HEARD AFTER HALFTIME: Who is Kenny Bednarek and how did he just run...
News, views and noise from the non-stop, worldwide circus of Olympic sport: ● Athletics ● It’s a World Championship year, so crazy things are happening. Like Kenny Bednarek, a freshman at Indian Hills Community College running a wind-aided 19.49 in the prelims of the National Junior College Championships in Hobbs, New Mexico. What? 19.49? What? […]
HEARD AFTER HALFTIME: WADA chief Reedie says he is “unsure” of winning against...
News, views and noise from the non-stop, worldwide circus of Olympic sport: ● Doping ● Britain’s Craig Reedie is the elected head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, the lead actor in the world’s fight against doping in sport. In an interview with the SportAccord conference newsletter, The Daily, he noted: “I am unsure whether sport […]
GYMNASTICS: Russia’s Soldatova sweeps first World Challenge Cup
The headline star coming into the first FIG Rhythmic World Challenge Cup of the season was Russia’s double 2018 World Championships medal winner, Aleksandra Soldatova. And she performed like it. Soldatova started by winning the All-Around title by more than three full points ahead of teammate Ekaterina Selezneva and went on to win all four […]
HEARD AFTER HALFTIME: Tough times for Jamaican track … off the field?
News, views and noise from the non-stop, worldwide circus of Olympic sport: ● Athletics ● Uneasy signs for the sport in Jamaica, where this weekend’s Jamaica International Invitational – an IAAF World Challenge meet – was canceled for lack of funding. Jamaica Athletics president Dr. Warren Blake said in a statement, “We have managed to run […]
GYMNASTICS Preview: Russians Soldatova and Selezneva headline World Challenge Cup in Guadalajara
The FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup series has concluded and the World Challenge Cup – a second-tier series – is beginning this weekend in Guadalajara (ESP) with All-Around and Apparatus finals. The level of competition is usually not as good as in the World Cups, but there are three World Championships medal winners on the […]
GYMNASTICS: Dina Averina wins three golds; Zeng get rare U.S. medal in Baku...
The elite of the Rhythmic Gymnastics world converged on Baku (AZE) for the fourth and final FIG World Cup of 2019, once again confirming the status of Russian twins Dina and Arina Averina as the finest in the world. Dina, the reigning World Champion, won the All-Around in a rout over Arina by 85.600-79.850, and […]
LANE ONE: Planning your time off for 2020 yet? How about U.S. Trials...
With the announcement of St. Louis, Missouri as the site for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials for men and women, the United States Olympic Committee – and its television partner, NBC – have assembled two weeks of continuous Olympic Trials action for next June. Over the course of almost a year, four U.S. Trials events […]
GYMNASTICS Preview: Averina & Averina take on Ashram in final RhythmicWorld Cup, in...
The fourth and final round of the FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup comes this weekend at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku (AZE), with Russia working on a sweep of the All-Around, Ball and Ribbon events. Over the first three meets, Russian entries have won 13 of the 15 events, with only Israel’s Linoy Ashram […]
THE BIG PICTURE: USA Gymnastics’ future collides with its present over the next seven...
On Tuesday, USA Gymnastics announced that the 2020 Olympic Trials in Artistic Gymnastics will be held at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri...
GYMNASTICS: Melnik surprises with Trampoline World Cup win in Minsk
Coming into the second FIG Trampoline World Cup of 2019, Russia’s Mikhail Melnik would not have been even a long-shot to win the individual title against an excellent field. But the 27-year-old veteran, who has been in the World Championships since 2010, pulled off a a stunner with a 61.045 score in the final to […]
GYMNASTICS: Russia sweeps individual titles at Tashkent Rhythmic World Cup
Russian star Aleksandra Soldatova was expected to be the star of the third Rhythmic World Cup in Tashkent (UZB) and she did not disappoint. The 2018 Worlds All-Around bronze medalist won the All-Around, Hoop, Ball and Clubs titles, fighting off challenges from Bulgaria’s Boryana Kaleyn in the All-Around and Ball, and teammate Anastasia Guzenkova in […]
GYMNASTICS Preview: Star-studded second FIG Trampoline World starts in Minsk
The elite of the Trampoline world is gathering at the Minsk Arena for the second leg of the 2019 FIG Trampoline World Cup in individual and synchro. The fields are large, with 93 men and 68 women in the individual competitions. The headliner performers include: Men: ● Lei Gao (CHN) ~ 2016 Olympic bronze; 2015-17-18 […]
GYMNASTICS Preview: Soldatova headlines Rhythmic World Cup stop in Tashkent
The FIG Rhythmic World Cup stops this week in Tashkent (UZB), with a strong field, including Russia’s next star? The headliners: ● Aleksandra Soldatova (RUS) ~ 2015-18 Worlds Team gold; 2018 All-Around bronze ● Anastasia Guzenkova (RUS) ~ Age 16; first World Cup on record; a new star? ● Kaho Minagawa (JPN) ~ 2017 Worlds […]
GYMNASTICS: Two wins each for Soldatova and Ashram in World Cup Sofia
The expected stars of the second FIG Rhythmic World Cup shone as expected with Russia’s Aleksandra Soldatova and Israel’s Linoy Ashram each capturing two victories. Soldatova captured the victory in the All-Around over Ashram, 82.450-80.450, but Ashram came back with wins in Hoop and Clubs. Soldatova also took the gold in Ribbon, but Ashram was […]
GYMNASTICS Preview: Worlds All-Around silver winner Ashram in Rhythmic World Cup in Sofia
After a demonstration of dominance by Russia's Averina sisters at the FIG Rhythmic World Cup opener in Pesaro (ITA) last week, their primary challenger...
LANE ONE: After 72 years, Olympic sports have finally caught up with Track &...
The newest tool for promoting athletes in Olympic sports was pioneered 72 years ago in San Bruno, California.
World rankings.
If you follow USA Wrestling’s impossibly...
LANE ONE: Does track & field matter? UCLA’s gymnastics program shows it could,...
To produce this site, with coverage of 41 different sports, there’s a lot of reading involved. One of the best newsletters I see is the monthly news summary provided by the Track & Field Writers of America (TAFWA). The new April issue included a disturbing Tweet and reply concerning the recent NCAA Indoor Championships in […]
GYMNASTICS: Averina & Averina dominate opening Rhythmic World Cup as Russia sweeps all...
Russia has dominated the Rhythmic Gymnastics discipline from 2002 to today. The current custodians of the sport are the twins Dina and Arina Averina, now 20, who between them swept all five individual events at the first Rhythmic World Cup of the season, held in Pesaro, Italy. Dina, the two-time reigning World All-Around Champion, won […]
GYMNASTICS: Mikulak and Hurd sweep World Cup All-Around in Tokyo
It was a good day for USA Gymnastics at the Musashino Forest Sports Plaza in Tokyo (JPN), as American Sam Mikulak and Morgan Hurd won both the men’s and women’s competitions at the FIG All-Around World Cup. Mikulak was dominant, winning by almost a full point over Japan’s Wataru Tanigawa and five-time Worlds gold medalist […]
GYMNASTICS Preview: Averina twins headline first Rhythmic World Cup, in Pesaro
The dominant force in Rhythmic Gymnastics over the last two seasons has been Russia’s Averina twins, who have won nine of the 10 gold medals awarded in the 2017 and 2018 World Championships. Now 20, they will open their 2019 campaigns at the Vitrifrigo Arena in Pesaro (ITA) for the first FIG Rhythmic World Cup. […]
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