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: The International Olympic Committee says the Olympic Movement has never been healthier and on many measures, that’s true. But to assure the future means the Olympic Games has to change and IOC chief Thomas Bach – especially with the help of Australia’s John Coates – is remaking the event in real time, while almost no one is watching.
Friday: American triple jump star Keturah Orji is getting ready for her first European T&F trip and asked for advice on Twitter. She got a lot of replies, and we add in Ato Bolden’s “10 Commandments” for being a good track & field professional.
THE BIG PICTURE
Thursday: The Association of National Olympic Committee (ANOC) removed the World Beach Games from San Diego after the organizers could not raise enough money to put on the event, scheduled for October. Worth noting: it’s the second event this year that has been withdrawn from Southern California sites.
HEARD AFTER HALFTIME
Tuesday: The IOC announces new weightlifting doping positives from the London 2012 Games, check out the newest track & field world leaders, what motivates divers, Katinka Hosszu on her future in swimming and more …
Thursday: Caster Semenya filed her appeal of the IAAF female-eligibility regulations, that offer by the Secretary-General of the Russian Boxing Federation to wipe out AIBA’s $16 million debt still stands; could Dutch cycling star Mathieu van der Poel win both the Olympic road race and Mountain Bike cross-country race in Tokyo, and the IOC’s Olympic Channel is having children!
STAT PACK
Monday: Our weekly summary of major-event results – 18 events in 16 sports – for the week of 20-26 May 2019.
ATHLETICS
Thursday: Terribly cold conditions for the IAAF Diamond League meet in Stockholm (SWE), but there was hot sprinting from Michael Norman of the U.S. and Dina Asher-Smith (GBR). But after the TV cameras were turned off, Kenya’s Rhonex Kipruto won the 10,000 m with a brilliant 26:50:16 that almost nobody saw! Wow!
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Tuesday: The FIVB World Tour heads to the Czech Republic for a four-star tournament in Ostrava, with Norway’s Anders Mol and Christian Sorum trying for their third straight four-star win. And what about two in a two for Americans Kerri Walsh Jennings and Brooke Sweat?
CYCLING
Wednesday: More chaos in the Giro d’Italia, with continuing problems for Slovenia’s pre-race favorite Primoz Roglic, but now Italian star Vincenzo Nibali is making a charge toward the leader, Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz!
Thursday: Another surprise winner in Italy at the Giro d’Italia. France’s Nans Peters had finished 75-104-38-119-48 in his last five stages before Wednesday’s 181 km climb from Val di Sole to the winter resort of Anterselva/Antholz, but won the stage with a breakaway in its first participation in the Giro. In the meantime, the contenders are running out of time to make a run at Carapaz, who continues to lead the race.
JUDO
Tuesday: The USA Judo National Championships are this week in Las Vegas; check out the leading U.S. judokas in the International Judo Federation and the defending champions!
RUGBY
Wednesday: The U.S. Eagles have wrapped up their spot in the Tokyo 2020 tournament, but now have the chance to win the 2018-19 Sevens Series outright in the finale in Paris (FRA). But can will have to beat Fiji to do it … and that’s been a problem.
SHOOTING
Thursday: India dominated the ISSF World Cup for pistols and rifles, winning five gold medals in Munich (GER). As shooters have the longest Olympic lives, could we be seeing 17-year-old Air Pistol star Chaudhary Saurabh for the next half century?
SWIMMING
Wednesday: The final leg of the first FINA Champions Swim Series starts Friday at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis. Lots of American swimmers this time, with three stars in five events each: sprinters Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) and Michael Andrew (USA) and The Iron Lady herself: Katinka Hosszu (HUN). Plus three breaststroke battles in two days between American Lilly King and Russia’s Yuliya Efimova!
VOLLEYBALL
Wednesday: Preview of the men’s Volleyball Nations League, beginning this week, with the U.S. again one of the favored teams.
PREVIEWS
● Artistic Swimming: Two FINA World Series events this weekend, in Canada and Spain
● Canoe-Kayak: Strong fields for second ICF World Cup in Duisberg (GER)
● Cycling: Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill this week at Ft. William on Scotland
● Table Tennis: Is another Chinese sweep coming at the ITTF’s China Open?
UPCOMING
Highlights of the coming week, with previews in the coming days on TheSportsExaminer.com:
● Athletics: Better weather expected in Rome for IAAF Diamond League no. 4!
● Football: The FIFA Women’s World Cup finally gets underway in France!
● Wrestling: First of USA Wrestling’s Final X selection tournaments for the U.S. World Championships team.
And more than dozen other events going on around the world this week!
