16 AP style tips for the Summer Olympics
As the world casts its eyes on London for the 2012 Summer Olympics, writers can go for the gold in their prose.
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When watching U.S. swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte’s aquatic quests or Team USA’s vaults in gymnastics, writers can follow AP’s Olympic terms and usage:
1. Olympics or Olympic Games: Always capitalized. There are Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics, or Summer Games and Winter Games.
2. Olympics (n.): Always capitalized.
3. Olympic (adj., without s): Always capitalized: Olympic gold medal, Olympic organizers, Olympic host city, Olympic flame, etc.
4. Olympiad: A period of four years beginning on Jan. 1 of the Olympic year. Olympiads are numbered consecutively in Roman numerals from the 1896 Athens Games. The XXX Olympiad that includes the London Games began Jan. 1, 2012.
5. Olympian: Any athlete who has competed in the Olympics.
6. London Games, London Olympics: Capitalized. Also, 2012 Olympics or 2012 Games. London Summer Olympics and London Summer Games.
7. Games: Capitalized when attached to the host city or year: the London Games and the 2012 Games.
8. games: Standing alone, lowercase: The games open July 27.
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