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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● Stephane Hatot, a vice president of the French National Olympic Committee (CNOSF), was found to be selling Paris 2024 memorabilia online under another name and resigned last week after his side business was reported in the all-sports newspaper L’Equipe.
Hatot offered for sale a Marie Antoinette costume from the Paris 2024 opening ceremony, a mascot doll given to Paralympic medal winners and not otherwise available, and other items “sold by the dozens” according to the story on sites such as eBay or Vinted. He was reported to have acquired 12 hard-to-find Paris Olympic torches.
The CNOSF said in a statement that “Should any elements that could constitute a criminal offense be established, the CNOSF will immediately file a report under Article 40 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.”
● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● The City of Santa Monica approved by a 6-0 City Council vote a new “framework” for special events, approving first a “Pitchside Club” sponsored by Michelob Ultra during the FIFA World Cup, at the Santa Monica Pier, with a license fee and service charge of $1.286 million.
Also approved were a two-day Fall 2026 Goldenvoice Music and Cultural Festival, for up to 35,000 attendees daily with a fee of $1.344 million and $2 per daily ticket sold.
For the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic period, the already-proposed Santa Monica Nations Village and International Broadcast Hub at Crescent Bay Park was approved. This is a long-term, 103-day usage that will also include hospitality houses for participating National Olympic Committees; the license fee for this program is $1.150 million, to be produced by promoters Silverback LLC and Loidl LLC.
The new regulations standardize the City’s approach to special events, which had been negotiated as single entities previously. Santa Monica had previously approved negotiations to lease the Annenberg Community Beach House to the French NOC (CNOSF) for use as “Club France” during the 2028 Games.
Santa Monica and the LA28 organizers could not come to an agreement on having beach volleyball there; it will be held in Long Beach instead.
● Olympic Games 2032: Brisbane ● Queensland Sports Minister Tim Mander said Wednesday that rowing will be held on the Fitzroy River, amid complaints of tidal issues and crocodiles in areas of the river. He explained:
“We are very committed to rowing. It is going according to plan. We are all the processes are taking place.
“What’s happening with the evaluation of the venue in Rockhampton? It’s the same thing that’s happening at every venue where there will be an event. …
“We believe that it is the right place. Everything that we’ve done so far suggests that there are no major obstacles. There’s no reason to be looking at an alternative when you have the confidence level that we have.”
● Olympic Games: Germany ● A second win for a German region to bid for the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Olympic Games as voters in the Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr region approved going forward in a regional referendum held Sunday.
GamesBids.com reported that amid 32% turnout – about 1.4 million people – “roughly two-thirds of those who cast votes said ‘yes.’”
A referendum in October 2025 saw about 66% vote in favor of a future bid for Munich, which hosted the 1972 Olympic Games. Hamburg will have its vote on 31 May; Berlin will not have a referendum. A decision on the German candidate from among those four is expected to be made by the German sports confederation (DOSB) in September.
● Aquatics ● World Aquatics and the Aquatics Integrity Unit published a summary of their anti-doping testing work in 2025, showing 5,345 samples collected from 1,786 athletes from 117 countries.
Of these, 77.4% were in swimming and open-water swimming and in all, 4,073 tests were collected out-of-competition and 1,272 in-competition. The effectiveness of the program, however, cannot be judged as the number of doping positives and actual doping violations were not reported.
● Athletics ● At the Beijing E-Town Half Marathon Sunday, a human-shaped robot ran the distance in 50:26, far faster than the best-ever men’s of 56:42 by Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo in 2025 (not ratified for technical reasons; Kiplimo has the world record of 57:20 in 2026).
The robots ran on a separate, parallel course, with people on the other side. Several dozen robots “competed” with one falling and another running into a barrier. Some “ran” autonomously and some were remote-controlled. A controlled robot finished in 48:19, but the 50:26 finisher was self-guided. Both were made by Honor, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer.
● Basketball ● Brazil’s Oscar Schmidt, the greatest scorer in Olympic basketball history, passed away at age 68 on Friday in Sao Paulo after battling a brain tumor for 15 years.
He is remembered as a scoring machine not only in league play (he never played in the NBA, but in Brazil and Italy), but across five Olympic appearances, leading all scorers at the 1988, 1992 and 1996 Games. He averaged 42.3 points a game in 1988, the highest ever, and scored an Olympic-record 55 against Spain in Seoul. He is the all-time leading career scorer in both the Olympic Games (1,093) and the FIBA World Cup (906).
A shooting guard at 6-8, he played until age 45, and was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
● Figure Skating ● Olympic Pairs champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara announced their retirement from competitive skating on Friday, posting online:
“While we are bringing our competitive careers to a close, we feel we have given it everything, with no regrets. We will continue taking on new challenges to have more people in Japan come to know pairs skating.”
Miura is 24 and Kihara is 33 and they finish as two-time Olympians, Olympic gold medalists, two-time World Pairs Champions (2023, 2025) and two-time silver medalists (2022, 2024).
● Football ● New Jersey Transit announced staggering fares for the eight matches to be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, with match-day train service from Penn Station in New York available to ticket holders only for $150 round-trip. The usual fare is $12.90.
A shuttle bus service from two sites in New York or one park-and-ride lot in New Jersey, is available for $80 round-trip.
NJ Transit head Kris Kolluri said Friday, “In order to move 40,000 people and to pay for the cost of $6 million (per game), we have to charge $150.”
The announcement noted, “Customers should expect heavy ridership and crowded conditions on the trains and along major corridors before and after matches. Employers are encouraged to support work-from-home and flexible scheduling on matchdays, where feasible, recognizing that not all roles allow for this flexibility.”
FIFA World Cup Chief Operating Officer Heimo Schirgi (AUT) criticized the fares:
“The NJ Transit current pricing model will have a chilling effect. Elevated fares inevitably push fans toward alternative transportation options. This increases concerns of congestion, late arrivals, and creates broader ripple effects that ultimately diminish the economic benefit and lasting legacy the entire region stands to gain from hosting the World Cup.
“Furthermore, to arbitrarily set elevated prices and demand FIFA absorb these costs is unprecedented. No other global event, concert or major sporting promoter has faced such a demand.”
Four of the matches will be on Saturday or Sunday, with the others on Monday (1), Tuesday (2) and Thursday (1).
● Luge ● Want to get a great tractor cheap? USA Luge is working to raise $50,000 by raffling off a Massey-Ferguson GC1725 Tractor with Loader and Backhoe, with 500 entries at $100 each.
Massey-Ferguson and Eklund Farm Machinery are USA Luge sponsors and behind the promotion. The drawing will be held in the fall, or when all of the tickets are sold!
≡ RESULTS ≡
● Athletics ● Plenty of hot sprinting at the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Florida, with a world-leading 100 m from Georgia’s Adajeah Hodge (IVB) in 10.77, ahead of Florida State’s Shenese Walker (JAM: 10.80) and American Alexis Brown (South Carolina: 11.04). Alexandra Webster (USA) moved to no. 2 on the 2026 world list, winning her heat of the 100 m hurdles in 12.71.
The U.S. women’s 4×100 m team of Melissa Jefferson, Anavia Battle, Kayla White and Sha’Carri Richardson blazed to a world-leading 41.70.
Lex Brown of the U.S. took the world women’s long jump lead at 7.07 m (23-2 1/2), to move to no. 7 all-time U.S. outdoors; she’s the 12th American to jump 7 m outdoors.
The men’s racing was just as strong, starting off with the 4×100 m Olympic Development race, with a Gainesville Elite team of Jordan Anthony, Trayvon Bromell, Jake Odey-Jordan (GBR) and Noah Lyles winning in a world-leading 37.78, followed by a U.S. team of Courtney Lindsey, Kenny Bednarek, Kyree King and Max Thomas in 37.86!
A Pure Athletics team of Chris Robinson, Jereem Richardson, Caleb Dean and Khaleb McRae took the world lead at 2:57.33 in the 4×400 m, with a Gainesville Elite team with 2022 World 400 m Champion Michael Norman leading off and running a reported 44.7 split, in second in 2:58.50.
Last year’s NCAA champ, Jordan Anthony, won the men’s Olympic Development 100 m in 9.91 and Auburn’s Kayinsola Ajayi (NGR) took the invitational 100 m in 9.90w (+2.9 m/s).
World 200 m Champion Lyles moved to no. 3 on the 2026 world list in the 200 m with a 19.91 win, ahead of Max Thomas at no. 4 at 19.98. In the second race, it was Tate Taylor (San Antonio Harlan HS) winning in 20.05 to break Lyles’ high school record of 20.09 back in 2016!
Canadian star Christopher Morales Williams won the 400 m in a then-world-leading 44.30, just ahead of Brazil’s 2022 World 400 m hurdles champ Alison dos Santos (44.38). NCAA Indoor hurdles champ Ja’kobe Tharp moved to no. 2 in the world in the 110 m hurdles at 13.09 and 2022 Worlds 400 m hurdles bronze winner Trevor Bassitt took the world lead at 47.82.
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At the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, California, a fast but windy 100 m saw Arkansas’ Jelani Watkins win in 9.82 (+2.8) ahead of Eddie Nketia (USC-AUS) in 9.84. Arizona State’s Jayden Davis took the world 400 m lead at 44.29, just ahead of veteran star Vernon Norwood (44.58).
Hakim McMorris, the 2026 U.S. indoor hep champ, got a lifetime best and world lead in the decathlon at 8,420.
USC’s Madison Whyte and Arkansas’ Sanaria Brown went to 1-2 on the 2026 world list in the women’s 400 m at 49.64 and 49.86, while Washington’s Hana Moll, the 2025 NCAA winner, rolled to no. 2 in the world for 2026 at 4.80 m (15-9).
Lithuania’s Beatrice Juskeviciute took the women’s heptathlon at 6,323, the world leader in 2026.
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Just 12 miles away from Mt. SAC is Azusa Pacific University, where the Bryan Clay Invitational was going on at the same time, with more noteworthy performances, like a world leader in the men’s Steeple from Geoffrey Kirwa (Louisville-KEN) at 8:08.10.
In the men’s 5,000 m, Habtom Samuel (New Mexico-ERI) broke his own collegiate record, winning in a world-leading 13:03.47, and BYU super-frosh Jane Hedengren moved to no. 2 outdoors in winning the women’s 5 in 14:50.50 (she’s run 14:44.79).
● Canoe-Kayak ● Tokyo Olympic women’s C-1 200 m champion Nevin Harrison was a winner in her specialty at the ACA Sprint National Team Trials in Chula Vista, California, winning in 47.224, over Audrey Harper (48.024).
Harper went on to win the women’s C-1 500 m (2:10.004) and teamed with Andreea Gizila to win the C-2 500 m in 2:13.160. Elena Wolgamot, a U.S. national team member, won the women’s K-1 200 m (42.287) and the K-1 500 m in 2:00.903. She took a third gold with Arezou Motamedi, winning the K-2 500 m race in 1:51.474.
Paris Olympian Jonas Ecker dominated the men’s Kayak events, winning the 200 m (35.205), 500 m (1:42.547) and 1,000 m (3:40.205) and the K-2 500 m with Aaron Small (1:35.005). Brothers Ryan and Jonathan Grady won three events: Ryan took the C-1 500 m (2:02.223; Jonathan won the C-1 1,000 m (4:12.298) and they teamed together to win the C-2 500 m in 1:59.747. Kenny Kasperbauer won the C-1 200 m in 41.345.
● Curling ● At the USA Curling Mixed Fours National Championship in Denver, Colorado, Evan Workin’s squad scored three points in the ninth end to break a tie with two-time defending champion David Falco’s rink and win by 7-4 in the final. Workin won his second title, previously in 2018.
Nina Roth’s rink won the bronze over Darrick Kizlyk, 7-3.
● Cycling ● Double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel (BEL) won the 60th Amstel Gold Race in The Netherlands in a final sprint to the line in Valkenburg over defending champion Mattias Skjelmose (DEN), 5:59:40 to 5:59.41 for the 257.2 km route.
Evenepoel moved up from third last year and he and Sjkelmose finally broke free of all other challengers with 22 km to go. France’s Benoit Cosnefroy was third, 1:59 back of the winner.
The women’s race (158.1 km) was a runaway win for Spain’s Paula Blasi, who won in 4:02:15, 27 seconds up on Kasia Niewiadoma (POL) and Demi Vollering (NED). Blasi attacked with 23 km left and claimed the biggest win of her career thus far, at age 23.
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At the UCI Track World Cup in Hong Kong, men’s sprint stars Harrie Lavreysen (NED) and Britain’s Matthew Richardson starred again, with three-time Paris 2024 medalist Richardson getting two wins and Lavreysen, the triple Paris gold winner, getting one.
Richardson won the men’s Sprint over Kaiya Ota (JPN) while Lavreysen won the Keirin, again over Ota. Richardson got a second gold in the Team Sprint with Harry Ledingham-Horn and Joseph Truman, while Lavreysen’s Dutch team took silver.
Dutch teammate Philip Heijnen won the men’s Omnium and then teamed with Yoeri Havik to win the Madison. Italy’s Matteo Fiorin won the men’s Elimination Race with Havik third.
British sprint star Emma Finucane, also a triple Olympic medalist in 2024 (1-0-2) took three medals in Hong Kong, winning the women’s Sprint, taking third in the Keirin and second in the Team Sprint behind China. China’s Liying Yuan won the Keirin and took a second gold in the Team Sprint.
Japan’s Tsuyaka Uchino won the Omnium, France’s 2025 Worlds runner-up Marion Borras and Valentine Fortin took the Madison and Anita Stenberg (NOR) won the Elimination Race.
● Diving ● An international field came to the American Cup in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with wins spread out to three continents.
Britain’s rising star, Jordan Hudson, took the men’s 3 m final in a tight finish with Americans Luke Sitz and Quentin Henninger, 434.05 to 433.15 to 430.75. Joshua Hedberg of the U.S. won the 10 m Platform final at 441.30.
Henninger and Jack Ryan teamed to win the Synchronized 3 m with 343.77 points. In the men’s 10 m Synchro, Ukraine’s Oleksii Sereda and Mark Hyrtsenko won at 390.60.
Sophie Verzyl of the U.S. Won the women’s 3 m Springboard final at 329,40 and the women’s Platform title was a clear win for Britain’s Eden Cheng, at 340.20.
In the synchronized events, Americans Anna Kwong and Verzyl won the 3 m title with 276.87 points, but Australia’s Lauren Flint and Laura Hingston took the Platform gold, scoring 284.70.
● Fencing ● At the FIE Foil World Cup in Cairo (EGY), Japan’s Kazuki Iimura won his first World Cup gold in the men’s final by 15-10 over Tokyo Olympic bronzer Alexander Choupenitch (CZE), with American Nick Itkin winning a bronze. The women’s gold went to Italy’s two-time Worlds bronze winner Martina Favaretto over teammate Martina Batini, the 2014 Worlds runner-up, 15-10.
Italy won the men’s team title over Hong Kong, with the U.S. (Itkin, Alex Massialas, James Bourtis, Bryce Louie) winning the bronze. 45-34, over Spain. Italy also won the women’s team gold, defeating France, 45-40. The U.S. (Lauren Scruggs, Lee Kiefer, Katerina Lung, Carolina Stutchbury) took the bronze, 42-38, over Japan.
At the Epee Westend Grand Prix in Budapest (HUN), Estonia’s Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Katrina Lehis won the women’s final, 12-11, over Paris 2024 bronzer Eszter Muhari (HUN), and Paris 2024 Team gold medalist David Nagy (HUN) took the men’s win, 15-12, against Yerlik Sertay (KAZ), who won his first career Grand Prix medal.
At the Sabre men’s World Cup in Padua (ITA), Russian “neutral” Kamil Ibragimov beat “neutral” teammate Pavel Graudyn, 23-15. Hungary’s Sugar Katinka Battai won the women’s Sabre World Cup in Athens (GRE), over Russian “neutral” Yana Egorian, 15-9.
● Football ● The U.S. women faced off with no. 5 Japan for the third match in a row in cold conditions – amid snow on the sidelines – in Commerce City, Colorado on Friday evening, with a scoreless first half that turned into a 3-0 American win.
The U.S. had 70% of possession in the first half and a 9-1 edge on shots, but there was no score. Midfielder Claire Hutton got close with a shot off the crossbar in the 39th minute.
Starting the second half, the U.S. was energized and it paid off in the 47th as a corner by striker Rose Lavelle was headed by substitute defender Kennedy Wesley to fellow defender Naomi Girma in front of the goal and she headed it in for a 1-0 lead.
That was quickly followed by a gorgeous lead pass by attacking midfielder Trinity Rodman, moving on the right side and sending a ball that placed Lavelle ahead of the defense and she did not miss from the right of goal to the far side for the 2-0 edge in the 56th.
A final goal was added by Wesley – her first international score – who banged home a clever cross from sub striker Jaedyn Shaw inside the box in the 68th for the 3-0 win. The U.S. ended with 65% of possession and a 15-5 shots advantage as Claudia Dickey got the shutout in goal for the Americans in an altogether impressive performance.
● Gymnastics ● At the World Gymnastics Rhythmic World Cup in Baku (AZE) for the AGF Trophy, Ukraine’s European All-Around champ Taisiia Onofriichuk got her second win of the season, scoring 115.650 to win over Paris Olympic gold medalist Darya Varfolomeev (GER: 114.750) and Bulgaria’s 2024 European A-A winner Stiliana Nikolova (114.050). Megan Chu of the U.S. was 19th (104.200).
Varfolomeev won three of the four apparatus finals, taking gold on Ball (28.900), Clubs (29.900) and Ribbon (28.800). Onofriichuk won on Hoop, scoring 28.650.
● Judo ● Brazil dominated the Pan American Championships in Panama City (PAN), winning five golds with Tokyo Olympic bronze winner Daniel Cargnin taking the men’s 73 kg class, Clarice Ribeiro winning the women’s 48 kg division, Paris bronzer Larissa Pimenta winning at 52 kg, 2025 Worlds bronzer Shirlen Nascimento at 57 kg and Nauana Silva victorious at 70 kg.
Brazil’s Rio 2016 Olympic champ Rafaela Silva reached the final of the women’s 63 kg class, but ran into Canada’s 2021 World Champion Jessica Klimkait, who won the final.
The U.S. scored a gold from 21-year-old Dominic Rodriguez at 81 kg, and won silvers at 60 kg by Jonathan Yang, at 83 kg by Jack Yonezuka, at 90 kg from John Jayne and at +110 kg from Alex Semenenko. Ari Berliner (66 kg) and Johan Silot (81 kg) won men’s bronzes and Maria Celia Laborde took bronze in the women’s 48 kg.
● Rugby Sevens ● In the first of three rounds of championship play at the HSBC Sevens Series in Hong Kong, South Africa dominated the men’s final over Argentina, 35-7, while Spain edged New Zealand, 32-28, for third.
The women’s final was another New Zealand-Australia battle, with the Kiwis winning, 19-14; all seven women’s finals this season have been between these two. France swamped Canada, 35-7, for third. Stage two will be next week in Valladolid (ESP).
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