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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games: Germany ● The Berlin State Parliament approved the city bid for the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Olympic and Paralympic Games, becoming the third candidate in the country.
Referendums in Munich and the Rhine-Ruhr region both passed and no vote is planned for the Berlin bid, which foresees revenues of €5.24 billion, expenses of €4.82 billion and a surplus of €420 million (€1 = $1.16 U.S.). Almost all of the competition venues for a Berlin Games are stated to be existing. A vote is yet to be taken in Hamburg, on 31 May.
The German Sports Confederation (DOSB) will decide in September which bid will go forward and what Games will be bid on.
● Athletics ● The second meet of the Diamond League season, in Xiamen (CHN) comes on Saturday, with rematches in multiple events from the first meet in Shaoxing.
U.S. winners Jamal Britt (110 m hurdles) and Olympic champ Masai Russell (100 m hurdles) will be back in action, but two American throwing stars will make their Diamond League debuts for 2026.
Shot put superstar – Olympic Champion, World Champion and world-record holder – Ryan Crouser will return to the ring after throwing in just one meet last year: the World Athletics Championships, which he won for the third time!
Discus superstar Valarie Sion, the double Olympic winner and 2025 World Champion, will be in the ring for the fourth time this season and already owns the world’s longest throw in 2026, a monster 73.10 m (239-10) bomb at the Oklahoma World Throws on 11 April.
The meet will be shown in the U.S. on FloTrack, starting at 6:10 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday.
● Curling ● USA Curling hired 2006 Olympic champ Brad Gushue (CAN) as its High Performance Director looking ahead to the 2030 Olympic Winter Games in France and the Salt Lake City 2034 Winter Games.
Gushue won Olympic gold in 2006 and bronze in 2022, plus the 2017 World Championship and four silver medals in 2018-22-23-24. He retired at the end of the 2025-26 season; he said in a statement:
“This role felt like a natural fit, and positions like this don’t come along all that often in the sport of curling. It is an opportunity to stay close to the sport and make a meaningful impact in a new way.
“I’m excited to work alongside athletes and coaches to help them reach their full potential. Curling is a close-knit, international community, and I’m proud to play a part in strengthening it and driving the sport forward.”
● Cycling ● At the 109th Giro d’Italia, the 12th stage to Novi Ligure had a major climb in the middle of the 175 km route, but then a long, fairly flat finish. That opened the door for a breakaway for Belgium’s Alec Segeart, who took off with 3 km left and won in 3:53:00, three seconds ahead of a mass sprint of 58 riders behind him. Countryman Toon Aerts wound up second.
In the overall race, Portugal’s Eulalio Afonso won a mid-race mark to add six seconds on to his lead over Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, now 33 seconds overall. Saturday brings the next climbing stage that could shake up the leaderboard.
● Football ● New York Mayor Zoran Mamdani said about 150 tickets to be sold at $50 each for seven of the eight matches to be held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey – 1,000 in total – to be sold by lottery starting on 25 May.
Mamdani said that transportation will be included and that the tickets will be given to the users as they board the bus to the game, in order to ensure no resales take place. FIFA did not supply the tickets; they came from the allotment made to the New York-New Jersey Host Committee.
● Swimming ● The third Tyr Pro Swim Series is in Sacramento, California, with some noteworthy swims on Wednesday night, including the return of Ryan Murphy, the five-time Olympic gold medalist who is now 30. He skipped 2025, but returned with a good performance in the men’s 100 m Backstroke, finishing second to Daniel Diehl, 53.74 to 53.91.
In the men’s 1,500 m Freestyle, 17-year-old Luka Mijatovic got a huge lifetime best of 14:59.27 and is now no. 4 on the all-time U.S. age 17-18 list, and the U.S. list leader for 2026. Remember that name.
Torri Huske, the five-time Paris 2024 medalist, won the women’s 200 m Medley in 2:11.34 by almost two seconds. The meet continues through Saturday.
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