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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Alpine Skiing ● Italian star Federica Brignone, 35, a two-time World Champion, three-time Olympic medalist and 37-time World Cup winner, told reporters during an Italian team media day that she does not know if she will be able to in time for a fifth Winter Olympic Games in February after her left leg injuries during a bad Giant Slalom crash at the Italian championships in April.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to get back to exactly how I was before,” Brignone said Saturday. “In fact I’m sure I won’t. …
“I don’t know when I’ll be back on the slopes, certainly not November. Honestly, until I put my skis back on I don’t know if I’ll be able to ski at the Olympics … and we have a really strong team so if one of them deserves the place more than me, they deserve it more than me.
“Obviously I’m confident, otherwise I wouldn’t be doing everything that I’m doing, I wouldn’t be working really hard like I’m doing now.
“It’s not these Olympics that will change my life, change my career. I’ve done what I’ve done and in fact I achieved much more than I could have ever dreamed of. It would be something more, it would be a beautiful dream.
“It’s fantastic to have the Olympics at home, obviously something that I that I would have liked to do because otherwise I would have already stopped. But I also need this positive energy to heal to return to normal life, because with such an injury it’s not a given.”
● Basketball ● The Associated Press reported that forward Nneka Ogwumike, a two-time World Championships gold medalist with the U.S., had been turned down for a third time in an appeal to play for Nigeria, where her parents were born.
Ogwumike, now 35, had filed change-of-affiliation applications to play for Nigeria at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021, but was denied as she had played for the U.S. during the lead-up quadrennial. Her ties to the U.S. team were apparently a significant factor in the continuing denials by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).
She wanted to play for Nigeria for the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. USA Basketball approved the change, but Ogwumike said her prior time with the American teams was the issue:
“My involvement with USA is for them, their strongest point, but it doesn’t necessarily make the sense that it does to the individual that’s being penalized for it. You guys are going to continue using this excuse over and over again. I’m not about to beat a dead horse. I gave it an honest try so I feel fine about it.”
≡ RESULTS ≡
● Archery ● In windy and sometimes rainy conditions at the World Archery World Cup Final in Nanjing (CHN), American Brady Ellison, 36, showed he’s still among the finest archers in the world with a 6-2 win over Brazil’s two-time Worlds silver winner Marcus D’Almeida.
For Ellison, it’s his sixth career World Cup Final title, to go along with five Olympic medals and seven Worlds medals. He said afterwards:
“I didn’t have any expectations coming in. I just wanted to stick to my game plan and keep the timing I had today, and it was good enough. I felt like I actually shot very well today, and my semi-final match against Mete [Gazoz/TUR] was one of the best I’ve had in years.”
“I hit the 10s when I needed 10s to tie or win sets. For the most part, I did that all day and when you’re tying a set every end and never really losing ground, it sets you up in good positions. I’ve really felt good this back half of the year.”
Korea’s Tokyo 2020 women’s gold medalist San An won the women’s title for the second time, but with considerable drama as what appeared to be a 6-4 win in the final over Hsin-tzu Hsu (TPE), but was changed to 5-5 and a shoot-out. An won that, 8-7, for the title. American Casey Kaufhold finished fourth.
Turkey’s Emircan Haney won the men’s Compound final, 149-148, over Mathias Fullerton (DEN), and in the all-Mexican women’s Compound final, Mariana Bernal defeated World Champion Andrea Becerra in a shoot-off as her first arrow was judged closest to the center after a 147-all tie in the regulation match.
● Athletics ● Kenya’s Geoffrey Toroitich moved to no. 4 on the 2025 world list with a lifetime best 2:03:30 win at the Amsterdam Marathon on Sunday, in just his second race ever at the distance.
Seven were in the lead pack at 30 km, but it took until 39 km for Toroitich to break away from Ethiopia’s Getaneh Molla and take firm control. Molla was caught and then passed in the final meters by Tsegaye Getachew (ETH) for second, 2:04:18 to 2:04:19.
Toroitich ran 2:05:46 for second at Tokyo in March and now ranks no. 27 all-time!
The women’s race was also speedy, with Aynalem Desta (ETH) rolling to a 2:17:37, outrunning countrywoman Bertukan Welde (2:17:56) after 40 km. Fellow Ethiopian Mekides Shimeles got third at 2:19:56. Desta is now no. 22 all-time.
● Badminton ● Indonesia’s sixth-seed Jonatan Christie scored an upset win in the men’s Singles at the BWF World Tour Denmark Open in Odense, defeating World Champion and top-seeded Yu Qi Shi (CHN) by 13-21, 21-15, 21-15, for his ninth career World Tour gold in 17 finals.
The women’s final saw Olympic champ Se Young An (KOR) out-last second-seed Zhi Yi Wang (CHN), 21-5, 24-22. The two have now met seven times in World Tour finals with An now sporting a 6-1 record.
Japan won the men’s Doubles, Korea went 1-2 in the women’s Doubles and China was 1-2 in the Mixed Doubles.
● Curling ● At the Grand Slam of Curling Tour Challenge in Nisku (CAN), Canadian star Rachel Homan’s perfect season continues. The three-time World Champion won the women’s Masters to open the GSC season and continued with a decisive 8-2 win over no. 2 seed and four-time World Champion Swiss Silvana Tirinzoni’s rink in the final.
The men’s final had Canada’s Masters winner, Matt Dunstone, going for two in a row, against two-time World Champion – and defending champ – Bruce Mouat (SCO). Mouat’s rink was up 2-0 after the first end and 4-1 after four and cruised to a 5-2 win.
● Cycling ● The finale of the 2025 UCI World Tour was the six-stage Tour of Guangxi in China, with France’s 21-year-old Paul Magnier winning five of the six races. But that wasn’t good enough to win. Not even close.
After winning the fourth of four stages, he had a 26-second lead on the field, but Britain’s Paul Double, 29, won the uphill-finishing fifth stage, with Mahnier in 68th, 4:49 behind. So even with a final-day win by Magnier in a mass-finish sprint, Double ended up winning in 22:37:12 overall, 15 seconds up on France’s Victor Lafay. Magnier, with five stage wins, was 51st overall (+4:11).
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The women’s season finale, the Women’s World Cup Tour of Guangxi (CHN) was won by Britain’s Anna Henderson in a sprint finish against Caroline Andersson (SWE), with both timed in 2:49:34 for the 108.5 km, mostly flat course in and around Nanning.
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At the UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup in Shanghai (CHN), a tight battle in the men’s Park final ended up in favor of American Justin Dowell over Japan’s Rimu Nakamura, 92.80 to 91.50.
Six-time World Champion Hannah Roberts of the U.S. completed the American sweep, winning the women’s final at 92.40 over Kim Lea Mueller (GER: 87.60) and Noemi Molnar (HUN: 86.40).
The BMX Freestyle-Flatland titles went to Yu Shoji (JPN: 91.00) for the men and 15-year-old Chiaki Todaka (JPN: 82.67) for the women.
● Figure Skating ● The ISU Grand Prix opener, the Grand Prix de France in Angers, confirmed that two-time World Champion Ilia Malinin of the U.S. is going to be hard to stop at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
He dominated the Short Program of the men’s Singles, piling up a 105.22 to 95.67 lead on Nika Edadze (GEO), including a Quad Lutz and Triple Toe Loop combo. In the Free Skate, he piled up 215.78 points, including a Quad Flip, Quad Lutz, another Quad Lutz, Quad Toe Loop and Quad Salchow! He totaled 321.00 points, ahead of Adam Siao Him Fa (FRA: 280.95); Americans Andrew Torgashev (233.36) and Maxim Naumov (226.74) finished sixth and ninth.
Malinin’s total is the no. 6 score ever (and his no. 2); only fellow American Nathan Chen and Japanese star Yuzuru Hanyu have ever scored more.
Japan swept the women’s Singles, with 2023 World Junior bronzer Ami Nakai, 17, upsetting three-time World Champion Kaori Sakamoto, 227.08 to 224.23, with Rion Sumiyoshi third at 216.06. American Isabeau Levito, the 2024 Worlds runner-up, was fourth at 212.71 and teammate Elyce Lin-Gracey was seventh (172.07).
Japan scored again in Pairs, with two-time World Champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara winning in a rout, scoring 219.15 to 197.66 for Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps (CAN) and 192.76 for Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko. Americans Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman were fourth (178.08) and Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy were fifth (173.30).
In Ice Dance, Beijing 2022 Olympic champ Guillaume Cizeron (FRA) won with his new partner, Laurence Fournier Beaudry, formerly from Canada. They were third in the Rhythm Dance but won the Free Dance by more than seven points to win at 211.02, passing Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (210.24). Americans Eva Pate and Logan Bye (178.68) and Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville (172.80) finished 7-8.
Next up is the Cup of China in Chongqing next week.
● Football ● The final of the FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup in Santiago, Chile pitted six-time winner Argentina – which last won in 2007 – against first-time finalist Morocco. This time it was Morocco’s turn to celebrate, with a 2-0 win off goals in the 12th and 29th minutes from Mohamed Zabiri.
Colombia won the third-place match over France, 1-0, its second bronze in this tournament, previously in 2003.
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Group play is continuing at the Women’s U-17 World Cup in Morocco, with the U.S. winning its first match in Group C by 3-0 over Ecuador. Next up, on Tuesday, will be China, a 5-0 winner over Norway in its first match.
● Judo ● At the IJF World Tour Guadalajara Grand Prix in Mexico, the U.S. got a rare win as Maria Laborde took the women’s 48 kg title over Eva Perez (ESP). It’s Laborde’s second Grand Prix medal, after a bronze in the Upper Austria Grand Prix in March.
Azerbaijan won the first four men’s weights with 2024 European runner-up Balaby Aghayev (60 kg), Ruslan Pashayev (66 kg), Paris Olympic champ Hidayat Haydarov (73 kg) and 2023 World Junior Champion Vusal Galandarzade (81 kg).
On Sunday, they added the 100 kg title by Zelym Kotsoiev and the +110 kg gold from Ushangi Kokauri, for six wins in the seven classes!
Japan won two women’s golds, from 2025 World Champion Haruka Kaju at 63 kg and worlds bronzer Kurena Ikeda at 78 kg. Israel’s Olympic runner-up Raz Hershko won her second straight Grand Prix title in a week at +78 kg.
● Shooting ● In the Trap finals at the ISSF World Shotgun Championships in Athens (GRE), the men’s Rio de Janeiro gold medalist Josip Glasnovic (CRO), now 42, won his first World Championships gold, 44-39, over Andres Garcia (ESP), the 2021 World Junior Champion. American Will Hinton was sixth (16).
Glasnovic then led the Croatian men’s team to a second gold in the Team final, defeating the U.S. trio of Hinton, Derrick Mein and Walton Eller, 368-361, in the final.
Mar Molne Magrina (ESP) won the women’s Trap gold, her first Worlds medal, 46-42, over Italian Olympic runner-up Silvana Stanco. The Team final ended the same way, as Spain defeated Italy, 355-346. The U.S. (Rachel Tozier, Ava-Elizabeth Downs, Carey Garrison) was seventh at 334.
Italy won the Mixed Team gold. 45-40 over San Marino. The U.S., with Downs and Eller, won the bronze, 39-37, over Egypt.
With four golds in the Skeet events, the U.S. ended up leading the medal table with six total (4-1-1), ahead of Italy (4: 1-3-0).
● Short Track ● Four-time World Champion William Dandjinou of Canada was the star of the ISU World Tour no. 2 in Montreal (CAN), sweeping the men’s individual events!
He started with the 500 m in 41.126 over China’s 2022 Olympic champ (for Hungary) Shaoang Liu (41.225). Dandjinou then took the 1,500 m 2:13.217, ahead of Shogo Miyata (JPN: 2:13.406) and Canadian teammate Steven Dubois (2:13.575).
On Sunday, Dandjinou finished his sweep with the 1,000 m in 1:25.417, with four-time Worlds gold medalist Dubois at 1:25.465 and 2022 Olympic 1,500 winner Dae-heon Hwang (KOR: 1:25.587) in third.
Canada also won the men’s 5,000 m relay in 6:57.743, with the U.S. in fourth at 6:59.774.
The World Cup opener in Montreal saw Canadian Courtney Sauralt dominate the women’s racing and she started with a win on Saturday in the 1,000 m in 1:27.896, over two-time Olympic 1,500 m winner Min-jeong Choi (KOR: 1:28.165) and World 500 m champ Xandra Velzeboer (NED: 1:28.325). American Corinne Stoddard was fourth.
On Sunday, World Champion Velzeboer took the 500 m 42.258, with Sarault second (42.326), and Americans Kristen Santos-Griswold (42.429) and Stoddard (42.473) in third and fourth. Choi came back to take the 1,500 m in 2:17.399, over Stoddard (2:17.516) and Santos-Griswold (2:17.669) with Sauralt in fourth (2:17.707).
Canada won the women’s 3,000 m relay in 4:07.341 and the mixed team relay in 2:37.599 over South Korea (2:38.004).
● Table Tennis ● Hugo Calderano, Brazil’s 2025 Worlds runner-up, won his sixth Pan American Championships gold in Rock Hill, South Carolina, overwhelming American star Kanak Jha, 4-1.
Brazil also claimed a finalist in the women’s Singles, with Bruna Takahashi falling to Adriana Diaz (PUR), by 4-0.
Brazil won the men’s Doubles, Guatemala won the women’s Doubles and Calderano and Takahashi took the Mixed Doubles final, 3-2, over the U.S. pair of Jessica Reyes Lai and Jishan Liang.
Puerto Rico defeated the U.S. (Reyes Lai, Sally Moyland, Lily Zhang) in the women’s team final by 3-1. Argentina won the men’s team title over the U.S. (Jha, Liang, Sid Naresh), 3-2.
● Triathlon ● Australia’s Matt Hauser has been the top men’s performer all season and on Sunday, he dominated the World Triathlon Championship Series Finals in Wollongong (AUS).
Already the winner of three Championship Series races this season, Hauser was first out of the water, ranked no. 6 on the bike and was third-fastest in the 10 km to win by 33 seconds in 1:42:42. Spain’s David Cantero Del Campo was second in 1:43:15 and Alessio Crociani (ITA: 1:43:22) finished third.
Morgan Pearson was the top American, in 12th (1:44:23). In the seasonal rankings, Hauser scored 4,250.00 points to win, with Miguel Hidalgo (BRA: 3,769.95) second and Vasco Vilaca (POR: 3,690.12) in third.
The women’s final was also a runaway, this time for German Lisa Tertsch, who had four top-three finishes in the Championship Series coming in, including a win in Abu Dhabi (UAE). At the final, she led out of the swim, was eighth overall on bike and sixth-fastest on the run and that added up to a 1:56:50 finish and her second Championship Series win.
Bianca Seregni (ITA) was a clear second in 1:57:04, then France’s Emma Lombardi (1:57:16) and Leonie Periault (1:57:21). Taylor Spivey was once again the top American, in seventh (1:57:47).
Tertsch, fourth coming into the final, won the seasonal rankings at 3,886.26, ahead of Periault (3,577.04) and Britain’s Beth Potter (3,313.18). Spivey finished fourth overall, scoring 3,125.85. France’s Olympic champ Cassandre Beaugrand, who was in position to win the overall title, dropped off during the run and did not finish, dropping to seventh in the seasonal standings.
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