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AQUATICS: Ledecky takes women’s 800 Free, Walsh wins women’s 50 Fly and U.S. gets world record win in mixed 4×100 Free in Worlds medal spree!

By
Rich Perelman
-
An amazing seventh Worlds gold for Katie Ledecky (USA) in the women's 800 m Free! (Photo: University of Florida).

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≡ WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPS ≡

The 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore will be remembered for many things, among them the showdowns between superstars Katie Ledecky of the U.S. and Summer McIntosh of Canada.

Day one saw McIntosh winning the 400 m Freestyle, with Ledecky third, but they met again on Saturday, this time at 800 m and it turned into a three-way battle with Australia’s Lani Pallister.

Ledecky got out first, tracked by McIntosh and Pallister, with both at 4:01.33 at 400 m, just 0.18 behind Ledecky. McIntosh was 0.14 down at 500 m, just 0.04 down at 600 m and took the lead at 700 m, up 0.14 on Ledecky!

But Ledecky punched back, with the fastest next 50 in the field (30.24) to 30.63 for McIntosh and took the lead at the final turn by 0.25 and was moving away. McIntosh was then passed by Pallister, who had the fastest finish in the field – 29.11 – and crept up on Ledecky.

But the American star was too good and won in 8:05.62, the no. 4 time in history, ahead of Pallister’s 8:05.98 and McIntosh at 8:07.29. They were more than five seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

Ledecky’s performance was the no. 4 time in history and Pallister’s was no. 6, and she is now the no. 3 performer ever. At 28, Ledecky now has 23 Worlds golds and has won the 800 Free seven times: in 2013-15-17-19-22-23-25; she owns 30 total Worlds medals. Amazing.

That was followed by the final event of the night, the mixed 4×100 m Freestyle. The U.S. led the qualifying by almost three seconds at 3:21.48, and left no doubt in the final, leading from the start with a world-record of 3:18.48!

Freestyle star Jack Alexy led off in 46.91, just 0.10 off his own American Record from this meet and was followed by Patrick Sammon (46.70!), Kate Douglass (52.43) and Torri Huske (52.44). They smashed Australia’s 3:18.83 mark from the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka (JPN).

Russia’s “neutrals” finished a clear second with a European Record of 3:19.68, followed by France (3:21.35).

That wasn’t all for the U.S. on Saturday, with a third win coming in the women’s 50 m Butterfly.

Gretchen Walsh of the U.S. and Australia’s Alex Perkins came in 1-2 on the world list for 2025 and they finished exactly that way, with Walsh starting fast and touching in 24.83, still the only one to crack 25 seconds this year.

Perkins was a clear second at 25.31, with Belgium’s Roos Vanotterdijk getting her second medal of the meet with the bronze in 25.43.

There was a lot more on a busy night in the pool:

● Men/50 m Freestyle: Australia’s Cam McEvoy won his third title in a row, after the 2023 Worlds and 2024 Olympic Games, touching in 21.14, fastest in the world this year and the equal-11th best all-time. He now has three of those 12.

Britain’s Olympic silver winner Ben Proud was a clear second in 21.26 for his first individual medal of the meet and Alexy got his second individual medal in third at 21.46. Teammate Santo Condorelli was eighth in 21.73.

● Men/100 m Butterfly: France’s Maxime Grousset was the 2023 World Champion in this event and he is again, getting in front quickly, turning first and touching in 49.62, the no. 3 performance ever and a European record. He won the 50 and 100 Flys in Singapore.

Short-course star Noe Ponti (SUI) was third at the turn, but moved up to second at the touch in 49.83, a national record, the no. 9 performance ever and making him the no. 5 performer ever. Canada’s Ilya Kharun claimed the bronze (50.07), just as he did in Paris in 2024.

● Women/200 m Backstroke: Two-time World Champion Kaylee McKeown (AUS) faced defending champ Claire Curzan of the U.S. and fellow American and Olympic silver winner Regan Smith, but was up the challenge once again.

Smith got out fast and led at the 50, 100 and 150 m marks, but her 0.73-second lead at the half tightened up to 0.03 at the last turn and McKeown had the most left and touched in 2:03.33, the no. 3 performance of all time (she owns all three).

Smith won yet another silver in 2:04.29; she was the 2019 World Champion in this event and won in 2022 in the 100 m Back. But since then:

● 2023 Worlds: 50-100-200 m Back silvers
● 2024 Olympics: 100-200 m Back silvers
● 2025 Worlds: 50-100-200 m Back silvers

At 23, she will have many more chances. Teammate Curzan was a clear third in 2:06.04.

In the qualifying, Russian “neutral” Kliment Kolesnikov – the world-record holder – led the men’s 50 Back semifinals in 24.16, well ahead of teammate Pavel Samusenko in semi two. Pieter Coetze (RSA), the 100 m Back winner, won semi one in a national record of 24.32 to qualify third; American Quintin McCarty advanced as no. 7 overall (24.52) as the third finisher.

The men’s 1,500 m Free heats were held in the morning, with Germany’s Florian Wellbrock – who impressively swept the open-water events – leading the parade at 14:44.81; Olympic champ Bobby Finke of the U.S. was fourth-fastest at 14:45.70. Teammate David Johnston was ninth (14:56.20) and did not advance.

Poland’s Kasia Wasick led the women’s 50 Free semis, winning the first race in 24.19, ahead of Milou van Wijk (NED: 24.29) and Walsh (24.31), doubling back from the 50 Fly. Australia’s Meg Harris won the second semi in 24.31, with Huske of the U.S. qualifying in fourth at 24.41.

Three-time defending champion Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) led the semifinals in the women’s 50 Breast, with a world-leading 29.54, ahead of Qianting Tang (CHN: 30.04) and semi one winner Benedetta Pilato (ITA: 30.20) and Lilly King of the U.S. (30.22).

Even with all of the illness issues, the U.S. now has 26 medals (8-11-7) to 17 for Australia (7-4-6) and 10 for China (2-4-4). There will be considerable effort on Sunday for the American squad to surpass the 28 medals won in Paris in 2024 (8-13-7 in a smaller program) that was seen as a disappointment.

The championships conclude on Sunday with the men’s 1,500 m Free, 50 Back, 400 m Medley and the 4×100 m Medley; the women have the 50 Free, 50 Breast, 400 Medley and the 4×100 m Medley.

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ATHLETICS: Bednarek (9.79) and Jefferson-Wooden (10.65) storm to U.S. 100 m titles, with Garland (8,869) and Hall (6,899) easy Dec-Hep winners in Eugene

By
Rich Perelman
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A first national 100 m title for “Kung Fu” Kenny Bednarek! (Photo: Grand Slam Track)

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≡ USATF NATIONALS ≡

There were other events, but the focus of Friday’s session of the 2025 USA Track & Field nationals in Eugene, Oregon was the 100 m finals. Conditions were good, starting with 87 F temperatures for the semifinals, with the men’s races first, in front of a modest crowd at Hayward Field.

Just as on Thursday, the first race had T’Mars McCallum and two-time Worlds bronze winner Trayvon Bromell, and the outcome was almost identical, with McCallum taking it in 9.99 (wind: +0.1 m/s) and Bromell second in 10.03 and into the final. Georgia prep Maurice Gleaton – 18 – got third in a lifetime best of 10.05; NCAA winner Jordan Anthony was fourth in 10.13 and did not advance.

Courtney Lindsey, the 2023 NCAA winner, took semi two in 10.06 (+0.6), ahead of Lawrence Johnson (10.12) and Brandon Hicklin (10.13). Semi three had 2019 World Champion Christian Coleman and Grand Slam star Kenny Bednarek, who won all three races on the circuit. And with 2.1 m/s wind, Bednarek won his fifth straight race of the year in 9.90w, with Coleman a solid second in 9.94w, followed by Ronnie Baker at 9.97w.

The women’s semis were next, with Jacious Sears looking great again with a 10.95 win (+0.7) in the first race, well ahead of Jenna Prandini (11.08) and Hayward Field favorite English Gardner (11.10), now 33, who made the final on time. World leader Melissa Jefferson-Wooden showed she is the favorite, steaming to a dominant win in 10.84 (-0.3), with Aleia Hobbs a distant second in 11.10. Wow.

Semi three had heat winners Kayla White and TeeTee Terry, and they were close at the line, going 1-2 and both timed in 10.92 (+1.1), and then Tamari Davis at 10.96.

(World Champion Sha’Carri Richardson, who has a direct entry in the 2025 Worlds, skipped the semis after running a seasonal best of 11.07 in the heats. It came out today that Richardson was arrested for an altercation with Coleman on Sunday at SeaTac Airport; Coleman declined to press charges, but police charged her with 4th-degree assault after seeing security video of the incident.)

About 1:50 later, the men were in the blocks for the final – with 86 F temps – and McCallum reacted best, but Coleman and Lindsey got to the front with the field all close. But at 40 m, Bednarek cut in another gear and stormed to the line clearly in front in a lifetime best 9.79, no. no. 2 in the world for 2015 (+1.8) and equal-12th all-time!

The race behind him was fabulous, with Lindsey getting a lifetime best of 9.82, then McCallum at 9.83 (lifetime best) and Bromell at 9.84 … in fourth! Those times rank 2, equal-3rd, equal-5th and equal-7th in the world this season! Coleman ran 9.86 and was fifth, then Gleaton, equaling the U.S. prep record at 9.92! The top seven all ran 9.92 or faster. Wow.

The women’s final came 1:38 after the end of their semis, and while Hobbs had the best reaction, Jefferson-Wooden was gone and ran away from the field after 40 m and was unchallenged, setting a lifetime best and world-leading time of 10.65 (+0.4)!

She’s now equal-5th all-time and equal-third all-time U.S. with Marion Jones (1998) and Richardson (2023). White got a lifetime best of 10.84 to finish second (world no. 4), running just to Jefferson-Wooden’s right and Hobbs was third in 10.92. Terry (10.94), Davis (10.97) and Sears (11.00) followed and are likely on the plane in the relay pool for Tokyo.

Spectacular! There were other finals, of course:

● Men/Long Jump: Things got cooking when 2017 national champ Jarrion Lawson took the lead at 8.12 m (26-7 3/4), then Will Williams got out to a wind-aided 8.14 mw (26-8 1/2) in round four to take the lead.

Finally, Isaac Grimes, no. 21 in the World Athletics rankings, came through in round six and stole the event with a 8.15 m (26-9) jump, to win his first national title! None of the top three have the Worlds standard, but should be in the mix to get in depending on the other entries.

● Women/High Jump: Five cleared 1.88 m (6-2) and then the jumping really started. Only six-time U.S. outdoor champ Vashti Cunningham, 2024 Trials fifth-placer Sanaa Barnes and Emma Gates cleared 1.91 m (6-3 1/4) and then Gates missed three times at 1.94 m (6-4 1/4), while Cunningham cleared and Barnes got her second lifetime best of the day!

The bar went to 1.97 m (6-5 1/2), with Cunningham clearing for the win on her second try, with Barnes missing her attempts and settling for second. Cunningham also got the Worlds entry standard with her 1.97 clearance, equal-fifth in the world this season.

Both of the multi-events concluded with impressive wins for the top American stars:

● Men/Decathlon: Kyle Garland had made two U.S. World Championship teams, but did not have a national decathlon title … until today. Already leading after five events, he won the 110 m hurdles in 13.78, won the discus at 50.93 m (167-1), cleared 4.80 m (15-9) in the vault for fourth and won the javelin at 65.52 m (214-11). All that gave him a 8,277 to 7,694 lead over 2024 Olympic Trials winner Heath Baldwin going into the 1,500 m.

The final event went off in 87 F temperatures, and Garland sauntered through in 4:54.50 to score 8,869, a lifetime best (prior: 8,720 ‘22), and no. 2 in the world this year. He’s now no. 10 all-time in the event worldwide and no. 3 all-time U.S.

Baldwin held on for second at 8,407, followed by fellow Olympian Harrison Williams (8,223) and Austin West (8,162).

● Women/Heptathlon: The 2023 Worlds runner-up, Anna Hall, rolled through day two, second in the long jump (6.32 m/20-9) and first in the javelin (47.32 m/155-3), entering the 800 m with a 206-point lead on Paris Olympian Taliyah Brooks, 5,854 to 5,648.

Hall won the 800 m in 2:04.60 and finished with 6,899, her no. 3 score ever! Brooks finished 10th in the 800 m, but got a lifetime best, and met the Worlds qualifying standard at 6,526 in second; Allie Jones was third at 6,164.

There were a limited number of preliminary events on Friday, with most of the favorites moving through, but some big names left out of the finals:

In the men’s 400 m, 2023 USATF champ Bryce Deadmon took the early lead, but was passed by world no. 2 Khaleb McRae on the turn. But Deadmon fought back on the straight and won in 44.34, and Demarius Smith passed McRae to get second, 44.45 to 44.47.

Two-time Olympic relay gold medalist Vernon Norwood got out quickly in semi two, but was passed by Florida’s Jenoah Mckiver. But Norwood came on in the straight to win in 44.78 to 44.92 for Mckiver and 45.06 for Will Sumner. Prep star Quincy Wilson, the world no. 4 at 44.10, was fourth in 45.39 and did not advance to the final.

Jacory Patterson, the World Indoor bronzer this year, was only fourth at 200 m in the third heat, but moved up on the turn and then passed World Indoor winner Chris Bailey on the straight to win in 44.63, with Bailey at 44.81. USC’s William Jones was third in 45.88.

In the men’s 800 m first semi, Paris Olympian Brandon Miller took the lead just after the bell and led down the backstraight, while 2019 World Champion Donavan Brazier – in a comeback year – moved from sixth to third. Miller was not headed and won in 1:44.25, with Brazier passing Isaiah Harris on the straight to get second in 1:44.39 to 1:44.53, a seasonal best for Harris.

The second semi had American Record holder Bryce Hoppel going for the lead after 200 m, leading at the bell and staying in front to win in 1:45.81, with national prep record-setter Cooper Lutkenhaus storming into second from fifth on the home straight in 1:45.57 – his second-fastest time ever – ahead of Tokyo Olympian Isaiah Jewett (1:45.62).

World Indoor champ Josh Hoey wanted to be in front and stay out of trouble in semi three and he did just that, leading from start to finish in 1:44.47. He was shadowed by Abe Alvarado for most of the race, until Northern Arizona’s Colin Sahlman grabbed second on the final straight, 1:44.80 – a lifetime best – to 1:45.11, but both advanced to the final.

In the women’s 400 m, two-time Olympian Quanera Hayes came off the turn and dueled down the straight with world no. 3 Aaliyah Butler and won at the line, 50.76 to 50.77, with Arkansas star Rosey Effiong a clear third in 51.01. In heat two, NCAA Indoor champ Bella Whittaker had control of the race from 200 m on and won in 50.07, with former Arkansas star Britton Wilson second in 50.25 – her fastest since 2023 – and World Indoor runner-up Alexis Holmes third in 50.42, making the final on time.

Heat three had Olympic 400 m hurdles star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and she was in front all the way, winning easily in 49.51, with Paris Olympian Lynna Irby-Jackson a decisive second in 50.59.

The loaded first semi of the women’s 800 m had Tokyo Olympic champ Athing Mu-Nikolayev, 2022 World Indoor champ Ajee Wilson and 2024 Trials winner Nia Akins all in, with BYU’s NCAA third-placer Meghan Hunter taking the bell at 57.39. Akins moved from fourth to second on the final turn, then surged home to win in 1:58.09. Wilson also jumped Hunter on the run-in to get second in 1:58.30, with Hunter at 1:58.42 and Mu-Nikolayev able to manage fourth in a seasonal best of 1:59.79, but did not make the final.

Tokyo Olympic bronzer – and Hayward Field favorite – Raevyn Rogers got out to the lead early and took the bell in 58.14, then was passed by Sage Hurta-Klecker on the backstraight. Rogers fought back and led into the final straight, but Hurta-Klecker and Maggi Congdon both passed her and went 1-2 in 1:58.40 and 1:58.42. Rogers was a strong third in 1:58.78 and made the final on time.

World no. 6 Addy Wiley was in semi three along with NCAA winner Roisin Willis, but Wiley and 2023 NCAA champ Michaela Rose led at the bell in 56.98 and 57.09. Willis was third by 600 m, then blew by everyone on the straight to win in 1:59.60, with Wiley at 1:59.71 and Skylyn Webb shooting up to third in 1:59.81 as Rose faded from third to sixth in 2:01.32.

The Saturday schedule begins with the 20 km walks at 7 a.m. Pacific time, then field events at 11:20 and the running events at 11:22 a.m. The NBC television window begins at 1 p.m. (4 p.m. Eastern) and continues to 3 p.m. on the network and then for another hour on Peacock.

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AQUATICS: Douglass brilliant in women’s 200 Breast win in U.S. record time; ill Huske gets 100 Free bronze in Singapore World Champs

By
Rich Perelman
-
U.S. breaststroke Olympic and World Champion Kate Douglass (Photo: World Aquatics).

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≡ WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPS ≡

As the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore head to the finish on the weekend, plenty of familiar faces were on the podium on Friday, with former Olympic or World champions taking all five finals!

The final of the women’s 200 m Breaststroke was a showdown between Russian “neutral” world-record holder Evgeniia Chikunova and Olympic champ Kate Douglass of the U.S., who had been 1-2 on the world list since April.

But Douglass was in no mood to play and took the lead from the start, up by 0.34 at the turn, then 1.30 seconds at 100 m, 1.18 seconds at 150 and came home in an American Record of 2:18.50, the no. 2 time in history! She moved up from silvers at the 2023 and 2024 Worlds.

Chikunova was a lonely second in 2:19.96, with the rest of the field more than three seconds later with Kaylene Corbett (RSA) and Belarus “neutral” Alina Zmushka tying for third in 2:23.52.

● Men/200 m Backstroke: Olympic champ Hubert Kos (HUN) hadn’t been the fastest all season, but he was when it counted, with the fastest time in the world in 2025 in 1:53.19, a European record and the no. 7 performance all-time. He now ranks as the fifth-fastest in the event in history.

Kos overtook semifinal leader – and 100 Back winner in Singapore – Pieter Coetze (RSA), after the 100 mark, but Coetze didn’t cede much and won silver in 1:53.36, moving to no. 6 all-time with another national record. France’s Yohann Ndoye-Brouard was third for most of the race and took the bronze in 1:54.62.

● Men/200 m Breaststroke: China’s Haiyang Qin won all three Breast events at the 2023 Worlds, then had an Olympics to forget in 2024. But he’s back, winning his second gold in 2:07.41, charging from third at the final turn to touch first, passing Japan’s ex-world record holder Ippei Watanabe, who claimed the silver in 2:07.70. Caspar Corbeau (NED) was fifth at the turn, but won the bronze at the touch in 2:07.73; American AJ Pouch had the lead at the 150 m mark, but faded to fifth with the slowest final 50 in the field, at 2:09.13.

● Men/4×200 m Freestyle: Olympic champs Great Britain were brilliant again, taking the lead from Matt Richards’ 1:45.37 opener and stormed to a 6:59.84 win, the no. 8 performance in history. The Brits have four of the eight swims ever under seven minutes.

James Guy kept Britain in front, but American Luke Hobson – the 200 Free runner-up – split 1:43.45, the fastest of the race, to pass Jack McMillan and put the U.S. in front after the third leg. But Duncan Scott swam 1:43.82 on anchor for Britain and the U.S.’s Rex Maurer managed only 1:45.82 and the Americans faded to fourth in 7:01.24.

China, with Zhanle Pan’s 1:44.20 on anchor, claimed silver (7:00.91) and Max Giuliani swam a 1:44.92 final leg for Australia to get the bronze (7:00.98).

● Women/100 m Freestyle: American star Torri Huske hasn’t been right all week due to illness, but she was in form off the start, turning first in 25.16. But on the way home, it was defending champion Marrit Steenbergen (NED) and Paris Olympic winner Mollie O’Callaghan who battled for gold, with the Dutch star touching first in 52.55, no. 2 in the world for 2025.

O’Callaghan was close, but her 52.67 was good for silver. Huske faded, with the third-slowest final 50, but still touched third, 52.89 to 52.91 over Milou van Wijk (NED) to earn the bronze.

Olympic champ Cameron McEvoy (AUS) led the way in the men’s 50 m Freestyle semis, winning semi one in 21.30, equaling the fastest time of the year. He was just ahead of American Jack Alexy, the 100 m Free runner-up in Singapore (21.32). Santo Cordorelli of the U.S. qualified seventh in 21.68, fourth in the first semi with McEvoy and Alexy.

World short-course champion Noe Ponti (SUI) led the semifinals in the men’s 100 m Butterfly, winning the second race in 50.18, the no. 2 time in 2025, over Olympic silver man Josh Liendo (CAN: 50.24). France’s Maxime Grousset, the 50 m Fly winner, took semi one in 50.25. Americans Shaine Casas (19th) and Thomas Heilman (26th) did not advance out of the morning heats.

In the morning women’s 800 m Free heats, U.S. star Katie Ledecky posted the fastest time at 8:14.62, with Australia’s Lani Pallister next at 8:17.08 and Canada’s Summer McIntosh third fastest at 8:19.88.

The first semi in the women’s 200 m Backstroke was fast, with China’s Xuwei Peng and Belarus “neutral” Anastasiya Shkurdai going 1-2 in 2:07.76 and 2:07.85. The second semi had Olympic champ Kaylee McKeown (AUS), silver winner Regan Smith of the U.S. and defending champ Claire Curzan (USA), with Curzan winning over McKeown and Smith, 2:08.13 to 2:08.36 to 2:08.67.

American star Gretchen Walsh was back in the pool for the women’s 50 m Butterfly, winning semi two easily in 25.09, a time no one else has approached in 2025. Belgian Roos Vanotterdijk, the 100 Fly silver winner, won semi one in 25.32 and was the no. 2 qualifier. The U.S.’s Douglass, doubling back 20 minutes after her 200 Breast win, clocked 25.74 for 14th and did not advance to the final.

The medal table shows the U.S. at 20 medals (5-10-5), with Australia at 13 (5-2-6), then China at 10 (2-4-4). No one else has more than six.

Saturday’s program features finals in the men’s 50 m Free and 100 Fly, women’s 800 m Free – Ledecky vs. McIntosh – and 200 m Back (McKeown vs. Curzan and Smith), 50 m Fly and the Mixed 4×100 m Free relay.

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ATHLETICS: Come-from-behind, double world-leading jumps for Olympic star Davis-Woodhall highlights USATF Nationals opening day

By
Rich Perelman
-
Olympic women’s long jump champ Tara Davis-Woodhall of the U.S. (Photo: Diamond League AG).

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≡ USATF CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

The USA Track & Field national championships started at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon in warm conditions with temperatures in the high 80s on Thursday, great for the sprinters and jumpers, but a challenge for the 10,000 m finalists.

The women’s race went off at 7 p.m., in 86 F conditions and 34% humidity, with two-time 5,000 Olympian Elise Cranny towing the field through the half in 16:21.52, ahead of Keira D’Amato and 2024 Trials 10,000 m winner Weini Kelati.

Taylor Roe, already a winner of three USATF road titles in 2025, took over after 7,000 m and led with two laps to go over three others still in contention: Cranny, Kelati and Rio 2016 Olympian Emily Infeld. Kelati surged to the front with 500 m left, then Cranny and Infeld ran by with 200 m to go and Infeld had the most speed and got to the line first in 31:43.56. Cranny was next at 31:44.24, then Roe (31:45.41) and Kelati in fourth (31:46.37).

None have the Worlds qualifying standard of 30:20.00, but Infeld and Cranny are projected to qualify via the World Athletics Rankings. Roe, or if not, Kelati (ranked no. 7), might make it in as well but it will be up to the math and the other entrants.

The men got going at 8:06 p.m. with the temps down to 80 F with 40% humidity, still quite warm for a 10,000 m and the pace was at 70 seconds a lap through 2,000 m (5:49.60), then slowed a bit to 11:51.62 at 4,000 m. It was 14:54.58 at the half, slow but steady, with all 17 entrants still in contact.

Northern Arizona’s Drew Bosley had the lead at 8,000 m as the pace increased with a 68.27 lap, and then a 65.39, which got the attention of Olympic bronze medalist Grant Fisher, who moved up to second from ninth. Fisher took over and ran 60.18 from 8,400 to 8,800 m, with Graham Blanks and Nico Young following.

Fisher’s next lap was 59.39 and Blanks and Young were still on his tail, with the rest dropping off. At the bell, Fisher completed a 60.94 lap with only Blanks and Young for company. But Young pushed hardest, got to the lead with 200 m to go and won in 29:02.12 to 29:02.37 for Fisher and 29:03.66 for Blanks. All three already have the World Champs standard and are on the plane for Tokyo.

But the women’s long jump had to be the event of the day. Olympic bronze winner Jasmine Moore got out to 6.82 m (22-4 1/2) in round two, chased by World Indoor winner Claire Bryant at 6.77 m (22-2 1/2). After two fouls, Olympic champ Tara Davis-Woodhall got untracked, taking the lead at 6.92 m (22-8 1/2).

Bryant took the lead in round three, riding a 2.1 m/s wind to 6.97 mw (22-10 1/2w), but that only fired up Davis-Woodhall, who struck back in round four with a wind-legal 7.11 m (23-4), best in the world this year. But she wasn’t done, extending to 7.12 m (23-4 1/2) in round five, giving her the three-longest jumps in the world in 2025.

Meanwhile, Tokyo Olympian Quanesha Burks jumped past Moore into third at 6.90 m (22-7 3/4) in round five, followed by Alyssa Jones of Stanford also jumping 6.90 m, in round six, but fourth on Burks’ better second jump. Moore could not respond and will not be on the U.S. team for Tokyo.

In the four other Thursday finals:

Men/Hammer: World leader Rudy Winkler put the men’s hammer to bed with his second throw of 81.47 m (267-3); five of his six throws would have won the event. Trey Knight moved up to second and got the Worlds standard with his 78.76 m (258-5) toss, and Daniel Haugh – who also has the standard – was third at 77.28 m (253-6) in round four.

Men/Javelin: World no. 3 Curtis Thompson won his third straight national title and fifth career, reaching 83.89 m (265-2) in the fourth round. He’s the only American with the Worlds standard; unheralded Dash Sirmon – 14th at the NCAAs this year – was second at 77.28 m (253-6) and Marc Minichello was third at 76.81 m (252-0).

Women/Hammer: The U.S. came into this event ranked 1-3-4-9-10 and 2019 World Champion DeAnna Price got her sixth American title, taking the lead in round one at 78.33 m (257-0) and then improving in the final round to 78.53 m (257-7), maintaining her world no. 4 position. She’s off to her fifth Worlds.

World leader Brooke Andersen, the 2022 World Champion, was a clear second, throwing 75.14 m (246-6) on the best of her two fair throws. World no. 3 Rachel Richeson reached 74.57 m (244-8) in round one and that was good enough to hold off 2023 Worlds runner-up and 2025 world no. 9 Janee Kassanavoid, whose best of 75.55 m (244-7) also came in round one.

Women/Javelin: Bucknell’s Evie Bliss, 12th at the NCAA, won at 57.77 m (189-6), ahead of Madison Wiltrout (56.46 m/185-3). Both are well short of the World Championships qualifying standard of 64.00 m (210-0), but Wiltrout is 30th in the world rankings and in position to be selected for Tokyo.

In the decathlon, Kyle Garland, who has made two U.S. Worlds teams, was hot on Thursday, placing second in the 100 m (10.44), then won the long jump (7.89 m/25-10 3/4)) and the shot (16.95 m/55-7 1/2) and was second in the high jump at 2.14 m (7-0 1/4). His 49.29 in the 400 m ranked eighth and gave him 4,714 points on day one, ahead of Hakim McMorris (4,378) and Heath Baldwin (4,377).

Anna Hall, the world leader at 7,032 in the heptathlon, was third in the 100 m hurdles (13.12), then won the high jump at 1.90 m (6-2 3/4) and the shot at 15.02 m (49-3 1/2) and finished with a 23.56 in the 200 m – fastest of the day – to score 4.097 points and enjoy a commanding lead over Taliyah Brooks (3,898) and Allie Jones (3,662). Hall scored 4,191 first-day points in her Gotzis win where she broke the 7,000-point barrier.

The qualifying rounds were, in most of the events, ridiculously hot:

The men’s 100 m heat winners were T’Mars McCallum (10.01: wind -0.7 m/s) ahead of Trayvon Bromell (10.04); Grand Slam star Kenny Bednarek (9.95 +0.6), World Champion Noah Lyles (10.05 +0.1), ahead of Ronnie Baker (10.07) and NCAA champ Jordan Anthony (10.14) and Courtney Lindsey in heat four (10.05 -1.0), beating Christian Coleman (10.08).

Lyles confirmed afterwards he will concentrate on the 200 for the rest of the meet, as he already is automatically entered in the Worlds as defending champion.

No surprises in the men’s 800 m, with the stars winning the four heats: American Record man Bryce Hoppel (1:45.69), Brandon Miller (1:46.16), World Indoor winner Josh Hoey (1:47.14) and 2019 World Champion Donavan Brazier (1:48.23).

The men’s 1,500 m heats were insanely fast, with ex-North Carolina star Ethan Strand winning the first race in 3:34.12, over Hobbs Kessler (3:34.44). But the Olympic champ Cole Hocker ran a 55.00 last lap to win heat two in 3:32.57, ahead of Eric Holt (3:32.95) and Sam Prakel (3:33.08).

Not to be outdone, Olympic bronzer Yared Nuguse blasted a 54.26 final lap to take heat three from Gary Martin, 3:32.66 to 3:33.01! The top seven qualifiers all ran under 3:34!

American leader Matthew Wilkinson won the first heat of the men’s Steeple in 8:22.42, just ahead of Isaac Updike (8:22.45); American Record holder Evan Jager was eighth in 8:28.21 and did not advance. Olympic silver winner Kenneth Rooks took heat two in 8:21.35, just ahead of Daniel Michalski (8:21.39).

The women’s 100 m was spicy from the start, with Kayla White getting a lifetime best of 10.89 in heat one (+1.3), with defending champ Sha’Carri Richardson second in a seasonal best of 11.07. Fellow Olympian Twanisha Terry won heat two in 10.89 (+1.8) ahead of Aleia Hobbs (10.94) and 200 m Paris champ Gabby Thomas (11.00). World leader Melissa Jefferson-Wooden breezed to a 10.86 win into a 1.5 m/s headwind in heat three and Jacious Sears steamed to a 10.85w win in heat four (+3.2), ahead of Jenna Prandini (10.95w). Woah!

The women’s 800 m went to form, with Addy Wiley winning heat one in 2:01.63 (Raevyn Rogers second), comebacking Athing Mu-Nikolayev getting a seasonal best of 2:00.06 to win heat two (Ajee Wilson second), Sage Hurta-Klecker taking heat three (1:59.28) and 2024 Olympic Trials winner Nia Akins winning heat four over NCAA champ Roisin Willis, 201.22 to 2:01.43.

Olympic Trials winner Nikki Hiltz took heat one of the women’s 1,500 m in 4:05.99, ahead of Taryn Rawlings (4:06.53). Sinclaire Johnson, the 2022 national champion, led heat two after 400 m and continued right to the line in 4:07.54, with Gracie Morris second in 4:07.68. Emily Mackay, the no. 3 American in 2025, won heat three in 4:04.23 from Margot Appleton (4:04.72).

NCAA runner-up Lexy Halladay-Lowry of BYU won the first heat of the women’s Steeple in 9:37.53, ahead of 2024 Trials winner Val Constien (9:37.56), while NCAA third-placer Angelina Napoleon of N.C. State took heat two in 9:30.44, making a late charge past Gabi Jennings (9:30.48), Olivia Markezich (9:30.49) and 2024 Trials runner-up Courtney Wayment (9:30.70).

Friday’s meet has the final day of the decathlon and heptathlon in the morning, then Olympic-event action picks up at 2:30 p.m. with more qualifying; the men’s and women’s 100 m will close out the night. Broadcast coverage is only on USATF.tv on Friday.

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PANORAMA: IOC chief Coventry not behind a desk so far; fourth Worlds 10 m gold for 19-year-old Chen! USA Fencing gets national performance center!

By
Rich Perelman
-
International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry at the 2025 USOPC Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Colorado Springs (Photo: USOPC/Mark Reis).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● International Olympic Committee ● New IOC President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) took office on 24 June, but she hasn’t been spending much time at Olympic House in Lausanne, showing up in two other continents by the end of July:

● 29 June: Lucerne (SUI) ~ World Rowing Cup
● 12 July: Colorado Springs (USA) ~ U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame
● 25-26 July: Paris (FRA) ~ One-year Olympic anniversary
● 28-30 July: Singapore (SGP) ~ World Aquatics Championships

Coventry, a two-time Olympic champion swimmer and a seven-time Olympic medal winner, was honored by World Aquatics with its Honorary Order, “recognising her lifelong contributions to the sport both in and out of the pool.”

● Association of National Olympic Committees ● Of course, the LA28 organizers are not the only one selling sponsorships for the run-up to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

On Thursday, the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) announced a deal through 2028 with Bluewater International, a Swedish-based water purification systems maker, for consumer and business customers.

The company will be an “ANOC Gold Partner through the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games” and “reflects a shared ambition to eliminate single-use plastic bottles in sport and promote safe, sustainable hydration practices across the Olympic Movement.”

Bluewater joins two other Gold Partners: Joy Billiards, an equipment maker, and apparel and footwear maker Peak Sports, both from China.

● Aquatics ● China’s Yuxi Chen, still just 19, won her ninth career World Aquatics Championships diving gold with a fourth World title in the women’s 10 m Platform final in Singapore.

Chen led the qualifying at 396.50 points, the semifinal at 394.65 and then destroyed the field in the final, scoring 430.50, ahead of first-time medal winners Pauline Pfeif (GER: 367.10) and Chinese teammate Peiling Xie (358.20).

Americans Bayleigh Cranford and Ella Roselli finished eighth (329.50) and 11th (290.20).

Chen won her first Worlds 10 m Platform gold in 2019 and again in 2022, 2023 and now 2025. She was second in 2024 and has Olympic silver from Tokyo and Paris. She finishes Singapore with three golds, also in the Team event and the 10 m Synchro.

World Aquatics and NBC announced an extension of their U.S. rights agreement through 2028 on Thursday, including the World Aquatics Championships and the World Cup events in swimming and diving.

No financial terms were disclosed.

● Cycling ● France scored a 1-2 finish on stage 6 of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes, with Maeva Squiban getting away to score a major win on the triple-climb, 123.7 km route to Ambert, winning in 3:20:46.

Countrywoman Juliette Labrous was second (+1:09), leading a group of 14, with race leader Kimberley Pienaar (MRI) taking third at +1:13, ahead of Dutch star Demi Vollering.

That put Pienaar up by 26 seconds on France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, 30 seconds on Kasia Niewiadoma (POL) and 31 seconds on Vollering. The next two stages are both difficult, with the race ending on Sunday with an uphill finish to Chatel Les Portes du Soleil.

● Fencing ● USA Fencing announced its first-ever National Performance Center and National Academy, to be included in a $56 million redevelopment project by Masters Academy International in Stow, Massachusetts, to open in the fall of 2026:

“With clinics, camps, and National Team activities, the complex will be tailored from the ground up for fencing, complete with high-ceilings and expansive fencing halls, recovery suites, sport-science labs, state-of-the-art weight training centers, outdoor fields, and on-site dorms.”

MAI will renovate an existing, 312,000 sq. ft. facility, which will eventually support 10 more sports – baseball, basketball, esports, equestrian, figure skating, golf, hockey, soccer, lacrosse, and softball – and offer instruction to 600 students in grades 6-12 plus post-graduates.

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ATHLETICS: Grant Fisher waiting for Grand Slam Track prize money, says if payments are not made, “I don’t think it will exist for next year.”

By
Rich Perelman
-
U.S. star Grant Fisher taking the 5,000 m at Grand Slam Track II (Photo: Grand Slam Track).

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≡ GRAND SLAM TRACK ≡

Double Olympic distance bronze medalist Grant Fisher has had a productive 2025 so far, setting indoor world records at 3,000 m and 5,000 m and then starring in the Grand Slam Track meets in Kingston, Jamaica and Miramar, Florida.

But like so many others, he has not received prize money for either Kingston or Miramar, and he spoke about the situation in detail on Wednesday, prior to the start of the USA Track & Field national championships in Eugene on Thursday:

● “The last update I heard was that by the end of July they wanted Kingston prize money out. It has not hit my bank account or anyone else’s as far as I know. So fingers crossed, but tomorrow would be the last day before I think people get pretty upset.”

● “You know, the Grand Slam, I think there were some fantastic ideas. Maybe execution was a little off. I think it would be in everyone’s best interest, whether you are in Grand Slam or support Grand Slam, or don’t, if they pay the athletes out.

“The thing is if if the money doesn’t come through, then no athlete is ever going to want to take a chance on a new idea. No investor is going to want to take a chance on a new idea. It’s just going to be an all-round bad thing for the sport if things don’t come through. So my fingers are crossed.; I hope it all works.

“If it drags out a bit longer, I think a lot of people will be up in arms and we’ll see how that concludes. I ideally at this point in the season I’d just be focusing on running and not all that stuff, but I think it might come to a head pretty soon.”

● “If they aren’t able to pay out the debts that they have for this past year, I don’t think it will exist for next year.

“And even if it did somehow exist and they’re still in debt to athletes, no new athlete is going to sign on for the following year. So it’s kind of a wait-and-see situation. I think I was, I was only on a one-year contract, so I was only going to Grand Slam for 2025 … For 2026, I’ll think about that when-and-if the money hits my bank account.”

Fisher said that he’s spoken with other Grand Slam Track athletes, who were paid their contracted appearance fees for the Kingston meet, but not the prize money:

“The the original dialogue was that after everyone’s drug test cleared, the money would come through. After the Philadelphia Grand Slam and after the L.A. Slam was canceled, we were told, the end of July. So that’s the latest information we have and I think for most people within the organization, that’s the latest information they have. And that’s tomorrow. So we’ll see, yeah, I guess; talk to people in August 1st and see what the update is.”

He said that he was glad that he participated in the Grand Slam Track venture, despite being owed $100,000:

“I think, looking back, I am. You know, with the information I had at the time, it was a really good idea and I think it still has really good potential. I really want things to work. I don’t want it to come to a lawsuit and, you know, a big headache and Grand Slam being crushed and then you know everyone saying, ‘I told you so.’

“I don’t really want [that]; I don’t think that’s a good outcome for anybody. So, I still have my fingers crossed, you know, tomorrow I’m focused on racing. I won’t be checking my bank account to see if money came in. But after the weekend, I’m sure there’ll be plenty of discussion.”

In the meantime, Fisher is running the men’s 10,000 m on Thursday evening and then coming back for the 5,000 m on Sunday.

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U.S. OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE: USOPC change in transgender eligibility stance developed from discussions with U.S. NGBs

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ TRANSGENDER POLICY ≡

The back story on how the USOPC decided to change its stance on transgender participation in women’s events is now becoming a little clearer.

On 17 April, USOPC chief executive Sarah Hirshland told reporters during a telephonic news conference:

“Predominantly, [it’s] important to recognize that the USOPC does not define eligibility criteria for events that are not our jurisdiction. So, typically speaking, at an international level, the International Federations will define eligibility criteria for the events in which they own jurisdiction, World Cups, World Championships, etc., and the National Governing Bodies, domestically, would define eligibility criteria for their events. In some cases, those may be elite-level events, national championships and things; in other cases, those may be lower-level, grass-roots, youth-sport competitions and things of that nature.

“So, we do not have, nor will we have an eligibility policy. It wouldn’t be appropriate, it’s not our role to take on that position.”

In the succeeding weeks, however, Hirshland and USOPC President Gene Sykes talked with multiple heads of the U.S. National Governing Bodies, including NGB Council head Brendan Quick of USA Cycling, about their views on the transgender eligibility question and whether the USOPC should take a position.

The Sports Examiner was told that a clear majority preferred that the USOPC should take a position, protecting the female category. The end result was a change to the USOPC’s Athlete Safety Policy, which was communicated to the chief executives, Board Chairs and counsels of most of the National Governing Bodies during a Friday, 18 July conference call with USOPC Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer Holly Shick, and Chief External Affairs Officer Kate Hartman.

The new policy would be live as of Monday, 21 July, which included an added section 3.3:

“The USOPC is committed to protecting opportunities for athletes participating in sport. The USOPC will continue to collaborate with various stakeholders with oversight responsibilities, e.g., [International Olympic Committee, International Paralympic Committee, National Governing Bodies] to ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with Executive Order 14201 and the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act, 36 U.S.C § 22501, et. seq.”

(Executive Order 14201 is the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” order issued by Pres. Donald Trump on 5 February 2025.)

As written, the new section effectively bars transgender women from participation in the women’s division of sports overseen by the USOPC, including the National Governing Bodies.

USA Fencing, which had a policy-in-waiting on this issue, posted a notice of compliance and a change to its transgender policy on 18 July – after the USOPC conference call – effective as of 1 August 2025.

The USOPC made no public announcement of the change, but The New York Times was told by several NGB heads about the new policy and it broke the story nationally on Tuesday, 22 July. The Times’ story noted that the USOPC had had discussions with Trump Administration officials about the Executive Order and compliance.

All of this comes in advance of a review program to be instituted by the International Olympic Committee, with President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) promising during her campaign to, as she said, “protect the female category.” She told reporters in a 26 June news conference that during the IOC member forum she convened at the time of her inauguration in June:

“There was an overwhelming support … that we should protect the female category.

“And with that, we are going to … not revisit, that we’re going to set up a working group, made up of experts and International Federations. It was agreed by the members that the IOC should take a leading role in this, and that we should be the ones to bring together the experts, bring together the International Federations, and ensure that we find consensus.

“We understand that there will be differences, depending on the sport, but it was fully agreed that, as members and as the IOC, we should make the effort to place emphasis on the protection of the female category and that we should ensure that this is done in consensus with all the stakeholders.”

The USOPC will be expected to abide by that outcome as well.

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AQUATICS: Huge wins for Marchand and McIntosh at World Champs, and Berkoff and Smith score 50 Back 1-2 for U.S.

By
Rich Perelman
-
Romania’s star Freestyle sprinter David Popovici (Photo: World Aquatics).

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≡ WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPS ≡

The big stars were out at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, with Leon Marchand and Summer McIntosh both winning again, as well as a U.S. 1-2 in the 50 m Backstroke. But the featured event had to be the men’s sprint showdown in the 100 Free.

● Men/100 m Freestyle: Romania ‘s David Popovici won the Worlds gold in 2022 and looked to be the new sprint star, but was upended by China’s Zhanle Pan, who set the world record and won Olympic gold in 2024. This time, Pan didn’t qualify and American Jack Alexy was coming on, setting an American Record of 46.81 in the semis.

In the final, Alexy was only third at the turn, followed by Popovici and Rio 2016 gold winner Kyle Chalmers (AUS). But all three surged on the way home, with Popovici rolling fastest to touch in a sensational 46.51, the no. 2 performance of all time! Alexy was game, and managed a 46.92, the equal-ninth performance ever, ahead of Chalmers, third in 47.17.

Fellow American Patrick Sammon was sixth in 47.58. Popovici has now duplicated his 100-200 m Free wins from 2022, for four career Worlds golds. Alexy duplicated his 2023 Worlds silver.

● Men/200 m Medley: All eyes were on France’s Marchand, who smashed the world record in semis. Again? No.

Marchand led from start to finish and won easily in 1:53.68, the no. 2 performance in history and again faster than American Ryan Lochte’s 1:54.00 record that had stood from 2011 until Marchand in the semifinal.

Behind him was training partner, American Shaine Casas, a clear second in 1:54.30, the no. 9 performance ever and the no. 4 performer in history. It’s Casas’ second individual Worlds medal, adding to the 2022 bronze for the 200 m Back. Hungary’s Hubert Kos, the Paris 2024 200 m Back winner, finished third in 1:55.34.

● Women/50 m Backstroke: The U.S. was 1-3 in qualifying and 2022 Worlds silver winner Katharine Berkoff sprinted away to win in 27.08, just behind her world-leading time of 26.97 from the U.S. Trials. It’s her first Worlds individual gold.

Teammate Regan Smith was a clear second in 27.25, repeating her 2023 World silver in this event and her second silver of the night (previously in the 200 m Fly; see below). China’s Letian Wan finished third in 27.30.

● Women/200 m Butterfly: Canada’s McIntosh was the expected winner and she dominated, with the no. 2 performance in history at 2:01.99 leading right from the start. She now has three of the top five performances ever, and has three wins in Singapore, with the 800 m Free and 400 m Medley still to come.

The U.S.’s Smith was a clear second in 2:04.99, moving up from bronze in this event in 2023. Australia’s Elizabeth Dekkers took third (2:06.12) and Caroline Bricker of the U.S. was sixth in 2:07.59.

● Women/4×200 m Freestyle: The U.S. led the qualifying, but in the final, Olympic 200 m Free champ Mollie O’Callaghan held off Katie Ledecky and gave Australia a 7:39.35 to 7:40.01 victory.

It’s the no. 4 performance ever for the Aussies, and no. 5 for the U.S. squad of Claire Weinstein, Anna Peplowski, Erin Gemmell and Ledecky, which did claim the American Record, replacing the 7:40.73 gold-medal swim at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games.

In the qualifying, two more American scratched from the morning heats, including star Gretchen Walsh in the women 100 m Free, and Josh Matheny in the men’s 200 m Breast. A statement from USA Swimming before the session explained:

“You may notice some changes in the lineup this morning. Notably, Gretchen is not racing the 100 free. We’ve adjusted our entries today as part of broader race management plans for the team. We will not be commenting on individual athlete health.”

In the men’s 200 m Backstroke semifinals, 100 m Breast winner Pieter Coetze (RSA) scored a world-leading win in semi one at 1:54.22, while France’s Yohann Ndoye-Brouard took semi two in 1:54.47. American Keaton Jones was 12th in 1:56.20 and did not advance.

Former world-record holder Ippei Watanabe (JPN) men’s 200 m Breaststroke led all qualifiers, winning semi one in 2:08.01. American AJ Pouch won semi two in 2:08.34 and was the no. 2 qualifier.

Defending champion Marrit Steenbergen (NED) posted the top semifinal time in the women’s 100 m Free at 52.81 in semi one, with two-time women’s 100 m Free champion O’Callaghan winning semi two in 52.82. World leader Torri Huske of the U.S. qualified fourth in 53.21, on the mend from illness.

World-record holder Evgeniia Chikunova (RUS “neutral”) led the qualifying in the women’s 200 m Breaststroke in 2:20.65 from semi two, just faster than the 2:20.96 from American Kate Douglass – the Paris Olympic champion – in semi one. Fellow American Alex Walsh was 12th overall in 2:25.16 and did not advance.

Despite all the trouble with illness, the U.S. continues in front with 18 medals (4-10-4) with Australia, which has also had issues, second with 11 (5-1-5), then China (1-3-4) with eight.

Friday’s finals include the men’s 200 m Backstroke, 200 m Breaststroke and the 4×200 m Freestyle, and the women’s 100 m Freestyle and 200 m Breaststroke.

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ATHLETICS: USATF nationals start four-day run in Eugene, with 13 world leaders and Para champs now part of the program

By
Rich Perelman
-
The 2025 USATF National Championships logo

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≡ USATF CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

The latest U.S. national championships since 1968 for the women and 1930 (!) for the men gets going on Thursday in Eugene, Oregon, selecting the American team for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo (JPN) in September.

The meet is also historic as the first nationals to be combined for Olympic and Paralympic events, competing at the same place on the same days:

Thursday, 31 July:
● 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.: Decathlon-heptathlon
● 10:40 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.: Paralympic events
● 1:20 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.: Javelin/men and Hammer/women
● 3:00 p.m. to 8:40 p.m.: Olympic events

Friday, 1 August:
● 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.: Paralympic events
● 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.: Decathlon-heptathlon
● 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.: Olympic events
● 6:12 p.m. to 6:50 p.m.: Paralympic events
● 6:52 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Olympic events

Saturday, 2 August:
● 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.: 20 km Walks
● 9:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.: Paralympic events
● 11:20 a.m. to 12:40 p.m.: Discus/men
● 12:05 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.: Olympic events
● 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.: Olympic & Paralympic events

Sunday, 3 August:
● 11:30 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.: Masters exhibitions
● 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.: Olympic events

The meet has plenty of stars, including 13 athletes who are the world (outdoor) leaders in their events:

Men (5):
● 200 m: 19.73, T’Mars McCallum
● 110 m hurdles: 12.87, Cordell Tinch
● 400 m hurdles: 46.54, Rai Benjamin
● Shot Put: 22.48 m (73-9), Joe Kovacs
● Hammer: 83.16 m (272-10), Rudy Winkler

Women (8):
● 100 m: 10.73, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden
● 100 m hurdles: 12.17, Masai Russell
● Pole Vault: 4.83 m (15-10), Katie Moon
● Long Jump: 7.07 m (23-2 1/2), Tara Davis-Woodhall
● Shot Put: 20.95 m (68-8 3/4), Chase Jackson
● Discus: 73.52 m (241-2), Valarie Allman
● Hammer: 79.29 m (260-1), Brooke Andersen
● Heptathlon: 7,032, Anna Hall

The U.S. also has defending (2023) world champions in multiple events, all of whom have a direct entry into the 2025 Worlds, but are competing in Eugene:

● Men/100 m: Noah Lyles
● Men/200 m: Noah Lyles
● Men/110 m hurdles: Grant Holloway

● Women/100 m: Sha’Carri Richardson
● Women/Pole Vault: Katie Moon
● Women/Shot Put: Chase Jackson
● Women/Discus: Lagi Tausaga

Men’s shot star Ryan Crouser, still recovering from an elbow injury, won in 2023, but is not entered. Heptathlete Michelle Atherley also has a direct Worlds entry from winning the World Athletics combined events tour.

Beyond all these folks is women’s 400 m hurdles superstar Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the world-record holder and Olympic champion, who is contesting the 400 m this year. She’s run 49.43 so far and is expected to challenge the U.S. 400 m record of 48.70 by Sanya Richards-Ross from 2006.

One star who is not competing is men’s 2022 World 100 m champion Fred Kerley, who has been in trouble with law enforcement this year and posted:

“The 100m should be a straight sprint. 2025 has presented many hurdles. Taking some time out to get back on track. No USATF Champs this year. Thanks to all my supporters.”

A highlight of the Olympic and Paralympic events together will be Olympic women’s long jump champ Davis-Woodhall competing in the same meet as husband Hunter Woodhall, the Paris Paralympic men’s T62 400 m gold medalist.

The first two days of the meet are only on the subscription USATF.tv streaming platform; NBC has coverage on Saturday and Sunday from 4-6 p.m. Eastern and Peacock has extended Saturday coverage to 7 p.m. Eastern.

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PANORAMA: Marchand aimed at 200 m Medley world record in semis; gold-medal biathlete Dahlmeier confirmed dead in Pakistan mountains

By
Rich Perelman
-
World-record setter Leon Marchand (FRA) (Photo: Akino Kovacs for World Aquatics).

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≡ SPOTLIGHT ≡

● Aquatics ● Lots of reaction to the sensational swimming at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, especially from men’s 200 m Medley world-record setter Leon Marchand (FRA), Luca Urlando of the U.S. for his men’s 200 m Butterfly gold and American Record sprinter Jack Alexy in the men’s 100 m Free semis:

● Marchand:
“I actually can’t really believe it right now. I knew I was going to get close to my [personal best] because I felt really good today, and the preparation has been pretty good, so I was really excited to race. It’s unbelievable for me.

“What’s crazy is that it’s [a record by] a whole second … and it’s still hard to believe. A 1:52 on the 200 m?; that’s insane. I’m so happy, it’s just incredible.

“Today, I felt really good before the race. In the water, I felt light, I was taking in a lot of water, and technically, everything felt clean. I had talked with [coaches Bob Bowman (USA) and Nico Castel (FRA)], and we agreed that tonight was the time to go for it. In the end, I went out hard from the start, but I stayed super relaxed. I kept taking in a lot of water, my underwaters were really hitting 15 meters every time, and I didn’t make many mistakes. I didn’t realize I was going that fast, but I gave it absolutely everything. Arms at full speed all the way to the wall. At that point, I wasn’t even thinking about technique anymore.”

● Urlando:
“Oh, it’s huge. Winning a world championship was my goal from the beginning of the season. To be able to actually do it is a whole another thing and doing it in a best-time fashion … I truly can’t put it into words.

“I hope to just build off more experiences like this. It’s a huge stepping stone for 2028. I have some new goals going forward, going to work through them with my coach and see how much I can get better at the little things. Just continue with that.

“It was a great race, just embracing the moment, trying to have as much fun as I can with it too. It felt good, felt smooth, controlled, where I wanted to be.”

● Alexy:
“I felt pretty good throughout that race, and I knew I was going pretty fast. It is really great to go under 47 [seconds] again, especially at this stage. I am grateful and happy, and hopefully I can shave a few more tenths off that time tomorrow and have a good finish. I am looking forward to that race tomorrow night.”

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Aquatics ● In diving at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Italy’s Matteo Santoro and Chiara Pellacani won the Mixed 3 m Synchro gold, scoring 308.13 to edge Australia’s Maddison Keeney and Cassiel Rousseau (307.26) and China’s Zilong Cheng and Yajie Li (305.70).

Cheng and Li won the first three dives, but ranked sixth on dive no. four, won by the Italians, who then held on to win. The U.S. pair of Luke Hernandez and Kyndal Knight finished seventh (267.60).

● Biathlon ● Terrible news from Pakistan, where German biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier – a double gold medalist at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games – died on 28 July (Monday) as the result of a rock fall while climbing Laila Peak in the Kashmir region. Per ExplorersWeb:

“Dahlmeier’s home team has issued a press release that states that the accident took place on Monday, as the 31-year-old Dahlmeier and partner Marina Krauss were descending from the summit of 6,069m Laila Peak in Pakistan’s Hunza Valley. They were rappelling at 5,700m when a rope maneuver caused a rockfall that hit Dahlmeier.

“Krauss, also from Germany, was unharmed and immediately sent an SOS message. She also tried for many hours to reach her partner, but the difficult terrain and the risk of further rockfall thwarted her attempts. Eventually, in the middle of the night, Krauss decided to retreat from the dangerous area and continued rappelling down the dagger-sharp mountain to Base Camp.”

Dahlmeier’s body was spotted on Tuesday by helicopter and she was reached by a ground rescue team who confirmed her death. In accordance with her written will, Dahlmeier’s body will be left on the mountain.

Just 31, Dahlmeier retired from biathlon in 2018 after three medals in PyeongChang (2-0-1) and 15 Worlds medals (7-3-5) from 2015-19.

● Cycling ● At the Tour de France Femmes, the hilly, 165.8 km fifth stage ended with a sprint of seven riders, won by Kimberley Pienaar (MRI) in 3:54:07, ahead of Dutch stars Demi Vollering and Anna van der Breggen. Overall, Pienaar took the lead, over Paris 2024 Mountain Bike gold medalist Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (FRA: +0:18) and Vollering (+0:23), jumping from sixth to third on Wednesday, after a bad crash at the third stage cost her 19 seconds.

The climbing stages start Thursday, with the race finishing on Sunday.

● Fencing ● The FIE World Championships finished in Tibilisi (GEO), with Japan winning the men’s Team Epee behind individual gold medalist Koki Kano, defeating Hungary, 45-35, in the final. Just as Kano won Japan’s first individual title in this weapon, this was also the first Worlds Team Epee win for Japan!

France won the women’s Team Sabre title for the first time since 2018 and for the fourth time overall, besting South Korea, 45-37 in the final. The French defeated defending champ Hungary in the semifinals, 45-41. The U.S. team – Maia Chamberlain, Alexandra Lee, Lola Possick, Siobhan Sullivan – barely lost to the Koreans in the quarterfinals by 45-44 and finished sixth overall.

France (2-3-1), Italy (2-0-4) and Hungary (0-3-3) led the medal table with six each; the U.S. tied with four other countries with three (2-1-0).

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ATHLETICS: World Athletics approves testing to compete as a woman, using cheek-swab test for SRY gene

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ GENDER TESTING NOW ≡

“All athletes wishing to compete in the female category at the World Championships are required to undergo a once-in-a-lifetime test for the SRY gene – a reliable proxy for determining biological sex. This is to be conducted via a cheek swab or blood test, whichever is more convenient.

“The testing protocol will be overseen by Member Federations as they prepare their athletes and teams for the Championships in Tokyo.”

Wednesday’s announcement stated that the regulations will come into effect on 1 September, meaning they will be in force for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo (JPN) from 13-21 September.

Said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (GBR):

“We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female. It was always very clear to me and the World Athletics Council that gender cannot trump biology.”

An accompanying question-and-answer document added some important details:

● “Athletes wishing to compete in the female category need to take the SRY test just once in their lifetime. If their SRY test is negative for the Y chromosome (i.e. the Y chromosome is absent) then they are eligible to compete in the female category in all world ranking competitions.

“If their test result is positive for the Y chromosome (i.e. shows presence of the Y chromosome) they can compete in the female category in non-world ranking competitions or in another category other than the female category.”

● “The SRY test is extremely accurate and the risk of false negative or positive is extremely unlikely. When the sample collection is properly conducted and the laboratory uses an FDA or CE In-vitro Diagnosis kit relying on Quantitative Fluorescent Polymerase Chain Reaction, the accuracy of this test is extremely high with very good sensitivity and specificity.”

● “Once a laboratory has received an athlete’s cheek swab or blood sample it can take between one and two weeks for the sample to be analysed and the results issued. This depends on the country and the laboratory. It is important to know this information so an athlete can get their cheek swab/blood sample carried out as soon as possible.”

● “In the short-term and for the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, Member Federations will be conducting the tests for their athletes, in the same way, and perhaps using the same provider, as they did when they carried out their Covid19 swab tests in 2020 and 2021. World Athletics will contribute up to US$100 per test for athletes competing in Tokyo.”

The regulations also include a provision for athletes with differences in sex development (DSD), specifically allowing participation in the women’s category for “Biological males with a difference of sex development who satisfy the transitional provisions issued by World Athletics.”

The Q&A document noted:

“The position is that a very small number of known DSD athletes eligible to compete under the current regulations would be eligible for the remainder of their career provided they continue to maintain their testosterone below 2.5 nmol/L.”

Observed: This is an important step for athletics and for the Olympic-sport world as World Athletics has been at the forefront of action and research in this area.

Too, it comes not only at an important point in the season – the U.S. championships start Thursday in Eugene, Oregon – but in advance of the International Olympic Committee’s effort to “protect the female category.” The SRY-gene test was called for by some of the IOC Presidential candidates and will be part of the discussions led by new IOC chief Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) in the coming weeks.

The World Athletics position also lines up with the recommendation of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem (JOR) for sex-screening tests from October 2024.

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SWIMMING: U.S.’s Urlando gets 200 Fly gold, Alexy breaks Dressel’s 100 Free record, world Medley record for Marchand at World Champs!

By
Rich Perelman
-
World Champion Luca Urlando of the U.S. (Photo: Luca Urlando Instagram page).

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≡ WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPS ≡

After winning five golds at the 2019 World Junior Championships, including the 200 m Freestyle and 200 m Butterfly, there were great expectations for American Luca Urlando. And at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Wednesday, he met them head on.

A Paris Olympian, Urlando had been on a mission all season, leading the world in the 200 m Fly for much of the season and leading the qualifying in the heats and semis.

The final turned out to be much more of the same, as he took the lead on the second lap and was never headed, winning his first international medal in a brilliant 1:51.87, the fastest time in the world in 2025 and the no. 9 performance in history. It’s also the second-fastest American swim ever, only behind Michael Phelps’ U.S. record of 1:51.51 from 2009.

Poland’s Krzysztof Chmielewski moved hard after 100 m to turn second into the final lap and finished in 1:52.64 for the silver, no. 2 in the world for 2025. Australia’s Harrison Turner was third in 1:54.17; American Carson Foster, a four-time Worlds medley medalist, was fifth in 1:54.62.

The U.S. also celebrated a historic swim in the semifinals of the men’s 100 m Freestyle, with 2024 Olympic finalist Jack Alexy leading all qualifiers in 46.81, no. 2 in the world for 2025, the no. 4 performance ever and setting the American Record!

Swimming in the second semi, Alexy broke Caeleb Dressel’s 46.96 mark from the 2019 World Championships, and beat 2022 World Champion – and 2025 world leader – David Popovici (ROU: 46.84) in the process!

Fellow American Patrick Sammon qualified seventh in 47.62 and is in the final, as is Rio 2016 Olympic champ Kyle Chalmers (AUS: 47.36), who won the first semifinal. A shocker from that race was world-record holder Zhanle Pan of China missing the final, finishing 10th overall at 47.81.

Then there was French icon Leon Marchand, the star of Paris 2024 with four golds, and who had his eye on the long-standing world record of 1:54.00 by American Ryan Lochte in the 200 m Medley from way back in 2011. Well, he got it, in the semifinals!

Marchand, swimming in the second semi, mauled the record, touching in 1:52.69, a staggering 2.44 seconds ahead of American (and training partner) Shaine Casas, whose 1:55.13 is faster than anyone else in the world for 2025, a lifetime best and moves him to no. 6 all-time!

Britain’s Duncan Scott, the Tokyo and Paris silver man in this event, was third in 1:55.51, now no. 3 in the world for 2025. Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita won semi one in 1:57.11. Carson Foster was eighth overall and qualified for the final in 1:57.49.

Wow.

There was a lot more from a busy fourth night in the pool:

● Men/800 m Freestyle: Tunisia’s Ahmed Jaouadi, the short-course 1,500 m Worlds winner in 2024, was the leading qualifier, got to the lead by 350 m and dominated the race, winning in 7:36.88, the no. 3 performance in history!

He was well in front of Germans Sven Schwarz (7:39.96) and 400 m Free winner Lukas Martens (7:40.19), and Tokyo 2020 Olympic winner Bobby Finke (7:46.42), in fourth.

● Men/50 m Breaststroke: Italy’s Simone Cerasuolo came to Singapore ranked fifth in 2025, but he had no peers in the final, winning in 26.54, touching ahead of Russian “neutral” Kirill Prigoda (26.62). China’s Haiyang Qin, the 2023 World Champion, was third in 26.67.

● Women/200 m Freestyle: Olympic champion Mollie O’Callaghan battled American teen Claire Weinstein, 18, for most of the race, with O’Callaghan turning first at 150 m and coming home with the fastest final 50 m in the field to win in 1:53.48, fastest in the world in 2025, and the no. 9 performance ever.

Weinstein led at 100 m and turned second at 150 m, but faded on the final lap and was passed by China’s 400 m Free runner-up, Bingjie Li, 1:54.52 to 1:54.67. That moves Weinstein to no. 3 all-time U.S., behind only Allison Schmitt (1:53.61 in 2012) and Katie Ledecky (1:53.73 in 2016). Fellow American Erin Gemmell finished eighth in 2:00.16.

● Mixed 4×100 m Medley: The U.S. had a stunning failure in the morning heats, finishing 10th and missing the final. Keaton Jones was a slow 54.20 on the backstroke lead-off, Campbell McKean held his own on breaststroke, but Torri Huske’s butterfly leg was also weak and Simone Manuel‘s freestyle anchor ended in 3:44.50. The last qualifier was Poland, in 3:44.22 in eighth.

In the final, the “neutral” Russian team won in 3:37.97, the no. 5 performance in history, ahead of China (3:39.99) and Canada (3:40.90).

In the evening qualifying, U.S. star Regan Smith led the women’s 50 m Backstroke semifinals, winning the second race in 27.23, with Britain’s Lauren Cox taking semi one in 27.26. American teammate Katharine Berkoff was second behind Cox in 27.34 and the no. 3 overall qualifier.

Smith came back about a half-hour later in the women’s 200 m Butterfly semifinals, qualifying third overall in 2:06.96, second in semi two behind Canadian star Summer McIntosh (2:06.22). The fastest qualifier was Australia’s Elizabeth Dekkers at 2:06.13 to win semi one. American Caroline Bricker was second in semi one in 2:07.86 and qualified sixth overall.

After four of eight days, the U.S. leads the medal table with 12 total (3-5-4), ahead of Australia (8: 4-1-3) and Italy (6: 1-4-1) and China (6: 1-3-2).

The Thursday finals include the men’s 100 m Free and 200 Medley (more Marchand!), and the women’s 50 m Back, 200 m Fly and 4×200 m Freestyle.

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LANE ONE: The story of the first Olympic organizing committee surplus in history, by the Xth Olympiad Committee in 1932

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ GAMES OF THE Xth OLYMPIAD ≡

The Games of the XXXIV Olympiad in Los Angeles will close on 30 July 2028. On 30 July 1932, the Games of the Xth Olympiad opened before 101,022 in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

And the 1932 Games was a grand success: aesthetically, athletically and financially:

“Although no official figures are available, it is apparent that the Olympic Games made a lot of money.”

That’s the lead of a Los Angeles Times story from 16 August 1932, two days after the closing of the Games of the Xth Olympiad, held in Los Angeles in the depths of the Great Depression. There was more:

“There are rumors that the show cleared more than $1,000,000 above actual operating expenses, which cover a period of several years.”

The next day, The Times carried a story with Xth Olympiad Committee President William May Garland’s announcement that the organizing committee would pay back the $1 million bond issued by the State of California in 1929 to get the organizing effort started. The “California Olympic Bond Act of 1927″ was voter-passed by 73-27% in November 1928 to provide initial funding for the development of the 1932 Games, given to Los Angeles by the International Olympic Committee in 1923. The Times story included:

“The $1,000,000 provided by the State was virtually the only money received by the committee with the exception of receipts from ticket sales, concessions and incidentals. No money was provided by city, county or public subscriptions, it was pointed out.”

Inevitably, there was a fight over the organizing committee surplus. But the story of how the 1932 organizers got to a surplus was remarkable:

● The Official Report following the Games in 1933 listed a stunningly small staff of just 70 full-time staff members in the organizing committee.

● In terms of revenue, 1,247,580 tickets were sold – about 42.4% of capacity – bringing in $1,483,536. A total of 331,518 programs were sold at 10 cents each, bringing in $33,152, and the organizing committee received a share of venue concessions run by a local (unnamed) firm.

● The men’s Olympic Village charged $2 per person per day; there were 1,503 athletes entered, plus coaches and officials, but no totals on the number of days was published, but operations ran from mid-June to the end of the Games on 14 August and a few days more. A conservative guess on revenue would be $100,000 in all, including the women’s housing at the Chapman Hotel.

● So, the total revenue from operations – remember, no concluding financial statements were ever released – from the Games was probably around $1.7 million, allowing for concessions and post-Games equipment sales. Adding in the $1 million bond issue and the Xth Olympiad Committee probably realized a total of about $2.7 million in total income.

Now, a little money went a long way in 1932, not only for salaries, but also for venues. Almost all of the venue sites for the 1932 Games were either donated or rented for out-of-pocket expenses, and the organizing committee paid for the temporary modifications it needed. The organizers paid the City of Los Angeles Board of Playground and Recreation Commissioners the amount estimated to build a temporary swimming facility and the City built the 5,000-seat Los Angeles Swim Stadium, still in use today and expected to be used for diving in 2028.

The organizers made a similar deal with the City of Long Beach to leave behind permanent docks, starting platforms, a boat house, dressing rooms and grandstands in return for dredging what became the Long Beach Marine Stadium, also slated for use in 2028. The swimming and rowing facilities were the only permanent construction projects undertaken by the 1932 organizers.

When it was all over, the Xth Olympiad Committee had about $1.25 million left over, meaning the Games had been organized for $1.45 million. But the disposal of the money was a matter of contention, leading to a filing in California court in December 1932 for a declaratory judgement that the organizing committee could do whatever it wanted to with the surplus.

The State of California joined the suit, asking for all of the surplus. And, of course, the American Olympic Committee – forerunner to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee – asked that it be given the surplus.

In February 1934, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Leon R. Yankwich ruled that the surplus belonged to the organizing committee, and the decision was confirmed by the California Supreme Court in December 1934.

It wasn’t until an inquiry to the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury Department was cleared up in 1935 that the funds could finally be disbursed.

No documentation of a final accounting has been found, but as best as can be re-constructed:

● $1,250,000 (more or less) surplus
● $1,053,733 paid to retire the 1929 bond
● $196,267 (more or less) remaining

The remaining amount was donated to the Community Redevelopment Agency, which had spearheaded the building of the Memorial Coliseum and which included representatives of both the City of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles. In 2025 dollars, the $196,267 total is worth about $4.61 million.

Case closed, on the only organizing committee to finish with a surplus from scratch – construction included – until 52 years later, for the Games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad in 1984, also, of course, in Los Angeles!

Rich Perelman
Editor

(Special thanks to Michael Salmon of the LA84 Foundation Library, who assisted with the research for this story … in 2014!)

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PANORAMA: World Aquatics creating athlete “retirement fund”; World Boxing up to 118 members; ready for the “Shooting League of India”?

By
Rich Perelman
-
From the World Aquatics Congress, a rendering of a portion of the planned new headquarters in Hungary, beginning in 2028 (World Aquatics video screen shot).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● There are a little less than three years left before the opening of the 2028 Olympic Games, but the work on the creation of the Olympic and Paralympic torches is getting going.

The LA28 organizers have listed a position for a “Manager, Torch Development” with the responsibility “for bridging creative & technical teams to manage the end-to-end process of developing, testing & producing the system of flame devices. …

“We are seeking a highly effective program manager with a technical background to lead a wide-ranging team of experts, driving coordination & ultimate functionality of deliverables, while keeping the program on time & on budget.”

The position pays $85,000-105,000 per year.

● Aquatics ● Two more golds for China in the diving action at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, both in synchronized events.

The men’s 10 m Synchro had Zilong Cheng and Zifeng Zhu with a very tight win, 429.63 to 428.70 over Russian “neutrals” Nikita Shleikher and Ruslan Ternovoi. Americans Joshua Hedberg and Carson Tyler took third, scoring 410.70 and moving up from fourth in the qualifying. It’s the first Worlds medal for Hedberg but second for Tyler, who won a 2022 Worlds Mixed 10 m Synchro bronze.

China’s Yiwen Chen, the Olympic winner in the 3 m and 3 m Synchro in Paris, teamed with Jia Chen to won the women’s 3 m Synchro, scoring 325.20 to 298.35 for Britain’s Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Jensen. The U.S. pair of Bailee Sturgill and Lily Witte finished seventh (261.18).

Yiwen Chen has now won eight Worlds golds and one silver in her career and it’s her fourth women’s 3 m Synchro gold, the first three with Yani Chang, the 2024 World 3 m champ.

At the World Aquatics Congress in Singapore, federation President Husain Al-Musallam (KUW) introduced a new concept of essentially a “deferred-earnings” fund for athletes:

“World Aquatics will become the first International Federation to introduce a compensation plan for athletes at the end of their careers. We will invest USD 10 million in this programme, supporting athletes from the start of their careers to well beyond.”

According to the announcement, “The fund will provide financial support to athletes upon retirement, based on their sustained participation in World Aquatics events. Those who meet qualification thresholds will receive contributions tied to prize earnings, and a final lump sum upon retirement, helping to ease the often-difficult transition out of elite sport.”

Oh yes, since contributions to the fund will be based on “participation in World Aquatics events,” expect more interest in those.

As far as prize money for the 2025 Worlds in Singapore, the total is $6.00 million, with the individual-event finishers receiving $20,000-15,000-10,000-6,000-5,000-4,000-3,000-2,000 for places 1-8.

Al-Musallam also told delegates that the new federation headquarters in Budapest (HUN) is expected to be completed and open in 2028, including a world-class training center within the facility.

● Biathlon ● Retired biathlon star Laura Dahlmeier (GER), who won 2018 Winter Olympic golds in the women’s Sprint and Pursuit, plus an Individual bronze, has been badly injured during a mountaineering trip in Pakistan.

Now 31, she was hit by falling rock on the Karakoam range in the Kashmir region on Monday, with a search begun on Tuesday in the difficult-to-reach area and now continuing.

● Bobsled & Skeleton ● USA Bobsled & Skeleton is recruiting with its second annual “Slide to Glory” combine in Salt Lake City, Utah on 16 August at the Eccles Field House at the University of Utah.

No experience is required, and anyone can enroll to try the sprinting, jumping and weight drills, with the top-performing man and woman earning a trip to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York for a rookie camp and actual sledding trials.

● Boxing ● World Boxing announced the approval of seven new national federations – Bolivia, Central African Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Israel, Micronesia and Somalia – to bring its total to 118 total members.

Membership in World Boxing is required for a federation to be able to enter qualifying competitions for the Olympic boxing tournament at the 2028 Olympic Games.

The International Testing Agency announced a provisional suspension of Paris 2024 Olympic 92 kg (heavyweight) gold medalist Lazizbek Mullojunov (UZB), 26, as an out-of-competition sample collected on 11 June 2025 “has returned an [adverse finding] for methasterone metabolites,” a prohibited steroid.

Mullojunov can ask for a testing of his second (B) sample, or the case can move forward as a violation. The ITA is moving ahead with the case under its agreement with World Boxing.

● Cycling ● Dutch stars Lorena Wiebes and Marianne Vos went 1-2 in the Tour de France Femmes for the second straight stage on Tuesday, both crossing the line in 2:54:11 at the end of a sprint in Poitiers in the 130.7 km fourth stage.

Vos maintains a 12-second lead in the race over Wiebes and Kimberley Pienaar, (MRI) with a hilly fifth stage on Wednesday and then the climbing stages beginning on Thursday.

Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar (SLO) said Tuesday that he will skip the Vuelta a Espana in August, rest from his fourth Tour win and get ready to defend his World Road Championship title in Rwanda in September.

“After such a demanding Tour, we decided it was best to take a break, The Vuelta is, of course, a race I would dearly love to return to. I have fantastic memories there from 2019, but now the body is telling me to rest.”

● Shooting ● A new experiment in the sport is getting ready to launch in November, as the National Rifle Association of India received support from the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) for its new “Shooting League of India” venture to debut in November.

The league concept, announced in April, is to feature 6-8 teams in cities, with an 11-day tournament from 20 November to 2 December with 12-shooter, mixed-gender teams competing in six events (10 m & 25 m Pistol, 10 m & 50 m/3 Positions Rifle and Trap and Skeet).

Shooters will receive fees from €5,000 to 10,000 for the tournament, depending on their position in an athlete draft; the goal is to “transform shooting into a mainstream sport by engaging wider audiences and providing a professional platform for athletes.”

Said ISSF President Luciano Rossi (ITA): “The League of India is very important to us and is in the right direction to create publicity for the athletes and help their dream of becoming known around the world.”

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SWIMMING: Ledecky supreme for sixth 1,500 m gold at Singapore World Champs, on a five-medal day for the U.S.

By
Rich Perelman
-
Freestyle superstar Katie Ledecky (USA)

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≡ WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPS ≡

Some things don’t change, like American Freestyle star Katie Ledecky winning the women’s 1,500 m Free at the World Aquatics Championships.

So in Singapore on Tuesday, Ledecky had the lead at the first turn and pulled away for a comfortable win in 15:26.44, the no. 4 performance in history and giving her 24 of the top 25 fastest times ever recorded in the event.

Italy’s Simona Quadarella, who won this event at the Worlds when Ledecky did not contest it in 2019 and 2024, was second in 15:31.79, a European Record and no. 2 all-time, with the no. 12 performance. Australian Lani Pallister took third at 15:41.18.

Ledecky now has an astonishing 28 career World Championship medals and has won the 1,500 m Free six times, in 2013-15-17-22-23-25, not to mention her Olympic wins at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.

She’s not done, either, with the 800 m Free and the 4×200 m Free relay still to come.

Ledecky’s teammates were busy on Tuesday:

● Women’s 100 m Backstroke: Another showdown between Australia’s Olympic champ Kaylee McKeown and American Regan Smith, with Smith out best as usual, but McKeown with too much at the end, winning in 57.16, the no. 2 performance all-time, just 0.03 off of Smith’s 2024 world record.

Smith was second – again – in 57.35, with teammate Katharine Berkoff third in 58.15. Smith, still just 23, won the Paris silver in this event and now has Worlds silvers in 2023 and 2025, all to McKeown. She did win the 2022 Worlds gold.

Berkoff won her second Worlds bronze in this event, also in 2023 and she took the Olympic bronze in Paris last year.

● Women’s 100 m Breaststroke: Kate Douglass of the U.S. was the leading qualifier at 1:05.49 in the semis, but got out only fourth at the turn, behind defending champ Qianting Tang (CHN), German Anna Elendt – swimming in lane one – and Anna Bottazzo (ITA). But she came on during the final lap and passed Tang and Bottazzo, but not Elendt, who got to the touch first in 1:05.19, fastest in the world this year, a national record and tied for 12th all-time.

Douglass finished in 1:05.27, a lifetime best and now no. 14 all-time and no. 6 all-time U.S. Tang hung on for third at 1:05.64.

● Men/200 m Freestyle: Olympic champion David Popovici (ROU) and bronze winner Luke Hobson of the U.S. came in at the top of the 2025 world list and battled for the victory on Tuesday.

Hobson had the lead at the 100 m mark in 50.07, with Popovici only fourth, and Hobson led by 0.65 at the final turn, but Popovici had plenty left and covered the final 50 m in just 26.43 to sail by and win in 1:43.53, the no. 10 performance in history.

Hobson faded a bit at the end, but finished a strong second in 1:43.84, moving up from third at Paris and at the 2024 Worlds in Doha. Japan’s Tatsuya Murasa came from fifth to third on the final lap (1:44.54); fellow American Gabriel Jett was eighth in 1:45.92.

● Men/100 m Backstroke: The U.S. had no finalists in this event, with veteran stars Ryan Murphy and Hunter Armstrong taking time off this year. World leader Pieter Coetze (RSA) would have been hard to beat anyway, zooming from third at the turn to pass Olympic champion Thomas Ceccon (ITA) and touch in 51.85, fastest in the world this year and moving him to equal-third on the all-time list (and the equal-third performance).

Ceccon won silver in 51.90 – the no. 6 performance ever – and France’s Yohann Ndoye-Brouard took the bronze in 51.92 (he’s no. 6 all-time) in a very tight finish.

In the men’s 800 m Freestyle qualifying, 2022 World men’s 800 m champion Bobby Finke of the U.S. was fourth in 7:44.02, with Tunisia’s Ahmed Jaquadi the leader at 7:41.58.

China’s Haiyang Qin, already the men’s 100 m Breast winner, led the men’s 50 m Breaststroke semifinals at 26.52; the U.S. had no qualifiers.

American Luca Urlando, already the world leader in the men’s 200 m Butterfly, scorched the semis, winning the second race in 1:52.84, the no. 3 performance of the year … but slower than his 1:52.71 in the morning heats! Teammate Carson Foster was the no. 4 qualifier at 1:54.30; defending champ Ilya Kharun (CAN) qualifed fifth at 1:54.43.

U.S. teen star Claire Weinstein, 18, recovering from the stomach trouble that plagued much of the American team in training camp, led the women’s 200 m Freestyle qualifying at 1:54.69, second-fastest of the year, with world leader and Olympic champion Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS) next at 1:55.49, both from semi two. Erin Gemmell of the U.S. also qualified, in eighth position in 1:56.03.

With the American health appearing to return, the U.S. now has 10 medals (2-5-3) to lead the medal table, with Australia (3-1-2: 6) next and Italy (0-4-1) with five.

Wednesday’s finals include (of course) the men’s 800m Free, 50 m Breast and 200 m Fly, the women’s 200 m Free and the mixed 4×100 m medley.

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AQUATICS: Fabulous World Aquatics financial report for 2024 released, showing record $108 million revenue, $241 million in assets!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ 2024 FINANCIAL BONANZA ≡

A spectacular financial report for World Aquatics, released on Tuesday for the federation Congress in Singapore, shows the federation with $107.83 million in 2024 revenues, a surplus of $51.17 million for the year and $241.51 million in assets.

Wow.

In 2024, the federation had an unprecedented set of circumstances which generated enormous revenues:

● $67.76 million in hosting and commercial revenue
● $38.86 million in Olympic Movement revenue
● $1.21 million in other income
● $107.83 million total operating revenue

The expenses:

● $28.71 million in development and athlete support
● $22.81 million in event expenses
● $10.80 million in administration costs
● $3.74 million in anti-doping expenses
● $1.50 million in legal costs
● $1.48 million in other expenses
● $69.04 million total operating expenses

That leaves $38.79 million in operating income for 2024; World Aquatics also enjoyed $8.29 million in investment income and a transfer of $4.08 million from the federation’s capital reserves, bringing the yearly surplus to a glossy $51.17 million.

The key to this bonanza was the presence in 2024 of both an Olympic Games and a World Aquatics Championships, something which had never happened before:

● World Aquatics, as a tier-one federation along with World Athletics and the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, received $37.84 million from the International Olympic Committee as its share of the Paris 2024 Olympic television rights sales.

● World Aquatics had two of its major events in 2024, with the World Aquatics Championships on Doha in February bringing in $50.06 million in fees, TV rights, sponsorships and in-kind value, the World Short-Course swimming champs in December in Budapest (HUN) earning $10.90 million and other events, $6.81 million, for a $67.76 million total.

(For those thinking about a future World Aquatics Championships in the U.S., World Aquatics received $27.64 million in host-city partnerships and fees for Doha 2024; the fees for Fukuoka 2023 were $26.50 million. World Aquatics Championships have been attributed to Budapest for 2027 and Beijing (CHN) for 2029.)

The balance sheet is impressive:

● $241.15 million in assets, up from $191.51 million in 2023.
● $167.88 million in reserves, up from $120.80 million in 2023.
● $36.92 million in deferred income, meaning the cash is in hand, but the event to which this money applies is in the future.

All of these totals – income, assets and reserves – are all records for World Aquatics, and one of the best financial performances by any International Federation ever, outside of football behemoth FIFA.

The statements are being presented to the World Aquatics Congress for approval in Singapore, where they are expected to be welcomed by the delegates.

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PANORAMA: IOC chief says Paris protocol likely in 2026 for Russia, Belarus; drones the biggest mega-event threat; record attendance at Women’s Euro25

By
Rich Perelman
-
Kansas City police chief Stacey Graves testifying at the 22 July 2025 House Homeland Security Committee hearing on major-event security (C-SPAN video screen shot).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) talked with the French all-sport newspaper L’Equipe about the possibility of Russian entries at the 2026 Winter Games:

“We haven’t made a final decision. For Milan-Cortina, I’m not going to anticipate the Executive Board’s decisions in September and December , but I think we’ll probably follow the same decision as for Paris.”

The IOC implemented a strict review of Russian and Belarusian entries as to “neutrality” grounds, for those federations which allowed them to compete. Among the winter federations, the International Skating Union is allowing very limited entries – one per event – and the International Federation for Ski Mountaineering is allowing some entries.

The other winter federations for biathlon, bobsleigh and skeleton, luge, skiing and the team sports of curling and hockey have not allowed Russian entries.

● Event Security ● A panel on “Lessons Learned: An Examination of Major Security Incidents at Mass Gathering Events” was held last week by the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee Task Force on Enhancing Security for Special Events. The panel, including senior law enforcement officials from Boston, Kansas City, Miami and New Orleans, emphasized two points especially: prevention of drone attacks and multi-level cooperation.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Groves explained that funding for preparation and protection of events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup – where Kansas City will host matches – and the 2028 Olympic Games is always the top issue, but beyond that:

“The second primary concern is detection and counter-UAS [unmanned aerial systems] authority. Despite our responsibility to safeguard the public, the local law enforcement agencies are currently constrained by Federal regulations that prohibit or severely limit our ability to detect, disrupt, or disable unauthorized drones in real time.

“This creates significant operational gap that hinders our capacity to respond effectively to aerial threats. The proliferation of consumer drones, their affordability, and their potential use by bad actors amplifies this concern. At times our officers are put in the position of observing potentially dangerous drone activity without the legal authority or technical tools to mitigate the threat.

“This not only endangers the safety of event attendees and infrastructure, but also undermines public confidence in our ability to provide a safe environment. We respectfully request Congress to prioritize the following:

● “Authorize the deployment of unmanned aerial systems – UAS – detection and counter-UAS technology at local and regional levels.

● “Current FAA BVLOS or beyond-visual-line-of-sight waivers without visual observers are limited to 200 feet AGL [above ground level], while standard UAB operations allow up to 400 feet above ground level.

“This restriction hampers our ability to monitor and secure wide areas, particularly around stadiums and large venues. For events like FIFA World Cup, authorization for BVLOS operations at 400 feet AGL is essential.

● “Ensure Federal UAS teams are embedded at each World Cup host site to provide airspace security. Without these changes, the increasing use of drones, whether by careless hobbyists or bad actors, will continue to outpace the ability of local law enforcement to respond. We stand ready to collaborate with federal partners to close this critical gap in public safety.”

Col. Robert Hodges, the Superintendent of the Louisiana State Police, emphasized the need for close coordination among all levels of law enforcement, especially in responding to the New Year’s Eve terrorist truck incident on Bourbon Street that killed 15, injured more than 30 and caused the Sugar Bowl playoff football game to be delayed a day:

“I think it’s the collaboration between all branches of law enforcement at all levels, local, state, and Federal. No one worried about who’s getting the credit, just acting as a force multiplier. It doesn’t matter who’s in charge.

“We all – it doesn’t matter the badge or the uniform – just that we all work collectively and that we share the information. And I think we were able to do that with the help of many others who had challenges before us. We learned those lessons and we had been working very closely throughout the year of 2024 prior to that New Year’s Eve attack, and we had such a strong relationship with our partners in law enforcement.

“It’s no secret that the crime in the city of New Orleans, violent crime was down 40%, at the time of that attack. So when it did happen, and we all collectively were already there for the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Eve, everyone knew all the leaders in the room. We knew our capabilities, our limitations, and we leveraged that. And because we worked and trusted one another so much, that’s how we were able to build trust and work together regardless of backgrounds. No fiefdoms, no one trying to take credit.”

● Aquatics ● At the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, China scored two more golds, giving them five wins in six events so far. In the men’s 3 m Synchro, two-time Olympic champ Zongyuan Wang teamed with new partner Jiuyuan Zheng to win with 467.31 points, edging Mexico’s Juan Celaya and Osmar Olvera (449.28). Britain’s Jack Laugher and Anthony Harding finished third (405.33); the U.S. pair of Grayson Campbell and Jack Ryan finished sixth (374.82).

In the women’s 10 m Synchro, Tokyo and Paris Olympic winner Yuxi Chen also teamed with a new partner, Minjie Zhang, and won easily, 349.26 to 304.80 over Mexico’s Gabriela Agundez and Alejandra Estudillo. North Korea’s Jim-mi Jo and Mi-hwa Kim took third, with Americans Bayleigh Cranford and Daryn Wright finishing sixth (274.41).

Chinese prodigy Zidi Yu, 12, finished a close fourth in the women’s 200 m Medley in Singapore on Monday and has better prospects in the 200 m Butterfly and 400 m Medley. She spoke with reporters about her experience so far after making the finals of the 200 m Medley on Sunday night:

“This is my first world championship, I didn’t expect it to be so competitive. However, I am just trying to enjoy competing here, and I didn’t even expect to make it to the final. I only learned about it from you now; I didn’t know my result and time.

“Yes, I feel like there is a lot of attention on me, it’s a bit of pressure, but I try to concentrate on my swims.”

● Archery ● American stars Brady Ellison and Casey Kaufhold were the Recurve men’s and women’s winners at the USA Archery Team Qualifier Rebel Gear Buckeye Classic in Dublin, Ohio.

Ellison disposed of third-seeded Nicholas D’Amour, 6-0 in the men’s final, winning his matches by 6-0, 6-2, 7-1, 6-0 and 6-0. Kaufhold battled with fellow Olympian Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez and eked out a 29-27 final end to win by 6-5.

The Compound titles went to Stephan Hansen (men) and Sachiko Keane (women).

● Cycling ● At the fourth Tour de France Femmes, Dutch star Lorena Wiebes won the fairly flat third stage, 163.5 km to Angers, leading race leader Marianne Vos (NED) on the finishing sprint, with the first 70 riders receiving the same time.

Overall, Vos still leads Kimberley Pienaar (MRI) by 0:06 and France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prevot by 0:12 with six stages left, with the final four all climbing routes.

● Fencing ● At the FIE World Championships in Tbilisi (GEO), the U.S. scored another gold with Olympic and World Champion Lee Kiefer leading the women’s Team Foil squad of Emily Jing, Jaelyn Liu and Lauren Scruggs to a rout of France, 45-24, in the final. It’s only the second time the U.S. has won this event at the Worlds, and Kiefer was also on that team, in 2018!

Kiefer, still just 31, now owns nine Worlds medals in her career (3-2-4).

Italy won the men’s Team Sabre, 45-37 over Hungary, its first win in the event since 2015 and its seventh all-time.

● Football ● Record attendance for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, with a sell-out of 34,203 at the final in Basel and a total spectator count of 657,291. That’s an average of 21,203 per match and a total gain of 82,416 over the 2022 total of 574,875 in England.

Of the 31 matches, 29 were labeled as sell-outs, across eight host cities.

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LANE ONE: Remembering the Games that changed everything: Los Angeles 1984 started 41 years ago today

By
Rich Perelman
-
The magnificently-decorated peristyle end of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the Opening Ceremonies of the 1984 Olympic Games (Photo: Wikipedia)

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≡ LA84: 41 YEARS ON ≡

A third Olympic Games is being organized in Los Angeles, to take place in 2028. Without the success of the 1932 Games, organized with a surplus in the depths of the Great Depression, and the 1984 Games, which re-wrote the script on how major events are assembled, there would be no LA28.

So on the 41st anniversary of the opening of the Games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad, it’s worth looking back for a moment on the Games that changed everything.

That things would be different came from the bid. Los Angeles was the only bidder for the 1984 Games – no, Tehran did NOT bid, only inquired – and the process was a lot simpler than it is now. There was a glossy brochure touting the advantages of Los Angeles and a thick, comb-bound book of responses to questionnaires from the 21 International Federations with sports at the Games.

The introduction, written by Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games chair John Argue, started with five words never seen before in an Olympic bid:

“Arrangements are to be spartan.”

That was a direct response to the C$1 billion deficit from the 1976 Montreal Games, which had scared off everyone else except Los Angeles. And the arduous bid process finally concluded only when a recalcitrant International Olympic Committee agreed that no government entity would agree to be the financial backstop for the Games; the Games would be privately financed.

The rest is history and 41 years ago today, 92,655 people jammed into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to see the four-hour ceremonial opening that captivated a worldwide audience of 2.3 billion. The entry of “rocketman” Bill Suitor, the 84 grand pianos and more was dazzling, but the most stunning moment of the opening came at 5:32 p.m.

One of the impressive features of the Moscow 1980 Olympic opening was the card-stunt section, meticulously rehearsed using thousands of military personnel to portray the Olympic Rings, the Misha mascot and messages of welcome. In Los Angeles, card stunts had been a regular part of college football games – especially UCLA games – for decades and a former UCLA Rally Committee chair, Mark Flaisher, created a program involving everyone in the Coliseum except the press and broadcast sections – 85,000 people – who on cue turned the vinyl cards into the flags of 140 attending nations:

I was in the Coliseum and you could hear the gasps of 92,000-plus people as they understood what they were seeing. The stunt lasted just two minutes, but it stamped the ceremony as one for the ages.

The Los Angeles Games were the third in a row to be boycotted by a group of nations, after Montreal in 1976 and Moscow in 1980. But it also created and extended iconic Olympic figures like Carl Lewis, Joan Benoit Samuelson in the first-ever Olympic women’s marathon, Edwin Moses, Mary Lou Retton, Rowdy Gaines, the U.S. men’s and women’s basketball teams, and many more.

How did it happen?

As the editor of the Official Report of the Games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad, I had the privilege of reviewing the entire history of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee (LAOOC). To me, five individuals stand out as the catalysts for the success of the Games:

● John Argue, head of the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games, which served as the private bid committee. Argue, more than anyone else, was the driving force behind the award of the Games to Los Angeles.

● Tom Bradley, Mayor of Los Angeles, who saw the opportunity the Games could offer to the area and skillfully and steadily maneuvered through the political minefields of both the IOC and the Los Angeles City Council, to obtain the Games with no City backing whatsoever. He then managed the City bureaucracy to help make the Games work, in close coordination with the LAOOC.

● Peter Ueberroth, hired to be the President of the LAOOC in March 1979. A 42-year-old travel industry entrepreneur who had built the second-largest agency in the country, Ueberroth led the organizing committee with bravado, insight and a drive to find people equally as committed as he to make the Games work. He was brilliant and rightly celebrated for his and the LAOOC’s achievements. 

● Harry Usher, the Executive Vice President and General Manager, who knew Ueberroth from his law practice and took over the day-to-day details of the organizing committee in 1980. It is not an exaggeration to say that the 1984 Games would not have happened without Usher. He was amazing, both in his ability to gather, process and use information, and to get people to work together … whether they wanted to or not.

● David Wolper, the famed television producer and eventually the producer of those memorable opening and closing ceremonies of the Games. But his hidden role was even more important, especially in the early days, helping Ueberroth with the U.S. television negotiations. It was Wolper who developed the concept of looking not at what had been paid for prior Games, but how much revenue a U.S. broadcaster could create from broadcasting the Games; that led to the historic, $225 million deal (plus host broadcaster production responsibility) with ABC in September 1979 that set the LAOOC’s financial foundation.

Only Ueberroth is still with us today; four of the five are pictured below from a party following the 28 July opening: from left to right, Ueberroth, Wolper, Argue and Usher:

What they and thousands of others achieved was remarkable:

● The Los Angeles Games changed the way television rights are sold, signing a then-staggering $225 million cash rights deal (plus $100 million in host broadcast services) with ABC in 1979, and sports marketing with a program of exclusive categories and limited availability (35 Official Sponsors, 64 Official Suppliers).

● The original budget projections were for $368 million in revenues, $347 million in expenses and a $21 million surplus. But revenues skyrocketed to more than $769 million (209%) and a surplus of $232.5 million was realized, with 60% going to the U.S. Olympic Committee and the National Governing Bodies and 40% to what is now the LA84 Foundation.

● Of the 27 competition venues, only three were built: the McDonald’s Olympic Swim Stadium at the University of Southern California; the 7-11 Eleven Velodrome at Cal State Dominguez Hills and the Olympic Shooting Range in Chino. Everything else was existing or temporary; the USC swimming facility and Chino shooting range are still in operation; the velodrome was removed to create the Dignity Health Sports Park, which includes a new, indoor velodrome.

● Games staffing was founded on the use of volunteers, a concept already part of the Los Angeles culture, but completely new elsewhere. The 1984 Games were staged with a workforce of more than 81,000, with 45,450 from the LAOOC, of which ~33,500 were volunteers. Another 36,000 contract workers were also used, primarily from suppliers and vendors.

● New concepts were introduced in multiple sectors: a 10-week Olympic Arts Festival instead of a Games-period-only program; a four-year youth sports program replaced the Games-period Youth Camp; a national torch relay that raised funds for youth; today’s accreditation system that separates who-you-are from where-you-can-go … all of these were created by the LAOOC. New technologies such as electronic mail and accessed-from-anywhere voice mail were introduced at LA84.

The result was a record-breaking Games on many levels, not least of which was 140 nations in attendance, shattering the Munich 1972 mark of 122. And it proved that the Games need not be a financial loser if existing venues are emphasized, a concept at the center of the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Agenda 2020, adopted 30 years after the 1984 Los Angeles Games, in 2014.

The legacy of the 1984 Games continues with the LA84 Foundation, opened as the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles in 1985 with $93 million of the LAOOC surplus. In the succeeding decades, it has impacted four million young people, invested more than $230 million in youth sports and is tirelessly lobbying for more private and public support for “play equity” for youth.

The 40th anniversary of the 1984 Games was celebrated in considerable style at the LA84 Foundation last year, with Games stars like Lewis, Greg Louganis, Cheryl Miller, Moses, Bart Conner and more on hand.

But even a year later, the 1984 Games is worth remembering, 41 years on.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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SWIMMING: Walsh storms to women’s 100 Fly title in no. 2 time ever; McIntosh wins second gold at World Aquatics Champs

By
Rich Perelman
-
World Champion Gretchen Walsh of the U.S. (Photo: USA Swimming).

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≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

Day two of the swimming at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore brought world-record holder Gretchen Walsh of the U.S. to the blocks for her first final, and she did not disappoint.

Recovering from the food poisoning issues at the U.S. training camp in Thailand, she dominated the women’s 100 m Butterfly final, leading by more than a half-second at the turn and storming home in 54.73, the no. 2 performance in history, second only to her world mark of 54.60 from May of this year. It’s her first individual Worlds gold.

Belgium’s Roos Vanotterdijk was a clear second at 55.84, moving her to no. 8 all-time. Alex Perkins (AUS) took the bronze in 56.33.

Canadian star Summer McIntosh was back for her second final – and second gold – in the women’s 200 m Medley, leading from the start over Alex Walsh of the U.S. (Gretchen’s older sister). McIntosh led throughout and touched in 2:06.89, the equal-10th performance in history.

Walsh, the 2022 World Champion, won her third Worlds medal in this event in second in 2:08.58, and Canadian Mary-Sophie Harvey took the bronze in 2:09.15, with 12-year-old Zidi Yu (CHN) a very close fourth in 2:09:21.

Oh yes, there were two men’s finals on Monday:

● Men/100 m Breaststroke: China’s Haiyang Qin, the 2023 World Champion, got out second to Olympic champion Nicolo Martinenghi (ITA) at the turn, but had plenty left to surge ahead and win, 58.23 to 58.58. Qin’s time is the fastest of 2025, 1/100th better than his semifinal winner; it’s his second Worlds gold in this event.

Denis Petrashov (KGZ) got a national record of 58.88 for third, his first Worlds medal. American Josh Matheny finished seventh in 59.26.

● Men/50 m Butterfly: France’s Maxime Grousset, the 2023 World Champion in the 100 Fly, flew to a national record of 22.48 to touch first over 2024 Worlds short-course winner Noe Ponti (SUI: 22.51). Those are the two fastest times in the world for 2025 and Grousset and Ponti are nos. 4-5 all-time in the event.

Italy’s Thomas Ceccon, the 2023 World Champion in this event, got the bronze at 22.67.

In the morning qualifying heats, U.S. star Katie Ledecky easily led the women’s 1,500 m heats in 15:36.68, more than 10 seconds faster than anyone else, and the no. 17 performance in history (she has the top 24).

In the evening semi-finals, American Luke Hobson led all qualifiers for the men’s 200 m Freestyle, clocking 1:44.80, ahead of Korea’s Sun-woo Hwang (1:44.84). World leader (and Olympic champ) David Popovici (HUN) qualified fourth in 1:45.02, winning semi two. American Gabriel Jett also qualified, in eighth at 1:45.60.

Hungary’s Hubert Kos, the Paris 2024 200 m Backstroke winner, led the qualifying in the men’s 100 m Back in 52.21, his best of the year.

American star Kate Douglass posted the no. 2 time of the year in leading the women’s 100 m Breast semifinals in 1:05.49, a lifetime best. She’s now no. 21 all-time and no. 9 all-time U.S. Italy’s Anita Bottazzo qualified second in 1:05.61; world-record holder Lilly King of the U.S. was ninth in 1:06.26 and did not make the final.

Fellow American Regan Smith, the Olympic silver medalist, led the women’s 100 m Back semi-finals at 58.21, ahead of Olympic champ Kaylee McKeown (AUS: 58.44) and Canada’s Kylie Masse (58.66). Katharine Berkoff of the U.S. was the no. 4 qualifier at 58.79, winning semi one.

Tuesday’s finals include the men’s 200 Free and 100 Back and the women’s 1,500 m Free, 100 Back and 100 Breast. The meet continues through Sunday.

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U.S. OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC MUSEUM: As five-year anniversary approaches, facility is rebuilding attendance to 2021 levels and beyond

By
Rich Perelman
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The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs (Photo: Diller, Scofidio + Renfro).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ DIFFICULT FIRST FIVE ≡

“We have this amazing asset, and we know we’re telling amazing stories for Team USA.

“We know too many people in our region and beyond don’t know we’re here. To do right by this community – to do right by Olympic City, USA – we’re making sure we’re shouting it from the rooftops.”

That’s Marisa Wigglesworth, the chief executive for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum, which opened on 30 July 2020 and will celebrate its fifth anniversary on Wednesday. The Museum’s situation was reviewed in detail by the hometown Colorado Springs Gazette on Sunday, noting that attendance has been a continuing challenge.

The 60,000 sq. ft. facility, with its distinctive aluminum skin, broke ground on June 2017 and opened three years later, with projections of as many as 350,000 attendees per year. Unfortunately, its completion also coincided with the devastating Covid-19 pandemic.

The USOPM provided the key statistics for the facility, which is completely  separate and independent of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, also headquartered in Colorado Springs:

Attendance:
● 2021: 106,767
● 2022: 77,205
● 2023: 69,929
● 2024: 83,582
● 2025: 42,901 through 13 July

Revenues:
● 2021: $14,923,458
● 2022: $10,754,077
● 2023: $7,292,709
● 2024: $6,430,781
● 2025: $3,176,865 through 13 June

The building cost rose from an initial estimate of $65 million to about $91 million, and was financed with a state grant of $26.2 million, but mostly with private funds and a Colorado Springs Urban Renewal Authority bond issue.

A 2023 review noted that the Museum operated at a loss in 2020 and 2021, but turned a surplus in 2022; the Gazette story noted:

“In 2023, the museum operated at a loss of about $1.3 million. Its expenses in 2024 totaled about $6 million, not including nearly $3 million in depreciation. Expenses for 2025 are about $2.9 million, as of June 30.”

The Museum has undergone some management turbulence as Chris Liedel, named as its first chief executive in 2018 and who oversaw the opening, was dismissed in early June 2021. Board member Phil Lane served as acting chief, then left for health reasons and Board member Pam Shockley-Zalabak was installed until Wigglesworth was hired in June 2023 from the Buffalo Museum of Science and the 264-acre Tifft Nature Preserve in New York State.

Now in the job for two years, Wigglesworth said the marketing effort is being stepped up and adjustments for the future are being made:

“Five years in, we’re learning a lot. What is clear to us is that 350,000 visitors a year was not an accurate projection for this museum, in this community, in this tourism destination. We are in the process of re-establishing what is going to be our attendance model.”

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PANORAMA: Johnson says investor exit root of Grand Slam Track issues; USA Weightlifting asks trans “open” category; Pogacar wins 4th Tour de France!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Olympic and World Champion Foil star Lee Kiefer of the U.S. (Photo: FIE).

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≡ SPOTLIGHT ≡

● Athletics ● Grand Slam Track founder Michael Johnson confirmed to Front Office Sports that an investor pull-out was the reason for the cancellation of its fourth meet this year and the circuit’s funding problems:

“That was a huge blow to us, caused a major, major cash flow issue for us, put us in a difficult position, put our athletes in a difficult position. But we’re very confident that we’ll pull ourselves out of it.”

“We’ve had a very difficult situation this year financially. We had an investor that wasn’t able to honor their complete commitment to the league.”

“We’ve been working very hard over the last couple of months to make sure that we can get everyone taken care of and making sure that we can actually get to next season. It’s what I wake up in the middle of the night working on and thinking about and what I wake up [to] every morning.”

Grand Slam Track owes prize money for most or all of its three meets and owes nearly $93,000 to the City of Miramar, Florida for venue rental and ticket sales fees for the second meet on 2-4 May.

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● The agreement by the National Hockey League to have players participate in the Winter Games next year also means that NHL officials will be working the Games, along with officials from the International Ice Hockey Federation.

This is nothing new, as officials from both organizations have worked together in each Games in which the NHL has been involved, from Nagano 1998 through Sochi 2014. The IIHF noted last week:

“Any time, however, that two different crews come together, there is a period of adjustment, and that’s why the ‘blending’ will start next month, half a year away from the first game of the Olympics. All on-ice officials will gather in Buffalo, New York, to meet, train, and work together in preparation for Milano Cortina.”

Danny Kurmann (SUI), the IIHF’s director of officials, explained:

“The Olympic Games are officiated according to the IIHF rulebook, which closely aligns with the NHL’s rulebook. But our goal is to ensure consistent philosophy and interpretation across both leagues, so there will be discussions and training focused on these points. Team building is also a big part of our mini-camp in August – getting to know each other, building trust, and preparing together as a unified group. It’s all important to the end goal, which is to produce seamless officiating next February.”

● Transgender ● USA Weightlifting posted a statement after the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee changed its Athlete Safety Policy to follow Presidential Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.” The statement included:

“Failure to follow this mandate risks USAW’s position as the national governing body for the sport of weightlifting in the United States.

“Our current Athlete Gender Inclusion, Competitive Equity, and Eligibility Policy (effective Jan. 1, 2025) does not comply with the USOPC’s mandate because we provide a pathway for transgender women to compete in the female category. In response to that mandate, USA Weightlifting must update our policy to prohibit transgender women from competing in the female category. We are engaging with our community, including transgender athletes, to determine how we can best keep and protect a meaningful place in our sport for our transgender athletes while also meeting this new standard.

“We’re targeting September 1 for our Board of Directors to consider and approve a new policy. … We are hopeful that the USOPC will allow for our new policy to include alternative competition solutions (e.g., an open category) for our transgender athletes, but those details are still under discussion and negotiation.”

In New Zealand, the government told Sport NZ, the recreation and sports authority in the country, to remove its 2022 guidelines on inclusion from its Web site. Per Sport NZ chief executive Raelene Castle:

“[T]he government has informed Sport NZ that it should not be involved in publishing guidelines related to gender in sport.

“Sporting organisations will continue to make their own decisions on the participation of transgender people in community sport and there are a range of expert organisations that can provide support.”

Sports Minister Mark Mitchell said, “The government does not want to be telling [federations] how to run their own sports; fundamentally we want to see rising participation in sport, but we want to make sure there is safety and fairness in all sports.”

≡ RESULTS ≡

● Aquatics ● Spain’s Iris Tio won her sixth medal of the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore in Artistic Swimming, teaming with Dennis Gonzalez to win the Mixed Duet Free final, scoring 323.8563 to edge Russian “neutrals” Aleksandr Maltsev and Olesia Platonova (323.4438).

In the Team Acrobatic final, China outscored Russia (“neutrals”) and Spain, 220.0186 to 224.7291 to 221.0962.

Diving began on Saturday with China taking the Mixed Team event, scoring 466.25 to 426.30 for Mexico and 409.65 for Japan. The U.S. team of Jack Ryan, Carson Tyler, Sophie Verzyl and Daryn Wright placed a close fourth, scoring 404.90.

Australia’s Maddison Keeney won her second Worlds gold in the women’s 1 m Springboard – previously way back in 2017 – at 308.00, well ahead of 2022 Worlds winner Yajie Li (CHN: 290.25) and Chiara Pellacani (ITA: 270.80). American Hailey Hernandez was fourth at 270.45, closing the gap on her final effort, but just missing the bronze.

China’s Jiiyuan Zheng won the men’s 1 m final, scoring 443.70 over Mexico’s Paris 3 m bronzer Osmar Olvera (429.60) and China’s Siyu Yan (405.50).

In the Mixed 10 m Synchro, China’s Yongxin Zhu and Peiling Zhe were 12th and last after the first of five dives, but were second-first-first on their next three and had the lead, winning a very tight 323.04 to 322.98 test against North Koreans Wi Hyon Choe and Jin Mi Jo. The U.S.’s Tyler Wills and Bayleigh Cranford finished fifth at 296.13.

● Badminton ● As expected, China dominated the BWF World Tour China Open in Changzhou, winning four of the five events, and all four were all-China finals!

Third-seed Yu Qi Shi, the 2018 Worlds runner-up, won the men’s Singles over Zheng Xing Wang, 14-21, 21-14, 21-15, and second-seed Zhi Yi Wang, a two-time Asian champ, won the women’s Singles final, 21-8, 21-13, over Yue Han.

Olympic runner-ups Sheng Shu Liu and Ning Tan won the women’s Doubles and Yan Zhe Feng and Dong Ping Huang took the Mixed Doubles. Indonesia won the men’s Doubles.

● Cycling ● The 112th Tour de France concluded on Sunday in the same way that four of the last six have: with Slovenian star Tadej Pogacar as the winner.

The last major challenge was Friday’s uphill-finishing stage to La Plagne, with Thymen Arensman (NED), the Stage 14 winner, taking off in the final climb with 14 km remaining on the shortened 93.1 km route. He was chased by the race’s top three – Pogacar, second-place Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) and Florian Lipowitz (GER), but Arensman got his second win in 2:46:06, with Vingegaard and Pogacar 2-3 (+0:02) and Lipowitz third (+0:06). That gave Pogacar a 4:24 lead on Vingegaard with two stages left, and the issue was decided.

Saturday’s hilly, 184.2 km stage to Pontarlier was won by Australian star Kaden Groves, who broke away on a 17 km attack and won in 4:06:09, up 54 seconds on Frank van den Broek (NED). Pogacar and Vingegaard were in a huge group 7:04 behind.

Sunday’s 132.3 km ride into Paris also had some hills and cobblestones, with Belgian star Wout van Aert taking his 10th career Tour de France stage, and first in 2025, in 3:07:30; he attacked with 6 1/2 km left and was all alone at the finish.

Davide Ballerini (ITA), Matej Mohoric (SLO) and Pogacar finished 2-3-4, all nine seconds back, with American Matteo Jorgenson in fifth. Pogacar ended at 76:00:32 for the entire race, winning by 4:24 over Vingegaard and 11:00 over Lipowitz; Sepp Kuss was the top American, in 17th (+1:20:24).

Pogacar now has four wins, tied with Chris Froome (GBR), and at just 26, he is now taking aim at the four five-time winners: Jacques Anquetil (FRA), Eddy Merckx (BEL), Bernard Hinault (FRA) and Miguel Indurain (ESP).

The fourth Tour de France Femmes started on Saturday, with Dutch star Marianne Vos taking the opening, 78.8 km stage to Plumelec, out-sprinting three others to win in 1:53:03. Sunday’s 110.4 km stage to Quimper saw Mavi Garcia (ESP) attack with 11 km to go and stay in front for the win in 2:44:29, three seconds ahead of the peloton, with Lorena Wiebes (NED) finishing second and Kimberley Pienaar (MRI) in third.

Lienaar and Vos share the overall lead, with the nine-stage race continuing through next Sunday.

● Fencing ● American Foil stars earned gold and silver at the FIE World Championships in Tbilisi (GEO), with two-time Olympic champion Lee Kiefer winning the women’s Foil on Friday, sailing past France’s Pauline Ranvier, 15-4, in the gold-medal match.

It’s Kiefer’s first individual Worlds gold, but her eighth Worlds medal (2-2-4); she had three prior individual bronzes in 2011-22-23. She said afterwards, “I’ve been chasing this for so long, and it’s eluded me. To be able to win this as well as the Olympics is awesome.”

The men’s Team Foil squad of Nick Itkin, Bryce Louie, Alexander Massialas and Gerek Meinhardt (Kiefer’s husband) dueled with Italy in the gold-medal final, coming up just short, 43-42, after making up a 10-point deficit. In the last six Worlds, the U.S. men’s Foil team has won four silvers (2017-18-22-25) and one gold (2019).

In the men’s Epee final, Olympic champ Koki Kano won a defensive battle with Hungary’s 2019 World Champion Gergely Siklosi, 10-9. Two-time Worlds medalist Sandra Bazadze (GEO) won his first individual gold in the men’s Sabre, defeating Jean-Philippe Patrice, 15-9 in the final.

The women’s Sabre was won by Russian “neutral” Yana Egorian, the 2016 Olympic champion, defeating surprise finalist Zuzanna Cieslar, 15-11.

France won the women’s Team Epee title with a 41-32 finals victory over the Russian “neutral” team. The U.S. team of Hadley Husisian, Leehi Machulsky, Cat Nixon and Tierna Oxenreider reached the quarterfinals, but lost to Russia.

● Football ● The UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 final in Basel (SUI) featured World Champion Spain and defending champion England and while the English generated some quality chances early, Spanish forward Mariona Caldentey scored in the 25th on a header off a cross from the right side by defender Ona Batlle.

That turned out to be the only score in the half and Spain ended with 68% of possession and a 7-6 edge on shots.

England got right back into it early in the second half as a play to the left side had substitute forward Chloe Kelly sending a cross into the box, and headed perfectly by striker Alessia Russo into the goal for the 1-1 tie in the 57th minute.

Spain continued to attack and hold most of the possession, but the English defended strongly and counterattacked when they could. Neither could score and the second half ended 1-1, with Spain holding 63% possession and 17-8 on shot attempts (10-2 in the second half).

England was more dangerous in the first extra period, but Spain almost scored right at the end as a cross in front of the English goal went between the legs of Spanish striker Salma Paralluelo. There was less excitement in the second extra period, again with no score, but Spain with three shots to none for England. On to penalties.

England’s Beth Mead scored on her penalty opener, but was told to re-take it, and Spain’s Cata Coll made the save. But after scoring on their first try, Spain failed to score on three tries in a row, with Paralluelo sending her try wide of the goal. In the fifth round, Kelly scored and closed the door, 3-1, and England defended its title from 2022.

● Gymnastics ● Paris Olympic All-Around gold medalist Darya Varfolomeev won the all-Around at the FIG Rhythmic World Challenge Cup in Cluj-Napoca (ROU), scoring 122.050 to edge Ukraine’s Taisiia Onofriichuk’s 120.150. American Rin Keys was eighth (112.200) and teammate Megan Chu was 15th (108.800).

Varfolomeev won the Ball final at 29.700, with Keys seventh (25.200), but Onofroochuk took the Clubs title (30.55), and won on Ribbon (29.050) with Keys second (28.050). Israel’s Meital Sumkin won on Hoop (29.300).

● Judo ● The IJF World Tour Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam drew 236 judoka to Mongolia, with Japan dominating with six wins among the 14 classes: Hiroto Shirakane (men’s 60 kg), Yuhei Oino (81 kg), Riku Okada (90 kg) and women’s winners Mitsuki Kondo (48 kg), Kokoro Fujishiro (52 kg), Utana Terada (70 kg).

● Volleyball ● Italy entered the Volleyball Nations League women’s finals in Lodz (POL) with a 12-0 record in round-robin play, and did not let up a bit, getting to the final with 3-0 sweeps of the U.S. and Poland.

Brazil had been second-best this season, losing only to Italy in early June and finishing 11-1. In Lodz, the Brazilians brushed Germany aside (3-0) and then came from a set down to edge Japan, 3-2 with a 15-8 final-set win.

In the final, the Italians completed a perfect season with a 22-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-22 triumph to finish at 15-0. Poland won the third-place match over Japan, 3-1.

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WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES: U.S. team powers to historic performance at Rhine-Ruhr 2025, tops medal table at 84!

By
Rich Perelman
-
The Rhine-Ruhr 2025 World University Games medals (Photo: Rhine-Ruhr 2025).

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≡ RHINE-RUHR 2025 ≡

The World University Games has been going on since 1959, with U.S. participation ebbing and flowing over the decades. At present, the American team is put together by a group called UniUSA, with the University Games open to athletes aged 18-25 who have been in school within a year of the event.

At the last University Games, in Chengdu (CHN) in 2021, the U.S. won 23 medals, including one gold. At the prior Games in 2019, in Naples (ITA), the American team did better, with 53 medals and 21 golds.

The 2025 World University Games concluded on Sunday in Germany, a de-centralized program with 18 sports across six cities in Germany, called “Rhine-Ruhr 2025.”

And the U.S. team, thanks to USA Swimming, topped the medal table for the first time this century with 84 total medals, including 28 golds, 27 silvers and 29 bronzes. Japan had the most golds, with 34, and 79 total medals and China had 74 total medals, with 30 golds.

This was a stunning outcome, as the U.S. had not been at the top of the medal table since 1999, when the WUG was in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. In fact, it was the seventh time – in 32 editions – that the American team won the most medals:

● 2025: 84 at Rhine-Ruhr (GER)
● 1999: 61 at Palma de Mallorca (ESP)
● 1997: 61 at Sicily (ITA)
● 1995: 60 at Fukuoka (JPN)
● 1993: 71 at Buffalo (USA)
● 1991: 79 at Sheffield (GBR)
● 1987: 69 at Zagreb (YUG)

The U.S. has won more golds at a single WUG than in 2025, with 32 at Tokyo (JPN) in 1967, 31 in Buffalo in 1993 and 29 at Sheffield in 1991.

For 2025, USA Swimming decided to handle the American team, integrating it into its team selection process; because the WUG is not supported by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee – it was at one time, but no longer – U.S. National Governing Bodies are not required to support the event or select the team.

But for 2025, USA Swimming did and the results were smashing: 50 total medals, including 27 golds (all but one of the U.S. wins), 12 silvers and 11 bronzes. Wow.

The rest of the U.S. performances added up to 34 medals in 12 disciplines:

● 9: Diving (0-4-5)
● 7: Taekwondo (1-1-7)
● 5: Athletics (0-4-1)
● 2: Basketball/5×5 (0-2-0)
● 2: Water Polo (0-2-0)
● 2: Basketball/3×3 (0-1-1)
● 2: Basketball/wheelchair (0-0-2)
● 1: Archery (0-1-0)
● 1: Badminton (0-0-1)
● 1: Gymnastics/artistic (0-0-1)
● 1: Rowing (0-0-1)
● 1: Volleyball/beach (0-0-1)

The one non-swimming gold was the Mixed Pair Poomsae event in Taekwondo, won by Eric Gun and Kaitlyn Reclusado.

For most of the U.S. team, it was up to each individual to pay for their trip. The USA Diving notice was typical:

“The World University Games events will be self-funded. It is projected that the cost for each participant will be approximately $5,600 per athlete and $4,800 per coach. All potential participants, including alternates, must provide all required paperwork and proof of funding- Financial Responsibility Agreement to USA Diving by May 18, 2025.”

But with the efforts of the athletes in swimming and the other 12 disciplines, the U.S. did something not seen in 26 years: win the most medals at a World University Games!

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FOOTBALL: FIFPRO chief rips FIFA “autocracy” and “spectacles”; FIFA slams back, says FIFPRO “does not really care” about players

By
Rich Perelman
-
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup ball (Photo: adidas).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ FIFPRO vs. FIFA HEATS UP ≡

It’s nasty now. The player union FIFPRO, working with 72 players unions worldwide, and the worldwide governing body FIFA are now in an open fight, hurling insults in competing interviews and news releases.

● On Wednesday, FIFPRO head Sergio Marchi (ARG) told The Athletic in a striking interview:

“The biggest obstacle to FIFPro today is the autocracy of FIFA’s president. [Gianni] Infantino lives in his own world, the only thing that matters to him are these grand spectacles.”

Marchi has been campaigning for better defined player rest periods between club play, national team matches and exhibitions and most recently, the expanded FIFA Club World Cup. Multiple matches were played in hot conditions in outdoor stadiums, with Marchi complaining:

“It’s perverse to schedule matches at noon in that kind of heat. What are they waiting for? A tragedy? A collapse on the field?”

In a FIFPRO statement, Marchi added:

“We’re in the 21st century and thousands of players still go unpaid. Meanwhile, FIFA celebrates record ticket sales. Let them have their party, but the people who built the game should be paid too.

“Football is deeply inequitable. It’s unjust. And we’re in a profession that ends at 35, with a whole life still ahead.

“It was announced that tickets for the World Cup are now going on sale, millions will surely be sold, according to the [FIFA] president, who says it will generate over three billion dollars in revenue. And it’s incredible. Yet I’ll say it again: There are still footballers who haven’t been paid their salaries for two, three, even four years.

“Most of the time players are afraid speaking up could hurt their careers. But it’s up to us, their representatives, to speak for them.”

● On Friday, FIFPRO held a meeting with 58 player unions in Amsterdam (NED) and added a statement that included:

“FIFPRO expressed its deepening concern over the way FIFA is currently managing global football.

“At the same time, FIFPRO reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to protecting the rights of men and women players – rights which are being seriously undermined by commercial policies imposed by its autocratic system of governance.

“The overloaded match calendar, the lack of adequate physical and mental recovery periods, extreme playing conditions, the absence of meaningful dialogue, and the ongoing disregard for players’ social rights have regrettably become pillars of FIFA’s business model; this is a model that puts the health of players at risk and sidelines those at the heart of the game.”

FIFA was hardly silent, responding with an exceedingly blunt statement, that included:

● “FIFA is extremely disappointed by the increasingly divisive and contradictory tone adopted by FIFPRO leadership as this approach clearly shows that rather than engaging in constructive dialogue, FIFPRO has chosen to pursue a path of public confrontation driven by artificial PR battles – which have nothing to do with protecting the welfare of professional players but rather aim to preserve their own personal positions and interests.”

● “On Saturday, 12 July 2025, following a protracted period of unsuccessful efforts to bring FIFPRO to the table in an environment of non-hostility and respectful, progressive dialogue, FIFA convened with multiple player unions in New York, United States, to announce and reaffirm concrete, progressive measures designed specifically to protect the physical and mental wellbeing of players worldwide.”

Among the announced changes are to be a minimum of 72 hours between matches and a minimum, 21-day rest period between seasons.

● “These concrete measures go beyond what FIFPRO has been pretending to be asking for, and FIFA is extremely surprised by their leadership’s reaction.

“Instead of welcoming these unprecedented announcements that benefit players all around the world, FIFPRO has responded with a series of personal and disrespectful attacks.

“This approach reveals a lot about FIFPRO priorities. It suggests that their leadership does not really care about the players, but rather about internal political fights and their image. FIFA’s proposed reforms are about impacting genuine change to support players and are far more important than preserving FIFPRO’s perceived image.”

At the end, the statement challenged FIFPRO:

“FIFA invites FIFPRO to return to the negotiating table, once they have stopped their blackmail and withdrawn their complaints, and once they have published their statutes, their full financial reports (including all their sources of income, the detailed intellectual property rights of the players they claim to own, and the funding one of their regional divisions receives from some football organisations), and the full list of individual members they claim to represent.”

Observed: Both sides are dug in and frustrated, with the conditions at the Club World Cup a flash point for multiple players, clubs and leagues which had issues with FIFA’s expansion of the tournament.

FIFPRO filed a claim against FIFA related to the expanded Club World Cup in June 2024, “asking the Brussels Court of Commerce to refer the case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) with four questions for a preliminary ruling.”

That filing, based on the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, is still pending and there might not be any movement until that case moves forward or is stopped.

FIFA’s meeting with other player groups outside of FIFPRO and the criticism of the conditions of the Club World Cup in the U.S. are pressure points for the federation, which weathered the human-rights angst with the Qatar World Cup in 2022, but has since handed the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, reigniting the debate.

No calm seas in sight.

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SWIMMING: McIntosh brilliant in 3:56.26 400 Free win, Australia sweeps both 4×100 m Free relays in first day at Singapore Worlds

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

No doubt about the featured race on the first day of swimming at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, and no doubt about Canada’s 18-year-old sensation Summer McIntosh, who stormed to a dominant win in the women’s 400 m Freestyle.

She had the lead from the start and by 100 m was 0.05 up on Australia’s Lani Pallister, with American star Katie Ledecky in third. At the half, McIntosh maintained the lead on Pallister and Ledecky, then Ledecky moved into second by the 250 mark, but could not close the gap.

McIntosh was up by 1.50 seconds at 350 m and cruised home in 3:56.26, the no. 5 performance in history. Meanwhile, China’s Bingjie Li, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medalist in this event, stormed from fourth to second to touch in 3:58.21, an Asian Record and now no. 4 all-time in the event.

Ledecky followed in 3:58.49 and then Pallister in 3:58.87, the fastest race in history and only the second time that four women have broken four minutes in the same race.

This was not, of course, the only race of the day, and McIntosh wasn’t finished:

● Men/400 m Freestyle: World-record holder Lukas Martens (GER) trailed 2023 World Champion Sam Short (AUS) for most of the second half of the race, but had more speed in the final 50 m and touched first in 3:42.35 to Short’s 3:42.37. Korea’s Woo-min Kim won a battle with Victor Johansson (SWE) for third: 3:42.60 to 3:42.88.

● Women/4×100 m Freestyle: Australia and the U.S. were expected to duel here and they did, but with the Australians in front the whole way, starting with two-time 100 m Free World Champion Mollie O’Callaghan in 52.79, followed by Meg Harris (51.87), Milla Jansen (52.89) and Olivia Wunsch (53.05), finishing in 3:30.60. It’s the no. 8 performance ever.

The U.S. was a clear second, with Rio 2016 100 Free co-champ Simone Manuel (53.09), then Kate Douglass (51.90), Erin Gemmell (53.17) and Torri Huske (52.88) for a 3:31.04 total. That’s the third-fastest performance in American history, and no. 14 all-time.

The Netherlands was a distant third at 3:33.8.

● Men/4×100 m Freestyle: The U.S. was in front from the start, with Jack Alexy (47.24), Patrick Sammon (47.03) and Chris Guiliano (47.43), but no one had an answer for Rio 2026 100 m Free gold medalist Kyle Chalmers, now 27, who blasted a 46.53 split on anchor to bring Australia from third to first at the touch in 3:08.97, a national record and equal-third all-time.

With Jonny Kulow (47.94) swimming last for the U.S., Italy also rode a hot anchor in Manuel Frigo (47.34) to claim the silver in 3:09.58 (no. 10 performance ever) to 3:09.64 for the Americans (no. 11).

It’s the third straight Worlds in which the U.S. men have been third in this race, after winning three in a row from 2017-22.

There were also semifinals in four events:

● Men/100 m Breast: China’s Haiyang Qin, the 2023 World Champion, led the semifinalists at 58.24, fastest in the world in 2025, to win semi two, ahead of Nicolo Martinenghi (ITA: 58.62) and Ludovico Viberti (ITA: 58.89). American Josh Matheny was second in semi one in 59.15 and advanced as no. 5 overall.

● Men/50 m Butterfly: France’s Maxime Grousset, the 2023 World Champion in the 100 Fly, led the semifinals with a win in the second race at 22.61, just ahead of 2024 short-course champ Noe Ponti (SUI: 22.72, the semi one winner.

Americans Dare Rose (23.02) and Michael Andrew (23.23) finished 12th and 16th and did not qualify for the final.

● Women/100 m Butterfly: World-record holder Gretchen Walsh of the U.S. tied with Roos Vanotterdijk (NED) for the win in semi two at 56.07 and they co-led all qualifiers for the final. Australian Alex Perkins won semi one in 56.19.

● Women/200 m Medley: Only a half-hour after her win in the 400 Free, McIntosh was back in the pool for the Medley semis and won semi one in 2:07.39 – she’s already the world leader at 2:05.70 – and was easily the top qualifier.

American Alex Walsh, the 2022 World Champion and Tokyo 2020 silver medalist, won semi two in 2:08.49. Teammate Phoebe Bacon was seventh in semi one (2:11.53) and did not advance to the final.

The swimming continues through the week; television coverage in the U.S. is only on the Peacock streaming service.

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PANORAMA: Liveris says Brisbane 2032 is on track; SafeSport opens CEO, CFO searches; Pogacar makes major move toward Tour de France title

By
Rich Perelman
-
Brisbane 2032 organizing committee chief Andrew Liveris (Photo: ABC News video screen shot).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2032: Brisbane ● “The venues got a lot of noise. The political body was disagreeing on a couple of very big ones and that didn’t help, but they got that out of the way and frankly, seven years to go, we have our plans, and I’m happy with where we are.

“Seven years is enough time, but we don’t have a lot of wiggle room.”

That’s Andrew Liveris (AUS), the President of the Brisbane 2032 organizing committee and former worldwide chief executive and Board Chair of Dow Chemical, telling Reuters that progress is being made according to plan:

“With 84% of our venues being existing or temporary, we’re mostly in good shape. But the 16% includes the stadium, includes the aquatic centre, it includes a few very important venues. That would be the biggest challenge we have.”

He also sees the Games helping Queensland as one of the growth areas of the country, explaining, “What Queensland is going through, southeast Queensland in particular, is growing pains.

“I think a lot of people want to see better infrastructure, want to see their lives getting better. And I think this is where the Olympics can enable that by accelerating that infrastructure.”

● U.S. Center for SafeSport ● The Center for SafeSport announced the departure of chief executive Ju’Riese Colon on 22 April and on Thursday (24 July):

“The Board of Directors of the U.S. Center for SafeSport announced today that it has begun the formal search for the organization’s next Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The non-profit tasked with safeguarding the nation’s athletes has retained global organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry to lead the search.”

The 22 April statement noted that “The board of directors has initiated the search for new leadership,” apparently now getting started in earnest. As for the positions:

“[T]he Board has established two search committees, one for the CEO and one for the CFO, comprising Board members and advisors with relevant expertise. Korn Ferry has completed stakeholder interviews and is currently conducting organizational assessments and confidential outreach to identify candidates who exemplify both executive acumen and a people first philosophy. This inclusive approach integrates staff feedback, recent strategic evaluations, and market analysis to shape the leadership profiles. Final candidates will be evaluated not only on qualifications but also on their ability to lead with courage, transparency, and care in a time when public trust is essential.”

Those interested are asked to apply on or before 12 September.

● Russia ● World Sailing is continuing its formalized “ban” on Russian and Belarusian boats, but with a significant modification that creates new opportunities:

“The World Sailing Board met on 23 July 2025 to review the decision and determined that there was no material change in the circumstances giving rise to the suspensions and that they would therefore remain in place until the next review which will be on or before the 23 October 2025. This includes the suspension of the participation of any boat owned or effectively controlled or managed by a Russian or Belarusian individual or entity.

“However, following today’s vote, Russian and Belarussian sailors, support personnel and race officials will be permitted to participate as neutrals in World Sailing owned and sanctioned competitions and events, in line with IOC guidance. Boats owned by individuals who are sailing as neutrals under the World Sailing Neutrality Policy are also permitted.

“The policy was supported with 29 votes for, five against, with two abstentions.”

Under World Sailing’s 2024 Neutrality Policy for the 2024 Olympic Games, World Sailing’s legal department carried out neutrality reviews of Russian or Belarusian sailors or officials who applied for eligibility.

● Aquatics ● The Spanish men’s water polo team won its fourth World Aquatics Championships gold with a 15-13 win over Hungary in the final of the 2025 Worlds in Singapore.

The sides were tied at 5-5 at the quarter, with Spain up 7-6 at the half. But the Hungarians, four-time champions and as recently as 2023, were up by 10-8 after three quarters. But six Spanish goals were too much in the final quarter and led to the 15-13 final. Bernat Sanahuja (who was red-carded with 3:50 left!) and Alvaro Granados each had five goals in the victory, and Felipe Perrone, playing in his 14th (and last) Worlds, scored Spain’s 15th goal with 18 seconds left.

Greece took the bronze with a 16-7 pounding of three-time defending Olympic champions Serbia; the U.S. finished eighth, losing 8-7 to Italy in the seventh-place final.

In Artistic Swimming, Spain’s Iris Tio and Lilou Lluis won the women’s Duet Free final, scoring 282.6087 points to 278.7137 for Italy’s Enrica Piccoli and Lucrezia Ruggiero.

It’s the second gold for Tio (also in the Solo Free) and fifth medal of the Championships, with three bronze medals.

Swimswam.com reported that all USA Swimming World Championships team members are now in Singapore, after as much as half of the team had food poisoning issues at its training camp in Phuket (THA).

Swimming will begin on Sunday, with U.S. broadcasts available only on the Peacock streaming channel.

● Cycling ● The 112th Tour de France was not settled for sure, but almost for sure, as Ben O’Connor (AUS) attacked with 16 km to go on the brutal, final climb on the Col de la Loze to the Courchevel ski resort on Thursday to win stage 18.

He finished the triple-climb, 171.5 km route in 5:03:47, for his second career stage win in the race, unaware of the drama playing out behind him. Tour leader and three-time winner Tadej Pogacar (SLO) was repeatedly challenged by two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard (DEN), trying to make up ground … but unable to.

In the final 500 m, Pogacar passed Vingegaard and increased his lead, finishing 1:45 behind O’Connor, in second place, with Vingegaard in third at +1:54. That means Pogacar now has a lead of 4:26 on Vingegaard with three stages left, and 11:01 on German Florian Lipowitz in third.

Friday is another climbing stage, but not as difficult and only 95 km from Albertville to La Plagne – another ski resort – with a major climb in the first half and then a 19.3 km uphill finish from 668 m to 2,062 km at the top. It’s Vingegaard’s last chance, essentially.

Saturday’s 20th stage is hilly and the ride into Paris on Sunday has some early hills and cobblestones, but is fairly calm. Pogacar will, barring a major incident, win his fourth Tour on Sunday.

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ATHLETICS: Six defending 2023 Worlds winners declared to run at USATF nationals in Eugene, plus 9 of 11 Paris Olympic event winners

By
Rich Perelman
-
Paris Olympic 200 m champion Gabby Thomas of the U.S. (Photo: Tim Healy for TrackTown USA)

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≡ USATF NATIONALS ≡

The USA Track & Field National Championships will finally take place beginning on 31 July and continuing on 1-2-3 August in Eugene, Oregon, with the fields finally starting to take shape.

It’s a historic meet on multiple levels, with the dates pushed back due to the 13-21 September dates for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo (JPN), and the correspondingly late World Athletics “national championships” windows of 2-3 August and 23-24 August:

● The August dates make 2025 the latest men’s nationals since 1930, held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 22-25 August.

● Also, the latest women’s nationals since 1968, held from 14-18 August in Aurora, Colorado.

● For the first time, the U.S. Para Athletics Championships will be held in conjunction with the USATF Nationals, on 31 July and 1-2 August.

USATF has posted the entries for the meet and declarations to run are due by the end of the day – 11:59 p.m. Pacific time – on Thursday (24th), but most of the main competitors are in.

American stars won eight individual events at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest (HUN) and have an automatic entry into the 2025 Worlds; winners of seven of the eight have declared to compete in Eugene:

● Noah Lyles: men’s 100 and 200 m
● Grant Holloway: men’s 110 m hurdles

● Sha’Carri Richardson: women’s 100 m
● Katie Moon: women’s vault
● Chase Jackson: women’s shot
● Lagi Tausaga: women’s discus

Only men’s shot star Ryan Crouser is not entered; he has been nursing injuries since the spring; in fact, he hasn’t competed at all in 2025 and was last seen at the Van Damme Memorial in Brussels (BEL) last September.

The U.S. also had 11 individual Paris Olympic gold medalists in 2024 and nine of them are declared to compete in Eugene:

● Noah Lyles: men’s 100 m
● Cole Hocker: men’s 1,500 m (also 5,000 m)
● Grant Holloway: men’s 110 m hurdles
● Rai Benjamin: men’s 400 m hurdles

● Gabby Thomas: women’s 200 m (also 100 m)
● Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone: women’s 400 m (no 400 m hurdles)
● Masai Russell: women’s 100 m hurdles
● Tara Davis-Woodhall: women’s long jump
● Valarie Allman: women’s discus

Not competing are Quincy Hall (men’s 400 m) and Crouser, both apparently dealing with injuries. Olympic champs get no extra consideration from World Athletics and have to try to make the U.S. team like everyone else.

There is one other wild-card door into the 2025 Worlds: that’s to win the 2025 Diamond League, which continues through the end of August, with four meets in 12 days in Poland (Chorzow), Switzerland (Lausanne), Belgium (Brussels) and back to Switzerland for the finals in Zurich.

The U.S. has been good on the circuit so far, with 10 athletes leading or tied in their events in the race to qualify for Zurich, where the winner will be the Diamond League winner. So far, the U.S. event qualifying leaders include Chris Bailey (men’s 400 m), Cordell Tinch (men’s 100 m hurdles), Benjamin (men’s 400 m hurdles), and Joe Kovacs (men’s shot), plus Anavia Battle (women’s 200 m), Addy Wiley (women’s 800 m), Grace Stark (women’s 100 m hurdles), Moon (women’s vault), Jackson (women’s shot) and Allman (women’s discus).

The USATF Nationals will be shown on NBC and its streaming network Peacock. More details as the meet gets closer.

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LANE ONE: Coventry’s IOC to-do list should include paying more athletes … but not for Olympic medals

By
Rich Perelman
-
Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland, home of the International Olympic Committee

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≡ ATHLETES, OLYMPICS & MONEY ≡

Contrary to what you might have heard, the International Olympic Committee pays athletes, in fact, quite a few.

In the 2021-24 quadrennial, the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity Program had 1,560 Olympic Scholarship holders for summer sports – including Paris 200 m gold medalist Letsile Tebogo of Botswana – from 95 countries, who received direct payments. Of these, 599 actually made it to the Paris Olympic Games; the IOC also supported 364 winter-sport athletes from 77 National Olympic Committees and 226 teams from 142 NOCs for a total of 2,150 recipients, at a total cost of $17.660 million in 2024 alone.

So, why shouldn’t the IOC pay all of the athletes who make it to the Games?

Good question, which many people have been asking for a long time.

Truth be told, it might be time now.

There have been cogent reasons for the IOC not to pay athletes, especially for winning medals.

Let’s remember that we are talking about the Olympic Games, which did not start with Pierre de Coubertin (FRA) in 1894, but in ancient Greece. In those days, the Greek city-states were the ones who sent their home champions to represent them at Olympia.

If they won, they were rewarded by their own people. So, it has been with the modern Olympic Games, in which National Olympic Committees – also created in 1894 – are the ones paying medal winners. A CNBC list concerning the 2024 Paris Games showed a gold-medal winner from Hong Kong would get the equivalent of $768,000 U.S., and a gold-medal-winner from Singapore would get $745,000, and so on. The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, which had 40 gold-medal winning individuals and teams in 2024, paid $37,500, $25,000 and $12,500 for gold-silver-bronze winners.

That system, with echoes of the ancient Games, has been around for a long time. Former IOC chief Thomas Bach (GER) has noted that he and his teammates on the winning men’s Team Foil squad from Montreal ‘76 received bonus payments from the German Olympic body.

More recently, one International Federation – World Athletics – entered the fray, paying $50,000 to the Paris gold medalists, with federation chief Sebastian Coe (GBR) promising that all medalists would receive prize money at the 2028 Olympic Games.

This was roundly criticized by other International Federations prior to Paris 2024, and by Bach, who said the role of the federations is to use the millions they receive from the IOC as a share of Olympic television revenues for sport development instead of paying medalists. And, many (most) of the IFs already pay prize money for their world championships.

Further, the IOC, as evidenced by the comments of the candidates from the Presidential election in March, sees the Olympic Games far differently: as a development vehicle. In his introduction to the IOC’s 2024 Annual Report, Bach observed of the successful Paris 2024 Games:

“The Games not only provided a platform for the next generation of Olympians – they also embodied the spirit of the Olympic Movement, encouraging more young people to embrace sport and the Olympic values. …

“Our commitment to solidarity and equality remains at the heart of everything we do. Through Olympic Solidarity, we continued to provide essential funding and support, ensuring every talented athlete has the opportunity to pursue their Olympic dream. In Paris, we saw 91 NOCs win medals, proving that the Olympic Movement is creating a fairer and more inclusive playing field. We are also happy and proud that not only did the IOC Refugee Olympic Team participate with a record 37 athletes in Paris, but that Cindy Ngamba made history by winning the team’s first-ever Olympic medal.

“This is only possible because of our unwavering commitment to reinvesting in sport. Over the past Olympiad, we distributed an average of USD 4.7 million every single day to support athletes and sports organisations. This solidarity-driven model ensures that the Olympic Games remain an event for the world, by the world.”

So much for big-money payouts from the IOC to Olympic medal winners.

But there is another approach, fully in line with the IOC’s development goals and its desire to create incentives for youth to get involved in sport.

Olympic honoraria.

Paying medal winners big prize money would, in many cases, simply pile on more rewards to those who already have them.

But why not pay a reward to all athletes who participate in the Olympic Games?

● This treats all athletes from all National Olympic Committees equally, and offers a demonstrable, tangible reward for qualifying and competing in the Olympic and Winter Games.

● The IOC can certainly afford it. Consider that a $10,000 honoraria paid to the 10,813 athletes at Paris 2024 and the 2,900 expected for Milan Cortina 2026 would cost a total of $137.13 million.

The IOC’s recent annual revenues, from its financial statements show that amount would not significantly impact any of the last four years:

● 2021: $3.107.4 billion
● 2022: $2,339.0 billion
● 2023: $1,122.5 billion
● 2024: $4,621.3 billion

The Sports Examiner review of the IOC’s revenues and expenses indicated that over the 2021-24 quadrennial, the IOC spent 74% of its revenues on the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement, with the other 26% going to administrative costs and reserves (which were $4.880 billion as of 31 December 2024).

● As for the future, the 2024 IOC Annual Report noted that revenues from 2021-24 reached $7.7 billion and “USD 7.5 billion has already been secured for 2025–2028, with a further USD 6.9 billion secured for 2029–2032 and USD 4.0 billion for 2033–2036.”

So, why not expand an Olympic honoraria to a four-year grant of $10,000 per year as long as the athlete continues competing and follows the anti-doping and other eligibility rules?

That would cost $548.52 million over four years, easily within the IOC’s financial capabilities.

Why not? It’s not the ancient Greek way, but we’re in the 21st Century now, and not de Coubertin’s 19th or 20th either.

The IOC is already paying athletes – more than 2,000 scholarship holders – and it’s time to make a gesture to Olympians as well, summer and winter. If the IOC wants to increase interest in the Youth Olympic Games, those too.

Bach’s IOC saw its revenues and reserves expand greatly. Under new chief Kirsty Coventry (ZIM), it’s time to spend some of that money – in equal measures – on those who have made it to the Olympic Games.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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PANORAMA: U.S. swimmers win 50 medals (!) at Universiade; LA28 likes Rice for ceremonies; Spain to face England in Women’s Euro final

By
Rich Perelman
-
Five gold and six total medals at the 2025 World University Games: U.S. swim star Leah Shackley (Photo: North Carolina State Athletics).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● The LA28 organizing committee named Peter Rice as the “Head of Ceremonies and Content for the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

According to the announcement, the British-born Rice “began his career at 20th Century Fox in 1989, ascending through the company in various roles prior to his 2017 promotion to President of 21st Century Fox. Following Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox, Rice assumed the role of Chairman of Walt Disney Television and Chairman of General Entertainment for The Walt Disney Company.” He left Disney in 2022 and is an independent producer.

He will report directly to LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman.

● Commonwealth Games ● Commonwealth Sport President Dr. Donald Rukare (UGA) praised the progress of the Glasgow 2026 organizing committee with a year to go on Wednesday, explaining:

“In record time, they’ve hit key milestones that would traditionally take years. They’re not just planning a Games, they’re redefining how we imagine and deliver global sporting events, and doing it with energy, authenticity, and global significance.”

The 2026 Commonwealth Games will be significantly compressed to just 10 sports, in a handful of venues, as a way to cut spending and pay for most of the event with the abandonment fee paid by the Australian state of Victoria, which walked away in July 2023.

Just as importantly, Rukare repeated the impact of the new, cost-conscious approach:

“In another sign of the Games’ renewed relevance and vitality, we were delighted to announce earlier this year that no fewer than seven countries expressed interest in hosting the 2030 edition, the centenary of the Commonwealth Games. That level of enthusiasm is unprecedented.”

● World University Games: Rhine-Ruhr 2025 ● The swimming competitions at the 2025 WUG concluded on Wednesday, with an overwhelming performance by the United States swimmers.

The squad, selected and administered by USA Swimming, won a sensational 50 medals in the pool (27-12-11), far ahead of Japan (15: 3-5-7) and Italy (13: 3-4-6). Three U.S. swimmers won six medals each: Leah Shackley (5-1-0), Isabel Ivey (5-0-1) and Maxine Parker (5-0-1); Matt King and Leah Hayes also won five golds each (5-0-0).

Overall, the U.S. has 72 medals (28-20-24) to lead all nations, with China at 44 (19-20-5) and South Korea at 38 (14-7-17). The WUG will conclude on Sunday.

● Russia ● The Russian news agency TASS reported a comment from the International Olympic Committee that confirmed the IOC’s position that eligibility for Russian and Belarusian teams is up to the relevant International Federation:

“Each international federation is the only body authorized to hold its international competitions outside the Olympic Games. Therefore, we kindly recommend that you contact the IHF.”

The International Handball Federation asked the IOC about allowing Russian and Belarusian teams back into competitions; the IOC’s February 2022 message after the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a recommendation – but not an order – that federations not allow Russian or Belarusian teams to compete. So, the next move is up to the IHF; the IOC is considering what to do about Russian and Belarusian entries for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, which it does control.

● Aquatics ● At the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Greece’s women’s water polo team scored its first Worlds gold since 2011 with a 12-9 victory over Hungary on Wednesday.

The Greeks had an 8-4 lead at half and held on for the win, thanks to three goals each from Foteini Tricha and Eleni Xenaki. Fourth at the 2024 Worlds and seventh at the Paris Olympic Games, it’s only the second medal for Greece in Worlds history!

Olympic champs Spain won the bronze medal from the U.S., 13-12, taking a 4-2 lead in the first period and matching the Americans essentially score for score the rest of the way. Emma Lineback had five scores for the U.S. and Anni Espar scored four times for Spain. The U.S. has now been fourth two times in a row, at Paris in 2024 and now in Singapore.

In Artistic Swimming, the Mixed Duet Technical went to Russian “neutrals” Aleksandr Maltsev and Mayya Gurbanberdieva, scoring 233.2100 to 230.4634 for Spain’s Dennis Gonzalez and Mirela Hernandez. This was Maltsev’s third win of the meet.

Swimswam.com reported that about 10 members of the USA Swimming team were too sick to travel from the training camp in Phuket (THA) to Singapore as planned on Tuesday, due to food poisoning.

The swimming portion of the Worlds begins on Sunday.

● Athletics ● British sprint star Zharnel Hughes, the 2023 Worlds men’s 100 m bronze winner, told the British Mirror that he is still waiting for about $130,000 in prize money from Grand Slam Track:

“I think the appearance fees have come through but in regards to the actual racing [prize money] it hasn’t come through yet. I’m just looking to see if we get paid by August or September, hopefully it’s in the accounts by then.

“I think people enjoyed it but obviously now the payments have been delayed and they fell short by not having the last one [meet], people may be more hesitant to try out next season. We have to see how it goes next season.”

Grand Slam Track indicated in early July that prize money for the opening meet in Jamaica would be made by the end of July and for the other two meets by the end of September.

More doping suspensions from the Athletics Integrity Unit, including two more Kenyans:

● Roncer Kipkorir Konga, a 58:08 half-marathoner from 2023, provisionally suspended for using testosterone;

● Morine Gesare Michira, a 68:13 half-marathoner from 2024, banned “for 2 years from 26 June 2025 for Presence/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Higenamine and Octodrine).”

Eritrea’s Berhane Tesfay, a 2:07:07 marathoner from 2023, was provisionally suspended for the use of Erythropoietin (EPO).

● Cycling ● The hilly 17th stage of the 112th Tour de France ended with a mostly flat final quarter, leading to the expected mass sprint, and ended with the second stage win of this Tour for Italian star Jonathan Milan.

He crossed in 3:25:30, just ahead of Jordi Meuss (GER) and Tobias Andresen (DEN) with the first 130 riders given the same time. So, the race continues with defending champ Tadej Pogacar (SLO) as the race leader, in front of two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) by 4:15, with Florian Lipowitz (GER: +9:03) in third.

Thursday’s stage is a brutal, triple climb route of 171.5 km, with a steep uphill finish to the Courchevel ski resort, a major, late chance for Vingegaard to try and close the gap.

● Fencing ● The 2025 World Fencing Championships are underway in Tbilisi (GEO), with unheralded Ryan Choi of Hong Kong winning the men’s Foil title, 15-9, over Russian “neutral” Kirill Borodachev, a Tokyo 2020 Olympic Team silver winner. Prior to the Worlds, Choi had won one FIE Grand Prix event in his career, in May of this year.

In the women’s Epee, Ukraine’s Vlada Kharkova, the 2022 European Champion, won her first career Worlds medal, defeating Estonia’s Tokyo 2020 bronze winner Katrina Lehis in a tight, 15-14 final.

The U.S.’s Alexander Massialas, the Rio 2016 Olympic runner-up, reached the men’s Foil round of 16; fellow Americans Kasia Nixon, Hadley Husisian and Margherita Guzzi Vincenti did the same in the women’s Epee.

● Football ● At the UEFA women’s championship semifinal in Zurich (SUI), favored Spain locked up with Germany in a struggle which saw a 0-0 first half in which the Spanish had the better chances – and 75% of possession – but could not score.

Spain continued to control the second half, but neither team could score. Both had chances, with German forward Klara Buhl’s free kick in the 85th sailing barely wide of the Spanish goal, and Spanish keeper Cata Coll saved another shot from Buhl at 90+4, which rebounded for a Carlotta Wamser shot that Coll also saved! Spain’s sub striker Salma Paralluelo almost found the corner of the German net a 90+1, but keeper Ann-Katrin Berger saved it … barely.

Spain finished regulation time with 70% of possession and a 17-10 shots lead, but in a tie. In extra time, neither side could score in the first period, with Spain taking three shots and Germany one.

Finally in the 113th, Germany could not clear and substitute forward Athenea del Castillo sent a pass through to the right side of the box for star midfielder Aitana Bonmati. She instantly smashed a right-footed shot from a difficult angle – near the end line – that barely got past the near post and could not be stopped by Berger for the 1-0 lead.

That’s how it ended, with Spain enjoying 67% possession and a 22-15 shots edge, but most importantly, the only goal of the game.

So, World Champion Spain advances to its first-ever UEFA Women’s Euro final, to face defending champion England on Sunday. It will be the fourth final for England (1-2); Spain had previously won only one medal in this tournament, a bronze in 1997.

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ANTI-DOPING: World Anti-Doping Agency violations reports show rise from 2021 to 2022, with India and Russia the most-penalized

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ VIOLATION REPORTS ≡

The World Anti-Doping Agency finally published its long-overdue “Anti-Doping Rule Violation Report” for 2021 and 2022 on Tuesday (22nd), detailing the number and type of doping samples which came back positive in some way.

As usual, the numbers were not huge, but still enough to be troubling. By posting two years at once, it’s possible to compare year-to-year; please remember that 2021 was still heavily influenced by Covid-19, but that competitions did resume. WADA has summary totals for all sports it has testing, but let’s look at just the Olympic sport results:

2021:
● 181,132 Summer Olympic sport samples
● 971 adverse findings (0.53%)
● 683 anti-doping violations (0.38%)
● 152 OK due to Therapeutic Use Exemptions
● 109 not pursued due to jurisdictional or other issues
● 22 pending cases
● 5 no sanction

2022:
● 192,393 Summer Olympic sport samples
● 1,173 adverse findings (0.61%)
● 849 anti-doping violations (0.44%)
● 198 OK due to Therapeutic Use Exemptions
● 55 not pursued due to jurisdictional or other issues
● 66 pending cases
● 5 no sanction

In terms of the sports with the highest number of doping issues, the usual suspects turned up again, but the doping incidence went up in 2022:

2021 anti-doping violations:
● 147: athletics (31,225 tests: 0.47%)
● 106: cycling (20,560 tests: 0.52%)
● 88: weightlifting (10,603 tests: 0.83%)
● 45: football (31,586 tests: 0.14%)
● 44: rugby (6,619 tests: 0.66%)

2022 anti-doping violations:
● 201: athletics (33,905 tests: 0.59%)
● 122: weightlifting (12,874 tests: 0.95%)
● 82: cycling (22,418 tests: 0.37%)
● 63: wrestling (6,845 tests: 0.92%)
● 61: football (33,499 tests: 0.18%)

The Winter Olympic sports had much few tests, of course, and many fewer violations, including on a percentage basis. The violations went down in 2022:

2021:
● 13,766 Winter Olympic sport samples
● 41 adverse findings (0.30%)
● 32 anti-doping violations
● 5 OK due to Therapeutic Use Exemptions
● 2 not pursued due to jurisdictional or other issues
● 2 pending cases
● 0 no sanction

2022:
● 17,183 Winter Olympic sport samples
● 47 adverse findings (0.27%)
● 25 anti-doping violations
● 12 OK due to Therapeutic Use Exemptions
● 8 not pursued due to jurisdictional or other issues
● 2 pending cases
● 0 no sanction

In terms of positive tests, in 2021 there were 12 in ice hockey, 11 in figure skating, one in speed skating and four each in biathlon and all of skiing. For 2022, the 25 violations include nine in ice hockey, seven in skiing, four each in bobsleigh/skeleton and all skating, and one in biathlon.

Russia was again at the top of the list of doping positives for 2021, but not 2022; these totals are for all sports tested by WADA and its associated agencies, not just Olympic and Winter Olympic-program sports:

2021 anti-doping violations:
● 1. 96: Russia
● 2. 62: Italy
● 3. 52: Brazil
● 4. 47: India
● 4. 47: Ukraine

The U.S. ranked ninth at 30; China was 15th with 21; Canada ranked 33rd (10).

2022 anti-doping violations:
● 1. 124: India (48 in athletics!)
● 2. 87: Russia
● 3. 71: Italy
● 4. 54: Kenya
● 5. 49: South Africa

The U.S. had 42 violations, ranking eighth; China was 17th at 22 and Canada was 23rd with 16.

There was also a section on non-analytical – investigative or whereabouts/sample refusal – findings, with 262 violations cases in 2021, topped by athletics (57), cycling (34) and weightlifting (32). Of the 262, 87 dealt with Russian athletes.

In 2022, the number of non-analytical cases went down to 245, headed by athletics (48), then cycling (38) and weightlifting (25), with bodybuilding – a non-Olympic sport – at 36. Russia had 77 of these, with 20 in athletics and 18 in weightlifting.

Observed: WADA explained the long delay in publishing these reports this way:

“As a matter of course, ADRV Reports are published later as processing ADRV cases is complex and labor-intensive, requiring extensive dialogue with the relevant results management authorities and other stakeholders. The 2023 Report will be published by the end of 2025.”

These 2021 and 2022 reports are way too late and the 2023 report should be released as soon as possible, in order to offer more trend analyses. Doping went up in 2022, that’s clear and India’s 124 violations are alarming.

In 2022, the statistics show just 0.61% of the samples showed a violation from the more than 192,000 samples collected that year. Not a lot. But translate that to the 1,053 top-three placings in the 351 events at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games and you have 6.4 placements impacted by doping.

Still too many. Let’s see what the 2023 and 2024 numbers say, as soon as possible.

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PANORAMA: Italian inquiry into Milan Village building corruption; Val d’Isere in for French Alps 2030; England does it again at Euro ‘25!

By
Rich Perelman
-
The Milan Cortina 2026 slogan: "IT's your vibe!" (Photo: Milan Cortina 2026)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● The Federal government has not allocated any money for transportation programs for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, but others are helping.

The Centre Area Transportation Authority in State College, Pennsylvania announced it is donating 10 of its retired, natural gas-fueled buses, to the L.A. Metropolitan Transportation Authority for use in 2028. The buses have been maintained and were going to go to auction, but are on the way west.

L.A. Metro has estimated it will need about 2,000 extra buses for 2028 and had received about 650 donated vehicles by the end of May 2025.

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● A wide-ranging inquiry into building contracts in Milan over the last 20 years has targeted as many as 70 officials, with questions about possible bribes in order to obtain project approvals and permits.

The Olympic Village project in Milan, slated for student housing after the Winter Games, is one of the programs being investigated. Among those being questioned is Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala, who has said his “hands are clean”; prosecutors were reported to want to arrest six individuals (not including Sala).

● Olympic Winter Games 2030: French Alps ● The storied alpine resort of Val d’Isere is back on the venue list for the 2030 Winter Games, and Meribel, which co-hosted the 2023 World Alpine Championships, is out.

The decision was confirmed at an organizing committee meeting on Monday (21st), with Val d’Isere expected to contribute €25-30 million to the budget (€1 = $1.18 U.S.).

Still to be determined is whether to have the speed skating events in Heerenveen (NED) or Turin (ITA), with an inspection and cost review coming to help make the final choice.

● Aquatics ● At the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, the men’s water polo semifinals saw Spain, the 2022 World Champions, edge Greece, 11-9, to advance to the gold-medal final. Hungary, the 2023 Worlds winners, upset three-time defending Olympic champion Serbia, 19-18, holding on to a 16-12 edge at the end of three quarters.

The medal matches will be on Thursday.

In Artistic Swimming, Spain’s Iris Tio won her first individual Worlds gold, 245.1913 to 241.0025 in the women’s Solo Free, over China’s Solo Technical winner Huiyan Xu (CHN).

China won the Team Technical gold to go with its Team Free victory, 307.8001 to 300.6183 over Russia (as “neutrals”). Spain – with Tio – was third at 294.8575; the U.S. was sixth at 273.6650.

Diving starts Saturday and swimming starts on Sunday.

● Cycling ● The miserable, 171.5 km, uphill-finishing 16th stage of the 112th Tour de France saw a final sprint of two riders, with France’s Valentin Paret-Peintre winning at the line over Ireland’s Ben Healy, with both at 4:03:19.

Not too far behind were the race leaders, with Slovenia’s three-time winner Tadej Pogacar finishing a couple of seconds ahead of rival, two-time champ Jonas Vingegaard (DEN), +0:43 to +0:45, in fifth and sixth. So, Pogacar now leads the race by 4:15, with Florian Lipowitz (GER) third at +9:03. Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel, the stage 2 winner, did not start and abandoned the race, citing pneumonia.

There are two more climbing stages, on Thursday and Friday, before a hilly 20th stage and Sunday’s flat ride into Paris.

The Union Cycliste Internationale issued a pained statement concerning an appearance by former Belgian cyclist and team official Johan Bruyneel:

“The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) noted the presence of Mr Johan Bruyneel in the Tour de France start village on 17 July 2025 in connection with his participation in Vive le vélo, a programme broadcast by the Flemish-language Belgian public television channel VRT1.

“On 25 October 2018, Mr Bruyneel was sanctioned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) with a life ban for anti-doping rules violations when he worked with the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team and the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team.

“In accordance with Article 10.14 of the World Anti-Doping Code and the UCI Anti-Doping Rules, Mr Bruyneel is banned for life from taking part in any activity related to cycling. While he is free to attend a cycling event registered on the UCI International Calendar – such as the Tour de France – as a regular spectator, he is strictly prohibited from participating in the event in any role or capacity, or from accessing areas that are closed to the public. This includes, in particular, areas of the Tour de France that require accreditation.

“As a person serving a lifetime ban, Mr Bruyneel was therefore not authorised to be present in the Tour de France start village or team area.”

The UCI has asked the Tour de France organizers to ensure this does not happen again.

● Football ● Defending champion England once again found late, late, late magic to advance to the 2025 UEFA Women’s European Championship final with a 2-1 extra-time win over Italy in Geneva (SUI) on Tuesday.

The Italians had the lead from the 33rd minute on a Barbara Bonansea score and it looked like that might hold up, despite a consistent English attack that simply could not score. But at 90+6, substitute defender Michelle Agyemang smashed home a loose ball in the box for the 1-1 tie, sending the game into extra time.

In the 119th minute, England sub midfielder Chloe Kelly looked to take the lead on a penalty against sub forward Beth Mead, but her shot was saved by Italian keeper Laura Giulani. But the rebound came back and Kelly scored for the 2-1 lead that held up for the final minute and stoppage, completing England’s second straight miracle comeback.

Germany, the 2022 runner-up, and favored Spain meet on Wednesday in the second semi, in Zurich. The final is Sunday in Basel.

● Swimming ● Swimswam.com reported that as much as half of the U.S. swimming team for the World Aquatics Championships has suffered from food poisoning at its training camp in Phuket (THA), but that everyone was expected to make the trip to Singapore successfully on Tuesday.

Swimming begins at the Worlds on Sunday.

● Triathlon ● The Court of Arbitration for Sport published the 37-page decision of the appeal by Uruguay Triathlon Federation President Liber Garcia against World Triathlon and Australian Triathlon President Michelle Cooper, with Garcia asking for a reversal of a 12-month suspension by the federation over a Code of Ethics violation for corruption.

The facts are that Cooper alleged “collusion, intimidation, threats and manipulations” by Garcia, a World Triathlon Executive Board member, on behalf of a group which included three of the seven candidates for World Triathlon President, of which she was also a candidate. In an exchange of WhatsApp messages on 19 September 2024, Garcia inquired if Cooper would join the candidate “group” and drop out of the Presidential race.

The election took place on 21 October 2024, with Antonio Arimany (ESP) elected; Cooper had filed a complaint on 26 September to the federation’s disciplinary tribunal, which held on 20 October not to have a “material influence” on the next-day election. In March 2025, the tribunal held that Garcia breached the Ethics Code and was banned for a year, to be reduced to six months if he completed a good-governance course.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport’s three-member panel upheld the finding of ethics violations by Garcia, but found no evidence of a direct bribe and limited only to the one exchange of messages, and only required a “warning” be issued to Garcia. Cooper won, but with essentially no sanction imposed on Garcia. Cooper was defeated in her candidatures for President, Vice President and Executive Board seats.

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U.S. OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE: USOPC commits to following Pres. Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” order

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ USOPC PARTICIPATION RULES ≡

On Monday (21st), a notation was added to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s Web page on “Our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Statement,” in the section on “Transgender Athlete Participation in Sport.”

The page noted at the top:

“As of July 21, 2025, please refer to the USOPC athlete safety policy.”

The 27-page Athlete Safety Policy included a new section 3.3:

“3.3 Additional Requirements

“The USOPC is committed to protecting opportunities for athletes participating in sport. The USOPC will continue to collaborate with various stakeholders with oversight responsibilities, e.g., [International Olympic Committee, International Paralympic Committee, National Governing Bodies] to ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with Executive Order 14201 and the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act, 36 U.S.C § 22501, et. seq.”

That’s a direct reference to President Donald Trump’s 5 February Executive Order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which included:

“[I]t is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy. It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”

The Order refers directly to a 20 January Executive Order, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which states:

“It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality. … ‘Sex’ shall refer to an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female. ‘Sex’ is not a synonym for and does not include the concept of ‘gender identity.’”

Translation: transgender women are not allowed to compete in the women’s category.

The “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” order also included directives concerning organizations like the USOPC:

● “The Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy shall, within 60 days of the date of this order:

“(i) convene representatives of major athletic organizations and governing bodies, and female athletes harmed by such policies, to promote policies that are fair and safe, in the best interests of female athletes, and consistent with the requirements of Title IX, as applicable.”

● “The Secretary of State shall use all appropriate and available measures to see that the International Olympic Committee amends the standards governing Olympic sporting events to promote fairness, safety, and the best interests of female athletes by ensuring that eligibility for participation in women’s sporting events is determined according to sex and not gender identity or testosterone reduction.”

The IOC, under new President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM), working on a wide-ranging consultation to “protect the female category.”

The USOPC has now taken a position that it will comply with applicable Executive Orders, and in time to comply in advance of nearly all of the qualifying events for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games and Winter Paralympic Games in Milan Cortina. No transgender women on the U.S. Olympic or Paralympic teams.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Administration officials had conferred with the USOPC on the matter and that a USOPC statement explained that “as a federally chartered organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations.”

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OLYMPIC GAMES 2036: Qatar – as expected – announces its entry into dialogue for the Games of the XXXVI Olympiad

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ DOHA 2036 BID ≡

“We currently have 95% of the required sports infrastructure in place to host the Games, and we have a comprehensive national plan to ensure 100% readiness of all facilities. This plan is rooted in a long-term vision aimed at building a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable legacy.

“Our objective goes beyond simply organizing a successful event, we aim to deliver a global experience that reinforces the values of inclusivity, sustainability, and international collaboration.”

That’s Qatar Olympic Committee President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani in the introduction of a 16-page summary of the Doha 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games bid, formally announced on Tuesday.

This was hardly a surprise, following the continuing efforts to bring major events to Qatar in the past, including the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but also:

● 2014 World Aquatics Short-Course Championships
● 2016 UCI World Road Championships
● 2018 FIG World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
● 2019 World Athletics Championships
● 2024 World Aquatics Championships

Further, Qatar has – more importantly – hosted the 2006 Asian Games, with 9,520 athletes from 45 countries, competing in 424 events in 39 sports, and will host the Asian Games again in 2030. This commitment is key to the venue readiness program, claiming 95% of needed sites now and 100% as part of the national master plan, including an Olympic and Paralympic Village, scheduled to be completed in 2028 as part of the preparation for the 2030 Asian Games.

Doha, which previously bid for the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games, joins a long list of suitors for the 2036 Games and beyond; GamesBids.com noted:

“Other confirmed 2036 bids include Ahmedabad in India, Nusantara in Indonesia, North Jeolla in South Korea and Santiago in Chile. Interest has also been expressed by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Germany, Istanbul in Türkiye, Budapest in Hungary and Spain.”

The Olympic bid process is in flux, with new International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) trying to balance multiple issues:

● The hosts for 2028 (Los Angeles) and 2032 (Brisbane) were awarded the Games 11 years ahead of time and Coventry wants to evaluate whether this was too far ahead of time. The Olympic Charter calls for host-city elections seven years ahead, so in 2029 for 2036.

● A 2036 Olympic Games in Qatar would be impossible in the current July-August time frame, preferred by American and European broadcasters (NBC has purchased rights for the U.S. through 2036). Major events in Qatar have been held much later:

● 2006 Asian Games: 1-15 December
● 2019 World Athletics Championships: 27 September-6 October
● 2022 FIFA World Cup: 20 November-18 December
● 2030 Asian Games: 4-19 November proposed

The IOC has talked about possibly moving Olympic dates later in the calendar to avoid hot conditions in the Northern Hemisphere, but would have to look to late October and beyond for a 2036 Games in Qatar or Saudi Arabia. Does this pose a commercial threat to the Games?

● The current protocol keeps discussions between possible hosts and the IOC quiet, within the Future Host Commissions for the Olympic and Winter Games. This shuts out the vast majority of the IOC membership, who are only asked to confirm the selection made by the Commissions and then approved by the IOC Executive Board. More member involvement in selections was a key campaign point during the IOC Presidential elections, and Coventry is looking for a way to at least keep members better informed.

● A return to member voting on host-city candidates raises the recurrence of corruption issues. These wrecked the IOC in 1999, when information on corruption related to the 2002 Winter Games host selection of Salt Lake City became public, with multiple reforms. But corruption allegations surfaced again as soon as 2009, when the vote for the 2016 Olympic Games was held. How will Coventry ensure this problem does not return?

And there were the continuing, high-decibel protests from human rights organizations during Qatar’s run-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which did not subside until the tournament was over. These have been re-ignited by the selection of Saudi Arabia to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034, and will accompany a Qatar or Saudi selection for a 2036 Olympic Games.

But Qatar is in the game for 2036, officially. But until the IOC’s own internal processes are ironed out, not much movement can be expected, at least publicly.

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PANORAMA: Metro still nowhere on U.S. funds for ‘28 transport; USOPC lobbying Congress on college-sport funding; Reeves’ WRs confirmed

By
Rich Perelman
-
Olympic weightlifting champion and new world-record holder Olivia Reeves of the U.S. (Photo: Int’l Weightlifting Federation).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● Raffi Hamparian, the Deputy Executive Officer for Government Relations for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority confirmed the continued bleak outlook for Federal funding for Metro efforts for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games at Metro’s Executive Management Committee meeting on 17 July:

“We continue to be engaged with the Federal government, executive branch and legislative branch. Thus far, the news has not been fantastic with respect to the Olympics. We have petitioned the Federal government for inclusion in the [Fiscal Year] 2026 budget. We came up short.

“We’ve asked for this funding to be included in the spending [authorization] bill that I just talked about. No spending for the World Cup in that bill. No spending for the Olympics.

“At some point, our Federal partners have to saddle up with us and figure out how we’re going to do this. But to date, it’s a work in progress.”

L.A. Metro has asked for $3.2 billion in Federal funding for 2028, but no appropriations were made for 2028 Games support by either the Biden or Trump Administrations.

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● Plenty of optimism for the success of the 2026 Winter Games from International Olympic Committee Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi (SUI) and 2026 organizing committee head Andrea Varnier in separate interviews with NBC Sports:

● Dubi: “I’ve got excitement more than concerns. You loved Paris (2024). You will adore Milano-Cortina, I think we start from a very strong Paris Games, and the expectations are immense, by the way. Let’s be very clear, the Games back in the traditional Alpine setting with the Alps and the Dolomites, there are a lot of expectations. I’m just back from Italy. What I really like at this stage is that from all political sides and at all authority levels, but also in the general public, you have a real sense of excitement.

“That sense that Italy is ready to party, and not only Milano and the regions, but more like what happened in France, where the Games will be the Games for the whole territory. You can feel that.”

● Varnier: “We’re entering a very interesting phase. After a lot of planning, we’re actually starting to build things – overlay and temporary stuff. This is a very good feeling that you start entering the venues – that was mostly on paper until a few days ago. Of course, when you start the operations, many challenges come about.

“There are a couple of sport infrastructures that are still under construction. Mainly the main hockey arena [in Milan] and the sliding center [in Cortina]. The sliding track is fully ready now. They’re working on the surrounding areas. So we’re monitoring this closely, because before the Games, we still have to perform some test events in these two venues.”

On the construction of the new bob-luge-skeleton track in Cortina, Dubi noted, “What they’ve done in terms of construction time to get to the pre-homologation [test runs in March], it was something we had never seen, so we were doubtful.

“They managed – by a very smart construction and very thoughtful engineering processes – to get to the point where they could have ice on this track, and they tested and validated the fact that it’s a safe track.”

Varnier previewed what promises to be a unique opening to the Winter Games, “So we are developing a potential plan to have some cluster activators. It will be Livigno, Predazzo, and, obviously, Cortina.

“So in the end, we try to have the athletes staying in these clusters do an actual parade in a venue, potentially with people watching, and then it will be the magic of broadcasters to make sure it will look like a single parade. So the athletes will be all participating. In this model, there will also be some segments that will be performed in the different venues, so that makes it like a community regardless of the distances.”

● U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee ● The Associated Press reported that the USOPC is lobbying Congress to ensure that Olympic-sport – that is, non-football and basketball – funding at NCAA schools be maintained at the same percentage of the total budget in the future as it is now.

H.R. 4312, the “Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements Act” or “SCORE Act,” is moving through the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee and as currently written, requires universities to support a minimum of 16 varsity sports teams, equal to the current NCAA Division I rule.

But nearly all of the larger schools in the “Power 4 conferences” sponsor more than that and USOPC chief executive Sarah Hirshland asks:

“You look and you say, ‘Is that effectively going to thwart the issue of allocating too many resources to football and not enough to other things?’ And my assessment is, no, it’s not going to do that.

“The bill, as it’s written, would make it too easy for a school to starve 15 programs and invest in one. It’s important schools have the latitude to make decisions that are most effective for the school, but while also creating an environment that says ‘You don’t just need to be a football school.’ …

“We don’t want schools to starve Olympic sports by cutting them or starving them. We want them to continue to provide investment in the growth of these sports.”

● Aquatics ● At the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Vaso Plevritou scored four goals and Greece stretched a 6-5 halftime lead into a 14-10 win over the U.S. in the women’s water polo semifinals on Monday.

Ryann Neushul, Jewel Roemer, Emma Lineback and Emily Ausmus each had two goals for the U.S., but it was not enough and they will play for the bronze medal on Wednesday. In the second semi, 2024 Worlds silver winners Hungary upset Olympic champion Spain, 15-9, taking an 11-4 first-half lead.

In Artistic Swimming, Russian “neutral” Aleksandr Maltsev finished a sweep of the men’s Solo events, taking the Solo Free at 229.5613 points, ahead of China’s Muye Gao (220.1926). Austrian sisters Anna-Maria and Eirini-Marina Alexandri won the women’s Duet Technical at 307.1451, ahead of sisters Yanhan and Yanjun Lin (CHN: 301.4057) and Russian “neutrals” Mayya Doroshko and Tatiana Gayday (300.2183).

This was the first time that a Russian pair had not won the Duet Technical or Duet Combined – in World Championships they were allowed to compete in – since 2001; Russian entries won in 2003-05-07-09-11-13-15-17-19, but were banned in 2022-23-24.

● Archery ● World Archery announced that the first leg of the archery World Cup in 2026 will be held in Puebla (MEX), instead of the 2025 location of Haines City, Florida (8-13 April). The World Archery statement included:

“Placing a major international tournament in the USA was seen as vital to World Archery’s ultimately successful campaign to add compound to the programme of the next Olympics.

“Given a lack of applications from US organisations in the last bidding cycle, an external event company with a viable location in the country was selected to organise the opening World Cup stage for 2025-2027.

“The inaugural edition of this event did not meet the expectations of teams or athletes, struggled with rising costs, and was unable to secure significant domestic buy-in outside of strong support from Visit Florida, the regional tourist office.

“Following stakeholder feedback, and in order to protect the quality and integrity of the Hyundai Archery World Cup, an agreement has been made between the event rights holder and World Archery Mexico to move next year’s tournament to Puebla.”

● Athletics ● Sad news of the passing of legendary distance coach Joe Vigil, 95, on 19 July. He was first noticed for his exceptional work at Alamosa (Co.) High School and then went on to Adams State University in Alamosa from 1965 to 1993. His teams won 19 NAIA and NCAA national championships, produced 425 All-Americans and 87 individual national title winners.

He helped to create the USATF Coaches Education Program, and served on U.S. national team coaching staffs for the 1988 and 2008 Olympic Games, as U.S. men’s coach for the 1984 World Cross Country Championships, 1991 Pan American Games, as head men’s manager at the 1983 Pan American Games and many others.

Following his Adams State career, he coached individual athletes to great success, including 2004 Olympic women’s marathon bronze medalist Deena Kastor. Vigil, among many service posts, was a member of the USATF Board of Directors from 1984-88.

The Athletics Integrity Unit announced more Kenyan doping suspensions, including a provisional suspension of Charles Kipkkurui Langat – already suspended to 10 September 2026 – for testosterone. He’s a 58:53 half marathoner from January 2023.

Ronald Kurgat, 39, a 2:12:55 marathoner, was banned for six years “from 20 February 2025 for Presence/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Triamcinolone acetonide)” from a positive test on 27 October 2024 and a second on 15 December 2024.

● Weightlifting ● The International Weightlifting Federation confirmed that Olympic women’s 71 kg champion Olivia Reeves of the U.S. set world records in all three categories of the new, 69 kg weight class at the Pan American Championships in Cali (COL).

Reeves made all six of her lifts, creating new world marks of 119 kg in Snatch, 149 kg in Clean & Jerk and 268 kg for the total. She was the only lifter to set a world mark for the combined total during the competitions.

● Wrestling ● USA Wrestling announced that its just-completed Junior National Championships – formally the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals – set a record for the largest wrestling tournament ever held, with a total of 8,531 entries, 469 more than the record 2024 edition (8,062).

Held from 10-19 July on 30 mats on the floor of the FargoDome in Fargo, North Dakota, the tournament featured junior and U-16 tournaments in men’s Freestyle and Greco-Roman and women’s Freestyle. All six tournaments had at least 1,029 entries!

In a dual meet of mostly younger men’s Freestyle athletes in Budapest (HUN), a Russian team defeated the U.S., 6-4, on Monday under the aegis of the Professional Wrestling League.

The Americans earned wins at 79 kg (D.J. Hamiti), 86 kg (Marcus Coleman), 92 kg (Mike Macchiavello) and by Jay Aiello at 97 kg.

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ATHLETICS: Lyles pleased with 10.00 London 100 m second, but it’s not his best opener; says a friend, “the sport needs Noah”

By
Rich Perelman
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Noah Lyles winning the men's 200 m at the 2022 World Championships (Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images for World Athletics)

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≡ THE NOAH LYLES SHOW ≡

“I feel great after that, I feel extremely healthy and I am feeling no pain. I wanted the win but I think it was my fastest-ever season opener, so I will take that result today.

“You are going to see Oblique [Seville] out there and just be like, ok, do not let it get to your head, just go and try and chase them, just reel them in little by little, just like any race. And then of course there is the moment when you cross the line and you are like, I did not get it this time.

“But the most important thing was not to panic, to make sure that I hit all the positions regardless.”

That was 2024 Olympic 100 m champion Noah Lyles of the U.S. following his second-place finish in the London Diamond League men’s 100 to Jamaica’s Seville, 9.85 to 10.00 (wind: -0.6 m/s).

It was Lyles’ first 100 m of the year, following up on his 19.88 200 m win at the Monaco Diamond league – over Olympic champ Letsile Tebogo (BOT) – on 11 July, almost three months after his only other outdoor race, a 45.87 lifetime best in a 400 m in April. In fact, Lyles hadn’t run a 100 since his Olympic win in Paris.

But it’s not close to Lyles’ best 100 m to open a season:

● 2017: 9.95w on 15 April in Clermont, Florida
● 2018: 9.86w on 13 April in Gainesville, Florida
● 2019: 10.16w on 20 April in Clermont, Florida
● 2020: 9.93w on 4 July in Monteverde, Florida
● 2021: 10.08 on 17 April in Gainesville, Florida
● 2022: 10.39 on 9 April in Devonshire (BER)
● 2023: 9.95 on 15 April in Gainesville, Florida
● 2024: 10.01 on 13 April in Gainesville, Florida
● 2025: 10.00 on 19 July in London (GBR)

What’s true is that this is Lyles’ best 100 m opener ever outside of Florida! And his second races have usually been faster than his first ones. But that’s in the future.

Lyles has become a lightning rod in the track & field community, with ardent supporters of his high style and willingness to draw attention to himself, and harsh critics who complain even when he wins.

Former NCAA 100/200 m champion Joe Fahnbulleh, born in the U.S. but who has run for Liberia since 2021, is a friend of Lyles and defended him in an interview with British-based www.SportsBoom.co.uk, calling Lyles an athlete for the digital generation; an entertainer, a brand-builder, and a voice for track and field:

“People compare Usain Bolt to Noah Lyles in terms of charisma. Usain Bolt spoke with his time, good vibes, and being humble. That made the sport grow. And this day and age, when it comes to social media and the sport gaining more visibility and access, maybe the sport now needs someone like Noah to be out there, and wild. Noah has that.

“Of course, we have other athletes, but when it comes to the social media aspect of gaining clicks and views, Noah is doing it, and it’s bringing press. Good press, bad press, it is still press.”

Fahnbulleh also stressed there is more to Lyles than the bluster that draws so many reactions:

“Noah is a wonderful guy. He is a person you can easily talk to. The media paints a different picture of him, but he has his awesome sides. Off the track, Noah is a family guy, a wonderful guy, and a person who just loves to be around his friends. He always wants his friends to succeed.

“He works hard, trains hard, and what people do not understand, they try to put down. I can say he has his moments on track and off track.

“We have seen him try to promote track and field through his podcast, through events, etc. All round all, he is a good guy. If you get to meet him and know his story, and take off what the media says, you will see he is a wonderful guy.”

And Fahnbulleh emphasized that Lyles also understands – with clarity – the responsibility he has to those who come to see him run:

“No matter what the day is or what you are feeling, you have to get out there and get it done. People are paying for tickets to come see you run. Maybe you do not feel like practicing every day, but it does not matter. The stadium is packed, and I have to put up a show. …

“Usain was perfect for his time. And Noah is perfect for this one.”

Lyles is qualified for both the 100 and 200 m for the USA Track & Field National Championships in Eugene from 31 July-3 August, with declarations to compete due on Wednesday and Thursday, 23-24 July. As the 2023 World Champion in both events, he has a direct entry into the World Athletics Championships in both events, but has said he will run at the Nationals.

After all, the show must go on.

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LOS ANGELES 2028: If you want to understand how complex Los Angeles is (and why), listen to Rick Cole

By
Rich Perelman
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Los Angeles Deputy City Controller Rick Cole, during his farewell remarks to the L.A. City Council on 25 June 2025 (L.A. City video screen shot).

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≡ UNDERSTANDING L.A. ≡

If you are among the many who are confused about the drama and tension in Los Angeles “just” three years in front of the 2028 Olympic Games, this is for you.

Rick Cole is one of the longest-serving and most respected public officials in the history of Southern California. Now 72, he has been the Mayor of Pasadena, and the city manager for the cities of Azusa, Ventura and Santa Monica. He served as a Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles from 2013-15 and as the Deputy City Controller from 2022 until retiring at the end of June.

His retirement from the City of Los Angeles wasn’t about retiring, but to spend more time in his position as a Pasadena City Council member, a post he won last December.

Cole was recognized for his outstanding service by the Los Angeles City Council on 25 June 2025, and he gave a short address to the Council and to the many co-workers and friends in the Council Chamber.

His commentary is one of the best summaries ever presented of the challenges Los Angeles faces, and he also offered ideas on how to meet them:

“I’ll never forget the awe I felt walking into these chambers on December 21, 1985. I was Senior Deputy to [Councilman] Richard Alatorre on his first day in office.

“Now, after four decades of public service, I’ve never been so alarmed about our future. You know the converging challenges facing this city.

“A state of emergency on homelessness. A devastating firestorm. A crisis in affordable housing. Thousands of City jobs eliminated. And a Federal administration literally at war with the government and the people of Los Angeles.

“Those are the headlines. Then there are the insidious threats of a weakening economy, a crumbling infrastructure, grotesque inequality of wealth, and failing public trust in government’s ability to confront these existential challenges.

“If we can’t pave our streets, repair our sidewalks, house our homeless, trim our trees, light our bridges, and fix our firetrucks, how can we host an Olympics in just three years?

“L.A. is a complex city with four million people. Over 400 square miles. More than forty departments, more than 40,000 staff. On a good day, it’s an incredibly difficult city to manage. And lately we haven’t had many good days.

“What makes this all so much harder is that L.A. is not designed to work.

“That’s not a criticism. That’s an historic fact. Because a hundred years ago, the authors of the City Charter designed this government to avoid the corruption they saw in Chicago and New York.

“They deliberately designed a government where authority was widely dispersed. To avoid abuse, they made power diffuse.

“L.A. worked despite the flawed Charter! It was the climate, the power of industry and entertainment, and above all, the incredible diversity and creative spirit of the people of L.A. that made this city the embodiment of the California dream.

“But things that can’t go on forever, don’t.

“For decades, this city has ridden the cycles of boom and bust, making short-term decisions with long-term consequences. For decades, this city systematically underinvested in modernizing its infrastructure. For decades, city government systematically underinvested in training, technology, equipment and facilities. For decades, city government has perpetuated outmoded practices that are simply unsustainable in the world we live in.

“This is a moment of truth. I know some people say: we’ve had hard times before and L.A. has always come back stronger.

“It’s tempting to rely on our resilience, to hope this too shall pass. But that’s not the world we live in. Hope is not a plan.

“Two months ago in these Chambers, Mayor [Karen] Bass recognized the gravity of this moment.

“She said, ‘We need a fundamental overhaul of City government to deliver the clean, safe and orderly neighborhoods that Angelenos deserve in the place they call home – and to reverse decades of failure on homelessness.’

“She’s right! That’s exactly what’s needed to meet the moment: bold, systemic change.

“It’s time to redesign L.A. to work.

“Mayors need a Chief Operating Officer to work across department silos. Rigorous, innovative citywide management is why cities like Long Beach, Glendale, Santa Monica, West Hollywood and Pasadena can deliver far more effective and efficient outcomes.

“Your department general managers need to be freed from micro-managment. Empower them to actually run their departments, so you can hold them accountable for doing the job they’re paid to do.

“L.A. needs a Chief Financial Officer to put our fiscal house in order. We need a two-year budget and a real, five-year capital plan. Time to shift from base budgeting to performance budgeting. Allocate resources to what actually works – away from what doesn’t. It’s not rocket science!

“You can’t have a world-class workforce unless you invest in world-class training, technology, equipment and facilities.

“It’s past time to reform an antiquated Civil Service system designed for the world of typewriters and radios, while today we live in a world of artificial intelligence and digital data.

“Empower your workers! No level of pay can compensate for working in a mind-numbing bureaucracy. You have dedicated public servants who strive to keep this City running – despite everything! Why not truly partner with labor? Unleash the innovative spirit of front-line workers to redesign services to live within our means.

“Maybe you have different ideas, maybe better ideas. What L.A. can’t settle for is anything less than bold systemic reform.

“Los Angeles is the economic engine and the cultural soul of Southern California. A world-class city deserves a world-class city government. One that’s designed to work.

“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary leadership. Beneath the broken sidewalks is a broken system. Because I’ve worked with each and every one of you, I know that together, you can begin to repair both!

“So I implore you: Carpe Diem! Seize the day!”

Cole’s comments are about the City of Los Angeles and not at all about the private, LA28 organizing committee which is planning the 2028 Games, but which will inevitably rely on the City for many services such as security, transportation management, sanitation and many, many more.

No matter how good the LA28 organizers are, a successful 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games will inevitably require a quality effort from the City of Los Angeles, not to mention agencies in Los Angeles County, the State of California and the U.S. Federal government.

Cole’s insight – and advice – offers a keen insight into what is holding the City back right now, but that he hopes will be fixed soon, regardless of the impending worldwide focus on Los Angeles in 2028.

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PANORAMA: Handball asks IOC to re-admit Russian teams; Grand Slam Track still owes rent to Miramar; four Worlds open-water golds for Wellbrock!

By
Rich Perelman
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German open-water star Florian Wellbrock, the first to win four open-water golds at a single World Aquatics Championship! (Photo: World Aquatics).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● World University Games ● Following a frantic first weekend of of the 2025 World University Games – Rhine-Ruhr 2025 – the dominant American swim team has the U.S. at the top of the medal standings with 36 total, including 13 golds, eight silvers and 15 bronzes.

The U.S. swimmers have 23 medals along (12-5-6); Italy and Japan are next best with six each.

Overall, China has 23 (8-12-3), followed by South Korea (22: 7-4-11). The competitions continue through the 27th.

● Russia ● According to the Belarusian Handball Federation, the International Handball Federation has asked the International Olympic Committee how to bring Russian and Belarusian teams – banned since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine – back into competitions:

The Belarus federation cites a letter from IHF President Hassan Moustafa (EGY):

“The IHF contacted the IOC, emphasizing on behalf of the entire international handball family the importance of the participation of Russian and Belarusian teams in international handball competitions in the interests of further development and popularization of our favorite sport around the world.

“Following an exchange of information with the IOC, on June 5, 2025, the IHF presented to the International Olympic Committee a scenario for the possible return of the national teams of Russia and Belarus to international handball competitions. Despite repeated reminders, we are still waiting for an official response from the IOC. As soon as we receive any feedback from the International Olympic Committee, we will inform you about it.”

IOC President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) has indicated more discussion of Russian and Belarusian eligibility will take place in September.

● Athletics ● Forbes reported that Grand Slam Track has not paid its rental fee for the Ansin Sports Complex facility in Miramar, Florida, the site of the second Slam. Contributor Cory Mull wrote:

“The startup track and field league currently owes the City of Miramar $77,896 for its facility rental from its Miami Slam, which took place from May 2-4 at the complex, I have learned from a public records request, and the first of three payments from the rental agreement is due on July 18. …

“The City of Miramar rewrote a new payment plan that indicates Grand Slam Track now owes $30,000 on July 18, another $30,000 on August 18 and the third and final payment of $17,896 on September 18.”

Mull also wrote that “The City of Miramar is owed another $14,928.50, according to public records” for city ticket fees for the three days of races at the 5,000-seat facility.

Grand Slam Track held meets in Kingston (JAM), Miramar and Philadelphia, with the Los Angeles meet canceled.

The British government has backed a bid for London – with funding – for the 2029 World Athletics Championships, now open to bid. The BBC reported that national government funding of £35 million and another £10 million from the London government, about $60.36 million U.S., has been committed for the event.

Beyond the famed London 2012 Olympic Games, London hosted a sensational 2017 World Athletics Championships, and Saturday’s Diamond League meet at the Olympic Stadium drew a full house of 60,000. The government is also looking to have the 2029 World Para Athletics Championships as well.

An Instagram post from Thursday (17th) from Athlos states that the women’s long jump competition at the Athlos NYC meet will take place in New York’s Times Square on 9 October.

The main meet will be held at Icahn Stadium on 10 October.

● Swimming ● Canadian star Penny Oleksiak, 25, the Rio 2016 women’s 100 m Freestyle co-gold medalist and seven-time Olympic medal winner, was provisionally suspended by the International Testing Agency for three “whereabouts” failures during a 12-month period.

The ITA is proceeding with its inquiry, but Oleksiak has skipped the ongoing World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.

≡ RESULTS ≡

● Aquatics ● German star Florian Wellbrock, the winner of the men’s 10 km open-water race at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, completed a historic sweep, taking the 5 km title, the new, 3 km Sprints and anchoring the winning 4×1500 m relay for four golds in four events!

Wellbrock won the 5 km gold, again over Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri, 57:26.4 to 57:29.3, with 2017 World Champion Marc-Antoine Olivier (FRA: 57:30.4) in third. Dylan Gravley was the top American, in 17th (58:15.9).

The sprints had three, knockout rounds, of 1,500 m, 1,000 m and a final of 500 m. Wellbrock won all three of his races, and took the final in 5:46.0, over Olympic 10 km bronzer David Betlehem (HUN: 5:47.7) and Olivier (5:51.1). American Ivan Puskovitch was seventh (6:07.2).

Australia’s Olympic 10 km runner-up Moesha Johnson, who won the women’s 10 km, also took the 5 km race, touching in 1:02:01.3, again over Ginerva Taddeucci (ITA: 1:02:02.3) and Japan’s Ichika Kajimoto (1:02:28.9). Mariah Denigan was the top U.S. finisher, in 13th (1:04:08.6).

Kajimoto won the final 500 m race in the 3 km sprints, in 6:19.9, again over Taddeucci (6:21.9) – her third silver – then Johnson and Bettina Fabian (GER), tied for third at 6:23.1.

Wellbrock and Paltrinieri faced off on the anchor of the 4×1500 m relay, with the German inheriting a 10.2-second lead, but won by just 2.1, 1:09:13.3 to 1:09:15.4. The U.S. was 10th at 1:10:27.2. Taddeucci swam second for Italy, meaning she won four silver medals in four events in Singapore, also a Worlds first.

It wasn’t easy. Swimswam.com reported Wellbrock’s comments to reporters after the 3 km sprints:

“The conditions here are tough, everybody knows it’s hot outside, and the water temperature is crazy, close to 31 degrees (87.8° F). … The combination of this heat and the water temperature is so tough. A whole week of 10K, 5K, relay, knockout, it feels like a washing machine.”

World Aquatics regulations state that the maximum temps for open-water racing is 31 C.

In Artistic Swimming, Russian Aleksandr Maltsev won the men’s Solo Technical as a “neutral,” scoring 251.7133, ahead of Spain’s Dennis Gonzalez (241.1667); China’s Huiyan Xu won the women’s Solo Tech at 272.9917, beating Belarus’ Vasilina Khandoshka (260.5416 as a “neutral”).

China won the Team Free Routine at 348.4779, ahead of Japan (334.7232); the U.S. was fourth at 318.0808.

In the women’s water polo quarterfinals, Olympic champion Spain survived in a penalty shoot-out against the Netherlands, 11-11 (4-2), just as it did during the 2024 Olympic tournament, in their semifinal penalty-shootout over the Dutch. Hungary defeated Italy, 12-9, the U.S. crushed Japan, 26-8 and Greece edged Australia, 8-7.

In the Monday semis, Greece will face the U.S. and Spain and take on Hungary.

The men’s Sunday quarterfinals saw Greece advance with a 17-11 win over Italy and Spain thrash Montenegro, 14-5, in the upper bracket. Olympic champ Serbia handled the U.S., 14-9, and Hungary surprised Olympic runner-ups Croatia, 18-12, in the lower bracket.

● Badminton ● At the BWF World Tour Japan Open in Tokyo, 2018 Worlds silver man and third-seed Yu Qi Shi (CHN) was a straight-sets winner over Alex Lanier (FRA), 21-17-, 21-15 in the men’s Singles final, while Olympic champ Se Young An (KOR) dominated second-seed Zhi Yi Wang (CHN), 21-12, 21-10, in the women’s final.

China took the women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles, while Korea got a second win in the men’s Doubles, over Malaysia.

● Basketball ● The 16th FIBA women’s U-19 World Cup was held in Brno (CZE) with the three-time defending United States trying for a 11th win and 10th in the last 11 tournaments.

The group stage was no problem, as the American teens won their games by 134-53, 79-49 and 114-40, then stomped China, 122-57 in the Round of 16. It got a lot closer then, with a 70-65 win over France and 70-58 over Spain to reach the final.

That was against Australia, which edged Hungary (82-76) in the quarters and Canada by 87-75 in its semifinal.

The U.S. got out to a 50-40 halftime lead in the final, but the lead was down to seven at the end of three quarters. The Aussies got to within four at 64-60 in the final quarter, but the Americans were steady and ended with an 88-76 gold-medal victory.

Guard Saniyah Hall led the winners with 25 points, and guard Jennifer Davidson had 21, both on 8-16 shooting from the floor. This was the fourth time that the U.S. had handled Australia in the final, also in 1997, 2019 and 2021. Spain won the third-place in a thriller, edging Canada, 70-68.

● Cycling ● Slovenia’s three-time winner and race favorite Tadej Pogacar came into the weekend races of the 112th Tour de France with an opportunity to take the race in hand.

On Friday, the nearly-all-uphill, 10.9 km Individual Time Trial was all his, won in 23:00.19 over prime rival (and two-time winner) Jonas Vingegaard (DEN: +36.69), to extend his lead to 4:07 against Vingegaard and 7:24 over Olympic road and time trial champ Remco Evenepoel (BEL).

Saturday was a misery-inducing quadruple climb over 182.6 km, with an uphill finish to Superbagneres in the Pyrenees, with 25-year-old Dutchman Thymen Arensman getting his first career Tour stage win in 4:53:35, following a solo attack from 37 km out. Riding with Pogacar, Vingegaard surged with 4 km left, but Pogacar was game and out-sprinted him to the line, 1:08 behind Arensman and adding to his overall lead, now 4:13 over the Dane. Evenepoel did not finish, abandoning the stage about halfway through.

On Sunday, Belgian road race champ Tim Wellens took off at the top of the final climb of the day on the 169.3 km race to Carcassonne and soloed the last 42 km for a dominant win in 3:34:09. Fellow Belgian Victor Campenaerts followed 1:28 later and then a large pack was 1:36 back. Following 6:07 behind were the race leaders, including Pogacar and Vingegaard, so heading into Monday’s rest day, Pogacar is ahead by 4:13.

Tuesday’s stage is flat, leading to a mean, 42 km climb up to Mont Ventoux, gaining 1,840 m of altitude to the finish. This stage will say a lot about whether anyone has a chance to catch Pogacar.

● Football ● The UEFA women’s European Championship quarterfinals in Switzerland saw tightly–played football and a stunning comeback by England.

First up was undefeated Norway and Italy, with Cristiana Girelli opening the scoring in the 50th and then winning the game in the 90th, 2-1. Sweden had England down 2-0 until Lucy Bronze scored in the 79th and Michelle Agyemang in the 81st to tie and a seven-round penalty shoot-out was needed for defending champion England to advance, 3-2.

Home Switzerland was scoreless with Spain for most of the game, but the Spanish got two goals in the last 24 minutes to win, 2-0. Finally, 2022 runners-up Germany had to play with 10 from the 13th minute on after defender Kathrin Hendrich pulled the hair of France’s Griedge Mbock Bathy for a penalty, with Grace Geyoro promptly converting. But the Germans evened it in the 25th and the game went to a seven-round penalty shoot-out, with the Germans winning, 6-5.

England and Italy will meet in Geneva on Tuesday (22nd) in one semi and Spain and Germany will play on Wednesday. The final is on Sunday in Basel.

● Gymnastics ● At the USA Gymnastics U.S. Classic in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, Claire Pease moved up from winning the junior-level All-Around to taking the senior All-Around title, scoring 54.600, ahead of Simone Rose (54.200) and Olympic alternate Joscelyn Roberson (53.250).

Pease also won on Vault (14.050); Myli Lew won on Uneven Bars (14.050), Ashlee Sullivan took the Beam title (13.550) and Reese Esponda on Floor (13.950).

Italian star Sofia Raffaeli dominated the All-Around at the FIG Rhythmic World Cup in Milan (ITA), scoring 118.250, ahead of Germany’s 18-year-old 2023 Worlds and 2024 Olympic winner Darja Varfolomeev (117.450). Megan Chu was the top American, in eighth (108.050), with Rin Keys 12th (107.450).

There were four different winners in the apparatus finals, with Raffaeli taking Hoop at 30.500, Varfolomeev winning Ball at 30.300, Bulgarian star Stiliana Nikolova winning Clubs at 29.400 and Italian Tara Dragas scoring 28.800 to win on Ribbon.

● Rowing ● “RowFest,” the week-long US Rowing national championships on Ford Lake in Ann Arbor, Michigan, finished on Sunday, with 2,541 entries across 403 events from youth to masters categories.

In the open nationals on 12-13 July, Thomas Phifer won the men’s Single Sculls in 7:32.10, over Victor Corja (7:36.08), while Dylan Green and Craig Hoffman won the Double Sculls in 7:00.07, with Conrad Palmer and Charles Jones second in 7:07.32. Green came back for a second win in the Quadruple Sculls.

In the men’s Pairs final, Paul Marcy and Tom Peszek won easily in 7:22.52, over Phillip Granitto and Thomas Koetzner (7:27.03).

The women’s Single Sculls was the first of three wins for Eva Frohnhofer (8:17.80), over Suzanne Maddamma (8:20.61), and then Frohnhofer teamed with Charlotte Forman to take the Double Sculls (7:47.53), over Natalie Timinskas and Elaine Tierney (7:52.09). Tierney, Frohnhofer and Forman were also on the Quadruple Sculls winner.

Timinskas got a gold with Avery Ericksen by winning the women’s Pair in 8:06.75, ahead of Tiara Dye and Lindsey Troftgruben (8:19.26), but Troftgruben got a gold later on the winning women’s Eight.

● Sailing ● The annual Olympic Classes Regatta in Long Beach, California offered a preview of conditions for the IQ Foil and Formula Kite events for 2028, among racing opportunities for all 10 classes.

The Formula Kite men’s regatta had Olympic silver winner Toni Vodisek (SLO) the easy winner, with just 12 net points across 14 races and 10 wins! Britain’s Conor Bainbridge was a distant second at 48. Dutch star Jessie Kampman, the 2024 Worlds bronze winner, took the women’s tournament with 15 net points (10 wins), with Si Wang (CHN: 40) second.

China had six of the seven entries in the men’s IQFoil racing, with Jingye Huang winning six races and scoring 11 net points to edge Kun Bi, who had three wins and 13 net points. The women title went to Wenqi Li (CHN) with seven wins and nine net points, ahead of teammate Zheng Yan (17 net points).

The women’s ILCA 6 racing saw 2025 Worlds bronze medalist Eve McMahon (IRL) win with 45 net points, followed by Hannah Snellgrove (GBR:56) and Worlds silver medalist Agata Barwinska (POL: 56).

The men’s ILCA 7 was win by 2020 European champ Elliot Hanson (GBR, ahead of 2024 Worlds bronzer Michael Beckett (GBR), with both at 38 points, but with Hanson winning three races, to two for Beckett. Two-time World Champion Pavlos Kontdes (CYP: 53) was third.

In the Mixed 470, five of the six entries came from the U.S. with Justin Callahan and Lara Dallman-Weiss (11 net) winning over Nikole Barnes and Ryan Squire (18).

Three classes finished on Sunday, with Nevin Snow and Ian MacDiarmid of the U.S. taking the men’s 49er class at 26 points to 32 for Keanu Prettner and Jakob Flachberger (AUT: 32). Sweden’s 2023 World Champions, Vilma Bobeck and Rebecca Netzler, won the women’s 49erFX racing with seven wins and 19 net points, edging Paris Henken and Helena Scutt of the U.S. (28 net).

Britain’s two-time World Champions John Gimson and Anna Burnet won 10 races and the Nacra 17 title with 16 net points, ahead of Laura Farese and Matthaus Zochling (26).

● Sport Climbing ● At the IFSC World Cup in Lead in Madrid (ESP), 17-year-old American Annie Sanders won the women’s title, reaching the top, for her second win of the season and fifth medal. She edged Laura Rogora (ITA: 48+ second) and fellow American and Olympic silver winner Brooke Raboutou (48+ third).

Korea’s Do-hyun Lee won the men’s Lead title at 40+, giving him his first World Cup win in Lead; he’d won three times in Boulder! Spain’s Alberto Gines, the Tokyo 2020 Combined gold medalist, was second (40), ahead of Satone Yoshida (JPN: 39+) with 2023 Worlds Combined silver winner Colin Duffy of the U.S. in fourth (also 39+).

● Weightlifting ● The U.S. and Colombia overpowered the field at the Pan American Championships in Cali (COL), with the Americans collecting six wins, the most in the tournament, and 10 total medals (6-4-0).

The Americans winners included Olympic 61 kg bronzer Hampton Morris in the men’s 65 kg at 318 kg, a Pan American record, with Morris setting a world record in the clean & jerk (181 kg). At 110 kg, Kolbi Ferguson won at 388 kg and Aaron Williams took the +110 kg title (411 kg).

Wesley Kitts, a two-time U.S. Olympian and five-time U.S. record holder, retired from the sport during the competition, leaving his shoes on the platform during the 94 kg competition. “Truthfully, I was ready to go. I wasn’t really done, but I didn’t really get a choice this time. I have to do what’s right for me and my family and that means weightlifting is over for now.”

Miranda Utley (58kg), Olympic gold medalist Olivia Reeves (69 kg) and Mattie Rogers (77 kg) were the women’s American winners.

Colombia claimed three wins and a tournament-high 11 total medals, including Sebastian Olivares (men’s 71 kg), Marcos Bonilla (men’s 94 kg) and Yenny Sinisterra (women’s 63 kg).

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ATHLETICS: Alfred sensational at 21.71 world lead in the women’s 200 m; Seville beats Lyles in London Diamond League

By
Rich Perelman
-
Paris Olympic 100 m champion Julien Alfred (LCA) (Photo: Diamond League AG).

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≡ LONDON DIAMOND LEAGUE ≡

The Olympic Stadium track at Saturday’s Novuna London Athletics Meet was wet most of the time, with rain early, but receding during the main part of the afternoon meet, with mild, 69 F temperatures. This was the 11th stage of the 2025 Wanda Diamond League, with the usual massive crowd in London of about 60,000, which produced three world-leading marks:

● Women/200 m: 21.71, Julien Alfred (LCA)
● Women/Mile: 4:11.88, Gudaf Tsegay (ETH)
● Women/4×100 m: 41.69, Great Britain

The sun came out for the women’s 200 m, the next-to-last event of the day, and Olympic 100 m champ (and 200 silver winner) Julien Alfred (LCA) was out hard from lane seven. She had the lead into the straight and extended to win in a world-leading 21.71, a lifetime best and now equal-ninth all-time! She ran into a 0.6 m/s headwind (!) and is now more than 2/10ths ahead of the rest of the world.

Britain’s Amy Hunt was second in the middle of the straight, but was passed by 2019 World Champion Dina Asher-Smith in the final 5 m, 22.25 to 22.31, a lifetime best for Hunt.

Two-time World Indoor champion Gudaf Tsegay (ETH) took off from the start of the women’s mile, with teammate Birke Haylom and both were way ahead of the pacesetter. By 1,000 m, Australia’s Paris 1,500 m silver winner Jess Hull passed Haylom and ran up on Tsegay, but Tsegay ran away over the final 150 m and ran hard to the finish to win in the no. 2 time ever in 4:11.88! Hull was second in 4:13.68, now no. 5 all-time, then Sarah Healy (IRL: 4:16.26) and Sinclaire Johnson of the U.S. with an American Record 4:16.32! She eclipsed Nikki Hiltz’s 4:16.35 from 2023.

Tsegay’s 400 m splits were 59.23, 2:03.45 (63.52), 3:07.98 (64.53), then 63.80 for the final 409 m.

The women’s 4×100 m was an impressive win for Great Britain – with help from the crowd – with Daryll Neita on anchor in a world-leading 41.69. Jamaica, running a good team, but not their best, was a clear second in 42.50.

Two of the featured races came at the end of the program in the men’s 100 and 1,500 m:

● The men’s 100 m had the crowd silent for the start, but Jamaica’s Oblique Seville was off like a shot and no one was close. He won in 9.86 (wind: -0.6 m/s), second-best to his 9.83 earlier this season. Olympic champ Noah Lyles – in his 100 m season opener, a day after turning 28 – ran past everyone else in the final 20 m to get second in 10.00, followed by Zharnel Hughes (10.02) and Ackeem Blake (JAM: 10.08).

● The sun was out for the final event, the men’s 1,500 m, with British stars George Mills and Josh Kerr leading 18-year-old Kenyan wunderkind Phanuel Koech a close third with two laps to go. The order was the same at the bell, on a hot pace, with Kerr surging past Mills with 300 to go, followed by Koech, who passed Mills on the inside!

Koech had the lead into the final turn, with Kerr chasing into the home straight, while Mills and Cam Myers (AUS) falling on the turn. Koech was simply too strong and won in 3:28.82, to 3:29.37 for Kerr for a seasonal best and no. 6 on the world for 2025. The carnage behind the top two hurt the rest of the field, with Isaac Nader (POR) third in 3:31.55.

The rain and cooler temps earlier in the meet held the marks down, but the competition was fierce:

American relay gold medalist Vernon Norwood was leading Olympic silver winner Matthew Hudson-Smith(GBR) coming into the home straight of the men’s 400 m, but out of nowhere came Charles Dobson (GBR), who raced past everyone and won easily in a lifetime best 44.14, no. 6 in the world for 2025! Hudson-Smith was second in 44.27, then world leader Zakithi Nene (RSA) in 44.29 and Norwood in 44.34, a seasonal best.

The men’s 800 m saw Olympic champ Emmanuel Wanyonyi (KEN) following the pacer at the bell at 49.21, with Britain’s Max Burgin right behind. But 2023 Worlds winner Marco Arop (CAN) powered into the lead by the 600 m mark and into the home straight, with Spain’s Mohamed Attaoui closest. But Wanyonyi had another gear, and passed Arop on the inside (!) in the final 50 m and won in 1:42.00, with Arop at 1:42.22. Attaoui was passed by Burgin (1:42.36) and American Bryce Hoppel (1:42.71) and finished fifth in 1:43.01. Comebacking Donavan Brazier of the U.S., the 2019 World Champion, was sixth in a season’s best of 1:43.08.

In the men’s 4×100 m, run to help teams qualify for the World Championships, Jamaica – anchored by world 100 m leader Kishane Thompson – won in 37.80, followed by Great Britain, with Hughes on anchor at 38.08.

The Paris medal winners were all back in the men’s long jump, with silver medalist Wayne Pinnock (JAM) reaching a seasonal best 8.20 m (26-11) in the third round to take the lead from Olympic champ (and world leader) Miltiadis Tentoglou (GRE: 8.19 m/26-10 1/2), and it stayed that way. Carey McLeod (JAM) was third at 8.10 m (26-7).

World-record setter Mykolas Alekna (LTU) blasted a fabulous 71.70 m (233-7) throw in round three of the men’s discus to take the air out of the event – and get a Diamond League record – and won easily. Slovenia’s Kristjian Ceh, the 2022 World Champion, had been the leader at 68.37 m (224-3) from the second round, and he finished second, moving out to 68.83 m (225-10) in round six. Lawrence Okoye (GBR: 67.24 m/220-7) got third.

Britain’s Jemma Reekie led the women’s 800 m down the final backstraight with the crowd roaring, ahead of 2019 World Champion Halimah Naakayi (UGA) and Paris 2024 bronze medalist Georgia Hunter Bell. Naakayi moved hard to take the lead in the final straight, but it was Hunter Bell storming to the lead and ran away to win in 1:56.74, now no.2 in the world for 2025! American Addy Wiley passed Naakayi for second in 1:57.43 to 1:57.62. Reekie faded to sixth in 1:58.76.

Ethiopians were first through seventh by 3,000 m in the women’s 5,000 m, with a total of 10 in the front pack. The top 10 were still grouped together with 600 m to go, then Medina Eisa, Fantaye Belayneh and Fotyen Tesfay took off after the bell and were 1-2-3 with 200 m to go. Into the straight, Belayneh moved ahead and looked like the winner, but Eisa surged with 60 m to go and ran away to win in 14:30.57, with Belayneh at 14:30.90. Australia’s Rose Davies rolled past Tesfay to get a national record in third at 14:31.45, then Tesfay at 14:32.55.

World leader Femke Bol (NED) was a dominant winner in the women’s 400 m hurdles, taking charge by the fifth hurdle and stormed home in 52.10, with Olympic fourth-placer Jasmine Jones (USA) getting a season best of 53.18 in second, and Andrenette Knight (JAM: 53.79) third.

The conditions hindered the women’s high jump, with only four to clear 1.93 m (6-4) and only Britain’s three-time Olympian Morgan Lake was over 1.96 m (6-5). Australia’s Eleanor Patterson, Christina Honsel (GER) and Olympic champ Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) were 2-3-4 at 1.93.

In the women’s vault, four were able – in the wet conditions – to clear 4.73 m (15-6 1/4), with Paris Olympian Olivia McTaggart (NZL) leading with her second-try clearance, followed by Tokyo Olympic co-champ Katie Moon of the U.S., Angelica Moser (SUI) and Emily Grove of the U.S. No one could clear 4.84 m (15-10 1/2), so it ended in that order!

World no. 2 Larissa Iapichino (ITA) got out to 6.89 m (22-7 1/4) in the fourth round to lead the women’s long jump, but Tokyo Olympic champ Malaika Mihambo (GER) popped into the lead at 6.93 m (22-9) in the fifth round. Iapichino had a good response in round six, getting to 6.92 m (22-8 1/2), but came up just short. Hilary Kpatcha (FRA) was third at 6.86 m (22-6 1/4) in round five; World Indoor champ Claire Bryant of the U.S. was the first-round leader at 6.78 m (22-3), but ended up fourth at that distance. American Monae Nichols was fifth at 6.74 m (22-1 1/2).

The Diamond League is now in hiatus for almost a month, for a national championships break, before returning on 16 August in Chorzow (POL) for the Skolimowska Memorial. The U.S. nationals are in Eugene next week.

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MEMORABILIA: Louganis medals from 1976-84-88 sell for combined $430,865 at RR Auction summer sale!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Diving icon Greg Louganis' 1984 Olympic 3 m Springboard gold, sold at the RR Auction July 2025 sale (Photo: RR Auction).

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≡ RR AUCTION SUMMER SALE ≡

On and off of various sales platforms for several years, three Olympic medals offered by American diving icon Greg Louganis finally found new homes at the close of the RR Auction summer sale, which concluded Friday evening (prices include the buyer’s premium):

● $201,314: 1988 Olympic 10 m Platform gold
● $199,301: 1984 Olympic 3 m Springboard gold
● $30,250: 1976 Olympic 10 m Platform silver

That’s a combined $430,865! Louganis, now 65, acknowledged as the greatest diver in Olympic history, also won two other Olympic golds, in the 3 m (1988) and 10 m (1984), which were not on sale.

It’s a heroic close to the story of these medals, which will now move on to new owners. These medals were the centerpiece of a fine auction which included multiple other star attractions that finished over $10,000:

● $124,998: Paris 2024 torch and Olympic gold medal (athletics)
● $64,850: 1952 Oslo Winter Games torch
● $43,750: 2006 Turin Winter Games gold medal (ice hockey)
● $20,133: 1936 Berlin Olympic IOC Chain of Office
● $18,778: 1972 Sapporo Winter Games torch

● $18,750: 1932 Lake Placid Winter Games IOC badge
● $18.750: 1932 Los Angeles Olympic gold medal (with box)
● $18,750: 1956 Melbourne Olympic torch
● $18,749: 1904 St. Louis Olympic bronze medal (tug of war)
● $14,619: 2004 Athens Olympic gold medal (boxing)

● $12,501: 1980 Lake Placid Winter Games gold medal sample
● $12,501: 1938 FIFA World Cup winner’s medal
● $12,479: 1968 Mexico City Olympic gold medal (fencing)
● $10,664: 1984-1998-2002 Olympic/Winter Games torch set
● $10,313: 1972 Munich Olympic gold medal (rowing)

The Oslo Olympic Winter Games torch is especially rare, as it was used in the first Winter Games torch relay, and only 95 were made. The exceptionally gaudy 1936 Berlin IOC Chain of Office has been widely seen in recent auctions, but finally sold here for $20,133.

A total of 169 items sold, including some unique souvenirs of Olympics past:

● A participation medal from the 1896 Athens Games went for $1,880.

● The 1924 Paris Olympic winner’s diploma issued to American swim star Johnny Weissmuller for the men’s 100 m Freestyle, sold for $1,059.

● A 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games participation medal for the gymnastics exhibition went for $364.

● The 1970s Snoopy “Support The Olympics … Hug An Athlete” poster brought $275!

● A plaque-mounted section of the track from the 2012 London Olympic Games went for $168.

It’s another strong result for RR Auction, and a happy ending for Louganis’ search for the right home for three of his Olympic medals.

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ATHLETICS: Olympic champ Lyles in hot 100 at London Diamond League, plus star-filled showdowns in the men’s 800 and 1,500 m

By
Rich Perelman
-
Olympic men’s 100 m champ Noah Lyles will make his seasonal debut at the distance in London on Saturday (Photo: Atlanta City Games).

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≡ LONDON DIAMOND LEAGUE ≡

The Novuna London Athletics Meet will fill the Olympic Stadium on Saturday (19th), with a strong program in the 11th stage of the 2025 Wanda Diamond League, with the men’s 100 m sure to be the focus.

American star Noah Lyles, the 2023 World Champion and 2024 Olympic champ, turned away Paris Olympic winner Letsile Tebogo (BOT) in the men’s 200 m in Monaco last week. Now he has Tebogo and a lot of others to deal with in London:

● Oblique Seville (JAM): World no. 2 (9.83) in 2025
● Akani Simbine (RSA): Olympic fourth in 2024
● Letsile Tebogo (BOT): Olympic sixth in 2024
● Ackeem Blake (JAM): World no. 6 (9.88) in 2025
● Jeremiah Azu (GBR): 2025 World Indoor 60 m Champion
● Louie Hinchliffe (GBR): 2024 NCAA Champion
● Zharnel Hughes (GBR): 2023 Worlds bronze medalist

It’s Lyles’ season opener in the 100 m; he won in London in 2024 in a then-lifetime best of 9.81 before his 9.79 Olympic triumph in Paris.

Almost as compelling is the men’s 1,500 m at the end of the program, with home stars 2023 World Champion Josh Kerr and 2022 World Champion Jake Wightman. Norway’s Narve Nordas, the 2023 Worlds bronze winner, is in, as is 2025 world no. 3, George Mills (GBR: 3:28.36). But there will be a lot of focus on the newest wunderkind, Kenyan 18-year-old Phanuel Koech, who set the World Junior Record at the Paris Diamond League at 3:27.72, reportedly just his third time running the distance!

There is a lot more to check out, of course:

● Men/400 m: Olympic silver winner Matthew Hudson-Smith (GBR) will face off with world leader Zakithi Nene (RSA), American vet Vernon Norwood and Botswana’s Bayapo Ndori.

● Men/800 m: Another showdown with Paris Olympic champ Emmanuel Wanyonyi, 2023 World Champion Marco Arop (CAN), 2023 Worlds bronze winner Ben Pattison (GBR), American Record holder Bryce Hoppel, plus comebacking 2019 World Champion Donavan Brazier of the U.S.

● Men/Long Jump: The Paris podium is in: winner – and current world leader – Miltiadis Tentoglou (GRE), runner-up Wayne Pinnock (JAM) and 2025 world no. 2 Mattia Furlani (ITA).

● Men/Discus: Terrific line-up with Paris winner Roje Stona (JAM), world-record holder Mykolas Alekna (LTU), 2022 World Champion Kristjian Ceh (SLO) and Tokyo Olympic champ Daniel Stahl (SWE).

● Women/200 m: Home favorite and 2019 World Champion Dina Asher-Smith will be challenging Olympic runner-up Julien Alfred (LCA), the 2025 world leader at 21.88.

● Women/800 m: British stars Georgia Hunter Bell (Paris 1,500 m bronze), Jemma Reekie (2024 World Indoor silver) and Tokyo 1,500 m runner-up Laura Muir are all in, facing 2019 World Champion Halimah Naakayi (UGA) and Addy Wiley of the U.S., among others.

● Women/Mile: Ethiopia’s two-time World Indoor 1,500 m winner Gudaf Tsegay once again faces Paris 1,500 m runner-up Jess Hull (AUS), fellow Ethiopian Birke Haylom, Rome Diamond League winner Sarah Healy (IRL) and Sinclaire Johnson of the U.S.

● Women/400 m hurdles: Paris bronzer Femke Bol, the 2025 world leader at 51.95, is the headliner, with Paris fourth-placer Jasmine Jones of the U.S. and world no. 7 Andrenette Knight (JAM).

● Women/High Jump: Ukraine’s Olympic champ, world record holder and world leader Yaroslava Mahuchikh faces 2022 World Champion and Paris bronzer Eleanor Patterson (AUS) will tangle again.

● Women/Long Jump: Another test for surprise World Indoor champ Claire Bryant of the U.S., against Tokyo Olympic winner Malaika Mihambo (GER), 2025 world no. 2 Larissa Iapichino (ITA) and British hep star Katarina Johnson-Thompson.

Those are just some of the highlights. The main part of the meet is from 9-11 a.m. Eastern time, or from 2-4 p.m. London time; coverage is available in the U.S. only on FloTrack.

The circuit will retire for almost a month, for a national championships break, before returning on 16 August in Chorzow (POL) for the Skolimowska Memorial.

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PANORAMA: Asian Games to have 460 events in 2026! Ofili leaving Nigeria over lack of support; Pogacar crushes stage 12 to lead Tour de France

By
Rich Perelman
-
Slovenian cycling star Tadej Pogacar celebrating his World Road Champs win in 2024 (Photo: Wikipedia via Albinfo).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Asian Games 2026: Aichi-Nagoya ● The Olympic Council of Asia approved the program for the 2026 Asian Games, with 10,000 athletes to compete in 41 sports – five more than the LA28 Olympic Games – and 460 events (compared to 351 in Los Angeles in 2028).

Compared to the 36-sport LA28 program, the Asian Games will also include breaking, combat sports (3), esports, kabaddi, karate, sepak takraw and wushu. LA28 added sports Flag football and lacrosse are not on the Aichi-Nagoya program.

The OCA also agreed to elections for a new president at its Congress in January 2026, as 78-year-old Raja Randhir Singh (IND) – elected in 2024 – has been in ill health and is unable to fulfill the office. The election will be only for the remainder of his term. Qatar Olympic Committee head Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani instantly announced his candidacy.

● World University Games ● The Rhine-Ruhr 2025 World University Games opened on Wednesday in front of a full house at the Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena in Duisburg. About 8,000 athletes representing more than 2,000 universities are slated to compete in 18 sports and 234 events.

The Universiade flame was brought into the arena by German legend Heide Rosendahl-Ecker, now 78, the 1972 Olympic double gold medalist and handed to six younger athletes who lit the six Games “fire towers.”

On Thursday, Eva Eun-kyung Sandersen (DEN) won the first event of the Games, in the women’s Poomsae-Individual Freestyle in taekwondo. The Games will continue through the 27th.

● Athletics ● Nigeria’s Favour Ofili, the former LSU star and Paris women’s Olympic 200 m sixth-placer in 2024, is reported to be changing her affiliation to Turkey. Former Nigerian star Olusoji Fasuba, who ran 9.85 for the then-African men’s 100 m record in 2006, told Britain-based SportsBoom that the issue is not money, but support:

“We’ve got to remove this idea that it’s always about money. It’s about treatment. When athletes feel neglected or disrespected, they lose their connection to the system, and that’s when they leave.

“If you want loyalty, you need to treat people like they matter. Give them reason to believe they’re part of something. It’s not about grand gestures two weeks before a national competition; it’s about consistent, meaningful support.

“Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and Qatar all have better programs in place. These countries sell stability, structure, and care. Until we match that, we will keep losing our best people.”

He explained further:

“Start with structure. Create real programs-not just cheques and camps before major events. If you do that, athletes with dual nationalities will start choosing Nigeria again. But right now, what’s the incentive?

“If we keep papering over the cracks, we’ll lose an entire generation. It’s not about blaming athletes. It’s about creating something they want to be a part of.”

Ofili, just 22, has bests of 10.87 (this year) and 21.96 from 2022 and figures to be a contender for top honors for years to come.

● Cycling ● In warm conditions of 86 F or more, three-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar put his stamp on the 2025 edition with a crushing victory in Thursday’s 12th stage, a challenging, 180.6 km ride with two major climbs that finished uphill at the Hautacam ski resort in the Pyrenees.

Pogacar blew away the field over the final, uphill 11 km, winning the stage in 4:21:19, a full 2:10 ahead of two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) and 2:23 up on Florian Lipowitz (GER). With race leader Ben Healy (IRL) back in 25th, Pogacar re-assumed the race lead with a 3:31 margin on Vingegaard and 4:45 on Remco Evenepoel (BEL).

Pogacar will also be a strong contender in Friday’s short, 10.9 km, uphill Individual Time Trial, before two more climbing stages on Saturday (182.6 km) and Sunday (169.3 km). If Pogacar really is stronger than all the others, the race could be decided by Sunday.

The Associated Press reported that “Tour de France riders applauded for a minute before the 12th stage on Thursday in memory of Samuele Privitera, the 19-year-old Italian who died after a crash while racing in Italy the day before.

“Privitera crashed in the first stage of the Tour of Valle D’Aosta in the northwestern municipality of Pontey on Wednesday.”

● Swimming ● Italy’s Ginerva Taddeucci, the Paris bronzer and Worlds women’s 10 km silver winner, expressed her frustrations after her race, telling Il Fatto Quotidiano:

“We were very angry, Greg [Paltrinieri] and I were saying how disrespectful they were to postpone a race … a bit like what happened to the men, and without them ever mentioning the water problems, especially a year after the Seine [in Paris].

“With the temperatures, World Aquatics always gives us problems, either too cold for wetsuits, or too hot. I hope something changes with the election of the athletes’ representative; many things need to change, it’s all wrong.”

Paltrinieri suffered a fractured left ring finger during the 10 km race, where he also won silver, and will while he can tape it to compete in the 5 km, he cannot race in the pool with any kind of tape; he will return to Italy for treatment.

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FENCING: Open letter from 447 fencers rips FIE for ending neutrality checks on Russia, Belarus athletes

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ ATHLETE BLOWBACK ≡

“We write to express our deep concern and disagreement with the FIE’s recent decision to stop conducting independent, thorough checks on Russian and Belarusian athletes applying for Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN) status, instead accepting only a signed declaration of peace and neutrality.

“This approach fails to provide sufficient safeguards to ensure that the fencing piste is not used in ways that could undermine the integrity and neutrality of our sport. By removing comprehensive background checks, the FIE risks allowing individuals whose affiliations or actions conflict with the values of neutrality and non-violence to compete under a neutral status. This risks creating a perception of inaction or inconsistency within the international sports community.

“The FIE’s decision contradicts the core principles of fencing—respect, integrity, and fair play—and deviates from the approach originally taken by the international sporting community, including both the FIE and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which established strict eligibility criteria for Russian and Belarusian athletes following the outbreak of war in Ukraine.”

That’s the opening of a lengthy letter signed by 447 fencers, of which 338 are currently active and to which 208 signed their name – the rest did not wish for their identities to be disclosed – protesting the Federation Internationale de Escrime’s decision to drop “neutrality checks” on Russian and Belarusian fencers.

The Global Athlete athlete activist group published the open letter to the Federation Internationale d’Escrime on Thursday, which repeated a March 2023 declaration that “The international community is acutely aware that for Russian and Belarusian athletes, there is no distinction between the athlete and the state.”

The letter is clear about its aims:

“As athletes, we are not mere participants—we are the sport, and we share responsibility for upholding its values. Therefore, we call on the FIE to:

“● Immediately reverse its decision to reinstate Russian and Belarusian athletes and resume thorough reviews and checks for every athlete applying for AIN status;

“● Align its policies with the broader Olympic community’s standards on neutrality and eligibility;

“● Ensure meaningful athlete consultation in decisions affecting the ethical integrity of international competitions.

“We emphasize that our position is not directed against individual athletes but is founded on a commitment to fairness, transparency, and consistency in governance. We recognize that these athletes are not the architects of this war and acknowledge the burden that strict sanctions and requirements impose on them. Yet, this burden is minimal compared to the suffering endured by every Ukrainian.”

The FIE decided the new policy during its 26 June 2025 Executive Committee meeting over what it said were cost concerns to have Russian and Belarusian applications independently checked for “neutrality.” The internal announcement came in a 7 July 2025 information letter, followed by a public announcement on its Web site on 11 July. The 2025 World Championships begin on 22 July in Tbilisi (GEO).

First among the signatories, of course, was Ukrainian star Olha Kharlan, who was infamously disqualified at the 2024 World Championships for not shaking hands with a Russian opponent, then was promised a place at the Paris Olympic Games by then-International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER).

Also signing were American stars, Olympic champion Lee Kiefer and Olympic medalist Gerek Meinhardt, and fencers – current or retired – from Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Rep., Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and, of course, Ukraine.

Observed: This will have no impact on the FIE, of course, continuing in the grip of President-in-absentia Alisher Usmanov (RUS), who has donated more than $98.5 million to the federation between 2008-21.

However, this kind of activity could have an impact on the IOC and its new President, Kirsty Coventry (ZIM), who has indicated action on the question of Russian and Belarusian participation in the 2026 Winter Games will come up at the IOC Executive Board meeting in September.

The next step for the protesters is to invite Coventry for direct discussions, as well as other IOC Executive Board members, to make their voices heard well before September’s meeting.

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ATHLETICS: AIU announces provisional doping suspension of Kenyan women’s marathon world-record holder Ruth Chepngetich

By
Rich Perelman
-
Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich, the new women’s world-record holder at 2:09:56 in Chicago, on 13 October 2024! (Photo: Bank of America Chicago Marathon)

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≡ MORE KENYAN DOPING ≡

“The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has provisionally suspended marathon world record-holder, Ruth Chepng’etich, for the Presence and Use of Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) relating to a sample collected from her on 14 March this year.”

Thursday’s stunning announcement included an explanation by AIU chief Brett Clothier (AUS):

“When there is a positive test for diuretics and masking agents, a provisional suspension is not mandatory under the World Anti-Doping Code. Chepng’etich was not provisionally suspended by the AIU at the time of notification, however, on 19 April, she opted for a voluntary provisional suspension while the AIU’s investigation was ongoing.

“In the intervening months, the AIU continued its investigation and today issued a Notice of Charge and imposed its own provisional suspension.”

The AIU statement also included a technical explanation:

● “HCTZ is a diuretic, used clinically to treat fluid retention and hypertension. Under the WADA Code, it is a class S5 Prohibited Substance (Diuretics and Masking Agents), prohibited at all times and a Specified Substance. Diuretics may be abused to mask the presence in urine of other Prohibited Substances.”

● “A Specified Substance has a standard sanction of two (2) years’ ineligibility (subject to possible reduction or increase in accordance with WADA Code provisions).”

Chepngetich, now 30, won the 2019 women’s World Championships marathon in Doha (QAT) in 2:32:43, infamously started at midnight because of the heat. But she is best known for her stunning 2:09:56 Chicago Marathon win last October, in which she not only set the world record, but became the first woman to run under 2:11 and under 2:10!

She owns three of the top-10 women’s marathon times in history: 2:09:56 in Chicago last year, 2:14:18 in Chicago in 2022 (no. 5) and 2:15:37 in Chicago in 2023 (no. 9). She contested the Tokyo 2020 Olympic marathon, but did not finish.

In 15 career marathons, she has won nine times, been second twice, third once and ninth once in the 13 races she finished.

Her last race was a 1:06:20 runner-up finish at the Lisbon (POR) Half on 9 March of this year, five days before she took her positive test on 14 March.

Kenyan doping has been an enormous problem, with 139 individuals listed on the AIU’s roster of ineligible persons through 30 June 2025, more than any other country. Now, Chepngetich and Felix Kirui have been added since then.

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LANE ONE: Exclusive review of 2025 world championships shows Norway, Germany, U.S. project as top Olympic Winter Games medal winners

By
Rich Perelman
-

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ 2026 MEDAL PROJECTIONS ≡

Now that the Olympic Winter Games 2026 medal designs have been revealed, who is going to win them?

The true answer is no one knows just yet, but a clue as to the spread of medals and placings at the Milan Cortina 2026 Games can be taken from compiling the 2025 world championships results in the eight sports and 116 events to be held next year.

So, here it is!

The Sports Examiner reviewed each of the winter-sport worlds held in 2025, compiling the medal winners in 114 of the 116 events held (can you guess two that weren’t; check the end of the story). The compilation showed that 25 countries won the 342 medals in 2026 Winter Olympic events, shown in order of total medals (gold-silver-bronze):

● 41 ~ 17-13-11: Norway
● 35 ~ 8-15-12: Germany
● 33 ~ 15-10-8: United States
● 31 ~ 12-9-10: Switzerland
● 27 ~ 9-9-9: Canada

● 22 ~ 4-10-8: Japan
● 21 ~ 9-5-7: Netherlands
● 18 ~ 8-4-6: France
● 17 ~ 8-6-3: Italy
● 16 ~ 7-3-6: Sweden

● 16 ~ 3-7-6: Austria
● 9 ~ 3-4-2: Great Britain
● 8 ~ 0-4-4: China
● 7 ~ 1-1-5: South Korea
● 7 ~ 0-3-4: Finland

● 6 ~ 1-2-3: Czech Rep.
● 6 ~ 0-2-4: Poland
● 4 ~ 3-1-0: New Zealand
● 4 ~ 3-1-0: Slovenia
● 4 ~ 1-1-2: Australia

● 3 ~ 1-1-1: Belgium
● 3 ~ 0-2-1: Kazakhstan
● 2 ~ 1-1-0: Spain
● 1 ~ 0-1-0: Latvia
● 1 ~ 0-1-0: Ukraine

Seventeen of these are European countries, with four from Asia and two each from the Americas and Oceania. No Russians or Belarusians are shown in the medal counts and some of them could be in Milan Cortina, depending on the International Olympic Committee’s decision on the issue and the International Federations; that’s a wild card in these results.

There’s a lot of similarity in this list to the results of the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing (CHN), contested during a Covid-19 lockdown:

● 37: Norway
● 27: Germany
● 25: United States
● 18: Sweden
● 18: Austria

In 2018 in PyeongChang (KOR):

● 39: Norway
● 31: Germany
● 29: Canada
● 23: United States
● 20: Netherlands

Beyond the 2025 World Championships medal winners, what about the countries with fourth- and fifth-place finishers this year, right behind the Worlds medalists this year? The U.S. came out well here:

● 32: United States
● 22: Italy
● 18: Canada
● 18: Norway
● 17: Austria
● 17: Switzerland

● 16: France
● 13: Sweden
● 11: Germany
● 9: Japan
● 9: China

Is this what will happen? Of course not. But it offers a backdrop to the competitions to come, and a guide to who will the nations to watch in Italy in 2026.

One more thing: a salute to long-time friend Luciano Barra, the chief operating officer of the Turin 2006 Winter Games organizing committee (among many important posts), who created these compilations in past years.

Rich Perelman
Editor

(What about those events for 2026 for which no Worlds event was held in 2025: the new men’s Team Sprint in Nordic Combined and the new men’s Super Team in Ski Jumping. The Figure Skating Team Event standings – not a Worlds event – were compiled from the scores of the four individual events.)

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PANORAMA: Elite beach volleyball coming to Newport Beach; Acura to support U.S. Bobsled; official laundry service for fencing?

By
Rich Perelman
-
Bobsled engineering tests under way at the Honda Automotive Laboratories of Ohio aeroacoustic wind tunnel in East Liberty, Ohio (Photo: American Honda).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The Paris 2024 Endowment Fund announced Tuesday a series of programs to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the successful Olympic and Paralympic Games, using a portion of the €76 million (about $88.6 million U.S. today) organizing committee surplus.

Events will mark the anniversary of the Olympic opening on 26 July, Paralympic Day on 6 September and National Sports Day on 14 September. The 26 July program includes the unveiling of the “Monument of Champions” – supported by the City of Paris as well – listing the names of the Paris 2024 medal winners. Also, the opening ceremony statues of the 10 “illustrious women” will be inaugurated on the Rue de la Chapelle. An allocation of €6.36 million has been made for these projects.

The “Parc des Jeux” program with sports and cultural activities will also be re-activated at the Parc Georges Valbron, with a special concert on 26 July.

● Beach Volleyball ● In another sign of the wide impact of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Volleyball World announced a 12th Elite 16 event for 2025, to be held in Newport Beach, California, from 7-11 October.

The tour will be in Brazil for tournaments in Joao Pessoa from 17-21 September and Rio de Janeiro from 24-28 September, before coming north. Elite 16 events carry prize money of $300,000, split evenly between men and women; it’s the first Elite16-level tournament in the U.S. since October 2018, in Las Vegas. A follow-on 4×4 tournament for men and women on 12 October will have a $250,000 prize purse.

● Bobsled & Skeleton ● “USA Bobsled/Skeleton today announced a multi-year Official Premier Technology and Official Automotive Partnership with American Honda, strengthening support for the organization’s world-class athletes through 2030. The collaboration brings together the elite performance of USA Bobsled and Skeleton athletes with the advanced engineering capabilities of the U.S.-based research and development (R&D) teams at Honda.”

Tuesday’s announcement confirmed that the Honda Auto Development Center in Raymond, Ohio will assist with sled development and performance efficiency, and wind-tunnel testing is already being done at Honda Automotive Laboratories of Ohio (HALO), in East Liberty, Ohio.

The partnership is branded for Acura, Honda’s “premium performance division,” and is a welcome assist for USABS, for the Olympic Winter Games in Milan Cortina in 2026 and French Alps 2030.

● Cycling ● No change in the leaderboard at the 112th Tour de France after Wednesday’s 11th stage, a hilly, 156.8 km route in and around Toulouse, with Jonas Abrahamsen (NOR) winning the final sprint with Mauro Schmid (SUI), both in 3:15:56.

Race leader Ben Healy (IRL) was 24th, in a large pack that finished 3:28 back, including nos. 2-3-4 Tadej Pogacar (SLO: +0:29, who survived a small crash), Remco Evenepoel (+1:29) and Jonas Vingegaard (DEN: 1:46).

Expect fireworks on Thursday with a brutal, 180.6 km double climb, finishing with a climb from 456 m to 1,519 m at the Hautacam ski resort in the Pyrenees! An uphill Individual Time Trial follows on Friday.

● Fencing ● USA Fencing announced Poplin as the “Official Laundry Service” of the federation. How is that supposed to help? Here’s the pitch:

“The service’s convenient app lets you schedule a pickup, hand off your sweaty gear to a trusted Poplin Pro, and get it back fresh and folded as soon as the next day. Translation: you can schedule a pickup from your hotel during a NAC [North American Cup], snag a mid-trip ‘laundry refresh,’ and still fly home Monday morning with clothes that smell sweet, not sour. It’s also a great option for officials and coaches who spend long stretches away from home and need a quick clothes reset.”

Now, that’s service that geared to the needs of your customers!

● Freestyle Skiing ● Sad news from Norway, where Audun Groenvold, 49, who won a 2005 Worlds bronze in Ski Cross and a 2010 Olympic Winter Games bronze, died Tuesday night after being hit by lightning on 12 July (Saturday).

Following his skiing career, he had been involved in coaching, selling sports equipment and as a television analyst. He is survived by his wife Kristin, and three children.

● Swimming ● Familiar faces topped the podium at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, with the men’s and women’s 10 km open-water races both finally held at a water quality delay, but in hot conditions of about 85 F or even a little higher on Wednesday afternoon.

The men’s race saw Tokyo Olympic 10 km winner Florian Wellbrock (GER) was at or near the lead for most of the race and had teammate Oliver Klemet for company on the final lap, with Kyle Lee (AUS) and Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA) following.

The Italian moved up to second, but was never able to challenge Wellbrock, who won his third Worlds 10 km gold (also in 2019 and 2023) in 1:59:55.5, with Paltrinieri, the 2022 World Champion, second in 1:59:59.2, his eighth career Worlds open-water medal (2-5-1).

Lee outlasted Klemet for third, 2:00:10.3 to 2:00:10.4; Joey Tepper was the top American, in 12th at 2:01:53.8. Of the 78 starters, 16 did not finish or were lapped.

The women’s race was all about Australia’s Moesha Johnson, the Paris Olympic silver winner. She had the lead by the third of six laps and maintained a steady lead over Italy’s Ginerva Taddeucci and Monaco’s surprising Lisa Pou, who separated from the rest of the chasers on the final lap. At the touch, Johnson won by 2:07:51.3 to 2:07:55.7 to 2:07:57.5. It’s Johnson’s first individual Worlds medal; Taddecci moved up one position from her Paris Olympic bronze last year, while Pou got her first career Worlds medal.

Mariah Denigan was the top American, finishing 14th in 2:11:54.1; 16 of the 69 starters did not finish.

● Table Tennis ● As a follow-up to hosting its first United States Smash in Las Vegas last week, the International Table Tennis Federation and its commercial arm, World Table Tennis, announced Tuesday that a combined business and training center will be launched in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area.

This is part of a grow-the-game effort in the U.S. and the Pan American region by the ITTF, with the commercial and federation activities opening by the end of 2025 and the WTT Global Training Center in the second quarter of 2026.

● Water Polo ● Group play in the men’s tournament at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore concluded on Wednesday, with Italy, Spain, the U.S. and defending champ Croatia all finishing at 3-0.

The play-in games to the quarterfinals will be held on Friday (18th) and the quarters on the 20th (Sunday), with the U.S. facing the winner of Paris Olympic champ Serbia (2-1) and Japan (1-2).

● Wrestling ● USA Wrestling confirmed a dual meet of younger national men’s Freestyle team members against Russia on Monday (21 July) in Budapest (HUN), in coordination with the Professional Wrestling League:

“The teams are meeting in a neutral site in Budapest due to the logistical convenience for both federations. Some of the U.S. athletes in the dual meet also will compete in the Polyak Imre & Varga Janos Memorial UWW Ranking Series Event in Budapest, July 17-18. Based upon the success of PWL 9, there is hope that more dual meets can be organized, including a return to matches in Russia and the United States.”

United World Wrestling allows Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as “neutrals” under the UWW flag; those who have shown support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are considered ineligible.

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PANORAMA: Nike joins Special Olympics Int’l in three-year tie-up; MLB players might play at LA28; Louganis medals auction ends Thursday!

By
Rich Perelman
-
The Special Olympics banner at the 2023 World Games in Berlin (Photo: Special Olympics Int’l/Dillon Vibes).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● Positive comments on the possibility of Major League Baseball players participating in the 2028 Olympic tournament, now scheduled for six days at the start of the Games.

Commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters, “I think it is a opportunity to market the game on a really global stage. Obviously the clubs are going to have to endorse this. I mean, it’s a big deal.”

MLB Players Association chief Tony Clark said, “There’s a lot of work that still needs to be done. We do know players are interested in playing, whether it’s for the Team USA or any number of other teams around the world. … There’s just a lot of conversation that needs to be had sooner rather than later to see how viable this is, but we’re hopeful that we can figure our way through it for the benefit of the game.”

● Special Olympics ● Major announcement from Washington, D.C.-based Special Olympics International, with Nike signing on for a three-year partnership, a first for the apparel and shoe giant, with a focus on promotion of the Sports Olympics Unified Sports project where players with and without intellectual disabilities compete together:

● “This partnership will be delivered through Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools (UCS). The support to UCS will help advance Nike’s commitment to powering the future of youth sport where all youth have access to sport.”

● “The partnership will concentrate on four key communities: Oregon, Berlin, Johannesburg, and Tokyo. Nike will engage its employees as volunteers in all four communities as a key element of the partnership, beginning with employee volunteer opportunities at both Special Olympics Oregon and Special Olympics Berlin Summer Games this July.”

● “Over the course of the three-year partnership, Nike and Special Olympics will collaborate on updating Special Olympics’ Global Unified Sports Coach courses and train-the-trainer materials, leveraging Nike’s three decades of youth sport coaching experience and deep insights with global partners and experts focused on quality coaching that’s inclusive and welcoming to all youth. They will also work to recruit more Unified Sports coaches to more closely reflect community demographics—with the ambition of training and certifying more than 600 additional volunteer coaches across the four key communities.”

Special Olympics International also announced that chief executive Mary Davis (IRL) will retire at the end of the year, concluding 10 years at the head of the organization and 47 years in the Special Olympics movement. David Evangelista (USA) has been named as her successor, currently the Regional President & Managing Director, Europe Eurasia for Special Olympics.

● Memorabilia ● Time is running out for the RR Auction of Olympic memorabilia that will close on 17 July (Thursday). The bidding always get heavy at the end, but multiple items are already with bids of $10,000 or more by Tuesday afternoon:

● $53,148: 1968 Grenoble Winter Olympic torch (8 bids)
● $26,329: 2024 Paris Olympic torch and gold medal set (10)
● $19,976: 1984 Greg Louganis Olympic 3 m diving gold (11)
● $18,782: 1988 Greg Louganis Olympic 10 m diving gold (15)
● $15,520: 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympic torch (16)

A very rare Oslo 1952 Winter Games torch is at $9,889, a triple torch collection (1984 Olympic-1998 Winter-2002 Winter) is at $8,531, a Paris 2024 torch is at $8,480 and Louganis’ 1976 10 m silver medal is at $4,784.

Open bidding is available up to 6 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday (17th), with conditions beyond that time (consult the auction catalog details here).

● Aquatics ● The men’s and women’s 10 km open-water swimming events continue to be in doubt as World Aquatics announced that pollution levels are still too high for competition on Wednesday morning (16th).

So, pending better results, the races have been moved to the afternoon of the 16th, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., with a scheduled off-day on the 17th. Ticket refunds are available for those not wishing to see the events at the re-scheduled times.

● Athletics ● USA Track & Field, which has shed some of its staff in a budget-saving exercise and seen others depart, hired Running USA Executive Director Jay Holder to be its Chief Content and Communications Officer. Holder had been an independent director of USA Track & Field since January; that director position is now vacant.

Holder was the head of Running USA from November 2023, coming from seven years with the Atlanta Track Club and 10 years in local television producer roles in New York, Charlotte and Syracuse.

The Athletics Integrity Unit announced the suspension of Kenyan marathoner Felix Kirui for “2 years from 8 July 2025 for Presence/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Triamcinolone acetonide). DQ results from 4 May 2025.”

This will nullify his lifetime best 2:10:45 win in the Durban (RSA) Marathon, on 4 May.

● Football ● FIFA announced that the “first ticket draw” for assignments to be able to buy tickets for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be on 10 September 2025. Those wishing to buy tickets must register on the FIFA ticketing site:

“There will be several distinct ticket sales phases from the start of sales on 10 September 2025, through to the final match on Sunday, 19 July 2026. Each phase may differ in purchasing processes, payment methods and ticket products, and full details on each phase will be released in the coming months.”

Hospitality packages which include tickets, are already on sale.

Sergio Marchi (ARG), the President of FIFPRO, the worldwide football player union, blasted FIFA and the just-concluded FIFA Club World Cup, including:

“FIFPRO cannot fail to point out, with absolute clarity, that this competition hides a dangerous disconnection with the true reality that most footballers around the world are going through.

“What was presented as a global festival of football was nothing more than a fiction staged by FIFA, driven by its president, without dialogue, without sensitivity and without respect for those who sustain the game with their daily efforts. A grandiloquent staging that inevitably recalls the ‘bread and circuses’ of Nero’s Rome, entertainment for the masses while behind the curtain the inequality, precariousness and lack of protection of the real protagonists deepens. …

“The tournament also took place under unacceptable conditions, with matches being played in extremely hot weather and at temperatures that put the physical integrity of the players at risk. This situation must not only be denounced, but must also be strongly condemned. Under no circumstances must this happen again at next year’s FIFA World Cup.”

● Gymnastics ● Belgian star Nina Derwael, 25, the Tokyo 2020 gold medalist on the Uneven Bars, announced her retirement, effective immediately. Across eight years, she won four World Championships medals (2-0-2) all on the Uneven Bars and five European Championships medals (4-1-0), including the Uneven Bars and Balance Beam at the 2025 Euros in Germany.

“I have achieved everything I wanted to. I proved what I was capable of. Recently, I have increasingly found myself asking: ‘Hasn’t it been enough? Is it worth risking my body?’ Ultimately, I have to conclude that it has been enough.”

● Swimming ● Three brilliant Virginia stars – Olympians all – Kate Douglass, Alex and Gretchen Walsh announced the “Olympic Endowment Scholarship for Women’s Swimming Fund,” to also receive a 50% match from the Virginia Athletics Foundation to create a scholarship for a women’s swimmer at the school.

● Water Polo ● At the 2025 World Aquatics Championships, the U.S. women’s national team completed a 3-0 group stage with a 26-3 rout of Argentina and finished with a 52-19 goals-against total.

Now into the quarters (19th), the Americans will face the winner of the Japan (1-2) vs. Great Britain (2-1) match on the 17th. Australia, Hungary and Spain – all 3-0 – won the other groups.

● Wrestling ● The final spot on the U.S. men’s Freestyle team for the 2025 World Championships was filled on Monday, as Bishop McCort (Johnstown, Pa.) High School senior (and Oklahoma State commit) Jax Forrest defeated 2023 World Champion Vito Arujau in the men’s 61 kg class, 4-3, 7-2.

It will be Forrest’s first seniors Worlds team; he won a Worlds U-17 55 kg silver in 2022.

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SWIMMING: Sterling 2024 financial report from USA Swimming, with $51 million revenue; no. 4 among all U.S. national federations!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ USA SWIMMING FINANCIALS ≡

In a little more than a year, USA Swimming hosted a groundbreaking Olympic Trials in an NFL stadium, won 28 medals at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, saw its long-time chief executive and a possible new chief executive both leave, as well as its chief operating officer.

Through all of this, it has confirmed its place as one of the most successful and financially stable U.S. National Governing Bodies.

The USA Swimming 2024 financial statements have been released, with a short summary attached to the formal, audited statements, showing a federation with impressive resources for a sport which has no professional circuit or league and whose television presence is limited to its own USA Swimming Network and NBC’s Peacock streaming service:

● $51.06 million in revenue
● $46.23 million in expenses
● $4.82 million surplus for the year

● $74.60 million total assets
● $50.50 million net assets/reserves

The driving force behind the financials is membership, with $24.31 million in member dues, up from $23.40 million in 2023. The federation reported 376,479 individual members and 2,798 club members in 2024.

Next was “sports and events” which rose from a modest $630,197 (net) in 2023 to a net of $6.58 million in 2024, thanks to a $5.152 million surplus from the record-setting U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis in June.

USA Swimming paid $4.21 million in direct athlete support in 2024 ($2.23 million from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee) and another $4.23 million in national team and sport development travel expenses.

So, how does USA Swimming match up with the other U.S. National Governing Bodies?

Research by The Sports Examiner shows that, according to the latest available financial statements for 2024 or 2023, USA Swimming ranks no. 4 in revenue, and no. 6 in net assets.

The following list – based on publicly-available information – shows the 23 U.S. Olympic-sport NGBs with revenues of $10 million or more from their latest audited financials (2023 or 2024 as noted):

● $623.21 million: U.S. Tennis 2024 ($733.98 million net assets)
● $192.19 million: U.S. Soccer 2024 ($77.98 million net assets)
● $67.79 million: USA Hockey 2024 ($58.38 million net assets)
● $51.06 million: USA Swimming 2024 ($50.50 million net assets)
● $50.43 million: U.S. Ski & Snowboard 2024 ($83.98 million net assets)

● $49.43 million: USA Volleyball 2024 ($41.39 million net assets)
● $36.73 million: U.S. Equestrian Foundation 2023 ($21.31 million net assets)
● $36.71 million: USA Track & Field 2023 (–$4.93 million net assets)
● $30.90 million: U.S. Figure Skating 2024 ($109.50 million net assets)
● $27.75 million: USA Gymnastics 2023 (–$2.25 million net assets)

● $23.58 million: USA Baseball 2023 ($8.59 million net assets)
● $22.36 million: USA Lacrosse 2023 ($25.02 million net assets)
● $21.95 million: USA Basketball 2023 ($39.17 million net assets)
● $21.43 million: USA Climbing 2023 ($14.19 million net assets)
● $20.80 million: USA Triathlon 2023 ($10.01 million net assets)

● $19.93 million: USA Wrestling 2023 ($15.25 million net assets)
● $17.92 million: USA Water Polo 2023 ($5.54 million net assets)
● $17.30 million: USA Fencing 2024 ($4.31 million net assets)
● $16.75 million: USA Rowing 2023 ($3.73 million net assets)
● $15.95 million: USA Rugby 2023 ($1.04 million net assets)

● $13.79 million: USA Sailing 2023 ($9.17 million net assets)
● $13.35 million: USA Softball 2023 ($7.77 million net assets)
● $11.79 million: USA Cycling 2023 ($10.56 million net assets)

The U.S. Tennis Association is the organizer of the annual U.S. Open championships in New York, which generate more than $500 million in annual revenue. Soccer is also highly professionalized, for both the men’s and women’s national teams; those are the two NGBs with more than $100 million in annual revenue.

Of the top 23, 20 are summer Olympic sports and three are Olympic Winter sports, with swimming no. 3 in revenue and assets among all of the summer-sport governing bodies. Impressive.

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MILAN CORTINA 2026: Olympic Winter Games medals revealed, with symbolic designs of two halves and two textures

By
Rich Perelman
-
The Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games medals (Photo: Milan Cortina 2026).

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≡ MEDALS REVEALED ≡

“The official medals of the upcoming 2026 Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games have been unveiled in Venice, designed as two halves that symbolize the culmination of an athlete and Para athlete’s journey and of all those who have walked beside them along the way. Created by the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato (IPZS), Official Sponsor of the Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.”

Tuesday’s announcement included the usual barrage of photographs and videos on the medals, how they were designed and being manufactured. The two-halves, two-textures design also salutes the dual hosting of Milan and Cortina.

The Olympic medals have the two-halves front and the Olympic rings; the Paralympic medals have the same design, but with the Paralympic agitos.

The words “XXV OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES” are incised on the medal’s edge, with an indicator of first place (one bar), second (two) or third (three), and the IPZS maker’s identification mark (IPZS is the Italian state mint).

On the back, the Olympic medal continues the two-halves design, with the Milano Cortina 2026 logo on top and the name of the sport and event. The Paralympic reverse also has the logo and sport and event, but adds braille as well. The Olympic lanyards are blue and the Paralympic lanyards are red.

The key facts:

● 1,146 medals will be awarded in 195 events across both Games
● Olympic Winter Games: 245 gold, silver and bronze medals (735 total).
● Winter Paralympic Games: 137 gold, silver and bronze medals (411 total)

● All medals are 80 mm in diameter and 10 mm thick
● Gold medals are .999 silver + 6 g gold (506 g: 17.85 oz)
● Silver medals are .999 silver (500 g: 17.64 oz)
● Bronze medals are copper (420 g: 14.82 oz)

The medal boxes and medal trays are being specially designed Versalis (Eni), already working on the Olympic and Paralympic torches and an Official Supporter of the Games.

Milan Cortina 2026 will be the 25th Olympic Winter Games, and as the medal designs are completely up to the organizing committee, they have varied greatly over time. They have also gotten bigger and bigger. The 2026 medals will be 80 mm in diameter, a third larger than the 60 mm-wide medals for the 1956 Winter Games in Cortina. But the 2026 awards are not close to being the largest; the top 15 (no data available on the 2022 Beijing medals):

● 107 mm: 2006 Turin (ITA)
● 100 mm: 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER)
● 100 mm: 2010 Vancouver (CAN)
● 100 mm: 2014 Sochi (RUS)
● 92.5 mm: 2018 PyeongChang (KOR)
● 92 mm: 1992 Albertville (FRA)
● 85 mm: 2002 Salt Lake City (USA)
● 80 mm: 1980 Lake Placid (USA)
● 80 mm: 1998 Nagano (JPN)
● 80 mm: 2026 Milan Cortina (ITA)

● 78 mm: 1994: Lillehammer (NOR)
● 72 mm: 1976 Innsbruck (AUT)
● 71 mm: 1952 Oslo (NOR)
● 71 mm: 1984 Sarajevo (YUG)
● 70 mm: 1964 Sapporo (JPN)

The weight of the medals has also become an issue, with the 2018 PyeongChang medals weighing in at 586 grams for the gold, a neck-straining 20.67 ounces! The 2026 medals will be a more svelte 506 g or 17.85 oz. for the gold medals.

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ATHLETICS: Athletics Integrity Unit reports 97.8% of all Paris 2024 Olympic finalists tested out-of-competition before the Games!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ AIU ANNUAL REPORT ≡

At the Olympic Games and the World Championships, it’s the medal winners who get almost all of the attention. And, in its 2024 Annual Report, the Athletics Integrity Unit was happy to note that it had the medal winners and medal contenders under surveillance:

● “A total of 10,112 doping controls – including 7,080 out-of-competition (OOC) tests – were conducted on the 1,876 [athletics] athletes who competed in Paris (average of 5.4 tests/athlete).”

● “97% of medallists in Paris were included in one of the AIU testing pools (87% in the main Registered Testing Pool and 10% in second-tier pools). All medallists in Paris had at least one OOC test before competing.”

● “Of the 319 finalists in Paris, 224 (70%) were part of AIU’s RTP and another 53 (total of 87%) were monitored by the AIU either as part of the second-tier AIU testing pools or through express recommendations to NADOs [national anti-doping organizations]. Only seven of the 319 finalists were not tested out-of-competition prior to the Olympic Games.”

This was, of course, only part of the AIU effort in 2024, which included a much wider testing program:

● 12,982 samples from 3,744 athletes from 139 countries
● 64.5% were out-of-competition tests
● 51% men and 49% women
● 522 competitions at which the AIU did testing
● 838 athletes in the highest-level Registered Testing Pool

● 47% of tests on African athletes
● 26% of tests on European athletes
● 12% of tests on North American athletes
● 10% of tests on Asian athletes
● 2% of tests each on Oceania and South American athletes

In terms of testing by events, distance athletes made up 63% of all testing followed by sprints at 14%. Middle distances (8%), throws (7%), jumps (6%) made up most of the rest, with combined events at 2%.

Out of all this testing, there were 405 doping cases of some type which were flagged in 2024:

● 100 AIU cases and 305 national-level cases
● Of the 100 AIU cases: 44 violations, 36 pending, 20 closed (no violation)
● Of the 100 AIU cases: 9 refusal to sample or “whereabouts” failure

● Of the 305 national cases: 233 were doping positives (117 steroids), 23 had atypical findings and 49 were non-analytical (38 refusal to sample or “whereabouts”).

Education was also an increasing focus, with the AIU preferring sessions with small groups. It did 74 seminars in 2024 in 14 languages, and, importantly, reached 610 of the 838 athletes in the Registered Testing Pool one-on-one during the year.

The AIU did this for a cost of $11,897,586, most of which went to staff costs ($4.60 million) and testing ($4.48 million). Another $627,266 was spent on disciplinary efforts and legal fees. Revenue, from road-race testing fees and “recovered expenses” from Russia and Kenya totaled $3.84 million, so World Athletics picked up $8.06 million to underwrite the 2024 effort.

As thorough and impressive as the AIU report was, it did not detail the situation in its ineligible list, which included 660 persons, including athletes, coaches and support personnel. The leading countries with individuals on the list included (as of 1 July 2025):

● 139: Kenya
● 129: India
● 61: Russia
● 29: China
● 20: Turkey

● 18: Italy
● 18: South Africa
● 17: Ukraine
● 15: Ethiopia
● 14: Morocco

● 14: United States
● 11: France
● 10: Kuwait
● 10: Nigeria

Taken together, the top three countries account for 49.8% of the list. Wow. Kenya is now under direct AIU supervision, India has been told by the International Olympic Committee that its 2036 Olympic bid is damaged by its doping situation, and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency continues to be suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

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SPOTLIGHT: Progress of Paralympic Movement on display at U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

By
Bob Reinert
-
The U.S. women’s 2004 Paralympic gold-medal-winning wheelchair basketball team, inducted into the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame (Photo: USOPC/Mark Reis).

★ The Sports Examiner is delighted to present this important contribution from our patron, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, with a focus on American Paralympic stars. Opinions expressed are those of the USOPC. ★

Susan Hagel, Marla Runyan and Stephanie Wheeler of the 2004 U.S. women’s wheelchair basketball team reflected on the honor of being inducted.

By Bob Reinert
Red Line Editorial

When Susan Hagel began competing internationally in 1973, the world of adaptive sports was much different than it is today.

At the time, national team members were expected to compete in multiple sports to develop skill levels and increase the likelihood of earning medals. For Hagel, that meant practicing with the U.S. women’s wheelchair basketball team when she wasn’t honing her skills as an archer.

“You had to kind of prove your mettle, per se, in the different sports,” Hagel recalled. “The basketball team was made up of women doing other sports. So, if you weren’t competing in your primary sport, you were expected to be on the basketball court.”

In 1976, Hagel won gold in Para archery during her Paralympic Games debut in Toronto. By her sixth and final Games in 1996, she had won four golds and two bronzes across Para archery and wheelchair basketball, while also competing in track and field during the 1980 Games in Arnhem, The Netherlands.

For her versatility, Hagel earned a spot into the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame Class of 2025, making her one of the 14 inductees that was honored this past Saturday (12th) in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Along with Hagel, the Class of 2025 included three other Paralympic icons: sled hockey goalie Steve Cash, track-and-field star Marla Runyan and the entire 2004 U.S. women’s wheelchair basketball team. Cash did not attend the induction ceremony.

Despite accomplishments that stretch across six decades, Hagel was taken aback by her selection to the Hall of Fame.

“I was really surprised and shocked at this honor being given to me,” Hagel said. “I think it took quite a while for it to actually kind of sink in.”

Being a part of a Hall of Fame is nothing new for Hagel. She currently serves as a member of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association Hall of Fame committee, helping her stay active in the Paralympic Movement.

“I feel very proud of that in that I always was trying to establish opportunities for other people and wanting to advance the sport and being a mentor to people who are starting out,” Hagel said. “I think that progress that’s happened is just wonderful, but there’s still a lot of progress to be made. But we’re heading in the right direction.”

Like Hagel, Runyan competed in multiple sports during her international career, starring at track and field while also dabbling as a cyclist.

During her Paralympic debut in Barcelona 1992, Runyan brought home four gold medals in track and field. Over two Paralympic appearances, she earned five golds and one silver.

In 2000, Runyan made history by becoming the first visually-impaired athlete to make the U.S. Olympic Team. She placed eighth in the 1,500-meter in 2000 before earning a ninth-place finish in the 5,000-meter four years later.

She is still the only U.S. athlete to compete in the Paralympics and Olympics.

Runyan, who recently graduated from Syracuse University College of Law, said she hadn’t spent much time reflecting on her athletic career, so the Hall of Fame selection caught her off guard.

“It’s truly an honor, especially given my career was some time ago,” Runyan said. “You just get caught up in day-to-day life. It’s easy to forget all that work. The recognition, to me, is so important because it’s acknowledging what it took.”

The honor forced some self-reflection from Runyan, who realized how momentous the 1992 Paralympics were, but not because of the medals she won.

“The friendships with the other Para athletes … those are really special,” Runyan said. “I felt like there was just this connection that I developed from that experience. I remember in those ’92 Games the opening ceremonies and walking into the stadium.”

The Paralympic Movement was relatively new when Runyan competed. In the years since her completive career ended, she has continued to do her part.

In 2017, she began working with the Boston Marathon to establish new divisions in the race for adaptive athletes. Three years later, Boston became the first major marathon to have divisions for classified Para athletes, adding them for vision, lower-limb and upper-limb impairments. Runyan also advocated for increased prize money for the wheelchair division.

“Disparity, to me, just doesn’t have a place anymore,” Runyan said. “It never did. The athleticism is what I always want to put up front.”

Stephanie Wheeler entered the Hall of Fame as a member of the 2004 Paralympic gold medal-winning U.S. women’s wheelchair basketball team. She called that the most connected team she’d ever experienced.

“We all obviously had this goal of wanting to win a gold medal in Athens,” Wheeler said. “But more important and more long-lasting, I think [were] the bonds and the friendships that developed over the course of time we were together.”

The Americans hadn’t won a gold medal in the sport since 1988, and they had an inauspicious start in Athens, opening the tournament with a one-point loss to Australia.

They rallied from there to defeat three-time defending champion Canada in the semifinals and got their revenge in the gold medal game against Australia with a 56-44 win.

“We genuinely cared about each other and genuinely liked being around each other,” Wheeler said. “I think all of that makes a huge difference when you’re trying to do something as hard as winning a gold medal.

“We were pushed because we had never been in those moments before together. But I think it made it more exciting.”

The induction ceremony in Colorado Springs on Saturday marked the first time since the 2004 podium appearance that all the team members and staff had been in the same room together.

“I think that speaks volumes to just how connected our team was,” said Wheeler, “and how much we wanted to be here for each other.”

Wheeler won another gold medal as a player in 2008 and coached the U.S. to another gold in 2016. Since 2009, she has led the University of Illinois women’s wheelchair basketball program.

Prior to the induction ceremony, Wheeler said she and her teammates were experiencing a sense of disbelief and honor.

“You never think about something like this happening when you’re playing your sport,” Wheeler said. “You’re just thinking about being the best you can possibly be when the moment demands it. You’re never thinking something like this is going to come out of it.”

Bob Reinert spent 17 years writing sports for The Boston Globe. He also served as a sports information director at Saint Anselm College and Phillips Exeter Academy. He is a contributor to the USOPC on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.

For more, please visit the USOPC Paralympic Educational Hub.

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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PANORAMA: Triathlon appears to be the first gold on tap at LA28; open-water 10 km delayed for pollution at Singapore Worlds; Healy leads Tour de France!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Venice beach, site of the first scheduled medal event of the 2028 Olympic Games: triathlon (Photo: LA28).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● A few more notes from the Monday announcement of the by-sport and by-session schedules for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles:

● First event: The first competitions will be on 12 July, a couple of days before the opening, for the team sports of cricket (Pomona Fairgrounds), handball (Long Beach Arena) and field hockey at the Dignity Health Sports Center, all starting at 9 a.m. local time. Look for some preliminary football matches to be added later that might be even earlier.

● First medal: The first event to be completed appears to be one of the triathlons, on 15 July at Venice Beach, starting at 7:30 a.m. (if the weather and the water are OK). Next up appears to be Canoe Slalom racing in Oklahoma City, with the session on 14 July running from 9 a.m. to noon local time and 7-10 a.m. L.A. times.

● Last event: The final events shown on the schedule are at SoFi Stadium in swimming, at 4:30 p.m., possibly the 4×100 m medley relays, ending just 90 minutes before the closing ceremonies at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. No time is shown for the final-day marathon, which could end even later, but would be running in late-afternoon heat in Los Angeles.

A total of 844 ticketed sessions are currently scheduled. There will be many tweaks on the road to 2028, but that’s what the Monday announcement shows now.

LA28 and the City of Los Angeles announced Monday that the PlayLA program, powered by $160 million from the International Olympic Committee, has reached the one million mark in registered participants.

● Aquatics ● Water quality for open-water swimming isn’t an issue only for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the Seine River, as World Aquatics postponed the open-water opener of the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Monday:

“The Women’s 10km event was originally scheduled to take place on 15 July 2025 at 8:00 a.m. Following a review involving representatives from World Aquatics, the Singapore 2025 Organising Committee, the World Aquatics Sports Medicine Committee, and the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming Technical Committee, the decision was made to postpone the race in the utmost interest of athlete safety.”

Water samples on Sunday (13th) showed unacceptable pollution levels, so the women’s and men’s 10 km races are now slated for 16 July (Wednesday); an off-day is scheduled for the 17th.

Swimswam.com reported that entries for the swimming portion of the World Aquatics Championships show 30 Russians – 18 men and 12 women – admitted as neutrals by World Aquatics. Russia had one swimmer at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

● Cycling ● Monday’s eight-climb stage across 165.3 km to the uphill finish at Le Mont turned the 112th Tour de France inside out. A breakaway group of 29 finally came down to five men and then to British star Simon Yates – the Giro d’Italia winner – who attacked with 3 km left and won in 4:20:05 for his third career Tour stage win.

Behind him was Thymen Arensman (NED: +0:09), then stage 6 winner Ben Healy of Ireland (+0:31). The race leaders were way back, with Tadej Pogacar (SLO: +4:51) in ninth and two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard (DEN: +4:51) in 10th.

So, Healy took the yellow jersey going into Tuesday’s rest day, 29 seconds up on Pogacar, and 1:29 ahead of Remco Evenepoel (BEL), 1:46 up on Vingegaard and 2:06 ahead of American Matteo Jorgenson.

● Football ● The FIFA Club World Cup ended Sunday with an excellent crowd of 81,118 – biggest of the tournament – at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey for Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Paris-St. Germain.

Overall, the expanded event had a total attendance of 2,491,462 or 39,547 per match, far beyond what this event drew previously as a small tournament on the FIFA schedule. But, even with NFL stadiums available for most of the matches, some marquee European clubs playing and a lot of pre-event hype, it was far behind the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar – also with 32 teams and 104 matches – that drew 3,404,252 spectators or 53,191 per match.

The semifinals and finals were all held at MetLife – the site for the World Cup final in 2026 – which drew strong crowds of 70,556 and 77,542 for the semis and then a close-to-capacity crowd for the final. FIFA has the idea to hold the tournament again in 2029.

● Rowing ● World Rowing found a replacement for Rio de Janeiro (BRA), which withdrew suddenly in May as the host of the 2025 Beach Sprint Finals in October. Instead, Antalya (TUR), which is already hosting the European Beach Sprint Finals from 8-13 October, will also hold the World Rowing Beach Sprint finals from 6-9 November.

The Beach Sprint has been added to the 2028 Olympic program, as the Lightweight classes in rowing were eliminated.

● Triathlon ● Australian Matt Hauser won the men’s World Triathlon Championship Series race in Hamburg (GER), then came back to help his Australian team take Sunday’s Mixed Relay and earn the 2025 World Championship gold.

The Aussies were seventh entering the final leg, with Hauser trailing 2021 European Champion Dorian Connix (FRA), as Olympic champion Cassandra Beaugrand had given the French an 18-second advantage over Australian third leg Emma Jeffcoat. But Hauser made up 16 seconds on the swim and was essentially even starting the 1.6 km run. He completed the two laps in 4:23 to 4:27 for Connix to end a 1:16:52 to 1:16:55 victory. Germany was third at 1:16:59; the U.S. was eighth at 1:17:52, with Taylor Spivey, Chase McQueen, Erika Ackerlund and John Reed.

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