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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Winter Games 2030: French Alps ● The International Olympic Committee Coordination Commission for 2030 was named, with the head of the Paris 2024 CoComm, Belgian IOC member Pierre-Olivier Beckers selected as Chair.
Seven other members were named (a Paralympic rep is still to be identified), including federation presidents Johan Eliasch (GBR/International Skating and Snowboard), Ivo Ferriani (ITA/International Bobsleigh & Skeleton) and Jae-Youl Kim (KOR/International Skating Union).
● Athletics ● The World Athletics wrap-up e-mail on the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo started with “WCH Tokyo 25 will be remembered forever – full stadiums every day, athletes delivering unforgettable performances, a world record, and plenty of championship records.”
“Full stadiums” has been a major emphasis for the federation and it got what it wanted in Tokyo:
● 13 Sep.: 32,739 a.m. // 56,819 p.m.
● 14 Sep.: 30,080 a.m. // 57,528 p.m.
● 15 Sep.: 33,144 a.m. // 53,124 p.m.
● 16 Sep.: 37,462 p.m. only
● 17 Sep.: 35,975 p.m. only
● 18 Sep.: 57,327 p.m. only
● 19 Sep.: 58,643 p.m. only
● 20 Sep.: 25,818 a.m. // 58,221 p.m.
● 21 Sep.: 23,575 a.m. // 58,723 p.m.
The totals were 619,178 all together, second only to London 2017, and an average of 44,227 for all 14 sessions and 52,647 for the nine evening sessions. Perhaps the biggest – positive – stunner of the meet was the 23,575 – smallest of the meet – who came on Sunday morning to see three events in the decathlon! They got two relay re-runs as a bonus, but 23,575 for decathlon?
That’s a wow.
¶
Olympic super-statistician Dr. Bill Mallon shared on X the most-ever gold medals won by a single country at the Worlds:
● 2025: United States 16
● 2005: United States 14
● 2007: United States 14
● 2019: United States 14
● 1993: United States 13
● 2022: United States 13
● 1995: United States 12
● 2011: United States 12
● 2023: United States 12
● 1999: United States 10
● 2009: United States 10
● 2017: United States 10
The U.S. team won less total medals – 26 – then in Paris in 2024 (34, with 14 golds), Budapest in 2023 (29) or Eugene in 2022 (33) and is the lowest overall production since 2013 (26), but the gold-medal efforts and four golds and a silver (by 0.07) in the five relays were impressive results.
¶
A doping appeal by Spanish star distance star Mohamed Katir, the men’s 2022 1,500 m bronzer and 2023 5,000 m silver man, was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and Katir will continue to serve his four-year ban for “whereabouts” failures and tampering (forging evidence):
“[T]he CAS Panel found that the Athlete had committed an ADRV for intentionally tampering with documents in relation to the doping control process. The Panel also found that there were no aggravated circumstances to justify an increase to the period of ineligibility of four years. Both appeals were dismissed and the decision of the WA Disciplinary Tribunal on 11 December 2024 is confirmed.”
● Bobsled & Skeleton ● USA Bobsled & Skeleton named its IBSF Bobsled World Cup team, featuring Olympic and/or World Championship women’s gold medalist drivers Kaillie Humphries, Elana Meyers Taylor and Kaysha Love and men’s pilots Kris Horn, Frank Del Duca and Geoff Gadbois.
The Skeleton World Cup team will be named in November.
● Football ● FIFA announced that more than 4.5 million applications for the 2026 World Cup ticket-sales lottery have been received from “216 countries,” with the top 10 countries being hosts U.S., Mexico, Canada and then Germany, England, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Spain and Italy.
Applicants “will be notified of their application status on a rolling basis starting Monday, 29 September, with time slots beginning on Wednesday, 1 October.”
● Table Tennis ● The 2025 Annual General Meeting of the International Table Tennis Federation, suspended on 27 May due to the near-riot following the Presidential election, is required to be completed by the end of November.
The ITTF announced that the meeting will be resumed online on 15 November, with “an independent third party company will be used to ensure absolute impartiality in the handling of the continuation of the meeting and its remaining items.” Elections of ITTF Executive Vice Presidents, ratification of Council members and appointments of committees are on the remaining agenda.
Ironically, the appeal of the Presidential election result to the Court of Arbitration for Sport is based on disallowing online voting!
≡ RESULTS ≡
● Archery ● Korea’s Olympic champ Woo-jin Kim set a world record for the 72-arrow ranking round on 15 September during the national championships at 709 (out of 720: 355/354). That broke the mark of 702 by American Brady Ellison from 2019.
Unfortunately, Kim’s record did not assure a tournament win as he was defeated in the quarterfinals of the elimination round.
● Athletics ● The 51st annual Berlin Marathon was on Sunday, with Kenyan star Sabastian Sawe taking off – with pacesetters – at world-record pace. But with temperatures up to the mid-70s, it was too much to try, but Sawe had only two others with him at 5 km, Ethiopia’s Milkesa Mengesha at 10 km and was clear of Mengesha by 11 seconds at 15 km and ran away.
Sawe passed the half in 1:00:16 and won by almost four minutes in a world-leading 2:02:16 – the equal-9th performance all-time – bettering his 2:02:27 win in London in April. Akira Akasaki (JPN) was a distant second in 2:06:15 and Chimdessa Debele (ETH: 2:06:57) was third. Mengesha did not finish.
For Sawe, 30, the 2023 World Half Marathon champ, it was his third win in three career marathons: 2:02:25 in Valencia (ESP) last December, then London and now Berlin.
The women’s race was a lot closer, with Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru leading a pack of four at the halfway mark in 1:09:07. But Wanjiru broke free after 25 km and had a 24-second lead at 30 km and 53 seconds over Dera Dida (ETH) at the 35 km mark.
But from there, Wanjiru slowed and Dida – second in Dubai in January and second in Paris in April – moved up, as did Azmera Gebru (ETH). The lead was down to 36 seconds by 40 km over Gebru, with Dida close and then Dida moved into second and set sail at the leader.
At the end, it was Wanjiru winning by just 2:21:05 to 2:21:08, with Gebru third in 2:21:29.
After running 16:49 from 30-35 km, Wanjiru slowed to 17:37 to 40 km and 7:58 for the final 2.2 km. Dida sped up to 17:22 from 35-40 and then 7:23 for the final segment to close the gap. But Wanjiru won her second marathon in six starts and moved up from second at Berlin in 2018, to the top.
After the continual protests of the Vuelta a Espana cycling tour, a heavy police presence ensured no interference with the race on Sunday.
● Badminton ● At the BWF World Tour China Masters in Shenzhen (CHN), home favorites China and South Korea both won two titles.
In the men’s Singles, Hong Yang Weng (CHN) won an 21-11, 21-15 victory over Chun-Yi Lin (TPE), while top-seed Olympic champ Se Young An (KOR) took the women’s Singles with a 21-11, 21-3 rout of third-seed Yue Han (CHN).
Korea won the men’s Doubles against India, China took the women’s Doubles over the Koreans and Thailand won the Mixed Doubles over Malaysia.
● Beach Volleyball ● The Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 in Joao Pessoa (BRA) had an all-American women’s final, with ninth-seeded Molly Shaw and Kelly Cheng (USA) defeating no. 8 Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft (USA), 21-17, 21-17.
It’s the first medals for Shaw and Cheng this season and their first FIVB tournament win as partners (both have won events with others). For Cannon and Kraft, it’s their second silver of the season.
In the all-Brazilian bronze match, Olympic champs Ana Patricia Ramos and Duda Lisboa swept Carol Salgado and Rebecca Cavalcante, 21-16, 21-13.
In the men’s final, Evandro Oliveira and Arthur Lanci (BRA) won a two-set marathon over 21st-seeded Remi Bassereau and Calvin Aye (FRA), 21-15, 27-25.
The all-Dutch bronze-medal match had Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot defeating Steven van de Velde and Alexander Brouwer, 21-16, 21-13.
The Elite 16 tour remains in Brazil with a tournament next week in Rio de Janeiro.
● Cycling ● The UCI World Road Championships is in Africa for the first time, in Kigali (RWA), with the men’s and women’s Time Trials on Sunday.
Swiss Marlen Reusser was second in 2020, second in 2021 and third in 2022, losing to Dutch star Anna van der Breggen in 2020 by just 15 seconds. When Reusser lined up as the 38th of 44 riders in the 31.2 km women’s time trial, there was van der Breggen with the fastest time at 44:01.23.
But Reusser led at every checkpoint and routed the field, finishing in 43:09.34, with van der Breggen a distant second. Demi Vollering (NED), second in 2024, was third as the final rider, in 44:14.07. Chloe Dygert of the U.S., the 2019 and 2023 champion, finished ninth (45:34.77); Ruth Edwards was 19th (47:31.17).
The men’s race had two-time champion Remco Evenepoel (BEL) trying for three in a row, but expected to be tested by Slovenian star Tadej Pogacar. The 40.6 km route had a couple of modest hills and Pogacar and Evenepoel were the last two starters.
Coming into the final 10, Belgian Ilan van Wilder had the lead at 52:11.10 and he was not surpassed until Australia’s Jay Vine – having a career year – finished in 51:00.83 to take over, with four riders left.
The standings were the same when Pogacar started, , but he was never better than third at each checkpoint and faded a little to third overall when he finished in 52:23.76. That brought up Evenepoel, who left no doubt of his superiority, leading at each checkpoint and winning in a dazzling 49:46.03, a stunning 1:14.80 up on Vine and pushing Pogacar to fourth.
Evenpoel has won medals in this race in the last five Worlds (3-0-2) and in six of the last seven (3-1-2). He is the first to win three straight since Tony Martin (GER: 2011-12-13); Michael Rogers (AUS: 2003-04-05) also took three straight wins.
The championships will continue with U-23 and junior racing, and will conclude next weekend with the women’s road race on Saturday and the men on Sunday.
¶
The annual UCI Mountain Bike World Series stop in Lenzerheide (SUI) was another showcase for two-time men’s World Champion Alan Hatherly (RSA), who rode away with another spectacular win in 1:20:23, 32 seconds ahead of Britain’s Charlie Aldridge, the 2024 Worlds Short Track silver medalist (1:20:55). France’s Adrien Boichis was a clear third in 1:21:02.
Swiss Alessandra Keller, second at the last two World Cup stops, finally got a win, in 1:24:10, a full 16 seconds up on Rio 2016 Olympic champ Jenny Rissveds (SWE) and 25 seconds ahead of American Savilla Blunck (1:24:35), who got her second medal of the World Cup season.
France’s Paris Olympic runner-up Victor Koretzky (21:28) and Boichis (21:29) went 1-2 in the men’s Short Track race, well ahead of Simon Andreassen (DEN: 21:33) in third. The women’s race was a victory for Rissveds (SWE) over 2021 World Champion Evie Richards (GBR), 20:07 to 20:09. Swiss Ronja Blochlinger was third in 20:28 and Blunck finished seventh in 20:33.
In the men’s Downhill, France’s 2019 Worlds bronze medalist Amaury Pierron won a tight battle with Henri Kiefer (GER), 2:44.699 to 2:45.106, with Lachlan Stevens-McNab (NZL: 2:45.513) third. Luca Shaw of the U.S. was ninth. Britain’s four-time Worlds medalist Tahnee Seagrave won the women’s race – barely over Nina Hoffmann (GER), 3:11.579 to 3:11.640. World Champion Valentina Hoell (AUT) was a close third at 3:12.394. Anna Newkirk was the top American, in 10th.
The series will move to North America: Lake Placid, New York on 3-5 October and Mont Sainte-Anne (CAN) for the finale on 10-12 October.
¶
The final two rounds of the UCI BMX World Cup were in Santiago del Estero (ARG), with France’s World Champion Arthur Pilard taking the fifth round race in 29.898, just ahead of Gonzalo Molina (ARG: 30.322) and Cameron Wood of the U.S. in 30.522.
Sunday’s final race of the season saw Pilard double up, winning in 30.430, leading a French 1-2 with Eddy Clerte (30.655). Argentina’s Molina was third (30.968).
Pilard won the seasonal race with 2,358 points, ahead of teammate Sylvain Andre (FRA: 2,130) and Wood was third (1,723).
Paris Olympic champ Saya Sakakibara (AUS) won a battle in the women’s race, timing 32.852 to 32.901 for Swiss two-time Worlds silver winner Zoe Claessens, with seven-time Worlds medalist Laura Smulders (NED) third in 33.612 and American Daleny Vaughn fourth (33.668).
Sunday’s women’s final was another win for Sakakibara in 32.356, with Smulders second in 33.436 and Britain’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic champ Bethany Shriever third in 33.791. Sakakibara won the seasonal series with 2,562 points, beating Smulders (2,026) and Molly Simpson (CAN: 1,881). Vaughn was the top American, in seventh (1,156).
● Figure Skating ● Russian entries qualified for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games with wins at the ISU Skate-to-Milano Olympic Qualifying Event in the men’s and women’s Singles.
Five men were able to qualify, but none could touch Russian “neutral” Petr Gumennik, who won the Short Program and the Free Skate, finishing with 262.82 points. That was way ahead of Korea’s Hyung-yeom Kim (228.60) and Mexico’s Donovan Carrillo (222.36).
There was a political dust-up following the Short Program, as an International Skating Union Instagram post about his victory was reportedly accompanied by music from a Ukrainian band. It was taken down.
The women’s title went to Russian “neutral” Adeliia Petrosian, who won the Short Program and the Free Skate, scoring 209.63 points, just ahead of Anastasiia Gubanova (GEO: 206.23) and Belgium’s two-time Worlds medalist Leona Hendrickx (204.96).
Fourth-place Belarusian “neutral” was fourth and also qualified for Milan Cortina, at 181.91, as the top five advanced.
In Pairs, the three available slots went to Jiaxuan Zhang and Yihang Huang (CHN: 191.52), Karina Akopova and Nikita Rakhmanin (ARM: 186.84) and Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi (JPN: 178.66). Americans Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy finished sixth at 158.66.
Four qualification spots were available for Ice Dance, won by Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius (LTU: 198,73), followed by Holly Harris and Jason Chan (AUS: 183.50).
● Gymnastics ● At the FIG Trampoline World Cup in Cottbus (GER), home favorite Matthias Schuldt (GER) took the men’s individual title at 60.61, just ahead of Maksim Didenko (RUS “neutral”) at 60.19 and Magsud Mahsudov (AZE: 60.09).
Russian “neutral” Sofiia Aliaeva won the women’s competition at 58.08, with teammate Anzhela Bladtceva second (57.99) and Britain’s Bryony Page third (57.06).
● Luge ● At Friday’s USA Luge Start Championships in Lake Placid, New York, Tucker West won the men’s title with a combined time of 10.13, and Emily Fischnaller (nee Sweeney) took the women’s win in 11.65.
The Doubles winners were Zach DiGregorio and Sean Hollander for the men (10.89) and Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby for the women (11.17).
● Volleyball ● The FIVB men’s World Championship continued in the Philippines with the round-of-16 playoffs, with no. 1 seed Poland downing Canada, 3-1 and no. 17 Turkey winning by 3-1 over the Netherlands. Poland and Turkey will meet in the quarterfinals on the 24th.
Also in the lower bracket, no. 5 Italy swept Argentina, 3-0, and no. 16 Belgium swept Finland, 3-0, and the winners will also meet on the 24th.
The third-seed U.S. meets no. 4 Slovenia in the playoffs on Monday in the upper bracket, being played on Monday and Tuesday.
● Wrestling ● The UWW World Championships wrapped up in Zagreb (CRO) with the Greco-Roman competitions, with Iran taking the team title easily with 180 points and four golds.
The Iranians scored wins at 67 kg (Olympic champ Saeid Esmaeili), 82 kg (Gholamreza Farrokhi), 97 kg (Olympic winner Mohammed Hadi Saravi) and 130 kg (defending champ Amin Mirzazadeh).
Azerbaijan’s Ulvu Ganizade repeated as World Champion at 72 kg and Armenia’s Malkhas Amoyan won a second career gold, this time at 77 kg after winning at 72 kg in 2021.
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