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.
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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