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FOOTBALL: FIFA World Cup 2026 host cities worried on costs; independent observer says $100-200 million costs come with being a 2026 U.S. host city

By
Rich Perelman
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≡ WORLD CUP ’26 HOSTING COSTS ≡

“The 11 US World Cup host cities are facing a collective shortfall of at least $250m, due to a highly restrictive deal from Fifa that may yet see the federal government – as well as local and private funding – have to pick up the costs.”

That’s the opening of a lengthy story posted Wednesday by Britain’s The Independent, explaining that many of the U.S. host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup are struggling to deal with the costs imposed by FIFA for support, but with little opportunity to recover them.

The host cities – Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle – have all signed lengthy contracts with FIFA that include lists of requirements for fully-equipped office space, outdoor advertising control, safety and security, transportation support – including ad space – plus no-cost-to-enter fan festivals and more. The same is true for the three Mexican and two Canadian host venues.

In return, FIFA has granted host city organizing committees limited numbers of tickets and commercial opportunities, but always giving its own sponsors a first right of refusal and requiring services to be provided even if the host organizers are unable to obtain any outside funding.

A 5 December blog post by the non-partisan, Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) headlined “Not-So-Free Kick: How the 2026 FIFA World Cup Will Cost Cities Millions” pointed out:

“Missouri’s Department of Revenue caught our attention the other day when it reminded fans that it won’t charge sales tax on tickets for the World Cup matches played in Kansas City.

“Missouri hasn’t published an exact estimate of how much revenue this will cost them, but a reasonable guess is around $1.9 million per game – funds that otherwise would support public education, health care, and other public services. With six matches set to be held at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, over $11 million in state and local revenue could be lost. …

“Missouri, it turns out, is not alone. Every city hosting World Cup games will exempt sales tax from ticket prices. The state of Florida will lose around $7.4 million on games played in Miami, and Georgia expects to lose up to $25 million in state and local sales taxes on World Cup games played in Atlanta. These estimates exclude tickets re-sold – often at much higher prices – through FIFA’s official marketplace that will also be tax-free.

“But Missouri, Georgia, Florida, and other host states aren’t giving tax breaks to World Cup fans out of the goodness of their hearts. Instead, FIFA demanded these sales tax breaks as a price to play ball.”

It’s in the Host City Agreement; you can find the 244-page Kansas City agreement from the City Council agenda from April 2024 here. The Kansas City Docket Memo for the agreement notes that the Kansas City Convention and Tourism Fund will be used for $15 million in support of the hosting of the World Cup, and the question “Does the legislation generate revenue, leverage outside funding or deliver a return on investment?” was answered, “No.”

The ITEP blog post added:

“Unfortunately, tens of millions of dollars in lost sales tax revenue is just the tip of the iceberg. To host part of the tournament and reap its economic rewards, each city is expected to shoulder between $100 to $200 million in costs related to infrastructure, security, and logistics. FIFA also requires host cities to provide them with office space equipped with state-of-the-art amenities, free of charge.

“FIFA justifies these high costs and lofty demands with the promise of economic returns. It says North American cities will receive a huge influx of tourists eager to spend their money on hotels, restaurants, and other parts of the local economy which will make up for the lost revenues.

“Other countries’ experiences are less convincing. Twelve of the last 14 World Cups hosted since 1966 have resulted in financial losses for host countries. With losses ranging from hundreds of millions to billions of dollars, the last three World Cups have an average return on investment of negative 31 percent.”

The story in The Independent reported that “only two cities – Houston and Atlanta – have so far performed well in the [Host City] programme, with very few others so far announcing ‘Host City Supporter’ deals,” and that pressure is mounting to ask for state or Federal support on the costs.

The story quoted a source, “Fifa weren’t willing to subsidise, so they created this other programme, and then strangled it once it was out there.”

As of 2 December, a review of FIFA World Cup sponsors shows seven FIFA Partners, eight FIFA World Cup-specific partners and six regional partners; 21 in all.

It is worth noting that the 2026 FIFA World Cup is the first time that there is no organizing committee in the host country. FIFA is running all aspects of the tournament itself, from new headquarters in Coral Gables, Florida, and will keep essentially all revenue from the World Cup.

The U.S. government has authorized $625 million in funding per H.R. 1, passed earlier this year, but this is earmarked for security requirements and not local host support.

FIFA’s primary pitch to host cities was that the World Cup is so overwhelmingly popular that waves of tourism will hit each city, generating significant spending. Now that the match schedules have been set and everyone knows who will play where and when, the cities – and FIFA – will see how this plays out over the next seven months until kickoff on 11 June 2026.

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INT’L OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: Coventry says “protection of the female category” process expected to finish in first quarter of 2026

By
Rich Perelman
-
International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry at her 10 December 2025 news conference (Photo: IOC video screen shot).

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≡ EXECUTIVE BOARD ≡

The Milan Cortina Winter Games are coming, but the noteworthy comment by International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) at a news conference following the Executive Board meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday was about the effort on the “protection of the female category.”

Coventry summarized the work so far:

“We’ve got the working group and they’re working very well, with all of the stakeholders … we’re going to find ways of trying to find a consensus that has all aspects covered. It’s maybe not going to be the easiest thing to do, but we are going to try our best to be sure than when are talking about the female category, we are protecting the female category and doing that in the most fair way and in finding a consensus for everybody to be able to at least believe in and get behind in.”

Asked specifically about the progress, she added:

“We want to make sure that we can try and ensure that we’ve spoken to all stakeholders and that we’ve really taken adequate time to cross the ‘t’s and dot the ‘i’s. … I don’t want to try and constrain – maybe is the right word? – the working group that they need to have a specific deadline, but I am hopeful in the next couple of months, definitely within the first quarter of next year, we will have a very clear decision and way forward, which I think we’re all looking forward to.”

Regarding the upcoming Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, Coventry said “[w]e’re very impressed, we’re very happy with everything that we’re seeing and that we’re hearing.”

IOC Executive Director for the Olympic Games Christophe Dubi (SUI) – speaking from Milan – added, “If we look at the global picture, we can be super-happy. We’re close to 70% [tickets sold] at this stage, and so we’re going strong … and no doubt, we’ll have maximum capacities and big crowds in all the venues.” He said that a stronger effort needs to be made for Paralympic ticket sales, noting also that sales pick up after the Olympic Games start.

Questions about the Santa Giulia ice hockey venue were brushed aside as settled, with a test event coming from 9-11 January and all parties now agreed to use the 60 x 26 m rink, which is slightly shorter than that used in the National Hockey League.

IOC Sports Director Pierre Ducrey (SUI) explained, “So we’re still having a test event that will replicate the conditions of the Games, which is three matches per day, so we really put the ice under the right level of test, but it’s just been delayed a couple of weeks so that we can have all the circumstances to test the venue, but also to have spectators in the venue so that we can really replicate, as close as possible, the circumstances we will have during the Games.”

Dubi said the actual ice sheet in the Santa Giulia arena will be in place around the end of the month, indicated everyone is “very confident” after seeing the current hockey test event.

Coventry also noted:

● Nothing is happening on the selection process for the 2036 Olympic Games as the working group on the future process is continuing discussions.

● For the on-hold Olympic Esports Games, Coventry said this is being “re-evaluated,” explaining, “we just really want to be able to be very clear, as the Olympic Movement, as the IOC, what we expect, what we want and where do we want to go with esports.” She said more will be done in the next few months, including discussions with outside experts, to “really make sure we’re on line with not just where we would like to get to, but where the market, and where the industry especially is going.”

● “We want to keep the Youth Olympic Games, but we need to be very clear, and have very clear clarity on what we want the Games to be, how we want them to be produced and really look at re-shaping them so that they are fit for the future.”

The Executive Board advanced three YOG bids to “targeted dialogue” for 2030 with a more directed examination as a possible host for Asuncion (PAR), Santiago (CHI) and Bangkok (THA). The election should take place in June 2026.

● The new “Olympian Highlights Programme” will offer Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games athletes an opportunity “to request and share official archive clips of their Olympic performances on their personal social media accounts, for non-commercial use.”

The project will open in January 2026, “with athletes from Beijing 2022 eligible to apply via Athlete365 for a 60-second highlight clip.” This is a significant expansion of access to coverage which the IOC owns, with Paris 2024 and Milan Cortina 2026 video to be available later in 2026.

● Among seven changes in nationalities that were approved was Ice Dance skater Laurence Fournier Beaudry, from Canada to France, allowing her and Beijing 2022 gold medalist Guillaume Cizeron – then with Gabriella Papadakis – to compete at Milan Cortina, where they are strong medal favorites.

The 14th Olympic Summit will be held in Lausanne on Thursday, which may offer some clues on future policy directions of the IOC.

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TEAM USA WINTER MEDAL TRACKER: Amazing weekend with Stolz sweep, three figure skating golds and a Malinin world record!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ STAT BLITZ ≡

Last week had sensational outcomes for American stars on the international stage, most especially in figure skating and speed skating, with a true U.S. gold rush! To review:

Alpine Skiing: FIS World Cup in Beaver Creek, Colorado
● Men/Downhill ~ Silver: Ryan Cochran-Siegle

Now 33, Cochran-Siegle won his fourth career World Cup medal and first in a year. It was also his first-ever World Cup medal outside of Italy!

Cross Country Skiing: FIS World Cup in Trondheim (NOR):
● Women/20 km Skiathlon ~ Gold: Jessie Diggins
● Women/10 km Interval Mass Start ~ Bronze: Jessie Diggins

Diggins, now 34 and a three-time World Cup seasonal champion, has said this will be her last competitive season, and got her 28th career World Cup win. After six of 28 events, she is the overall World Cup leader once again.

Figure Skating: ISU Grand Prix Final in Nagoya (JPN)
● Men ~ Gold: Ilia Malinin
● Women ~ Gold: Alysia Liu
● Ice Dance ~ Gold: Madison Chock and Evan Bates

For those who thought the U.S.’s triple win at the 2025 ISU World Championships in Boston was a home-ice fluke, this proved otherwise, as each of the World Champions won again. Malinin was especially impressive, landing seven quadruple jumps and crushing his own world best for the highest score ever in the Free Skate with 238.24, compared to 228.97 at Skate Canada in November. Wow!

Freestyle Skiing: FIS World Cup in Ruka (FIN)
● Men/Aerials ~ Bronze: Christopher Lillis
● Men/Moguls I ~ Bronze: Nick Page
● Women/Moguls I ~ Gold: Tess Johnson
● Women/Moguls I ~ Bronze: Olivia Giaccio
● Women/Moguls II ~ Silver: Olivia Giaccio
● Women/Moguls II ~ Bronze: Jaelin Kauf

The U.S. has been a Freestyle power since it started and Lillis, Kauf and Johnson are already Olympic and/or World Championships medal winners. It appears they are on track already for another strong Olympic performance.

Nordic Combined: FIS World Cup in Trondheim (NOR)
● Women/Gunderson 102 m/5.0 km ~ Bronze: Anna Brabec

This was the shock of the weekend, as 21-year-old Brabec won the first women’s Nordic Combined medal for the U.S. since Tara Geraghty-Moats in 2020! Brabec said afterwards:

“I have been working so hard this summer and without the Olympics on the plate for us, podiuming in a World Cup was my big goal. It feels so insane to have achieved it and at the first World Cup of the season too.”

Nordic Combined was not included in the 2026 Olympic program in a shocking omission; the entire discipline is fighting to stay in for French Alps 2030 and beyond and Brabec helps to show the same countries don’t win all the medals.

Ski Mountaineering: ISMF World Cup in Solitude, Utah
● Mixed Relay ~ Gold: Anna Gibson and Cameron Smith

This was the first World Cup of the season and a rare win for the U.S.

Speed Skating: ISU World Cup in Heerenveen (NED)
● Men/500 m ~ Gold: Jordan Stolz (track record)
● Men/1,000 m ~ Gold: Jordan Stolz (track record)
● Men/1,500 m ~ Gold: Jordan Stolz (track record)
● Men/Team Sprint ~ Silver: Zach Stoppelmoor, Cooper Mcleod, Conor McDermott-Mostowy
● Women/Mass Start ~ Silver: Mia Manganello

Stolz was on fire, not just winning, but in one of the iconic venues of the sport – the Thialf ice arena in Heerenveen – shutting down Dutch stars in all three races. Having won all three Worlds golds in 2022 and 2023, Stolz has a target on his back, even at just 21. But he showed that at his best, he is untouchable.

Manganello, better than ever at 36, won her third medal in three Mass Start races this season, marking her as a contender for Milan-Cortina.

That’s 19 U.S. medals (and nine golds) across six sports or disciplines, with figure skating finishing its competitions until the Four Continents Championships (and European Championships) in January. But most of the rest of the sports remain in full swing.

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PANORAMA: NHL technical staff helping with Milan ice; Egypt demands pro-LGBTQ Seattle World Cup event canceled; FIG out, World Gymnastics in

By
Rich Perelman
-

★ 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 Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● A “Joint Integrity Unit” has been created by the International Olympic Committee and the 2026 organizers to watch for corruption and manipulations of competitions. Announced Tuesday:

“the JIU will be fully operational from the opening until the closing of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Villages (30 January – 24 February 2026). It is designed to ensure rapid and effective information sharing between sports disciplinary bodies and law-enforcement agencies – a system successfully implemented at every edition of the Games since London 2012.”

A special emphasis is on the monitoring of betting, with the Olympic Movement Unit on the Prevention of Manipulations of Competitions working with the Italian betting regulators.

National Hockey League Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Monday he is “cautiously optimistic” that NHL players will be competing in Milan, following the latest reports:

“I’m getting positive reports about what they’re going to do, what the next plan is, what the next day is, what it looks like, how the parties are reacting, et cetera, et cetera.”

He also noted that the ice surface will be a bit smaller than the regulation NHL rinks of 200 by 85 feet:

“I think the [International Ice Hockey Federation] was under the impression they had a different interpretation of what NHL ice meant than we would have. Even at the site visits I’m not sure it was anything that was perceptible to anybody. It’s not like people bring tape measures there. So, for whatever reason, it came back the way it came back.

“Having said that, both we and the [NHL] Players’ Association have made the IIHF very aware that when we participate in the Olympics in 2030, we expect it to be NHL ice surface.”

Explaining that NHL players will not participate if the ice is unsafe, he added:

“I actually do think most of my information is more on the positive side than the negative side. The buildings are supposed to be done by Feb. 2, so we have some time, and the latest reports I was getting, I was at the table in the meeting, were positive.”

He said NHL ice experts and technical staff are already helping the organizers to get the facilities ready for the Games.

Another worrying project has been the Apollonio Socrepes cable car in Cortina, to carry spectators to see the women’s Alpine competitions, but clearances were issued to continue construction.

The newest projection is that the cable system could be completed by the end of December and testing can proceed by the end of January.

● Olympic Winter Games: French Alps 2030 ● Veteran French sports executive Anne Murac, hired in July as the organizing committee’s head of operations after managing Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic operations in the Ile-de-France region, resigned on Tuesday. No reason was given.

● Mediterranean Games ● Continuing concerns over the organization of the 2026 Mediterranean Games in Taranto (ITA), including over finance, boiled up at the 29 November Extraordinary General Assembly of the International Committee for the Mediterranean Games. The outcome:

“Given the significant delays in key areas of preparation – such as technology, broadcasting/ production, the anti-doping testing program, accommodation for participants, VIPs, guests and other stakeholders, etc. – according to the reports of both the Coordination and the Executive Committee, the General Assembly unanimously transferred its broader powers to the Executive Committee and authorized it to take immediate and necessary decisions, assume initiatives, and carry out actions that will ensure the smooth organization of the Games. In this context, a relevant resolution will be sent to all the stakeholders of the Games in Italy.”

The 2026 Med Games are slated for 21 August to 3 September.

● Russia ● Doping is still going on in Russia, as the Russian Anti-Doping Agency said that 98 doping violations had been found through November of 2025, with 29 reported in November alone. In 2024, an annual total of 102 violations were recorded.

By contrast, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency showed 47 sanctions imposed – not the same as violations – through November of 2025.

● Athletics ● The Athletics Integrity Unit announced a provisional suspension of Kenyan 58:53 half-marathoner Hillary Kipchirchir Chepkwony, for abnormalities in his Athlete Biological Passport.

● Fencing ● The USA Fencing Board approved a change for admission to the federation’s Hall of Fame, with “[f]encers who win FIE World Championships or World Para Fencing World Championships will now be automatically inducted into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame after a three-year retirement period from international competition.”

That will automatically add stars Eli Dershwitz (2023 World Sabre Champion) and Miles Chamley-Watson (2013 World Foil Champion) as Hall members once their competitive careers (plus three years) are over.

● Football ● After Iran complained about planned pro-LGBTQ activities in Seattle planned for 26 June, on the day of the third Group G match for Iran and Egypt, the Egyptian Football Association also sent a letter to FIFA; the Egyptian federation site explained:

“The Egyptian Football Association sent an official letter to FIFA, in which it categorically rejects holding any activities related to supporting (homosexuality) during the match between the Egyptian national team and Iran, scheduled to be held in Seattle, USA, on June 26, 2026, in the third round of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup.

“The Egyptian Football Association confirmed in the letter sent to FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström [SWE] that information had been circulating indicating the local organizing committee’s decision and plan to hold some activities related to supporting (homosexuality) during that match, and that it completely rejects such activities, which directly contradict the cultural, religious and social values in the region, especially in Arab and Islamic societies.

“The Egyptian Football Association explained in the letter that, while FIFA is committed to ensuring a respectful and welcoming environment for all fans, and in order to maintain the spirit of unity and peace, it is necessary to avoid including activities that could provoke cultural and religious sensitivities between fans present from both countries, Egypt and Iran, especially since such activities are culturally and religiously incompatible with the two countries.”

The letter also cited FIFA’s insistence on “political and social” issue neutrality, and called for the events to be cancelled.

The Associated Press reported that British watchdog FairSquare filed a request for investigation to the FIFA Ethics Committee on claims that President Gianni Infantino (SUI) had violated FIFA’s rules on political neutrality, including comments and actions concerning U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump was awarded the first “FIFA Peace Prize” at the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw in Washington, D.C. last Friday.

FairSquare has filed prior complaints about FIFA and its men’s World Cup and other issues.

● Gymnastics ● The previously-promised change from the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) to World Gymnastics debuted on Tuesday, with a new logo. And:

“In addition to name and brand identity, World Gymnastics will unveil eight distinctive discipline brands, each purpose-built to elevate the identity, visibility and growth of the sport’s diverse disciplines. The discipline identities for Gymnastics for All, Men’s Artistic, Women’s Artistic, Rhythmic, Trampoline & Tumbling, Acrobatics, Aerobics and Parkour will be showcased over the coming weeks.”

It’s a continuation of the use of “World” with International Federations, already in use in aquatics, archery, athletics, boxing, curling, lacrosse, rowing, rugby, sailing, skateboarding, squash, table tennis, taekwondo and triathlon, among others.

● Swimming ● A new “College Swimming League” was unveiled, based on the International Swimming League model that emphasized team scoring, in short-course yards – college – pools, beginning in the fall of 2026.

The announcement states that the venture “with support from the International Swimming League (ISL)” will feature 12 college teams, with times counting for NCAA qualification and dual-meet requirements. The new league will cover all expenses for the participating teams – coaches from North Carolina State and Ohio State were quoted in the announcement – and “offer a pathway to generate revenue” for the teams, without further details.

The International Swimming League has been dead since the 2021 season, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, as the effort had been funded by Ukrainian billionaire Konstantin Grigorishin. It is still in litigation for damages against World Aquatics from a suit filed in 2018 and slated to be tried in U.S. Federal Court in 2026.

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LOS ANGELES 2028: L.A. City Cultural Affairs team confident on $15 million base program for 2028, looking to expand to $40 million

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ L.A.’s 2028 CULTURAL PROGRAM ≡

While the City of Los Angeles will be providing support services for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, it will itself be executing a wide-ranging program of cultural activities before and during the 2028 Games.

The planning was discussed on Tuesday morning at a meeting of the Los Angeles City Council’s Arts, Parks, Libraries and Community Enrichment Committee, led by City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) General Manager Daniel Tarica and Assistant General Manager Chris Concepcion.

The key concept is a three-tier program, dependent on funding, outlined in detail in an October report, and summarized in a slide presentation for the committee:

Tarica explained:

● “It serves as a blueprint for our arts and cultural planning efforts for the 2028 Games, with the intent to create an inclusive framework that others can see themselves working within, and that includes L.A. artists, arts and cultural organizations, and funders.”

● “The framework document is the blueprint for our cultural program . Given the limited capacity and budget of the department, the framework was strategically crafted to leverage existing resources and prioritizes unprecedented collaborations across government and the arts sector.”

● “We are primarily focused on serving Los Angeles’s communities, as [well as] opportunities with tourists and visitors come to the city, but with the ideal that we have a strong program that is focused on youth and families.

“So the strategies that we are building are focused on engagement, place-keeping, public events, collaboration and legacy programs. And we can’t do this alone. As part of these strategies, we’re going to be working with our partners and community three different ways: we’ll have DCA-produced events, we’ll have organizations that are contracted, that serve as contracted partners and then we’ll have arts and cultural efforts with programming that is aligned with the cultural program, and that will be run by outside entities.”

Concepcion detailed the commitment now made to the first-level framework, possibly expanding with more funding:

● “We see this occurring really in three phases that we’ve been mentioning. We would have an official launch in the summer of 2027, however, in the interest of doing some test events and making sure we’re prepared to scale up, we would be doing lead-up programming beginning as soon as summer of 2026, and those plans are underway. And, we want to make sure that we are, in addition to the programming that we do before and during the Games, we really want to focused on designing legacy programs that will be occurring through 2032 and beyond.”

● “Given DCA’s limited budget [$19.8 million for fiscal year 2025-26], we have really strategically prepared this package of three frameworks, based on funding scenarios. Framework A aligns existing resources and refocuses some current programs within the department to deliver the core program, using existing, budgeted funds. So we just want to be very clear that if we can’t do anything else, and if we can’t bring in any additional funds, what we will be delivering is Framework A, using our existing resources and funds.”

● “For Framework B and C, that really is designed to grow as additional resources materialize, and we see this occurring through potential additional City monies that may come through, either through the budget, or through other funding sources, as well as fund-raising, which could be both DCA-led fund-raising using our development team, as well as collaborative work with the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Partnerships and any partnerships that the Council office wishes to engage with us on.”

In terms of the promised festivals in each of the 15 Council districts, Concepcion said that the programming uses “a model based on the Lunar New Year celebration that we do city-wide and using the funding that exists for that model to fund it.” That program started in 2023 and has expanded to 10 events in February and March 2025.

Tarica was asked about the interface so far with the LA28 organizers:

“We’ve been meeting with LA28 over the last several years, first with their marketing and government affairs team and then ultimately with their Cultural Olympiad team as they develop their appointed Cultural Olympiad staff.

“We’ve been meeting with them about monthly, to be able to understand and learn what the focus is that they’re building, and learning the similar values and discussing our program, and then ultimately, working with the hope that what they will be releasing will be complimentary to ours. …

“Our plan is going to be very much focused on our city and all corners of our city and to being able to reach and lift up all of the communities. From what we understand and the conversations that we’ve had with the Cultural Olympiad team, they also would like to be able to do that, but also have a larger, global gaze, so they’re looking at the Cultural Olympiad from the national perspective, knowing that the Games are also taking place outside of Los Angeles.”

Questions from the committee members focused on programming, but also on the City’s continuing budget issues and possible further cuts for the fiscal year 2026-27 budget. The Cultural Affairs programming plan for 2028 will eventually require approvals by the City Council and the Mayor.

The LA28 organizers have been quiet about their plans for cultural programming, but have said more details would be released by the end of the year.

Observed: The L.A. City Council members have said over and over again that residents should have the opportunity to feel the Games in their neighborhoods. The Framework A plan shown by the City’s Cultural Affairs team applies a fairly basic approach to placing arts and related programs in each district and the Lunar New Year project will provide basic funding.

This is a start, but it is now clear that such festival events are NOT designed to be giant, multi-screen viewing programs as will be launched for the FIFA World Cup host cities in 2026, or as planned – for example – by the New Zealand Olympic Committee in conjunction with Culver City in 2028.

Based on what was heard Tuesday, that will be up to the LA28 organizers.

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SPOTLIGHT: New LA84 Foundation Grant Cycle has opened in Southern California

By
LA84 Foundation
-

★ The Sports Examiner is delighted to present this important contribution from our patron, the LA84 Foundation, a national leader in the role of sports in positive youth development. Opinions expressed are those of the LA84 Foundation. ★

The LA84 Foundation has opened its large grant cycle until December 19 to receive Letters of Interest. The Large Grant Cycle is for grants $25,000 and above for organizations in Southern California with youth programs that promote the exposure and exploration of sports. Selected organizations will be invited to complete a full application.

As a legacy of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, for over four decades the LA84 Foundation has supported youth programs in Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties.

By expanding access to sport, play and movement, the LA84 Foundation is committed to transforming communities through play equity by increasing access to youth sports. Small Grants are open year-round, ranging from $5,000-25,000. Visit LA84’s Grants Page to access its Grant Guidelines for an overview of the criteria, and to apply.

The LA84 Foundation recently announced that 19 organizations across Southern California had received $1,781,000 in grant awards. The recipients provide school-based and community youth sports programs in six counties – L.A., Riverside, Orange, Imperial, Santa Barbara and Ventura.

The majority of the latest grant awards focus on communities where issues such as cost, transportation, safety and lack of facilities often prevent kids from experiencing the lifelong benefits of sport and play that can lead to an enriched life.

“These grants focus on access, belonging, and possibility,” said Renata Simril, President & CEO of the LA84 Foundation. “From Boyle Heights to Compton, from Imperial County to the Inland Empire, we are investing in coaches, providing safe places to play, and supporting inclusive programs that help youth succeed both in school and in life.”

All 19 grants shared the common goal of closing the play equity gap. The grant docket emphasized supporting a community pipeline by meeting kids where they are and providing inclusive coaching, safe facilities, and accessible environments with physical activity that nurture growth.

Compton Unified was among the recent grantees. CUSD received funding to expand its free after-school sports to 25 campuses, as well as eliminate fees and transportation barriers for elementary and middle school students. The grant from LA84 offsets key program expenses, including stipends for coaches, staff training, equipment, and uniforms.

CUSD students gain access to sports fundamentals in after-school enrichment, ongoing training, as well as leagues in flag football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, baseball, and track & field against other CUSD schools. At least 1,700 Compton students will benefit from this investment.

Variety Boys & Girls Club in Boyle Heights and P.F. Bresee Foundation in Central LA will expand their year-round leagues for youth at no cost to families after the latest LA84 grants.

“Every child deserves access to safe spaces where they can engage in athletic activities with their peers that build confidence and healthy habits,” said Patricia Siqueiros, Executive Director of Variety Boys & Girls Club (VBGC). “It is an investment in a healthier and more equitable future for our community’s youth.”

Throughout the year, 900 of Variety’s members join organized teams in baseball, softball, flag football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, or swimming. The club also has a comprehensive aquatic program, using an onsite four-lane pool.

Support for the P.F. Bresee Foundation will go toward the Bresee Athletics League, engaging middle and high school students through leagues offering futsal, soccer, basketball, and volleyball in Central L.A. More than 325 youth benefit from this investment.

Students Run LA will expand its Female Ambassador Program and provide sports bras and health products to support retention and well-being. Girls on the Run Riverside will add teams and coach stipends to maintain program quality.

LA84 is committed to supporting youth events that promote the ideals of Olympism. The YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles’ Crenshaw Classic Track & Field Youth Initiative offers free, certified competitions in South L.A. and Inglewood, connecting youth with Olympians and college mentors. The grant will benefit over 500 youth. The program consists of track & field training over two 8-week seasons in 15 local schools, with mentorship from Olympians and college athletes.

It culminates in the Crenshaw Classic track meet, a no-cost certified competition with official times and rankings that celebrates the heritage of South L.A. and Inglewood.

To reach rural youth, an LA84 grant will expand access to AYSO’s expansion of its PLAY! model in Imperial County for its clinics, coach training, and no- to low-cost soccer. This investment is expected to benefit 1,000 Imperial County youth.

“With LA84’s support, AYSO PLAY! will train local leaders and engage over 1,000 kids in Imperial County at no cost, building a foundation for sustainable, low-cost soccer programs in the years ahead,” said Blane Shepard, AYSO National Director of Community Engagement & Business Development.

LA84’s fall grant docket reached girls (45%) and boys (55%), with participation from Latino (43%), White (35%), Black/African American (8%), Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (5%), Asian (4%), and other/multiracial youth. It supports a diverse sports ecosystem spanning running, track & field, soccer, squash, skateboarding, and multi-sport/learn-to-play programs.

“Play unlocks possibility,” said Simril. “These LA84 Foundation grants strengthen the coaches, spaces, and community bonds that help young people build healthy bodies, resilient minds, and the confidence to lead.”

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ATHLETICS: USATF Tour announced with 17 meets across four months, but June Grand Prix meet no longer in New York?

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ NEW USATF TOUR ≡

As promised, USA Track & Field announced its new “USATF Tour” concept, “a series of independently owned and operated track and field meets in the United States that meet the criteria for a bronze, silver or gold label from World Athletics.”

Fourteen of the 17 meets listed are existing and run, as noted, independently, with three events to be staged either by USATF or in conjunction with others: two “Grand Prix” meets that are on the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold calendar, and a distance meet attached to the Gold-level meet in Los Angeles next June.

The federation, still working under constrained financial circumstances, is providing specific support for the meets:

● “USATF will provide all costs associated with drug testing, technical delegates, sanctioning and insurance. It will prioritize Tour meets when allocating travel funding for tiered athletes and supplement the costs of any additional disciplines to the program if needed.

● “USATF will also support the meets with marketing and media coverage of everything from ticket sales to performance highlights.

● “It also announced today that it will award $50,000 in prize money to the male and female athlete who earn the highest number of World Athletics performance points in their three highest-scoring competitions during the series.”

The schedule as presented last Friday:

● 28 Mar.: The TEN, in San Juan Capistrano, Ca.

● 04 Apr.: Miramar Invitational, in Miramar, Fl.
● 12 Apr.: Oklahoma Throws World Invitational, in Ramona, Ok.
● 18 Apr.: Mt. SAC Relays, in Walnut, Ca.
● 25 Apr.: Penn Relays, in Philadelphia, Pa.
● 25 Apr.: Drake Relays, in Des Moines, Ia.

● 23 May: L.A. Track Festival, in Los Angeles, Ca.
● 23 May: Tucson Elite Throws, in Tucson, Az.

● 06 Jun.: Grand Prix, site to be determined
● 13 Jun.: L.A. Distance Classic, in Los Angeles, Ca.
● 14 Jun.: L.A. Grand Prix, in Los Angeles, Ca.
● 20 Jun.: Iron Wood Classic, in Rathdrum, Id.
● 20 Jun.: ATX Classic, in Georgetown, Tx.
● 21 Jun.: Portland Track Festival, in Portland, Or.
● 27 Jun.: L.A. Throws Cup, in Los Angeles, Ca.

● 11 Jul.: Sunset Tour, in Los Angeles, Ca.
● 11-12 Jul.: Ed Murphey Classic, in Memphis, Tn.

The World Athletics Continental Tour calendar has long shown the 6 June USATF Grand Prix meet to be in New York, but no location is shown on the USATF Tour announcement. Continental Tour meets have multiple requirements, including drug testing and reimbursing athlete travel expenses, plus:

● Gold: $150,000 minimum prize money; minimum 14 events
● Silver: $75,000 minimum prize money; minimum 12 events
● Bronze: $25,000 minimum prize money; minimum 12 events

Seven of the 17 meets are in California and six in the Los Angeles area; USATF ran the Distance Classic and Los Angeles Grand Prix meets at UCLA’s Drake Stadium in 2023 and 2024.

Observed: It is clear that this is a NOT a commercial tour designed to pump up a fan base for track & field in the U.S. The two Grand Prix meets are to be televised by NBC – as in years past – and the rest are on streaming services.

It IS an athlete’s support system of meets which helps the continuation of existing competition opportunities, including for specific disciplines, as four of the meets are for throwers, five are devoted to distance races, and two for sprints. That’s 10 of the 17, plus the three famed relay meets, two USATF Grand Prix events and the Ed Murphey Classic, with a more traditional, full program.

The timing of this experiment is good, as there is no World Athletics Championship in 2026, this relieving USATF of any conflicts with qualifying dates relayed to the national championships. What happens in 2027 will be different, not only depending on qualifying for the Worlds, but the situation with USATF’s continuing financial dilemma.

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PANORAMA: Iran questions Seattle pro-gay event on third World Cup match day; (broadcasters celebrate) new 3-minute water breaks at ‘26 FIFA World Cup!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● International Olympic Committee ● The IOC Executive Board will meet in Lausanne on 9-10 December, picking up on questions remaining before the Milan Cortina Winter Games and more expected on the working group efforts on the “protection of the female category.”

On Thursday (11th), the 14th Olympic Summit will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. with IOC officers, commission heads and representatives of the International Federations, National Olympic Committees and the anti-doping community.

The lone American invitee is Gene Sykes, the President of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.

In the past, the Olympic Summit has been used to show a united front on major issues, which will clearly include the fight against doping, and possibly the “protection of the female category” and a further indication of where the IOC wants to go on the question of Russia and Belarus.

● Enhanced Games ● Seven more athletes have agreed to participate in the Enhanced Games in May 2026, including five more swimmers, one track athlete and one weightlifter.

These bring the totals to 11 swimmers, and three athletes each in track and weightlifting. The track addition is Liberian sprinter Emmanuel Matadi, 34, who ran a lifetime best of 9.91 for 100 m in 2024 and reached the Paris Olympic semifinals. He did not compete in 2025.

● Athletics ● In what can be seen as a sports parallel to the “Belt and Road” initiative started by China in 2013 to its project economic power into other countries, Qatar announced its “Aim Beyond” program on Monday:

“As part of the project, 11 state-of-the-art, eco-friendly and inclusive running tracks will be constructed across 11 countries around the world, in Anguilla, Burundi, Cook Islands, Dominica, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Palestine, Panama, Tajikistan, Tanzania and Ukraine.

“The project reflects Qatar’s deep belief in the power of sport to promote sustainable development, peace and social cohesion. It also underscores the country’s determination to transform sporting legacy into a tangible tool for positive change in the lives of youth and communities.”

The Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) is underwriting the program, in coordination with the Qatar Olympic Committee and in partnership with World Athletics.

● Boxing ● World Boxing announced that a total of 49 national federation applications were approved at its Rome Congress, with the total of member federations now at 124.

The final World Boxing rankings for 2025 show Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan with six boxers each ranked no. 1 in their weight classes. All six of the Uzbek fighters ranked first are in men’s classes at 60-65-75-80-85-90 kg, with Kazak boxers taking the top spot in the fourth other men’s classes (50-55-70-90+ kg) and two women’s classes, at 65 kg and 70 kg.

The U.S. had three in the top 10 across all classes, with Malachi Georges 10th in the men’s 90 kg class, and Yoseline Perez at fourth in the women’s 54 kg division and Naomi Graham, tied for ninth at 75 kg.

● Football ● The full FIFA World Cup schedule, including venues and times, was announced Saturday and the turmoil has already started.

The semi-official Tasnim News Agency in Iran posted a story Monday concerning the 26 July, Group G match between Iran and Egypt in Seattle (computer translation from the original Farsi):

“Some American media outlets, including ‘Outsports,’ reported that members of the local committee for organizing the Seattle 2026 World Cup have decided to call the match between the Iranian and Egyptian national teams in the competition ‘Gay Pride Match’ in honor of gays and to celebrate ‘Gay Pride Month’ at Lumen Field Stadium!

“However, the website ‘Outsports’ claimed that Seattle officials wanted to take this action on the sidelines of the match on July 26 at Lumen Field Stadium, and this match will be played as scheduled, with Iran and Egypt facing each other in this stadium. Considering that the people of Iran and Egypt are Muslims, this decision by Seattle officials can be considered mischievous. …

“[T]he Iranian Football Federation intends to announce this issue in a letter to FIFA and to correspond about holding the game under this title and also about such issues being brought to the stadium.”

FIFA announced that hydration breaks will be held for all World Cup 2026 matches, regardless of venue or weather, with referees stopping play for three minutes after about 22 of play in each half. Per the announcement:

“The use of hydration breaks is part of a focused attempt to ensure the best possible conditions for players, drawing upon the experiences of previous tournaments, including the recent FIFA Club World Cup, which took place in the United States last summer.”

Observed: It will also benefit broadcasters such as FOX in the U.S. enormously, with opportunities for full-screen commercials while play is stopped in each half! The sound you hear is advertising rates being changed in real time.

FIFA also posted the full World Cup 2026 schedule with venues, teams and times on a hard-to-read PDF here.

● Freestyle Skiing ● The second of two moguls events at the FIS World Cup in Ruka (FIN) saw 2018 Olympic silver medalist Matt Graham win with 81.72 points, ahead of Sunday’s winner, Japan’s Ikuma Horishima (80.58) and Canada’s Julian Viel (79.30). American Nick Page, the Sunday bronzer, was fourth at 77.23.

Beijing Olympic champ Jakara Anthony (AUS) logged her first win of the season in the women’s event, scoring 79.89 to edge Americans Olivia Giaccio (78.64) and the 2025 seasonal winner, Jaelin Kauf (78.08), with Tess Johnson (76.09) in fourth place.

● Shooting ● The U.S. dominated the Shotgun finals at the ISSF World Cup Final in Doha (QAT), starting with a sweep of the men’s Skeet final, as Christian Taylor shot a perfect 36 to edge Olympic champ Vincent Hancock, 36-35, with teammate Dustan Taylor third at 31.

China’s Jiting Yang, an Olympic Mixed Team bronze winner in Paris, took the women’s Skeet title, also with a perfect 36 score, two shots up on 2025 World Champion Sam Simonton of the U.S. Teammate Dania Jo Vizzi, the 2017 World Champion, was fifth at 21.

The U.S. scored a 1-3 finish in men’s Trap, with Will Hinton scoring 29 out of 30 for the gold, followed by Jean Pierre Brol Cardenas (GUA: 28) and fellow American, 43-year-old, Beijing 2008 Olympic Double Trap gold medalist Walton Eller (23). It’s Hinton’s third World Cup medal this year (2-0-1).

In women’s Trap, Paris Olympic runner-up Silvana Stanco (ITA) and San Marino’s Alessandra Perilli, the Tokyo 2020 bronzer, tied at 26 after 30 shots and went to a shoot-off, with Stanco winning, 2-1.

China ended up on top of the medal table with nine (4-2-3), followed by India (2-3-1) and the U.S. (2-2-2: all in Shotgun) with six each.

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MILAN CORTINA 2026: Organizing committee says Santa Giulia arena ice sheet is a standard size; player worries are more about ice quality than size

By
Rich Perelman
-
Rendering of the Santa Giulia arena in Milan, by Itinera S.p.A.

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≡ ICE HOCKEY ICE ≡

While the controversial sliding track for bobsled, luge and skeleton was completed on time and World Cup events are now being there, the continuing worry over the construction of the new Milan arena – the PalaItalia Santa Giulia – has not abated.

While the test event for the arena has now been set for 9-11 January, the ice sheet is a little short of NHL dimensions – it’s a European facility, so built to metric size – and there are concerns over the quality of the ice.

So, the Milan organizers felt the need to send out a Monday statement:

“The [International Ice Hockey Federation] can confirm that the ice surfaces for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games will measure 60.0 m x 26.0 m (approximately 196.85 ft. x 85.3 ft).

“While these dimensions differ slightly from a typical NHL rink, they are consistent with IIHF regulations, match the rink size used at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and are fully consistent with the dimensions the NHL requires as part of its Global Series Game arena specifications.

“All involved, the IIHF, the Organizing Committee, NHL, NHLPA, IOC and the relevant venue authorities agree that the differences in rink specifications are insignificant, and should not impact either the safety or quality of game play. We look forward to welcoming the world’s best players for a best-on-best competition at the Games.”

In an interview with Sportsnet.ca, NHL Players’ Association Assistant Executive Director Ron Hainsey explained that the quality of the ice is of more concern than the slightly shorter dimensions, pointing to the NHL Global Series games in Sweden, when Nashville and Pittsburgh played on a 197-feet-long ice sheet.

But in Milan, Hainsey noted that five matches will be played in about 30 hours on the first two days of the men’s tournament at the Santa Giulia Arena; it’s actually six matches in about 35 hours:

● 12 February: 12:10 p.m.: Switzerland vs. France
● 12 February: 4:40 p.m.: Czech Rep. vs. Canada
● 12 February: 9:10 p.m.: Latvia vs. U.S.
● 13 February: 12:10 p.m.: Finland vs. Sweden
● 13 February: 4:40 p.m.: France vs. Czech Rep.
● 13 February: 9:10 p.m.: Canada vs. Switzerland

He stated that “the health and safety of our players while playing on any surface will not be compromised,” and that was the biggest concern.

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LOS ANGELES 2028: L.A. City Council committee told City services master agreement for reimbursements from LA28 coming in 2026

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ CITY COUNCIL OVERSIGHT ≡

“So, ‘enhanced City resources,’ when I talk about that, I’m talking about City services, City resources that exceed our normal and customary operations, and which are required for, and in direct support of the Games.”

That’s City of Los Angeles City Administrative Officer Matthew Szabo, speaking to the Los Angeles City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games on Monday morning, explaining that negotiations are continuing on an agreement with the LA28 organizing committee on an “Enhanced City Resources Master Agreement” or “ECRMA.” Further:

● “We’re establishing the rules for how we determine the costs and receive payment for Games-related expenses and once we establish the rules, we will then develop venue service agreements. For each venue, the venue service agreement will be governed in the rules by the ECRMA which we will establish and it will identify the City resources required at Games venues or sites.”

● “We need to complete the ECRMA as quickly as reasonably possible. LA28 will then proceed with its operational plans, we will work with LA28 on the venue services agreements to establish the required City services that will meet LA28 and City standards, and then we will proceed with providing cost estimates for reimbursements, consistent with those required services.”

What kinds of services are involved? Szabo used the World Series parade for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024 as an example:

“There are many differences between the Olympic Games and the Dodgers parade, as an example of the types of City services that are provided to support events at a large scale: police, fire, transportation, street services, sanitation; in this case, we had parks, we used some Rec & Parks vehicles and street lighting. So, as a reference point for one day in 2024 … it was about $2 million in City costs, which were fully reimbursed by the Dodgers.”

This agreement with LA28 was due, under the City’s Games Agreement signed in 2021, by 1 October 2025, but has dragged on as Szabo noted the complexity and the desire to get a good agreement, not a fast one.

He noted that there are two categories of expenses related to the 2028 Games, which need to be treated separately:

● City costs which are eligible for Federal funding, primarily in the security area. He pointed out that the 2028 Games have been declared as a “National Special Security Event,” which places security under the direction of the U.S. Secret Service. In H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” $1 billion was allocated for use for security preparations and costs for the 2028 Games.

● City costs which will not be eligible for Federal reimbursement, and which LA28 will be expected to pay for directly.

The ECRMA will set the rules for what LA28 will pay for and how it will pay, subject to further details and cost estimates to be enumerated in “venue service agreements” for each site or group of sites which LA28 will use.

The ECRMA is due for completion and review and eventual approval by the City Council in early 2026, to be followed by initial cost estimates for each venue or venue group in October 2026 and then final cost estimates in October 2027.

Szabo also stated that LA28 will pay the City according to the cost estimates on the first day of the month prior to when services are delivered, meaning 1 July and 1 August 2028. Actual costs will be reconciled after the Games and LA28 responsible to pay any additional costs (or possibly to reimburse LA28 for any overages, as happened after the 1984 Olympic Games).

The ECRMA is critical to LA28 as well as the City, as Szabo that it will be the template for service agreements with other governments for similar services. Moreover, the ECRMA is to ensure that no other jurisdiction gets a “better deal” than Los Angeles will have.

There were multiple questions about whether areas adjacent to Games venues would be covered, for protests or other issues, or for training sites. Szabo said these are all under discussion.

The committee then went into closed session to discuss questions related to possible litigation, the nature of which was not stated. No report was made after the meeting was re-started and quickly adjourned.

The ongoing tug-of-war between Los Angeles, California and the Trump Administration’s ongoing efforts against immigrants not legally in the U.S. has spilled over into the Olympic realm.

Protesters assembled last Wednesday (3rd) at the downtown Olive Street skyscraper which includes the LA28 headquarters, demanding that the organizing committee denounce the efforts of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. They were moved outside, and announced their demands in a letter to the organizing committee.

This parallels the same demands made to the Dodgers in June, with protesters asking the club to make statements against ICE enforcement activities, which the club declined to do.

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PANORAMA: Big U.S. weekend, as Malinin sets Free Skate world best in Grand Prix Final; World Cup triple for Stolz and a Diggins win in cross country!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Figure skating World Champion Ilia Malinin of the U.S. (Photo: spiritedmichelle via Wikipedia).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● A Senate bill to allocate up to $50 million per year for transportation assistance to Olympic and FIFA World Cup events held in the U.S. had a House of Representatives companion introduced last week by Reps. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) and Rick Larsen (D-Washington).

The “Transportation Assistance for Olympic and World Cup Cities Act” is a mirror of the bill by the same name introduced last April in the U.S. Senate by Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Washington).

The impact of the bill would be to allocated up to $10 million per year to a host area or city – against a total annual allocation of $50 million – for financial assistance with transportation support or mitigation of transportation impacts related to the staging of an Olympic Games or FIFA World Cup.

The Senate bill was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and has not moved since introduction. The bill would assist with the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles and the 2034 Winter Games in Utah.

If passed, it will be helpful for the World Cup cities, but only a tiny assist for the Olympic and Paralympic organizing committees for 2028 and 2034.

The Long Beach Post reported that the Port of Los Angeles is ending the lease with Greater Los Angeles Scouting for space at Cabrillo Beach that has been used for camping and Scout training for as much as 80 years.

The space is to be “repurposed as a training center for national and international sailing teams in the 2028 Olympics.” The Port will host the boating events in sailing.

The story stated “In 1982, the Scouts entered into a 30-year lease with the Port to construct and manage a youth camp facility,” raising $3.6 million “to construct the Cabrillo Beach Youth Center, which spans over 12 acres and includes waterfront access, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, campgrounds, an archery range, a crafts center, an amphitheater and a kitchen.”

After the lease ended in 2012, a month-to-month lease has been in effect, which will now be ended, with the facility forfeited to the Port. About 17,000 youngsters – not all Scouts – used the facility over the last year.

The Port will spend $5 million on a sailing training facility and a “newly formed nonprofit, Pathway to Podium LLC, with involvement from the Los Angeles and Cabrillo Beach Yacht Clubs, will operate the training facility under a new lease that will continue until sometime after the 2028 Olympics.”

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● A little more than half of the tickets for the 2026 Winter Games have been sold as the Olympic Torch Relay begins in Italy, but organizing committee chief Andrea Varnier expressed confidence:

“That’s normal. The local fans get interested closer, and I think the beginning of the torch relay will be a very important moment for people realizing that.”

He also noted that demand was strong for some opening ceremony tickets and ice hockey gold-medal game seats last week and that merchandise sales have picked up, which he sees as a good sign.

Russia will now file an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the International Biathlon Union, according to Russian sports minister Mikhail Degtyarev:

“We won in luge and cross-country skiing. We’re preparing a lawsuit against biathlon; we decided to fight it together with the federation.

“The cross-country skiing precedent is important for biathletes. The federation is also under the Scandinavian lobby, and we’ve seen the athletes’ reaction; it’s absolutely normal, no boycotts. Everyone will compete. We evaluate the risks and potential for a positive outcome in everything.”

● World Anti-Doping Agency ● The WADA Foundation Board approved the 2027 version of the World Anti-Doping Code as well as a 3% increase in annual contributions to the WADA budget for 2026-27-28.

The report of the meeting did not mention the continuing refusal of the U.S. to pay its 2024 dues of $3.625 million, or for 2025. The projected budgets are $54.5 million in 2026, $54.4 million in 2027 and $55.3 million in 2028.

● Basketball ● The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Central Board “decided to maintain the current status of Russia and Belarus until the FIBA Executive Committee meeting of mid-February 2026, following the IOC Session in Milan-Cortina.

“The Central Board also approved that, when the situation allows, FIBA will be ready to enact extraordinary competition measures to maintain players from the two federations on the pathway for the LA28 Olympic Games, considering that it is no longer possible to participate in major FIBA tournaments in 2026 and 2027, where the qualification is already underway.”

Translation: what will the International Olympic Committee do about Russian and Belarusian teams, and when?

● Boxing ● The International Testing Agency reported that Kazakh boxer Dulat Bekbauov, the 2023 IBA World Championships silver medalist at 67 kg (welterweight), was banned for two years for “whereabouts” failures. He will be eligible once again on 17 November 2027.

≡ RESULTS ≡

● Archery ● The World Archery Indoor World Series Taipei Open saw a home winner as Yu-yang Su, the 2023 third-placer, won the men’s Recurve final with a 6-5 extra-end victory – 10-9 in the shoot-off – over France’s 2016 Olympic runner-up Jean-Charles Valladont. France’s Victoria Sebastian dominated the women’s Recurve final, winning 7-1 over Korea’s Eun-ah Lee.

Two-time World Champion Mike Schloesser (NED) won the men’s Compound, 150-147, over Yong-hee Choi (KOR), and Amanda Mlinaric (CRO) won the women’s final, 146-145, against Korea’s Hee-yeon Yu.

● Alpine Skiing ● The FIS men’s World Cup was in Beaver Creek, Colorado for speed racing, with Swiss superstar – and four-time World Cup winner – Marco Odermatt winning the first Downhill of the season on Thursday in 1:29.14, taking the lead from American Ryan Cochran-Siegle (1:30.14). Now 33, Cochran-Siegle won his fourth career World Cup medal and first in a year.

Saturday’s Super-G went to 2021 World Champion Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT), in 1:06.77, as the sixth starter. He was 0.56 up on Norway’s Fredrik Moeller (1:07.33) and 1.03 ahead of teammate Raphael Haaser (1:07.80). River Radamus (1:08.39) and Cochran-Siegle (1:08.45) finished 12-13 for the U.S.

The Giant Slalom on Sunday was another win for Odermatt, who led after the first run and won even through he finished 24th in the second run! His total time of 2:20.59 was enough to hold off Alex Vinatzer (ITA: 2:20.82) and Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen (2:20.93). Radamus was sixth at 2:21.19.

At the FIS women’s World Cup in Tremblant (CAN), New Zealand’s Alice Robinson won her second Giant Slalom of the season, winning the first run by 0.33 and finishing third in the second run for a 2:16.18 total, ahead of Zrinka Ljutic (CRO: 2:17.12). American star Mikaela Shiffrin was sixth (2:17.83), standing third after the first run, but falling to 20th on the second; Nina O’Brien was 10th (2:18.41).

Sunday was the second World Cup win of the season – and her career – for Austria’s Julia Scheib, who was second on both runs and totaled 2:13:00. She won over Sara Hector (SWE: 2:13.57) and Robinson (2:13.78). Shiffrin, slowly regaining confidence in the Giant Slalom after being severely injured in a GS race in November 2024, was sixth and seventh in her two runs and tied for fourth (2:14.17). Fellow American Paula Moltzan was sixth (2:14.47).

● Athletics ● A brilliant duel between Kenyan stars Joyciline Jepkosgei and 2025 World Champion Peres Jepchirchir saw Jepkosgei pull away after 39 km to win the Maraton Valencia in Spain in a world-leading 2:14:00, moving her to no. 4 all-time, with the no. 4 performance.

The two separated from the field by the 10 km mark and were together at the half in 1:06:34. But while a Jepchirchir surge after 30 km failed, Jepkosgei powered away at about the 39 km mark and rolled to the finish with a 43-second win. Even so, Jepchirchir’s 2:14:43 is the no. 2 performance of 2025 and moves her to no. 6 all-time, with the no. 7 performance.

The men’s race was a runaway for Kenyan John Kipkosgei, who broke away from four others after 25 km and won easily in 2:02:24, the no. 3 performance of the year and he’s now no. 8 on the all-time list. German Amanal Petros was a distant second with a national record of 2:04:03.

Futsum Zienasellassie won his second U.S. National Marathon Championship – and the California International Marathon in Sacramento, California – for the second time on Sunday, in a lifetime best of 2:09:29. Joseph Whelan was second in 2:09:41 and Christian Allen was third (2:09:57). Zienasellaisse had won previously in 2022.

Former Oklahoma State All-American Molly Born, in her marathon debut, won in 2:24:09, well ahead of Sara Hall (2:24:36) and Megan Sailor (2:25:16).

Parker Wolfe and Weini Kelati took the U.S. National Cross Country Championships titles in Portland, Oregon, both over 10 km and in cool conditions.

Wolfe was in a pack of six at the 5 km mark but finally broke free after 8 km from NCAA runner-up Rocky Hansen and won in 29:16.4, with Hansen at 29:24.8 and Wesley Kiptoo third in 29:27.7. The top six are expected to qualify for the U.S. team for the World Championships in Tallahassee, Florida in January.

Veteran Kelati, the 2024 winner, was in a pack of three at the halfway mark, already five seconds up on the field. She took control from Katie Izzo and steadily built her lead for a clear-cut, 33:45.5 to 34:00.9 win. Ednah Kurgat finished third in 34:09.9.

There were separate races over 2 km for spots on the 4×2 km Mixed Relay at the Worlds. Ethan Strand and Wes Porter took the men’s spots in 5:25.8 and 5:26.5, and Gracie Morris (6:19.4) and the ultra-versatile Sage Hurta-Klecker (6:22.9) were the women’s 1-2.

There were records galore at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener at Boston University on Saturday, with World Indoor men’s 800 m champ Josh Hoey blasting the world record in the 600 m in 1:12.84. He ran alone to the finish – he won by almost three seconds – and destroyed Donavan Brazier’s 2019 mark of 1:13.77.

BYU frosh Jane Hedengren made her indoor debut a memorable one with a 14:44.79 win in the women’s 5,000 m, setting a world U-20 indoor record and mauling the collegiate indoor mark of 14:52.57 by Alabama’s Doris Lemngole (KEN) in 2024. Hedengren now ranks no. 2 all-time U.S. and no. 11 all-time world … in her first collegiate race! She won by more than 14 seconds over BYU teammate Riley Chamberlain (14:58.97).

● Beach Volleyball ● The last Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 of 2025 was in Itapema (BRA) saw a surprise win – and first medals of the season – for no. 16 seeds Elouan Chouikh and Joadel Gardoque (FRA), who cruised to a 21-13, 21-19 victory over Martins Plavins and Kristians Folkerots (LAT).

The all-Brazilian bronze match-up was won by Evandro Oliveira Jr. and Arthur Lanci, 21-18, 21-17 over Andre Loyola Stein and Renato de Calvalho.

The women’s semis were all Brazilian and in the final, top-seeded Carol Solberg and Rebecca Cavalcante were trying for their third win of the season against Taiana Lima and Talita Antunes and got it, 231-10, 21-10.

Second-seeded Thamela Galil and Victoria Tosta won the bronze, 21-16, 21-8 against Thainara de Oliveira and Talita Simonetti.

● Biathlon ● New Norwegian star Johan-Olav Botn got his first wins on the IBU World Cup circuit over the weekend in Oestersund (SWE), winning the 20 km Individual in 46:49.4 (0 penalties) over teammate Uldal Martin (47:47.1/0). They were 1-2 again in the 10 km Sprint, with Botn at 24:26.3 (0) and Martin at 24:37.4 (0).

In Sunday’s 12.5 km Pursuit, double 2022 Olympic gold medalist Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA) got the win, in 30:14.5 (2), beating Sweden’s Sebastian Samuelsson (30:21.2/2) and Botn third in 30:24.8 (2). American Campbell Wright was sixth in 30:39.5 (0).

Three different women’s winners, with four-time Worlds gold medalist Dorothea Wierer (ITA) winning the 15 km Individual in 43:08.0 (2) over Finn Sonja Leinamo (43:08.3/1), then Finland’s Suvi Minkkinen took the 7.5 km Sprint, 20:11.9/0 to 20:28.5/0) against Swede Anna Magnusson.

The 10 km Pursuit went to Lisa Theresa Hauser (AUT: 30:14.2/0), with Minkkinen second (30:16.7/1) and Magnusson third (30:46.0/1).

● Cross Country Skiing ● The second stop of the FIS World Cup season was in Trondheim (NOR), with Sweden’s women’s sprinters sweeping the Friday Classical Sprint with Johanna Hagstroem (3:30.97), Emma Ribom (+1.53) and Linn Svahn (+2.67) taking the medals

The 20 km Classical and Freestyle Skiathlon was the fifth race of the season, so it was time for a win by reigning World Cup champion Jessie Diggins of the U.S. It was close, but she edged Norway’s Heidi Weng, 50:29.5 to 50:30.5; teammate Julia Kern was 25th (52:16.9).

Sweden’s six-time Worlds gold medalist Ebba Andersson won Sunday’s 10 km Interval Mass Start in 26:05.3, ahead of teammate Moe Ilar (26:07.3) and Diggins, third in 26:21.8.

The Norwegian fans cheered the men’s Classical Sprint, with home favorites Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo getting his 100th career World Cup win in 2:59.89, chased by teammate Oskar Vike (+0.31). Klaebo got win no. 101 in the 20 km Skiathlon in 43:49.4, barely ahead of Harald Amundsen (43:50.1) and Emil Iversen (43:40.4) completing the Norwegian sweep. Gus Schumacher was the top American, in 21st (45:00.4).

Norway finished its men’s sweep in the 10 km Freestyle Interval Start, with Einar Hedegart winning in 23:02.1, followed by teammates Andreas Ree (23:02.5) and Martin Nyenget (23:12.2). Schumacher was 11th in 23:37.5.

● Fencing ● The FIE World Cup in men’s Foil in Fukuoka (JPN), with Hong Kong’s Chun Choi taking the final over Russian “neutral” Kirill Borodachev, 15-9. American Alex Massialas, the 2016 Olympic runner-up, won one of the bronzes as a semifinalist. Italy won the Team final over France, 44-43. Japan beat the U.S. for third, 45-43.

At the women’s Foil World Cup in Busan (KOR), 2014 Worlds silver medalist Martina Batini (ITA) won the final from Yuka Ueno (JPN), 15-3, while Lauren Scruggs of the U.S. was one of the two bronze winners. Italy won the Team final, 45-38, over the American squad of Scruggs. Lee Kiefer, Jaelyn Liu and Carolina Stutchbury.

At the Sabre Grand Prix in Orleans (FRA), Krisztian Rabb (HUN) took the men’s final from Frederic Kindler (GER), 15-14, for his first career Grand Prix medal. Italy’s Michela Battiston took the women’s gold, also 15-14, from Anna Spiesz (HUN).

In Vancouver (CAN) for Epee, Egypt’s Mohamed El Sayed defeated Israel’s Dov Ber Vilensky in the men’s final, 15-5 and Italy’s Giulia Rizzi took the women’s title over Marie-Florence Candassamy (FRA), 13-12.

● Figure Skating ● The U.S. won three World Championship golds on home ice in Boston, Massachusetts earlier this year. At the ISU Grand Prix Final in Nagoya (JPN), it repeated the feat with Ilia Malinin, Alysia Liu and Madison Chock and Evan Bates taking home wins once again, in an impressive display ahead of the 2026 Winter Games.

Malinin under-rotated two of his quadruple jumps in the Short Program and stood third, but completed seven quads (!) in his Free Skate and scored a staggering 238.24 points to win at 332.29. Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, the Beijing 2022 Olympic runner-up, scored 302.41 points for second.

It’s the no. 5 total score in history for Malinin (he has three of the five) and his Free Skate was not just a world record, but smashed his own prior best 228.97 from the Skate Canada Internationale in November! Wow!

Liu was second in the Short Program behind Mone Chiba (JPN) and was third in the Free Skate, behind three-time Worlds winner Kaori Sakamoto (JPN) and teammate Ami Nakai, but her consistency gave her the win at 222.49. Nakai was second (220.89) and Sakamoto claimed the bronze (218.80). The U.S.’s Amber Glenn was fourth at 211.50.

There was no doubt in Ice Dance, as Chock and Bates won both segments and scored a total of 220.42 points. France’s Laurence Foumeri Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron finished second at 214.25, placing second in both segments. Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik of the U.S. finished sixth at 193.61.

Japan’s two-time World Champions, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won Pairs at 225.21, edging Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii (ITA: 223.28).

● Freestyle Skiing ● At the FIS World Cup in Ruka (FIN), Olympic Aerials champ Mengtao Xu won at 89.29, beating Marion Thenault (CAN: 82.48); Americans Kyra Dossa and Dani Loeb went 4-5 (69.31 and 58.87).

The men’s title was the first career World Cup medal for 27-year-old Ukrainian Oleksander Okipniuk (130.56), way ahead of Worlds bronzer Pirmin Werner (SUI: 109.95) and 2021 Worlds unner-up Chris Lillis of the U.S. (109.45). American Quinn Dehlinger (101.36) was fourth.

Sunday’s men’s Moguls was won by Japan’s two-time World Champion Ikuma Horishima (83.48) over Olympic champion Walter Wallberg (SWE: 82.47) and American Nick Page (79.62). American Tess Johnson, the 2025 Worlds Dual Moguls runner-up, won with 78.86 points over 2018 Olympic champ Perrine Laffont (77.43) and Olivia Giaccio of the U.S. (74.35).

Monday will have another Moguls for men and women.

At the FIS World Cup Big Air in Beijing (CHN), Norway’s Ulrik Samnoey claimed his first World Cup gold and first medal in five years, scoring 184.00 in the men’s final, over New Zealand’s 2025 World Champion Luca Harrington (182.50).

Finn Anni Karava, the 2025 Worlds bronzer, took the women’s gold, scoring 175.50 to 172.25 for China’s Mengting Liu.

● Handball ● The 27th IHF Women’s World Championship is in Germany and the Netherlands, with Main Round play continuing through 8 December.

So far, Denmark (5-0) and Hungary (3-1-1) advanced from Group I, and Germany (5-0) and Montenegro (3-2) are in from Group II. With one set of matches to go, defending champ France (4-0) leads Group III with The Netherlands also at 4-0; in Group IV – whose matches are complete – Norway advanced at 5-0 with Brazil at 4-1.

The top two in each group advance to the quarterfinals, on 9-10 December.

● Judo ● Japan dominated the IJF World Tour Tokyo Grand Slam, winning five men’s titles and six women’s golds. The men’s winners included Hayato Kondo (60 kg), Olympic champ Hifumi Abe (66 kg), Ryuga Tanaka (73 kg), Yuhei Ono (81 kg), and World Champion Samshiro Murao (90 kg).

The women’s gold medalists were three-time Worlds medalist Wakana Koga (48 kg), Olympic and World Champion Uta Abe (52 kg), Akari Omori (57 kg), World Champion Haruka Kaju (63 kg), World Champion Shiho Tanaka (70 kg), and Worlds bronze winner Kurena Ikeda (78 kg).

● Luge ● Home fans had plenty to cheer at the FIL World Cup opener, in Winterberg (GER), starting with two-time Olympic champ Felix Loch (GER) winning the men’s Singles at 1:43.60 over 2023 World Champion Jonas Mueller (AUT: 1:43.250) with Max Langenhan (GER: 1:43.428), the 2025 World Champion, in third.

The men’s Doubles went to Austrians Juri Gatt and Riccardo Schoepf (1:25.609) ahead of three-time Olympic champs Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt (GER: 1:25.717).

Austria’s Hannah Prock won the women’s Singles in 1:51.848, ahead of rising German star Merle Fraebel (1:51.678) and Dorothea Schwarz (1:51.857). Two-time World Champions Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal (GER) won the women’s Doubles in 1:26.881, beating current World Champions Selina Egle and Lara Kipp (AUT: 1:26.950).

Austria’s Mueller and Lisa Schulte won the Mixed Singles (1:41.510) over Loch and Julia Taubitz (GER: 1:41.633) and in the Mixed Doubles, Germany (1:34.470) edged Austria (1:34.541).

● Nordic Combined ● Austria stayed perfect with a fourth straight win in the men’s FIS World Cup in Trondheim (NOR), with Thomas Rettenegger getting the win in the 10 km Mass Start and jumping off the 102 m hill at 125.3 points, with Wendelin Thannheimer (GER: 121.0) second.

On Sunday, jumping was off the 138 m hill, then the 10 km race, with Austrian star  Johannes Lamparter winning for the third time this season in 23:30.6 over teammate Franz-Josef Rehrl (23:42.2) and German star Julian Schmid (23:57.9).

The women’s Gundersen 102 m jumping and 5 km race was a win for 2024 World Cup champ Ida Marie Hagen (NOR: 14:31.5), barely ahead of Nathalie Armbruster (GER: 14:31.6), and then a surprise bronze for improving American Alexa Brabec, 21, at 14:45.3. It’s her first career World Cup medal, and the first for the U.S. since Tara Geraghty-Moats won the inaugural women’s World Cup in 2020!

Said Brabec, “I have been working so hard this summer and without the Olympics on the plate for us, podiuming in a World Cup was my big goal. It feels so insane to have achieved it and at the first World Cup of the season too.”

In the women’s Mass Start 5 km and 102 m jumping, Austria’s Katharina Gruber won with 111.8 points to 103.5 for Hagen, 100.9 for Armbruster with Brabec fourth at 96.3.

● Rugby Sevens ● At the second HSBC Sevens Series tournament of the season, in Cape Town (RSA), South Africa and Argentina led the two men’s pools and New Zealand and Australia were both 3-0 in their women’s pool matches.

In the men’s playoffs, the host South African side eked out a 21-19 win over Argentina in the final, while Fiji defeated France, 26-19 for third.

Australia won the women’s gold, getting back at arch-rival New Zealand in the final, 26-12, while France edged the American women for third, 15-12.

● Shooting ● China and India have highlighted the ISSF World Cup Final in Doha (QAT), winning and eight and six medals, respectively, with one day to go.

China’s world’s silver winner Kai Hu capped a brilliant year in the men’s 10 m Air Pistol final, winning at 243.0 over 2016 Olympic Rapid-Fire Pistol gold medalist Christian Reitz (GER: 242.0). India went 1-2 in the women’s 10 m Air Pistol final, with Inder Singh Suruchi winning with a World Junior Record of 245.1 to 243.3 for Sainyam Sainyam.

Paris Olympic silver winner Victor Lindgren (SWE) won the men’s 10 m Air Rifle over Olympic champ Lihao Sheng (CHN: 252.6). World Junior champ Zifei Wang (CHN: 253.4) managed a tight victory in the women’s 10 m Air Rifle against Paris Olympic winner Hyojin Ban (KOR: 253.1)

In the 50 m Rifle/3 Positions, rising Czech star Jiri Privratsky was the winner with 414.2 points to 413.3 for Aishwary Tomar (IND). World Champion Jeanette Hegg Duestad (NOR) won the women’s final, 414.3 to 413.4 against Worlds bronze medalist Seonaid McIntosh (GBR).

The men’s 25 m Rapid-Fire Pistol was won by China’s Paris Olympic champ Yuehong Li, 33-31, over Indian Anish Anish. The women’s 25 m gold went to India’s Simranpreet Kaur, 41-36, against 2025 World Champion Qianxun Yao (CHN).

The Shotgun finals will be held on Monday.

● Ski Jumping ● It was a good tournament for the Slovenian Prevc family at the FIS World Cup in Wisla (POL), jumping off of the 134 m hill.

Domen Prevc, the 2025 World Champion, took Saturday’s men’s competition at 286.2, with Philipp Raimund (GER: 279.4) second. Jason Colby was the top American, in 19th (248.5). On Sunday, Prevc won again, coming from fourth after the first round and winning the second round to score 282.3 to edge Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi (281.4) and Raimund (276.8). Colby was 22nd (246.8).

The women’s jumping opener had Anna Odine Stroem (NOR: 246.0) winning on Thursday, over Abigail Strate (CAN: 240.9) and this season’s three-time winner Nozomi Maruyama (JPN: 236.9). Then it was the turn of younger sister Nika Prevc – 20 – and a double World Champion in 2025, to win on Saturday at 259.7 over countrywoman Nika Vodan (246.9).

● Ski Mountaineering ● At the opening ISMF World Cup of the season, held in Solitude, Utah, the U.S. got a win in the first race, the Mixed Relay, with Anna Gibson and Cameron Smith timing 32:17,6, ahead of Italy’s Alba de Silvesto and Michele Boscacci (33:08.7).

In the men’s Sprint, the Swiss celebrated a 1-2 finish for Jon Kistler (2:40.7) and Amo Lietha (2:45.9) in the final, while France’s Margot Ravinel (3:14.8) took the women’s race over Italian Giulia Murada (3:27.9).

● Snowboard ● The FIS World Cup Parallel Giant Slalom season began in Mylin (CHN), with Italian star Maurizio Bormolini taking the first race over 2022 Olympic champ Benjamin Karl (AUT). Italy won again on Sunday, with Mirko Felicetti winning over Stefan Baumeister (GER), the 2025 Worlds silver medalist.

The women’s Saturday final was all-Italian, with Lucia Dalmasso winning ahead of Elisa Caffont. On Sunday, two-time World Champion Tsubaki Miki (JPN) got the win in the final, ahead of two-time Parallel Slalom World Champion Julie Zogg (SUI).

At the World Cup Big Air in Beijing (CHN), Olympic champ Yuming Su (CHN) won again after taking the opener at Secret Garden, scoring 181.0 points, edging Japan’s Kira Kimura (178.25). The women’s final went to 2023 World Champion Mia Brookes (GBR: 176.50) over Hanna Karrer (AUT: 146.75).

● Speed Skating ● The third of five ISU World Cups was in Heerenveen (NED), with a brilliant, three-win performance for American star Jordan Stolz.

He won the men’s 1,500 m on Friday in a track record of 1:42.55, ahead of 2022 Olympic champ Kjeld Nuis (NED: 1:43.31) and China’s 2024 World Sprint champ Zhongyan Ning (1:43.37). On Saturday, Stolz got another track record in the 1,000 m in 1:06.48, beating German Finn Sonnekalb (1:07.42).

Sunday was a third win and a third track record, in the 500 m in 33.90, ahead of 2025 World Champion Jenning De Boo (NED: 34.10). Wow!

Czech Metodej Jilek won the 10,000 m with a lifetime best of 12:29.63, ahead of World Champion Davide Ghiotto (ITA: 12:33.37) with American Casey Dawson in sixth (12:48.42). Dutch star Jorrit Bergsma, the 2014 Olympic 10,000 m champ, won the Mass Start in 7:24.96, ahead of Korea’s Jae-won Chung (7:25.56).

In the Team Sprint, the Dutch won in 1:17.22, ahead of the U.S. trio of Zach Stoppelmoor, Cooper Mcleod and Conor McDermott-Mostowy (1:18.16).

Dutch skaters dominated the women’s races, with World Champion Femke Kok taking the 500 m in 37.00, two-time World Champion Jutta Leerdam winning the 1,000 m in 1:14.17 and World Champion Joy Beune the victor in the 1,500 m in 1:53.10. American Brittany Bowe was fourth in the 1,500 m in 1:53.80.

Norway’s two-time Worlds 5,000 m silver winner Ragne Wiklund won that race in 6:49.016 over Isabelle Weidemann (CAN: 6:50.110). World Champion Marijke Groenewoud (NED) took the women’s Mass Start in 8:07.66, just ahead of American Mia Manganello (8:07.92). The Dutch also won the Team Sprint.

● Table Tennis ● China was once again the winner of the ITTF Mixed Team World Cup, held in Chengdu (CHN), for the third time in a row. The Chinese defeated South Korea, 8-3, in the semis and then rolled past Japan, 8-1, in the final.

The third-place match was a tight one, with Germany eventually beating Korea by 8-7.

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SWIMMING: Canada’s McIntosh posts two historic swims at U.S. Open in Austin, while Douglass wins four and Kos three events each!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Canadian swim star Summer McIntosh (Photo: Aniko Kovacs for World Aquatics).

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≡ McINTOSH FABULOUS IN AUSTIN ≡

It may be December, and it’s cold in a lot of places, but at the U.S. Open in Austin, Texas, Canada’s 19-year-old sensation, Summer McIntosh was red-hot.

She missed the World Aquatics World Cup in the U.S. and Canada due to illness, but she was fully ready for Austin:

● She won the 400 m Freestyle in 3:55.37, with American Anna Peplowski second in 4:10.55! McIntosh’s time is the second-fastest in history, behind only her world record of 3:54.18 at the Canadian Team Trials in June. She now owns four of the top six performances in history.

● In the 200 m Butterfly, she won in 2:02.62, way ahead of American star Regan Smith, who finished second in 2:06.89. For McIntosh, it’s the no. 4 performance ever and her no. 3 performance; she was already the no. 2 performer ever and now has four of the top five performances ever.

Looking ahead, McIntosh will have to determine which events to contest in the crowded schedule of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. She won Paris Olympic golds in the 200 m Fly and 200 and 400 m Medleys and a silver to the now-retired Ariarne Titmus (AUS) in the 400 m Freestyle. But she will also be a contender in the 200 m and 800 m Frees as well.

Also brilliant in Austin was American Kate Douglass, who won the 200 m Breaststroke in Paris in 2024 and was second to McIntosh in the 200 m Medley, an event she has won twice at the World Championships. In Austin, she collected four golds:

● 50 m Free in 24.20, and Rio 2016 100 m Free co-champ Simone Manuel at 24.42.
● 100 m Breast in 1:06.55, with Alexanne LePage (CAN) second in 1:06.81.
● 200 m Breast in 2:20.86, beating fellow Olympian Alex Walsh (2:24.88).
● 200 m Medley in 2:07.85, with Walsh second in 2:09.18.

Douglass has not contested the Freestyle sprints much; she did win a 2024 Worlds silver in the 50 m Free in Qatar; she appears to be – along with Gretchen Walsh – the best of the U.S. sprinters.

Walsh was also busy, winning the 50 m Fly in 25.18 and the 100 m Fly in 55.60, with Regan Smith second in 56.18 and McIntosh third in 57.01. Walsh finished third in the 50 m Free behind Douglass and Manuel, in 24.57 and was second to Manuel in the 100 m Free (53.76), where Douglass was third (53.82).

Manuel, seeming to regain more energy at 29, won the 100 m Free (53.33) and the 200 m Free in 1:56.66, to rank no. 25 on the 2025 world list!

Smith was also everywhere, winning the 100 m Back in 58.19 ahead of Katharine Berkoff (58.71) and the 200 m Back, in 2:05.52; Berkoff won their match-up in the 50 m Free in 27.28 to 27.52.

Ohio State’s Mika Nikanorov won the women’s 800 m Free (8:34.38) and 1,500 m Free (16:19.80). Canada’s Mary-Sophie Harvey took the 400 m Medley in 4:36.75 and Irish star Mona McSherry won the 50 m Breast final in 30.48.

The men’s racing had lots of stars as well, like quadruple gold medalist Leon Marchand (FRA) and 200 m Backstroke winner Hubert Kos (HUN). It was Kos who had the best meet, taking wins in the 100 m Back in 52.63, the 200 m Back in 1:54.21 – he won by four seconds! – and the 200 m Medley, in 1:55.50. He was third in the 50 m Back in 24.74, behind American Shaine Casas (24.53) and new Australian star, 17-year-old Henry Allan (24.65).

Casas also won the 100 m Fly in 50.24, no. 5 on the world list for 2025, now the no. 9 performer in history! He finished well ahead of Canada’s Ilya Kharun (50.40), Marchand (51.20) and Tokyo 2020 Olympic champ Caeleb Dressel (51.33).

Marchand, for his part, won the 400 m Free in 3:44.70, no. 9 in the world for 2025 – over 16-year-old Luka Mijatovic of the U.S. (3:45.30) – and the 200 m Fly in 1:52.57, no. 2 in the world this year!

Mijatovic also won the 800 m Free in 7:48.28, but Olympic champ Bobby Finke was upset in the 1,500 m Free by Ilia Sibertsev (UZB), 15:05.51 to 15:09.21.

No one else won two races, with the Freestyle sprints going to U.S. stars Chris Guiliano (50 m: 21.57) and Jack Alexy (100 m: 47.40), with Dressel taking the B final in the 50 m Free in 21.94, which would have tied for fifth in the A final. In the Fly sprints, Dressel was third in the 50 m final in 23.49, behind winner Kharun (22.98) and American Dare Rose (23.17).

Worlds runner-up Luke Hobson of the U.S. won the 200 m Free in 1:44.49; the Breaststroke winners were Michael Houlie (RSA: 26.72) in the 50 m, Alexei Avakov (59.45) in the 100 and Jack Kelly (2:09.90) in the 200 m. Two-time Worlds runner-up Carson Foster won the 400 m Medley in 4:07.02.

For a meet that was primarily a check on training fitness, this was amazing. McIntosh, especially, appears to have no limits, but she won’t get another real heat check until the Worlds in 2027, a long way off.

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LOS ANGELES 2028: Labor groups scream as motion to stretch “Olympic wage” minimum wage increases to 2030 introduced

By
Rich Perelman
-
The Los Angeles City Hall, a 1928 Art Deco downtown icon (Photo: Tim Ahem via Wikipedia)

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≡ “OLYMPIC WAGE” MOTION ≡

It’s never over.

On 27 May, the Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance which raised the minimum wage for airport and hotel workers in the City to $30.00 per hour in 2028 in stepped increases beginning in 2025.

Known as the “Olympic Wage” ordinance because of the final stepped increase in 2028, the ordinance was suspended in view of a referendum attempt filed by business interests in the airline and hotel sectors. The filing failed due to the lack of sufficient signatures to put the question on the ballot in June 2026 and the ordinance became effective on 8 September.

However, in July, another initiative petition was filed, to repeal the City’s Business Tax, which was projected to collect $805 million for the City for the 2026 fiscal year, and the loss of which would be devastating to City finances and cause a drastic reduction in services … which would also impact the planning and support operations for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

That petition was certified for circulation on 22 October and signature collection could begin.

The threat of losing the business tax revenue concerns City officials and apparently in response to the possible inclusion of the question on a future ballot, a motion was made on Friday (5th) by L.A. City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson to stretch out the minimum wage increases to 2030:

● $24.00 per hour on 1 July 2026 (vs. $25.00 in the current ordinance)
● $25.00 per hour on 1 July 2027 (vs. $27.50)
● $27.50 per hour on 1 July 2028 (vs. $30.00)
● $29.00 per hour on 1 July 2029
● $30.00 per hour on 1 July 2030

A further change in the ordinance concerning exempting “commercial restaurant lessees” in hotels and at the airport, along with the Hollywood and Westwood Village areas is also to be undertaken.

The motion was assigned to the Council’s Economic Development and Jobs committee and the Trade, Travel and Tourism committee

The reply from labor, notably the UNITE HERE Local 11 union, the L.A. County Federation of Labor and others was predictable fury. A statement issued later on Friday included:

● “The disappointing move to do this comes on the heels of Delta and the American Hotel and Lodging Association’s blackmail of the city to amend the Olympic wage law or face a referendum to repeal the gross receipts tax that would take $742 million out of the General Fund annually- effectively, the equivalent of defunding the fire department. The referendum has been approved to circulate.”

● “[A]fter failing in their attempt to overturn the Olympic Wage in an unsuccessful nearly-$3 million bid to qualify a referendum this summer, the tourism industry is now trying to extort City Council into gutting the policy. This coalition strongly opposes this effort.”

Kurt Petersen, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11, added:

“Anyone who supports this move to gut the wages and undermine the ability for working families to stay healthy and housed is siding with billionaires over the people of this city. Tourism workers are the backbone of this city’s thriving tourism economy and asking them to wait longer for what they have already won means they will have less money to house and feed their families.”

Supporters of the labor position sent 21 identical messages to the L.A. City Clerk criticizing the motion.

The motion is now starting its journey through the Los Angeles political process, with the committee hearings to come first.

The LA28 organizers are simply bystanders in this fight between business and labor, but there are calls for a possible national strike on 1 May 2028 dealing with general labor issues and not about the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

But the Olympic and Paralympic organizers will be impacted if labor unrest reaches into the summer, with the Olympic Games starting on 14 July 2028.

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PANORAMA: Four from U.S. Congress ask WADA on whistleblower search; Jefferson-Wooden, Benjamin in USATF honors; Netflix gets Euro Olympic rights

By
Rich Perelman
-
A world title in Tokyo for American 400 m hurdler Rai Benjamin (Photo: Dan Vernon for World Athletics).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● The LA28 organizers kicked off their community volunteer effort on International Volunteer Day on Friday with a clean-up of the Venice Beach area that will be the start for the 2028 marathons and triathlon.

The effort was coordinated with Heal The Bay, a long-time advocate for beach health and water safety. Said LA28 chief executive Reynold Hoover:

“Today’s beach cleanup is the beginning of a multi-year volunteer initiative in honor of the 2028 Games that will uplift Los Angeles and engage people across our region in meaningful, service-driven moments.”

● Olympic Games: Television ● Friday’s announcement of the purchase of Warner Bros.-Discovery by Netflix for $72.0 billion in equity and an “enterprise value” of $82.7 billion means that the streaming service will also acquire Olympic television rights.

Warner Bros.-Discovery’s Sports Europe unit holds the streaming rights for the 2026-32 Olympic and Olympic Winter Games, with the European Broadcasting Union holding the over-the-air and cable rights.

● World Anti-Doping Agency ● Three days after International Olympic Committee chief Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) asked for unity in the anti-doping community, The Associated Press reported on a letter sent by four members of the U.S. Congress asking about the agency’s efforts to find whistleblowers concerning the mass-positives incident of Chinese swimmers in January 2021, that surfaced in news reports in 2024.

“While WADA claims that their motivations are innocent, it appears this investigation’s intent is to intimidate and suppress whistleblowers. If these allegations are accurate, WADA is not defending clean sport but is continuing to defend a cover-up.”

The letter was send by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) and Chris van Hollen (D-Maryland) and Reps. John Moolenaar (R-Michigan) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois) in a bi-partisan moment. Blackburn’s Senate Sub-Committee on Consumer Protection, Technology and Data Privacy held a hearing on 17 June 2025 titled “WADA Shame: Swimming in Denial over Chinese Doping.”

WADA spokesman James Fitzgerald (IRL) told the AP:

“I can state that WADA I&I is not chasing whistleblowers but rather it is seeking to find out how the leak happened and what was the real motivation behind it. … Politically motivated allegations of a cover-up were made without evidence and have ultimately been proven to be entirely false.”

● Athletics ● USA Track & Field revealed its annual award winners for 2025, with triple World Champion sprinter Melissa Jefferson-Wooden honored with the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award for best female athlete and Rai Benjamin receiving the Jesse Owens Award for the top male.

Jefferson-Wooden dominated the sprints, winning the Worlds gold in the 100 m, 200 m and as a member of the American 4×100 m relay. Benjamin, the Paris Olympic gold medalist in the 400 m hurdles, won the Worlds gold in Tokyo and earned a silver on the anchor of the men’s 4×400 m relay.

Dennis Mitchell, the 1992 Barcelona Olympic men’s 100 m bronze winner, was selected as Coach of the Year. He was not only Jefferson-Wooden’s coach, but he was also the coach of all four of the U.S. women’s 4×100 relay gold medalists: Jefferson-Wooden, TeeTee Terry, Kayla White and Sha’Carri Richardson. He also coached 200 m medalist Kenny Bednarek and 4×100 m relay winners Christian Coleman and Courtney Lindsey.

Prep 800 m sensation Cooper Lutkenhaus was named the Youth Athlete of the Year for his amazing 1:42.27 under-18 world record in his second-place finish at the USATF Nationals.

The Para Athletes of the Year were Jadyn Blackwell (T38 100 and 400 m World Champion) and Annie Carey, the T44 women’s long jump world-record setter and gold medalist in the women’s T44 200 m.

● Shooting ● U.S. Skeet stars Vincent Hancock and Sam Simonton were selected as the ISSF Athletes of the Year in Shotgun at the year-end awards presented on Friday in Qatar ahead of the ISSF World Cup Final.

The Norwegian pair of Jon-Hermann Hegg and Jeanette Hegg Duestad won for the men’s and women’s Rifle athletes of the year and China’s Kai Hu and Yujie Sun won the Pistol athletes of the year awards.

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LOS ANGELES 2028: LA28 says it has reached $2 billion in sponsorships; new study says 2028 Games will offer $13.6 billion-plus economic impact

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ LA28 AND MONEY ≡

“[W]e estimate that the LA28 Games will generate between $13.6 and $17.6 billion in additional gross domestic product (GDP) for the six-county SCAG region.”

That’s the bottom line from a new study from the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) on the economic impact from the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles over the 2024-29 period.

The SCAG region includes the counties of Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura, and the three authors noted that the LA28 approach, with no new permanent venues to be built, what the study calls a “low-liability approach.” And the report notes that most of the money spent and generated by the Games will remain at home:

“This analysis shows that the LA28 Games’ local spend requirement appears poised to keep much of the economic impact within the region. While 37 of 41 venues are in Los Angeles County, 33 percent of the expected impact is in the region’s other five counties. The economic impact outside the SCAG region is comparatively small.”

The estimated projected impacts of the 2028 Games in brief:

● $13.62 to $17.63 billion in the Southern California six-county region
● $14.17 to $18.34 billion in California
● $8.96 to $11.97 billion in Los Angeles County (63.2 to 67.9%)
● $2.44 to $2.88 billion in Orange County
● $1.00 to $1.32 billion in Riverside County
● $0.81 to $0.99 billion in San Bernardino County
● $0.40 to $0.46 billion in Ventura County
● $0.01 billion in Imperial County

Now, where does the money come from?

● “1. Direct Effects: New spending injected into the region’s economy. This includes the $7.15 billion privately funded operating budget of the LA28 Committee, between $1.89 billion and $2.37 billion in estimate spending by visitors, media, and sponsors, and between $1.25 billion and $4.63 billion in transportation infrastructure investment attributable to the LA28 Games, to develop a low and high scenario.”

● “2. Indirect Effects: The ‘business-to-business,’ or supply chain activity. As businesses in hospitality, event services, construction, logistics, and others receive direct spending, they, in turn, purchase goods and services from other local suppliers, creating a ripple effect.”

● “3. Induced Effects: The household spending that results from new labor income. The wages and salaries paid to employees hired for both direct and indirect activities are spent on local housing, food, and services, generating further economic activity.”

The figures for the LA28 budget are set and the estimate for visitor spending has a 25% spread, but the transportation figure, with a variance of up to 3.7x is obviously questionable. To the extent that the lowest figure is used, it more likely reflects spending on programming which is actually related to the 2028 Games and not to permanent infrastructure being built for decades to come.

Using the lower scenario (reflecting lower transport spending), the economic impact on the region will be felt mostly in 2028:

● $1.59 billion impact in 2024 and prior
● $1.49 billion impact in 2025
● $1.32 billion impact in 2026
● $1.05 billion impact in 2027
● $8.68 billion impact in 2028
● –$0.50 billion impact in 2029

The impact of the 2028 Games will be sizable, but not overwhelming in any way. By contrast, the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation estimated the Gross County Product for 2024 in Los Angeles County alone at $802.0 billion. That makes the LA28 impact in 2028 alone a little over 1% of the total, assuming 2% growth over the next few years.

A lot of money, but a small part of the overall picture for an economic giant like Los Angeles County.

The report noted that the outlook for LA28 and the Games is, if all goes to plan, bright:

“The ‘no-build’ plan makes the LA28 Games the most sustainable in the modern era, eliminating the carbon footprint and material waste of major construction, while reducing the fiscal liability on the region’s taxpayers. If LA28 can deliver on its promises, it will create a blueprint for a more sustainable, responsible, and socially conscious approach to hosting the world’s premier sporting event.”

Following along with the report’s sunny outlook, LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman confirmed that the organizing committee had hit its $2 billion goal in domestic sponsorship agreements for the end of 2025:

“Surpassing $2 billion in sponsorship more than two-and-a-half years before the LA28 Games arrive is confirmation of our strong position and progress toward delivering a fiscally responsible yet epic event.”

The LA28 budget has $2.517 billion shown for domestic sponsor sales, and after a slow start that included the Covid-19 pandemic, things sped up in 2025, with projections of $2 billion by the end of the year predicted back in February 2025.

U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Properties head John Slusher, who heads the sales effort for the joint venture between LA28 and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, told Bloomberg that at least two more “big names” would be joining as sponsors at levels of $100 million or more in 2026.

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FOOTBALL: FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw has Trump, Sheinbaum and Carney picking their countries; Trump gets FIFA Peace Prize

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ 2026 FINAL DRAW ≡

The FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw took place Friday at the Kennedy Center in a snowy Washington, D.C., with about 2,000 people watching a series of live performances and videos that finally led to the distribution of the teams into groups for the tournament that will begin next June (with current FIFA World Ranking).

FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI) came on for a third time at the 45-minute mark and introduced a surprise group of draw assistants in U.S. President Donald Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, to make the first selections.

Canada was selected to be in Group B, then Sheinbaum picked Mexico, assigned to Group A and then Trump for the U.S., in Group A. The rest of the selections followed another musical interlude but finally got started 87 minutes into the show and included (with current FIFA World Ranking):

● Group A:
15. Mexico ~ host
22. South Korea
61. South Africa
European Play-Off D winner

● Group B:
27. Canada ~ host
17 Switzerland
51. Qatar
European Play-Off A winner

● Group C:
5. Brazil
11. Morocco
36. Scotland
84. Haiti

● Group D:
14. United States ~ host
26. Australia
39. Paraguay
European Play-Off C winner

● Group E:
9. Germany
23. Ecuador
42. Cote d’Ivoire
82. Curacao

● Group F:
7. Netherlands
18. Japan
40. Tunisia
European Play-Off B winner

● Group G:
8. Belgium
20. Iran
34. Egypt
86. New Zealand

● Group H:
1. Spain
16.Uruguay
60. Saudi Arabia
68. Capo Verde

● Group I:
3. France
19. Senegal
29. Norway
FIFA Play-Off 2 winner

● Group J:
2. Argentina
24. Austria
35. Algeria
66. Jordan

● Group K:
6. Portugal
13. Colombia
50. Uzbekistan
FIFA Play-Off 1 winner

● Group L:
4. England
10. Croatia
30. Panama
72. Ghana

The assignments of matches to venues and starting times will be announced in another program, coming Saturday at noon Eastern time. Mexico will meet South Africa in the opener in Mexico City on 11 June and the U.S. will meet Paraguay – which it defeated by 2-1 in November – in Inglewood, California on 12 June.

A half-hour into the program, the first FIFA Peace Prize was awarded, as expected, to U.S. President Trump, citing his work in international conflicts, in an administration “marked by actions to pursue peace around the world.”

A massive trophy was awarded, along with a medal which Infantino presented to Trump on stage. Trump put the medal on himself and Infantino read the award certificate. Trump gave short remarks, focused mostly on his efforts to try and settle international difficulties.

The show was hosted by Heidi Klum and Kevin Hart, with interviews by Danny Sanchez with former English star Rio Ferdinand and Samantha Johnson (GBR) hosting the actual draw. The show finished with the Village People singing their 1978 hit, “YMCA”

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PANORAMA: Olympic Flame arrives in Italy; Ralph Lauren intros U.S. ceremony uniforms; FIFA World Cup 2026 Draw comes Friday

By
Rich Perelman
-
The Milan Cortina 2026 awards ceremonies staff uniforms (Photo: Milan Cortina 2026).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● The Olympic Flame for the 2026 Winter Games was handed to the Italian organizers on Thursday at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens (GRE).

The Flame moved on to Rome by air – in a lantern! – on Thursday night, and will be formally welcomed in a ceremony in the Piazza del Quirnale on Friday (5th) before the Torch Relay begins its 63-day odyssey on the 6th. The Winter Games will open on 6 February 2026 in Milan.

The Milan Cortina 2026 organizers introduced the uniforms for its award ceremonies crews, which it noted “are intentionally unbranded, ensuring that the spotlight remains exclusively on the athletes and their achievements.”

The design of the Victory Ceremony Uniforms came from a competition among three fashion design schools – IUAV Venezia, Istituto Marangoni di Milano, and Accademia di Brera – with the design from Accademia di Brera selected for “best capturing the vibrant, dynamic, and contemporary Italian spirit that characterizes the Games.”

Ralph Lauren unveiled the opening and closing ceremony uniforms for the U.S. team for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games on Thursday. It’s the 10th straight Games for which Ralph Lauren has outfitted the American team; according to the announcement:

● “The Opening Ceremony uniform features a statement winter-white wool coat with heritage-inspired wooden toggles, an iconic American flag intarsia wool turtleneck sweater and tailored wool trousers.”

● “The Closing Ceremony uniform draws inspiration from vintage ski racing kits, featuring a sporty and modern color-blocked puffer jacket with bold Team USA graphics and a wool turtleneck sweater in a patriotic color palette, paired with a crisp white utility pant.”

● “Both looks are completed with red, white and blue intarsia knit hats and mittens, a leather belt and brown suede alpine boots with spirited red laces. Each item in the uniforms is proudly manufactured in the United States.”

Ralph Lauren is also debuting its Team USA Collection for public purchase, which includes a wider selection of items with a sporting flair using the “red, white and blue palette.”

● International Olympic Committee ● The IOC announced the appointment of five new members of the IOC Athletes’ Commission: Soraya Aghaei Haji Agha (IRI, badminton), Husein Alireza (KSA, rowing), Cheick Sallah Cisse (CIV, taekwondo), Olufunke Oshonaike (NGR, table tennis) and Mariana Pajon (COL, cycling). According to the IOC, the Commission now includes “23 members from all continents (including a member from the Refugee Olympic Team), 13 women and 10 men, representing 15 summer sports and 5 winter sports.”

Eleven candidates are standing for two positions to be elected by athletes attending the Milan Cortina Winter Games.

● Alpine Skiing ● Swiss Olympic and World Downhill champion Corinne Suter, 31, suffered a training crash in St. Moritz on Wednesday with injuries to her left calf, left knee and her right foot.

The Swiss skiing federation said she will not require surgery, but will be out for about a month. The women’s Downhill at the Milan Cortina Winter Games is on 8 February.

● Athletics ● The Athletics Integrity Unit reported a six-year ban for previously-suspended Kenyan distance runner Sheila Chelangat for use of Erythropoietin (EPO) from a 15 September 2024 positive and a follow-up positive on 25 March 2025.

The two positives in a short time period were the grounds for extending the normal four-year ban to six years. Chelangat was a Tokyo Olympian in the 10,000 m and has bests of 31:10.27 for 10,000 m on the track (2021) and a Half Marathon best of 1:06:06 (2024).

● Flying Disc ● The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) suffered a loss with the passing of Secretary General Volker Bernardi (GER) last August, but has announced the highly-experienced Jonathan Rigby (GBR) as his successor, beginning on 1 February 2026.

The WFDF is already involved with the Brisbane 2032 organizers to introduce the “Beach 4×4″ event as part of the Olympic program. The recent WFDF World Beach Ultimate Championships in Portimao (POR) attracted a remarkable 2,600 athletes from 38 countries!

● Football ● If you’re interested, the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw will take place Friday (5th) in Washington, D.C. beginning at noon Eastern time and broadcast in the U.S. on FOX.

The show is slated to run two hours and will have the usual added entertainment elements, plus the award of the new “FIFA Peace Prize” in addition to the announcement of who will play who in each of the 12 group-stage pools.

Of the 48 teams to play, 42 have qualified and the remainder will come from play-off tournaments.

The Associated Press reported on two State Department cables which advise “visa applications for businesspeople considering ‘significant investments’ in the United States should be at the top of the list for consideration along with applications from those wanting to travel ‘for major sporting events which showcase American excellence.’”

The story relates that State Department posts “‘should ensure sufficient appointment capacity to accommodate spectators and other fans traveling for events surrounding the [World Cup] tournament,’ said one of the two cables sent Tuesday. ‘These should take priority over all other B1/B2 applications, except those related to American re-industrialization.’”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously stated that 400 consular officers have been added to help with visas and that visa appointments are available within 60 days for about 80% of countries worldwide.

Merchandise giant Fanatics announced it has been selected as the “official on-site retail licensee” for the 2026 FIFA World Cup across all 104 tournament matches, and “[i]n addition to in-venue retail, Fanatics will also build out bespoke retail experiences at official FIFA Fan Festival locations within host cities.”

The Fanatics statement noted that it will coordinate its product offers with outside partners:

“Fanatics will work with a variety of world-class brands and official FIFA merchandise partners to curate a robust fan gear assortment for all nations. The company will utilize its on-demand manufacturing capabilities and global supply chain – including local market operations throughout Canada, Mexico and the U.S. – to produce quick-strike products that celebrate unpredictable moments that regularly arise during the tournament.”

The appointment of Fanatics follows its role as retail licensee at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

● Mixed Martial Arts ● Kerrith Brown (GBR), the President of the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) ripped into the newly-formed Federation of International Mixed Martial Arts (FIMMA) as a usurper, trying to take over the promotion of MMA into the Olympic program. Brown posted a statement on Thursday which included:

“This is not a press release.

“This is thirteen years of real work by athletes, coaches, officials, and national federations who trusted IMMAF to grow the sport the right way.

“Recent announcements from newly created organisations do not change these facts.

“Mixed Martial Arts cannot be reinvented in a press conference.

“It cannot be redefined on a mat to suit political convenience.

“And it cannot bypass the established governance framework of SportAccord, GAISF, and the Olympic Movement.”

He added, “The MMA community knows who has done the real work over the past decade.”

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LOS ANGELES 2028: L.A. Metro Transit Authority OKs $10 million for community events for 2026 FIFA World Cup, 2028 Games; ‘28 water taxi idea advances

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ METRO BOARD MEETING ≡

The Thursday morning meeting of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors was dominated by more than two hours of yelling, screaming and complaints about a long-running proposal to build a “gondola” from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles to Dodger Stadium, hotly opposed by the community close to the project and the Los Angeles City Council.

Despite the protests, the item concerning the project was approved as part of a package of items for which public comment had already been heard.

There were other items on the agenda, including three which relate, at least in part, to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.

(1) The Board approved, on a 10-0 voice vote, an allocation of $10 million for “Open and Slow Streets” events – programs which eliminate or greatly restrict private auto traffic on designated streets – for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This concept has been in place since 2014, the sixth (for 2026) and seventh (2028) editions of the program were up for funding specific to the FIFA World Cup or the 2028 Games:

● The events “[m]ust celebrate the 2026 FIFA World Cup or the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games” and “must include arts, culture, or recreation connections.”

● A total of 49 applications were received, requesting $18.5 million in total.

● Funding was recommended for 29 events, with six first-time awardees. The remaining 16 eligible events were placed on a waitlist if future funding becomes available; there were four ineligible submissions.

● Of the 29 which received funding, 28 were granted from $70,000 to $500,000, with one approved for $1.033 million, in the Figueroa Street area in downtown Los Angeles, with multiple venues along the route.

● The 2026 FIFA World Cup sites (13): Bell, Inglewood, Long Beach, Los Angeles (3), Los Angeles County (2), Pasadena, Pico Rivera, Santa Monica, Torrance, and West Hollywood.

● The 2028 Games sites include 16 in all, with 14 for the Olympic Games in Long Beach, Los Angeles (4), Pasadena, Pico Rivera, Pomona, Santa Monica, Santa Clarita, Torrance and three in Los Angeles County, serving multiple communities, plus a Paralympic Games-only program in Los Angeles and a program for both Games in Inglewood.

No funding for events in 2027 is planned; only 2026 and 2028.

(2) A concept for a water taxi from San Pedro to Long Beach during the Games was reviewed, after a report showed that the project was feasible, but with unsure funding and ride times that could be twice as long as using an existing bus line.

Metro Board member Janice Hahn, a longtime representative of the San Pedro area as an L.A. City Council member, Congressional Representative and now a Los Angeles County Supervisor since 2016, asked for the feasibility study and enthusiastically promoted the concept. It requires no funding yet, but could cost up to $1.344 million to operate per the study.

The motion was to have the Metro staff “[d]evelop and issue an industry engagement process (i.e. reverse pitch) to identify private and public operator interest, capabilities, and partnership opportunities to deliver a water-taxi service between San Pedro and Long Beach during the 2028 Games” and was approved by a 10-0 vote.

Whether it actually comes to fruition is in the future; a report back is due in six months.

(3) Metro’s government relations team also noted a continuing pitch for Federal funding for Metro costs for its planned 2028 transportation program of $3.2 billion. The updated description of the 2026 effort included:
.
“In coordination with key stakeholders, Metro will continue to work with officials in the White House, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and Congress to promote and advance the opportunity for the federal government to fund the many mobility enhancing projects being built and being planned across Los Angeles County by our agency and our local, regional and state partners.

“Specifically, Metro is seeking to have funds for a range of mobility projects and transit services directly related to the Games included in the President’s Fiscal Year 2027 Budget.”

Both the Biden and Trump Administrations have rejected any large-scale funding for Metro related to the 2028 Games so far.

In the State government report, it was confirmed that Assembly Bill 1237 for a $5 surcharge to support Metro on tickets sold for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, introduced by Tina McKinnor (D-Los Angeles County), is dead.

McKinnor has agreed to try for a new bill related to the 2028 Games to try and get a ticket surcharge added. Time is short already: the LA28 organizers have indicated that it will begin ticket sales as early as April of 2026.

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ANTI-DOPING: IOC chief Coventry asks for unity in the anti-doping community to fight cheating, but is not intervening

By
Rich Perelman
-
International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) addressing the World Conference on Doping in Sport in Busan (KOR) (Photo: WADA).

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≡ IOC AT THE WORLD CONFERENCE ≡

International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) made an impassioned plea against doping in her address on Tuesday (2nd) to the sixth World Conference on Doping Sport in Busan (KOR).

She also asked the warring factions in the anti-doping community to work together in the future.

First, the anti-doping effort, which Coventry noted has to go beyond just the athletes themselves:

“We all know that athletes are not always the only ones responsible when doping occurs. Too often, they are pressured or enabled by those around them – coaches, doctors, agents, or officials. This is not just an issue of fairness; it is about the health, safety, and wellbeing of athletes. Sometimes, it is a matter of life and death.

“We must encourage athletes who have been pressured into doping to come forward – to show courage by speaking out and helping us expose those who exploit them. This is how we protect others from suffering the same fate.

“We need zero tolerance for anyone who enables doping. Take the example of a doctor found complicit in a doping case: as things stand, the only action we can take is to send that doctor home from the Games and exclude them from future editions. But when that person goes back home, they can simply continue their nefarious work without consequence.

“That cannot be acceptable. It sends the wrong message – to athletes, to parents, and to society. This is why we need the support of governments. Only public authorities have the power to take real, deterrent action – to ensure that anyone who betrays the health and trust of athletes faces serious consequences.”

But she transitioned into the conflicts within the anti-doping community:

“We all share the same responsibility: to build an environment where athletes can trust that they can compete safely and fairly. And that can only happen when we act together, as one team – as one global community.

“But we have to be honest with ourselves: this unity has not always been there in recent years.

“Too often, we’ve seen energy spent on division, finger-pointing, and competing agendas. It has been difficult to watch this divide within our community. There is only one fight that we should be fighting – and that is the fight against doping. But instead, at times, we have been turning on each other. The only people who benefit from this disunity are the drugs cheaters.

“For the sake of the athletes, we need to move past that.”

She continued with her plea for peace inside the anti-doping community, but offered no specific path forward:

“Every single person in this room cares passionately about protecting clean sport. Of course, we will disagree at times, but those differences must never get in the way of our vital objectives.

“If we truly want to be one global anti-doping community that athletes can trust, we have to put our differences aside and pull in the same direction. It’s too easy to point out what others are not doing well enough. The real challenge – the real opportunity – is to be honest about our own weaknesses, to lift each other up, to learn from the past, and to work together as one united team – for the athletes who depend on us to protect them, to protect their right to clean competition.

“We share the same purpose: to protect athletes, to uphold our values, but more importantly to ensure that the next generation continues to believe in sport. What matters is that we keep talking, listening, and challenging each other with mutual respect – always remembering that the next generation of athletes is watching us and holding us accountable.

“So if I have one main request this evening, it is: let’s promise to focus our energy on what truly matters. Let’s put the athletes first, let’s work as one global team, and make sure that our actions match our words.”

The World Anti-Doping Agency has been under pressure since German and American media reports in 2024 surfaced a January 2021 mass-positives incident in China in which 23 star swimmers tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, but were not sanctioned by the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency, which claimed the positives resulted from contaminated food. WADA did not investigate the matter on its own and accepted the CHINADA explanation.

WADA later commissioned a report which concluded that the agency showed no bias toward China, but continuing criticism – led by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency – has been leveled at WADA for not pursuing the case more aggressively and for not following its own rules on provisional suspensions and sanctions.

In response, the U.S. Congress has held hearings on the matter and the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy has withheld dues of $3.625 million for 2024 and no indication has been made that 2025 dues have been paid either.

Observed: The IOC certainly could intercede if it desires; it contributes approximately 50% of WADA’s annual budget. But Coventry did not promise to intervene and the positions of the two sides has not changed in months, and shows little promise of movement unless more direct actions are taken by either side, or an outside force, which will apparently not – for now anyway – be the IOC.

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ATHLETICS: USA Track & Field reply on Board actions: “not taken lightly … the board had no choice but to act in the best interest of the organization”

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ USATF REPLIES ≡

Late Wednesday, USA Track & Field provided a statement, following The Sports Examiner story posted Tuesday on turmoil within the USATF Board of Directors.

The statement is presented below as received and in full:

Earlier this week, communications between the USATF National Office and three suspended members of USATF were published on a sports website. The letters were accompanied by interpretations and commentary from the involved parties. While USATF does not believe in discussing personal business matters in the public forum, we do believe in facts and transparency.

At a board meeting on November 24, 2025, USATF’s Board of Directors voted to instruct CEO Max Siegel to suspend the memberships of Mike Conley and Kristie Killough-Ali under Regulation 21, Paragraph T of USATF’s bylaws. This regulation grants specific authority to the CEO to intervene in urgent situations involving USATF members or entities. In this case, the board provided the authorization to “protect USATF’s material commercial interests”.

The actions came after outside counsel representing USATF in a defamation lawsuit brought forth by Jim Estes advised the board that Conley and Killough-Ali are likely to be critical witnesses in the case and their positions may be adverse to USATF’s interest in the litigation. Prior to their suspension, both Conley and Killough-Ali were asked to voluntarily resign from their positions within the organization. However, both declined to do so. Killough-Ali has requested a hearing with the board and it will be held this month.

At the same board meeting, the board voted to suspend the membership of Jeré Summers-Hall, also under Regulation 21, Paragraph T of USATF’s bylaws and falling under the category of “protecting athletes or other members from the risk of harm.” This suspension is the result of serious concerns raised by athletes – including multiple Olympic medalists – regarding Summers-Hall’s treatment of athletes, volunteers and the national office staff. The athlete voice is paramount in the governance matters of USATF. Thus, it is imperative that the athlete representative displays and commands civility and respect. Summers-Hall will also have a hearing with the Board of Directors.

These steps were not taken lightly nor without exhaustive efforts to avoid them. However, following failed attempts to intervene, the board had no choice but to act in the best interest of the organization. These decisions were made in near unanimity by a board of directors that, while diverse in their perspectives, remains laser-focused on the business of running a national governing body and putting athletes first.

The story of these unfortunate matters will be dictated by the due process afforded to all parties involved. As such, USATF will not be issuing further statements or sharing further information while the cases move forward.

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PANORAMA: Brisbane ‘32 introduces Games “vision”; long jump take-off zone idea abandoned; MMA now has three competing federations!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Upper section – with the hidden scene – from the LEGO Editions FIFA World Cup Official Trophy Set (Photo: LEGO).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2032: Brisbane ● “Believe. Belong. Become. Brisbane 2032”

That is the “vision” for the 2032 Olympic Games, announced Wednesday after a long consultation with more than 6,000 in Australia, including about 3,000 from the State of Queensland, where the Games will take place. The “core beliefs” encapsulated in the vision:

“● Believe – belief in the power of sport and the Australian spirit, which together unlock limitless potential, grit and heart to go further than ever imagined.

“● Belong – a vision in which everyone is welcome at the Games, with every person celebrated, creating a playing field that is fair and fun.

“● Become – a moment of opportunity for Brisbane, Queensland and Australia, harnessing the magic of the Games to become stronger and move into an exciting new era.”

The Brisbane 2032 Games are scheduled from 23 July to 8 August 2032, with the Paralympic Games from 24 August to 5 September.

● Olympic Winter Games: French Alps 2030 ● The International Olympic Committee Coordination Commission for the 2030 Winter Games got a good look this week at the existing sites that will be the backbone of the Games, this time in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

The commission visited the well-known venues at Val-d’Isere (alpine skiing), La Plagne (bob-luge-skeleton), Courchevel (alpine skiing-ski jumping), La Clusaz (cross country skiing) and Le Grand-Bornand (biathlon), with commission head Pierre-Olivier Beckers (BEL) explaining:

“Here in the French Alps we are talking about an exemplary project, relying extensively on existing infrastructure. This responsible approach fully aligns with the ambitions, realities and challenges of the host territories. It demonstrates the collective will to design great Games that are sustainable, financially responsible and respectful of their environment.”

● Anti-Doping ● The Associated Press reported on the use of peptides – strings of amino acids that are the components of proteins and can help regulate body processes – as widely-available substances that are fairly easy to acquire and hard to detect:

“Though some peptides — insulin and the newly popular weight-loss dynamo GLP-1 are among the best examples — are time-tested, perfectly legal (with a prescription) and effective, other substances in the category are not legally marketable, either as supplements or prescription or over-the-counter drugs.”

The World Anti-Doping Agency is well aware of the issue and has been working through national and regional anti-doping organizations to stay ahead where possible. But it is a growing challenge.

● Aquatics ● World Aquatics said that it paid prize money of $10.13 million in 2015, with almost half going to swimmers:

● $4.38 million: Swimming
● $1.99 million: Diving
● $1.53 million: Water Polo
● $1.01 million: Artistic Swimming
● $916,000: Open Water Swimming
● $214,000: High Diving

Of the $10.13 million total, $6,000,300 was paid as prize money at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.

● Athletics ● Britain’s The Guardian reported that the World Athletics experiment with a “take-off zone” for the long jump has been ended.

Sean Ingle reported that the idea met with “widespread hostility from athletes” and was closed, with federation chief executive Jon Ridgeon (GBR) explaining:

“The reality is the athletes do not want to embrace it. So we’re not going to do it. You ultimately don’t go to war with your most important group of people.

“Even though I would argue we identified a problem, and found a viable solution, if the athletes don’t want it, fine, we drop it. But I don’t regret looking at that. I think that’s our job as the governing body.”

● Football ● Announcing a tie-in with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, “the LEGO Group will unveil a special product portfolio celebrating football’s biggest stage – with the first product announced, the iconic FIFA World Cup Official Trophy, in collaboration with FIFA.

“Launching in March 2026, this first-ever, official 1:1 detailed replica of world football’s ultimate prize allows fans to bring home a golden piece of the tournament’s magic and display their passion for football ahead of next summer’s biggest global sporting event. The impressive trophy, made of 2,842 LEGO pieces, includes a hidden scene which can be opened via a pullable slip in the upper globe section.”

The trophy kit – measuring 14 1/2 inches tall – will retail for $199.99.

Reversing its announced boycott of Friday’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw in Washington, D.C., Iran said it would attend with coach Amir Ghalenoei and head of international relations Omid Jamali.

UEFA announced that its Women’s Euro 2029 championship tournament will be held in Germany, in eight cities, chosen over Poland and a joint bid from Denmark and Sweden.

This will be the 15th edition and the third time for Germany as host: first as West Germany in 1989 and then in 2001. In both tournaments, the Germans were the winners!

● Handball ● The Belarusian Handball Federation said that the International Handball Federation will bring Russia and Belarus back into international competitions in 2026. IHF President Hassan Moustafa (EGY) was quoted:

“As the IHF plans to reintegrate the Russian and Belarusian national teams into IHF events starting in 2026, we highly appreciate your patience and cooperation as we work through the final stages of this reintegration.”

Russian and Belarusian teams have been kept out of international competitions per the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee since the Ukraine invasion began in 2022.

● Mixed Martial Arts ● The Federation of International Mixed Martial Arts (FIMMA) held its founding meeting in Athens (GRE) on Wednesday (3rd) with “[r]epresentatives from close to 50 countries and regions worldwide” assembling “to endorse a clear, united path forward for the sport and to support FIMMA’s ambition of securing MMA’s place at the Olympic Games.”

The new federation is being driven by Singapore-based development billionaire Gordon Tang, the head of the Asian Mixed Martial Arts Association, who worked to place the sport on the program of the 2026 Asian Games. According to the announcement, advances are being made for inclusion on regional Games in Africa, the Caribbean and Europe.

The already-established International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF), founded in 2012, is understandably unsupportive of the formation of another MMA federation, now the third with the Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts (GAMMA), founded in 2017 in Italy.

In an interview with FrancsJeux.com, IMMAF Board member Bertrand Assoumou (FRA) commented:

“You can’t just show up and say you’re creating an international federation and that you’ll be at the Olympics. There are steps, protocols. I have the impression they’re reinventing the sport: MMA is practiced in a closed arena, which was actually one of our battles when we campaigned for the legalization of MMA in France. It’s not done on a mat or in a boxing ring, but in a cage or a closed ring because it’s a striking and grappling sport. …

“I’m not saying they don’t have the right to exist, but to become an international federation, there’s a process before reaching the Olympic Games. It’s possible that some people have connections with others. MMA doesn’t belong to anyone. However, the fact that federations keep being created isn’t very reassuring; there’s no stability. Some people were with us, then with GAMMA, and now with FIMMA. …

“Ideally, everyone would come together, but that’s not possible. It’s politics; there are always people who want to create their own thing. Someone who truly wants to develop the sport should go where they have the best chance of realizing its potential. That’s not FIMMA, nor GAMMA, it’s IMMAF. If we want to move forward, we need stability. If you believe in a structure, you try to develop it while ignoring ego battles.”

● Shooting ● The U.S. has two finalists for the International Shooting Sport Federation’s athlete of the year in women’s Shotgun in Sam Simonton and Dania Jo Vizzi.

Simonton won the World Championship gold in Skeet, while Vizzi, the 2017 World Champion, won three World Cup medals during the shotgun season. The winners will be announced on Friday.

● Wrestling ● USA Wrestling’s “Living the Dream Medal Fund” awarded $270,000 to eight American wrestlers who won UWW Worlds medals in 2025, including $50,000 prizes to champions Helen Maroulis, Zahid Valencia, Trent Hidlay and Kyle Snyder, $25,000 to silver medalist Levi Haines and $15,000 to bronze winners, Real Woods, Kennedy Blades and Kylie Welker.

The fund is supported by 21 Stewards and since its formation in 2009, has awarded a total of $6.08 million in direct-to-athlete prizes.

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ATHLETICS: World Athletics approves 2026 schedule for female-category sex tests, to be done at major competitions

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ GENE TESTING EXPANDS ≡

The World Athletics Council, meeting in Monaco, was informed that 1,015 female athletes took the once-in-a-lifetime SRY gene tests prior to and at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo (JPN).

The test was announced late, on 30 July 2025 ahead of the 13-21 Worlds, but with cooperation from many of the larger national federations – including USA Track & Field – tests were completed and results provided successfully.

Going into 2026, the testing-requested schedule was made available and will include:

● World Athletics Series events
● World Athletics Ultimate Championship
● Diamond League meetings
● Marathon Major Platinum events

This is more than two dozen events in all and a program for the 2026 World Athletics U-20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon is also being considered:

“Information on the plans for testing at the World U20 Championships will be developed by the end of March 2026, including detailed information on permission protocols for minors.”

The plan is for this testing protocol and eligibility to be gradually extended to cover almost all international competitions by 2030. The World Athletics competition rule 3.5 covering eligibility now reads:

● “3.5.1 In these Rules, ‘biological male’ means someone with a Y chromosome and ‘biological female’ means someone with no Y chromosome, irrespective of their legal sex and/or gender identity.

● “3.5.2 Only the following Athletes may compete in the female category:

“ a. Biological females.

“ b. Biological females who have used testosterone as part of male gender-affirming treatment further to a Therapeutic Use Exemption granted in accordance with World Athletics’ Anti-Doping Rules may not compete in the female category until the passing of a period of time after their last use of testosterone (the period of time will be not shorter than four years and will be determined by World Athletics on a case-by-case basis taking into consideration all relevant factors including the timing, duration, dosages, and effects of the male gender-affirming treatment).

“c. Biological males who have Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (or another rare disorder of gonadal development) and therefore have not gone through male sexual development including any type of male puberty.

“d. Biological males with a difference of sex development who satisfy the transitional provisions issued by World Athletics.”

For the listed competitions in 2026, “SRY test results will be requested by World Athletics from athletes competing in the female category at the [listed] events during 2026, unless they had a confirmed clear test result at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo.”

This is an important step for World Athletics, not only for its own competitions, but also for the continuing discussions – in which World Athletics is involved – at the International Olympic Committee level, where President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) has a working group developing an approach for “protection of the female category.”

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MILAN CORTINA 2026: Late-finishing Santagiulia ice arena will open for a three-day tournament (and test event) in January

By
Rich Perelman
-
Rendering of the Santa Giulia arena in Milan, by Itinera S.p.A.

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≡ SANTAGIULIA ARENA TO OPEN ≡

“From 9 to 11 January 2026, the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena will be officially inaugurated, hosting the Final Four of the IHL Serie A Championship and the 2025/2026 Italian Cup.”

That’s from a Wednesday announcement that the delayed-in-finishing main ice hockey arena for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games will open for what is in effect a test run with the final of the Italian Cup. Per the statement:

“The January test event will be an important trial ahead of the Games. Seven games are scheduled for a high-adrenaline weekend. The on-ice programme opens on Friday 9 January at 19:00 with the first Italian Cup semifinal. On Saturday 10 January, the second Italian Cup semifinal will take place at 11:00, followed by the two semifinals of the IHL Serie A Final Four at 15:30 and 20:00.

“The grand finale is set for Sunday 11 January with three decisive matches: the IHL bronze medal game at 11:00, followed by the Italian Cup final at 15:30 and the match awarding the 92nd IHL Italian Championship title at 20:00.”

The arena, which is being privately funded and built as a 16,000-seat multi-use arena for the Milan area, was supposed to host the International Ice Hockey Federation’s U-20 Division I-Group B World Championship from 8-14 December.

Because the Santagiulia arena is not ready, that tournament is being played at the smaller Milano Rho ice hockey arena, located in the giant Fiero Milano convention complex, also to be used for the 2026 Winter Games.

There has been continuing concern over the status of the Santagiulia arena from the National Hockey League, with Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly saying in an interview published Wednesday:

“Depends on the percentage you want to place on the possibility the rink doesn’t get completed. If there’s no rink completed, there’s no NHL players going to the Olympics.”

The newest complication came on Monday, when Canadian assistant coach Pete DeBoer told the “Real Kyper & Bourne” radio program:

● “Actually, the ice surface, it looks like it’s going to be smaller than NHL rink standards, by probably three or four feet. I don’t understand how that happened.”

● “I don’t believe it’s a huge difference. But I believe there is a difference, and it’s on the smaller, not the bigger side.”

It was later reported that the Santagiulia ice sheet will be 60 m x 26 m or 196.85 feet long and 85.3 feet wide, a little wider, but shorter than the standard 200 feet for an NHL rink. But quite understandable for a European – metric – rink.

ESPN reported that although the slightly different dimensions were not what was agreed between the IIHF, the NHL and the NHL Players Association, it was not believed to be a safety concern and

“The Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins played games at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden last month for the Global Series in a rink that was also slightly off from NHL dimensions. The NHL’s solution was to move the lines to account for the missing ice area surface in the neutral zone, rather than either offensive zone.”

The Olympic schedule has the women playing from 5-19 February and the men’s tournament from 11-22 February, utilizing both arenas.

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ANTI-DOPING: WADA chief Banka calls for enhanced, worldwide powers for intelligence and investigations team at World Conference

By
Rich Perelman
-
World Anti-Doping Agency President Witold Banka (POL) (Photo: WADA).

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≡ WORLD CONFERENCE ≡

“By 2029, we will establish a global Intelligence & Investigation network spanning all continents. But we must also confront a difficult truth. WADA’s investigators do not have the tools that are available to law enforcement. They cannot seize or access digital devices. They cannot demand the production of evidence.

“They cannot use investigative powers that police rely on every day. This limitation becomes even more critical in countries where doping is not a criminal offense. In those jurisdictions, law enforcement cannot act either.

“This leaves WADA with limited means to investigate even when the need for intervention is clear.

“Despite this, our I&I team delivers results that defy these limitations. Imagine what they could achieve if they had all the tools they need.”

That’s World Anti-Doping Agency President Witold Banka (POL) addressing the sixth World Conference on Doping in Sport in Busan (KOR), with 1,500 delegates and observers at the largest meeting of the anti-doping community and the first since 2019.

Banka then went further:

“This is why I respectfully but firmly call on our stakeholders, including governments, to consider expanding – with appropriate safeguards – the investigative capabilities available to WADA’s I&I Department. Not to punish more athletes. Not to overreach. But to close a gap that criminals exploit, and to enable effective investigations where no other authority has the mandate to act.”

That will be a matter for governments to consider, and the angst created by the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act of 2019 (now 21 USC §2401; signed into law in 2020) that allows the U.S. Department of Justice to exercise extra-territorial jurisdiction over doping cases will not make such an agreement easy.

But Banka is being aggressive. He opened with an appreciation for how far the anti-doping movement has come:

“Last month, WADA turned 26. And in those 26 years, global anti-doping has undergone a transformation that few could have predicted in 1999. What was once a fragmented landscape – with different rules, different laws, different expectations – has become a harmonized system built on shared responsibility between governments and the sport movement. Some people doubted the 50–50 model would last. But it has proven to be durable, effective, and indeed essential for the success of the entire global system.

“We acknowledge the leaders who guided WADA through defining moments – Richard Pound [CAN], the late John Fahey [AUS], and Sir Craig Reedie [GBR]. Their stewardship established the institution and strengthened its credibility.

“When I assumed the presidency in 2020, the consequences of Russia’s institutionalized doping scheme were still unfolding. Operation LIMS – WADA’s investigation into the Moscow Laboratory – exposed the truth, and nearly 300 individuals were ultimately sanctioned. That process reaffirmed a fundamental principle: justice in sport may take time, but it will prevail.”

He also warned that the pressure on the anti-doping world is increasing:

“[T]he reality is that doping is evolving at an unprecedented speed. Designer substances, microdosing strategies, new gene technologies, a rise in contamination cases, and increasingly sophisticated trafficking networks are reshaping the threat landscape. The financial stakes in sport have never been higher. Nor has the sophistication of those who want to cheat.

“If we want to stay ahead, science must move at least as fast as those who seek to undermine fairness. This requires investment. Significant investment. And so today I urge governments, the Olympic Movement, and all partners in clean sport to increase support for anti-doping science.

“Empower our laboratories. Accelerate research. Develop the next generation of detection tools. Without decisive action, we risk falling behind forces that do not share our values.”

And he did not miss an opportunity to bash the doping-friendly Enhanced Games, scheduled for May 2026:

“We also stand united against reckless concepts such as the Enhanced Games, which allows for the unregulated use of performance-enhancing substances — abandoning the very principles that give sport meaning. They are not the future of sport – they are a distortion of it.”

Banka also asked for an added emphasis on education: “Education is not an optional extra. It is a must-have. It is the easiest and most effective way to protect athletes and prevent doping.”

Observed: The WADA President did not mention the continuing fight with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and the U.S. government – among others – on the WADA response to the 2021 Chinese swimming mass-positives incident, or the subsequent and continuing refusal of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy to pay dues.

But he is asking for more tools to fight doping – more legal backing from governments – following up on the remarks of Athletics Integrity Unit head David Howman (NZL) at the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s annual Symposium on Anti-Doping Science in September:

“I suggest we have not reached the ‘ridding’ nirvana, in fact, we are still only catching the dopey dopers and they are getting dopier. Most sophisticated dopers still evade detection.”

So how are Banka and WADA going to get law-enforcement-style permissions? That will a key topic to watch in the future, even if it ends up being a closer cooperation with national or local police powers.

But how would that have helped in the 2021 Chinese swimming mass-positives incident?

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ATHLETICS: USA Track & Field Board at war with itself, suspending two members with the USATF Annual Meeting starting Friday

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

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≡ USATF BOARD TURMOIL ≡

USA Track & Field is experiencing a golden age of performance by American athletes, who won a sensational 34 medals (14 gold) at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and 26 medals (16 gold) at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

Off the field, the federation is navigating significant financial difficulties, ending 2024 with negative net assets of $6.125 million, with $29.730 million in assets and $35.855 million in liabilities.

Now, the USATF Board of Directors is fighting among themselves, dismissing two of its members over the last 10 days:

● Jere Summers-Hall, a shot and hammer All-American at Louisville and now an operations specialist for large digital firms, was elected as the Chair of the USATF Athletes Commission in December 2024.

● Kristie Killough-Ali, a Chicago attorney, was elected as an Independent Director to the USATF Board in 2018 and whose term will expire in 2026.

The USATF Board did not simply vote Summers-Hall and Killough-Ali off of the Board, but suspended their USATF memberships, making them ineligible for them to attend the USATF Annual Meeting taking place at Lake Buena Vista, Florida this coming Friday and Saturday (5-6 December).

This is especially noteworthy in view of the fact that Summers-Hall submitted 45 proposals and sub-proposals for consideration by the Law & Legislation Committee and then by the membership or other governance bodies as a whole, and Killough-Ali submitted eight.

What’s going on here?

Summers-Hall has been, according to multiple close observers, a relentless inquirer about USATF’s financial affairs, budgeting, expenditures and how athletes – including Paralympic athletes, now under USATF governance – can be further supported, and also how Paralympic athletes can be more deeply incorporated into the USATF governance structure.

On 25 November, she was sent a letter – seen by The Sports Examiner – from the USATF Board which referred to an Executive Session on 24 November:

“During this discussion, the athlete representatives on the Board spoke candidly about concerns they and other athletes have raised regarding the direction of the Athlete’s Commission (‘AC’) under your leadership as Chair.

“The Board received detailed reports of several significant concerns. These include, but are not limited to, allegations that you have not fulfilled the duties of your position by failing to work with the AC to ensure all athlete appointments are made to the organization’s committees; that you have exceeded the authority of your position by making certain decisions and appointments without first obtaining the AC’s input; and that you have harassed and berated other athletes and National Office staff. The athlete representatives also reported that the AC has been unable to advance any of its initiatives over the past year due to the disruption caused by these behaviors. They expressed that, if such conduct continues, athlete engagement in the AC is likely to further decline. In light of these concerns, they requested that the Board take immediate action.

“Given the risk of substantial harm to USATF, including the AC, and after thorough deliberation, the Board moved, seconded, and voted to direct its CEO to take emergency action under USATF Regulation 21-T. Accordingly, your USATF membership is hereby temporarily suspended. Please note, pursuant to Regulation 21-T, you have the right to a hearing before the Board upon your written notice to the National Office within five (5) days of this communication.”

A message sent from the eight USATF athlete members of the Board to the USATF Athlete Commission members on 26 November included:

“The concerns raised regarding Jeré’s conduct and leadership compelled us to act in what we believe is the best interests of both athletes and the broader organization.

“Over the past year, the relationship between the Athletes’ Commission and USATF leadership has deteriorated. After much reflection, it became clear that the Chair’s approach and values no longer align with what athletes need for effective, collaborative representation in our sport.”

Summers-Hall sent a four-page reply on 27 November, which opened with:

“After reviewing the governing documents and applicable federal law, the Board’s emergency action appears to have been taken in violation of the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act (the ‘Ted Stevens Act’), USOPC Bylaws, and USATF’s own Bylaws and Regulations.

“The cited allegations are not safety or integrity related. They lack specificity, evidence, or any indication of immediate risk. They reflect unsupported internal allegations that should have been addressed, if at all, through regular procedures, not emergency discipline aimed at silencing an athlete’s advocacy carried out in good faith and in the best interests of both athletes and USATF.”

She noted the suspension “appears retaliatory” and requested revocation of her membership suspension and asked for future actions to comply with the Ted Stevens Act and U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee requirements.

There was an “emergency meeting” online of the USATF athletes on 1 December, which Summers-Hall – now suspended – was invited to join and during which she explained her position. It eventually ended with the USATF Athletes Commission Board – a group separate from those athletes on the USATF Board of Directors – moving to a private discussion of next steps.

What appears true is that the USATF Board will not allow Summers-Hall to attend the General Meeting in Florida and she will remain suspended pending a Board hearing (where her request to be reinstated is unlikely to be reversed).

Killough-Ali’s temporary suspension was also delivered in a 25 November letter and involve a defamation suit between former USATF staff member and former Board member Jim Estes and the federation, over his consulting role with Chattanooga, Tennessee as a bidder for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, eventually awarded to Orlando, Florida.

In short, Estes’ suit has involved former USATF Board Chair Mike Conley, the 1992 Olympic men’s triple jump gold medalist and 1993 World Champion and Killough-Ali’s apparent discussions with Conley related to this matter. The 25 November letter included:

“After further consultation with outside counsel, the Board discussed the immediacy of discovery and the likelihood that your position will be adverse to USATF. As a result, the Board holds significant legal and ethical concerns regarding your continued involvement in USATF governance committees and other membership functions while Litigation remains pending.

“Although you offered to discuss the matter further with the Board, you did not take actions to resign from the Board and other committees, nor did you volunteer to suspend your USATF membership. Therefore, the Board remains concerned that your continued participation could be detrimental to USATF both with respect to the Litigation specifically and the organization’s broader mission.

“Given the risk of substantial harm to USATF, and after careful deliberation and thoughtful discussion, the Board moved, seconded, and voted to direct its CEO to take emergency action under USATF Regulation 21-T. Accordingly, your USATF membership is hereby temporarily suspended until the Litigation has concluded. Please note, pursuant to Regulation 21-T, you have the right to a hearing before the Board upon your written notice to the National Office within five (5) days of this communication.”

USATF President Curt Clausen, also an attorney, send Killough-Ali a prior letter on 20 November, which asked for her resignation and also included:

“At a minimum, it is likely you will be a critical witness in the Litigation – both with respect to USATF’s defense of Jim Estes’ claims and with respect to USATF’s claims against Mr. Conley. We expect your positions may be adverse to USATF’s interests in the Litigation.”

Killough-Ali replied to Clausen on 24 November, a day before the Board suspension letter arrived and noted, in part:

“1. The concerns reflected in your letter suggest that providing truthful information is inconsistent with loyalty to USATF, the organization. In fact, the opposite is true: honesty, transparency, and legal compliance are essential to fulfilling our fiduciary obligations.

“2. The letter conflates and confuses loyalty for our CEO & COO with loyalty to USATF. My fiduciary duty is owed exclusively to USATF, the organization – not to individual executives. Truthful testimony upholds that duty; suppressing it violates it.

“3. If legally required to testify, I will do so truthfully and in full alignment with my fiduciary duties owed to USATF.”

She called the 20 November letter “the most serious instance of retaliation” and asked for independent legal counsel to help guide the federation through the legal minefield of the Estes case.

Both Killough-Ali and Summers-Hall referred to a non-disclosure agreement that Killough-Ali stated in her reply was from “Attorneys representing the CEO and COO”; Estes’ action against them was dismissed, but the complaint against USATF has been allowed to proceed to the discovery phase.

The non-disclosure agreement was provided to each of the USATF Board members and asked the signees to promise to “not use, disseminate or in any way disclose or otherwise convey any portion of the Confidential Information furnished to it or such other materials described in (1) above to any person.”

The “Confidential Information” included a long list of items, such as financial data, transactions, business strategy, potential event locations and many others. Killough-Ali did not sign it and stated in her reply, “I have NOT breached my fiduciary duty,” and “I remain committed to acting in good faith and in the best interest of USATF, consistent with my fiduciary duties, and look forward to discussing this matter with the Board.”

Summers-Hall also responded on the non-disclosure agreement, noting that the restrictions appeared to limit her ability to talk to Athlete Commission members about information they should know.

She also submitted the non-disclosure agreement to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, which, according to Summers-Hill, “the USOPC sent a letter to USATF leadership, now shared with the full [USATF] Board, stating that: [t]he concerns raised about the NDA are reasonable” and should be clarified and more limited.

Meanwhile, the Estes vs. USATF suit goes on and the drama will apparently continue.

All part of being a national federation which was one of six nominees for the World Athletics Member Federations Award for 2025, and won “bronze recognition for Best NGB or Organizing Body of the Year at the 2025 Sports Business Awards.”

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PANORAMA: Russia readying Olympic legal challenge on curling; Nathan Chen voted into U.S. Skating Hall of Fame; SCORE Act advances

By
Rich Perelman
-
World Men's Figure Skating Champion Nathan Chen (Photo: Wikipedia/Aude Mugnier)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● Following its success at the Court of Arbitration for Sport on bobsled, luge, skeleton and skiing, the Russian Curling Federation is readying an appeal of the ban by the World Curling Federation.

In contract to the “neutral athlete” approach by the International Olympic Committee for individuals, it has continued with a recommended ban on all Russian and Belarusian teams. Both World Curling and the International Ice Hockey Federation have kept Russian and Belarusian teams out of their tournaments.

Russian Curling Federation chief Dmitry Svishchev told the Russian news agency TASS: “We haven’t filed a lawsuit yet. But we’ve decided with the Russian Olympic Committee to file a lawsuit with the CAS. This will be done before the New Year. All the documents for the filing are ready.”

The World Curling Olympic Qualification Event is coming up soon, however, from 5-18 December in Kelowna (CAN).

As soon as the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) statement on the process for “neutral” athletes in its events was published, the Russian Cross Country Skiing Federation was ready for action. Coach Yegor Sorin told TASS:

“We sent the international federation a list of athletes well in advance; it’s practically the entire national team. The next World Cup stage, which will take place this weekend in Trondheim, Norway, will definitely pass us by; we won’t have time to register. Next week, Davos will host the World Cup stage, so we’ll see.

“After Switzerland, there will be the Tour de Ski, which will take place in Italy. I can’t yet assess the likelihood of participating in these competitions, but we are ready to compete in any competition that the FIS allows us to participate in.”

A complication for Sorin is that the FIS regulations require that, as “Individual Neutral Athletes,” the athletes themselves must send a request to be considered as a “neutral,” not their federation.

FIS board member Martti Uusitalo (FIN) told national broadcaster YLE that “The FIS already has a list of athletes from Russia and Belarus who meet the neutrality criteria. As far as I know, successful Russian skiers currently do not meet the neutrality criteria.”

This would specifically include star cross-country skier Alexander Bolshunov, the nine-time Olympic medalist from the 2018 and 2022 Winter Games.

● Collegiate Sports ● The Rules Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives approved Monday the advancement of six bills to the House floor, including H.R. 4312, the “SCORE Act” or, in full, the “Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements Act.”

According to the Congressional summary, the SCORE Act “provides a framework for the compensation of student athletes for the use of their name, image, or likeness (NIL). This includes addressing certain elements of the court approved agreement to settle the In re College Athlete NIL Litigation (i.e., House settlement).” The bill’s provisions include:

● “[S]tatutorily prohibits institutions, conferences, or interstate intercollegiate athletic associations (e.g., the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)) from restricting the ability of a student athlete to enter an NIL agreement”;

● “[R]equires institutions of higher education that generate $20 million or more in annual revenue from the institution’s intercollegiate athletics activities to (1) provide counseling and medical benefits to student athletes, and (2) establish and maintain at least 16 varsity sports teams”; and

● “Under the bill, student athletes may not be considered employees of an institution, conference, or interstate intercollegiate athletic association.”

The SCORE Act is supported by the NCAA, the large collegiate conferences, and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Its statement emphasized, “The SCORE Act represents meaningful progress to strengthen the future of college sports and preserve pathways essential to the Team USA pipeline. We urge the House of Representatives to pass The SCORE Act in an effort to bring greater stability to the collegiate sport environment.”

Key to the USOPC’s support is the provision that the larger schools be required to maintain the current 16-sport minimum for the Football Bowl Subdivision, ensuring broad sports sponsorship despite revenues coming almost exclusively from football and basketball.

● Canoe-Kayak ● The International Canoe Federation celebrated the opening of its new headquarters in Budapest (HUN), expanding the Hungarian capital as the site of another sports governing body.

World Aquatics announced a major move to Budapest in 2024 and broke ground in October on a combined headquarters and training center to open in 2028. Who will be next?

● Figure Skating ● Olympic men’s champion Nathan Chen, the pioneer of the quadruple-jump era, has been voted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

Chen won three World Championships golds in 2018-19-21, won three straight ISU Grand Prix Finals in 2017-18-19 and was six-time U.S. champion from 2017 to 2022. He was the first to land five quads in one program, in 2017 and six quads in a single Free Skate, in 2022.

He graduated from Yale University in 2024 and is pursuing a career in medicine.

Chen’s coach, Rafael Arutyunyan, is also being inducted, for his more than 50 years of coaching and success, including fellow Americans Michelle Kwan, Sasha Cohen, Ashley Wagner, Adam Rippon, Mariah Bell and many more.

U.S. Army musician Joseph Inman, the man chosen by the International Skating Union for a committee to create a new scoring system after the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic scoring debacle, was also voted in. He was a figure skating judge from 1986 to 2018 and was recognized by the ISU with its Gold Award of Merit.

All three will be formally inducted on 9 January in St. Louis, at the U.S. Figure Skating National Championships.

● Football ● The Copa America is supposed to be the South American championship tournament, but it was reported Tuesday that after the Copa was held in the U.S. in 2016 and 2024, it may be held there again in 2028.

As InsideWorldFootball.com observed, “the money coming out of the American market is simply too big to ignore.” However, the placement of the Copa America in the U.S. again is complicated by the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, with the men’s preliminary football matches to also be played outside of the state of California. But those locations have not yet been announced.

Argentina and Ecuador are also possible sites, but the Inside World Football story asked, “Is it time for CONCACAF and CONMEBOL to consider merging?”

The U.S. men’s National Team will tune up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with three matches against strong opposition next year, against no. 8 Belgium on 28 March in Atlanta, then no. 6 Portugal in Atlanta on 31 March.

A match against an opponent to be named later is slated for 31 May in Charlotte, North Carolina and then 6 June vs. no. 9 Germany at Solider Field in Chicago in its final pre-World Cup action.

● Shooting ● The International Shooting Sport Federation announced its candidates for its men’s Shotgun athletes of the year, including American star Vincent Hancock, the four-time Olympic champion in Skeet.

In 2025, Hancock won the Worlds gold in men’s Skeet for the fifth time, missing only one shot in the final. The winner, from among Hancock and four others, will be announced Friday.

● Tennis ● U.S. star Serena Williams, now 44, registered once again for the anti-doping testing pool, a required step to return to active play in professional tennis. A six-month testing period is required before a player can return to professional tournaments.

She retired in September 2022, now only as a 23-time Grand Slam title winner, but also a 14-time winner in Doubles and a four-time Olympic gold medalist, in 2012 in Singles but also in 2000-08-12 in Doubles.

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MILAN CORTINA 2026: Court of Arbitration for Sport says Russian and Belarusian skiers can compete as “neutrals” for Olympic qualification

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ “NEUTRAL” SKIERS ALLOWED ≡

“Both Panels found that the FIS Statutes protect individuals from discrimination and require the FIS to be politically neutral (Art. 5.2). Consequently, the appeals were partially upheld on the basis that the FIS decision is a blanket exclusion of athletes due to nationality, regardless of whether athletes would meet AIN [“neutral’] eligibility criteria.”

On Tuesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport issued yet another decision allowing Russian and Belarusian skiers to compete for Olympic qualification as “neutral” athletes and striking down another complete ban by an International Federation.

Appeals to the Court of Arbitration had previously impacted the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation and the International Luge Federation. The International Skating Union had made arrangements in advance to allow a very limited Olympic qualifying path for Russian and Belarusian “neutrals” based on its – ultimately correct – view that the International Olympic Committee would extend its “neutral athlete” program from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games.

The specific background of the dispute with the FIS was summarized thus:

“On 21 October 2025, the FIS Council issued a resolution ‘not to facilitate the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) in FIS qualification events for the OWG and Paralympic Games 2026.’ Two appeals were filed to CAS against this decision, arguing that it is in breach of FIS statutes and contravenes the principles of political neutrality and non-discrimination.

“The first appeal is by the Russian Ski Association (RSF), 12 Russian athletes and para-athletes, and the Russian Paralympic Committee. This case was heard virtually on 1 December 2025. The second appeal is by the Belarusian Ski Union (BSU) and 5 Belarusian athletes. This case was heard virtually on 26 November 2025. The procedures were expedited to accommodate upcoming OWG 2026 qualification events, with operative decisions issued today (without grounds).”

There was an important added note to the Belarusian Ski Union holding:

“Requests by the BSU on how to establish and apply AIN criteria were also dismissed, as they remain under FIS remit.”

Which means that FIS is in control of the AIN process and it issued a statement on Tuesday, taking hold of the situation immediately. It included:

“FIS has acknowledged the CAS decision. All affected athletes who are eligible to request for AIN status – in conformance with the FIS Individual Neutral Athlete Policy – should do so by sending an email to: [email protected] .

“The FIS Individual Neutral Athlete Policy elaborates on the conditions and the process for athletes and support personnel from Russia and Belarus to take part in FIS events. This includes:

“● Athletes may only participate in competitions in the FIS Calendar in an individual and neutral capacity. This means that they cannot participate in competitions which are based on a classification by teams.

“● Support personnel must meet the same eligibility criteria as athletes, and only persons holding a high-level medical or technical function which is essential to the participation of Individual Neutral Athletes may be granted accreditation.

“● Participation in competitions as AIN is conditional on strict neutrality towards the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. This requirement is outlined in the following points:

“= No voluntary link with the Russian or Belarusian military or with any other national security agency.

“= No communication associated with Russia or Belarus.

“= No support for the war in Ukraine.”

Once an application is made, then FIS has its own review process, to “verify compliance with the requirements for Individual Neutral Athlete status.” A three-person review panel; of FIS Secretary General Michel Vion (FRA), “[a]n independent sports integrity expert” and “[a] representative of the FIS administration presenting the report of the external due diligence report and anti-doping status.”

No timeline is stated for the reviews to be completed.

Russia has excellent cross-country skiers and if qualified, could be a factor in the Milan Cortina Games. The FIS Cross Country World Cup season has just begun and will continue through 25 January before breaking for the Olympic Winter Games.

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OLYMPIC GAMES: Authoritative Olympedia.org now fully updated and available, the absolute last word on Olympic facts and statistics

By
Rich Perelman
-
OLYMPIC GAMES: Authoritative Olympedia.org now fully updated and available, the absolute last word on Olympic facts and statistics

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

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≡ OLYMPEDIA.ORG ≡

It’s nice to know you have a source of information you can absolutely depend on.

In the Olympic world, that has been – and again is – Olympedia.org, now fully updated with Paris 2024 Olympic Games and Gwangju 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games data.

What can you find?

According to Dr. Bill Mallon (USA), one of the originators of the project and an orthopedic surgeon after a stint on the PGA Tour, and one of the world’s foremost Olympic statisticians:

“The database has 100% complete Olympic results – all years, all sports, all events, including demonstration events, Youth Olympic Games, ancient Olympics. The database includes a bio page for every Olympian along with coaches, referees, and administrators. Each bio page has vital data such as date-of-birth, place-of-both, height andweight, clubs, and each athlete’s full Olympic results.

“The website is fully hyper-linked so you can find anything you need fairly easily. In all, the original database on which the website is based has about 150,000,000 data points.

“It is updated daily and full results after every Olympics as will be the case with Milano-Cortina 2026.”

It’s pretty amazing, and truly indispensable. Among the 16 gigabytes of data, you can find (a small sampling):

● Biographies of “Olympic” horses
● Look-up of Olympians who are related
● Olympians who competed in more than one sport
● Olympians who competed for more than one country
● Head-to-head records of countries in team sports

● Lists of all Olympic venues
● List of all Olympic bid competitions and votes
● Highlights of all 293 editions of the original Olympic Games!
● Lists of athlete births, deaths and events held every day of the year!
● Wild lists, such as Olympians who have been in space (one!)

There are biographies on 174,104 Olympic athletes and 1,630,515 results across 65 Olympic and Winter Games.

The development of this astonishing site began in 1997 with four people beginning the work – Mallon, Arild Gjerde (NOR), David Foster (GBR) and the late Magne Teigen (NOR). They gave their team the perfectly-fitting name of the OlyMADMen, with the emphasis on “mad.” There are more than 30 people now involved, from multiple countries.

The project was sufficient deep to be offered on the statistics site www.Sports-Reference.com by 2007. After a long discussion process with the International Olympic Committee, an agreement was made for the IOC to support it in late 2016 and the Olympedia site was opened to the public in May 2020.

The IOC and the OlyMADMen could not reach an agreement on support terms earlier this year, but this has now been completed and the site is fully updated.

As Mallon has noted, it’s not perfect. But the will to make it better and better is there; if you see something wrong, be sure to use the Feedback form and say so!

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PANORAMA: Russia expects 15-20 in Milan Cortina Games; who invented “kiss & cry”? British swimmers demanding Thames be cleaned!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Mikhail Degtyarev, now the Russian Minister of Sport and President of the Russian Olympic Committee (Photo: Wikipedia via the Office of the President of Russia)

★ 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 Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● The Russian sports minister, Mikhail Degtyarev, told Russian Match TV that the Russian “neutrals” presence at the 2026 Winter Games will be small:

“You can count them and it will be no more than 15 to 20. That is the maximum number we can hope to send under the present conditions. Nevertheless, we will be represented. We must broadcast, watch, and support our team. Every victory will be worth its weight in gold, particularly under such difficult circumstances.”

Russian and Belarusian “neutrals” have the possibility to qualify in the skating sports, bobsled, luge and skeleton and possibly in skiing events, depending on the outcome of a Court of Arbitration for Sport case now pending, with the decision to come on or about 10 December.

Russia had 15 athletes qualify as “neutrals” for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Fun story on the Milan Cortina 2026 Web site on the origin of the “kiss and cry” figure skating area where skaters sit to see their scores. In short:

“The term ‘kiss and cry’ was coined in 1983 by Finnish judge Jane Erkko during the organisation of the world championships in Helsinki. As part of the organising committee, Erkko was creating a map of the facility to share with television stations and decided to give an area beside the rink this unique name.

“The Sarajevo 1984 Olympic Winter Games were the first Olympic Games to officially feature the ‘kiss and cry’. The expression gained popularity in the early 1990s and is now regulated by the International Skating Union.”

● International Paralympic Committee ● While there are those who insist that sport and politics are separate, that is not at all true for the International Paralympic Committee. IPC Deputy Chief Executive Kristina Malloy (CAN) underlined this last week at the “Future in Play: International Forum on Inclusive Sport” in Santiago (CHI):

“The Paris 2024 Call to Action gave guidance to governments on the role of Para sport as a tool to dismantle barriers, changes perceptions, and drive structural reform in sport, education and media systems. A year later this work is being further strengthened with global policy standards and roadmap for collective action. By acting now, governments can leverage sport to reduce inequalities and empower the most marginalised groups, especially the world’s 1.3 billion persons with disabilities.”

Adopted in 2024, the UNESCO-sponsored “Paris 2024 Call to Action” asked U.N. member states to, among many other things:

“Strengthen collaboration across ministries and between different layers of stakeholders to ensure sufficient funding for Para sport as well as for quality physical education inclusive of persons with disabilities.”

● Deaflympics ● The International Committee for Sports for the Deaf, meeting following the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics, selected Athens, Greece, for the next Games in 2029.

● Basketball ● The U.S. won both the men’s and women’s FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup titles on Sunday in Leon (MEX), as the men defeated Puerto Rico, 21-15, and the women got past Canada, 21-19.

Cameron Forte led the U.S. men with eight points, and was named Most Valuable Player. Allisha Gray scored the deciding two points for the American women on free throws and also won MVP honors.

The U.S. men’s team clubbed Nicaragua by 123-93 in the second of a home-and-home series in the FIBA World Cup 2027 Americas qualifiers on Monday in Atlanta, with forward MarJon Beauchamp again leading the U.S. with 26 points, and guard Kyle Guy and 17 off the bench.

● Football ● FIFA announced that following the 2026 World Cup Final Draw on 5 December (Friday), the actual match schedules and times will be unveiled on Saturday, 6 December at noon Eastern time.

The sites and kick-off times for all 104 matches will be detailed, available on the FIFA YouTube channel and FIFA.com.

After a 3-0 win over Italy last Friday, the American women sailed past Italy in their second match by 2-0 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on Monday night.

Striker Catarina Macario scored twice in the first match against the Italians, and took charge of a lead pass from behind the midfield line from forward Lily Yohannes, dribbled into the box and sent a right-footed rainbow over Italian keeper Francesca Durante and into the far side of the net in the 20th minute for the 1-0 lead.

Forward Jaedyn Shaw took a midfield pass from forward Alyssa Thompson, dribbled into the box on the left side, then sent a right-footed spinner that sailed past Durante into the far side of the net in the 41st for the 2-0 halftime edge. The Americans had 64% possession and a 5-2 shots edge.

Both sides had chances in the second half and two U.S. scores were called back for offsides and a foul, and another chance for Shaw was saved by Durante in the 88th. It finished 2-0, with the U.S. at 66% possession and 16-6 on shots. The U.S. finished winning nine of its last 10 matches of 2025.

● Rowing ● World Rowing has been in the forefront of “e-sport” adventures, introducing a an “indoor” championships – using rowing machines – back in 2018. Now, it is expanding with a trial of new “World Rowing Super60 Singapore 2025” concepts in Singapore:

“The Super60 featured three main initiatives: The mass-participation, Super 60 Challenge, where athletes had to row as far as possible in 60 seconds; The Singapore National Indoor Rowing Championships, with 500m, 2000m, and relay races being offered; and the World Rowing Versa Challenge, featuring 16 world-class athletes, including Singapore wild cards.

“The World Rowing Versa Challenge – Indoor Rowing’s premier multi-event championship – arrived in Asia for the first time, attracting top athletes from around the world. Across five intense events, competitors demonstrated extraordinary power, versatility, and endurance.”

Swede Anders Enquist and Britain’s Charlotte Dixon won the Versa Challenge titles last weekend.

Observed: This kind of “connected” sport, which allows simultaneous competitions or measured competitions worldwide is another kind of “e-sport” which can be used to attract participation, beyond the online gaming which so many people are focused on. This sector bears watching more closely in the future; how many Olympic sports could be involved with this type of competition? Cycling and shooting and …?

● Swimming ● The City of Paris’ winning – and costly – effort to renovate the Seine River to allow swimming in advance of the 2024 Olympic Games, after the river had been closed to swimmers since 1923, is raising questions elsewhere.

World Aquatics posted a Friday story of the premiere in Britain of a documentary film, “The Thames Swim Against Sewage”:

“Swimmers from across the United Kingdom united for a three-day, 263-kilometre non-stop relay swim [in September] from the source of the River Thames to Westminster, the heart of the nation’s government, to advocate for cleaner waterways.

“In response to the urgent need for action to protect the UK’s rivers, lakes, streams, and seas, a film documenting a relay swim undertaken by eight elite British swimmers premiered last night in London. This group included Paris 2024 Olympians Toby Robinson and Hector Pardoe, as well as world championships competitor Amber Keegan. Emily Forwood, Colleen Blair, Calum Maclean, Jessika Robson, and Daniel Smyth completed the eight-time line-up of elite swimmers taking on the challenge.

“The record-breaking swim attempt was abandoned just outside London due to unsafe water quality, as confirmed by citizen science testing. The film highlights several instances in which the swimmers passed by open sewer drains discharging directly into the Thames, revealing the polluted water they had to navigate. After the relay, Keegan fell ill with symptoms likely due to sewage exposure, despite all the safety precautions taken. Her experience is far from unique; thousands of people report similar illnesses every year.”

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SPOTLIGHT: Blunt communication helped Laura Dwyer and Steve Emt qualify for Wheelchair Curling Mixed Doubles’ Paralympic debut

By
Bob Reinert
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Laura Dwyer and Steve Emt are headed to the Milan Cortina Winter Paralympic Games (Photo: USA Curling/Michael Woolheater).

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Emt will be competing in his third Games,
while Dwyer is set for her Paralympic debut.

By Bob Reinert
Red Line Editorial

Any good partnership relies on effective communication. Just ask Laura Dwyer and Steve Emt.

Emt and Dwyer displayed an impressive ability to stay on the same wavelength when they won the mixed doubles event at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Team Trials – Curling on 15 November in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

With the win, the duo punched its ticket to the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, where mixed doubles will make its Paralympic debut.

“It’s exciting, obviously,” said Emt, 55, of DeForest, Wisconsin, who will become the first U.S. wheelchair curler to compete in three Paralympics. “It’s always an honor and a blessing to represent Team USA. It’ll never get old.”

The 48-year-old Dwyer, from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, will be making her first Paralympic appearance.

“I am really excited for this opportunity, this first time heading to the Paralympics, and with Steve,” Dwyer said. “That’s amazing to be (in the Paralympic mixed doubles debut) and to represent the United States.“

Emt and Dwyer defeated Penny Ricker and David Samsa, 9-1, 9-7, to sweep the best-of-three final at the trials. They dominated the opening game and went out to a 6-1 lead in the second before hanging on to win in the extra end after Ricker and Samsa had tied it at 7-7.

Samsa and then-doubles partner Pam Wilson had won a silver medal at the 2023 mixed doubles world championships, the first U.S. podium finish in the event.

“Dave and Penny, first of all, are very formidable opponents,” Emt said. “We know them very well. We knew they weren’t going to go easy. We knew they were going to make a run, and they did. We both made the crucial shots when they were necessary.”

The win at trials isn’t the only success the duo has had this year. Back in March, Dwyer and Emt won the national title in mixed doubles, earning them a spot at the world championships in Scotland. There, the Americans finished in ninth.

During the team trials, Dwyer and Emt’s communication skills were on full display.

As Emt pointed out, it was an area of focus for him and Dwyer, with whom he’s trained and competed in mixed doubles for the past two years.

“That’s the major thing we’ve worked on,” Emt said. “We both love to talk. We love to communicate. In the beginning, it was too much talk. Two years ago, (there was) too much.”

Emt added that they have condensed what they say to each other on the ice surface over the past year.

“What should I say, and what should I hear?” Emt said. “We’ve gotten very good at that. We still have more work to do. We’re going to continue to work on that.”

Because she has much less curling experience than Emt – the national team’s elder statesman – Dwyer has tried to learn as much as possible from her partner.

“I mean, that’s what’s making me continue to get better as a curler,” she said. “Come to find out, we’re not mind readers, and a lot fell through the cracks when we weren’t communicating. Communication, that’s what’s going to propel us moving forward to be tight together and be able to both do our best.”

They can get on each other’s nerves at times, but neither takes offense. U.S. national teammates have joked that the two might want to consider couples therapy.

“We’re cut from the same cloth,” Emt said. “We are very competitive people. We care about each other very much. Our communication’s not for everybody.

“It clicks with Laura and I because that’s the way we are. We’re going to argue, but we know, at the end of the day, we’re in it for the long run and we care about each other, so it’s not a big deal. When you’ve got that ultimate prize in your sights, you’ve got to do all the little things to get there.”

Their competitive nature can lead to some heated exchanges during games, but brutal honesty is often needed during world-class competition.

“If it’s not looking good, we’re going to share that,” Dwyer said. “Sometimes, it sounds harsh. It can sound abrasive, but it’s not. It’s just blunt.”

Dwyer noted that she grew up on a farm. If she didn’t do things right, she would hear it from her dad.

“I’m familiar with that, and I would prefer that,” Dwyer said. “I would rather a direct honesty about what’s going on. Don’t beat around the bush. And that’s where Steve is.”

After a pair of training camps, Dwyer and Emt will take a little time off before ramping up in January and February in preparation for the Paralympics, held 6-15 March in Italy.

They’ll be joined in Milan Cortina by Matthew Thums and Oyuna Uranchimeg – who each competed in the 2022 Games in Beijing – as well as Paralympic newcomers Sean O’Neill, Dan Rose and Katie Verderber.

In the meantime, Dwyer and Emt will keep the lines of communication open as they try to take advantage of the equal opportunities offered to them in recent years by USA Curling and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.

“They’re doing it right,” Emt said. “It’s amazing how far that they have come to allow us to be on the same page (as able-bodied curlers). That’s all we asked for is to be on a level playing surface and given the same opportunities.

“With these opportunities come the expectations, also. We are expected to win a medal. We’re elite athletes. We understand that. And we’re going to do some good things in Italy, for sure.”

Bob Reinert spent 17 years writing sports for The Boston Globe. He also served as a sports information director at Saint Anselm College and Phillips Exeter Academy. He is a contributor to the USOPC on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.

For more, please visit the USOPC Paralympic Educational Hub.

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UTAH 2034: The Utah 2034 wordmark is black and white for a reason; Utah organizers will have about 120 going to see Milan Cortina 2026

By
Rich Perelman
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Slide from the 1 December 2025 Utah 2034 organizing committee Steering Committee meeting.

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≡ STEERING COMMITTEE MEETS ≡

There is lots of chatter – some good, some bad – on the “transition” Utah 2034 logo that debuted last week. During a Utah 2034 Steering Committee meeting on Monday morning, Nate Morley of the Works Collective, who worked closely with lead designer Molly Mazzolini, explained in depth the process of how the mark was created:

“Where did we draw the inspiration? The brief on this project was, essentially, looking at the state holistically and how do we be representative of all that Utah is and the diversity, not only in its peoples and its landscapes, and all the things that Utah is and can be.

“And so we obviously took a look at the landscape, one of the most unique, beautiful landscapes that exist; these other-worldly red-rock shapes that we all know and love from the southern portion of the state, to the dramatic peaks, the snowy, icy mountains that we find throughout the state.

“So we take inspiration from the landscape, we also take inspiration from the history of the state. So looking at indigenous people and some of the legacy that was left there, and then even looking at the urban design of how the city of Salt Lake, for example – or so many cities actually – are laid out in Utah. This incredible, rigid, sort of very organized grid system.

“So our challenge as a design firm was, how do you take the totality of all these inputs: the landscapes, the totality of the state, some of these distinct elements from history … how do you bring it all together in a way that can represent the state?

“We take a snapshot and we see winding canyon roads and peaks and arches and the bobsled course in Park City, and we see canyons in Lake Powell, and the ski runs on a ski resort.

“If we look at the letterforms on the transition logo, what’s interesting about this from our perspective and as we worked with the team at Utah34 is, none of these letterforms are meant necessarily to invoke any one particular element of the state, although you can see elements of all these shapes and forms in the letterforms themselves, but it’s meant to evocative of the state in its entirety.”

Slides accompanying his presentation showed how the letter “A” in “Utah” reflected the famous Delicate Arch in Arches National Park near Moab. Morley emphasized:

“You can see peaks, you can see slot canyons, you can see the line of a skier going down the mountain, you can see all these things represented in the letterforms.”

Mazzolini explained why the mark was presented – at the start – only in monochrome:

“It’s purposefully in black and white right now, as a nod to our Team USA Paralympians, who taught us that black and white is the highest contrast and the best visibility.”

The organizing effort continues apace in Salt Lake City, with the organizing committee’s “listening tour” of state-wide communities continuing. Executive Chair and President Fraser Bullock explained that staying ahead of the task list is not easy:

“The Games are so complicated. You think about most organizations, they have six or seven functions – most companies – we have 48. And so the complexity is almost mind-boggling.

“I remember when I started back in 2002, we had our planning people put together a road map of all the things we needed to go. We had 37,000 milestones and tasks that needed to be done. And it’s almost incomprehensible, 37,000 that needed to be done back then and we’ll have more now with the extended footprint of the [2034] Games.

“So you never want to get behind.”

U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee chief executive Sarah Hirshland talked with enthusiasm about its preparations for Milan Cortina:

“Our shipping containers are sitting in the port in Europe, and waiting to be unloaded and spread across the country of Italy, as we do our preparations, our team will start heading over there. We’ve actually got several folks in Milan-Cortina area this week, doing some last-minute preparations. We’ll start heading over in January and getting things set up and to welcome Team USA pretty quickly.”

She was also enthusiastic about the possibilities for the first U.S. medal ever in biathlon (the U.S. won two Worlds silvers in 2025) and on the performance side:

“I think there will be more medals to celebrate than we had at the last Winter Games, it’s always our goal, and Team USA is ready. And I think we’re feeling really optimistic that Italy is ready to welcome us. Of all the things we can say, Italy will be welcoming and Italy will be fun.”

Americans won 25 medals (9-9-7) at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing (CHN), ranking third in total medals behind Norway (37) and Germany (27).

Utah 2034 chief executive Brad Wilson said a sizable Utah 2034 delegation will be going to the 2026 Games as well:

“On the donor side, we’ve got two waves of approximately 20 people each, and then on the Observer Program side, which includes our staff as well as individuals from our Host Venue communities and other community leaders, we have about 80 individuals who will be joining us. …

“We’re really looking forward to that trip. Even our donors said, ‘put us to work, let us go see the things we need to know to be able to help you plan and create a lasting legacy for our state and our community.’ Of course, the Observer Program is full of busy agendas and a lot of deep-dive work into what it takes to host a Winter Games.”

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ATHLETICS: Shades of 2022, as Duplantis and McLaughlin-Levrone win World Athletics’ Athletes of the Year honors again

By
Rich Perelman
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Sweden’s vault superstar: Mondo Duplantis (Photo: Mattia Ozbot for World Athletics).

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≡ WORLD ATHLETICS AWARDS ≡

A well-deserved repeat of past honors highlighted the World Athletics Awards in Monaco, where Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis and American star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone were recognized as the athletes of the year (again):

● Duplantis, 26, won the World Indoor Championships gold in China in March and the World Athletics Championships title in Tokyo, and set world records of 6.27 m (20-6 3/4) indoors in February, 6.28 m (20-7 1/4) in June, 6.29 m (20-7 1/2) in August and 6.30 m (20-8) at the Worlds in September. He has won 36 meets in a row. He said:

“I have a lot of joy that I hope to spread when I’m on the track; I have an immense passion and joy for what I do. I’m so obsessed with pole vaulting and I love pushing myself. I hope that I can inspire the next generation to try athletics, and even pole vaulting. If I can inspire even just a few people to do it, then I feel I’m doing my job.”

● McLaughlin-Levrone, also 26, left the security of the women’s 400 m hurdles in 2025 to try the 400 m. She had already won two Olympic hurdles titles and a Worlds gold in 2022, but set out to see what she could do on the flat. From a 2023 best of 48.74, she took the American Record to 48.29 in the World Championships semifinal in Tokyo, then zoomed to no. 2 all-time at 47.78 to win the Worlds gold in September. And she added another 4×400 m gold, her fifth global relay title as well. She said:

“Track and field is, I believe, the best sport in the world. I want to continue to show the world that we are some of the best athletes around. For me, 2025 was a year of stepping outside of the comfort zone and pushing the bounds of what was mentally and physically possible. I want to continue pushing boundaries in 2026.“

Both were deserving and both have a lot more to achieve in their careers. But they have done a lot already. For Duplantis, this is his third overall Athlete of the Year award, also in 2020 and 2022 and his third straight year to win top field-athlete honors. McLaughlin-Levrone won her prior Athlete of the Year accolade in 2022 and also won the women’s track athlete of the year in 2024 to go with her overall Athlete of the Year honors.

They were not the only awardees on a busy night:

● Men/Track Athlete of the Year: Emmanuel Wanyonyi (KEN), still just 21, the World Champion in the 800 m in one of the greatest years for that event in history.

● Men/Out-of-Stadium Athlete of the Year: Sabastian Sawe (KEN), 30, who ran twice in 2025, winning the London Marathon in a world-leading 2:02:27 in April and then winning the Berlin Marathon in a world-leading 2:02:16 in September.

● Women/Field Athlete of the Year: Nicola Olyslagers (AUS), 28, who won the World Indoor title in Nanjing (CHN) in March and – after two Olympic silvers and a 2023 Worlds bronze – finally got her World Championships gold in Tokyo in September. She also finished the year as the world leader with her 2.04 m (6-8 1/4) at the Diamond League Final in Zurich in August.

● Women/Out-of-Stadium Athlete of the Year: Maria Perez (ESP), 29, who repeated her 2023 Worlds triumphs in both the 20 km and 35 km women’s walks at the Tokyo World Championships. She won all eight races in 2025 and finished as the world leader at 35 km in 2:38:59.

There were several other awards made during the evening, including the International Fair Play Award, co-sponsored with the International Fair Play Committee (CIFP).

The winner was Belgian Steeplechaser Tim van de Velde, who assisted Colombia’s Carlos San Martin, who was injured during a fall in heat three of the World Championships on 13 September. Van de Velde, who was out of qualifying position, stopped and helped San Martin get across the finish line, at the risk of being disqualified for illegal assistance. He explained:

“The more I look back on the moment, the more I can actually enjoy it. I never had to think twice during the race to make the decision to turn back and support him.

“It was a day in which we both suffered as Carlos crashed into a barrier and I fell at the water jump, but somehow, we made memories for a lifetime. Through our moment we have been able to share those initial feelings of disappointment and that has been a big help in coping with it all. Intense is the right word for that day, but the intensity has made room for a very positive story in the long run. Never could I have imagined getting so much recognition for something that felt very natural to me.”

The World Athletics Awards were instituted in 1988, making 2025 the 38th edition.

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PANORAMA: Olympic construction worries for hockey and a gondola; World Athletics rejects Grand Slam Track terms; Shiffrin gets 104th World Cup win

By
Rich Perelman
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The Milan Cortina 2026 slogan: "IT's your vibe!" (Photo: Milan Cortina 2026)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● All of the worry about construction was supposed to be on the now-completed sliding track in Cortina, but it’s the privately-funded Palaitalia Santagiulia arena which is running late.

Milan Cortina 2026 organizing committee Games operations officer Andrea Francisi told The Associated Press:

“There is no Plan B. So necessarily we have to be able to organize the competition in an impeccable manner at Santagiulia.

“There are daily updates in the sense that our team is there working every day. The companies which are involved with the building of the facility have sped up their work significantly.

“We’re monitoring all that daily together with them, there’s great collaboration between us, we’re creating a coordinated plan between their work and our preparations and for the moment we’re healthily optimistic, but 100% we’ll do it.”

Another construction delay has organizers limiting ticket sales for women’s alpine skiing in Cortina, with the Apollonio-Socrepes gondola behind schedule. It is slated to carry spectators up to the Tofane Alpine Skiing center for the women’s skiing.

For now, a 15% reduction in the tickets available for these events has been instituted. The gondola system is meant to carry 2,400 people per hour, using 50 10-passenger cars, reducing the need for buses. The project is being overseen by the Italian government construction oversight agency Simico, which believes it will be completed in time for the Games, which start on 6 February 2026.

● Alpine Skiing ● Rising American star Lauren Macuga, 23, the 2025 Worlds Super-G bronze medalist, is out for the season after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament in her right leg in a training crash in Copper Mountain, Colorado.

She posted on Instagram, “It’s me, I’m what’s broken RIP acl, see you all next year.”

In addition to her Worlds bronze in 2025, Macuga was also fifth in the Downhill and won a gold and silver on the World Cup circuit.

● Athletics ● The Times (London) reported that World Athletics has rejected the Grand Slam Track request to settle its debts for 50 cents on the dollar and has said that the circuit must make good on what it owes its participating athletes.

The story explained that a bankruptcy law firm had contacted creditors and that if (1) creditors did not agree to the half-owed deal, Grand Slam Track would file for bankruptcy, and (2) that “an outside party” was interested in acquiring the circuit, but only if debt-free.

World Athletics is reported to be owed about £30,000 for licensing rights (about $39,705 U.S.).

● Gymnastics ● Following on the permission of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) to allow Russian and Belarusian “neutral” participation, the European Gymnastics Union voted on Friday, 27-19, to allow “neutral” entries from the same countries in its events.

● Shooting ● Karoliina Nissinen (FIN), who lost to Russian Alexander Ratner in the late-October election for the presidency of the European Shooting Confederation, has formally asked the International Shooting Sport Federation for a suspension of the election results and of Ratner himself. In a new statement, she explained:

“This was not a free election: it was orchestrated by a single financier and a single candidate. The future of European shooting sport – and the credibility of the ISSF – depend on an independent and thorough investigation.”

She has charged that (1) “The election was chaired by a person who was not lawfully appointed by the General Assembly; voting secrecy was allegedly compromised; and selective remote access reportedly prevented several member federations from fully participating”; (2) “Sanctioned Russian oligarch [and former ISSF President] Vladimir Lisin allegedly pledged €200,000 per federation in exchange for electoral support, exerting undue financial influence on the vote“; (3) “Russian candidate Ratner was permitted to run for ESC President despite Russia’s continued suspension, raising significant compliance and governance concerns,” and (4) “Candidates were reportedly subjected to intimidation, harassment, and discriminatory treatment throughout the electoral process.”

≡ RESULTS ≡

● Alpine Skiing ● The World Championships women’s Giant Slalom silver medalist in 2025, New Zealander Alice Robinson underlined once again that she is an Olympic medal contender at the FIS World Cup at Copper Mountain, Colorado.

On Saturday, she claimed her fifth career World Cup gold – all in the Giant Slalom – by leading after the first run and then winning the second run as well to finish at 1:58.91. Austria’s Julia Scheib moved up from third after the first run to second in 1:59.87 and Thea St. Jernesund (NOR: 1:59.99) took third. Nina O’Brien was the top American, in 11th (2:00.75) and Mikaela Shiffrin was 14th (2:00.99).

Sunday’s Slalom saw U.S. superstar Shiffrin lead five-time Olympic medal winner, Swiss Wendy Holdener, 52.94 to 53.22 after the first run, and had the second-fastest second run to win easily with a combined 1:48.75. German Lena Duerr moved up from ninth after the first run to get second (1:50.32) and rising star Lara Colturi (ALB) was third at 1:50.60, as Holdener faded to fourth.

American Paula Moltzan finished eighth in 1:51.10. It’s win no. 104 for Shiffrin, who has now won all three Slaloms this season, with Colturi finishing 2-2-3.

In the men’s Giant Slalom on Friday, Austria’s Stefan Brennsteiner, 34, got his first career World Cup gold, leading the first run and holding on for a 2:30.98 total, 0.95 ahead of Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen (2:31.93) and Filip Zubcic (CRO: 2:31.98). River Radamus was the American, in 15th.

● Athletics ● Kenyan star Brigid Kosgei, the former world-record holder, won Sunday’s Shanghai Marathon in 2:16:36, the no. 4 performance of 2025. She led from the start and broke away from Irine Cheptai (KEN) after 30 km and won easily in her third-fastest marathon ever.

Cheptai was second in 2:18:51 with Ethiopia’s Tiruye Mesfin third in 2:20.38.

Ethiopia’s Milkesa Mengesha won the men’s race in 2:06.25 in a final dash over countryman Dawit Wolde (2:06.27).

● Badminton ● At the BWF World Tour Modi India Int’l in Lucknow, Hong Kong’s Jason Gunawan won the men’s Singles with an upset over fifth-seed Srikanth Kidambi (IND), 21-16, 8-21, 22-20, while fifth-seed Hina Akechi (JPN) won the women’s final over no. 4 Neslihan Arin (TUR), 21-16, 21-14.

Malaysia won the men’s Doubles, home favorite India took the women’s Doubles and Indonesia captured the Mixed Doubles final.

● Basketball ● The FIBA men’s 2027 World Cup qualifying in the Americas has begun and the U.S. team of G League players and free agents started with a 102-67 win at Nicaragua on Friday. The Americans had a 59-38 lead at half and never looked back. Forward MarJon Beauchamp led the U.S. with 24 points.

The second game with Nicaragua will be in Atlanta on Monday.

● Biathlon ● The first of two weeks of the IBU World Cup in Oestersund (SWE) started with relays over the weekend. France won the season’s opening race, the 4×6 km in 1:11:17.9 over Italy (1:11:31.7) and the Czech Republic (1:11:48.7), with the U.S. (Chloe Levins, Deedra Irwin, Luci Anderson, Margie Freed) in 16th (1:16:18.1).

The men’s 4×7.5 km was a clear win for Norway (1:11:10.1) ahead of France (1:11:25.4) and Sweden (1:11:34.8). The U.S. was a very commendable fifth, with Paul Schommer, Maxime Germain, Campbell Wright and Sean Doherty (1:12:35.1).

On Sunday, the Single Mixed Relay saw Sebastian Samuelsson and Ella Halvarsson post a decisive win for Sweden, 35:12.1 to 35:31.2 over Norway; the U.S. pair of Schommer and Freed were 18th (38:43.1). The 4 x 6 km Mixed Relay was a clear win for France (1:05:16.5) over Italy (1:05:41.7) and Norway (1:06.21.8). The U.S. was sixth (1:07:10.5) Germain, Wright, Levins and Irwin.

● Bobsled ● American Kaysha Love, the 2025 World Champion, moved up from second at the first IBSF World Cup of the season last week to win on Saturday in Innsbruck (AUT), beating Two-Woman Olympic champ Laura Nolte (GER), 1:52.02 to 1:52.19, with German Lisa Buckwitz, the 2018 Two-Woman Olympic winner (1:52.33) in third.

Americans Elana Meyers Taylor (1:52.80) and 2022 Monobob Olympic winner Kaillie Armbruster Humphries (1:52.82) went 8-9.

In the Two-Woman racing, Nolte (and Deborah Levi) and Love (with Sylvia Hoffman) went 1-2 in 1:47.51 and 1:47.92; Americans Armbruster Humphries (with Jasmine Jones: 1:48.07) and Meyers Taylor (with Azaria Hill: 1:48.28) went 4-6.

The Two-Man was a second straight win for Johannes Lochner (GER, with Georg Fleischauer: 1:45.08) over Olympic champ Francesco Friedrich (GER, with Alexander Schaller: 1:45.13), and Adam Ammour (with Tim Becker: 1:45.89) competing the German sweep. Frank Del Duca and Boone Niederhofer finished fourth for the U.S. in 1:46.18.

Double Olympic champ Friedrich won the Four-Man in 1:43.68, with Lochner second (1:43.96) and Patrick Baumgartner (ITA: 1:44.15) in third. Kris Horn had the fastest U.S. sled, in eighth (1:44.30).

The Skeleton racing was canceled due to insufficient practice time on the newly refurbished track.

● Cross Country Skiing ● The FIS World Cup season began with the winter skiing festival in Ruka (FIN), with more Norwegian men’s wins and Swedish women’s wins.

On Friday, Marten Nyenget won the 10 km Classical over superstar Johannes Klaebo, 22:30.8 to 22:32.9 for a Norwegian 1-2, with Mike Vermeulen (AUT: 22:35.0) in third. Zak Ketterson was the top American, in 14th (23:07.0). Saturday’s Classical Sprint was Klaebo’s 99th career World Cup win, in 2:30.03 over teammates Erik Valnes (+1.21) and Ansgar Evensen (+2.28).

Norway finished its men’s sweep in the Sunday 20 km Freestyle Mass Start, with Harald Amundsen winning in 44:42.5, ahead of teammate Einar Hedegart (44:44.4). Ketterson finished ninth in 44:55.5.

The women’s 10 km Classical was a Swedish 1-3, with Frida Karlsson winning in 25:31.8, Heidi Weng (NOR: 25:42.3) second and Moa Ilar (NOR: 25:50.1) third. American Jessie Diggins, the defending World Cup champ, was fourth in 25:59.4.

Saturday’s Classical Sprint had two more Swedish medalists, but Norway’s Kristine Skistad was the winner in 2:53.22, ahead of Swedes Jonna Sundling (+0.20) and Maja Dahlqvist (+0.20). On Sunday, Sundling, the Olympic sprint champ in 2022, won the tight 20 km Freestyle Mass Start, ahead of Diggins, 50:24.9 to 50:27.2, with Weng third in 50:27.7.

● Cycling ● The third and final UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup for 2025 was in Sakai (JPN), with Jude Jones (GBR) winning a close final from teammate Jordan Clark, 94.74 to 93.24. American Nick Bruce, the 2019 Worlds bronze medalist, was third (91.40), just ahead of Olympic bronzer Anthony Jeanjean (FRA: 91.20).

Sixteen-year-old Miharu Ozawa (JPN) won the women’s final at 95.50, leading a 1-2 with 15-year-old Mio Yoshida (91.40). Australia’s 28-year-old Natalya Diehm got third (86.60).

● Football ● The U.S. women’s National Team got off to a fast start vs. Italy in Orlando, Florida on Friday, with forward Olivia Moultrie scoring in the second minute and then striker Catarina Macario added two second-half goals for a 3-0 victory.

Moultrie banged in a shot from the center of the box off a pass from forward Rose Lavelle for a 1-0 in the second minute, which held up as the halftime score. In the 64th, Macario smashed the ball into the far side of the Italian goal off a pass from midfielder Sam Coffey and then ended with a score from the right side of the goal off an assist from sub forward Lily Yohannes in the 76th for the 3-0 final.

Claudia Dickey got the shutout in goal for the U.S., which had 69% of possession and a 19-7 edge on shots. The U.S. and Italy will meet again on Monday in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

● Freestyle Skiing ● American Todd Podmilsak, 21, collected his first career FIS World Cup Big Air gold on Saturday in Secret Garden (CHN), scoring 185.50 to best Dylan Deschamps (CAN: 178.50) and 2025 World Champion Luca Harrington (NZL: 176.00).

It’s Podmilsak’s second World Cup medal ever; fellow American (and 2025 Worlds silver man) Mac Forehand was fourth, scoring 169.50.

Britain’s Kristy Muir won her second career World Cup gold in the women’s final at 174.50, with Naomi Urness (CAN: 165.75) second and Mengting Liu (CHN: 165.25) a close third.

● Judo ● At the IJF World Tour Abu Dhabi Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi (UAE), newly-reinstated Russia, along with Japan and Germany each won two classes as 11 different countries won golds and 26 won medals.

● Luge ● The new Olympic track at Cortina d’Ampezzo was the site for a test event over the weekend, ahead of February’s Winter Games, finishing a full week of international training.

Germany went 1-2 in the women’s Singles, with Merle Fraebel (1:45.770) and two-time World champ Julia Taubitz (1:45.865) finishing 1-2, and American Ashley Farquharson in fourth (1:46.208). In the Doubles, Dajana Eitberger and Magdalena Matschina (GER) in 1:46.415, ahead of Andrea Voetter and Marion Oberhofer (ITA: 1:46.469). The U.S. combo of Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby were fifth in 1:47.330 and Maya Chan and Sophia Gordon finished 10th (1:48.491).

In the men’s Doubles, German World Champions Hannes Orlamunder and Paul Gubitz won in 1:45.170, just ahead of Americans Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa (1:45.404) – the 2023 World Junior Champions – in second. Teammates Dana Kellogg and Frank Ike placed 12th in 1:45.884.

Sunday’s men’s Singles saw 2023 World Champion Jonas Mueller (AUT) win in 1:46.364, just ahead of Latvia’s 2022 Olympic Team bronze winner Kristers Aparjods (1:46.537) and 2017 World Champion Wolfgang Kindl (AUT: 1:46.543). Jonathan Gustafson was the top American, in 14th (1:47.679).

Austria won the Team Relay in 3:42.536, with Germany second in 3:42.822; the U.S. was fifth in 3:43.527.

● Nordic Combined ● The FIS World Cup season opener in Ruka (FIN) saw a familiar winner in 2021 World Cup champ Johannes Lamparter (AUT) taking the Compact 142 m jump and 7.5 km race at 17:38.2, followed by veteran Julian Schmid (GER: 17:45.9) and home favorite Ilkka Herola (FIN: 17:55.2). Ben Loomis was the top American, in 26th (19:16.9).

Saturday’s Gundersen 142 m hill/10 km race was another win for Lamparter in 24:04.7, with Schmid well behind in second at 24:37.4. Sunday’s event, with a 10 km Mass Start, had to be canceled when high winds preventing the jumping from taking place.

● Rugby Sevens ● The HSBC Sevens Series season opened in Dubai (UAE), with France and New Zealand winning the men’s pools and Australia and New Zealand topping the women’s pool groups.

Both the men’s and women’s finals ended with Australia-New Zealand matches in the finals. The Kiwis won both, triumphing by 26-22 in the men’s match and 29-14 in the women.

Fiji took third place in the men’s tournament, defeating France by 24-7 in the bronze match. Japan won the women’s bronze, 22-12, against Fiji.

● Short Track ● The 2025 ISU World Tour finished with the fourth stage in Dordrecht (NED), with Canada continuing to dominate, but also a surprise win for the U.S.

Four-time Worlds gold medalist William Dandjinou won the men’s 1,500 m on Saturday in 2:16.600, ahead of teammate Felix Roussel (2:16.670) and not only won his seventh individual World Tour race, but locked up the overall men’s seasonal title as well.

The surprise came in the men’s 500 m, where American Andrew Heo, 24, won his first-ever World Tour medal, a gold in 42.012, as Canadian star Steven Dubois crossed first but was disqualified! Dandjinou was advanced to second in 42.136. Heo had finished 14-14-89 in the three other World Tour 500 m races, but now he’s a winner:

“Starting from sixth, I just tried to get in a good position, because I knew they were going to fight. I was trying to take advantage, and I was able to execute. It’s my first medal, and for it to be gold is amazing, and it’s good momentum going into the Games. They’re stepping stones – lots of little wins, and this is a big win.”

The men’s 1,000 m went to Korea’s Jung-un Rim in 1:25.877, ahead of China’s 2025 Worlds bronze winner Shaoang Liu (1:26.023). The Netherlands won the men’s 5,000 m relay in 6:48.679, ahead of China (6:48.724).

The women’s racing saw two more win for Canada, specifically for 11-time Worlds medal winner Courtney Sauralt, who won the 1,000 m in 1:27.701 ahead of American Corinne Stoddard (1:27.752) and the 500 m in 42.695, with Stoddard second again at 42.999.

Korea’s World Champion Gil-li Kim won the women’s 1,500 m in 2:26.306 with Sauralt second in 2:26.443 and Stoddard fifth in 2:45.319. The Dutch won the 3,000 m relay in 4:07.916, beating Italy (4:08.127) and the U.S. (4:08.154).

The Mixed Relay also went to The Netherlands in 2:37.430 with the U.S. second in 2:37.947.

Dandjinou took the men’s seasonal title with 876 points over Italian Pietro Sighel (664) and teammate Dubois (590). Sauralt won the women’s seasonal title with 980 points, to 830 for Stoddard.

● Skateboard ● The World Skate Tour: Street was in Kitakyushu (JPN), with a sweep for the hosts, as Sora Shirai scored 90.50 on his last run to win with 170.27 points over countryman Kairi Netsuke (169.78). Japan went 1-2 in the women’s final, with Ibuki Matsumoto needing an 87.25 final run to get past teammate Oda Yumeka, 160.51 to 160.29.

● Ski Jumping ● The FIS women’s World Cup was in Falun (SWE) for two events, with Japan’s Nozomi Maruyama getting her third straight win to open the season, scoring 229.6 points off the 95 m hill. Slovenia’s double 2025 World Champion Nika Prevc was second at 211.1 and Lisa Eder (AUT: 209.3) third.

Before this season, Maruyama, 27, had three career World Cup medals (0-2-1); now she has three golds in a row!

On Sunday, Prevc got her first win of the season at 252.3 points, with Maruyama second at 244.4 and Eirin Kvandal (NOR: 234.4) third.

Two-time Worlds Team gold medalist Anze Lanisek (SLO) got his second straight FIS men’s World Cup victory in Ruka (FIN), on the 142 m hill, after winds shortened the event to one round. He scored 141.0 points to win over Ren Nikaido (JPN: 136.4) and fellow Slovenian Domen Prevc (128.0).

Sunday’s jumping was canceled due to high winds.

● Snowboard ● The first of three straight FIS World Cups to start the season in China was the Big Air in Secret Garden (CHN), with the home fans cheering a 1-2 finish in the men’s final, with 2022 Olympic champion Yiming Su (174.50) and Chunyu Ge (159.50). Americans Brooklyn Depriest (152.25) and Justus Henkes (141.25) finished 5-6.

Japan swept the women’s competition, with Worlds bronzer Mari Fukada (156.75), Worlds runner-up Reira Iwabuchi (145.75) and Miyabi Onitsuka (141.50) on the podium.

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FOOTBALL: U.S., Mexico, Jamaica and Costa Rica submit joint bid for 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup, projects 400% rise to $4 billion revenue!

By
Rich Perelman
-
The FIFA Women's World Cup Trophy (Photo: FIFA)

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≡ ANOTHER U.S. WORLD CUP ≡

FIFA decided in April that the U.S. would be the main site for the 2031 Women’s World Cup, but the details are only now available as the bid documents were submitted on 28 November.

As expected, the U.S. has teamed with Mexico, Jamaica and Costa Rica to make this a “CONCACAF” bid, but with most of the action in the U.S., as with the men’s 2026 World Cup:

● Expansion of the tournament from 32 teams in 2027 in Brazil to 48 teams, as for the men in 2026, with an expected 104 games.

● Many stadium options for FIFA, with a group of 20 venues offered, with 14 in the U.S., four in Mexico and one each in Jamaica and Costa Rica.

● Multiple additional choices in venues, with 26 added options in the U.S., two more in Mexico and one in Costa Rica.

The 273-page bid was summarized this way:

“We know that a FIFA Women’s World Cup of the scale offered by our four nations will unlock the full potential of this tournament, capitalizing on economic opportunity by bringing more than 4.5 million fans into stadiums, capturing the highest TV viewership ever for a women’s sporting event, and generating more than $4 billion in total revenue. This will create significant investment potential and allow FIFA, along with Jamaica, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the United States, to collectively leave an enduring legacy.”

The venues offered as the primary choices for FIFA utilize 10 of the sites to be used for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, in both the U.S. and Mexico (*= 2026 FIFA World Cup sites):

Costa Rica (1):
● San Jose: Estadio Nacional (35,000)

Jamaica (1):
● Kingston: National Stadium (37,000)

Mexico (4):
● Guadalajara: Estadio Akron (48,000)*
● Mexico City: Estadio Banorte (83,000)*
● Monterrey: Estadio BBVA (53,000)*
● Torreon: Territorio Santos Modelo (30,000)

United States (14):
● Atlanta: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (70,000)*
● Charlotte: Bank of America Stadium (75,000)
● Dallas: AT&T Stadium (92,000)*
● Denver: Mile High Stadium (76,000)
● Houston: NRG Stadium (72,000)*
● Kansas City: Arrowhead Stadium (76,000)*
● Los Angeles: Sofi Stadium (70,000)*
● Minneapolis: U.S. Bank Stadium (66,000)
● Nashville: Geodis Park (25,000)
● New York-New Jersey: MetLife Stadium (85,000)*
● Orlando: Camping World Stadium (63,000)
● San Diego: Snapdragon Stadium (32,000)
● Seattle: Lumen Field (69,000)*
● Washington, D.C.: Robert F. Kennedy Stadium (65,000)

Compared to the 2026 sites, the same three venues in Mexico are proposed and seven of the 11 U.S. stadia. Of the 14 American venues, 12 are current or former NFL sites and two are smaller facilities used primarily for soccer now (Nashville and San Diego).

This 2031 bid is a grown-up version of the abandoned bid for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which would have been a co-host with Mexico. The bid concept then was to offer the same three Mexican venues and 11 American stadiums, including Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, New York-New Jersey and Seattle, but also Boston, Miami, Pasadena, Philadelphia and Santa Clara, which were dropped for 2031.

The 2027 bid summary was:

“We know that a FIFA Women’s World Cup of the scale offered by the United States and Mexico will unlock the full potential of this tournament at a unique moment in time, capitalizing on economic opportunity by bringing over 4.5 million fans into stadiums, capturing the highest TV viewership ever for a women’s sporting event and generating over $3 billion in total revenue.”

That $3 billion revenue figure was jaw-dropping, but the 2031 bid goes 33% further:

“In 2023, the FIFA Women’s World Cup generated $570 million in revenue, breaking
records for both television broadcast (an estimated 2 billion viewers) and live attendance (1.9 million), while inspiring billions around the globe.

“Building on the global momentum of 2026 and FIFA’s projection of $1 billion in revenue for the 2027 tournament, this excitement is expected to reach even greater heights in 2031, with total revenues projected to approach $4 billion.”

The breakdown:

● $1.4 billion: marketing and sponsorship
● $1.0 billion: broadcast rights
● $550 million: tickets
● $400 million: concessions-merchandise-parking
● $350 million: fan festivals
● $300 million: hospitality

Projected ticket prices are shown, with group-stage matches at $35-75-120 and then moving up through the playoffs rounds to the semis at $100-130-450 and the final at $120-350-600.

This compares with the $570 million in total revenue from the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand and FIFA’s goal of $1 billion from the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

How does this compare to the 2026 FIFA World Cup? It’s a lot less, but getting closer. FIFA’s projections for 2026 World Cup revenue include $8.911 billion in all:

● $3.925 billion: broadcast rights
● $3.017 billion: tickets and hospitality
● $1.786 billion: marketing and sponsorship
● $111 million: licensing
● $72 million: other revenues

FIFA expects to spend $3.756 billion in total to put on the 2026 World Cup. No expense calculations were shown in the 2031 Women’s World Cup bid.

The happy part of the revenue projections for the bidders is that FIFA, under its current model where it organizes the tournament itself, the bidding member associations – led by U.S. Soccer – don’t have to do anything. FIFA will do it all.

It’s an impressive bid, with enormous potential in NFL stadiums, but with the underlying assumption that women’s sport will continue to expand between 2025 and 2031 at a break-neck pace. Whether that becomes reality is yet to be seen.

FIFA also published the bid documents for the England-Northern Ireland-Scotland-Wales bid for 2035, with 19 existing stadia offered, of which 14 are in England. Three more venues are to be built or expanded and could be used if desired.

The attendance projections are for 4.5 million tickets sold and a 3.5 billion worldwide television audience, and projections are made for in-stadium revenues:

● $393 million: tickets
● $148 million: hospitality
● $59 million: merchandise
● $44 million: concessions

That’s $644 million vs. $1.25 billion for the 2031 bid, apart from broadcast rights, sponsorship and fan fest revenues. However, the British bid also include an expectation of some government funding as well:

“Governments at national and city level are committed to working with FIFA to deliver a safe, inclusive and financially successful tournament. Their contributions will encompass both financial and in-kind support, including the provision of essential public services, event operations and assistance with infrastructure, security and transport.”

What’s next? The formal confirmation of both bids will come at the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver, Canada, on 30 April 2026.

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LANE ONE: Iran to “boycott” FIFA World Cup Draw after U.S. refuses visas; this doesn’t matter, but three things do

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 ≡

The latest tussle concerning the 2026 FIFA World Cup came Friday when Iran, one of the qualified countries, said it would not attend the 5 December Final Draw in Washington, D.C., as three of its football federation officials were denied visas to enter the U.S.

Iran federation spokesman Amir Mehdi Alavi told the English-language Tehran Times:

“We have informed FIFA that the decisions taken are unrelated to sport and that the members of the Iranian delegation will not participate in the World Cup draw.”

Four officials obtained visas: head coach Amir Ghalenoei, executive director Mehdi Kharati, international relations director Omid Jamali and Alavi. Federation president Mehdi Taj and two others had their applications denied.

The Trump Administration has tightened entry controls considerably via an Executive Order in June, with Iran on a list of 19 countries with restricted entry; exceptions were noted in the Order for:

“any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State.”

Iran and Haiti are the two World Cup qualifiers impacted by the order.

Nevertheless, the Final Draw will go on next Friday and who plays where will be determined; it will be fascinating to see if Iran and/or Haiti end up placed in groups which play most or all of their matches in Canada or Mexico.

Is this important? As the Iranian noted, this is “unrelated to sport” and all about the long-standing animosity with the U.S. since the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979. So, no.

It is a complete side show to the FIFA World Cup itself, which will expand to 48 teams and 104 matches in 2026 from 32 teams and 64 matches in 2022. 

FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI) has said that six billion people around the world; global population estimates are at about 8.2 billion. For the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, he said five billion people would watch some part of the tournament, with the FIFA follow-up audience review listing 4.792 billion “intended to reflect the total number of people who engaged with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in any manner, extending beyond TV reach and audience measurement.”

So, a lot of people will have heard something about the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the Trump Administration has made its success a priority, establishing a White House Task Force. And this is an important proof-of-concept for FIFA, which is organizing the tournament itself – no in-country organizing committees any more – out of its offices in Coral Gables, Florida. FIFA has even talked about expanding its organizing efforts outside of football, assuming its 2026 experiment is successful.

That will depend on three things, which above all else will make the 2026 FIFA World Cup a success. They are basic and obvious, but these are the things that count:

● (1) The teams and accompanying officials need to be able to travel, train and compete without undue difficulties.

This is obvious, but in a charged environment like the World Cup and especially in the U.S., this is not to be taken for granted. The security apparatus will be enormous and beyond threats from outsiders, have we forgotten already the Canadian women’s drone-spying scandal that surfaced at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games?

● (2) Spectators need to be able to get their purchased tickets and be able to get in and out of the stadia to watch the matches safely.

Again, totally obvious. But for the 2024 Copa America final at Hard Rock Stadium outside of Miami, Florida, an after-action report stated that “20,000 to 30,000 patrons had a plan to arrive early, park off site, then crash the entry gates with overwhelming numbers was not gathered and shared by any intelligence source. Had this information been known, our plan would have been modified for this contingency.”

But the stadium, police and security staff were not ready and the kickoff between Colombia and Argentina was delayed for 82 minutes while the situation was brought under some level of control. Fifty-four people were ejected and 26 people were arrested; the same stadium will host seven World Cup matches.

No doubt Hard Rock Stadium will be heavily secured; but there are a record 16 stadia involved in this World Cup. The enormous attention paid to the tournament make it an attractive target for political protests of all kinds (no, Israel did not qualify).

● (3) The broadcast of the matches, on all platforms, has to work perfectly.

This is the least likely of the three core competencies for the tournament to be affected, since all of the venues regularly host major events that are televised and the infrastructure in all (most?) are hardened against difficulties.

While trouble in a stadium directly affects the people attending, trouble with broadcasts will impact millions of viewers worldwide. Here, FIFA has help from its production team but also its broadcast partners, especially those who work in the 2026 stadiums on a continuous basis. In the U.S., FOX has the broadcast rights.

Taking care of those three things will almost guarantee a successful tournament for FIFA and although obvious, are not assured.

A wild card for the entire tournament, which will run for more than a month – 11 June to 19 July – would be civil unrest, possibly tied to 2026 state or local primary elections which will take place during the World Cup period (New York is the only state with a World Cup venue – in New Jersey – an election primary during the World Cup itself.

Fan festivals, which FIFA is very proud of, are less secure than the stadia and could be a target, mostly under the control of the local host committees rather than FIFA itself. And those host cities know it.

And, will there be other conflicts, international, political or cultural, which pop up during the tournament? There’s no “Olympic Truce” for FIFA and the Trump Administration is not going to be taking five weeks off.

All the other elements aren’t that important, because if the teams can play, the fans can see and people can watch the matches, the World Cup will be great. Because, in the end, the players and teams always are.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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PANORAMA: Grand Slam Track asks vendors to take 50%; Swiss ski star Gut-Behrami out for season after crash; Ukraine dominates Deaflympics

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The French government’s Olympic construction management firm, SOLIDEO, announced at its board meeting that the approved total budget of €1.721 billion from December 2023 has been reduced to €1.595 billion (–7.3%) as the enterprise will close at the end of the year. (€1 = $1.16 U.S.)

There are still remaining smaller works in the Athlete Village and Media Village complexes, with completions in 2026 and out to 2028 for some of the final end-use projects. The Grand Paris Aménagement development team will take over the still-to-be-completed work.

● Deaflympics ● The 2025 Deaflympics in Tokyo (JPN) concluded on Wednesday (26th), with Ukraine making the strongest statement, winning a remarkable total of 100 medals (32-39-29) to lead all countries.

The hosts, Japan won 51 (16-12-23), followed by China (50: 12-16-22), then South Korea (42), Iran (37) and the U.S. (36: 17-7-12). The highlight for the American squad was swimmer Carli Cronk – who swims at Notre Dame – who won seven golds in all, including the 200-400 m Freestyles, 100-200 m Butterflys and 400 m Medley and was on the winning U.S. 4×100 m Free and 4×100 m Medley relays. She won an eight medal with a silver in the 50 m Fly, and set world records for the deaf in the 200-400 m Frees and 100-200 m Flys.

A total of 2,911 athletes from 79 nations and territories participated in the Games.

● Alpine Skiing ● Swiss star Lara Gut-Behrami, the two-time overall women’s World Cup champion, will have surgery on her left knee after a bad training crash in Colorado and will miss the rest of the season.

Gut-Behrami, 34, the defending Olympic champ in the women’s Super-G event, had planned to retire after this season, but said in a statement, “My goal is to fully recover from this injury and regain my full performance level. Only then will I know what the future holds for me.”

At the FIS World Cup men’s Super-G at Copper Mountain, Colorado, Swiss superstar Marco Odermatt opened the Super-G season with a tight win over Austrians Vincent Kriechmayr – the 2021 World Champion – and Raphael Haaser, 1:07.70 to 1:07.78 to 1:07.83.

It’s Odermatt’s 47th career World Cup win and 16th in Super-G. Ryan Cochran-Siegle was the top American in 10th in 1:08.53, and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR), the 2022 Olympic Super-G bronzer, returned to the World Cup for the first time since a brutal January 2024 crash that required major surgery and a long recovery. He was cheered on by fiancee Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S.

Competition at Copper Mountain continues through Sunday.

● Athletics ● It was reported by The Athletic that Grand Slam Track is asking vendors to settle for half-payment, in order to avoid bankruptcy, and that vendors – as a group – have until 5 December to agree to the offer.

Estimates are that Grand Slam Track owed about $19 million in all after its final meet in Philadelphia on 1 June, and it acquired funding to pay half of what it owed to its athletes, in October.

Kennesaw State junior Brian Limo (KEN) was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit “for Presence/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Salbutamol) & tampering.”

He won the Conference USA 5,000 m in May and has a best of 14:11.93 from earlier in 2025.

● Cycling ● The UCI released a detailed report on the economic impact of the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Valais region of Switzerland, with 110,000 spectators estimated to attend in total, with 48,500 unique (non-duplicated) spectators.

The estimate of unique attendees from outside of Valais was 31,000 – about 65% – spending an estimate CHF 6.0 million while there. (CHF 1 = $1.24 U.S.)

Of the 31,000 out-of-area spectators, 48% were from elsewhere in Switzerland (23.300) and 17% (8,000) from outside the country, primarily from France, Germany and The Netherlands. Spending was mostly on accommodations, meals and transport, with an average spend for international visitors of CHF 178 per day across an average stay of 2.3 days.

The total direct spending on the event was CHF 9.6 million, leading to a total economic impact of CHF 19.3 million when adding in indirect and induced impacts.

This was a two-week event from 30 August to 14 September, with eight different locations and 1,135 riders, 521 support staff and 353 news media.

● Football ● FIFA announced that with a contribution of CHF 120,000 by the Swiss government, two mini-fields will be built in the West Bank area of Palestine in 2026. The total project “is to eventually install eight additional mini-pitches in FIFA Member Association Palestine and FIFA Member Association Israel in a second step.”

The Palestine federation has been asking FIFA for more than 10 years to suspend the Israeli federation, without success thus far.

The FIFA men’s U-17 World Cup in Qatar finished on Thursday, with Portugal winning for the first time with a 1-0 victory over Austria on a 32nd-minute goal from Anisio Cabral.

Brazil, which lost to Portugal in its semifinal on penalties, won the bronze medal with a 4-2 penalty shoot-out win over Italy after a 0-0 tie in regulation time.

Attendance for the tournament averaged 962 per match across 104 matches for a total of 100,073.

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JUDO: International Judo Federation reinstates Russia without conditions, beginning Friday, as Ukraine furiously objects

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ RUSSIA REINSTATED ≡

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the International Olympic Committee recommended “protective measures” that would keep Russian and Belarusian athletes and teams out of international competitions and all of the International Federations accommodated the request.

The International Judo Federation was one of the first to begin re-admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes as “neutrals” to IJF competitions in April 2023. In May of 2025, Belarusian athletes were re-admitted without restrictions as of 1 June 2025, including competing under their national flag.

On Thursday, the IJF posted a long statement titled “Sport: The Last Bridge for Reconciliation and Peace,” which included:

“Sport must remain neutral, independent, and free from political influence. Judo, rooted in the values of peace, unity, and friendship, cannot allow itself to become a platform for geopolitical agendas. The decision to reinstate full national representation reflects the IJF’s confidence in its ethical safeguards, as well as in the strength and integrity of the sport.

“The IJF Executive Committee has therefore voted to permit Russian athletes to compete under their national flag once again, with anthem and insignia in place, beginning with the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam 2025. This decision reaffirms the IJF’s role as a truly global federation and reinforces its commitment to fair, transparent, and values-driven governance.”

The reinstatement is immediate as the Abu Dhabi tournament begins on Friday (28th).

The Ukranian Judo Federation objected immediately, saying in a statement:

“The Ukrainian Judo Federation expresses its strong protest and categorically condemns the decision of the International Judo Federation (IJF) to allow Russian athletes to participate in international competitions under their national symbols. This decision constitutes a blatant violation of the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee and makes judo the first sport to openly disregard them.

“In its statement, the IJF speaks of ‘building bridges.’ Yet what bridges can be built with a state that kills Ukrainians every day, destroys their homes, and wipes cities and civilian infrastructure off the face of the earth?

“Ukraine pays with the lives of its citizens every day. Among the victims are athletes, coaches, volunteers, and children. At the same time, the IJF calls for ‘inclusivity’ toward representatives of the aggressor state – many of whom have publicly supported the war against Ukraine and are an integral part of the state’s propaganda machine.”

The Ukrainians already boycotted the 2025 IJF World Championships over Belarusian participation and now faces the prospect of possibly not competing at all in IJF events.

Observed: As the Ukrainians noted, the IJF is the first federation to cast off the IOC’s recommendations and fully reinstate Russia. The International Paralympic Committee General Assembly voted to reinstate Russia and Belarus in October, but no Russian or Belarusian athletes will appear in the Winter Paralympic Games in Italy as they have no qualifying pathway.

For judo, however, it has now taken a stand from which it will be difficult to back down in the future. If it can wave away any concerns over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the name of sport, then is there any circumstance under which an aggressor nation – or athlete – can ever be restricted from its events?

The answer for now has to be no and the IJF will have a hard time ever explaining why it would ever ban anyone, under any circumstances, from competing in its events in the future. Let’s see how long this holds up.

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MILAN CORTINA 2026: IOC approves two Russian and one Belarusian figure skaters for 2026 Games

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ “AIN” APPROVALS ≡

The International Olympic Committee announced on Thursday its approvals for three “neutral” athletes for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan Cortina, all in figure skating:

● Petr Gummenik (RUS)
● Adeliia Petrosian (RUS)
● Viktoriya Safonova (BLR)

Gummenik won the Internatiuonal Skating Union’s “Skate to Milano” Olympic qualifier in Beijing (CHN) in September, scoring 262.80 to win easily and take one of the five available qualifying positions.

Five places were available in the women’s Singles, won by Petrosian at 209.63; she won both the Short Program and the Free Skate. Safonova placed fourth at 181.91.

While the ISU is not permitting Russian or Belarusian entries in its own competitions, it created a place for “neutral” athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete in Olympic qualifying events, expecting that the IOC would follow the same scenario as it did for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. And that is exactly what happened.

Limited Russian and Belarusian entries are being allowed in the ISU’s speed skating and Short Track World Cup events for the purpose of trying to qualify for the 2026 Winter Games.

According to the IOC:

“For the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, strict eligibility conditions were established for AINs by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in December 2023. These conditions will also apply to the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

“The Individual Neutral Athlete Eligibility Review Panel (AINERP) evaluates the eligibility of each athlete with a Russian or Belarusian passport to participate in the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, and that of their support personnel. The IOC has the authority to invite an AIN, and their support personnel, to participate in the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

“Participation in the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games is subject to the athletes’ acceptance of the individual invitation and signing of the Conditions of Participation applicable to all participants. The form contains a commitment to respect the Olympic Charter, including ‘the peace mission of the Olympic Movement’.”

The International Biathlon Union, World Curling and the International Ice Hockey Federation are not allowing Russian or Belarusian entries into their competitions and will not have Russian or Belarusian athletes at Milan Cortina 2026.

The International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation was told by its Appeals Tribunal to allow Russian and Belarusian “neutrals” to be allowed to compete for the purpose of attempting to qualify and the International Luge Federation was told the same by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The International Ski & Snowboard Federation has also banned Russian and Belarusian participation with an appeal filed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport by the Russian Ski Association. That hearing will take place on 1 December, with a decision expected by 10 December.

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MIXED MARTIAL ARTS: Billionaire developer Tang announces new International Federation to chase Olympic inclusion for MMA

By
Rich Perelman
-
Asian Mixed Martial Arts Association President Gordon Tang (CAM) (Photo: AMMA).

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≡ MMA GOES OLYMPIC? ≡

Mixed Martial Arts has become a commercial success in a short time, raising to worldwide prominence in the 1990s with the formation of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 1993 and expanding quickly from there.

Now, with MMA a global business, the inevitable push toward inclusion on the Olympic program has started.

On Thursday. Singapore-based real estate development billionaire Gordon Tang (CAM) held an online news conference to announce the first moves to introducing MMA to the Olympic Movement:

“MMA has hundreds of millions of fans around the world. But despite this global popularity, MMA remains a sport that lacks unified international governance. This is something we want to address today.

“As President of the Asian Mixed Martial Arts Association, I have seen firsthand what can be achieved when everyone works together behind a shared vision. We have seen athletes excel and opportunities open up at major multi-sports events such as the Asian Games.

“But this has just been at a continental level. It is not enough for a global sport.

“That is why today we are announcing that on 1 December in Athens – the birthplace of the Olympic Games – we will host the founding meeting of FIMMA: Federation of International Mixed Martial Arts.

“FIMMA is a response to the numerous calls we have received from athletes and from National Federations. Calls for an International Federation that unites the sport under cohesive global governance. An International Federation that drives progress through an ambitious athlete-centered strategy. And an International Federation that delivers long-term sustainable global growth.

“FIMMA will stand as a unifying force. We are ready to collaborate with any and all organisations that share our commitment to protecting and promoting the global interests of MMA and its athletes.

“And with organisations that share our vision for MMA to take its place at the Olympic Games. Amateur MMA for too long has been divided. It’s time to unite our sport and bring it out of the shadow of its professional counterpart. It is time to unlock the enormous global potential we all know exists.

“I and ready to apply all my experience in MMA, sport and business at the service of this vision. Next week, the journey will begin.”

Tang is no stranger to the Olympic Movement, serving as an Executive Board member of the Olympic Council of Asia since 2021. Moreover, Mixed Martial Arts will appear on the program of the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya (JPN).

The Asian Mixed Martial Arts Association was founded in 2022 and held its first championship event in Thailand in 2023 and in Cambodia in 2024. MMA was included in the Asian Youth Games in Bahrain in 2025.

Even so, the new federation will need to create a structure, rules, institute an anti-doping program and begin standing up national federations around the world. Then the process of accreditation will begin, applying for recognition by the International Olympic Committee and joining the Alliance of Independent Recognized Members of Sport (AIMS). Once recognized by the IOC, Tang’s FIMMA could then apply to become a member of the Association of IOC-recognized International Federations (ARISF), and can begin serious lobbying to get onto the Olympic program.

But the idea of creating an International Federation for MMA is not new.

Standing in the way of Tang’s plan, however, is the fact that there is already an International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF), founded in 2012 and which has held world championships since 2014. A Swiss non-profit, it lists member federations in 123 countries and was launched with support from UFC. The IMMAF itself is the product of a merger with the World Mixed Martial Arts Association, in 2019. It is not a member of AIMS.

Observed: The outright violence which marks MMA will make it a difficult addition to the Olympic program, which already has boxing, judo, taekwondo and wrestling, not to mention the confusion with the existing IMMAF.

But the popularity of MMA will make it attractive for a future organizing committee to add it, seeing opportunities for increased ticket sales. Tang’s announcement underscored “athlete safety” – to the extent possible in MMA – with no cages to be used and restrictions on specific moves, such as strikes to the head after a knockdown.

Thursday’s announcement is the first step in a long road, but one which seeks to further validate MMA as a “mainstream” sport worldwide. It is not at all clear whether its inclusion would help the IOC’s stance that sports is a vehicle for peace.

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PANORAMA: Milan Cortina ‘26 unveils “Black Friday” sale! USA Hockey 2026 jerseys honor ‘60 champs; FIFA 2026 World Cup tix sales at 2 million

By
Rich Perelman
-
Jerseys for the U.S. ice hockey teams for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan (Photo: USA Hockey).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● If you thought “Black Friday” was mostly an American post-Thanksgiving tradition, think again.

The Milan Cortina 2026 organizers unveiled their own “Black Friday” sales program on Wednesday in a news release:

“Starting today, Wednesday 26 November at 4 p.m., the Flash Price Promo will be available for three days only, offering a 20% discount on a selection of events. Tickets for the Cross-Country Skiing of the Nordic Combined competitions will be available at €25 for category B and €60 for category A, offering the opportunity to watch only Cross-Country Skiing competitions of the Nordic Combined that will award medals.

“The special offer also includes the release of additional tickets for Women’s Ice Hockey (starting from €30), as well as Curling, Luge, and Skeleton.

“The 26 of November also marks a symbolic milestone: only 100 days remain before the start of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games.

“To celebrate this moment, tickets starting at €10 will be available for the Paralympic Alpine Skiing, Para Biathlon, and other scheduled disciplines.”

Who knew? (€1 = $1.16 U.S.)

● Commonwealth Games ● At the Commonwealth Sport General Assembly in Glasgow (SCO), 57-year-old Dr. Donald Rukare (UGA) was elected as President, following his role as Interim following the resignation of Chris Jenkins (WAL) on 14 April 2025.

A lawyer by trade with a love for swimming, Rukare has been the Chair of the National Council of Sports in Uganda since 2020 and was elected as the President of the Uganda Olympic Committee in 2021.

● World University Games ● Following up an its earlier expression of interest, the International University Sports Federation (FISU) formally awarded the 2027 Winter World University Games to Changchun in the Jilin Province in northern China.

China hosted the 2009 Winter WUG in Harbin and has been host for three summer Universiades, in Beijing in 2001, in 2011 in Shenzhen and Chengdu in 2021. The 2025 Winter WUG in Turin (ITA) had 1,503 athletes from 54 countries competing in 11 sports.

● Team USA ● USA Hockey unveiled the jerseys for the U.S. men’s and women’s ice hockey teams for the Olympic Winter Games at Milan Cortina in 2026, with a special reference to a past champion:

“Designed by Nike and available in white and royal blue, the jersey features bold diagonal ‘USA’ lettering across the chest and a gold-accented USA Hockey crest, a nod to Team USA’s success on the world stage. Inside the collar, the words ‘land of the free, home of the brave’ serve as a powerful reminder to every athlete that wearing this jersey represents something greater than themselves.

“The design pays homage to hockey history, honoring the jersey worn by the 1960 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team that captured the first-ever Olympic gold medal for the United States.”

Of course, the jerseys will be available for sale, starting on 4 December.

● Equestrian ● The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) has suspended American Eventing rider Andrew McConnon for 20 months, ending on 8 September 2026 for horse abuse, and was fined CHF 2,500 (about $3,100 U.S.).

McConnon has competed as a member of the U.S. team at a 2022 Nations Cup competition in Canada; he was being investigated for hitting horses in the head from the saddle during training rides.

● Fencing ● The annual awards from the Federation Equestre Internationale (FIE) were handed out at the FIE Congress in Bahrain last week, including the top performer of the year in women’s Foil, awarded to Olympic champion Lee Kiefer of the U.S.

USA Fencing was also recognized for the top teams in women’s Junior Foil and men’s Junior Sabre, and the Grand Prix of Nations for the top combined teams in three classes: Cadets, Juniors and Veterans.

● Flag Football ● While the U.S. men continued to lead the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) world rankings by a wide margin, Mexico took over the no. 1 spot for the first time from the U.S.

Mexico’s women beat the U.S. at the 2025 World Games and at the IFAF Americas championship and stand no. 1 with 10,987 points to 10,817 for the Americans. Great Britain (8,879), Canada (8,870) and Japan (8.643) are 3-4-5.

The American men are on top with 7,915 points to 7,109 for Austria, 6,871 for Mexico, 6.248 for Italy and 6,121 for France.

Flag football will make its debut as a medal event at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

● Football ● FIFA announced that nearly two million tickets have been sold so far for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the Final Draw coming up on 5 December.

Sales have been made in 212 countries and territories and beyond the host countries, the next-highest sales have been in England, Germany, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, Argentina and France. The entry period for the third phase of ticket sales will open on 11 December.

● Ski Jumping ● Slovenia’s two-time Worlds Team champion Anze Lanisek moved from second to first on the second of his jumps – amid difficult wind conditions – off the 132 m hill in Falun (SWE) to win the FIS World Cup competition on Wednesday.

He scored 262.9 points to edge Stephen Embacher (AUT: 259.9) and Slovenian star Domen Prevc (258.7).

● Swimming ● The draft minutes of USA Swimming’s 25 September 2025 Board meeting were obtained by Swimswam.com, which posted them on Wednesday. The federation budget projections for all of 2025 were included and showed:

● Overall revenue was projected down from 2024 from $44.707 million to $37.912 million, primarily due to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, which had a surplus of $5.152 million.

● Membership income was projected down from $24.309 million to $23.987 million and sponsorship income was also down from $5.753 million to a projected $4.719 million.

● Operating expenses were down from $41.523 million (in part due to the Trials) to $38.228 million, so the net was down from $3.185 million surplus in 2024 to a projected loss of $315,221, almost $415,000 short of projections, which had a slight surplus.

After non-operating reserve investments and investment performance was added in, the predicted 2025 net loss will be $2.041 million against a budgeted loss of $1.018 million, a little more than a million more than expected.

This was after budget cutting during the year trimmed expenses by $1.423 million, so it could have been worse.

World Aquatics, continuing its push for sustainability, is looking for a partner to offer an alternative to single-use plastics for open water swimming:

“World Aquatics is seeking sustainable, vegan or biodegradable feeding bottles suitable for use in elite open water swimming competition, and is calling on manufacturers, designers and material specialists to collaborate.”

Innovation has not yet caught up in this area, with endurance swimmers taking in hydration and nutrition during races approaching two hours. The announcement adds, “If your company can support this mission, we want to hear from you.”

● Weightlifting ● Iraq’s 2023 World Championships men’s 96 kg bronze winner Qasim Al-Lami agreed to a seven-year ban for the use of the steroid stanozolol from a positive out-of-competition test on 30 October 2024.

He had previously served a four-year sanction for doping from 2017-21 and as a second-time doper, his penalty is for eight years, with a reduction for accepting the ban, through 8 December 2031. He did not challenge the finding or the penalty.

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ENHANCED GAMES: Doping-friendly Enhanced Games gets $40 million cash infusion, coming to NASDAQ in $200 mil funding push ahead of 2026 event

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ CAN MONEY SOLVE EVERYTHING? ≡

The Enhanced Games, announced with considerable fanfare in May to be held for the first time in 2026, had shown few signs of activity outside of the signing of 12 athletes – mostly swimmers – for its May 2026 debut event in Las Vegas.

A lawsuit asking for up to $800 million in damages against the World Anti-Doping Agency, World Aquatics and USA Swimming was dismissed last week and founder Aron D’Souza (AUS) was sidelined as chief executive.

On Wednesday, it was announced that the enterprise had received a $40 million cash injection and will be publicly traded on the NASDAQ exchange, in a complex financial transaction.

A news release explained the company’s expected future business concepts this way:

“Brand partnership revenue is expected to form the foundation of the sports business, anchored by the annual Enhanced Games competition, while media and broadcasting partnerships represent a significant incremental opportunity, leveraging the interest in and global appeal of enhanced athletic competition.

“Beyond live events, Enhanced is developing a comprehensive telehealth and direct-to-consumer business focused on performance medicine products. This division aims to democratize access to performance enhancement tools and protocols, allowing consumers to ‘Live Enhanced’ through scientifically backed products and services. The Company expects to launch this product offering during Q1 2026.”

The sponsorship and broadcast revenue ideas are endemic to the events business, but no announcements in these areas have been made concerning the 2026 event next May. The “performance medicine products” were due to launch in October of 2025, but did not appear. The “telehealth” element is a new product line, but with no added details.

The renewed financing of Enhanced is complex and makes the company a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based conglomerate A Paradise Acquisition Corp. (currently traded on NASDAQ as APAD). The stock will be re-branded for Enhanced, in a transaction that will close in the first quarter of 2026:

● “Enhanced closed on a $40 million equity private placement in the form of a Simple Structured Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE), which is convertible into either Enhanced Ltd. shares or public company shares following consummation of the business combination, which provides committed capital to execute on the inaugural 2026 Enhanced Games.

“The SAFE was raised largely from existing Enhanced shareholders in exchange for a partial early release from lock-up of their existing Enhanced securities, and therefore should not be seen as a third party validation of the business combination valuation.”

● “Enhanced Ltd will merge with a wholly owned subsidiary of A Paradise, which will then merge with A Paradise, which will re-domesticate as a Texas corporation and change its name to Enhanced Group Inc.

“Its shares will be listed on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol ENHA in connection with closing and subject to regulatory approvals. The business combination values Enhanced at an enterprise value of $1.2 billion.

“Assuming no redemptions by A Paradise shareholders, the business combination is expected to deliver up to $200 million in gross cash proceeds to Enhanced Group that are currently held in trust by A Paradise. In the case of no redemptions, existing Enhanced shareholders will maintain approximately 81% economic ownership of the combined company, Enhanced Group Inc.”

So what will Enhanced do with the money? The announcement explained:

“Proceeds from the transactions will be strategically allocated across five key growth areas: (i) athlete recruitment and compensation, (ii) Enhanced Games production, (iii) clinical and medical support for athletes, (iv) telehealth and consumer products and (v) general administrative runway to support the Company’s multi-faceted expansion plans.”

What’s next? According to the announcement:

“Enhanced plans an integrated marketing campaign to generate global excitement beginning in December by leveraging athlete news, content highlighting elite sport, athlete storytelling, entertainment and educational content, with a mission of amplifying the Company’s brand and sustaining consumer interest heading into the games and year-round thereafter.”

This transaction rescues Enhanced with significant cash – $40 million from its existing investors and up to $200 million via the mergers – which it can further throw at athletes in an attempt to recruit the 100 or so that it has said it will need for its 2026 Games, with events in track & field, swimming and weightlifting.

The company acknowledged in its August lawsuit complaint that it has had difficulty recruiting swimmers, stating at that present, “Enhanced is unable to meet its goals of recruiting between ‘20-30 elite swimmers,’ for the Enhanced Games, putting in doubt the viability of the enterprise.”

It has, so far, also recruited two track & field athletes, including 2022 World Championships men’s 100 m gold medalist Fred Kerley of the U.S., and two weightlifters. Each event is to have a $500,000 prize purse, with $250,000 for the winner; world-record bonuses will pay $250,000 except for the 50 m Free swim and 100 m dash, which will have $1 million payouts for records.

Observed: Enhanced has solved its immediate funding issues, assuming the planned mergers are completed. Now it faces the question of whether it can convince consumers and sports fans to get interested in a competition program in which athletes can take performance-enhancing drugs to try and break records set by athletes who didn’t use drugs.

With so much competition for the attention of sports fans today, that appears to be an open question.

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COMMONWEALTH GAMES: India’s Ahmedabad confirmed as host for centennial Commonwealth Games in 2030

By
Rich Perelman
-
The Commonwealth Sport flag (Photo: In Vitrio via Wikipedia).

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≡ CENTENNIAL COMMONWEALTHS ≡

As expected, the Indian city of Ahmedabad was selected as the host of the 2030 Commonwealth Games at the Commonwealth Sport General Assembly in Glasgow (SCO) on Wednesday.

Ahmedabad was recommended for selection over Abuja (NGR) by the Commonwealth Sport Executive Committee in October and the General Assembly agreed, giving the Commonwealth Games some security after a rough decade to find host cities:

● 2022: After Durban (RSA) was selected as the sole bidder in 2015, it withdrew over funding issues and Birmingham (ENG) stepped in as an excellent host, advancing its planned 2026 bid.

● 2026: The state of Victoria, Australia agreed to host the Games in 2022, but withdrew over costs in July 2023, paying Commonwealth Sport A$380 million (about $247.7 million U.S. in 2025) as a penalty. With a significant amount of that money promised to a replacement host, Glasgow (SCO) – the 2014 Commonwealth Games host – agreed to stage a compact Games with just 10 sports.

● 2030: Ahmedabad and Abuja both indicated interest, with a more flexible hosting model adopted by Commonwealth Sport. With Ahmedabad selected, Commonwealth Sport indicated it wanted to work with Abuja on a possible hosting in 2034.

For 2030, Ahmedabad – the accepted English name for the city, known as Amdavad in the state of Gujarat – will stage 15-17 sports:

● The core Commonwealth Sport program includes (8): Athletics and Para Athletics, Swimming and Para Swimming, Table Tennis and Para Table Tennis, Bowls and Para Bowls, Weightlifting and Para Powerlifting, Artistic Gymnastics, Netball and Boxing.

● Added sports will come from Archery, Badminton, 3×3 Basketball and 3×3 Wheelchair Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Cricket T20, Cycling, Diving, Hockey, Judo, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Rugby  Sevens, Shooting, Squash, Triathlon and Para Triathlon and Wrestling.  

● The host can also propose up to two new or traditional sports.

Begun as the British Empire Games in 1930 in Hamilton (CAN), India hosted the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, marred by disorganization and corruption. Now, it hopes to use the development of the 2030 Commonwealth Games centennial as a springboard to a future Olympic hosting, possibly as early as 2036 (but which is likely to be awarded prior to 2030).

India’s Sports Minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, told supporters, “India is capable of hosting major events and will be among the top-10 sporting nations by 2036 and a top-five by 2047 when the country celebrates 100 years of independence.”

He also noted that India will host the 2029 World Police Games in Ahmedabad, a perfect lead-in to the Commonwealth Games.

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MILAN CORTINA 2026: Olympic Flame lit indoors at Olympia; torch relay now underway and will reach Italy on 6 December

By
Rich Perelman
-
Transfer of the Olympic Flame to Milan Cortina 2026 at Olympia on 26 November 2025 (Photo: Maja Hitij/Getty Images via the IOC on Flickr).

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≡ OLYMPIC FLAME ≡

Once again, a flame lit from the rays of the sun began a lengthy journey from ancient Olympic in Greece and will end up in Milan, Italy for the opening of the Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games on 6 February 2026..

The International Olympic Committee announcement captured the unique circumstances of this edition of the flame ceremony:

“Because of the wet weather forecast, the flame was lit using the rays of the sun during a rehearsal on Monday, ensuring that the purity of the traditional method was preserved. This flame was then transferred to the official Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic torch during the official ceremony, where Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist in rowing Petros Gkaidatzis [GRE] marked the start of the Greek leg of the Olympic Torch Relay as the first torchbearer.

“Petros was then joined by the first Italian torchbearer, two-time Olympic champion Stefania Belmondo [ITA], to run together, before she in turn passed the flame to her compatriot and fellow double Olympic champion, Armin Zoeggeler [ITA].”

The ceremony itself was held at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, reported to be the first time held indoors since December 1967 for the lighting of the flame for the 1968 Grenoble Olympic Winter Games in France.

The Olympic Flame tradition for the Winter Games began in 1952 in Oslo (NOR) and was lit there for the 1956 and 1960 Winter Games as well. The lighting of the Olympic Flame in Olympia for a Winter Games was first done for the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck (AUT).

The schedule ahead:

● 26 Nov.: Lighting of the Flame at Olympia
● 26 Nov.-04 Dec.: Torch Relay in Greece
● 04 Dec.: Transfer of the Olympic Flame in Athens
● 06 Dec.: Torch Relay in Italy begins in Rome
● 06 Dec.-06 Feb.: Torch Relay in Italy
● 06 Feb.: Opening Ceremonies in Milan and Cortina

Along the way, the Italian relay will arrive in Bari on New Year’s Eve, in Cortina – site of the 1956 Winter Games – on 26 January, the date of the opening of those Winter Games.

More than 300 cities will be visited via 10,001 torchbearers across the 12,000 km (7,456 mile) route.

Remarks by IOC President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) included:

“We are extremely happy that today’s ceremony reminds us what the Games stand for. They are about bringing people together in peaceful competition, in friendship and in respect. As we light the Olympic flame for Milano Cortina, we will carry this light from the past to the present and into the future. And it’s a shared future that we all want to see. This is why we firmly believe in the Olympic Truce. In laying down our differences and wanting to hope for a brighter future.”

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UTAH 2034: Winter Olympic & Paralympic organizing committee unveils “transitional” logo and new branding for all of Utah

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ “TRANSITIONAL” 2034 LOGO ≡

The Olympic Winter Games in 2002 was known as the “Salt Lake City” Games, even though many of the events were held outside the city limits.

With many of the same sites being used for the 2034 Olympic Winter Games, it was announced Monday that “Utah 2034″ would be the name for the event, reaching out to the entire state. Said organizing committee President Fraser Bullock:

“From our capital of Salt Lake City out to every corner of our state, the Utah 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will be shared by all Utahns.”

At the Salt Lake City International Airport, a “transitional” logo and wordmark was announced, but these are not the logos that will be used for the Games:

“To help the host regions build early awareness and momentum, the IOC allows ‘Transition Logos’ to be created long before the full Brand Identity for the Games. These official marks are limited to typography – without symbols or icons – reserving the full creative expression for the official Games emblem released closer to the Games.”

The actual logo for Utah 2034 will be released in 2029. As for the new marks:

“The Utah 2034 Wordmark is inspired by Utah’s varied landscape, where desert buttes, mountain peaks, and winding rivers create a sense of constant movement and transformation.”

The project was steered by Salt Lake City-based brand consultant Molly Mazzolini, who was advised by a four-person Paralympic working group of Tyler Merren, Danielle Umstead, Joe Walsh and Calahan Young. The artwork was developed in collaboration with a team of outside designers and the Utah Office of Tourism.

A launch event for the new graphics was held Monday at the airport, celebrating 3,000 days to go until the opening of the 2034 Olympic Winter Games and introducing a mammoth new artwork:

“The 12-foot (3.6m) high Utah Together Spectacular is located on the arrival/departure level of the Salt Lake City International Airport, in the heart of Gordon Huether’s The Canyon. It symbolizes Utah’s 29 counties working together in unity as one community to welcome the world in 2034.”

The emphasis on bringing the entire state of Utah together into the development and staging of the 2034 Winter Games is not only a wise political effort, but recognizes the multiple jurisdictions in which the events will be staged:

● Kearns: Utah Olympic Oval (speed skating)
● Midway: Soldier Hollow Nordic Center (biathlon, cross-country skiing)
● Ogden: Snowbasin Resort (alpine skiing)
● Park City: Deer Valley Resort (freestyle skiing)
● Park City: Utah Olympic Park (bobsled-luge-skeleton, ski jumping)
● Park City: Utah Olympic Park (freestyle skiing, snowboard)
● Provo: Peaks Ice Arena (ice hockey)
● Salt Lake City: Delta Center (ice hockey)
● Salt Lake City: Rice-Eccles Stadium (ceremonies, freestyle skiing, snowboard)
● Salt Lake City: Salt Palace Convention Center (curling)
● West Valley City: Maverik Center (figure skating, short track)

Never too early for merchandise, right? The Monday announcement also introduced “a partnership with LA28 and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to produce its first merchandise line, the Utah 2034 Collection.

“A selection of apparel and hardline merchandise with the new Utah 2034 logos is now available on the Olympic Shop at utah2034shop.com. Merchandise will also be available soon at Utah’s legacy venue locations and Team USA Shops.”

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PANORAMA: Weather forces Olympic Flame ceremony indoors; USADA chief says WADA won’t meet on differences; Quincy Wilson chooses Maryland!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Quincy Wilson finishing his sensational 44.10 men’s 400 m at the 2025 Ed Murphey Classic (Photo: AthleticLive).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● With heavy clouds forecast for Wednesday’s Olympic Flame lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece, a rehearsal flame was lit from the sun’s rays on Monday and will be the flame actually used in the ceremony.

The Hellenic Olympic Committee noted in a Tuesday post:

“The Olympic Flame Lighting Ceremony will take place on Wednesday, 26 November 2025 at 11:30 at the Archaeological Museum, with the Olympic Flame having been lit during Monday’s rehearsal.”

The Tuesday rehearsal was also indoors at the Museum due to continuing rainfall; British sports historian Philip Barker noted on X:

“The last time an Olympic Flame Ceremony took place in the Museum of Olympic Games of Antiquity in Dec 1967 for Grenoble Winter Olympics.”

The Hellenic Olympic Committee announced that Greek Olympic rowing bronze medalist Petros Gaidatzis will be the first torchbearer on Wednesday.

An expedited process has been adopted for an online hearing on the complaint by the Russian Ski Association against the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) for 1 December 2025, at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The Russians are trying to force FIS to allow Russian (and presumably, Belarusian) athletes to be able to compete, at least as neutrals, in qualifying events for Milan Cortina 2026. The CAS announcement noted:

“After the hearing, the Panel will deliberate. This is an expedited procedure with an operative decision (without grounds) expected on or prior to 10 December 2025.”

FIS has maintained a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes since 2022.

● Anti-Doping ● A report on October’s Play The Game conference in Tampere (FIN) included comments from former Finnish youth and sport minister Sandra Bergqvist, also a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency Foundation Board, gave ger view of the continuing conflict between WADA and the U.S.:

“I think we need to start over to build up the good work that WADA has been doing for many, many years. Unfortunately, the situation right now is quite infected, so I think we need some new people who can start working all over again.

“WADA needs new leadership. That is the only solution to preserve all the good work WADA has done. I think it is more important now than ever that we are focusing on all the good things that WADA has been doing.”

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency head Travis Tygart, WADA’s fiercest critic over the January 2021 Chinese mass-positives incident and subsequent no-sanctions finding, said he has reached out to WADA President Witold Banka (POL) and Director General Olivier Niggli (SUI) for discussions in June 2024, but they refused. He said he tried to meet with them at the WADA meetings in Saudi Arabia in December:

“Banka and Niggli would not meet. I then sent another letter in June of this year, incredibly respectful and diplomatic, asking once again to sit down and speak with them. They refused to do so.”

He said he has “given up hope” of meeting, but welcomes a third part to bring them together and resolve their issues.

● Athletics ● Prep 400 m star Quincy Wilson – who ran a high school record 44.10 in 2025 – announced he will attend the University of Maryland, and will be coached by two-time Olympic 4×400 m gold medalist Andrew Valmon.

Wilson attends The Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland and decided to stay home instead of heading to South Carolina, Texas A&M, UCLA or USC. Valmon was a U.S. assistant coach for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where Wilson won a relay gold himself, running in the preliminary round.

American men’s Steeplechase record holder Evan Jager announced his retirement at age 36 on Monday, having won the Rio 2016 Olympic silver and 2017 World Championships bronze, as well as seven national championships, from 2012-18.

He lowered the American Record to 8:06.81 in 2012 – his first year in the Steeple – then to 8:04.71 in 2014 and 8:00.45 in Paris in 2015, tripping over the final barrier when it appeared that he would win (he ended up second) and break eight minutes! He ranks no. 16 all-time now.

Jager was dogged by injuries later in his career, but made it to the World Championships again in 2022, finishing sixth and he was fourth at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, just missing a third Olympic team.

Chinese long jump star Jianan Wang, the 2022 World Champion and three-time Olympian, tested positive on 1 November 2024 for Terbutaline, an asthma medication which is banned without a Therapeutic Use Exemption.

He was cleared by the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency for no-fault or negligence as its inquiry showed that the positive “was caused by passive inhalation of Terbutaline drug particles diffused into the air whilst the Athlete accompanied a family member undergoing a nebulisation treatment at a local hospital on 31 October and 1 November 2024.”

Once informed, the Athletics Integrity Unit undertook its own investigation, including the use of closed-circuit videotapes of Wang, 29, coming to the hospital to visit the family member, and other documentation and in a Tuesday statement, said it was satisfied with the procedures taken and will not file an appeal against the CHINADA decision.

● Figure Skating ● Russian star Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, 28, announced her retirement, concluding a career in which she was the 2015 World Champion and 2021 Worlds silver medalist, and a six-time winner on the ISU Grand Prix circuit. She said in an interview:

“I think for every skater, figure skating is a little life. Yes, there were some problems, some difficult situations, but there were so many good things in my career, so many happy moments, that I can now say with gratitude that I had a brilliant career, and I regret nothing. I am announcing the end of my athletic career, with no regrets.”

● Football ● On Monday, “the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) and FIFA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to allocate up to USD 1 billion in concessional loans for the construction and rehabilitation of sports stadiums and essential surrounding infrastructure in developing countries around the world.”

The loans, at discounted interest rates, will “support national governments in designing, financing, and building modern multi-sport venues that meet international standards and serve as hubs for community life, education, and inclusion.”

It was reported that FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI) was awarded Lebanese citizenship, announced by Lebanon President Joseph Aoun. Infantino’s wife, Lina Al-Ashqar, is Lebanese and Infantino was said to announce that “FIFA plans to build an international-level stadium in Beirut.”

A class-action lawsuit concerning the chaotic Copa America final at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on 14 July 2024, was settled for $14 million by defendants CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, Best Security, and South Florida Stadium LLC, after some fans without tickets burst into the stadium and actual ticket-holders had to wait for 82 minutes. There were 27 arrests and 55 ejections, but some ticket holders could not get in for the Argentina vs. Colombia match.

Fans claiming damages have to make a filing and if unable to attend at all, can receive up to $2,000 plus up to $300 in travel expenses. Ticket holders who could not access their seats can get up to $100 for inconvenience.

● Ski Jumping ● At the mid-week FIS World Cup in Falun (SWE), three-time World Champion Stefan Kraft (AUT) got his 4th career World Cup gold with a 249.9-point triumph off the 95 m hill, winning the first jump and finishing third on the second. He became the all-time leader in World Cup points scored at 15,811.

Slovenia’s Anze Lanisek was second (247.7) and German Philipp Raimund was third at 244.9. The competitions continue through the weekend.

● Swimming ● Canadian star Penny Oleksiak was banned for two years for “whereabouts” failures between October 2024 and June 2025. Per the International Testing Agency:

“On 15 July 2025, she accepted a voluntary provisional suspension pending resolution of the matter. The athlete did not contest the ADRV and agreed with the consequences proposed by the ITA.”

Oleksiak, now 25, was the co-2016 Olympic women’s 100 m Freestyle gold medalist; her suspension runs from 15 July 2025 through 14 July 2027. Oleksiak’s last championship event appearance was at the 2024 World Aquatics Short-Course (25 m) Championships in Hungary.

● Weightlifting ● A unique Olympic-sport crossover promotion was mounted by the Bahrain Weightlifting Federation during the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Finals in Manama (BRN), with weightlifting demonstrations in the fan festival area and an exhibition, mixed-gender event incorporated into breaks of the 3×3 matches!

It’s an interesting concept for cooperation between International Federations and one which can be widely implemented as a part-entertainment, part-education for fans. Will there be more of these?

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PANORAMA: Golovkin confirmed as World Boxing chief; Shiffrin wins World Cup no. 103; Stolz storms to three more speed skating golds!

By
Rich Perelman
-
World Boxing President Gennadiy Golovkin of Kazakhstan (Photo: World Boxing).

★ 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 ≡

● Boxing ● Former middleweight World Champion Gennadiy Golovkin (KAZ) — “Triple G” – was elected by acclamation as the sole candidate for a three-year term as the President of World Boxing as the federation’s electoral congress in Rome (ITA).

Continue

ENHANCED GAMES: Enhanced Games founder D’Souza leaves and its $800 million lawsuit was dismissed; is this the beginning of the end?

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ ENHANCED SHAKE-UP ≡

Last week was a rough one for the promoters of the doping-friendly Enhanced Games, announced with a splash last May, with founder Aron D’Souza (AUS) telling an audience in Las Vegas:

“When my colleagues and I started out, no one – not one institution, not one organization – had committed to normalizing and celebrating performance medicine. So I made it my cause. …

“In just over a year, we helped change the global conversation, not just about sport, but about health, and science and what it means to be human. Because this isn’t just a sporting event. We’re not just organizing competition. We are in the business of unlocking human potential.

“The idea for the Enhanced Games came to life in 2022, during a moment of reflection where I found myself asking why athletes are still bounded by outdated rules that ignored everything that we know about science. I imagined a new kind of competition, one where science and sport and society could evolve together, where we stop apologizing for progress and started to embrace it.”

The event has been scheduled for 21-24 May 2026 at Resorts Las Vegas, with competitions in swimming, track & field and weightlifting. About 100 athletes are expected to take part and each event is to have a $500,000 prize purse, with $250,000 for the winner; world-record bonuses will pay $250,000 except for the 50 m Free swim and 100 m dash, which will have $1 million payouts for records.

So far, not that many have embraced it:

● On 3 June 2025, about two weeks after the announcement, World Aquatics adopted new By-Law 10, which essentially bans anyone competing or assisting with any event that “embraces” the use of performance-enhancing drugs, from any World Aquatics event.

● So far, a total of 12 athletes have been signed according to the Enhanced Games Web site: eight in swimming, two in track and two in weightlifting. Eleven are men, the lone woman is American swimmer Megan Romano.

● In the lawsuit filed in August by the Enhanced Games against the World Anti-Doping Agency, World Aquatics and USA Swimming, which was dismissed last week in U.S. Federal Court for the Southern District of New York, the decision noted (citations omitted):

“Enhanced alleges that [World Aquatics] By-Law 10 has harmed its ability to recruit personnel, especially the non-enhanced swimmers, that are necessary for its inaugural Games. According to Enhanced, ‘numerous elite swimmers with whom Enhanced had been in discussions to sign on to the Enhanced Games have now refused to participate, expressly citing World Aquatics’ Bylaw . . . and their concerns about the impact on their future Olympic and championship aspirations due to Defendants’ threats of ineligibility.’

“Similarly, ‘[s]everal coaches and trainers . . . declined to participate in the Games,’ citing By-Law 10 as a reason for their refusal. And ‘timekeepers, consultants and operational staff,’ whose roles are critical to putting on swimming events, have also ‘declined to participate out of fear that it would harm their standing and ability to work with World Aquatics and USA Swimming in the future.’

“As a result, Enhanced is unable to meet its goals of recruiting between ‘20-30 elite swimmers,’ for the Enhanced Games, putting in doubt the viability of the enterprise.”

● Last Thursday (20th), three days after the Federal District Court’s decision in Enhanced US LLC vs. World Aquatics et al (25-CV-7096), the Enhanced Games announced:

“Maximilian Martin, Co-Founder of Enhanced, has been appointed CEO and assumes all operational leadership duties for the company. Martin is the former CEO and Co-Founder of Bitfield, a bitcoin mining company that was acquired by Northern Data in a €400 million transaction. With Martin’s appointment, Founder Dr. Aron D’Souza has transitioned out of the company’s day-to-day operations, while remaining a shareholder.”

New staff were announced in branding, communications, finance and sports.

So, what now?

The appeal of the Enhanced Games has been based, in large part, on money, and how underpaid athletes can be handsomely rewarded for participating. Moreover, athletes who do not want to use performance-enhancing drugs are also welcome as noted in the District Court decision:

“Enhanced’s events are also open to “non-enhanced” swimmers (i.e., those who follow World Aquatics’s Doping Control Rules). Indeed, competition between enhanced and non-enhanced athletes is ‘a critical element’ of Enhanced’s events and ‘is intended and expected to generate substantial media and fan interest.’”

This isn’t working. The Enhanced Games is a privately-financed project, stridently separate from the Olympic Movement, which champions “clean sport” and after more than a quarter-century since the founding of the World Anti-Doping Agency, has an entrenched anti-doping policing policy, testing and enforcement mechanism.

But there are lots of sports and events which are not part of the Olympic orbit or within the jurisdiction of WADA. And this is why the Enhanced Games lawsuit, asking for more than $800 million in damages, failed.

What is not widely appreciated are the commercial goals of the Enhanced Games.

● D’Souza said last May:

“We’re not exclusively in the business of delivering sport. We’re also in the business of science, and developing and marketing new drug compounds. I want to take a moment to also announce the launch of the Enhanced Performance Products brand. This summer, we’re bringing Enhanced to the American public with our new consumer products.

“This will be the embodiment of Enhanced’s core mission: to inspire humanity with the belief that we can all overcome our limits and become super-human, safely, with the right medical supervision.”

The Enhanced site shows three testosterone products – testosterone is banned by WADA – with launch dates in 2025 and for which “early access” deposits are available. So they are not quite on the market yet.

● Last week’s news release began with “Enhanced, the elite sports competition and performance products company committed to giving athletes and people alike the ability to optimize their health, performance and recovery,” underscoring the importance of the “performance products” aspect of the project as its commercial side.

If Enhanced doesn’t have athletes, it doesn’t have an event. If it doesn’t have products on the market that can be promoted by the Enhanced Games, it has no way to make money. During the launch presentation, it was noted that the broadcast of the Enhanced Games would be “digital-first experience” which likely means self-streaming. Which means little or no broadcaster rights fees; nothing more has been said about this. Nothing has been said about ticket sales.

And that means essentially no return for investors. And that means no Enhanced Games.

Observed: As the calendar turns to 2026, Enhanced (1) needs to sign more athletes for its event in May but more importantly (2) needs to get its products on the market, the key to its finances.

Both are difficult, so it will not be a surprise if the 2026 Enhanced Games is postponed.

Do not look for it to be “canceled.” That’s not the way investors like to exit; a postponement is preferred, with the future still to be determined.

What the Enhanced Games concept has not appreciated is the value placed on the glory of sport and the magnetic pull of the Olympic Games, the Olympic concept and the ideal of sport and peace, as reflected in the current version of the Olympic Oath, taken at the start of each Olympic Games:

“We promise to take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules and in the spirit of fair play, inclusion and equality. Together we stand in solidarity and commit ourselves to sport without doping, without cheating, without any form of discrimination. We do this for the honour of our teams, in respect for the Fundamental Principles of Olympism, and to make the world a better place through sport.”

Even for significant money, in today’s world, the goals of the Olympic Oath are still hard to argue with.

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LANE ONE: Intuit announced as an LA28 Founding Partner; could money allow LA28 to change the whole L.A. Olympic governance game in 2026?

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

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≡ GAME CHANGE IN 2026? ≡

The LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games organizers announced a sixth Founding Partner – its highest sponsor tier – on Friday with financial and marketing software giant Intuit joining, also confirming that its title sponsorship of the Intuit Dome in Inglewood will remain in place during the 2028 Games.

The Intuit Dome will be the site of basketball and is the fourth venue for 2028 to retain its corporate name: the Peacock Theatre (weightlifting and boxing) and Universal Studios (squash) via Comcast; the Honda Center (volleyball) in Anaheim and now the Intuit Dome, thanks to the new venue-naming availability pioneered by LA28.

Intuit will also support the LA28 Small Business Supplier Program “to provide access to resources, mentorship, and opportunities for local businesses to become suppliers for the LA28 Games” and will “also expand its national financial education program for students in the LA community, helping them build real-world skills.”

Intuit also becomes a multi-year partner of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.

The Intuit announcement is the fourth Founding Partner for LA28 announced in 2025, with Honda, Google and Starbucks joining early sponsors Comcast and Delta Airlines. The LA28 sales team, headed by John Slusher, is increasingly confident in reaching $2 billion of the $2.517 billion budget line item for domestic sponsorship by the end of 2025.

Also coming in 2026 will be the start of Olympic ticket sales, with registration starting in January and actual sales as early as April 2026. That’s more than a year earlier than every other recent Olympic Games.

LA28 had, for a long time, a budget line of $1.929 billion for tickets and hospitality sales. In March 2025, that number was increased by $569 million – more than 29% – to $2.498 billion. That’s a dramatic show of confidence in ticket and hospitality demand with an estimated 14 million tickets to be available for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

And that money could start pouring in in the late spring and early summer of next year. Which leads to some interesting possibilities, perhaps in a year from now:

● Thanks to its work in continuously shifting venues to increase efficiency, save money and raise more revenue, LA28 is close to optimizing its site plan for 2028. That means that it should also, by the late summer or early fall of 2026, have a much better grip on its projected costs to stage the Games – Olympic and Paralympic – in 2028.

● As sponsorship sales continue, and with the new opportunity for venue naming rights created by LA28, the organizing committee will know – internally – where it stands financially, with Chief Financial Officer Karen Sturges in the center ring.

● If – and only if – the outlook is bright, and it may well be, LA28 could be a strong position to make a move which will create significant operational freedom for its final year and a half going into the Games:

In concert (of course) with the International Olympic Committee, offer to relieve the City of Los Angeles and the State of California from their financial guarantees.

Both the City and the State are in difficult financial environments. Los Angeles City Council members regularly wail about the calamity that will befall the City if the LA28 organizers have a deficit. Los Angeles is currently contracted to cover the first $270 million of a deficit, then the State of California would pick up the next $270 million and then the City has all of the rest of the liability.

To end the City and State liability would mean the end of the many entanglements that the organizers now have with the City:

● Reports to the City would be reduced; LA28 has already made commitments for local hiring and spending which it will want to monitor itself to show its good faith to the community.

● The City’s focus will turn, quickly, not to whether LA28 will have enough money to cover its expenses, but whether the City itself will be ready. During the difficult budget negotiations earlier in 2025, City officials said there was no comprehensive plan concerning the Games and the City’s roles. That needs to get fixed.

● LA28 will be able to manage its operations without turning for permission to the City for any sites which are within the City limits, or sports which were placed there at some point. At a 27 August meeting of the City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the move of diving from the LA84 Foundation/John C. Argue Swim Stadium used for the 1932 Games to the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center was accompanied by a promise to spend $2-3 million to upgrade the 1932 pool. Council member Curren Price Jr., whose district includes the swim stadium, told the committee:

“I’m glad that LA28 has come to the table to ensure that South L.A. is not left behind. They committed investing in the John C. Argue Swim Stadium in Expo Park and delivering a pool that is going to be certified for national and international competition.

“This means that long after the Games, our young people, our athletes and our community are going to have a world-class facility right here in South Los Angeles. This is the kind of legacy that I think we must insist upon, as the host city and as the financial guarantor. …

“This is how we make the Games work for all of L.A., by demanding that every change, every compromise, come with some lasting benefit for all of our residents.”

He also referred to an as-yet unpublicized plan to install added broadband communications towers in the South L.A. are, which could improve online access in the area.

These kinds of “arrangements” would go away. In fact, the City will have to concentrate to completing most of the work on the renovation of the Los Angeles Convention Center to be sure that it is available for the Games, or L.A. will face a multi-million-dollar liability for a last-minute redirection of the sports scheduled there.

And LA28 will weigh, even more than it does now, the spending of every dollar between then and the closing of the Paralympic Games on 27 August 2028.

If the LA28 organizers have a financial surplus from the Games, as the 1932 and 1984 organizing committees did, it is directed to go to a new entity to be co-managed by the City and representatives of LA28. That would end and the LA28 organizers could then create their own legacy foundation to support sport.

There is a long way to go between now and 2028, but if (and only if) the LA28 finances continue to brighten, the opportunity to vaporize the financial “Sword of Damocles” that so worries the L.A. City Council could be a benefit to the City, to the State of California and to the organizing committee.

And, despite losing some feeling of control over the 2028 Games, the L.A. City Council and Mayor Karen Bass (if re-elected, or her successor) would be hard-pressed – in the current economic circumstance – to say no to eliminating any liability for the finances of the LA28 organizers.

Let’s check back on this in a year. It could be epic.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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PANORAMA: Rams donate $5 million for free LA28 tickets for locals; U.S. Para star Snyder elected to IPC Board; staff shake-up at Enhanced Games

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 1984: Los Angeles ● The LA84 Foundation, the living legacy of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for the 1984 Games, announced its latest round of grants, to 19 community organizations in six Southern California counties.

A total of $1.781 million was distributed to sports groups in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Imperial, Santa Barbara and Riverside counties:

“The majority of the grantees focus on communities where issues such as cost, transportation, safety and lack of facilities often prevent kids from experiencing the lifelong benefits of sport and play that can lead to an enriched life for young people.”

The grants will offer support through the grantees to aquatics, baseball, basketball, flag football, running, soccer, softball, track & field and volleyball.

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● A first donation of $5 million has been made by the NFL Los Angeles Rams for a fund to provide free tickets to the 2028 Games for Los Angeles-area residents.

The LA28 organizing committee announced the creation of the as-yet-unnamed program to collect money to be used for purchasing tickets “via community organizations to distribute within their communities.”

The agreement that brought the Games to Los Angeles in 2017 placed the City of Los Angeles in the position of financial guarantor for any organizing committee deficit, with some of the responsibility shared by the State of California. That has created significant pressure on the LA28 organizers to ensure that the Games run a surplus, as did the organizing committees of the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games held in L.A.

Thus, LA28 needs to sell its tickets and not give them away, similar to the situation of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, which arranged for government purchases of 401,220 tickets to the Olympic (100,700) and Paralympic (298,600) Games. About 65% went to students and a quarter to sports organization volunteers; the national government spent about €11 million for the tickets (about $12.69 million U.S. today).

The City of Paris and the Ile-de-France region also purchased tickets to be given to youth, staff members and sports volunteers.

The Rams’ donation will be acknowledged during Sunday night’s NBC broadcast of the home game vs. Tampa Bay.

Politico.com reported on new members of the LA28 Board of Directors, adding individuals with close contacts with the Trump Administration, including former U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, and “Wisconsin Trump mega-donor Diane Hendricks, Patrick Dumont, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and son-in-law of Trump benefactor Miriam Adelson and investment banker Ken Moelis, who was a banker for Trump in the 1990s.”

The story said that the Board also added business consultant Denita Willoughby and philanthropist Maria Hummer-Tuttle, and that Paralympic star Muffy Davis was leaving the Board.

Consideration of the proposed San Pedro-to-Long Beach water taxi service for the Olympic and Paralympic Games period in 2028 was scheduled to be heard on Thursday by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Executive Management Committee, but the item was withdrawn from the agenda.

A TSX overview of the Metro review report and slide presentation on the proposal is here.

● International Paralympic Committee ● The IPC finally finished its elections process with an Extraordinary General Assembly held online, which selected seven at-large members of the IPC Board. Those elected:

● Debra Alexander (RSA)
● Chelsey Gotell (CAN)
● Fernando Riaño (ESP)
● Mohamed Duaij Alkhalifa (BRN)
● Robyn Smith (AUS)
● Miki Matheson (JPN)
● Brad Snyder (USA)

Each will serve four-year terms. Snyder, 41, is a Navy veteran who lost his sight to an explosion while on duty in Afghanistan in 2011. He recovered and stormed to two gold and one silver medal in swimming at the London 2012 Paralympics and three more golds and a silver in 2016. He transitioned to triathlon and won a Tokyo 2020 gold in that sport. He has been a USOPC Board member since 2019.

● U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee ● The USOPC announced “Team USA Safe Online,” a project to protect athletes in the digital world:

● “The platform provides Team USA athletes, their families and National Governing Bodies with clear, evidence-based tools to address online harassment, AI-generated deepfakes, doxxing, intimate image abuse, and other emerging online threats. It includes step-by-step guidance for prevention, response and support, as well as resources for parents, coaches and agents.”

● “This is accomplished through a combination of automated monitoring, human expert review and content mitigation in partnership with social media platforms and law enforcement when necessary.”

The program is an extension of the agreement with online safety organization Moonshot to monitor and mitigate online abuse through the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games.

● Enhanced Games ● Significant shake-up at the Enhanced Games, where founder “Dr. Aron D’Souza has transitioned out of the company’s day-to-day operations, while remaining a shareholder,” and “Maximilian Martin, Co-Founder of Enhanced, has been appointed CEO and assumes all operational leadership duties for the company.”

D’Souza had been the face of the Enhanced Games so far, which is slated to take place in Las Vegas in May 2026. Several more appointments were announced in branding, communications, finance and in sport, where 14-year USOPC veteran Rick Adams has been hired as Chief Sporting Officer. Adams served in sport performance and operations roles with the USOPC; he was hired as the Enhanced Games Senior Vice President for Games Delivery in August 2024.

The announcements come a day after the Enhanced Games’ lawsuit in U.S. Federal Court for anti-trust infringement against the World Anti-Doping Agency, World Aquatics and USA Swimming, was dismissed.

● Athletics ● China’s sprint record holder, Bingtian Su, announced his retirement after competing in the Chinese National Games in Guangzhou on Thursday.

Now 36, he was the World Indoor 60 m silver medalist in 2018 and won an Olympic 4×100 m bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Games. He finishes with bests of 6.42 in 2018 in the indoor 60 m – an Asian Record and no. 6 all-time – and 9.83 in the 100 m from 2021, also the Asian Record and no. 22 on the all-time list.

● Boxing ● India dominated the World Boxing Cup Finals in Noida (IND) with gold medals in nine classes, ahead of Uzbekistan, with four wins in nine finals.

Among the women’s winners was Paris Olympic 66 kg bronzer Nien-chin Chen (TPE), the only Olympic medal winner to claim a gold in Noida.

● Football ● The Caribbean island of Curacao qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals by winning CONCACAF Group B on Tuesday with a 0-0 draw at Jamaica and finished with a 3-0-3 record and 12 points, ahead of Jamaica (11: 3-1-2).

That makes Curacao the smallest country by population – 156,115 according to The Associated Press – to ever get to the World Cup finals. Iceland had been the smallest at 352,721 in 2018 and Cape Verde also qualified for the 2026 finals at 534,877, the third-smallest ever.

Panama won CONCACAF Group A at 3-0-3 and Haiti qualified for its second World Cup by winning Group C at 3-1-2. Suriname and Jamaica still have a chance, advancing to the inter-confederation playoffs in Mexico in March 2026, with two teams out of six to make it to the World Cup.

The quarterfinals are now set for the FIFA men’s U-17 World Cup, being played in Qatar, with all four games to be played on Friday (21st):

Upper bracket:
● Portugal vs. Switzerland
● Morocco vs. Brazil

Lower bracket:
● Australia vs. Japan
● Italy vs. Burkina Faso

The semis will be played on Monday (24th) and the medal matches on the 27th (Thursday).

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PANORAMA: U.S. ski star Diggins to retire at season’s end; LA28 Paralympic by-day/sport schedule released; $15 mil bounty for ex-Olympic snowboard drug lord

By
Rich Perelman
-

★ 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 ≡

● Paralympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● The LA28 organizers marked 1,000 days until the opening of the 2028 Paralympic Games by releasing a “first look” at the 23-sport, 560-event sports schedule.

The Games will open on 15 August 2028 at SoFi Stadium and closing at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on 27 August. The first medals events on 16 August will be in Para Athletics, Wheelchair Fencing, Shooting Para Sport, Para Equestrian and Para Cycling Track.

Wheelchair Basketball is the only sport that will run for all 12 days following the opening on 15 August. Sitting Volleyball will go for 11 days as will Para Athletics. Para Swimming and Para Table Tennis will both go for 10 days.

The shortest sport on the program? Para Triathlon, for just two days on 18-19 August. The detailed event schedule is to be announced later.

● Basketball ● U.S. superstars LeBron James and Steph Curry were major contributors to the American gold at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, but they won’t be in 2028.

Speaking with two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash (CAN) on the “Mind The Game” podcast that he co-hosts, James said of 2028, “You already know my answer. Don’t even ask. I will be watching from Cabo.”

Curry explained, “It is the opposite answer of what I told him last year. It was like, God willing, I still have the choice and the physical option to be like, I could actually impact the team. Never say never, but I highly doubt it. Love to be a part of the movement.”

James will be 43 at the time of the 2028 Games in Los Angeles and Curry will be 40.

● Cross Country Skiing ● Jessie Diggins, now 34, the most important skier in American cross-country history, announced that she will retire at the end of the 2025-26 season.

It’s impossible to overstate the impact that Diggins has had, along with already-retired Kikkan Randall, on women’s cross-country in the U.S. Together, they won the first-ever U.S. gold in Olympic cross-country history in the 2018 PyeongChang women’s Team Sprint.

Diggins has gone on to become a dominant force in the sport, winning the seasonal FIS World Cup in 2021, 2023 and 2025 and has a U.S.-record 29 World Cup wins and 79 total World cup medals.

She is a three-time Olympic medalist, adding a stunning 30 km Free silver in 2022 as well as a bronze in Beijing in the women’s Sprint. She owns seven FIS World Championships medals, including golds in the 2013 women’s Team Sprint and the 10 km Free in 2023.

She explained, “I hope I’m remembered not just for the pain cave and ability to suffer deeply for a team that I love and a sport I care about so much, but for the joy, sense of fun on snow, heart-on-sleeve racing, deep vulnerability and openness that I’ve brought to everything I do.”

Diggins is looking to be part of a fourth Olympic Team and for more medals in Milan Cortina; she will be a threat in multiple events. The newfound depth and strength of the American women’s squad, in particular, is a testament to the inspiration that she and Randall have been to a sport in which the U.S. was an afterthought for decades.

● Skiing & Snowboard ● U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s “HERoic Initiative” that increased the number of women’s coaches, expanded education and awarded prize money for the top alpine skier, is being expanded across seven U.S. winter-sport National Governing Bodies with financial support from medicine giant Eli Lilly & Company.

“HERoic will now be an official campaign to celebrate women athletes” as they qualify for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games, with Lilly receiving broadcast visibility, venue signage and social media support from U.S. Ski & Snowboard but also Team USA.

● Snowboard ● One-time Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding now has a $15 million bounty from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation for information leading to arrest and/or conviction as the U.S. government is trying to find him for “allegedly running and participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation that routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada, and other locations in the U.S.”

In a Tuesday news conference, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wedding and his associates were responsible for more than $1 billion in annual cocaine sales; he is believed to be living in Mexico. According to new indictments filed Wednesday:

“Wedding was accused of ordering the murder of a federal witness—who was executed with five bullets to the head earlier this year – before he could testify against Wedding. Among seven subjects arrested today in Canada was Wedding’s attorney, Deepak Paradkar, who allegedly recommended to Wedding that he have the witness murdered.”

Wedding competed for Canada at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, finishing 24th in the men’s Parallel Giant Slalom.

● Table Tennis ● The International Table Tennis Federation announced that Steve Dainton (AUS), the federation’s chief executive since 2017, will transition to World Table Tennis, the federation’s commercial arm, as its full-time chief executive, to further expand the sport’s reach and commercial value. He has been with the ITTF since 2005.

The ITTF Secretary General since 2017, Spain’s Raul Calin has been recruited by World Archery to be its new Secretary General as of 1 December 2025. Calin began working with the ITTF as Competition Manager in 2004 and was in the federation’s Asia-Pacific office in Singapore until 2022 when he moved to the ITTF headquarters.

Calin won’t be going far as the offices for both federations are in the Maison du Sport in Lausanne (SUI)!

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