PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) — The world hasn't seen such an intersection of sports and politics since the U.S. boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics and the Soviets returned the favor four years later in Los Angeles.
The Winter Olympics begin Friday in a rugged and brutally cold area of rural mountains near the North Korean border, with a lot more at stake than the glittery medals chased by the best ice and snow athletes in the world.
They will unfold — officially, at least — without the Russians who dominated on the ice and snow and in the backroom of the drug testing labs four years ago in Sochi.