in 2012 and a bronze in the synchronized platform in the 2016 Olympics in Rio. He made his Olympic debut as a 14-year-old in Beijing's 2008 Olympics.

Daley publicly announced he was gay in 2013 following his bronze medal in London, saying he always felt he was "alone and different and didn't fit."

"When I was younger I thought that I was never going to be anything or achieve anything because of who I was and to be an Olympic champion now shows that you can achieve anything," he said.

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Tom Daley Sends A Powerful Message To The LGBTQ Community After His Gold Medal Win

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After a 13 year wait, British diver Tom Daley has won the first gold medal of his Olympic diving career. Following his gold medal win on Monday, Daley delivered an inspiring message to his fans in the LGBTQ community.

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Survey Results: Favorite Paralympic Sport

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Survey Results: Favorite Paralympic Sport