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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● International Olympic Committee ● Long-time IOC staff member Pierre Ducrey (SUI) was named Monday as the next Sports Director, taking over on 1 July after Kit McConnell (NZL) left to join the Brisbane 2028 organizing committee.
The highly-respected Ducrey came to the IOC in 2003 and has been a key member of the Olympic Games Department since 2010, where he is Olympic Games Operations Director.
● Cross Country Skiing ● In something of a surprise, Norwegian star Therese Johaug announced her retirement – for the second time – on Monday, writing on Instagram (computer translation from the original Norwegian):
“After getting the season away, I’ve decided not to bet on the Olympics. It’s been an adventure being back on the team this winter but even though I still love skiing I feel a great need for more family time.”
She previously stopped her career after the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, then came back for the 2024-25 season. From 2010-22, she won four Olympic golds, a silver and a bronze, all in distance races, and a sensational 23 Worlds medals (14-5-4) from 2007-25, including three silvers and a bronze at the 2025 Worlds in Trondheim (NOR). She would have been a contender for more medals in Milan Cortina in 2026.
She told NRK television, “It would have been fun to do the Olympics in Italy. I want to be a full-time mom.”
● Cycling ● At the USA Cycling national road championships in Charleston, West Virginia, women’s 2024 Olympic road race winner – and defending national champ – Kristen Faulkner won the women’s six-lap, 113.8 km road race in a heated finish with Lauren Stephens, as both were timed in 3:09:43. Katherine Sarkisov was right behind in third in 3:09:45.
The men’s 10-lap, 198.6 km road race was a rout for Quinn Simmons, who won his second national title in this event (also 2023) by almost three minutes. He finished in 4:46:46, with Evan Boyle well behind in 4:49:38 and Gavin Hlady in third in 4:51:10.
● Rowing ● France’s Jean-Christophe Rolland, 56, confirmed he will stand for a fourth and final term as the head of the federation. In a Q&A post on the federation’s Web site, he explained:
“This decision to stand for reelection has been carefully matured. While we may rightfully take pride in the progress achieved thus far, I am equally conscious that significant work still lies ahead. Internally, I believe I can rely on a committed and dedicated group of people, strongly motivated to continue adapting and evolving. Externally, I believe I have built strong relationships with the Olympic Movement and the wider sports community, which will allow me to continue advocating effectively for our interests.”
In terms of goals, “I want to strengthen each discipline’s place within the global sporting ecosystem, secure and diversify our revenue streams for reinvestment, and ensure a modern, transparent, and efficient governance structure. I hope to leave behind a sport that is stronger, more visible, and deeply connected to the younger generations, while staying true to its core values which makes our sport unique.”
The election will take place on 29 September 2025 at the World Rowing Championships in Shanghai (CHN).
● Shooting ● At the USA Shooting National Skeet Championships in Hillsdale, Michigan, U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit member Hayden Stewart won shoot-off with four-time Olympic gold medalist Vincent Hancock to win the national men’s title.
Hancock led the qualifying at 246, ahead of Christian Elliott (245) and Conner Price (243), but in the finals, it was Hancock and Stewart tied at 57 and into shoot-off. Stewart won that, 22-21, to take the national title. Dustan Taylor (46) was third.
Sam Simonton, the 2022 Worlds bronze winner, took the women’s title, 53-52, in the final over 2017 World Champion Dania Jo Vizzi, with Amber English third (42). Simonton had led the qualifying at 243, with Vizzi at 240, Julia Nelson at 238 and six-time Olympic medalist Kim Rhode fourth at 236.
● Weightlifting ● The Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a four-year ban on Chinese star lifter Xiaojun Lu for recombinant erythropoietin (rEPO) from an out-of-competition test on 30 October 2022.
A hearing confirmed the doping positive, but the start of the suspension period was moved back to the date of the test, and will conclude in 2026. Now 40, Lu won three Olympic golds at 77 kg in 2012 and 2016 and at 81 kg at Tokyo 2020. He won five world titles between 2009-19.
His last international championship competition was at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
● Wrestling ● American star Thomas Gilman, the 2021 World Freestyle Champion at 57 kg and a Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze winner at the weight, was suspended for 18 months for “whereabouts” failures by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
Gilman’s 18-month ban began on May 16, 2025, the date he accepted the sanction; he missed tests on 28 April 2024, 12 August 2024 and 23 September 2024.
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