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ATHLETICS: Lyles edges Coleman in 9.86; six world leads in sensational Shanghai Diamond League

By
Rich Perelman
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Just that close: Lyles nips Coleman at the tape in the Diamond League Shanghai 100 m!

This is more like it! The much-anticipated Diamond League meet in Shanghai delivered with fabulous head-to-head competition and six world-leading marks:

● Men/100 m: 9.86, Noah Lyles (USA) and Christian Coleman (USA)
● Men/5,000 m: 13:04.16, Yomif Kejelcha (ETH)
● Men/400 m hurdles: 47.27, Abderrahmane Samba (QAT)
● Men/Javelin: 87.55 m (287-3), Andreas Hofmann (GER)

● Women/1,500 m: 4:01.15; Rababe Arafi (MAR)
● Women/Steeple: 9:04.53, Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN)

The final event of the night was the men’s 100 m, and how could it be better than the rest of a great meet? It was.

Christian Coleman of the U.S. had the best mark of the year in both 2017 and 2018 and owns the world indoor record for 60 m, and he was off like a shot. He had a clear lead after 50 m, but the man who loves to come from behind – Noah Lyles – found that extra gear in the final 40 m and came from sixth to close at the tape and get the decision over Coleman with both timed in 9.86, fastest in the world for 2019.

Said Lyles, “I said to my coach in warm up, ‘today is the day.’ I feel hot. I knew if I got out of the blocks and if I was anywhere close, I knew I could come late for the win.” It was a lifetime best for the 21-year-old, and moves him up to equal-17th all-time, just as fast as six others, including Carl Lewis in 1991 and Ato Boldon in 1998!

“This is my first race in nine months,” said Coleman afterwards. “It is always a struggle to get in good form after such a long time away from competition, so I didn’t have any specific expectations for today’s race. In general, I am fine with 9.86 today.”

That was one of three sprint wins for the U.S., with Aleia Hobbs – running with a broken right wrist – taking over in the middle of the race and running away from Blessing Okagbare (NGR) and Rio champ Elaine Thompson, 11.03-11.07-11.14. Hobbs ran impressively at the World Relays last week and now has the no. 2 mark in the world for 2019. She was ecstatic: “This is my biggest win. I needed to start well, which I did and I managed to hang on.”

In the men’s 400 m, a hamstring injury kept favored Steven Gardiner (BAH) out, so Fred Kerley of the U.S. took over. He ran the co-fastest split at the World Relays last week – 44.4 – and charged out of the blocks and built a huge lead down the backstraight. No one could challenge, but the U.S. ended 1-2-3 with Michael Cherry and Nathan Strother following. Kerley finished in 44.81, with Cherry well back at 45.48 and Strother at 45.52.

The other U.S. win was a shocker. Chase Ealey, the world leader in the women’s shot at 19.67 m (64-6 1/2), took the lead in round two from China’s 2017 World Champion and home favorite Lijiao Gong and it held up: 19.58 m (64-3) to 19.44 m (63-9 1/2)! It was the only quality throw of the day for Ealey, while Gong produced four throws over 19 m (62-4), but the best throw counts. For the former NCAA runner-up from Oklahoma State, Ealey has gone from 18.46 m (60-6 3/4) in 2016 to the undisputed world leader in 2019!

There were more thrillers, like the long-awaited showdown between Qatar’s Abderrahmane Samba and Rai Benjamin of the U.S. in the 400 m hurdles. Benjamin fired into the lead on the back stretch and came into the final straight with the lead, but lost his cadence over the ninth hurdle and Samba got even. The Qatari then passed him and held his form best to the line for his 12th straight win, this time in 47.27. Benjamin ran 47.80, and now knows what he will face if he wants to win a world title in Doha.

Said Benjamin afterwards, “This is my first Diamond League competition in the 400 m hurdles and I am quite excited about the result today. I have not set up any specific objectives for myself since it is still in the very early stage of this season.”

In the women’s 400 m, Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser rocketed into the lead on the back straight and held her form all the way through to win in 50.65. American Sydney McLaughlin came on in the second half of the race, but had to settle for second in 50.78. Naser said “Today was just okay,” while McLaughlin was more upbeat: “I feel good today to run close to my PB.”

The distance races were fast and competitive. Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha waited until 300 m to go to charge to the front, but once he did, he was not to be headed and won in 13:04.16 – a world leader – and held off countryman Selemon Barega (13:04.71). Same for the women’s 1,500 m, where Ethiopians Gudaf Tsegay and Dawit Seyaum had the lead on the final lap, but a mass finish left favored Sifan Hassan (NED) in a box and Morocco’s Rababe Arafi finding clear running and a win in the last 50 m in a world-leading 4:01.15.

Just great! Summaries:

IAAF Diamond League
Shanghai (CHN) ~ 18 May 2019
(Full results here)

Men

100 m (wind +0.9 m/s): 1. Noah Lyles (USA), 9.86; 2. Christian Coleman (USA), 9.86; 3. Akani Simbine (RSA), 9.95. Also: 7. Isiah Young (USA), 10.14; 8. Michael Rodgers (USA), 10.15.

200 m (non-Diamond League; 0.0): 1. Aaron Brown (CAN), 20.07; 2. Andre De Grasse (CAN), 20.21; 3. Clarence Munyai (RSA), 20. 37.

400 m: 1. Fred Kerley (USA), 44.81; 2. Michael Cherry (USA), 45.48; 3. Nathan Strother (USA), 45.52.

5,000 m: 1. Yomif Kejelcha (ETH), 13:04.16; 2. Selemon Barega (ETH), 13:04.71; 3. Hagos Gebrhiwet (ETH), 13:04.83. Also:12. Paul Chelimo (USA), 13:13.94; … 16. Hassan Mead (USA), 13:23.15.

110 m hurdles (+0.7): 1. Omar McLeod (JAM), 13.12; 2. Wenjun Xie (CHN), 13.178; 3. Sergey Shubenkov (RUS), 13.28. Also: 5. Freddie Crittenden (USA), 13.36.

400 m hurdles: 1. Abderrahmane Samba (QAT), 47.27; 2. Rai Benjamin (USA), 47.80; 3. Thomas Barr (IRL), 49.41.

High Jump: 1. Yu Wang (CHN), 2.28 m (7-5 3/4); 2. Maksim Nedasekau (BLR), 2.28 m (7-5 3/4); 3. Ilya Ivanchuk (RUS), 2.28 m (7-5 3/4). Also: 4. Jeron Robinson (USA), 2.25 m (7-4 1/2).

Long Jump: 1. Tajay Gayle (JAM), 8.24 m (27-0 1/2); 2. Jianian Wang (CHN), 8.16 m (26-9 1/4); 3. Ruswahl Samaai (RSA), 8.14 m (26-8 1/2). Also: 9. Zack Basile (USA), 7.55 m (24-9 1/4).

Javelin: 1. Andreas Hofmann (GER), 87.55 m (287-3); 2. Chao-Tsun Cheng (TPE), 87.12 m (285-10); 3. Marcin Krukowski (POL), 84.51m (277-3).

Women

100 m (+0.2): 1. Aleia Hobbs (USA), 11.03; 2. Blessing Okagbare (NGR), 11.07; 3. Elaine Thompson (JAM), 11.14. Also: 5. Jenna Prandini (USA), 11.19; … 9. Ashley Henderson (USA), 11.53.

400 m: 1. Salwa Eid Naser (BRN), 50.65; 2. Sydney McLaughlin (USA), 50.78; 3. Christine Botlogetswe (BOT), 51.29. Also: 8. Shakima Wimbley (USA), 52.69.

1,500 m: 1. Rababe Arafi (MAR), 4:01.15; 2. Gudaf Tsegay (ETH), 4:01.25; 3. Winnie Nanyondo (UGA), 4:01.39. Also: 9. Alexa Efraimson (USA), 4:04.53; … 14. Emily Lipari (USA), 4:19.94.

3,000 m Steeple: 1. Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN), 9:04.53; 2. Celliphine Chespol (KEN), 9:11.10; 3. Peruth Chemutai (UGA), 9:17.78. Also: 12. Mel Lawrence (USA), 9:44.36.

Pole Vault: 1. Katerina Stefanidi (GRE), 4.72 m (15-5 3/4); 2. Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou (GRE), 4.72 m (15-5 3/4); 3. Ling Li (CHN), 4.72 m (15-5 3/4). Also: 4. Sandi Morris (USA), 4.72 m (15-5 3/4); 5. Katie Nageotte (USA), 4.72 m (15-5 3/4); …9. Annie Rhodes-Johnigan (USA), 4.42 m (14-6).

Shot Put: 1. Chase Ealey (USA), 19.58 m (64-3); 2. Lijiao Gong (CHN), 19.44 m (63-9 1/2); 3. Aliona Dubitskaya (BLR), 18.78 m (61-7 1/2). Also: 4. Jessica Ramsey (USA), 18.61 m (61-0 3/4); … 6. Maggie Ewen (USA), 18.48 m (60-7 3/4); … 10. Daniela Hill (USA), 17.36 m (56-11 1/2).

Javelin: 1. Huihui Lyu (CHN), 66.89 m (219-5); 2. Lina Muze (LAT), 64.87 m (212-10); 3. Chrustin Hussong (GER), 64.10 m (210-4). Also: 7. Ariana Ince (USA), 60.26 m (197-8).

HEARD AFTER HALFTIME: Who is Kenny Bednarek and how did he just run the 200 m in 19.49?

By
Rich Perelman
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News, views and noise from the non-stop, worldwide circus of Olympic sport:

● Athletics ● It’s a World Championship year, so crazy things are happening. Like Kenny Bednarek, a freshman at Indian Hills Community College running a wind-aided 19.49 in the prelims of the National Junior College Championships in Hobbs, New Mexico.

What? 19.49? What?

Bednarek has been an emerging star all season after being an outstanding high school sprinter at Rice Lake High School in Wisconsin. He won the Wisconsin State titles in the 100-200-400 m and had bests of 10.42, 20.43 and 46.68 in 2018.

But that’s nothing compared to what he’s done in 2019, exploding during the Drake Relays to win the 200 m in a lifetime best of 20.29 and then lowering his 400 m PR to 45.62 a week later.

At New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, he screamed to a win in the heats of the 200 m in a very wind-aided 19.49, with an aiding 6.1 m/s zephyr – almost 14 miles per hour – behind him. It’s an altitude-aided mark, since Hobbs is at 3,622 ft. (1,105 m), but even so – using mathematical conversion formulas – the 19.49 would be worth about 19.89 or so, which would be no. 2 in the world for 2019.

Bednarek ran in heat four and knew he had to run fast, since the first heat was won by Hinds Community College (Raymond, Mississippi) sophomore Terrance Laird in a windy 19.64 (+5.6 m/s)!

Remember, these are in the prelims! The final is tomorrow; the live timing site is here.

● Athletics ● The highlight of the 10th USATF Distance Classic at Occidental College in Los Angeles was the world-leading women’s 5,000 m by Rachel Schneider.

She shattered her prior best of 15:15.88 to win in 15:06.71, but just steps ahead of Jamaica’s Aisha Praught-Leer, who set a national record at 15:07.50, with American Lauren Paquette third at 15:14.64.

Other winners of note included Ryan Murphy in the 800 m in 1:46.10; Kalle Berglund (SWE) in the men’s 1,500 in 3:37.84 and Lawi Lalang in the 5,000 m at 13:25.14. The top women’s winners included Kate Grace at 800 m in 2:02.95, and Nikki Hiltz won the 1,500 in 4:07.71.

● Cycling ● Not that it’s all that important, but would you like to know what’s on the spectator concession menu at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup at Albstadt (GER) this weekend? Here you go:

€ 1.50 (~$ 1.68): Buttered Pretzel or Cake
€ 3.00 (~$ 3.35): Bratwurst or Red Bratwurst on a roll
€ 4.50 (~$ 5.02): Steak on a roll, Hamburger or Vegetarian Burger

And a selection of beverages, including beer!

● Gymnastics ● The USA Gymnastics bankruptcy process continues in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana. At a hearing on Wednesday (15th), it was confirmed that Gregg Zive, a Federal Bankruptcy Court judge in Nevada, but currently assisting with cases in Los Angeles, will act as mediator in the sexual-abuse cases in which USA Gymnastics is being sued.

USA Gymnastics also filed a statement of its operations with the Bankruptcy Court for the month of April, 2019. USAG took in $4.99 million in April, thanks to a $2.75 million grant from the National Gymnastics Foundation, and spent $2.19 million. The biggest single cost item? Legal fees, which totaled $704,191 for the month.

The USAG Balance Sheet shows about $7.4 million in assets plus $75 million in expected insurance coverage. However, the federation and its insurers are at odds over the coverage and it is not clear what the outcome will be, and therefore how much will be available to pay to survivors.

● Skateboarding ● The Pan American Games in Lima (PER) this summer will be without the skateboarding competition.

It was canceled on Thursday by the Executive Committee of PanAm Sports, the governing body of the Pan American Games. It announced that:

“Although we had the commitment of World Skate that the Pan American Games would be a qualifying event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, this was never concrete and we finally received confirmation that it would not be one of the events that offered points towards qualification to the Olympic Games. …

“The recent scheduling of a qualifying event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games for the discipline of Street Skateboarding in the city of Los Angeles, on exactly the same dates as the Skateboarding events at the Pan American Games of Lima 2019, is something we understand as a lack of respect to the Pan American Games, to the athletes that were going to participate in these Games and fundamentally, to the Organizing Committee of Lima 2019.”

The qualifying event mentioned is the World Skate SLS Tour 2019 Los Angeles, scheduled for 23-28 July; the Pan Am Games dates were 27-28 July. With the deletion of skateboarding, the PAG will now have 39 sports, of which 22 will have Olympic qualifying included.

World Skate replied, noting “it was not possible to include the Pan-American Games in the Olympic qualification process and guarantee the presence of top athletes due to a basic incompatibility between the qualification system established by World Skate America for Lima 2019 and the qualification criteria as defined by the International Federation in view of Tokyo2020.”

● Doping ● The World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed at its Foundation Board meeting in Montreal (CAN) on Thursday that:

“[A] very high percentage of the data collected in the Moscow Laboratory is authentic and matching with the copy of the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) that WADA’s Intelligence and Investigations (I&I) had acquired through a whistleblower in November 2017.

“Armed with this material, as well as other evidence, WADA’s Intelligence & Investigations (I&I) has started providing International Federations (IFs) with evidentiary packages, which IFs will assess with the view to taking the cases forward as Anti-Doping Rule Violations. WADA will work in close collaboration with IFs and, in cases where IFs choose not to take action, the Agency will review the facts, discuss with the relevant IF and reserves the right to bring them forward to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”

This is the beginning of what could be the final stage in the Russian doping scandal; estimates have been as high as 300-500 new doping cases could be brought. If the Russians do not hinder the investigations and prosecutions, the reinstatement of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency will be considered successfully completed.

There was also an important amendment to the World Anti-Doping Code that allows laboratories to essentially allow – without penalties – a finding of clenbuterol “when established that it is as the result of ingesting contaminated meat products.

“It has been scientifically established that an athlete can test positive for clenbuterol at low levels following ingestion of contaminated meat in a small number of countries where this is an issue.”

● At the BuZZer ● The International Olympic Committee has a licensing agreement with the famed Lacoste brand to create new apparel items based on the marks of prior Games, such as the 1968 Games in Mexico City (MEX) and Winter Games in Grenoble (FRA).

The newest edition revives the famed Star-in-Motion logo of the Games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad in Los Angeles on 15 items. There are $70 T-shirts, $135 sweatshirts, $125 polo shirts and a $60 cap, plus a special $165 zip sweatshirt.

≡ REAX ≡ As an LAOOC staff member and remembering the enormous success of the Festive Federalism design scheme in 1984, the collection is a dud. Beyond the simple use of the basic red, white and blue Star-in-Motion logo, the other items are completely inauthentic.

Several feature the Star-in-Motion logo without the Olympic rings, which was never allowed on licensed items for the 1984 Games, and the color choices ignore the pastel color scheme for which the Games was so famous, especially the use of magenta and aqua as primary colors. Some use of secondary colors such as yellow and orange are included, but it’s a mis-managed attempt to share the design statement made by the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee in 1984. Sad, disrespectful and unnecessary.

SWIMMING: Indiana’s King posts world leader in Bloomington, while Adrian returns for fourth in 100 m Free

By
Rich Perelman
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Three more national titles for Olympic and World Breaststroke champ Lilly King (USA) (Photo: USA Swimming)

While the focus heading into the Tyr Pro Swim Series meet in Bloomington was the return to competition of Nathan Adrian, an Indiana star actually stole the headlines.

In her professional debut, ex-Indiana star Lilly King – swimming in her home pool – won the 100 m Breaststroke in a world-leading 1:05.68, the only best-in-the-world performance during the meet on Friday.

There was almost another in the women’s 400 m Freestyle, as Katie Ledecky swam all alone and finished in a seasonal best of 3:59.95. She’s only the second swimmer to break four minutes this season, and missed a world-leading time by just 0.3 seconds; Australia’s Ariarne Titmus continues with the top time in the world so far at 3:59.66.

Adrian swam pretty well in his first meet since 2018 and after his diagnosis and treatment for testicular cancer. He was fifth in the prelims at 49.83 and then was fighting for the lead in the final until the final 10 m, when he faded to fourth in 49.31. Indiana star Zach Apple won the race in 48.76.

Asked about what it was like to finally be back in the pool – his first racing since last December – he was smiling and said:

“It’s a good feeling. I mean, it’s tough to describe, right? This is home for me. Honestly, I’ve never been to Bloomington, but, like, this environment – the Pro Swim Series, having you guys up here – you know, that’s what feels right.

“You get something like an adverse health diagnosis, everything kind of stops, right? You realize, health is no. 1, and everything had to be pushed to the side. And fortunately, we’re through that for now, and I get to do what I can to get back on track.”

Another encouraging set of performances came from Madisyn Cox, who fought off a drug suspension in 2018 and set lifetime bests in the 100 m Breast (1:07.59 in a tie for third) and the 400 m Free (4:10.21 for second).

Zane Grothe won the 1,500 m Free on Thursday and 400 m Free on Friday for the only double winner in the meet so far.

The Bloomington meet continues tomorrow; it will be televised on NBCSN at 6 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday. The live results link is here, but no live results were available during the Friday evening session at all (they came up later). Summaries from Friday:

USA Swimming/Tyr Pro Swim Series
Bloomington, Indiana (USA) ~ 16-19 May 2019
(Full results here)

Men

100 m Freestyle: 1. Zach Apple, 48.76; 2. Blake Pieroni, 48.86; 3. Robert Howard, 49.09.

400 m Free: 1. Zane Grothe, 3:48.27; 2. Felix Auboeck (AUT), 3:52.69; 3. Johannes Calloni, 3:54.21.

1,500 m Free: 1. Grothe, 15:17.12; 2. Marcelo Acosta (ESA), 15:28.66; 3. Ricardo Vargas (MEX), 15:30.04.

50 m Backstroke: 1. Michael Andrew 24.91; 2. Grigory Tarasevich (RUS), 25.10; 3. Gabriel Fantoni (BRA), 25.34.

100 m Breaststroke: 1. Cody Miller, 59.24; 2. Michael Andrew, 59.52; 3. Anton McKee (ISL) 1:00.62.

200 m Butterfly: 1. Jay Litherland, 1:57.99; 2. Corey Gambardella, 1:58.49; 3. Carson Foster, 1:59.32.

Women

100 m Freestyle: 1. Simone Manuel, 53.65; 2. Mallory Comerford, 54.11; 3. Margo Geer, 54.18.

400 m Free: 1. Katie Ledecky, 3:59.95; 2. Madisyn Cox, 4:10.21; 3. Brooke Forde, 4:11.91.

1,500 m Free: 1. Hannah Moore, 16:11.42; 2. Kristel Kobrich (CHI), 16:23.19; 3. Becca Mann, 16:25.49.

50 m Backstroke: 1. Regan Smith, 28.08; 2. Kylee Alons 28.21; 3. Elisa Haan, 28.37.

100 m Breaststroke: 1. Lilly King, 1:05.68; 2. Annie Lazor, 1:06.03; 3. tie, Emily Esbobedo, Madisyn Cox and Bethany Galat, 1:07.59.

200 m Butterfly: 1. Katie Drabot, 2:08.57; 2,. Regan Smith, 2:08.58; 3. Ella Eastin, 2:09.92.

SPEED READ: Headlines from The Sports Examiner for Friday, 17 March 2019

By
Rich Perelman
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Welcome to The Sports Examiner SPEED READ, a 100 mph (44.7 m/s) review of what happened this week in Olympic sport:

LANE ONE

Wednesday: Track & field is almost never mentioned on the multiple talks shows on the major sports networks, but they were all agog on Monday after Texas high schooler Matthew Boling won the 100 m, the long jump and brought his team from behind to win the 4×400 m in a world-class split of 44.74. But to compare him to Carl Lewis? Let’s check our facts first, shall we?

Friday: One of the founders of the world of statistics in international sport passed away last Monday: Italy’s Roberto Quercetani. Out of the ashes of World War II, he and American mathematician Don Potts created the field that has spread to so many other sports today. I knew them both, and others who helped enormously: a tribute.

THE BIG PICTURE

Monday: The National Olympic Committee of Iran and the Iranian Judo Federation sent a letter to the president of the International Judo Federation, committing themselves against discrimination in sport. Translation: Iranian athletes will now compete, openly, against Israeli athletes. But there are conditions …

Thursday: The World Anti-Doping Agency’s public-authority members nominated Poland’s Witold Banka to be the next head of the organization, taking over in January 2020. WADA also confirmed a long-term presence for its headquarters in Montreal (CAN) and released a report that stated that Canadian gold medalist and WADA Athletes Commission head Beckie Scott (CAN) was not bullied or harassed at a prior meeting.

HEARD AFTER HALFTIME

Tuesday: Although Athletics South Africa said it would abide by the Court of Arbitration for Sport decision in the Caster Semenya case against the IAAF’s female eligibility regulations, they are appealing anyway. So much for promises. Plus, a judoka is disqualified after his mobile phone falls out of his gi during a match (!), say hello to the International Camel Racing Federation (this is not a joke) and more!

ATHLETICS

Thursday: A fabulous IAAF Diamond League meet appears to be ahead in Shanghai (CHN) on Saturday with terrific match-ups including Americans Christian Coleman and Noah Lyles in the 100 m, Qatar’s Abderrahamane Samba and Rai Benjamin of the U.S. in the 400 m hurdles and Qatar’s Salwa Eid Naser trying to star in front of American star Sydney McLaughlin in the 400 m. And much more; a full preview.

CYCLING

Tuesday: The women’s edition of the Amgen Tour of California includes just three stages, but this year’s stages are misery-inducing, soul-crushing climbs that include a race up Mt. Baldy that gains 5,300 feet of altitude over the last 24 miles! Ouch!

Thursday: Wild results at the Giro d’Italia, where the expected favorites were routed in Stage 6 by the Italian duo of Fausto Masnada and Valerio Conti by more than seven minutes, making Conti the new race leader! At the Amgen Tour of California, American Tejay van Garderen and Dutch star Anna van der Breggen lead the men’s and women’s races heading into Friday’s brutal ascent up Mt. Baldy!

FOOTBALL

Thursday: The U.S. women’s National Team started slowly, but then pounded Women’s World Cup-bound New Zealand, 5-0, in front of a big crowd at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. An encouraging performance with the Women’s World Cup just three weeks away!

SWIMMING

Tuesday: A look ahead to the fourth Tyr Pro Swim Series this weekend in Bloomington, Indiana. Sure, Katie Ledecky will be there, but the headline is the return to competition of five-time Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian after being diagnosed with testicular cancer in January.

TAEKWONDO

Tuesday: As many as 15 defending champions expected to compete in the first-ever Taekwondo World Championships to be held in Great Britain. Korean Tae-Hun Kim will try for his fourth consecutive world title.

TRIATHLON

Wednesday: The third ITU World Series race is in Yokohama (JPN), with American Katie Zaferes trying to keep her record perfect: she’s won both races so far this year. And Spain’s Mario Mola will try to get on track after a disastrous 26th-place finish in his last race.

PREVIEWS

Beach Volleyball: Measuring stick for three U.S. duos in World Tour 4-star in Brazil
Cycling: Mountain Bike World Cup season starts with Swiss Nino Schurter favored again
Diving: China sending second team to World Series finale in London; who wins now?
Fencing: Foil Grand Prix in Shanghai to see whether anyone can beat Inna Deriglazova!
Sport Climbing: Can Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret win fifth Bouldering World Cup in a row?
Wrestling: Final X match-ups finalized at World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in Raleigh

UPCOMING

Highlights of the coming week, with previews in the coming days on TheSportsExaminer.com:

● Cycling: Second week of the famed Giro d’Italia!

● Football: U.S. women finish their pre-World Cup schedule vs. Mexico in New Jersey

● IOC: Executive Board meeting on 22 May to announce what happens to Olympic boxing and AIBA for Tokyo 2020!

And previews, results and reports on almost two dozen events scheduled for the week of 20-26 May!

LANE ONE: Remembering an under-appreciated Founding Father of track & field: Roberto Quercetani

By
Rich Perelman
-
One of the finest sports statisticians of all time: Italy's Roberto Quercetani (1922-2019)

This is a very personal column, about the lives of a few men who made an enormous difference in sport, and who were my friends. And of the passing of a slender giant last Monday.

Imagine living in the early 19th Century, and having known John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who both died on 4 July of 1826. These two men were key players in creating a new political concept, a new country that was – even at the time of their passing – playing an expanding role in the world.

Their impact was enormous and lasting. In a much smaller way, in the field of sport, so were two men – later aided by others – who literally created the field of statistics in international sport. Their names were Don Potts, an American mathematician, and Robert Quercetani, an Italian sportswriter.

The millions of dollars now spent on keeping statistics and calculating world rankings in track & field, in swimming, canoeing, cycling, figure skating, modern pentathlon, rowing, speed skating, triathlon and many other sports, started with them.

After World War II, the sports world was beginning to reassemble itself. Track & field, which had been the pre-eminent Olympic sport since the Games were revived in 1896 in Athens, had been essentially dead since 1939. There were records, but how accurate were they?

There were sports statistics in those days, mostly about baseball, which had benefited enormously from the introduction of the box score by New York sportswriter Henry Chadwick, beginning in the late 1850s. In the aftermath of the horror of war, two men in their mid-20s began a correspondence that created a small booklet in 1948 that changed everything.

Both were born in 1922. Potts, who had just finished receiving his Doctorate in Mathematics from the California Institute of Technology, and Quercetani, the Italian sportswriter from Florence deeply devoted to collecting track & field results, somehow found each other by mail in 1946 and eventually collaborated on a 72-page collection of numbers entitled, A Handbook on Olympic Games Track and Field Athletics in advance of the 1948 Olympic Games in London.

Printed in Evanston, Illinois and priced at $1.50, it was the first-ever publication to chronicle the entire sport, just as it is today. There were record lists for the Olympic Games, for the U.S. and for Europe, the top 20 or so performers from 1947 and the first-ever 100-deep list of the all-time best performers in each event, as of the end of 1947. In the introduction, Potts and Quercetani noted:

“The following list of the best track and field marks of all time has been compiled by us from our own collection of track statistics. We have tried to make it as complete and accurate as possible, emphasizing the latter point. (That is to say, we have not included marks concerning which we were doubtful.) We feel that out list is bound to be incomplete, and we sincerely hope that other interested track followers who know of additions and corrections will pass them on to us, so that we may make future editions of this list truly complete and accurate.”

The lists were way ahead of their time, and owing to Potts’ training as a mathematician, included an amazing new concept of time “conversions” between marks made at metric and English running-event distances. Those original calculations mostly hold true today, more than 70 years later.

That was the start. It was a labor of love and Potts told me decades later that the book didn’t really make any money, but essentially paid for itself. The idea hatched by their two men took off quickly. In 1950, Quercetani and 10 others – including Potts – founded the Association of Track & Field Statisticians (ATFS) in Brussels, with the help of another devoted statistician, Swiss track nut Fulvio Regli. A year later, the ATFS published its first annual, with 128 pages of lists of best marks from around the world for 1950, in addition to lists of records, national championships results and all-time best marks.

Wrote Quercetani 50 years later in the 2000 ATFS Annual, that although the compilation efforts in the early days were almost all by mail, “it was, believe me, GREAT FUN. Even the ‘discovery’ of a minor detail was enough to fill us with joy and encourage us towards greater efforts. We were setting foot in what was generally, if not entirely, no-man’s land.”

From that start, the ATFS continues today, with a few hundred members, spread among countries all around the world, but the Annual is now 592 pages long. After the founding of Track & Field News in 1947, Potts and Quercetani were asked in 1948 by founders Bert and Cordner Nelson to take over an annual set of rankings of the top performers in each event at the end of each year, based not solely on time, but on honors won, head-to-head results against others and the sequence of marks during the year. The T&FN World Rankings were – and are today – the gold standard in the sport and have been copied by others, but never equaled or surpassed.

Neither Potts nor Quercetani were ever track statisticians for a living. Potts had an outstanding career as an academic, teaching at Northwestern, Cal State Long Beach, UC Santa Barbara and then joined what is now Cal State Northridge in 1965, eventually becoming the head of the Mathematics Department. He was deeply involved in the early days in computer science at Northridge and might have been the first to use computers to help compile track & field lists.

Quercetani was a sportswriter and was a familiar byline in Italy in the major publications of the day, including the famous La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper – for years immediately recognizable by its pink front page – and for many sports magazines, as well as for Track & Field News in the U.S.

He wrote many books about the sport, including the brilliant Athletics: A History of Modern Track & Field Athletics (1860-1990), and many others. But last Monday (13th), we lost him at the age of 97, survived by his wife, Maria Luisa. He had suffered a fall during the previous week and had been in the hospital since then, until his passing.

Potts died in 2001, and two other men who helped Potts advance his work in the U.S. tremendously, have also passed: Stan Eales in 1984, and Scott Davis in 2010. The latter two men were also outstanding public address announcers whose voices were well known to track & field fans all along the West Coast.

I knew all four and they all had a positive impact on my life. Their greatest gift was their enthusiasm for the sport they loved – track & field – and their encouragement to make my own contribution.

Potts explained in detail how he and Quercetani created the field from nothing because they wanted to share their interest in the sport. Eales helped me – very quietly – to apply to work for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee in 1980, which became the most important experience in my life (so far). And Davis, who was a very close friend, shared his joy for the sport and contributed so much to it that no one person has ever been able to replace him.

I only met Quercetani a few times, during trips to Europe in the 1980s. He was a true gentleman, soft-spoken but resolutely excited about new projects we discussed, on technical issues concerning the sport and he was, at all times. a man of dignity, warmth and class.

He and Potts, now free to roam among history’s souls, are undoubtedly sharing eternity with the greats who have preceded them, like Lon Myers, Jesse Owens, Paavo Nurmi and so many others. It’s our job to ensure that their legacy continues, and with the expansion of sports betting that will undoubtedly engulf Olympic sports in the future, what they started will likely be expanded to levels they never dreamed of.

For now, I’m happy to say I knew the giants on whose shoulders the field of international sports statistics were founded. Rest in peace, Roberto, and say hi to Don, Stan and Scott for me.

Rich Perelman
Editor

/Update: This story was amended to reflect that Quercetani and Potts headed the Track & Field News world rankings program beginning with the 1948 season, not in 1947; those rankings were done by T&FN founder Cordner Nelson. Thanks to T&FN Managing Editor Garry Hill for the correction./

FOOTBALL: U.S. starts slow, then hammers New Zealand, 5-0, in World Cup tune-up in St. Louis

By
Rich Perelman
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Dangerous (left to right): U.S. strikers Alex Morgan, Tobin Heath and Megan Rapinoe

The U.S. Women’s National Team is ranked no. 1 in the world, but hasn’t always looked it, especially against opponents who pack in their defense and make it difficult for the U.S. to score.

That’s how the second Send-Off Series game in St. Louis’s Busch Stadium started on Thursday night, but this time the U.S. passing game came alive and led to a convincing 5-0 win over New Zealand before a happy crowd of 35,761.

On a hot and humid evening, U.S. had most of possession in the first half, but New Zealand played nine behind the ball in a 1-4-4 formation that either clogged the U.S. passing lanes or caused bad angles in the box that kept the Americans from really challenging Ferns keeper Erin Nayler.

But the U.S. finally found opportunities, with quality chances from Alex Morgan, Crystal Dunn and Rose Lavelle in the 27th, 28th and 29th minutes. Then Megan Rapinoe played a seeing-eye cross from the left side of goal, that found the right foot of a streaking Tobin Health at the far side of the New Zealand net; she tapped it in for a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute.

The goal energized the U.S. and the pressure increased. Five minutes later, Lindsey Horan sent a cross from almost the same spot at the left of the Football Ferns’ goal over the head of Morgan, and right into the path of a sprinting Lavelle for a 2-0 edge.

That was the halftime score, but as the New Zealanders got noticeably tired, the U.S. kept on the attack and piled up the goals. Carli Lloyd entered for Rapinoe in the 60th minute and her first touch was a goal off of a Heath cross from the right post that was powered in for a 3-0 lead.

Lloyd scored again on a Christen Press assist in the 83rd minute, and Sam Mewis got a goal on a right-footed laser from just above the box and a 5-0 score that held up as the final.

It’s not clear how good New Zealand is; in the last five games against the U.S. – in 2015-16-2017 (2)-2019 – the U.S. has won all five by a combined 19-1 margin. And the U.S. out-shot New Zealand by 25-1. But the offensive pressure was better than against South Africa and Lloyd has underscored her game-changing ability with fast goals in nearly every appearance. In France, her fresh legs – and perhaps those of Mewis, too – might make the difference against a better opponent.

The U.S. will finish its “Send-Off Series” vs. Mexico – which did not qualify for the World Cup – on 26 June in Harrison, New Jersey.

WRESTLING Preview: Final X matches to be settled at World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in Raleigh

By
Rich Perelman
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North Carolina State's Reynolds Coliseum hosts the USA Wrestling World Team Trials

The long road to representing the United States at the UWW World Championships takes an important step with the USA Wrestling World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in Raleigh, North Carolina from 17-19 May.

The winners will advance to the Final X – final ten, get it? – tournaments in Piscataway, New Jersey on 8 June and Lincoln, Nebraska on 15 June, whee the winners will form the U.S. team at the 2019 Worlds.

Who’s up? The current USA Wresting rankings show the options, with the Final X participant already noted. Everyone else has a chance!

Men/Freestyle

● 57 kg:
1. Tom Gilman
2. Tony Ramos
3. Daton Fix ~ Final X (U.S. Open Champion)
4. Nathan Tomasello
5. Spencer Lee

● 61 kg:
1. Kendric Maple
2. Joe Colon ~ Final X (Worlds bronze medalist)
3. Jon Morrison
4. Brandon wright
5. Tyler Graff

● 65 kg:
1. Zain Retherford
2. Logan Stieber ~ Retired
3. B.J. Futrell
4. Joey McKenna
5. Ryan Deakin
= Yianni Diakomihalis ~ Final X (U.S. Open Champion)

● 70 kg:
1. James Green
2. Frank Molinaro
3. Jason Nolf
4. Richie Lewis
5. Kyle Ruschell
= Ryan Deakin ~ Final X (U.S. Open Champion)

● 74 kg:
1. Jordan Burroughs ~ Final X (Worlds bronze medalist)
2. Dan Vallimont
3. Nazar Kulchytskyy
4. Isaiah Martinez
5. Thomas Gantt

● 79 kg:
1. Kyle Dake ~ Final X (World Champion)
2. Alex Dieringer
3. Jon Reader
4. Mark Hall
5. Zahid Valencia

● 86 kg:
1. David Taylor ~ Final X (World Champion)
2. Richard Perry
3. Bo Nickal
4. Sam Brooks
5. Patrick Downey III

● 92 kg:
1. J’den Cox ~ Final X (World Champion)
2. Nicholas Heflin
3. Riley Lefever
4. Timmy McCall
5. Kenneth Courts

● 97 kg:
1. Kyle Snyder ~ Final X (Worlds silver medalist)
2. Kyven Gadson
3. Hayden Zillmer
4. Ty Walz
5. Kollin Moore

● 125 kg:
1. Nick Gwiazdowski ~ Final X (Worlds bronze medalist)
2. Dom Bradley
3. Anthony Nelson
4. Zachary Rey
5. Bobby Telford

Men/Greco-Roman

● 55 kg:
1. Randon Miranda
2. Max Nowry ~ Final X (U.S. Open Champion)
3. Kyndall Ruiz
4. Elijah Varona
5. Camden Russell

● 60 kg:
1. Xavier Johnson
2. Ildar Hafizov
3. Taylor LaMont
4. Dalton Roberts
5. Mike Fuenffinger ~ Final X (U.S. Open Champion)

● 63 kg:
1. Hayden Tuma
2. Ryan Mango ~ Final X (U.S. Open Champion)
3. Jesse Thielke
4. Sam Jones
5. Travis Rice

● 67 kg:
1. Alex Sancho
2. Brian Graham
3. Raymond Bunker ~ Final X (U.S. Open Champion)
4. Jessy Williams
5. Austin Morrow

● 72 kg:
1. Pat Smith
2. RaVaughn Perkins
3. Ellis Coleman ~ Final X (U.S. Open Champion)
4. Chris Gonzalez
5. Jamel Johnson

● 77 kg:
1. Kamel Bey ~ Final X (U.S. Open Champion)
2. Jesse Porter
3. Mason Manville
4. Kendrick Sanders
5. Cody Pack

● 82 kg:
1. Cheney Haight
2. John Stefanowicz
3. Geordan Speiller
4. Barrett Stanghill
5. Jon Jay Chavez
= Kendrick Sanders ~ Final X (U.S. Open Champion)

● 87 kg:
1. Ben Provisor
2. Joe Rau ~ Final X (U.S. Open Champion)
3. Jon Anderson
4. Courtney Myers
5. Kevin Radford

● 97 kg:
1. G’Angelo Hancock ~ Final X (U.S. Open Champion)
2. Hayden Zillmer
3. Lucas Sheridan
4. Jacob Kasper
5. Enock Francois

● 130 kg:
1. Robby Smith
2. Adam Coon ~ Final X (Worlds silver medalist)
3. Toby Erickson
4. Jacob Mitchell
5. Donald Longendyke

Women/Freestyle

● 50 kg:
1. Victoria Anthony
2. Whitney Conder ~ Final X (U.S. Open Champion)
3. Amy Fearnside
4. Erin Golston
5. Cody Pfau

● 53 kg:
1. Haley Aguello
2. Sarah Hildebrandt ~ Final X (Worlds silver medalist)
3. Charlotte Fowler
4. Dajan Treder
5. Gabrielle Weyhrich

● 55 kg:
1. Becka Leathers
2. Jacarra Winchester ~ Final X (U.S. Open Champion)
3. Dominique Parrish
4. Brieana Delgado
5. Samantha Klingel

● 57 kg:
1. Helen Maroulis
2. Koral Sugiyama
3. Alexandra Hedrick
4. Arian Carpio
5. Michaela Beck
= Becka Leathers ~ Final X (U.S. Open Champion)

● 59 kg:
1. Alli Ragan ~ Final X (U.S. Open Champion)
2. Kelsey Campbell
3. Lauren Louive
4. Megan Black
5. Abigail Nette

● 62 kg:
1. Mallory Velte ~ Final X (Worlds bronze medalist)
2. Kayla Miracle
3. Jenna Burkert
4. Amanda Henley
5. Teshya Alo

● 65 kg:
1. Forrest Molinari ~ Final X (U.S. Open Champion)
2. Julia Salata
3. Jaydin Laurent
4. Alexis Porter
5. Kayla Marano

● 68 kg:
1. Tamyra Stock ~ Final X (Worlds bronze medalist)
2. Niauni Hill
3. Alexandria Glaude
4. Jasmine Bailey
5. Anna Naylor

● 72 kg:
1. Victoria Francis
2. Erin Clodgo
3. Rachel Watters
4. Alyvia Fiske ~ Final X (U.S. Open Champion)
5. Tatum Sparks

● 76 kg:
1. Adeline Gray ~ Final X (World Champion)
2. Brittany Marshall
3. Mariah Harris
4. Korianahe Bullock
5. Janelle Fuamatu

Look for results here.

CYCLING Panorama: Stunning breakaway for Masnada and Conti shakes up the Giro d’Italia, while Van Garderen leads the Amgen Tour

By
Rich Perelman
-
Italy's Fausto Masnada celebrates his sensational Stage 6 win at the Giro d'Italia!

Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic had been riding steadily through the first week of the Giro d’Italia after winning the opening Time Trial by 19 seconds, but then everything changed on Thursday’s stage from Cassino to San Giovanni Rotundo.

After sprint finishes in stages 2-3-4-5 – two of which were won by Germany’s Pascal Ackermann – the sixth stage covered 238.0 km with a brutal finishing climb over the final 32 km that included a run up the Coppa Casirinelle from about 22 m in altitude to 678 m in just 15 km and then another short climb before the finish.

Who wanted to try that?

It turned out that about a dozen riders were game, especially the Italian duo of Fausto Masnada and Valerio Conti. Masnada led the attack and Conti went right with him, with another 10-11 riders deciding to make the chase. They never faltered and the top 10 finishers were all within a minute and two more following another minute and a half behind.

Then there was a chasm back to the peloton, with another 90 riders bunched to the finish, including Roglic, Simon Yates (GBR), Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) and all the other contenders, more than seven minutes back!

That shook up the overall standings about a third into the race; now:

1. 25:22:00 Valerio Conti (ITA)
2. +1:41 Giovanni Carboni (ITA)
3. +2:09 Nans Peters (FRA)
4. +2:12 Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP)
5. +2:19 Valentin Modouas (FRA)

Unexpected? Yes. Decisive? Not likely, as there is a lot more racing to go. But a great day for the Italian fans, who saw a countryman win for the first time in the 2019 Giro. There is another hilly stage on Friday, then a sprinter’s stage on Saturday and a second Time Trial on Sunday. The Maglia Rosa could shift again.

At the Amgen Tour of California, windy conditions made the fifth stage hard to navigate in Ventura, California, as Ivan Garcia Cortina (ESP) came through the best in the final sprint to take the stage, while American Tejay van Garderen remained in the overall lead.

Slovakia’s Peter Sagan won a popular sprint victory in the opening stage – his 17th career stage win at the Amgen Tour – but then van Garderen just missed beating Kasper Asgreen (DEN) in the second stage and took over the yellow jersey.

After a runaway win for Remi Cavagna (FRA) in stage 3 – by 7:11 – and a sprint finish for Fabio Jakobsen (NED) in stage 4, the riders faced a heavy crosswind as they rode into Ventura in stage 5. The pelotron stayed cohesive over the hilly course and the final race to the finish turned into another mass sprint with Garcia Cortina registering his first-ever World Tour victory over Argentina’s Maxi Richeze.

That sets up Friday’s decisive sixth stage, a miserable stage of 127.5 km that climbs from the start for the first quarter of the race, descends and then climbs for the last half of the race up to Mt. Baldy, the highest point in the Los Angeles area. Van Garderen, who won the Amgen Tour in 2013 and was second last year, has very little margin for error:

1. 26:13:01 Tejay van Garderen (USA)
2. +0:04 Kasper Asgreen (DEN)
3. +0:06 Gianni Moscon (ITA)
4. +0:16 Tadej Pogacar (SLO)
5. +0:22 Maximilian Schachmann (GER)

There are 18 riders within a minute of Van Garderen; the order could be completely different after tomorrow.

The Women’s Amgen Tour of California started on Thursday, with the 2017 winner – Anna van der Breggen (NED) – and defending champ Katie Hall (USA) expected to battle it out.

Dealing with the heavy winds, Van der Breggen decided to attack on the short final climb with 5 km remaining and broke the race open. She soloed into Ventura, winning by 18 seconds over the rest of the field. Asked about the strategy, she said that the attack “was better than a bunch sprint for us.”

Friday’s race, also finishing at Mt. Baldy, will likely decide the overall finish of the race. Said van der Breggen, “It’s a brutal stage, it’s a climb of 40 k,” and could only offer to do her best. Everyone else will have to do better than on Thursday, when the Dutch star took control.

Summaries so far:

UCI World Tour/Giro d’Italia
Italy ~ 11 May-2 June 2019
(Full results here)

Stage 1 (8.0 km Time Trial): 1. Primoz Roglic (SLO), 12:54; 2. Simon Yates (GBR), 13:13; 3. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), 13:17; 4. Miguel Angel Lopez (COL), 13:22; 5. Tom Dumoulin (NED), 13:22. Also in the top 25: 21. Chad Haga (USA), 13:48.

Stage 2 (205.0 km): 1. Pascal Ackermann (GER), 4:44:43; 2. Elia Viviani (ITA), 4:44:43; 3. Caleb Ewan (AUS), 4:44:43; 4. Fernando Gaviria (COL), 4:44:43; 5. Arnaud Demare (FRA), 4:44:43.

Stage 3 (220.0 km): 1. Gaviria (COL), 5:23:19; 2. Demare (FRA), 5:23:19; 3. Ackermann (GER), 5:23:19; 4. Matteo Moschetti (ITA), 5;23:19; 5. Giocomo Nizzolo (ITA), 5:23:19.

Stage 4 (235.0 km): 1. Richard Carapaz (ECU), 5:58:17; 2. Ewan (AUS), 5:58:17; 3. Diego Ulissi (ITA), 5:58:17; 4. Ackermann (GER), 5:58:19; 5. Florian Senechal (FRA), 5:58:19.

Stage 5 (140.0 km): 1. Ackermann (GER), 3:15:44; 2. Gaviria (COL), 3:15:44; 3. Demare (FRA), 3:15:44; 4. Ewan (AUS), 3:15:44; 5. Matteo Moschetti (ITA), 3:15:44. Also in the top 25: 13. Sean Bennett (USA), 3:15:44

Stage 6 (238.0 km): 1. Fausto Masnada (ITA), 5:45:01; 2. Valerio Conti (ITA), 5:45:06; 3. Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP), 5:45:39; 4. Ruben Plaza (ESP), 5:45:39; 5. Giovanni Carboni (ITA), 5:45:44. Also in the top 25: 20. Brent Bookwalter (USA), 5:52:20.

17 May: Stage 7 (185.0 km) ~ Vasto to L’Aquila (hilly)
18 May: Stage 8 (239.0 km) ~ Tortoreto Lido to Pesaro (flat)
19 May: Stage 9 (34.8 km Time Trial) ~ Riccione to San Marino
20 May: Rest day
21 May: Stage 10 (145.0 km)~ Ravenna to Modena (flat)
22 May: Stage 11 (221.0 km) ~ Carpi to Novi Ligure (flat)
23 May: Stage 12 (158.0 km) ~ Cuneo to Pinerolo (hilly)
24 May: Stage 13 (196.0 km) ~ Pinerolo to Ceresole Reale (mountains)
25 May: Stage 14 (131.9 km) ~ Saint Vincent to Courmayeur (mountains)
26 May: Stage 15 (232.0 km) ~ Ivrea to Como (hilly)
27 May: Rest day
28 May: Stage 16 (226.0 km) ~ Lovere to Ponte di Legno (mountains)
29 May: Stage 17 (181.0 km) ~ Commezzadura to Anterselva/Antholz (mountains)
30 May: Stage 18 (222.0 km) ~ Valdaora / Olang to Santa Maria di Sala (flat)
31 May: Stage 19 (151.0 km) ~ Treviso to San Martino di Castrozza (mountains)
01 June: Stage 20 (194.0 km) ~ Feltre to Croce D’Aune-Monte Avena (mountains)
02 June: Stage 21 (17.0 km Time Trial) ~ Verona to Verona

UCI World Tour/Amgen Tour of California
California (USA) ~ 12-18 May 2019
(Full results here)

Stage 1 (143.0 km): 1. Peter Sagan (SVK), 3:14:10; 2. Travis McCabe (USA), 3:14:10; 3. Max Walscheid (GER), 3:14:10; 4. Kristoffer Halvorsen (NOR), 3:14:10; 5. Michael Morkov (DEN), 3:14:10. Also in the top 25: 13. Miguel Bryon (USA), 3:14:14; … 20. Michael Hernandez (USA), 3:14:14; … 22. Gavin Mannion (USA), 3:14:14; … 25. Neilson Powless (USA), 3:14:14.

Stage 2 (194.5 km): 1. Kasper Asgreen (DEN), 6:17:11; 2. Tejay van Garderen (USA), 6:17:11; 3. Gianni Moscon (ITA), 6:17:15; 4. Tadej Pogacar (SLO), 6:17:21; 5. Maximilian Schachmann (GER), 6:17:27.

Stage 3 (207.0 km): 1. Remi Cavanga (FRA), 5:44:22; 2. Ben King (USA), 5:51:33; 3. Simon Geschke (GER), 5:51:33; 4. Asgreen (DEN), 5:52:09; 5. Jasper Philipsen (BEL), 5:52:09. Also in the top 25: 11. McCabe (USA), 5:52:09; … 25. Kyle Murphy (USA), 5:52:09.

Stage 4 (212.5 km): 1. Fabio Jakobsen (NED), 5:53:22; 2. Philipsen (BEL), 5:53:22; 3. Sagan (SVK), 5:53:22; 4. Nacer Bouhanni (FRA), 5:53:22; 5. Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (RSA), 5:53:22. Also in the top 25: 20. McCabe (USA), 5:53:22; … 22. Bryon (USA), 5:53:22.

Stage 5 (218.5 km): 1. Ivan Garcia Cortina (ESP), 4:56:11; 2. Maxmiliano Richeze (ARG), 4:56:11; 3. Sergio Higuita (COL), 4:56:11; 4. Joris Nieuwenhuis (NED), 4:56:11; 5. Kasper Asgreen (DEN), 4:56:11. Also in the top 25: 12. Gavin Mannion (USA), 4:56:11; … 16. Van Garderen (USA), 4:56:11.

17 May: Stage 6 (127.5 km): Ontario to Mount Baldy (mountain finish)
18 May: Stage 7 (141.0 km): Santa Clarita to Pasadena (mountains)

UCI Women’s World Tour/Amgen Women’s Tour of California
California (USA) ~ 16-18 May 2019
(Full results here)

Stage 1 (96.5 km): 1. Anna van der Breggen (NED), 2:36:17; 2. Elisa Balsamo (ITA), 2:36:35; 3. Arlenis Sierra (CUB), 2:36:35; 4. Leah Kirchmann (CAN), 2:36:35; 5. Ashleigh Moolman (RSA), 2:36:35. Also in the top 25: 7. Emma White (USA), 2:36:35; … 13. Katie Hall (USA), 2:36:37; 14. Kristabel Doebel-Hickok (USA), 2:36:37; … 21. Chloe Dygart (USA), 2:36:39; 22. Coryn Rivera (USA), 2:36:39.

17 May: Stage 2 (74.0 km): Ontario to Mt. Baldy (mountains)
18 May: Stage 3 (115.5 km): Santa Clarita to Pasadena (mountains)

ATHLETICS Preview: Coleman vs. Lyles and Samba vs. Benjamin and a lot more in fabulous Shanghai Diamond League on Saturday

By
Rich Perelman
-
Is Christian Coleman (USA) still the world's fastest man?

The 2018 World Championships in Doha (QAT) are a long way off, but this week’s second Diamond League meet has a heavyweight feel to it. The track inside the Shanghai Stadium has been resurfaced and there are more than a dozen thrilling match-ups on paper. The most anticipated:

Men

● 100 m: When he’s been healthy, Christian Coleman has been the fastest man in the world in each of the last two years, running 9.82 in 2017 and 9.79 last year. But he hasn’t always been healthy and Noah Lyles won the U.S. title with his patented late rush in 9.88 and showed he’s ready to go with a fast anchor on the 4×100 m team at the World Relays. Then there is China’s Bingtian Su performing at home; he ran 9.91 last year and seems like he’s ready to break through against the Americans. He will also have to deal with fast-starting Mike Rodgers of the U.S. (9.85 in 2018), Akani Simbine of South Africa, Reece Prescod (GBR) and Tyquendo Tracey (JAM), all of whom ran from 9.93-9.96 last season. Suddenly, the world leader of 9.94 from Divine Oduduru (NGR) seems soft …

● 400 m: A great field with Steven Gardiner (BAH) working his way back from injury and already running 20.04 for 200 m in April; Fred Kerley of the U.S., who logged a 44.4 relay leg at the World Relays last week, Jamaicans Nathon Allen and Akeem Bloomfield, Grenada’s Bralon Taplin (44.92 to win at the Grenada Invitational) and American Nathan Strother. Is one of them ready to run hard this early in the season?

● 5,000 m: After all the screaming about having just the 3,000 m in Diamond League events, the 5,000 m is being run in Shanghai, but just not in the main television window. The field is excellent, although too large at 21 (!) runners. Last year’s sensation, Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega – last year’s world leader at 12:43.02 – is in and seven more starters who have run under 13 minutes. The 2019 world leader, Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha (13:10.72), U.S. champ Paul Chelimo and Rio Olympic bronze medalist Hagos Gebrhiwet are among the top challengers to Barega.

● 110 m Hurdles: Jamaica’s Olympic champ Omar McLeod did not look himself at the Drake Relays and now faces off with the best hurdler from 2018, Russia’s Sergey Shubenkov (12.92 last year). Add in Andrew Pozzi (GBR) and Spain’s Olympic silver winner Orlando Ortega and the winner may be the top challenger to the American collegiate stars Grant Holloway and Daniel Roberts, the co-world leaders at 13.07.

● 400 m Hurdles: For nearly a year, the dream match-up everyone has wanted to see is Qatar’s Abderrahmane Samba and Rai Benjamin of the U.S. Benjamin won the NCAA title last year in a stunning 47.02 – no. 2 ever – only for Samba to run 46.98 in Paris at the end of June. Samba is the world leader at 47.51 already and has an 11-meet win streak in the event. Benjamin is clearly in shape, running a lifetime best of 44.31 at the Mt. SAC Relays, but hasn’t run a hurdle race since the NCAA meet. Who wins … and will the world record of 46.92 survive?

● Javelin: This event has gone crazy with throws past 90 m (295-3) almost common during the past three years. In Shanghai, the 90 m club members involved include Rio Olympic champ Thomas Rohler (GER: 93.90 m/308-1 ‘17), 2015 World Champion Julius Yego (KEN: 92.72 m/304-2 ‘15), Andreas Hofmann (GER: 92.06 m/302-0 ‘18) and 2017 World University Games champ Chao-Tsun Cheng (TPE: 91.36 m/299-9). Wow!

Women

● 100 m: Who’s in shape? This race has big names like Rio Olympic champ Elaine Thompson (JAM), Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare, Michelle-Lee Ahye (TTO) and Americans Aleia Hobbs, Ashley Henderson and Jenna Prandini, but only Prandini has run a 100 m this season (11.10).

● 400 m: Qatar’s Salwa Eid Naser has been the world’s no. 2 in the 400 m, winning 13 of her last 15 meets from 2017-19, losing only to Bahamas superstar Shaunae Miller-Uibo. Now Naser will face American Sydney McLaughlin, who opened with an easy 54.14 (!) win in the 400 m hurdles last weekend, no. 2 in the world for 2019. Throw in reigning U.S. champ Shakima Wimbley (49.52 ‘18), European champ Justyna Swiety-Ersetic (POL: 50.41 ‘18) and Jamaica’s Stephenie Ann McPherson (49.92 ‘13) and this should be one of the best races of the evening.

● 1,500 m: Another too-large field with 17 runners, but five who have run under 4:00: Rababe Arafi (MAR: 3:59.15), Winny Chebet (KEN: 3:59.16), Ethiopians Dawit Seyaum (3:58.09) and Gudaf Tsegay (3:57.64) and Dutch star Sifan Hassan (3:56.05), who has been busy with road running and a 31:18.12 lifetime best in her 10,000 m debut. If Hassan has done some speed work, she should win. In any case, the current world lead – 4:06.98 by American Ajee Wilson – will be smashed.

● Pole Vault: Long-time foes Sandi Morris of the U.S. (4.76 m/15-7 1/4 outdoors this season) and 2016 Olympic champ Katerina Stefanidi (GRE) are back at it. They’ve met 35 times over the years – starting in 2011 – with Stefanidi holding a 21-14 lead.

● Shot: The top three on the 2019 world list are in: American Chase Ealey (19.67 m/64-6 1/2), Jamaican national-record holder Danniel Thomas-Dodd (19.48 m/63-11) and Chinese star Lijiao Gong, the 2017 World Champion (19.18 m/62-11 1/4), plus U.S. champ Maggie Ewen (18.58 m/60-11 1/2) this season.

There are lots of other good match-ups, but not quite as compelling as these; you can check out the full list of entries here. NBC’s Olympic Channel will have delayed coverage on Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Look for live results here.

THE BIG PICTURE: Poland’s Banka elected next head of the World Anti-Doping Agency

By
Rich Perelman
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The World Anti-Doping Agency is headed by an elected Chair with a six-year term, rotated between a sports-organization candidate and one from governmental authorites.

Poland’s Minister of Sport and Tourism, 34-year-old Witold Banka, was nominated on Tuesday by the the “Public Authorities” representatives on the WADA Executive Committee and Foundation Board. He is expected to be confirmed later this year by the full Foundation Board – appropriately meeting in Katiwice (POL) – and will become head of the organization on 1 January 2020.

He won out over Marcus Diaz, the Vice-Minister of Sports for the Dominican Republic, the only other formal nominee. Norway’s Linda Helleland, a former government minister, had declared her candidacy, but failed to acquire the requisite number of endorsements to stand for election.

Helleland stood as a candidate against WADA’s reinstatement of Russia last year, but that situation has changed rapidly. WADA has retrieved the data it wanted from the former Moscow Laboratory at the center of the Russian doping scandal from 2011-15 as well as 2,262 stored doping samples for re-testing.

From that standpoint, the issues over WADA’s reinstatement of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency from last year are moot. Still to be determined is what the data further reveals about the Russian doping program from 2011-15, and the possible additional sanctions that could come from the testing of the stored samples.

But Banka now heads toward the WADA leadership position with a clear docket, at least for now. He’s a former 400 m runner, with a best of 46.15 in 2007. His last competition was in 2010; he won a bronze medal on the Polish 4×400 m team at the 2007 World Championships.

At its Executive Committee meeting in Montreal (CAN), WADA also released a 133-page report from the Covington law firm on its inquiry into allegations of bullying by Athletes Commission member Beckie Scott (CAN) from last September’s Compliance Review Committee meeting when the Russian reinstatement was recommended. The outcome:

“Our report concludes that no one at the September 20 Executive Committee meeting bullied or harassed Ms. Scott regarding her objection to the conditional reinstatement of RUSADA, or even responded directly to it. The exchange between Ms. Scott and Messrs. [Francesco] Ricci Bitti and [Patrick] Baumann at that meeting took place after Ms. Scott presented the Athlete Commission report, in which she criticized the IOC Athletes’ Commission, a member of which was at the table. While Mr. Ricci Bitti’s response to that report could be viewed as aggressive and disrespectful, his behavior did not rise to the level of bullying or harassment.

“Additionally, while Mr. Baumann objected to Dr. [Edwin] Moses having spoken on a particular issue at the May 2018 Executive Committee meeting, our investigation uncovered no credible evidence that Dr. Moses was told to ‘shut up’ at that meeting or the Foundation Board meeting held the next day.”

A transcript of the relevant portion of the meeting at issue was also released. Scott and Moses did not participate in the inquiry; they have retained counsel and could still pursue legal action if they desire. The report included recommendations, including the adoption of a code of conduct for WADA meetings.

WADA also announced the extension of its headquarters agreement with the city of Montreal through at least 2031. The Canadian, Quebec and Montreal governments have been strong supporters of WADA from its start.

TRIATHLON Preview: Can Zaferes win her third in a row in Yokohama World Series?

By
Rich Perelman
-
American triathlon star Katie Zaferes

The third of eight rounds in the 2019 ITU World Series comes this weekend in Yokohama (JPN) for an Olympic-distance triathlon: 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike and 10 km run:

● Swim: Two laps of 750 m
● Bike: Nine laps of 4.45 km
● Run: Four laps of 2.5 km

So far, the season has belonged to American Katie Zeferes, who won both the Abu Dhabi Sprint and the Bermuda tri convincingly, for her second and third career World Series victories. And she was second at Yokohama last year, behind the now-injured Flora Duffy (BER).

But it hasn’t been a cakewalk, as Britain’s Jessica Learmonth also has medals in both events this season: bronze in Abu Dhabi and silver in Bermuda. American Taylor Spivey has started brilliantly, finishing second in Abu Dhabi and sixth in Bermuda to stand third overall. The current standings:

● Men:
1. 1,523 Vincent Luis (FRA)
2. 1,392 Fernando Alarza (ESP)
3. 1,287 Leo Bergere (FRA)
4. 1,142 Mario Mola (ESP)
5. 1,060 Dorian Coninx (FRA)

● Women:
1. 2,000 Katie Zaferes (USA)
2. 1,781 Jessica Learmonth (GBR)
3. 1,602 Taylor Spivey (USA)
4. 1,268 Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR)
5. 1,256 Lotte Miller (NOR)

In the men’s standings, Mario Mola (ESP) had a streak of seven straight World Series races with a medal end in Bermuda, where he got caught in a jam in the bike phase and finished 26th. So he’s only fourth in the 2019 rankings, but looking to move up … and he won at Yokohama in 2018.

At Bermuda, France’s Dorian Coninx won a surprise victory; can he follow it up? Countryman Vincent Luis – fifth at Abu Dhabi and fourth in Bermuda – is now the series leader. He’s used to being in front, as the winner of the 2017 and 2018 Grand Final. Spain’s Fernando Alarza stands second; he finished third in the 2016 seasonal race and was third in Abu Dhabi.

Look for results here.

SPORT CLIMBING Preview: Superstar Garnbret tries to stay perfect in Munich Bouldering World Cup

By
Rich Perelman
-

After four rounds of the IFSC Bouldering World Cup, Slovenian star Janja Garnbret is not only in first place, but has a perfect season going, heading into this week’s next-to-last World Cup at the famed Olympiastadion in Munich (GER).

She hasn’t quite clinched the seasonal title yet, but she can this week, to add to her 2018 World Championships title and her favorite’s status for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The standings:

● Women:
1. 400 Janja Garnbret (SLO)
2. 240 Akiyo Noguchi (JPN)
3. 188 Fanny Gibert (FRA)
4. 180 Petra Klingler (SUI)
5. 178 Futaba Ito (JPN)

● Men:
1. 260 Tomoa Narasaki (JPN)
2. 204 Adam Ondra (CZE)
3. 190 Kokoro Fujii (JPN)
4. 171 Rei Sugimoto (JPN)
5. 159 Aleksey Rubtsov (RUS)

Garnbret should win her first-ever seasonal title in Bouldering, but men’s leaders Narasaki and Ondra have already won one each: Narsaki in 2016 and Ondra back in 2010. Each has won once this season, but both have missed one competition each, and so the seasonal battle is still close with the rest of the field.

Qualifying will be on Saturday, with the finals on Sunday. Look for results here.

DIVING Preview: Strong opportunities for home-standing Brits in World Series finale in London

By
Rich Perelman
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Britain's double 10 m World Champion Tom Daley (Photo: Jim Thurston via Wikimedia commons)

The London Aquatics Centre will be the site for the fifth and final leg of the FINA Diving World Series this weekend, with high expectations for the home team.

This is in part because of the strong British squad, including World Championships medal winners Tom Daley, Jack Laugher, Matty Lee, Grace Reid and Lois Toulson, but also because China – the dominant force in the sport – is once again sending a second-tier squad to the meet.

However, the fields will be highly competitive, with a number of familiar stars:

Men:
● Jianfeng Peng (CHN) ~ 2017 World 1 m Springboard Champion
● Jack Laugher (GBR) ~ 2015 Worlds 3 m bronze; 2016 Olympic 3 m Synchro gold
● Tom Daley (GBR) ~ 2009-2017 World 10 m Champ; 2017 Worlds Mixed 3 m silver
● Matty Lee (GBR) ~ 2017 Worlds Mixed 10 m silver medalist
● Evgenii Kuznetsov (RUS) ~ 2017 World 3 m Synchro Champion
● Hao Yang (CHN) ~ 2017 World Synchro 10 m Champion
● Francois Imbeau-Dulac (CAN) ~ 2017 World Mixed 3 m bronze medalist
● Aleksandr Bondar/Viktor Minibaev (RUS) ~ 2017 Worlds 3 m Synchro silver medalists

Women:
● Maddison Keeney (AUS) ~ 2017 World 1 m Springboard Champion
● Jennifer Abel (CAN) ~ 2017 World 3 m Springboard bronze; Mixed 3 m bronze
● Pam Ware (CAN) ~ 2013 Worlds 3 m bronze; 2015 Synchro 3 m silver medalist
● Meaghan Benfeito (CAN) ~ 2017 World 3 m Synchro silver medalist
● Yani Chang (CHN) ~ 2017 World 3 m Synchro gold medalist
● Pandelela Pamg (MAS) ~ 2012 Olympic 10 m bronze; 2015 Worlds 10 m bronze
● Grace Reid (GBR) ~ 2017 World Mixed 3 m Springboard silver medalist
● Lois Toulson (GBR) ~ 2017 World Mixed 10 m Platform silver medalist
● Mi-Rae Kim (PRK) ~ 2017 World 10 m Platform silver medalist
● Il-Myong Hyon (PRK) ~ 2017 World Mixed 10 m Platform bronze medalist

There is prize money of $5,000-4,000-3,000 for the top three places, and seasonal prizes that are only available to athletes who have competed in all of the five World Series events. That will be a fairly short list. Look for results here.

CYCLING Preview: Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup starts in Germany, but can anyone beat Nino Schurter?

By
Rich Perelman
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Swiss Mountain Bike superstar Nino Schurter (Photo: UCI)

The opening of the UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup season in Albstadt (GER) brings new opportunities, but the same old challenge.

Can anyone beat Swiss star Nino Schurter?

The six-time World Cup champ, he’s now 33, but has won the last four World Championships races in a row and has 30 career World Cup wins, second only to the now-retired Julien Absalon (FRA: 33).

Consider this for dominance: the competitors with the next-highest number of wins are Jasoslav Kulhavy (CZE: 9), then Sam Gaze (NZL) and Mathieu van der Poel (NED: 3). Van der Poel finished second to Schurter in the World Cup standings last year, with France’s Maxime Marotte third (for the third year in a row). .

In the women’s division, another Swiss star, Jolanda Neff, is the defending World Cup champion from 2018 – her third career title – and is tied for the most career wins by active riders. She has 12 World Cup wins, the same as Catherine Prendel (CAN) and just one ahead of Annika Langvad (DEN: 11). All are expected to ride.

Schurter and Neff both won in Albstadt last season. The Cross Country final will be on Sunday. Look for results here.

FENCING Preview: Deriglazova look to continue dominance in Grand Prix Shanghai women’s Foil

By
Rich Perelman
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Russia's Olympic Foil Champion Inna Deriglazova (Photo: Marie-Lan Nguyen via Wikimedia Commons)

If the question is who is the best fencer in the world at the moment, the answer must be Russia’s Foil star Inna Deriglazova.

Already the 2016 Olympic and 2017 World Champion, she has been on a tear this season, winning five tournaments outright and claiming six medals in seven starts. She won the World Cup events in Katowice (POL), St. Maur (FRA), Cairo (EGY) and Tauberbischofsheim (GER) and the Grand Prix in Anaheim, California and was third in last November’s World Cup in Algiers (ALG).

So she’s the big favorite in this week’s third Grand Prix of the season in Shanghai (CHN), with the top-10-ranked Foilers in both the men’s and women’s divisions ready to go:

● Men:
1. Alessio Foconi (ITA) ~ 2018 World Champion
2. Race Imboden (USA) ~ 2017-18 Worlds Team silver medalist
3. Richard Kruse (GBR) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist
4. Daniele Garozzo (ITA) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion; 2017 Worlds bronze
5. Andrea Cassara (ITA) ~ 2017 Worlds Team gold medalist
6. Giorgio Avola (ITA) ~ 2017 Worlds Team gold medalist
7. Gerek Meinhardt (USA) ~ 2017-18 Worlds Team silver medalist
8. Ka Long Cheung (HKG)
9. Jun Heo (KOR) ~ 2018 Worlds bronze medalist
10. Alexander Massialas (USA) ~ 2016 Olympic silver medalist

● Women:
1. Inna Deriglazova (RUS) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion; 2017 World Champion
2. Alice Volpi (ITA) ~ 2018 World Champion; 2017 Worlds silver
3. Arianna Errigo (ITA) ~ 2017-18 Worlds bronze medalist
4. Ines Boubakri (TUN) ~ 2016 Olympic bronze; 2018 Worlds bronze
5. Lee Kiefer (USA) ~ 2018 Worlds Team gold medalist
6. Ysoara Thibus (FRA) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist; 2017 Worlds bronze
7. Leonie Ebert (GER)
8. Elisa DiFrancisca (ITA) ~ 2016 Olympic silver medalist
9. Anastasiia Ivanova (RUS) ~ 2017 Worlds Team bronze medalist
10. Hee Seok Jeon (KOR)

In the one Grand Prix that Deriglazova did not win – in Turin (ITA) – it was Volpi defeating Di Francesca in the final.

The men’s final in Turin had Imboden of the U.S. claiming victory over Hong Kong’s Cheung, while unheralded Justin Mertine (FRA) won in Anaheim. Look for results from Shanghai here.

Also on this week are Epee World Cups for men (Paris) and women (in Dubai), also with excellent fields, including the top ten in both events:

● Men:
1. Yannick Borel (FRA) ~ 2018 World Champion
2. Bogdan Nikishin (UKR) ~ 2018 Wolds bronze medalist
3. Kazuyasu Minobe (JPN) ~ Bern World Cup winner
4. Ruben Limardo (VEN) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist
5. Dmitriy Alexanin (KAZ) ~ Bern World Cup bronze medalist
6. Koki Kano (JPN) ~ Vancouver World Cup winner
7. Curtis McDowald (USA) ~ Buenos Aires World Cup bronze medalist
8. Jacob Hoyle (USA) ~ Vancouver World Cup bronze medalist
9. Gabriele Cimini (ITA) ~ Buenos Aires World Cup silver medalist
10. Sangyoung Park (KOR) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion

After a drought, the U.S. men suddenly hav two men back in the World Rankings, thanks to strong World Cup showings for McDowald and Hoyle. Look for results here.

● Women:
1. Ana Maria Popescu (ROU) ~ 2016 Olympic team gold medalist
2. Mara Navarria (ITA)
3. Man Wai Vivian Kong (HKG) ~ Barcelona & Havana World Cup winner
4. Yiwen Sun (CHN) ~ 2016 Olympic bronze medalist
5. Katrina Lehis (EST)
6. Young Mi Kang (KOR) ~ 2018 Worlds Team silver medalist
7. Violetta Kolobova (RUS) ~ 2016 Olympic Team bronze medalist
8. In-Jeong Choi (KOR) ~ 2018 Worlds Team silver medalist
9. Kelley Hurley (USA) ~ 2018 Worlds Team gold medalist
10. Julia Beljajeva (EST) ~ 2017 Worlds bronze medalist; 2017 Worlds Team gold

Kong has been outstanding lately, with two wins and a bronze in her last three World Cups. Look for results here.

LANE ONE: Suddenly, there is interest in track & field thanks to a Texas high schooler named Matthew Boling

By
Rich Perelman
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Strake Jesuit's sprint star Matthew Boling

One way to gauge where a sport stands in importance across the U.S. is how often it is discussed on the parade of television sports talk shows, such as ESPN’s “Around the Horn” or “Pardon the Interruption.”

Track & field is almost never mentioned, except maybe during the Olympic Games, which ESPN does not televise. But on Monday, these shows – and others – were suddenly foaming at the mouth over a 19-year-old senior from Houston’s Strake Jesuit High School, Matthew Boling.

Why?

After exploding into the consciousness of track fans at the Texas Relays, where he ran a wind-aided 10.20 and long jumped 8.01 m (26-3 1/2) to move to no. 8 on the all-time U.S. high school list, he dominated the 6A division of the Texas State Meet:

● He won the 100 m in 10.13, the best-on-record in a high school-only meet;
● He won the long jump at 25-4 1/2 (wind-aided) and,
● Ran a sensational 44.74 on the anchor of the 4×400 m relay to help Strake Jesuit to a nation-leading 3:10.56 victory.

He had run a wind-aided 9.98 two weeks before (+4.2 m/s), the fastest all-conditions high school 100 m ever. And he is Caucasian, with the nickname of “White Lightning.” So now he’s being called a future Carl Lewis!

Well, let’s hold on for a moment and see how Boling actually measures up.

As for the comparisons to Lewis, it’s a little early. As a prep at Willingboro (New Jersey) High School in 1979, Lewis was primarily a long jumper, with the top six jumps in the nation in 1979, and a best of 26-8. He barely ran the sprints, with a best of 9.5 for 100 yards and 20.9 for the 220. Two years later, he was the top sprinter in the world at 10.00 and the world’s top jumper at 28-3 1/2.

So let’s wait a few more minutes before making that comparison again.

How about his much-cited “national record” of 10.13? The mark is excellent, coming against high school competition – which is where the national record talk comes in – but it’s hardly the fastest ever by a prep; in fact, it moves him to no. 4 on the all-time high school list, with the equal-fifth-fastest performance. The all-time high school 100 m performances list, per Track & Field News:

1. 10.00 Trentavis Friday (Cherryville NC) ‘14
2. 10.01 Jeff Demps (Groveland FL South Lake) ‘08
3. 10.09 Anthony Schwartz (Plantation FL American Heritage) ‘18
4. 10.12 Demps ‘08
5. 10.13 Derrick Florence (Galveston TX Ball) ‘86
5. 10.13 Schwartz ‘18
5. 10.13 Matthew Boling (Houston TX Strake) ‘19
8. 10.14 Noah Lyles (Alexandria VA Williams) ‘15
9. 10.15 Henry Neal (Greenville TX) ‘90
9. 10.15 Schwartz ‘17

Look at the list closely. You’ll see another runner who ran even faster than Boling just last year: Anthony Schwartz. What about him?

Schwartz and Boling were actually teammates on last summer’s U.S. team for the World Junior Championships in Tampere (FIN). Schwartz was the U.S. Junior Champion in the 100 m (10.23) and won the silver medal at the World Juniors in 10.22. He had races of 10.07w, 10.09, 10.13, 10.13w and 10.16, among others, and won a 4×100 m relay gold in Finland.

Boling was known as a quarter-miler last season, with a best of 46.15, and after finishing sixth in the U.S. Junior meet, ran a leg in the heats of the 4×400 m, earning a silver medal when the U.S. team in the final finished second.

Schwartz is attending Auburn, where he played quite a bit as a freshman wide receiver in football, and ran a season best of 10.21 last weekend for sixth in the SEC Championships. That’s worth noting since Boling will be running against him next season as a prize recruit for Georgia.

All of this says that Boling is an outstanding prospect, but any Olympic dreams are some distance away, at least for now.

In fact, his most outstanding performance was not the 100 m or the long jump, but his come-from-way behind anchor leg on the 4×400 m relay, timed in 44.74. That was impressive, really impressive, especially for someone with a seasonal best of 47.23 and a lifetime best of 46.15.

Boling’s future may not be in the 100 m at all, but in the 200 or the 400, based on that superb relay leg, but that’s in the future.

He’s clearly the best high school sprinter in the country, and we may get to know a lot more about him if he competes in the U.S. Junior Championships once again; this year’s meet is in Miramar, Florida on 21-23 June and there are Pan American Junior Championships available to the top finishers in Costa Rica in July.

Or he might tantalize us all by running in the U.S. Nationals in Des Moines at the end of July. It would be a long season for Boling, but the rewards could be worth it. It’s not likely that he would qualify as a member of the U.S. team for the World Championships in Doha (QAT) – although not impossible – but if he made the 100 m semis, or the long jump final, he could find himself on the U.S. team for the Pan American Games in Lima (PER) at the beginning of August. After all, didn’t Lewis win the Pan Am long jump bronze in 1979?

That would be quite an end to a brilliant high school career that has drawn the attention of news media who rarely pay the slightest attention to track & field.

They are paying some attention now, and that his race is noticed is a mark against those who mention it. Let’s hope that Boling himself recognizes that he has the opportunity to be part of athletic experiences that only a precious few can have, and that he is allowed to enjoy it.

Rich Perelman
Editor

SWIMMING Preview: Nathan Adrian returns to the pool in Tyr Pro Swim Series in Bloomington

By
Rich Perelman
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Five-time Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian (USA)

The feel-good story of the 2019 swimming season will come this week at the Counsilman Billingsley Aquatics Center at Indiana University with the return of five-time Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian for the fourth leg of the Tyr Pro Swim Series.

Adrian, now 30, disclosed in January that he had been diagnosed with testicular cancer, but has fought it off and is returning to the pool. His last race was on 1 December 2018, at the USA Swimming Winter National Championships, finishing second in the 100 m Free. He has been a regular on the Tyr Pro Swim Series circuit, but will make his debut for 2019 in Bloomington.

The meet has some deep fields, especially in the women’s events. Some of the workloads for the top swimmers based on the entries:

Men:
● Nathan Adrian ~ 50-100 m Free
● Blake Pieroni ~ 50-100-200 m Free
● Tom Shields ~ 100-200 m Free, 100-200 m Fly
● Zane Grothe ~ 400-800-1,500 m Free
● Cody Miller ~ 50-100-200 m Breast
● Michael Andrew ~ 50 m Free, 50-100 m Back, 50-100 m Breast, 50-100 m Fly

Women:
● Lilly King ~ 50-100-200 m Breast, 200 m Medley
● Bethany Galat ~50- 100 m Breast, 400 m Medley
● Annie Lazor ~ 50-100-200 m Breast
● Madisyn Cox ~ 200-400 m Free, 100-200 m Breast, 200-400 m Medley
● Simone Manuel ~ 50-100-200 m Free, 50 m Back
● Mallory Comerford ~ 50-100-200 m Free, 50-100 m Fly
● Margo Geer ~ 50-100-200 m Free
● Allison Schmidt ~ 100-200 m Free
● Kelsi Dahlia ~ 50-100-200 m Free, 50-100-200 m Fly
● Katie Ledecky ~ 100-200-400-800 m Free, 400 m Medley
● Ella Eastin ~ 200 m Free, 100 m Breast, 100-200 m Fly, 200-400 m Medley
● Regan Smith ~ 50 m Free, 50-100-200 m Back, 50-100-200 m Fly

There are a modest number of foreign swimmers entered, but they include star freestyler Farida Osman (EGY) and backstroke star Taylor Ruck (CAN).

The crowd favorite will be Indiana’s Lilly King, the world-record holder in the 50 m and 100 m Breast events and the reigning World Champion in both. She’s been a regular performer in the Tyr Pro Swim Series, but – following the end of the collegiate season in late March – this is her first appearance in 2019.

There is prize money of $1,500-1,000-500 for the top three places in each event. The meet will be shown on NBC’s Olympic Channel on Friday at 6 p.m. Eastern time; on NBCSN on Saturday at 6 p.m., and online on Sunday at www.usaswimming.org. Look for a link to results here.

TAEKWONDO Preview: 15 defending champions expected as World Championships start Thursday in Manchester

By
Rich Perelman
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Can Korea's Tae-Hun Kim win a fourth straight World title?

The 24th edition of the World Taekwondo Championships will bring the event to Great Britain for the first time, in specific to the Manchester Arena for competition in eight men’s and women’s classes.

More than 1,000 athletes are expected, and even though the entry deadline closed more than a month ago, the actual competitors have not been confirmed. But as the seedings are determined by the current world rankings, these are the top competitors expected in each class:

Men

● 54 kg:
1. Moustapha Kama (SEN)
2. Armin Hadipour (IRI) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist
3. Adrian Vicente (ESP)
4. Cesar Rodriguez (MEX)
5. Tae-Hun Kim (KOR) ~ 2013-15-17 World Champion

● 58 kg:
1. Tae-Hun Kim (KOR) ~ 2016 Olympic bronze medalist
2. Jesus Tortosa Cabrera (ESP) ~ 2017 Worlds bronze medalist
3. Mikhail Artamonov (RUS) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist
4. Carlos Navarro (MEX) ~ 2017 Worlds bronze medalist
5. Farzan Ashourzadeh (IRI) ~ 2015 World Champion (58 kg)

● 63 kg:
1. Lovre Brecic (CRO)
2. Jaouad Achab (BEL) ~ 2015 World Champion
3. Javad Aghayev (AZE)
4. Shuai Zhao (CHN) ~ Defending World Champion
5. Soroush Ahmadi (IRI)

● 68 kg:
1. Dae-Hoon Lee (KOR) ~ Defending World Champion; 2016 Olympic bronze
2. Alexey Denisenko (RUS) ~ 2016 Olympic silver; 2015 Wolds silver medalist
3. Ahmad Abughaush (JOR) ~ 2016 Olympic gold; 2017 Worlds bronze medalist
4. Yu-Jen Huang (TPE) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist
5. Javier Perez Polo (ESP)

● 74 kg:
1. Toni Kanaet (CRO)
2. Nikita Rafalovich (UZB) ~ 2015-17 Worlds silver medalist
3. Thomas Rahimi (USA)
4. Maksim Khramtcov (RUS) ~ Defending World Champion
5. Ali Eshkavarian (IRI)

● 80 kg:
1. Cheick Sallah Cisse (CIV) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion
2. Milad Beigi Harchegani (AZE) ~ Defending World Champion; 2016 Olympic bronze
3. Maksim Khramtcov (RUS) ~ 2017 74 kg World Champion
4. Richard Andre Ordemann (NOR)
5. Raul Martinez Garcia (ESP)

● 87 kg:
1. Vladislav Larin (RUS) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist; 2015 Worlds bronze medalist
2. Alexander Bachmann (GER) ~ Defending World Champion
3. Bryan Salazar (MEX)
4. Ivan Trajkovic (SLO) ~ 2017 Worlds bronze medalist
5. Smaiyl Diusebay (KAZ)

● +87 kg:
1. Kyo-Don In (KOR) ~ 2017 87 kg Worlds bronze medalist
2. Vladislav Larin (RUS) ~ 2017 87 kg Worlds silver medalist
3. Abdoul Issoufou (CIV) ~ Defending World Champion
4. Radik Isaev (AZE) ~ 2016 Olympic +80 kg Champion
5. Mahama Cho (GBR) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist

Women

● 46 kg:
1. Yvette Yong (CAN)
2. Kyriaki Kouttouki (CYP)
3. Dina Pouryounes Langeroudi (NED)
4. Iryna Romoldanova (UKR)
5. Jae-Young Sim (KOR) ~ Defending World Champion

● 49 kg:
1. Panipak Wongpattanakit (THA) ~ 2017 Worlds silver; 2016 Olympic bronze
2. So-Hui Kim (KOR) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion
3. Kristina Tomic (CRO) ~ 2017 Worlds bronze medalist
4. Vanya Stankovic (SRB) ~ Defending World Champion
5. Jae-Young Sim (KOR) ~ 2017 46 kg World Champion

● 53 kg:
1. Tatiana Kodashova (RUS) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist
2. Inese Tarvida (LAT) ~ 2017 Worlds bronze medalist
3. Tijana Bogdanovic (SRB) ~ 2016 Olympic 49 kg silver; 2015 Worlds 49 kg bronze
4. Madeline Folgmann (GER)
5. Zeliha Agris (TUR) ~ Defending World Champion

● 57 kg:
1. Jade Jones (GBR) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion; 2017 Worlds bronze medalist
2. Ah-Reum Lee (KOR) ~ Defending World Champion
3. Hatice Ilgun (TUR) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist
4. Nikita Glasnovic (CRO) ~ 2017 Worlds bronze medalist
5. Skylar Park (CAN)

● 62 kg:
1. Irem Yaman (TUR)
2. Nadica Bozanic (SRB)
3. Marta Calvo Gomez (ESP)
4. Magda Wiet Henin (FRA)
5. Ruth Gbagi (CIV) ~ Defending World Champion; 2016 Olympic 67 kg bronze

● 67 kg:
1. Nur Tatar Askari (TUR) ~ Defending World Champion; 2016 Olympic bronze
2. Paige McPherson (USA) ~ 2017 Worlds silver; 2015Worlds bronze medalist
3. Lauren Williams (GBR)
4. Matea Jelic (CRO)
5. Hyeri Oh (KOR) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion; 2017 73 kg Worlds silver medalist

● 73 kg:
1. Milica Mandic (SRB) ~ Defending World Champion
2. Hyeri Oh (KOR) ~ 2015 Worlds gold; 2017 Worlds silver; 2016 Olympic 67 kg gold
3. Maria Espinoza (MEX) ~ Defending Worlds silver medalist
4. Madelynn Gorman-Shore (USA)
5. Yanna Schneider (GER)

● +73 kg:
1. Bianca Walkden (GBR) ~ 2015-17 World Champion; 2016 +67 kg bronze
2. Shuyin Zheng (CHN) ~ 2016 Olympic +67 kg gold; 2017 Worlds bronze medalist
3. Aleksandra Kowalczuk (POL)
4. Briseida Acosta (MEX)
5. Nafia Kus (TUR) ~ 2015 Worlds bronze medalist
6. Jackie Galloway (USA) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist; 2016 Olympic +67 kg bronze

The World Championships only take place every other year, so Korea’s Tae-Hun Kim will be trying to extend his gold-medal streak to four World Championships over seven years!

The competition will take place from 15-19 May. The top three placewinners get medals and a certificate, but there is no prize money. Look for results here.

FOOTBALL Preview: Women’s Send-Off Series continues vs. New Zealand in St. Louis

By
Rich Perelman
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Almost 35,000 came out to see the U.S. women prep for the 2015 World Cup at Busch Stadium. Maybe more on Thursday? (Photo: U.S. Soccer)

The U.S. women won the 2015 World Cup in Canada, warming up with a 4-0 win over New Zealand at Busch Stadium in St. Louis in early April before an impressive crowd of 34,817.

It’s deja vu all over again, and the US. Women will play their next-to-last game before the 2019 Women’s World’s Cup vs. the Football Ferns at Busch on Thursday (16th).

The teams have met three times over the past four years, with the U.S. winning 3-1 and 5-0 in back-to-back friendlies in September 2017, and a 2-0 win in Brazil in the group stage of the 2016 Olympic Games. In fact, in its four wins between 2015-17, the U.S. has outscored New Zealand, 14-1.

New Zealand is ranked 19th in the latest FIFA World Rankings, having been as high as 16th in 2015. They’re 2-2 in 2019, having defeated Argentina and Norway, and losing to Australia and South Korea. The Football Ferns are in a difficult World Cup group with the Netherlands, Canada and Cameroons in France.

The American squad defeated South Africa, 3-0, on Sunday in Santa Clara, with a middling performance that got better as the game went on. Sam Mewis came through with two goals and Carli Lloyd scored the final tally in stoppage time.

The U.S. defense was hardly tested by South Africa, but the offense had trouble with the packed-in defense, scoring just one goal in the first half. Things improved when Megan Rapinoe subbed in at half, but how the U.S. does offensively will be a major focus on Thursday.

The match will be televised on ESPN2, beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

CYCLING Preview: Misery and pain ahead for riders in the Women’s Amgen Tour

By
Rich Perelman
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Defending Amgen Tour of California women's champ Katie Hall (USA). (Photo: Amgen Tour of California)

The fifth edition of the women’s edition of the Amgen Tour of California borders on the cruel, with a punishing three-stage schedule on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The stages:

● 16 May: Stage 1 (96.5 km): Ventura to Ventura (hilly)
● 17 May: Stage 2 (74.0 km): Ontario to Mt. Baldy (mountains)
● 18 May: Stage 3 (115.5 km): Santa Clarita to Pasadena (mountains)

The second and third stages are especially brutal. The second race begins in Ontario at 337 m elevation (~ 1,105 feet) and ends on Mt Baldy – the tallest mountain in the Los Angeles area – with an elevation of 1,959 m (~ 6,427 ft.). The route essentially climbs continuously during the final 38.5 km of the race! Ouch!

Such a stage would normally decide the overall winners, but is followed by another difficult route on Saturday from Santa Clarita into Pasadena in Southern California. It starts at 350 m (~ 1,148 feet) in Santa Clarita and races over the crest of the Angeles National Forest Highway to 1,471 m (~ 4,826 ft.) before descending into Pasadena to complete the race.

The entries have not yet been completely confirmed, but include a number of stars:

● Katie Hall (USA) ~ Defending champion; second in 2017
● Kasia Niewiadoma (POL) ~ Third in 2018
● Tayler Wiles (USA) ~ Second in 2018
● Arlenis Sierra (CUB) ~ Third in 2017

In addition, previous stage winners returning include Coryn Rivera (USA: one prior stage win), Chloe Dygert (USA: 1) and Kendall Ryan (USA: 1).

World Tour stars to watch include South Africa’s Ashleigh Moolman, the 2018 Giro Rosa runner-up; Finland’s Lotta Lepisto, the 2016 World Road Race bronze medalist; 2017 World Road Race champ Chantal Blaak (NED) and Britain’s Lizzie Deignan, the 2015 World Road Race winner.

Look for results here.

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