Welcome to The Sports Examiner SPEED READ, a 100 mph (44.7 m/s) review of what happened over the last 72 hours in Olympic sport:
LANE ONE
Monday: There was a lot of attention paid to the Paris 2024 request to add four sports to its program, including Breakdancing. But a secondary aspect of its announcement about sports programming in 2024 was actually much more important, and could very well be the true legacy of the 2024 Games into the future: public participation in companion events to the marathon, open water swimming, the road race in cycling, even 3-on-3 basketball!
THE BIG PICTURE
Friday: The International Boxing Association confirmed that one of the most important changes in its rules has been adopted: the addition of a new, post-bout, video-review system to review – and potentially reverse – bad judging decisions. This is long overdue.
ALPINE SKIING
Sunday: The men’s World Cup racing in Bansko (BUL) looked like the World Championships all over again as Alexis Pinturault (FRA) won the Combined and Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen won the Giant Slalom. But Austrian star Marcel Hirscher was second in both and locked up the seasonal title in the Giant Slalom (again).
Italy’s Sofia Goggia won her first World Cup race of the season in the women’s Downhill at Crans-Montana (SUI), while teammate Federica Brignone won the Combined.
ATHLETICS
Saturday: The USA Track & Field National Indoor Championships was held in Staten Island, New York and produced a lot of excitement, including a major upset in the women’s mile as Colleen Quigley held off two-time defending champion Shelby Houlihan. Plus the no. 10 throw in indoor history for Ryan Crouser to win the men’s shot put, and a fourth indoor title in a row for Vashti Cunningham in the women’s high jump.
Sunday: Fabulous finish to the USATF Indoor Nationals, with a world indoor best in the men’s 600 m by Donavan Brazier, two American Records – Brazier and 16-year-old Athing Mu in the women’s 600 m – plus eight world-leading marks and successful defenses by seven returning champions. Houlihan got serious in the two-mile and won her third straight U.S. title in the event.
BADMINTON
Sunday: The BWF World Tour Spain Masters in Barcelona had a Danish flair, with all-Denmark finals in the men’s and women’s Singles; veterans Viktor Axelsen and Mia Blichfeldt were the winners. Korean duos dominated the Doubles, winning the women’s and Mixed Doubles and claiming a silver in the men’s final.
BASKETBALL
Saturday: The U.S. men’s national team will play Argentina in Greensboro, North Carolina on Monday evening for the Group E title in the Americas Qualifiers for the FIBA World Cup later this year. This became possible when Argentina lost to Puerto Rico in San Juan and the U.S. pummeled Panama in Greensboro. Both teams now have 9-2 records and have qualified for the World Cup, but Jeff van Gundy’s team is going for the group crown.
BOBSLED & SKELETON
Sunday: Germany’s Francesco Friedrich completed a perfect season – 8 for 8 – in the two-man sled at the final World Cup races, in Calgary (CAN). He also piloted the season champs in the four-man and teammate Mariama Jamanka won the women’s title. A great performance by American driver Elana Meyers Taylor brought to U.S. a seasonal bronze medal, with medals in seven straight races!
FENCING
Sunday: The first Sabre Grand Prix of the season was held in Cairo (EGY) and veterans stars Sang-Uk Oh (KOR) and Russia’s Sofya Velikaya walked away with the top honors.
FREESTYLE SKIING
Sunday: A busy weekend, with sweeps everywhere! In Tazawako (JPN), Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury and France’s Perrine Laffont won both the Moguls and Dual Moguls events, while in Sunny Valley (RUS), the Ski Cross events were swept by Bastien Midol (FRA) and Fanny Smith (SUI).
GYMNASTICS
Sunday: The first FIG Artistic World Cup of the season was held in Melbourne (AUS), with Chinese entries claiming four wins in the 10 events. Four World Championships medal winners won four of the six men’s events, including a tie in the High Bar by World Champion Epke Zonderland (NED) with Japan’s Hidetaka Miyachi.
JUDO
Sunday: A huge field at the Dusseldorf Grand Slam saw another dominating performance by Japan, with 14 total medals and nine wins. The highlight match was a Japanese loss, as reigning +78 kg World Champion Sarah Asahina lost in the final moments against 2012 Olympic champ Idalys Ortiz of Cuba.
LUGE
Sunday: Russia dominated the final World Cup of the season in Sochi (RUS). Semen Pavlichenko and Roman Repilov went 1-2 in both men’s races and Pavlichenko won his first seasonal World Cup title. Germans won the other honors: Natalie Geisenberger took her seventh seasonal title in a row, and Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken won the Doubles title.
NORDIC SKIING
Sunday: Astonishing performance by Norway’s undefeated – maybe unbeatable – Therese Johaug at the FIS Nordic Skiing World Championships in Austria. Returning from a doping suspension due to a bad lip balm, she won all seven of her races on the World Cup circuit and now a ninth career World Championships gold medal … by almost a minute! Wow!
Germany’s veteran star Eric Frenzel pulled off an upset win in the Nordic Combined, as did fellow German Markus Eisenbichler in the first individual ski jumping event.
SHOOTING
Sunday: Although the controversy over not allowing Pakistani shooters into India overshadowed the start of the ISSF World Cup, the competition has been fierce, with three world records in the first four events. India’s Chaudhary Saurabh (men’s 10 m Air Pistol) and Apurvi Chandela (women’s 10 m Air Rifle), plus Veronika Major (HUN: 25 m Pistol) all set new world marks, and won quota places for their countries for Tokyo 2020.
SNOWBOARD
Sunday: The Parallel Giant Slalom and Parallel Slalom events in China produced two veterans winners in Tim Mastnak (SLO) and Ramona Hofmeister (GER) in the Giant Slalom, but two newcomers won the Parallel Slaloms: Daniele Bagozza (ITA) and Nalying Gong (CHN).
SPEED SKATING
Sunday: Close competition at the ISU World Sprint Championships in the Netherlands, with Russia’s Pavel Kulizhnikov and Japan’s Nao Kodaira – both past winners – taking the titles again. American Brittany Bowe was excellent and finished third overall in the women’s division.
UPCOMING
Highlights of the coming week, with previews in the coming days on TheSportsExaminer.com:
● Athletics: The first World Marathon Major of 2019: the Tokyo Marathon.
● Football: The U.S. women’s national team hosts the SheBelieves Cup.
● Nordic Skiing: More of the Nordic World Championships and Therese Johaug!
And many more events this week: we’re following 27 competitions around the world.
