5-Ring Circus

Some 3,998 athletes from 206 nations are gathering in Buenos Aires (ARG) for the third Youth Olympic Games, a creation of the International Olympic Committee to extend the reach of the Olympic Movement to “youth.” The IOC boasts that the event “will feature new sports (breaking, sport climbing, roller sports and karate), and many new […]

You almost never hear language like this in a statement from the International Olympic Committee: “The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today expressed its ongoing extreme concern with the grave situation within the International Boxing Association (AIBA) and its current governance. … “Such behaviour is affecting not just the reputation of AIBA […]

The United States Department of Justice announced on Thursday a series of seven indictments against members of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), a unit of the Russian military. The announcement of the indictments noted that “Among the goals of the conspiracy was to publicize stolen information as part of an influence and disinformation campaign […]

The International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board recommended that the full membership extend invitations to compete for the 2026 Games to three candidates: Calgary (CAN), Milan-Cortina (ITA) and Stockholm (SWE). Left out was Erzurum (TUR), of which the IOC’s Working Group noted “The concentration of investment in general infrastructure such as accommodation, transport, energy and telecoms […]

During his lengthy interview with CNN Money Switzerland host Martina Fuchs, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach was asked about the IOC’s financial reserves and he noted that “What we try to have are reserves which could make us surviving the cancellation of an Olympic Games.” Fuchs then followed up and asked if cancellation of […]

The just-completed European Championships in Berlin (GER) was the best meet of the year and included four world-leading marks and a sensational 6.05 m (19-10 1/4) victory by Swedish teenager Mondo Duplantis in the pole vault. The Euros, which take place every two years, is the showpiece event for European Athletics, who take great care […]

The coming referendum in Calgary (CAN) about the city’s candidature for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games is heating up. According to the GamesBids.com site, the Calgary bid committee will provide a Games “concept plan” to the public, which will include information on costs and sustainability. Council member Evan Woolley said that “The host plan will […]

Say what you will about the International Olympic Committee and its 64-year-old president, Thomas Bach of Germany, but he’s not shy. Bach gave a wide-ranging, 27-minute interview with Martina Fuchs on the CNN Money Switzerland program, “The Newsmaker” and covered almost every hot topic in the Olympic Movement today. Fuchs let him speak and wasn’t […]

One of the world’s largest and most intense sporting events will start Saturday at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia: the 18th Asian Games. Hosted for the first time in two cities – Jakarta (also host in 1962) and Palembang – Indonesia took over when Hanoi (VIE) withdrew in 2014 due to […]

More confusion from Italy on its bid for the 2026 Games, according to the GamesBids.com site. It quoted Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala as saying Thursday that he had been assured that the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) would “focus” on Milan as the center of its 2026 bid. “Then, twenty-four hours before the choice [CONI […]

Further to Wednesday’s Lane One column on the invisibility of IOC in the public debate about the future of the Games, especially in potential bid cities, you might ask: so what do IOC members do? One of the things they do is sit on commissions. The IOC released its new commission assignments, trumpeting that women […]