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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Alpine Skiing ● The race for the women’s FIS World Cup seasonal title – the Crystal Globe – has come down to the final two races of the season, on Tuesday and Thursday in Hafjell, Norway.
Right now, American star Mikaela Shiffrin is in front with 1,286 points, with German Emma Aicher – the 2026 Olympic Downhill silver winner – right behind at 1,241. The remaining events are better for Shiffrin, but Aicher is capable. This season:
Aicher:
● 24 Mar.: Slalom ~ 1x silver, 3x bronze
● 26 Mar.: Giant Slalom ~ no World Cup medals
Shiffrin:
● 24 Mar.: Slalom ~ 8x gold, 1x silver (season winner)
● 26 Mar.: Giant Slalom ~ 1x bronze
Points are scored down to 30 places, with 100-80-60-50-45-40-36-32-29-26 for the top 10.
With a win on Tuesday in the Slalom, Shiffrin could lock up the seasonal title, if Aicher finishes sixth or worse. With eight wins so far, Shiffrin has tied her own mark for most Slalom wins in a season (also in 2018-19); if she gets a ninth, it will be the most ever for a women’s skier in a single event, breaking her own mark.
If Shiffrin, 31, does win, it will be her sixth seasonal Crystal Globe and she would tie Annemarie Moser-Proell (AUT: 1969-80) for the most ever, maybe the only major record she does not yet have. New star Aicher is looking for her first seasonal World Cup, at age 22, having been 15th last season.
● Athletics ● The head of the Italian track & field federation, Stefano Mei, noted Italy’s strong performance at the World Athletics Indoor Championships and told reporters, “This week, we will be discussing with the Italian government the possibility of hosting the World Championships in Rome in 2029 or 2031.”
Rome’s Stadio Olimpico was the site of the second IAAF World Championships way back in 1987, but Rome successfully hosted the 2024 European Championships. Mei added, “We’re presenting ourselves with a strong business card after the last five seasons.”
Bids for 2029 and/or 2031 are due by 3 April, with a decision anticipated in September. The 2027 meet will be held in Beijing (CHN).
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Worth noting from the World Athletics Council meeting prior to the World Indoors was the announcement of Odisha in India and Astana in Kazakhstan to host the Indoor Championships in 2028 and 2030.
This will be especially important for India, trying to be named as the host of the 2036 Olympic Games and showing that it is lining up events ahead of time to show its developing abilities. The centennial Commonwealth Games will be held in Ahmedabad in 2030.
The selection of Odisha is also a signal of an expectation that India will get its doping problems in athletics under control. India, along with Kenya, has had the highest number of ineligible persons on the Athletics Integrity Unit list for several years running.
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Reviewing the Grand Slam Track latest filing of assets and liabilities shows that founder Michael Johnson is still owed a lot of money. He is shown as a creditor for:
● $2,245,565.46 for an unsecured loan to the project
● $205,766.67 for unpaid wages
● $26,772.23 for unreimbursed travel expenses
The total is $2,478,104.36; if the plan of reorganization which proposed by Grand Slam Track goes through, he will receive about 1.5% of this – $37,171.56 – as his share of the proposed payment to unsecured creditors.
● Bobsled & Skeleton ● The USA Bobsled & Skeleton national championships were held in Lake Placid, New York, with Grady Mercer and Seth Baylus winning the Two-Man in 1:53.25 and Sydney Milani taking the women’s Monobob in 2:13.16.
In Skeleton, Austin Florian won the men’s Singles title in 1:49.40, and Michelle Toukan was the women’s winner in 1:53.30, ahead of Kendell Wesenberg (1:53.40).
● Cycling ● The come-from-a-crash to win performance by Slovenian star Tadej Pogacar to take Saturday’s 117th Milan-Sanremo meant that he – at 27 – has now won four of the five famed “Monument” races in cycling.
These are the five ancient, one-day races in the sport, that go back before World War I:
● Milan-Sanremo (ITA: 1907)
● Ronde van Vlaanderen (BEL: 1913) ~ a.k.a. Tour of Flanders
● Paris-Roubaix (FRA: 1896)
● Liege-Bastogne-Liege (BEL: 1892)
● Il Lombardia (ITA: 1905)
These are the most prestigious one-day races in the sport, ranking only behind the Grand Tours: Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana.
Only three Belgian riders – Rik Van Looy (1958-65), Eddy Merckx (1966-76) and Roger De Vlaeminck (1970-79) – have won all five and only Merckx has won each more than once. But Pogacar is catching up quickly, with one at Milan-Sanremo, two Tour of Flanders, three wins at Liege-Bastogne-Liege and five at Il Lombardia. All he needs is Paris-Roubaix, coming on 12 April.
● Fencing ● At the FIE Foil Grand Prix in Lima (PER), two-time World Champion Alice Volpi won her third career Grand Prix gold with a 15-11finals victory over American Lauren Scruggs, the Pais 2024 silver medalist. Volpi barely got to the final, winning over 18-year-old American newcomer Katerina Lung, by 15-14, in the semis. It’s Lung’s first international medal!
Italy’s world no. 2 Guillaume Bianchi won the men’s tournament with a 15-12 victory over Russian “neutral” Kirill Borodachev.
● Skating ● The International Skating Union is asking fans to help shape its future, with a “Global Fan Survey” to inform the federation on what fans want in four key areas:
● “Fan interest, engagement, and connection to ice-skating
● “Viewing habits and how audiences follow ISU events
● “Digital and media consumption trends
● “Perceptions of the sport and opportunities for growth”
The 10-minute questionnaire is being offered in eight markets, in seven languages – English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin – and is available here, through 17 April. For those who provide an e-mail address, there is also a drawing for some signed Olympic memorabilia.
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