BOXING: Asian confederation votes to stay with IBA, then President and Secretary General both resign, with a rival confederation to be formed!

November 23, 2024

tsx pix 2024-1123 pichai chunhavajira asbc — ASBC President Pichai Chunhavajira of Thailand, resigning his position at the end of the ASBC Extraordinary Congress (Photo: ASBC live stream screen shot).

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≡ ASIAN BOXING CONFEDERATION ≡

An Extraordinary Congress of the Asian Boxing Confederation on Saturday saw the group vote to stay affiliated with the International Boxing Association, with the result causing the ASBC President and Secretary General to resign and a second Asian confederation to be created.

The three-and-a-half hour session in Bangkok (THA) focused on one issue: whether the ASBC is to become an independent organization, not affiliated with the IBA, requiring a change in the ASBC Constitution.

Ultimately, the decision was made to remain affiliated. The voting total showed 10 in favor of independence, 23 against and one abstention (34 votes total).

This was the second time that the ASBC – which has 42 members – has voted to remain with the IBA, although 15 member federations have joined World Boxing. A prior Extraordinary Congress, on 31 August, rejected membership for the ASBC in World Boxing by 21-14, with one invalid vote.

The impact of the decision on Saturday resulted in the resignations of the ASBC President, the Thailand Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Pichai Chunhavajira, and Secretary General Ali Salameh (JOR).

Both resignations will be effective as of the end of the ASBC Asian Elite Men and Women Boxing Championships, to be held in Chiang Mai (THA) from 28 November to 12 December.

In closing remarks to the Congress, Chunhavajira, 75, a long-time executive in the energy industry, told the delegates:

“While I respect the decision made by the Congress today, I must always acknowledge the journey we have undertaken over the course of this Congress to make this crucial decision.

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce my resignation – my resignation, one more time – as ASBC President, effective after the ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships in Chang Mai.

“I will dedicate myself fully to ensuring that boxing remains in the Olympics, embarking on a new path to protect and promote the sport we all cherish. Thank you for your trust, support and passion for Asian boxing.”

Chunhavajira then added some more remarks just after the meeting was declared formally closed, in his capacity as the head of the Thai Boxing Association:

“I have a short message to deliver to members, you know, not in the ASBC agenda. As a representative of Thailand Boxing Association, and in order to achieve our commitment of safeguarding boxing’s place within the Olympic Movement, I would like to announce the initiation of a new Asian confederation under the umbrella of World Boxing.

“This step is crucial to strengthen the voice of Asia, protecting the rights of our athletes, and ensuring transparent, fair and sustainable futures for our sport. Together we will build a structure that prioritizes the interest of federations and boxers align with Olympic standards, and promote unity and growth across the continent.

“Let’s work together with dedication and transparency to preserve the legacy of Asian boxing and its rightful place in the global Olympic community. I would like to share my idea. Thank you.”

Chunhavajira was elected as the ASBC President in March 2022; Salameh has been ASBC Secretary General since 2019.

All of this is a result of the 2023 expulsion of the IBA from the Olympic Movement and the danger that boxing will not be included on the Olympic program at Los Angeles in 2028. The International Olympic Committee has been clear that it will require a new International Federation to govern Olympic boxing and it will not be the IBA.

World Boxing was formed in November 2023 to take that position, and has 55 members so far, of which 15 are from Asia. That’s the core of the new Asian confederation that Chunhavajira will be leading, but it will need more members to receive IOC recognition.

The IBA, was, of course delighted, with Secretary General Chris Roberts (GBR) noting:

“This is a significant moment for our organization as a whole. The ASBC Congress has spoken loud and clear: Asian nations are committed to staying with the IBA. I’m thrilled to see that the Congress delegates respected the Constitution and stood firm.”

The IOC expects to make a decision about boxing and LA28 in the first quarter of 2025.

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For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

ATHLETICS: $10 million Ultimate Championship in 2026 to have 28 events, but no shot, discus or steeplechase

Rich Perelman

November 23, 2024

tsx pix 2023-427 ntl ath centre budapest 750 — The National Athletics Centre in Budapest (HUN), site of the 2023 World Athletics Championships.

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≡ ULTIMATE CHAMPIONSHIP ≡

World Athletics provided more details on its new “Ultimate Championship,” designed as a season-ending, high-prize-money meet in each year that a World Athletics Championship is not held.

In this position, it will take over the spotlight from the annual Diamond League Final and from the Olympic Games, which will take place in mid-July in 2028.

The 26 individual events and two relays:

● Sprints: 100 m, 200 m, 400 m for men and women
● Distance: 800 m, 1,500 m, 5,000 m for men and women
● Hurdles: 100/110 m hurdles, 400 m hurdles for women and men
● Jumps: High Jump, Pole Vault, Long Jump for men and women
● Jumps: Triple Jump for women only
● Throws: Javelin for men and women
● Throws: Hammer for men only
● Relays: Mixed 4×100 m, Mixed 4×400 m

Not on the program are the men’s and women’s 4×100 and 4×400 m relays, the 3,000 m Steeplechase, the 10,000 m and the shot put and discus throw. No reason was given for the exclusion of these events – notably the shot and disc – but the meet is to be held within a three-hour window over three nights on 11-12-13 September 2025.

The outlines of the meet were announced in June:

● $10 million in prize money, with $150,000 for each winner, but no further details on other payments.

● Eight to 16 entries per event, with selections primarily based on the World Athletics world rankings.

● Finals only in the field events, but semifinals in the shorter running events.

World Athletics stated that “athletes [will be] representing both themselves and their national teams, wearing national kit.”

This is also an important experimental meet for World Athletics. As a new event and not part of the existing World Athletics Series or Diamond League, it is not covered by the existing agreement that gives the Japanese advertising giant Dentsu exclusive rights – “all marketing and licensing rights worldwide and all media rights worldwide outside of Europe and Africa” – to existing World Athletics events through 2029.

Friday’s announcement on the Ultimate Championship added:

“World Athletics has also appointed Infront to lead the charge on international media rights sales for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, working in true partnership with World Athletics on a new and coordinated approach to market this made-for-TV event.”

The Budapest National Athletics Centre, which hosted the very successful 2023 World Athletics Championships in a stadium built with an expanded capacity of 36,000, has been reduced to a permanent capacity of 14,000.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

ALPINE SKIING: Amazing Shiffrin gets 99th career World Cup in Austria, could get no. 100 in Vermont next week

Rich Perelman

November 23, 2024

tsx pix 111718 shiffrin mikaela levi — American skiing superstar Mikaela Shiffrin

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≡ ALPINE WORLD CUP ≡

American skiing superstar Mikaela Shiffrin makes history almost every time she put on her skis and did it again on Saturday with a win in the Slalom at Gurgl (AUT).

It’s her 99th career World Cup win, extending her own World Cup record for the most victories ever.

As usual, she got off to a hot start, recording the fastest first run at 51.08, 0.13 up on Wendy Holdener (SUI), the 2018 Olympic Slalom silver medalist.

That placed Shiffrin as the 30th racer for the second run and she needed a 49.68 time to win the event. No problem; she had the fifth-fastest run on the field at 49.14 and had a two-run total of 1:40.22 to win easily from surprising 18-year-old Albanian Lara Colturi (1:40.77) – who won her first World Cup medal – and Camilla Rast (SUI: 1:40.79). Holdener ended up fourth.

Shiffrin said afterwards she had her doubts at the start of the second run:

“I was really nervous on the top. I could hear all the women going down and their teams were cheering and that always means they had a really good run. And it was getting darker and I was like … I don’t think it’s happening today.

“I knew all the struggles I would have, or challenges and I tried to push anyway.”

She did and now has the chance to reach 100 career World Cup wins – she passed Sweden Ingemar Stenmark’s former record of 86 wins in March 2023 – in front of American fans at next week’s races at Killington, Vermont, with a Giant Slalom on Saturday and a Slalom on Sunday. She knows it will not be easy:

“It’s not impossible, but so many things have to go right. I think from outside it looks it looks easy, or it looks like it’s supposed to happen this way, but even today took so much energy to bring out my top skiing.

“So, it’s not easy, and everybody’s pushing and catching up. And so, I’m not taking that for granted.”

But Shiffrin has won the Slalom six times in Killington, in 2016-17-18-19-21-23, so she will be favored. And at just 29, she has averaged more than eight wins a year in her career so far:

● 2013: 4
● 2014: 5
● 2015: 6
● 2016: 5
● 2017: 11
● 2018: 12
● 2019: 17
● 2020: 6
● 2021: 3
● 2022: 5
● 2023: 14
● 2024: 9
● 2025: 2

Getting to 100 next week might simply be another milestone to putting the record for World Cup wins away for decades.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

PANORAMA: FIFA opens hospitality “deposit” program for 2026 World Cup; ski jump suits now controlled with chips; star triathlete Brownlee retires

Rich Perelman

November 21, 2024

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Boxing ● With the Asian Boxing Confederation Extraordinary Congress coming up on Saturday (23rd) in Bangkok (THA) to vote on whether it should be an independent organization until a new governing body for Olympic boxing is recognized, the International Boxing Association once again posted a message reminding everyone about money, including:

“Through initiatives like the Financial Support Programme (FSP), launched in 2021, IBA has become an indispensable partner for all our National Federations. This program, which allocates up to $20,000 annually per federation, ensures financial stability, supports grassroots development, and funds participation in major international tournaments. The unparalleled scale of IBA’s investment — over $80 million in prize money through 2028 — further cements its position as the only organization capable of providing the resources and opportunities necessary for the growth of the sport.”

The problem for the IBA and for the Asian confederation is that there is no international federation for boxing recognized by the International Olympic Committee after the IBA was expelled from the Olympic Movement in June 2023. So the IBA is not going to be involved with Olympic boxing going forward, and, for the Asian federations, participation in the Olympic Games in 2028 and beyond is crucial. The next step comes Saturday.

● Cycling ● At the USA Cycling Madison National Championships in Detroit, Michigan on 15-16 November, Ashlin Barry and Enzo Edmonds won the men’s Madison with 47 points, and Jessica Chong and Stephanie Lawrence won the women’s Elite with 35 points.

● Football ● The race for tickets for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. has started. From a Thursday announcement:

“Fans now have the chance to secure priority access to FIFA World Cup 26 hospitality packages via the tournament’s first-ever hospitality deposit programme. … Deposit vouchers will begin at USD 500 and will be fully refundable.

“On Location, appointed by FIFA as the Official Hospitality Provider of the FIFA World Cup 26, will manage the programme. The launch represents the first time that FIFA has used a deposit programme ahead of a general sales period, giving fans a simple and secure route to guarantee priority access to ticket-inclusive hospitality packages for the FIFA World Cup 26.”

The tournament is expanding to 48 teams and 104 matches for 2026, beginning on 11 July 2026 at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The deposit program will be open for about three months:

“From today and until Sunday, 16 February 2025, a priority access deposit window will be open to enable fans to purchase a fully refundable deposit voucher through a secure platform. A conversion window will then follow, and holders of a deposit voucher will be contacted by On Location to explore a range of options to suit their needs before any purchase is necessary.”

No pricing on the actual packages has been posted yet.

FIFA announced a new batch of “Team Base Camp” options for the 2026 World Cup, with 26 new pairings of training sites and hotels for teams.

A total of 49 sites are now being offered, with six in Mexico and the others in the U.S. None are in Canada. Among the sites are MLS stadiums in Cincinnati, Dallas and Philadelphia and the NFL’s Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin!

The 2026 World Cup Draw will be held in December, 2025, determining which teams will play where. The Team Base Camp options list will be continue to be expanded during 2025.

● Modern Pentathlon ● An update of Wednesday’s story on the UIPM Congress in Saudi Arabia added details on long-time UIPM Treasurer John Helmick (USA). He withdrew as a candidate for re-election after giving his report on Saturday and prior to the UIPM Presidential election. Also, the UIPM posted the result of his disciplinary hearing, which found “no willful misconduct,” but was negligent with authority given to a third party.

The story has been updated.

● Shooting ● The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) posted a notice that all athletes must complete a new “Athlete Declaration” for the 2025 season and beyond, which among other requirements includes:

“I agree that, for the purposes of promoting shooting sport worldwide, immediately after each Final of the ISSF competition, I will make myself available for interviews with TV rights holders and ISSF TV production team in the TV Mixed Zone of the respective competition, upon their request, to the extent, quantity and scope that is reasonable and that can be expected of an international athlete.”

No requirements to talk to online or print media, but shooters will have to speak with the ISSF’s own camera crews and those who have purchased television rights.

● Ski Jumping ● The International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) has implemented new rules on … jumping suits:

“The custom-made suits worn by ski jumpers are among the most scrutinized equipment in winter sports, and for good reason. As well as having a thickness of 4-6mm, and possessing a specific permeability, excess slack (tolerance) can unfairly aid ‘flight.’

“Coaches and athletes continue to ask suit manufacturers to push the boundaries in terms of materials used to maximize distances. And while jumpers from top nations can use multiple outfits in a competition – some getting through 40 or 50 in a season – those from smaller nations may only be able to source a handful for an entire campaign.”

So, a new regulation: “an athlete can only wear one suit per competition and a maximum of eight per FIS Ski Jumping World Cup season with an extra two for FIS World Championships.”

Enforcement has been an issue with past rules, but now a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip has been designed to be inserted in seven sections of men’s suits (nine pieces in a men’s suit) and five for women (out of 11 pieces). What’s the impact? The season starts in Lillehammer (NOR) on Friday (22nd) and then we will see.

● Triathlon ● Two-time Olympic gold medalist Alistair Brownlee (GBR) announced his retirement on Thursday, at 36, closing one of the sport’s most memorable careers.

He explained after last a bronze-medal finish at Sunday’s T100 race in Dubai (17th):

“I have been doing it for a long time and there’s so many other things in sport I want to be able to do. I want to be able to do all kinds of endurance challenges. I want to stay fit and healthy and be part of sport, hopefully into my old age. And I’m definitely aware, you know, putting the miles on the clock and wearing things down. So I want to retire fit and healthy and not be forced to retire by injury and illness or whatever.”

He won individual World Championship titles in 2009 and 2011, four European titles and 22 World Triathlon Series, the most ever. He was appointed to the IOC Athletes’ Commission in 2022 and continues to serve.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

NCAA: Ohio State Athletic Director tells Buckeye Nation all sports will be supported, but with less athletes and more scholarships

Rich Perelman

November 21, 2024

tsx pix 2024-1121 ohio stadium (osu) — Ohio Stadium at The Ohio State University (Photo: The Ohio State University).

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≡ SPOTLIGHT ≡

The Ohio State University athletic department, powered by its championship-caliber football team, set a record for revenue in fiscal 2023 with a staggering $279,549,337 total from July of 2022 to the end of June in 2023.

That supports 36 sports, with 16 men’s teams, 17 women’s teams and three mixed-gender teams, about 1,000 student-athletes, with total expenses of $274,948,554.

In an open letter published Thursday, OSU Athletics Director Ross Bjork explained that the proposed settlement in the House vs. NCAA lawsuit is going to change the landscape, for both Ohio State and all other Division I NCAA athletic departments.

In short: more money for fewer athletes, but the same number of sports. Wrote Bjork:

“Recently, the U.S. District Court issued preliminary approval of the settlement agreement, with a final decision scheduled for April 7, 2025. Once finalized, this landmark settlement will reshape collegiate athletics and bring much needed clarity, not only for Ohio State but also our peers in the Big Ten and across NCAA Division I.

“When the settlement is approved, here are the key changes that will go into effect July 1, 2025:

“● Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) Payments also referred to as “revenue sharing” for student-athletes: Ohio State University will be permitted to directly compensate student-athletes through NIL licensing agreements, anticipated to be $20.5 million in 2025-26. This new allocation of our department’s resources will increase annually by at least 4%.

“Previously, student-athletes could only receive scholarships and be compensated for NIL agreements supported by external entities.

“● Roster and Scholarship Adjustments: New NCAA roster limits will set a cap on the number of athletes eligible for each team, and programs will now be permitted to fund as many scholarships as there are roster spots.

“● NIL Backpay for Eligible Athletes: All Division I athletes who participated in collegiate sports between 2016 and 2024 are eligible for backpay for NIL earnings.”

“With support from President [Ted] Carter, and our Board of Trustees, we are committed to maintaining 36 intercollegiate sports and athletic scholarships for all 36 programs, while also fully funding the $20.5 million dollars of direct payments to student-athletes. After a thorough review of factors such as Title IX compliance, national and conference sport sponsorship trends, our history of competitive success, and a sound fiscal plan, we are excited to announce the addition of 91 new scholarships across both women’s and men’s sports.”

It isn’t all Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows, however.

The Ohio State news release concerning the letter also noted:

“The NCAA will now implement roster limits nationally rather than scholarship limits for each sport. As a result, the number of Ohio State varsity student-athletes will decrease by approximately 150, but the total number of Ohio State athletic scholarships available will increase by 91 scholarships. This new investment will allow Ohio State’s programs to continue to compete for and win championships.

“Currently, most Ohio State student-athletes do not receive a full scholarship and 30% receive no athletic aid. As the department transitions from scholarship limits to roster limits, the number of student-athletes provided full or partial scholarships is expected to increase for most sports. All varsity sports will continue to offer scholarship opportunities.

“In addition, and unrelated to the House settlement, the athletics department has determined that the co-ed rifle and pistol teams will become women-only sports by 2029.”

Bjork closed his message with a call for more giving from Ohio State fans, this time to be used – in part – to pay students to play sports. And:

“We will also continue to work diligently to further reduce operating expenses while uncovering many of the new revenue sources that fit Ohio State traditional values.”

Observed: Ohio State was the biggest athletic department in the country by revenue in 2023, so it will be able to do more than just about anyone else. So the reality of the new athlete landscape coming in 2025 is more money for players (but mostly for football and men’s basketball), more scholarships for athletes and less athletes on teams.

The days of the walk-on at Division I schools appear to be numbered, but it is not at all clear how schools outside of the big-time Football Bowl Subdivision will be impacted, and opportunities at non-football and Division II or III schools may be more open-ended.

All of this is to be determined. But where Ohio State – the biggest-money school in the U.S. – goes, others are sure to at least try to follow.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MODERN PENTATHLON: New UIPM chief Stull looking for an “iconic venue” for 2028, says sport “not a rescue operation” at all

Rich Perelman

November 21, 2024

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≡ THE BIG PICTURE ≡

Before last week’s 73rd Congress of the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM), Rob Stull was a two-time Olympian and head of the USA Pentathlon national federation.

Now he’s the UIPM President and responsible for taking the sport forward after Klaus Schormann (GER) exited the federation presidency after 31 years. Modern pentathlon barely made it onto the program of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles after replacing riding with obstacle racing, at the behest of the International Olympic Committee.

In a Thursday morning online session with reporters, Stull is looking forward to a bright future for the sport:

“Absolutely it’s not a rescue operation. In fact … what I tell people is, I don’t look at our sport defensively. As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been involved for, you know, 40-plus years; there have been challenges. And I acknowledge that.

“However, I do not look at our current position in a defensive mode at all. In fact, we’re quite the opposite. It’s very much an offensive action in terms of building the sport, growing the sport, new audiences.

“Don’t forget, pentathlon is five disciplines. So we have a new fifth discipline [obstacle] which is 20% of the sport. But certainly not everything. … I’ve got a background in a lot of other things and we’re excited about all of it.

“So what I’m hoping to see is what we saw in Paris, but even elevated, if you can imagine. [Paris] was just so exciting.”

As for Los Angeles, no venue has been announced for modern pentathlon, but it’s a priority for Stull:

“I have some ideas that are that are exciting. I want to try very hard for that iconic venue, right? That’s the thing. I want to deliver on that. It was a campaign promise. I met with the LA28 leadership in Paris. It was wonderful. The folks who came out from LA28, they brought their whole team out to pentathlon, so they saw, they saw what it can be.”

No, the Hollywood sign is not available as a venue.

Asked about the future of obstacle events to be added as a part of the Olympic modern pentathlon program, Stull explained he is focused on the here and now:

“My job is to take the road to L.A. 2028. Paris was a huge success for, I would say, probably everybody, but certainly for pentathlon. And, boy, the numbers were off the charts and so that bar has been raised and set, and we need to meet and exceed that in the modern pentathlon. Beyond that, my crystal ball is cloudy; I don’t know what it’s going to say.”

Stull was always doing multiple things as an athlete – he made the 1988 U.S. Olympic Team in both fencing and pentathlon – and was on the board of World Obstacle as late as 2021, in addition to being head of USA Pentathlon. He explained his initial interest in obstacle was related to the future of pentathlon:

“Well, my beginnings in obstacle really had nothing to do with where it is today.

“What I was looking for was, pentathlon, as you know, founded by [Pierre] de Coubertin – you all know the history, I’m sure – it wasn’t designed as a mass-participation event. initially. And so I was looking for something that would add that mass participation element to it.

“And I found obstacle and it fit the Coubertin narrative, and that was literally a way to build the sport, to find a way to get to a lot of kids and find that very few, that very narrow margin of individuals that want to continue on into a true multi-sport event which modern pentathlon is. It’s really as a recruiting tool, that’s that’s how it happened.”

Stull was also asked about the future of the UIPM and all of the drama that has surrounded the sport since the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the horse-hitting incident that ended up challenging its place on the Olympic program and eventually changing the nature of the sport itself. He was positive about what’s next:

“[O]ne of the exciting things that come out of the Congress was the fact that we turned over, you know, nearly half the board. And so we have a bunch of new faces – not necessarily new to the sport, of course – but new to the Executive Board. And that’s a very exciting thing. …

“[T]he people that are involved, I think, are going to [be] insisting on transparency, insisting on better governance.”

Stull said he was not yet aware of what increase the federation may receive from the International Olympic Committee in terms of a television rights share, a key opportunity for more resources for the UIPM looking forward to 2028. It received $12.98 million for both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

Modern pentathlon has been the smallest sport on the Olympic program for some time, and Schormann’s major achievement in 31 years in office was to maintain its place in the Games. Stull now has the challenge of trying to go beyond that narrative. It won’t be easy, but he is enthusiastic to try.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

LOS ANGELES 2028: LA28 organizing committee revenue streams to date confirmed; IOC contribution a bit lower than projected

Rich Perelman

November 20, 2024

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ THE BIG PICTURE ≡

In November 2021, LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman told the Los Angeles City Council:

“[A]s we sit here today, with well over half our revenue contracted, and we are prepared to deliver the Games – if we had to – with the revenue we have today.

“Now we don’t believe that [$6.884 billion] will be our final revenue number. We feel very confident in our ability to drive revenue over the next seven years because of the economic platform that is both Los Angeles and the United States, and our ability to leverage incredible venues, incredible universities, incredible civic locations to make these Games truly unique.”

Three years later, Wasserman and others – including Chief Financial Officer Karen Sturges last July – have told City Council committees that LA28 has 64% of its $6.884 billion revenue target already under contract. Sturges told the Ad Hoc Committee on the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games:

“On the revenue side of the $6.9 [billion budget], we do have 64% of that number secured. The cash has not come in, we haven’t recognized it, but it is contractually secured. We feel very good about that. We feel like we’re ahead in terms of other organizing committees at this time and have a path to achieve 100%.

“By the end of this year, we will publish a new budget, which will show the contingency amount with a lot greater fidelity on the costs of commodities, services and what not.”

Last week, Wasserman was asked about the sources of that 64% at a news conference with the International Olympic Committee’s Coordination Commission, and explained that beyond the funding from the IOC:

“Our revenue streams that are contracted today are hospitality-ticketing, sponsorship and licensing.”

It’s the first time those specific areas have been confirmed, to make up the $4.4 billion in contracted revenue. So, that 64% is coming from:

● International Olympic Committee, via the Host City Contract (more on this below);

● Sponsorships, of which more than $1.6 billion has been contracted, according to comments Wasserman made to the Los Angeles Times;

● Hospitality and ticketing commitments, led by hospitality provider On Location, with ticketing services being provided by AXS and Eventim;

● Licensing, led by a large commitment by Fanatics, and an already long list of licensees of various categories and products.

What’s the breakdown?

The IOC’s 2028 Host City Contract, signed in 2017, promises $898 million to LA28 from television rights sales and an estimated $437 million share of the IOC’s TOP sponsorship revenues. The contract also projects an additional $200 million to LA28 from renewals and renegotiations of sponsorship agreements. That’s a total of $1.535 billion.

However, the IOC has lost three TOP sponsors post-Paris, with Japanese companies Bridgestone, Panasonic and Toyota stating that they will not be renewing their sponsorship agreements.

At last week’s news conference, Wasserman confirmed that the IOC payments are now expected to be “a little less than $1.5 [billion].”

So if the 64% contracted revenue number is about $4.4 billion, where does LA28 stand? Wasserman demurred on any details, but let’s project it this way:

● The IOC is now covering perhaps $1.4 billion now, instead of $1.535 billion. But there could be more, perhaps, with a share of significant increases in television rights sales for the IOC, notably in India with the addition of cricket to the program?

● Wasserman told The Times last December that LA28’s own sponsorship commitments were up to $1.6 billion out of a planned $2.52 billion. With a handful of added partners announced since then, perhaps the total is $1.7 billion?

● Hospitality and ticketing guarantees, especially from On Location, could be as high as $1.0 billion, out of an expected $1.93 billion total in the LA28 budget.

● Licensing and merchandising would then be left at about $300 million in guarantees to get to $4.4 billion overall.

Those are guesses, but they add up to $4.4 billion, or 64% of the $6.884 billion revenue target. The loss of IOC monies below the $1.535 billion number creates a hole – that $200 million in renewals was included – but there is time yet.

On the LA28 Web site now – more than three-and-a-half years out – 30 companies are listed as partners, sponsors, supporters and licensees of the organizing committee:

● 2: Founding Partners: Comcast, Delta
● 3: Hospitality & Ticketing: AXS, Eventim, On Location
● 2: Official Sponsors: Cisco, Lilly
● 5: Official Supporters
● 3: Official Licensees for various apparel
● 15: Licensees, led by Fanatics

In contrast, by mid-2021 – three years prior to the 2024 Games – the Paris organizers had announced three “Premium Partners” and four “Official Partners.” By the year-to-go mark, there were six Premium Partners, 14 Official Partners and 28 Official Supporters.

By the time of the Games in 2024: seven Premium Partners, 13 Official Partners and 50 Official Supporters, a total of 70 companies in the top three tiers, 63 of whom came on in the final 36 months prior to the Games. LA28 has a lot of selling to do, but also has time to do it.

All of this, of course, assumes that the $6.884 billion cost budget does not increase significantly – there is a $615 million contingency allowance – and Sturges indicated a revised forecast will be available by year’s end.

A lot of folks will be counting on that.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

PANORAMA: LA84 Foundation reaching for systemic change via sports; NBC to spin off cable channels; player strike at FIFA Club World Cup possible

Rich Perelman

November 20, 2024

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 1984: Los Angeles ● The living legacy of the 1984 Olympic Games is the LA84 Foundation, established with a 40% share of the $232.5 million surplus from the staging of that Games.

The Foundation has expanded its reach beyond the original concept of “putting bats and balls in the hands of boys and girls” in the Los Angeles area. Chief executive Renata Simril explained the change in approach in a new post in the Chronicle of Philanthropy. In part:

“[W]e had to innovate. We had to do something different if we were going to live up to the legacy of the 1984 Olympics. The world has changed, and our approach had to change with it. Our focus could no longer simply be on how many kids we reached or how many grants we awarded. We needed to address the systemic barriers that were preventing kids on the margins from accessing the benefits of sports and play. We needed to think bigger and act more boldly.

“This shift in thinking led to the creation of the Play Equity Fund, a 501(c)3 public charity focused on building youth voice and creating pathways to enriched opportunities through sports, play, and movement. We understood that we needed to go beyond traditional grantmaking models and adopt an enterprise approach to philanthropy. Two organizations with one mission. Through this model, we have built a play equity movement aimed at creating collective impact, and yes—with a laser focus on equity and social justice.

“At its core, our work at the Play Equity Fund is about more than just giving kids a chance to play; it’s about addressing the deep, systemic inequities that prevent marginalized communities from accessing the opportunities that sports, play, and movement provide. It’s a concept that recognizes sports and play are essential for a child’s physical, emotional, social, and academic development and that disparities in access to sport and play can perpetuate inequality in other areas.”

The results have gone far afield of simple grant-making, for example $15 million of public funding for organizations using sports as a took for social intervention in Los Angeles County, and creating a fund for regional approaches to systemic change, to complex issues such as mental health, obesity and personal isolation in the digital age. Observed Simril:

“Sports, play, and movement can reconnect our youth to their communities, build resilience, and offer them a sense of purpose.”

● NBC ● A major announcement Wednesday from Comcast Corporation, parent company of U.S. Olympic rights-holder NBC, said that seven of its cable television channels – CNBC, E!, Golf Channel, MSNBC, Oxygen, Syfy and USA Network – will be spun off into a separate company.

Comcast will retain the NBC broadcast network, NBC News, NBC Sports, the Peacock streaming service and the Bravo cable channel.

This will necessarily thin the cable-channel space available for NBC’s Olympic-related programming; for Paris 2024, NBC placed Olympic events on CNBC, E!, Golf Channel and especially USA Network. Such programming could simply be shuffled off to Peacock to continue its growth, but may not be helpful to sports looking to grow their profile.

● Aquatics ● The Russian news agency TASS reported that Russian and Belarusian athletes will be able to compete – as “neutrals” – in relays and team events in artistic swimming and diving.

Prior approvals for “neutrals” were for individual events only.

● Athletics ● World Athletics announced its nominees for national federation of the year, with USA Track & Field as one of the finalists. The six nominees are Ghana, India, Paraguay, Portugal, Solomon Islands and USATF. Of the American federation, the nomination notes:

“US athletes achieved 34 medals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, securing the top spot on the medal table, with performances including world records by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in the 400m hurdles and by the mixed 4x400m team. The team’s Olympic performance in Paris was driven by a diverse range of medals in sprints, jumps and throws.

“The federation also showcased its strength by achieving first place in the medal tables at the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 and the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24. One of the key factors behind these successes has been the implementation of an athletics development programme that covers all categories and events.”

The winner will be announced in December.

● Football ● “We have seen players’ strikes in different sports. We also have seen it in professional football and the players (have) proactively talked about it.

“I think it’s quite a unique moment in terms of how connected players are on this issue. So I, personally, would also not rule anything out at this point.”

That’s from Alexander Bielefeld (GER), the FIFPRO director of policy and strategic relations, as reported by The Associated Press on Wednesday. The FIFA Club World Cup, expanded from seven to 32 teams for 2025, is scheduled for 15 June to 13 July in the U.S. at 12 sites and has drawn continuing criticism from player groups concerned over the expansion of matches being played at clubs and national teams.

● Weightlifting ● U.S. lifters have steadily improved, winning two medals (1-0-1) at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with other promising performances pointing to future success.

So, USA Weightlifting has taken the next step and announced a new National Team Program, creating a program for “youth, junior, and senior-aged U.S. weightlifters and offers numerous developmental opportunities, including regular training camps, biomechanical analysis, and consultations with National Team coaches and performance experts, along with the opportunity to receive performance-based funding and bonuses. …

“The National Team Program splits athletes into gold, silver, bronze, and developmental levels based on age and performance history. The top-12-ranked athletes in each gender, which make up the gold and silver levels, have the opportunity to receive monthly funding and expense reimbursement opportunities to aid their continued success. The bronze level focuses on developing the two highest-ranked U23 lifters in each gender after the gold and silver levels, and the developmental level focuses on setting the foundation of the future of United States weightlifting by developing the top-25 youth and junior athletes who aren’t already in the gold, silver or bronze levels.”

● Enhanced Games ● Not much has been heard about the Enhanced Games recently, the doping-welcomed event, but it’s still in formation, with promoter Aron D’Souza (AUS) telling GearJunkie.com, “So much scientific progress has been held back by a bunch of sports bureaucrats.”

The event has been harshly criticized by anti-doping authorities and International Federations on health grounds, but no dates or site information has been shared. D’Souza said the venue and dates will be revealed in December 2024 or January of 2025. Competitions will be held in combat events, gymnastics, swimming, track and field and weightlifting.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

ANTI-DOPING: USADA calls WADA’s September letter savaging U.S. anti-doping “defamatory” and “unacceptable”

Rich Perelman

November 20, 2024

tsx pix 82318 last judgement damned man750 — From Michelangelo's immortal "The Last Judgment" (1535-41) in the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

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≡ USADA vs. WADA ≡

On 6 September, the World Anti-Doping Agency sent a three-page letter to the Board Chair of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, Dr. Tobie Smith, complaining vociferously about its performance, noting a letter from the Central European Anti-Doping Organization (CEADO):

“The letter expresses alarm that athletes competing at a very high level, such as within the college sports system and professional leagues, do not receive the protection of the Code and are not bound by its provisions. In addition, the signatories to the letter appeared to be concerned that the U.S. was sending athletes to major events, such as the Olympic Games and World Championships, without being sufficiently tested in advance.”

On Tuesday, USADA made public two letters, a two-page reply from Smith and a six-page roasting from USADA chief executive Travis Tygart, ripping WADA for a variety of misstatements and abuse.

Smith’s letter to WADA President Witold Banka (POL) included:

● “[W]e have repeatedly offered to meet with you and even offered to have others from sport and/or the anti-doping community join in such a meeting, but you continue to refuse. Your rejection of dialogue in favor of a steadfast campaign of division shows the lengths you will go to avoid answering basic questions about your failed handling of the 23 Chinese TMZ positives [from January 2021].”

● “What we now clearly see is that your defamatory letter in September was not merely an attempt to undermine the credibility of USADA and Travis Tygart but also a baseless and false attack on the integrity of U.S. athletes and their athletic accomplishments. It is difficult to reconcile your actions with your background as a former athlete and your current responsibility to lead the global fight for clean sport. The Olympic and Paralympic movements, and all athletes, deserve a higher standard of leadership and integrity.”

● “Your letter reflects not just a misunderstanding, but what appears to be an intentional misrepresentation of the U.S. sports system which has caused harm to USADA and to U.S. athletes. …

“[T]the CEADO Chair directly and through the NADO [Expert Advisory Group] has now engaged in an informed, fact-based discussion, bringing to light the extent of the falsehoods in CEADO’s letter to you, which we now understand was prompted by WADA. The baseless and defamatory claims outlined in your letter and the CEADO letter are being revealed for what they are – a politically motivated diversion to undermine the credibility of USADA and to attempt to weaken trust in the U.S. sports governance at the very time the world is demanding answers from you as to why you allowed China to violate the rules.”

The 2,827-word reply from Tygart pulled no punches and noted:

“When you eventually responded to our requests for dialogue, you declined offers of collaboration, and you mischaracterized our statements, pursued a costly and unfounded lawsuit against USADA, and sought to exclude Dr. [Rahul] Gupta, the White House Director and the duly elected representative of the America’s region to the WADA Executive Committee, from discussions on the failures of WADA outlined in the Cottier report based on a bad-faith ethics complaint, which you later agreed to withdraw. While you state in your September 6, 2024 letter that you stand ready to collaborate, your actions indicate otherwise, which is regrettable for the collective efforts to support clean athletes and to strengthen the global anti-doping movement.

“It is concerning that significant time and resources, including U.S. taxpayer funds, are being directed toward ongoing criticisms and unfounded, defamatory statements about the United States, USADA, and U.S. athletes. These efforts to create a false narrative are both evident and counterproductive. Your decision not to engage with the U.S. Congress, German Bundestag, and the Council of Europe has raised concerns, and your continued efforts to discredit the United States only further damages WADA and the credibility of the global anti-doping system.

“It is unfortunate that the political and legal efforts devoted to casting aspersions on the United States, USADA, and U.S. athletes was not directed toward ensuring that all nations, including China, played by the rules. Your letter, which was publicly released as it was being sent to USADA Board Chair Dr. Tobie Smith, came as an unexpected surprise. It is fair to say that both she and our entire Board found your actions deeply concerning and unacceptable.”

Tygart went on to state that the CEADO letter was not only initiated by WADA, but that some of the members of CEADO did not authorize it. And Tygart focused on WADA’s own actions that were the genesis of the continuing war of words between the organizations:

“It has become evident that the United States has been singled out for seeking accountability regarding WADA’s lack of enforcement of its own rules following the positive tests of 23 elite-level Chinese swimmers for a powerful performance enhancer in the lead-up to the 2021 Games. Leveraging these NADOs to support a strategy of division and retaliation runs counter to the kind of leadership essential for strengthening the global anti-doping system.

“Equally as disappointing, the defamatory letter WADA published is riddled with falsehoods and gross mischaracterizations. Your claim that ‘90% of American athletes compete outside the protection of the Code’ is unfounded and lacks any factual basis. This figure appears to have been created for effect, as no evidence supports it. In fact, millions of athletes are under the jurisdiction of the World Anti-Doping Code in the United States. And all U.S. college athletes competing at the elite Olympic level are fully subject to the WADA Code. At this summer’s Paris Olympic Games, one hundred percent (100%) of U.S. college athletes who participated were tested in accordance with the WADA Code. Your unfounded statements can only be explained as another deliberate misrepresentation aimed at diverting attention from WADA’s own failings and advancing your agenda of division.”

Tygart also went after WADA’s criticism of the volume of testing done by USADA, which it called “far from optimal.” Tygart slammed back:

“[Y]our letter’s characterization of USADA’s testing numbers relies on inaccurate comparisons and flawed assumptions. Specifically, WADA has referenced USADA’s total budget, including funding from non-Olympic and non-Paralympic sport programs, while only accounting for testing numbers from our Olympic and Paralympic programs.

“You conveniently left out over 6,000 of our tests, leading to a deceitful representation of our efforts and the testing of U.S. athletes. If a proper apples-to-apples comparison was made-considering our full· budget alongside our comprehensive testing numbers and types of tests relative to others-it would be clear that your statements are false and misleading.”

Finally, Tygart made no doubt about where he places blame for all of the conflict:

“It is profoundly regrettable that USADA’s strong and collaborative relationship with prior WADA leadership, which spearheaded innovative and creative tactics in the fight against doping, has changed so drastically.”

Observed: Although there had been signals that communications had improved, the temperature is not going down between USADA and WADA and this is regrettable. Eventually, there has to be some discussion between the two, and WADA is continuing to move forward with a revision of possible penalties for World Anti-Doping Code signatories who have not paid agreed-upon dues.

That’s aimed partly at Russia and partly at the U.S. Relations between WADA and the Biden Administration have been better than they were with the Trump Administration from 2017-21, but Trump is on the way back to the White House in January.

This could get ugly, to the benefit of absolutely no one, and places U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee Chair and new International Olympic Committee member Gene Sykes in the difficult role of being the man-in-the-middle, at least for now.

Happy holidays?

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MODERN PENTATHLON: Outgoing chief Schormann’s shadow almost overwhelmed the UIPM Congress, but not quite

Rich Perelman

November 20, 2024

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ UIPM CONGRESS ≡

/Updated/German Klaus Schormann was the President of the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne from 1993 until last week’s UIPM Congress in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but while he played a decisive role in shaping what happened there. But he did not get everything he wanted.

Multiple sources have confirmed that Schormann played an important role in eroding sentiment for France’s Olympic medalist Joel Bouzou, the former long-time UIPM Secretary General, and the favorite to succeed Schormann as President.

Instead, Bouzou was eliminated in the first round and American Rob Stull, a two-time modern pentathlon Olympian and the Managing Director of USA Pentathlon, was elected on the third ballot, by 53-48 over Egypt’s Sharif El Erian.

The push to switch from Bouzou came late, within the final days prior to the Congress, but proved to be decisive.

The election of Stull would have had a follow-on effect of eliminating the candidature of long-time UIPM Treasurer John Helmick, also from the U.S. The UIPM rules state that “There cannot be more than one member from one nation in the Executive Board or in any UIPM Committees or UIPM Commissions at the same time.” However, Helmick withdrew his candidature on Saturday after giving his Treasurer’s report and prior to the Presidential election.

Helmick had been the UIPM Treasurer since 2000, but was dismissed from the Olympic Games in Paris, with the UIPM explaining in a statement:

“UIPM confirms that UIPM Treasurer, John Helmick, has handed in his accreditation for Paris 2024 and left the Olympic Games pending an investigation by a specially-convened UIPM disciplinary panel into alleged credentials irregularities.”

Helmick was certified for the elections in Riyadh, against Brazil’s Helio Meirelles, a UIPM Auditor, who was elected Treasurer. The UIPM Disciplinary Panel outcome was published on Sunday (17th), after being decided on Friday (15th), that “there was no wilful misconduct” and that Helmick “acted with negligence and had been lacking the level of diligence that could be expected from a person entrusted with valuables.” The Disciplinary Panel outcome does not mention Helmick by name, but it was confirmed that he was the subject of the announcement.

Schormann apparently got who he wanted as UIPM President in Stull, but did not quite achieve all his goals.

A motion to the Congress – “EB2″ – proposed significant new options for the involvement of an Honorary President – a post to which Schormann was elected at the Congress:

“16.2 The Executive Board may avail itself of the support and advice of any Honorary President. The Executive Board may task any Honorary President with representing the interests of UIPM in specific international relations, special development projects and/or any other tasks the Executive Board deem fit.

“16.3 The Executive Board may assign to any Honorary President funds to perform the tasks assigned pursuant to article 16.2.”

If approved, this section could allow Schormann to continue as a shadow President. And it got a majority of the votes cast:

● 54: Yes
● 37: No
● 8: Abstained (three did not vote)

But the UIPM rules require changes to statutes to receive a 2/3rds majority at a Congress, meaning with 102 votes in the room, 68 votes would have been needed for passage. Further, the motion also allowed an Honorary President to speak at the General Assembly (but not to vote) and this was also voted down.

Schormann is Honorary President, but the title carries no privileges.

A test of how far modern pentathlon can go in the direction of obstacle racing – which has replaced riding for Olympic competitions beginning in 2028 – was defeated as well.

Motion “EB3″ proposed to broaden the definition of the sport ever further:

“2.3 ‘UIPM Sports’ encompass Modern Pentathlon and every combination of its disciplines outlined in article 2.2, as well as obstacle sport. This includes Tetrathlon (any four disciplines), Triathle (swimming laser run or any three disciplines), Obstacle Laser Run, Biathle (continuous run/swim), Laser Run (a combined event of running and laser shooting), and standalone disciplines of Obstacle sport not limited to ninja, obstacle course racing (OCR), and adventure racing.”

This expansion into all forms of obstacle-style racing almost passed, but fell short of the 2/3rds majority required:

● 62: Yes
● 31: No
● 4: Abstained (five did not vote)

Again, 68 votes were needed to pass. But an amended version proposed by the federations from Italy and Malta removed the reference to “not limited to ninja, obstacle course racing (OCR), and adventure racing” and left it at “standalone disciplines of Obstacle sport.”

This passed, barely:

● 70: Yes
● 30: No
● 1: Abstained (one did not vote)

This will be important for Stull going forward, as World Obstacle is being integrated with the UIPM and includes competitions in Adventure, Hybrid Racing and Ninja as well as Obstacle. The UIPM is now restricted to “Obstacle Racing” only and not the other formats.

Stull was a board member of World Obstacle in 2021 as the continental representative of the Americas, at the same time he was heading USA Pentathlon and was a board member of the UIPM, so he is at the vanguard of the obstacle movement inside the sport.

Two motions from Belarus were defeated, including a request to hold annual modern pentathlon world championships with riding as a “non-Olympic discipline”; this lost by 52-36 with eight abstentions. Another motion to remove sanctions on Russia and Belarus lost by 58-29.

Observed: One of the questions going forward will be how Stull points the UIPM in terms of obstacle racing as an added event on the Olympic program, or for obstacle racing to have a bigger profile with the absorption of the World Obstacle federation.

But as always, the UIPM has very limited resources, and Stull will be under pressure to create new revenues, or see modern pentathlon fall further behind other federations on the Olympic program.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

PANORAMA: Paris 2024 security costs at $1.21 billion; near 90% of Paris medalists were dope-tested pre-Games; Shiffrin names 8th reindeer!

Rich Perelman

November 19, 2024

tsx pix 2024-1119 shriffin and rori-levi (x) — Mikaela Shiffrin with “Rori,” the eighth reindeer she has named after a Slalom win in Levi, Finland (Photo: Mikaela Shiffrin on X).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2012: London ● The Athletics Integrity Unit announced Tuesday that no appeal was filed by Russian runner Tatyana Tomashova over her disqualification for doping at the 2012 Olympic Games.

Tomashova, originally fourth in the women’s 1,500 m in London, was moved up to second in view of two doping disqualifications ahead of her. But she was disqualified in September by the AIU based on data from the Moscow Laboratory concerning Russia’s state-sponsored doping program from 2011-15.

So, with Tomashova officially disqualified, the medal winners are now Maryam Jamal (BRN: 4:10.74), Abeba Aregawi (ETH: 4:11.03) and Shannon Rowbury of the U.S. (4:11.26), who was originally sixth. The International Olympic Committee has been notified and can proceed with a re-allocation of medals.

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● A French Senate budget report for 2025, detailed by the Le Monde daily, said that the security costs related to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris cost €1.14 billion or about $1.21 billion U.S.

The primary components were the police force (€813.9 million from 2020-24) and the gendarmerie staff (€327 million from 2022-25), including personnel costs, operations and equipment. There were bonus payments made as part of this total for having everyone available during the normally more relaxed summer months.

The International Testing Agency reported that its pre-Olympic testing program for 2024 reached almost 90% of all athletes who ended up coming in Paris:

“A total of 31,8963 tests were implemented on the 10,720 athletes who participated in the Games. Out of these 10,720 athletes, 1,108 (10.3%) were not tested in the six months before the Games. This represents a significant improvement compared to the corresponding period before Tokyo 2020 where 14 to 15% of the athletes were not tested.”

This testing level was increased by about 45% over the prior six months, with 59% of all tests done by national anti-doping agencies and 41% by the International Federations.

Based on a pre-Games evaluation of potential doping risks, 76.3% of athletes were tested at their estimated risk level or above. Another 13.4% were tested once, below their risk level and 10.3% were not tested at all. In individual events, some 75.4% were tested at the recommended level, 16.2% tested once and 8.4% not tested at all.

In terms of medal winners, 89.5% were tested prior to the Games according to their risk level; 7.1% were tested once and 3.4% were not tested pre-Games.

The U.S. (98% of all athletes tested according to recommendations), China (99%) and Hungary (99%) were the most-tested teams, followed by Germany (96%) and Japan (95%).

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● Work on the new Cortina sliding track is continuing at an accelerated pace and is on schedule for certification tests next March.

The Associated Press shared a report from Fabio Saldini, the head of the government’s Societa Infrastructure Milano Cortina (SiMiCo), saying “The timeline is being respected in view of the pre-homologation in March.”

A SiMiCo report added, “The top part of the track is being finalized. Checks on several different parts of the track are ongoing, with specific attention being made to the refrigeration system.” More than 180 workers are at the site, with others assembling components elsewhere in Italy.

● International Olympic Committee ● Vault coach Vitaliy Petrov and diving coach Jane Figueiredo were named as the IOC’s Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award winners for 2024. Petrov, a long-time coach and teacher in Ukraine, was the coach of Ukrainian superstar and world-record holder Sergey Bubka and later Philippine star E.J. Obiena.

Figuieredo, born in Zimbabwe, was a diving Olympian for Portugal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. She became the diving coach at the University of Houston from 1990-2014 and then took over the British diving program in 2014, helping Olympic stars Tom Daley and Matty Lee, among others.

● Russia ● The Russian Olympic Committee reported income of 643.1 million rubles for November 2023 to September 2024, about $6.39 million U.S.

The story posted by the Russian news agency TASS said “the ROC has not received funds from the federal budget for 12 years.” The ROC reported reserves of 3.657 billion rubles, or about $36.36 million U.S.

● Alpine Skiing ● American superstar Mikaela Shiffrin posted the name for her eighth reindeer “won” at the Levi World Cup Slalom in Finland:

“Meet ‘Rori’ short for ‘Aurora Borealis’…which I was so excited to see for the first time earlier this week!!”

She previously named Rudolph (in 2013), Sven (2016), Mr. Gru (2018), Ingemar (2019), Sunny and Lorax (2022 races), and Grogu in 2023. The victory was Shiffrin’s 98th career World Cup gold, extending her own all-time record.

● Basketball ● Three U.S. stars who won Olympic gold medals – Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles and Cappie Pondexter – were voted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, and will be inducted on 14 June 2025 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Bird won five Olympic golds in 2004-08-12-16-20 and four World Championship titles with the U.S. in 2002-10-14-18, as a playmaking guard, plus four WNBA titles with the Seattle Storm.

Fowles, a 6-6 center, won four Olympic golds in 2008-12-16-20 and a world title in 2010 with the U.S., and two WNBA titles with Minnesota. Pondexter, a 5-9 guard, was a member of the 2008 Olympic gold-medal team and was a two-time WNBA champion with Phoenix.

● Boxing ● The Asian Boxing Confederation will meet in an Extraordinary Congress on 23 November to consider whether to be “an independent organization until any new international organizations is recognized by the International Olympic Committee.”

This would essentially be a transitional move away from the International Boxing Association and toward World Boxing, which is trying to become the IOC-recognized governing body for Olympic boxing.

So, the IBA, following its usual script, has injected money into the debate, announcing last Friday that it “has allocated $500,000 prize money fund for medallists and quarterfinalists of the ASBC Asian Boxing Championships that will take place in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 28 November – 12 December.”

The top three finishers will receive $8,000-4,000-2,000 with $1,000 for the quarterfinalists in all divisions. The IBA was expelled from the Olympic Movement in June 2023 and the International Olympic Committee has stated that it will not recognize fighters from national federations still affiliated with the IBA.

● Equestrian ● Olympic Jumping champion Christian Kukuk (GER) was honored as the Peden Bloodstock FEI Best Athlete Award winner for 2024, at the FEI Awards Gala in Abu Dhabi (UAE).

● Football ● The U.S. men’s National Team has little trouble with Jamaica in the second leg of their CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal on Monday in St. Louis, Missouri, winning 4-2 and finished with a 5-2 combined total.

Midfield star Christian Pulisic scored in the 13th minute, Jamaican defender DiShon Bernard suffered an own goal in the 33rd off a Pulisic shot that deflected into the net, and striker Ricardo Pepi made the lead 3-0 before halftime with a 42nd-minute goal. Jamaican forward Demarai Gray got two second-half goals, but Tim Weah scored in the 56th for the U.S. and the final was 4-2.

The U.S. had 67% possession and a 16-9 shots advantage. The CONCACAF semis will take place in March.

Multiple reports confirmed that the ban on Russian teams is being continued by FIFA and UEFA, meaning a Russian team will not play in the European qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and will not participate in the tournament.

FIFA has followed the International Olympic Committee’s call for a continuing ban on Russian teams since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

● Freestyle Skiing & Snowboard ● “The Snow League,” a four-stop circuit of halfpipe skiing and snowboarding led by three-time Olympic champion Shaun White of the U.S., will debut on 7-8 March in Aspen, Colorado, to be televised by NBC.

The other three stops are to be announced; the circuit is to pay $1.5 million in prize money.

● Gymnastics ● Simone Biles’ “Gold Over America” tour concluded in early November and she posted on Instagram:

“7 weeks, countless memories, and endless gratitude. Thank you to everyone who came out and supported this journey after the success we had in Paris Your energy and love fuel everything I do. Forever thankful, forever inspired”

Biles, 27, told reporters in Paris after her Olympic individual event finals:

“This is my last, definitely Yurchenko double pike [vault]. I mean I kind of nailed that one. So never say never. … The next Olympics is at home, so you just never know. But I am getting really old.”

● Volleyball ● As a final show of support for his 12 years as FIVB President, Brazilian Ary Graca was elected as FIVB Honorary President during the FIVB World Congress that closed Sunday in Porto (POR).

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

LOS ANGELES 2028: City of L.A. report asks LA28 organizers for request to re-arrange venues, do a new economic impact study

Rich Perelman

November 18, 2024

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ SPOTLIGHT ≡

“Pursuant to Games Agreement C-139679 between the City and LA28, LA28 is required to obtain the City’s consent prior to implementing actions that move events out of the City and amend the current Venue Plan approved by Council.”

That’s from a Monday report by the City of Los Angeles’ Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA), the principal staff oversight team on the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic organizing effort.

The 35-page report from the CAO Matthew Szabo and CLA Sharon Tso asks the City Council to begin the process of discussion on the approval of the multiple shifts of sports and venues for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games that were disclosed in June of this year:

Olympic sports and disciplines moved out of Los Angeles:
● Aquatics/Artistic: Dedeaux Field at USC to Long Beach
● Aquatics/Swimming: Dedeaux Field at USC to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood
● Basketball: Crypto.com Arena to Intuit Dome in Inglewood
● Canoe/Slalom: Sepulveda Basin to Oklahoma City
● Equestrian: Sepulveda Basin to Galway Downs in Temecula
● Shooting: Sepulveda Basin to an out-of-L.A. location

Olympic sports and disciplines moving into Los Angeles:
● Archery: SoFi Stadium to Sepulveda Basin
● Cycling/BMX: Long Beach to Sepulveda Basin
● Gymnastics: The Forum to Crypto.com Arena

In addition, LA28 announced that the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area would host cycling/BMX and skateboarding, as well as archery, and that softball, an added sport, would be held in Oklahoma City.

There are still multiple sports with venues unannounced, including the cycling road races and mountain bike, football preliminaries, modern pentathlon, sport climbing, surfing, beach volleyball and indoor volleyball, plus the added sports of baseball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash.

Boxing is in limbo, but was originally proposed to be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in the downtown area.

The LA28 analysis of the changes it has announced so far has a financial benefit of $162 million from lowered costs for almost all of the venue changes and better revenue opportunities.

The CAO/CLA report asks the City Council:

● To ask the LA28 organizers for a formal request for the changes it wants to make from the original, 2017 bid plan for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

● “Assert City authority to consider and approve all amendments to the Venue Plan,” a position LA28 does not agree with.

● “Council to request for LA28 to conduct an independent economic impact study to highlight the anticipated impacts of the 2028 Games on the City and the region, which incorporates the requested venue changes, added sport disciplines, and lessons learned from the 2024 Paris Games, and to submit the report to the City no later than June 30, 2025.”

The second request is a disagreement between LA28 and the City, over a technical point in the Games Agreement between the parties from 2021. LA28 states in its June 2024 letter to the City that it is only required to seek City approval for venue changes where sports are moved out of the City from the 2017 bid plan. The CAO/CLA report insists that the City must approve any and all venue assignments which differ from the 2017 bid plan, including venue assignments for sports not part of the 2028 program at the time the Games was awarded to Los Angeles.

This will have to be worked out, but the new report outlines what could be a long process of approvals if the CAO/CLA recommendation is adopted by the City Council.

The likely next step for the CAO/CLA report is assignment to the City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games for discussion and a hearing.

The economic impact study will be important for the City to understand what it stands to gain from having the Olympic and Paralympic Games in terms of direct, indirect and induced employment and spending impacts and potential tax revenues that would flow from the holding of the Games in 2028. The report states that LA28 is in the process of having this done and completed in 2025.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

RUSSIA: Russian Sports Minister says it “needs to stop with accusations, insults” toward the IOC, pay up its WADA dues

Rich Perelman

November 18, 2024

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

A major change in the Russian approach to the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Movement was signaled in Moscow Monday by the Russian Minister of Sport, Mikhail Degtyarev.

Speaking at the All-Russian Forum of New Media, he explained that there is continuing dialogue between Russia and the IOC, with a view to the future:

“The dialogue is being conducted, non-publicly, through various channels and on neutral territories.

“I meet with international officials, there are various means of communication. The convergence of positions has begun. I believe that we need to stop with accusations, insults, we need to start moving towards softening the IOC’s position towards our athletes.”

Sanctions were imposed on Russian athletes quickly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, shortly after the conclusion of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China. The IOC recommended banning all Russian and Belarusian athletes and teams from international competitions, which was enforced by almost all of the International Federations.

The IOC eased this stance at the end of 2022, and in March 2023, issued recommendations to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes who do not “actively support the war” to be able to compete as “neutrals.” Many federations follows this guideline, but some – World Athletics in particular – maintained a full ban.

In October 2023, the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee for taking over regional sports organizations which are part of the structure of the Ukrainian National Olympic Committee, and that sanction remains in place.

Finally, the IOC determined its own procedure for reviewing “neutral” athletes for the purpose of competing at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, with 15 Russian and 17 Belarusian athletes finally competing in the Games as “neutrals.”

The Russian response has been continuing, harsh criticism of the IOC and especially of President Thomas Bach (GER). Now, with the IOC to elect a new President next March, Russian sport has taken on a new look:

● Russian sports minister Oleg Matytsin, 60, stepped down and Degtyarev, 43, was named to replace him in May 2024.

● Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdnyakov, 51, a four-time Olympic gold medalist in fencing, also a harsh critic of the IOC and Bach, announced he would step down in October after six years at the head of the ROC.

● Soon after, Degtyarev said he would stand to be the Russian Olympic Committee President as well as Minister of Sport. With the approval of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Degtyarev will be elected as ROC President in December, unifying the country’s sports leadership.

All of this is aimed at removing Russia’s harshest critics in order to promote a rapprochement with the IOC in advance of its March election.

Of the seven candidates for the IOC Presidency, the Russians are sternly against Sebastian Coe (GBR) from World Athletics, who has been resolute in maintaining sanctions against them. They are more hopeful of the election of veteran IOC member Juan Antonio Samaranch (ESP), whose father was a transformational IOC leader from 1980-2001, or UCI President David Lapparetient (FRA) or Japan’s Morinari Watanabe, head of the International Gymnastics Federation.

Fewer comments have been made about candidates Feisal Al Hussein (JOR), Olympic champion swimmer Kirsty Coventry (ZIM), or International Ski & Snowboard Federation chief Johan Eliasch (GBR).

As another indicator that the Russian charm offensive is in full gear, Degtyarev also said that arrangements are being made for the Russian Anti-Doping Agency fees to the World Anti-Doping Agency to be paid in full.

“The dialogue is ongoing, the money is there,” Degtyarev said. “A trial payment was made in June, with great difficulty. Everything will depend on WADA’s position toward the Russian Anti-Doping Agency.”

The Russian news agency TASS reported:

“In 2024, WADA expects Russia to pay a contribution of $1,335,860. Russia’s contribution for 2023 is $1,267,023. At the beginning of the summer, $53,237 was paid, which is 4.2% of the total amount. Russia still has $1,213,786 to pay.”

Russia has reported some difficulty in making transfers due to financial sanctions imposed on it, but is now seeking to bring its accounts up to date, no doubt earlier than the IOC Session next March in Greece.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

PANORAMA: Shiffrin “wins” eighth reindeer in Levi Slalom; Paris 2024 torch brings $26,000 at auction; four wins for U.S. speedster Stolz!

Rich Perelman

November 17, 2024

tsx pix 2024-309 stolz, jordan inzell (isu) — The men's World Allround Champion, American Jordan Stolz (Photo: International Skating Union)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2036 ● The Hungarian Supreme Court rules Thursday that a referendum can be held on the question of whether Budapest should bid for a future Olympic Games.

Budapest is in “dialogue” with the International Olympic Committee in the informal discussion process of future hosing of Olympic Games, but the Momentum Party – which rose to prominence in opposing Budapest’s 2024 Olympic bid – has asked for a public vote on the issue.

The request was blocked by the National Election Committee, but has now been successfully appealed. Voter concerns center primarily on the potential costs of an Olympic Games in the country; they will now have a chance to vote on it.

● Memorabilia ● Auction 97 from Ingrid O’Neil closed on Saturday evening, with five items bringing more than $5,000:

● $35,000: Athens 1896 second-place (bronze) medal
● $30,000: Tokyo 2020 silver medal for cycling
● $26,000: Paris 2024 Olympic torch
● $20,000: London 2012 silver medal for artistic gymnastics
● $6,500: Los Angeles 1932 silver medal

There were no bids on the ultra-rare 1968 Grenoble Olympic Winter Games torch, one of only 33 made, with a starting bid of $180,000.

● Alpine Skiing ● American superstar Mikaela Shiffrin “won” her eighth reindeer and 98th FIS World Cup gold in the Slalom in Levi (FIN), leading the first run and then sixth-fastest on the final run to win in 1:47.20.

She was a clear winner over Katharina Liensberger (AUT: 1:47.99) and German Lina Duerr (1:48.03). Fellow American Paula Moltzan was eighth in 1:48.71.

On Sunday, the men’s Slalom went to Olympic champ Clement Noel (FRA), who led after the first run and had the second-fastest second run to win in 1:53.98 over Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR: 1:54.78). Benjamin Ritchie was the top American, in 13th (1:56.11).

It’s Noel’s first win at Levi and his 11th career World Cup gold.

● Archery ● At the World Archery Indoor World Series GT Open in Strassen (LUX), France’s Anthony Barbier won the men’s Recurve win by 6-4 over Alen Remar (CRO), and in the all-Korean women’s final, Duna Lim defeated Hana Lim, 6-2.

● Athletics ● USA Track & Field posted its 2024 award winners, with the men’s Athlete of the Year – the Jesse Owens Award – going to Olympic 110 m hurdles champ Grant Holloway and the women’s Jackie Koyner-Kersee Award to Olympic 200 m winner Gabby Thomas.

The USATF Nike Coach of the Year winner is UCLA head coach Joanna Hayes, who mentored Rai Benjamin, the winner of the men’s 400 m hurdles. Prep sensation Quincy Wilson, 16, who won an Olympic gold for his lead-off leg in the prelims of the men’s 4×400 m relay that eventually won the final (with Benjamin on anchor), won the Youth Athlete of the Year.

● Badminton ● China scored two wins at the BWF World Tour Kumamoto Masters Japan in Kunamoto, with Shi Feng Li taking the men’s Singles over Jun Hao Leong (MAS), 21-10, 21-13, and Sheng Shu Liu and Ning Tan winning the women’s Doubles against Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto (JPN), 21-15, 21-5.

Japan got a win in the women’s Singles from second-seed Akane Yamaguchi, 21-12, 21-12 over Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (INA), but Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi (JPN) lost the men’s Doubles final to third-seeds Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto (INA), 21-15, 17-21, 21-17.

The new pairing of Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran (THA) won in the men’s Doubles, 21-16, 10-21, 21-17, over Thom Qicquel and Delphine Derue (FRA).

● Bobsled & Skeleton ● A big surprise at the season-opening IBSF World Cup for Skeleton only in PyeongChang (KOR), with Britain’s Amelia Coltman getting her first World Cup medal – a victory – coming from 15th after the first run to first after the second!

Coltman had the second-best second run to vault past the top 14, finishing in 1:48.41, ahead of three-time Worlds medal winner Austria’s Janine Flock, the first-run leader (1:48.49), and Nicole Rocha Silveira (BRA: 1:48.54).

Katie Uhlaender was the top American in 14th (1:49.08) and Mystique Ro was 15th (1:49.10).

Britain scored again in the women’s second race, with Freya Tarbit winning both runs to finish at 1:44.68 for her first career World Cup victory, ahead of Olympic champ Hannah Niese (GER: 1:45.64) and Flock (1:45.70).

Sara Roderick was the top U.S. finisher, in 12th (1:46.49).

Three-time World Champion Christopher Grotheer (GER) won the men’s first run and finished the first race in 1:46.32, ahead of British riders Marcus Wyatt (1:46.47) and 2023 World Champion Matt Weston (1:46.95).

Grotheer completed a sweep with a second-race victory in 1:42.81, coming from third after the first run. Wyatt and Weston were 2-3 again, in 1:42.87 and 1:43.31, with Wyatt the first-run leader. Austin Florian was the top American, in 11th (1:43.93).

● Figure Skating ● Japan scored men’s and women’s victories for the second week in a row in the ISU Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki (FIN), led by three-time men’s Worlds silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama.

He won the Short Program by more than 13 points, but was only fifth in the Free Skate. Still, he finished with 263.09 points, ahead of teammate Kevin Aymoz (FRA: 259.15) and Italy’s Daniel Grassl (258.55), the Free Skate winner. American Camden Pulkinen finished ninth (195.18).

For the second week in a row, Japan went 1-2 in the women’s Singles, with Hana Yoshida – the 2024 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist – winning at 199.46, just ahead of Rino Matsuike (199.20). Lara Gutmann (ITA: 198.49) was third, with American Sarah Everhardt fourth (191.17), and Lindsay Thorngren of the U.S. in ninth (170.64).

In Pairs, Canada’s 2024 World Champions, Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, won their second Grand Prix title of the season, winning both segments and scoring 207.44 points. Hungary’s Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko finished second (184.21).

Americans Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe were fifth (174.40) and Naomi Williams and Lachlan Lewer finished eighth (153.34).

The Ice Dance victory went to Britain’s European Championship runner-ups Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, who won the Free Dance to vault from second to first with 203.22 points. Just behind were Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (CAN), the Rhythm Dance leaders, who scored 200.79, ahead of Finland’s Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis (196.60).

Americans Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik placed third in the Free Dance and finished fifth overall at 189.48, with Eva Pate and Logan Bye in seventh (180.35) and siblings Oona Brown and Gage Brown in eighth (176.57).

The circuit moves on to the Cup of China in Chongqing from 22-24 November, the last event before the Grand Prix Final in Grenoble (FRA) in December.

● Lacrosse ● World Lacrosse elected American Bob DeMarco as its new President during its online 2024 General Assembly, succeeding Sue Redfern (GBR), for a four-year term.

DeMarco, a board member since 2017, was selected over Jakob Grossehagenbrock (GER) and Ronald Jones (NZL). DeMarco played football and lacrosse at Hofstra University in New York and was a long-time coach at Old Bridge High School in Matawan, New Jersey and an assistant at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Lacrosse Sixes has been added to the 2028 Olympic program for Los Angeles, and World Lacrosse chief executive Jim Scherr had his contract extended through 2028. Scherr joined the federation as chief executive in 2017 and led the charge for Olympic inclusion. The first World Championships for Sixes will take place in 2027.

● Rugby ● The World Rugby Council elected Australian Brett Robinson as Chair at its interim meeting in Dublin (IRL). Robinson competed with Abdelatif Benazzi (FRA) and Andrea Rinaldo (ITA), with Robinson receiving 22 votes in the first round to 21 Benazzi and nine for Rinaldo, who was eliminated.

The vote was again close in the second round, with Robinson winning with 27 to 25. A former Australian player with 16 national-team appearances, Robinson was the Australian Rugby Union’s General Manager of High Performance for 10 years, leaving in 2005. He will serve a four-year term and could be re-elected for a second, four-year term.

● Speed Skating ● The U.S. scored seven wins at the ISU Four Continents Championships in Hachinohe City (JPN), with triple World Champion Jordan Stolz leading the way.

The World Champion at 500-1,000-1,5000 m two years in a row, Stolz won all three events, in 34.47, 1:08.04 (track record) and 1:44.45 (track record). Stolz beat 2024 Worlds runner-up Laurent Dubrueil (CAN: 34.68) in the 500 m, 2020 World Sprint Champion Tatsuya Shinhama (JPN: 1:08.38) in the 1,000 m and China’s 2024 Worlds runner-up Zhongyan Ning (1:45.84) in the 1,500 m.

American Cooper McLeod was fourth in the 500 m (34.99), and Zach Stoppelmoor was seventh (35.21), plus a fifth in the 1,000 m (1:09.79). Emery Lehman was fifth at 1,500 m at 1:47.77.

Canada’s Graeme Fish, the 2020 World Champion at 10,000 m, won the men’s 5,000 m in 6:18.06, a track record, and Vitaliy Chshigolev (KAZ) won the Mass Start race in 8:22.05, with Ethan Cepuran of the U.S. fifth in 8:23.48.

The U.S. won both relays. In the Team Sprint, Austin Kleba, McLeod and Stoppelmoor (1:19.43) won over China (1:19.78), and Cepuran, Emery Lehman and Stolz won the Team Pursuit in 3:43.13, with Japan second at 3:44.47.

American stars Erin Jackson and Brittany Bowe won the women’s 500 m and 1,000 m. Jackson, the Olympic champ, timed 38.16 to win over Kurumi Inagawa (JPN: 38.26), with fellow Americans Kimi Goetz fifth (38.53) and Bowe sixth (38.56).

Bowe, the three-time World Champion at 1,000 m, won that race in 1:15.65, ahead of Nadezhda Morozova (KAZ: 1:17.16) and Goetz (1:17.23).

World Champion Miho Takagi (JPN) was an easy winner in the 1,500 m at 1:54.86, beating Mei Han (CHN: 1:56.53), and teammate Momoka Horikawa took the women’s 3,000 m in 4:06.91. Canada’s Ivanie Blondin, the 2022 Olympic runner-up, won the Mass Start in 9:23.28, with American Mia Manganello second in 9:23.36.

Canada also won the women’s Team Sprint, with China taking the Team Pursuit.

● Volleyball ● Brazilian Fabio Azevedo was elected by acclimation for an eight-year term as President of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) at the FIVB Congress in Porto (POR).

He succeeds fellow Brazilian Ary Graca, termed out after 12 years. Azevedo’s first action was to appoint his replacement as Secretary General, naming New Zealand’s Hugh McCutcheon, already an FIVB advisor. McCutcheon was a highly successful coach, leading the U.S. men to a Beijing 2008 Olympic gold medal, and the U.S. women to a London 2012 Olympic silver.

He was the University of Minnesota women’s head coach from 2012-22, retired and has been an Assistant Athletics Director and Sport Development Coach at Minnesota.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

GYMNASTICS: Iconic coach of Romanian and U.S. stars, Bela Karolyi, passes at 82

Rich Perelman

November 16, 2024

tsx pix 2024-1116 karolyi, bela 2009 (taty2007-wiki) — Famed gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi, in 2009 (Photo: Taty2007 via Wikipedia).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ SPOTLIGHT ≡

USA Gymnastics announced Saturday that famed coach Bela Karolyi, who mentored stars such as Nadia Comeneci and Mary Lou Retton, passed away at age 82 on Friday, 15 November.

The announcement noted:

“He served as U.S. Women’s National Team coordinator from November 1999 through January 2001 and continued to be involved in the sport after [his wife] Marta assumed duties as National Team coordinator from 2001-2016.

“Karolyi was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997, and he was inducted along with Marta into USA Gymnastics’ Hall of Fame in 2000 as a coaching team.”

Born 13 September 1942 in wartime Hungary in a town that was later part of Romania, Karolyi rose to prominence as the national team coach of Romania, beginning in 1974. One of his star early pupils was Comaneci, who made history at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal as the first gymnast to ever be awarded a perfect, 10.0 score on the Uneven Bars during the team qualifying competition. Comaneci earned seven 10.0 marks in Montreal and won three golds – including the All-Around – a silver and a bronze.

The Romanian women won seven medals in 1976 (3-2-2), second only to the USSR. At Moscow in 1980, Karolyi was again the women’s coach, and Comaneci won two more golds and the team again won seven medals (2-3-2).

Karolyi and his wife defected to the U.S. in 1981 and he soon found his next protégé, a 4-foot-9 bundle of energy named Mary Lou Retton. Just 15 years old in 1983, she won the American Cup and progressed rapidly, facing new Romanian star Ecaterina Szabo for the Olympic women’s All-Around title at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Retton won that All-Around and became a U.S. Olympic icon for her performance, loudly exhorted by Karolyi – as her personal coach – during the competitions. Retton also won two other silvers and two bronzes in 1984, in her only Olympic appearance.

Karolyi’s impact was widely noted, and he was in the spotlight again at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta as the personal coach for U.S. gymnast Kerri Strug and others. Suffering from an ankle injury after her first vault in the team competition, Strug was loudly encouraged by Karolyi to maintain her composure and complete a second vault, which helped the U.S. women take the team gold medal. Karolyi carried Strug to the podium in a picture that drew worldwide attention.

Karolyi then became the U.S. national team coach from 1999 to 2001 and Marta took over from 2001 to 2016, during which time the American women became the dominant force in the sport.

The often-outspoken Karolyi was famous for hard workouts and strong discipline and was accused of abuse by some athletes, but was also defended by others. Marta’s approach was a bit less stringent and the U.S. performances were unparalleled.

The Karolyi Ranch gymnastics center outside of Houston, Texas was the venue for many U.S. training camps, and abuses against gymnasts by long-time USA Gymnastics national team doctor Larry Nassar were reported to have been committed there. The Karolyis filed suit, refuting any allegations of responsibility, but the matter never came to trial, being settled as part of the comprehensive settlement agreed to by abuse survivors in 2021.

USA Gymnastics cut ties with the Karolyi Ranch in 2018, two years after Marta Karolyi finished her time as the national team coordinator.

Bela Karolyi will always be remembered for his coaching successes, especially with two of the sport’s most iconic performers in Comaneci and Retton. But he also coached in a time when his methods – formulated in the Cold War Era – produced stars who rose to dizzying heights, but eventually became much less acceptable.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

LANE ONE: The best explanation yet why traffic will be handled for the 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games: “no different than Carmageddon”

Rich Perelman

November 16, 2024

tsx pix 2024-1116 wasserman ioc coord comm (tsx) — LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman at the IOC Coordination Commission news conference on 14 November 2024 (TSX photo).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ LOS ANGELES 2028 ≡

The LA28 Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee doesn’t say much publicly, at least not yet. But at every news conference, the same two questions come up: the infamous Los Angeles traffic and homelessness in the area.

LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman was dependably asked about both at Thursday’s session following the visit of the International Olympic Committee Coordination Commission. He has answered these questions before, but might have been his clearest, best answer yet, especially on transportation:

“The first point is, when we bid for the Games, what we bid for was, in terms of transportation, all that existed at the time we bid, in 2016. So our plan, our ability to deliver the Games is completely reliant on an existing plan we had from 2016, for the infrastructure and the public transportation that we built – not even in progress to be built – in 2016.

“Obviously, there’s been a ton of investments in public infrastructure in Los Angeles – public transportation, airports and the like – and so our responsibility is to take the best advantage of that as we can, as we finalize our Games plan, and so we’re very focused on it.

“But just remember that the Olympic Games is not like a normal, two-week period and all of a sudden, we show up with the Olympics. No different than ‘Carmageddon”’ for those of you from Los Angeles, or other times in L.A., we’re going to make people aware of when there’s events, where there are events, traffic patterns, traffic changes, obviously having dedicated lanes, and so we get to adjust traffic patterns and adjust fan flow and athlete and participant and constituent flow, to fit our city, not just show up on a Friday night with an opening ceremonies and say, ‘oh, by the way, tomorrow’s night’s opening ceremonies,’ it’s a normal Friday night of rush hour in the summer.

“That’s not how it works. We feel very confident about, frankly, living up the legacy of 1984, which was an incredible experience, when people drove around and there was no traffic.

“So, we think that’s sort of our future.”

The “Carmageddon” reference is especially important and a key to understanding why traffic can be – not necessarily will be – managed properly in 2028.

For non-Angelenos, “Carmageddon” refers to a 53-hour, Friday-evening-to-Monday-morning closure of 10 miles of the heavily-trafficked San Diego (405) Freeway from 15-18 July 2011 required as part of a freeway-widening project. With enormous publicity beforehand, the feared-for traffic crush never materialized as people simply avoided the impacted zone of that critical freeway.

A year-later review by the Rand Corporation noted how the community handled this catastrophe-in-the-making:

“So how did the roughly 300,000 travelers who traverse the affected stretch of the San Diego Freeway each day respond? There was a 61 percent decrease in traffic volume heading northbound on the 405 toward the West L.A. closure on Carmageddon Saturday, compared with a typical summer Saturday. Southbound traffic on the 405 in the San Fernando Valley dropped even more: 73 percent.

“Traffic did not simply take detours around the closure. In virtually every location we examined, traffic levels were way down along potential Carmageddon detours. On the Ventura Freeway just north of the closure, westbound traffic volumes were down by 43 percent, and eastbound by 45 percent. Likewise, traffic leaving the 101/405 interchange was down 34 percent in the west/northbound direction and 31 percent east/southbound.”

People knew what to do to avoid problems and did it. A 2014 retrospective from Access Magazine added:

● “Officials delivered print, radio, online ads, and email blasts to over 6,000 organizations. They configured electronic billboards to broadcast messages alerting highway drivers to the impending closure weeks in advance of the event. Metro used traditional websites, created Facebook pages for the events, and broadcast messages on Twitter, even leveraging celebrity star power for the first event, including Ashton Kutcher and Kim Kardashian.”

● “It is also clear that travelers absorb information quickly and respond accordingly.”

● “[D]isseminating information can also be enormously effective – even more effective than providing alternative travel modes. As real-time information becomes more available to travelers, that information can complement system capacity to reduce cost and delay.

“Finally, crying wolf presents a dilemma and should be employed judiciously. Going overboard to scare people off of the roads ensures that the promised chaos will fail to materialize, but encourages the traveling public to take future dire warnings with a grain of salt.”

There is no doubt that Los Angeles will take the Olympic period seriously, especially in the downtown area, with a large concentration of venues. But as in 1984, the traffic will be shaped by dozens of measures implemented by government, the organizing committee, businesses and both residents and visitors to be able to get around as they need to during the 17 days of the Olympic Games.

Traffic demands for the Paralympic Games will be lower, as the scale of that Games is less.

There is a lot of work to be done and the best news is that the area transportation authorities, starting with the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (“Metro”) is already obsessing over the 2028 Games period. That’s the necessary first step; if followed by concrete actions, traffic need not be an issue during the 2028 Games, as it was not in 1984.

On homelessness, Wasserman again gave the same answer as he has before, but perhaps more concisely expressed this time:

“I will speak to homelessness only as a person who was born and raised in Los Angeles. It’s a really sad and difficult situation that is not unique to Los Angeles. As Angelenos, we better care about because it’s about the future of our city, it’s not about 17 days in the summer of 2028, or 30 days in the summer of 2028.

“This is about what are we doing about to support the people who live and work and make Los Angeles their home and how do we make it the best possible place for them. And we should be worrying about that today, and tomorrow and every day forward , including the 30 days in the summer of 2028, but not exclusively for those 20 or 30 days.

“So, it’s a situation that L.A. needs to come together to help work on, because that’s what it requires.”

An indication of the priority being placed on this issue by Los Angeles County residents was the passage of Measure A on election day, replacing the existing Measure H quarter-cent sales tax increase enacted in 2017 that will expire in 2027, with a half-cent sales tax (doubling the tax) to raise $1.076 billion annually, with no sunset date.

The measure passed overwhelmingly, with 57.6% of the vote as of 15 November.

An estimated 75,000 people in L.A. County are considered homeless according to the latest count. Voters have put their money where their mouths are, and want the issue fixed. It’s now up to the local governments to do that.

Rich Perelman
Editor

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MODERN PENTATHLON: Stunner as U.S.’s Rob Stull elected UIPM President, only second American to head an International Federation

Rich Perelman

November 16, 2024

tsx pix 2024-1116 schormann-stull — New UIPM President Rob Stull (USA) congratulated by outgoing President Klaus Schormann (GER) (Photo: UIPM).

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≡ UIPM CONGRESS ≡

Bucking the odds, USA Pentathlon Managing Director Rob Stull won election as the President of the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM), in a dramatic, three-round voting sequence at the 73rd UIPM Congress in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Three candidates ran, with France’s Joel Bouzou, 69, seen as the favorite; he had been the UIPM Secretary General for 15 years and a 1984 Olympic bronze medalist. Egypt’s Sharif El Erian, 54, was a 1992 Olympian and the head of the Egyptian federation, which has become one of the best in the sport.

American Stull was a four-time U.S. Olympian in the sport, and a long-time advocate for the inclusion of obstacle racing. Now 64, he was the Managing Director of USA Pentathlon, and has been a UIPM Executive Board member since 2016.

The UIPM statement explained the drama of Saturday’s vote:

“In the first round, Sharif El Erian of Egypt won 42 votes, Stull (USA) won 38 and Joel Bouzou of France was eliminated after winning 22 votes.

“In the second round, El Erian (EGY) again scored the highest with 51 votes, one more than the 50 votes of Stull (USA), with one abstention. This caused loud celebrations and congratulations from supporters of the UIPM Vice President, but according to Article 10.2 of the UIPM Election Rules, where the rule of absolute majority applies:

“‘Absolute majority’ requires the successful candidate to receive at least one more than half of the total number of votes cast. In assessing the total number of votes cast in relation to a requirement for an absolute majority, odd numbers are to be rounded up.

“A third round of voting was organised, and this time Stull (USA) won 53 votes against 48 for El Erian (EGY), with one abstention.”

Stull was no doubt aided by the reality that the 2028 Olympic Games will be held in the U.S. and that an American will be better positioned to safeguard modern pentathlon’s place with the IOC and the LA28 organizers. But it’s still a surprise.

Said Stull:

“It hasn’t sunk in yet. The rules are the rules and, at the end of the day, that’s the way it went. There was a five-vote margin at the end, which is still very close.

“We have to get right to work, because Paris 2024 was phenomenal for Modern Pentathlon. The bar has been raised, and we have to meet that bar. We will get straight to work.

“It’s exciting with the new fifth discipline, and it’s here now. There are more opportunities for Modern Pentathlon now. Every sport has to innovate, but we have done that innovation and now it’s time to reap the rewards. I will man the helm and we will work with a great team and go from there.”

The UIPM has more elections to come, notably on what role exiting President Klaus Schormann (GER) will play, potentially as an “Honorary President.” But Stull joins David Haggerty of the International Tennis Federation as the only Americans to currently head an International Federation.

And Stull has a lot of work in front of him, as the UIPM continues as the smallest and least well-known of all of the Olympic-program sports. It will receive about $15 million for its share of the International Olympic Committee’s Paris 2024 television rights, which will have to stretch across four years, unless Stull can accelerate his sport’s visibility, popularity and commercial attractiveness.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

ATHLETICS: Grand Slam Track’s first-year finale at UCLA’s Drake Stadium; USATF wants ‘28 Olympic Trials at the Coliseum

Rich Perelman

November 15, 2024

tsx pix 2024-621 la28 la coliseum rendering — Artist’s rendering of track & field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at the 2028 Olympic Games (provided by LA28)

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

The schedule is now complete for the first year of the new Grand Slam Track program founded by Atlanta 1996 Olympic sprint icon Michael Johnson, with UCLA’s Drake Stadium confirmed as the fourth venue and the final meet of the 2025 series:

● 04-06 April: Grand Slam Track in Kingston, Jamaica (28.500)
● 02-04 May: Grand Slam Track in Miramar, Florida (5,000)
● 30-May-01: Grand Slam Track in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (52,593)
● 27-29 June: Grand Slam Track in Los Angeles, California (11,142)

Drake Stadium has been a long-time favorite for major meets since opening in 1969 and hosted the then-AAU National Championships in 1974-76-77-78 and a major invitational meet – best remembered as the Pepsi Invitational – from 1977-87 and then sponsored by Jack in the Box in 1989 and 1990.

USA Track & Field has staged its L.A. Grand Prix meet there in 2023 and 2024, and the third edition of that meet is scheduled for 8 June 2025.

The final Grand Slam Track schedule is artfully placed to avoid the early-season Wanda Diamond League meets, but that became impossible with the late June dates:

● 04-06 April: Grand Slam Track in Kingston, Jamaica
● 26 April: Diamond League I in Xiamen (CHN)

● 02-04 May: Grand Slam Track in Miramar, Florida
● 03 May: Diamond League II in Suzhou (CHN)
● 10-11 May: World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou (CHN)
● 16 May: Diamond League III in Doha (QAT)
● 25 May: Diamond League IV in Rabat (MAR)
● 30 May-01: Grand Slam Track in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

● 06 June: Diamond League V in Rome (ITA)
● 08 June: USATF L.A. Grand Prix in Los Angeles, California

● 27-29 June: Grand Slam Track in Los Angeles, California
● 29 June: USATF NYC Grand Prix in New York
● 05 July: Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon

Johnson’s project has been modeled, at least in name, on the tennis Grand Slams – Australian, French, Wimbledon, U.S. Open – but the schedule closely parallels the PGA Tour’s golf majors, which place The Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and British Open in four consecutive months beginning in April. So it is with the new Grand Slam Track.

The Grand Slam Track meets will include 96 athletes in track events only: 48 seasonally-contracted “Racers” and 48 single-meet “Challengers” in a two-race format:

“Racers and Challengers will be assigned to compete in one of the following categories, and will all race in two events during each Slam: short sprints (100 m/200 m), short hurdles (100H or 110H/100 m), long sprints (200 m/400 m), long hurdles (400H/400 m), short distance (800 m/1500 m), or long distance (3000 m/5000 m).”

Prize money of $100,000 down to $10,000 for eighth place will be available in each race.

Speaking in Colorado Springs, Colorado during the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee General Assembly, USA Track & Field chief executive Max Siegel told The Associated Press that it wants to stage the 2028 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials at the Olympic venue at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum:

“It is no secret that our desire is to have something in the West Coast, and preferably in L.A. We’re going to do everything that we possibly can to try to have our Trials [at the Coliseum].”

The Coliseum was the site of the U.S. Trials in 1952, 1956 and 1964, each time over two days. Beginning in 1972, the Trials expanded to essentially mirror the Olympic schedule, becoming a 10-day program. The 1984 Olympic Trials were held at the Coliseum from 16-24 June, prior to the ‘84 Games track program held in August.

Siegel said that considering the logistics involved – the Coliseum floor was lowered in the 1990s for football and must be raised to hold a temporary track – a 2028 Olympic Trials would be shortened. The story said that “Siegel is hoping to have the issue settled by January.”

For the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, the Trials were also held at the Olympic venue from 14-23 June.

Asked about the comments, the LA28 organizers said in a statement:

“We are exploring the possibility of hosting the 2028 Track and Field Trials at the Coliseum in Los Angeles.”

Scheduling will be the issue, as on-field construction of the new floor and then the installation of the track and infield facilities would start only at the beginning of December 2027 after the USC football season is completed. Moreover, the 2028 Olympic Games will open early, on 14 July 2028, with track & field starting on 15 July.

An Olympic Track & Field Trials scheduled as in 2024 would take place six weeks ahead of the Games, meaning the start of June, very early on the calendar. The 2028 NCAA Division I track & field championships, for example, have already been awarded to Eugene, Oregon for 7-10 June 2028.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

LOS ANGELES 2028: IOC Coordination Commission praises LA28’s progress, but also expects to be “wowed”

Rich Perelman

November 14, 2024

tsx pix 2024-1114 ioc cocoon news conf-4 — (l-r) LA28 chief executive Reynold Hoover, Chair Casey Wasserman, IOC Coordination Commission Chair Nicole Hoevertsz and IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi (TSX photo).

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≡ IOC COORDINATION COMM.≡

“During three days we were here, it was great, absolutely, to be back on the ground in Los Angeles for the first time in person since 2022. …

“It is always good to be back and sense the passion and the enthusiasm of the Angelenos about the Olympics, and anything that has to do with sports.”

That’s International Olympic Committee Los Angeles 2028 Coordination Commission Chair Nicole Hoevertsz of Aruba, speaking at a Thursday news conference, enthusing over the prospects for a successful Olympic Games in four years.

“I think that Paris 2024 really took the global appetite for the Olympic and Paralympic Games to new heights, something really historic, I should say. … It demonstrated the importance of engaging everyone and bringing them along on the journey. LA28 also has the capacity to energize the Games, with L.A.’s culture of innovation and through its vision of harnessing the power of sports and community to collectively create ‘what’s next’ for new generations. …

“Our visit this week reaffirms that LA28 is poised to inspire the next generation and make a positive impact.”

But Hoevertsz also said much is expected, turning to LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman, adding:

“L.A. is the land of imagination, Casey, and when the world looks at the city, it expects to be ‘wowed.’ And with its spectacular venues and landscape, the passion for sport, vibrant communities and its breadth of culture and innovation, L.A. has all the ingredients to to exceed those expectations.”

The Commission visit included venue trips to the Rose Bowl, to be the site of the semifinals and finals of men’s and women’s football in 2028, as well as the Long Beach Convention Center, the Long Beach waterfront and the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood, the site for basketball.

Special visits were made to showcase the “PlayLA” youth sports program sites as part of the unique Youth Sports Partnership with the City of Los Angeles, funded by the IOC with $160 million.

A significant amount of time was given to debrief from the Paris 2024 Games, including with Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet (FRA) and chief executive Etienne Thobois (FRA); Estanguet will now join the LA28 Coordination Commission to help with continuity.

Wasserman said the staff count is still about 150, but with expansion coming and information on hospitality, ticket sales, volunteer efforts and the torch relay coming in 2026.

Hoevertsz made a special mention not only of the wealth of existing venues – none will be built – but also expertise, teasing Wasserman in the process:

“L.A. has a culture of having [events]; they know every well how to organize big events and big sporting events. They have games operators, stadium operators that are very well known in this field, so that is something that is going to be beneficial. …

“That doesn’t mean it’s going be easy. You have made it very difficult, Mr. Wasserman, by adding another few sports and making the sports program a little bit complicated, so it is up to us all together, and Casey said it very well, we have to do this together.”

Wasserman said that while placing cricket on the East Coast has been mentioned – “it’s a big footprint, so we want to find the right place for cricket which has the greatest chance for success” – it’s not likely to see many more sports placed outside of Southern California beyond canoe slalom and softball in Oklahoma City:

“I don’t think you’d see as many as five or six sports. There are natural things that require multiple venues because of field-of-play issues … but these Games are incredibly focused on L.A. and Southern California, and being responsible and making hosting the Games fit our city and our community.”

Wasserman also noted that LA28 will be working with its third President and its fourth administration with the second Trump Administration beginning in January, and that coordination efforts are continuing without incident.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

PANORAMA: Shiffrin goes after 98th World Cup and eighth reindeer (!) in Levi; U.S. men beat Jamaica, 1-0, in Kingston

Rich Perelman

November 14, 2024

Slalom 2018 Killington FIS World Cup Photo: Reese Brown/U.S. Ski & Snowboard — American skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin (Photo: Reese Brown/U.S. Ski & Snowboard)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 2034: Salt Lake City ● One of the reasons Salt Lake City was chosen to host the 2034 Winter Games is its continuous hosting of national and international events at its 2002 Winter Games venues.

Same for the 2024-25 winter season, as the Utah Sports Commission detailed the schedule, to include 12 events:

● Bobsleigh & Skeleton North American Cups (2)
● Freestyle Skiing North American Cups (2)
● Freestyle Skiing Intermountain Health International
● Luge Youth Continental Cup
● Speed Skating World Cup Qualifier
● U.S. Junior Championships in Biathlon, Cross Country Skiing, Freestyle Skiing, Nordic Combined and Short Track skating

Summer-sport events are also scheduled in judo and volleyball.

● World University Games ● The third FISU Americas Games concluded on Thursday in Cali (COL), with about 1,000 athletes from 17 countries, contesting 13 sports.

Host Colombia won the most medals with 111 (39-40-32), with Brazil taking the most wins with 60 (106 total: 60-30-16). Mexico was third with 100 medals (32-37-31) and the U.S. was fourth with 76 total medals (27-21-28).

● Alpine Skiing ● The weekend brings the annual FIS World Cup slalom races at Levi (FIN) at the Arctic Circle, with the race winners being gifted with a reindeer. Sort of.

What they get to do is name the reindeer and American star Mikaela Shiffrin has a record seven reindeers named since the gimmick started in 2013. She has named Rudolph (in 2013), Sven (2016), Mr. Gru (2018), Ingemar (2019), Sunny and Lorax (2022 races), and Grogu in 2023.

She’ll be going after no. eight, as well as a record 98th career World Cup win on Saturday.

● Football ● The U.S. men got a goal from striker Ricardo Pepi in the fifth minute and made it stand up for a 1-0 win in Kingston, Jamaica in the first leg of the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals.

The U.S. enjoyed more than 59% possession in the game, but Jamaica had 12 shots for the game to six for the U.S. It was, as usual, a physical game with 25 fouls, but midfielder Christian Pulisic’s through-ball to Pepi on the right side of the Jamaica goal was the difference, as Pepi sent a shot from right to left that struck the far post of the Jamaican goal and ricocheted in for the only score of the match.

U.S. keeper Matt Turner got the shutout, including a 14th-minute penalty-shot save against midfielder Demarai Gray after Turner committed the foul against striker Shamar Nicholson.

The two teams will play the second leg in St. Louis on Monday, with the winner on aggregate score advancing to the semifinals in March 2025.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: Coe tells BBC he wants stronger protection for women’s sport, changes in NOC funding

Rich Perelman

November 14, 2024

World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Previews — World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (GBR) (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images for World Athletics)

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≡ IOC PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION ≡

World Athletics President and two-time Olympic champion Sebastian Coe (GBR) continued on his interview circuit, promoting his candidature to head the International Olympic Committee, with elections to take place next March in Greece.

He told the BBC in a story published Thursday that while his federation provided prize money for the winners at the 2024 Paris Games, he recognizes that not every one can do so:

“I also have to recognise that some sports are not going to be best placed to create those budgets. That’s why it is important that there is a readjustment in the way sport is being funded, the way National Olympic Committees are being funded.”

He did not offer specific details, but explained:

“I think there are some changes that need to be made and fundamentally around just enabling the membership, the athletes, the National Olympic Committees, the International Federations, partners, broadcasters, to have greater skin in the game and to help structure the future.

“This isn’t the efforts of just one person. I think it needs a collaborative, team-building transition.

“It would be a mistake to conclude that everything is rosy, the red carpet is out in front of us, but we do have to travel down it. I’m very keen to provide structures, governance structures, particularly that allow talented members to be able to shape the direction of the movement, and their voices to be not just heard but acted upon.

“There are some big fundamental challenges that [the Olympics] confronts. Geopolitically, commercially, the relevance of the Games… you don’t want to be so disruptive, but I do think it needs to change.”

He was absolutely positive, however, on strengthening the position of women in sport and protecting the women’s category, something he has championed at World Athletics:

“I think the International Olympic Committee needs a very, very clear policy in this space.

“And the protection of the female category, for me, is absolutely non-negotiable.

“If you are not prepared to do that, and that is where the international federations expect a lead to be taken, then you really will lose female sport and I’m not prepared to see that happen.

“I’m not sure that policy is clear enough at the moment.”

The IOC’s “Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations” was issued in November 2021 and threw out a prior, one-size-fits-all qualification level for serum testosterone.

Instead, the IOC offered guidelines for each International Federation to follow as they saw fit, but with special attention to non-invasive and dignified measures to protect the mental health of athletes.

World Athletics and other federations, such as World Aquatics and the Union Cycliste Internationale, have adopted stringent testosterone levels and banned transgender women who have gone through male puberty, to eliminate competitors with physical advantages in the female classification.

Coe has been on an interview tear, a tactic which is allowed under the IOC’s rules for the Presidential campaign. He is one of seven candidates, four of whom are from International Federations. Five of the seven candidates, including Coe, require status or rule changes from the IOC membership in order to serve out a full first term of eight years, or two terms over a total of 12 years.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

ATHLETICS: Final Grand Slam Track first-year venue to be revealed: Philadelphia’s Franklin Field from 30 May-1 June

Rich Perelman

November 14, 2024

tsx pix 2024-1114 franklin field 2019 (upenn) — Historic Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania, in 2019 (Photo: University of Pennsylvania)

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≡ GRAND SLAM TRACK ≡

The final venue for the first year of the Grand Slam Track project was unveiled Thursday as Franklin Field in Philadelphia, site of the famed Penn Relays, to be held on 30-31 May and 1 June.

The 2025 schedule now includes:

● 04-06 April: Grand Slam Track in Kingston, Jamaica
● 02-04 May: Grand Slam Track in Miramar, Florida
● 30 May-01: Grand Slam Track in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The fourth meet has been confirmed to be in Los Angeles, but the date is expected to be announced on Friday. Based on the first three, dates at the end of June are to be anticipated.

The Philadelphia meet comes a month after the 24-26 April Penn Relays, so no conflict there. Because the Grand Slam Track concept does not include field events, Franklin Field, with its limited infield facilities and odd track arrangement for the inner lanes, presents no problems in presentation.

The three venues chosen so far are quite different in size:

● 52,593 capacity for Franklin Field in Philadelphia
● 28,500 capacity for the National Stadium in Kingston
● 5,000 capacity for the Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar

The Grand Slam Track meet dates have mostly avoided direct clashes with the Wanda Diamond League, except for the Miramar meet, which is on top of the second Diamond League meet in China:

● 04-06 April: Grand Slam Track in Kingston, Jamaica
● 26 April: Diamond League I in Xiamen (CHN)

● 06 June: Diamond League V in Rome (ITA)
● 08 June: USATF L.A. Grand Prix in Los Angeles, California

If the Grand Slam Track meet in Los Angeles is held at the end of June or beginning of July, it could conflict with the 29 June USATF NYC Grand Prix or the 5 July Prefontaine Classic in Eugene. More on that on Friday.

The Grand Slam Track meets will include 96 athletes in track events only: 48 seasonally-contracted “Racers” and 48 single-meet “Challengers” in a two-race format:

Prize money of $100,000 down to $10,000 for eighth place will be available in each race.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

ALPINE SKIING: Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn officially returns to racing

Rich Perelman

November 14, 2024

tsx pix-vonn, lindsay (pinterest) 10417 750 — American skiing superstar Lindsey Vonn

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

“U.S. Ski & Snowboard is excited to announce that alpine great Lindsey Vonn will rejoin the Stifel U.S. Ski Team.

“Vonn’s decision to try and return to ski racing comes after careful consideration following successful knee surgery earlier this year. She has been able to get back to training and test her knee over the past couple of months and will be continuing her progression with the Stifel U.S. Ski Team in Colorado and beyond, representing a new exciting chapter in her already storied career.”

That’s from the breathless U.S. Ski & Snowboard announcement that Vonn, 40, will resume her competitive career, after retiring after continuing injury issues at the end of the 2018-19 season.

She said in the statement:

“Getting back to skiing without pain has been an incredible journey.

“I am looking forward to being back with the Stifel U.S. Ski Team and to continue to share my knowledge of the sport with these incredible women.”

Her return has been whispered for some time and the organizers of the season-opening Soelden Giant Slalom in Austria even said she was ready to race there at the end of October. She did not.

Vonn is a speed racer and one of the best ever. She owns 82 FIS World Cup wins, no. 3 all-time behind countrywoman Mikaela Shiffrin (97) and Sweden’s Ingemar Stenmark (86):

● 43: Downhill
● 28: Super-G
● 4: Giant Slalom
● 2: Slalom
● 5: Alpine Combined

Vonn ranks no. 1 all-time for Downhill wins – men or women – and no. 1 all-time in the Super-G; Shiffrin is no. 1 in Giant Slaloms (for women) and no. 1 overall in the Slalom.

Vonn won four seasonal World Cup titles in 2008-09-10-12 and 16 discipline titles in 18 seasons on tour. She won the Olympic Downhill in Vancouver in 2010, plus a Super-G bronze and a Downhill bronze in 2018. She also won the 2009 Worlds golds in the Downhill and Super-G, among a total of eight career Worlds medals.

How good will she be? That will depend on her fitness and on staying away from injuries; her comeback follows a successful partial knee replacement surgery in April. She was strong almost to the end of her career, winning four races – all Downhills – in the 2017-18 season, just one season before retiring.

The announcement made no mention of a schedule. The early-season World Cup races are Slaloms and Giant Slaloms; the first speed races are in the U.S.: a Downhill and Super-G at Beaver Creek, Colorado on 14-15 December.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

PANORAMA: Paris deputy mayor headlines unity in Olympic planning; Britain passes on Grand Slam Track; worries on equestrian horse care

Rich Perelman

November 13, 2024

tsx pix 2024-1113 dallas long WR 1960 (wiki-upi) — Tokyo 1964 Olympic shot champion and multi-time world-record setter Dallas Long (Photo: Wikipedia via UPI).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● At the Smart Cities & Sport Summit in Lausanne, Paris Deputy Mayor Pierre Rabadan told attendees that collaboration among all of the stakeholders is crucial to pulling off an event on the scale of Paris 2024.

“[I]t is essential to establish this unity very early on, and to continue working together, despite the difficulties and hazards of preparation. We must define a vision and stick to it.”

He explained that the City of Paris decided early on that it had to touch all parts of the city with the Games, even in areas where no events were held:

“Usually, a host city plans six or seven of them [festival areas].

“We set up 26 of them, each with a specific sports and cultural program. They remained open for 42 days. In total, the celebration sites welcomed 2.5 million visitors. They contributed to ensuring that people all had an experience of the Games, even without having tickets for the competitions. When you spend public money, you have to be bold and creative. People must understand that their money really serves the territories.”

● World Anti-Doping Agency ● Announced Tuesday:

“The Privacy Commissioner of Canada has launched an investigation into the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) after receiving a complaint about its handling of biological samples collected from athletes.

“The investigation will examine whether the collection, use, and disclosure practices of the organization, which is responsible for monitoring the use of drugs in sport, comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Canada’s federal private-sector privacy law.

“The investigation follows a complaint alleging that WADA has disclosed personal information to international sporting federations and that the information is being used to assess athletes’ sex-based eligibility without their knowledge or consent, and for a purpose that would not be considered appropriate under PIPEDA.”

No more details were disclosed, including the number of athletes and federations involved. WADA is headquartered in Montreal and therefore under Canadian jurisdiction for this purpose.

An online election from 10-12 December will be held to select eight members of the WADA Athlete Council nominated from International Federations.

The vote is for one of the three groups that make up the WADA Athlete Council: (1) five submitted by the athlete commissions of the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee, (2) this to-be-elected group of eight, and (3) seven other athletes, selected by a panel of athletes to “fill skills and diversity gaps.”

There 26 candidates for the eight “group 2″ slots, including American Simi Hamilton, now 37, a retired cross-country skier, who won four World Cup medals across 12 years from 2010-21. He is the candidate from the International Ski & Snowboard Federation.

● Athletics ● The Guardian reported that UK Athletics declined to be a host for the 2025 Grand Slam Track Series, either at the London Olympic Stadium or Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium.

UK Athletics head Jack Buckner explained:

“We’re positive about Michael Johnson’s format. But three days of just track athletics is a lot of tickets to sell in the London Stadium and the cost base comes pretty high there. They did approach us and we had a really good discussion with them. We would like to have a bigger, more comprehensive events portfolio, but we want that built on strong foundations that are sustainable.”

Buckner also noted the federation’s interest in a 2029 or 2031 World Athletics Championships, and continuing losses on the Diamond League meets staged in Britain, and a desire to turn those around. Grand Slam Track has announced 2025 meets in Kingston, Jamaica, at Miramar, Florida and Los Angeles, with one more venue to be revealed.

Dallas Long, the 1964 Olympic men’s shot put champion, passed away on 10 November at age 84, at his home in Whitefish, Montana.

Long won the 1960 Olympic bronze, then dominated the event, winning NCAA titles with USC in 1960-61-62, the U.S. national title in 1961 and setting six ratified world records, plus a tie, between 1959 and 1964, plus four other unratified performances.

He finished with a best of 20.68 m (67-10 1/4) from 1964, and also had a discus best of 52.51 m (172-3). He became a dentist and then a physician with an emphasis on emergency medicine.

● Equestrian ● The FEI Congress concluded in the UAE, with President Ingmar De Vos (BEL) praising the brilliant success of the 2024 Paris Games, but also acknowledging concerns:

“Regrettably, this year’s successes have been overshadowed by multiple instances of horse welfare issues, including cases involving high-profile athletes. This scrutiny has placed our sport’s community under the public microscope, exerting tremendous pressure on our veterinary and communications teams at FEI headquarters, who have faced an overwhelming number of enquiries from the media, equestrian fans, and the general public. …

“Based on the report’s findings, the FEI Equine Welfare Strategy has been formulated with a clear vision to ensure a good life for FEI horses, complemented by our mission to be the guardians of horse welfare. To address the areas of focus and recommendations identified by the EEWB, the FEI has developed an Action Plan aimed at ensuring the welfare of FEI horses while inspiring and supporting welfare initiatives for all horses globally.

“’Be a Guardian’ is the central message that unites our community around the FEI Action Plan. The term ‘guardian’ marks an evolution in the FEI’s narrative of the horse-human partnership, reflecting the human role in caring for horses and highlighting each individual’s responsibility for ensuring horse welfare. This shift in terminology is not merely symbolic; it signifies a fundamental change in our approach to equine welfare.”

American David O’Connor, the Chair of the FEI Eventing Committee, was elected as a member of the seven-person FEI Executive Board for the 2024-26 term.

● Wrestling ● Tokyo 2016 Olympic champion Gable Steveson announced that he has returned to the University of Minnesota team after three seasons away. He will compete for a fifth season for the Gophers thanks to an extra year of eligibility due to Covid-19 circumstances in 2020.

He last competed at the NCAA in the 2021-22 season, winning his second NCAA heavyweight title and has an 85-2 record at Minnesota, with a 52-match win streak. Following his Olympic win at Tokyo 2020, Steveson was with the WWE and was at an NFL training camp with the Buffalo Bills.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

VOLLEYBALL: CVC Partners’ $100 mil investment paying dividends for FIVB, with assets in 2023 at $186 million!

Rich Perelman

November 13, 2024

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≡ FIVB CONGRESS ≡

/Updated/The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) reached a landmark agreement with CVC Capital Partners in 2021, injecting $100 million in cash into a new venture – Volleyball World – which became the marketing and event management arm of the federation.

The new entity is owned by the FIVB (67%) and CVC (33%) and splits dividends in that amount. With the 39th FIVB World Congress set for 15-17 November in Porto (POR), the accompanying documentation shows that the early indications of the joint venture have been quite profitable:

● In 2022, the first full year of the new venture, Volleyball World showed a fantastic profit of $58.00 million, of which 67% was paid to the FIVB: $38.86 million.

● In 2023, the result was not as good, with a profit of $25.87 million, of which the FIVB was paid $18.16 million.

The investment (in 2021) and the excellent returns have powered the FIVB to a happy financial position, increasing its wealth enormously since the last Congress in 2021: (CHF 1 = $1.13 U.S.)

Assets:
● 2020: CHF 130.72 million
● 2021: CHF 211.61 million (CVC invests)
● 2022: CHF 219.83 million ($248.41 million U.S.)
● 2023: CHF 164.84 million ($186.27 million U.S.)

Revenues:
● 2020: CHF 14.68 million
● 2021: CHF 25.82 million
● 2022: CHF 50.21 million (Volleyball World dividend I)
● 2023: CHF 37.33 million (Volleyball World dividend II)

Expenses:
● 2020: CHF 47.08 million (CHF 32.38 million net loss)
● 2021: CHF 68.56 million (CHF 70.75 million gain via CVC)
● 2022: CHF 53.36 million (CHF 3.15 million net loss)
● 2023: CHF 53.39 million (CHF 16.06 million net loss)

Its assets topped out at CHF 219.83 million at the end of 2022 ($248.41 million U.S.), but spending in 2023 accelerated for competitions (CHF 16.20 million) and development activities (CHF 7.130 million).

Nonetheless, it’s a signal that – so far – private equity infusions can work, at least in the short term. All of this was also achieved with a modest FIVB office staff of 34.

It is not a surprise that given the financial success of the federation, and the aesthetic success of the Paris 2024 Olympic competitions, notably the beach volleyball events held in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, that outgoing President Ary Graca (BRA) will hand the reins to his Secretary General, fellow Brazilian Fabio Azevedo.

The FIVB Congress announcement stated that as for President:

“The only candidature received was from Fabio Azevedo, upon which the FIVB Advisory Electoral Committee conducted a thorough integrity check confirming his eligibility.”

His sole candidacy had been confirmed in July. Azevedo, 53, came to the federation in 2013 after Graca became FIVB President in 2012. Azevedo had worked in the Brazilian national federation (1997-2010) and with his own event management firm until then.

Graca, now 81, is termed out, but will receive warm wishes from his national federations.

(Updated: Azevedo’s age has been corrected to 53; thanks to Megan Munro of the FIVB for the correction.)

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

BOXING: Algerian women’s Olympic champ Khelif tells Italian radio, “I have never seen these exams they are talking about”

Rich Perelman

November 13, 2024

tsx pix 2024-1113 khelif vs carini paris (chabe01-wiki) — The infamous second-round 2024 Olympic women's 66 kg bout with Imane Khelif (ALG) at left and Italian Angela Carini on the right (Photo: Chabe01 via Wikipedia)

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≡ PARIS 2024 ≡

Three months after the close of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, there is no quiet in the continuing boil over the victories by Algeria’s Imane Khelif in the women’s 66 kg class or Yu-ting Lin (TPE) in the women’s 57 kg class.

Both were disqualified by the International Boxing Association at its 2023 World Championships, for blood test results which the federation said did not meet its “eligibility criteria.” Lin won the bronze medal, which was nullified and given to another fighter; Khelif was removed from the competition after qualifying for the 66 kg final.

Lin has been quiet following Paris, but not Khelif. She appeared on the Italian RAI network program “Lo Stato delle Cose” – “The State of Things” – and spoke with host Massimo Giletti about the controversies surrounding her, including her disqualification at the 2023 Worlds (computer translation from the original Italian):

“I have never seen these exams they are talking about, not even when I was excluded.

“They brought me a piece of paper and asked me to sign it, it said that I would not compete. It was a surreal situation.

“I was in the final and I did not have the chance to compete. I was shocked. But then as the Algerian federation we opposed it and we appealed, and we saw that the IBA no longer has any credibility.”

In Paris, Khelif’s situation was magnified after her opening bout with Italian Angela Carini, a fighter she knew from when the Algerian team trained with the Italians in the past, as well as at some prior tournaments.

Carini abandoned the fight after 46 seconds, saying afterwards, “I got into the ring to fight. I didn’t give up, but one punch hurt too much and so I said enough. I’m going out with my head held high.

“After the second punch, after years of experience, I felt a strong pain in the nose. I said enough, because I didn’t want. I couldn’t finish the fight after the punch to the nose. So it was better to put an end to it.”

Carini later apologized, telling the La Gazzetto dello Sport: “All this controversy makes me sad. I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.”

As for stopping, she explained, “It wasn’t something I intended to do. Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.”

Khelif went on to win the gold medal in Paris, and said during her radio interview

“I’m not angry with Angela, she’s my sister, we share the same passion for boxing.

“I’m angry with those who pressured her, to have a reaction that I didn’t think I deserved. Like all boxers, I wanted a normal match, instead it was a farce. …

“I don’t think she behaved that way of her own free will. I’m absolutely sure that the pressure she was subjected to led her to behave that way.”

Last week, the International Olympic Committee said in a statement:

“We understand that Imane Khelif has taken legal action against individuals who commented on her situation during the Olympic Games Paris 2024, and is also preparing a lawsuit in response to the latest reporting.”

Khelif filed in August in the Paris Prosecutor’s Office’s National Center for the fight against Online Hatred for comments made on social media during the Paris Games. The new suit will focus on a report in the French newspaper Le Correspondant, which published details earlier this month of a medical report which stated she had male (XY) chromosomes and was a biological male.

No end in sight. Khelif said she intends to continue fighting as a professional.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

PANORAMA: Billion-dollar fury over Brisbane 2032 venue funding; $65 mil revenue for equestrian, $16 mil for hockey in 2023

Rich Perelman

November 12, 2024

tsx pix 2024-921 gabba brisbane (queensland) — The famed Brisbane Cricket Ground (the Gabba), a center of controversy for the 2032 Olympic Games (Photo: Queensland.com)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2032: Brisbane ● The political tug-of-war over government funding for venues for the 2032 Olympic Games in Queensland continues unabated, with Queensland Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie (Liberal National Party) alleging that the prior Labor government did not disclose an A$500 million train transport link with the to-be-built Brisbane Arena, and A$181 million for work on two other venues. (A$1 = $0.65 U.S.)

Labor controls the national Parliament and Federal Workplace Minister Murray Watt told the Queensland Media Club that no added funding was coming:

“I think any fair observer would say that [A$3.435 billion] is a pretty fair contribution from a federal government towards an event being staged largely by the state government.

“I am concerned that having yet another review into something that has been reviewed to death is only just going to result in more delays and more cost blowouts. So that’s why we’ve been saying it’s time to get on with it. Time is running out.”

The national government plans to spend A$2.5 billion in the new Brisbane Arena, to be used for swimming, and another A$935 million for other sites.

New Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has promised a 100-day review of the state’s Olympic infrastructure issues, especially the question of the main stadium, essentially whether to build an all-new facility for a proposed A$3.4 billion, or refurnish the historic Brisbane Cricket Ground (“The Gabba”) at a proposed $A2.7 billion, which would impact the surrounding area, including a school.

● Australia ● Just when it looked like she was out, she’s back in again.

Break dancer Rachael Gunn (“Raygun”), 37, said in a radio interview that she would skip competing in the future, but dialed it back in a television appearance on Monday:

“So, I was talking, you know, on 2dayFM about how I’m not going to do certain competitions anymore, which didn’t seem like such a big deal because breaking is not going to be in the [2028] Olympics anyway.

“But you know, I’m still going to be part of community jams, or I’d like to go to community jams and still dance and still break. Never used the word ‘retire.’”

Asked point-blank, Gunn said, “I’m not retiring. You try and stop me. I’m not ever going to stop dancing. So, if you hear that again, you know that it’s not the truth.”

● Equestrian ● The 2024 FEI Congress is ongoing in Abu Dhabi (UAE), with the revised budget for 2025 now released.

At the end of 2022, the FEI had CHF 72.18 million in assets (CHF 1 = $1.13 U.S.) and reserves of CHF 20.58 million [~$23.34 million U.S.], considerably more than the $15.14 million provided by the International Olympic Committee for its television rights share from Tokyo 2020. Since then:

● 2023: CHF 57.38 million revenue; surplus of CHF 3.49 million
● 2024: CHF 57.95 million revenue; no surplus (projected)

For 2025, the outlook is quite stable, with CHF 57.58 million projected revenue and expense, for no net change, or surplus. Sponsorship revenue is expected to go up a little to CHF 27.16 million, but broadcast revenue will be weaker at CHF 843,680.

● Hockey ● The International Hockey Federation (FIH) Congress in Moscat (OMA) was held on Saturday, with Pakistan’s Tayyab Ikram re-elected, running unopposed, for a full term. He was elected in 2022 to fill the remainder of the term of Narinder Batra (IND), who resigned.

The federation expanded to 146 countries with the admissions of Bahrain, Chad, Curacao, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan and Senegal.

The FIH financials showed assets of CHF 13.61 million at the end of 2023, down from 2022’s CHF 15.34 million, with 2023 reserves of CHF 6.30 million (CHF 1 = $1.13 U.S.)

Operating revenues in 2023 were CHF 14.27 million, with expenses of CHF 11.23 million for a surplus of CHF 3.04 million on operations, and CHF 1.90 million after financial losses. A very positive note was a surplus from the operation of the FIH Pro League of CHF 459,494, reversing a CHF 331,435 loss from 2022.

The FIH, in the fourth of five Olympic television revenue distribution tiers, is not wholly dependent on IOC television money, but would be hard-pressed without it; it received $15.14 million following the Tokyo 2020 Games.

● Modern Pentathlon ● Just as the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) is getting ready to meet for its 73rd Congress, a new group is developing – or reviving – pentathlon with riding still included.

At the direct urging of the International Olympic Committee, the UIPM removed riding from the modern pentathlon and substituted obstacle course racing instead. Many athletes complained, but that was the price of staying as part of the Olympic Games program for Los Angeles 2028.

Now, the Pony Club International Alliance (PCIA) and the new International Pentathlon Association (IPA) announced a partnership:

“PCIA has a strong tradition of international participation and competition in Tetrathlon (horse riding, swimming, running and pistol shooting) and IPA has been formed to develop the aspirations of young athletes who wish to participate in Pentathlon (horse riding, swimming, running, pistol shooting and fencing).

“Working together, PCIA and IPA will promote pathways for athletes of all ages and abilities to explore harmonious relationships with horses and athletic performance for fun and fitness in activities and competition.”

A Tuesday statement said that “PCIA and IPA will share rules and technical information and combine on national and international competition including a possible international equestrian multi-sport games.”

The new partnership aims to continue the traditional modern pentathlon and makes no reference to Olympic inclusion, or to have any relationship with the UIPM.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

FOOTBALL: Canada Soccer drone-spying inquiry confirms 2022-24 activities, but clears men’s team; three coaches fired

Rich Perelman

November 12, 2024

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

/Updated/Canada Soccer made public a redacted version – sans names – of the report it commissioned on the drone-spying incidents at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, on behalf of its women’s National Team, in advance of its match against New Zealand.

The facts, as already known, were confirmed, that team performance analyst Joseph Lombardi arranged for drone surveillance of two New Zealand practices, with the resulting video viewed by other members of the Canadian coaching staff.

The report stated a belief that this practice had gone on before, as early as 2022, but the names were all redacted. There was a mention that at least some objections to the practice were raised during the 2022-24 period.

Following the release of the redacted report, Canada Soccer fired women’s head coach Bev Priestman (ENG), assistant coach Jasmine Mander and Lombardi on Tuesday. Priestman, who led the Canadian women to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold, finished at 30-11-15 (W-L-T) as coach from 2020-24.

There was an inquiry concerning the men’s National Team, specifically an incident during the 2024 Copa America, played in the U.S.:

“The Men’s National Team was in Orlando, Florida for a portion of the tournament.

“Documentation from a CONMEBOL disciplinary process alleged that a member of the staff used a drone to inappropriately film a training session at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

“Documentation of the incident explained that the drone was caught by detection software and an official from the complex required that the drone be brought down. Security reviewed the drone and found that it did not contain any footage.

“Documentation submitted during the CONMEBOL discipline process by the Men’s National Team argued that the staff member was filming an empty pitch for the purposes of a motivational and promotional video and did not inappropriately film a training session.”

The report also noted that Canadian men’s coach Jesse Marsch (USA) did not approve of any surveillance practices of opponent practices, and opposed them en toto.

What next?

The Canada Soccer statement explains:

● “Potential violations of the Canada Soccer Code of Conduct and Ethics by the former head coach of the Men’s National Team were identified. Pursuant to the Canada Soccer Disciplinary Code, a disciplinary process is being initiated to adjudicate these potential violations.”

● New procedures within Canada Soccer are being implemented, including:

“Contractually mandated reporting of unethical behaviour and new software to facilitate confidential reporting,” “Enhanced education and annual attestation regarding the Code of Conduct and Ethics,” and “Implementation of a new independent Audit and Compliance Committee to oversee organizational compliance.”

Chief Executive Kevin Blue added:

“The findings of the independent investigator reveal that the drone incident in Paris was a symptom of a past pattern of an unacceptable culture and insufficient oversight within the national teams. This is no longer part of our operations. In fact, the investigation findings strengthen our resolve to continue implementing changes that are needed to improve Canada Soccer, in all respects, and to do so with urgency.”

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

ATHLETICS: Grand Slam Track unveils Miami as third location for inaugural, 2025 season

Rich Perelman

November 12, 2024

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≡ GRAND SLAM TRACK ≡

The Miami area will be the third announced location for the inaugural season of Grand Slam Track, which announced Tuesday that the Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar, Florida will be the site for a 2-4 May 2025 meet.

Jamaica’s National Stadium was announced Monday as the site for a 4-5-6 April meet, and with Los Angeles previously announced, but without a date or site yet, three of the four first-year sites have been identified.

The fourth is to be announced this week.

The schedule has artfully avoided clashes with the Diamond League schedule of 15 meets, which runs from April through September. The combined early-season schedule of championship, Grand Slam and Diamond League meets so far shows:

● 21-23 March: World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing (CHN)

● 04-06 April: Grand Slam Track in Kingston, Jamaica
● 26 April: Diamond League I in Xiamen (CHN)

● 02-04 May: Grand Slam Track in Miramar, Florida
● 03 May: Diamond League II in Suzhou (CHN)
● 10-11 May: World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou (CHN)
● 16 May: Diamond League III in Doha (QAT)
● 25 May: Diamond League IV in Rabat (MAR)

If Grand Slam Track were to maintain the once-a-month schedule, it would mirror what the PGA does with the annual golf majors, with The Masters in April, followed by the PGA Championship, then the U.S. Open and the British Open. The tennis Grand Slams are spread out throughout the year, with the Australian Open in January, the French Open in May, Wimbledon in July and the U.S. Open in September.

The new announced stadia are quite different. Jamaica’s National Stadium seats 28,500 and was built for the 1962 Central American and Caribbean Games. The Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar – 22 miles northwest of Miami – was opened in 2009 and seats about 5,000.

The meet will include 96 athletes in track events only: 48 seasonally-contracted “Racers” and 48 single-meet “Challengers” in a two-race format:

Prize money of $100,000 down to $10,000 for eighth place will be available in each race.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES: New IOC study shows reasonable Winter Games future amid continuing climate concerns

Rich Perelman

November 12, 2024

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

A study commissioned by the International Olympic Committee showed potentially good news for the future of the Olympic Winter Games:

“Under these more probable emission scenarios, the majority of potential OWG host locations analysed in this study remained climatically reliable (with the 30 cm snow depth threshold) in the 2020s (68%) and 2050s (56%), with approximately half remaining climate reliable through late century.

“Positively, of the locations that remain climate reliable for the OWG under the more probable mid-emission scenarios for mid- and late century, all of the major global regions that have previously hosted the Olympics North America, Europe (Alps, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe), and Asia are all represented by multiple potential hosts.”

Published in the Current Issues in Tourism journal, the new article, Climate change and the climate reliability of hosts in the second century of the Winter Olympic Games by Robert Steiger (University of Innsbruck, Austria) and Daniel Scott (University of Waterloo, Canada), extends the existing work of both authors on climate impacts on snow conditions for sports.

Scott’s research in 2014 and 2019 showed:

● “[D]epending on the emission trajectory, 10–13 of 21 former OWG host locations will remain climatically reliable by the 2050s. This number will further decline to 8–12 locations by the 2080s.”

● “The [Paralympic Winter Games], scheduled after the OWG in the later part of the winter season (March) is more sensitive to climatic changes with only 8–10 out of 21 former PWG locations will remain reliable in the 2050s and only 4–10 in the 2080s.”

● “These studies show that the number of potential locations to host future Winter Games could be reduced and that it is important to assess climatic reliability in the selection process to ensure reliable, safe, and fair Winter Games.”

The authors note that there is no perfect predictor of what the future of climate is for winter-sport locations, but examined a wider range of possible Winter Games facilities, also looking for better – thicker – snow conditions that will be better in competition situations.

A total of 93 locations identified in Scott’s prior studies as possible winter-sport sites were reviewed an attached map indicated 90 of these:

● 11 in North America (Canada: 6, U.S.: 5)
● 2 in South America (Argentina, Chile)

● 9 in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland)
● 24 in Western Europe (Austria, France, Germany, Swiss)
● 16 in Southern Europe (Spain, Italy, Slovenia)
● 14 in Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Russia)

● 4 in Western Asia (Turkey, Georgia)
● 3 in Central Asia (Kazakhstan)
● 6 in Eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea)

● 1 in Oceania (New Zealand)

Of these:

“In the baseline period (1981–2010), 87 of 93 locations (94%) were rated reliable, with six marginally reliable and no location that is not reliable.

“A notable decline of reliable locations can be seen already for the 2020s (2011–2040) period with 57–66 reliable locations (61–71% high to low emission scenario) and 22–30 locations being marginally and 5–6 not reliable.

“The mid-century 2050s period sees a further decline with 45–55 reliable (48–59% high to low emission scenario), 20–28 marginally reliable and 10–28 unreliable locations.

“Two distinct futures are visible in the 2080s. The majority (54) or less than half (46) of potential host locations (49–58%) remain climate reliable in the low and mid emission futures respectively. In contrast, in the high emission scenario the majority (48) of locations are not reliable (52%).”

So there are now, and will be, places to go for future Winter Games held in February. This is true even with the snow-depth requirements increases from 30 cm to 50 cm, but the numbers narrow:

“As with the 30 cm threshold, the majority (53) or less than half (50) of potential host locations (54–57%) remain climate reliable [at 50 cm] in the low and mid emission futures.”

The number of places considered reliable thins in March, when the Paralympic Winter Games is usually scheduled, making that event more difficult. However, Western Asia and North America both looked like good options, even to the end of the century.

The bottom line:

“Positively, with the expanded number of locations that remain climatically reliable for the OWG under the more probable mid-emission scenarios for mid- and late century, all of the major global regions that have previously hosted the Olympics, North America, Europe (Alps, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe), and Asia, are all represented by multiple potential hosts.

“While it is inevitable that climate change will impact the geography and development of winter sports to some degree, a reassuring finding is that even with a diminished pool of potential host locations, with continued adaptation, the Olympic Winter Games can endure as a genuinely global celebration of sport.”

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

PANORAMA: NHL in for Winter Olympics for sure; airbags for alpine speed skiers; world’s strongest Talakhadze headed for Georgia Parliament!

Rich Perelman

November 11, 2024

tsx pix 2024-1111 talakhadze, lasha (iwf) — The amazing, unbeatable, world’s strongest man: Triple Olympic champion Lasha Talakhadze of Georgia (Photo: IWF).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Alpine Skiing ● After an avalanche of crashes last season and some terrible injuries, the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) announced Friday:

“The FIS Council convened for an online session this Friday and confirmed that the use of airbags will be mandatory for all athletes competing in the speed disciplines of Alpine Skiing at a FIS World Cup level as of this 2024/25 season.

“Exceptions can be granted by the National Ski Association in the event that the airbag does not fit an athlete, such that the airbag restricts movement in an unsafe manner.”

This applies to the Downhill and Super-G events only, and not to the technical events: Giant Slalom and Slalom.

● Archery ● World Archery announced an agreement with China’s Shanghai Media Group, which will handle broadcast production of World Archery events from 2025-27.

This includes a “Cube” – a container-based, stand-alone production unit – for World Archery events. In addition, the new “InnoMotion” system arrow tracking and visualization technology first shown at last year’s Shanghai stage of the Archery World Cup and used at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be provided.

● Ice Hockey ● Have no doubt that the National Hockey League is backing player participation in the Olympic Winter Games, after comments from Commissioner Gary Bettman in Toronto Monday, during the 17th PrimeTime Sports Management Conference and Trade Show.

Bettman noted next February’s new event, the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off with Canada, Finland, Sweden and the U.S., taking place a year ahead of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games, explaining:

“International competition has been part of the DNA of our game, and our players love representing their countries, and our best-on-best we think is as good as anybody’s best-on-best, probably better.

“I think you’re going to see us have more and more of an international presence.”

NHL.com columnist Nick Cotsonika (USA) added on X:

“Bettman called the 4 Nations Face-Off ‘an appetizer’ and a ‘mini international tournament.’ The NHL plans to go to the Olympics every four years and bring back the World Cup in between.”

● Speed Skating ● Better late than never, the results of the US Speedskating National Championships (and ISU World Cup qualifier) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that ended on 3 November underlined that seven-time World Champion Jordan Stolz, now 20, is ready for another big season.

Stolz won five races, taking both of the men’s 500 m (both over Zach Stoppelmoor) in 34.47 and 34.57, took the first 1,000 m in 1:07.67 with Stoppelmoor second at 1:08.87, and won the 1,500 m in 1:43.43 over Emery Lehman (1:46.09).

Stolz was only fourth in the first of two races in the 16-lap Mass Start, but won the second race to collect a combined total of 71 race points. Kelin Dunfee was second, also with 71 points, from winning the first race, but sliding to eighth in the second.

The other men’s races were won by Alec Sklutovsky in the 1,000 m (1:10.97), 2022 Olympian Casey Dawson (6:15.61) in the 5,000 m, and Dunfee, the only finisher in the 10,000 m (13:59.79).

The star-studded women’s races saw 2024 Worlds 500 m bronze winner Kimi Goetz take both 500 m sprints from reigning Olympic champ Erin Jackson, 37.67 to 37.76 and 37.80 to 37.88.

Three-time World women’s 1,000 m champion Brittany Bowe, now 36, was third in both 500 m races, then won the first 1,000 m race in 1:14.02, to 1:14.25 for Goetz. Bowe, the 2015 Worlds 1,000 m gold medalist, won the first women’s 1,500 m race in 1:54.78, with Goetz at 1:56.85.

Blair Cruikshank won the second women’s 1,000 m in 1:20.59, and Greta Myers won over Mia Manganello in the 3,000 m, 4:04.45 to 4:17.21. Natascha Lindenskov (DEN) won the women’s 5,000 m in 7:34.70.

In the 16-lap Mass Start, Myers and Manganello won the two races, with Manganello the overall winner.

The ISU World Cup season will start on 22 November in Japan.

● Weightlifting ● Strongman Lasha Talakhadze of Georgia, the three-time Olympic super-heavyweight gold medalist and seven-time World Champion, will not compete at the IWF World Championships in December in Bahrain.

Now 31, he’s been selected to serve in the Georgia Parliament.

A member of the “Georgia Dream” party, Talakhadze said in an interview:

“The two are not incompatible. Currently, I don’t train because of injury. At the moment, my country needs me. Georgia Dream is exactly the power that our country needs, which will maintain peace and unity in Georgia.”

The world-record holder indicated he would continue to Los Angeles in 2028, but his political involvement could keep him away. The Georgian federation head, Kakhi Kakhiashvili, noted that the 2026 European Championships will be in the country, in Batumi, with Talakhadze potentially making a run at a new world record for combined lifts of 500 kg (1,102 lbs.). His record is currently at 492 kg, from 2021.

Kakhiashvili, asked if 500 kg was really possible, replied, “If he starts training, yes. If he doesn’t start within six months, no.”

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

FOOTBALL: Amnesty Int’l, Sports & Rights call for FIFA to recall process for Saudi award of 2034 World Cup

Rich Perelman

November 11, 2024

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ FIFA WORLD CUP 2034 ≡

“There will be a real and predictable human cost to awarding the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia without obtaining credible guarantees of reform.

“Fans will face discrimination, residents will be forcibly evicted, migrant workers will face exploitation, and many will die.

“FIFA must halt the process until proper human rights protections are in place to avoid worsening an already dire situation.”

That’s Steve Cockburn (GBR), the Amnesty International’s Head of Labour Rights and Sport, in a new warning issued Monday about FIFA’s upcoming award of its 2034 men’s World Cup to Saudi Arabia, which is the only bidder for the event.

FIFA previously placed the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, playing in November and December to avoid the summer heat in the Middle East. The football was some of the best ever played, but the tournament was continuously dogged by criticism from human rights groups concerning abuses in the country of minority groups and the rights of migrant workers.

The next two World Cups will be in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. in 2026, and then a mash-up of Morocco, Portugal and Spain in the to-be-awarded 2030 event – also the sole bid – with opening matches to mark the centennial of the event in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

A 27-page report by Amnesty International and Sports & Rights Alliance delves into the human rights elements of both the 2030 and 2034 bids, “concluding that neither bid has adequately demonstrated how they would address key human rights risks related to the tournaments. It raises major concerns about the seriousness with which the human rights criteria within the bidding process has been taken.”

It asks FIFA:

“The outstanding risks related to the 2030 World Cup mean that FIFA should make awarding the tournament conditional on the development of a far more comprehensive and credible human rights strategy, with meaningful stakeholder consultation. The outstanding risks related to the 2034 bid in Saudi Arabia remain so severe that, in line with FIFA’s own standards, the bid should not be approved until they are fully and credibly addressed through the announcement of major and wide-ranging human rights reforms.”

There is no chance whatsoever that FIFA will accede to these requests, and the next 10 years will see an unending war of words between the two sides.

For the 2030 project in Morocco, Spain and Portugal, the report states that, from the Amnesty and SRA’s view, the required human-rights policies listed by the bids from all three countries fall short:

● “Critically, none the strategies include clear government commitments for legal reform or other measures to uphold human rights in connection with the tournament, or adequate stakeholder engagement. As a result, there remain many unanswered questions and outstanding risks.”

● “There is no commitment, for example, to increase the number of labour inspectors to meet international standards in Portugal and Morocco, nor to repeal legislation criminalizing same-sex acts and extra-marital relations in Morocco. There is no strategy to protect the availability of affordable accommodation for residents in Portugal and Spain, nor details on how people will be protected from forced evictions linked to mass infrastructure projects in Morocco.”

● “No new reforms to laws restricting freedom of expression and assembly have been
announced in any of the host candidates, nor are there any measures to prohibit the improper use of rubber bullets to disperse crowds.”

For 2034 in Saudi Arabia, the report is much more critical, noting that 11 new stadiums are proposed, along with 185,000 new hotel rooms, plus transportation infrastructure, that will be “dependent on a massive workforce of migrant labour.” So:

● “The June 2024 report produced by Amnesty International and the SRA concluded that the human rights risks related to workers’ rights, discrimination, freedom of expression, forced evictions, policing and privacy in Saudi Arabia were so severe that ‘it is hard to see how a World Cup could be hosted in the country without widespread violations, unless fundamental reforms are agreed and complied with.’”

● “The human rights assessment and strategy provided alongside Saudi Arabia’s Bid Book are deeply flawed and full of critical omissions. The ‘Independent Human Rights Assessment’ produced by AS&H Clifford Chance – the Saudi partner of global law firm Clifford Chance – includes no analysis of some of the most severe and well-known human rights risks in Saudi Arabia, completely omitting issues such as the repression of the right to freedom of expression, the criminalization of same-sex acts, well-documented forced evictions, the lack of a minimum wage, or the prohibition of trade unions.

“It also underplays the serious impact on workers of the country’s Kafala sponsorship system. The subsequent Human Rights Strategy submitted by the [Saudi Arabia Football Federation] then, with some exceptions, either makes largely the same omissions, or includes only general and non-specific commitments to reform. Clifford Chance did not respond to a letter from 11 human rights organisations highlighting these serious flaws, other than to say it would be ‘inappropriate’ to comment further and sharing links to company policies.”

The report’s conclusion asks FIFA “to separate the voting process for the two tournaments, and to postpone the 2034 vote until a credible human rights strategy is developed” and “not vote to award the 2034 FIFA World Cup to Saudi Arabia unless credible and comprehensive reforms are agreed before [the FIFA] Congress.”

Most of all, it blames FIFA:

“FIFA undermined its leverage by pursuing a selection process without competitive bids or separate votes. It has also severely limited the scope of the human rights assessment in Saudi Arabia, in contravention of its own human rights policies and responsibilities. [National associations] appear not to have taken the process seriously enough. Unless this is urgently rectified, we will again see the predictable and preventable human rights violations experienced in past tournaments, perhaps on an even greater scale.”

The report will have no impact on FIFA, and the vote on 11 December will move ahead. But the battle lines from now to 2034 have been drawn, and the report sets the stage for a roiling argument about people and rights in these countries, using the FIFA World Cup as a focal point. Now everyone knows.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

ATHLETICS: Grand Slam Track announces first meet will be in Jamaica in April

Rich Perelman

November 11, 2024

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ THE BIG PICTURE ≡

Grand Slam Track revealed the first of its four meet locations for 2025, Jamaica’s National Stadium in Kingston, on 4-5-6 April.

Kingston and Los Angeles are confirmed locations for 2025, with two others to be announced later this week. Birmingham (GBR) has been whispered as a possible location after the excellent Commonwealth Games held at the renovated Alexander Stadium in 2022.

This is the first confirmed date for the inaugural GST season; no other dates have been announced. The Kingston meet is scheduled two weeks after the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing (CHN), and three weeks before the first Diamond League meet in Xiamen (CHN) on 26 April.

As a reminder, the competition program will include:

● “Racers and Challengers will be assigned to compete in one of the following categories, and will all race in two events during each Slam: short sprints (100 m/200 m), short hurdles (100H or 110H/100 m), long sprints (200 m/400 m), long hurdles (400H/400 m), short distance (800 m/1500 m), or long distance (3000 m/5000 m).”

● “All competitors’ final placement score will be determined by their combined finishing order between the two races. In the event of a tie across the two events, it will be the athlete who had the quickest combined time across the two races who will be deemed the winner.”

● “The winner of each Slam group will take home $100,000 in prize money, and the 8th place competitor will earn $10,000.”

There is no team scoring, and no field events. Athletes will wear their own uniforms, of their own design or style; there is no indication on how they will be identified for the benefit of fans since they will perform “without traditional hip numbers or bibs.”

There will be 96 athletes competing in each meet: 48 “Racers” who are contracted for the season and 48 “Challengers” who are contracted meet-by-meet. The “Racers” group has 32 signed so far, with four-time Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of the U.S. the first signee, along with many other U.S. and international stars.

No broadcast information has been announced as yet.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

PANORAMA: City of L.A. worried about 2028 visitors; Ice Dance stars Chock & Bates win at NHK Trophy; Canoe and sailing IF heads re-elected

Rich Perelman

November 10, 2024

tsx pix 2021-1125 la city hall (wiki-tim ahem) — The Los Angeles City Hall, a 1928 Art Deco downtown icon (Photo: Tim Ahem via Wikipedia)

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● The Los Angeles City Council is worried about visitors coming for the 2028 Games:

“While the 2028 Games are anticipated to be centered in the City of Los Angeles with sports facilities near Downtown Los Angeles, the University of Southern California, the Sepulveda Basin, and outside of the City of Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood and in Long Beach, visitors will also be expected at our City’s everyday attractions.

“This includes Venice Beach, Griffith Observatory, the Getty, and the Hollywood Sign, among numerous other sites across Los Angeles, including cultural and tourist destinations requested in CF 23-1096. On any given day, the City already struggles to provide a basic level of service to these locations, from trash pick-up and maintenance to traffic management.

“With a historic number of visitors expected in Los Angeles, this task could become exponentially harder for our City Departments.”

So, a motion by Council member Traci Park (11th District) is asking for a plan to “mitigate impacts associated with tourism, such as traffic and public safety concerns.”

Los Angeles Tourism estimated there were 49.1 million visitors to the region in 2023; the Ile-de-France region was almost the same, at 47.5 million. During the Paris 2024 Olympic period, visits by those from outside the region increased by 19%, to 3.2 million vs. 2.6 million in 2023.

● Athletics ● The Eastleigh Voice, a Nairobi-based site in Kenya, reported last week that the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Kipchumba Murkomen has signaled his support for Kenya’s bid for the 2029 World Athletics Championships.

He said that the needed upgrades to the Kasarani Stadium will be ready in 2025 and promised added funding for the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK), which had lost most of its funding in a recent cutback. “We’re collaborating with the Ministry of Finance and Parliament to enhance ADAK’s funding in the next supplementary budget,” Murkomen said.

Kenyan President William Ruto promised to support anti-doping efforts in the country during the recent visit by International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach (GER).

● Badminton ● At the BWF World Tour Korea Masters in Gwangju, the host nations made it to two finals, with one win, by Hye-jeong Kim and Hee-young Kong in the women’s Doubles, defeating Yi Jing Li and Xu Min Luo (CHN), 21-14, 16-21, 21-18. The men’s Doubles team of Yong Jin and Won Ho Kim (KOR) lost to Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh, 21-23, 21-19, 21-14.

Elsewhere, Thai Kunlavut Vitidsarn won the men’s Singles, 21-18, 21-18, over Zheng Xing Wang (CHN) and Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani took the women’s Singles by 21-14, 21-14 against China’s Qian Xi Han.

China’s Xia Wa Guo and Fang Hui Chen won the Mixed Doubles, 21-10, 21-12, over Dejan Ferdinansyah and Gloria Widjaja.

● Beach Volleyball ● The final Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 tournament, in Rio de Janeiro (BRA) saw a winning moment for Javier and Joaquin Bello, two brothers playing for England, who had won one minor FIVB tournament in 2021 and a single bronze on the 2023-24 Beach Pro Tour.

But in Rio they knocked off Argentina’s Tomas Capogrosso and Nicolas Capogrosso, 22-24, 30-28, 15-13, to earn their first Elite 16 victory, as the no. 14 seeds.

The third-place match was a win for Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots (LAT), who defeated Tokyo Olympic champs and Paris bronzers Anders Mol and Christian Sorum (NOR), 21-18, 13-21, 15-11.

The women’s final was a sweep for Brazil’s Carol Solberg Salgado and Barbara Seixas over the American pair of Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft, 231-17, 21-18. It was the third medal of the season for the Brazilians and their second win. Cannon and Kraft also won their third medal of the season (0-2-1).

The third-place match saw Themala Galil and Victoria Lopes (BRA) ease past Sandra Ittlinger and Kim Van de Velde (GER), 21-19, 21-16, for their third medal of the season.

● Canoeing ● Running unopposed, International Canoe Federation President Thomas Konietzko (GER) was elected to a second term from 2024-28 at the ICF Congress in Antalya (TUR) by 87-1. He told the delegates following his election:

“While we have had our sights set on our structure and finances for the past three years, the next four years will be important for discussing our future strategy. They will be dedicated to a thorough review of our organisational structure and procedures, and we want to discuss everything to make our Federation, including its rules and processes, fit for the future.

“We want to start a comprehensive organisational reform review. I call on all of you to get involved and participate here. “

● Curling ● In the second leg of the 2024-25 Grand Slam of Curling, the Canadian Open in Nisku, Alberta (CAN), two-time (and reigning) World Champion Rachel Homan’s Canadian rink managed a tight, 6-5 win over four-time World Champion Silvana Tirinzoni (SUI) in the women’s final.

Homan’s rink scored two in the first end, but the Swiss were up, 3-2, by the end of three. Then came a three-point fourth for Homan and another point in the fifth for a 6-3 lead. Tirinzoni got close with two in the sixth, but could not do more. It’s Homan’s fourth Canadian Open win and second in a row.

Two more World Champions faced off in the men’s final, with Brad Gushue (CAN: 2017) and Scotland’s Bruce Mouat (2023). Mouat took a 3-0 lead in the first end, added one in the third and two in the fifth and cruised in for a 6-3 win. Mouat defended his title in this tournament from 2023, and won his second straight Grand Slam event for a career total of eight Grand Slam of Curling victories.

● Fencing ● The FIE World Cup series got busy this weekend with Epee and Sabre action in three different countries. In Sabre action in Oran, Algeria, France’s Sebastien Patrice got his second career World Cup gold with a 15-11 victory over 19-year-old, first-time medalist Radu Nitu (ROU). The women’s final went to Korea’s first-time winner, Hayoung Jeon, 15-7, over Lucia Martin-Portugues (ESP).

Korea defeated Iran, 45-34, to take the men’s team title, with Italy winning the bronze over the U.S., 45-32, for third. Hungary beat Poland, 45-36, for the women’s gold, with Korea taking third.

In the Epee men’s World Cup in Bern (SUI), Hungary’s 2023 World Champion Mate Tamas Koch took the final – and his first World Cup gold – from first-time medalist Giacomo Paolini (ITA) by 15-9. Hungary won the team title, 34-27, with France third.

The women’s Epee World Cup was in Fujairah (UAE), with a first career victory for Italian Sara Maria Kowalczyk over countrywoman Giulia Rizzi, 15-10. Estonia won the team title, 45-34, over Italy, with the U.S. winning the bronze over China, 45-38.

● Figure Skating ● The ISU Grand Prix entered the second half of its schedule with the annual NHK Trophy tournament in Tokyo (JPN), featuring two wins for the home team.

Three-time Worlds silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama dominated the men’s competition, winning the Short Program and the Free Skate on the way to a 300.09 total and defending his 2023 victory. Italy’s Daniel Grassl was second at 264.85; Americans Andrew Torgashev (246.58), Jason Brown (229.09) and Tomoki Hiwatashi (226.38) were fourth, seventh and eighth.

Three-time World Champion Kaori Sakamoto led a Japanese sweep in the women’s Singles, scoring 231.88 and taking the Short Program and the Free Skate, ahead of Mone Chiba (212.54) and Yuna Aoki (195.07). Alysa Liu and Bradie Tennell of the U.S. went 4-5 (190.75, 190.25) and Lindsay Thorngren (169.03) was ninth.

World Junior Champions Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava (GEO) upset Japan’s 2023 World Champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, 213.05 to 209.45 in Pairs by winning the Free Skate by more than five points to rise from second. Americans Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea took the bronze at 197.44; teammates Isabelle Martins and Ryan Bedard were eighth (140.63).

The two-time World Ice Dance Champions, Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. were clear winners, winning the Rhythm Dance and the Free Dance and scoring 215.95 points, ahead of teammates Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko (198.97), who won their third career Grand Prix medal and first silver. Caroline Green and Michael Parsons of the U.S. finished fourth (188.76).

Next week: the Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki.

● Ice Hockey ● Canada took game two of the 2024-25 Rivalry Series in West Valley City, Utah, by 5-4 in an overtime shoot-out after the U.S. fought back from a 4-1 deficit in the third period.

Forward Laura Stacey scored goals for Canada in the first and second periods, and with a short-handed goal by forward Marie-Philip Poulin, they had a 3-1 lead after two periods. A fourth goal from forward Emma Maltais on a power play made it 4-1 with 12 minutes to play. But the U.S. stormed back with scores by Hilary Knight, a short-hander by Grace Zumwinkle (her second) and another Knight goal in just 4:16 to tie.

After a scoreless overtime, the shoot-out saw the U.S. miss all four of their tries, while Poulin and Chloe Primerano converted for a 2-0 edge and the 5-4 win.

On Sunday evening in Boise, Idaho, Canada struck again early, getting first-period goals from defender Joycelyne Larocqueat the 3:30 mark and then from forward Sarah Nurse on a power play at 9:19. Forward Kristin O’Neill added another power-play goal at 4:35 of the second period for a 3-0 lead in the first 20 minutes.

The U.S. finally got a goal at 13:36 of the final period on a power play, with forward Laila Edwards scoring, but Emily Clark scored one more for Canada at 16:05 for the 4-1 final. The U.S. out-shot Canada, 37-33, but it didn’t help.

The series will continue in February, with two games in Canada.

● Luge ● At the USA Luge National Championships in Park City, Utah, held from 3-5 November, Beijing 2022 Olympian Ashley Farquharson won her second straight women’s title, with a combined time of 2:57.652, edging three-time Olympian Emily Sweeney (2:57.769).

Also defending their 2023 U.S. championship was the women’s Doubles team of Chevonne Forgan and Sophie Kirkby, three-time Worlds medal winners, in 1:30.662. A new team of Maya Chan and Sophia Gordon was second in 1:31.457.

The men’s winner was the super-starter Tucker West, also a three-time Olympian, who defeated defending champ Jonny Gustafson, 3:04.310 to 3:04.575. The men’s Doubles title went to World Junior Champions Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa in 1:239.014, edging out Worlds medal winners Dana Kellogg and Frank Ike (1:29.139). Beijing 2022 Olympians Zack DiGregorio and Sean Hollander finished third in 1:29.280.

● Rowing ● The World Rowing Awards gala was held on Saturday (9th) in Seville (ESP), with the Dutch winners of the Paris 2024 Olympic gold in the Quadruple Sculls – Lennart Van Lierop, Finn Florijn, Tone Wieten, Koen Metsemakers – recognized as the Men’s Crew of the Year.

The women’s winner was the Romanian eight, which won a 10th medal in this event all-time in Paris, tying with the U.S. for the most ever. Moreover, Romanian mentor Antonio Colamonici (ITA) was recognized as the Coach of the Year for 2024.

● Sailing ● At the World Sailing General Assembly in Singapore, China’s Quanhai Li was re-elected for a second term, winning 55 votes in the first round against 29 for Philippe Rogge (BEL) and two for Rodion Luka (UKR). Also:

“Ozlem Akdurak (TUR), Daniel Belcher (AUS), Tomasz Chamera (POL), Beatriz González Luna (MEX), Line Markert (DEN), Josep Pla Maronda (AND) and Cory Sertl (USA) were elected as Vice Presidents and will join the World Sailing Board.”

● Table Tennis ● At the WTT Champions tournament in Frankfurt (GER), the nos. 1-2 seeds faced off in the women’s final, with 2021 World Champion Manyu Wang (CHN) and two-time Worlds Team gold medalist Yidi Wang (CHN). This was a tight match, with Manyu Wang breaking a 2-2 tie to get a 4-2 win: 11-7, 10-12, 11-3, 7-11, then 11-8, 11-8.

In the men’s final, 19-year-old Shidong Lin (CHN) raced past Paris Team silver medalist Anton Kallberg (SWE), 4-1 (11-5, 11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8).

● Triathlon ● Not done yet, Rio 2016 Olympic champion Gwen Jorgensen of the U.S., now 38, made a rip-roaring comeback after a second-transition fall at the sprint-format World Triathlon Cup in Miyazaki (JPN) to win at the tape over Swiss Alissa Konig.

Jorgensen looked like the winner after the bike phase, given her running prowess, but got into a pile-up with other athletes and got to the run well down, instead of leading. She trailed by 10 seconds at the bell, but made all of it up, lunging to the finish in a final sprint to win, 59:54 to 59:56.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MEMORABILIA: “Official” pin-trading center to return for 2026 Winter, 2028 Olympic Games

Rich Perelman

November 10, 2024

tsx pix 2024-1110 olympin fest (k rosen) — "What do you have to trade?" From the Olympin Collectors Club Memorabilia Festival in Atlanta (Photo: Karen Rosen)

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ OLYMPIN FESTIVAL ≡

“We will have an official pin trading center in Milan, so that will happen. Now if Coke or some other sponsor sponsors it, that’s to be seen.

“But you know we are talking with everyone right now and we’re very close to inking something down where you know we can have a sponsor for it, but if not [there] will be an official pin trading center.”

That’s from Honav USA owner Mario Simonson, the exclusive pin licensee for the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, explaining to the annual Olympin Collectors Club Memorabilia Festival in Atlanta, Georgia this weekend that a stronger presence for pin trading is already assured that was seen for Paris.

An unofficial pin-trading center was created at the Parc de la Villette in Paris by the International Association of Olympic Collectors (AICO) and the Association Francaise des Collectionneurs Olympiques et Sportifs (AFCOS) as the “Official Olympic Collectors Area” and demonstrated the enduring popularity of the concept.

So did a single Facebook post in Paris – during the Games – among Olympin members promoting a Coca-Cola pin promotion, that turned into:

“There were 1,000 people that showed up at that Coca-Cola food place the next day and that was all through you guys and through one post. I mean, if you can imagine what we can do when we’re really, you know, the official pin-trading center and being able to be part of that.”

Simonson wants to go far beyond for Los Angeles in 2028:

“But we’re going to have, you know, not just a pin-trading center, but we’re going to have a museum that’s going to be connected with the pin-trading center that will have a lot of, like, the old, maybe old ‘32 and ‘84 product, you know from the L.A. Games. …

“[T]here’s going to be activations, I’m going to do a lot of activations. So you get a pin from here and you get a pin from here and you bring it back to the pin-training center and you get a free pin, you know, doing something like that. A pin of the day … there’s just so much stuff we want to do.”

He explained in an evening address to the group that he’s excited to support the existing pin-trading audience, but also wants to drum up new fans, especially young people:

● He spoke about creating personal catalogs through the Honav mobile app, allowing collectors to see the full range of pins available – like a stamp catalog – and then be able to maintain an online tally which pins you have and which you want:

“It won’t just have retail in there, it will also have sponsor [pins]. It will have anything that we make, even an NOC pin. If we make it and it’s approved pin, it will be in that, on that check-off list. So you guys will know right off the bat: is this a real pin or is it not a real pin and we all know if it doesn’t have the Honav back stamp on it, you know [it’s] not real.”

● Simonson added that he had even wilder aspirations for the app:

“You know, the original way I wanted to do this was to present it to NBC, so that if you downloaded that app and you’re at the Games, you can scan the app and get the updated medal count.

“I wanted to do stuff like that where it becomes more of a useful type thing. You can just scan it, right? But I want to make it fun for the younger generation. And that’s where I want to, you know, put on some cool videos or, you know, maybe in the future we’ll make it come out of your smartphone.”

● “Some other cool ideas that we’re doing with retailers, we’re going to be doing mystery packs, you know? You don’t know what you’re going to get in the pack. So we’re going to be doing that with some retailers.”

● “You know the Advent calendars and you the open up that little door? Right. Well, there will be a pin in there and every day it will be a new pin, and you buy that set. That will be something we’ll do. And so we’re always trying to be ahead of the curve.

“New stuff that the younger generation will really, you know, grasp and be part of.”

The new app is an easy way to keep up with the dizzying array of products that are coming, especially for the LA28 Games.

He was also asked – remember, he was talking to hard-core collectors – about add identifications to pins so help not only verify authenticity, but also dates, as if they were coins or stamps:

“You guys want the date. So you know, you know when the pin was made and whatnot and that and for what Games. We can definitely look at doing that. You know we put our back stamp on it to show that it’s a official pin. So but yeah, you’re correct. We’ll look at where we can add a date.”

The Olympin Festival was well attended, with 50 tables for traders at the Atlanta Marriott Buckhead Hotel and Conference Center, with more than 250 people attending over three days of the show. A silent auction of 47 items earned $1,500 for the club.

The hobby, or perhaps the mania that is pin-trading, is alive and well.

(The Olympin Web site also notes that members receive a discount from Honav for pin purchases, and news of new releases.)

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

FOOTBALL: Canada Soccer receives report on drone spying at Paris 2024 and before, promises quick action

Rich Perelman

November 9, 2024

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

“Our initial review of the conclusions of the independent investigator reveals that the drone incident in Paris was a symptom of a past pattern of an unacceptable culture and insufficient oversight within the national teams.

“While we are being thoughtful about how best to address the findings, we also want to move decisively. To that end, we will release key conclusions and next steps within a week.”

That’s a statement from Canada Soccer chief executive Kevin Blue on Friday, explaining that the commissioned report from the Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark law firm had been received, occasioned by the use of drones to spy on practice sessions of the New Zealand women’s team prior to their match on 25 July in Saint-Etienne, a 2-1 win for the defending Olympic champion Canadians.

A drone had been noticed by New Zealand players during their 22 July practice, and security forces investigating the vehicle traced it back to a Canadian operator, team performance analyst Joseph Lombardi. He admitted that drone surveillance had been made of a 19 July New Zealand practice, and that assistant coach Jasmine Mander was aware of the practice.

Lombardi and Mander, along with head coach Bev Priestman were eventually suspended for a year by FIFA, and the Canadian women’s team was penalized six points in their group for the transgressions, but still managed to qualify for the elimination round, losing to Germany on penalty kicks, 4-2, after a scoreless tie in the quarterfinals.

FIFA’s inquiry documentation included a statement from Canada Soccer during the investigation that noted:

“Canada is investigating the history of this matter, but we suspect that the practice of using a drone stems back to John Herdman when he was the head coach of the women’s national team. In other words, this was a practice started by one person – John Herdman – and continued by Bev Priestman.”

Priestman succeeded Herdman as coach; in July, Herdman said that he did not use drone spying at top-tier events such as the FIFA World Cup or the Olympic Games. He was the women’s national team coach from 2011-18, coached the men’s team from 2018-24 and is now the coach at Toronto FC of the MLS.

The FIFA review and sanctions applied only to the Paris 2024 Olympic tournament and not to other events. It is expected that the new report will illuminate further use of the drone tactic in other tournaments. Priestman noted in an email turned over to the FIFA review that such spying is routine and “all top-10 teams do it.”

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MODERN PENTATHLON: Congress meets in Saudi to elect a new President, or perhaps both a new and an old President?

Rich Perelman

November 9, 2024

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ UIPM CONGRESS ≡

One of the least popular sports on the Olympic program is at a crossroads at its 73rd Congress up on 16-17 November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: modern pentathlon.

The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) is scheduled to elect a new President as German Klaus Schormann, now 78, is retiring after becoming President in 1993. He won re-election in 1997-2001-05-09-13-17-21 – eight terms in all – with pentathlon essentially in the same situation as when he started: clinging to its position in the Olympic program, and principally funded by a share of the International Olympic Committee’s television rights.

The UIPM’s “Congress Book” of working papers related to the meeting includes a financial review showing the federation balance down to $1.52 million as of 31 August 2024. Consider the annual revenues shown for 2020 through 2024:

● 2020: $573,074 due to Covid
● 2021: $12,573,652, nearly all IOC TV revenue share
● 2022: $1,328,929
● 2023: $630,847
● 2024: $1,794,252 as of 31 August

The UIPM share of IOC television revenue from Tokyo 2020 – received mostly in 2021 – was $12.98 million, which has been made to stretch over four years. The federation’s expenses were:

● 2020: $2,160,874
● 2021: $3,473, 812
● 2022: $5,147,703
● 2023: $4,659,960
● 2024: $3,300,169 as of 31 August

So the balance is down to $1.52 million, with the UIPM expecting a new shot of IOC television money before the end of the year. It should be increased from the $12.98 million received for Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, to perhaps $15 million as the distribution formula from the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) is now designed to create fewer tiers. There were five for Rio and Tokyo, with the UIPM on the bottom; the new concept is to have a top tier with athletics, aquatics and gymnastics, a second tier with five sports (basketball, cycling, football, tennis and volleyball) and everyone else – more than 20 sports – in the third tier.

Without the IOC’s television money, the UIPM would not function. In Schormann’s 31-year tenure, this is where his federation stands, still on the Olympic program for Los Angeles because it followed the IOC’s directive to eliminate riding from its event program, replacing it with obstacle racing and then quickly absorbing the obstacle racing federation (FISO), which also reported no revenues whatsoever.

A new President – there are three candidates – would be expected to look to find ways to remedy this situation and make the federation more self-sufficient. More on that in a moment, but a motion (EB2) submitted by the UIPM Executive Board expands the title of “Honorary President” – to be elected by the General Assembly – to specifically include governance tasks:

“16.3 The Executive Board may assign to any Honorary President funds to perform the tasks assigned pursuant to article 16.2.”

The justification is to provide a “clear definition of activities and tasks that could be attributed to honorary figures by the EB.”

Further, the Honorary President, currently without the right to speak or vote at the General Assembly, would now be able to speak, if invited to do so.

Stretched to its logical conclusion, passage of this motion would allow Schormann – if elected as Honorary President at this Congress – to effectively continue in office in conjunction with the new “President.”

This has been widely noticed, and already criticized, but that does not mean it will not have an excellent chance of passing.

So what about a new “President”: whether in name only, or in fact?

There are three candidates:

● Joel Bouzou (FRA): Now 69, he was the men’s bronze medalist at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, was the 1987 World Champion, and is the obvious favorite, having been the UIPM Secretary General for 15 years beginning in the late 1990s. He has been a UIPM Vice President since 2012.

Insiders say that Bouzou has been campaigning hard and does not feel favored or a shoo-in.

● Sharif El Erian (EGY): A 1992 Olympian for Egypt, now 54, El Erian is the head of the Egyptian Modern Pentathlon Federation. That’s important, as Egypt has become a major power in the sport during his tenure, with Ahmed El-Gendy winning the Paris men’s gold this summer, and Egyptian entries winning nine medals in the last three Worlds. If anyone can claim development credentials, he can.

Can he carry the African and Middle East federations? A sign of possible doubt: he is also running as a candidate for Vice President should he not be elected President.

● Rob Stull (USA): A four-time U.S. Olympian in the sport, Stull was one of the long-time advocates for obstacle racing in the sport. Now 64, he is the Managing Director of USA Pentathlon and the head of the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NORCECA) confederation. He has been a UIPM Executive Board member since 2016.

Stull is dynamic and forward-looking, but U.S. candidates, especially, carry no geographic tug with surrounding countries, so each has to stitch together a coalition one-by-one, always difficult.

The chatter is that an obvious front-runner has not emerged. The discussion on the Executive Board motion 2 and the elections are slated as items 16 and 17 of the Congress agenda, so likely on the second day, with plenty of time for discussion beforehand.

Thus, it will be know prior to the elections what powers an “Honorary President” would have; if so, the candidates could well be asked their position on what they plan to cede – if anything – to Schormann.

Will the Congress elect a truly new UIPM President? A co-share? Or a front?

It’s clear that the International Olympic Committee will be watching, along with many more interested in this developing personal intrigue in a sport whose profile is so weak – 112 years after its Olympic debut – that few can even name the four (yes, four) events that make up today’s competition.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

PANORAMA: Khelif to sue French paper over medical report; Degtyarev in line to be Russian Olympic Committee chief; $2.16 million at swim Worlds

Rich Perelman

November 7, 2024

tsx pix 2024-1107 milkhail degtyarev (kremlin.ru) — Russian Sport Minister Mikhail Degtyarev, likely to be the next President of the Russian Olympic Committee (Photo: Kremlin.ru).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● From the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday:

“We understand that Imane Khelif has taken legal action against individuals who commented on her situation during the Olympic Games Paris 2024, and is also preparing a lawsuit in response to the latest reporting.

“The IOC will not comment while legal action is ongoing, or on media reports about unverified documents whose origin cannot be confirmed.”

Khelif, the Algerian boxer who won the Paris Olympic gold in the women’s 66 kg class, filed in August in the Paris Prosecutor’s Office’s National Center for the fight against Online Hatred for comments made on social media during the Paris Games. The new suit will focus on a report in the French newspaper Le Correspondant, which last week published details of a medical report which stated she had male (XY) chromosomes and was a biological male.

Australian break dancer Rachael Gunn – “Raygun” – who lost her three group-stage battles at the Paris Games by a combined 180-0, said she is retiring from breaking after the torrent of abuse that came following her Olympic performance. She said in an interview on 2DayFM in Sydney:

“I just didn’t have any control over how people saw me or who I was. I was going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems really difficult for me to do now.

“I think the level of scrutiny that’s going to be there, and people will be filming it, and it will go online.”

The famed bell rung by the winners at the Stade de France during the Paris Games was delivered to the Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Paris, along with two smaller bells as the renovation following the 2019 fire nears completion, with the formal re-opening on 8 December.

The Olympic bell was a gift from the Paris 2024 organizing committee, replacing a bell which was lost in the fire.

● Russia ● As expected, Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdnyakov will step down and a new chief will be elected on 13 December.

Podznyakov will leave his post on 13 November. Secretary General Rodion Plitukhin will also leave on 13 November and Director General Vladimir Sengleev will leave on 21 November.

There is little doubt that Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev, 43, will be elected, having been approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Degtyarev told the Russian news agency TASS:

“[W]e must prepare to work with the new leadership of the International Olympic Committee, the elections of which will take place in March 2025, and we count on reciprocal movement, because Russia’s role in the international Olympic family cannot be ignored.”

● Athletics ● The Paris Court of Cassation, the highest civil court on France, held Wednesday that Papa Massata Diack (SEN), convicted of corruption and embezzlement in 2020, must be re-tried at the Paris Court of Appeal.

Diack was convicted in absentia and sentenced to five years in prison and fined €1 million (€1 = $1.08 U.S.) for his part in a bribery and extortion scheme led by his father, Lamine Diack, then President of the IAAF (now World Athletics).

Papa Massata Diack fled to his native Senegal to avoid arrest and has not left the country. Lamine Diack was convicted in 2020 but, in ill health, died in 2021 after being allowed to return home to Senegal.

● Canoe-Kayak ● On the first day of its 2024 Congress, the International Canoe Federation agreed – with 85% approval – that it will move its headquarters from Lausanne (SUI) to Budapest (HUN) in 2025.

Hungary is a power on the sport, leading all nations with seven medals (0-4-3) at the recent Paris Olympic Games. The ICF will maintain a smaller office in Lausanne.

● Ice Hockey ● The U.S. women kicked off the annual “Rivalry Series” with Canada with a 7-2 win in San Jose, California on Wednesday.

The U.S. took a 5-0 lead in the first period and sailed home from there. Lacey Eden and Abbey Murphy both scored twice; it’s the most goals by the U.S. against Canada since 2015.

Game two of the series will be in Salt Lake City, Utah on Friday, and then in Boise, Idaho on Sunday.

● Nordic Combined ● After losing funding from USA Nordic Sport earlier in the year, Nordic Combined USA – an all-volunteer group – received a grant from the International Ski & Snowboard Federation to allow it to continue a training partnership with the Norwegian federation.

The new money brings Nordic Combined USA to about 60% of its $500,000 budget for the upcoming season.

The sport is under pressure from the International Olympic Committee as well, which said in 2022 that its place at the 2030 Olympic Winter Games is not assured until Nordic Combined shows a higher profile. The IOC declined to add women’s Nordic Combined for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games.

● Swimming ● Prize money for the 2024 World 25 m (short course) Championships was published, with $2.16 million available to the top eight finishers: $10,000-8,000-7,000-6,000-5,000-4,000-3,000-2,000. That’s $45,000 per event.

This is the same pay scale as the 2022 short-course Worlds, but down by a third from the 2021 Championships in Abu Dhabi (UAE).

World-record bonuses are $25,000. The event takes place from 10-15 December in Budapest (HUN).

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: Coe criticizes IOC age limits, says the World Athletics prize money reveal was “discourteous”

Rich Perelman

November 7, 2024

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ IOC ELECTION ≡

There are a lot of restrictions on what the seven International Olympic Committee members who are candidates in next March’s presidential elections can do to campaign. But there are no restrictions on interviews and World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (GBR) has been making the rounds.

He answered questions from the SportsIn site, which focused on his program if elected, but also on some of the hurdles in front of him.

● First and foremost is the question of age. Currently 68, Coe can serve on the IOC until age 70, and could be elected to a four-year extension of the age limit to 2030. As the IOC President serves an eight-year first term, the next head will serve from 2025 to 2033, he would require a change of rules. He’s clear that should happen:

“I respect the IOC rules but I honestly feel the age restrictions look rather outdated when compared to other organisations and institutions globally. The way I see it, with age comes experience and if you have the energy, enthusiasm and willpower – three things I’ve never been short of – then you’re young enough to do the job whatever your date of birth.”

● He was also asked about the controversial payment of prize money – $50,000 – for the track & field gold medalists in Paris, which was met with considerable discomfort among other federations. Coe was clear he would do the same thing, but in a different way:

“I have reflected upon the recent decision to announce prize money at the Olympic Games for our athletes. I believe, as I think many others do, that the athletes – whose performances at the Olympic Games generate revenue for the Olympic movement through broadcast, commercial and ticketing – should be recognised.

“In hindsight the way it was announced was discourteous. For that I have apologised to the ASOIF Executive Council of which I am a member and other International Federation Presidents at the recent IF Forum and at ANOC [General Assembly] in Portugal.”

● Coe also promoted the idea that the IOC members need to be empowered to do more, a concept which could be a vote-getter:

“I believe the key to building a sustainable, commercially successful future is empowering the IOC members, the athletes, sports federations and NOCs. If we expect them to take responsibility for the Games and contribute fully to its future, we must give them a stake – they deserve and need to be sure their input really matters and drives change. That means trusting the IOC members to make good decisions, supporting the athletes to strive for outstanding performance, realise their potential and not suffer financial hardship because of their sacrifices and commitment. …

“You just have to look around an IOC Congress room to see the range of experience, expertise and talent there is, not just in sport but in a range of professions, commercial and non-commercial, across all territories. These brains need to be at the centre of decision and policy making in the Olympic Movement. Striving for the best should be about prioritising excellence over everything else as this sits at the core of the Olympic values.”

● Coe, who has a long history in sports marketing, was also asked about the TOP sponsorship program, with the three Japan-based sponsors – Bridgestone, Panasonic and Toyota – deciding not to renew.

“The Games are a commercial success story but it’s no secret that some sponsors have walked away recently and I do wonder if there may be opportunities to do more to deliver value for partners on whom we depend.

“There are great opportunities to partner with smart businesses if the proposition is right and valued which is clearly not a one-size fits all structure. And the great thing about world class businesses is that they tend to hire world class people. So, we have an added incentive and opportunity to mix their world class people with our world class membership.”

The candidate statements have not yet been published and Coe is one of seven candidates for the IOC Presidency, with the decision to be made next March at the IOC Session in Greece.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026: “Look of the Games” and pictograms unveiled, powered by the “human gesture”

Rich Perelman

November 7, 2024

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ DESIGN & GRAPHICS ≡

A graphic design program using individual lines to form shapes in the human form was released on Thursday, with a vibrant scheme promised for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

According to the announcement:

“At the centre of Milano Cortina 2026’s vibrant identity are the ‘Vibes,’ a four-element design scheme that includes:

“● Signs that reproduce the human gesture,
“● Curved shapes that evoke movement,
“● Straight, intersecting lines that enhance dynamism, and
“● A white blur effect inspired by snow and winter.

“These elements come together to create a cohesive visual identity that connects deeply with Italian aesthetics and the Olympic spirit.”

Raffaella Panie, Head of Brand Identity and Look of the Games at Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, explained:

“The Look of the Games is the result of a creative process that started from the Brand Personality, from the concept of a new Italian beauty that reflects the deepest, positive qualities of the essence of our country, including talent.”

The 16 Olympic and six Paralympic pictograms use individual lines to form images of athletes competing in each sport, a departure from the usual use of solid athlete shapes, introduced for the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

Milan Cortina will be promoting the Look concepts in concert with five “Italian icons” representing different aspects of the “Vibes,” the human gestures which form the lines that are key to the designs:

● Creativity: Dardust (Dario Faini), pianist, author and producer;
● Energy: Bebe Vio, Paralympic fencing champion;
● Imagination: Federico Basso, comedian and author;
● Passion: Davide Oldani, chef;
● Style: Nicoletta Manni, Ètoile of La Scala Theatre in Milano.

They will be featured on the social-media channels of the organizing committee.

The Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games is scheduled for 6-22 February 2026, with the Paralympics to follow from 6-15 March.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

LOS ANGELES 2028: Trump projected to win U.S. Presidency, and in line to open the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles

Rich Perelman

November 5, 2024

tsx pix 2024-1105 donald trump (white house 2020) — U.S. President Donald Trump (Photo: The White House).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ THE BIG PICTURE ≡

Projections that Donald Trump won the U.S. Presidential election on Tuesday will not only return him to The White House, but also positions him to open the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad in Los Angeles in 2028.

There have been eight prior Olympic and Winter Games in the U.S. – no country has hosted more – with a sitting U.S. President not opening any of them until Ronald Reagan in 1984, also in Los Angeles.

Two future Presidents opened the 1932 Winter Games in Lake Placid (Franklin Roosevelt), and the 1960 Winter Games in Squaw Valley (Richard Nixon; the site is now known as Palisades Tahoe).

The list of those who have declared the eight U.S. Games open includes:

Olympic Games:
● 1904 St. Louis: Louisiana Purchase Exposition President David Francis
● 1932 Los Angeles: U.S. Vice President Charles Curtis
● 1984 Los Angeles: U.S. President Ronald Reagan
● 1996 Atlanta: U.S. President Bill Clinton

Olympic Winter Games:
● 1932 Lake Placid: New York Governor Franklin Roosevelt
● 1960 Squaw Valley: U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon
● 1980 Lake Placid: U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale
● 2002 Salt Lake City: U.S. President George W. Bush

Trump was President from 2017 to 2021, then lost to Joe Biden in the 2020 election, and will become the first man to serve non-consecutive terms as U.S. President since Grover Cleveland from 1885-89 and 1893-97.

With the FIFA World Cup coming to Canada, Mexico and the U.S., Trump also had a friendly relationship with FIFA chief Gianni Infantino (SUI) during his first term, and will likely have some ceremonial role in that event.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

OLYMPIC GAMES: IOC chief Bach says venues key to sustainability, FIS shows fan travel also has a major impact

Rich Perelman

November 5, 2024

tsx pix 2024-1105 merlo and bach aips 100 — AIPS chief Gianni Merlo (l) and IOC President Thomas Bach (r) speaking to the AIPS 100 Young Reporters program (Photo: AIPS).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ SUSTAINABILITY ≡

One of the legacies of the 12-year term of International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER) will be the emphasis on sustainability in the conduct of the Olympic Games, and of the IOC itself.

Bach explained this once again, in some detail, during an online question-and-answer session with the 100 Young Reporters project, organized by the International Sports Journalists Association (AIPS), celebrating its centennial in 2024.

Moderated from Olympic House in Lausanne by AIPS President Gianni Merlo (ITA), the long-time correspondent for Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport, Bach was asked specifically about the concept of a multi-nation Olympic Games bid from Africa, in order to have the Games on the last continent which has not hosted one.

Bach carefully explained how the IOC’s concern for sustainability would impact such a decision:

“The distribution of the sites does not necessarily mean that it’s more sustainable.

“It can have even a counterproductive effect on sustainability, if you are considering the emissions being caused by transportation, by logistics of teams, of spectators, by tripling the number of people to be employed in organizing committees and so on. So diversification of sites is not equal to sustainability.

“What is important for a sustainable organization is first of all the number of sites rather than spreading the sites. Because construction is causing the most emissions and new construction always has to take into account the legacy of the relevant venues and stadiums.

“This is why in the IOC, we are taking the approach which is the most preventive for emissions, that is to make use of existing facilities. Then if you don’t have existing facilities, go for temporary facilities, and only if temporary facilities are for one reason or another, not possible – what is, according to state of the art, technology, almost impossible – only then start to diversify.

“We saw this concept in Paris, either existing or temporary facilities, resulting in a 50% reduction of the emissions compared to previous Olympic Games and at the same time, by keeping them closer together, enhancing the Olympic spirit, this feeling of togetherness and not having three different competitions in three different places.”

And, asked specifically about a future Olympic Games in Africa, Bach noted:

“We already have the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar 2026.

“If Africa wants to organize Olympic Games, the first thing is to present a proposal. We can then discuss this in our new Olympic host selection process.

“If an African country is showing their interest, we are at their disposal to develop, together with them, the best possible Olympic Project in accordance with their long term development plan for their country and for the youth of their country.”

Bach was also asked about what the biggest challenge of his presidency was; he replied:

“I still have eight more months to go so let’s talk after that. Somebody said the other day ‘don’t put me in a museum yet’. There is still some work to do and to accomplish.”

He will leave office in June of 2025, after his successor is elected at the IOC Session in Greece next March.

While Bach’s “Olympic Agenda 2020″ and “Olympic Agenda 2020+5″ paved the way for an Olympic Games held in more than one city, or even one country, and pointed to the importance of controlling costs and increasing sustainability through the use of less construction, the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) pointed to another issue of major impact.

Business and fan travel.

In a 16 October post on the calculation of CO2 emissions in snow sports, a new FIS CO2 calculator, available to event organizers and to national ski associations worldwide.

Included was a look at a 2023 report on FIS’s own conduct and total emissions – “considering electricity, natural gas, business travel, commuting, fleet travel, waste, water, partial purchased goods & services, transmission and distribution losses, and partial downstream transportation” totaled the equivalent of 2,161.7 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) from:

● 56.9% (1,229.2 tons): business travel
● 32.0% (692.6 tons): procurement
● 9.2% (198.2 tons): fleet travel
● 1.9% (41.7 tons): everything else

“Procurement” refers to emissions related to goods and services that were purchased.

FIS also made a calculation on the total seasonal impact of 177 events in Alpine, Cross Country, Freestyle, Nordic Combined, Ski Jumping and Snowboard and other events. The total was 58,600.0 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), with one element above all others:

● 88.9% (52,107.7 tons): participant travel
● 5.0% (2,938.5 tons): food
● 4.9% (2,856.1 tons): utilities
● 1.2% (697.7 tons): everything else

The biggest factor in the travel category was not the competitors, but the fans, estimated at 465,637.6 tons or 85.9% of the participant travel total. The study noted:

“Emissions were estimated assuming 10% travel by train, 80% by car, and 10% by plane. For international events outside Europe, 100% were assumed to fly.”

Wow. So, should fans be eliminated? Not according to the athletes, who savored the Paris Olympic experience of having spectators back in the venues after a no-fans Olympic Games in 2021 in Tokyo, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In terms of sustainability, it’s a substantial problem without a good solution.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

PANORAMA: India enters race for 2036 Olympics; France looking to join World Boxing; FIFA selling U.S. rights for 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup

Rich Perelman

November 5, 2024

tsx pix 2023-608 fifa womens world cup trophy 750 — The FIFA Women's World Cup Trophy (Photo: FIFA)

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2036 ● “The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) officially submitted a Letter of Intent to the Future Host Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), formally expressing India’s interest in hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036.”

That’s from India Today, with a source saying that “This monumental opportunity could bring substantial benefits, fostering economic growth, social progress, and youth empowerment across the country.” The letter was actually submitted on 1 October.

Hosting the 2036 Olympic Games has been an announced priority of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who told the IOC Session in Mumbai last year that the country was ready, willing and able to host.

India has had all kinds of internal political issues with the governance and operations of the Indian Olympic Association and some of its member national federations and has been unable to seat a new chief executive for months. But the Olympic aspiration remains a goal, now formalized with the letter to the IOC.

Many other countries have indicated interest in the 2036 Games and are in varying levels of discussions with the IOC’s Future Host Commission for the Olympic Games.

● Boxing ● The Federation Francaise de Boxe (FFBoxe) announced Monday:

“The steering committee of the French Boxing Federation (FFBoxe) has made a major decision for the future of the discipline by voting to disaffiliate from the International Boxing Association (IBA) in order to join World Boxing.

“This decision, motivated by the desire to guarantee French boxing its place at the Olympic Games and to strengthen the stability of the clubs, marks a turning point for the FFBoxe, which is moving forward with determination in this direction.”

The decision has to be approved by the federation’s General Assembly, in a vote on 14 December. The decision was motivated by a letter from the French National Olympic Committee (CNOSF), which noted the International Olympic Committee’s instructions that “national federations that maintain their affiliation with the IBA will no longer be recognised by their respective National Olympic Committees.”

World Boxing is trying to become the recognized governing body for Olympic boxing, and to keep the sport on the program for the 2028 Olympic Games.

Russian super-heavyweight Alexander Povetkin, the Athens 2004 Olympic gold medalist, has been charged with a doping violation from 2014, for use of the muscle-builder Ostarine.

Povetkin, now 45, last fought in 2021 and is retired. The case was referred by the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Intelligence & Investigations unit, from data recovered from the Moscow Laboratory of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency in 2019, and is being handled by the International Testing Agency. Povetkin, now the deputy governor of the Vologda Region, said he does not plan to appeal.

The positive came in a time when Povetkin had been a professional boxer for 10 years; he held heavyweight titles at various times in the World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council.

● Football ● FIFA announced it is opening negotiations for U.S. television rights for its 2027 Women’s World Cup, with 2031 also available. This is the first time that the Women’s World Cup rights have been sold on a standalone basis for the U.S.

Fox has been the U.S. rights-holder since the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup (2015-19-23), through the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. (2018-22-26).

The 2027 Women’s World Cup will be played in Brazil, and the U.S. is a bidder for the 2031 Women’s World Cup; submissions are due by 3 December 2024.

● Sailing ● Dutch star Marit Bouwmeester and the Spanish pair of Diego Botin and Florian Trittel were named as the Rolex World Sailors of the Year on Tuesday at the World Sailing Awards show in Singapore.

Bouwmeester, 36, became the most decorated women’s sailor in Olympic history with her Paris 2024 gold in the women’s Laser Radial class. It was her second win – also in 2016 – and her second World Sailor of the Year award (also in 2017). She now has four straight Olympic medals in the Laser Radial class: 2012 silver, 2016 gold, 2020 bronze and 2024 gold. She is also a four-time World Champion in the class.

Botin and Triffel, both 30, won the men’s 49er class gold in Paris, the first Olympic medal for both. They also won the SailGP series in the 49er class and took major wins at the Semaine Olympique Francaise and the Princesa Sofia Regatta.

The Italian Nacra 17 Olympic champions, Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti, won the Team of the Year, defending their Tokyo 2020 title, also winning the 2024 Nacra 17 World Championship.

The awards were determined by a fan vote of 49,964, and an expert panel of judges.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

PANORAMA: NYC Marathon reported as biggest ever; beach volleyball star Klineman retires; new report on Paris-winning Algerian boxer’s gender

Rich Perelman

November 4, 2024

Retired: Tokyo Olympic beach volleyball champs April Ross (l) and Alix Klineman (r) of the U.S. (Photo: Steffen Prossdorf via Wikipedia).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● An activist coalition called “Revers de la medaille” released a report claiming that 19,526 people were evicted from their homes from 26 April 2023 to 30 September 2024 and referred to documents to support allegations that the movements were linked to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

A spokesman said that 260 “informal living sites,” characterized as “camps, shanty towns and squats” were cleared; some people were evicted more than once, so there may be some double counting.

French authorities said prior to the Games that eviction rates did not increase during the Games period and that displaced individuals were offered alternate housing.

● Olympic Games 2040 ● Reports from Germany quote Chancellor Olaf Scholz as supporting a return of the Olympic Games in 2040:

“The time has come. Attempts have been made repeatedly since Munich in 1972. Next time, I think it should work.

“In 2040, Germany will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its reunification, and this is the best reason to hold the Games in Germany.”

● Anti-Doping ● The World Anti-Doping Agency’s Compliance Review Committee met in mid-October, with a summary of the meeting posted on Monday. The post noted the current organizations currently out of compliance, or being monitored includes:

● Suspended (4): Cameroon national anti-doping organization, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), the International Federation of Basque Pelota and the International Federation of Fitness and Bodybuilding;

● Watchlist (7): national anti-doping organizations in Namibia, Samoa, Pakistan, Panama, Senegal, Uganda and Uruguay.

Disputes over non-compliance and sanctions are now in front of the Court of Arbitration for Sport for Nigeria, South Africa and Venezuela, plus a case on consequences and reinstatement conditions for RUSADA.

● Athletics ● Citius Magazine reported that Sunday’s New York City Marathon had 55,646 finishers, the most ever for a marathon. It surpassed the 54,280 from the Berlin Marathon in September.

● Beach Volleyball ● American star Alix Klineman, who teamed with April Ross to win the Olympic women’s tournament in Tokyo in 2021, announced her retirement in a video posted to Instagram.

She explained, speaking to the sport of volleyball as a whole, her reasons for concluding her career:

“There is something about winning the gold medal; it checks the box, at least it did for me.

“Sure, I still love you [volleyball]. I’m still here, but the desperation is gone. I used to do anything for you. Exhaustion, pain, none of that mattered. It’s actually crazy how much pain I withstood for you, and it was all worth it. But now there’s something, someone, worth it more. It’s no longer just about you, volleyball. It’s not about me, either. It’s about my family. It’s about my priorities, and they’re different now.

“I thought I could do both – be a mom and play – and I did. I am right now, but I can’t do both the way that I want to do both. When I do things, I do them to be the best. It’s not necessarily relative to anyone else, but the best that I’m capable of. I know I can be better at volleyball right now. You know it, too. But to do that, I have to sacrifice the way that I show up for Theo, and I don’t want that.”

Klineman, now 34, was an All-American indoor star at Stanford, and was an outside hitter for multiple clubs in Italy and Brazil through 2017. She teamed with Ross – who also announced her retirement at the end of this season – in late 2017.

The duo won the 2019 FIVB Worlds silver and won six times on the FIVB World Tour between 2018 and 2021. Following their Olympic triumph in Tokyo, Klineman married former NHL right winger Teddy Purcell (CAN) and the couple’s son, Theo, arrived in June 2023.

● Boxing ● A 25 October story on the French-language site Le Correspondant reported on a June 2023 medical report on Algerian boxer Imane Khelif – winner of the 2022 IBA Worlds silver in the women’s Light Welterweight division and the Paris Olympic gold in the women’s Welterweight class – that describes a condition of genetic males:

“an ‘Alpha 5 reductase type 2′ deficiency, a genetic anomaly which leads to metabolic dysfunction in testosterone and dehydroandrosterone.”

The story further describes part of the process of Khelif’s registration for the Paris Games, and a March 2023 altercation at the IBA Women’s World Championships between Algerian and federation officials.

Observed: One follow-on to this story will be a closer review of the call for gender testing to protect women’s sport, voiced in October by U.N. Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem (JOR), who explained that “[c]urrent technology enables a reliable sex screening procedure through a simple cheek swab that ensures non-invasiveness, confidentiality and dignity.”

● Swimming ● SwimSwam.com compiled the biggest money-makers from the three-stop World Aquatics World Cup series, with American Kate Douglass on top. The combined top 10:

● 1. $184,000: Kate Douglass (USA)
● 2. $174,000: Leon Marchand (FRA)
● 3. $152,000: Regan Smith (USA)
● 4. $142,000: Noe Ponti (SUI)
● 5. $61,400: Siobhan Haughey (HKG)
● 6. $59,500: Duncan Scoitt (GBR)
● 7. $54,500: Pieter Coetze (RSA)
● 8. $48,100: Qianting Tang (CHN)
● 9. $42,000: Haiyang Qin (CHN)
● 10. $35,100: Kasia Wasick (POL)

The lists showed 15 men and 13 women who earned $10,000 or more from the series and 20 men and 20 women who made $5,000 or more.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

AQUATICS: World Aquatics financial report for 2023 shows $22.4 million surplus and $191.5 million in assets

Rich Perelman

November 4, 2024

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ THE BIG PICTURE ≡

World Aquatics posted its financial statements for 2023, showing a surplus that was more than double what was expected and assets nearing $200 million.

The report from Treasurer Dale Neuburger (USA) explained:

● “World Aquatics generated an operating surplus of $10.69 million USD, and combined with investment income of $11.70 million USD, the net result was a surplus of $22.40 million USD. Our budget projected a surplus of $11.93 million USD, and through sound management and prudent expense reduction, the result is far more favorable than our original expectation.”

● “The [2023] World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka (JPN) was an extraordinary success, generating $59.49 million USD in host partnership fees, broadcast rights, sponsorship income, and VIK revenues. Based upon expenses of $21.98 million USD, the net result was a surplus of $37.50 million USD. I express gratitude to the City of Fukuoka and Japan Swimming Association for an exceptional partnership with World Aquatics that exceeded all expectations.”

● “World Aquatics projects a very favorable outcome for the period 2021 to 2024 – prospectively, an operating surplus of more than $40 million USD. This is in sharp contrast to the 2017 to 2020 quadrennium that produced a $10.21 million USD deficit, owing largely to the absence of an Olympic Games within this period, as well as the postponement of other events because of the pandemic.”

For the calendar year 2023, World Aquatics showed operating revenue of $64.41 million against expenses of $53.71 million; with $11.70 million in investment income added, that’s a $22.40 million surplus for the year.

The federation’s balance sheet now shows $191.51 million in assets, actually down by $10.51 million from 2022 as deferred revenues came down significantly. Financial reserves, however, increased from $98.40 million to $120.80 million. That’s an extraordinarily impressive financial position for any international federation outside of FIFA.

As noted, the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka (JPN) was an enormous financial windfall, with $26.50 million in hosting rights and fees, and $28.98 million in television rights and sponsorships, plus another $4.02 million in in-kind support.

Athlete prize money for 2023 was shown at $11.65 million all together, across multiple events. World Aquatics spent $3.78 million on anti-doping activities, mostly through the International Testing Agency.

World Aquatics expects to get richer in 2024, estimating more than $100 million in revenue. The projected budget includes $107.73 million in income:

● $39.25 million from the International Olympic Committee
● $67.32 million from hosting fees, TV rights and sponsorships
● $0.19 million from penalties and other fees
● $0.98 million from other income

The Olympic television rights income from the IOC is a significant increase from the $31.36 million received from the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Expenses were estimated at $85.75 million, including $25.47 million in event expenses, $15.17 million in athlete prize money and $12.77 million in administrative expenses (there were 48 employees at the end of 2023). Some $5.71 million was budgeted for national federation support and $4.29 million for athlete and staff travel support to the 2024 World Championships held in Qatar in February.

(World Aquatics is one of the few federations that subsidizes the travel and lodging to its World Championships. Neuburger noted in his comments that for 2023, “$4.57 million USD was allocated to athlete, coach, and other Federation representatives to attend the World Aquatics Championships and other events within the competitive calendar. This travel subsidy has produced consistently higher levels of participation and involvement.”)

The financial statements for 2023 noted that World Aquatics President Husain Al-Musallam (KUW):

“has waived Per Diem payments and receives no remuneration from World Aquatics. The President’s personal office organises and pays for the majority of his travel costs, as well as, on occasions, accompanying World Aquatics personnel (athletes, officials, staff etc). The value of the contribution of the President to World Aquatics is impossible to accurately estimate but is at least 100k US Dollars and does not exceed 500k US Dollars.”

And as for the intention of World Aquatics to move its headquarters from Lausanne (SUI) to Budapest (HUN), the statements noted:

“On 26 May 2023, World Aquatics and the Government of Hungary announced that they were engaged in discussions about transferring the headquarters, and the seat, of World Aquatics to Budapest, Hungary. Such discussions are still ongoing in 2024 and, should the discussions end in an agreement, based on anticipated timelines, there is no impact on the going concern of World Aquatics for the foreseeable future.”

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

ATHLETICS: Fan vote for World Athletics athletes of the year in six categories open now through Sunday!

Rich Perelman

November 4, 2024

tsx pix 2024-913 ingebrigtsen brussels (DLAG) — Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen wins the Diamond League Final 1,500 m in Brussels (Photo: Diamond League AG)

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≡ ATHLETES OF THE YEAR ≡

World Athletics announced its two finalists in its six categories for Athlete of the Year, with fan voting open through Sunday, 10 November; click here for a link to vote.

The nominees:

Men’s track athlete of the year:
● Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR): Olympic 5000 m champion
● Letsile Tebogo (BOT): Olympic 200 m champion

On the track, Ingebrigtsen ran in 13 events and won 10, including the Olympic 5,000 m. He ended the season as the world leader in the 1,500 m (3:26.73, no. 4 all-time) and 3,000 m (amazing world record of 7:17.55). Tebogo won seven of nine meets in the 200 in 2024 and had the world-leading mark at 19.46 to win in Paris. He’s no. 5 all-time. Tebogo ran seven times in the 100 m, winning twice and finishing sixth in the Paris final with a lifetime best of 9.86.

Women’s track athlete of the year:
● Julien Alfred (LCA): Olympic 100 m champion
● Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA): Olympic 400 m hurdles champion

Alfred won all of her three meets in the indoor 60 m, including the World Indoor gold, then won four of seven meets in the 100 m and two of four outdoors at 200 m, including the Olympic silver. She ranked no. 2 in the world for 2024 in the 100 at 10.72 and no. 3 in the 200 m at 21.86. McLaughlin-Levrone ran only nine events in 2024, but won them all: 3/3 in the 200, 2/2 in the 400, 1/1 in the 100 m hurdles and 3/3 in the 400 m hurdles, including world records at the U.S. Olympic Trials (50.65) and at the Olympic Games (50.37). She also ran on the winning U.S. 4×400 m relay in Paris.

Men’s field athlete of the year:
● Mondo Duplantis (SWE): Olympic pole vault champion
● Miltiadis Tentoglou (GRE): Olympic long jump champion

Duplantis was everywhere in 2024, competing in 15 meets and winning them all, including the World Indoor, European outdoor and a second Olympic gold. He set world records of 6.24 m (20-5 1/2), 6.25 m (20-6) and 6.26 m (20-6 1/2). And he won a much-hyped match race in Zurich against Norway’s Karsten Warholm, running 10.37 for 100 m. Tentoglou also competed 15 times in 2024, winning 12 and defended his Tokyo Olympic gold. He was the world leader in 2024 with his European Championships winner of 8.65 m (28-4 1/2) in June, now no. 13 all-time.

Women’s field athlete of the year:
● Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR): Olympic high jump champion
● Nafi Thiam (BEL): Olympic heptathlon champion

Mahuchikh competed seven times outdoors, winning each time and taking the European title and Olympic gold in Paris. She set the world record of 2.10 m (6-10 3/4) at the Paris Diamond League meet in July and won five Diamond League titles during the season. Thiam won her third straight Olympic heptathlon title in Paris, scoring 6,880 to be the world leader in the event for 2024. She only competed in two heps, taking the European title in June and the Olympic win in August.

Men’s out-of-stadium athlete of the year:
● Brian Pintado (ECU): Olympic 20km Walk champion
● Tamirat Tola (ETH): Olympic marathon champion

Pintado competed five times, winning twice, but one was the Olympic gold in Paris in 1:18:55. His best time of 1:17:54 ranked him 11th on the year. Tola, the 2022 World Champion in the marathon, ran only his 10th-fastest marathon ever in Paris, but won in 2:06:26. He finished fourth in the New York City Marathon (2:08:12) in November.

Women’s out-of-stadium athlete of the year:
● Ruth Chepngetich (KEN): world marathon record-holder
● Sifan Hassan (NED): Olympic marathon champion

Chepngetich, the 2019 World Champion in the marathon, ran three times in 2024: ninth in London in April, won a Half in Buenos Aires in August and smashed the world record with a barrier-shattering 2:09:56 at the Chicago Marathon in October, for her third win in that race. The amazing Hassan followed up her 5,000-10,000 m Olympic gold double in Tokyo with bronzes in both events in Paris, then won the Olympic marathon in 2:22:55. She had earlier finished fourth in the Tokyo Marathon in March in 2:18:05, ranking no. 13 on the world list for 2024.

The Athletes of the Year in each category, as well as the overall winner, will be revealed at a ceremony in Monaco on Sunday, 1 December as part of the World Athletics Awards 2024.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

BOXING: Paris Olympic medals leader Uzbekistan among four to join World Boxing

Rich Perelman

November 4, 2024

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

“World Boxing has approved applications from the National Federations (NFs) for boxing in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Guatemala and Laos to take its membership to 55 countries.”

Monday’s announcement followed the close of the second World Boxing Congress, held in Pueblo, Colorado in conjunction with the first World Boxing U-19 Championships for men and women that also finished over the weekend.

The addition of Uzbekistan is especially noteworthy, as the country co-led the Paris Olympic boxing medal table with five, all gold (China also had five: 3-2-0).

The addition of Kazakhstan had been expected, since the head of the Kazakhstan National Olympic Committee, Gennadiy “Triple G” Golovkin, is the head of the World Boxing Olympic Commission and has been lobbying national federations to join World Boxing.

With the International Boxing Association having been expelled by the International Olympic Committee in June 2023, World Boxing – which held its founding Congress last November – has been scrambling to create a workable governing body to become recognized by the IOC as the international federation for boxing.

The IOC has said that a new governing body needs to be in place early in 2025, in order for boxing to be confirmed on the program of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Said World Boxing President Boris van der Vorst (NED):

“On the date of our second Congress, it is fantastic that World Boxing is able to welcome four new countries whom I am sure will all play an important role in our mission to ensure that boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic Movement.

“Only last week we announced seven new members to take World Boxing past the milestone of 50 countries. To be able to announce four more members – including two major powers in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan – so soon after this, is a sign of the growing momentum shift in international boxing.

“It is clear that there has been a change in impetus and that more National Federations want to join World Boxing as they recognise it is the only way to keep the Olympic dreams of their boxers alive.”

Another turning point could come on 23 November, as the 42-member Asian Boxing Confederation will meet in Thailand for an Extraordinary Congress to consider a motion for the ASBC “to be an independent organization until any new international organizations is recognized by the International Olympic Committee.”

Thus far, World Boxing has 13 members in Asia.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

ATHLETICS: Sydney Marathon for 2025 approved as first new World Marathon Majors addition in 12 years

Rich Perelman

November 4, 2024

tsx pix 2024-1104 sydney marathon (twitter) — The Sydney Marathon will become a World Marathon Major race in 2025, featuring this iconic image of runners crossing over the Sydney Harbour Bridge (Photo: Sydney Marathon on X).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ WORLD MARATHON MAJORS ≡

Now, there are seven, as the Sydney Marathon was announced a new member of the World Marathon Majors program on Sunday (3rd) as the seventh race in the World Marathon Majors program:

“ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS today confirmed that the TCS Sydney Marathon presented by ASICS will join the series in 2025 to become the seventh marathon in the Abbott World Marathon Majors series.

“The TCS Sydney Marathon, which will take place on August 31, 2025, joins six races including the Tokyo Marathon, the Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America, the TCS London Marathon, the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and the TCS New York City Marathon as part of the greatest marathon series in the world.”

Inaugurated in 2000 as a lead-up event to the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and continued as a legacy of that Games, the race has expanded to 20,272 finishers on 15 September 2024. However, Sunday’s announcement was clear that this is not the end of the World Marathon Majors expansion program:

“Sydney will form part of the journey towards the next Major milestone, the new Nine Star medal, which will begin when two more races are added to the series; however Sydney finishers can start counting the race toward their Nine Star in 2025.

“Sanlam Cape Town Marathon and Shanghai Marathon, which are currently in the candidacy process, could join the series in as early as 2026 and 2027 respectively should they pass two years of assessments.”

The original World Marathon Majors schedule had five races for the initial season in 2006: Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York. Tokyo was added for 2013 and Sydney will be added 12 years later as the seventh.

The original Sydney Marathon course was quite hilly, but was flattened in 2010 and the current race records were set in the 2024 race:

● 2:06:18 for men, by Brimin Kipkorir (KEN)
● 2:21:41 for women, by Workenesh Esesa (ETH)

The Sydney men’s race record is slower than the six current World Marathon Majors, but the women’s mark is faster than the New York City Marathon record of 2:22:31 by Margaret Okayo (KEN) from 2003.

In terms of scheduling for 2025, the seven-race plan shows:

● 02 Mar.: Tokyo Marathon
● 21 Apr.: Boston Marathon
● 27 Apr.: London Marathon

● 31 Aug.: Sydney Marathon
● 21 Sep.: Berlin Marathon
● 12 Oct.: Chicago Marathon
● 02 Nov.: New York City Marathon

Wayne Larden, race director of the TCS Sydney Marathon said:

“Becoming the seventh Abbott World Marathon is just incredible for the event, the city of Sydney and State of New South Wales. We could not have achieved the incredible growth and uplift in delivery to make it into the Majors if it wasn’t for the support of the NSW Government and Destination NSW plus our key partners TCS and ASICS. Our team are first rate and have put in so much work to make this happen. It is really special for all of us.

“This amazing milestone is going to have a profound impact on running in Australia, inspiring the community to become marathoners and do something special for themselves, their families and friends. Community health will benefit alongside a huge increase in fundraising.”

Becoming a World Marathon Major brings with it interest from runners who want to complete all of the Major races. There were 12,772 six-star finishers through the end of 2023, with more after the finish of the NYC Marathon on Sunday, and while the next new medal will be the nine-star, runners will come to Sydney in 2025 to start working toward that goal.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

PANORAMA: IIHF asks 3×3 hockey for 2030 Winter Games; Toyota sponsors Paralympics; U.S.’s Glenn gets first ISU Grand Prix gold!

Rich Perelman

November 3, 2024

tsx pix 2024-1103 amber glenn GP de France (ISU) — American national champ Amber Glenn won her first ISU Grand Prix gold at the Grand Prix de France (Photo: ISU).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 2030: French Alps ● The International Ice Hockey Federation announced it will submit its proposal in January to add 3×3 hockey to the 2030 Olympic Winter Games.

A detailed questionnaire will be due by 30 March and a decision will be made in the fourth quarter of 2025. If accepted, it could add as many as 240 more players to the Olympic Winter Games and potentially require another venue, a consideration for the International Olympic Committee and the French organizers.

Compared with the 30 x 60 m (98 x 197 feet) rink needed for 5×5 play, the 3×3 surface would be much smaller at 18 x 26 m (59 x 85 feet). The first IIHF 3×3 World Championships – eight teams – are expected to be held in 2026.

● International Paralympic Committee ● While Toyota has left the Olympic Movement as a TOP sponsor, declining to renew for the 2025-28 quadrennial, the company made good on its promise to support the Paralympics separately.

The International Paralympic Committee announced Friday that the Toyota Mobility Foundation has agreed to a four-year grant program that “will provide grant funding to the IPC to deliver a wide range of transformational sport development initiatives under the umbrella of Sport for Mobility.”

● Archery ● The World Archery Indoor (18 m) World Series for 2024-25 has opened with the Swiss Open in Lausanne (SUI). Italy’s 2024 European Indoor runner-up Alessandro Paoli won the men’s Recurve division, winning a closest-to-the-center shoot-out over Romain Fichet (FRA), 6-5.

The women’s Recurve title went to home favorite, 17-year-old Olivia Doigo (SUI), 6-0, over Denise Barankova (SVK).

● Athletics ● Annie Rodenfels defended her 2023 USATF 5 km national championship on Saturday in New York, winning in 15:20, ahead of Emily Venters (15:25) and Emma Grace Hurley (15:31).

Venters had the lead with less than a mile to go, but Rodenfels surged ahead and was unchallenged at the line. It’s her third career USATF national road title, after she won the national 6 km event in July.

Ahmed Muhumed was second at the 2023 5 km championship and moved up to the top of the podium, pulling away from the lead pack of 10 in the final mile-and-a-half. He won in 13:38, with Sam Prakel pulling close with a sprint in the final 400 m (13:39), and Brian Barraza third in 13:42. It was Muhumed’s second USATF title in 2024, after the win at 8 km in July.

The race marked the close of the USATF Running Circuit for 2024, with Hillary Bor winning the men’s title and Hurley took the women’s championship.

Grand Slam Track announced the signings of distance stars Tsigie Gebreselama (ETH), the 2023 World Cross Country’s women’s runner-up, and Kenyan Agnes Ngetich, the road 5 km and 10 km world-record holder. The new project has now signed 32 of its 48 “Racers” who will compete in all four events to be held in 2025.

The Athletics Integrity Unit announced a provisional suspension of Japan’s Koki Ikeda, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medalist in the men’s 20 km Walk, for the use of a prohibited substance or method, based on his Athlete Biological Passport.

He’s the 2024 world leader in the men’s 20 km Walk at 1:16:51, from the national championships in February. He said in a statement that he plans to appeal, and

“For reasons that I know absolutely nothing about, I may not be able to compete in my next race and I am completely bewildered.”

Japan currently has no one listed on the AIU’s comprehensive list of ineligible persons.

● Badminton ● Denmark led with two wins at the Hylo Open in Saarbrucken (GER), with Mia Blichfeldt (DEN) winning the women’s Singles over Malvika Bansod (IND), 21-10, 21-15, and in Mixed Doubles, with Jesper Toft and Amalie Magelund (DEN) defeating Alexander Dunn and Julie MacPherson (SCO), 21-19, 21-16.

In the men’s Doubles, Ben Lake and Sean Vendy (ENG) kept the Danes from a third win, taking down Ras Kjaer and Frederik Sogaard, 18-21, 21-15, 21-18.

In the men’s Singles, the French Popov brothers faced off, with Christo – the younger – beating Toma Junior Popov, 21-13, 21-10.

The women’s Doubles saw Shuo Yun Sung and Chien Hui Yu (TPE) sweep Polina Buhrova and Yevheniia Kantemyr (UKR), 21-16, 21-14.

● Boxing ● The first World Boxing championship event, the World U-19 Championships in Pueblo, Colorado (USA), concluded, with England taking eight titles out of the 20 available.

The English squad took home wins from John-Joe Carrigan (men’s 70 kg), Leo Atang (men’s +90 kg), Ruby White (women’s 48 kg), Alice Pumphrey (women’s 51 kg), Caitlin Wise (women’s 54 kg), Ella Lonsdale (women’s 60 kg), Tiah-Mai Ayton (women’s 57 kg), and Lilly Deacon (women’s 70 kg).

India led the overall medal table with 17 (4-8-5), followed by England (9: 8-0-1), and the U.S. (8: 3-2-3), with wins in the men’s division from Lorenzo Patricio (50 kg), Joseph Awinongya (75 kg) and Elijah Lugo (80 kg).

● Curling ● China and Canada won the World Curling Pan Continental Championships in Lacombe (CAN), with Xiaoming Xu skipping the winning men’s rink from China to a 6-4 win over Shinya Abe and Japan.

The U.S. took the men’s bronze with 2018 Olympic champion John Shuster skipping the American squad to a 10-8 over 2006 Olympic winner (and two-time defending champ in this event) Brad Gushue and Canada.

In the women’s tournament, Canada and 2024 World Champion Rachel Homan won the final by 6-5 over South Korea (Eun-ji Gim). China (Rui Wang) won the bronze, 7-3, over Japan (Miyu Ueno). The U.S., with Cory Thiesse as skip, finished fifth.

● Figure Skating ● American national champion Amber Glenn won her first career ISU Grand Prix Series gold at the Grand Prix de France in Angers (FRA), taking a big lead in the Short Program and then hanging on in the Free Skate.

Glenn won the Short Program with a lifetime best and an American Record of 78.14, sailing past the 76.43 from Gracie Gold at the 2016 World Championships. She had a huge, 78.14 to 70.90 lead over South Korea’s Chae-yeon Kim, with fellow American Sarah Everhardt in fourth (66.95).

Japan’s 2018 Worlds runner-up, Wakaba Higuchi, won the Free Skate at 139.10 with Glenn third at 132.30 – despite a fall – and Everhardt fourth (129.99), but it was enough for Glenn to win the event at 210.44 to 206.08 for Higuchi. Kim faded to fourth (199.99) and Everhardt dropped to fifth (196.94).

The men’s title went to home favorite Adam Siao Him Fa, the 2023 and 2024 European Champion, who was only eighth in the Short Program, but zoomed up by winning the Free Skate by almost 13 points! He finished with 246.58 points to 233.84 for Koshiro Shimada of Japan and Andrew Torgashev of the U.S. (233.64). It’s Torgashev’s first career Grand Prix medal.

Worlds Pairs bronze medalists Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin (GER) won the Short Program and the Free Skate on the way to a 211.69 to 203.39 win over Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii (ITA). Americans Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov finished fourth, scoring 171.92.

Two-time French champions Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud won their first Grand Prix gold in the Ice Dance competition, winning the Free Dance to move up from second. They scored 195.27 to edge Italy’s two-time European Champions, Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri (189.08). Americans Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville finished third at 185.88 – moving up from fourth to silver with a second-place Free Dance – for their first career Grand Prix medals.

“It would be foolish to end my sports career at such a young age. I will do my best to make the audience, myself, my coaches and all my fans happy.”

That’s Russian skater Kamila Valieva, who will come off of her four-year suspension for doping on 25 December 2025. Now 18, she explained to the Russian news agency TASS:

“I am gradually getting into my shape at the moment. I am certainly a bit nervous ahead of my performance. I am trying to confidently execute all elements, that I showed during the last season, which are the triple toe loop and double Axel.

“I need more self-confidence, I will try to make the content more complicated, as there are no competitions at the moment, give or take a year and a half. It means that I have to keep up with the rest of the girls.”

● Football ● Spain was looking for an unprecedented third straight win in the FIFA Women’s U-17 World Cup in Santiago, Dominican Republic in Sunday’s final against North Korea, but was denied as penalty kicks decided the title.

There was no score at the half, when the Spanish got the opening goal in the 61st minute from forward Celia Segura, but the lead was short-lived, as midfielder Il-Chong Jon equaled in the 65th. The Spanish had 58% of possession and a 15-13 lead on shots, but the match went to penalties.

The score was 1-1 after two rounds, but a save against forward Pau Comendador turned out to be the difference. The Koreans converted their third, fourth and fifth tries and won, 4-3. It’s their first win in this tournament since 2016 and third their overall, giving them the most of any country.

The U.S. won its first medal in this tournament since 2008 with a bronze after a 3-0 shutout of England on Sunday. The Americans got an early (24th-minute) header from midfielder Kennedy Fuller and then second-half scores from midfielder Ainsley McCammon (72nd) and striker Maddie Padelski (90+2). The U.S. out-shot the English, 19-10, and Evan O’Steen got the shutout in goal.

● Short Track ● The ISU World Tour stop no. 2, once again in Montreal (CAN), was another showcase for home favorite for Canada’s William Dandjinou, the 2024 men’s World 1,000 m gold medalist.

Last week, he won the 500 m and 1,500 m races; this time he took the 1,000 m and 1,500 m. He won the 1,000 in 1:24.963 over Sung-woo Jang (KOR: 1:25.010) and took the 1,500 m with a tight finish over Latvia’s Roberts Kruzbergs, 2:17.138 to 2:17.246.

Canadian teammate Steven Dubois, the 2022 Olympic 500 m bronze medalist, was second at 500 m last week, but moved up this week to win in 41.124, just holding off a Dandjinou triple (second in 41.183)!

The three women’s events had three different winners, with two-time World 500 m champion Xandra Velzeboer (NED) taking the 500 m for the second week in a row, at 42.087, over 16-time Worlds gold medalist Min-jeong Choi (KOR: 42.406), with American Kristen Santos-Griswold fourth.

Choi won the women’s 1,000 m in 1:30.496, with Velzeboer right behind (1:30.632) and American Corrine Stoddard getting the bronze at 1:30.779. Belgian Hanne Desmet, second last week in the 1,500 m, won this time in 2:27.149, beating 2024 World Champion Gil-li Kim (KOR: 2:27.232) and Stoddard (2:27.482).

Canada swept all three relay events, winning the Mixed Team Relay, the women’s 3,000 m and men’s 4,000 m relay events.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

NCAA: College coaching associations now lobbying Congress around Olympic-sport implosion

Rich Perelman

November 3, 2024

tsx pix 2020-114 double bladed axe 750 — The axe is coming to college sports, as a settlement over athlete pay and team sizes will start eliminating walk-ons and eventually, sports.

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≡ THE BIG PICTURE ≡

With the pending approval of the House vs. NCAA settlement that will pay college athletes $2.78 billion for retroactive damage payments dating back to 2016, and a new revenue-sharing model going forward, the pressure on non-revenue sports has coaches scrambling.

Politico.com reported last week that the American Baseball Coaches Association, American Volleyball Coaches Association, College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America, Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association, Intercollegiate Tennis Association, National Field Hockey Coaches Association, U.S. Track & Field And Cross Country Coaches Association and National Wrestling Coaches Association retained FGS Global – which has worked with the Big Ten Conference in the past – as a lobby arm to forge a solution through the U.S. Congress.

The NCAA and the other large conferences have been lobbying Congress for months, if not years, on the issue, but the pressure has increased dramatically.

The current push for college athletes to receive shares of the money generated from broadcasting contracts, ticket sales and sponsorships primarily impacts football, and to a lesser extent, men’s basketball. Very few other sports, or even individual teams, make money.

So, almost all of the money to be paid out is going to go to football and basketball players. Other sports will see the number of scholarships rise, but these teams will also face a hard cap, limiting the number of walk-ons who can be included.

Football, quite properly, will get the biggest cut. The average Football Bowl Subdivision team size for the 2022-23 academic year was 128 athletes and the new cap will be 105.

But Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports, who has been following this issue closely, wrote in October:

“In all, the 68 power conference schools are expected to eliminate at least 3,000 roster positions as administrators work to adhere to new roster limitations, reallocate resources from lower-tier to revenue-generating sports, and balance men and women opportunities to comply with the federal Title IX law. …

“The settlement is a groundbreaking and landmark agreement between the defendants (NCAA and power conferences) and the plaintiffs (those suing mostly over athlete-compensation restrictions). The deal features three main parts: (1) nearly $2.8 billion in backpay to former athletes distributed over a 10-year period; (2) a revenue-sharing concept permitting schools to share as much as $23 million annually with their athletes; and (3) the overhauled roster structure.”

Dellenger noted that parent groups are working to put together an objection to the roster limits, but the money being removed from college athletic departments to pay football players, basketball players and a few others is going to mean fewer sports at the NCAA level and others either eliminated or reduced to club status, without funding.

The current NCAA regulations require Football Subdivision Schools to participate in 16 sports to be in Division I, while all others must have 14 sports. With so much money to be paid for football, look for future reductions in these minimums, and a whole new series of lawsuits dealing with Title IX issues as women – who do not play football – will receive a tiny percentage of all of the money paid to college athletes.

The House vs. NCAA settlement is only one element of the disruption to the college sports ecosystem which is being more and more unsettled by the day.

Is there a solution. We have one. In April, a TSX Lane One column suggested that “an NFL-style, 68-team, U-23 professional football league should pay the 68 universities which would host their teams at least $1.037 billion a year to make them whole for the revenue lost from football “

Check out the numbers; this is all about football, and if “college” football players really want to be professionals, let them be professionals. But of a professional team, not a university.

For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!