American athletes looking to compete in the Winter Olympics in Beijing must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, according to updated guidelines posted on the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) website.

Details: Employees, athletes and contractors must be vaccinated by Nov. 1 to use USOPC facilities or attend events hosted by the committee. On Dec. 1, the mandate extends "to all Team USA delegation members or hopefuls for future Games."

The International Olympic Committee announced Wednesday that it has suspended North Korea from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics after the country chose not to participate in this year's Tokyo Games due to the pandemic.

Why it matters: Although the decision will have "little immediate impact," it could prove consequential in shaping other political boycotts of future Olympic games, the Wall Street Journal noted.

More than a year after they were supposed to begin, the Tokyo Paralympic Games drew to an end with a closing ceremony on Sunday, with five-time Paralympian Matt Scott serving as the U.S. flagbearer for the event.

Why it matters: The Games, which began in Japan amid COVID state of emergency, closed Sunday in front of a largely empty Olympic Stadium.

The 2020 Paralympics are halfway complete, with 4,403 athletes — including a record 1,853 women — putting on a show last week in Tokyo. Here are some of the Games' top stories:

• 🥇 Medal count: China has by far the most medals (119), followed by Great Britain (65), the Russian Paralympic Committee (59), Ukraine (50) and the U.S. (48). Full medal table.

U.S. Navy veteran and Paralympian Brad Snyder won gold in the men's paratriathlon on Friday at the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

Why it matters: Snyder, 37, became the first U.S. man, Olympic or Paralympic, to win gold in a triathlon event.

The Afghanistan national flag was displayed during Tuesday's Paralympics opening ceremony as a "sign of solidarity" after the team was forced to cancel its trip due to the Taliban's takeover of the country.

Driving the news: The flag of Afghanistan was carried into the parade of athletes by a Paralympic volunteer, alongside a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the New York Times reports.

U.S. gymnast Simone Biles plans to raise awareness around mental health as part of the post-Olympic Gold Over America Tour, AP reports.

Driving the news: Biles didn't have the Olympic experience she expected after pulling out of several finals to prioritize her mental health. But she says she wouldn't "change anything for the world," adding that she "gave an outlet for athletes to speak up about their mental health and their well-being and learn that you can put yourself (as a person) first before the athlete,” per AP.

Afghanistan's Paralympic team won't compete in the Tokyo Paralympics following the country's fall to the Taliban and the closure of all commercial flights at the Kabul airport, NPR reports.

Why it matters: Zakia Khudadadi would have been the first woman to represent Afghanistan at a Paralympic Games, which begin Aug. 24, per Reuters.

If you look at the data, Olympic marathoners train slower than they plan to run in competition. Most amateurs do the opposite, according to new data from workout tracker network Strava.

Why it matters: It's an example of the kind of information that can be gleaned by extensively tracking the country's workouts (with their consent).

• 🤸‍♀️Suni Lee makes history at Olympics as 1st Hmong American athlete
• 🏳️‍⚧️Trans athletes see the Tokyo Games as a watershed moment
• 🎗️Simone Biles brings global attention to mental health
• 🏃‍♂️"The best race in Olympic history"
• 🏊‍♀️Katie Ledecky makes more history in Tokyo
• 🏃🏿‍♀️Allyson Felix becomes most decorated U.S. Olympic track athlete with 11 medals
• 🛹2 teens and girl, 12, sweep board at women's park skateboarding
• 🏐The beach volleyball players who "finally" realized their gold medal dreams
• 🥇Winners and losers of the Summer Games
• 🦠The Olympics COVID count

Go deeper: Full Axios coverage — Medal count