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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● The Milan Olympic Village, expected to house 1,700 athletes and officials in February, was formally handed over to the Milan Cortina organizing committee on Tuesday.
Now, the race is on to finish out the rooms and support service spaces for athletes and teams over the next four months, with the Olympic Winter Games to start on 6 February. The housing units are contained in six buildings of eight stories each, which will be converted to student housing afterwards, in time for the start of classes in September.
Actual construction was completed in June, about a month ahead of schedule.
● Transgender ● The massive, March 2024 suit against the NCAA, University of Georgia and other schools by ex-Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines and 15 other athlete plaintiffs on Title IX and equal protection grounds and asking for injunctive relief against transgender women competing in women’s sports was slimmed down last Friday by Judge Tiffany R. Johnson of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, in Atlanta.
Johnson noted that as the NCAA has now committed to following Executive Order 14201 issued in February, calling for transgender women not to be allowed to compete in the women’s division, the request for an injunction is now moot.
The request to ban transgender women from competing in women’s events in the state of Georgia is also moot, due to the “Riley Gaines Act” signed into law in April. The 14th Amendment equal-protection arguments were dismissed against the NCAA as it has been ruled not to be a “state actor” – a government – which is required for actions under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
However, the Title IX claims survived for now, as the suit promotes the idea that the NCAA – in a way – receives some Federal funding for research projects, and that, therefore, Title IX applies to it for the purpose of the suit. Johnson let that go for now. The parties will now collect information and seek documents to try and prove their view on the Title IX issue.
● Athletics ● Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill suffered a season-ending left leg injury early in the third quarter of Monday night’s 27-21 win over the New York Jets.
He tore multiple ligaments, including the anterior cruciate, and is out for the season and possibly the start of the 2026 season, and underwent surgery on Tuesday.
All of that essentially ends his sprint feud with 2023 World 100 m champ Noah Lyles of the U.S., who won his fourth straight Worlds 200 m gold (and a 100 bronze) in Tokyo earlier in September.
That should not take away from what Hill showed earlier in the year. Now 31, he hadn’t run a competitive 100 m since 2013 at Garden City Community College in Kansas, with a legal best of 10.23 (9.98w); he ran 10.19 in high school in 2012.
But in 2025, he ran in the heats of an all-comers sprint meet in Los Angeles on 13 June and won his heat in a lifetime best of 10.15. He then ran 10.10w (+2.7 m/s) at the ATX Sprint Classic in Georgetown, Texas on 28 June, finishing fourth in heat two.
Not bad at all. He wasn’t going to challenge Lyles, but a PR after 13 years? Impressive, but probably his last race.
● Canoe-Kayak ● At the ICF Slalom World Championships in Penrith (AUS), France won the men’s C-1 Team title, 99.97 to 100.76, with Slovenia a close third at 100.86.
The Czech Republic was a clear winner in the women’s C-1 Team event, at 109.57 and Germany a distant second at 112. 93. Britain was third in 115.61.
● Curling ● It’s not all camaraderie and beers on the world curling circuit, as Canadian star Brad Gushue explained, announcing in mid-September he will retire after the 2025-26 season.
Now 45, the 2006 Olympic men’s gold medalist, 2017 World Champion and a five-time Worlds medal winner, said on the “Inside Curling” podcast:
“A big part of it is I achieved a lot of the things that I want to achieve, and I think what I’ve found over the last year is a lot of the things that I didn’t like about being on the road and being away from family have now become, ‘I dislike them even more.’
“The winning and being on the road with the guys and playing the games, I still enjoy all that, but the other stuff is just starting to outweigh the good things. I think at that point, you probably need to look at moving on.”
He said he really knew his time was up last season, but only made the decision now. He’s looking forward to his next big thing … which he hasn’t decided on yet.
● Football ● Britain’s Sky News reported that no UEFA vote on excluding Israel from its competitions will be held in view of the peace plan promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
“There is a belief among leaders in European football now that imposing sporting sanctions on Israel would not be the right move in the middle of peace talks.
“While some hoped for a UEFA executive committee vote on Israel, an emergency meeting is not understood to have been called.”
In FIFA World Cup qualifying, understood not to be under UEFA control, Israel has Group I matches on 11 October in Norway and 14 October in Italy, both of which will require extra security, as anti-Israel protests are expected.
● Sport Climbing ● How should a champion celebrate?
Japan’s Sorato Anraku, the Paris 2024 Olympic combined silver medalist, won his first IFSC Worlds gold in Bouldering on his final climb at the Seoul Worlds, rolling right to the top to win with 99.2 points. But after that?
“I don’t know what I’ll do to celebrate. I think I do nothing.”
He has time to learn; he’s still just 18.
¶
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