THE BIG PICTURE: Swedish government gets behind the Stockholm-Are bid … sort of
In what was essentially a fish-or-cut bait scenario, the Swedish national government finally indicated that it would supply the necessary guarantees to support the Stockholm-Are bid, with a formal announcement coming soon. Following up on the support announced by the Italian government for the Milan-Cortina bid last week, the Swedish reply was muted. While the […]
THE BIG PICTURE: Italian government to agree to modest support program for Milan-Cortina...
The key, distinguishing feature of the bid process for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games is the lack of national funding guarantees for either of the candidates: Stockholm-Are in Sweden or Milan-Cortina in Italy. Without any other choices, the International Olympic Committee is moving ahead with the procedure, to select one of the two as host, […]
THE BIG PICTURE: AIBA releases interim financials showing it will die if not...
The International Boxing Association posted its interim financial statements for the six months ending 31 December 2018, with Executive Director Tom Virgets (USA) announcing that “Considering where we were one year ago, AIBA has made significant progress towards reducing its debt and has gone from a negative cash flow of over $2,000,000 annually, to a […]
THE BIG PICTURE: AIBA accepts Rakhimov’s resignation, names Mohamed Moustahsane as President
The Executive Committee of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) met by teleconference over the weekend and accepted the resignation of Gafur Rakhimov (UZB) and nominated the head of the African Boxing Confederation, Morocco’s Mohamed Moustahsane as the Interim President. Moustahsane, 50, is a medical doctor who started in boxing as a ringside physician, then the […]
SPEED READ: Headlines from The Sports Examiner for Friday, 22 March 2019
Welcome to The Sports Examiner SPEED READ, a 100 mph (44.7 m/s) review of what happened this week in Olympic sport: LANE ONE Wednesday: One of the top commentators on Olympic sport has called for the abolition of guns in the Olympic Games, but what about the eight combat or weapons sports? How do they […]
THE BIG PICTURE: Diack investigation might be moving along after all
We noted on Tuesday that the investigation by French authorities into the influence-buying and doping cover-up involving former International Olympic Committee member and IAAF President Lamine Diack (SEN) was continuing without end. But there were new developments this week, as Agence France Presse reported that arrest warrants had been issues for former IAAF Treasurer Valentin […]
THE BIG PICTURE: Under pressure, Japan’s Takeda to resign from Japan’s Olympic Committee...
The 71-year-old head of the Japan Olympic Committee, Tsunekazu Takeda, announced on Tuesday that he will retire from the JOC and as a member of the International Olympic Committee in June. “I don’t believe I’ve done anything illegal or wrong,” Takeda said. “It’s regrettable that a shadow has been cast on the tournament because of […]
GLOBETROTTING by Phil Hersh: Who will win 2019 figure skating worlds? My gold...
Yuzuru Hanyu reacts after his free skate at the 2018 Olympics, when he won a second straight Olympic gold. (Getty Images.) March 15, 2019 There are two ways to do figure skating predictions. One is based on the unlikely event that the top six or so skaters or couples in every discipline skate cleanly (wouldn’t […]
THE BIG PICTURE: Russia still at the center of World Anti-Doping Agency’s annual...
The continuing question of Russian doping cast a long shadow over the Annual Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) during its Annual Symposium on Wednesday and Thursday in Lausanne, Switzerland. Just prior to the meeting, the leadership of 18 National Anti-Doping Organizations issued a statement that noted the forthcoming election of a new WADA […]
LANE ONE: Which Olympic sports are going to die?
There was a collective eyebrow-raising in the world of Olympic sports when the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) released its “Future of Global Sport” report on 28 February. In its 46 pages, the collective wisdom of a 17-member, blue-ribbon panel of sports experts – from Olympic and non-Olympic backgrounds – was shared with […]
LANE ONE: USOC Board focuses on Congress, athlete advocacy and gymnastics in L.A....
The United States Olympic Committee has been battered by accusations and scandal, hammered in Congressional hearings, changed out its leadership … and got the message. The USOC Board of Directors met in Los Angeles, California on Thursday and Board chair Susanne Lyons and chief executive Sarah Hirshland spoke to reporters afterwards by conference call. They […]
LANE ONE: FINA asks for dismissal of International Swimming League and athlete suits
Following the cancellation of a high-profile swimming meet scheduled for last December, the new International Swimming League (ISL) filed suit against the international governing body for swimming – the Federation Internationale de Natation or “FINA” – in U.S. Federal Court. ISL filed its own suit, and one in the names of U.S. stars Tom Shields […]
THE BIG PICTURE: With Congress on its tail, USOC is putting heat on...
Stung by the multiple Congressional inquiries into its responses – or lack of responses – to the sexual-abuse situations in swimming, gymnastics and other sports, the United States Olympic Committee has begun an intense program of review of its affiliated National Governing Bodies. The USOC has already begun the process of formally revoking the status […]
THE BIG PICTURE: GAISF moves World Urban Games from Los Angeles to Budapest
The Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) made a significant announcement early Monday morning, moving the World Urban Games from Los Angeles (USA) to Budapest (HUN): “In November 2018, the GAISF Council began discussions with Los Angeles for a 2019 edition. After much deliberation, however, the Council decided that Budapest’s proposed sports programme was […]
LANE ONE: Agenda 2020 and the future of Baseball, Softball and other sports...
The 21 February announcement that Skateboarding, Sport Climbing, Surfing and Breakdancing were the requested additions to the program of the 2024 Olympic Games by the Paris organizing committee left sports such as Baseball, Softball, Billiards, Chess, Karate and Squash out of the Games. And they are not happy about it. The World Karate Federation has […]
THE BIG PICTURE: Estonian skier admits to doping for years
The stunning arrests of five Cross Country skiers at the FIS Nordic World Championships in Seefeld (AUT) for doping has provided a clear signal that doping is hardly a thing of the past. On Friday, the identities of all five skiers became known and led to a statement from the Estonian Ski Association: “The Estonian […]
LANE ONE: The strange case of rowing, Los Angeles and the 1932, 2012,...
The International Olympic Committee has trumpeted the benefits of its Agenda 2020 reform program, one of the first initiatives undertaken by then-new IOC President Thomas Bach in December 2014. Its concepts significantly changed the bidding process for the Olympic Games and Winter Games, in part by emphasizing the use of “existing facilities and the use […]
THE BIG PICTURE: German Cartel Office relaxes IOC’s Rule 40 restrictions through 2026
A long administrative process that began in 2017 resulted in a decision issued Wednesday (27th) that “extended” the personal advertising activities of German athletes...
THE BIG PICTURE: Doping arrests shock World Nordic Ski Championships in Austria
The excitement of the World Nordic Skiing Championships, and the amazing exploits of Norway’s Therese Johaug, were interrupted by the stunning announcements that five athletes had been arrested in morning raids on Wednesday (27th). Reuters reported that nine people were arrested during the course of 16 raids carried out, including two athletes from Austria, two […]
THE BIG PICTURE: Nassar abuse survivors have until 29 April to file claims...
The wheels of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court are now spinning on the USA Gymnastics filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection, with the posting of an order opening a two-month time period for sexual-abuse claims to be filed against USA Gymnastics. The order states that “on February 25, 2019, the Court entered an order (the “Bar […]
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