Tag: FINA
LANE ONE: Is the FINA Champions Swim Series the way forward, or a...
The first edition of the FINA Champions Swim Series has now been completed, with three meets and more than $2 million in prize money distributed to the competing athletes. Was it worthwhile, or a waste of time (and money)? It seems to me they were both, but that there is a major flaw in the […]
LANE ONE: Gyarfas responds: “I didn’t commit any crime” plus the day of...
As a result of our Lane One story on Monday about the international aquatics federation – FINA – having an accused murderer as a member of its Board and governing council, and as the Technical Delegate for Artistic Swimming at the forthcoming World Championships in Korea, we heard from … the accused himself. Tamas Gyafas […]
LANE ONE: Why does FINA have an accused murderer as a Technical Delegate...
It’s amazing what you can find out if you make an effort to read even the most boring documents. The international federation for aquatics sports, known as “FINA” by its French acronym, is staging its biennial World Championships, which will take place in Changwon (KOR) from 12-28 July of this year. It’s a massive event […]
LANE ONE: Beginning of the end for the Russian doping scandal, as WADA...
The seemingly endless saga of Russian and one of the largest doping scandals in history may be moving toward its final chapter after a major breakthrough was made public on Tuesday. The World Anti-Doping Agency announced that it had successfully retrieved some 2,262 samples held at the former Moscow Laboratory, including separate “A” and “B” […]
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: 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 […]
LANE ONE: To grow track & field, Sebastian Coe of 2019 needs to...
Britain’s Sebastian Coe was one of the finest middle-distance runners of all time. He was so good and so special that he sold thousands of tickets to meets all across Europe to watch him run and often challenge one or more of his own world records at 800 m, 1,000 m or the mile, in […]
SWIMMING Panorama: Doping rumors about China’s Yang Sun, and a cancer challenge for...
Rough news this week for two of the finest swimmers in the world, both from the medical side: ● China’s Yang Sun, the triple Olympic gold medalist and nine-time World Champion in distance Freestyles, is in the news thanks to a sensational story in the Sunday Times (GBR) that “A clash with anti-doping testers ended […]
SWIMMING: FINA announces impressive details of $3.9 million Champion Swim Series
A three-meet series over three months will comprise the new FINA Champions Swim Series, to be held in three familiar venues: ● 1: 27-28 April in Guangzhou (CHN) ● 2: 11-12 May in Budapest (HUN) ● 3: 31 May-1 June in Indianapolis (USA) The format, according to FINA’s announcement, is essentially a finals-only swim-off for […]
SPEED READ: Headlines from The Sports Examiner for Friday, 18 January 2019
Welcome to The Sports Examiner SPEED READ, a 100 mph (44.7 m/s) review of the week (so far) in the turbulent world of international sport: LANE ONE: Wednesday: There really is a change going on in Olympic bidding, if you believe what the Milan-Cortina bid has in their presentation submitted on 11 January. Its organizing […]
SWIMMING: FINA confirms no suspensions, talks up Champions Swim Series to national federations
To the surprise of almost no one, the International Federation for aquatic sports, FINA, declared that no athletes would be suspended for participating in events hosted by organizers not affiliated with it, or with its national federations. From its statement: “FINA Legal Counsel François Carrard, present at the meeting, clarified FINA’s position: ‘FINA recognises the […]
THE BIG PICTURE: FINA and Int’l Swimming League trade barbs
The furor between the International Swimming League (ISL) and the Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) continued unabated this week. ISL held a meeting in London (GBR) to announce a 2019 “league” competition of 12 teams – six from Europe and six from the U.S. – in meets held from mid-August to mid-December, with semi-finals and […]
LANE ONE: Why is FINA trying to keep swimmers from making money at...
If you listen to the leaders of the Olympic Movement, and especially International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach of Germany, you will hear – over and over again – “it’s all about the athletes.” Except when it’s not. That’s what makes the current face-off between the international federation for aquatic sports – known by its […]
THE BIG PICTURE: After being sued, FINA announces new meet series
In the blowback from the twin lawsuits filed against it for restraint of trade in the U.S., the International Federation for swimming, FINA, suddenly announced this: “[A] new and additional swimming event format, to debut in 2019: the ‘FINA Champions Swim Series.’ It will consist of a three-leg competition, between March and May, aimed at […]
SWIMMING: Two anti-trust suits filed against FINA
The decision by FINA to implode the Energy for Swim meet in Turin, which had the interest and support of many top athletes in the sport has now led to two lawsuits filed on Friday in U.S. Federal District Court for the Northern District of California. One filing is a class action suit against FINA […]
THE BIG PICTURE: Breaststroke champ Adam Peaty rips FINA over lack of athlete...
The furor among some of the top swimmers in the world over FINA’s forced cancellation of the International Swimming League-affiliated Energy for Swim meet, scheduled to be held in Turin (ITA), after next week’s FINA World Short-Course Championships, has not subsided. Britain’s Adam Peaty, the Olympic gold medalist in the 100 m Breaststroke and a […]
SWIMMING: Energy for Swim meet canceled under pressure from FINA
A nasty fight inside swimming has expanded outside as the second edition of the Energy for Swim meet scheduled for Turin (ITA) in December – following the FINA World Short-Course Championships – has been canceled. The meet, and a parallel project called the International Swimming League, have been developed to give elite swimmers an opportunity […]
LANE ONE: Why is the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique such a Scrooge?
The World Championships in Artistic Gymnastics is on for the next week in Doha, Qatar, with a star-studded field that includes not less than 20 men and women who have won Olympic or World Championships, including the incomparable Kohei Uchimura from Japan and Simone Biles of the United States. So why is the Federation Internationale […]
THE BIG PICTURE: FIS publishes its two-year financial report; how does it compare...
The biggest player in winter sports is the Federation Internationale de Ski, better known as FIS, which governs almost the entire Olympic Winter Games program on snow, including Alpine Skiing, Cross Country Skiing, Nordic Combined, Ski Jumping, Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding. Must be a pretty rich federation, right? Although it doesn’t publish stand-alone financial statements, […]
SWIMMING: Madisyn Cox eligible again after consent decree
American swimmer Madisyn Cox, 23, had her doping suspension cut to six months from two years – essentially time already served – in a consent decree with the International Swimming Federation (FINA) and approved by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Cox, a member of the gold-medal-winning U.S. 4×200 m Free team at the 2017 […]
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