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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2012: London ● Following up on a Russian doping disqualification in the women’s 800 m of Yekaterina Poistogova (now Guliyev), Kenya’s Pamela Jelimo and American Alysia Montano were confirmed as the silver and bronze medalists by the International Olympic Committee.
All three Russians in the race were disqualified for doping, including original winner Mariya Savinova and Poistogova, who was third. South Africa’s Caster Semenya was moved up to gold medalist and now Jelimo and Montano are 2-3.
● Olympic Winter Games 2030: French Alps ● The IOC Executive Board approved major changes to the 2030 venue layout, with the “ice cluster” moved out of Nice and to Lyon, thanks to the refusal of the Nice Mayor to allow use of the Allianz Riviera stadium for ice hockey (it would disrupt the schedule of the Nice football club).
Now, Lyon will host figure skating and short track, curling and ice hockey. Because there is no suitable site for speed skating, it will be held in one of the sport’s iconic venues, the Thialf arena in Heerenveen (NED).
In alpine skiing, both Courchevel and Val d’Isere were confirmed; the famed Val d’Isere site was originally not in the plan, but heavy lobbying from the alpine community changed the decision.
● Olympic Winter Games 2042 ● New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced an “Exploratory Committee” as “a statewide effort tasked with evaluating the feasibility of a future Winter Games concept linking Lake Placid’s Olympic legacy with New York City’s global platform.”
The effort is expected to take about a year with the aim at a possible bid for the 2042 Olympic Winter Games. The 2034 Winter Games will be in Utah and the likely host of the 2038 Winter Games is Switzerland. And: “The formation of the Exploratory Committee does not represent a commitment to pursue a formal Olympic or Paralympic bid. At the conclusion of the process, the committee will submit its findings and recommendations to State leadership for review.”
There are eight members of the central committee, plus five subcommittees.
Observed: This committee idea is a great way for Lake Placid, way up in the north of New York State, to remain a high profile in the rest of the state. However, the concerns already voiced internationally about the too-spread-out nature of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games mean the Lake Placid-New York concept is likely already dead at the level of the International Olympic Committee. Not to mention that Utah 2034 has existing infrastructure all within about an hour’s drive and a permanent athlete village at the University of Utah.
A more plausible (and profitable) scenario would be a combo bid for simultaneous world championships in ice (in New York) and snow (in Lake Placid) sports with a combined national broadcaster in a non-Olympic year. That could be interesting.
● Panam Sports ● The 64th Panam Sports General Assembly will take on the final two days of the first Panam Sports Week, to be held from 24-28 August in Lima (PER).
A special session on 24 August – “Forward Together” – will bring the heads of the 41 National Olympic Committees in the region to “design a strategic roadmap for the organization’s future: a conversation that will set the course for the coming years, redefining how the Americas envision sport, leadership, and shared purpose.”
Visits will also be made to venues for the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima, and the host of the 2029 Junior Pan American Games will be made.
● Archery ● At the windy and difficult USA Archery Team Qualifier Easton Foundation SoCal Showdown, Tokyo 2020 Olympian Jack Williams won the men’s Recurve gold with a 6-4 victory over Nicholas D’Amour, and Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez, a fellow Tokyo star, won the women’s title.
Dutch Compound stalwart Mike Schloesser took the men’s Compound over American James Lutz and 19-year-old Beretta McKee took the women’s Compound title over first-time finalist Leann Drake.
● Athletics ● A noteworthy run Saturday for 2023 World women’s 100 m champ Sha’Carri Richardson of the U.S., winning at the Star Athletics Sprint Series in Winter Garden, Florida in 10.77 (+0.3) over two-time Olympic 400 m winner Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH: 11.05). Richardson moves to no. 2 in the world this year.
The men’s 100 was fast too, with Courtney Lindsey winning in 9.89 (+1.4) over Pjai Austin (9.99). Brandon Hicklin won the 200 m in a lifetime best 19.92 (+1.0) with Sam Blaskowski right behind in a personal record 19.93 and Christian Coleman in 20.03. Lindsey is now equal-4th on the 2026 world list, and Hicklin is no. 11.
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Italian walk star Alex Schwazer, the 2008 Olympic 50 km walk gold medalist, has been suspended almost continuously since 2012, and was hit with an eight-year penalty in 2016. In late April, the German anti-doping agency tested him at the German walking nationals and his samples returned positive for Erythropoietin (EPO).
Schwazer, now 41, told reporters, “I have not taken Erythropoietin and I don’t know how it ended up in the test tube. But I don’t care, I don’t want to know or I’ll ruin myself. I’m innocent and I don’t care about anything else. I won’t defend myself; at 41, I no longer have the strength.”
He added that he will ask for the samples his team collected also be analyzed, but noted, “I no longer have any faith in the system and I can do without it.”
● Fencing ● The International Fencing Federation announced its World Championships prize money amounts, with $1.02 million in total available:
● $480,000 for individual events in Epee, Foil, Sabre for men and women: $40,000-20,000-10,000 for places 1-3.
● $540,000 for team events in Epee, Foil and Sabre for men and women: $50,000-25,000-15,000 for places 1-3 per four-person team.
It’s a very considerable amount for a small federation like the FIE. This is the second year of prize money at the FIE senior-level Worlds; the 2026 championships take place in Hong Kong from 22-30 July.
● Hockey ● The fourth FIH Women’s Nations Cup finished Sunday in Auckland (NZL), with India competing an undefeated tournament by shutting down New Zealand, 2-0. India went 3-0 in Group A, then slugged Chile, 6-0 to make it to the final.
New Zealand was 3-0 in Group B and edged the U.S. – second in Group A – by 4-1 in a shoot-out following a 1-1 tie in regulation time in the semis. The U.S. won the bronze with a 3-2 decision over Chile in the third-place match. Ashley Sessa scored twice for the Americans, first in the 12th minute and then the game-winner in the 46th.
Sessa tied with India’s Deepika Sehrawat as the top scorer with six goals overall and was named Player of the tournament.
● Skateboard ● At the World Skateboard Tour in Rome (ITA), Japan’s 2023 World Champoin Sora Shirai had the highest-scoring run and the top trick to score 177.92 and win decisively over countrymen, 2023 Worlds runner-up Kairi Netsuke (172.19) and two-time World Champion Toa Sasaki (168.41) in the men’s final.
Chloe Covell (AUS), the 2022 Worlds silver winner, also had the high scores in both run and trick to win the women’s gold with 177.01 points, ahead of Japan’s 2023 World Champion Yumeka Oda (155.15). American Paige Heyn was fourth (150.43).
● Weightlifting ● This is a sport which has been desperately troubled by doping issues, and five cases were announced in the last few days. The International Testing Agency said that Nigerian lifters Lucky Joseph (stanozolol) and Brenda Uchenna Bosah (exogenous testosterone) have both been provisionally suspended for positive tests.
Further a 2023 positive for Georgian lifter Kakhi Asanidze for ostarine was confirmed by the Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport and a four-year penalty imposed that will end in August 2027.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency posted a three-month sanction for Canadian lifter Hanna Digenis for testing positive for Carboxy-THC, a urinary metabolite of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC); Angel Quintero was banned for two years for the masking agent furosemide, through 21 December 2027.
None of these are shattering developments, but unwelcome reminders of the issues in this sport.
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