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TSX REPORT: Richardson flies to 10.71 at USATF Nationals; U.S. sending nine world leads, 34 top-three swimmers to Worlds!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Sprint star Sha'Carri Richardson (Photo: Paul Merca for Tracktown USA)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Richardson 10.71 world lead, javelin shocker highlight USATF day one
2. “The Track Collective” forms to help the unsponsored
3. Powerful U.S. swim squad readies for Fukuoka Worlds
4. U.S. men win water polo bronze on re-run of last 4:24!
5. Paris 2024 economic impact from €5.3 to €10.7 billion

Sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was the talk of day one of the USATF National Championships in Eugene, grabbing the world lead in the women’s 100 m in 10.71, moving her up to equal-sixth all-time. National titles were claimed by Woody Kincaid (men’s 10,000 m), Sam Mattis (discus), Elise Cranny (women’s 10,000 m), Tori Franklin (triple jump) and the surprising Maddie Harris in the women’s javelin. More athlete concerns in track & field, as four women distance runners have formed The Track Collective, selling T-shirts and taking donations to help unsponsored competitors. Meanwhile, Richardson says e-mails to an athletes-only meeting in Eugene were sent out to “start this union that we most definitely deserve.” USA Swimming will send a strong team to the World Aquatics Championships in Japan, with nine world event leaders on time and 34 top-three performers in the world for 2023, fully a third of the total worldwide. But the U.S. won’t match its 2022 performance. Amazing turn at the World Aquatics men’s Water Polo World Cup Super Final last weekend, as the U.S. lost to Hungary, 18-15, for the bronze medal, but then protested a play in the fourth quarter. The last 4:24 was re-played and the U.S. took the bronze with a 14-13 win! A new report on the impact of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games said it could be anywhere from €5.3 to €10.7 billion, or about $5.8 to $11.6 billion U.S. Is this really helpful?

● Panorama: Athletics (Rojas takes world women’s TJ lead) = Basketball (Brazil and Canada undefeated in FIBA women’s AmeriCup) = Cycling (3: Pogacar brilliant in Tour de France stage win; good audience for NBC’s Le Tour opener; van Vleuten wins against in Giro Donne) = Fencing (USA Fencing declaration text signed by Russians to compete at Summer Nationals) = Football (2: U.S. men and women in action this weekend; Univision beat FS1 10 out of 10 in Gold Cup viewers) = Hockey (Dutch sweep men’s and women’s FIH Nations League titles!) = Sport Climbing (IFSC Med chair resigns, as new wellness indicia coming) ●

1.
Richardson 10.71 world lead, javelin shocker
highlight USATF day one

It didn’t take long for the 2023 USATF National Championships in Eugene to heat up, with Sha’Carri Richardson storming to a world-leading 10.71 in the first heat of the women’s 100 m.

Running from lane seven, Richardson started brilliantly, was barely aided by a 0.1 m/s tailwind and won by a huge 0.25 margin over Brittany Brown (10.96), the only other runner to break 11 seconds.

It’s a lifetime best by 0.01 for Richardson from 2021 and she now ranks equal-sixth in history with Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson.

That was the headline, but there were also multiple finals on Thursday:

● Men/10,000 m: A huge pack ran together through 8,000 m, with former BYU star Conner Mantz taking over and leading with four laps to go. The running then started, with 2022 Worlds fourth-placer Grant Fisher taking charge at 8,800 m and eight others still in contention. With two laps left, Fisher was leading defending champ Joe Klecker and 2021 Olympic Trials winner Woody Kincaid, with ex-Stanford star Sean McGorty coming up to challenge. The bell had Fisher, Klecker, Kincaid and McGorty all close, and then Kincaid unleashed his patented kick around the final turn to win in 28:23.01 with a 54.76 last lap. Klecker (28:24.50) and McGorty (28:24.96) both passed Fisher (28:25.61) on the run-in, with two-time Olympic 5,000 medalist Paul Chelimo finishing fifth in 28:29.34 and Mantz sixth, 0.02 back.

● Men/Discus: Sam Mattis won his second USATF title – also in 2019 – with his fifth-round throw of 65.93 (216-3) to edge NCAA champ Turner Washington (65.60 m/215-3).

● Women/10,000 m: With five laps to run, there were eight in contention, forming up behind Natosha Rogers and 2022 Nationals runner-up Alicia Monson, and Monson took the lead soon after. Elise Cranny, the 2021 Olympic Trials fourth-placer, came into contention with three laps left, and with 800 to go, these were going to be the medal winners. At the bell, it was Monson and Cranny, with Rogers having lost contact. Cranny made the best move, sailing home to win going away, 32:12.30 to 32:17.51 for Monson, with Rogers third at 32:22.77.

● Women/Triple Jump: Three-time U.S. Indoor champ Tori Franklin put the field on notice with a 14.44 m (47-4 1/2) seasonal best in round one and everyone had to chase. Keturah Orji, winner of the last six USATF national titles was second with her first-round jump of 14.32m (46-11 3/4), and then got closer in round five at 14.38 m (47-2 1/4).

Orji gave it a final push in round six and looked good, but the measurement came in at a just-short 14.43 m (47-4 1/4) and Franklin won her first outdoor national crown. Florida star Jasmine Moore, the NCAA champ, finished third at 14.19 m (46-6 3/4).

● Women/Javelin:/Updated/Former American Record holder and two-time Olympian Maggie Malone was in the lead and looked unbeatable, at 58.56 m (192-1) in round three. But Maddie Harris, 22, the fourth-place finisher in the NCAA for Nebraska, found the throw of her life in round five and reached 60.73 m (199-3) – a lifetime best by just more than six feet! – to stun everyone and take the national title. She also moves to no. 9 on the all-time U.S. list. Shocker.

Malone responded, improving to 58.79 m (192-10), but could do no more and finished second.

In the men’s 100 m heats, there was less drama, with 2019 World Champion Christian Coleman posting the only sub-10 mark at 9.95 (+0.5 m/s). Among those not advancing were Ronnie Baker (10.28), 2022 Worlds 400 m winner Michael Norman (10.31) and 2022 Worlds silver medalist, Marvin Bracy-Williams (11.14).

Arkansas’ Chris Bailey led the 400 m qualifiers with a lifetime best of 45.04, just ahead of Vernon Norwood (45.06). Rio 2016 bronze medalist Clayton Murphy led the men’s 800 m qualifying at 1:46.36, with NCAA champ Will Sumner winning heat three at 1:46.49.

Yared Nuguse, who ran 3:29.02 in Oslo three weeks ago, led the 1,500 m qualifying, with Washington’s NCAA champ Joe Waskom, 3:35.37 and 3:36.31 in heat one. Tokyo Olympian Mason Ferlic led the men’s Steeple qualifiers at 8:24.14.

Harrison Williams led the decathlon after five events, at 4,465, ahead of Iowa’s Austin West, who won the 100 m (10.52) and the 400 m (46.31). Georgia’s NCAA runner-up, Kyle Garland, was fourth at 4,353.

The women’s 400 m had Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone leading the qualifying at 49.79 from heat two, with collegiate record-holder Britton Wilson winning heat one in 50.08.

At 800 m, only Nia Akins broke two minutes in the heats, at 1:59.09. Former World Indoor Champion Ajee Wilson, who looked so distressed at the NYC Grand Prix, advanced comfortably in 2:00.32 in third in heat one.

Olympic and World 800 m champ Athing Mu qualified easily in heat one of the 1,500 m, in a lifetime best of 4:10.33, behind winner Addy Wiley (4:09.53). Defending champion Sinclaire Johnson won heat two at 4:07.84, ahead of Heather McLean, the fastest runs of the day. Emma Coburn, the 2017 World Champion, and Logan Jolly won the Steeple heats in 9:36.69 and 9:48.56.

In the heptathlon, 2022 Worlds bronze medalist Anna Hall got a lifetime best in the shot (14.03 m/46-0 1/2) and led the first day with 4,003 points, to 3,890 for Taliyah Brooks.

The meet continues Friday, with CNBC offering live coverage from 7-9 p.m. Pacific (10-midnight Eastern).

2.
“The Track Collective” forms to help the unsponsored

Another new group has formed with the goal of assisting track & field athletes with questions: The Track Collective.

Founded by Rio 2016 Steeple Olympian Colleen Quigley, 2023 U.S. Indoor 1,500 m champ Nikki Hiltz, 2021 Big West 1,500 m runner-up Katie Camarena and 2021 NCAA Steeple semifinalist Emma Gee:

“The Collective has two main goals.

“The first goal is to empower the next generation of track & field athletes by providing a collective of resources and information that can help bridge the gap to professional running. We hope to be a support system for athletes as they work toward signing a professional contract.

“Our second goal is to support athletes beyond the limits of a typical professional running ‘team.’ Our coaches, sponsors, and training locations may be different, but we show up for each other’s causes and communities. We are a collective of athletes who assist each other no matter our individual setups.”

Their initial effort, at the 2022 USATF Nationals is to raise money for unsponsored athletes:

“Recognizing the financial burden of traveling to Eugene, Ore. for the National Championships, The Track Collective will be selling limited edition t-shirts throughout this week with proceeds going to support unsponsored athletes competing at the event as the organization’s first program. T-shirt sales will be done inperson in Eugene on the Northeast corner of 15th Ave and Agate St starting on Thursday, July 6th at 3pm and cost $25.

“Anyone who wishes to make a donation that would go directly to support developing unsponsored track and field athletes who are competing at the National Championships can do so from the homepage of The Track Collective website.”

Observed: Chatter about athlete “unions” in track & field goes back at least to the 1960s and possibly before. This continued into the professional era in the late 1970s and has been demanded by high-profile stars such as Carl Lewis and Edwin Moses in the 1980s and appeared to have some momentum recently with the formation of The Athletics Association, using the tagline, “We Are the Sport.”

It debuted with some fanfare in 2019, head by triple jump star Christian Taylor and former U.S. Steeple record holder Emma Coburn, in the wake of the elimination of the triple jump and steeplechase from the Diamond League program. Those events were soon returned and the last entry on its Web site is from 10 December 2021.

Now, sprint star Sha’Carri Richardson is planning an athletes-only meeting at the 2023 Nationals in Eugene, and after an appeal on Sunday, she posted a short video on Instagram on Wednesday (5th) that included:

“To everybody who signed up, I am so excited and glad you guys signed up. Please, please, please check out your e-mail so we can have the athletes-only meeting, and start this union that we most definitely deserve and we’ve earned.”

So, a meeting is scheduled. Others have tried and gotten nowhere, but there is a sense that there are more people interested in this subject this time. But that’s a long way from anything happening. But Richardson, for one, is upset.

She tweeted a note on top of a photo of competitive eater Joey Chestnut receiving $10,000 for winning his 16th Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest on the Fourth of July:

“USATF Championship this weekend first place only gets $8,000. What would y’all do if decide to boycott because the disrespect is bold now. Then see us at meets and try to smile in our faces when half of the athletes you speak to are the same people y’all are hurting!!”

3.
Powerful U.S. swim squad readies for Fukuoka Worlds

As usual, the USA Swimming National Championships in Indianapolis produced plenty of fireworks and a thrilling selection event for the 2023 World Aquatics Championships. Looking at the 2023 world lists, American performers now on top of the world (on time) include:

● Men/800 m Free: 7:40.34, Bobby Finke
● Men/50 m Back: 24.10, Justin Ress
● Men/200 m Back: 1:55.03, Ryan Murphy

● Women/800 m Free: 8:07.07, Katie Ledecky
● Women/1,500 m Free: 15:28.64, Katie Ledecky
● Women/50 m Back: 27.13, Katharine Berkoff
● Women/100 m Breast: 1:04.75, Lilly King
● Women/100 m Fly: 56.18, Torri Huske
● Women/200 m Fly: 2:03.87, Regan Smith

Moreover, looking at the top three on the 2023 year lists, the U.S. has 12 men and 22 women listed, or a third of the total across the 34 individual events for men and women combined:

Men: 12
● Free: 50 m-1, 800 m-1
● Back: 50 m-2, 100 m-2, 200 m-1
● Breast: 100-1
● Fly: 50 m-1, 100 m-1
● Medley: 200 m-1, 400 m-1

Women: 22
● Free: 50 m-1, 400 m-1, 800 m-1, 1,500 m-1
● Back: 100 m-2, 200 m-2, 50 m-2
● Breast: 50 m-1, 100 m-2, 200 m-2
● Fly: 50 m-1, 100 m-3, 200 m-1
● Medley: 200 m-1, 400 m-1

Now, it is true that some of these stars will not be going to Fukuoka for the Worlds; much has been made in the swimming media about sprint star Michael Andrew, who won the men’s 50 m Fly, being left off of the team under USA Swimming selection procedures which prioritize relay swimmers over performers in non-Olympic events – he missed winning the 50 m Free by 0.01 – within the 26-swimmer quota allowed for each team.

Nevertheless, there are multiple athletes swimming in multiple individual events:

Men:
● Jack Alexy: 50-100 m Free
● Nic Fink: 50-100 m Breast
● Bobby Finke: 800-1,500 m Free
● Carson Foster: 200 m Fly, 200-400 m Medley
● Thomas Heilman: 100-200 m Fly
● Josh Matheny: 100-200 m Breast
● Ryan Murphy: 100-200 m Back

Women:
● Katharine Berkoff: 50-100 m Back
● Kate Douglass: 100 m Free-200 m Breast-200 m Medley
● Katie Grimes: 1,500 m Free, 400 m Medley
● Lilly King: 50-100-200 m Breast
● Katie Ledecky: 400-800-1,500 m Free
● Bella Sims: 200-400 m Free
● Regan Smith: 100-200 m Back, 200 m Fly
● Alex Walsh: 200-400 m Medley
● Gretchen Walsh: 50 m Free, 50-100 m Fly
● Abbey Weitzeil: 50-100 m Free

Grimes has the heaviest workload in Fukuoka, as she will also be swimming the open-water 5 km and 10 km races, prior to her two events in the pool. Ledecky qualified to swim the 200 m Free, but gave it up to concentrate on her other events; she is certainly a candidate for the 4×200 m Free Relay.

Ledecky and Chase Kalisz, the Tokyo Olympic 400 m Medley winner, both qualified for their sixth World Championships team (2013-15-17-19-22-23), joining Nathan Adrian, Elizabeth Beisel, Natalie Coughlin, Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps as the only U.S. swimmers to make it to six Worlds.

The U.S. was nothing short of sensational at the 2022 Worlds in Budapest, winning 45 medals (17-12-16) ahead of Australia (17: 6-9-2) and Canada (11: 3-4-4). With multiple swimmers in those countries and others opting for the Commonwealth Games or European Championships, the U.S. will try to match its 2019 performance of 27 medals (14-8-5), leading the medal table over Australia (19: 5-9-5) and Russia (16: 3-7-6). The Russian situation is a continuing question mark, as World Aquatics will consider their situation soon, but likely not in time for any entries in Fukuoka.

The USA Swimming nationals drew respectable audience on NBC for highlight shows last week on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s show had average viewership of 502,000 starting at 1 p.m. Eastern. On Sunday, 761,000 tuned in at noon Eastern time.

4.
U.S. men win water polo bronze on re-run of last 4:24!

This is unbelievable. Although the World Aquatics men’s Water Polo World Cup Super Final scoreboard showed that Hungary defeated the U.S., 18-15, in a shoot-out for the bronze medal in Los Angeles last Sunday (2nd) … it didn’t turn out that way.

Showing that it is possible to turn back time, the last 4:24 of the fourth quarter was replayed after a USA Water Polo protest. Per USA Water Polo:

“[A]n appeal was registered concerned a possession in the fourth quarter.

“At 4:24 during the fourth quarter of the regulation period, Team USA drew an exclusion and a subsequent penalty shot. Hungary blocked the penalty shot and the player from the exclusion corner was waived in. The teams were then ‘even’, even though there was :07 left for the player in the exclusion. USA appealed; it was deemed a ‘correctable error’ and determined to be replayed from the spot of the error.

“It was determined the match would be replayed following the conclusion of the gold medal match, which Spain won over Italy 10-4.”

Back into the pool, with the U.S. down by 13-12, Max Irving scored on the re-play of the penalty shot to even the score, and the teams battled inconclusively for almost four minutes, with U.S. keeper Adrian Weinberg making two key saves.

An American power play produced nothing, but Ben Hallock scored with 0:40 on the clock for a 14-13 lead. A Hungarian power play was wasted and the U.S. earned the bronze medal, 14-13. Irving scored four goals and assisted on four others.

It is the first medal for the U.S. men in this tournament since 1997, breaking a medal-less streak that appeared to reach a seventh tournament in a row.

Hall of Fame Yankee catcher turned Mets manager Yogi Berra was right: “It ain’t over till it’s over,” or whatever he actually said.

5.
Paris 2024 economic impact from €5.3 to €10.7 billion

The latest in a stack of estimates of the economic impact of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games came on Wednesday (5th), with a report from the National Assembly seen by Agence France Presse.

The study, from the University of Limoges Center for Sports Law and Economics, estimated a wide range of impact, from €5.3 billion (~$5.77 billion U.S.) on the low end to €10.7 billion (~$11.64 billion U.S.) on the high side. An estimate from the bid phase – also from the University of Limoges – suggested a possible impact €10.7 billion.

These effects are only for the Ile-de-France region, which includes Paris, and does not include the impact of the competitions elsewhere in the country.

The tourism impact is expected to be significant, accounting for 36% of the impact from the Olympic Games and 18% from the Paralympics. The study also noted the impact of construction, with the government’s Solideo construction company having let €663 million (~$721.3 million U.S.) in contracts thus far.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Athletics ● Another world lead, this time in the women’s triple jump as world-record holder Yulimar Rojas (VEN) won the Central American and Caribbean Games at 15.16 m (49-9), the first woman past 15 m this season.

● Basketball ● The 17th FIBA women’s AmeriCup in Leon (MEX) has moved into the elimination stage, with Brazil and Canada the group-stage winners and the U.S. women facing questions.

Brazil won Group A with a 4-0 record, beating the two-time defending champion U.S., 67-54, thanks to a 35-25 lead at halftime. With the WNBA in mid-season, the U.S. team is composed strictly of college players. Canada won Group B, also at 4-0.

In the 7 July quarterfinals, Brazil will face Mexico (Group B: 1-3), and Puerto Rico (B: 3-1) will play Venezuela (A: 1-3), with the winners advancing to the semis on the 8th. Canada will face Argentina (A: 1-3) and the U.S. will play Colombia (B: 2-2). The championship match comes Sunday (9th).

● Cycling ● A brilliant final attack by two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar (SLO) jumbled the 110th Tour de France on Thursday and put the pre-race favorites in first and second place.

After his stirring win in Stage 5, Australia’s Jai Hindley started the day in the lead by 0:47 over defending champ Jonas Vingegaard (DEN). But Thursday’s 144.5 km stage was a three-climb monster in the French Pyrenees, with the 1,485 m Col de Aspin in the first half, followed by a full descent and then the 2,112 m Col de Tourmalet. The race ended on a 15 km climb to Cauterets.

While a group of five riders crested the Tourmalet in front, Vingegaard and Pogacar were dueling behind them. But there were eight together heading toward the final climb and with 4 km left it was only Vingegaard, Pogacar and Michal Kwiatkowski (POL). The Pole was dropped with 3.6 km left and then Pogacar attached with 2.8 km left and rode solo to the line in 3:54:27, with Vingegaard 24 seconds back and Norway’s Tobias Johannessen some 1:22 back. Hindley was sixth, but 2:39 behind the winner.

That means Vingegaard is now the race leader, just 25 seconds up on Pogacar with Hindley dropping to third (+1:34).

Friday’s stage to Limoges is for the sprinters, with a stiffer test on Saturday, with a serious finishing climb to the Puy de Dome. Sunday is hilly, but with the last third of the race mostly downhill, before Monday’s first rest day.

NBC is showing almost nothing of the Tour de France, but its coverage of the opening day drew a good audience of 768,000 on Saturday, 1 July. This was especially impressive considering its 8 a.m. Eastern time slot!

Dutch star Annemiek van Vleuten continued to dominate the Giro d’Italia Internazionale Feminile on her way to a fourth career win and two in a row.

After winning Stage 6 on Wednesday, she added another victory in Stage 7, a hilly, 109.1 km route that ended in Alassio. She broke away in the final 1.7 km to beat Juliette Labous (FRA: +0:13) and Gaia Realini (ITA: +0:20).

With two stages left, van Vleuten now has a 3:56 lead on Labous, 4:25 on Realini and 5:35 on American Veronica Ewers, who dropped from second to fourth.

● Fencing ● Further to our Thursday post concerning the three Russian entries into the USA Fencing Summer National Championships in Phoenix, federation chief executive Phil Andrews provided the next of the declaration that Konstantin Lokhanov (sabre) and Sergey Bida (epee) were required to sign:

“I, [name], a citizen of [country], publicly renounce the invasion of Ukraine and the participation in official activities of USA Fencing by Russian and Belarussian nationals who have not renounced support for the war; and I will support USA Fencing’s official position on the participation of citizens of those nations in activities under the auspices of the International Fencing Federation.”

Bida’s wife, Violetta Khrapina Bida (epee), was entered, but did not compete and was therefore not obligated to sign the declaration. Both Bida and Lokhanov were identified as “FIE” athletes.

● Football ● The U.S. national teams will be busy this weekend, with the men facing Canada in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in Cincinnati on Sunday, and the semifinals to be played on the 12th.

The U.S. women will play a final friendly before leaving for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, also on Sunday, against Wales in San Jose, California. The Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand begins on 20 July.

The CONCACAF Gold Cup continued to draw good viewership on Univision and on the Televisa channel TUDN, consistently beating the English-language coverage on Fox:

● 26 June: 617,000 on UniMas for Costa Rica-Panama
● 26 June: 226,000 on TUDN for Costa Rica-Panama
● 26 June: 385,000 on UniMas for El Salvador-Martinique

● 27 June: 784,000 on UniMas for Guatemala-Cuba
● 27 June: 276,000 on TUDN for Guatemala-Cuba
● 27 June: 188,000 on FS1 for Guatemala-Cuba
● 27 June: 391,000 on UniMas for Canada-Guadeloupe
● 27 June: 170,000 on FS1 for Canada-Guadeloupe

● 28 June: 774,000 on UniMas for U.S.-St. Kitts & Nevis
● 28 June: 608,000 on FS1 For U.S.-St. Kitts & Nevis
● 28 June: 269,000 on TUDN for U.S.-St. Kitts & Nevis
● 28 June: 495,000 on UniMas for Jamaica-Trinidad & Tobago
● 28 June: 178,000 on FS1 for Jamaica-Trinidad & Tobago

● 29 June: 1.973 million on Univision for Mexico-Haiti
● 29 June: 554,000 on TUDN for Mexico-Haiti
● 29 June: 266,00 on FS1 for Mexico-Haiti
● 29 June: 1.187 million on Univision for Qatar-Honduras
● 29 June: 309,000 on TUDN for Qatar-Honduras
● 29 June: 171,000 on FS1 for Qatar-Honduras

● 30 June: 584,000 on UniMas for El Salvador-Costa Rica
● 30 June: 274,000 on FS1 for El Salvador-Costa Rica
● 30 June: 338,000 on UniMas for Panama-Martinique

● 1 July: 1.136 million on Univision for Guatemala-Canada
● 1 July: 238,000 on TUDN for for Guatemala-Canada
● 1 July: 224,000 on FS1 for Guatemala-Canada
● 1 July: 583,000 on Univision for Cuba-Guadeloupe

● 2 July: 2.190 million on Univision for Mexico-Qatar
● 2 July: 590,000 on TUDN for Mexico-Qatar
● 2 July: 391,000 on FS1 for Mexico-Qatar
● 2 July: 1.211 million on Univision for U.S.-Trinidad & Tobago
● 2 July: 1.088 million on FOX for U.S.-Trinidad & Tobago
● 2 July: 291,000 on TUDN for U.S.-Trinidad & Tobago
● 2 July: 397,000 on Univision for Honduras-Haiti

In all 10 matches that were broadcast by both Univision or UniMas and FS1, the Spanish-language audience was larger, even for games involving the U.S. team.

● Hockey ● An impressive sweep for the Dutch men and women in the just-completed FIH Pro League, finishing nine months of national-team match-ups.

The men’s 16-match schedule saw the defending champion Netherlands win its last five games to move up and eventually take the seasonal title with 35 points with an 11-5 record. Great Britain was also 11-5, but where the Dutch had 10 wins and a shoot-out win, plus three shoot-out loses, the British won only eight matches outright and had three shoot-out wins and two shoot-put losses for 32. Belgium was third (30) with India (30) fourth.

The Dutch had to get at least a point their final match against Belgium – on Antwerp on Tuesday – to win the title and won in style, leading 3-1 at half on the way to a 4-2 victory.

India’s Harmanpreet Singh was the top scorer with 18 goals. By finishing third, Belgium is the only team to win a medal in all four editions of the men’s Pro League.

The Dutch women finished second to Argentina for the 2021-22 season after winning the first two editions of the Women’s Pro League. This time, they left no doubt, piling up 46 points to 32 for Argentina and 31 for Australia. The U.S. finished ninth (3-13 for seven points) and were relegated to the Nations Cup.

The Netherlands finished 15-1, with only a shoot-out loss to Australia on 11 June to mar a perfect season. The Dutch had the top scorer in Yibbi Jansen (14) and the next three as well, as Pien Dicke, Joosje Burg and Frederique Matia all scored eight. All together, the Dutch scored 62 goals and gave up only 17.

Second-place Argentina had a 10-6 mark with two shoot-out losses for 32 points, ahead of Australia (31) and Belgium (30).

● Sport Climbing ● The International Federation of Sport Climbing posted a notice on Thursday, accepting the resignations of Medical and Antidoping Commission Chair Eugen Burtscher (AUT) and member Volker Schoeffl (GER), apparently dealing with changes in the IFSC “well-being.” According to the notice:

“[A]s announced in January this year, from 2024 the IFSC will adopt a holistic approach not based solely on BMI [body-mass-index] parameters, which alone are not sufficient to determine critical health condition.

“The IFSC maintains that athletes’ health is of primary importance and therefore the biopsychosocial conditions around athletes must be taken into account in order to prevent and treat the root causes of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). In this context, the approach adopted until 2022 – based solely on BMI – does not answer the expectations of the IFSC in promoting a healthy sport. Furthermore, the Board has been informed of initiatives not in line with its approved protocols.”

The IFSC itself is now taking over the screening process, not its Medical & Antidoping Commission, and following up on its January 2023 directive:

“These measures [issued in March 2023] will be implemented in 2024, in addition to what has already been in place in 2021 and 2022, and, just like the current measures, they may result in the suspension of an athlete’s license.”

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TSX REPORT: Russian coach fired as active-military fencers are in U.S.; Richardson latest to call for T&F athlete “voice”; new Tokyo 2020 sentences

By
Rich Perelman
-
Sprint star Sha'Carri Richardson asking athletes to meet at the 2023 USATF National Championships (Photo: video screenshot)

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

★ Thrilled! Thanks to 20 donors, we’re at 52% of our summer fund-raising goal. Please help if you can. Your support is vital. ★

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Russia fires coach of active military fencers in U.S.
2. Richardson asks for athletes-only meeting in Eugene
3. European Games as proof of Poland’s abilities
4. Indonesian pols tweak ANOC after World Beach cancellation
5. Tokyo 2020 sponsorship scandal sentence; first bid-rigging plea

The Russian fencing federation fired its national Epee coach as two star fencers, both apparently listed as active-duty military or reserves, entered the USA Fencing Summer Nationals in Phoenix! They were able to do so thanks to a very liberal policy adopted in April by USA Fencing. Sprint star Sha’Carri Richardson – with 2.3 million Instagram followers – called for an athlete-only meeting at the USATF National Championships in Eugene to give them a “voice” in their own issues. This isn’t new. There are other issues, such as no social-media teams or videographers for individual athletes, and the meet only on cable – not NBC – for the first time in nearly 20 years. In Jamaica, the national government appropriated about $228,000 for the Jamaican nationals and to get the team ready for the Worlds in Budapest in August. The European Games was used by Poland as proof of its abilities, in the midst of dealing with 1.5 million refugees from Ukraine; its success was widely acknowledged. Politicians and officials in Indonesia offered statements apologizing for vaporizing the ANOC World Beach Games with a month to go, but a close look indicates it’s all for show. Keeping a handful of Israeli athletes out to help with February’s national elections is a lot more important. Another suspended sentence in the Tokyo 2020 sponsorship scandal and the first guilty plea in the massive bid-rigging scandal, from the “inside man” who coordinated it.

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (2: More tickets on sale; anti-doping rules released) = Pan American Games (Ticket sales to start 12 July) = Russia (3: review of neutrals in fencing, rowing, tennis, weightlifting; new Rodchenkov book on Sochi doping; Russia out as 2026 Euro Women’s host) = Athletics (3: Ekiru/10 years, McColl/10, Tima/3 all hit for doping) = Basketball (Spain wins FIBA men’s U-19s, U.S. fourth) = Cycling (3: Hindley takes yellow jersey at Le Tour; skiing-type padding coming for stage 17; van Vleuten dominating Giro Donne) = Football (3: CONCACAF Gold Cup to quarters; Spain gives more authority to officials to shut down matches; Mexican federation decries stabbing in match in Santa Clara!) = Handball (Germany wins IHF men’s U-21 World Cup) = Speed Skating (Russian six-time Worlds medalist Golubeva headed to Kazakhstan) ●

1.
Russia fires coach of active military fencers in U.S.

“Due to the flight of his athletes to the United States without the consent of the federation, including the current officer of the National Guard Bida and the current serviceman Khrapina, the head coach of Russian epee fencers Glazunov will be relieved of his post. The relevant documents have already been sent to the Sports Training Center.”

This story is almost too strange to be true. The Russian news agency TASS reported on Saturday that national Epee coach Alexander Glazunov had been fired by the Russian Fencing Federation after USA Fencing admitted two fencers who apparently still registered with the Russian military, the husband-and-wife combo of Tokyo Olympic Team Epee silver medalist Sergey Bida, 30, and 2019 World Championships Team Epee silver winner Violetta Khrapina Bida, both now living in the U.S. in California.

A follow-up story on Monday characterized Bida and Khrapina as “current officer of the Russian Guard, Sergei Bida, and the current serviceman, Violetta Khrapina, in the US championship without the consent of the Russian side.” It noted that well-known coach Vasily Skornevsky had been named to replace Glazunov.

Bida was apparently a member of the Dynamo Society, closely linked with the Russian military, with Khrapina a pupil of Glazunov’s.

If Bida and Khrapina Bida are still “active” – by Russian standards – in the Russian military, they would not be eligible to compete internationally under the International Olympic Committee’s 28 March recommendations on re-entry as neutral, individual athletes who are not affiliated with their country’s military.

But USA Fencing’s Board adopted exceptionally liberal guidelines in April, stating that Russians and Belarusians can compete in the U.S. Summer Nationals, if they meet criteria no. 1 and either criteria no. 2 or no. 3:

“1. They display no physical manifestation of Russian or Belorussian affiliation within the venue, including but not limited to uniforms, warm-ups, equipment bags, or accessories.

“2. For the previous three years, they have not held an FIE license indicating Russian or Belorussian sport nationality, unless they have officially been approved for a change of sport nationality from the FIE.

“3. For the previous one year they have not competed in USA Fencing competitions or functions and have renounced their support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine by executing a declaration to that effect.”

Bida, Khrapina and a third former Russian fencer, Tokyo Olympian in men’s Sabre, Konstantin Lokhanov, all were permitted into the Summer Nationals. Lokhanov won the men’s Division I Sabre championship, while Bida finished 17th in the Division I men’s Epee tournament; there is no record of Khrapina Bida competing in the women’s Epee tournaments. In the women’s Epee final, Margherita Guzzi Vincenti got the win over Catherine Nixon, 10-9.

Lokhanov was reported to have moved to California in March 2022, soon after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Bida and Khrapina Bida were reported to have moved to California in June of this year; in order to be eligible under USA Fencing’s standards, they would have had to sign a declaration against the Russian invasion.

2.
Richardson asks for athletes-only meeting in Eugene

U.S. track & field veterans are long familiar with calls for an athlete union, something which has never come together despite decades of trying, including The Athletics Association – “We Are The Sport” – formed in 2019, but not heard from since 2021.

The newest to ask is sprint sensation Sha’Carri Richardson, who has 2.3 million followers on Instagram. In a post on 2 July (Sunday), she asked for an athletes-only meeting at the USATF National Championships in Eugene:

“There is so much going on in our sport! A lot of changes are happening that affect us. We, as athletes, keep talking about not having a voice. We do! Let’s get together in Eugene in discuss.

“Interested in meeting during Nationals (of course not during competition) to discuss what’s going on in US Track and Field, let me know! Athletes Only!!!

“If yes, fill out the form for more details including potential dates and times.

“Link in bio, please let’s come together for us for a change!”

Her video included:

“I’m coming to you today, the athletes of track & field, specifically USA. I know we see each other at a lot at meets …

“If you as an athlete have an issue with the things that are going on within track & field in the United States, the changes that are going on, the decisions that are being made, everything that we as athletes don’t have any say-so in, not knowing who to turn to, not knowing who to complain to, not knowing who to let know if we’re not receiving the things from track meets, if we’re not receiving things from our sponsors, so I just wanted to drop down below a link for an idea for all of us to come together and actually sit down.

“I know most of us will actually be at Oregon for nationals, so actually sit down and come up with a strategy as athletes to create a voice for ourselves, and create an actual organization to where we know that is going to impact , and build us up as athletes, and build up the sport in the United States and not continue to just exploit us, like these organizations that are supposed to be on our side or doing, and they continue to show us that they are not.

“Please, please, please, please, I am asking sincerely …”

The response was good: more than 141,000 liked the post and the video, but no word so far on whether a meeting will be held.

There are other issues boiling up, including a USATF ban on athlete videographers:

“Due to our broadcast restrictions, we are not able to allow third party filming at the venue. This includes athletes’ personal filming crews, videographers, and social media teams. We will be unable to provide accreditation for any of these individuals with access to Hayward Field, any of our warm-up areas or practice venues. Anyone wanting to license competition footage is invited to complete this form. You are free to capture content outside of these venues and we appreciate your understanding in this matter.”

This makes some sense for the two hours from Friday through Sunday that the meet is being shown on CNBC. But the rest of the meet is being shown on USATF’s own streaming service, for which it has, of course, no outside restrictions.

(It’s worth remembering that the European Broadcasting Union, which had multi-national, exclusive rights to the just-completed European Games in Poland, created a new service – in conjunction with Atos – to provide athletes with clips of their performances for their own social-media purposes! Said Eurovision Sport Executive Director Glen Killane (IRL): “We want to grow this and make it make it into something to bring more audiences.”)

Then, of course, there is the relegation of live television coverage of the meet to the cable business channel CNBC, and the streaming service Peacock:

● Fri., 7 July: 7-9 p.m. Pacific/10 p.m.-12 a.m. Eastern
● Sat., 8 July: 6-8 p.m. Pacific/9-11 p.m. Eastern
● Sun., 9 July: 6-8 p.m. Pacific/9-11 p.m. Eastern

Jonathan Gault of LetsRun.com reported that the U.S. Nationals had been on NBC, at least in part, from 2007-22. He noted, “Instead, NBC will show US Women’s Open Golf & America’s Got Talent.”

The meet itself starts on Thursday, with the first day of the decathlon and heptathlon, preliminaries in the men’s and women’s 100 m, 400 m, 800 m, 1,500 m and Steeple, and finals in the men’s and women’s 10,000 m, men’s discus, women’s triple jump and javelin.

Meanwhile, the Jamaican national championships will also be held this week in Kingston. In response to continued requests for support, the Jamaican Ministry of Sports announced last week (29th) that it would provide J$35 million (about $227,588 U.S.) to support the event and the Jamaican team at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

The grant was for J$10 million (~$65,025 U.S.) for the championships and J$25 million (~$162,563 U.S.) for World Championships support.

3.
European Games as proof of Poland’s abilities

One of the uses for governments of large-scale events is proof-of-ability in organization and execution. This was on display at last Sunday’s closing of the third European Games in Krakow and Malopolska in Poland.

European Olympic Committees President Spyros Capralos (GRE) offered the kind words that the hosts were looking for:

“These Games have been an outstanding success. They have exceeded all our expectations. The EOC’s expectations and those of our National Olympic Committees and the athletes. We heard so many positive comments from throughout the European Olympic Family about the warm hospitality and the quality of the venues and operational delivery.

“In spite of the challenges, Poland has demonstrated its capacity to deliver a world-class project. The result is that the athletes are happy and these conditions have allowed them to perform at their best. We have seen some incredible performances from the very best athletes in our continent.”

This was underlined by Marcin Nowak, the head of the organizing committee:

“We have created the biggest sports event in the history of Poland. This is the biggest event in 2023, and I deeply believe that since the London 2012 Olympics it has been the biggest sports event organised in Europe. …

“This event has shown to Poles, Europeans and the whole world that Poland can organise the highest-quality sport events. The arenas that you have seen are at least as good, or maybe even better, than what you might see at the Olympics!”

Staged while Poland has absorbed more than 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees, the European Games had 6,857 athletes from 48 countries, competing in 254 events in 29 sports. Ten sports offered qualification for Paris 2024, with 118 places earned for next year.

Pretty impressive in the middle of a humanitarian crisis..

4.
Indonesian pols tweak ANOC after World Beach cancellation

If you had any doubts about the insincerity of Indonesian officials after the Indonesian Olympic Committee said its government failed to provide financial support of the ANOC World Beach Games on Tuesday, consider these comments on Wednesday (5th):

From Indonesian Sports and Youth Minister Dito Ariotedjo:

“Indonesia is always ready to be a host of international events, both sports or other events in line with the development of infrastructure and human resources planned by President Jokowi for almost the past decade.

“But, a mature plan for the implementation is indeed necessary, so we can serve guests well. …

“Other than the planning, there are indeed other issues following the cancellation of the FIFA U-20 World Cup. But for financial ability, it can be seen that the government is always ready to send multi-sports contingents and is never late to give bonuses to athletes who earn medals.”

The Indonesian Olympic Committee, on its site, explained:

“‘We regret this news. With a heavy heart, we are forced to announce that the 2nd ANOC World Beach Games Bali 2023 cannot be held. We extend our deepest apologies to ANOC and the International Federations, athletes and all NOCs who have struggled since the qualification process,’ said NOC Indonesia chairman Raja Sapta Oktohari.

“’We also express our gratitude to all those who have worked hard during the preparation period.’

“Okto, as Raja Sapta is known, explained that the Indonesian government had actually agreed to finance the 2nd ANOC World Beach Games Bali 2023. It’s just that the budgetary bureaucratic mechanism system is difficult to implement considering the limited time we have. The situation is felt to be getting more difficult because several sponsors of the 2nd ANOC World Beach Games Bali 2023 have also announced their withdrawal. …

“‘We are only executors, but right today, we only have 30 days and the budget process is still long. We had to swallow this bitter pill because with limited time, we saw that it was difficult to prepare for a world-class multievent. We see the lack of time when the mechanism for using the budget becomes very risky in making world-class multievents.’”

He added:

“Consequence is beyond doubt. We are still communicating. However, NOC Indonesia will strive to continue working to bring exposure toward Indonesian sports.”

Observed: Let’s translate this from bureaucracy-speak: ”Indonesia has plenty of money for events like this, as long as Israel doesn’t participate, and we don’t have a national election coming up in February.”

ANOC officials were played for fools in this charade, and the losers were the athletes who qualified and the dozens of organizers of qualifying events held worldwide. You will note that no offer of compensation was made. And none will be.

The immediate beneficiary will be FIFA, as unlimited funds will be spent for the men’s U-17 World Cup – for which Israel did not qualify – coming in November, replacing the men’s U-20 World Cup in May for which Israel not only qualified, but won the bronze medal, and which Indonesia gave back so it did not have to host the Israelis.

5.
Tokyo 2020 sponsorship scandal sentence; first bid-rigging plea

One of the key players in the Tokyo 2020 sponsorship influence scandal was sentenced on Tuesday (4th) and, as have all of the other defendants so far, received a suspended sentence.

Joji Matsui, whose Amuse consulting firm acted as a through-way for bribes destined for former Tokyo 2020 Executive Board member Haruyuki Takahashi, pled guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison, with the sentence suspended for four years.

Tokyo District Court Presiding Judge Kenji Yasunaga said that about ¥27 million ($186,678 U.S. today) flowed through Matsui’s company on the way to Takahashi, who assisted firms with obtaining sponsorships and licenses from the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee. The remorse expressed by Matsui was a factor in suspending his sentence.

A total of 15 defendants are known to have been charged in the Takahashi-led Tokyo 2020 sponsorship scandal that surfaced in August of 2022. Previously, defendants from Aoki Holdings (3 on 21 April 2023), ADK Holdings (2 on 11 May), Sun Arrow Inc. (2 on 6 June) and Kadokawa Publishing (1 on 4 July) have all received suspended sentences.

The Associated Press reported that a third ADK Holdings defendant is scheduled to be sentenced next week.

These cases are separate from the bid-rigging scheme allegedly masterminded by Dentsu Inc. – in collusion with some Tokyo 2020 officials – concerning 26 bids for test event management and then venue management contracts for the Games period, which was publicly exposed in February 2023.

On Wednesday (5th), the first plea in the bid-rigging scandal was entered by the man who apparently coordinated the scheme from inside the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee. Asahi.com reported:

“Yasuo Mori, 56, who served as deputy executive director of the organizing committee’s operations bureau, admitted to violating the Anti-Monopoly Law during the first hearing of his trial at the Tokyo District Court. …

“Twenty-six tenders for planning the test events were held by July, and nine companies, including the seven engaged in the scheme, and one joint venture won the contracts worth about 570 million yen ($3.94 million) in total.”

All of these contractors then received much larger agreements for venue management services at the Games – without a bidding process – worth a total of ¥43.15 billion (~$298.30 million U.S. today).

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The Paris organizing committee has begun another round of ticket sales, but this time only for events taking place outside of Paris:

● Lille: basketball and handball
● Lyon: football
● Marseille: football and sailing
● Nantes: football
● St. Etienne: football

The organizers explained on Tuesday that less than three million tickets remain unsold, with 150,000 of those at the “magic” €24 price. There are apparently about 4,000 tickets remaining for the Opening Ceremony along the Seine, but all in Category A, at €2,700 each (~$2,392 U.S.).

Just in case you thought being an elite athlete was mostly fun, the World Anti-Doping Agency just released the 49-page Anti-Doping Rules applicable to the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad Paris 2024. You read that right: 49 pages, and not a single picture. Happy reading.

● Pan American Games 2023: Santiago ● PanAm Sports reported that ticket sales for the 2023 Pan American Games will start on 12 July, 100 days prior to the opening on 20 October:

“The value of the tickets for the Pan American Games range from $4,600 to $9,200 Chilean pesos ($5.75 – 11.50 USD). These prices already include the 15% service fee.

“All tickets are general admission and seating is decided on a first-come, first-served basis.”

● Russia ● The process of qualifying “neutral” athletes for competitions grinds on:

● Fencing: The Russian news agency TASS reported that seven Russian and one Belarusian fencer will be participating as neutrals in the FIE World Championships in Milan that begin on 22 July.

The approved athletes include two men in Epee, two women in Epee, two women in Sabre and one woman in Foil. The one Belarus entrant is a female Epee fencer.

● Rowing: The Russian federation submitted a list of five athletes for the World Rowing Championships, to be held in Serbia in September, now under review by World Rowing.

● Tennis: A total of nine Russian players were cleared to play as neutrals at Wimbledon in 2023: three men and six women. They were approved after a review that they were not “actively supporting” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, would compete strictly as neutrals and did not receive funding from the state, or state-run companies.

● Weightlifting: TASS noted that the Russian weightlifting federation, which has been noisily campaigning for return to competitions, has had more than five doping violations over the past 12 months – along with bodybuilding and powerlifting – possibly subjecting it to action against it by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency.

As far as competing as a neutral, Alexei Nemov, the four-time Olympic gymnastics gold medalist in 1996 and 2000, told TASS:

“Sooner or later everything will end. You have to be ready to compete at international competitions now. Is it worth it to go to international competitions under a neutral flag? This should be decided by the athletes themselves.”

Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, a mastermind of the state-sponsored doping program in Russia from 2011-15 and, in 2016, a key whistleblower, told Britain’s Daily Mail that he has written a second book concerning the Russian doping system, recommending that Russia be barred from international competitions for 10 years or more. Now 64, he said:

“I hope my book will finally cause the IOC to impose a meaningful and sustained ban against Russian athletes until Russia fundamentally reforms its system of sports preparation, which would take at least a decade. …

“‘The underlying system for doping control remains weak. Many innocent and clean athletes continue to be victimised by dirty ones, including those in state-sponsored doping regimes.”

Russia was removed as a host of the 2026 Women’s European Handball Championship, originally awarded in 2021. A new host is being sought.

● Athletics ● The sixth-fastest marathoner in history, Kenyan Titus Ekiru, is subject to four doping charges and a potential 10-year ban, according to the Athletics Integrity Unit:

“The 31-year-old’s charges stem from AIU investigations into Ekiru’s positive in-competition doping tests after marathon victories in the Generali Milano Marathon on 16 May 2021 and the ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon on 26 November 2021.

“Ekiru tested positive for Triamcinolone Acetonide after winning in Milan but was not immediately charged after the initial investigation appeared to validate his explanation that the result was due to legitimate medical treatment. The athlete tested positive for Pethidine after winning in Abu Dhabi, and again claimed the outcome resulted from legitimate medical treatment.”

He is now subject to sanctions for both positives, but also for tampering, by offering “falsified medical explanations” and documentation for both.

Ekiru ran 2:02:57 to win the Milano Marathon in 2021, moving into the no. 6 spot on the all-time list. His last race was a 2:06:13 win in the Abu Dhabi Marathon on 26 November of that year.

Stuff.co.nz reported:

“Olympic pole vault coach Jeremy McColl has been banned from athletics for 10 years after an independent investigation found he committed serious misconduct, including findings of harassment and inappropriate sexual remarks to athletes who were minors.”

His sanctions were imposed by Athletics NZ after an independent inquiry confirmed allegations of misconduct. McColl is also being investigated on other issues of as far back as 15 years.

McColl’s coaching of Rio 2016 women’s vault bronze medalist Eliza McCartney brought attention and funding to women’s vaulting in New Zealand, where McColl has continued to train athletes. He has resigned from his coaching position with the national federation.

The AIU announced a three-year sanction on Dominican triple jumper Ana Jose Tima, 33, for use of Enonosarm, a hormone and metabolic modulator, from an out-of-competition test in November 2022.

A two-time Olympian in the triple jump, Tima was 10th at the 2022 Worlds in Eugene, but that performance will be nullified. She admitted the usage and had her sanctions reduced from four to three years, until 12 December 2025.

● Basketball ● Spain won a 73-69 overtime thriller over France to take the 2023 FIBA men’s U-19 World Cup held in Debrecen (HUN) last Sunday.

The Spanish cruised through the group stage at 3-0, defeating the French, 88-69, in their group-stage game. And Spain was completely dominant in the playoffs, winning by 102-20 (yes, 102-20), 85-47 and 83-51 over Turkey in their semi.

France was 2-1 in group play, then slugged Madagascar, 119-56 in the round-of-16, and beat Serbia by 98-59 before facing the undefeated (5-0) U.S. in the semis. The French managed a 89-86 win on the strength of a 29-22 third quarter that have them a 70-66 lead. The U.S. could manage only 20 points in the fourth and fell short, with Villanova guard Mark Armstrong scoring 17 for the Americans.

The final was tightly contested, with France up, 29-28 at half. France edged ahead with a 14-13 edge in the third and the Spanish tied it with a 22-20 fourth, and won it with a 10-6 overtime. Jordi Rodriguez scored 18 for the champs; Melvin Ajinca led all scorers with 21 for France.

The U.S. was the two-time defending champion and had won four of the last five titles, but after falling short in the semi, lost the third-place game to Turkey, 84-70, being out-scored in three of the four quarters. It’s the first time the U.S. failed to medal since 2011.

● Cycling ● The 110th Tour de France continues, now on French soil after the opening stages in northern Spain, and a new leader after Wednesday’s challenge of the Col de Soudet.

Early stages of Le Tour have often been flat of hilly and made for the sprinters, but 2023 has seen some significant climbing in the first week. Wednesday’s 162.7 km route started in Pau at 167 m elevation, but the riders were at 1,518 m (!) at the mid-point at the summit of the Col de Soudet, before descending to 329 m and then crossing two more climbs before a flat finish into Laruns.

The final climb, the 1,031 m Col de Marie Banque, saw Austria’s Felix Gall and Australian Jai Hundley – the 2022 Giro d’Italia winner – lead on the descent and then Hindley took off with 20 km left to win his first career Tour de France stage in 3:57:07. Giulio Ciccone (ITA), Gall and Emanuel Buchmann (GER) all finished 32 seconds back, and Hindley took over the yellow jersey as the overall race leader.

Defending champ Jonas Vingegaard moved up to second overall (+0:47), with Ciccone third (+1:03) and two-time winner Tadej Pogacar now sixth (+1:40).

The sprinters were the focus of the third and fourth stages on Monday and Tuesday, both won in a mass dash for the line by Belgian Jasper Philipsen. He beat Phil Bauhaus (GER) and Caleb Ewan (AUS) in the 193.5 km third stage (4:43:15), and then – despite some last crashes – Ewan and Bauhaus on the 181.8 km fourth stage, ending in Nogaro.

Thursday’s stage 6 has another massive climb, to the 2,112 m Col de Tourmalet and then an uphill finish to Cauterets in the French Pyrenees.

The Tour de France organizers announced that ski-racing-style course padding is being added to the descent from the 2,300 summit of the Col de la Loze in Stage 17, made all the more important by the death of Swiss rider Gino Mader at the Tour de Suisse.

The padding was planned prior to Mader’s crash on a dangerous downhill, but now takes on added significance.

Dutch star Annemiek van Vleuten has been on control of the 2023 Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile – the Giro Donne – since the opening stage and she underlined her dominance with a win in stage 5 on Wednesday.

Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini beat American Victoria Ewers and van Vleuten to the line in the mostly flat, 134 km third stage in 3:33:08, and van Vleuten was just nine seconds back of the solo win by Antonia Niedermaier (GER: 3:14:02) on Tuesday’s hilly, 105.6 km route.

On Wednesday, van Vleuten attacked with 13 km remaining in the 102.7 km route into Canelli and ended in 2:39:04, 20 seconds up on teammate Lorena Wiebes and Liane Lippert (GER).

Her second stage win and fourth top-three placement gives her a massive 3:03 lead over Ewers, after Niedermaier had to abandon the race after a Wednesday crash. The race continues through Sunday.

● Football ● On Monday, the Spanish Interior Ministry announced expanded authority for security coordinators at football matches, including:

“Security coordinators may partially or fully evacuate the stands or stop a match if there are racist, xenophobic, homophobic or discriminatory chants against any athlete or specific group either inside or outside the sports grounds, or even on transport to venues.

“Sporting authorities can also be sanctioned if they do not cooperate fully with police to prevent and stop uncivil acts.”

Spain has been dealing with racist chants and other abuse during matches, especially victimizing Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior, who plays for Real Madrid.

The CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals have been confirmed after play in groups C and D was completed on Tuesday. Now (records shown as W-L-T):

● 8 July in Arlington: Mexico (B1: 2-1) vs. Costa Rica (C2: 1-1-1)
● 9 July in Cincinnati: Guatemala (D1: 2-0-1) vs. Jamaica (A2: 2-0-1)
(winners to meet on 12 July in Las Vegas)

● 8 July in Arlington: Panama (C1: 2-0-1) vs. Qatar (B2: 1-1-1)
● 9 July in Cincinnati: United States (A1: 2-0-1) vs. Canada (D2: 1-0-2)
(winners to meet on 12 July in San Diego)

The final will be played on 16 July at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) issued a statement in the wake by a stabbing of one Mexican fan by another at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, after Mexico’s 1-0 loss to Qatar:

“We regret and strongly condemn the acts of violence that took place after last Sunday’s game in Santa Clara.

“We are fully willing to cooperate and join efforts with Concacaf, the stadiums and local authorities, to prevent these acts from being repeated in any stadium; We are sure that the corresponding instances will take the necessary measures to reach the final consequences against those who are responsible, and we wish the speedy recovery of those who were injured.

“Stadiums are family spaces and therefore must be a safe place for everyone.”

Santa Clara police posted images of two individuals wanted for questioning in the attack. The victim has been hospitalized and was reported as stable.

● Handball ● Co-host Germany won its third title at the IHF men’s World U-21 Championships on Sunday (2nd), in Berlin (GER), 30-23, over Hungary.

Iceland won the bronze, 27-23, over Serbia, as the matches were played in both Germany and Greece. The U.S. team was 0-3 in the group stage, then 1-1 in the consolation round and defeated Costa Rica, 25-23, to finish 27th out of 32 entries.

● Speed Skating ● Six-time World Championships bronze medalist Elizaveta Golubeva (RUS) has applied for a transfer of allegiance to Kazakhstan. Said Russian Skating Union President Nikolai Gulyaev:

“It’s better to ask the athlete about the motives for the transition. But, as they say, you won’t be forced to be nice. Let it be on her conscience, everyone decides for himself.”

Most recently, Golubeva, 26, won the 2021 Worlds bronze in the 1,500 m and the 2020 Worlds bronze in the women’s 1,500 m.

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LANE ONE: Indonesia cancels funding, implodes ANOC World Beach Games with 32 days to go; is Lausanne listening?

By
Rich Perelman
-

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Speaking at the October 2022 General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in Seoul, Korea, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER) underscored his fervent message that governments must not interfere in sport.

Referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Bach explained that the IOC imposed sanctions on Russia and Belarus right away:

“We needed to do so, because we had to realise that some governments were starting to interfere in the responsibility of sports organisations. We had to react because the autonomy of sport and the functioning of the international sports system is at stake. Governments were and are undermining our autonomy by deciding who would be allow ed to participate in international competitions – and who not. …

“And this we must prevent. We must avoid that sport becomes just another tool of this now so popular tit-for-tat sanctions regime for any political reason. Each of us has to know that they could be affected themselves in the future. Each of us knows that our government has not only political friends and allies in this divisive world and could therefore be affected by such sanctions.

“In the interest of all of us, we will strongly resist such full politicisation of sport.”

On Tuesday, Bach, ANOC and the rest of the Olympic Movement saw how governments can react. ANOC’s official statement:

“It is with great surprise and extreme disappointment that ANOC has learnt that the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) has withdrawn from its commitment to host the ANOC World Beach Games and the ANOC General Assembly in August 2023.

“With the Games scheduled to take place in one month, the decision at such late notice prevents ANOC from being able to find an alternative host and so there is no option but to cancel this year’s edition of the Games in Bali in August as well as the ANOC General Assembly. Regarding the ANOC General Assembly, a decision will be taken in the coming weeks regarding a new location and dates.

“The KOI stated the decision was taken after the budget was not released by the Government of the country and there is now not time to deliver the Games. ANOC is very disappointed by the KOI’s actions which will deny athletes from 100 qualified NOCs from fulfilling their ambitions of competing at the Games.

“ANOC offers its sincere apologies to these NOCs, athletes and the International Federations (IFs) who have been committed partners of the event, and to the fans around the world.

“While there have been challenges in the Games preparations, as at any major multi-sport event, ANOC had been regularly assured by the KOI that solutions would be found and the Games would go ahead as planned.

“ANOC and the KOI met for weekly coordination meetings, as recently as last week, and at no point did the KOI indicate there were any issues that would lead to such an outcome.

“ANOC’s immediate priority is to ensure the athletes are supported and the NOCs and IFs are compensated as best as possible in light of the Games cancellation.”

No ANOC World Beach Games. No competition for 1,500-plus athletes from about 100 countries, undoubtedly for political reasons. And nothing ANOC can do about it.

Bach and the IOC can campaign all they want about the autonomy of sport. Indonesia demonstrated that its autonomy over events in its country prevails.

Sure, there were signed contracts, promises and meetings. But even as ANOC expressed its surprise, this was entirely foreseeable and hardly a secret. The milestones:

● 29 March 2023: FIFA removed Indonesia as host of the FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup because Bali governor Wayan Koster refused to allow Israel to compete, citing the government’s pro-Palestinian stance. The tournament was moved to Argentina and Israel won the bronze medal.

The FIFA announcement noted that “Potential sanctions against the PSSI may also be decided at a later stage.”

● 15 April 2023: Koster was quoted as saying he supports the World Beach Games after a meeting with the national sports minister, but said in a supplementary statement: “I remain consistent in refusing the Israeli team’s participation in the 2023 World Beach Games in Bali.”

● 22 April 2023: ANOC Secretary General Gunilla Lindberg (SWE) dismissed Koster’s comments and noted that the rhetoric was simply posturing in advance of the coming national elections in Indonesia:

“This Governor made noise in the media but so far we have not been approached at all so we continue to prepare as if nothing is happening and hopefully nothing is happening.”

● 7 May 2023: A story in The Times (London) reported worries among Indonesian officials over the staging of the World Beach Games because of Koster’s intransigence over Israel.

● 17 June 2023: An Al Jazeera story repeated the concerns over the event, noting:

“Indonesian news magazine Tempo later reported that former Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, now chair of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle – of which Koster is a representative – ordered him to ban Israeli athletes so the party could score points in the lead-up to next year’s general elections.”

Now, the surprise for ANOC was that Indonesia did not slap it in the face with a direct announcement of an Israeli ban, but instead in the back by simply pulling the rug from under its feet with a decision not to fund the event.

Clever. Neat. No mention of Israel.

(As for FIFA, it isn’t so unhappy with Indonesia after all, awarding it this November’s FIFA men’s U-17 World Cup on 23 June, replacing Peru. So much for sanctions.)

What is surprising is that ANOC, which has some of the most experienced and savvy Olympic officials on the planet as officers, including Fijian IOC member Robin Mitchell as President, Lindberg as Secretary General and Qatar Sheikh Joaan Al Thani as Vice President for Asia, ignored the obvious warning signs and had no back-up plan. None.

The ANOC General Assembly will be re-scheduled for later this year. The athletes get nothing.

(And have no doubt, this is about Indonesia. The first World Beach Games was also held in a Muslim-majority country, Qatar, in 2019 and three Israeli athletes competed without incident.)

Bach, and therefore the entire Olympic Movement, have made sport autonomy a rallying cry during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the IOC first justifying bans on Russian and Belarusian athletes and, since March 28, recommending some individuals compete as neutrals.

Governments have their own ideas about autonomy, backed up the apparatus of a state, including police and military. Moreover, a Court of Arbitration for Sport appeal for damages against Indonesia will not make even the slightest difference to the Indonesian government, which has a 2023 national budget of $37.3 billion, but not enough to fund the ANOC event it agreed to host just a year ago, in June 2022.

The empire – albeit a smaller one – has struck back.

The second ANOC World Beach Games is, in the larger context of worldwide sport, a small event. But it demonstrates just how fragile international sport actually is when it is necessarily dependent on governments – with their own agendas – to host (and often fund) events of any kind. Right up to and including the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games.

Indonesia’s repudiation of the World Beach Games – which were supposed to start on 5 August – shows that no one is safe where politics (and hate) are involved. No one.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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TSX REPORT: Four win three titles each at USA Swimming nationals; Aregawi 12:40.45 in Lausanne; U.S. wins CONCACAF Gold Cup group

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

★ 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 ≡

1. Ledecky, King, Smith, Foster claim three U.S. swim titles
2. Aregawi, Moon join Olyslagers with world leads in Lausanne
3. U.S. men club Trinidad & Tobago, 6-0, win Gold Cup group
4. Tour de France opens with Yates brothers going 1-2
5. Paris 2024 training site damaged in French riots

The USA Swimming National Championships concluded on Saturday with four swimmers – Carson Foster, Lilly King, Katie Ledecky and Regan Smith – each winning three events. A powerful U.S. team was selected for the upcoming World Aquatics Championships, especially on the women’s side. The Diamond League resumed in track & field, with three world-leading marks in Lausanne on Friday, especially Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi’s mighty 12:40.45 win over world-record holder Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda in the men’s 5,000 m. On Sunday, national hero Mondo Duplantis won the men’s vault at a cold and rainy Bauhaus Galan in Stockholm, which was marred by protesters sitting in lanes on the track as the men’s 400 m hurdles finished. The U.S. men’s National Team crushed Trinidad & Tobago, 6-0, to win Group A in the CONCACAF Gold Cup and moves on to the quarterfinals next weekend. Striker Jesus Ferreira got a first-half hat trick for the second game in a row, the first time ever for a U.S. player. The 110th Tour de France began Saturday in northern Spain, with the Yates twins – Adam and Simon – going 1-2 in the opening stage, only the third time that’s ever happened. But stage two was marred by the throwing of tacks onto the course about 20 km from the finish in San Sebastian, Spain. In France, the continuing unrest in the aftermath of the shooting death of a teenager last week included some minor damage to a new training aquatics training site built for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

● Panorama: European Games (2: Italy leads final medal table; German team visits Auschwitz) = Athletics (D’Amato smashes U.S. Half Marathon record) = Cycling (2: Van Vleuten in charge at Giro Donne; Schurter and Pieterse supreme in Val di Sole) = Fencing (Russian Lakhanov wins U.S. national Sabre title!) = Football (2: Iran to allow women in stadiums; FIFA provides armbands for Women’s World Cup) = Gymnastics (China dominates Trampoline World Cup) = Sport Climbing (Schbuert and Garnbret win in Villars) = Water Polo (Spain wins men’s World Cup SuperFinal) = Weightlifting (all new national champs for men and women!) ●

● Schedule note: Time for a break for Independence Day! Back later this week. ●

1.
Ledecky, King, Smith, Foster claim three U.S. swim titles

There were surprises, sure, at the USA Swimming National Championships in Indianapolis, but three women’s stars shone brightest, winning three titles apiece, as did only one of the male swimmers.

On Friday, Katie Ledecky won her 26th national title, this time in the women’s 400 m Freestyle in 4:00.45, comfortably in front of 2022 Worlds relay gold medalist Bella Sims (4:03.25) and three-time Worlds relay champ Leah Smith (4:03.85).

On Saturday, Ledecky took her third title of the meet in the women’s 1,500 m Free, leading by 0.99 after 100 m and by 25 m at the halfway mark (7:44.55). She passed 800 m in 8:15.64, which would have ranked no.2 in the world in that event … only to Ledecky herself! She finished in a world-leading 15:29.64, the no. 6 performance in history. She now owns the top 15 times in history.

Katie Grimes, 17, the 2022 Worlds runner-up in this event and the 2023 U.S. 10 km Open Water champ, was second in 15:58.34 and will also go back to the Worlds in Fukuoka.

There are plenty of young stars in swimming, but 10-time Worlds gold winner Lilly King keeps on keeping on, claiming three more national titles and sweeping the women’s Breaststroke events, finishing with a world-leading 1:04.75 triumph in Friday’s 100 m final. That’s the no. 9 performance of all time and she now has five of the top 10.

Tokyo Olympic champ Lydia Jacoby got second, 1:05.16 to 1:05.48 over Kaitlyn Dobler, now nos. 3-4 in the world this season.

And then there was Regan Smith, the four-time Worlds gold winner, taking her third title in the 100 m Backstroke at 57.71, no. 2 on the year list for 2023, beating out 50 m back winner Katharine Berkoff (58.01, no. 3), Claire Curzan (58.59, no. 5) and Olivia Smoliga (58.92, no. 7). Smith had already won the 200 m Back and 200 m Fly.

Kate Douglass was busy as the winner of the 100 m Free, second in the 200 m Breast and third in the 100 m Fly, then taking on 2022 World Champion Alex Walsh in the 200 m Medley final. Douglass moved to no. 3 in the world in the heats (2:08.29), then saw Walsh fly by in the Breaststroke portion of the final by 1.22 seconds. The gap was down to 0.38 after the Backstroke and then Douglass out-sprinted Walsh to the wall, 2:07.09 to 2:07.89, with Torri Huske third in 2:09.75. That makes Douglass no. 2 in 2023 (and no. 6 all-time) and Walsh, no. 4.

Abbey Weitzeil, 26, had been the best U.S. sprinter most of this season, but was second to Douglass in the 100 m Free. She made up for it in the women’s 50 m Free final, storming to the lead and never letting up with a lifetime best of 24.00, no. 2 in the world for 2023. That’s no. 2 in U.S. history by just 0.03 and she’s now no. 13 all-time.

Gretchen Walsh, the 50 m Fly winner, wasn’t far behind, a clear second at 24.31 for no. 6 in the world this season, with Douglass – on 45 minutes rest – and Smoliga tied for third at 24.48.

There were multi-event winners on the men’s side, too. Carson Foster won the 200 m Fly and 400 m Medley, and took the 200 m Medley title, taking over on the Breaststroke leg, and winning in 1:56.19, now no. 4 in the world in 2023.

Behind him was a fight for second between world no. 3 Shaine Casas, who had not performed well all week, and Trenton Julian, a two-time World relay medalist, in lanes seven and eight. Casas was the last qualifier out of the heats, but was never out of the top three and held off Julian on the final leg to get on the plane to Fukuoka at 1:57.47, with Julian at 1:57.94.

Tokyo Olympic 800-1,500 m Free gold medalist Bobby Finke had already won the 1,500 m and forged a 2.55-second lead over Will Gallant in the first half of the 800 m Free and surged away to win by 7.76 seconds in 7:40.34, the fastest time in the world in 2023. Ross Dant, the NCAA runner-up in the 1,650 yards for North Carolina State, got a lifetime best of 7:48.10 for second, with NCAA winner (and fellow Wolfpacker) Gallant third in 7:50.75 (as he was in the 1,500 m).

Nic Fink was also a double winner, taking the 100 m Breast in 58.36 – a lifetime best, no. 2 in 2023, and still no. 7 all-time – over Joshua Matheny (59.20, no. 13), to add to his 50 m Breast title.

Ryan Held was the favorite in the 100 m Free, but ended up fifth, and needed to redeem himself in the 50 m Free final … and he did. He got out well, got to the lead and touched as the clear winner in a lifetime best of 21.50, no. 2 in the world this season. Michael Andrew, the winner of the 50 m Fly, looked good for second until the final stroke, when Cal’s Jack Alexy – the upset winner of the 100 m Free – touched in 21.63 to Andrew’s 21.64, nos. 4-5 on the 2023 world list. Tokyo Olympic champ Caeleb Dressel was 22nd in the heats in 22.72.

Hunter Armstrong was second in the 50 m Back to Justin Ress, but won the 100 m Back in front of 200 m Back winner Ryan Murphy, 52.33-52.39, with Ress third in 52.90, now nos. 2-3-9 on the 2023 year list.

In the men’s 400 m Free, David Johnston, 21, scored an unexpected win in 3:45.75 (no. 9 in 2023) over Kieran Smith (3:46.11).

The U.S. will, once again, have a powerful team for the World Championships in Fukuoka later this month, but will face some stiff competition from Australia and a bevy of European stars. This will be fun.

2.
Aregawi, Moon join Olyslagers with world leads in Lausanne

The Wanda Diamond League had a two-week break between the Bislett Games in Oslo and Athletissima in Lausanne on Friday, then two meets in three days with the Bauhaus Galan on Sunday in Stockholm. Both were worth waiting for.

In very cool, 63-degree (F) conditions in Lausanne, the distance races benefitted, especially the spectacular men’s 5,000 m. It was Tokyo Olympic 10,000 m fourth-placer Berihu Aregawi (ETH) who decided this was going to be a fast race … a really fast race. With a previous best of 12:50.05 from 2022, he took over from the pacesetters after 2,000 m and then punished the rest of the field by running the next seven laps – from 2,000 to 4,800 m – in a staggering 7:02.7:

● 60.5, 60.6, 61.0, 61.2, 60.6, 60.5, 58.5, and a final 200 m in 27.7.

Only one could stay with him: world-record holder Joshua Cheptegei (UGA), and the two broke away with two laps remaining. Aregawi was in front, but Cheptegei kept close and then two were chest-to-chest down the straight, with Aregawi winning with a final burst in 12:40.45, fastest in the world in 2023 and making him the no. 5 performer ever, with the no. 6 performance. His last 400 was in 55.7 and the last 1,600 m in 3:57.9.

Cheptegei finished in 12:41.61, the no. 7 performance ever. Ethiopians Hagos Gebrhiwet and Telahun Haile were 3-4 in 12:49.80 and 12:49.81. Fabulous.

The other world leader on Friday was Olympic and World Vault Champion Katie Moon of the U.S. at 4.82 m (15-9 3/4), making her last two heights on her third try, to beat European champ Wilma Murto (FIN: 4.77 m/15-7 3/4).

Aregawi overshadowed Olympic champ Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR), who ran away from a strong field in the men’s 1,500 m to record his fourth-fastest race ever in 3:28.72. Ethiopia’s Steeple world-record holder Lamecha Girma was second in a national record 3:29.51 and Britain’s Josh Kerr was third in 3:29.64. Girma is the 44th man to break 3:30.

Elsewhere, American star Ryan Crouser won the shot at 22.29 m (73-1 3/4) and Olympic javelin champ Neeraj Chopra (IND) took a stirring duel with German Julian Weber and Czech Jakub Vadlejch, 87.66 m-87.03 m-86.13 m (287-7 – 285-6 – 282-7).

Cote d’Ivoire sprint star Marie-Josee Ta Lou won the women’s 100 m in 10.88 (wind: -0.8 m/s), Olympic champ Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (PUR) took the 100 m hurdles in 12.40 (-1.4, equal-4th performance of 2023), beating world-record holder Tobi Amusan (NGR: 12.47) and American Tia Jones (12.51), and Femke Bol (NED) had the no. 3 performance of the year in the 400 m hurdles in 52.76.

Kenya’s 800 m Worlds bronze winner Mary Moraa scored a big win – and moved to no. 2 in the world for 2023 – by sailing away from British star Keely Hodgkinson in the women’s 800 m, 1:57.43 to 1:58.37. Australia’s Mackenzie Little, fifth at the 2022 Worlds, moved to second on the world list with a win at 65.70 m (215-7).

Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers had upped the world lead in the women’s high jump to 2.02 m (6-7 1/2) with her win on Friday, held downtown.

Sunday in Stockholm was rainy and even cooler, with 59 F temperatures, so the marks were not going to be special, but the competition was sharp.

A nice crowd came to see Swedish national heroes – and Olympic champs – Mondo Duplantis in the men’s vault and Daniel Stahl in the men’s discus.

Rain caused a long delay in the vault, so it continued after all of the other events had finished. The field was down to four by 5.72 m (18-9 1/4), with Duplantis clearing 5.62 m (18-5 1/4) and then passing to 5.95 m (19-6 1/4), which he made on his first attempt. That left Ernest John Obiena (PHI) in second at 5.82 m (19-1) and Duplantis moved on.

The bar went to 6.05 m (19-10 1/4) and again Duplantis had no trouble, clearing on his first try for his 65th career 6 m clearance, more than anyone else. He tried a world-record 6.23 m (20-5 1/4) to please his home crowd, but missed all three tries.

In the disc, Stahl was game, but 2022 World Champion Kristjian Ceh (SLO) took the lead at 69.83 m (229-1) in the second round and won his third Diamond League meet of the season. Stahl was a solid second at 67.57 m (221-8) with his only legal throw, from the second round.

Starting in lane eight, Norway’s Karsten Warholm was in control of the men’s 400 m hurdles from the start and won going away in 47.57, a time no one else has surpassed this year! Kyron McMaster (IVB) was a solid second in 48.94, but had to dodge three self-righteous protesters who sat on the track in front of the finish line and held banners across lanes one to six. Third-place Rasmus Magi (EST: 49.04) had to cross over from lane three to lane two to avoid stepping on one and fourth-place Alessandro Sibilio (ITA: 49.11) – in lane five – to have to run through a banner to get to the finish. The four other finishers had to swerve or hop into adjacent lanes to avoid stepping on the protesters.

No one was hurt and it could have been much worse. The protesters were removed after the finish, spectators booed, and it could have been disastrous. Where was security?

The men’s Steeple looked promising, with the Olympic and World champ Soufiane El Bakkali (MAR) facing Olympic and World fourth-placer Getnet Wale (ETH) and they were 1-2 at the bell, but El Bakkali pushed hard with 300 m to go and won going away in 8:09.84, with Wale at 8:12.27.

The women’s 1,500 m saw Ethiopia’s Tokyo fourth-placer Freweyni Hailu bide her time, then explode with 300 m to go, sailing away from the field on the final backstraight and winning in 4:02.31 from countrywomen Diribe Welteji (4:02.79) and Hirut Meshesha (4:03.01).

In the women’s 5,000 m, six were in contention at the bell, but Kenya’s 2022 Worlds runner-up Beatrice Chebet surged with 300 m to go, had a 5 m lead into the home straight and won in a seasonal best of 14:36.52, easily beating Ethiopia’s Lemlem Hailu (14:38.06). Chebet’s last lap was in 59.13.

Conditions had improved for the last track race, the men’s 800 m, and 2022 Worlds runner-up Djamel Sedjati (ALG) held off Spain’s Saul Ordonez down the straight to win by 1:44.59 to 1:44.67.

In the men’s 100 m, South Africa’s 2018 African champ Akani Simbine took over in the final and won in 10.03 (wind: +1.0 m/s), clear of Britain’s Reece Prescod (10.14).

Britain’s Daryll Neita won the women’s 200 m with an excellent straightaway to hold off 2019 World Champion Dina Asher-Smith (GBR), 22.50-22.58 (-0.6). World 100 m hurdles champ and world-record holder Amusan rebounded from her loss in Lausanne, moving away from the field after the eighth hurdle and winning in 12.52 (+0.9), ahead of Ireland’s Sarah Lavin (lifetime best 12.73).

In the field, Olympic discus champ Valarie Allman of the U.S. had a tough time with the conditions, with all three throws into the netting. Two-time Olympic champ Sandra Perkovic (CRO) won at 64.49 m (211-7). Jamaica’s Danniel Thomas-Dodd won the shot at 19.04 m (62-5 3/4).

Italy’s Larissa Iapichino, already a Diamond League winner in Florence, took the women’s long jump at 6.69 m (21-11 1/2) ahead of World Champion Malaika Mihambo (GER: 6.66 m/21-10 1/4).

New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr won the men’s high jump at 2.24 m (7-4 1/4).

3.
U.S. men club Trinidad & Tobago, 6-0, win Gold Cup group

The U.S. men’s National Team finished Group A play in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in hot and muggy Charlotte, North Carolina on Sunday with a 6-0 rout against Trinidad & Tobago.

The American offense was in gear quickly, and got a goal in the 14th as forward Cristian Roldan raced to the left side of the box, then passed to defender DeJuan Jones at the left of the goal. He sent a cross to striker Jesus Ferreira, who brought it down in the middle of the box and then clubbed it into the net past keeper Marvin Phillip. It was Ferreira’s 12th goal in his 21st national-team appearance.

In the 38th, Alejandro Zendejas found space down the left side of the box and sent a seeing-eye cross for Ferreira at the far post. Ferreira knocked it down, blasted it toward the goal and the ball bounced off of defender Sheldon Bateau and into the net for a 2-0 lead.

In stoppage time, Trinidad & Tobago defender Alvin Jones brought down Djordje Mihailovic in the box for a penalty and, of course, Ferreira took it and sent right-footed laser to the left side of the net for a 3-0 lead. That was back-to-back, first-half hat tricks for Ferreira, against St. Kitts & Nevis and Trinidad & Tobago!

The U.S. had 64% of the possession in the half, and a 7-3 edge on shots. But the game was not even that close.

Amid continued U.S. attacks in the second half, substitute midfielder Shannon Gomez got a fabulous chance in the 62nd minute, sending a left-footed rocket off the left goalpost that bounced away.

Soon after, a lead pass found substitute striker Cade Cowell suddenly one-on-two on a breakaway in the 65th minute. He deked Philip out of position, then spun Gomez around and finished with the right foot into a now-empty net for his first international goal and a 4-0 lead. A perfect diagonal pass from near the end line by sub striker Julian Gressel in the 79th gave midfielder Gianluca Busio a clear shot at goal from the middle of the box and he didn’t miss for his first U.S. goal.

Substitute midfielder Brandon Vazquez got the last goal of the game at 90+4 off a Cowell through-ball that found Vazquez at the left of goal, who then sent a left-footer over the shoulder of Philip for the 6-0 final. The U.S. ended with 67% of possession and a 23-9 shots advantage. All-time, the U.S. is 21-3-4 vs. Trinidad & Tobago.

Jamaica was playing St. Kitts & Nevis at the same time, and had a 2-0 lead at half and then poured it on to win, 5-0. So, the U.S. and Jamaica both finished 2-0-1 (7 points), but the Americans won the group on goal differential, +12 to +8. They will advance to the quarterfinals that will start on 8 July; the U.S. will play on 9 July, in Cincinnati.

4.
Tour de France opens with Yates brothers going 1-2

The 110th Tour de France opened in the Basque Country of Spain on Saturday, with an unusually challenging opening stage that produced an unusual finish.

Saturday’s route was a hilly, 182 km circuit in and around Bilbao, and came down to the climb up – and down – the Cote de Pike in the final 12 km of the race. This year’s favorites, Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) and Tadej Pogacar (SLO), along with Victor Lafay (FRA) led the peloton, but were joined on the descent by the twin brothers Adam and Simon Yates (GBR), who then attacked.

It was Adam who triumphed over the final 500 m in 4:22:29, with Simon second by four seconds and then Pogacar 12 seconds behind, leading a group of 12, that included Lafay, Vingegaard and Belgian star Wout van Aert.

This was not the first time that brothers have finished 1-2 in a Tour stage, but it’s pretty rare. Andy and Frank Schleck (LUX) were 1-2 in Stage 18 of the 2011 Tour – but 2:07 apart at the finish – and 1923 Tour winner Henri Pelissier had two 1-2 finishes with his brother, Francis.

On Sunday, it was Lafay getting the biggest win of his career, racing away in the final 1,000 m of the 208.9 km ride from San Sebastian to cross the line in 4:46:49. He was just ahead of van Aert and two-time winner Pogacar, with the top 24 riders given the same time, including the Yates brothers.

There was a security issue in the final 20 km of the stage, as tacks were thrown onto the road and damaged multiple bikes with tire punctures, or slow leaks – which can lead to a loss of control – on the final climb to the Jaizkibel. No one was hurt, but riders showed ties with as many as five tacks in them at the finish.

Overall, Adam Yates leads Pogacar and brother Simon by 0:06, with Lafay down 12 seconds and Van Aert down 16. Monday’s third stage will cross into France and finish in Bayonne.

5.
Paris 2024 training site damaged in French riots

Serious rioting has continued in France following the shooting and death of Nahel M., a 17-year-old boy of Algerian and Moroccan descent, during a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on 23 June.

On Friday, rioting reached the northeastern Paris suburb of Aubervilliers in the Seine-Saint-Denis area and minor damage was inflicted on a new aquatics training site built for the Paris 2024 Games.

Reuters reported that, according to the state construction authority for Olympic works:

“Buses parked near the Aubervilliers aquatic centre construction site were set on fire. The facade of the building suffered very slight damage as a result.”

The Interior Ministry said that 45,000 police were in place, especially in Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Arrests reached 875 on Thursday, 1,311 on Friday and about 200 in Saturday. Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin said that the average age of those arrested was 17; Justice Minister Eric Dupont-Moretti said that 30% of those arrested were under 18.

Observed: This is yet another demonstration that when it comes to planning for large events far in the future, the expected threats are often not the biggest problems. France has already been in turmoil over the Macron government’s raising of the retirement pension age from 62 to 64. Now comes anger over this shooting of a teenager who was already known to police for ignoring traffic stop orders. He was buried on Saturday.

These internal pressures are much harder to control than known, external threats and the French authorities now have a new set of challenges to public safety that will inevitably be seen through the lens of possible interference with the 2024 Olympic Games.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● European Games ● The European Games finished in Krakow and Malopolska (POL), with Italy the big winner with a sensational total of 100 medals (35-26-39), way ahead of Germany (63: 20-16-27), France (62: 17-19-26), Spain (21-17-19) and host Poland (50: 13-19-18), across 29 sports..

A total of 41 countries won medals out of the 48 who attended.

European Games attendees in Krakow were only about an hour’s ride from the former Nazi extermination camps in Auschwitz and Birkenau, where 1.1 million people – mostly Jews – were murdered during World War II.

The German National Olympic Committee (DOSB) – athletes and officials – made a formal visit to the site, placing wreaths at the “Death Wall,” site of executions by shooting, with DOSB Vice President Jens-Peter Nettekoven signing the memorial’s guest book:

“As a German delegation, we see it as an obligation not only to focus on the sport here at the European Games in Poland because of our history. In the name of German sport, we bow to the victims of National Socialism and promise that we will not be forgotten. Instead, we will do everything we can to make our contribution in and with sport to overcoming borders between people, bringing them closer together and allowing them to experience the uniqueness of human community in peace and friendship.”

The Chef de Mission of the Austrian Olympic Committee – part of Nazi Germany during the war – also attended. Other delegations, including Great Britain, also visited the site to remember those who perished and those who survived and competed for their country.

● Athletics ● Former American marathon record holder Keira D’Amato became an American Record holder again with a runaway victory at the ASICS Half Marathon at Gold Coast (AUS) on Saturday, finishing in 1:06:39.

That smashed the U.S. mark of 1:06:52 by Emily Sisson from January in Houston; Sisson had taken D’Amato’s American Record in the marathon with her 2:18:29 runner-up finish in Chicago last year. Said D’Amato:

“The race was perfect, its super flat, beautiful scenery, the crowds really came out and were so supportive; I just can’t believe this.

“I’m just so thankful to be here and as an American I can’t believe how many people said, ‘go Keira’ on the course and every time I heard that I just felt so powerful.”

D’Amato, 38. finished two and a half minutes ahead of Australia’s Leanne Pompeani (1:09:07).

● Cycling ● One of the highlights of the 2023 UCI Women’s World Tour is the 34th Giro d’Italia Femminile, with nine stages this year and a streak of six straight wins by Dutch riders (and eight out of nine).

So far, the streak is in good hands. After the opening stage Individual Time Trial was canceled due to heavy rains, Annemiek van Vleuten, the 2018-19-22 winner, won the hilly second stage with an 18 km solo to forge a 45-second lead in Cecile Uttrup Ludwig (DEN) and seven others.

The third stage was a flat, 118 k m ride that produced the expected mass sprint, in which the top 118 riders received the same time. Another Dutch star, Lorena Wiebes, won the stage over three-time World Champion Marianne Vos, 36, in 2:52:33. Van Vleuten remains in the lead, now up 0:49 on Ludwig. The race continues to next Sunday.

At the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Val di Sole (ITA), one of the sports’s greatest riders added another win and a new women’s star continues her emergence.

Swiss Nino Schurter, 37,owner of 14 Worlds gold medals, won the men’s Cross Country Olympic race for his 35th career World Cup victory and his second this season. He dominated the race, finishing in 1:20:22, 26 seconds ahead of teammate and Tokyo Olympic silver winner Mathias Flueckiger (1:20:48) and 38 up on Vlad Dascalu (ROU).

Emerging Dutch star Puck Pieterse, 21, won her third World Cup of the season with a superb effort that finished in 1:19:49, way ahead of Martina Berta (ITA: 1:20:41). Pieterse also almost won the Cross Country Short race on Saturday, finishing in the same time (19:37) as Austria’s Laura Stigger, but just behind.

In the non-Olympic Downhill finals, Canada went 1-2 in the men’s race, with 2019 World Junior Champion Jackson Goldstone, 19, winning in 3:34.926, ahead of teammate Finn Iles (3:37.150). Austria’s Valentina Hoell took the women’s final in 4:04.440, with Swiss Camille Balanche, the 2022 seasonal World Cup champ, second in 4:10.353.

● Fencing ● The USA Fencing Summer National Championships are continuing in Phoenix, Arizona, with the Division I national titles being awarded in all weapons.

USA Fencing is allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes who have renounced the war against Ukraine to compete in this event, and Russian Tokyo Olympian Konstantin Lokhanov won the men’s Sabre division, 15-13, over William Morrill. Lokhanov moved to the U.S. in 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Still just 24, Lokhanov lives in San Diego and coaches fencing.

He had been married to Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Sofia Pozdniakova from 2020, but they divorced in 2022 when he left for the U.S. His former father-in-law is Stanislav Pozdnyakov, the head of the Russian Olympic Committee and a four-time Olympic gold medalist in fencing himself.

In the men’s Epee, Samuel Imrek – the April Nationals winner – won the final with a 15-7 decision over Ayush Shah. Carlotta Ferrari won the women’s Foil final, 15-11, against Charlotte Koenig.

In the women’s Division I-A women’s Epee, Jessica Davis won a tight, 15-14, final over Lily Papadakis to complete an unusual double. She’s also the 2023 U.S. national champ in the Modern Pentathlon!

Competition continues on Monday.

● Football ● The Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) reported Friday that women will be allowed into some football stadiums in the country. It quoted Mehdi Taj, the head of the Iranian Football Association:

“Women will be allowed into stadiums. The Supreme Council has made its decision. A working group has been appointed to carry out the project.

“The Interior Ministry, Sports and Youth Policy Ministry, the football federation and two institutions of the Ministry of Information are in the process of developing a plan for implementing the reform.

“The Gol Gohar stadium in Sirdjan, the Naqsh-e Jahan and Foolad Shahr stadiums in Isfahan, and the Ghadir stadium in Ahvaz are to be opened to female supporters. The Azadi stadium in Tehran has yet to be fitted out.”

FIFA has been after Iran to allow women to attend football matches, and a major scandal erupted in 2019 when Sahar Khodayari – the “Blue Girl” – after setting herself on fire following an arrest for attending a match between her favorite team, Esteghlal FC, in September 2019 at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran.

A month later, 3,500 women were allowed in for a 2019 national team match. But access has been restricted since then; this could be changing now.

FIFA announced that it is not allowing the “OneLove” armbands which were developed by European teams in advance of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup to protest the host country’s civil rights policies, but is providing a substitute.

Eight different armbands have been approved, each stating “Unite For” and then “Inclusion,” “Indigenous Peoples,” “Gender Equality,” “Education for All,” “Ending Violence Against Women,” “Peace,” “Joy, Peace, Love, Hope & Passion” and “Zero Hunger.”

According to FIFA:

“With regard to the armbands, team captains will be given three options: they can wear the ‘Football Unites the World’ armband for the entire tournament; an armband corresponding to the theme of their choice for the entire tournament; or the armband corresponding to the theme of the specific matchday.”

Said FIFA chief Gianni Infantino (SUI):

“Football unites the world and our global events, such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup, have a unique power to bring people together and provide joy, excitement and passion.

“But football does even more than that – it can shine the spotlight on very important causes in our society. After some very open talks with stakeholders, including member associations and players, we have decided to highlight a series of social causes – from inclusion to gender equality, from peace to ending hunger, from education to tackling domestic violence – during all 64 matches at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.”

● Gymnastics ● China dominated the Trampoline World Cup in Santarem (POR), going 1-3 in the women’s final, with Tokyo Olympic champ Xueying Zhu winning at 56.660, just ahead of Camilla Gomes (BRA: 56.090) and 2022 Worlds bronze winner Yicheng Hu (55.960). American Jessica Stevens was fourth (54.520).

Langyu Yan, the 2021 World Champion and Zisai Wang went 1-2 in the men’s Trampoline final, at 61.800 and 60.570, beating 2022 World Champion Dylan Schmidt (NZL: 59.220) for third. American Isaac Rowley finished sixth at 56.510.

In the non-Olympic men’s Synchro final, Shinya Nagata and Yasufumi Mita (JPN) won at 51.510, with Rowley and Cody Gesuelli of the U.S. third at 51.030. The women’s title went to China’s Zhu and Hu (48.630) with Americans Nicole Ahsinger and Cheyenne Webster second at 47.690.

● Sport Climbing ● History for Austria’s Jakob Schubert at the IFSC World Cup in Villars (SUI) as he won the Lead competition for his 23rd World Cup title in all disciplines, breaking a tie at 22 with Czech Adam Ondra.

Schubert, 32, owns three World Championship golds in Lead and edged Ondra, also a three-time World Champion, 42+ to 41+, with German Alexander Megos third (40) and American Colin Duffy in fifth (37+).

Slovenian star Janja Garnbret, the top women’s climber on the planet, recorded her 25th Lead World Cup win and 40th career World Cup medal across all disciplines, reaching the top in the final to best 2018 World Champion Jessica Pilz (AUT: 43+) and American Brooke Raboutou (43).

China went 1-2 in the men’s Speed final, with Jianguo Long clocking 5.26 seconds, while Liang Zhang fell. American Samuel Watson finished fourth as he fell in the bronze medal against Ryo Omasa (JPN: 5.30).

Poland’s Natalia Kalucka, the 2021 World Champion, took the women’s Speed final over Emma Hunt of the U.S., 6.55-8.37. It’s Kalucka’s first World Cup win!

● Water Polo ● Two traditional powers met in the final of the World Aquatics men’s World Cup Final in Los Angeles, with Spain claiming its first-ever title after a 10-4 win against Italy.

The Spanish had won the bronze medal in this event in three of the last six editions, but this was its first final. They got on top early, taking a 5-1 lead in the first period, which was 7-3 at half. A 3-1 edge in the third quarter sealed the game and there was no scoring in the fourth for the 10-4 final.

Italy won its first World Cup medal since a silver in 1999.

In the quarterfinals, Spain dispatched Germany, 18-9, and then defending champion Hungary by 10-8 in the semifinals. The Italians routed Romania, 20-2 and then faced the U.S., which had conquered Serbia, 10-9. The U.S. made it close, but Italy prevailed, 15-12, to move on to its first final since 1999.

In the third-place match, the U.S. had a 6-5 lead at the end of the quarter and 9-8 at halftime. But Hungary took control with a 4-1 third quarter for a 12-10 lead. The U.S. came back to tie with a 3-1 fourth quarter, but Hungary prevailed, 18-16, in the penalty shoot-out. The U.S. medal drought continues; its last medal was a gold in the 1997 Super Final.

● Weightlifting ● The USA Weightlifting National Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado produced all new champions in the senior men’s and women’s divisions: no repeaters from 2022!

In the men’s division, 2023 Pan American 61 kg champ Hampton Morris moved up to 67 kg and won at 298 kg combined, ahead of Jerome Smith (281 kg). Other winners included Gabe Chumm at 61 kg (270 kg total), Travis Cooper at 73 kg (309 kg), Edward Ginnan at 81 kg (321 kg), Brandon Victorian at 89 kg (342 kg), Layne Palm at 96 kg (334 kg), Trevor Kimm at 102 kg, moving up from the 96 kg title in 2022 (325 kg), Kolbi Ferguson at 109 kg (362 kg), and Matthew Naugle at +109 kg (337 kg).

The women’s winners included Gretchen Villa at 45 kg (152 kg), Isabella Rodriguez at 49 kg (167 kg), Katelyn Kirby in the 55 kg class (182 kg), Shayla Moore at 59 kg (208 kg), Taylor Lucas at 64 kg (205 kg), Alexia Gonzalez at 71 kg (215 kg), Andrea Barrows at 76 kg (207 kg), Shacasia Johnson at 81 kg (246 kg), Sarah Barnett at 87 kg (226 kg) and Sarah Uschmann at +87 kg (230 kg).

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TSX REPORT: USOPC paid $148.31 million to athletes and NGBs, but lost $30.46 million in 2022; Berkoff, Ress and Huske get swimming world leads

By
Rich Perelman
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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. USOPC paid $148.31M to athletes and NGBs, lost $30.46M in 2022
2. World leads for Berkoff, Ress and Huske at U.S. nationals
3. Olyslagers clears world-leading 2.02 m (6-7 1/2) in Lausanne
4. Vingegaard and Pogacar favored in 110th Tour de France
5. Yamashita not optimistic about a 2030 Sapporo Winter bid

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee published its annual “Impact Report” on Wednesday, including its 2022 financial statements. Revenues were $297 million and expenses above $327 million for a $30 million deficit, due to investment losses. The USOPC paid $148.31 million to athletes in cash and services and to the National Governing Bodies, with the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association getting the most money, in an Olympic Winter Games year. At the USA Swimming national championships, world-leading marks were turned in by Katharine Berkoff in the women’s 50 m Backstroke, by Justin Ress in the men’s 50 m Back, and by World Champion Torri Huske in the women’s 100 m Butterfly. The Wanda Diamond League has resumed with the Athletissima meet in Lausanne, with Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers taking the world outdoor lead in the women’s high jump with a 2.02 m (6-7 1/2) jump in the event held in the city center. The main portion of the meet comes Friday. The 110th Tour de France starts Saturday with the first of 21 stages with recent winners Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark and Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia the favorites. The re-elected head of the Japanese Olympic Committee believes the situation for a Sapporo bid for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games is difficult, given falling levels of public support, thanks in part to the continuing revelations of scandals at the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee.

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (Estanguet says Paris 2024 not worried about police raid) = Russia (2: Czech Republic bans Russian athletes on its soil; RUSADA does 5,082 tests in first six months) = National Olympic Committees (French NOC elects UCI head David Lappartient as President) = Athletics (2: Kersee named Legend Coach; Belgium relegated in Euro Team Champs) = Boxing (Kremlev promises more money to national feds) = Wrestling (UWW unveils strategy outline for 2022-26) ●

1.
USOPC paid $148.31M to athletes and NGBs, lost $30.46M in 2022

The annual “Impact Report” of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee explained the wide range of activities it is engaged in, but most of all revealed a heavy emphasis on athlete services, with generally good results.

But the USOPC also lost $30.46 million in 2022.

Spending, in an Olympic Winter Games year, was down from 2021: $327.22 million vs. $346.30 million, so the problem was in revenue.

True, monies from the International Olympic Committee for the USOPC’s share of U.S. television rights and TOP sponsorships was down from 2021 since payments for the Olympic Winter Games are less than those for the Olympic Games. In 2021, those payments, and USOPC domestic sponsorship sales totaled $396.48 million, vs. the 2022 total of $299.44 million. This was expected.

Contributions, a recent emphasis for the USOPC, were up. The 2021 total of $24.85 million was surpassed by 16% to $28.91 million in cash, plus another $3.79 million in value-in-kind (not called out in 2021) for a total of $32.70 million. Fundraising expenses were down slightly, from $10.45 million in 2021 to $10.35 million in 2022.

So what happened?

Investments. Where the 2021 statements showed a glossy $44.75 million in investment income, from the affiliated U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Endowment and U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation, that turned into a loss of $41.62 million in 2022, a flip of $86.37 million. And there’s the difference.

Removing the investment loss showed operating income of $11.16 million, instead of the posted loss of $30.46 million, on net revenues of $296.76 million. So now you know.

During the year, the USOPC made payments to athletes and to National Governing Bodies, which also paid athletes from various programs:

● $40.00 million in direct athlete payments
● $20.45 million in direct-to-athlete services
● $67.15 million in National Governing Body grants
● $20.71 million in National Governing Body services

The total was $148.31 million. The biggest winners among the NGBs included several of the winter-sport federations in an Olympic Winter Games year:

● $16.58 million to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association
● $9.88 million to USA Track & Field
● $7.86 million to USA (Ice) Hockey
● $7.17 million to USA Swimming
● $5.89 million to USA Bobsled & Skeleton
● $5.71 million to USA Wrestling
● $4.76 million to USA Volleyball
● $4.51 million to USA Speedskating
● $4.42 million to USA Gymnastics
● $4.17 to U.S. Paralympic Track & Field

There were additional expenditures by the USOPC itself related to its “Athlete Excellence” programs which brought the total in this sector to $183.18 million or 61.85% of the total expenses for the year.

The USOPC also paid $20.00 million to the U.S. Center for SafeSport as mandated by the U.S. Congress, and $5.16 million to support the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

Even with the investment losses, the USOPC is hardly a hand-to-mouth organization. It ended 2022 with assets of $864.66 million, including $321.84 million in reserves, including those with donor restrictions.

There is also a fascinating disclosure in the notes to the statements, which explained that the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation entered into an agreement in 2022 with the Los Angeles 2028 organizing committee for “fundraising rights for the LA28 Games” for $40.00 million, discounted for early payment to $35.967 million through 2027. LA28 was apparently paid $6.90 million in 2022 as the first installment, with subsequent payments due of $4.0 million in 2023 and 2024 and $7.0 million in 2025-26-27. Taken as described, this means that you will not see a donations-request program from LA28 for the organization of the 2028 Games, and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation will be the one asking for donations to support the American team in 2028. Logical, and a nice bonus for the LA28 budget.

The USOPC’s Form 990 tax return showed 561 people employed during 2022, along with 573 volunteers. The financial statements list the top 20 earners at the USOPC, who were paid – including salary, bonus, retirement and non-taxable benefits – $9.43 million, from $305,708 to $1,175,947.

Beyond the financial elements, the USOPC reported on advances in athlete support and endorsements.

The Athlete Marketing Platform pilot program has had a positive, if limited impact:

● There were 1,045 athletes in the program in 2022, with 517 accepted deals that averaged $1,500 each. A total of $811,000 was paid to 277 separate athletes through the Platform.

● Some 67% of athletes at the Beijing Games 2022 had at least one personal endorsement deal, a major upswing vs. the 3% at the Pyeongchang Games in 2018.

The USOPC’s personal support programs also provided direct support to more than 600 athletes through Athlete Ombuds office, and the Athlete Legal Aid effort delivered nearly 300 pro bono hours of attorney time.

A continuing priority for the USOPC has been to support American candidates for positions on International Federations. Per the report:

“We also elected five individuals to new positions at the international level – Beau Welling, President, World Curling Federation; Max Cobb, Secretary General, International Biathlon Union; Kim Rhode, Vice President, International Shooting Sports Federation; Allyson Felix, IOC Athletes’ Commission and Clare Egan, World Anti-Doping Agency Athletes’ Commission – and re-elected Pat St. Peter, Council, International Skating Union.”

Those individuals are important representatives for the U.S. and more are needed. The selections of Welling and Cobb are especially impressive achievements.

2.
World leads for Berkoff, Ress and Huske at U.S. nationals

The important work of qualifying a team for the World Aquatics Championships continued Thursday at the USA Swimming National Championships in Indianapolis, along with the re-writing of the 2023 world rankings.

Three events saw world-leading performances, starting with the morning heats in the women’s 50 m Backstroke, where 2022 Worlds silver medal winner and American Record holder, Katharine Berkoff, went to no. 1 at 27.27. That didn’t last long.

In the final, Berkoff and 2022 World 100 m Back gold winner Regan Smith – already a two-event winner in Indy – were off quickly and came up almost together, with Smith taking the slightest of leads by midway. But Berkoff caught her in the final 10 m and reached for the wall first, winning by just 27.13 to 27.14, another world leader and just 1/100th off Berkoff’s American Record from last year.

Gretchen Walsh, the 50 m Fly winner, was third in 27.54 and the U.S. now ranks 1-2-8 in the world for 2023. Smith moved to no. 6 all-time in the event, and still no. 2 in American history.

Then came the men’s 50 m Back final, another showdown between world-record holder Hunter Armstrong and 2022 World Champion Justin Ress. Armstrong led in qualifying at 24.20, no. 2 in 2023, and had the early edge in the final.

Ress kept coming and drew even with 15 m left, then timed a perfect lunge at the wall and won in a world-leading 24.10, with Armstrong at 24.16 (no. 3). Wyatt Davis for third in a lifetime best of 24.62 (now no. 10).

The third world leader came in the women’s 100 m Butterfly. Sure, World Champion Torri Huske was ready to go, but it was defending national champ Walsh who had set the American Record a night before in the 50 m Fly, and led the qualifying at 57.09. In the final, it was Walsh out hard again and leading at the turn over Huske by 0.21.

But that didn’t last as Huske closed hard in the last half lap and only got the lead on the final stroke to touch in a world-leading 56.18, with Walsh now no. 2 at 56.34. Kate Douglass, already the winner of the 100 m Free and the 200 m Breast runner-up, almost made the team in a third stroke (!), finishing third in 56.43, now no. 3 on the world list. Claire Curzan, the 2021 World Short-Course bronze medalist in this event, was fourth in 56.61, now no. 7 in the world this season.

Walsh now ranks no. 4 all-time U.S. and Douglass remains at no. 6.

So many stories in the men’s 100 m Fly final. Cal’s Dare Rose – who finished sixth at the Pac-12 100-yard Fly in March – led the qualifying at 50.87 to move to no. 7 all-time U.S. and Tokyo Olympic champ Caeleb Dressel moved into the A final after qualifying ninth, but due to a scratch ahead of him.

Shaine Casas was the defending U.S. champ, and got out best, leading at the turn over Rose by just 0.05, but Rose charged in the middle of the final lap to win going away in 50.74, a lifetime best, no. 3 in the world for 2023, and now no. 6 all-time U.S.

Casas was second halfway home on the final lap, but 16-year-old Thomas Heilman, who was the 200 m Fly runner-up on Tuesday, kept coming and touched second in 51.19, now no. 10 in the world this season. Casas was third in 51.42; Dressel tied for fifth in 51.66.

The women’s 50 m Breaststroke final saw the last two Olympic champs in the women’s 100 m Breast fight it out: Rio winner Lilly King and Tokyo gold medalist Lydia Jacoby. King got the best start, but Jacoby wasn’t far back and the two, racing side-by-side, were close the whole way. Jacoby got close, but King had the perfect stroke sequence to touch the wall and won in 29.77, no. 2 in the world for 2023, with Jacoby at 29.81, now no. 3, and also no. 3 all-time U.S.

The men’s 50 m Breast final was a two-man race between reigning World Champion Nic Fink and super-sprinter Michael Andrew and they were neck-and-neck the entire race. Fink nursed a small advantage to the wall and had an excellent touch to win in 26.74, no. 4 in the world for 2023. Andrew was just 13/100ths back at 26.87, just 0.03 off his seasonal best.

For Fink, at 29, it’s his fifth World Championships team for the U.S. A long-time teammate would get a sixth.

Carson Foster, the Worlds 200-400 m Medley runner-up last year, led the 400 m Medley qualifying and came in no. 4 in the world in 2023. But he had to deal with Tokyo Olympic champ Chase Kalisz, Tokyo runner-up Jay Litherland and Tokyo Olympic 800-1,500 m Freestyle gold winner Bobby Finke, already the 1,500 m Free winner and branching out to the Medley.

Off the start, it was Foster to the lead on the Fly leg, just ahead of Kalisz, and Foster was 1.51 seconds up on Finke after the Backstroke. But Kalisz’s well-known Breaststroke speed almost gave him the lead after just the next 50 m and Kalisz was leading the field by 0.54 with the Freestyle remaining. But Foster re-took the lead by the last turn and pushed home in 4:08.14, moving up to no. 3 in the world for 2023.

Kalisz held on for second as Finke closed fast, 4:08.22 (no. 4 in 2023) to 4:09.55 (no. 5), with Litherland fourth in 4:10.74 (no. 8). Kalisz, like Katie Ledecky on Tuesday, made a sixth U.S. World Championships team, joining her, Nathan Adrian, Elizabeth Beisel, Natalie Coughlin, Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps.

The women’s 400 Medley had Alex Walsh, the Tokyo Olympic 200 m Medley silver medalist leading the qualifying, but the favorite was Katie Grimes, still just 17, the 2022 Worlds runner-up in this event and no. 3 on the 2023 world list (but also the U.S. 10 km Open Water champion this season!).

Grimes was out well, leading Leah Hayes and Walsh after the Fly leg and Grimes was up by 2.23 seconds on Walsh after Backstroke. But Walsh is a superior breaststroker and took the lead by 1.88 going into the last two laps. That wasn’t enough. Grimes was much too strong, took the lead after 50 m and came home with a clear win in 4:33.80. She’s already timed 4:31.81 this season, so she stays third on the world list.

Walsh was second at 4:35.46, moving up to no. 5 this season, with Hayes third in 4:38.45.

Friday’s schedule has the just three events: the 400 m Freestyle – likely the 25th national title for Ledecky – and the 100 m Breast final – a triple for King? – and 100 m Back. Saturday has the women’s 1,500 m Free, men’s 800 m Free, the 200 m Medleys and 50 m Freestyles. Live coverage is only on the Peacock streaming service.

3.
Olyslagers clears world-leading 2.02 m (6-7 1/2) in Lausanne

The annual Athletissima meet in Lausanne, Switzerland started early with a downtown women’s high jump and a world-leading performance from Tokyo Olympic silver winner Nicola Olyslagers (AUS).

She had to fight off two Ukrainian stars in two-time Worlds runner-up Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Olympic and Worlds fourth-place Iryna Gerashchenko and all three cleared 1.97 m (6-5 1/2) with Olyslagers ahead on misses. Olyslagers and Gerashchenko both cleared 2.00 m (6-6 3/4) on their first attempts, with Mahuchikh missing once and passing to 2.02 m.

Olyslagers equaled her lifetime best with a clearance on her second try, but Gerashchenko missed all three attempts and Mahuchikh missed her two remaining tries to give the Australian the win. It’s the best outdoor jump in the world this season, equaling Mahuchikh’s 2.02 m indoors.

The main program is on Friday, shown in the U.S. on the Peacock streaming service from 2-4 p.m. Eastern time, with a replay on CNBC on Saturday from 1-3 p.m. Eastern.

Shot put superstar Ryan Crouser of the U.S. leads the field event line-up, along with Olympic and World women’s vault champ Katie Moon. Olympic gold medalists Miltiadis Tentoglou (GRE: long jump) and Neeraj Chopra (IND: javelin) are also featured and Chopra will have his hands full with two-time World Champion Anderson Peters of Grenada.

The new world-record holders in the men’s two-mile – Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen – and Steeple – Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma – will duel in the men’s 1,500 m. Ingebrigtsen won the sensational race in Oslo to move to no. 6 all-time at 3:27.95. Could this be faster?

Five women’s world leaders will be in action, with Marie-Josee Ta Lou (CIV) in the 100 m, Keely Hodgkinson (GBR) in the 800 m, Sembo Almayev (ETH) in the Steeple, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (PUR) in the 100 m hurdles and Femke Bol (NED) in the 400 m hurdles.

After being off for two weeks, the Diamond League is in Lausanne on Friday and then in Stockholm for the Bauhaus Galan on Sunday. This will air live in the U.S. on CNBC from 12-2 p.m. Eastern, as well as on Peacock.

Norway’s Karsten Warholm is scheduled in the 400 m hurdles – he opened in Oslo with a startling 46.52, the no. 4 performance in history – as well as World Champions Mondo Duplantis in the men’s vault, Kristjian Ceh (SLO) in the men’s discus, Emmanuel Korir (KEN) in the men’s 800 m, Soufiane El Bakkali (MAR) in the Steeple, Tobi Amusan (NGR) in the women’s 100 m hurdles, plus comebacking world-record holder Wayde van Niekerk (RSA) in the men’s 400 m.

4.
Vingegaard and Pogacar favored in 110th Tour de France

The 110th Tour de France sets off on Saturday for the first of 21 stages in the world’s most celebrated cycling event, with the winners of the last four Tours set to go.

The favorites are the defending champion Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) and the winner of the prior two Tours, Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar. Both are in prime condition, with Vingegaard, 26, winning the Itzulia Basque Country in April and the Criterium du Dauphine that finished on 11 June.

Pogacar, 24, won the Tour in 2020 and 2021 and has nine career stage wins at the Tour. He has raced frequently in 2023, winning the eight-stage Paris-Nice title in March (Vingegaard was third), then taking the E3 Saxo Classic, Ronde van Vlaanderen and La Fleche Wallonne races in April and winning the Slovenian nationals in both the Time Trial and road race last week.

Mattias Skjelmose (DEN), winner of the Tour de Suisse in mid-June is seen as a possibility, along with Adam Yates (GBR), winner of the 2021 Vuelta a Espana and second at the Criterium du Dauphine. Belgian star Wout van Aert has nine career stage wins at the Tour, and has finished 20-19-21 in the last three years.

Colombia’s Egan Bernal won in 2019 and is entered, but is not considered a contender this year.

One of the most compelling side stories is 38-year-old Mark Cavenish (GBR), who will retire at the end of the season, but is tied with all-time great Eddy Merckx (BEL) with 34 Tour stage wins. He last won a Tour stage in 2021, but has been in good form in 2023, winning the final stage of this year’s Giro d’Italia.

The 2023 Tour will start in the Basque Country of Spain and won’t reach France until the end of the third stage. This year’s route is difficult:

● 8 Mountain stages: 5-6-9-13-14-15-17-20
● 6 Hilly stages: 1-2-8-10-12-18
● 6 Flat stages: 3-4-7-11-19-21
● 1 Individual Time Trial: 16

Four stages – 6-9-13-15 – have uphill finishes, plus the Time Trial tour in stage 16. The worst day would appear to be on 19 July, a four-climb, 166 km test that includes the 2,304 m Col de la Loze – a 1,700 m climb over 29 km – before finishing at the alpine resort of Courchevel.

In the U.S., the race is being shown on the Peacock streaming service, along with delayed showings on the USA Network and NBC (1 and 23 July only).

5.
Yamashita not optimistic about a 2030 Sapporo Winter bid

The 1984 Olympic champion in the Open weight class, Japan’s Yasuhiro Yamashita won re-election as the head of the Japanese Olympic Committee for a third term, but cast doubt on Sapporo as a candidate for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games.

“Under the current circumstances, 2030 will be quite hard.

“The International Olympic Committee highly regards Japan’s ability to manage sporting events but attaches great importance to the approval rating of each host candidate.

“Trust in the Olympics is declining. It’s necessary to have a legacy that takes root and makes people think in 10 years’ time or 20 years’ time, it was good to host the Tokyo Olympics.”

Sapporo, which hosted the 1972 Winter Games, looked like a possible winner in the race for 2030, but increasing cost estimates coupled with disclosures of sponsorship and bid-rigging scandals in the organization of the Tokyo 2020 Games have suppressed interest in another such event.

The 2030 situation is still in flux, with no ready-to-go candidate currently available. A Swedish bid that would spread the Winter Games across the country is in development; Switzerland is a possibility only, and the local bid from Vancouver – the 2010 host – has failed to attract the needed financial support from British Columbia.

Salt Lake City has a formidable bid ready to go, but strongly prefers a 2034 designation, although it would be willing to organize the 2030 Games if asked by the IOC.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● “It’s the first time this has happened to us, so we were surprised. We said, ‘Yes, of course, take all the information you need.'”

That’s Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet, the three-time Olympic champ in C-1 Canoe Slalom, speaking with The Associated Press about the recent raid by French authorities at the Paris 2024 offices.

Estanguet sees the inquiry as just one more speed bump on the road to the Paris Games next year:

“I am cooperating. There will surely be other stages. We’ll surely have to reply to more questions. There will be more checks right up to the end, perhaps even after the Games.

“So I am ready for that and I know that it is part of this kind of adventure. We’ll be inspected intensely, criticized hugely.”

The AP reported that, according to an unnamed judicial official:

“Investigators do not suspect that bribes were paid or received, drawing a sharp distinction with the corruption probes that ensnared Tokyo and Rio, the official said. Instead, two police units that fight financial criminality are investigating about 20 Olympic-related contracts – some worth less than 1 million euros – for suspected violations of French laws governing conflicts of interest, contract dealings and use of public funds, the official said.”

● Russia ● The Czech Republic has banned Russian athletes and teams from sporting events held there.

The measure was introduced by Education Minister Education Mikulas Bek to ban “the participation of individual athletes and sports teams representing the Russian Federation in sports competitions and matches organized on the territory of the Czech Republic.”

Czech athletes and teams are also, under the ban, not allowed to compete in any event held in Russia.

An April vote of the Czech Olympic Committee declared the COV against any form of participation of Russia and Belarus in international competitions, or in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games next year. Other governments and National Olympic Committees have adopted similar bans, notably Poland, which refused to allow any Russian or Belarusian athletes or teams to enter the country to compete in the ongoing European Games in Krakow and Malopolska.

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency announced Thursday that it had collected 5,082 samples during the first half of 2023, including in 20 countries outside of Russia.

Of the 5,082 samples, 1,973 were taken in-competition, and 3,109 were from out-of-competition testing. As RUSADA continues to be suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency, the samples were tested in seven foreign laboratories.

For comparison, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency collected 4,894 samples in the first half of 2022 and 1,969 samples (up 11%) in the first quarter of 2023.

● National Olympic Committees ● In the latest round of elections that continue to consolidate multiple Olympic-related offices in one person, David Lappartient was elected as the new head of the National Olympic Committee of France (CNOSF).

The election followed the unexpected resignation of Brigitte Henriques in May, amid a period of turmoil within French sport. Lappartient was elected as the head of the UCI in 2017, is now a member of the International Olympic Committee and heads the IOC’s liaison committee with the eSports community. He had already been a CNOSF board member by virtue of his IOC membership.

He will now serve the unexpired portion of Henriques’ term, to 2025.

It’s pretty unusual for one person to serve as the head of a National Olympic Committee and an International Federation, through not unprecedented. In terms of multiple offices held, Italian Ivo Ferriani currently serves as the President of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), head of the Association of Winter Olympic International Federations (AWOIF), head of the International Federation umbrella group Sport Accord, is a member of the IOC and because of this, is a board member of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI).

● Athletics ● Legendary sprint coach Bobby Kersee has been honored with the USATF Legend Coach Award for 2023, to be presented at next week’s USA Track & Field National Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Kersee is already a member of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame for his collegiate coaching achievements at Cal State Northridge and UCLA. He has coached some of the most iconic athletes in American history, including Allyson Felix, Gail Devers, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and now Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Athing Mu, among others.

This the ninth edition of the USATF Legend Coach Award, selected by the USATF Coaches Advisory Committee. Kersee is the third to be honored having had a UCLA background, as did 2016 honoree Tom Tellez, an assistant coach before going to the University of Houston, and distance legend Bob Larsen (2019), the UCLA head coach from 1985-99.

Further to Tuesday’s post noting how Belgian shot putter Jolien Boumkwo stepped in to run the women’s 100 m hurdles after both Belgian entries were hurt, SpainSports statistician Phil Minshull (GBR) explained further:

“The [Belgian] team wouldn’t have been disqualified for not entering a competitor (and in Division 3 there were a number of events were various teams didn’t or couldn’t enter competitors) but would have got zero points. With Belgium cited for relegation, which eventually happened, every point was vital. In the end, she actually got two points after the disqualification of the Swiss hurdler in the other heat.”

Belgium ended up 14th in Division 1 – by 256.5 to 250.0 for Greece – and was relegated to Division 2 for the 2025 meet. It wasn’t Boumkwo’s fault; she placed seventh in her regular event, the shot.

● Boxing ● International Boxing Association President Umar Kremlev (RUS) posted a message to the national federations on Thursday, urging calm and promising more money:

“We would like to stress at this point, there should be no panic amongst National Federations and Confederations. The situation has been remaining the same for several years and our position as a world-class organisation developing boxing from the grassroots has never changed.”

As for finances, Kremlev asked for information first:

“[W]e are kindly asking you to indicate your sources of income from the National Federation you represent. This is important for us to understand as our Financial Support Program (FSP) must be tailored to the needs of our National Federations and Confederations.

“We are pleased to share that we have secured funds for the next 4-year cycle to support our members, and the grants given will grow from $20,000 to $50,000 in 2024, and in 2025 the sum will reach $100,000 per National Federation. We are currently in the process of selecting a commercial partner from the several proposals we have received, and we are grateful to all companies that are willing to support the sport of boxing.”

Last weekend, the 43-member Asian Boxing Confederation Board agreed to propose an amendment to its constitution to allow it to affiliate with an International Federation which is recognized by the IOC, which would mean deserting the IBA. Look for more to follow.

● Wrestling ● United World Wrestling unveiled its 2022-26 strategy document, with a clear focus on specific goals:

“Over the next four years, we will put additional resources – time, money and people, towards five key focus areas: Youth Engagement, Women’s Wrestling, Associated Styles, Image of Wrestling, and Digital Transformation.

“Each of these represent an area where there is tremendous opportunity for our sport.”

The youth engagement effort will aim at getting the sport into more school programs – the best possible outcome – and encourage new clubs, along with making new competitions and awards available as incentives.

Promotion of women’s wrestling interestingly includes a review of the “blockers stopping the growth” of women in the sport, plus developing more female coaches and trying to make the events themselves more attractive. The same consultative approach will be made to find ways to expand the non-Olympic styles, such as sambo.

Programs for improving the image of wrestling and the use of digital means both are aspirational and do not have defined programs as yet.

Observed: The 12-page strategy outline is well thought out, but short on tactics or a tool kit to allow national federations to make significant change.

Wrestling as a concept is widely understood and appreciated, and there are available, interesting options to help the sport – including innovative technologies – but the way matches are contested, scored and presented need significant revision in order to attract more attention, as well as appreciation.

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For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Walsh grabs U.S. record at Swim Nationals; Biles returns at U.S. Classic; Brisbane 2032 wants the world to know it’s special

By
Rich Perelman
-
From the Brisbane 2032 presentation at the IOC Coordination Commission meeting

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. American Record for Walsh at U.S. Swim Nationals!
2. Simone Biles returns to competition at U.S. Classic
3. Brisbane 2032 strategy: sponsors and sports participation
4. Atos and EBU offer new promotion tools at European Games
5. Encouraging WADA report on NADO/IF performance

Veteran stars Michael Andrew, Lilly King and Ryan Murphy all scored wins at the USA Swimming National Championships in Indianapolis, Murphy with a world-leading performance in the men’s 200 m Backstroke. But it was young swimmers like 20-year-old Gretchen Walsh who starred, with an American Record win in the women’s 50 m Butterfly, 16-year-old Claire Weinstein upsetting Katie Ledecky in the women’s 200 m Free and Regan Smith, who won the women’s 200 m Backstroke with the no. 5 performance in history. USA Gymnastics announced an all-star line-up for the U.S. Classic, with the great Simone Biles coming back to competition. At the first meeting of the IOC’s Coordination Commission for the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane, Australia, the organizing committee spoke of developing its branding and sponsorship strategy an the IOC is hopeful to be able to use the nine-year ramp-up to find new ways to optimize the presentation of the Games more efficiently while also increasing participation in sports, especially among young people. At the European Games, a new project of the Atos Major Events team and the European Broadcasting Union provides athletes, national federations and National Olympic Committees with video clips that can be used on social media, even with the EBU owning the exclusive TV rights! The World Anti-Doping Agency published its 2022 compliance report, noting that of 111 national anti-doping agencies and International Federations involved, more than 92% were compliant on testing, investigations and results management.

● Panorama: Los Angeles 2028 (2: Oakley signs with USOPC and LA28; horrible report on cricket in England and Wales) = Special Olympics World Games (14 go missing in Berlin) = Athletics (Road Running champs shortened to one day) = Fencing (USA Fencing defends allowing a handful of Russian and Belarusians to compete at Nationals) = Figure Skating (ISU Grand Prix assignments include no Russians) = Football (U.S. men sail past St. Kitts & Nevis in CONCACAF Gold Cup) ●

1.
American Record for Walsh at U.S. Swim Nationals!

Sure, there were wins by evergreen champions Lilly King and Ryan Murphy on day two of the USA Swimming National Championships in Indianapolis, but the kid’s table is where the party was.

In the women’s 50 m Butterfly, defending national champion Gretchen Walsh – more of a Freestyle star at Virginia – led all qualifiers at 25.54, but was slow off the block in the final. No matter, when she came up, she was in front and just could not be caught. American Record holder Torri Huske, the 2022 Worlds Short-Course gold medalist in this event, was pressing hard, and was getting closer, but Walsh’s last two strokes got her to the wall in 25.11, an American Record!

Walsh, 20, said afterwards, “I didn’t see that coming at all.” She’s now no. 2 in the world this season behind Swedish star Sarah Sjostrom and now equal-third all-time!

It was Huske’s 25.38 from 2022 that was erased; she was second in 25.33, under her old record, now equal-13th all-time, and no. 4 on the year list.

The biggest shock was in the first race of the evening, in the women’s 200 m Freestyle.

Superstar (and 24-time national champion) Katie Ledecky led the qualifying easily at 1:55.49, but the final was another story. The 24-time national champion went out smoothly, but trailed at the turn to 18-year-old Bella Sims, a Worlds relay gold medalist in 2022. Sims was still in front at 100 m, with Ledecky second (+0.22), but then Ledecky surged in front, leading 16-year-old Claire Weinstein by 0.28 and that was it, right?

Nope. Weinstein kept coming and drew even only in the final 5 m and then extended a left hand to touch first with a lifetime best of 1:55.26 – no. 6 on the 2023 world list – with Ledecky just 0.02 behind. Sims grabbed third at 1:56.08, now no. 13 for 2023.

Then there was the 2019 women’s 200 m Backstroke World Champion, Regan Smith, 21, who hadn’t broken 2:04 since that year and determined to get there again. And she left nothing on the table, sprinting to the lead in the 200 m Back final and storming to a 0.58-second lead after 50, 1.15 after 100 and 1.84 at the 150 mark.

Her American Record was in reach, but not quite as she touched in 2:03.80, no. 2 in the world for 2023 and the no. 5 performance in history! Smith said afterwards she was targeting a 2:03 finish: “I know I’m that swimmer again.”

Behind her were 2022 Nationals runner-up Rhyan White (2:05.77), World Short-Course silver medalist Claire Curzan (2:06.35), Kennedy Noble (2:06.54) and Phoebe Bacon (2:06.59), times which rank 3-4-5-6 on the 2023 world list. Wow!

The U.S. had no one in the world top 10 when the men’s 200 m Free prelims started Wednesday morning, but then 19-year-old Luke Hobson – the 200-yard and 500-yard NCAA champ for Texas – scored a big lifetime best and moved to no. 6 in 2023 at 1:45.12! Could he duplicate that in the final?

Actually not, but he won anyway. Kieran Smith, the Tokyo Olympic bronze winner at 400 m, was the top American coming into the meet and was in front at 50 m, 100 m and 150 m, taking the final turn with a 0.20 lead on Drew Kibler and 0.40 on Hobson. But with 20 m left, Hobson had closed the gap and pushed in front to win in 1:45.18, with Smith at 1:45.63 (now equal-8th in 2023) and Kibler at 1:45.75.

Hobson and Smith replicated their 1-2 finish from the 2022 Nationals, but almost a full second faster.

The men’s 200 m Breast final looked good for defending national champion Matt Fallon, 21, who led the qualifying at 2:08.19, moving to no. 6 in the world for 2023. In the final, Fallon was way off the pace: seventh at 50 m and sixth at 100 m … but first at 150 m! He was not to be denied and finished with a lifetime best of 2:07.71, still no. 6 in 2023, but now no. 6 all-time U.S.

The 2019 World Junior Champion, Josh Matheny, was close to the front the whole way, and second at 150 m, coming home second in 2:08.32 (no. 8 in 2023), with Jake Foster third in 2:09.10.

Veterans had their moments, too.

In the women’s 200 m Breaststroke final, World Champion King, 26, clearly the second choice behind Kate Douglass, the 100 m Free winner on Tuesday, the World Short-Course champ in this event, and the easy leader in the prelims, 2:23.87 to 2:25.81 for King.

That wasn’t King’s plan, however. She went out hard and had an 0.94-second margin at the first turn and kept going. But the lead was 0.66 at the second turn and 0.43 at the 150 m mark. And Douglass was closing with every stroke on the way home, drawing almost even with 10 m left. But King pushed and got to the wall first in 2:20.95, the no. 2 time in 2023, with Douglass in 2:21.82, a lifetime best, no. 3 in 2023 and now no. 7 on the all-time U.S. list.

It was King’s second-fastest 200 m Breast time ever. Third was Annie Lazor, the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist, in 2:25.86.

Now 27, Murphy is still the man to beat in the 200 m Back. The reigning World Champion, he led the qualifying, but found himself trailing the 2022 National Champion Jack Aikins by 0.17 at the 100 m mark, but used a perfect underwater on the third lap to get in front and lead Aikins by 0.17 going into the final 50 m. He could not be caught, but Aikins was passed by NCAA 200-yard Back champ Destin Lasco of Cal in the final 10 m, with both pressing Murphy.

But Murphy had plenty left and touched in a world-leading 1:55.03, to make his fifth U.S. Worlds team. Lasco got a lifetime best of 1:55.63, now no. 3 in 2023 and Aikins and Daniel Diehl tied for third at 1:56.04, now no. 6 this year.

Although Caeleb Dressel made the final of the men’s 50 m Butterfly as the seventh-fastest qualifier (23.79), the favorite was Michael Andrew, 24, no. 2 on the year list at 22.85. But it was Dare Rose of Cal who led the qualifiers at 23.16.

In the final, Andrew was out well, took control by 15 m and methodically pushed to the wall to win in 23.11, far off his seasonal best, but a victory nonetheless. Rose was close throughout and got second (23.20); Dressel made a late charge and got up for third in an encouraging 23.35.

Day three on Thursday will include the 400 m Medleys, 100 m Butterfly and the 50 m Breaststroke and 50 m Backstroke events. Live coverage of the finals is only available on the Peacock subscription service.

2.
Simone Biles returns to competition at U.S. Classic

The greatest female gymnast in history, American Simone Biles, has been on hiatus since her difficulties at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, but appears ready for her comeback to the sport.

Biles is entered in the U.S. Classic, a traditional warm-up meet for the national championships, scheduled for Saturday, 5 August in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, north of Chicago, from 7-9 p.m. local time.

She will be part of a talented field that includes Tokyo Olympic All-Around champ Sunisa Lee, Tokyo Olympic Floor gold medalist Jade Carey and members of the victorious Worlds women’s Team from 2022, including Skye Blakely, Jordan Chiles, Leanne Wong and alternate Lexi Zeiss.

Wong and Kayla DiCello were the silver and bronze medalists at the 2021 Worlds All-Around.

Despite her spatial awareness challenges in Tokyo, Biles – now 26 – won a silver with the women’s team and an individual bronze on Beam to give her seven career Olympic medals (4-1-2) and she has taken a break in competition before.

She stormed through the 2013 Worlds (2-1-1), 2014 Worlds (4-1-0), 2015 Worlds (4-0-1) and 2016 Olympic Games (4-0-1) before taking 2017 off, then returning for the 2018 Worlds (4-1-1) and 2019 Worlds (5-0-0) before Tokyo in 2021.

The big winner from Wednesday’s announcement is undoubtedly NBC, which had the meet on CNBC and Peacock last year, but will be much more interested in showing it live and over-the-air with Biles in the line-up.

3.
Brisbane 2032 strategy: sponsors and sports participation

“We have learned how people want Brisbane and Queensland to be presented to the world. That’s very important; we have a wonderful part of the world, but not as well known as maybe it needs to be, and this opportunity to showcase our part of the world, our lifestyle, our climate, our high standards of living; I’ve said in previous press conference, making Brisbane and Queensland known as a lifestyle superpower.

“We’re excited to share our way of life with the Olympic and Paralympic Movement and the world, and we will be ready when it matters most.”

That’s Andrew Liveris, President of the Brisbane 2032 board of directors, speaking to reporters at the opening of the first IOC Coordination Commission meeting for the 2032 Olympic Games, in Lausanne.

He, Brisbane 2032 chief executive Cindy Hook (USA), Coordination Commission head Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) and IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi (SUI) shared the planning efforts to date. Asked what the IOC expects from the Brisbane organizers at this early stage, Coventry explained:

“Right now we are spending a little more time on all the technical sides. In the last three days, we have been meeting with the different directors, from technology, our communications, what the IOC can help with, how we can deliver these essential fundamentals of an [Olympic organizing committee] together at an early stage … Let’s try to do these things once, so that further down the line, we don’t have to repeat it. We might need to upgrade it, and again, re-look at it.

“When it comes to some of our timelines, this is where again the Games Optimization Working Group is looking at. It’s one of the fundamentals we are looking at: adaptability, flexibility. Nine years to go is a longer time period that we’re used to, but it’s also an opportunity for us to look at all those different timelines to see if it’s going to work, how it’s going to work, do we still need o wait to the end of L.A. [2028] to make certain decisions. Can we make some earlier decisions; what does that look like, does it open up [options]?

“So I think that’s where I’m quite excited about the next few years, the early stages, because chairing the Games Optimization [Committee] and chairing Brisbane [Coordination Commission], really working closely together, along with the OCOGs … as to what fundamental timelines as the IOC do we need to look at in order for Brisbane to be as successful as they can be in these next nine coming years and what does that look like.”

Dubi was focused on one of the IOC’s cherished goals, of improving health and physical fitness:

“The dream here is the following … what if we have a pre-legacy, and we give ourselves a chance to work on what really matters: sports participation, especially for youth.

“We have many other things to do, but we should aim, when we have such a long runway, of doing two things. One, be very patient and not rush into technicalities that will unfold at a later stage, because … many things will happen between now and then, including [artificial intelligence], and the influence of AI on sport, development of digital and others. Let’s take time on this, this is the job of the Optimization group … but at the same time, anything we can do, practically on the ground, to see participation rising, there would be a tremendous objective to share.”

Hook explained about the continuing work on the promotional campaign for the Games:

“I don’t think it will surprise anyone in Brisbane to know that Brisbane is not particularly well known globally; it doesn’t have a brand. And even within Australia, its brand is not distinct from the country itself, and that creates a tremendous opportunity, because we have a bit of a blank sheet of paper and a lot of white space. That also means that we have to create a really compelling brand narrative, and build that narrative, which will take a little bit more time to do. …

“The commercial target has been set at $1.7 billion U.S., and that includes everything from ticket sales to commercial sponsorships to merchandising; there’s a whole lot of pieces in that. It should be known that our commercial rights don’t start until 2027, so we do have some time build the commercial strategy.”

Liveris – the former Chair of Dow Chemical – added, “If there’s a way we can optimize Games delivery, we’re going to find it. … We don’t want scope changes that add cost. We want it the other way.

“Australia is a small commercial market by global standards. So that means we have to find innovative ways to bring sponsors to the table, which is consistent with the Premier’s strategy of ‘Invest Queensland.’ So we are bolting up to their offices to help attract companies to the country, to the state, that will indeed be potential sponsors for us.

“And if you think about the drivers of on-shoring and supply chains that are going on in the world, and notably for Australian defense and space industry, there are opportunities to bring big globals to Australia, and to Queensland, and to, of course, bolt the Rings up and the brand to that.”

He was also asked about the continuing controversy over the renovation for the Brisbane Cricket Ground (The Gabba), and observed:

“If you go to Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, [they have] world-class stadiums. We need a world-class stadium for Brisbane, independent of the Olympics, and the [Australian Football League] and cricket are driving that process. We will be a beneficiary of it, and it will be ready for Games. That’s actually the Queensland State Government’s plan and we’re absolutely supportive.”

4.
Atos and EBU offer new promotion tools at European Games

The III European Games is continuing in Poland, and will wind up on Sunday, but not before leaving a digital legacy of new tools for athletes and National Olympic Committees to promote themselves … and the event.

Reporters were briefed Tuesday on the joint effort by Games technology partner Atos – which also produces the results system for the Olympic Games – and the European Broadcasting Union of public broadcast companies to offer new digital products:

● Personalized video clips
● Virtual medals and diplomas
● A European Games immersive Web site

The video clip service is the most intriguing new option, providing clips of 10-20 seconds that are selected and edited by EBU and Atos, then meta-tagged with the athlete’s identification (by accreditation badge number), sport and National Olympic Committee and then distributed to the athlete, national federation and/or NOC via the European Games app created for this purpose (and others). Somewhat longer clips are available to federations or NOCs as summaries of a specific sports session.

What the athlete, federation or NOC do with it them is up to them, but this free service gives athletes – especially – ready-made content for their own social mediums, free of charge and ready to go.

The breadth is pretty impressive: 850-plus clips are distributed daily, which have been cumulatively used more than 2,000 times by athletes, federations and NOCs, with the app have been downloaded more than 9,500 times. That’s for an event with 6,857 athletes from 48 countries.

There are limits. The clips may not be sponsored or otherwise directly monetized. Asked about the clash between the exclusive broadcast rights purchase by the EBU for its members and this free distribution outside of their channels, Eurovision Sport Executive Director Glen Killane (IRL) explained:

“I think the higher the rights fee, the more protective members tend to be. And I think that’s something that we need to be mindful of.

“We know that we are on the journey here and we have to build this up and we have to grow it and we have to kind of, create a narrative that is very coherent as well around what actually the European Games is. I think the [European Olympic Committees] has done a tremendous job in bringing, you know, all the sports together. ….

“I think giving up clips, is essential to promote it. Promotion is essential. Communication is essential. Discoverability is essential to grow it. So I think if you’re talking about something like the FIFA World Cup or the Olympic Games, it might be a different conversation with members.

“But I think members are very happy to play a role here. And hopefully we can grow it together and I think that’s the vision that EOC have and that’s the vision we have for we want to grow this and make it make it into something to bring more audiences. to get more audiences excited.”

Nacho Moros, the Chief Operations Officer for Atos Major Events, noted that the digital medals and diplomas sent to athletes after their competitions are protected in a blockchained register, and if an athlete were to be disqualified for doping or a rules violations, Atos would be able to delete the digital awards and re-shuffle the awards as needed.

About halfway through the Games, the clips had been seen by an estimated 3.2 million viewers.

Hasan Arat (TUR), the EOC Coordination Commission Chair for the European Games, praised the Polish organizers for their performance: “I have to [tell] you very honestly they organized everything. Perfect. Perfect. From the security from the roads, from the transportation, the village. …

“I want to congratulate them from the bottom of my heart what they have done. It is totally Olympic standard. The only need we have, maybe, we need to start partying little bit earlier.”

5.
Encouraging WADA report on NADO/IF performance

The World Anti-Doping Agency’s 2022 Compliance Annual Report was published on Tuesday, summarizing the state of compliance with WADA’s regulations and from the agency’s audits of National Anti-Doping Agencies (NADOs) and International Federations.

In general, the compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code by both NADOs and IFs was good:

● 96% compliant for Results Management
● 93% compliant for Therapeutic Use Exemptions
● 92% compliant for Testing and Investigations
● 86% compliant for Privacy
● 78% compliant for General administration
● 71% compliant for Education

The education number is apparently low due to new educational requirements which are not yet fully implemented worldwide. The high compliance percentages for testing and results management are encouraging. Compared to the same report for 2017, “non-conformities” among the 111 NADOs and IFs combined were down 22%, from 2,598 to 2,022.

Then there is Russia:

“As per the [Court of Arbitration for Sport] decision, RUSADA remained non-compliant throughout 2022 and WADA was responsible for monitoring the consequences contained in the CAS decision. At the end of 2022, the two-year period of consequences detailed in the CAS decision came to end. However, RUSADA remains non-compliant.

“The process for RUSADA’s reinstatement will occur in a phased approach. The first phase will be an assessment by WADA management of whether the reinstatement conditions have been met or not. Once WADA’s management determines that in its opinion the reinstatement conditions have been met, the [Compliance Review Committee] will conduct its own assessment. If the CRC agrees with WADA’s management view that the conditions have been met it will make a recommendation for reinstatement to the WADA Executive Committee.”

That hasn’t happened yet.

On Wednesday, WADA shared news of a major drug bust in eastern Europe:

“A joint-operation between law enforcement agencies in Europe and the Polish Anti-Doping Agency (POLADA) has successfully removed performance-enhancing substances from circulation and broken up an extensive criminal network that was running drugs throughout Eastern Europe.

“The coordinated police raids, which also included assistance from Europol and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), uncovered 10 warehouses at locations in Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic containing underground laboratories that were illegally producing dietary supplements and counterfeit drugs. In the course of the raids, 550,000 packages of illegal substances were seized, including anabolic and androgenic steroids prohibited in sport, several hundred packages of new psychoactive substances, a quantity of cash and about one ton of various types of raw materials and components used in the illegal production.

“Police arrested 19 people in connection with the illegal operation and while the total value of the haul has not yet been calculated, EUR 3.5 million (USD 3.8 million) worth of other property belonging to the suspects was also seized.”

The International Testing Agency shared statistics for 2022 as well, showing more than 37,000 samples collected from more than 13,400 athletes from more than 180 countries.

Of these, about 19,700 (53%) were collected out of competition and 17,300 in-competition. The results:

● “Of the 556 potential Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs), 185 resulted in a sanction, while 196 others are still under review.”

● “In addition, 992 Whereabouts Failures (i.e., athletes not fulfilling their obligation to provide timely or accurate whereabouts information for testing) were reviewed, 481 were recorded, 154 were referred to the respective National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO) for results management and 48 are still pending – 309 were not recorded after review.”

There were 527 Therapeutic Use Exemption applications during 2022, of which 333 were approved, 12 were denied, 63 are pending and 119 were closed.

The ITA is now the world’s largest operator of anti-doping programs in sport.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● Oakley signed on as the Official Eyewear of the 2028 Olympic Games and as the Official Eyewear of Team USA for the Paris 2024 Games, and continuing on to 2028.

Two new sunglass styles are being introduced as the Team USA x Oakley line: Team USA Encoder Strike Vented, with Prizm Road Lenses and Team USA Heliostat with Prizm Black Lenses, both of which are now available.

Cricket is one of the sports lobbying the LA28 organizing committee to be an added sport in 2028 and is a likely addition for the Brisbane 2032 organizers. But a new report paints the sport in a bad light, in England – where the sport was invented – and Wales.

The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket was created in March 2021 by the England and Wales Cricket Board, and its now-released, 317-page report, Holding Up a Mirror to Cricket, found:

“Racism is entrenched in cricket. The game’s structures lead to racial disparities and
discrimination, and the ICEC heard many examples of stereotyping, exclusion and racist behaviour.”

The report also details little attention to addressing class barriers in the sport and that women “are marginalised and routinely experience sexism and misogyny.”

ICEC Chair Cindy Butts wrote in her introduction:

“We had unprecedented access to cricket which provided us with a unique opportunity to hold a mirror up to the game. Our findings are unequivocal. Racism, class-based discrimination, elitism and sexism are widespread and deep rooted. The game must face up to the fact that it’s not banter or just a few bad apples. Discrimination is both overt and baked into the structures and processes within cricket.

“The stark reality is cricket is not a game for everyone. …

“87% of Pakistani and Bangladeshi respondents, 82% of Indian respondents and 75% of Black respondents to our survey told us they have experienced discrimination, which is simply unacceptable.”

The report makes 44 recommendations for reform, starting with apologies, but going on to include:

“The entire talent pathway structure should be overhauled to make it more meritocratic, inclusive, accountable and free of direct costs by 2025.”

A new regulatory body is also suggested; the England and Wales Cricket Board is expected to file a formal reply within 90 days.

● Special Olympics World Games ● “Berlin authorities say that 14 members of delegations to the Special Olympics Summer Games, which drew to a close this week, have disappeared.”

This is, unfortunately, a common occurrence at Special Olympics World Games, especially those held in Western cities. According to reports, the delegates are caregivers or relatives of World Games athletes, who would prefer to stay in Germany than go home.

Those missing include eight members of the Cote d’Ivoire team and individuals from Algeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Guinea, Lebanon, and Senegal.

● Athletics ● The inaugural World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga (LAT) has been cut from two days to one, on Sunday, 1 October.

The original plan was for races on Saturday and Sunday, but now the road 5 km, mile and Half Marathon events will be run all on Sunday. Mass races for children will be held on Saturday.

Said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (GBR): “As preparations for the World Road Running Championships have evolved, it has become apparent that the event will work better as a single-day event in Riga, both for local organisers and for broadcast.”

● Fencing ● USA Fencing is defending its previously-announced policy of allowing Russian and Belarusian passport holders living in the U.S. to compete at the Summer National Championships in Phoenix, Arizona that begin on Friday. The requirements:

“As long as they have denounced the actions of Russia and Belarus and display no physical manifestation of Russian or Belorussian affiliation within the venue, these individuals are permitted to return to USA Fencing competitions, per the decision of the USA Fencing Board of Directors on April 16, 2023.

“In the case of our 2023 Summer Nationals tournament in Phoenix, Russian and Belorussian fencers are permitted to compete in non-championship events (such as Division I) only if they have met our Board-mandated requirements. As of June 28, three fencers have completed those requirements.”

The Summer Nationals run from 30 June to 9 July.

● Figure Skating ● The International Skating Union announces its assignments for the 2023 Grand Prix beginning 20-22 October with Skate America and continuing for five more events in Canada, France, China, Finland and Japan through the end of November.

No Russian entrants were allowed; the ISU said that it is studying Russian and Belarusian re-entry, but has maintained its current ban. According to the ISU:

“In total, 41 Men, 36 Women, 25 Pairs and 34 Ice Dance couples representing 25 ISU Members have been currently invited, leaving a few more open spots to be announced. The maximum number of entries for each event is 12 Ladies, 12 Men, 8 Pairs and 10 Ice Dance couples.”

There is significant prize money of $180,000 per event, awarded to places 1-5: $18,000-$13,000-$9,000-3,000-2,000.

● Football ● The U.S. men’s National Team continued Group A play in the CONCACAF Gold Cup with its first-ever meeting with St. Kitts and Nevis in St. Louis, and a 6-0 win.

The game started with the U.S. in possession, but seemingly without a plan of attack, but that all changed with three scores in just 3:50. First, a seeing-eye cross by midfielder Gianluca Busio into the box whipped past striker Jesus Ferreira and right to midfielder Djordje Mihailovic, who slammed the ball into the goal for a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute. Just two minutes later, defender Bryan Reynolds – on his 22nd birthday – sent a perfect, right-foot liner from outside the box through two defenders and past keeper Julani Archibald to make it 2-0. And in the 16th, it was a Busio lead pass that found Ferreira on the right side and he sent a hard and low shot from the right side for a 3-0 lead.

There was one more score, again for Ferreira, who was served a through ball by Mihailovic and then sent a shot between Archibald’s legs in the 25th for a 4-0 lead. The half ended that way, with the U.S. having 68% of possession and a 17-1 edge in shots.

Ferreira got a hat trick in the 50th minute off another Mihailovic assist (5-0), and then Mihailovic got his second in the 79th for the 6-0 final. The U.S. had 66% of possession and shots were 34-2.

In the other Group A game, Jamaica handled Trinidad & Tobago, 4-1, so the U.S. and Jamaica are both 1-0-1, but with the U.S. holding a lead on a goal differential of six vs. three.

The U.S.’s last game in group play is against Trinidad & Tobago on Sunday (2 July) in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Another Ledecky masterpiece at U.S. swim nationals; Duplantis 20-1 world lead in Ostrava; Canada Soccer bankruptcy?

By
Rich Perelman
-
The no. 3 800 m Free performance ever for Freestyle superstar Katie Ledecky (USA).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Ledecky authors no. 3 800 m Free ever at USA Swim Nationals
2. Duplantis scales 20-1 in Ostrava; Crouser 74-3!
3. Canada Soccer may have to declare bankruptcy
4. Russian sports minister: “we’re not a package”
5. Good audiences for CONCACAF Gold Cup on Univision

The USA Swimming National Championships started Tuesday in Indianapolis, with Tokyo Olympic winners Katie Ledecky and Bobby Finke taking the women’s 800 m Free and men’s 1,500 Free by wide margins. World leader Regan Smith won the women’s 200 m Butterfly, but after that, things got crazy. At the annual Golden Spike meet in the Czech Republic, Swedish vault superstar Mondo Duplantis cleared an outdoor world-leading 6.12 m (20-1), while shot world-record holder Ryan Crouser of the U.S. won the men’s shot at 22.63 m (74-3), but said, “It wasn’t pretty.” Canada Soccer has been railed on by both men’s and women’s players for insufficient support, but the situation appears to be much worse than that, and the federation will be considering bankruptcy! Russian sports minister Oleg Matytsin said that if international competitions are not open to its athletes on acceptable terms, they will make up their own events, with at least four major, multi-national events to be held in the next 15 months. He says he is open to discussions with the International Olympic Committee and others, but “We will not make concessions.” Good television ratings for the opening matches of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Spanish-language Univision and just so-so on FS1, with English commentary. For the Mexico-Honduras opener, the audience split was 2.24 million to 274,000!

● Panorama: Cycling (heavy effort vs. technical fraud at Tour de France) = Football (Italy agrees on anti-Semitism program for all levels) = Weightlifting (McLaren says IOC did not bury IWF corruption report) ●

● Errata: Two silly errors on yesterday’s post, with Salt Lake City not having won anything yet (not get), and the Special Olympics World Games in Hangzhou (CHN) in 2027, not 2017. Thanks to eagle-eyed readers Bob Liljenwall and Paul Roberts for the corrections! ●

1.
Ledecky authors no. 3 800 m Free ever at USA Swimming Nationals

There was no doubt that Katie Ledecky was going to win the women’s 800 m Free at the USA Swimming National Championships in Indianapolis on Tuesday, but she made an emphatic statement that she is as good as ever.

The 2012-16-20 Olympic champion in the event, Ledecky took over from the start, leading by 0.45 at the first turn and already 1.30 up at 100 m and 3.66 at 200 m. She was close to her own world record pace through the first half, and faded only slightly, to win in a world-leading 8:07.07, up 13.21 seconds on the rest of the field. She was visibly thrilled with the time, and she should be.

This swim was special, the no. 3 performance in history and her fastest in the event since 2016! Unbelievably, she now owns the top 30 (!) times in history in this event. She is also now the sixth American to make six World Championships teams, joining Nathan Adrian, Elizabeth Beisel, Natalie Coughlin, Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps.

Behind her was a furious effort from 17-year-old Jillian Cox, who made the American team for the 2022 World Short-Course Champs, and took control of the race for second, finishing in a lifetime best 8:20.08 – by more than 13 seconds! – now no. 5 on the 2023 world list. That was enough to hold off Claire Weinstein (8:21.00, no. 9 in 2023), Leah Smith (8:21.88) and Katie Grimes (8:23.78).

Ledecky’s distance compatriot, Tokyo Olympic men’s 800 m and 1,500 m gold medalist Bobby Finke – who also trains at the University of Florida, as does Ledecky – was in charge from the start of the men’s 1,500 m final and built a huge lead on the way to a win in 14:42.81, the no. 5 performance in U.S. history. He entered the meet ranked 24th in the world at 15:02.24, and now ranks fifth.

Charlie Clark, who made the 2022 Worlds team as well, was a clear second in 14:50.84, a lifetime best and now no. 8 in U.S. history. Will Gallant finished third in 15:02.63.

The opening event of the first day was the women’s 200 m Butterfly, with world leader Regan Smith dominating the race from start to finish, winning in 2:05.79, well off her American Record 2:03.87 on 2 June, but better than all but two others in the world for 2023.

Dakota Luther, the 2022 World Short-Course Champion in this event, was a clear second coming into the final lap, but was chased down by Lindsay Looney – a Smith training teammate in Tempe, who was the no. 7 qualifier – in the final 25 m, 2:07.35 to 2:07.86. Looney was second at the 2022 U.S. Nationals, but moved to no. 9 in the world for 2023 this year, with the fastest final 50 m in the field (33.56). Luther was slightly behind her heat time of 2:07.55.

The men’s 200 m Fly final featured Carson Foster, the 2022 Worlds 200-400 m medley silver medalist, who led the qualifying and moved to no. 4 on the 2023 world list at 1:54.30 in the heats. He scored a decisive finals win in 1:54.32.

Foster led essentially from the start, dogged by Trenton Julian, a double relay medalist from the 2022 Worlds, separated by just 0.01 at 100 m and 0.16 m at 150. But Julian faded in the final 25 m and 16-year-old Thomas Heilman came on strong to grab second at 1:54.54, no. 6 in the world this year. His time is also a national age-group (15-16) record, removing Phelps (1:54.58 in 2001) from the U.S. record book.

Julian faded to fourth in 1:55.38, behind Zach Harting (1:55.12).

Maybe the craziest races of the day were the 100 m Free finals.

Rio Olympic co-champ Simone Manuel decided not to race at the Nationals in 2023 and continue building for 2024. The heats were fast, with 2019 national champ Abbey Weitzeil moving to no. 5 in the world with a lifetime best of 52.92, followed by Kate Douglass at 52.98 (equal-6th). Weitzeil was out fast again in the final, leading Gretchen Walsh by 0.03 at the turn, but Douglass came hard from fourth in the middle of the final lap and pushed past Weitzeil in the final 15 m and touched first in another lifetime best of 52.57. Douglass, who swam all or part of seven NCAA Championships wins this season, is now no. 4 on the 2023 world list.

Weitzeil held on for second in 53.11, with Walsh getting third (and on a Worlds relay) at 53.14, with Olivia Smoliga – the 2019 World 50 m Back gold winner – fourth in 53.28, and the 2022 Worlds bronze winner, Torri Huske, fifth in 53.41.

The men’s 100 m Free was highly anticipated and turned out as no one expected.

The focus was initially on Tokyo Olympic champ Caeleb Dressel, but he finished 29th in the heats (49.42) and did not advance. Rio 2016 relay gold medalist Ryan Held looked the best in the prelims at 47.63, fifth on the 2023 world list, followed by NCAA 100-yard Free runner-up Jack Alexy of Cal at 47.75 (seventh).

In the final, those two were in the middle of the pool and Alexy was strong from the start, edging ahead at the turn in 22.61, with Held third (22.79). No one took control on the final lap and six were in contention in the final 10 m, with Alexy getting to the wall first in 47.93.

Behind him was a frenzy, with the next three within 0.02! Notre Dame’s Chris Guiliano – the no. 7 qualifier and a modest 10th in the NCAA 100-yard Free this season – surged with a final stroke to touch second in a lifetime best of 47.98, the fifth American to go sub-48 this season. Matt King, the 2022 national 50 m Free winner, was third in 47.99, 0.06 slower than in the heats, as Held faded to fifth in 48.08, just 15/100ths behind Alexy.

This was crazy. The meet continues on Wednesday with the 200 m Free, 200 m Breast, 200 m Back and the 50 m Butterfly. Coverage of the finals session is only on the Peacock streaming service.

2.
Duplantis scales 20-1 in Ostrava; Crouser 74-3!

Olympic and World Champions Mondo Duplantis and Ryan Crouser were the stars of the annual Golden Spike meet in Ostrava (CZE) on Tuesday, with Duplantis getting a world outdoor-leading vault of 6.12 m (20-1).

The Swedish star had to clear 6.00 m (19-8 1/4) to win the event over Kurtis Marschall of Australia and Ernest John Obiena (PHI), both of whom cleared 5.90 m (19-4 1/4). From there, Duplantis went to 6.12 m and cleared on his first try and to 6.17 m (20-2 3/4), which would have been the no. 2 vault ever outdoors. But he missed three times.

It’s Duplantis’s 15th career meet at 20 feet (6.10 m) or higher (eight outdoor, seven indoor), the most ever, with Ukrainian great Sergey Bubka next at 11 and France’s Renaud Lavillenie with one.

Crouser, who has redefined the shot put and set a world record of 23.56 m (77-3 3/4) at UCLA in May, was in front from his first throw, reaching 22.17 m (72-9), then extending to 22.63 m (74-3) in the second round. He didn’t improve, but still had superb throws of 22.16 m (72-8 1/2) in round three, 22.14 m (72-7 3/4) in round four and 21.97 m (72-1) in round six. But he had challenges:

“It is the third full day for me in Europe. I’ve had one of the higher jet lag days. So, to come out and throw an ugly 22.60-plus, I am happy with it.

“It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t technically proficient. The brain-body connection wasn’t quite working. I was even having trouble setting my feet just how I want them. I just didn’t have that top end gear to accelerate through the ball.”

New Zealand’s Tom Walsh, the 2017 World Champion, reached 22.15 m (72-8) in round four to finish second.

On the track, the top performer was Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji, 21, who won a tight women’s 1,500 m from countrywoman Hirut Meshesha, 3:57.38 to 3:57.87, to move to nos. 5 and 8 on the year list, with another Ethiopian, Tigist Girma, 20, getting a huge lifetime best of 3:59.33 in third.

Puerto Rico’s Tokyo Olympic champ Jasmine Camacho-Quinn took the 100 m hurdles, winning in 12.42 (wind: 0.0) over American Tia Jones (12.44), world-record holder Tobi Amusan (NGR: 12.47) and 2019 World Champion Nia Ali of the U.S. (12.75).

In the men’s 1,500 m, Steeple world-record holder Lamecha Girma (ETH) won a sizzling race from Ryan Mphahlele (RSA) and George Mills (GBR), 3:33.15 (lifetime best) to 3:33.38 and 3:33.85.

South Africa’s Akani Simbine won the men’s 100 m in 9.98 (+0.6), France’s Wilhem Belocian took the 110 m hurdles (13.25, +0.5), World Champion Kristjian Ceh (SLO) won the discus at 68.55 m (224-11) and Tokyo Olympic runner-up Jakub Vadlejch thrilled the home crowd with a javelin win at 81.93 m (268-9).

3.
Canada Soccer may have to declare bankruptcy

Canadian soccer players have been complaining vehemently about a lack of support from their national federation, with the women threatening to go on strike earlier this year.

Well, Canada Soccer’s interim Secretary General Jason deVos – an eight-year member of the national team himself – said that things are so bad that bankruptcy is a possibility. In an interview with TSN, de Vos explained:

“We are in a real struggle. It’s not imminent, but we need to explore what bankruptcy entails and how it might affect our organization.

“We don’t have enough revenue coming in for the programs that need to be run, and that includes everything from grassroots coach education and referee development to youth national teams and our senior men’s and women’s teams.”

Noting that bankruptcy was more of a last resort than a primary option, deVos said the federation may not have enough money to play matches in the three remaining international windows in the fall. As for Canada’s men’s and women’s national team members:

“I need for them to understand we only have so much money and there’s only so much we can give them. I don’t want to have to take money from programming resources to provide more compensation. I know the players understand that, but they also want what they feel they deserve.”

Fingers are being pointed at Canadian Soccer Business, which bought the rights to the national team’s media and sponsorship rights in 2018 on a 10-year deal that pays the federation an annual fee of C$3-4 million ($2.26 to 3.04 million U.S.).

Canadian Soccer Business has said it is willing to discuss amending the agreement, but nothing has happened yet.

The story noted that after the 19 June loss to the U.S. in the CONCACAF Nations League final, several Canadian players flew back to Toronto in coach class. Said deVos:

“In terms of them flying business class, it’s transatlantic flights only. We would love to be able to fly all of our players in business class on every flight, but we don’t have the resources to do that. It’s not that we’re saying, ‘You don’t deserve it, or you don’t need it.’ We can’t afford it.”

4.
Russian sports minister: “we’re not a package”

Another look into the Russian perspective of sport, once again from Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin, on Tuesday from a conference in Baku (AZE):

“In June 2024, Kazan will host the BRICS Games, the decision was made a week ago at a meeting of [sports] ministers in Durban [RSA]. In September 2024, we plan to hold friendly Games in Moscow after the Paris Olympics. I want to emphasize that none of these competitions is an alternative to the Olympic Games and is not directed against the policies of the International Olympic Committee or other international sports federation and does not violate the international sports calendar.

“Russia will continue to strengthen its sports sovereignty through the formation of additional open competition formats.”

In fact, Matytsin and his ministry are busy with even more events:

● 2023: August: International University Sport Festival in Yekaterinburg (RUS)

● 2023: August (4-14): Games of the Commonwealth of Independent States in Belarus

● 2024: June (4-18): BRICS Games in Kazan (RUS)

● 2024: September: Friendship Games in Moscow (RUS)

A winter-sports Spartakiad is also planned. Matytsin expanded on his view of where Russia stands in an interview with the Russian news agency TASS. Highlights:

● “We do not offer anything destructive. First of all, we aim to protect the interests of our athletes and coaches, to create a competitive environment through the internal calendar, by organizing an open format of tournaments in order to attract foreign partners. And this is already part of foreign policy.

“We do not want to destroy the international calendar and respect the activities of international federations. And I continue to recommend that our federations and the sports leadership maintain dialogue and look for opportunities to participate in international competitions as much as possible. But at the same time without giving any reason to doubt our self-sufficiency.

“That is why I am categorically against the term ‘return Russia to the international arena.’ We are not a package to be sent or returned somewhere, we make the decision ourselves where to participate, where not, and in what status.”

● “Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin said at the [St. Petersburg International Economic Forum] that we do not quarrel with anyone, we do not turn away from anyone, we are ready to conduct a dialogue. But on those conditions that will meet our national Russian interests. This absolutely concerns the sphere of sports, any attempts to discriminate, politicize or provide an opportunity to participate in competitions on some unacceptable conditions for us are unacceptable. We will not make concessions.”

● “We have proved everything to everyone in sports, we have held all possible international competitions: Olympic Games [Winter 2014], Universiades [2013], world championships in football [2018], athletics [2013], swimming [2015]. It seems to me that in one decade to carry out all this is not a small feat. And we didn’t do it in order to prove something to someone. We have neither the time nor the desire for such a thing. We don’t care if someone likes it or not. We have to love ourselves, respect ourselves, like ourselves. I see that our colleagues share the same approach.”

● “We will do everything necessary, everything possible to ensure our participation in competition. The BRICS Games, like the Games of the CIS countries, are the prerogative of the state. No federations, with all due respect, can dictate these conditions to us here. This is a decision of the countries, and the countries carry them out.”

● “Russia is facing serious challenges, and we are going through all kinds of difficulties with dignity. In conditions when the majority of Russian athletes cannot take part in traditional international tournaments, we have revised the Unified Calendar and increased the number of domestic competitions.

“We do not close ourselves off from the outside world, we participate in international tournaments, create new competition formats and invite everyone to them.”

He closed with:

“Over the past two years, we have been working under unprecedented external pressure, when sports became one of the first industries targeted by sanctions, we felt the discriminatory attitude of the international community. It was important to restructure the work here, direct efforts to strengthen the sports system within the country, and prevent the level of Russian athletes from decreasing due to restrictions in their performance on the international arena.”

5.
Good audiences for CONCACAF Gold Cup on Univision

Never doubt the power of the Mexican men’s national team – El Tri – to draw a big audience in the U.S., with more than 2.5 million tuning in for its CONCACAF Gold Cup opener on Sunday, a 4-0 win over Honduras in Houston.

The big interest came from fans watching Univision, much more than the English-language coverage on FS1:

● 2,238,000 on Univision for Mexico-Honduras
● 274,000 on FS1 for Mexico-Honduras

● 1,031,000 on Univision for USA-Jamaica
● 642,000 on FS1 for USA-Jamaica

● 285,000 on Univision for Trinidad & Tobago-St. Kitts
● 113,000 on FS1 for Trinidad & Tobago-St. Kitts

That’s pretty impressive.

There was good news for track & field, with NBC drawing 839,000 for Saturday’s USA Track & Field NYC Grand Prix. That’s the best audience this year for the three outdoor meets NBC has shown; the Bermuda Grand Prix had an average of 636,000 viewers on NBC on 21 May and 777,000 for the L.A. Grand Prix on 27 May.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Cycling ● The 110th Tour de France starts Saturday and the International Testing Agency and the UCI are on hand with a large anti-doping and anti-cheating team that will check the riders … and the bikes.

The technological fraud regimen has been substantially expanded in recent years; for 2023, all bikes will be scanned prior to each stage. Post-race, bikes ridden by the stage winner, the leaders in all categories, and from a handful of randomly-selected riders will be scanned, plus:

“riders who give rise to suspicion, for example following the pre-stage scan, an abnormally high number of bike changes (in which case the bikes on the team car can also be checked) or other incidents picked up by the UCI Video Commissaire.

“These post-stage checks will be carried out using either mobile X-Ray technology or devices that use backscatter and transmission technologies. If necessary, the bike in question will be dismantled.

“Once the riders have crossed the finish line, the bikes subject to post-stage checks will be quickly tagged, enabling rapid control procedures to be carried out in a matter of minutes. The introduction of RFID tagging (tamper-proof tags using radio frequency identification technology) for all bicycles as part of the UCI Road Equipment Registration Procedure for the 2023 Tour de France and Tour de France Women with Zwift strengthens the UCI’s ability to monitor the use of bicycles throughout the stages.”

The bike-testing program covered 934 bikes for the 2022 race.

● Football ● The Italian football federation (FIGC), working with the Italian government, announced Tuesday a plan to counter anti-Semitism throughout Italian football:

“Concrete actions are planned, including the inclusion of an explicit reference to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism in the clubs’ code of ethics, the commitment not to give players the jersey with the number ’88’, the interruption of the match in the event of anti-Semitic chants, acts and expressions, and the strict observance of the nominal allocation of seats in the stadiums.”

The protocol was signed by Home Secretary Matteo Piantedosi, the Minister for Sport and Youth Affairs Andrea Abodi, the National Coordinator for the fight against anti-Semitism Giuseppe Pecoraro and the FIGC President Gabriele Gravina.

The plan will be implemented at all levels of Italian football, including domestic leagues and at national team matches. The Associated Press reported that “In March, a fan wearing a Lazio shirt with the name ‘Hitlerson’ and the No. 88 on it was banned for life from attending matches of the Roman club.”

● Weightlifting ● A charge by Russian Weightlifting Federation head Maxim Agapitov that the International Olympic Committee was responsible for silencing a portion of a report by McLaren Global Sport Solutions concerning corruption within the International Weightlifting Federation was refuted by Canadian Prof. Richard McLaren himself.

McLaren told the Russian news agency TASS:

“There was one report from the IWF investigation. However, in accordance with our terms of reference, part of the report was only provided to the IWF integrity committee, as it contained sensitive personal information that, in my opinion, should not be published in public. This action was entirely within our purview.

“The sports community had a full report except for the part that was sent only to the integrity committee so they could take action. At the same time, this body was an official body of the IWF and could make decisions, based on its content, to do as it saw fit.

“It is not true to say that the IOC withheld the non-public part of the IWF report. It was solely my decision, not dependent on anything related to the IOC. I made the decision to place part of the report only in the hands of the IWF integrity committee. The reports were also sent directly to law enforcement, but it had nothing to do with the IOC.”

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: USOPC’s Sykes looking for “targeted dialogue” for Salt Lake this year; African NOCs in sports “Belt & Road” with China

By
Rich Perelman
-
The Olympic Cauldron Plaza at the University of Utah, commemorating the 2002 Olympic Winter Games (Photo: University of Utah)

★ 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 ≡

1. USOPC hoping for “targeted dialogue” for Salt Lake this year
2. Russian NOC chief says “high time” for IOC to change
3. Italy leads Euro Games medal count at the half
4. Special Olympics World Games concludes in Berlin
5. African NOCs to sign cooperation agreement with China

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee is hopeful of having Salt Lake City essentially chosen to be the host of an Olympic Winter Games later this year, according to Board Chair Gene Sykes. The head of the Russian Olympic Committee said that it’s “high time” for the International Olympic Committee to rescind its sanctions on Russian athletes and called the current recommendations “humiliating” and “unacceptable.” For Wimbledon, Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be allowed to compete if they are state-sponsored. At the European Games in Poland, Italy leads the medal table at the halfway mark, with strong marks in the now-completed track & field events. The Special Olympics World Games have concluded in Berlin, with more than 100,000 tickets purchased to the events, and 18,000 volunteers involved in support operations. The Chinese Olympic Committee presented a support program to the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa, in a proposal that will bring China closer to the 54-member body. Is this the sports equivalent of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, in which almost all African nations are already involved?

● Spotlight: From a coal town to an Olympic medal, an Olympic organizing committee and making Gatorade the world’s no. 1 sports drink, all in Bill Schmidt’s new book ●

● Panorama: Tokyo 2020 (Tokyo Metropolitan Government installs new regulations for major events after Tokyo scandals) = Paris 2024 (2: No alcoholic beverages in Olympic venues; poll shows French enthusiasm for the Games is down) = Fair Play (Olympic Fair Play Awards to skateboarders and U.S.’s Bowe) = Ukraine (NOC head Guttsait asked not to boycott Paris) = Basketball (French star Wenbanyama will skip FIBA World Cup) = Cycling (new tartan for UCI Worlds in Scotland!) = Football (rumors on a 2030 World Cup deal for both remaining bids?) = Swimming (USA Swimming Nationals start in Indy) = Water Polo (Krikorian says U.S. Women’s World Cup win a tale of two halves) ●

1.
USOPC hoping for “targeted dialogue” for Salt Lake this year

Salt Lake City hasn’t won anything yet in its effort to bring the Olympic Winter Games back to Utah, but the future looks pretty bright according to the new Chair of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee

Following the USOPC’s second-quarter Board meeting, Gene Sykes told reporters on a Monday teleconference that he hopes the turning point will come soon:

“Next steps in this process include a shift from ‘continuous’ to ‘targeted’ dialogue, with the IOC, and it is our hope that will happen in the fourth quarter of this year, likely around the IOC Session in Mumbai, which is in October.

“Salt Lake City stands ready to welcome the world again in 2030 or 2034, whichever year best serves the Olympic and Paralympic Movements. The USOPC stands ready to support them in that effort. …

“We’re not sure if we’ll find out in October or December. We’re in constant touch with the IOC to try to gauge how they are bringing their members along, and how the Executive Board is being briefed by the Future Host Commission, which is where this really sits. …

“But they are making progress and the direction we are getting from the IOC and the Future Host Commission are very encouraging. So, we’re trying to make sure we share with you is our sense of enthusiasm and confidence that Salt Lake City is on the right track.”

Sykes was asked about any discussions with the IOC about its questions to its Future Hosts Commission on a possible Winter Games “rotation” of hosts that would be able to offer a genuine winter experience – i.e., actual snow – in the future:

“It’s still early days in this concept of a winter rotation , but the IOC and the Future Host Commission have raised the idea, so there is some discussion about this.

“I don’t think we can speculate in terms of where it would go. We support the idea of investing in communities that can be Olympic hosts.”

Sykes was also asked about the USOPC’s position on the IOC’s efforts to have individual Russian and Belarusian athletes re-enter international competitions as neutrals:

“I think I said that our position really hasn’t changed. What we said is that we believe there are a lot of challenges to making sure that we respect the Olympic values and support the athletes at the same time, and therefore we’ve been quite measured and willing to give the IOC the opportunity to explore the possibility of understanding how Russian and Belarusian athletes or “neutral” – truly neutral [athletes] – could compete in international competition, and that has been our approach so far, to make sure we’re watching carefully, and constructively engaging with the IOC to share our views.”

He also pointed out that the IOC has repeatedly said that it has not made a decision on Russian or Belarusian athletes competing in Paris.

USOPC chief executive Sarah Hirshland noted that the 2023 Pan American Games are coming up quickly in Santiago (CHI), and that the USOPC would have “around 700 total athletes representing 53 sports: 35 Olympic and 18 Paralympic” at the Games. The 2023 PanAm will have dozens of events in which Olympic qualifying places will be on the line for Paris.

2.
Russian NOC chief says “high time” for IOC to change

“The humiliating conditions set in the IOC recommendations of March 28, I think, will be unacceptable for a larger part of our sports community. We still have time before the Olympics and it is high time our colleagues in Lausanne think of how to correct this situation.”

That’s Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdnyakov, speaking to the Russian news agency TASS on Sunday and reiterating his insistence that the IOC’s currently-promoted recommendations for returning individual Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competitions will not be accepted by Russian athletes.

He also noted the IOC’s position that its recommendations have nothing to do with the eventual decision on whether to allow Russian or Belarusian athletes to compete in Paris in 2024:

“As soon as the International Olympic Committee words its position on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes, we will return to this matter.

“As of today, no one has invited us there, so, I think it is too early to discuss this in detail.”

Asked about the most significant achievement of the Russian Olympic community over the past year, he explained:

“Today is not the easiest time for the Russian Olympic movement, but the way we rejoice at our victories, how we empathize with each other when we fail, how we keep a cheerful spirit when we are unfairly banned from sports competitions, shows that the big Olympic family is in place, and this is the most important achievement of the last year.

“I am sure that we will win the Olympics many, many more times, and reason will prevail in the minds of those people who try to ban the impossible, to prohibit a person to develop physically and mentally, that’s why we are all here.”

Russian and Belarusian players competing at Wimbledon will not only have to be “neutral” according to the Grand Slam guidelines, but new regulations will bar those funded by the state or sanctioned companies. The BBC reported that players from these two countries:

“They cannot ‘wear or be seen with any item containing an image, symbol, flag, insignia or emblem’ which might indicate support for the war or the Russian and Belarusian regimes.

“Players may also not be in receipt of funding from either state, or from companies operated or controlled by sanctioned individuals.”

The ban on state-funded athletes from Russia or Belarus is very much the current view of the British government, and the story noted that it was the government that is behind the tightening of the regulations

3.
Italy leads Euro Games medal count at the half

The third European Games, being held in Krakow and Malopolska (POL), has reached the halfway point, with 129 of 254 events now contested and Italy firmly on top of the medal count. Through six of 13 days of competitions, Italians have 58 medals (18-17-23) to 40 for Spain (18-11-11), 33 for France (6-11-16) and 31 for Germany (10-10-11).

The largest single sport in the Games – athletics – has concluded, with all three divisions of the European Team Championships integrated into the European Games, which may become a permanent feature.

There were some noteworthy marks, starting with Havard Ingvaldsen’s win for Norway in the men’s 400 m in 44.88, and Spanish star Mohamed Katir’s 3:36.95 victory in the 1,500 m. Swiss revelation Jason Joseph won the 110 m hurdles in 13.12 and Italy’s Alessandro Sibilio won the 400 m hurdles in 48.14.

Co-Olympic high jump winner Gianmarco Tamberi took the high jump at 2.29 m (7-6) on fewer misses from Thomas Carmoy (BEL), and Greek Olympic long jump champ Miltiadis Tentoglou won with a seasonal best of 8.34 m (27-4 1/2), now equal-5th on the 2023 world list.

Olympic champs Daniel Stahl (SWE) and Wojciech Nowicki (POL) won the discus and hammer, respectively, at 67.25 m (220-7) and 79.61 m (261-2), while 2022 European champ Julian Weber (GER) won the javelin (86.26 m/283-0).

Dutch star (and 2022 European Champion) Femke Bol won the women’s 400 m in a seasonal best of 49.82, moving to no. 7 on the 2023 world list. Portugal’s Auriol Dongmo, the 2022 World Indoor gold medalist, won the shot at 19.07 m (62-6 3/4) and Kristen Prudenz (GER) moved to no. 4 on the world list with her discus win at 66.84 m (219-3).

One of the “highlights” of the event was Belgium’s predicament in the women’s 100 m hurdles, where its entries were both injured and the team could be disqualified if it didn’t run somebody. So national shot put champion Jolien Boumkwo lined up and carefully negotiated each hurdle (video), competing the race in 32.81, well behind winner Teresa Errandonea (ESP: 13.22). And Belgium was not disqualified.

4.
Special Olympics World Games concludes in Berlin

Another memorable Special Olympics World Games finished in Berlin on Sunday, with the 6,500 athletes among the 21,000 who attended the closing ceremony at the iconic Brandenburg Gate in the city center.

The organizers reported some striking statistics from the nine-day program:

● 100,000 tickets sold for competition sessions
● 4,002 medals for places 1-3 and 6,670 awards (4-8) given
● 9,000 athlete family members attended
● 3,000 trainers and supervisors and 1,100 sports officials
● 18,000 volunteers from 126 countries assisted

Perhaps most important is the little-known, but crucial Healthy Athletes screening program, which offers free medical inspections and care to athletes and team members who often have little access to quality medical facilities at home. More than 15,000 screenings took place.

The World Games is held every two years; the 17th edition is scheduled for Perth (AUS) in 2025 and then in Hangzhou (CHN) in 2027.

5.
African NOCs to sign cooperation agreement with China

Observers familiar with China’s “Belt and Road” global infrastructure project, which has 147 or more countries involved in construction and economic projects backed by loans from Chinese financial institutions, will see a parallel with Sunday’s announcement of a presentation to the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) by Zhidan Gao, head of the Chinese Olympic Committee. According to the post-meeting statement:

“Mr [GAO] highlighted Africa’s role in the influence of the international Olympic and sports movement, underlining its rich pool of high-performance athletes and its capacity to host the biggest international events, including the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG). ‘This opens up the possibility of becoming the centre of the international Olympic Movement,’ he said.

“The President of the Chinese Olympic Committee also pointed out that the President of the People’s Republic of China attaches great importance to relations with Africa in all areas, and that ‘it is only logical that I, as President of the Olympic Committee and Minister of Sport in China, should be involved in this process,’ noting that there is great potential for cooperation in disciplines such as athletics, swimming and football, which are high-performance areas in Africa, and gymnastics and table tennis, which are the most successful sports in China.”

The future cooperation areas, to be fixed in an agreement to be executed in September in China, will include:

“1. Preparing athletes for upcoming international events, in particular the Olympic Games,

“2. Training coaches and managers to improve governance within African National Olympic Committees.

“3. Coordination for mutual support during elections,

“4. The promotion of Olympic Values, the joint reinforcement of the fight against doping and the fight against global warming,

“5. The maintenance and development of sports infrastructures,

“6. A joint commitment, in coordination with the IOC, to strict compliance with the rules and principles of the Olympic Charter.”

Observed: This is a public display of Olympic diplomacy at its highest level, working with a continental organization – ANOCA – whose members also include many ministers of sport and senior officials in African nations. Almost all African countries are already involved in Belt & Road projects with China.

It will be fascinating to see if there is a response from Europe, or the USOPC, perhaps in coordination with Canada, Mexico and others. There are many central and eastern European countries involved in some way with Belt and Road, and in the Western Hemisphere, 18 countries in the Caribbean and South America, including Cuba, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago.

≡ SPOTLIGHT ≡

“Growing up, I was a shy scrawny kid whose best friend and competitor was my identical twin brother, Bob. We were inseparable. We eventually migrated to sports and realized we might have a way out.”

He got that one right. Bill Schmidt started life in a coal camp in Southvue, Pennsylvania, but went on to be a track & field All-American, an Olympic medal winner, a Vice President of the most important Olympic organizing committee in history and a key player in the rise of Gatorade to become the no. 1 sports drink in the world.

Told by friends, “you need to write a book,” Schmidt published Southvue to Gettysvue in November 2022, telling his story. From the Pennsylvania coal country, he ended up at (then) North Texas State as a javelin thrower – and NCAA runner-up in 1970 – to making the 1972 U.S. Olympic Team, winning the U.S. Trials on his final throw. In Munich, he was only 10th in qualifying, but got to the final, standing seventh after the first round, but unleashing an 84.42 m (277-0) toss in round two that held up for the bronze medal! He was the last American to win a men’s Olympic javelin medal.

He went to Tennessee for a Master’s Degree, finished seventh at the 1976 U.S. Olympic Trials, won the 1978 AAU national title and was seventh again at the 1980 Trials. Enough javelin throwing.

Schmidt got into sports administration right away, becoming the sports director for the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville and then coming west to be one of three Vice President of Sports for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for the game-changing 1984 Olympic Games.

That led to his appointment as the Vice President of Worldwide Sport Marketing for the Gatorade division of Quaker Oats later in 1984 and through 15 years, created the dominant brand in the category, powered in part by a 1991 deal with emerging basketball superhero Michael Jordan. Schmidt is regarded as one of the pioneers of corporate sports marketing.

How did he do all this? You’ll have to read the book.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2020: Tokyo ● The blowback from the bid-rigging and sponsorship-influence scandals is being felt in new government regulations.

On Friday, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, one of the major funders of the 2020 Olympic Games, released new guidelines for major international events, to include:

● Some organizing committee staff should be hired by the government instead of accepting loaned executives, in order to avoid conflicts of interest. The Tokyo organizers had staff loaned from ad giant Dentsu, which was at the center of the bid-rigging scandal.

● The procedure used to negotiate and sign sponsorships should be disclosed.

An NHK report noted, “Panel members said hosting sporting events has a public nature, and information disclosure is key to win the public’s trust.

“They decided to introduce a disclosure framework that is in line with the metropolitan government’s rules.”

Tokyo will host the World Athletics Championships in 2025, as well as the Deaflympics.

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The Paris organizers announced that alcoholic beverages will not be sold at any competition site for the 2024 Games.

France has a statute in place – the Loi Evin – from 1991, which controls alcoholic and tobacco policy, and “prohibits the sale of alcoholic beverages in stadiums, gyms, gymnasiums and schools, in general, in all establishments of physical and sports activities.”

There have been exceptions in place for football and rugby matches, but Paris 2024 will apparently not ask for any. There will be alcohol served in hospitality areas, of course.

Polling released by the Odoxa Institute last Friday showed that the popularity of the Paris 2024 Games continues to decrease in France in the aftermath of the searches undertaken at the organizing committee headquarters and that of the Solideo government construction organization.

Where 76% said in September 2021 and 69% said in last March that 2024 Games would be a good thing for France, support is down to 58%-41% now (1,005-respondent sample). However, 62% said the Games are good for jobs and for spreading France’s influence worldwide. A hefty 70% are looking forward to the Opening Ceremony and 65% to the smooth running of the competitions. But there were worries:

“The 2024 Olympic Games are arousing strong fears in public opinion: 64% of French people are worried about their safety , 66% about transport and 71% about their environmental impact … and nearly a third of them even express concern about the smooth running of the events (34%) and the success of the opening ceremony (29%).

“As a result, popular enthusiasm is still very limited: 52% of French people want to follow these next Olympics, i.e. 3 points less than before Tokyo 2021.”

● Fair Play ● The International Fair Play Committee presented its Fair Play Awards for Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 in Lausanne last Friday on Olympic Day (23rd) in the city’s new “Espace Fair-Play.”

For Tokyo, the award centered around the support for Japanese Park skateboarder Misugu Okamoto, then 15 and the 2019 World Champion, who began the final round in the lead, but fell hard on a missed flip try and ended up on the concrete floor of the Tokyo Olympic Skatepark.

She was immediately surrounded by her competitors, who put her on their shoulders and carried her off to cheers. Teammate Kokona Hiraki, who eventually won the silver medal, and Australia’s Poppy Olsen, who finished fifth, received the Fair Play Award on behalf of all seven skaters who came to Okamoto’s aid.

American Brittany Bowe, already an Olympic speed skating medalist from PyeongChang in 2018, and assured of a Beijing 2022 start in the women’s 1,000 m, gave up her place in the 500 m to allow teammate Erin Jackson – who slipped in her race and ended up third and off the team – to compete in her place.

Jackson went on to win gold in Beijing, and after a re-allocation of places, Bowe was also able to compete in the event there, finishing 16th. Said Bowe:

“Although I came out with the win in that race, I felt everything other than victorious.

“I was thinking, if there’s anything that I can do to put Erin on this team, I would like to do that. If that meant relinquishing my spot to get her an opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games, that’s what I would do – and that’s what I did.”

The International Fair Play Committee was established in 1963, and began Olympic Fair Play Awards in 2008.

● Ukraine ● Vadym Guttsait, the President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, was welcomed by the European Olympic Committees Executive Committee on Sunday, during the European Games in Poland.

Guttsait is also the Minister for Youth and Sports in Ukraine, with the International Olympic Committee criticizing the country’s ban on participation in events in which Russian or Belarusian athletes are present. In the EOC report:

“Noting that the Olympic qualification period is ongoing, [EOC President Spyros Capralos (GRE)] urged President Guttsait to do all he could to enable Ukrainian athletes to compete at Paris 2024, by sending full Ukrainian teams to every possible qualifying event. President Capralos also made the point that boycotting qualification events would only harm Ukrainian athletes.”

● Basketball ● France is ranked fifth in the FIBA men’s world rankings and is expected to be a significant contender at the 2023 FIBA World Cup that begins on 25 August. But it will be without no. 1 NBA draft pick Victor Wembanyama.

He told the French all-sports newspaper L’Equipe that he needs to concentrate on his NBA career right now:

“I’ve decided to dedicate this summer to preparing my body for the many events awaiting it in the coming years. This meant skipping the World Cup. It was a difficult decision, and one that required the advice of many people. But I sincerely believe it’s the best one for the French team and myself. …

“There’s a real risk of overload, and therefore of injury, which could have an impact on what happens next. It would be unrealistic in terms of development and unwise in terms of health.

“The French team is as central to my career as ever. I want to win every title I can with them. But to achieve that, this summer is a necessary sacrifice.”

He plans to play in the NBA Summer League in July, and then rest until the San Antonio Spurs training camp begins in September.

● Cycling ● Now this is how you integrate your event with your host region, from the UCI:

“A unique tartan, designed specifically for the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, was unveiled in Scotland today, just six weeks before the kick-off of the inaugural event taking place in Glasgow and across Scotland (3-13 August). …

“The official UCI Cycling World Championships tartan, which is based on the colours of the UCI rainbow jersey and the blue of the Scottish Saltire flag, was designed and woven by long established weavers, Lochcarron of Scotland. They added 1,920 individual threads by hand to the loom to create the basis of the woven material. It has been approved as an official tartan by the Scottish Tartans Authority and will be listed on the Scottish Register of Tartans, which is administered by the National Records of Scotland.”

The new tartan will be worn by awards ceremonies staff and – of course – is being integrated into event merchandise, which will be available beginning on Tuesday.

● Football ● Based on the announced bids, the race for the 2030 FIFA World Cup will be between four-way South American offer and a European and African bid, leading to some wild speculation on a possible deal.

The first World Cup was held in 1930 in Uruguay and a South American bid that began with Argentina and Uruguay has expanded to include Chile and Paraguay. An Iberian Peninsula bid with Spain and Portugal was expanded with Ukraine – at least symbolically – and now Morocco, one of the highlight teams of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and which has bid repeatedly for the event.

And so Monday’s rumor, reported by AIPS Football Delegate Keir Radnedge (GBR):

“Hence speculation that, behind the scenes, the 2030 World Cup might be awarded to Spain and Portugal but with the Opening Match being staged in Buenos Aires and the eve-of-finals congress and event ‘party’ being awarded to Uruguay.”

The decision won’t be made until late 2024.

● Swimming ● The USA Swimming National Championships begin in Indianapolis on Tuesday and go through Saturday, with selection for the American team for the World Aquatics Championships on the line.

NBC has the rights to the event, but will show it live only on its Peacock streaming service, at 7 p.m. Eastern each night, from Tuesday through Saturday. A highlights package will air on NBC on Saturday at 1 p.m. Eastern and on Sunday at noon, plus a CNBC slot at 2 p.m. Eastern.

Some 634 swimmers registered to compete and the entries include 31 Olympic medal winners, including superstars Caeleb Dressel and Katie Ledecky. Results will be available via Omega Timing.

● Water Polo ● Sunday’s last-minute win for the U.S. women, 12-11, over the Netherlands in the final of the World Aquatics Women’s World Cup SuperFinal, was a tale of two halves, according to U.S. coach Adam Krikorian:

“I thought we played very well in the first half by playing very clean, intelligent, and we avoided putting ourselves in very compromising positions. Most importantly, we really executed our man-up situations that gave us a good lead early in the game.

“The beginning of the second half, we slipped mentally. We struggled with transition defense, defending their centers, and communicating with one another by messing up our planned match-ups. It seemed like the Netherlands were swimming downhill in the second half and there seemed to be very little we could do about it.

“However, I’m incredibly proud of the defensive stops we made towards the end of the game. We made two different seven-versus-six stops at the end of the third and fourth quarters, which is something we haven’t practiced as a team. In some ways like that, we were unprepared, but this team showed the will to win and is why the match ended with us on top.”

The U.S. had a 7-3 lead at half, with three goals from Maggie Steffens and extended it to 8-3 early in the third quarter. But the Dutch charged back and tied it at 11 before Rachel Fattal scored with 1:26 left for a 12-11 U.S. lead.

American keeper Amanda Longan turned away 15 shots and trapped the final throw by Sabrina van der Sloot against the side of the goal frame and preserved the win as time ran out. The Dutch out-shot the U.S. by 37-25, but still came up short.

Spain’s scoring ace Anni Espar was named the Most Valuable Player, with Longan an easy choice for top goalkeeper. Steffens was the Player of the Final and Krikorian was recognized as Coach of the Tournament for leading his team to its fourth straight World Cup gold.

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: European Parliamentary Assembly calls Russians in Paris “unthinkable”; 12.96 for Cordell Tinch! Asian feds to leave IBA

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

★ Thank you!: Now with 14 donors, we are at 36% of our summer fund-raising goal. Can you help? Please donate here and now. Your support is crucial. ★

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. European assembly asks IOC: keep Russia out!
2. Hughes, Tinch score stunning world leads in 100 and hurdles
3. Ambitious Paris 2024 torch route includes three oceans!
4. Kremlev: “life goes on for IBA,” but Asian feds to bolt
5. FIFA accelerates U.S. strategy with Club World Cup

While the International Olympic Committee sees its recommendations for Russian and Belarusian athlete re-entry into international competition as a “workable pathway,” the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe passed a resolution last week by 71-4 that called for a continued ban, stating that Russian and Belarusian participation “is unthinkable, would certainly be used as a tool of propaganda.” Some help came from the European Fencing Confederation, which having been ordered to hold a separate championship for individuals by its international federation, banned all Russian and Belarusian participants from its events going forward. British sprinter Zharnel Hughes was the star of the NYC Grand Prix meet on Saturday, winning the men’s 100 m in a world-leading 9.83, while American stars Noah Lyles (200 m), Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (400 m) and Athing Mu (800 m) also won. At the Arkansas Grand Prix, Pittsburg State’s Cordell Tinch grabbed the world lead in the 110 m hurdles with a startling 12.96! The Paris 2024 organizers announced the route of the Olympic Torch Relay for 2024, not only going all around France, but also around the world to French departments in the Caribbean, South America, the Indian Ocean and French Polynesia! International Boxing Association President Umar Kremlev of Russia said that “life goes on,” but the 43-member Asian Boxing Confederation passed a motion to leave as soon as the IOC designates a new federation for boxing. FIFA named the U.S. as the site for its 2025 Club World Cup, creating the possibility that all three of its largest events will be held – all or in part – in the U.S. from 2025 to 2027, making a huge push to expand the sport’s presence, which could also impact the LA28 Olympic organizers also looking for corporate support during those years, in advance of the 2028 Olympic Games.

● Panorama: Enhanced Games (new group promoting 2024 event with no doping controls) = International Olympic Committee (Hula awarded de Coubertin medal) = Archery (Ellison wins again at National Field Champs) = Athletics (U.S.’s Jasmine Todd candidate for World Athletics Athletes Commission) = Badminton (Tai thrills home crowd with Taipei Open win) = Cycling (2: Mahieu, Daudet and Shriever win again in BMX; Dygert wins two at U.S. road nationals) = Football (Gold Cup opens with 1-1 tie for Jamaica and U.S.) = Gymnastics (Mizuno takes first U.S. Rhythmic A-A title) = Judo (Japan wins seven at UlaanBaatar Grand Slam) = Skateboarding (Huston superb at Rome Street Qualifier) = Swimming (Ceccon wins three at Sette Coli) = Triathlon (Hauser and Potter triumph in Montreal Sprint) = Volleyball (FIVB maintains Russian, Belarusian bans) = Water Polo (U.S. escapes with women’s World Cup Super Final win over Netherlands) ●

1.
European assembly asks IOC: keep Russia out!

During last week’s 140th Session of the International Olympic Committee, President Thomas Bach of Germany called their recommendations for the re-entry of Russian and Belarusian athletes as neutrals “a workable pathway forward.”

That is not the opinion of the 47-member Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which issued a clear rebuke to the IOC last Thursday, asking that Russian and Belarusian athletes be kept out of international sport. Highlights:

● “No means can be spared to demonstrate our entire repudiation of the Russian and Belarusian leadership and regime. Politicians and public authorities must lead the way, but major organisations and institutions acting in the public and private sphere should also stand up, bringing the weight of their moral authority and renown to the public consciousness.”

● “While recognising the complexity of the issues at stake, and that views may differ on the best approach, the Assembly holds that the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the current context is unthinkable, would certainly be used as a tool of propaganda, and would de facto prevent other athletes, not least Ukrainian athletes, from participating.”

● “Having taken into account all perspectives and arguments raised, the Assembly is convinced that the endeavour undertaken by the IOC to establish a set of acceptable criteria allowing for the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes as neutral, individual competitors in the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games cannot provide the necessary guarantees and will not constitute a response worthy of the values of human dignity and peace enshrined in the Olympic Charter.”

● “Bearing in mind that Russian and Belarusian elite athletes receive State salaries and are often part of military sports teams, it seems impossible that they could demonstrate their neutrality and distance from these regimes, let alone making any declaration against the war.”

● “[T]he arguments for permitting participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes on the grounds of neutrality, independence of the sports movement, and non-discrimination, do not carry sufficient weight faced with the imperative of condemning and repudiating the atrocities being committed, and of demonstrating the international community’s complete and unwavering support for Ukraine as the onslaught continues.”

The resolution carried by 71-4, with five abstentions.

In the opening report by Norwegian rep Linda Helleland, she addressed directly Bach’s continuing reference to the IOC’s “values-based recommendations”:

“In dark times we need to firmly stand up for our values. And this is exactly what we are doing by calling for the ban to be maintained. The sole conceivable exception to my mind could be for those athletes, if any, who have fled Russia or Belarus and are known for their opposition to the regimes in these countries and to the war. These athletes, who have already voluntarily accepted the risk of their dissidence, deserve our greatest respect and our support; their participation could not be instrumentalised for pro-war propaganda and there would be no reason to apply to them a sanction which is there to oppose the war. Perhaps such athletes could join a ‘refugee team’ as has been done in the past notably during the height of the conflict in Syria.”

Helleland added near the end of her report:

“What is at stake here is the preservation of peace, global stability, the safeguarding of the international legal order, the destiny of a country and the human rights of the Ukrainian people.”

The Assembly was backed up by a not-quite-unexpected ally, the European Fencing Confederation.

After being directly instructed by the International Fencing Federation (FIE) to create a separate European Championships for individual events after the European Games organizers in Poland refused to admit “neutral” Russian and Belarusian athletes – held in Plovdiv (BUL) on 16-18 June – the European Confederation announced Saturday that during its Congress:

“The meeting then proceeded with the two proposals from the Ukrainian fencing federation, both of which were approved. The result is that no athletes, coaches or officials holding a Russian or Belarusian citizenship and licences, are allowed to participate in competitions organised by the EFC. Moreover, following the approval of the second motion, the membership in the EFC of the Russian Fencing Federation (RUS) and the Belarusian Fencing Federation (BLR) was suspended.”

No word yet from the FIE on a reply.

2.
Hughes, Tinch score stunning world leads in 100 and hurdles

The attention of U.S. track & field fans was on USA Track & Field’s NYC Grand Prix on Randall’s Island in New York, with a lively crowd of perhaps 4,500 on hand to see Noah Lyles, Sidney McLaughlin-Levrone and the seasonal debut of Olympic and World women’s 800 champ Athing Mu.

All were winners, but Britain’s Zharnel Hughes stole the show.

Now 27, he was the 2018 European Champion at 100 m and the 2022 European gold medalist at 200 m. But his 100 m best was back in 2018 and he stood 28th on the world list coming into his race in New York.

But after a reasonable start, he found gears no one else had and ran down 2019 World Champion Christian Coleman of the U.S. and rising Jamaican star Ackeem Blake and flew away from the field to win in a world-leading and national record 9.83, with a light, 1.3 m/s wind behind. Blake was second in 9.93 and Coleman followed in 10.02.

Where did this come from? Hughes thanked everyone afterwards, especially coach Glen Mills – yes, Usain Bolt’s coach – as he now trains in Jamaica. Hughes now stands equal-15th all-time and no. 2 ever in Europe!

Back to the expected stars, with Lyles slightly in front off the turn and then moving away from the field in the final 60 m to win by 19.83 to 20.26 over Isaam Asinga (SUR), with +0.8 wind.

McLaughlin-Levrone used totally different tactics in her women’s 400 m race, going out in a steady 23.71 – vs. the wild 22.66 at the Meeting de Paris – and came home strong, winning in a lifetime best of 49.51 over Tokyo 200 m bronze winner Gabby Thomas (50.29). McLaughlin-Levrone’s time was 0.20 faster than her 49.71 in Paris, now no. 8 all-time U.S.

Mu ran stiffly for the first 600 m, seeming to work hard to stay slow, then unleashed a strong finish off the final turn to win the women’s 800 m going away in 1:58.73. Sage Huerta-Klecker was second in 2:00.77, but 2022 World Indoor Champion Ajee Wilson faded badly to 11th and last in 2:07.97.

Elsewhere, 2022 U.S. national men’s 800 m champ Bryce Hoppel was in total control and won in a season’s best of 1:44.55 over Isaiah Harris (1:45.11). Eric Holt won a battle down the home straight with Craig Engels to win the 1,500 m in 3:37.07 (to 3:38.15).

Another reigning national champ, Daniel Roberts, won a terrific men’s 110 m hurdles race against two-time Olympian Devon Allen, 13.01-13.04 (+1.6) to move to nos. 3-4 in the world this season.

In the field, the top throwing performance came from Rudy Winkler in the hammer, winning at 78.70 m (258-2), his no. 4 throw of the year so far.

The women’s sprints saw Aleia Hobbs confirm that she’s the U.S.’s most consistent star with a 10.98 win (+1.2) in the 100 m, and defending national champ Abby Steiner showed her 2022 finishing speed in the 200 m, running away from Tamara Clark and Jenna Prandini, 22.19-22.43-22.51 (+1.2). Keni Harrison impressed with a tight, wind-aided 12.29-12.30-12.33 win over Alaysha Johnson and Danielle Williams (JAM) in the 100 m hurdles.

Vashti Cunningham won the women’s high jump easily at 1.95 m (6-4 3/4), and world leader Maggie Ewen won the women’s shot at 19.68 m (64-6 3/4), ahead of Danniel Thomas-Dodd (JAM: 19.38 m/63-7) and World Champion Chase Ealey (19.25 m/63-2). Cuba’s 2019 World Champion in the discus, Yaime Perez, moved to no. 2 in the world this season, winning at 67.44 m (221-3).

Then there was Friday night’s Arkansas Grand Prix in Fayetteville, with a stunning world lead in the men’s hurdles from Cordell Tinch. The Big 12 hurdles champ for Kansas in 2019, he left and went to Coffeyville Community College and then transferred to NCAA Division II Pittsburg State – the Gorillas – this season and has blossomed.

He won the NCAA Division II title this year as a sophomore in a sensational, if wind-aided 12.87, so what would be next? In Fayetteville, he showed up and ran a lifetime best in the heats at 13.02 (+0.2) to be no. 3 in the world for 2023. In the final, he stormed away from everyone to win in 12.96 (+1.3), fastest in the world this year and now no. 19 all-time and no. 11 all-time U.S. Britain’s Tade Ojora got a lifetime best in second at 13.26.

Next, Tinch will see World Champion Grant Holloway, Roberts, Allen and others at the U.S. nationals!

Not to be overlooked was the hot long-jumping from Tokyo Olympian Tara Davis-Woodhall, who won at 6.99 m (22-11 1/4), her no. 4 meet of the year, but better than all but two others in the world this season.

Ethiopia held its World Championships Trials in the lower altitude of Nerja, Spain and both the men’s and women’s winners claimed world-leading marks on Friday.

Tokyo Olympic fourth-placer Berihu Aregawi got the men’s win in 26:50.66, just ahead of Tokyo gold winner Selemon Barega (26:51.87) to go 1-2 in the world for 2023.

World Champion Gudaf Tsegay won the women’s race in a world-leading 29:29.73, way ahead of Ejgayehu Taye (29:57.45) and Lemlem Hailu (29:59.15) to stand 1-4-6 on the world list.

3.
Ambitious Paris 2024 torch route includes three oceans!

Perhaps the most far-reaching Olympic torch relays ever was unveiled Friday by the Paris 2024 organizers, announcing the general route that will include stops in the Caribbean, South America, the Indian Ocean and Polynesia, in addition to France.

The route will start with the traditional lighting of the flame in Olympia on 16 April 2024, followed by a nine-day relay in Greece. The flame will be transported to France on the iconic, three-masted barque Belem, first sailed in 1896, on 27 April.

It will be received in France at Marseille on 8 May and begin a 68-day route that will reach 59 of the 96 departments of France, 400 individual points of interest and end up in Paris for the Opening Ceremony on 11 July 2024.

The Torch Relay will include trips to five overseas French departments between 9-17 June: French Polynesia, of course, with surfing to be held in Tahiti, but also Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, French Guiana on the northeast coast of South America and the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. The flame will be carried in part by the trimaran Maxi Banque Populaire XI, launched in 2021 as one of the fastest boats in the world, with possible speed of up to 50 knots!

The first 65 celebration locations were announced on Friday, with the others to be rolled out by the departments over the following weeks.

There are 10,000 torchbearers planned for the route, using 200 m segments with an average carry time of four minutes each. Of these, 3,000 torchbearers will be part of “team relays” that include 24 people, but with only one carrying the torch itself.

Each arrival point was reported to be required to pay €180,000 (~$196,803 U.S.) to have the relay come through, plus the costs of any event to be held, which eliminated some areas for financial reasons.

The Paralympic Games will have a separate relay later in 2024, originating from Stoke Mandeville (GBR), site of the precursor to the Paralympic Games in 1948. A planned 1,000 torchbearers will take the flame through France and to the Paralympic opening on 28 August.

4.
Kremlev: “life goes on for IBA,” but Asian feds to bolt

A day after the International Boxing Association was expelled from the Olympic Movement, the 43-member Asian Boxing Confederation is preparing to leave it.

The ASBC posted a statement Friday which included its desire to move on:

“The ASBC believes that the Olympic Games is the most important event in the boxing world and the best competition for our athletes. The Asian Boxing Confederation supports with all of his resources the Olympic Movement and the dreams of the Asian boxers.

“The ASBC Board of Directors will call for an Extraordinary Congress to amend the Asian Boxing Confederation’s Constitution allowing the ASBC to function in the current exceptional situation and align with an International Federation which is recognized by the International Olympic Committee.”

That means leaving the IBA, which at its height had 211 members, and joining up with whomever the International Olympic Committee chooses to run Olympic boxing in the future.

In the meantime, IBA President Umar Kremlev (RUS) posted a message to the national federations, saying that the future with IBA is bright, including:

“I want to assure you that life goes on for IBA and all its National Federations, as well as athletes, coaches, and officials. There should be no panic or subdued spirits among us. At this moment, we should be united as never before and show our unwavering commitment to boxing. We will continue delivering what we promised in terms of more events and prize money, and more opportunities for the financial support needed for the continued development of our sport.

“I would also like to highlight that the future of boxing is in our hands, and we will continue to deliver the very best for our athletes. The IBA Head Office and Strategy Committee continue working hard to prepare a new strategic vision for the IBA and how the organization moves forward. It is to be presented to the Board of Directors for approval in the mid-July meeting in Thailand.

“During the Olympic cycle, there will be an increased amount of IBA events that shape our athletes and allow them to achieve their best results and indeed dreams. If there is no IBA and its comprehensive competition system, there will be no opportunity to develop our people. We have ambitious plans to increase prize money and to make our National Federations more sustainable and successful, we will fight for more countries to have a chance to participate and win medals at the major events.”

His closing comment, was, of course, to stay affiliated with the IBA even as the International Olympic Committee will choose some other organization – likely the new World Boxing group, now in formation – to be the governor of Olympic boxing competitions:

“We remain the Home of Boxing, open for every member of our boxing family. I strongly believe that a great future lies ahead of us, and our athletes will continue to have all the necessary conditions to concentrate on their boxing pathway.

“At this critical time for boxing, unity within our community will be the key to maintained success to allow IBA achieve great things for the betterment of the boxing family.

“Thank you for your unwavering and continued support and dedication to IBA.”

Observed: Kremlev and IBA’s problem is serious, primarily because – except in the U.S. – governments fund their National Olympic Committees and national federations, and that money is designed to get athletes to the Olympic Games.

The ASBC move show that as soon as the IOC designates World Boxing or someone else as the International Federation for boxing, IBA’s national federation affiliations will vaporize, as its competitions will be useless toward Olympic participation.

It will be fascinating to see Kremlev’s promised “strategic vision” next month, which may create a new, pathway organization to professional boxing, in line with its November 2022 agreement with the World Boxing Association (WBA). That may be useful for some, but unlikely to draw governmental funds which are aimed at sending a country’s fighters to the Olympic Games.

And watch for Gazprom, or one of its subsidiaries, to come back as a primary funder of Kremlev’s organization.

5.
FIFA accelerates strategy to conquer U.S. market with Club World Cup

As the close of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar last December, FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI) told reporters he was already looking ahead to the 2026 tournament in Canada, Mexico and the U.S.:

“We are convinced that football will become the number one sport in North America, or maybe the no. 2 to start with, and with time …”

How he plans to achieve this rise in popularity, to surpass the NFL, college football, Major League Baseball, the NBA and so, is getting clearer. To borrow a basketball metaphor, it’s a “full-court press.”

On Friday, FIFA awarded the 32-team 2025 FIFA Club World Cup to the U.S., and left no doubt about its intentions:

“The decision was reached based on the United States’ position as a proven leader in staging global events and because it would allow FIFA to maximise synergies with the delivery of the FIFA World Cup 2026, to the benefit of both tournaments and the development of football in the North American region.”

European clubs Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid are already qualified, as are Brazilian clubs Palmeiras and Flamengo and Monterrey and Leon from Mexico.

One can speculate that the next step will be the award of the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup to the joint U.S.-Mexico bid, giving the U.S. three blockbuster tournaments in a row in order to maximize the catalytic impact:

● 2025 FIFA Club World Cup
● 2026 FIFA World Cup
● 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup

There are other bidders for 2027: Brazil, South Africa and a joint European bid from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, with the selection to be made in May 2024. Europe had the event in 2011 (Germany) and 2019 (France); it has not been to Africa or South America yet. But they can wait; the 1999 Women’s World Cup in the U.S. was a pivot point for women’s football not only in the U.S., but globally, and FIFA is unlikely to miss the chance to go “all-in” on advancing its interests in North America.

FIFA will also enjoy the reduced costs of not having to stand up three separate organizing committees in three separate countries. Since it organizes all of its own tournaments now, it can put together one organization to handle all three of these events, and maximize its efficiency.

Although not a specific FIFA objective, giving the U.S. major tournaments in these three consecutive years will also create pressure on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games organizing committee and its fund-raising efforts with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. The LA28 Games will no longer be the focus for two years beyond the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but now for just one if the Women’s World Cup is placed in the U.S. and Mexico for 2027.

This will also harden the desire of the USOPC and the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games to go for 2034 instead of any thought for 2030.

FIFA also said Friday it was pushing back the selection process for the 2030 FIFA World Cup a bit, to begin in the fourth quarter of 2023, with selection in the fourth quarter of 2024. The hosting requirements include a minimum of 14 stadia with capacities of at least 40,000 seats each, of which at least seven must be existing facilities.

While FIFA was irritated with the government of Indonesia for its refusal to allow Israel to participate in the 2023 FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup and removed the event to Argentina – where Israel won the bronze medal – it didn’t remain upset for too long. The FIFA Council awarded Indonesia the FIFA men’s U-17 World Cup that will take place in November. A quick check of the qualified teams shows that Israel will not be in the field.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Enhanced Games ● “The Enhanced Games is organizing an alternative to the corrupt Olympic Games.

“We believe that science makes humanity – and sports – better and fairer.

“Sports, without drug testing.”

That’s the concept of a new event, the Enhanced Games, promising competition without doping restrictions and calling out the Olympic Movement as discriminatory for its anti-doping efforts. It’s a U.S.-based effort, of course, projecting competitions in existing NCAA facilities, and mentions a “2024 Enhanced Games.” According to its Web site:

“We have selected five core categories of sports – athletics, aquatics, gymnastics, strength, and combat. Whilst medals will be awarded to the best Enhanced athletes in each event, the ultimate monetary award will go to the peerless athletes who set new world records, thereby pushing the perceived limit of what we believe is possible.”

Calling itself a “revolution,” it asks its followers to make changes in specific Wikipedia pages to reflect “enhanced inclusive language when discussing performance therapies, and the use of performance enhancements by professional athletes.” Its site also includes “7 tips on how to come out as enhanced.”

No information was included on sponsors, television agreements, or the amount athletes would be paid, for competing, winning or setting records.

● International Olympic Committee ● The IOC awarded the Pierre de Coubertin Medal, established in 1997, to French historian Jean Durry and American Ed Hula, founder of Around The Rings, which he created to cover the business side of Olympic sport.

Hula, 71, had been a producer for CNN in Atlanta and later a correspondent for Peach State Public Radio when he got the Olympic bug and founded what became Around The Rings in 1992. This was the first U.S.-based news publication dedicated to the Olympic Movement, originally distributed by fax! Being based in Atlanta, Hula became a trusted source for coverage of the build-up to the 1996 Olympic Games there, and then beyond. He and his wife, Sheila Scott Hula, sold the site in May 2021; it is now part of the Argentina-affiliated Infobae news group.

● Archery ● Brady Ellison, the 2019 World Champion and three-time Olympic medalist, added another trophy with a win at the USA Archery Field Nationals in Darrington, Washington.

The Field Championships include 24 arrows on an unmarked course and then 24 more on a marked course, with rugged terrain and unsettled conditions. No problem for Ellison, a 2014 and 2016 World Field Champion, who scored 766 points to 7-6 or runner-up Matthew Nofel and 657 for Gabe Anderson.

Although records are not complete, that’s at least seven National Field titles in a row for Ellison, in 2016-17-18-19-21-22-23, and he also won in 2013 and 2014!

Molly Nugent won the women’s Recurve division with 665 points, over Ashley Nguyen (562).

● Athletics ● World Athletics announced the candidates for its Athletes’ Commission, with the election coming during the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. There are 14 running for six spots, including Jasmine Todd, 29, a two-time U.S. World Championships team member in 2015 (100 m and long jump) and 2019 (long jump).

The field includes stars such as New Zealand’s two-time Olympic women’s shot champ Valerie Adams, 2014 European men’s 200 m winner Adam Gemili (GBR), 2012 Olympic men’s vault gold medalist Renaud Lavillenie (FRA), 2019 Worlds women’s 800 m winner Halimah Nakaayi (UGA) and Chinese sprint star Bingtian Su.

● Badminton ● Tokyo Olympic women’s runner-up Tzu Ying Tai thrilled the hometown fans at the Taipei Open in Taipei City (TPE) with a win in the women’s Singles.

Tai, 29, won her 15th BWF World Tour tournament title and her 27th career title in the World Tour and its predecessor, the SuperSeries, with a 21-14, 21-17 win over American Beiwen Zhang. It was the fifth World Tour final for Zhang, who is now 1-4 in gold-medal finals.

The home team ended up second in three other finals, as Chico Dwi Wardoyo (INA) defeated Li Yang Su (TPE) in men’s Singles, 23–21, 21-15; Wei Chong Man and Kai Wun Tee (MAS) won the men’s Doubles over Ching Yao Lu and Po Han Yang (TPE), 20-22, 21-17, 21-14, and Tang Jie Chen and Ee Wei Toh (MAS) won in Mixed Doubles, 21-12, 21-8, over Hsiang Chieh Chiu and Xiao Min Lin (TPE).

Korea’s Yu Lim Lee and Seung Chan Shin won the women’s Doubles against Febriana Kusuma and Amallia Pratiwi (INA), 18-21, 21-17, 21-17.

● Cycling ● The third and fourth legs of the 2023 BMX World Cup was in Papendal (NED), with the men’s races almost a rerun of the first two legs, in Turkey earlier this month.

In Sakarya, France’s Romain Mahieu won the first round and two-time World Champion Joris Daudet won the second. So it was in Papendal, with Mahieu winning on Saturday in 34.257, ahead of countryman Arthur Pilard (34.280) and Colombian Diego Arboleda (34.749).

Then it was Daudet’s turn, winning again on Sunday in 33.718 and leading another French 1-2, with Sylvain Andre, the 2018 World Champion, second, 33.718-33.818. And another Colombian, Mateo Carmona, took third in 34.343.

Tokyo Olympic champ Beth Shriever (GBR) won the first two legs in Turkey, but was stopped on Saturday by Australia’s Saya Sakakibara, who famously crashed out in the Tokyo semifinals. But she got to the line first this time in 34.358, ahead of the famed Smulders sisters. Older sister Laura, the 2018 World Champion, finished in 34.854 and then Merel, the Tokyo bronze winner, took third in 35.206.

After being eliminated in Saturday’s semis, Shriever was back at it on Sunday and won for the third time in four races this season, in 33.911, ahead of Sakakibara (34.149) and American Alise Willoughly, who won her third medal in this season’s four races (bronze-silver-bronze).

Versatile star Chloe Dygert dominated the USA Cycling Road National Championships in Knoxville, Tennessee with wins in both of the major races for women.

Dygert, 26, had won one national title before, in the Individual Time Trial in 2021, after finishing second in 2019. She doubles her title total on Thursday, winning the two-lap, 23.3 km 2023 Time Trial from the third-to-last position in 31:06.65, ahead of next-to-last rider Lauren Stephens (31:15.67) and final rider, two-time World Champion Amber Neben (31:39.54).

On Sunday, Dygert was racing to the line in a sprint finish at the end of the 109.4 km road race, just edging 2017 Tour of Flanders champ Coryn Labecki, Pan American road champ Skylar Schneider and 2021 national road champ Stephens in 3:02:30. Labecki had won the Criterium title on Friday.

It was Labecki’s sixth silver medal in the road nationals in the last eight races, but she did win in 2018!

In the rainy men’s Individual Time Trial, Brandon McNulty was the final rider on the three-lap, 34.9 km course and was the leader at every checkpoint, winning in 40:39.22 for his first national title. William Barta was a distant second in 42:11.61.

Sunday’s men’s road race saw Quinn Simmons, 22, and Tyler Williams, 28 (and third in the men’s Criterium race) break away from the field, and had more than three minutes on everyone else by the end of the 11th lap. The hilly, 17-lap, 186.1 km route in and around Knoxville finally saw Simmons pull away to win in 3:53:16, with Williams 37 seconds back and Tyler Stites and McNulty third and fourth (+1:49 and +1:50). It was the first nationals medal for both Simmons and Williams, with Stites one place lower than in 2022.

● Football ● The 17th CONCACAF Gold Cup opened on Saturday at Chicago’s Soldier Field, with the U.S. facing a Jamaican team that hadn’t won a game since June of 2022. But this was no mismatch.

The U.S. had the early advantage, but then Jamaica struck with a thunderbolt in the 13th minute. A free kick from the right of the U.S. goal by midfielder Demarai Gray found defender Damion Lowe right in front of goal on a flying header that went to the right side of the net and past U.S. keeper Matt Turner for a 1-0 lead.

It got worse for the U.S., as Jamaica was awarded a penalty in the 29th, but Turner knew what to expect from striker Leon Bailey, saving the shot to his left. The rebound came right back to Bailey, with an open net in front of him, but he missed wide left. It was still 1-0 at half, with the U.S. enjoying 66% of possession and a 6-4 edge on shots, but no goals.

The U.S. wasn’t much more offensive in the second half, and midfielder Cristian Roldan’s great chance in the 71st was saved by Jamaican star keeper Andre Blake. Coach B.J. Callaghan kept sending in more subs to find more offense, and the U.S. played with more intensity in the final third.

The pressure finally worked, with Brandon Vazquez getting his second goal for the U.S. on a defensive miscue, as a shot into the box bounced off defender Dexter Lembikisa, then Lowe couldn’t clear and the ball bounced right to Vazquez, who pounded the loose ball with his right foot, straight into the goal for the 1-1 tie in the 88th.

The U.S. finished with 68% possession and a 13-6 advantage on shots, but got one point out of it. The second U.S. group game comes Wednesday in St. Louis, against St. Kitts and Nevis.

● Gymnastics ● USA Gymnastics National Championships in Rhythmic, Trampoline, Tumbling and Acro, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with Lili Mizuno taking her first national All-Around Rhythmic title.

Mizuno, 22, won the All-Around title with 253.80 points, ahead of rising star Alexandria Kautzman (246.850), Sarah Mariotti (239.750) and Jaelyn Chin (239.200). Mizuno also won on Ball (32.700) over Kautzman (32.200), on Clubs over Chin (31.650 to 31.600), and on Ribbon (31.500) over Mariotti (30.100). Kautzman won on Ball over Mizuno, 32.900 to 32.350.

Mizuno had been second in the All-Around in 2022, but was on top this time, and while she repeated as national gold medalist in Ribbon, she won her first golds in Ball and Clubs.

Defending women’s Trampoline champ Sarah Webster won again, scoring 54.480 points to edge 2021 national champ Jessica Stevens (54.460) and two-time national champ Nicole Ahsinger (54.290).

Aliaksei Shostak was a clear winner in the men’s Trampoline final, scoring 57.820 to finally win his first individual national title, following runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2018. Ruben Padilla, the 2017 national Trampoline winner, and 2022 World Champion in Double Mini, was a close second in 57.280, with Ryan Maccagnn third with 54.900.

● Judo ● The IJF World Tour was in Mongolia for the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam, with 344 athletes from 44 countries and a strong performance from Japan, which won seven of the 14 categories.

In the men’s events, Japan scored victories from two-time Worlds bronze medalist Ryuju Nagayama (at 60 kg), Ken Oyoshi (73 kg) and Kenya Kohara (81 kg), and from 2022 World Junior Champion Hikari Yoshioka in the women’s 48 kg class, Nami Nabekura (63 kg), Shiho Tanaka (79 kg). And two-time Worlds medalist Wakaba Tomita (+78 kg).

Israel won two golds, both in significant upsets. Gefen Primo won the women’s 52 kg division over Tokyo Olympic silver winner Amandine Buchard (FRA), and Inbar Lanir shocked Japan’s 2015 World Champion, Mami Umeki, in the 78 kg final.

In the impressive, all-Canadian final in the women’s 57 kg class, two-time World Champion Christa Deguchi defeated the 2021 World Champion, Jessica Klimkait.

Russian judoka continued to do well, with two-time European champ Mikhail Igolnikov winning at 90 kg and co-World Champion Inal Tasoev taking the +100 kg class.

● Skateboarding ● Six-time World Champion Nyjah Huston of the U.S., positively ancient in this sport at age 28, won the men’s Rome Street Qualifier while 14-year-old Liz Akama of Japan took the women’s division.

Huston scored 276.51 in the finals on 90.00 run and then trick scores of 92.55 and 93.96 to easily outdistance 2020 Worlds bronze winner Shirai Sora (JPN: 263.36) and Tokyo Olympic silver winner Kelvin Hoefler (259.28).

Akawa had the best first run in the field at 88.61, then scored 85.22 on her first trick and was one of only two riders to eclipse 90 points with a 90.07 on her fifth and final trick for a combined score of 263.90. That was just enough to beat Australia’s Chloe Covell, the 2023 Worlds runner-up, who scored 261.43 and had the best score of the day with her 92.12 mark on her third tricks.

Yumeka Oda of Japan was third (246.38) ahead of Olympic silver winner and 2023 World Champion Rayssa Leal (BRA: 240.57).

● Swimming ● Some interesting marks at the 59th Trofeo Sette Colli – the Seven Hills Trophy – in Rome, with Italian star Thomas Ceccon taking three wins.

Ceccon, the 2022 World Champion in the 100 m Back, won the 50 m Back in 24.69, the 100 m Back in 52.86 (now no. 6 on the 2023 world list) and remained no. 2 in the world in the 50 m Fly at 22.84.

Romanian sprint star David Popovici, 18, won the 100 m Free in 48.10 (he has done 47.61 this season) and the 200 m Free in 1:45.49 (now no. 6), beating Olympic champ Tom Dean of Great Britain (1:46.86).

British sprinter Ben Proud, the 2022 World Champion in the 50 m Free, won that event in 21.68, a seasonal best and still no. 3 in the world.

Sweden’s iconic star, Sarah Sjostrom, won the women’s 50 m Free in 23.93; only she has been faster this season at 23.82 in May, and she won the 50 m Fly, in which she is already the world leader, in 25.25. She was second, however, to Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey in the 100 m Free, 52.64 to 53.05. Haughey also won the 200 m Free to move to no. 4 this season, in 1:54.77.

Lithuania’s now-unretired Ruta Meilutyte, the London 2012 gold medalist in the 100 m Breast, won the 50 m Breast event in 29.79, now no. 2 on the season.

● Triathlon ● The World Triathlon Series in Montreal was contested at the Sprint distance (750 m swim, 20 km bike, 5 km run) and produced a brand new winner and a second-time winner who found the top of the podium only this season.

Australian Matthew Hauser was coming off a runner-up finish from the World Tri Series in Yokohama, and true to form, stretched the field in the swim, leading out of the water. But the field caught up on the bikes, and 10 were bunched together for the run.

The field only broke up with 1,000 m to go, as Hauser sprinted away with only Brazil’s Manoel Messias able to follow. Hauser crossed in 53:47 and Messias in 53:58, following up on his third in the season opener in Abu Dhabi.

Belgian Jelle Geens, the 2019 winner in Montreal, was third (58:03), just ahead of Tim Hellweg (GER: 58:04). Hauser moves up to fifth in the seasonal rankings.

Britain’s Beth Potter won her first-ever World Triathlon Series title in March in Abu Dhabi, and now has her second, finishing in 58:10 to edge France’s Leonie Periault (58:12).

American Summer Rappaport was third in 58:19 and led a parade of three more teammates in the top nine: Katie Zaferes in fifth (58:33), Taylor Knibb – who competed in the USA Cycling National Time Trial Championships on Thursday in Tennessee! – in sixth (58:36) and and Taylor Spivey in ninth (58:51).

Rappaport was in the lead off the bike, but the eventual top three were running together with 2 km to go. Potter made the best late push and got to the line first. The win moved Potter up to fifth in the seasonal table, still led by Americans Spivey and Rappaport.

● Volleyball ● The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) continued its ban on Russian and Belarusian teams at its latest Board of Administration meeting, in line with the IOC ‘s recommendations regarding teams from those two countries. Further:

“It has also been decided not to display Russia and Belarus in the World Rankings for the duration of their non-participation at events as their ranking points remain frozen as per the decision of the FIVB Board of Administration in October 2022.”

● Water Polo ● The Olympic and World Champion U.S. women’s team won a fourth straight World Aquatics Women’s World Cup Super Final at home with a 12-11 victory over the Netherlands at Long Beach City College on Sunday.

The Dutch had beaten the U.S., 9-8, in the second round of World Cup Games in April and had to navigate two more rounds for a rematch. The U.S. sailed past Israel, 16-6 and then out-scored Hungary, 16-10, in the semis. The Netherlands defeated New Zealand, 15-5 in the quarters and then held off Spain by 12-8 in their semifinal.

The American women got off to a fast start, with a 5-2 lead after one period and 7-3 at halftime. But the Dutch fought back with a 4-3 edge in the third to close to 10-7, and kept coming, with Maartje Keuning tying the score at 11 with 1:54 to play in the fourth.

But the U.S. went on the power play and Rachel Fattal scored with 1:26 to go to give the Americans a 12-11 lead. A last-second Dutch shot looked promising, but U.S. keeper Amanda Longen pushed it off the goalpost to preserve the win. It was that close.

That’s five Super Final golds all-time for the U.S., still trailing the Netherlands with eight. It’s the first medal for the Dutch women, however, since 1999! Spain won the third-place game over Hungary. 18-15. 

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MEMORABILIA: Startling auction with 18 of 20 Olympic torches, golds from 12 Games and 900+ unused 1932 Olympic tickets now open!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

A sponsored post by RR Auction.

If you have ever had the idea to begin a collection of Olympic stuff – medals, torches, programs, tickets and things you couldn’t even imagine – your opportunity is here. The RR Auction semi-annual sale is on now and runs through 20 July 2023, with 396 lots spanning the modern Olympic Movement from Athens to Tokyo.

Perhaps the most stunning aspect of the catalog is in the 22 summer Olympic torches being offered, including examples from every Olympic torch relay except Helsinki 1952 and Montreal 1976: that’s 18 of 20, all at remarkably low opening bid prices:

● 1936: Berlin: $300 starting bid
● 1948: London: $500
● 1956: Melbourne: $1,000
● 1960: Rome: $500
● 1964: Tokyo: $1,000
● 1968: Mexico City Type 2: $200
● 1968: Mexico City Type 4: $200
● 1972: Munich: $200
● 1980: Moscow: $200
● 1984: Los Angeles: $300
● 1988: Seoul: $300
● 1992: Barcelona: $200
● 1996: IOC Centennial (2): $200
● 1996: Atlanta: $200
● 1996: Atlanta: $200
● 2000: Sydney: $200
● 2004: Athens: $200
● 2008: Beijing: $200
● 2012: London: $300
● 2016: Rio de Janeiro: $200
● 2020: Tokyo: $500

One of the Atlanta 1996 torches includes a package of memorabilia from 1960 Olympic Light Middleweight gold medalist Skeeter McClure.

If you ever had the idea to open an Olympic Torch museum here’s your chance!

Not a torch per se, but catalog no. 4010 is a true rarity: a 1968 Mexico City “miner’s lamp,” used to hold a “mother flame” that remained lit at all times in case a torch went out along the route. This was made by Honda Electronic Co. in Japan and was used to carry the flame in an airliner! Bidding starts at $500.

There are also Winter Games torches from 15 editions, all except 1948, 1952, 1960, 1964, 1976 and 1980, and include two extremely rare ones, from Grenoble 1968 – one of just 33 made! – and Albertville 1992, all again with very modest opening bid floors:

● 1956 Winter: Cortina: $1,000
● 1968 Winter: Grenoble: $10,000 (one of 33!)
● 1972 Winter: Sapporo: $2,500
● 1984 Winter: Sarajevo: $300
● 1988 Winter: Calgary: $1,000 (with torchbearer uniform)
● 1992 Winter: Albertville: $5,000
● 1994 Winter: Lillehammer: $1,000
● 1998 Winter: Nagano: $500
● 2002 Winter: Salt Lake City: $300 (with torchbearer uniform)
● 2006 Winter: Turin: $200
● 2010 Winter: Vancouver: $200
● 2014 Winter: Sochi: $200
● 2018 Winter: PyeongChang: $300
● 2018 Winter: Pyeongchang Olympic & Paralympic pair: $300
● 2022 Winter: Beijing: $300

There is also an Olympic Flame safety lamp from Sochi 2014, made in Great Britain, as item 4035 and offered beginning at $500.

Then there are the medals, including a bronze medal and original case for a second-place finisher at the 1896 Athens Games, offered at $5,000. There are gold medals – of one sort of another – from 12 Games:

● 1900 Paris: First place medals (3), $200-300 starting bid
● 1908 London: Gold medal in shooting: $1,000
● 1928 Amsterdam: Gold medal: $500
● 1932 Los Angeles: Gold medal: $1,000
● 1936 Berlin: Gold medal in hockey: $1,000
● 1972 Munich: Gold medal in boxing: $1,000
● 1984 Los Angeles: Gold medal in weightlifting: $2,500
● 1988 Seoul: Gold medal (unawarded): $1,000
● 1992 Barcelona: Gold medal: $1,000
● 1996 Atlanta: Gold medal for VIPs: $500
● 2004 Athens: Gold medal in boxing: $1,000
● 1980 Winter: Lake Placid: Gold medal in Pairs Skating: $1,000

Another collector’s starter set of Olympic participation medals – 20 in all, including each Olympic Games from 1936-2016 – is offered with a starting bid of just $500. There is another set of 10 participation medals from early Games – 1896-1952 – also starting at $500.

There’s even a set of three trial participation medals from the never-held 1940 Winter Games at Garmisch, Germany, starting at $1,000.

Where does this stuff come from? New Hampshire-based RR Auction President Bobby Eaton said, “we meticulously curate a diverse and eclectic range of Olympic items sourced from consignors worldwide, with a particular focus on prominent contributions from the United States and Europe.

“Our network encompasses a wide spectrum of individuals, including passionate collectors, esteemed Olympic athletes, and museums.”

The auction has an excellent selection of pins available, especially from the 1932 Los Angeles Games, with official’s badges, participant badges and press badges, most starting at $200.

And then there is one of the gaudiest items in the history of the Olympic Movement: the Berlin 1936 Chain of Office. These were made by the organizing committee and given to each member of the International Olympic Committee to be worn in public! Each chain has three small medallions on each side and a large bottom medal picturing Zeus. Perhaps only a handful exist today; the opening bid is a surprisingly low $1,000.

Also exceedingly rare is a Tokyo 1964 badge for IOC President Avery Brundage, in a white leather presentation box, offered at a starting bid of $1,000.

There is a huge selection of programs and regulation books from Los Angeles 1932, and a staggering collection of tickets, including a single lot of more than 900 unused tickets (!), from boxing, fencing, rowing, swimming and wresting, in fine to very  fine condition, starting at just $500. Wow.

Three autographed items from Jesse Owens are also up, and even a seat from the 1980 Olympic Center Arena – the “Miracle on Ice” venue – signed by members of the U.S. Team, starting at $500.

Another oddity is a cooper “Olympic Truce Discus” from 1934, one of five produced for the 1934 IOC Session in Athens, with an inscription in Greek that translates to “Greeks in Ancient times, organized Games in Olympia and at the same time declared truce.” Bidding starts at $500.

And there are many more items, notably from the estate of the late Canadian IOC member Jim Worrall, which has been working directly with RR Auction.

RR Auction chief Eaton explained the modest opening prices:

“While there are several reasons behind starting the bidding low, one important aspect is the requirement for an initial bid to be placed before 6 p.m. Eastern time on the final day of the sale [July 20], in order to participate in our 30-minute Rule for that specific lot.

“By commencing the bidding at a lower value, we aim to engage as many potential bidders as possible before this critical deadline. This allows us to create a level playing field and encourages participants to enter the auction at an accessible starting point. Moreover, the early involvement of bidders generates momentum and fosters an atmosphere of excitement and competition.

“It’s essential to note that we list lot estimates online, which are based on our evaluation of an item’s market value. However, the market ultimately determines the true value through the bidding activity and the willingness of participants to pay a certain price. By starting the bidding low, we allow the market to dictate the item’s worth, which can sometimes surpass our initial estimate.”

It’s a sensational auction, and the low opening prices allow just about anyone who wants to be an Olympic collector to get involved. Good luck!

A sponsored post by RR Auction.

For information about advertising and sponsored posts, please contact us here.

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TSX REPORT: IOC votes IBA out, boxing in for 2024-28; Valieva hearing set for September; U.S. T&F stars tired of meet costs in Eugene

By
Rich Perelman
-
The 140th IOC Session in action (Photo: IOC livestream screenshot)

★ 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 ≡

1. IOC ends recognition of IBA, 69-1; boxing in for 2024 and 2028
2. Bach speech rips both Russian and Ukrainian governments
3. IOC had $2.5 billion revenue in 2022, reserves of $3.6 billion
4. Valieva doping appeal hearing set for September
5. U.S. track stars falling out of love with Eugene

The International Olympic Committee expelled the International Boxing Association from the Olympic Movement on Thursday in a special, mostly-remotely-attended IOC Session, but confirmed that the sport will remain on the program for Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028. The IBA responded with its usual vitriol; the new World Boxing group promised to work with the IOC. IOC chief Thomas Bach gave an impassioned speech, praising those organizations which have followed the IOC recommendations and castigating both Russia and Ukraine for their unhappiness with the IOC’s “workable pathway.” The IOC also released its annual report, which showed total assets of $5.30 billion and reserves of $3.62 billion, with $2.36 billion in 2022 revenues. The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee received $237.02 million. The Court of Arbitration for Sport finally announced the hearing dates for the appeal of the Kamila Valieva doping case from the 2022 Beijing Winter Games: 26-29 September, meaning the decision likely won’t come down until late in the year. The USA Track & Field National Championships will once again be in Eugene, Oregon this year, but some star athletes are tired of it and the associated costs of going into that small market. Tweeted Alaysha Johnson, the world’s fifth-fastest 100 m hurdles in 2023, “Much rather prefer to go… anywhere else actually.”

● Spotlight: Modern Pentathlon (UIPM says poll shows obstacle could add 45 million U.S. viewers to Olympics?!?) ●

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (2: Court of Audit still worried about Paris 2024 budget; sports management firm involved in the Paris bid also searched by authorities) = Milan Cortina 2026 (IOC approves new formats for Alpine Combined, others) = Olympic Winter Games 2030 (Better poll for Sapporo for 2030) = National Olympic Committees (IOC worried about Afghanistan) = Russia (BRICS Games coming in June ‘24) = Athletics (Mu opens season in New York Saturday on NBC) = Swimming (Remembering 50 years since East German doping took the sport over) = Volleyball (FIVB approves biennial Worlds for men and women beginning 2025!) ●

1.
IOC ends recognition of IBA, 69-1; boxing in for 2024 and 2028

There wasn’t much doubt of the outcome, but the International Olympic Committee made a clear statement against the International Boxing Association on Thursday by voting 69-1, with 10 abstentions, in favor of withdrawing recognition from the IBA as the governing body of boxing for the Olympic Games.

The IBA is out.

Thursday’s unusual 140th IOC Session, at which most of the members attended remotely, had 80 members present out of the 99 currently seated, or 81%. This constituted a valid quorum.

Beyond ex-communicating the IBA, the vote also gave Olympic boxing a major boost by (1) confirming its place at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and (2) declaring that the IBA “should not organise the LA28 Olympic boxing tournament.”

IOC President Thomas Bach (GER) explained:

“To make it clear from the outset, we do not have a problem with the sport of boxing. We do not have a problem with the boxers. We appreciate boxing as one of the most global sports. We embrace the values of boxing, which are so evident in all countries, whether north or south, east or west, whether privileged or underprivileged.

“In all countries around the world, boxing plays an important social role, promoting inclusion and empowerment. We do not have a problem with the boxers. On the contrary, we appreciate the boxers for living these social values of their sport. If we would have a problem with the boxers, then there would not have been an Olympic competition in Tokyo. There would not have been qualifying events for Tokyo, because IBA was already suspended at that time.

“If we would have a problem with the boxers, then there would be no boxing competition in Paris. And no respective qualifying events, because the suspension of IBA is still in effect.

“We highly value the sport of boxing. But, unfortunately, as you have seen from the file – which you have already received and had a chance to study – you can see that we have an extremely serious problem with IBA, because of their governance.

“Because we value the sport of boxing so much, we believe that these athletes – the boxers – fully deserve to be governed by an International Federation with integrity and transparency. And this will be the focus of our discussions now.”

IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper (BEL) went even further in replying to questions from IOC members David Haggerty (USA) and Prince Albert (MON), stating:

“We can guarantee that boxing will be on the program in Paris and LA28, and I will ask Kit McConnell to explain to you a little the process and the technicalities.”

McConnell (NZL), the IOC’s Sports Director, detailed that the 2024 tournament will be run by the “Paris Boxing Unit,” which is modeled after the Tokyo 2020 tournament team, but with more independence from the IOC, and with refereeing and judging overseen by the international consulting firm, PWC.

The vote and de Kepper’s comments regarding 2028 removes one of the question marks for the Los Angeles organizers, still waiting for resolution on whether modern pentathlon and weightlifting will also be added back to the program. In the Los Angeles bid for 2028, the boxing venue was identified as one of the exhibition halls of the massive Los Angeles Convention Center in the downtown area.

The IBA’s response was, as usual, vitriolic, including an astonishing reference to the Nazi invasion of the USSR in 1941, trying to frame Bach – a German – against the Russian president of the IBA, Umar Kemlev, in some sort of personal duel:

“Today, on 22 June 2023, the IOC has made a tremendous error by withdrawing its recognition of the IBA, revealing its true politicized nature. It is noteworthy that on this very day, 82 years ago, fascist Germany launched an attack on the peaceful citizens of the Soviet Union, resulting in the escalation of war and a devastating human tragedy. We cannot conceal the fact that today’s decision is catastrophic for global boxing and blatantly contradicts the IOC’s claims of acting in the best interests of boxing and athletes. …

“Although we have provided the IOC with all investigation reports, the IOC has failed to recognize the destructive actions of C.K. Wu, who led the International Boxing Association to bankruptcy, collapse, and corruption at all levels.”

The IBA then demanded the IOC respond to five questions, concerning Wu, why it has not responded to IBA in the way IBA finds acceptable, why it doesn’t pay prize money as IBA does, and this one:

“The IOC has not concluded the scandalous investigation related to the public information and sale of medals at the Olympic Games. Instead, they have chosen to suppress this information in the media.”

The bottom line for the IBA was expressed thus:

“It is evident to many that the IOC’s decision is not based on objective facts but on personal animosity and prejudice towards someone’s nationality. Such a stance categorically contradicts the Olympic Charter and the principles of non-discrimination.”

The conclusion, of course, promises an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport:

“Despite the challenges, the IBA remains committed to the development of boxing, the preservation of its independence, and the organization of official tournaments and World Boxing Championships at the highest level. We possess the legal right to do so, and we are prepared to defend it before any appropriate authority. Finally, we emphasize that we are fully open to dialogue and collaboration for the betterment of sports, athletes, coaches, and National Federations.”

World Boxing, being organized as a possible new federation for boxing, issued a short statement that included:

“The IOC’s decision and the comments by its President make it clear that IBA will never again be allowed to organise a boxing tournament at the Olympic Games and that a new international federation – which is committed to delivering sporting integrity and operates according to the highest standards of governance, transparency and financial management – will inevitably be required to oversee future Olympic boxing tournaments.

“World Boxing supports this view and understands that being part of the Olympic Games is a privilege and not a right and is committed to working constructively and collaboratively with the IOC and all other stakeholders to develop a pathway that will preserve boxing’s long-term place on the Olympic programme.

“This is a hugely significant moment for the sport. All National Boxing Federations now have a critically important decision to make if they want boxers from their country to have the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games at Los Angeles and beyond and we urge every National Federation that cares about boxers and boxing to join and support World Boxing in its efforts to ensure boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic Movement.”

2.
Bach speech rips both Russian and Ukrainian governments

“[D]espite offering a workable pathway forward with our values-based recommendations, we are still confronted with two irreconcilable positions. The Russian side wants us to ignore the war. The Ukrainian side wants us to totally isolate anyone with a Russian and Belarusian passport. Either position is diametrically opposed to our mission and the Olympic Charter.

“So in the interest of the athletes: how do we navigate such an intractable situation?

“Our answer is very clear: our values are our compass.

“This is why our athlete-centred recommendations address our core values of peace, unity, solidarity and non-discrimination.

“It is not an easy solution. But we all know that extremely complex political problems do not have easy solutions. Only populists pretend to have simplistic solutions for the most complex problems in the world.”

That’s IOC President Bach, addressing the IOC Session Thursday and asserting once again that the IOC’s solution to allowing individual Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals if they do not support the Russian invasion of Ukraine is the right one because “at the end of the day, it is all about the athlete.”

Bach explained that with a different view, the results could be catastrophic:

“If these divisive political forces would succeed with their efforts to decide which athlete can compete in which competition, then we will end up with sport competitions only among athletes from like-minded political blocs. The Games of Political Block A. The Games of Political Block B. And probably separate Games for those countries who do not want to align themselves in one way or another.

“In such politicised sport, universal Olympic Games will no longer be possible.

“In such politicised sport, world championships, in the true sense of the word, will no longer be possible.”

In fact, this is already happening, as the Russians are leading an effort to create new events based on their political sphere of influence, as a member of the BRICS countries (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) and with the mostly-Central Asian Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) countries.

In Bach’s view, the IOC’s approach is working:

● “The overwhelming majority of the world’s athletes respect or support our approach.”

● “Contrary to what the naysayers were claiming, none of these competitions [in fencing, judo and taekwondo] collapsed in chaos. All the respective IFs have applied our recommendations and strict conditions. In the process, they rejected a number of applicants who wanted to compete as individual neutral athletes because they did not fulfil these strict conditions.”

● “But what does all this mean for the Ukrainian athletes? Many of them would have liked to compete internationally. Yet, at the respective judo and taekwondo world championships the Ukrainian athletes were absent. Why? Because they had not been allowed to participate, following the instructions of the Ukrainian sports ministry.

“In other words, the Ukrainian athletes are being sanctioned by their own government for the war that has been started by the Russian and Belarusian governments.”

And Bach went further, talking specifically about Ukrainian athletes in the face of a possible Ukrainian boycott of the Paris 2024 Games if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to compete in any form:

“We want to give them this opportunity to qualify and finally participate in the Olympic Games.

“Imagine for one moment, what this would mean: the rapturous welcome of the Ukrainian Olympic team by hundreds of thousands of live spectators along the River Seine; the wave of enthusiasm cheering on the Ukrainian athletes in their competitions, watched by billions of people around the globe who are following the Olympic Games. What a powerful demonstration of resilience and of determination. What a moment of pride, joy and hope for all Ukrainian people.

“For all these reasons, we – the Olympic Movement – want to make it possible for every Ukrainian athlete to qualify now and to participate next year in the Olympic Games. Therefore, through the respective International Federation, we will support every Ukrainian athlete in their preparation and participation in any competition that they want to take part in – so that they can make the Ukrainian people proud.”

Translation: the IOC wants Ukrainian athletes to defy the instructions of their sports ministry and compete in events with Russian and Belarusian athletes … and the IOC will protect them. He did not detail what that protection would be, how comprehensive or for how long. But he will no doubt be asked, and soon.

If it wants to, the IOC has substantial resources to do such things.

3.
IOC had $2.5 billion revenue in 2022, reserves of $3.6 billion

The IOC published its annual report on Thursday, a heavily-illustrated, 204-page showcase of the Olympic Movement and the IOC’s leadership, role and programs. Near the back was the financial information section, always of interest, and which showed:

● 2022 revenue: $2.36 billion
● 2022 expenses: $2.12 billion
● 2022 surplus: $247.30 million

As to its oft-stated claim that it re-distributes 90% of its income to support the Olympic Movement, the IOC spent $589 million on the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, grants and Olympic Solidarity; $1.19 billion in distributions to the International Federations, National Olympic Committees and the future Games organizing committees, and $165.1 million on “Promotion of the Olympic Movement.” All together, that’s $1.942 billion or 82% of its 2022 revenue … a lot, but not quite 90%. The statements showed $173.9 million in administrative expenses; there were also investment losses of $24.52 million, which were shown separately.

The 82% spending for 2022, up from the 76% shown on the 2021 statements.

The report did not make any forward-looking statements or projections for the 2021-24 quadrennium, but noted that the 2017-2020 (2021) quad produced $7.6 billion in total revenues. Of this, 61% came from broadcast rights sales and 30% from TOP sponsorships and just 9% from other items such as licensing. As for its financial standing at the end of the year:

● $5.30 billion total assets
● $3.62 billion reserves

That’s pretty healthy.

The IOC paid $22.73 million to support the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2022, $8.46 million for the Court of Arbitration for Sport and $2.0 million to the International Paralympic Committee. To support the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, the IOC paid $265.37 million for host broadcasting services.

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, under its revenue-sharing agreement with the IOC for television and sponsorships, received $237.02 million in 2022. That’s less – as expected – than from the Olympic Games year of 2021, when it received $299.49 million. For 2021, the IOC’s distributions were 62.5% of the total income of the USOPC and 69% of its operating income.

4.
Valieva doping appeal hearing set for September

The figure skating Team Event at the Beijing Olympic Winter Games concluded on 7 February 2022, but the results are still not finalized.

Instead, the beginning of what should be the event’s final drama will take place at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne from 26-29 September. That’s when the appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency, International Skating Union and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency against the decision of the independent RUSADA Disciplinary Anti-Doping Commission, essentially giving teen skating star Kamila Valieva a pass for her doping positive from 25 December 2021.

The hearing will not be available to the public. Then:

“Following the hearing, the CAS Panel will deliberate and prepare the Arbitral Award containing its decision. At this juncture, it is not possible to indicate when the final decision will be announced. The CAS Panel’s decision will be final and binding, with the exception of the parties’ right to file an appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal within 30 days on limited procedural grounds.”

The interests of the three appealing parties are not exactly the same, but close. WADA is the lead appellant:

“WADA seeks a ruling from CAS setting aside the Challenged Decision and finding the Athlete to have committed [a doping violation] under art. 4.1 and/or 4.2 of the RUSADA [Anti-Doping Regulations], and sanctioned with a period of ineligibility of four years, as well as the disqualification of all competitive results obtained by the Athlete from and including 25 December 2021.”

The ISU is asking for a doping violation to be found, but for the Court to assign the length of a suspension and to decide what the final results of the Team Event from Beijing should be. Russia won the event on the ice, with the U.S. second, Japan third and Canada fourth.

RUSADA has asked for the Court to confirm the doping positive and assign “appropriate” consequences under RUSADA’s rules.

Look for a decision by the end of the year, meaning the medal ceremony for the last event of the 2022 Winter Games could take place more than two years after it was actually held.

5.
U.S. track stars falling out of love with Eugene

The 2023 USA Track & Field nationals will be held, once again, at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, from 6-9 July 2023. This will be the third straight year for the nationals there, and nine times out of the last 15 such meets, from 2008 forward.

That’s expected to be 10 out of 16 as, although no announcement has been made, the 2024 Olympic Track & Field Trials are also expected to be held there.

Not everyone is happy about it, notably in the athlete community. From this week on Twitter:

● Long jump star Tara Davis-Woodhall:

“USATF @usatf y’all BEG for fans to come out and support the athletes yet the athletes are struggling to come to Nationals.. To HOPEFULLY make the team. i’m lucky enough to be able to support these travel expenses but others aren’t. plz do better for the sake of our sport”

● Olympic 200 m silver medalist Kenny Bednarek:

“The prices of hotels, car rentals, airbnbs & flights to Eugene has gotten way out of control. Flying my team down is a very expensive affair out of pocket Worlds last year was wild & now they hiking the prices around Nationals knowing we are coming. This scamming needs to end.”

● Alaysha Johnson, the world’s fifth-ranked 100 m hurdler for 2023:

“Ok. Realistically what do we have to do to get nationals away from Eugene. Prefontaine Diamond League is enough, leave the rest to college.

“And don’t say talk to USATF cause I already debated this topic at the Annual Meeting!!!! Nobody has 10k to give up for nationals, we already tryna run 10000 mph to make the team lol.

“Much rather prefer to go… anywhere else actually.”

Former LSU sprinter and hurdler Mo Wells, now the Director of Pro Sports for The Kollective expanded on the costs:

“Going to breakdown some costs for one major Championship as an athlete/coach. USAs specifically

“And how impossible it is potentially for unsigned athletes with no financial backing. Since nobody likes to give numbers

“Air BNB (4-7 Days): $2k-6k
“Ticket Per Person: $400-$900
“(We take 2 Coaches & 1 Physio)
“(Hotel is 200-400 Per)
“Rental Car: $400-$800
“Food & Hydration: $500 (Approx)
“Physio also is $150 or more per session plus
“Coaches are 5% or Flat Stipend
“(Not how we operate but average cost) …

“Yes, it can be cheaper (barely) but these are World Trials and Olympic Trials next year. You want to be your best self.

“Hard to perform at your best without backing from an entity or federation. Stress is stress.

“Our athletes are blessed but not the same for everyone.”

Competing athletes and their coaches, of course, do not have to pay for tickets, but for spectators, the costs are:

● 6 July: $25 (general admission) to $95
● 7 July: $25 (general admission) to $95
● 8 July: $40 (general admission) to $125
● 9 July: $40 (general admission) to $125

Eugene has been the go-to location for major U.S. meets because of the rabid support of the local fan base, at least in the old Hayward Field, through 2018. Attendance in the new Hayward Field, opened in 2021, has not been as strong.

≡ SPOTLIGHT ≡

● Modern Pentathlon ● A YouGov.com poll commissioned by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne asked 1,500 American respondents “How much would the addition of a Ninja-style Obstacle race make you more or less likely to watch the Olympic Games on TV or online stream?”

The results across all respondents was that 47% said it would make no difference at all, 19% said it would make them less likely to watch, 22% said more likely and 11% gave no opinion. In other words, 22% were positive about obstacle being included and 78% were not.

The results were better among Millennials (born 1981-95, 21.7% of U.S. population) and Gen Z (born 1996-2012, 20.9%), with 41% and 45% saying an obstacle race would “likely” increase their interest. But 11% of Millennials and 12% of Gen Z said it would make them less likely to watch, so we’re left with net “positives” of 30% of Millennials and 33% of Gen Z from combined groups that make up just 41.6% of the U.S. population.

But the UIPM announcement of the poll results included the astonishing statement – referring to the Millennial and Gen Z results only – that “Taken as a percentage of the US population this would equate to nearly 45 million more people watching the Games,” asserting that the poll “like” percentages from 1,041 people in these two demographic groups would turn into tens of millions of actual viewers five years from now!

The UIPM is using this commissioned poll to try to convince the IOC that the substitution of obstacle for riding will jumpstart “global appeal to fans across the world, and host country interest” in the modern pentathlon, enough to merit including it in the Los Angeles 2028 program.

Observed: The UIPM’s poll question as reported in its own announcement was obviously baiting the respondents into considering the appeal of a stand-alone, obstacle-type event being introduced into the Olympic program. Nothing is mentioned about obstacle being only one of five disciplines – and a short one at that – in a larger event that also includes fencing, swimming, running and shooting – modern pentathlon – that most had likely never heard of.

This is a highly dubious approach to polling and statistics, and the UIPM’s “analysis” that considers only the responses from Millennials and Gen Z respondents to project astronomical U.S. viewership gains is arithmetically convenient, unrestrained boosterism, at best divorced from reality and at worst, intellectually depressing. The “national” response showed only a 3% net positive to obstacle – not to modern pentathlon – and those who didn’t care out-polled the combined positive and negative responses by 47-41%.

Here’s a reality check: The long-running “American Ninja Warrior” series on NBC – also the U.S. Olympic broadcaster – completed its 14th season in 2022, with an average audience of 2.86 million people. That’s it. The show peaked in 2016 at 6.54 million average viewers per episode, but has gone down every year since except one, and by 2022, had lost more than 56% of its peak audience. And this shrinking sports entertainment property is going to bring 45 million new U.S. viewers to the Olympic Games?

We’re not in dreamland here, but in the realm of hallucinogenics.

YouGov did not list this poll on its Web site, but it has been a go-to pollster for previous flights of Olympic fancy. It did a poll, commissioned by a British group just prior to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, showing that Americans under 45 would be interested in jousting – “two armored opponents on horseback charge at each other with lances raised” – while those over 45 were highly disinterested.

Jousting, like obstacle, is not governed by an IOC-recognized international federation, then or now. It is not a candidate to be added to the LA28 Olympic program.

U.S. Olympic television ratings are a serious issue. They fell to an all-time low for Tokyo 2020, with NBC averaging only 15.1 million viewers for its daily primetime show. Only 150 million Americans – just 45.3% of the population, the lowest on record – watched any part of the 2020 Games, and the UIPM’s survey results, in which the overall replies showed that 78% didn’t care about obstacle, confirms the concerning, continued lack of excitement about the Games in general, whether or not it includes obstacle, or the modern pentathlon for that matter.

Rich Perelman
Editor

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The French Court of Audit continued its warning campaign about the Paris 2024 Olympic organizers – that’s their job – criticizing the increase in the budget from the bid projection of €3.3 billion to €4.38 billion today ($3.62 billion to $4.80 billion U.S. today).

In specific, its newest report focused on about two-thirds of the additions that “resulted not from management drift or ill-considered changes to the project, but from an obvious underestimation of the bid budget and an incomprehensible lack of understanding of the complexity of the IOC’s specifications.”

Further, it warned that the target of €1.23 billion (about $1.35 billion U.S.) is still €337.2 million short of goal (about $369.4 million U.S.) with a year to go. And there is worry about security staffing, transport projects and that “Further measures to reduce service levels will be required to ensure final budgetary equilibrium” and “substantial uncertainties remain on the final level of resources.”

French authorities who searched the Paris 2024 organizing committee offices this week, along with the Solideo governmental Olympic-projects building group, also searched Keneo Sports Experiences, a sports management consulting firm, for actions during the Paris bid period, concluded in 2017.

The firm was co-founded by Edouard Donnelly, now Paris 2024 deputy director of operations, and Etienne Thobois, the Paris 2024 chief executive, but the current Keneo executives said they have no service agreements in place with the Paris 2024 organizers.

Keneo was part of the Dentsu, Inc. family from 2016 before it was bought out by the current management in 2021.

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● The IOC Executive Board approved the reconfiguration of some events in skiing, with the Alpine Combined switched from an individual to a team event, for two skiers: one for the Downhill and one for Slalom. The Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping team events were also changed from four members to two, and Cross Country distances for men and women will be the same, following the same move by FIS.

The athlete total for 2026 was set at 2,900; the 2022 Beijing Winter Games had 2,871.

● Olympic Winter Games 2030 ● A new poll showed more support for a Sapporo bid for the 2030 Winter Games. The Jiji Press and its research affiliate reported Thursday that the idea had 60.2% support across Japan, but only 50% – the lowest in any region – in the Hokkaido Prefecture, where Sapporo is located.

Sapporo has paused its 2030 bid activity due to public indifference, or outright hostility. It is unclear whether this poll could jump-start more activity.

● National Olympic Committees ● The IOC Executive Board was updated on issues at multiple NOCs this week, with special concern about Afghanistan:

“The IOC EB continues to be extremely concerned by the restrictions placed on women and young girls to access sport in Afghanistan, which have not been reversed despite the repeated calls from the IOC and which run contrary to the Olympic values of non-discrimination, inclusion and respect. …

“The IOC EB will review the situation at its next meeting in October 2023, after the Asian Games, and reserves the right to take any further measures to protect women and young girls’ access to sport, noting that the specific details for the participation of the Afghan NOC delegation and team in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 have not been decided yet.”

● Russia ● Oleg Matytsin, the Russian sports minister, said Thursday that the first BRICS Games (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) would be held in 12 sports in the Russian city of Kazan in June of 2024, prior to the start of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

● Athletics ● The USATF NYC Grand Prix comes Saturday, televised nationally on NBC from 1-3 p.m. Eastern time, from Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island.

Olympic and World women’s 800 m champ Athing Mu is expected to make her 2023 debut in her specialty, along with Olympic and World women’s 400 m hurdles champ Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in the flat 400 m, and World men’s 200 m champ Noah Lyles in his favorite race.

● Swimming ● Swimming World Magazine ruefully marked the 50-year anniversary of the state of the East German state doping program that wrecked competitive balance in the sport for the following 16 years.

East German women won five medals at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, but 18 medals at the inaugural 1973 FINA World Championships, including 10 of the 14 events. Editor-in-Chief John Lohn noted:

● “During the three Olympiads in which East Germany competed during its doping era [1973-89], it claimed 31 of a possible 40 gold medals, and won more than half of the total medals available, 64 of 120.”

● “There were five World Championships contested between 1973 and 1989, and East Germany won 44 of the 72 gold medals available, accounting for 61% of the titles.”

● “At the seven editions of the European Championships conducted from 1973 to 1989, East Germany won 96 of a possible 104 titles, good for a success rate of 92.3%.”

Beyond the many swimmers from other countries who were cheated, Lohn also quoted Rica Reinsch, the 100-200 m Back and Medley Relay gold medalist from Moscow 1980:

“We were guinea pigs, there to win Olympic gold, used like a taster in ancient Rome.

“The worst thing is they took away from me the opportunity to ever know if I could have won the gold medals without the steroids. That’s the greatest betrayal of all.”

● Volleyball ● The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) announced a major change in its championships program, moving its quadrennial men’s and women’s world tournament to every other year and to be held in the year after an Olympic Games and the year prior to the next one.

So, with the last Worlds for men and women in 2022, the new schedule will see World Championships in 2025 and 2027, 2029 and 2031 and so on. Each will have 32 teams, compared to 12 in the Olympic tournaments.

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For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Dane and Daniels left USOPC review commission; Indonesia monitored on Israel bans; will IOC apply war-neutral rules to Russian members?

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 ≡

1. USOPC review commission loses Dane and Daniels
2. IOC warns ANOC on Indonesia’s World Beach ban on Israel
3. TASS says IOC will review Russian IOC members
4. Roy Jones Jr. asks IOC to retain IBA on Thursday
5. World-record holder Milak out of swimming Worlds

BULLETIN: The International Olympic Committee voted 69-1 (with 10 abstentions) Thursday to withdraw its recognition of the International Boxing Association, believed to be the first such action ever by the IOC against an International Federation. This means there is no  IOC-designated federation for boxing; for the time being, this is of no concern, since the IOC is itself managing the qualifying process for Paris 2024, ran the boxing tournament for Tokyo 2020, and can do so again next year.

Two members of the Commission on the State of the U.S. Olympics and Paralympics, ex-Olympic sailor John Dane and Purdue University head Mitch Daniels, resigned due to time conflicts. The remaining 14 members still constitute a quorum and a hearing is scheduled for 6 September in Washington, D.C. The International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board reviewed the continuing refusal of the Bali government in Indonesia to allow Israeli participants in the upcoming ANOC World Beach Games and expressed concern; the IOC suspended the Indonesian National Olympic Committee over the same issue way back in 1963! IOC spokesman Mark Adams told reporters that the same rules as to neutrality that apply to Russian athletes per the IOC’s recommendations of 28 March also apply to the IOC’s Russian members. The Russian news agency TASS said that this means an examination of the activities of the two Russian members and two honorary members would be undertaken. Boxing champion Roy Jones Jr., a tireless supporter of International Boxing Association President Umar Kremlev of Russia, sent an open letter to IOC members asking for them not to expel the IBA from the Olympic Movement at Thursday’s special, 140th IOC Session, using the same arguments the federation has been advancing for months. Hungarian swimming star Kristof Milak said he will not compete in July’s World Aquatics Championships, citing bad workouts and his need for a rest. We have seen this before.

● Panorama: Football (3: U.S. names 23-player FIFA Women’s World Cup roster; worries over no Women’s World Cup deal in Japan; good Univision ratings for CONCACAF Nations League) = Skiing (Swiss-Ski indicates interest in new FIS Games mega-event) ●

1.
USOPC review commission loses Dane and Daniels

Two of the 16 originally-appointed members of the Commission on the State of the U.S. Olympics and Paralympics have resigned, confirmed Wednesday by Commission co-Chair Dionne Koller, a University of Baltimore School of Law Professor:

“Both Mitch Daniels and John Dane resigned from the Commission due to scheduling conflicts. You may recall that there were significant delays in Congress funding and the federal government standing up our commission, so that we were not able to begin operations until nearly two years after some members had been appointed. This presented scheduling difficulties for Gov. Daniels and Mr. Dane. …

“The Commission has no power to appoint replacements. We do remain fully in compliance with our statutory charge, including quorum requirements. I am not aware of Congress taking steps to replace either Commissioner before our Sept. 30 deadline. Again, as you know, we have repeatedly asked Congress to extend our deadline due to the delays in funding and operationalization, which Congress has not acted on.

“Our public hearing will be in Washington D.C. Sept. 6. More details will follow once they are finalized.”

The Commission was created by the Empowering Olympic, Paralympic and Amateur Athletes Act of 2020, signed into law on 30 October 2020 by President Donald Trump. However, as Koller notes, funding did not come until late 2022 and the start-up efforts have been dogged by delays, primarily from the Congress itself.

Dane, a U.S. Olympic sailor who competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in the Star class, was appointed in January 2021 by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi). Daniels, the former two-term Governor of Indiana and the current Purdue University President, was named in December 2020 by Rep. Greg Walden (R-Oregon).

There are 14 remaining members; the quorum requirement is 11. The Commission’s task is to review the post-Nassar case reforms of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee; participation levels of American athletes, including the disabled, women and minorities; finances and marketing, and the performance of the National Governing Bodies, among other areas.

At least one public hearing is required, and yes, “The Commission may subpoena an individual the testimony of whom may be relevant to the purpose of the Commission.”

2.
IOC warns ANOC on Indonesia’s World Beach ban on Israel

Indonesia’s long-standing anti-Israel policy may cost it another multi-national sporting event this year, and possibly have even more consequences.

Already in 2022, FIFA removed the men’s U-20 World Cup from Indonesia on 29 March, and awarded it days later to Argentina, in view of the refusal of the Bali Governor Wayan Koster to allow Israel – which eventually won the tournament’s bronze medal – to play there. And, FIFA noted that “Potential sanctions against the PSSI [Indonesia’s football federation] may also be decided at a later stage.”

Koster has continued to maintain this stance against any Israeli participation in the upcoming World Beach Games, a property of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), scheduled for 5-12 August in Bali. ANOC has said it expects all qualified athletes and nations to participate, noting the political posturing moves of such rhetoric ahead of national elections in Indonesia in 2024.

At Wednesday’s International Olympic Committee news conference following the second day of its Executive Board meeting, Director of Olympic Solidarity and NOC Relations James MacLeod (GBR) explained that the issue was discussed in Lausanne:

“The World Beach Games are the property of ANOC and the recommendation was that ANOC should look at this situation very closely. …

“Whenever an issue like this happens, whether it be in Indonesia, or any other country, that is restricting access to all athletes, advisories do go to the International Federations to tell them to be very careful in allocation of events.

“As you know, for the Olympic Games, there is a principle of ensuring all athletes can be able to participate in those Games unfettered by access [restrictions] to the Games.”

For Indonesia and the IOC, there are echoes from the past here. In 1962, the IV Asian Games were held in the national capital, Jakarta, and both Israel and the Republic of China (Taiwan) were not allowed to participate. Israel was excluded due to the still-in-effect national policy favoring Palestinians, and the Indonesians favored Communist China over Taiwan, so visas were not issued to any team members.

In response, the IOC suspended the Indonesian National Olympic Committee, which responded by holding its own Games of the New Emerging Forces (GANEFO) in 1963! Indonesia was re-admitted by the IOC in June 1964, but was told that no athletes who had participated in the GANEFO would be allowed to compete in Tokyo. On the day prior to the Tokyo opening, Indonesia withdrew in protest and skipped the 1964 Games.

Chatter about whether Koster will maintain his stance is increasing; entries for the World Beach Games will be finalized in early July and, at that point, decisions will have to be made.

If Indonesia continues to refuse to allow Israel to compete, ANOC will have to decide whether to cancel, postpone or find someplace to move it on really short notice. The IOC, whose institutional memory unquestionably includes the 1962-64 incidents, could decide to penalize the Indonesian NOC, keeping it out of the Paris 2024 Games, or perhaps assigning its qualifiers to the Refugee Olympic Team.

3.
TASS says IOC will review Russian IOC members

As the International Olympic Committee has distributed its recommendations on the status of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competition, it has been criticized for not applying the same qualification standards to its own members from Russia: former tennis player Shamil Tarpishchev (75, elected in 1994) and women’s vault world-record holder Yelena Isinbayeva (41, elected as an athlete rep from 2016-24).

According to the Russian news agency TASS, that’s changing. IOC spokesman Mark Adams (GBR), responding on Wednesday to a Tuesday question about the Russian members, read a statement:

“In order to avoid having different standards between the athletes, the national officials and the IOC members in Russia, the same conditions to participate in the IOC [and in] international events apply. The IOC Ethics Commission has noted that two of the conditions mentioned in the IOC Executive Board’s recommendations apply to the IOC members: one is the active support of the war, and two, is the contractual situation vis-a-vis Russian military or national security agencies.

“The situation of the IOC members concerned shall be assessed at the time of the event of the invasion on the 24th of February 2022, and since then. Considering the last point, the past contractual situation of athletes at a time before the beginning of the war shall not be taken into consideration.”

He then added, “Those are the guidelines that are applied to IOC members, and honorary members and all necessary work has been carried out to the satisfaction of the Ethics Commission.”

So, is the check on the current and former Russian IOC members already complete, or in the future? TASS reported:

“Mark Adams said that the IOC Ethics Committee would be holding inspections in regard to current and honorary members of the IOC from Russia, which besides Isinbayeva and Tarpishchev also includes four-time Olympic swimming champion Alexander Popov [honorary member].”

Isinbayeva is well known for her involvement with the Russian military, although whether she is involved now is not completely clear. Her Wikipedia biography notes:

“In the Russian club competitions she represents the railroad military team; she is formally an officer in the Russian army, and on 4 August 2005 she was given the military rank of senior lieutenant before being promoted to captain in August 2008.”

A 6 March 2022 story in The Times (London) – after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began – indicated that she was still contracted to the Russian Army. She is due to participate in the IOC’s remote Session on Thursday to consider the expulsion of the International Boxing Association, headed by Russian Umar Kremlev.

4.
Roy Jones Jr. asks IOC to retain IBA on Thursday

Continuing his unwavering support of International Boxing Association President Kremlev, Seoul Olympic silver medal winner and multi-time professional boxing champion Roy Jones Jr. – a dual American-Russian citizen – circulated an open letter on Wednesday to International Olympic Committee members, asking them not to expel the IBA during the specially-called 140th IOC Session on Thursday.

His message included the familiar themes he has expressed before:

● “The IBA has made significant contributions to the development and growth of boxing worldwide over the past couple of years, and I would like to reiterate my previous message to the IOC. The IBA and boxing are intrinsically linked, and removing the IBA’s recognition by the IOC would effectively exclude the entire sport of boxing.”

● “Despite the criticism the IBA has faced, it is hard to believe that their visible progress has gone completely unnoticed. This attempt to demean boxing appears to be a poorly orchestrated political game with no ultimate winner.”

● “The management of the LA2028 boxing event is uncertain if the IBA is excluded. Without the integrity that the IBA has established through officials’ integrity checks, we cannot ensure fair and transparent competitions at the Olympics. This was evident in the IBA World Championships, which were held at the highest level, awarding gold medals on the podium and providing impressive prize money for the athletes’ families. Such provisions are not present at the Olympics.”

● “[T]he suspicious bouts in Rio 2016 highlight the dead-end that arises from non-transparent politics orchestrated by IOC member and IOC EB representative CK Wu. I firmly believe that achieving clean and transparent boxing in the Olympics is impossible without the involvement of the IBA.”

● “There is no doubt that the Olympics holds great importance for boxers. However, the IOC should support the development of international federations instead of severing their funding and opportunities based on biased opinions. Political involvement should have no place in sports. The IOC’s recommendation lacks democratic principles, and the actions of the IOC executive board lack transparency. I implore IOC members not to support the recommendation to withdraw the IBA’s recognition.”

There is little chance that the IOC membership will believe any of this, in view of the IOC staff report which came to completely opposite opinions on every point. But Jones Jr. also closed with a prediction that indicates that even if expelled from the Olympic Movement, Kremlev has no intention of going away:

“The IBA will continue to forge ahead regardless of the circumstances, hosting events and supporting and uniting boxers and national federations. I firmly believe that boxing has a bright future ahead, free from political interference.”

The 140th IOC Session video is on YouTube from 6 a.m. Eastern time (noon in Lausanne) on Thursday.

5.
World-record holder Milak out of swimming Worlds

Hungary’s Kristof Milak, 23, is the world leader in the men’s 200 m Butterfly (1:52.58) and equal-third in the 100 m Butterfly (50.80), both from the national championships in mid-April, two months ago.

Now, he’s “hit rock bottom” and will not compete in July’s World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka (JPN). What?

Let’s be clear, Milak is a star. He won the Tokyo silver behind American Caeleb Dressel in the men’s 100 m Fly, 49.45-49.68 – with Dressel setting the world record – and won gold in the 200 m Fly in 1:51.25. He won the 2022 World Championship golds in both event, winning the 100 m Fly in 50.34 and the 200 m Fly in a world record of 1:50.34.

Now, Milak is out of the Fukuoka Worlds and his statement via the Hungarian Swimming Federation included:

“I’m not on the level either physically or mentally to race against the worlds’ best swimmers.

“I’m still trying to find a satisfying answer why this had to happen – still, I know myself well enough to be aware that I’m not even close to my top shape, those 100% which is required to reach the top and I’m not the one who would be [satisfied] with anything less.

“Now I’ve hit rock-bottom, but I have to emphasize that this does not come with any worries from my side. I’ve accepted this, and I honestly hope that everyone else can also do that. To see that any athlete can face a period like this in his career, when you need to step back, recharge the batteries in order to be ready for the next challenges.

“While I’m still available for any administrative and other obligations top athletes may have, now I’m facing a new task – to devote this summer to quality and well-thought relaxation. This way I can restart my training and the competitions with a lot more energy, with a much better approach, so I can reach the level I’ve used to have. …

“Don’t be afraid – I’ll be back soon!”

Wow. While Milak had the idea to expand his events to include the 100 and 200 m Freestyles – he ranks 25th worldwide from his 48.40 and 1:46.68 wins in April at the Hungarian nationals – and while that didn’t happen, not many predicted he would just drop out.

Observed: Two things come to mind immediately. The first is the echo of Dressel’s decision to leave the pool because he needed a break. At the 2022 Worlds, Dressel won the 50 m Fly and led off the winning men’s 4×100 m Free, and posted the no. 2 qualifying time in the 100 m Free, and then left, citing health issues. He is just now returning to fitness and is expected to try for the 2023 U.S. team for the Worlds at the USA Swimming nationals next week. Shakespeare was right in Henry IV: “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”

Second is the out-sized importance of the Olympic Games compared to everything else. The World Championships will have most of the same entries as will Paris 2024, but that’s the Olympics and Fukuoka is not. So Milak is taking his rest now, not in an Olympic year.

Query whether Milak would withdraw if it were Paris in front of him vs. the World Aquatics Championships, which will come again in 2025 in Singapore and 2027, back once again in Budapest.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Football ● The U.S. Soccer Federation announced the 23 members of its FIFA Women’s World Cup team, including nine veterans and 14 newcomers.

There are nine members of the champion 2019 squad back: keeper Alyssa Naeher, defenders Crystal Dunn and Kelley O’Hara and Emily Sonnett, midfielders Julie Ertz, Lindsay Horan and Rose Lavelle and forwards Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe.

Morgan, O’Hara and Rapinoe will appear in their fourth Women’s World Cup, and Ertz and Naeher made their third. The newcomers include keepers Casey Murphy and Aubrey Kingsbury; defenders Alana Cook, Emily Fox, Naomi Girma and Sofia Huerta; midfielders Savannah DeMelo, Kristie Mewis, Ashley Sanchez and Andi Sullivan, and strikers Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith, Alyssa Thompson and Lynn Williams.

The roster did not include scoring ace Mallory Swanson, almost unstoppable in the early-season games, but sidelined after a left patella tendon break – that required surgery – during the 8 April friendly with Ireland. Her expected recovery will take at least six months. Injuries also sidelined other U.S. stars such as Sam Mewis, Tierna Davidson and others. 

The U.S.’s first match will be on 22 July against Vietnam. A send-off match against Wales will be played on 9 July in San Jose, California.

In Japan, no rights fee deal for the FIFA Women’s World Cup has been struck, the last major market still in limbo, with national team coach Futoshi Ikeda worried about the impact of having their team blacked out at home:

“For women’s soccer to develop in the future in Japan, it’s important we have many people watching and supporting us.

“I think it’s important that the tournament is broadcast and I really hope everyone will be able to watch. Whether it will be broadcasted or not we don’t know yet, but it is important to show it on television and I really hope everyone can watch it.”

The tournament opens on 20 July; if no deal is struck, the matches would be available via FIFA’s online application, but without commentary in Japanese.

The semifinal and final rounds of the men’s CONCACAF Nations League drew respectable audiences on U.S. television:

● 15 June: 927,000 on Univision for CAN-PAN
● 15 June: 2.286 million on Univision for MEX-USA
● 18 June: 1.293 million on Univision for PAN-MEX (3rd)
● 18 June: 1.818 million on Univision for CAN-USA (1st)

The English-language coverage of these games was only on the Paramount+ streaming service. No doubt there were plenty of English-speaking fans who found the Univision channel number in their cable guides.

● Skiing ● Switzerland is the first country to raise its hand to show interest in the massive new FIS Games concept for 2028, that will encompass 10 disciplines (including Para) over 16 days and more than 100 events. The Swiss-Ski announcement included:

“In a ‘Letter of Intent,’ Swiss-Ski informed the FIS on June 19, 2023 that the umbrella organization for Swiss snow sports, together with St. Moritz/Engadin, is very interested in examining the documents received regarding the FIS Games 2028 and doing so to evaluate whether a Swiss candidacy to hold this new major snow sports event is an option. …

“In 1928 the first Olympic Games in Switzerland took place in St. Moritz. Exactly 100 years later, if the candidacy were successful, the premiere of the new FIS Games, a kind of ‘mini winter Olympics,’ would take place in the same place. The number of disciplines and competitions, which, unlike the Olympic Games, would all be outdoor events, are also part of the concept to be developed, as is the examination of other possible competition locations inside and outside the canton of Graubünden. The costs of any FIS Games cannot yet be estimated; they are also the subject of a concept to be developed jointly with the FIS.”

Letters of intent to bid for the 2028 FIS Games are due by 1 August, so there’s time for others to get in. But Swiss interest is a good sign of early interest in what could be an impactful new winter-sport program.

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: French police search Paris 2024; IOC rips IBA’s Kremlev for threatening language; IPC and Special Olympics get together

By
Rich Perelman
-
Henri Vidal's Caïn venant de tuer son frère Abel (Cain, after having murdered his brother Abel), in the Tuileries Garden, Paris (Photo: Wikipedia)

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

★ Friends: If you would like to support our coverage, please donate here. Your enthusiasm is the reason this site continues. Thank you. ★

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Paris 2024 office searched by French investigators
2. IOC slams Kremlev; CAS rejects IBA stay appeal
3. Six interested in Winter Games, but only Salt Lake City declared
4. Eli Lilly extends USOPC & NBC sponsorship, joins LA28
5. Int’l Paralympic Committee visits Special Olympics World Games

French investigators searched the office of the Paris 2024 organizing committee and the Solideo government construction firm in two corruption probes. The organizing committee said it was cooperating. The International Olympic Committee released an angry statement against International Boxing Association President Umar Kremlev of Russia for threatening comments made during a forum in Brazil, calling out IOC officials he believes are against him, and suggesting former boxing federation chief C.K. Wu “must be shot.” Meanwhile, the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed the IBA’s request for a stay of the IOC Session scheduled for Thursday that will consider expelling the IBA from the Olympic Movement. The IOC said at a Tuesday news conference that six countries are discussing future Olympic Winter Games bids, but only Salt Lake City has formally said it would host in 2030 or 2034 (preferred). The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, LA28 and NBCUniversal announced a commercial partnership with pharma giant Eli Lilly & Co. for the 2024-26-28 Olympic and Winter Games. In a positive sign of cooperation, senior officials of the International Paralympic Committee attended the opening of the Special Olympic World Games in Berlin and met to find ways to work together for the benefit of those with disabilities in the future.

● Panorama: Boxing (national federations beginning move to World Boxing) = Cycling (Reusser wins Tour de Suisse Femmes) = Fencing (2: U.S. dominates PanAm Champs, but one team was black-carded; Hazdic banned by U.S. Center for SafeSport) = Football (2: Ireland and New Zealand quit matches after alleging racist incidents; FIFPro report criticizes conditions for Women’s World Cup qualifying matches) ●

1.
Paris 2024 office searched by French investigators

“French investigators searched the headquarters of Paris Olympic organizers on Tuesday in a probe into suspected corruption, according to the national financial prosecutor’s office. The Paris organizing committee said in a statement that a search was under way at their headquarters in the suburb of Saint-Denis, and that ‘Paris 2024 is cooperating with the investigators to facilitate their investigations.’ It would not comment further.”

That’s the shocker from Tuesday morning, with the Parquet National Financier (PNF) also searching the office of the government’s Olympic construction service, Solideo. According to Agence France Presse:

“A spokesman for prosecutors said the probes concerned ‘illegal conflict of interest, misuse of public funds and favouritism’.”

The two investigations date from 2017, the year that Paris was awarded the 2024 Games, concerning specific contracts, and from 2022 regarding possible favoritism and conflicts of interest for contracted and consultant services, being handled by the financial crimes unit of the Paris police.

The same types of concerns, notably over contracting, are also being looked at Solideo, which has a large portfolio of projects being built with public funds for the 2024 Games. The AFP report also noted earlier concerns from the national Agence Francaise Anticorruption (AFA):

“AFA inspectors said the procedure for purchases was ‘imprecise and incomplete’ and emphasised that there ‘exists sometimes potential situations of conflicts of interests which are not overseen correctly.’”

Severe corruption issues dogged the organization of the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, including possible vote-buying to get the event, and continue to plague the 2020 Tokyo Games, also with vote-buying whispers, but now public prosecutions, confessions and convictions on two separate scandals: a bribery scheme with then-Tokyo 2020 Executive Committee member Haruyuki Takahashi on sponsorships, and a bid-rigging scheme for test-event management and Games venue management contracts led by ad giant Dentsu.

This is the first publicly-announced investigation of the Paris 2024 organizers.

At Tuesday’s news conference following the first day of the International Olympic Committee Executive Board meeting in Lausanne, Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi (SUI) reacted (from the simultaneous interpretation of the original French):

“In a situation like this, there is only one attitude that we can really, actually apply, and that is the one communicated by Paris 2024. Transparency and cooperation are the two watchwords. And in a context such as this one, which, of course, is very tense, is very difficult today, when the organizing committee commits to holding certain principles, there is only one thing we can do, and that is to wait for the results of this inquiry.”

The Paris 2024 Board met on Monday (19th), before the raids, and expressed satisfaction with the progress:

“With just over a year to go before the Olympic Games deadline, the Board deemed that the Paris 2024 Organising Committee was on the right track to organise Olympic and Paralympic Games of a new era. Among the main actions presented at the meeting, the test events were highlighted as a key step. They will enable the organisers to obtain valuable insights and make any adjustments needed for the Games to be hosted in the best possible conditions next year.”

2.
IOC slams Kremlev; CAS rejects IBA stay appeal

The IOC posted a sharp rebuke to comments by International Boxing Association President Umar Kremlev (RUS) from last Thursday (15th):

“The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) condemns the violent and threatening language used by the President of the International Boxing Association (IBA), Umar Kremlev, against a number of individuals from the IOC. These statements were made during the American Boxing Confederation (AMBC) Continental Forum in Brasilia.

“Incitement of hatred and derogatory language against individuals working for the IOC, who are simply carrying out their professional roles, and against the IOC as an organisation, is simply unacceptable. Making accusations against them that they are ‘covering up crimes’ is highly defamatory.

“Furthermore, calling for an individual formerly linked to the IOC to be ‘shot’ is language that has no place in sport or in any normal civilised debate.

“The IOC reserves all its legal rights.”

Kremlev, as usual, spoke in Russian during the AMBC Continental Forum, with simultaneous interpretation of his comments into English and other languages during the live stream. According to InsideTheGames, Kremlev’s comments included:

“IOC are hiding the crimes of their IOC member and IOC Board member who was C. K. Wu.

“I will not use the term ‘Mister’, because for us he is not a Mister, he is a criminal who was killing boxing. He is a bad person.

“Such people must be shot as he has robbed the National Federations (NF), the boxers, has brought in corruption.

“And IOC is silent about this though this person was a member of IOC for a long time, it’s their person.”

The video recording of the AMBC Forum has been deleted.

Wu (TPE), was the elected head of AIBA from 2006-17 and an IOC member from 1988-2020; during his tenure, a series of failed, expensive ventures were launched that ultimately caused the financial collapse of the federation, and led to Kremlev’s election. Kremlev has consistently blamed Wu for all of the IBA’s problems, including with the IOC.

Kremlev also blasted IOC President Thomas Bach (GER) and Sports Director Kit McConnell (NZL) – and others – as conspirators against the IBA, a charge both have rejected.

Also on Tuesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed the IBA’s request for a Court-imposed stay of Thursday’s 140th IOC Session concerning the withdrawal of IOC recognition of the IBA:

“[T]he President of the Appeals Arbitration Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has today dismissed the IBA’s urgent request to stay the execution of the Challenged Decision. Accordingly, the Challenged Decision remains in force and the IOC Extraordinary Session remains undisturbed.

“In the Challenged Decision, the IOC Executive Board noted that the IBA had failed to fulfil to the IOC’s satisfaction the conditions set by the IOC in its decision communicated to the IBA on 9 December 2021 for the lifting of the suspension of the IBA’s recognition, and recommended that the IOC Session withdraw the IOC’s recognition of IBA, in accordance with Rule 3.7 of the Olympic Charter.

“The IOC Executive Board also resolved to recommend to the IOC Session to decide that the IBA should not organise the Olympic Games LA28 boxing tournament, but that in the interest of the boxing athletes and the sport of boxing, boxing be maintained on the sports programme of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, in accordance with the IOC Executive Board’s decisions taken on 24 June, 8 September and 6 December 2022. Finally, the IOC Executive Board and the IOC President decided to convene an IOC Extraordinary Session to be held remotely on 22 June 2023.”

The IOC is expected to withdraw recognition of the IBA on Thursday – essentially an expulsion – apparently the first time this has happened to an International Federation.

3.
Six interested in Winter Games, but only Salt Lake City declared

The IOC’s Dubi shed very little new light on the ongoing process for the selection of the host for the Olympic Winter Games in 2030, noting that Salt Lake City is the only candidate which has firmly declared its interest, although Sweden and Switzerland are both now in the “continuous dialogue” phase:

“There will be a briefing tomorrow from the chair of the [Winter Future Hosts] Commission, Octavian Morariu [ROU]. No decision to be expected, but simply the ‘lay of the land,’ acknowledging that Sweden has joined, and Switzerland has joined as well. …

“We have the work to be done by the Commission until the Executive Board in October, whereby we’ve been tasked to do two things: look into the future, as to the impact of climate, study also whether a concept of rotation would be favorable, especially for Winter Games in the future, and also study the possibility of a double allocation. So that’s the duty that the Executive Board gave to the Future Host Winter Commission, and this is the next milestone we have.”

While Sweden is clearly considering 2030, but not committed to it yet, Dubi was asked about where the Swiss are right now:

“SwissOlympic has not given us a specific edition; they say they are to talk to us about any future edition of the Winter Games, which is somewhat reassuring, because they know that with the current process and the fact that we can talk, we can discuss together about how to maximize the chances of Switzerland and the others, by the way, in a distant future.

“I really like this approach. It can have a very long term view, looking at everything that is available, in Sweden or Switzerland, or elsewhere and project yourself to a longer future.”

He said that six countries are talking about Winter Games – the U.S., Sweden, Switzerland and three he won’t name, repeating the Salt Lake City situation as:

“When it comes to who is interested about which edition, there is only one – and you know this is Salt Lake City – which has declared that it is very open, they’ve done a lot of work, but their preference would be for 2034, should these Games be awarded in the context of a double allocation.”

So, the next act in the drama will apparently come in October in India.

4.
Eli Lilly extends USOPC & NBC sponsorship, joins LA28

Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. was announced Tuesday as an “Official Partner” of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee and as a sponsor of NBCUniversal telecasts of the 2024 Paris, 2026 Milan Cortina and 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Lilly previously signed up with the USOPC and NBCU for the Tokyo Games in February 2020, with the Games postponed to 2021. Skipping the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, Lilly will now be on board with Team USA through 2028; the announcement noted:

“Lilly will now serve as an official Team USA partner in prescription medicine and health equity through 2028, bringing expertise and experience to support elite athletes on their health journey to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Lilly also will support NBCUniversal’s Olympic and Paralympic coverage across all media platforms for the next five years.”

5.
Int’l Paralympic Committee visits Special Olympics World Games

A welcome sign of cooperation between organizations with the same basic goals, from a post by the International Paralympic Committee reporting on meetings between President Andrew Parsons (BRA) and other senior staff and the leadership of Special Olympics International over the weekend, at the opening of the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin:

“During the course of the weekend, he also met with Tim Shriver, Chairman of Special Olympics, attended several sport events, and presented medals to competitors in athletics.”

Said Parsons:

“Since the launch of WeThe15 [campaign] in 2021, the IPC has been building closer working relationships with all the major organisations responsible for sport for persons with disabilities outside of the Paralympic Movement.

“The IPC, Special Olympics, Invictus Games Foundation and Deaflympics, all have very distinct visions of what they want to achieve as organisations, but the common thread that unites us all is a desire to use sport as a tool to drive inclusion for the world’s 1.2 billion persons with disabilities.

“The purpose of the visit was to learn more about the Special Olympics and identify where we can potentially work together to complement each other’s activities in the future as we aim to make an inclusive world for all.”

That’s the way it should be.

Further inroads for Special Olympics International sports programming was announced Tuesday by the Union Cycliste Internationale, with a Memorandum of Understanding signed during the Special Olympics World Games ongoing in Berlin, including:

“The focus of the MOU is to use and adapt existing and new resources to expand cooperation and communications between the UCI, its World Cycling Centre (WCC) and Special Olympics, and to educate and encourage others to join the movement of inclusion in sport. As part of this MOU, the UCI will make the facilities and coaching expertise at the UCI WCC – the UCI’s education and training centre in Aigle, Switzerland – available to Special Olympics.”

UCI President David Lappartient (FRA) added: “Riding a bike helps people the world over improve their wellbeing, increase their confidence and establish friendships. I am delighted by this partnership with Special Olympics which, thanks to the facilities at our UCI World Cycling Centre, will further promote cycling as an accessible sport for people with intellectual disabilities.”

Similar protocols were signed with the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and others.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Boxing ● While the IBA is on the verge of expulsion from the Olympic Movement, the new World Boxing group is moving along. A report from its latest board meeting included:

“World Boxing is currently processing a series of membership applications from National Federations and has experienced a significant increase in enquiries following the recent announcement by the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to recommend it withdraws recognition of the International Boxing Association (IBA).

“Representatives of World Boxing will also be attending the forthcoming European Games in Krakow, 21 June – 3 July 2023, where they will host a series of fringe meetings with National Federations that have expressed an interest in becoming a member of World Boxing.”

In the U.S., a letter from USA Boxing chief executive Mike McAtee made public on Tuesday noted that the movement toward the new federation has started:

“Our ongoing conversations with like-minded National Federations highlight an undeniable truth – the global boxing community is ready for change. In addition to the United States, Great Britain, and Switzerland (who have all publicly declared intentions to join World Boxing), 28 other National Federations have privately stated their intentions to apply. Despite IBA’s continued threats of retaliation against boxers, an additional 18 have reached out to understand the application process. We have every reason to believe that many more will follow. Such a transition can require changes to the bylaws of affected National Federations, and many of these countries are taking the proper, necessary steps to begin the application process.”

● Cycling ● The third women’s Tour de Suisse concluded on Tuesday, with home favorite Marlen Reusser holding on to the lead she took after the second stage Individual Time Trial, and winning by 1:02 in a total time of 7:53:22 across four stages from Demi Vollering (NED) and 1:17 from Italian star Elisa Longo Borghini.

Italian Eleonora Gasparrini won the hilly, 120.8 km third stage at the front of a mass sprint in 3:04.12 (with Reusser eighth) and New Zealand’s Niamh Fisher-Black took the hilly, 100.8 km final stage in a sprint with Kasia Niewiadoma (POL) in 2:47:49, with Reusser third, 37 seconds back, but 48 seconds up on Vollering to seal the overall win.

● Fencing ● The U.S. dominated the Pan American Championships in Lima (PER), winning four men’s events and five women’s events out of 12 contested, but also involved in an unsportsmanlike incident with the men’s Epee team.

In men’s Foil, the all-U.S. final saw 2019 Pan American Games champion Gerek Meinhardt out-last teammate Nick Itkin by 15-13, with Rio 2016 silver winner Alexander Massialas third (losing to Meinhardt, 15-7, in the semis) and Meinhardt, Itkin and Miles Chamley-Watson won the team title, 45-15, over Canada.

American Andrew Doddo won the men’s Sabre final, 15-9, against Jose Quintero (VEN), and teamed with Eli Dershwitz, Colin Heathcock and Mitchell Saron for a 45-40 gold-medal win over Canada in the Team Sabre final.

Venezuela’s Ruben Limardo Gascon defeated Nicolas Zhang (CAN) in the men’s Epee final. 14-12, and Limardo Gascon led his squad to the team title, 28-27, over Colombia. But there were complications, as Colombia won over the U.S. in its semi in a walkover. According to USA Fencing:

“Team USA’s semifinal bout against Colombia ended after a red card shown to Team USA gave Colombia the 45th and decisive touch.

“After that 45th touch, Team USA fencer Curtis McDowald OLY kicked and damaged a freestanding banner near the strip, among other actions.

“These actions resulted in the awarding of a black card to Team USA, which nullified the results of the semifinal bout, excluding Team USA from the remainder of the men’s epee team competition at the tournament. Team USA was not permitted to fence in the bronze medal match. Additionally, Team USA was not given a finishing position at the tournament and will be awarded zero qualifying points for the Paris Olympics.

“We are disappointed by Curtis’s actions and regret that they have harmed Team USA’s chances of fielding a men’s epee team for the 2024 Olympics. Following a hearing, Curtis has been formally removed from the Pan-American Championships team pending potential further review after the tournament. He will not be eligible to fence at the 2023 Fencing World Championships in Milan, Italy.”

American Catherine Nixon won the women’s Epee gold, defeating Paraguay’s Montserrat Viveros, 15-9, in the final, after beating teammate Kat Holmes, 15-8 in her semi; Holmes won one of the bronze medals. They teamed up with Isis Washington and Hadley Husisian for the Team Epee gold, 45-38, over Canada.

The U.S. women’s Foil stars won three of the four medals on offer, with Olympic champ Lee Kiefer taking the victory for her 10th continental title, 15-8, over teammate Maia Weintraub. Lauren Scruggs took one of the bronzes. But it was Canada which took the team title in an upset, with the three U.S. stars and Jackie Dubrovich falling, 45-43, in the gold-medal match.

In Sabre, American Magda Skarbonkiewicz took the title, beating Pamela Brind’Amour of Canada in the final, 15-11, as Elizabeth Tartakovsky of the U.S. won one of the bronzes. The two U.S. stars joined Maia Chamberlain and Tatiana Nazlymov for the Team Sabre gold, winning the final by 45-20 over Mexico.

The long-running dispute over sexual misconduct allegations involving U.S. Epee fencer Alen Hazdic took a new turn on Tuesday with the U.S. Center for SafeSport permanently banning him from the sport.

Hazdic has denied allegations of abuse between 2013-15 from six women, and was allowed to go to the Tokyo Olympic Games as an alternate after appealing a provisional suspension from SafeSport (he was accommodated in a hotel outside of the Olympic Village and did not compete at the Games). This action is a final judgement, but can be appealed.

USA Fencing’s statement included:

“The road to resolution of this matter has been long and arduous. We thank the community for your patience as we allowed the independent U.S. Center for SafeSport — which has the exclusive authority to adjudicate reports of alleged sexual abuse and sexual misconduct within Olympic and Paralympic governing bodies and amateur sports organizations — to exercise its exclusive jurisdiction over this matter and conduct a thorough investigation.

“USA Fencing is pleased that the Center has issued a decision that provides clarity and peace of mind to our athletes, coaches and the fencing community.”

● Football ● Teams from New Zealand and Ireland both ended friendly matches on Monday in view of alleged racist incidents.

In Ritzing, Austria, New Zealand was leading Qatar, 1-0, at halftime, but declined to play any more after the referee took no action after an accusation of a racist insult against defender Michael Boxall.

Ireland’s U-21 team was leading Kuwait, 3-0, in Bad Radkersburg, Austria, but left the field in the 70th minute after they said a racist remark was made to one of Ireland’s substitutes. The Kuwait federation disputed the allegation and posted, “The match did not reach completion due to excessive roughness and tension between the players. The match was stopped by the referee in the 70th minute to protect the players from potential injuries.”

The FIFPro players organization released a report that criticized the conditions of qualifying matches for women on teams trying to reach the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The 48-page review from players in all six confederations included findings of:

● 29% of players said they were not paid for qualifying matches, usually part of confederation championship tournaments;

● 40% said they considered themselves professional players in these events, with 35% identifying as amateur, 16% as semi-pros and 9% were not sure of their status;

● 66% of players said they had to take vacation time or unpaid leave from their jobs in order to compete in the qualifying events;

● 54% of players said they did not receive a pre-tournament medical exam.

In short: “The majority of players surveyed believe that improvements are needed in almost all components of conditions in their Confederation tournament for both the performance and general wellbeing of players.”

A call was made to have the qualifying matches for the Women’s World Cup separated from the confederation championships, to offer more opportunities for play and pay for female players.

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TSX REPORT: IBA installs new CEO three days before IOC vote; more Russian rage at declarations; Special Olympics World Games in Berlin

By
Rich Perelman
-
Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin's Olympiastadion (Photo: ESPN screenshot)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. IBA replaces CEO three days before IOC vote
2. Russian weightlifting fed rejects neutrality declaration
3. Special Olympics World Games opens in Berlin
4. Mod Pent federation “welcomes” World Cup criticism?
5. ISL appeals January court loss to World Aquatics

The International Boxing Association replaced its chief executive three days before the International Olympic Committee vote to withdraw recognition of the federation, with Development Director Chris Roberts replacing George Yerolimpos. The International Weightlifting Federation required Russian and Belarusian athletes who wanted to compete in the just-completed IWF Grand Prix in Havana to sign a declaration of neutrality; 13 Belarusians did and competed, but no Russians did. Now, the head of the Russian federation says they will never sign and is demanding that the IWF withdraw any and all special restrictions on their participation. An inspiring start to the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, Germany on Saturday, opening a week of competition for 6,500 athletes from 176 countries in the same stadium where Adolf Hitler opened the 1936 Olympic Games. The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne announced that it received a letter from its own Athletes Commission with significant concerns about athlete safety in the staging of the World Cup Final in Turkey earlier this month. It did not publish the letter or summarize it, but welcomed it and said it would be helpful for the future. What? The International Swimming League appealed the January dismissal of its lawsuits against World Aquatics to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, asking for a reversal and for the case to go to trial. ISL, owned and funded by Ukrainian billionaire Konstantin Grigorishin, has been dormant since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

● Panorama: World Anti-Doping Agency (new rules allow President and Vice President to serve for nine years) = Athletics (Santos looking at suspension for 2012 age falsification) = Football (3: Mexico fires coach; Canada’s Herdman asks for more men’s team support; Armenia builds 89 mini-pitches for youth access) = Ice Hockey (Bedard wins IIHF player of the year) = Judo (Russians win three at Astana Grand Slam) = Modern Pentathlon (Anderson and Davis defend titles at U.S. nationals) = Sport Climbing (Lehmann, not Megos, wins Innsbruck Lead World Cup) = Triathlon (Jorgensen anchors U.S. mixed-relay win in Mexico) ●

1.
IBA replaces CEO three days before IOC vote

The International Boxing Association announced the “departure” of George Yerolimpos (GRE) as its Secretary General and chief executive, replacing him with Development Director Chris Roberts (GBR) on an interim basis.

Yerolimpos was designated as interim Secretary General in July 2022, replacing Istvan Kovacs (HUN) and became permanent Secretary General and IBA chief executive last September. He came to the IBA via an application for the position after a lifetime in Olympic sports, with the World Karate Federation, SportAccord, the International Mediterranean Games Committee and as the director of venue operations for the Athens 2004 Olympic Organizing Committee.

Yerolimpos left three days before Thursday’s 140th Session of the International Olympic Committee, at which the IBA is expected to be de-recognized as the governing body for boxing within the Olympic Movement. He had been a strident critic of the IOC’s actions against the federation, in line with the positions taken by IBA President Umar Kremlev (RUS).

Roberts left Boxing Scotland in June of 2022, where he had been chief executive for 17 months, after serving in the British Army for more than 30 years as a commissioned officer and leaving with the rank of Major. He has also been a critic of the IOC, writing a letter in March to IBA-accredited referees and judges, telling them not to volunteer for duty at any of the IOC’s Olympic qualifying competitions in 2023, which has since been rescinded.

The IBA statement noted, “His demonstrated leadership, dedication, and strategic vision make him an excellent fit for guiding the organization through this important period” and that “The IBA would like to assure its members, partners, and stakeholders that it remains fully committed to its core values and objectives.”

With the IOC set to ex-communicate the IBA – which has been on suspension since 2019 – the federation has filed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport to stay the IOC’s vote on Thursday. An announcement from the Court is due by Wednesday, a day before the vote.

2.
Russian weightlifting fed rejects neutrality declaration

The much-awaited International Weightlifting Federation Grand Prix in Havana (CUB) has concluded, but not without a parting shot from Moscow regarding the IWF’s requirements for Russian and Belarusian participation.

Following up on the IOC recommendations of 28 March this year for the re-entry of Russians and Belarusians into international competitions, the federation adopted a policy concerning “neutrality” as regards the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which included signing a declaration that includes:

“I undertake to continue to abstain from expressing any support to the war and will immediately and voluntarily notify any relevant change in my activities that occurs after the date of this declaration.”

No Russian lifter signed a declaration, but 13 Belarusian lifters did; “neutral” athletes from Belarus won three men’s weight classes and one women’s class.

But the head of the Russian Weightlifting Federation (FTAR), Maxim Agapitov, the 1991 World 91 kg gold medalist, was unapologetic. He told the Russian news agency TASS on Monday:

“We have written an official letter to the international federation explaining the conditions under which Russian athletes are ready to compete at international competitions.

“The conditions that the IWF puts forward now are humiliating and discriminating for us. We have no desire to boycott foreign tournaments; Russian weightlifters who meet all the requirements of the anti-doping rules and the IWF constitution are ready to perform exclusively on equal terms for all athletes and IWF-member countries. The proposal of the International Weightlifting Federation to sign political declarations by Russian athletes, coaches and other specialists that contradict the legislation of the Russian Federation and the Olympic Charter is discriminatory.

“Therefore, we consider the participation of Russian athletes and coaches in international competitions on political terms absolutely unacceptable.

“Russian weightlifters have always wanted to compete in those international tournaments that meet the requirements of the Olympic Charter and the fundamental signs of Olympism. On behalf of all athletes, the FTAR Executive Committee calls on the IWF to take a responsible position and immediately abandon discriminatory sanctions. The extremely irresponsible behavior demonstrated by the IWF can only lead to an intensification of the crisis in weightlifting, its degradation and internal division.”

According to the Olympic qualification criteria, athletes desiring to compete in Paris must participate in the 2023 IWF World Championships in Riyadh (KSA) in September. That’s the next pivot point in weightlifting.

3.
Special Olympics World Games opens in Berlin

A magnificent and meaningful Opening Ceremony in the famed Olympiastadion in Berlin marked the start of an important 16th edition of the Special Olympics World Games on Saturday, which will run through next Sunday (25th).

Approximately 6,500 athletes with intellectual disabilities and their Unified partners from 176 countries participated in the program, along with 3,000 coaches and officials, 18,000 volunteers and more than 20,000 spectators. And there was a unique element sure to be used in future mega-ceremonies:

“Each delegation was asked to bring water from their home country. One member from each delegation then broke away from their team to pour this water into a watercourse, forming an Olympic River, standing as a symbol for the unity of all of those participating at the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023.”

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the attendees (interpreted from the original German):

“This is very much about sports, but of course not only about sports. It’s about inclusion. It’s about participation. And that’s why I’m quite sure that we, as a society, can learn a great deal beyond the sport that we’ll be seeing over the next week. Not only that people with disabilities have something to gain from inclusion, but that we as a society also become richer when we live inclusion.”

The setting itself made the loudest statement, in the stadium originally built for the 1936 Olympic Games, a showpiece for the Nazi movement that was already terrorizing people with intellectual disabilities, and eventually murdering tens of thousands of them, beginning in 1939. It’s only the third Special Olympics World Games to be held in Europe, previously in Dublin (IRL) in 2003 and Athens (GRE) in 2011.

The World Games ceremonial flame was lit by German tennis player, Sophie Rensmann, 25, a World Games 2019 bronze medal winner.

Competition will be held in 22 sports, with 450 events in all, and is being shown in the U.S. via ESPN on ESPN+ and ESPN3. A two-hour retrospective on the 2023 World Games will be shown on ABC on 2 July.

4.
Mod Pent federation “welcomes” World Cup criticism?

In short: we received a letter from our athletes, which was highly critical. We won’t tell you what it said, but we were happy to receive it.

Huh? What?

That was from the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne on Monday, which noted:

“UIPM has a duty of care covering all participants in UIPM competitions and takes its responsibilities across athlete welfare and other safety aspects extremely seriously.

“The contents of this letter will be fully examined and will form part of a comprehensive review into the organisation of the UIPM 2023 Pentathlon World Cup Final. This has already been initiated through UIPM’s internal post-competition debrief process.

“UIPM has taken steps to improve communication with athletes in recent years and has repeatedly encouraged the tens of thousands of athletes who take part in UIPM Sports to use official channels – including the UIPM Athletes Committee, which is elected by athletes for athletes. Today’s letter is very welcome and without commenting on its contents, we can state with some confidence that positive outcomes will emerge from this communication.”

The World Cup Final, held at the beginning of the month in Ankara (TUR), offered very difficult conditions for the men’s competition, including a three-hour delay due to a rainstorm, and then a wet and slippery Laser Run course that saw Tokyo Olympic champion Joe Choong (GBR) slip in the final meters and dive at the line, with Mohanad Shaban (EGY) passing him and winning, thus getting an automatic qualification to the Paris 2024 Games.

It’s a strange response. If the letter was so welcome, why not publish it? Since it is from the UIPM’s Athletes Committee, shouldn’t its voice be heard?

After all, in the federation’s report on the World Cup Final, UIPM chief Klaus Schormann (GER) said of the decision to run the men’s event:

“After a long discussion with the coaches – and it was very important to listen to the athletes – we finally decided following the athletes’ wishes that we could replicate all that was needed to keep the competition at the same facility.”

Are coaches and athletes the same? Not in most sports, and apparently not at the World Cup Final either, in view of the follow-up message from the Athletes Commission. But we would know for sure if the letter was made public.

Nevertheless, despite the issues with one of the UIPM’s showcase events – and under its direct supervision – the federation’s confidence in its future remains undimmed:

“Modern Pentathlon remains firmly on track for inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic programme with continued progress on the introduction of the new Obstacle discipline and demonstrations of improved governance.”

5.
ISL appeals January court loss to World Aquatics

The International Swimming League, conceived and funded by Ukrainian billionaire Konstantin Grigorishin, has been dormant since 2021 in view of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but his legal teams in the U.S. are busy.

In January, U.S. District Court Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley granted summary judgement to World Aquatics (formerly FINA) in the two cases brought against it – by a group of swimmers and by ISL itself in 2018 – on anti-trust grounds, writing:

“The Court acknowledges the record is replete with evidence of FINA’s concern about competition from ISL. But, so what? The antitrust laws do not require one competitor to help another compete with it; instead, they prohibit only unreasonable restraints of trade.”

and

“It is undisputed that top-tier swimmers are not bound by contract to swim only in FINA-sanctioned competitions. Indeed, the undisputed evidence is that ISL can and does sponsor top-tier swimming competitions without any affiliation with member federations.”

On 14 June, a 59-page brief was filed with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, asking for a reversal of the summary judgement holding, arguing

“ISL’s entry, and the competitive opportunities it would provide, was blocked by FINA. FINA has the power to block competition from ISL, or any other potential competitor, through its control over eligibility to participate in the Olympics, the most important competition for top-tier swimmers.”

Stating “That decision was deeply flawed,” the filing insists “That erroneous decision threatens to undermine application of the Sherman Act in the sports industry. It should be reversed.”

The appeal is from the summary judgement of the District Court, and the prayer is not for a decision on the merits, but “The judgment of the court should be reversed, and the case remanded for trial.”

The only sure outcome is that this will take time.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● World Anti-Doping Agency ● The WADA Foundation Board adopted a series of governance changes by 33-1 with four non-votes that will expand the Board itself from 38 to 42 positions, including two members of the elected Athlete Council.

The terms of the President (currently Poland’s Witold Banka) and Vice President (currently China’s Yang Yang) were changed to line up with the current term limits for Board members of nine total years. Instead of the current limit of two three-year terms, first terms will now be six years, with an additional three years available on re-election. Both were re-elected to second terms in late 2022.

● Athletics ● Dominican sprinter Luguelin Santos has admitted to falsifying his passport in 2012 to be allowed to compete in the World Junior Championships that year, and is subject to sanctions by the Athletics Integrity Unit.

Santos, ostensibly now 30 but likely 31, won the World Junior 400 m title at 44.85 in 2012 and then took the silver at the Olympic Games in London in 44.46; his 44.45 seasonal best ranked no. 4 in the world that year. He wrote in a Twitter post:

“I greatly regret what happened at that time, and without intending to evade responsibilities, I want to explain that in those years I was a young man under 18 years of age, with few resources, and little education, from Bayaguana, who simply followed the guidelines of those who directed me in my sports career back then.

“At the moment I have a provisional suspension of all competition, which we have been complying with, and we are waiting for the final sanction from said Integrity Unit, which we will fully respect.”

Santos could lose his 2012 World Junior title, but also be suspended for the next 2-4 years. He’s still competing, with a 2022 best of 45.09 – no. 42 on the world list – and one race this year, a 1:52.49 third-place effort in an 800 m on 11 March.

● Football ● The Federacion Mexicana de Futbol (FMF) was not impressed with the Mexican national team’s 3-0 loss to the U.S. in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Nations League last week, so it did what team owners usually do: fire the coach.

Diego Cocca (ARG) – hired in February – has exited and former national team midfielder Jaime Lozano, 44, was hired. He coached the Mexican U-23 team from 2018-21 and his Tokyo Olympic squad won the bronze medal.

Cocca was 3-1-3 in his tenure with Mexico. He was brought in after Mexico was eliminated in the group stage of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which not happened since 1978.

Lozano will be immediately busy. Mexico opens play at the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Sunday in Houston, against Honduras.

Canada’s 2-0 loss to the U.S. on Sunday in the final of the CONCACAF Nations League has Canadian coach John Herdman (GBR) sounding a familiar refrain there about money.

After the Canadian women’s team nearly went on strike after complaining about unequal conditions and funding vis-a-vis the men’s team, Herdman talked about the men’s team’s future with the 2026 FIFA World Cup coming:

“We’ve got to figure this out financially.

“We’ve got to get serious about winning a World Cup. When you play at home, you get a chance to win it. You get a chance to get to a semifinal, a quarterfinals, semifinal, and then get on the road to win it. And we’re not serious. We’ve brought a World Cup to our country and we’re not serious about winning it.”

He commended his team’s effort against the U.S.:

“You see how close that team is tonight. Tactically we were there. Chances, shots we were there. The margins were so tight tonight, so tight. We’ve got to get real. We’ve got to get real and quick because these players, they deserve it. They deserve this shot. The country deserves it. All the people that worked to bring it deserve the shot. Let’s get after it. We’re close.”

Interesting award by the FIFA Forward Programme, the federation’s development arm, for the Armenian Football Federation, which built “mini-pitches” of just 40 m by 20 m, or about 131 by 66 feet, in 89 locations across three years to help spur youth development.

(A regulation basketball court is 94 by 50 feet and most ice hockey arenas use sheets of 200 by 85 feet.)

These are small fields, but located in eight regions for accessibility near schools or in open spaces for community use. The project cost $3.715 million U.S., with FIFA providing $2.750 million (74%) and $965,000 coming from the Armenian federation.

● Ice Hockey ● Canadian forward Connor Bedard, 17, and the likely top pick in the upcoming NHL Draft, was named as the IIHF’s men’s player of the year.

His Canadian team won the World Juniors thanks in part to his heroics. He was the tournament’s leading scorer with 23 points, and led in both goals (9) and assists (14). He had game-winning scores in two of Canada’s six wins. Per the IIHF:

“Bedard captured 31.8 per cent of total votes, but the battle for second was notably close. Latvian goalie Arturs Silovs had 19.6 per cent of the vote, just ahead of Swiss forward Andres Ambuhl, 19.2 per cent.”

● Judo ● Russian – “neutral” – judoka continued to win on the IJF World Tour, leading all entries with three wins at the Qazaqstan Barysy Grand Slam in Astana (KAZ) that ended on Sunday.

Makhmadbek Makhmadbekov won his second World Tour title this month in the men’s 73 kg class, 2021 World Junior bronze medalist Matvey Kanikovskiy won at 100 kg and Tamerlan Bashaev, the 2021 Worlds silver medalist, won his second tournament in June at +100 kg. Fellow Russian Valeriy Endovitsky took one of the bronzes at +100.

Spain and Italy each had two winners; Italian star Giuffrida Odette, an Olympic silver and bronze medal winner, won the women’s 52 kg class.

● Modern Pentathlon ● Brendan Anderson defended his 2022 USA Pentathlon national title with a tight, 1,435 to 1,431 win over 22-year-old Tristen Bell in the 2023 national championships held in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Anderson, 27, trailed going into the Laser Run, but posted the fastest time in the field – 11:18 – to pass Bell for the victory. Bell moved up from third in 2022 to claim silver.

Another defending champ Jessica Davis, 31, was a runaway winner in the women’s division, scoring 1,330 points to 1,272 for 42-year-old Heidi Hendrick. Davis scored highest in riding and then won the Laser Run to clinch the victory.

● Sport Climbing ● An error in Monday’s account of the men’s Lead competition at the IFSC World Cup in Innsbruck (AUT), where Swiss Sascha Lehmann, the 2020 European Lead Champion and 2022 World Games Lead winner, won the competition with 44+ holds to edge Alexander Megos (GER: 44+), but with an inferior semifinal score.

It’s the first World Cup win for Lehmann since 2019. Austria’s three-time World Champion Jakob Schubert won the bronze as the best of four at 42+, based on his semifinal score.

● Triathlon ● A bounce-back performance for Rio 2016 Olympic women’s champ Gwen Jorgensen, who anchored the U.S. Mixed Relay team to a 1:23:00 win at the Americas Triathlon Championships in Huatulco (MEX).

The U.S. line-up of Darr Smith, former World Champion Katie Zaferes and Brent Demarest was even with Mexico when Jorgensen took off on anchor. Her 21:42 performance was the fastest final leg in the field by 13 seconds and brought the Americans home the winners in 1:23:00 to 1:23:13.

After having been lapped at the World Triathlon Series race in Cagliari (ITA) last month, Jorgensen’s leg was the third-fastest among all women entrants, behind only Zaferes (21:11) and Mexico’s Rosa Tapia (21:26). Said Jorgensen afterwards, “I just can’t thank this team enough, I just had to not mess it up and we came away with the win. It was super hot out there and I am so happy that we came away with gold.”

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TSX REPORT: Russia rejects being “refugees” in Paris; cyclist Mader dies at Tour de Suisse; U.S. re-hires Berhalter, wins Nations League

By
Rich Perelman
-
The Bahrain Victorious team at the front of the memorial ride for teammate Gino Mader, killed after a fall at the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse (Photo courtesy Tour de Suisse by Sam Buchli of Buchli Photography)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Russia rejects “refugee” status idea for Paris 2024
2. Brazil dons first black jerseys to protest racism in Spain
3. Tragic death of Gino Mader in fall at Tour de Suisse
4. USSF names Berhalter coach again; wins Nations League over Canada
5. Indian wrestling head charged with sexual harassment

An unconfirmed report that the International Olympic Committee is considering allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as “refugees” in Paris in 2024 was soundly rejected by Russian officials as “unacceptable.” Another source said nothing has been decided yet. At a friendly against Guinea in Barcelona to protest racism, especially against striker Vinicius Junior, Brazil won all-black uniforms for the first time ever in protest, in the first half. FIFA released a social-media protection report from the 2022 FIFA World Cup, explaining that 286,895 abusive comments targeting team, players and coaches were hidden, and that 19,636 instances of abuse or threats that were reported to the platforms. Swiss cyclist Gino Mader, 26, was tragically killed after falling into a ravine during the final descent of the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse; stage six was cancelled, but the race finished on Sunday. The U.S. Soccer Federation announced it will re-hire former coach Gregg Berhalter as its men’s National Team leader, ending an odyssey after his contract ran out at the end of 2022 amid an investigation for an incident that took place when he was 18 years old (he’s 49 now). In the CONCACAF Nations League final in Las Vegas, the U.S. got two first-half goals and make them stand up for a 2-0 win and a repeat championship. The head of the Wrestling Federation of India, who is also an important Member of Parliament, was charged last week with multiple counts of sexual harassment of female wrestlers, but was not arrested. The case is now assigned to the Delhi courts.

● World Championship: Water Polo (Hungary wins World men’s U-20 title, with U.S. third) ●

● Panorama: Archery (U.S. takes World Cup Mixed Team title in Medellin) = Athletics (4: Ceh now no. 4 at 235-9; Laros 3:32.89 at age 18!; Kaul and Schafer win in Ratingen; USATF names Worlds road teams) = Badminton (top seeds Axelsen and Chen win at Indonesia Open) = Canoe-Kayak (U.S.’s Lokken scores first World Cup Slalom medal) = Cycling (2: Forster & Pieterse ride away with XCO wins; Canada and Mexico strongest in PanAm Track Champs) = Rowing (Britain wins four, but U.S. gets six medals at World Cup) = Sport Climbing (Garnbret sweeps Boulder-Lead World Cup) = Swimming (Two world leaders at Australian Worlds Trials) = Weightlifting (Theisen-Lappen and Robles finish 1-2 in women’s +87 kg to close IWF Grand Prix) ●

1.
Russia rejects “refugee” status idea for Paris 2024

A report circulated last Thursday that the International Olympic Committee would allow Russian and Belarusian participation in the Paris 2024 Olympic as essentially “refugee” teams was blasted by Russian officials as impossible.

Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin told the Russian news agency TASS:

“First of all, these initiatives require a legal assessment in terms of how they correspond to the Olympic Charter and human rights. Of course, if it is about the concept that you are talking about, that would mean that the international community is pursuing a policy aimed at destroying our national sports system and this is something that we cannot agree to.”

Alexander Zhukov, who is also First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, said:

“This is simply unacceptable. They cannot destroy Russian sports, it is simply impossible. Such demands and attempts can only be motivated by political pressure.”

TASS reported Saturday from a source who said that nothing has been decided yet:

“’The situation is unprecedented, so it is absolutely pointless to predict the development of events now,’ the source said. ‘No criteria for the admission of Russian athletes to the Olympic Games in Paris have been developed, all assumptions in this regard are idle discussions about possible options. There are no official parameters for admission in a neutral status yet.’”

Observed: The suggestion that placement on the Olympic Refugee Team or a similar status for Russian and Belausian athletes for Paris isn’t new, and it is one option that the IOC has that could achieve multiple aims:

● (1) provide a pathway – however narrow – for Russian and Belarusian participation in Paris as far away as possible for national recognition of any kind, and

● (2) offer an option so odious to the Russian and Belarusian governments that no athletes from either country will appear in Paris.

Problem solved, all around. No decision yet, but we may be in the trial balloon phase.

Russia continues to work on its own series of competitions, including a “BRICS” Games – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – and a World Friendship Games next year. Marat Filippov, Secretary of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for the Development of Physical Culture and Sports to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday:

“President of Russia Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin decided to hold the first summer World Friendship Games in Moscow in September 2024. Preparations have already begun, the competition program is being worked out. This is not a one-time event, it is planned to hold the Friendship Games every four years. The first winter Friendship Games are scheduled Sochi not earlier than 2026.”

A BRICS Games is also contemplated for 2024, but neither has any of the associated details available yet. Matytsin added:

“The President has made a decision to strengthen sovereignty, including in sports. On behalf of the President, we are preparing a project with the Republic of Tatarstan: the BRICS Games. We do not need approval or coordination with international federations, this is a state decision. We will position at the BRICS sports ministers meeting.”

Importantly, Matytsin went on to underscore the tie between sports in Russia and the country’s foreign policy:

“It is very important for us to be internally consolidated, independently determine the agenda for the development of Russian sports, strengthen the foundation for its development; in this way we can demonstrate strength in foreign policy. We do not need to prove anything to anyone, we are a successful country with a victorious history, and there is no need to rush to react on some problems in the international arena. There is no need to break the classic ties – interaction with international federations, with the IOC – but no one has the right to dictate to us what competitions to hold and how to behave.

“As soon as we announced the [BRICS] Games, voices were heard that we want to destroy something. We do not plan to destroy anything, we plan to create and strengthen interaction.”

The Federation Internationale de Luge (FIL) confirmed the continuing suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes at its 71st Congress on Saturday (17th) by a vote of 22-1 (five abstentions).

The accompanying statement noted:

“The presence of Russian athletes, coaches, trainers and other officials of the Russian Luge Federation at competitions sanctioned by the FIL is associated with a high risk that the safety, peacefulness and integrity of these competitions and their participants (including those of the Russian Federation itself) will be seriously endangered. This risk is based on the causal personal involvement of the named persons in these FIL competitions and cannot be replaced by a less drastic measure, so that the suspension of participation is appropriate if and as long as the belligerent activities in Ukraine as the reason for this measure continue.”

2.
Brazil dons first black jerseys to protest racism in Spain

A simple friendly between football superpower Brazil and Guinea in Barcelona became much more on Saturday as the Brazilian team wore all-black uniforms for the first time ever as a protest against racism.

Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior, who plays for Real Madrid in LaLiga, has been repeatedly targeted with racist chants, taunts and online abuse, but is not the only one. He has agreed to be part of a FIFA task force, with other players, to recommend changes in rules, sanctions and protocols to try and reduce racist incidents across the sport.

The game ended as a 4-1 victory for Brazil, which switched back to its iconic yellow jerseys and blue shorts for the second half. The head of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Ednaldo Rodrigues, said in a statement:

“The fight against racism, a crime that needs to stop around the world, is also why we are here.

“That’s also why our national team played the first half of the match in black. And today, once again, another criminal was publicly exposed.”

The Associated Press reported, “Another alleged racist incident occurred on Saturday before the friendly. The abuse reportedly happened to a friend and adviser of Vinicius, Felipe Silveira, at the stadium.”

Midfielder Joelinton put Brazil on top in the game with a score in the 26th minute, followed by striker Rodrygo in the 30th for a 2-0 lead; it was 2-1 at half. Defender Eder Militao put Brazil up 3-1 a minute into the second half and Vinicius Junior scored on a penalty shot in the 88th.

Brazil will play Senegal in another friendly on Tuesday in Lisbon (POR) and will continue its anti-racism campaign.

FIFA released a detailed report on its Social Media Protection Service instituted for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, showing 286,895 abusive comments targeting team, players and coaches were hidden, but also 19,636 instances of abuse or threats that were reported.

The project focused on five major platforms – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube – and covered 1,921 active accounts on these services. Abusive comments were classified into 17 sectors, with the largest incidents in:

● 26.24% General abuse
● 17.09% Sexual
● 13.14% Sexism
● 12.16% Homophobia
● 10.70% Racism

The study noted that “Targeted individual racism was high volume with more than 300 players being targeted and a few individual high-profile players receiving a large proportion of targeted abuse across the competition.”

Threats increased into the playoff rounds: “there was more pronounced targeting of individuals, due to performance, incidents or penalty misses.”

The system identified 433,696 posts across all five platforms for review, of which 19,636 (from 12,618 accounts) were acted on by reports to the relevant platform. By platform:

● 13,105 reports to Twitter (66.7%)
● 5,370 reports to Instagram (27.3%)
● 979 reports to Facebook (5.0%)
● 113 reports to YouTube (0.06%)
● 69 reports to TikTok (0.04%)

Of the 12,618 accounts identified as abusers, 1,485 were recommended for removal based on community content guidelines; 9,944 were identified for possible sanctions by national federations or individual clubs, such as bans on ticket sales and 1,189 were referred for possible law enforcement action. Of those 1,189, some 306 actual account users have been identified so far. The distribution of the 12,618 abuser accounts:

● 38% Europe
● 36% South America
● 10% Asia
● 8% Africa and North America

The top teams receiving abusive comments were France (more than 5,000), Brazil and England (more than 3,000) and Mexico (almost 2,000).

The 286,895 messages that were hidden were on Facebook (167,108), Instagram (118,413), YouTube (1,374); Twitter and TikTok were not part of this program.

How big a problem was this overall? The report takes the World Cup Final between Argentina and France as a sample, with 1.6 million comments captured for review and 2,946 comments hidden and 1,255 verified abusive or threatening comments: that’s 0.0026% but even at that low rate, enough to hurt.

3.
Tragic death of Gino Mader in fall at Tour de Suisse

Swiss road cyclist Gino Mader, 26, died on Friday (16th) after crashing during Thursday’s fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse while making a turn on the steep descent from the Albula Pass in the Alps in the final kilometers of the 211 km route to La Punt.

He fell almost 100 feet into a ravine, eventually stopped by a stream. He was found submerged in water, revived and airlifted to a hospital in Chur, but passed away from his injuries on the following day.

Riding for the Bahrain Victorius team, Mader won a stage of the 2021 Giro d’Italia and finished fifth overall at the Vuelta a Espana that year. He was the runner-up at the 2022 Tour de Romandie and had won a stage at the Tour de Suisse in 2021.

His Bahrain Victorious team, along with Intermarche-Circus-Wamty and Tudoe Pro Cycling all withdrew from the Tour de Suisse. The sixth stage was canceled, but the riders participated in a memorial ride of 20 km. The Tour de Suisse organizers statement included:

“The entire Tour de Suisse management is in deep mourning. After the death of Swiss professional cyclist Gino Mäder, our thoughts are with Gino’s family! We will remember Gino as a bon vivant and always with a smile on his face.”

The race resumed with the seventh stage on Saturday, a hilly, 183.5 km route that ended with Belgian star Remco Evenepoel on a breakaway with 17 km left and soloing to a 50-second victory. Times for the purposes of the overall standings were taken with 25 km to go, with Denmark’s Mattias Sjkelmose remaining in front overall by eight seconds over Felix Gall (AUT) and 18 seconds over Spain’s Juan Ayuso (who won Thursday’s tragedy-marred stage), heading into the flat, 25.7 km Individual Time Trial on Sunday.

Ayuso won the Time Trial in 32:25, just eight seconds up on Evenepoel and nine up on Sjkelmose, leaving the Dane was the overall winner at 21:17:19. Ayuso finished just nine seconds behind and Evenepoel was +0:45.

The organizers also stated that the women’s Tour de Suisse, a four-stage event that began on Saturday, would be held. Hungary’s Blanka Vas won the first stage in a mass sprint finish over 56 km, and home favorite Marlen Reusser took Sunday’s second stage, also an Individual Time Trial in 36:42, with Demi Vollering (NED: +0:08) second. Reusser now leads the race overall, by nine seconds over Vollering.

4.
USSF names Berhalter coach again;
wins Nations League over Canada

Gregg Berhalter was hired in 2018 to get the U.S. men’s National Team back to the FIFA World Cup, and he succeeded. Instead of being honored and re-hired, he became the object of a strange investigation into an incident with his eventual wife when he was a teenager, but on Friday, U.S. Soccer announced that he is being re-hired to lead the American men to the FIFA World Cup in 2026.

He won’t start right away, however. According to the statement:

“B.J. Callaghan is currently serving as head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team, and will continue to lead the team during the Concacaf Gold Cup which takes place from June 24-July 16 in venues across North America.”

Berhalter was 37-11-12 in 60 matches during four years as head coach and has made the U.S. team an attractive destination for multiple players with multiple national-team options. He has a difficult task, however, in that the U.S., as a host country, does not have to qualify for the 2026 World Cup and will have fewer opportunities for truly competitive games in the run-up to that tournament.

In Sunday’s CONCACAF Nations League final in Las Vegas, the U.S. men’s National Team controlled most of the championship match against Canada and came away with its second straight title, 2-0.

The U.S. had a dream start, with pressure on Canada from the kick, and it turned into a goal in the 12th minute, as a Gio Reyna corner found the head of defender Chris Richards for a textbook goal from the middle of the box and a 1-0 lead.

Brooklyn-born striker Folarin Balogun, who chose to play for the U.S. over England and Nigeria in May, was active in front of the Canadian goal in his second match, just missing a header in the 28th minute off a Walker Zimmerman header. He got his first goal in the 34th off a right-side feed from Reyna that had perfect pace that kept Balogun onside. The 21-year-old then sprinted away from defender Scott Kennedy – who had hold of his arm – and finished with a right-footed strike from the right side of the box for a 2-0 advantage.

U.S. keeper Matt Turner was tested a couple of times, especially in the 36th off a blast from midfielder Stephen Eustaquio, but preserved the 2-0 halftime shutout. Canada had 58% of possession, but the U.S. had a 7-4 edge on shots, with a creative offense that controlled the game.

Reyna left the game at halftime and was seen limping, with a walking boot on his right leg on the bench. Minus his playmaking, the U.S. attack suffered in the second half. There were chances, but Canada had more and missed scoring in multiple ways: shots over the net, passes through the goal mouth with no one on the end, and persistent American defending. The U.S. adopted a defense-first stance in the last 15 minutes, increasing Canada’s chances, but without any impact and the match ended, 2-0.

Canada ended with 64% possession, but the U.S. had a 15-12 edge on shots; both sides were issued two yellow cards.

Mexico won the third-place game, 1-0, over Panama, making a fourth-minute goal from defender Jesus Gallardo stand up. The game had 17 shots (9-8 for Mexico), but 32 fouls and 11 yellow cards (6-5 for Mexico).

5.
Indian wrestling head charged with sexual harassment

The tumult over alleged sexual harassment by Wrestling Federation of India President (and Member of Parliament) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, 66, entered a new phase on Thursday when the Delhi Police filed a chargesheet against him that included:

“In the [First Information Report] registered by the wrestlers, after completion of the investigation, we are filing a chargesheet for the offences under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment) and 354D (stalking) of the IPC against accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and for offences under sections 109 (punishment of abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequence and when no express provision is made for its punishment)/ 354/354A/506 (punishment of criminal intimidation) of the IPC against accused Vinod Tomar before the concerned court.”

Tomar is the former Assistant Secretary of the wrestling federation, a post he has held since 2002.

The police asked that a First Information Report concerning Singh and a female minor be dismissed for lack of “corroborative evidence.” The complaint going forward was filed by seven adult female wrestlers, and is now in the hands of the court system, which will supervise the next steps.

Singh has not been arrested, but the filing of charges fulfills a promise made to the protesting wrestlers and their supporters, who have campaigned for months for sanctions against their federation leader.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Water Polo ● Hungary defeated defending champion Serbia, 12-7, in the final of the World Aquatics World U-20 Championships in Bucharest (ROU) on Sunday, winning its first title in this tournament since 2007.

The Hungarians were clearly the best: they won all three group games (beating Serbia, 17-15 in their opener), then cruised to the final with a 9-5 quarterfinal win over Italy and 13-9 over the U.S. in their semi. Serbia, second in Group B, defeated Greece, 14-8, in their semi, but after being down only 5-4 at half, fell behind by 8-4 at the end of three quarters and was down 11-4 after being held scoreless for 17 minutes by the Hungarians. By then it was 11-4 and the 12-7 final was inevitable.

The U.S. was something of a surprise in third, having gone only 1-2 in Group B, losing to Hungary and Serbia. But the Americans squeezed by Montenegro, 10-9, in the quarters, then lose to Hungary in the semis and landed in the bronze-medal match against Greece, winners in 2017 and 2019. A quick start gave the U.S. a 4-1 lead at the quarter and 6-2 at half. Greece closed to 7-4 at the end of three, but Ryder Dodd and Peter Castillo scored for a 9-4 edge in the fourth and the U.S. won its first Worlds U-20 medal ever!

The World Aquatics Water Polo committee will have to work to do when studying this tournament, as the top four teams all came from Group B, including Greece, which went 0-3 in group play and still ended up in the bronze-medal game!

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Archery ● At the World Archery World Cup third stage in Medellin (COL), Italy’s Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Mauro Nespoli won the men’s Recurve division with a 6-4 final over two-time Olympic winner Je-deok Kim, 19, who took golds in the men’s Team and Mixed Team events.

For Nespoli, it was his second career World Cup win, and first since 2018, and his sixth career World Cup medal.

Kim’s teammate, Woo-seok Lee, took the bronze over Brady Ellison of the U.S., 7-1, after Ellison lost to Nespoli in the semis, 6-5, on an extra-end shoot-off.

The women’s Recurve final went to Korea’s Shi-yeon Lim, 20, in a shoot-off with Mexico’s Angela Ruiz, 6-5, with a 9-8 final arrow in the extra end. It’s Lim’s second World Cup win this season. American Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez took the bronze, 6-4, over Germany’s 2022 European silver winner Michelle Kroppen, for her first career World Cup medal.

The U.S. scored a gold in the Mixed Team final, with Ellison and Mucino-Fernandez defeating Korea’s Lim and Woo-Jin Kim, 18-17 in a four-arrow shoot-out for a 5-4 win. Chinese Taipei took the bronze over India, 5-1.

Korea won the men’s Team final with a 6-0 shutout of Chinese Taipei, and the women’s Team title with a 6-0 win over China. The U.S. women’s team of Mucino-Fernandez, Casey Kaufhold and Catalina Gnoriega finished fourth, losing to Chinese Taipei, 5-3, in the bronze-medal match.

● Athletics ● Sensational discus throwing at the Heino Lipp Memorial in Johvi (EST) on Friday, as World Champion Kristjian Ceh (SLO) and Olympic champ Daniel Stahl (SWE) both eclipsed 70 m!

Ceh exploded in the fourth round to reach 71.70 m (235-3), the world leader for 2023, a national record and moving him to no. 7 all-time. Stahl fouled his fourth throw, but got close in round five at 71.45 m (234-5), his no. 3 throw ever.

But Ceh was on a mission, spinning to 71.19 m (233-6) in the fifth round and winding up with a brilliant finale of 71.86 m (235-9), another world leader, national record and moving him into a tie with Stahl (in 2019) and Soviet Yuriy Dumchev (in 1983) as the no. 4 thrower of all-time.

The 71.86 m marks are tied for the equal-eighth furthest throws in history.

In contrast to some events, Ceh and Stahl are regular opponents, with Ceh taking three of four meetings so far this season from the Swede.

True, it’s not close to Norwegian star Jakob Ingebrigten’s 3:27.95 in Oslo, but 18-year-old Niels Laros equaled the Dutch national record with a runner-up, 3:32.89 finish at the annual Nikaia meet in Nice (FRA). Laros was a 3:39 runner coming into 2023 and has chopped seven seconds off his best … so far.

He was just behind winner Andrew Coscoran of Ireland, who set a national record of 3:32.68 with the victory.

The annual Stadtwerke Ratingen had home winners in Germany’s Niklas Kaul and Carolin Schafer, both of whom moved into the top 10 on the year list.

World Champion in 2019, Kaul won the decathlon at 8,484, now no. 7 on the year, and his fourth-highest total ever. He secured the victory only in the final event, taking the 1,500 m in 4:14.19, a meet record. Tokyo Olympian Jorge Urena of Spain got a lifetime best of 8,381 in second as did three-time Dutch champ Rik Taam in third (8,326).

In the heptathlon, Schafer, the 2017 Worlds silver medalist, moved to no. 6 on the world list for 2023 with a 6,369 total for her third win at Ratingen, but first since 2018. Fellow German Sophie Weissenberg was second at 6,247.

USA Track & Field announced its selections for the 2023 World Championships road events, led by former American record holder Keira D’Amato (2:19:12 ‘22) in the women’s marathon.

D’Amato was eighth at the 2022 Worlds in Eugene and will return, along with Susanna Sullivan (2:24:27 ‘23) and Lindsay Flanagan (2:14:43 ‘22). The selection criteria prioritized finishes in major marathons; Sullivan was 10th in London this year and Flanagan was sixth in Tokyo in the spring.

The men’s entries start with Elkanah Kibet (2:09:07 ‘22), who will compete in his third Worlds, along with newcomer Zach Panning (2:09:28 at Chicago 2022) and Nico Montanez (2:09:55 at Chicago 2022).

In the women’s 35 km walk, national champion Miranda Melville (2:57:22 in 2023) leads the team, with 18-time national champion Maria Mitchta-Coffey (2:58:39 as 2023 nationals runner-up) and 2023 35 km nationals bronze winner Stephanie Casey (3:00:05 in 2023).

● Badminton ● China won twice at the Indonesia Open in Jakarta, including an impressive 21-14, 21-11 sweep in the Mixed Doubles final as top-seeded Si Wei Zheng and Ya Qiong Huang (CHN) defeated second-seeds Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino (JPN).

Yu Fei Chen won a hard-fought battle with Rio 2016 gold medalist Carolina Marin (ESP) in the women’s Singles final by 21-18, 21-19.

Top-seed Viktor Axelsen (DEN) won the men’s singles, 21-14, 21-13, over Anthony Ginting (INA), while seventh-seeded Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (IND) upset no. 2 Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh (MAS) in the men’s Doubles title match by 21-17, 21-18.

The women’s Doubles title went to Ha Na Baek and So Hee Lee (KOR), 22-20, 21-10 against Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota (JPN).

● Canoe-Kayak ● A pleasant surprise for the U.S. at the ICF Slalom World Cup III in Ljubljana (SLO), with Tokyo Olympian Zach Lokken taking his first-ever World Cup medal at age 29.

Lokken finished second in the men’s Canoe final behind home favorite Luca Bozic (SLO), who won his fifth career World Cup title at 90.29 (0 penalties) followed by Lokken at 91.43 (0), and then Tokyo Olympic champ Benjamin Savsek (CZE: 93.14/2).

Lokken, 29, had scored World Cup points back in a Pan American Championships race and was the 2019 Pan American Games gold winner, but this was his first medal in an actual World Cup event.

In the Kayak final, it was Tokyo Olympic winner Jiri Prskavec leading a 1-2 finish for the Czech Republic, winning the men’s Kayak final in 85.02 seconds (0 penalties), ahead of teammate (and 2022 World Champion) Vit Prindis (89.46/2) and Austria’s Felix Oschmautz (90.05/0). It’s Prskavec’s eighth career World Cup gold.

Joseph Clarke (GBR), the Rio 2016 K-1 winner, took the Kayak Cross event, beating France’s 2022 Worlds silver medalist Anatole Delassus to the line.

German Elena Lilik, the 2021 World Champion, took the women’s Canoe final at 101.97 (0 penalties), in front of Ukraine’s Viktoriia Us (UKR: 105.27/2), who won her sixth career World Cup medal. Slovenia’s Eva Hochevar (108.00/0) ended up third after Australian star Jessica Fox missed a gate and suffered a 50-second penalty, finishing 10th at 156.89.

Fox rebounded, however, to win the K-1 final in 96.22 (0) for her 44th career World Cup win, ahead of Us (8.91/0) and Lilik (98.92/0).

Czech Veronika Vojtova, the 2019 World Champion, won the women’s Kayak Cross title, ahead of 2019 K-1 Worlds gold medalist Eva Tercelj (SLO) and Fox.

● Cycling ● At the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Leogang (AUT), two-time European Champion Lars Forster (SUI), 29, and emerging star Puck Pieterse (NED), 21, grabbed wins by decisive margins.

Forster blitzed the sixth and final lap with the fastest time in the field (11:34) to ride away from German Luca Schwarzbauer for a 1:17:41 to 1:17:55 victory, with 2015 Worlds bronze medalist Ondrej Cink (CZE) third in 1:18:04.

Pieterse, warmed up with a second-place finish in the Cross Country Short race on Saturday, behind 10-time Worlds gold medalist Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (FRA), 20:37 to 20:42. Then Pieterse stormed clear of in the Cross Country Olympic race in 1:16:38, 38 seconds up on Austria’s Mona Mitterwallner (1:17:16) and +0:56 on Laura Stigger (AUT). Former World Champion Kate Courtney was the top American, in ninth (1:19:13). It’s Pieterse’s second career World Cup win.

Jordan Sarrou (FRA), the 2020 World Champion, won the Cross Country Short race in a tight finish with Schwarzbauer and Martins Blums (LAT), 21:08-21:10-21:11, with the top eight all finishing within 13 seconds.

In the non-Olympic Downhill events, Austria’s Andreas Kolb won the men’s race in 2:59.335 over five-time World Champion Loic Bruni (FRA: 3:00.15) and Jackson Goldstone (CAN: 3:00.246). Luca Shaw of the U.S. was fifth (3:01.048).

Austria won the women’s race too, with Valentina Hull (3:23.222) finishing ahead of 2020 World Champion Camille Balanche (SUI: 3:27.525) and the legendary Rachel Atherton (GBR: 3:30.556), last week’s winner in Lenzerheide.

Canada and Mexico dominated the action at the Pan Am Track Cycling Championships in San Juan (ARG), with Canada’s 19-year-old Dylan Bibic the star of the show.

Bibic, the 2022 World Champion in the Scratch race, won the men’s Elimination Race, Scratch Race, Omnium and rode on the winning Madison (with Guillemette Mathias) and Team Pursuit squads for five golds. Teammate James Hedgecock was on the Team Sprint winners and also took the men’s 1,000 m Time Trial, and Chris Ernst won the Individual Pursuit for eight golds in 11 events.

Trinidad & Tobago’s sprint star Nicolas Paul, the 2019 Pan American Games Sprint gold medalist, won both the Sprint and the Keirin.

The U.S. men’s squad won four bronzes, by Anders Johnson in the Individual Pursuit, Colby Lange in the Points Race, Grant Koontz in the Scratch Race and Johnson, Koontz, Gavin Hoover and David Domonoske was third in the Team Pursuit.

Canada took the women’s Sprint by Lauriane Genest (the Tokyo Olympic Keirin bronze winner), the Individual Pursuit by Ariane Bonhomme and Bonhomme leading the Team Pursuit winner.

Mexico, however, won six women’s events, including the Team Sprint, and individual wins by Yareli Acevedo in the Points Race and Elimination Race, Victoria Velasco in the Omnium, and Maria Gaxiola in the Scratch Race and with Yareli Salazar in the Madison.

Colombian sprint star Martha Bayona won the women’s Keirin and 500 m Time Trial.

U.S. women won four medals, with a 500 m Time Trial silver from Mandy Marquardt, and bronzes from Colleen Quick in the Scratch Race and by the Team Sprint and Team Pursuit squads.

● Rowing ● Britain, Germany, China and Australia all posted multiple wins at the World Rowing World Cup II in Varese (ITA), but the U.S. surprised with one win, three silvers and two bronzes in the open-weight Olympic classes.

Germany swept the Single Sculls races with two-time World Champion Oliver Zeidler out-dueling 2019 Worlds runner-up Sverri Nielsen (DEN), 6:36.18 to 6:39.13 in the men’s division, and Alexandra Foester, the 2021 and 2022 World U-23 champ, winning the women’s race in 7:20.31 over Worlds bronze winner Tara Rigney (AUS: 7:22.40) and American Kara Kohler (7:22.75).

Britain cleaned up in the larger men’s races, starting with the Pairs with Worlds bronze medalists Oliver Wynne-Griffith and Tom George (GBR: 6:13.15), ahead of Roman Roeoesli and Andrin Gulich (SUI: 6:16.17); the American boat with Justin Best and Pierre Quinton was fourth (6:22.60). Britain won the Fours in 5:42.44 to 5:43.19 for Australia and 5:48.91 for the U.S. quartet of Michael Grady, Nicholas Mead, Christopher Carlson and Liam Corrigan, and took the Eights in 5:23.81, over Australia (5:26.63).

China won the women’s Double Sculls over the U.S., as Shiyu Lu and Shuangmei Shen (6:41.43) barely held on to beat Kristina Wagner and Sophia Vitas at the line (6:41.50). The Chinese Fours squad had an easier time, winning over Britain, 6:08.87 to 6:09.38.

The U.S. scored a victory in the women’s Fours, with Molly Bruggeman, Kelsey Reelick, Madeleine Wanamaker and Claire Collins dominating in 6:17.55, with Britain in second at 6:19.76. Said Bruggeman:

“We weren’t expecting this performance! We will continue to do the best we can. Kudos to Josy [Verdonkschot], our performance director, for what he brought to the program, to us, it is amazing.”

Australia took the women’s Pairs, with Jessica Morrison and Annabelle McIntyre finishing in 6:51.74, well ahead of the U.S. entry of Alison Rusher and Meghan Musnicki (6:57.14). Oz also won the women’s Eights in 6:04.07, beating Britain (6:05.90) and Canada (6:05.99).

● Sport Climbing ● /Updated/As if there was any doubt, Olympic champ Janja Garnbret (SLO) reminded everyone at the IFSC World Cup in Innsbruck (AUT) that she is still a brilliant climber.

Garnbret, 24, won the final Boulder competition of the season, claiming four tops and four zones in four tries each (4T4Z 4/4) for a dominant win. Natalia Grossman of the U.S. was second at 2T2Z 2/11 and Japan’s Miho Nonaka – the 2022 World Games winner – was third (2T4Z 2/13) and American Brooke Raboutou fourth (2T3Z 5/11).

It’s Garnbret’s 16th career Bouldering World Cup victory. Grossman won the seasonal title with 3,527 1/2 points to 3,005 for Nonaka; Garnbret finished eighth, having competed in only two of six events.

The Lead season opened in Innsbruck, and Garnbret pounced, winning the women’s title at 39+ holds, well ahead of 2019 Worlds bronze medalist Ai Mori (JPN: 33+), Austria’s Jessica Pilz (25+) with Raboutou fourth (also 25+). It’s Garnbret’s 24th World Cup win in Lead.

The men’s winner was a surprise: 16-year-old Soratu Anraku of Japan, who cleared three tops and three zones, the same as teammate Meichi Narasaki, but more efficiently: 3T3Z 11/9 to 3T3Z 15/11. France’s Sam Azevou was third (2T2Z 4/3). Anraku also won the seasonal title with his win, scoring 3,350 points to edge Korea’s Do-hyun Lee (3,130).

/Updated/In Lead, Swiss Sascha Lehmann, the 2020 European Lead Champion and 2022 World Games Lead winner, won the competition with 44+ holds to edge Alexander Megos (GER: 44+), but with an inferior semifinal score.

It’s the first World Cup win for Lehmann since 2019. Austria’s three-time World Champion Jakob Schubert won the bronze as the best of four at 42+, based on his semifinal score.

● Swimming ● The Australian World Championship Trials finished with a flourish in Melbourne, with world-leading performances in the men’s 50 m Free and women’s 100 m Free and many more in the top 10 for the year.

The women’s sprints were, as expected, superb. Mollie O’Callaghan, the 2022 World Champion, won a star-studded women’s 100 m Free in 52.48, best in the world for 2023, with Tokyo Olympic 50-100 Free winner Emma McKeon second in 52.52 and Shayna Jack third in 52.64, now nos. 1-3-4 this season.

Jack followed on Sunday with a win in the 50 m Free in 24.22, no. 2 in the world for 2023, with McKeon second (24.26, now no. 3) and Meg Harris third in 24.30 (she’s no. 4 from her earlier 24.29!).

Distance icon Ariarne Titmus won the women’s 800 m Free in 8:15.88 to move to no. 2 in the world this year, behind Katie Ledecky of the U.S. Lani Pallister was second in 8:20.56, now no. 7 on the year. Pallister was an easy winner in the women’s 1,500 m in 15:56.31, at no. 5 for 2023.

Kaylee McKeown won the women’s 200 m Back in 2:03.70, her second-fastest time of the year – she’s the world-record holder at 2:03.14 in March – but also the no. 4 performance of all time!

Elizabeth Dekkers, 19, won the women’s 200 m Fly in 2:05.26, a lifetime best and still no. 3 on the world list for 2023. Nineteen-year-old Jenna Forrester won the 400 m Medley by almost five seconds in 4:34.89, now no. 4 for the year.

Cameron McEvoy, the 2015 World Champion in the 100 m Free, won the men’s 50 m Free in 21,41, after moving to the top of the 2023 world list with a swift 21.41 time in the heats. That’s a lifetime best at age 29 and moves him to no. 18 all-time.

Kyle Chalmers, the Rio 2016 men’s 100 m Free gold medalist, won that race in a sturdy 47.44, moving him to no. 2 on the 2023 world list. Just behind was Flynn Southam, 18, was second in 47.77, her first time under 48 seconds and now no. 6 in 2023.

Sam Short won his third Freestyle distance race of the Trials with a 1,500 m victory in 14:46.67, now no. 7 on the year list.

Bradley Woodard won the men’s 200 m Back in 1:56.04, now no. 4 in the world in 2023. Brendon Smith took the 400 m Medley in 4:10.64, now no. 7 on the year list.

The Aussies named a 38-strong team for the Worlds in Fukuoka for July.

● Weightlifting ● The IWF Grand Prix in Havana (CUB) concluded with a U.S. 1-2 finish in the women +87 kg class, as Mary Theisen-Lappen and 2017 World Champion Sarah Robles dueled, with Theisen-Lappen lifting a combined 277 kg to Robles’ 276.

Theisen-Lappen, now 32, was a shot-discus-hammer thrower at Indiana State, earning All-American honors in the shot in 2014, before eventually turning to weightlifting. She stood second after the Snatch, 126-119 kg to Robles, but lifted 158 kg in the Clean & Jerk to win the title as Robles managed 150 kg, making only the first of her three lifts.

Norway scored an expected win in the women’s 81 kg division with 2022 World Champion Solfrid Koanda at 266 kg, just one kg better than Ecuador’s 2022 Worlds bronze medalist Tamara Salazar (265 kg). Ying-Yuan Lo (TPE) took the women’s 87 kg class, lifting a combined 235 kg, just ahead of Dayana Mina (ECU: 233 kg).

Belarus took its third victory of the tournament in the men’s 102 kg class, with Yauheni Tsikhantsou lifting a combined 390 kg to edge Pan American champ Wesley Kitts of the U.S. (388 kg).

Korea’s Yun-seong Jin won the 109 kg class of just four lifters at 361 kg, ahead of Juan Columbie of Cuba (355 kg). Tokyo Olympic runner-up Ali Davoudi of Iran took the +109 kg class at 441 kg, way ahead of everyone else, with David Liti (NZL) second at 400 kg.

The U.S. women led the team scoring with 617 points to 506 for Ecuador and 471 for Mexico. Cuba won the men’s team title at 576, with the U.S. second at 492 and Belarus (“neutral”) at 468.

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TSX REPORT: Fabulous Bislett Games for Ingebrigtsen, Warholm; foreigners won 63% of NCAA T&F titles; Swedish bid for 2030 Winter progresses

By
Rich Perelman
-
Unbeatable: Jakob Ingebrigtsen's 1,500 m win at the Bislett Games in Oslo Thursday (Photo: Thomas Windestam for Diamond League AG)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Ingebrigtsen’s 3:27.95, Warholm’s 46.52 awesome in Oslo!
2. Foreign athletes took 63% of NCAA T&F titles in Austin
3. Feasibility study shows Sweden’s Winter 2030 aspirations real
4. IBA asks for stay of IOC expulsion with CAS filing
5. FIFA asks Vinicius Junior to head anti-racism panel

Amid seven world-leading performances at the annual Bislett Games in Oslo, Norwegian superstars Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Karsten Warholm thrilled the full house with spectacular performances in the men’s 1,500 and 400 m hurdles. Ingebrigtsen defeated an excellent field in 3:27.95, moving him to no. 6 all-time, while Warholm opened his season with an incredible 46.52 win, the fourth-fastest time in history. At the recent NCAA Track & Field Championships in Austin, 24 of the 38 individual event winners were foreigners, from 15 different countries, up from just 12 in 2021 and 17 in 2022. Sweden completed a feasibility study for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games, proposing an event with no new venues to be built, but with competitions spread around the country as well as in Norway and Latvia. Next up is a budget study, but the pathway for this bid is forming rapidly. The International Boxing Association filed its appeal of the International Olympic Committee’s proposed removal of recognition next Thursday with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, asking for a stay of the IOC’s vote on the matter. FIFA is teaming with Brazilian and Real Madrid striker Vinicius Junior on a task force to recommend new sanctions against racism from fans in both club and national-team football. The player has been the repeated target of racist abuse this season in LaLiga matches.

● Panorama: Tokyo 2020 (Kadokawa defendant gets suspended sentence in sponsorship scandal case) = U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (more than 400 athletes honored for 90 months of doping control cooperation) = Athletics (World Athletics announces Council candidates) = Cycling (Skjelmose leads Tour de Suisse) = Football (2: U.S. beats Mexico, 3-0, in a ragged CONCACAF Nations League semi; Fox has sold 90% of its Women’s World Cup spots) = Hockey (FIH going to free-to-air TV model to expand fan base) = Swimming (2: O’Callaghan and Short post world leaders at Australia Worlds Trials; Marchand wins fifth at French Champs) = Water Polo (U.S. into semis of World U-20s in Romania) = Weightlifting (U.S. wins another at IWF Grand Prix) ●

1.
Ingebrightsen’s 3:27.95, Warholm’s 46.52 awesome in Oslo!

The annual Bislett Games in Oslo is always one of the highlights of the Diamond League season and Thursday’s edition under brilliant sunshine, and with a full house, was one of the best. No, no world records, but world leads in seven events in some of the best marks ever made:

● Men/1,500 m: 3:27.95, Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR)
● Men/5,000 m: 12:41.73, Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) and Jacob Kiplimo (UGA)
● Men/400 m hurdles: 46.52, Karsten Warholm (NOR)

● Women/100 m: 10.75, Marie-Josee Ta Lou (CIV)
● Women/Mile: 4:17.13, Birke Haylom (ETH)
● Women/3,000 m: 8:25.01, Beatrice Chebet (KEN)
● Women/400 m hurdles: 52.30, Femke Bol (NED)

The final event was the most anticipated, with Olympic 1,500 m champ Jakob Ingebrigtsen leading the field and chatter about a shot at the world record of 3:26.00. Ingebrigtsen had control of the race from the start and was towing the field, daring them to match his early pace, with only Spain’s Mohamed Katir really willing to try.

At the bell, Ingebrigtsen led with Katir only a stride back, then U.S. star Yared Nuguse and Britain’s Josh Kerr, at 2:33.0. Ingebrigtsen kept the pressure on, but could only shake Katir in the final 100 m to win in 3:27.95, making the Norwegian no. 6 in history with Katir a clear second at 3:28.89, just 0.13 off his all-time best. Ingebrigtsen’s last lap was in 55.0.

An astonishing seven men finished under 3:30, with Nuguse, 24, getting third on a lean at the tape over prior 2019 World Champion Timothy Cheruiyot (KEN) in 3:29.02, an American Record. Cheruiyot was fourth in 3:29.08 and Spain’s Mario Garcia fifth in 3:29.18.

The penultimate race of the meet was the men’s 400 m hurdles, with Olympic champ Warholm showing everyone he’s all the way back. He flew out of the blocks as usual and forged a huge lead around the turn and into the straight. C.J. Allen of the U.S. made a late charge, but Warholm had plenty left and finished strong in the no. 4 performance of all time: 46.52. Allen was rewarded with a 47.58 lifetime best, now no. 25 all-time and no. 13 all-time U.S. Warholm now has three of the top five times ever.

France’s Wilfred Happio was third in 48.13. Americans Trevor Bassitt and Khallifah Rosser finished 5-6 at 48.63 and 48.87.

The men’s 5,000 m was sensational and bold. At 3,000 m, it was Uganda’s Olympic 10,000 m bronze medalist Jacob Kiplimo at the head of a lead group of nine, but with three laps to go, it was Kiplimo, Telahun Bekele (ETH) and two-time World Indoor 3,000 m champ Kejelcha in contention. Kejelcha took the lead at 4,200 m, and drove hard, with only Kiplimo able to follow. It came down to the final 100 m, with Kiplimo pushing hard, Kejelcha gritting his teeth and the two coming to the line together!

It took the photo to separate them, with Kejelcha called the winner, with both at 12:41.73, moving to no. 5 on the all-time list, with the no. six performance ever. Wow! Five of the top eight got lifetime bests, with Bekele third in 12:46.21 (now no. 10 all-time); Americans Joe Klecker was fourth in 12:56.59 and Paul Chelimo was ninth in 13:06.78.

The last four laps were run in 60.09, 60.07, 58.42 and 55.75, or 3:54.33. That’s amazing.

The women’s 100 m was dominated by Ta Lou, who got out of the blocks well and kept expanding her lead to the tape, stopping the clock at 10.75 (wind: +0.9 m/s), ahead of a lifetime best of 10.92 by the resurgent Anthonique Strachan (BAH) and Jamaica’s Worlds 200 m winner Shericka Jackson (10.98). At 34, Ta Lou is getting better, not older!

Ethiopia’s 17-year-old Birke Haylom took off in the women’s mile after the second lap and had 10 m on the field a lap to go, and would not relinquish it. Australia’s Jessica Hull got within 3 m with 100 m to go, but Haylom finished strongly, with Cory McGee of the U.S. coming on for second as Haylom took the world lead – and a World Junior Record – at 4:17.13, McGee with a lifetime best of 4:18.11 and Hull at 4:18.24. Nikki Hiltz of the U.S. was fifth with a lifetime best of 4:18.38. McGee and Hiltz now rank 3-4 all-time U.S.

In the women’s 3,000 m, it was Kenyans Lilian Rengeruk and Worlds 5,000 m runner-up Beatrice Chebet in front with three laps to go, along with American Alicia Monson, who took the lead with 800 m left. Rengeruk took the lead with a lap left, but Chebet blew by with 200 m left and ran away in the straight for a world-leading 8:25.01. Rengeruk held on for second in 8:25.90 (a lifetime best), then Margaret Kipkemboi (KEN: 8:26.14) and Monson (8:29.43, her third-fastest ever). Weini Kelati (USA) got a lifetime best in fifth at 8:32.50.

In the women’s 400 m hurdles, Dutch star Femke Bol took charge on the far turn and stormed down the straight to win going away in a world-leading 52.30, her fourth-fastest ever. Jamaica’s Rushelle Clayton was a solid second at 53.84, with American heptathlon star Anna Hall fifth in 55.28.

Those were the world leaders. The rest of the meet was just as fun.

American teen star Erriyon Knighton impressed everyone in the men’s 200 m, taking charge on the turn and powering smoothly down the straight to win in a season best – and stadium record – of 19.77 (+0.6), ahead of Reynier Mena (CUB: 20.09) with Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh in 20.23. Knighton won all three of his European races and is now no. 3 on the world list for 2023.

South Africa’s Rio 2016 400 m champ and world-record holder Wayde van Nierkerk returned to the Diamond League for the first time since 2017 and took charge on the back straight and into the final turn, being chased by American Vernon Norwood. Van Niekerk held on for a 44.38 win, with world leader Muzala Samukonga (ZAM) coming on to get second ahead of Norwood, 44.49 to 44.51.

The men’s vault was narrowed to three at 5.81 m (19-0 3/4), with world-record holder Mondo Duplantis (SWE), American Chris Nilsen and new 6 m man Ernest John Obiena (PHI) all clearing on their first attempts. Nilsen snaked over 5.91 m (19-4 3/4) to take the lead, but Obiena missed and Duplantis made it on his second try. But Duplantis cleared 6.01 m (19-8 1/2) on his first attempt and Nilsen missed, settling for second. Sam Kendricks of the U.S. cleared 5.71 m (18-8 3/4) for fourth.

Swiss Simon Ehammer, the Worlds bronze winner in 2022, won the men’s long jump with his second-round jump of 8.32 m (27-3 3/4) that stood for the following four rounds. American Marquis Dendy, the 2016 World Indoor Champion, had the early lead at 8.26 m (27-1 1/4), but could not improve and Olympic gold medalist Miltiadis Tentoglou (GRE) could not get his steps right and managed 8.21 m (26-11 1/4) for third. Steffin McCarter of the U.S. was fourth at 8.04 m (26-4 1/2).

World-record holder Yulimar Rojas (VEN) won the women’s triple jump at a wind-aided 14.91 m (49-11w), ahead of a lifetime best by Leyanis Perez of Cuba, at 14.87 m (48-9 1/2), still no. 2 on the world list for 2023. Americans Tori Franklin and Keturah Orji finished 6-7 at 14.16 m (46-5 1/2) and 14.15 m (46-5 1/4).

Canada’s Commonwealth Games champ Sarah Mitton took the women’s shot at 19.54 m (64-1 1/4), just ahead of world leader Maggie Ewen of the U.S. (19.52 m/64-0 1/2); World Champion Chase Ealey (USA) was fourth at 19.44 m (63-9).

Tokyo Olympic discus champ Valarie Allman, in her third meet in a third country in 13 days, took the lead at 65.91 m (216-3) in round three, then extended her lead to 66.18 m (217-1) in round five. That didn’t impress NCAA champion Jorinde van Klinken (NED), who reached 66.77 m (219-0) in round five! Allman threw far enough for the win in round six, but suffered a foot foul and van Klinken took the win; it was Allman’s first loss of the season.

After four straight weeks of fabulous meets in the Diamond League, the schedule pauses until 30 June in Lausanne (SUI). Too bad; this is fun!

2.
Foreign athletes took 63% of NCAA T&F titles in Austin

Those who followed the excellent NCAA Division I track & field championships held last week in Austin, Texas saw a great meet, but also one with a distinct foreign flavor, as 24 of the 38 individual events – 11 of 19 for men and 13 of 19 for women – were won by foreign athletes and just 14 (or 37%) by Americans.

Those 24 titles were distributed among 15 countries:

● Australia: M 5,000, M 10,000, W Hammer
● Bahamas: W Javelin
● Canada: W 400H
● Estonia: W Heptathlon
● Germany: M Decathlon
● Great Britain: M Hammer
● Ireland: W 400
● Jamaica: M 110H, M High Jump, M Long Jump, M Triple Jump, W 100H, W Long Jump
● Kenya: W 10,000
● Netherlands: W Discus
● New Zealand: W 1,500
● Nigeria: M 200, M 400
● South Africa: M Vault
● St. Lucia: W 100, W 200
● Sweden: W Shot

Of the 24 titles won by foreign athletes, they were distributed among 12 schools:

● 5: Texas ~ Germany, Ireland, Jamaica, St. Lucia (2)
● 4: Arkansas ~ Jamaica (4)
● 3: Stanford ~ Australia, Nigeria
● 3: Harvard ~ Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand
● 2: Nebraska ~ Bahamas, Sweden
● 1: Florida ~ Nigeria
● 1: Michigan ~ Canada
● 1: Oregon ~ Netherlands
● 1: Oklahoma ~ Estonia
● 1: South Alabama ~ South Africa
● 1: South Florida ~ Jamaica
● 1: Utah Valley ~ Kenya

This is a rise from recent NCAA Championships, where the number of foreign nations who won titles ranged from 12-17:

● 2023: 24: 11 men, 13 women
● 2022: 17: 10 men, 7 women
● 2021: 12: 5 men, 7 women
● 2019: 13: 6 men, 7 women
● 2018: 15: 10 men, 5 women
(no 2020 meet due to Covid)

With tight scholarship limits of 12.6 for men’s teams and 18 for women’s teams, the ability to bring in top-flight talent from outside the U.S. is not going to abate. Is 2023 an aberration? If not, there will be a lot more discussion on this topic, one that has been going on for more than 50 years.

3.
Feasibility study shows Sweden’s Winter 2030 aspirations real

“We have done a good job so far and found the basic conditions to be able to deliver sustainable, democratic and cost-effective Games.

“We see that together we have the opportunity, know-how and will. Now in the next phase we will go even deeper into the details.”

Those positive comments were from Swedish Olympic Committee Chair Hans von Uthmann, on the feasibility study for a Swedish bid for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games presented on Thursday, and already given to national sports minister Jakob Forssmed.

The next step is the formation of a bid group to create a workable budget and obtain the myriad of guarantees and form agreements that are required by the International Olympic Committee. This phase is expected to take from August through November, targeting a formal selection as the 2030 Winter Games host sometime in 2024.

The study shows a widely-distributed event, possibly also in two other countries. In Sweden:

● Are: Alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, snowboarding
● Falun: Cross-country skiing, nordic combined, ski jumping
● Stockholm: Curling, figure skating, ice hockey, short track
● Oestersund: Biathlon

There are no obvious sites in Sweden for speed skating, but options are mentioned in Norway and the Netherlands. The sports of bobsleigh, luge and skeleton could be held at tracks at Lillehammer (NOR) or in Sigulda (LAT), but both require upgrades. No new venue construction is targeted, in line with the project’s overall focus on a minuscule environmental footprint.

An April survey of 3,302 individuals, aged 16-79, showed a significant turnaround in public opinion in favor of a bid, under specific circumstances:

“Seven out of ten Swedes are in favour of Sweden applying for the 2030 Olympics and Paralympics if the study shows that Sweden has the opportunity implementing sustainable, democratic and cost-effective games.”

In specific, 68% were in favor, with only 21% opposed and 11% not sure. That’s a major improvement from polling for Stockholm’s bid for 2026, which had lukewarm support, barely over 50%.

This announcement gives Sweden a lead position in the 2030 race, which has no other contenders at the moment. Discussions are continuing in Switzerland, but no report like Sweden’s has been presented as yet.

4.
IBA asks for stay of IOC expulsion with CAS filing

The International Boxing Association filed its appeal against the decision of the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board to remove it as the recognized governing body for boxing.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport acknowledged Thursday that the IBA appeal had been filed:

“The IBA seeks the annulment of the decision to recommend the withdrawal of the IOC’s recognition of IBA. Together with its appeal, the IBA filed an urgent request to stay the execution of the recommendation until the Arbitral Panel renders its final award.

“The arbitration procedure has commenced. Written submissions are being exchanged between the parties and the Arbitral Panel is being constituted. The President of the Appeals Arbitration Division, or her Deputy, will issue an Order on Provisional Measures with respect to the request to stay the execution of the Challenged Decision on or before 21 June 2023.”

The IBA’s prospects are not promising, but this is the first and easiest-to-access forum to challenge the IOC Executive Board’s decision.

In the meantime, the IOC has expanded the quickly-scheduled Session to be held next Thursday (22nd) with two days of previously unscheduled Executive Board meetings on the 20th and 21st. No agendas for either day have yet been published. According to the IOC’s announcement:

“The IOC EB is scheduled to receive updates on the activities of the Olympic Movement, the IOC commissions and the IOC administration, together with reports from the Organising Committees for the upcoming editions of the Olympic Games.”

5.
FIFA asks Vinicius Junior to head anti-racism panel

The profile of racist abuse in football has risen considerably in recent seasons and has become a leading story in Spain’s LaLiga, where speedy Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior – of Real Madrid – has been one of the most targeted players.

On Thursday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI) announced the formation of a task force dealing specifically with the racism-in-football issue after meeting with Vinicius Junior and with the Brazilian national team in Barcelona (ESP), in advance of a friendly with an anti-racism theme against Guinea on Saturday.

Said Infantino:

“There is no football if there is racism! So let’s stop the games.

“The referees have this opportunity in FIFA competitions as we have this process for stopping the game, and actions have to be taken at every level, at national level as well. Everyone has to understand this and we will go, together, until the end.

“It’s a football-related problem and we mustn’t look for excuses like: ‘It’s society’s problem, therefore, it’s fine in football.’ In the world of football, we must act in a very forceful way.

“We want to identify racists in stadiums and across social media. They are criminals. We have to fight against them away from stadiums. They have to be banned from stadiums across the globe. The authorities need to take these people to court and we will say this to all of them. Racism is a crime. We will also strengthen the engagement with players on this crucial topic so I am glad Vinícius Junior accepted to be part of a task force which will include other important players and will elaborate concrete and efficient measures to end racism in football once and for all.”

Reuters reported that the “special FIFA anti-racism committee [will be] made up of players who will suggest stricter punishments for discriminatory behaviour in football.” No timetable was offered for its activities.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2020: Tokyo ● Another suspended sentence for a defendant in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic sponsorship scandal. Kyodo News reported that Maniwa Koji, 63, the liaison between the Kadokawa publishing company and the organizing committee, was found guilty of bribery and sentenced to two years in prison, but with the sentence suspended for three years.

Kadokawa was one of the companies which paid former Tokyo 2020 Executive Committee member Haruyuki Takahashi for favors related to sponsorships and licenses for the Tokyo Olympic Games; Kadokawa reportedly paid ¥69 million (~$492,220 U.S. today). All of the defendants convicted so far – from three companies – have received suspended sentences; Takahashi has not yet been brought to trial.

● U.S. Anti-Doping Agency ● According to a USADA announcement, more than 400 American Olympic-sport and Paralympic-sport athletes have been giving whereabouts and doping samples for more than 90 months (7.5 years). It’s an impressive commitment by these athletes, but no data or listing of these individuals was provided. Each, however, will receive a $25 gift card (why not $90?) from the USADA as a token of appreciation.

● Athletics ● World Athletics published its list of candidates for the World Athletics Council, with 18 positions open and 31 candidates in all, to be elected on 17 August, just prior to the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

Current President Sebastian Coe (GBR) is standing for a third and final term unopposed. There are four Vice President positions, for which eight candidates are running, including Canadian Abby Hoffman and Kenyan federation head Jackson Tuwei. Incumbents Nawaf Bin Mohammed Al Saud (KSA), Geoff Gardner (NFI) and Ximena Restrepo (CHI) are running again.

There are 28 candidates for 13 Council spots, including Willie Banks from the U.S., looking for a second term on the Council. He’s the only American candidate (only one is allowed); Hoffman is also running as an incumbent member; there are nine other incumbents running, including Beatrice Ayikoru (UGA), Sylvia Barlag (NED), Raul Chapado (ESP), Nawal El Moutawakel (MAR), Alberto Juantorena (CUB), Antti Pihlakoski (FIN), Anna Riccardi (ITA), Adile Sumariwalla (IND) and Nan Wang (CHN).

● Cycling ● The 86th Tour de Suisse, a traditional run-up event to the Tour de France, will conclude this weekend, with the race

Five different stages have seen five different winners, with Swiss speedster Stefan Kung in the overall lead after winning the first stage, then giving way to Mattias Skjelmose (DEN) after his win in the uphill-finishing third stage. Felix Gall of Austria won the difficult fourth stage, with two major climbs in the last half of the race, and he took the overall lead by just 0:02 over Skjelmose.

No problem; although Spain’s Juan Ayuso won the triple-climb Stage 5 by 54 seconds, Skjelmose was second and Gall eighth, allowing the Dane to re-take the overall lead by just eight seconds going into the final weekend. Ayuso is just 18 seconds back, with hilly courses on Friday and Saturday and a flat time-trial finale on Sunday. No Dane has ever won this race.

● Football ● A wild game at the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal in Las Vegas saw the U.S. rout Mexico, 3-0, with two fights, four ejections and three brilliant American goals, two by midfield star Christian Pulisic.

The U.S. had the best of play to start, but could not finish, with Pulisic dribbling brilliantly from the left side into the box, but – to his anguish – sending a point-blank, right-footed shot over an open net in the 26th.

The Americans kept up the pressure and in the 37th, Pulisic retrieved possession on a contested ball at the top of the box, then sprinted to the left for a shooting angle and created the space to cut his shot back to the right, behind a diving Memo Ochoa and into the net for a 1-0 lead. The U.S. had 53% of possession in the half – it seemed like more – and a 7-2 edge on shots.

The second half started the same way and just a minute in, midfielder Tim Weah ran down a lead pass down the right side, dribbled toward the goal and sent a perfect lead pass to a cutting Pulisic, who finished with the left foot for a stunning 2-0 lead.

Things got chippy after that and in the 69th, Mexican defender Cesar Montes was called for a leg whip against debut striker Folarin Balogun that led to a shoving incident with American midfielder Weston McKennie and a near-brawl on the field. Montes and McKennie were both given red cards.

At 10-on-10, play opened up and midfielder Sergino Dest dribbled free into the Mexican zone and sent a perfect lead to substitute striker Ricardo Pepi, who dribbled around Ochoa to the right and sent a right-footed liner into the net for a 3-0 lead in the 78th.

Another fight broke out in the 85th, as midfielder Edson Alvarez pushed Dest trying to get hold of the ball, resulting in a hard push back, both sides sprinting to the spot, and debris coming onto the field from the stands. Dest and Mexico midfielder Gerardo Artega were both ejected, three other yellow cards were awarded and the game finally continued at nine-on-nine.

Then there was “discriminatory chanting” from the stands that stopped the game in the 91st, with public address announcements made. A total of 12 minutes were added, but the game was mercifully called at 90+7. Mexico ended with 54% possession, but the U.S. had an 11-5 edge on shots in a game that had 34 fouls (17+17), four red cards (2+2) and nine yellow cards (5 for Mexico).

The crowd and the television announcers were electrified in the first half by reports that U.S. Soccer will re-hire Gregg Berhalter as head coach as soon as Friday; he was coach from 2018-22, but his contract ended at the end of last year. Meanwhile, this one belonged to interim coach B.J. Callaghan.

In the first semi, midfielder Jonathan David got a 25th-minute goal to put Canada on top of Panama, 1-0, with one of only four shots it got in the half (to Panama’s one!). Star striker Alphonso Davies got a second goal in the 69th and the Canadians finished off a 2-0 win. Panamanian midfielder Eric Davis was sent off with a red card in the 89th in a game that had 25 fouls.

The final will be Sunday.

The U.S. English-language broadcaster for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, said this week that it has sold 90% of its ad spots for the tournament, with a 50% increase in revenue so far compared to the 2019 Women’s World Cup.

● Hockey ● As the FIH Nations League heads into its final weeks of the 2022-23 season for men and women, the International Hockey Federation is gearing up for a major effort to expand the impact of the game.

FIH President Tayyam Ikram of Macau explained:

“We are a non-profit organisation and our mission number one is to develop hockey. We have just launched a first-of-its-kind development strategy, called ‘FIH Empowerment and Engagement strategy.’ Our ambitious programme encompasses numerous projects to fulfill our mission. Therefore, this is where we will concentrate a fundamental part of our financial investments, with the objective to pursue the growth of our game globally.

“We will also look at broadcasting our events on free-to-air, whenever possible, with a view to expand viewership. That will surely imply financial investments as well.”

The free-to-air policy is one not often seen in sports today, as rights fees from broadcasters who place events on their own subscription channels, are more and more than norm. Ikram added that the federation’s plan aims to add more playing fields, more competitions for more teams, more coaching instruction, more free equipment and enhanced attention to communications outreach.

The FIH financial situation has also improved, post-pandemic, with a surplus of CHF 706,310 for 2022 and reserves of more than CHF 12.8 million. It will be fascinating to see how this federation – in the fourth distribution tier – can lift itself up, and the tactics it uses to do so.

● Swimming ● World 100 m Freestyle champ Mollie O’Callaghan moved to no. 5 on the all-time list and pulled off a shocking up of Olympic champ Ariarne Titmus at the Australian World Championships Trials in Melbourne.

O’Callaghan was the 2022 Worlds 200 m Free runner-up, but was a decided underdog to Titmus, who owns three of the four fastest times in history. But she got to the wall first in 1:53.83, to 1:54.14 for Titmus, the eighth and 15th-fastest performances in history! O’Callaghan is now the world leader for 2023 and Titmus is no. 3.

Sam Short, 19, posted the best time in the world this season in the 800 m Free final, in 7:40.39, beating Elijah Winnington (7:45.75). Short is now no. 10 all-time in the event.

The meet continues through Sunday.

At the French Elite Championships in Rennes, Leon Marchand won his fifth event, the 400 m Medley – in which he is the world leader – in 4:10.57, well off his season best of 4:07.80.

Melanie Henrique won the women’s 50 m Fly in 25.24, to move to no. 2 on the 2023 world list, behind Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom (24.89).

Freestyle star Florent Manaudou – the 2012 London Olympic winner – took the men’s 50 m Free in 21.62, the no. 2 time in the world in 2023, just behind the sensational 21.56 time in the prelims, which is the 2023 world leader.

● Water Polo ● The U.S. men’s U-20 team defeated Montenegro, 10-9, in the quarterfinals of the World Aquatics U-20 World Championships in Romania to move on to the semifinals on Friday.

The Americans piled up a 9-7 lead after three quarters and held on to advance to face Hungary, a 9-5 winner over Italy. Greece, an 11-10 shoot-out winner over Spain, and Serbia, a 16-15 winner in a shoot-out vs. Croatia, will play in the other semi.

The U.S. was only 1-2 in group play, beating Greece, but losing to Hungary (12-6) and Serbia (8-7). An 11-8 win over Australia propelled the U.S. into the quarterfinals. The medal matches will be played on Saturday.

● Weightlifting ● The U.S. continued its medal-winning ways in Havana at the IWF Grand Prix, with Nathan Damron taking silver in the men’s 89 kg class with a total of 365 kg. Damron made his second Clean & Jerk lift of 200 kg, but missed on his 210 kg try, which would have given him the win. Petr Asayonak of Belarus, competing as a “neutral,” won at 368 kg combined.

In the men’s 96 kg class, Belarus won again, with Pavel Khadasevich lifting a combined 373 kg, way ahead of Mexico’s Jose Lopez (345 kg).

American Kate Vibert won the women’s 76 kg class in a close contest with Bella Paredes of Ecuador, 247 kg to 245 kg for the second American women’s gold. Teammate Olivia Reeves won the bronze at 71 kg at 241 kg.

Ecuador’s 2022 Worlds bronze medalist Angie Palacios won at 261 kg and set a world mark in the Snatch at 121 kg, one kg better than China’s Liao Guifang at the Asian Championships in May. Siuzanna Valodzka of Belarus won the silver at 242 kg combined.

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For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: LA28 has “64-65%” of revenue committed; IBA rips IOC again, promises court fight; FIFA OKs Women’s World Cup deal for European TV

By
Rich Perelman
-
Kathy Carter, chief executive of the LA28 organizing committee (Photo: LA28)

★ 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 ≡

1. LA28 CEO: “About 64 or 65% of all revenues have been contracted”
2. IBA rips IOC, promises more money, asks for unity
3. FIFA agrees on European TV deal for Women’s World Cup
4. Ingebrigtsen eyes world 1,500 m record at home Bislett Games
5. Injured Tokyo 100 m champ Jacobs asks for fan support

Los Angeles 2028 chief executive Kathy Carter told a Los Angeles City Council committee that finances for the 2028 Games are on track and that almost two-thirds of the revenue side of the $6.9 billion budget is under contract. Umar Kremlev, the Russian head of the International Boxing Association, slammed the International Olympic Committee’s move to withdraw recognition of its role in the Olympic Movement, and said in an open letter that the IBA would ask for a review from the Court of Arbitration for Sport, provide millions more in prize money for boxers in the future and asked for unity from the national federations. FIFA announced an agreement with the European Broadcasting Union for television rights for the upcoming Women’s World Cup, ending a spat with the broadcasters from France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain over fees. No terms were disclosed, other than an agreement to increase women’s football programming in the future. The annual Bislett Games in Oslo come Thursday, with home favorite Jakob Ingebrigtsen taking aim at the world record in the men’s 1,500 m after shattering the two-mile world best in Paris last week. Tokyo Olympic men’s 100 m sensation Lamont Marcell Jacobs apologized to his fans on Twitter for his poor showing in Paris and his continued injuries, and asked for future support.

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (air taxi service being planned!) = Commonwealth Games (2: Commonwealth Games Federation releases 2023-34 strategy; Victoria’s smaller cities ask for state investment for 2026 Games) = Russia (2: Spain refuses Russian U-20 wrestlers for European Champs; fencer with social-media support of war removed from European Champs) = Athletics (London Diamond League meet gets UK Sport bail-out) = Football (4: Amnesty Int’l alleges worker abuse at Qatar World Cup; Samoura to retire; CONCACAF and FIFA in joint marketing partnership; U.S. men face Mexico in Nations League semi) = Gymnastics (Olympic records in each event!) = Swimming (2: McKeown scares own 100 m Back world record; Marchand wins fourth at French nationals) ●

1.
LA28 CEO: “About 64 or 65% of all revenues have been contracted”

“Relative to inflation, we have accounted for that. Today, we have about 64 or 65% of all revenues have been contracted. We have only spent 4%, and actually obligated 8% of the overall budget. And that actually allows us to be able to react to any inflationary pressures, and so we’re very confident that the budget continues to remain as it has, unchanged at $6.9 billion.”

That’s LA28 chief executive Kathy Carter, during a Tuesday appearance in front of the Los Angeles City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on the 2028 Olympics and Paralympic Games, chaired by District 5 Council Member Katy Yaroslavsky.

Carter and others from the LA28 organizing committee were on hand to answer questions about their annual report filed with the City and which was reviewed by the Ad Hoc Committee.

The City Council’s budget hawk, District 2 member Paul Krekorian, asked about how the current financial situation compares with the organizing committee’s financial plan. Carter was quite positive:

“We are right where we need to be, and in fact, we are, again, at 64-65% of contracted revenues. We’re well ahead of where any other organizing committee would have been at this point, so we feel cautiously optimistic with all of the revenue targets. And because of how far we are on the revenues, it allows us to have great fidelity, if you will, on how and what we’re spending the dollars on, because as we all know, the immovable object for LA28 is a balanced budget, and I would stress as well, we have – and continue to have – a $615 million contingency that’s built into the expense budget.”

The financial statements in the report, for the calendar year 2021, showed a $74.4 million loss, but with $212.9 million in deferred revenue that is not yet recognized and $82.2 million in cash-on-hand. Carter explained:

“The cash that is actually in the door, typically it’s coming from a variety of areas. No. 1, it’s the broadcast distributions that are given to us by the [International Olympic Committee], who is responsible for selling all of our media rights, and so that’s a contracted income and that’s something that they’ve already started to pay.

“Second is obviously what we call intellectual property rights, so that’s for the sponsorship and consumer products rights, but because, obviously, we won’t be hosting the Games until 2028, we’re not actually ‘realizing’ those revenues, even though we have the cash in the door.”

She also added that the spending so far is fully shown on the financial statements:

“When I say we have spent 4% of the overall budget, and when we say we have contracted or essentially have earmarked 8%, that is for things like the Youth Sports Program, where we have a contractually-obligated responsibility, so we are actually, right now, it’s where and how much we’ve actually spent.”

Concerning the Youth Sports Program, which will receive $160 million in direct donations from LA28 through the middle of 2028, Carter said the program reach was stalled during the Covid pandemic, but is now expanding:

“I think the key thing for us … is expanding to all available City parks where the economic requirement is there. We have already impacted almost 100,000 kids in their ability to [get] either free or low-cost access to the program, and so we are process of both catching up to the years that we weren’t able to fund the program via Covid, and we feel that we’re on pace to make sure that every kid that wants to play, can be a part of this program, [which] will be available.”

Carter also told District 7 Council member Monica Rodriguez that LA28 has “about 14,000 hotel room nights” currently under contract and will be adding to that total, but that the organizing committee’s requirements still leave room for fans to book rooms during the Games period.

Those hotels which LA28 has contracted have “benchmark rate” clauses to ensure against gouging, but this would not apply to properties which the organizing committee is not involved with.

Observed: This was a generally upbeat report, especially in view of Carter’s comment that about two-thirds of LA28’s projected $6.884 billion revenues have been committed. There’s no secret about where this roughly $4.6 billion is coming from:

● The IOC, in the host city contract, pledged $1.535 billion in direct support, from broadcast rights and TOP sponsorships, about 22.3% of the LA28 budget total.

● LA28 has negotiated multiple domestic sponsorship agreements which are paying some money now, but much more later.

● Although tickets are not on sale yet, LA28 was involved in negotiations with the IOC for the appointment of On Location as the exclusive purveyor of hospitality and travel packages for the 2028 Games. A large guarantee was undoubtedly part of their agreement.

● LA28 has a merchandise agreement with Fanatics, which is also paying very significant sums for the right to sell licensed items of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Youth Sports Program funding of about $18 million a year is being paid from the $180 million in broadcast rights fees advanced by the IOC from 2018-22, and which has now been received by LA28.

2.
IBA rips IOC, promises more money, asks for unity

Faced with expulsion from the Olympic Movement at a special meeting of the International Olympic Committee on 22 June, International Boxing Association President Umar Kremlev (RUS) sent an open letter to his national federations on Wednesday and, true to form, stayed on the offensive:

“As you may already be aware, on 7 June 2023, the IOC Executive Board made a recommendation to the IOC Session regarding the withdrawal of IBA’s recognition by the IOC. It is with great concern that we witness the hastily convened online meeting of the IOC Session scheduled for 22 June 2023. The rushed nature of this meeting raises questions about the democratic processes within the organization that oversees the Olympic Movement. It appears that the IOC administration intends to limit the time available to IOC members to fully familiarize themselves with all relevant documents, including the IBA’s position. This raises concerns of potential bias and manipulation of facts, transparency, and integrity. The IBA has taken the necessary steps to appeal this recommendation at the Court of Arbitration and Sport (CAS).

“I must emphasize that the IOC members are on the verge of making a grave historical mistake for the Olympic Movement. Despite the challenges we face, I want to assure you that the IBA will remain independent and steadfast in upholding Rule 25 of the Olympic Charter, which guarantees each International Federation’s autonomy and independence in governing its sport. We will not allow our independence to be compromised, nor will we permit division within our organization.

“It is important for us to remain calm and not succumb to panic or provocations. The IBA has no issues with the IOC or the Olympic Movement as a whole. Our challenges lie with a few individuals within the IOC leadership who prioritize personal interests and biases over the well-being of the sport.”

Kremlev goes on to repeat his allegations that the IOC is covering up for former AIBA President C.K. Wu (TPE), who resigned from the IOC in 2020. And Kremlev promises more prize money for boxers in the future:

“We, too, shall emerge as winners rising above the current situation. …

“I would also like to inform you that we are continuously striving to enhance the quality and spectacle of our competitions, as well as increase the attractiveness for boxers. Starting next year, the prize fund for the IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships will be $10 million, and the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships will have a prize fund of $5 million. Additionally, the continental championships this year will feature a prize fund of $1 million, increasing to $2 million from next year onwards. Beyond that, for the first time in history we will award prize money for fifth place.

“Furthermore, we are committed to developing the World Boxing Tour, which will expand to include more countries with the support of the IBA. This initiative aims to provide boxers with greater opportunities to showcase their skills on a global stage. The prize money for Golden Belt Series will be increased to $500,000, for Silver Belt it raised to $350,000, and $250,000 for the Bronze Belt. The prize fund for the ultimate Diamond Belt has increased to $1,000,000. In addition, for our Champions’ Night, we will select boxers amongst the top 15 and they will receive prize money for the pro-style fights.

“Lastly, I want to remind you of the existence of the IBA Financial Support Program (FSP). National Federations requiring assistance for participation in competitions, or the implementation of individual projects can avail themselves of the FSP. In the upcoming 2023/2024 financial year, each National Federation will be eligible for a grant of $50,000 under this program, and in the following year, this will be raised to $100,000.”

And he took a swipe at the in-formation World Boxing group:

“I encourage you to remain loyal to the IBA and resist the temptation to align with fraudulent organizations that lack substance. The IBA’s worth is demonstrated through our actions, while these fraudulent entities merely exist through websites and press releases.”

Observed: None of this is going to matter if the IOC Session approves, as expected, the removal of recognition of the IBA as the designated international federation for boxing. The appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport is a long shot and will take months to complete, perhaps even going beyond the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

What will be fascinating will be to see how the IBA handles the lengthy period between 22 June and whenever the eventual Court of Arbitration for Sport decision is issued. How will it be funded? Who will fund it? Will it become essentially a development organization for the World Boxing Association, with which is signed a collaboration agreement in November 2022?

And what happens to the national boxing federations once the IBA is no longer recognized by the IOC? Stay tuned.

3.
FIFA agrees on European TV deal for Women’s World Cup

The high drama over broadcast of the FIFA Women’s World Cup starting in July to France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain ended on Wednesday with the announcement of a deal, not with individual broadcasters in these countries, but with the European Broadcasting Union.

The EBU, a consortium of European public broadcasters which has acquired rights for most or all of Europe for major events like the FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games for decades, already had an agreement in place to televise the Women’s World Cup in 28 territories, but not in these five large markets, or in Ukraine.

The new agreement extends EBU’s deal – on undisclosed terms – to 34 territories, including Ukraine, but also included “a substantial additional commitment to the regular transmission of women’s football content beyond the tournament.”

Said FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI), “As part of this agreement, the EBU has committed to working towards broadcasting at least one hour of weekly content dedicated to women’s football on its own digital platform and broadcaster network. This will provide a huge promotional and exposure opportunity for women’s football, which is a top priority for us in line with FIFA’s commitment to the long-term development of the sport.”

The identified broadcasters in the major European markets were ARD and ZDF (Germany), BBC and ITV (UK), France Televisions, RAI (Italy) and RTVE (Spain).

Infantino had threatened a blackout of the tournament in those countries if rights fee offers were not increased, and intense negotiations had been underway for several weeks. Now, the tournament will be on television and the financial aspects likely won’t be known until several months after it concludes and the next FIFA financial report is filed.

4.
Ingebrigtsen eyes world 1,500 m record at home Bislett Games

There’s no doubt that Norwegian middle-distance superstar Jakob Ingebrigtsen is in shape. At the Meeting de Paris last Friday, he smashed the world best in the men’s two-mile with a brilliant 7:54.10 clocking, running the first mile in 4:00.3, then finishing at 3:53.8!

So, coming home to run in the famed Bislett Games on Thursday in Oslo, could he have his eye on the 1998 world 1,500 m mark of 3:26.00 by Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj?

You bet he does. He’s already no. 8 all-time with his best of 3:28.32 from his Tokyo Olympic victory in 2021. And he has his main protagonist – Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot – in the race in Oslo, currently the world leader in 2023 at 3:31.47. Plus three others who have also run under 3:30: Mohamed Katir (ESP: 3:28.76), Josh Kerr (GBR: 3:29.05) and Kenyan Abel Kipsang (3:29.56) and a host of other stars.

That’s the final individual event on the track, with multiple prior attractions, including the season debut of Olympic 400 m hurdles champ and world-record holder Karsten Warholm (NOR), against American C.J. Allen; the men’s 200 m with American teen star Erriyon Knighton, the 400 m with Rio 2016 champ Wayde van Niekerk (RSA) and world leader Muzala Samukonga (ZAM), and the men’s 5,000 with Ethiopia’s two-time World Indoor 3,000 m champ Yomif Kejelcha (12:46.79 lifetime) against Olympic 10,000 m bronze medalist Jakob Kiplimo (UGA: 12:48.63 lifetime) and others.

The women’s sprints feature Marie-Josee La Tou (CIV: 10.78 this season) and Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson (10.78) in the 100 m; world leader Femke Bol (NED) in the 400 m hurdles and Olympic champs Yulimar Rojas (VEN) in the triple jump and American Valarie Allman in the discus.

Oh yes, and there is Mondo Duplantis (SWE) in the men’s vault, against 6 m opponents including Americans Chris Nilsen and Sam Kendricks, Ernest John Obiena (PHI) and 2012 Olympic winner Renaud Lavillenie (FRA).

It should be great. In the U.S., the meet is on the Peacock streaming service from 2-4 p.m. Eastern, with a replay on Saturday on CNBC at 3 p.m. Eastern.

5.
Injured Tokyo 100 m champ Jacobs asks for fan support

In Tokyo, Italian sprinter Lamont Marcell Jacobs – born in El Paso, but moved to Italy as a toddler – was on top of the world. He won the Olympic gold at 9.80, a European record and moving him to no. 10 all-time.

In 2022, he won the World Indoor 60 m title, but injuries knocked him out of the World Championships in Eugene. He rebounded to win the European Championships in Munich in 9.95, but injuries continued to plague him.

The critics got loud after his 10.21 seventh-place finish at the Meeting de Paris last week, and so Jacobs posted a long message – in Italian – on Twitter on Wednesday (computer translation):

“I’ve been wanting to write something to you for some time, but I’ve never been able to find the right words. But now I feel the strong need to tell you how I feel, it is correct that you know.

“I started the outdoor season and unfortunately it didn’t go the way I wanted. Yet, despite having been stopped for almost a month due to my physical problem, despite knowing that I was in no way ready to achieve the results we all hoped for, I chose to take the field anyway, knowing full well that probably many would not have understood that the result of that race was not the goal I set for myself.

“It was important that I get back on track. It was thrilling to feel the joy bursting in my chest when I entered the stadium, to feel the adrenaline in my body, to feel the warmth of the crowd and to see the gazes of my opponents. How I missed it! I felt good on the starting blocks and started like I haven’t done in a while, but then my legs didn’t support that effort until the end, the necessary training was missing and you know the result.

“And inevitably came the criticisms, attacks, teasing of those who do not know and even imagine how complicated the life of a professional athlete can be. In an instant all the results achieved seemed to be worth nothing.

“And I’m very sorry, because it would be nice if I could be supported in such complicated moments. But I don’t want to let all of this affect me and make decisions that aren’t the right ones for me.

“I want to remind you that I am a human being and I push my body to give 110% continuously, and I sweat, toil and spit blood every single day of my life to achieve really challenging goals.

“I have many fears, but I am aware of all those, many, that I have faced and overcome. And I will be reborn again, overcoming the obstacles that life is putting in front of me again.

“I will succeed, because I will never let anything or anyone stop me from dreaming and fighting to reach my goals!

“See you soon and I hope to find you by my side once again.”

It’s not easy. Nothing is.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The French transport minister, Clement Beaune, said on Tuesday that the Olympic transport plan is on track, with shuttle buses being added to support some railway lines in western Paris which may become overcrowded.

More enticing perhaps was the mention that, subject to safety approvals, five lines of “air taxis” are being planned, but without any more details. What kind of accreditation will be needed to ride those?

● Commonwealth Games ● The Commonwealth Games Federation released its 2023-34 strategic plan, “Commonwealth United” on Wednesday, designed “to deliver inspirational and impactful Games, excite and empower athletes and young people, and drive equality in sport and society across the Commonwealth.”

The 22-page report speaks to the impact of sport on athletes and society, pledges support for environmental and social values, but lists no specific projects, timelines or tactics to achieve them. The Commonwealth Games includes 72 nations and territories and started as the British Empire Games in 1930, but has had difficulty of late in establishing a clear reason-for-being and therefore limited interest from potential host cities.

After a very successful edition in Birmingham (ENG) in 2022, the next CWG is scheduled for Victoria (AUS) in 2026.

Regional Cities Victoria, a council of the 10 largest cities outside of Melbourne, released its own plan for the 2026 Commonwealth Games last week, but with specific intentions and a call for investment from the state government. In specific:

“Regional Cities Victoria (RCV) welcomes the focus on ensuring that a by-product of the Games will be a permanent increase in the amount of social and affordable housing in the four regional centres homing athletes. Upgrades to sporting infrastructure will also help attract more major events of international significance to Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, the Latrobe Valley, and Shepparton in the future.”

And more:

● Donation of all sports equipment used back to sports organizations
● Free cultural activities sponsored by the Victorian government
● An A$30 million tourism campaign (A$1 = $0.68 U.S.)
● A$2 million for each regional city to repair sports venues
● A$30 million for new green spaces and repairs to existing ones

The RCV document also asks for integration of regional tourism offers with ticket sales, and “supported accommodations for 16-to-21-year-olds to become Games volunteers.”

The asks are clear; now starts the lobbying effort at the State capital in Melbourne.

● Russia ● According to the Russian news agency TASS, Spain has refused to issue visas for Russian wrestlers for the European U-20 Championships in Santiago de Compostela from 26 June to 2 July. United World Wrestling announced on 4 April that it is allowing Russian wrestlers to compete as neutrals.

The Russian team was allowed to compete at the European U-17 Championships in Tirana (ALB) without incident, but is being shut out in Spain.

Ukrainian officials and a Ukrainian athlete-monitoring site have pointed to supporting social-media activity by Russian Sabre fencer Valeria Kobzeva, 22, who had been approved by the Federation Internationale de Escrime (FIE) to compete as a neutral at the European (individual) Championships in Plovdiv (BUL) this weekend.

TASS reported that, on Wednesday, Kobzeva was removed from the entry lists; five Russians are still entered.

● Athletics ● Cash-strapped UK Athletics was promised up to £150,000 (~$189,960 U.S.) to support losses from the Diamond League meet in London on 23 July by UK Sport.

The money comes from funding provided to UK Sport by the National Lottery; said UK Sport chief Sally Munday: “We want the UK to remain on the Diamond League calendar and for the event to become financially sustainable as quickly as possible.”

● Football ● Amnesty International posted a Wednesday statement alleging broken promises, lack of payment and difficult working conditions at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. In part:

“A new Amnesty investigation has found serious labour abuses occurred in the employment of security guards and marshals at the World Cup which were not properly addressed by either the Qatari authorities or FIFA.

“Amnesty spoke to 22 men from Nepal, Kenya and Ghana who were among thousands of migrant workers employed on short-term contracts by the Qatar-based company Teyseer Security Services to work as marshals and security guards at FIFA World Cup sites. The men worked in the lead-up to the tournament and during the event itself, and were stationed at various busy locations, including the Khalifa International Stadium, FIFA fan zones, the Corniche, and both in and outside the metro station in Souk Waqif in Doha.

“All of the workers interviewed said that Teyseer’s representatives, or recruitment agents who supplied the company, made false promises such as suggesting that they could take up more senior roles and earn an extra £220 a month, or stay and work in Qatar beyond the three-month contract period, or earn potential bonuses. Once in Qatar, however, nothing materialised.”

Teyseer denied the allegations; FIFA said it will ask for more information.

FIFA announced that Fatma Samoura (SEN), 60, for the last seven years the federation’s Secretary General, would retire at the end of the year.

She came to FIFA in 2016 after a career at the United Nations, working in the World Food Programme, Deputy Humaniatrian Coordinator for eastern Chad, and other positions. She became the first female Secretary General and the first not to be a European.

FIFA and CONCACAF announced a joint marketing partnership for events in the region on the road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the U.S.:

“This ground-breaking initiative will provide brands and prospective partners with a unique opportunity to truly impact the global game at a hugely important moment in its growth in North America, and the entire Concacaf region, over the next three years with compelling national team football tournaments.”

The targeted events initially include the CONCACAF Gold Cups in 2023 and 2025 and the CONCACAF Nations League for 2023-23 and 2024-25, and the CONCACAF W Gold Cup for February 2024.

The U.S. men’s National Team will be back in action on Thursday with a CONCACAF Nations League semifinal match against Mexico in Las Vegas at 7 p.m. Pacific time, to be shown on the Paramount+ streaming service in English and Univision in Spanish.

The Americans won the inaugural Nations League title in 2020 with a 3-2 win over Mexico in extra time in Denver, Colorado, on a penalty kick by midfield star Christian Pulisic in the 114th minute. The U.S. is riding a 3–0-2 mark against Mexico in its last five matches, with ties in the last two.

Canada will play Panama in the other semi, with the final scheduled for Sunday (18th) at 5:30 p.m. Pacific time.

The U.S. men will be back in action on the following Saturday (24th) as defending champions in the first of three group-stage matches in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup against Jamaica, at Soldier Field in Chicago.

● Gymnastics ● The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique has intensified its online profile and is discovering statistics as a welcome source of stories, such as Wednesday’s post on essentially the “Olympic records” on each apparatus!

These best marks are, of course, all made after the 2006 change in the scoring structure which ended the 10-point system and awards both execution and difficulty. The best scores:

Men:
● Floor Exercise: 16.133, Shirai Kenzo (JPN), 2016
● Pommel Horse: 16.100, Xiao Qin (CHN), 2008
● Rings: 16.650, Chen Yibing (CHN), 2008
● Vault: 16.800, Marian Dragulescu (ROU), 2008
● Parallel Bars: 16.475, Huang Xu (CHN), 2008
● Horizontal Bar: 16.533, Epke Zonderland (NED), 2012

Women:
● Vault: 16.233, McKayla Maroney (USA), 2012
● Uneven Bars: 16.900, Nastia Liukin (USA), 2008
● Balance Beam: 16.225, Shawn Johnson (USA), 2008
● Floor Exercise: 15.966, Simone Biles (USA), 2016

The U.S. sweep in the women’s events is remarkable, and a tribute to their originality and competitive achievement.

The FIG story did not include the All-Around; there, the top scores were both from 2008: Wei Yang (CHN) at 94.575 for the men, and 63.325 for Liukin in the women’s competition. Congrats to the Olympic record holders!

● Swimming ● At the Australian World Championships Trials in Melbourne, Kaylee McKeown, the Tokyo Olympic 100-200 m Back gold medalist, sizzled with a 57.50 win and took the world lead for 2023.

It’s the no. 3 performance of all-time, behind only McKeown’s world record of 57.45 from the 2021 Australian Olympic Trials and her 57.47 at the Tokyo Games. Wow! McKeown now owns four of the fastest five times ever.

Teammate Mollie O’Callaghan, 19, a star Freestyler but also the Worlds short-course 100 m Back silver winner last year, finished second in 58.42, and moved to no. 3 on the world list for this year.

The meet continues through Sunday.

At the French Elite Championships in Rennes, Leon Marchard won his fourth event – the 200 m Medley – by almost four seconds in 1:56.25, a little short of his seasonal best of 1:55.68 from April.

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TSX REPORT: Japan pushes Winter OG bid to ‘34 or later; advice on going pro in T&F; Louganis auctioning medals in September

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 ≡

1. Sapporo Olympic Winter bid delayed to 2034 or later
2. “Inside Guide to Going Pro in Track”
3. Modest TV audiences for NCAA T&F Champs on ESPN2
4. Diving icon Louganis to auction medals for charity
5. BBC cautious on Women’s World Cup rights cost

The Japanese Olympic Committee has decided to scratch its bid for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games, but will support Sapporo if it wants to go for 2034 or later. Public opinion is currently against a bid, strengthening Salt Lake City’s position. Performance coach Steve Magness tweeted a 15-part primer he calls the “Inside Guide to Going Pro in Track.” Some pretty solid ideas, for sure. The NCAA Track & Field Championships in Austin, Texas last week had sensational competitions and marks, but only modest audiences on ESPN2. Four-time Olympic diving gold medalist Greg Louganis will auction his two remaining golds from 1984 and 1988 and a Montreal ‘76 silver in September with the Bonhams auction house. The BBC told a British government committee that it is “committed” to reaching a rights deal to show the FIFA Women’s World Cup this summer, but only at a reasonable price, despite FIFA’s urging to spend more.

● Panorama: Olympic Games (remembering another Olympic co-gold award, from 1992) = Milan Cortina 2026 (renovation cost of Verona Arena rises) = Athletics (3: Kenyan President gifts Kipyegon for world records; two world leads at Nurmi Games; Harvey Glance passes at 66) = Fencing (Russians send six to European Champs) = Gymnastics (Minneapolis gets 2024 Olympic Trials) = Swimming (2: Titmus 3:58.47 at Australian Trials; Marchand wins three at French champs, with 200 m Breast world lead) = Weightlifting (2: Indonesia wins again; IWF bans flags at medal ceremonies) ●

1.
Sapporo Olympic Winter bid delayed to 2034 or later

In the face of continuing negative public opinion, the Japanese Olympic Committee decided Tuesday to end its effort to land the Olympic Winter Games in 2030 and concentrate instead on 2034 or even later.

Kyodo News reported:

“No proposal has been made in Japan to host the Winter Olympics in 2034 or later, but the JOC will consider it as well, along with Sapporo, if there is any other city wishing to do so.”

Board member Keiko Momii said after the meeting, “A public survey shows 60 percent of people opposing [a bid for 2030]. We should take more time and try to gain understanding from the public. Therefore, we opened things up for various possibilities.”

Sapporo hosted the 1972 Winter Games and had considered bidding for 2026, but withdrew to focus on 2030, where it was perceived as the front-runner, only to fall victim to concerns over costs and the continuing bid-rigging and sponsorship scandals from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

There is little doubt that if Sapporo wishes to bid for 2034, it will be approved, but polling in both Sapporo and in the Hokkaido Prefecture have shown only modest interest in the project in recent months.

The U.S. bid for Salt Lake City is nearly complete, but is focused on 2034 to create some breathing space between the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and a second Winter Games in Salt Lake City. The International Olympic Committee now has no confirmed bidders for 2030, but both Sweden and Switzerland are studying the possibilities.

The IOC expects to award the 2030 Winter Games next year and could, if its Winter Future Hosts Commission recommends, select a host for both 2030 and 2034 at the same time.

Observed: The step-back from the Japanese Olympic Committee was hardly a surprise in view of the drop in public support. Even with a possible attempt by Sapporo for 2034, Salt Lake City’s stature continues to grow, with excellent public and governmental support, no new venues to build, an existing “Olympic Village” in place at the University of Utah, detailed plans and a continuing wave of World Cup events held each winter in multiple sports.

The IOC has shown before that a bid as solid as Salt Lake City’s will be rewarded soon, as it cannot afford to lose the one sure host it has currently available.

2.
“Inside Guide to Going Pro in Track”

Performance coach and author Steve Magness, a 4:02.01 high school miler back in 2003, tweeted a 15-part “Inside Guide to Going Pro in Track” on Monday. Succinct, it covers a lot of ground in short takes, and here are some even shorter highlights, formatted for easier reading:

● “The NCAA championships are over in track and field. You or your teammates may be considering going Pro! Exciting!

“But…I’ve watched so many athletes mess it up, take less $, & be screwed over. Here’s the Inside Guide to Going Pro in Track:”

● “1. Pick your agent wisely. … If a shoe company tries to direct you to an agent…be VERY cautious. Your agent should work for YOU. Not them.”

● “2. Choose your group/coach wisely. … Our environment shapes our ethics and beliefs more than we like to acknowledge.”

● “3. Don’t sell your soul for $25k. It’s not worth it. … You’re better off going somewhere you feel comfortable with, that will support you as an athlete and person, then taking a crappy deal.”

● “4. Get clear on who is steering the ship. Is a sponsor demanding you go to a group? Why?”

● “5. Look at those reduction clauses. Some companies will use them any chance they get.”

● “6. Ask what doctors, physios, etc. the team uses. … Shady doctors recycle in this sport. There are lots.”

● “7. Ask about supplements. If they take a ton of supplements, especially sketchy sounding ones, run away.”

● “8. Look at improvements, injury, and drop out rates. Do people get better, stay healthy, and stick around?”

● “9. There’s only so much training you can do. Use this time to think about the next chapter. Prepare for the future, whether that comes in 2 years or 10.”

● “10. Realize that professional track is a long, hard journey. … Surround yourself with good people who want to help you thrive, not just use you for $ or notoriety if you make it.”

He closes with:

“Above all, do your research. Everything will sound wonderful. Coaches, agents, sponsors are salesman right now.

“The best thing you can do is ask around, especially to people who can be honest (i.e. often athletes who retired recently and are out of the sport now)”

There’s lots more to read in this thread. And there are others. LetsRun.com’s Jonathan Gault tweeted a link to his 2020 series, “How to Turn Pro in Track & Field,” with posts on agents, shoe contracts and case studies of Morgan McDonald and Grant Fisher. Gault’s bottom line:

“Turning professional is a process that is often shrouded in mystery, which is part of the reason I wrote this series. The big thing is to get as much information as possible to make an informed decision. Talk to agents & coaches, but talk to current/former athletes too.”

More information is always better than less, in track, sports and life, too.

3.
Modest TV audiences for NCAA T&F Champs on ESPN2

The audience data is in for last week’s 2023 NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships in Austin, Texas, shown on ESPN2, with a high of 393,000 on Saturday for the final day of the meet. The four-day average viewing audiences:

● 152,000 on Wednesday (7th): men’s first day
● 227,000 on Thursday (8th): women’s first day
● 176,000 on Friday (9th): men’s final day
● 393,000 on Saturday (10th): women’s final day

That’s 948,000 combined for the four days, down from 2022 when the final day on ESPN (big difference) and a little better than in 2021:

2022: 1,178,000 combined total
● 187,000: Men’s day 1 on ESPN2
● 125,000: Women’s day 1 on ESPN 2 (estimate)
● 263,000: Men’s day 2 on ESPN2
● 603,000: Women’s day 2 on ESPN

2021: 909,000 combined total
● 206,000: Men’s day 1 on ESPN2
● 236,000: Women’s day 1 on ESPN2
● 233,000: Men’s day 2 on ESPN2
● 234,000: Women’s day 2 on ESPNU

Track & field on television has done much better when on network television than cable, and much better on ESPN than on any of its sub-channels.

The NCAA meet in Austin was expected to benefit the city with about $38 million in total economic impact. A study by the local economic development firm Angelou Economics projected the primary impact sectors as $9.5 million in hotel revenues, $9 million in food and drink spending and another $13 million in general entertainment spending.

4.
Diving icon Louganis to auction medals for charity

After multiple attempts to sell his Olympic medals have come up short, Olympic diving star Greg Louganis has teamed up with London-based Bonhams for an authorized auction of three of his Olympic medals, from Montreal 1976, Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul in 1988.

Per the announcement:

“The three medals – 1988 Gold (estimate: $800,000 – 1.2 million), 1984 Gold (estimate: $600,000 – 900,000), and 1976 Silver (estimate: $200,000 – 300,000) – will make a world tour this summer beginning in Los Angeles followed by New York, London, and then returning to Los Angeles for the final sale on September 14. Louganis is raising money for an HIV/AIDS service organisation that he has long championed.”

Louganis, now 63, won five Olympic medals in all, starting with the Platform silver in 1976, the Springboard and Platform golds in Los Angeles and the Springboard-Platform golds again in Seoul in 1988.

He gave the 1984 Platform gold to his coach, Ron O’Brien, and the 1988 Springboard gold to Jeanne White-Ginder, whose son, Ryan White, died at age 18 of pneumonia after contracting AIDS from a blood transfusion.

He has retained the Montreal Platform silver, Los Angeles Springboard gold and Seoul Platform gold. They have been on sale before, including on Louganis’ own site in November 2022, and in March of this year with the asking price for the Los Angeles gold at $1.5 million, and less for the others, but without any takers.

5.
BBC cautious on Women’s World Cup rights cost

The British Broadcasting Corporation’s Chief Content Officer told a Parliament committee that it would like to show the FIFA Women’s World Cup – that starts on 20 July in Australia and New Zealand – but at a fair price.

Charlotte Moore told the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Tuesday:

“We really look at fair value for everything that we do, and the BBC has a strong track record in paying absolutely the right price for things.

“As I say, we’re market-assessing and audience-assessing and looking at the variants for each bid that we put in, and that’s our promise to the audience and to licence fee payers.

“I think we would all share the intention to get these things nailed down because for productions it’s incredibly important, so I think it’s in everybody’s interests to sort these things out.

“But I can’t comment on commercial negotiations that would obviously affect those decisions. We’re absolutely committed.

“We are doing everything we can to make sure that we obtain the rights for as much of women’s sport as we can within the budget and the funding envelope that we have, and we make those decisions across the year.

“We go into negotiations at the right time when those bids come up and we have to go through a system. But we don’t always dictate the speed of that financial situation.”

FIFA has said the bids from broadcasters in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain are too low. A joint bid by the BBC and ITV was reported at £8 million (~$10.1 million U.S.).

In comparison to the wildly-popular 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, this year’s tournament is an unfavorable time zone, with matches from 1 a.m. to noon, British time.

Moore added:

“We want to do everything we can, thinking about value for money for our audiences and whether tournaments are live in-peak or whether they’re through the middle of the night and where they’re placed.

“We take a huge amount of care and detail about how we make sure we don’t over-inflate the market but we really help the market grow, so we’re looking at that.”

Meanwhile, FIFA announced Tuesday that it had “awarded free-to-air rights to next month’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand to the Pacific Cooperation Broadcasting Limited (PCBL). The deal means that PCBL will distribute the tournament to 24 free-to-air broadcasters in the Pacific islands and will ensure that at least one match per day will be available for free in each of the territories.”

The affected countries include Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Federation States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and American Samoa.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games ● Further to yesterday’s post about the International Judo Federation’s decision to award a co-championship to France’s Teddy Riner and Russian Inal Tasoev in the 2023 Worlds men’s +110 kg class, and the famous 2002 co-golds decision in Pairs skating, how about the 1992 Olympic Solo final in Synchronized Swimming?

Olympedia.org co-founder Dr. Bill Mallon (USA) notes, American Kristen Babb-Sprague won the event in the pool in Barcelona, ahead of favorite Sylvie Frechette (CAN), in part due to an error by the Brazilian judge of hitting the wrong key when entering Frechette’s score in the technical segment.

An appeal was denied by FINA (now World Aquatics) under the rules at the time, but the controversy continued well after the Games, and:

“FINA eventually caved to the pressure and elected to declare Frechette and Babb-Sprague as co-champions in October 1993, and the IOC awarded Frechette a gold medal in December 1993.”

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● Prices are going up again, as the renovation bill for the ancient, 22,00-seat Verona Arena, slated to host the closing ceremonies for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The budget initially set at €18.9 million (~$20.4 million U.S.) will apparently increase to €20.5 million (~$22.1 million U.S.), for the arena, originally built by the Romans in the year 30. New communications and security infrastructure is being installed, along with better accessibility.

Reports indicate that some of the added cost may be subsidized by the Italian government.

● Athletics ● Faith Kipyegon’s heroics on the track, with world records in the women’s 1,500 m and 5,000 m, have not gone unnoticed in Kenya. The Associated Press reported that she was awarded KES 5,000,000 for setting the women’s 1,500 m world record and a fully furnished three-bedroom home for the 5,000 m world record at a meeting with Kenyan President William Ruto. Kipyegon said she would use the money to money her father a new car.

At current exchange rates, the five million Kenyan shillings are worth about $35,842 U.S. Ruto promised similar honors for other world-record setters.

The annual Paavo Nurmi Games, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meet, took place in Turku (FIN) on Tuesday, with U.S. athletes winning four events: Cravont Charleston in the men’s 100 m (9.95; wind: +0.1 m/s), Jamal Britt in the men’s 110 m hurdles (13.32; +0.3), KC Lightfoot in the men’s vault at 5.90 m (19-4 1/4) and Brooke Andersen in the women’s hammer (76.45 m/250-10).

Clayton Murphy of the U.S. finished second in the men’s 800 m, 1:44.40-1:44.91 to France’s Benjamin Robert.

There were excellent field–event marks, including a world-leading javelin win by Tokyo Olympic silver winner Jakub Vadlejch (CZE) at 89.51 m (293-8). Olympic champ Daniel Stahl (SWE) beat World Champion Kristjian Ceh (SLO), 70.38 m (230-11) to 68.67 m (225-3) in the men’s discus.

Tokyo Olympic runner-up Nicola Oyslagers (AUS) equaled the outdoor world lead in the women’s high jump at 2.01 m (6-7) and Finn Wilma Murto moved to equal-fourth on the 2023 outdoor year list in winning the women’s vault at 4.75 m (15-7).

Sad news of the passing of Harvey Glance, the long-time coach at Auburn (1991-97) and Alabama (1997-2011), and an Olympic 4×100 m gold medalist at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.

Glance passed away on Monday after suffering cardiac arrest, at age 66, after a period of illness. He is remembered as a star sprinter at Auburn and then a coach and mentor. He was the NCAA champion at Auburn in the 100 and 200 m in 1976 and won the U.S. Olympic Trials before finishing fourth at the Montreal Games 100 m. He led off the winning relay team, with Johnny Jones, Millard Hampton and Steve Riddick, in 38.33, winning by 0.33 over East Germany.

He won the NCAA 100 m title again in 1977 and continued competing through 1987, qualifying for the U.S. 100 m squad in 1980, but unable to compete in Moscow due to the American boycott, and as an alternate for the 1984 relay team.

As a coach, he had success at both Auburn and Alabama, but is best remembered for mentoring Grenada’s Kirani James to a gold medal in the London 2012 Olympic Games, the island’s first-ever Olympic medal. Coached by Glance, he also won a silver at Rio 2016 and a bronze at Tokyo 2020.

Glance, instantly recognizable for his bright smile, was an important contributor to U.S. national teams as coach of teams at the Pan American Games (1999), World University Games (1997) and many others.

● Fencing ● In the aftermath of the FIE’s approval of Russian and Belausian entries as neutrals and the refusal by Poland to allow athletes from either country for the European Games in Krakow, the European Championships in individual events were moved to Plovdiv (BUL) for this weekend.

The Russian Fencing Federation announced that it would send six fencers to Plovdiv: three each in Epee and Sabre, their first appearance in FIE events since March of 2022.

● Gymnastics ● USA Gymnastics announced that its 2024 Olympic Trials in all disciplines will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

First up will be the USA Gymnastics Championships from 22-26 June at the Minneapolis Convention Center, featuring rhythmic gymnastics, acrobatic gymnastics, and trampoline & tumbling, with Olympic selections on the line in rhythmic and trampoline.

The U.S. Olympic Trials in artistic gymnastics will follow from 27-30 June at the Target Center in Minneapolis, with the 2024 Olympic team to be announced at the conclusion of the meet.

● Swimming ● The first day of the Australian World Championships Trials in Melbourne produced more strong performances, including the no. 2 performance of the year in the women’s 400 m Freestyle from Olympic champ Ariarne Titmus.

She won her event in 3:58.47, to move to no. 2 in the world for 2023, behind Canadian star Summer McIntosh’s 3:56.08 world record from March.

Tokyo Backstroke double gold medalist Kaylee McKeown won the women’s 200 m Medley in 2:07.60, her second-fastest ever and the no. 3 performance of the year behind McIntosh’s 2:06.89 from March and McKeown’s best ever of 2:07.19 in May.

Tokyo Olympic 100 m Fly bronze winner Emma McKeon won her event with ease in 56.74, moving her to no. 5 in the world for 2023. She wasn’t impressed with the time: “I was hoping for a bit quicker but this is trials and it’s all about making the team.”

World men’s 400 m Free leader Sam Short won that event at 3:43.38, just ahead of Elijah Winnington (3:43.48) and Rio 2016 gold medalist Mack Horton (3:46.71). That’s the no. 3 performance of the year for Short, and moved Winnington to no. 3 performer slot for the year.

Zac Stubblety-Cook, the Tokyo Olympic men’s 200 m Breast winner, took the men’s 100 m Breast on Tuesday in 59.68.

The French Elite Championships are also going on, in Rennes, and Leon Marchand, the Arizona State and French star, scored a second world-leading performance and a national record with a 2:06.59 win in the men’s 200 m Breast event on Sunday (11th). He also moved to no. 4 on the all-time list.

He’s also the world leader in the 400 m Medley at 4:07.80 from April, and has also taken the French titles in the 200 m Free in 1:46.44 and 200 m fly in 1:55.79 so far.

Maxime Grousset won the men’s 100 m Free in a speedy 47.62 to move to no. 3 on the 2023 world list.

● Weightlifting ● Indonesia won a third men’s gold at the IWF Grand Prix in Havana (CUB), as Rahmat Abdullah dominated the 81 kg class. The 2021 and 2022 Worlds gold medalist at 73 kg was easily the best at the higher weight, lifting a combined total of 358 kg, way ahead of Gaygysyz Torayev (TKM: 319 kg).

The women’s 64 kg class was won by neutral (Belarusian) Dziyana Maiseyevich, who lifted a combined total of 210 kg, beating Maria Lobon (COL: 205 kg).

In a statement on the IWF Council meeting held on Monday (12th), passage was noted on:

“On technical matters, three topics were approved: 1. Competition platforms will have a maximum of 80cm height (instead of 100cm); 2. The Video Replay System (VPT) has to be always used in IWF events; 3. The athletes are not allowed to carry flags during medal ceremonies.”

The last item will be of special interest at the World Championships and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The IWF also approved “financial assistance to the Cuban organisers of the 2023 Grand Prix, in order to compensate for the loss caused by numerous last-minute withdrawals from the competition,” as more than 400 lifters had been expected, but only about 250 actually showed.

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Sport Climbing to re-admit Russians … next year; new Pan Am Games CEO 130 days out; on McLaughlin-Levrone’s 400m in Paris

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

★ Friends: If you would like to support our coverage, please donate here. Your enthusiasm is the reason this site continues. Thank you. ★

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Sport Climbing starts RUS-BLR re-entry, but not for Paris?
2. IJF gives Riner and Tasoev co-world titles at +100 kg!
3. Pan Am Games organizers replace CEO 130 days out!
4. McLaughlin-Levrone not sure about World Champs event(s)
5. First glimpse at LA28 sports team from ASOIF report

The International Federation of Sport Climbing approved re-admittance of Russian and Belarusian athletes as neutrals, but not until 2024. The head of the Russian Climbing federation thinks, that unless changed, this is a backdoor way of keeping their athletes out of the Paris 2024 Games. The International Judo Federation decided to make France’s Teddy Riner and Russian Inal Tasoev “co-World Champions” in the +100 kg class as a possible refereeing error may have cost Tasoev the title outright in overtime of the recent World Championships. The Pan American Games organizers in Santiago, Chile have changed chief executives with 130 days to go, apparently at the direction of the new national Sports Minister, who is also the Chair of the organizing committee. Tokyo double gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone discussed her 400 m race at the Paris Diamond League meet in detail, but said she is not sure what events she will run at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest this summer. A few details on the fledgling sports department at the LA28 organizing committee were disclosed in its report to the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations at the end of May, with more action coming by the end of the year.

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (Pressure to raise Stade de France rental cost) = ASOIF (distribution tier move confirmed) = Athletics (3: Bowie died from childbirth complications; Obiena clears 6 m; more AIU doping suspensions) = Shooting (Olympians lead U.S. nationals winners) = Swimming (World Aquatics nominates swimmers of 2022) = Weightlifting (U.S. wins again at IWF Grand Prix in Havana) = Wrestling (UWW allows first Russians & Belarusians at European U-17s) ●

1.
Sport Climbing starts RUS-BLR re-entry, but not for Paris?

“The Executive Board of the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) has approved to start a process for the reinstatement of athletes holding Russian or Belarusian passports as neutral athletes starting from 2024.

“Under the terms of the approved process, which adhere to guidelines issued by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) earlier this year, athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports will be required to obtain neutral licences as a precondition to register themselves to IFSC events from 2024.”

The decision was based on a presentation made by a specially-appointed team of IFSC Oceania Council President Naomi Cleary (AUS), IFSC Athletes’ Commission President Shauna Coxsey (GBR), and the IFSC Research & Development Director Silvia Verdolini (ITA).

The announcement restates the IFSC’s support for Ukraine, but lines up squarely behind the International Olympic Committee’s position on athletes as above nationalities or politics. The decision, however, maintains for now the suspension of the Russian and Belarusian federations.

The delay in allowing Russian or Belarusians to compete until 2024 is seen by the Russian federation as a clever way to keep both countries out of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Dmitry Bychkov, President of the Russian Rock Climbing Federation, told TASS:

“Based on the time frame for admission, our guys will miss the entire qualifying round for the Olympic Games – 2024. The first two stages – the World and European Championships – will be held this year, a qualifying tournament is planned for the first half of 2024, but invitations there will be distributed according to the international rating according to the results of the 2023 season.

“Is there any minimal possibility that the situation will change? IFSC reserves the right to make a new decision on the admission parameters at any time.

“We do not agree with this state of affairs and believe that if the decision has already been made, then the procedure could start right now. There is no real need to wait until 2024, there are no global processes that IFSC needs another six months to launch. At the same time, I can note that in the current situation, the dialogue with the IFSC has not been lost, it exists, and therefore we were waiting for completely different decisions.”

2.
IJF gives Riner and Tasoev co-world titles at +100 kg!

Hardly unprecedented but still startling when it happens, the results of a world championship bout in judo has been revised.

On Friday, the International Judo Federation, which had already admitted a possible scoring error in overtime of the men’s World Championship +100 kg final, issued a further statement:

“During the final between Teddy Riner (FRA) and Inal Tasoev (AIN), there was one situation where neither the referee on the mat nor the IJF Refereeing Commission gave any score.

“Following a thorough expert analysis, according to the current refereeing rules, a score could have been awarded for Inal Tasoev’s counterattack.

“Therefore, the International Judo Federation declares both athletes as the winners of the contest and award a gold medal and the corresponding ranking points to Inal Tasoev.”

So Riner and the Russian Tasoev – competing as a “neutral” athlete now co-gold medalists. Tasoev heard about the change during a training session:

“I learned about this decision from our head coaches and from the sports director of the [Russian Judo Federation], Kirill Denisov. We had a training session, it was suspended, and this decision was announced to all of us. Of course, it’s nice. Now it’s not the second place, I’m not a prize-winner, not a vice-champion.

“Anyway, in that situation, I blamed myself first of all, because I always look at myself first of all, at my mistakes. They didn’t appreciate the action, so it’s my mistake. I am not a judge, my job is to fight.”

And the announcement did not go unnoticed by Russian President (and noted judo enthusiast) Vladimir Putin, who issued a statement that included:

“I am sincerely glad that the International Judo Federation has reviewed the results of the last World Championship and restored sports justice. You deservedly recognized as the winner of this prestigious competition.

“I am sure that you have new successes and achievements ahead of you.”

There have been multiple instances of this kind of change, such as the elevation of Canadian Pairs skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier to co-gold medal status with Russians Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, after howling criticism of the scoring and a possible fix by at least one judge.

3.
Pan Am Games organizers replace CEO 130 days out!

Just 130 days to go before the opening of the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile, but the organizing committee has a new head in 61-year-old Harold Mayne-Nicholls.

He replaces Gianna Cunazza, 39, as Executive Director of Santiago 2023, who left the organizing committee last week. She had made a report to the PanAm Sports Executive Committee in Miami on 22 May, but left on 6 June, saying in a statement posted to Twitter:

“Through this statement, I inform you that I have submitted my voluntary resignation, which will take effect from Tuesday, June 6th.

“It is a day full of emotions, but above all, I feel calm and grateful.”

No reasons were given for her resignation. Mayne-Nicholls, 61, was announced as the new chief executive on 7 June and will officially begin on Wednesday (14th). He was previously the head of the Chilean Football Federation and has extensive event organizing experience with FIFA; he was asked by Chilean Sports Minister Jaime Pizarro, to take the post. Pizarro is also new to the Pan Am Games effort: he was named as sports minister in March and was appointed as the Chair of the organizing committee’s board of directors on 23 March 2023.

Asked about the situation, Mayne-Nicholls told PanAm Sports:

“Believe in us. Since the Munich 1972 Olympic Games, there was always a tendency to doubt whether or not the Games would arrive on time in terms of infrastructure, and the same thing has happened with the Pan American Games. It is like this, because the projects take time, the work cannot be accelerated and since it cannot be accelerated, we must believe in the new schedule that the experts on the subject give us and they have guaranteed to us that they will be delivered on time.

“We are on the right foot to be able to arrive on time and to be able to meet all the requirements of Panam Sports and also of the Chilean community to make these Games a great, great event. …

“To the Presidents and Secretaries General of the National Olympic Committees, I also encourage you to remain calm. We are working at full speed and to the best of our abilities to give all our energy so that when you and your athletes come you can enjoy the Games but also everything that this country has to offer you. See you this October.”

4.
McLaughlin-Levrone not sure about World Champs event(s)

Last Friday’s Diamond League Meeting de Paris produced world records in the women’s 5,000 m and men’s Steeple and a sensational world best in the men’s two-mile, pushing the first race of 2023 for Olympic and World Champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone aside.

She opted for the 400 m instead of the hurdles, in which she is the world-record holder, and scored a lifetime best of 49.71, finishing second to Dominican Marileidy Paulino, the Olympic and Worlds silver medalist and 2023 world leader at 48.98.

A deeper analysis of the race is available thanks to the extraordinary results operation provided by Omega for the Diamond League races, which for the 400 m included split times for all lanes in 50 m increments (!):

McLaughlin-Levrone:
● 50 m: 6.30
● 100 m: 5.29 (11.59)
● 150 m: 5.43
● 200 m: 5.64 (22.66)
● 250 m: 5.93
● 300 m: 6.35 (34.94)
● 350 m: 6.94
● 400 m: 7.83 (49.71) ~ Lifetime best

Paulino:
● 50 m: 6.62
● 100 m: 5.51 (12.13)
● 150 m: 5.56
● 200 m: 5.74 (23.43)
● 250 m: 5.87
● 300 m: 6.10 (35.40)
● 350 m: 6.45
● 400 m: 7.27 (49.12)

McLaughlin-Levrone had almost a half-second lead at 300 m, but Paulino covered the final 100 m in 13.72 vs. 14.77 for the American star. Third-placer Salwa Eid Naser (BRN) covered her final 100 in 13.98 on her way to a 49.95 finish.

Afterwards, the always-unflappable McLaughlin-Levrone spoke to FloSports about the race and the plan from coach Bobby Kersee:

“Really happy with the season opener, PR. Obviously things to clean up, but for 2023, I’d say that’s a good start.

“I felt good, felt strong getting out, obviously things to work on on the back end, but my coach wanted me to take it out and see how I felt and I can’t complain with that first 200.”

Asked about the tough final straight, she explained:

“Just not enough racing. Obviously, after a few races you kind of get the feel for that lactic acid, so [for the] first race, I knew that was to be expected and I’m excited to go home, clean up some stuff and come back.”

And as for the 400 m on the flat instead of the hurdles:

“It’s a little different, no barriers in front of you, it’s a little faster. It’s a different kind of pain, getting used to it, figuring out how to run the race, and trying to better every time.”

Asked about her future schedule, she shook her head: “One race at a time. Just glad I got through this one.”

Michael Johnson, the triple gold medalist from Atlanta 1996, observed on Twitter:

● “The critical thing I saw was never coming off the gas for the full race. Single most critical key to a fast 400 IMO is this two step process:
“1) Get to race pace ASAP with fast 1st ~70m. Syd √
“2) Then relax and stop pushing, (but maintaining speed!!!) through to 200m. Syd X”

● “There’s a direct correlation between level of exertion on the backstretch and the resulting ability to finish down the homestretch. BUT, and this key, how fast you run the first ~70m of a 400m race has no bearing on the rest of the race. First ~70m is free territory.”

● “It’s possible Bobby Kersee instructed Syd to run the Paris 400 as a time trial 300 all out and see what you have left. Giving him info you can’t get in a training session or by trying to win the race. Idk but it’s possible with Bobby. They don’t care about losing a DL 400 race.”

How fast was McLaughlin-Levrone going? French coach P.J. Vazel noted that her 300 m en-route split of 34.94 places her no. 5 all-time!

Not bad for a season opener.

5.
First glimpse at LA28 sports team from ASOIF report

The Los Angeles 2028 organizers have kept a studiously low profile in advance of the Paris 2024 Games, but provided some new details in their report to the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations General Assembly at the end of May.

In its nine-page written report, LA28 explained the current planning process, operated by the Games Planning and Delivery team, led by Chief Business Officer Brian Lefemina. The team leaders within this group include:

● Revenue and Commercial: Alison Katz-Mayfield
● Venue Infrastructure: Hillary Ash
● Venue Management: James Pearce

The actual sports department is part of the Games Operations group, headed by Chief Operating Officer John Harper. The sports team leader is Senior Director of Sport Nicco Campriani, the 2012 and 2016 Olympic 50 m Rifle/3 Positions gold medalist for Italy and 2016 10 m Air Rifle gold medalist. He’s well familiar with the U.S. from his time at West Virginia University, where he was a four-time All-American and the 2011 NCAA Air Rifle Champion, and graduated with a degree in industrial engineering. He also worked at the International Olympic Committee from 2017-21 in the athlete relations and sports management sectors.

He is assisted by Senior Advisor of Sport Planning Katy Dunnet, hired in May, and Clovis Jahan from professional services sponsor Deloitte, assisting on competition schedule development. More staff are planned:

“As communication with IFs increases following the IOC’s decisions on the sport program, LA28’s Sport team will grow with the aim of bringing onboard three (3) Cluster Sport Managers in late 2023. These new hires will align with similar roles in the Venue Infrastructure and Venue Management, ensuring all departments keep pace with each other.”

While most of the competition venues are in place from the Los Angeles bid in 2017, sites have yet to be announced for sport climbing, surfing and skateboarding, and decisions are yet to come from the IOC on boxing, modern pentathlon and weightlifting.

Although not formally announced, the International Canoe Federation and World Rowing have confirmed the move of their events from Lake Perris to the Long Beach Memorial Stadium, site of the 1932 Olympic rowing competitions. And this does not include any added sports which LA28 may wish to add, to be approved at the IOC Session in Mumbai (IND) in October.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The budget pressures on the Paris 2024 organizers continue, as the French Court of Auditors, in a report, suggest that the rental cost of the Stade de France stadium should be €14.5 million (~$15.63 million U.S.), not the currently-listed €10.5 million (~$11.32 million U.S.), “if the contract is still not signed.”

Paris 2024 has requested non-exclusive access for infrastructure work from 15 March to 31 May and then exclusive use from 1 June to 20 September of 2024.

● ASOIF ● The Association of Summer Olympic International Federations confirmed that the fifth – and lowest – tier of federations for distribution of Olympic television rights money has been eliminated.

The three federations in that group were the UIPM (modern pentathlon) and the newer sports of Rugby Sevens and golf (International Golf Federation), both introduced at Rio 2016.

They had remained in the fifth tier for Tokyo given the paucity of data on their popularity from just one Games, but are now to be part of the fourth tier, which has nine other sports already. This will mean a raise from the $12.98 million received after the Tokyo Games to at least $15.14 million, and likely more, in 2024 since ASOIF is asking the International Olympic Committee for 10% or more from the Paris Games than was distributed for Tokyo.

The full list of tier assignments proposed by ASOIF was not provided.

● Athletics ● A coroner’s report stated that Tori Bowie was eight months pregnant and died from complications related to childbirth.

The Rio 2016 sprint star, 32, was found dead at her home in the Orlando, Florida area on 2 May.

She won a gold on the U.S. women’s 4×100 m team, silver in the women’s 100 m and bronze in the 200 m.

Ernest John Obiena of the Philippines became the 24th man to clear 6.00 m outdoors in the pole vault with his win at the Bergen Jump Challenge in Norway on Saturday.

The Worlds bronze winner in 2022 in Eugene, and the Asian record holder at 5.94 m (19-5 3/4), he cleared 6.00 m (19-8 1/4) on his first try, which was the difference against American record holder KC Lightfoot, who cleared on his second try. Sam Kendricks of the U.S., the 2017 and 2019 World Champion, cleared 5.88 m (19-3 1/2) for third.

The Athletics Integrity Unit announced a three-year ban, for prohibited blood transfusions, by El Hassan El Abbassi (BRN), with results annulled from 8 August 2021, when he finished 25th in the Tokyo Olympic marathon (2:15:56). The normal sanction of four years was reduced by his admission of fault.

The AIU also suspended Jamaican 400 m runner Christopher Taylor (44.63 in 2022) for “Evading, Refusing or Failing to Submit to Sample Collection by an Athlete.” Taylor finished sixth in the Tokyo Olympic 400 m, and seventh at the 2022 Worlds in Eugene, and won a silver medal as anchor of the Jamaican 4×400 m team (2:58.58).

● Basketball ● The U.S. men won their eighth straight FIBA U-16 Americas Championship in Yucatan (MEX) on Sunday, continuing their streak of winning every edition of the tournament, and every game (now 43-0).

The Americans won their group matches by 96-61, 113-52 and 122-53, then moved on to the playoffs, defeating Uruguay (123-45), Puerto Rico (122-63) and then crushing Canada in the final (118-36).

Koa Peat, a 6-7 forward, led the U.S. in scoring during the tourney at 17.2 points per game, trailed by forward Cameron Boozer and guard Darryn Peterson at 16.8 each. Boozer was the top rebounder at 9.8 per game and was named Most Valuable Player.

● Shooting ● American Olympians led the way at the 2023 USA Shooting Rifle & Pistol Championships at Ft. Benning, Georgia that closed on 10 June, but with impressive collegiate talent emerging as well.

The Tokyo Olympic Mixed 10 m Air Rifle silver medalists, Lucas Kozeniesky and Mary Tucker, were both back on the podium with both taking silver. Kozeniesky was runner-up in the 10 m Air Rifle final, 251.9-251.7 to former Jacksonville State All-American Brandon Muske, and Tucker, 21, was second to Sagen Maddalena – a World Championships gold winner in the 2022 50 m Rifle/Prone Mixed Team event – 251.3 to 249.2, in the women’s Air Rifle final.

Lima 2019 Pan American Games 10 m Air Pistol silver medalist Nick Mowrer came out on top in his specialty, winning the final from Jay Shi, 236.2 to 235.8. Tokyo Olympian Henry Leverett won the men’s 25 m Rapid-Fire Pistol over 2007 Pan Am Games silver medalist Keith Sanderson, 25-22.

In the men’s 50 m Rifle/3 Positions final, former West Virginia All-American Jared Eddy out-scored Ivan Roe, 460.9-458.4 in the final.

In the women’s 10 m Air Pistol final, Lisa Emmert Traciak moved up from silver at the 2022 Winter Air Gun Championships to gold at the nationals, winning the final over Suman Sanghera, 238.2-237.3. Defending champion Katelyn Abein repeated in the women’s 25 m Sport Pistol, 32-28 over Tokyo Olympian Alexis Lagan, with Emmert Traciak fourth and Sanghera seventh.

Nebraska’s NCAA champ Cecilia Ossi won the women’s 50 m Rifle/3 Positions title at 458.3 in the final, over Tokyo Olympic fifth-placer Maddalena’s 457.6, with Tucker finishing fourth.

● Swimming ● World Aquatics announced the opening of public voting for its swimmer of the year in 2022, with four candidates each for men and women:

Men:
● Thomas Ceccon (ITA) ~ World Champion, 100 m Back
● Leon Marchand (FRA) ~ World Champion, 200-400 m Medleys
● Kristof Milak (HUN) ~ World Champion, 100-200 m Butterflys
● David Popovici (ROU) ~ World Champion, 100-200 m Free

Ceccon set a world record in the 100 m Back, Milak broke his own world mark in the 200 m Fly and Popovici, then 17, claimed the world record in the 100 m free at 46.86.

Women:
● Katie Ledecky (USA) ~ World Champion, 400-800-1,500 m Free
● Summer McIntosh (CAN) ~ World Champion, 200 m Fly and 400 m Medley
● Kaylee McKeown (AUS) ~ World Champion, 200 m Back
● Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS) ~ World Champion, 100 m Free

Public voting will be held this week only, ending on Saturday (17th) on Instagram, to be combined with votes from media, retired athletes, technical officials and sports leaders. The winners will be announced at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka (JPN).

● Weightlifting ● U.S. success continued at the IWF Grand Prix in Havana (CUB), with 21-year-old Ryan Grimsland winning the men’s 73 kg class, lifting a total of 327 kg, ahead of Turkey’s 2022 European Champion, Muhammad Ozbek (324 kg), with fellow American Caden Cahoy fourth (320 kg).

It’s Grimsland’s first international title after a brilliant junior and youth career.

Indonesia’s Eko Yuli Irawan, the 2016 (62 kg) and Tokyo (61 kg) Olympic silver medalist, won the men’s 67 kg title at 321 kg for his combined lifts, in front of 2022 World Champion Francisco Mosquera of Colombia (311 kg).

In the women’s 59 kg class, Mexico’s Janeth Gomez – 10th at the 2022 Worlds – won a tight battle with Taylor Wilkins of the U.S., 223 kg to 221 kg, with Gomez lifting one more kg in both the Snatch and Clean & Jerk. Wilkins missed her final tries in both lifts, denying her the victory, but took home the U.S.’s fifth medal (2-3-0) so far.

Competition continues through the weekend.

● Wrestling ● United World Wresting announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes will be allowed to compete in the European U-17 Championships in Tirana (ALB) from 12-18 June, as neutrals. However, the UWW announcement noted:

“With safety as a top priority and following a thorough examination of registrants by United World Wrestling, four individuals from Russia and Belarus have been denied access and subsequently removed from the competition. The review of the registrants by the UWW eligibility panel was based on vetting reports carried out by a private integrity services provider (Sportradar) and led to the exclusion of these individuals, ensuring fair and transparent participation in the Championships.”

The entry lists show 19 “neutrals” entered in the men’s Freestyle classes; 20 in Greco-Roman and 20 in women’s Freestyle for nearly-full teams.

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Amazing three WRs in Paris, then Florida’s 2:57.74 earns NCAA men’s title on Friday; Alfred’s triple earns NCAA’s women title for Texas

By
Rich Perelman
-
Ethiopia's Lamecha Girma claims the world record in the men's 3000 m Steeplechase at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Paris (Photo: Marta Gorczynska for Diamond League AG)

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

★ Friends: If you would like to support our coverage, please donate here. Your enthusiasm is the reason this site continues. Thank you. ★

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Three world records at sensational Paris Diamond League!
2. NCAA men: Florida’s 2:57.74 4×4 record earns team title
3. NCAA women: Alfred’s birthday triple win leads Texas to the title
4. North Korea no-shows at IWF Grand Prix
5. ISU maintains ban on Russia and Belarus for now

On one of the best weekends of track & field ever, three world records – okay, two world records and a world best – were set at the Meeting de Paris in France, with Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen running 7:54.10 to take down a 26-year old mark in the men’s two-mile, Kenyan sensation Faith Kipyegon moving up to 5,000 m to set her second world record in a week, this time in the 5,000 m and Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma blasting the 19-year-old men’s Steeplechase record in 7:52.11. There were also more world leaders from Kenyan Emmanuel Wanyonyi in the men’s 800 m, Grant Holloway of the U.S. in the 110 m hurdles and British star Keely Hodgkinson in the women’s 800. At the NCAA Track & Field Championships in Austin, Texas, Florida had to win the 4×400 m relay to take the men’s team title and did it in style with a collegiate record of 2:57.74! Courtney Lindsey of Texas Tech won the 100 m in 9.89 and Nigerian Udodi Onwuzurike took the 200 m for Stanford in 19.84. The women’s final day featured St. Lucia sprinter Julien Alfred of Texas on her 22nd birthday, leading off the winning 4×100 m team in 41.60 and then winning the 100 and 200 in 10.72w and 21.73w as the Longhorns won the team title easily. Florida’s Jasmine Moore set a collegiate record of 14.78 m (48-6) to repeat as triple jump champion. There was great concern at the IWF Grand Prix in Havana that a North Korean team of lifters – who had not been subject to outside doping tests since 2019 – might upset the competition, but the entire team turned out to be a no-show, raising questions about whether the country will compete at all in Paris in 2024. The International Skating Union made no decision on the re-entry of Russian and Belarusian athletes to competition, but decided to study the possibilities further. The reaction from Russia was harsh – as expected – but the ISU Council was more concerned about its financial future if its audience, especially on television, does not improve in the near future.

● World Championship: FIFA men’s U-20 (Uruguay manages 1-0 win over Italy in final) ●

● Panorama: Badminton (Five countries win at Singapore Open) = Canoe-Kayak (Fox sweeps Slalom World Cup in Prague) = Cycling (2: Vingegaard storms to Criterium du Dauphine win; Schurter wins again at Mountain Bike World Cup) = Gymnastics (2: Godwin dominates Osijek World Challenge Cup) = Sport Climbing (U.S.’s Grossman takes Brixen World Cup) = Taekwondo (Olympic champs win three at Rome World Cup) = Volleyball (Cuba beats U.S. in NORCECA men’s U-21 final) = Weightlifting (U.S. wins three medals in first five weights at IWF Grand Prix) = Wrestling (Olympic champs Steveson, Snyder, Taylor and World Champs Gray, Elor, Winchester and Parrish star at Final X) ●

● Errata: Some readers saw a version of Friday’s headline that left out the “r” in Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. This has been corrected. ●

1.
Three world records at sensational Paris Diamond League!

It was just a one-night track meet, the annual Diamond League Meeting de Paris at the Stade Charlety, but it turned out to be one of the most memorable nights in track & field history:

● Norway’s Olympic 1,500 m and World 5,000 m champ Jakob Ingebrigtsen smashed Kenyan Daniel Komen’s impressive 1997 two-mile record with a brilliant 7:54.10, essentially running back-to-back 3:57 miles.

● Kenya’s two-time Olympic 1,500 m gold medalist Faith Kipyegon followed up her 2 June world mark in the 1,500 m with an unbelievable 14:05.20, defeating existing record holder Letsenbet Gidey (ETH) in the process.

● Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma executed his race plan perfectly to break the 2004 mark by Saif Shaheen (QAT) with a spectacular 7:52.11, winning by more than 17 seconds.

That wasn’t all, as there were more world-leading performances:

● Men/800 m: 1:43.27, Emmanuel Wanyonyi (KEN)
● Men/110 m hurdles: 12.98, Grant Holloway (USA)
● Women/800 m: 1:55.77, Keely Hodgkinson (GBR)

Ingebrigtsen’s world-record attempt at two miles (3,218.7 m) was early in the program and he ran alone after the pacesetters stepped off at 2,400 m. His pace did not drop and he pushed relentless to break Komen’s 7:58.61 time from 1997. He ran 55.4 from 2,800 to 3,200 m and 1:53.6 from 2,400 to 3,200 m to set an impressive new mark of 7:54.10, that may not be challenged for a long time. Even Ingebrigtsen was impressed: “I was a bit surprised about the time in the end.”

His mile splits were 4:00.3 and 3:53.8 (!); and was timed at 3,000 m in a world-leading 7:24.0, moving to no. 4 all-time. Kenya’s Ishmael Kipkurui was second in 8:09.23 and American Paul Chelimo was fifth in 8:15.69. 

While Ingebrigtsen had been pointing for a world best (two miles was dropped as a world-record distance in the 1970s), Kipyegon had not run a 5,000 m since 2015 and no one was quite sure what would happen. The race was a one-on-one duel between world-record holder Gidey (14:06.62 in 2020) and Kipyegon after 3,000 m and the Ethiopian star had the lead with two laps to go. Kipyegon took a slight lead after that, but on the final lap, Gidey pushed to the front on the backstraight, but Kipyegon was game and flew by into the final straight and away to win in a staggering 14:05.20 for her second world record in a week!

Gidey finished in 14:07.94, the no. 3 performance of all time. Even Kipyegon was stunned:

“I do not know how I made it. I just focused on the green light and tried to stay relaxed and enjoy the race. I just did the race and wanted to see what happens, when I saw that it was a WR I was sooo surprised. It was all about giving my best. I just wanted to improve on my PB, the WR was not my plan.”

American Alicia Monson was eighth in 14:34.88, the no. five outdoor performance in U.S. history.

Girma’s attempt at the 2004 Steeple world mark of 7:53.63 by Saif Shaheen of Qatar (originally Stephen Cherono of Kenya) was completely planned, but like Ingebrigtsen, he was on his own. The Tokyo silver medalist even ran past the second pacemaker after 1,000 m and was against the clock the rest of the way. He was more than 12 seconds ahead of the field by 2,000 m and never faltered, taking the last lap (exterior water jump) in 63.8 and finishing in 7:52.11.

Japan’s Ryuji Muira set a national record in second at 8:09.91, 17.8 seconds behind! Anthony Rotich was the only U.S. runner in the race and got a lifetime best of 8:16.27. Said Girma afterwards, “I felt so fast during the race, so confident. The world record is not a surprise, I planned to beat it tonight in Paris. It’s a result of a full determination.”

Those were just the records!

World Champion Holloway had control of the men’s 110 m hurdles early and never let up, breaking the tape at 12.98 (wind: -0.5 m/s), his fifth career sub-13 time. France’s Just Kwaou-Mathey was second in 13.09, followed by Jamal Britt (13.14) and Daniel Roberts (13.14) of the U.S.

In the men’s 800 m, it looked like Canadian star Marco Arop would be the winner on the home straight, but a mass finish saw Wanyonyi, 18, burst free in the final 5 m to get to the line first, improving his own world-leading time from 1:43.32 to 1:43.27. Arop finished in 1:43.30 as the top seven broke 1:44! Wow.

There was no such drama in the women’s 800 m, as Hodgkinson, 21, stormed away from the field after 500 m and won going away in a national record 1:55.77, no. 25 all-time, but also no. 7 this century! Ajee Wilson of the U.S. overtook long-time rival Natoya Goule (JAM) for second, 1:58.16 to 1:58.23.

U.S. fans had a lot to cheer about, with American wins in the men’s 100 m (Noah Lyles), 400 m hurdles (C.J. Allen), women’s 200 m (Gabby Thomas), discus (Valarie Allman) and hammer (Brooke Andersen).

Lyles used his patented late rush to edge Ferdinand Omanyala (KEN), 9.97 to 9.98 into a headwind (-0.9), Allen came on late to impress in the hurdles in 47.92 – his first Diamond League win – with France’s Wilfried Happio second (48.26) and Trevor Bassitt of the U.S. third (48.28). Thomas, who has been fighting injuries, looked supreme in mastering the curve and then storming the straight for a 22.05-22.34 win over fellow American Abby Steiner, with Marie-Josee Ta Lou (CIV) third, also 22.34.

Allman won the disc on her fourth throw of 69.04 m (226-6), with Croatian star Sandra Perkovic second (65.18 m/213-10). Andersen threw 77.13 m (253-0) to beat fellow American Janee Kassanavoid (74.74 m/245-2). Canada’s Ethan Katzberg scored an upset over world leader Rudy Winkler of the U.S. in the men’s hammer, 77.93 m (255-8) to 77.63 m (254-8).

Almost totally overshadowed was the much-anticipated women’s 400 m, with world leader Marileidy Paulino (DOM) and 400 m hurdles world-record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of the U.S.

The American was out well and leading on the far turn, but Paulino shot ahead and ran away with a dominant performance in 49.12, with McLaughlin-Levrone getting a lifetime best of 49.71 in her first flat 400 m since 2018 and moving to no. 20 all-time U.S.

Portugal’s Auriol Dongmo got a season’s best of 19.72 m (64-8 1/2) to overcome World Champion Chase Ealey (19.43 m/63-9) and world leader Maggie Ewen (19.26 m/63-2 1/4) of the U.S. in the women’s Shot.

Australia’s Tokyo runner-up, Nicole Olyslagers, won the women’s high jump over Vashti Cunningham of the U.S., clearing 2.00 m (6-6 3/4) to 1.97 m (6-5 1/2). Fellow Australian Nina Kennedy, the Worlds bronze medalist last year, won the vault at 4.77 m (15-7 3/4) over Margot Chevrier (FRA: 4.71 m) and Olympic and World champ Katie Moon of the U.S. (4.71 m/15-5 1/2).

Tokyo Olympic champ Miltiadis Tentoglou won the men’s long jump at 8.13 m (26-8 1/4) and Japan’s Haruka Kitaguchi, the Worlds bronze winner in 2022, took the women’s jav over World Champion Kelsey-Lee Barber (AUS), 65.09 m (213-6) to 62.54 m (205-2).

A fabulous meet, but the nightcap was still to come.

2.
NCAA men: Florida’s 2:57.74 4×4 record earns team title

More hot sprinting highlighted Friday’s NCAA Division I Championships for men under very warm conditions in Austin, Texas, with Florida’s spectacular 4×400 m squad producing a collegiate record to win the race and the team title.

The men’s 100 m final was amazing, with seven under 10.00 and Courtney Lindsey of Texas Tech making a late surge to get to the line first out of lane eight in 9.89 (wind: +1.8 m/s) and moving to equal-third on the 2023 world list.

LSU soph Godson Oghenebrume (NGR) was just behind a 9.90 and Houston’s Shaun Maswanganyi (RSA) was third in 9.91.

The 200 m was another scorcher, with qualifying leader Udodi Onwuzurike (NGR) of Stanford surging past Lindsey to win in 19.84, with Lindsey leading until the last gasp (19.86); Texas Tech’s Terrence Jones (BAH) was third in 19.87.

Florida underscored its relay power in the 400 m, taking 1-2 with Emmanuel Bamidele (NGR) winning in 44.24 and teammate Ryan Willie next in 44.25, now nos. 4-5 in the world for 2023. Tennessee’s Emmanuel Bynum was third in 44.49, now no. eight this season.

The 400 m hurdles was also crazy, with Alabama going 1-2 with Chris Robinson winning in 48.12 – now no. 4 on the world list – and Corde Long in 48.53.

LSU mixed-nationality team won the 4×100 m in a speedy 38.05 after Texas Tech was disqualified for passing out of the zone, with Florida moving up to second in 38.26, which had significant team-title implications.

The meet came down to the 4×400 m, with Florida already owning the collegiate record and needing to win and for Arkansas to finish fourth or worse for the Gators to win. Bamidele led off and teamed with Jacory Patterson, Jevaughn Powell (JAM: 44.94) and Willie (44.28) to lower their collegiate standard to 2:57.74. That gave Florida a 57-53 win and its sixth NCAA men’s outdoor title.

That 2:57.74 is faster than all but six countries! Arizona State was second at 2:57.78 (Justin Robinson 43.92 on anchor!), followed by UCLA at 2:59.82. Wow!

The 800 m was another shocker, with Georgia frosh Will Sumner suddenly moving from a 1:46.53 man last season to a 1:44.26 lifetime best in the NCAA final, no. 8 in the world and no. 1 in the U.S. for 2023. Is he ready for a World Championships berth? He went out in just 53.15, but came home in 51.15!

Washington went 1-2 in the 1,500 m with soph Nathan Green and last year’s winner, Joe Waskom, in 3:42.78 and 3:42.93; favored Kenneth Rooks (BYU) took the Steeple at 8:26.17, and Ky Robinson (AUS) from Stanford added the 5,000 m title (14:04.77) to his 10,000 m win.

Arkansas got an impressive win from its Jamaicans: freshman Jaydon Hibbert, who won by more than two feet at 17.56 m (57-7 1/2), and Philip Lemonius took the 110 m hurdles in 13.24 (+1.8). The Razorbacks got an important second from Roja Stona in the discus at 65.55 m (215-0), ahead of 2022 World Champion Mykolas Alekna (LTU) of Cal, who threw 63.25 m (207-6). Arizona State’s Turner Washington got a huge final throw of 66.22 m (217-3) to steal the victory.

3.
NCAA women: Alfred’s birthday triple win leads Texas to the title

On Saturday, Texas was favored to win the women’s NCAA team title on home turf and started with a 41.60 win in the 4×100 m with sprint favorite Julien Alfred (LCA), Ezinne Abba (USA), Rhasidat Adeleke (IRL) and Kevona Davis (JAM).

Defending champ Alfred, Abba and Davis were all in the 100 m final and Alfred took over at 30 m and was never headed, winning by 5 m on her 22nd birthday in 10.72w (+2.3 m/s), with Kennedy Blackmon (Oklahoma State) second in 10.87w. Davis was fifth and Abba seventh, giving Texas 16 points in the team race.

Alfred was the NCAA Indoor 200 m winner and blew the field away in the straightaway to win by daylight in a wind-aided 21.73 (+2.5 m/s). Ole Miss’ McKenzie Davis came on in the final 50 m to get second (21.88w), with Texas’ Davis third (22.02w) and Lanae Thomas fifth (22.36w).

Hot and humid conditions are good for sprinters and the Longhorns dominated the day on the way to the team title, with Alfred collecting three wins on Saturday, on the way to a final total of 83 points, way ahead of Florida (51) and Arkansas with 46.

All eyes were on Arkansas junior Britton Wilson in the 400 m, the collegiate record holder at 49.13, trying for a crazy 400 m/400 m hurdles double inside a half-hour. But Ireland’s Adeleke was even coming into the straightaway and ran away in the final 75 m to win in 49.20, no. 3 in the world in 2023, no. 20 all-time and an Irish national record. Wilson was second in 49.64, after running 49.36 in the semifinals on Thursday.

Wilson was on the track again for the 400 m hurdles – in which she was defending champion – just 24 minutes later, but she was never in contention, coming off the final turn in sixth and finishing seventh in 55.92. Instead, it was Canada’s Savannah Sutherland (Michigan) who came off the curve in front and won in 54.45, with Kentucky’s Masai Russell second in 54.66.

Wilson skipped the 4×400 m, but the Razorbacks had no trouble winning in 3:24.05, the no. 2 time in the world this year. Joanne Reid (JAM) gave Arkansas the lead on the second leg, then Nickisha Pryce (JAM: 50.33) blew the race apart and gave Rosey Effiong (50.73) a lead that grew to more than 20 m into the straight. Texas A&M was second in 3:26.12 and Ohio State third in 3:26.72.

Russell, LSU’s 2022 NCAA champ Alia Armstrong and Arkansas’ Ackera Nugent (JAM) came in 3-4-6 on the 100 m hurdles world list, and Armstrong had the lead early, but Nugent took off after hurdle five. Armstrong hit hurdle five, and Nugent steamed to the finish in a sensational 12.25w (+3.8 m/s), the equal-seventh fastest time under all conditions!

Russell hit the second hurdle, but came on to finish second in 12.32w, with Armstrong at 12.49w.

LSU’s Michaela Rose, the favorite coming in, led wire-to-wire in the 800 m, winning in 1:59.83, with Oklahoma State’s Gabija Galvydyte (LTU) second in 2:00.47.

In the 1,500 m, North Carolina State’s defending 5,000 m champ Katelyn Tuohy pushed the pace and led on the final turn, but had nothing left into the straight and it was Harvard soph Maia Ramsden (NZL) pushing hardest to win in a lifetime best of 4:08.60, with Oregon’s Isabella Thornton-Bott (AUS) coming up for second in 4:09.21.

Tuohy scratched in the 5,000 m, so Florida’s SEC champ Parker Valby took off and forged a huge lead over the first 4,000 m and entered the final lap 50 m in front after a 72-second lap and she stormed home in 15:30.57. The 10,000 m winner from Thursday, Utah Valley junior Everlyn Kemboi (KEN) was second at 15:39.57. She took the 10,000 m in 32:39.08, throwing down a 68.8 final lap to pass defending champ Mercy Chelangat (KEN) of Alabama, who eventually finished third (32:49.62), with Oregon’s Emily Venters second (32:47.70). Venters took the bronze in the 5,000 m at 15:42.40.

Greta Karinauskaite (LTU) of Cal Baptist set a hard pace in the Steeple with only Olivia Markevich of Notre Dame close, but with 300 m left, Markevich blew by and won in 9:25.03, 10-second lifetime best and now no. 19 on the 2023 world list. Karinauskaite was second in 9:30.85.

Florida’s Jasmine Moore, the 2022-23 NCAA Indoor champ and 2022 outdoor winner, took the lead in the triple jump with her opener of 14.37 mw (47-1 3/4w), then exploded to 14.78 m (48-6) in the second to erase Keturah Orji’s 2018 mark of 14.62 m (47-11 3/4). That moves Moore to no. 2 in the world for 2023!

Oregon’s Jorinde van Klinken (NED), the two-time defending champ, set a meet record of 65.20 m (213-11) in the second round of the discus; she’s already second in the world this season behind Allman. She improved to 65.55 m (215-0) in round three and that was the winner.

Ball State’s Charity Griffith won the high jump at 1.93 m (6-4). Estonia’s Pippi Lotta Enok, a freshman for Oklahoma, won the heptathlon with a lifetime best of 6,165, ahead of Beatrice Juskeviciute (LTU) of Vanderbilt (6,117).

4.
North Korea no-shows at IWF Grand Prix

There was considerable anxiety at the International Weightlifting Federation’s Grand Prix in Havana (CUB) with the registration of 14 North Korean lifters.

Absent since 2019 and with that country closed tight over Covid-19 fears, its athletes could have been doping since there was no access for testers. In fact, the IWF had to issue a statement on 24 May that included:

“As an International Federation determined to eradicate doping and deliver a fair and clean sport, we fully understand the strength of feeling on this matter and recognise the legitimate concerns of those speaking out.”

The IWF promised to meet with North Korean officials to establish a proper testing situation and if not agreed, to re-evaluate their entry into the meet.

No need.

The North Koreans will not show.

NKNews.org reported that “a North Korean athlete did not appear for his official weigh-in on Thursday, after the IWF made repeated attempts to contact sports and Olympic authorities in Pyongyang since Monday without success.”

That would be Pang Un Chol in the men’s 55 km class. Competition continues through the 18th.

Their absence indicates that no North Korean athletes will be able to compete in weightlifting at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, but there is still a ways to go to be absolutely sure. It does raise the question of whether North Korea will compete at all in Paris next year, after completely skipping the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021.

5.
ISU maintains ban on Russia and Belarus for now

“The ISU Council decided to explore the feasibility issues with regard to potential pathways to implement the IOC recommendations within ISU Sports.

“The Council will continue to monitor the situation in Ukraine and its impact on the ISU activity as well as the decisions and their implementation within the Olympic Movement. In the meantime, ISU Communication 2469 remains in force.”

That from the International Skating Union Council meeting of 9-11 June, maintaining the ban on Russian and Belarusian skaters for now, while further discussions take place on possible re-entry conditions and protocols.

Russian hopes were high for this meeting; so was the disappointment:

● Calgary 1988 Ice Dance gold medalist Natalya Bestemyanova told the Russian news agency TASS:

“If I were a major sports executive, I would think about alternative competitions exactly on the dates of the European Championships, Four Continents Championships, World Championships and see where the advertisers go. I think there will be countries that will hold international competitions with us. Remember the World Championships, it was ridiculous, it’s not a start.”

● Legendary coach Tatyana Tarasova told TASS:

“I did not expect such a decision, I could not even imagine that they would be punished so harshly for anything. This is just a mockery of us. No one has ever been suspended for two years.”

The next ISU Council meeting is scheduled for October, as the 2023-24 season will be getting underway.

The ISU’s 2022 financial report also noted some impact from the ban on Russian skaters especially:

“The sanctions against Russia and the absence of Russian Skaters in ISU Events resulted in basically no advertising and media rights fee incomes from Russia. The first substantial negative impact of about CHF 1 million on the profit and loss statement will be noticed during 2023. The existing reserve of CHF 2.5 million for crisis situations will be partially dissolved to counter-balance this negative impact.” (CHF 1 = $1.11 U.S.)

This paragraph caused immediate hysteria in Russia, with Dmitry Svishchev, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports, hyperventilating:

“If it goes on like this, ISU will be left without money and may become bankrupt.”

In fact, the ISU financials showed reserves of CHF 241.58 million at the end of 2022. So much for bankruptcy.

Of larger concern was a note that the ISU – and other federations such as FIS and the IIHF – received $5.3 million less from the International Olympic Committee for television rights from the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games than from PyeongChang 2018: approximately $43.7 million vs. $49.0 million. This was primarily attributed to impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic.

And the ISU Council telegraphed its considerable worry about its economics for the future in the face of worldwide economic headwinds:

“Unless we reverse the trend in TV ratings, renewing TV contracts at the current level will be challenging. At the same time, finding new sources of income, including the acquisition of new sponsors, will require time and effort. In addition, expenditures will continue to rise as we strengthen our efforts in good governance, sustainability, and safeguarding athletes.”

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ≡

● Football ● The final of the FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup between Uruguay and Italy in La Plata, Argentina was tense but scoreless until Uruguayan forward Luciano Rodriguez finally headed in a corner that found the back of the net in the 86th minute for a 1-0 win.

Although Italy had more possession, Uruguay was on attack (and attack and attack), with a 15-3 final edge on shots, but unable to score until late, but it was enough. Italy committed 22 fouls to Uruguay’s 12 to keep it close, and Italian keeper Sebastiano Desplanches made a spectacular save on a 4×1 break at 90+10 to save a clinching goal before a huge crowd of 38,257 at the Estadio Unico Diego Armando.

Uruguay is a first-time winner in this tournament, after being runner-ups in 1995 and 2013, but never champions in 15 prior appearances. Italy’s previous best finish in the U-20s was a bronze in 2017 and fourth in 2019.

Israel won the bronze medal with a 3-1 decision over South Korea. Ran Binyamin scored in the 19th minute, but the Koreans tied it on a penalty from Seung-won Lee in the 24th. Two late goals came from Omer Senior in the 76th and Anan Khalaili in the 85th to seal the win for Israel, a team which Indonesia tried to keep out of the tournament on anti-Semitic grounds, with FIFA promptly removing the event to Argentina.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Badminton ● Five matches and five different countries with victories at the Singapore Open with only one top seed making it to the top of the podium.

That was China’s women’s Doubles team of Qing Chen Chen and Yi Fan Jia, who defeated Ha Na Baek and So Hee Lee (KOR), 21-16, 21-12.

Two second-seeds won, with Se Young An (KOR) overcoming top-seeded Akane Yamaguchi (JPN) in the women’s Singles, 2116, 21-14, and Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (INA) sweeping Anders Antonsen (DEN) in the men’s Singles final, 21-16, 21-13.

The men’s Doubles saw fourth-seeded Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi (JPN) defeat no. 7 Wei Keng Liang and Chang Wang (CHN), 21-13, 21-18. Unseeded Mathias Christiansen and Alexander Boje (DEN) won the Mixed Doubles in an upset over second-seeds Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino (JPN), 21-14, 20-22, 21-16.

● Canoe-Kayak ● Australian star Jessica Fox added to her impressive medal collection with more wins at the ICF Slalom World Cup II in Prague (CZE).

The three-time Kayak World Champion, she won the women’s final in 98.95 seconds (0 penalties) over German Ricarda Funk, the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist (103.58/2) and Tokyo C-1 silver winner Mallory Franklin (GBR: 104.90/2).

Fox then scored her 43rd career World Cup victory in the Canoe final in 109.13 (2), ahead of Monica Doria Vilarrubla (AND: 110.57/0) and Gabriela Satkova (CZE: 111.02/0).

Britain’s Kimberley Woods, the 2022 European runner-up, won her fifth career World Cup title in the Kayak Cross final, beating European champ Tereza Fiserova (CZE) and Italy’s Stefanie Horn to the line.

Home favorite Jiri Prskevic (CZE), the Tokyo Olympic winner, took the men’s Kayak final in 89.67 seconds (0 penalties), trailed by teammate, 2022 World Champion Vit Prindis (90.55/0) and Italian Giovanni de Gennaro, the 2022 Worlds runner-up (90.82/0).

Tokyo Olympic winner Benjamin Savsek (SLO) won the Canoe final in 97.65 (0), well ahead of Rio 2016 silver medalist Matej Benus (SVK) 101.26 (0) and Jules Bernardet (FRA) 102.90 (2).

Switzerland enjoyed a 1-2 finish in the men’s Kayak Cross final, with Dimitri Marx and Jan Rohrer taking the top places.

● Cycling ● If the 75th edition of the Criterium du Dauphine fulfills its role as a preview of the Tour de France, then Danish star Jonas Vingegaard is ready for his title defense.

Vingegaard took over the lead following his 31-second win on the hilly stage 5, moving from second to first and taking a 1:10 lead on the field. On the triple-climb seventh stage on Saturday, he crushed the field, soloing over the final 5 km to win by 41 seconds over British star Adam Yates and take a 2:11 edge over Yates into the final day’s mountainous, 152.8 km route into the Grenoble Alps region.

Italy’s Guilio Ciccone, a three-time stage winner on the Giro d’Italia, attacked with 20 km remaining and soloed home with the Stage 8 win in 4:06:04, with Vingegaard second (+0:23) and Yates third (+0.33).

Vingegaard finished at 29:28:39, with a 2:33 lead on Yates and 2:56 on Australia’s Ben O’Connor in third.

France’s Christophe Laporte won stages 1 and 3 and had the early lead over the hilly stages, but once the real climbing started, Vingegaard was supreme.

At the second stop for the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, in Lenzerheide (SUI), the legendary Nino Schurter of Switzerland showed that he is still at the top of his game at age 37, winning the men’s Cross Country (XCO) race by 15 seconds!

Schurter, a 10-time individual World Champion, was in front virtually from the start and piled up a huge lead and cruised home in 1:24:04, way ahead of South African 2018 U-23 World Champion Alan Hatherly (1:24:19) and 2020 World Champion Jordan Sarrou (FRA: 1:24:20). It was Schurter’s 34th career World Cup victory.

Luca Schwarzbauer (GER) won the men’s Cross-Country Short race in 19:47, just ahead of Sarrou and +0:04 on Sebastian Fini Carstensen (DEN).

The women’s Cross Country victory went to 2022 World Champion Loana Lecompte of France, who led early, trailed briefly in mid-race, then rode away with an 18-second triumph in 1:24:41. That was 18 seconds up on three-time Worlds medal winner Anne Terpstra (NED: 1:24:59) and 32 seconds ahead of Swiss Alessandra Keller (1:25:13).

Rio 2016 Olympic Cross Country champ Jenny Rissveds (SWE) took the nine-lap women’s Short race in 20:34, just two seconds up on Keller and Pauline Ferrand Prevot (FRA).

Britain swept the Downhill races (non-Olympic events), with 18-year-old Jordan Williams registering a surprise victory in the men’s race in 2:39.222 over Worlds bronze medalist Loris Vergier (FRA: 2:39.717) and five-time World Champion Loic Bruni (FRA: 2:39.707). Five-time World Champion Rachel Atherton, 35, won the women’s race in 3:07.514, beating Swiss 2020 World Champion Camille Balanche (3:08.048) and Nina Hoffmann (GER: 3:08.301).

● Gymnastics ● Australia’s Georgia Godwin continued her medal-winning ways at the third FIG Artistic World Challenge Cup, this time in Osijek (CRO).

Godwin, who won two events and a silver in a third last week in Tel Aviv, won the Vault again, scoring 13.333 to edge Csenge Maria Bacskay (HUN: 13.099), then placed second to Naomi Visser (NED) in the Uneven Bars, 14.333 to 13.700.

On Sunday, Godwin swept the Beam and Floor events, scoring 13.900 to win on Beam, ahead of Barbora Mokosova (SVK: 12.700) and Visser (12.666). On Floor, Godwin scored 13.400 to edge Denelle Pedrick (CAN: 13.300) for her third gold in four events on the weekend.

Ukraine’s Ilia Kovtun, the 2021 Worlds All-Around bronze medalist, and a five-time winner in the World Cup Series earlier in the year, won the men’s Parallel Bars at 15.133, ahead of Turkey’s two-time European Champion Ferhat Arican (14.966) and Brazil’s two-time Pan American champ Caio Souza (14.533).

On Floor, Bulgarian Eddie Penev (ex-U.S.), won his second World Challenge Cup gold, this time scoring 14.100 to win over Ahmet Onder (TUR: 13.800). Armenia went 1-2 on the Pommel Horse, with Gagik Khachikyan scoring 14.766 to 14.600 for 2021 European champ Artur Davtyan; Kovtun took the bronze (14.500).

On Sunday, Davtyan won the Vault with 15.033, ahead of Souza (14.683), but Souza took the win on Horizontal Bar with 14.300, out-scoring teammate (and 2019 World Champion) Arthur Marinaro (14.166) and home favorite 2017 World Champion Tin Srbic (CRO: 14.166).

On Rings, Armenia’s 2022 Worlds fourth-placer Artur Avetisyan won at 14.666 in a tight battle with London 2012 winner Arthur Zanetti (BRA: 14.533) and Souza (13.933).

Brazil dominated the Pan American Rhythmic Championships in Guadalajara (MEX), taking gold and silver in the All-Around with Barbara Godoy (127.950) and Geovanna Santos (123.950). Americans Evita Griskenas (123.100) and Alexandria Kautzman (116.000) were 3-4.

In the apparatus finals, Mexico’s Marina Malpica on on Ball (31.900) over Santos (31.600) and Kautzman (31.100), with Santos taking the Hoop title at 32.900), ahead of Godoy (32.800) and Griskenas (32.650).

Godoy won on Clubs (31.100) ahead of Kautzman (30.700) and Santos (30.450), and on Ribbon (32.550) with a clear win over Santos (31.300) and Canada’s Tatiana Cocsanova (30.200). Kautzman was the top U.S. finisher in Ribbon at 28.600 for fifth.

● Sport Climbing ● American Natalia Grossman won her ninth career IFSC Boulder World Cup and second this season at Brixen (ITA), defending her title from 2022.

Grossman, 21, was consistent, scoring four tops in all three rounds and was the only one with four tops in the final, plus four zones in 12 tries for each (4T4Z 12/12). Korea’s Chae-hyun Seo finished second (3T3Z 3/9) and Stasa Gejo (SRB) finished third with 3T4Z 5/6. Said the winner:

“I’m pretty excited right now. This one was a little challenging. The third boulder gave me a run for my money. I kind of started rapid firing which is something I’ve been trying not to do but I think just knowing I only had a few attempts left, sometimes it just takes me a while to learn a move. It’s just repetition.”

It was encouraging to see the return of Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi, 33, who got into trouble at home for wearing her head scarf “improperly” at the Asian Championships in Korea last October. She had not appeared in any IFSC event so far this season; she finished 41st in the qualifying round and did not advance to the semis.

In the men’s final, Britain’s Toby Roberts, 18, scored his first World Cup gold with a 3T4Z 10/7 performance, ahead of last week’s World Cup winner, Korean Do-hyun Lee (2T3Z 3/4), with Yoshiyuki Ogata (JPN: 2T4Z 5/6) in third. Colin Duffy was the top American, in seventh and did not make the final.

● Taekwondo ● Coming just a week after the 2023 World Championships was the World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Rome (ITA), with none of the Worlds winners repeating their wins.

In the women’s finals, two of the four classes featured the new World Champions … but both lost. At 57 kg, Britain’s Jade Jones– the two-time Olympic gold medalist from 2012 and 2016 – defeated Iran’s Nahid Kiani, the 2023 Worlds winner, 8-6, 5-3, for a ninth Grand Prix title. Faith Dillon of the U.S. won a bronze.

At +67 kg, France’s Worlds champ Althea Laurin lost to China’s Lei Xu, 1-0, 7-4, to take silver; it’s Xu’s first career Grand Prix gold.

Tokyo Olympic 49 kg winner Panipak Wongpattanakit (THA), second at the 2023 Worlds, defeated Spain’s Adriana Cerezo (ESP) in a re-run of the Olympic final, winning this time by 4-1 and 3-2. At 67 kg, China scored a second win with Jie Song overcoming Belgian Sarah Chaari by 5-2, 0-4, 3-1, for her first Grand Prix medal.

In the men’s division, Tokyo Olympic 68 kg winner Ulugbek Rashitov of Uzbekistan won his weight class with a 7-3, 7-0 victory in the final over Levente Jozsa of Hungary, while Worlds 58 kg bronze winner Adrian Vicente took his first Grand Prix gold by defeating Iran’s Mahdi Hajimousaei, 9-15, 10-3 and 6-4.

Jordan took the 80 kg gold as Saleh Al-Sharabaty – the Tokyo Olympic silver medalist at 80 kg – came from behind to defeat 2022 Worlds bronzer Mehran Barkhordari (IRI), 5-7, 4-4 (criteria), 6-5. Britain’s Caden Cunningham won his first career Grand Prix gold by defeating three-time Worlds medal winner Nikita Rafalovich in the +80 kg final in an 8-4, 14-8 sweep.

● Volleyball ● Cuba and the U.S. fought to a fifth game in their pool match at the NORCECA men’s U-21 Pan American Cup in Havana (CUB), with the home team winning, 22-25, 25-22, 25-22, 21-25, 15-11. Neither was challenged in their other matches and after semifinal wins over Puerto Rico (by Cuba) and Canada (by the U.S.), they matched up again in the final.

This time, the U.S. won the first two sets, 25-21, 25-21 and the third set went to 28-28 before the Cubans escaped with a 30-28 win. Then they handled the U.S. in set four by 25-15 and completed the comeback with a 15-11 win in the final set to take the match and the title!

Canada won the bronze by three sets to one over Puerto Rico.

● Weightlifting ● The long-promised first IWF Grand Prix finally got underway in Havana (CUB) with 272 lifters from 58 countries registered in an early event for Paris 2024 qualification (without North Korea, the totals drop to 258 from 57). .

The U.S. scored three medals in the first five weights, with Hayley Reichardt taking silver in the women’s 49 kg class behind 2019 Pan American Games winner Beatriz Piron (DOM), with totals of 191 kg to 190 kg.

Jourdan Delacruz did even better, winning the 55 kg class at 195 kg, ahead of Shoely Mego of Peru (191 kg total).

Hampton Morris took silver in the men’s 61 kg division, lifting a total of 290 kg, behind Indonesia’s Ricko Saputra (295 kg).

In the men’s 55 kg class, Osmel Argote of Cuba won at 222 kg (only two competitors) and Rosielis Quintana (VEN) won the women’s 45 kg event at 159 kg (only two competitors).

The tournament continues through the 18th.

● Wrestling ● The big names were out at the Final X tournament in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday to determine who will represent the U.S. at the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade (SRB), and three men’s Olympic Champions and four women’s World Champions earned their tickets in best-2-of-3 matches:

In the men’s Freestyle finals:

● Tokyo 125 kg gold medalist Gable Steveson – returned to the mat from WWE training – shut down Mason Parris, 6-2 and 5-0.

● Rio 2016 97 kg champ Kyle Snyder will try to win a fourth world title after taking a walkover over the injured J’den Cox, himself a two-time World Champion at 92 kg.

● Tokyo 86 kg champ David Taylor got past Aaron Brooks, 6-0 and 5-4.

The big shock of the men’s Freestyle was Chance Marsteller’s upset win over six-time World Champion Jordan Burroughs at 79 kg, 3-3 (for Burroughs), 5-4 and 8-3. Burroughs had been on every U.S. national team since 2011, but it will be Marsteller’s first World Championships.

Four-time World Champion Kyle Dake will return, winning 6-0 and 3-0 over Jason Nolf at 74 kg, and 2022 Worlds silver winner Zain Retherford will return at 70 kg after an 11-2, 4-3 win over Tyler Berger.

Zane Richards (57 kg), Vitali Arujau (61 kg), Nick Lee (65 kg) and Zahid Valencia (92 kg) all qualified for their first Worlds, with Richards taking out 2021 World Champion Thomas Gilman (4-3, 8-6) and Lee defeating 2022 Worlds silver winner Yianni Diakomihalis (7-6, 8-8 criteria).

In the women’s Freestyle bouts:

● Six-time World Champion Adeline Gray – and new mother of twins – is on her way again at 76 kg, reversing her upset loss to Kennedy Blades at the U.S. Open by 7-5 and then a pin at 4:38.

● Amit Elor, last year’s sensation who won the U-20, U-23 and World Championships golds, will return after winning consecutive 10-0 technical falls over Joye Levendusky.

● Jacarra Winchester, the 2019 World Champion at 55 kg, won by 10-0 and 11-0 over Alisha Howk to make her fourth Worlds squad.

● Dominique Parrish, the 2022 World 53 kg Champion, defeated Katie Gomez by pinfall at 1:54 in the first match and by 5-0 in the second.

Two-time Worlds medal winner Kayla Miracle won at 62 kg over Adaugo Nwachukwu, 6-1, 10-3; Sarah Hildebrandt, a three-time Worlds medal winner at 50 and 53 kg, will go at 50 kg after a 8-0, 11-0 shutout of Audrey Jimenez.

First-time Worlds team members will include Jennifer Page (59 kg), Macey Kilty (65 kg) and Emma Bruntil at 68 kg. Kilty defeated two-time Worlds medal winner Mallory Velte, by pin and 6-5. Bruntil got by 2021 Worlds bronze winner Forrest Molinari, 6-3, 2-3 and finally by 3-2.

The 57 kg bout between Rio Olympic champ Helen Maroulis (53 kg) and Xochitl Mota-Pettis was postponed due to an injury.

In the men’s Greco-Roman division, seven prior World Championships team members qualified for Belgrade: Ildar Hafizov (60 kg), Alejandro Sancho (67 kg), Patrick Smith (72 kg), Kamal Bey (77 kg), Spencer Woods (82 kg), Josef Rau (97 kg) and Cohlton Schultz at 130 kg.

Making their first Senior World Teams were Brady Koontz at 55 kg, Xavier Johnson at 63 kg and Zachary Braunagel at 87 kg.

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For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: LA28 report for 2021 shows improving finances; Texas’ Alfred, Neugebauer star at NCAAs; McLaughlin-Levrone in action in Paris!

By
Rich Perelman
-
A July poll said Americans like the 2028 Olympics being in Los Angeles by 78-4%!

★ 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 ≡

1. LA28 annual report shows encouraging 2021 finances
2. NCAA T&F: Texas’ Alfred and Neugebauer dominate
3. McLaughlin-Levrone and Ingebrigtsen at Meeting de Paris
4. World Boxing: IBA expulsion an “opportunity to move on”
5. FIFA details Women’s World Cup pay; renews with AB InBev

The once-a-year report from the LA28 organizing committee to the City of Los Angeles showed another loss on paper, but in fact their finances are beginning to look up. The overall budget remained unchanged at $6.884 billion. At the NCAA Track & Field Championships in Austin, Texas, home favorite Julian Alfred led the qualifying in the women’s 100 m and 200 m and led off a brilliant 4×100 m in which the Longhorns ran 41.55, faster than all but four countries in history! Germany’s Leo Neugebauer, also competing for Texas, won the decathlon in a world-leading 8,836, a new national record! The Wanda Diamond League continues on Friday at the Meeting de Paris, with the first outdoor appearance by 400 m hurdles record-holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone this season, but in the flat 400 m. Norwegian superstar Jakob Ingebrigtsen will challenge one of the great world records on the books: Kenyan Daniel Komen’s 1997 mark of 7:58.61 in the two-mile. World Boxing issued a statement saying it is ready to help create a pathway for the sport back into the Olympic Games for 2028, following the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board decision to expel the International Boxing Association, with a vote coming on 22 June. FIFA released the details of its pay plan for players in the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand – from $30,000 to $270,000 – and announced that more than one million tickets have been sold so far. It also announced a continuing sponsorship through the 2026 FIFA World Cup with AB InBev, undeterred by the problems at last year’s World Cup, when the Qatar government did not allow beer to be served at the stadia.

● World Championship: Football (Uruguay and Italy advance in U-20 World Cup) ●

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (LVMH sponsorship coming) = Wrestling (protesters suspend actions on promise of arrest) ●

1.
LA28 annual report shows encouraging 2021 finances

The LA28 Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee has mostly adopted the rule of silence in its build-up to 2028, but is required by its agreement with the City of Los Angeles to provide an annual report, including financial statements.

The 2023 edition was made public on Wednesday, with data on 2021 and included both audited financials and its IRS Form 990 tax return. The formal presentation showed another big loss for the year, but the detail showed the first signs of financial support from the efforts of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Properties joint venture by LA28 and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee:

“At the end of the year, LA28 completed an integrated strategic plan and annual operating plan for 2023. The result of that plan did not have any material impact on the Games Budget. LA28 continues to manage inflationary pressures through a combination of initiatives focused on reducing the cost and complexity of the games and increasing monetization opportunities. …

“Revenue in 2021 is $22M offset by $93.2M expenses, which results in an annual deficit of $71.2M. The total cumulative deficit is $145.7M. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), LA28 is required to defer the recognition of significant revenues received ($212.9M through 2021) until the contractual obligations can be performed (e.g. activation of sponsorship and licensing rights at a future date). As deferred revenue becomes recognized in future years, it will offset the current reported deficit. LA28’s financial health is more accurately reflected by the increase in cash during the year, totaling $23.2 million, and the ending cash balance of $82.2 million. . . .

“LA28 is finalizing its accounting for fiscal year 2022. The organizing committee’s primary source of cash in 2022 was the International Olympic Committee’s payments totaling $36 million and sponsorship and licensing payments totaling $75 million.”

The LA28 budget, forecast at $6.884 billion in 2019, was confirmed as still valid.

There was also a fascinating new report in the package, forecasting cash flow for the next few years and demonstrating the back-loaded spending plan always envisioned:

Revenue:
● 2017-21: $239.7 million (actual)
● 2022: $121.6 million (actual and forecast)
● 2023: $181.7 million (forecast)
● 2024-29: $6.341 billion (forecast)

Expenses:
● 2017-21: $158.6 million (actual)
● 2022: $137.6 million (forecast)
● 2023: $189.2 million (forecast)
● 2024-29: $5.793 billion (forecast)

The totals are $6.884 billion in revenue and $6.268 billion in expenses, with the difference of $616 million the contingency cushion.

The staff total at the end of 2021 was 102, with most in Los Angeles, but:

“The Organization expects to run efficient operations with a modestly lean team for the next 2 to 3 years; however, closer to the Games, the workforce will grow to thousands, including full-time employees, contractors, and volunteers.”

Significant funds from the USOPP joint venture is already going to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee under a 2020 agreement that will pay $430 million in all:

● 2022-23-24: $58 million per year
● 2025-26-27-28: $64 million per year

Payments began in 2021 and $46.1 million was charged against the combined LA28/USOPP entity, accounting for 65% of the 2021 deficit.

Observed: It’s not possible to judge the future health of the LA28 effort from the 2021 financial statements or even the current report to the City of Los Angeles. But the revenue turbine is starting to turn and in a program which projects $2.52 billion in domestic sponsorship revenue, that’s a good sign.

Also positive is the low staff numbers shown in the financials (102) and for LA28 alone on the Form 990 tax return (87). And there are people volunteering already: 47 are shown on the tax return!

2.
NCAA T&F: Texas’ Alfred and Neugebauer dominate

A lightning delay shuffled the schedule on Thursday at the NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships in Austin, Texas, but it hardly slowed down Julien Alfred and the favored Texas women.

The first event on the track, the 4×100 m was a screamer, with home favorite Texas flying to a 41.55 win in semi three, smashing their own collegiate record (41.89) and running faster than all but four countries in history!

It’s the equal-17th performance of all time and only the U.S. (7), Jamaica (7), Germany (1) and Russia (1) have ever run faster. It was also a big start for Texas star Alfred (LCA), who led off the relay, followed by Ezinne Abba (USA), Rhasidat Adeleke (IRL) and Kevona Davis (JAM). And the final is still to come.

Alfred led all qualifiers in the 100 m at 10.99 (wind: -0.1 m/s), ahead of Rosemary Chukwuma (Texas Tech/NGR), who won semi two in 11.01. Alfred and Davis posted the fastest time in the 200 m qualifying at 22.33, both with legal wind.

Lots of eyes were on Arkansas star Britton Wilson, trying for an amazing 400 m/400 m hurdles double, and she was the fastest 400 m qualifier at 49.36 – breaking Athing Mu’s 2021 meet record! – and was the runaway top qualifier in the hurdles at 54.67, almost a second ahead of the field. She’ll run both finals on Saturday about 24 minutes apart.

The top qualifier in the women’s 800 m was Michaela Rose (LSU) at 2:00.31; Washington’s Sophie O’Sullivan led the 1,500 m in 4:09.58 and Olivia Markezich (Notre Dame) led in the Steeple at 9:40.81.

LSU’s Alia Armstrong led the 100 m hurdles qualifying, winning semi three in 12.54 (0.0), just ahead of semi one winner Ackera Nugent (JAM) of Arkansas (12.55).

In the field, Virginia Tech’s Julia Fixsen won the vault at 4.45 m (14-7 1/4), and Texas soph Ackelia Smith (JAM) – the world leader – took the long jump and the 10 team points at 6.88 m (22-7) over Stanford frosh Alyssa Jones (6.86 m/22-6 1/4).

Axelina Johnson (SWE) of Nebraska won the shot at 19.28 m (63-3 1/4) and the javelin was won by Nebraska’s Rhema Otabor (BAH) at 59.49 m (195-2). Harvard completed a sweep of the men’s and women’s hammer, with Stephanie Ratcliffe (AUS) reaching 73.63 m (241-7) for a lifetime best (and a national record) on her opening throw

The men concluded the decathlon, with a brilliant, collegiate record and world-leading performance for Texas junior Leo Neugebauer (GER), who scored 8,836 points and moved to no. 9 all-time with a German national record!

Georgia’s Kyle Garland was second at 8,630, a seasonal best, with Iowa junior Austin West third at 8,054.

3.
McLaughlin-Levrone and Ingebrigtsen at Meeting de Paris

Questions dominate the anticipation for Friday’s Wanda Diamond League Meeting de Paris in France before an expected full house of about 18,000 at the Stade Charlety:

● Women/400 m: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will run the flat 400 for the first time since 2021 and before she set her staggering world 400 m hurdles mark of 50.68 last year at the World Championships.

Her all-time best of 50.07 from 2018 ranks her no. 113 all-time. And in Paris she will face the 2023 world leader and 2022 Worlds silver medalist Marileidy Paulino (DOM) who won the L.A. Grand Prix in 48.98, and no. 5 Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain (49.78).

● Men/Two Mile: Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the Tokyo Olympic 1,500 m winner and 2022 Worlds 5,000 m gold medalist, will try two miles in competition for the first time. He’s already run 3:32.59 to win the Rabat Diamond League 1,500 m, so he in shape.

But what about Kenyan Daniel Komen’s astonishing world record of 7:58.61 from 1997? That’s two 3:59 miles run consecutively! No one else has ever broken 8:00. But LetsRun.com’s Jonathan Gault tweeted a Norwegian TV report that a recent training workout in preparation for Paris was a 6×800 m: 2:00, 2:00, 1:55, 1:55, 1:49.5, 1:49.5! No indication of how much rest he had between them, but that’s impressive.

Ingebrigtsen will also have to deal with a good field, including American Paul Chelimo, no. 2 all-time U.S. at 8:07.59 from 2019.

● Women/5,000 m: Faith Kipyegon (KEN) crushed the world record in the women’s 1,500 m with her 3:49.11 in Florence on 2 June. Now she will try the 5,000 m, which she ran twice in 2015 (14:31.95 and 14:44.51) and in 2022, when she did not finish at ISTAF Berlin.

Can she stun everyone again? World-record holder Letsenbet Gidey (ETH) is in the field; she hasn’t run on the track since the 2022 Worlds, when she won the 10,000 m and was fifth at 5,000 m. Teammate Ejgayehu Taye, no. 5 all-time at 14:12.98 last year, will be on the line, as well American Alicia Monson, possibly thinking about Shelby Houlihan’s 14:23.92 American Record from 2020.

● Men/100 m: Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs sensationally won the Tokyo Olympic title at 9.80 and has then been injured most of the time. He’s going to try it again in Paris, this time facing World 200 m champ Noah Lyles of the U.S., who has run 9.86 back in 2019.

World leader Ferdinand Omanyala (KEN: 9.84) is in as is Ronnie Baker of the U.S. (9.83 in 2021).

Olympic and World Champion Emmanuel Korir (KEN) headlines the men’s 800 m, World Champion Grant Holloway and fellow Americans Devon Allen, Jamal Britt, Daniel Roberts, Freddie Crittenden and improving Swiss star Jason Joseph are all in the 110 m hurdles.

C.J. Allen of the U.S. – no. 2 in 2023 at 47.91 – will get a major test from Worlds bronze winner and countryman Trevor Bassitt (48.43 this year) and returning Qatar star Abderrahmane Samba, 48.56 this season, but with a 2018 best of 46.98. World Hammer leader Rudy Winkler of the U.S. leads that field.

Women’s world no. 2 in the 100 m, Marie-Josee Ta Lou (CIV) will try 200 m against 2022 U.S. champ Abby Steiner, Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Gabby Thomas and two-time Olympian Jenna Prandini of the U.S. and 2019 World Champion Dina Asher-Smith (GBR).

Olympic and World silver winner Keely Hodgkinson (GBR) faces Americans Ajee Wilson and Raevyn Rogers in the 800 m. In the field, the U.S. has stars Vashti Cunningham in the high jump and Olympic and World gold medalist Katie Moon in the vault, as well as Worlds silver winner Sandi Morris.

World leader Maggie Ewen and 2022 Worlds winner Chase Ealey headline the women’s shot and Olympic champ Valarie Allman is in the discus. A lot for American fans to cheer for.

In the U.S., the meet will be shown live Friday on the Peacock streaming service from 3-5 p.m. Eastern time, with replay coverage on CNBC on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern. Quite a doubleheader with the NCAA meet in the evening!

4.
World Boxing: IBA expulsion an “opportunity to move on”

In the aftermath of Wednesday’s thunderbolt from the International Olympic Committee Executive Board, recommending withdrawal of recognition of the International Boxing Association, and calling a special Session on 22 June for a vote, the in-formation World Boxing group asked for support to get boxing back on the Olympic program for 2028.

Its statement included:

“IBA’s persistent failure to address longstanding issues over sporting integrity, governance, transparency and financial management has caused huge damage to international boxing …

“This is a very significant moment as it provides an opportunity for the sport (subject to the decision of the IOC Session on 22 June 23) to move on from the corrosive leadership of IBA which has brought boxing to a place where its status as part of the Olympic programme is in doubt.

“The loss of Olympic status would be devastating for boxing and have damaging long-term consequences, across the globe, for boxers and everyone connected with the sport, from the elite level to the grassroots.

“World Boxing was established to prevent this catastrophic situation from arising and create a better future and is committed to working constructively and collaboratively with the IOC and all other stakeholders to develop a pathway that will preserve boxing’s ongoing place on the Olympic programme.”

So far, USA Boxing, SwissBoxing and GB Boxing have withdrawn from the IBA and indicated their intention to join World Boxing. The new federation does not plan to hold a first Congress until November, so any recognition by the IOC will be well into the future.

5.
FIFA details Women’s World Cup pay; renews with AB InBev

A complete explanation of player pay for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand was disclosed on Thursday, with the national federations of the participating teams receiving from $1.56 to $4.29 million depending on their finish:

● Group stage: $1.56 million per team
● Round of 16: $1.87 million
● Quarterfinals: $2.18 million
● Fourth place: $2.455 million
● Third place: $2.61 million
● Second place: $3.015 million
● Champions: $4.29 million

Minimum pay to individual players was also detailed, which is separate from amounts provided to national federations:

● Group stage: $30,000 per player ($690,000 per team)
● Round of 16: $60,000 per player ($1.38 million)
● Quarterfinals: $90,000 per player ($2.07 million)
● Fourth place: $165,000 per player ($3.795 million)
● Third place: $180,000 per player ($4,140 million)
● Second place: $195,000 per player ($4.485 million)
● Champions: $270,000 per player ($6.21 million)

FIFA said that “the same conditions and service levels” as provided to teams at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

FIFA also announced that 1,032,884 tickets have been sold for the Women’s World Cup, with a month to go. While this is considered to be more than was sold for the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, the total reported attendance there was 1,131,312.

FIFA also announced a sponsorship agreement with AB InBev for the 2023 Women’s World Cup and the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the U.S.

This came despite the challenges faced by AB InBev at Qatar 2022, where sales of its alcoholic-beverage products were banned in the stadiums at the last moment by the Qatari government. But signals were sent at the time that indicated AB InBev’s sponsorship would continue, especially with the World Cup coming to North America.

And, with AB InBev still reeling from sharp drops in sales of Bud Light, being part of what promises to be a blockbuster World Cup makes perfect sense.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ≡

● Football ● At the FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup in Argentina, Uruguay and Italy advanced to the final, which will see one of them win this tournament for the first time.

Israel controlled 67% of possession, but Uruguay was the aggressor in the first semifinal, with a 16-8 edge on shots and a 6-2 advantage on actual shots-on-goal. There was plenty of action, with 41 fouls (22 on Uruguay), but the only score came from Anderson Duarte in the 61st minute on a rebound of a shot by Alan Matturro that was saved by Israeli keeper Tomer Zarfati.

Uruguay, runner-ups in 1995 and 2013, but never champions in 15 prior appearances in this tournament will play for its first gold on Sunday against Italy.

The Italians and South Korea played a taut match, with quick scoring in the first half from Cesare Casadei in the 14th minute (his tournament-leading seventh goal) and Seung-won Lee with the equalizer on a penalty shot in the 23rd.

But it would be more than 60 minutes before another score, finally in the 88th minute for Simone Pafundi, off a free kick with a left-footed strike to the top right corner of the goal. Italy enjoyed 64% of possession and a 20-9 edge on shots in a very active game that saw 35 total fouls, 24 of which were called on Italy.

Italy’s previous best finish in the U-20s was a bronze in 2017 and fourth in 2019. They are assured now of at least silver.

South Korea, the runner-up in 2019 to Ukraine, will play Israel on Sunday for the bronze medal.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The announcement of the long-awaited sixth top-tier domestic sponsor of the Paris 2024 organizing committee appears to be imminent, with FrancsJeux.com reporting that luxury-goods maker LVMH will sign on.

However, the agreement also has some added features, with separate agreements also reached with National Olympic Committees in Japan, South Korea and perhaps other countries in Asia, but not including China. LVMH gets access to additional markets, but without becoming a TOP partner of the IOC, at a much higher cost.

The other five top-line sponsors of Paris 2024 include BPCE, Carrefour, EDF, Orange and Sanofi.

● Wrestling ● Protests in India over sexual abuse allegations against Wrestling Federation of India President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh have been suspended after India’s Sports Minister, Anurag Thakur, said that charges would be filed by 15 June.

Some of the wrestlers met with Thakur on Wednesday; the case has been under investigations by police for several months.

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: IOC Exec Board tosses IBA, asks for 22 June confirmation; World Rowing says pairs are not a team; Austin 9.89 100 m at NCAAs!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

★ Friends: If you would like to support our coverage, please donate here. Your enthusiasm is the reason this site continues. Thank you. ★


★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. IOC Exec Board recommends IBA out, boxing in for ‘24
2. IBA calls IOC action “truly abhorrent and purely political”
3. World Rowing to allow Russian and Belarusian pairs
4. FIFA details $152 million Women’s World Cup distribution
5. Austin 9.89, Onwuzurike 19.76 in NCAA semis in Texas!

The International Olympic Committee Executive Board announced, after a quickly-scheduled meeting, that it is recommending that its recognition of the International Boxing Association be withdrawn, to be confirmed by a special Session of the membership on 22 June 2023. A 24-page report cited multiple reasons for the decision, in governance, finance and refereeing and judging. The IBA, in response, was furious and indicated it would seek a challenge in a competent court. World Rowing announced that it would allow “neutral” Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in its World Championships, but nowhere else. The federation will allow entries in the Single Sculls and the Coxless Pairs, but not in Double or Quadruple Sculls, or in Fours or Eights. FIFA divulged its distribution scheme for the upcoming Women’s World Cup, with all players to receive at least $30,000 for participating in the tournament and players on the winning team to get $270,000 each. At the first day of the NCAA Track & Field Championships in Austin, Texas, Florida’s P.J. Austin led the semifinal qualifiers at 9.89 in the men’s 100 m and Nigerian Udodi Onwuzurike led the 200 m semis at 19.76 for Stanford! Five 4×400 m teams broke 3:00, in the semifinals!

● World Championships: Surfing (New champions at World Surfing Games) ●

● Panorama: Games of the Small States of Europe (Malta wins, but questions about eligibility?) = Swimming (Penn’s Paula Scanlan says team was told Lia Thomas’ place on women’s team was not negotiable) = Taekwondo (Russian winner told not to promote victory on social media) = Tennis (Sabalenka criticizes Belarus’ war stance) = Wrestling (death of The Iron Sheik) ●

1.
IOC Exec Board recommends IBA out, boxing in for ‘24

The final page of the International Olympic Committee’s detailed, sober and even sad 24-page report on the International Boxing Association and its fitness as an international federation came to the inevitable conclusion:

“Despite the various chances given to the IBA, including the Roadmap 2021 to 2023, to address the various concerns with actual, effective evolution, the IBA was unable to provide the elements which would have allowed the lifting of its suspension. Therefore, it is not possible to reach any conclusion other than to confirm the analysis made by the IOC Session in 2019, which was at no time contested by the IBA, on the necessity to withdraw the IOC’s recognition of the IBA. Effectively, the situation has become so serious that the only proportional conclusion is to withdraw the IOC’s recognition of the IBA pursuant to the Olympic Charter.”

And this led to the final statement: “the IBA should not organise the Olympic Games LA28 boxing tournament.”

The IOC decided to act quickly on the IBA matter and in addition to Wednesday’s unannounced Executive Board meeting, it has also scheduled an additional, remote Session of the IOC on 22 June 2023 to

(1) Vote on the recommendation to withdraw recognition of the IBA as the recognized international federation for boxing, and

(2) to confirm boxing’s place on the program for Paris in 2024.

No vote was scheduled on boxing for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles; this is expected to be considered at the scheduled IOC Session in Mumbai (IND) in October.

The report detailed what the IOC has continually seen as IBA’s failures in governance, finance and refereeing and judging, including:

Governance:

● “In her report dated 31 March 2023, [British attorney and governance reviewer] Kendrah Potts made similar observations, emphasising the still ongoing lack of effective implementation of the [Governance Reform Group]’s recommendations, which continues to raise concerns about the IBA’s governance.”

● “Both the GRG and Ms Kendrah Potts took into consideration not only the positive evolution in the IBA’s statutes, but also the continuous lack of their effective implementation in the actual practice and activities of the IBA.”

● “Perhaps the most problematic example identified by Ms Potts is the lack of democracy, in particular as the elections were significantly impacted by the decision of the Independent Nominations Unit (INU) to exclude five individuals from the elections of the President and Board of Directors members, which was subsequently overturned by the CAS. The IBA Board of Directors’ decision to ask the Congress whether or not a new election should take place, rather than organising new elections with all the eligible candidates, including the right for each of them to promote their candidature, was in fact a disrespect of the CAS decision, at least in its spirit.”

● “As a consequence of the elements analysed above, it clearly appears that, four years after the last IOC Session decision and despite the many opportunities provided to the IBA, the IOC’s concerns regarding AIBA-the IBA’s effective governance are still unaddressed.”

Finance:

● “One may conclude that the IBA’s cash position can only be expected to further decline after June 2023, if the expenditure is maintained at the current budget level and no additional sources of revenues are contracted for the next period. It is understood from the IBA’s audited financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2022 (‘other deferred income’) and from the budget that the IBA’s sources of revenue were primarily deriving from the result of the previous contract concluded with Gazprom.”

Refereeing and Judging:

● “Regarding the competition phase, a number of potential risks in the integrity of the IBA’s R&J processes were already apparent from the analysis of the rules available in the public domain, which contained a number of inconsistencies and contradictions, in particular with regard to the R&J draw, R&J evaluation, bout review and competency of the Observer.”

The IOC report also noted IBA audit reports which questioned its ability to function as a going concern, and its view that all of its debts had been redeemed or excused. IBA comments which disparaged the IOC were also noted, with the conclusion “that the IBA has no interest in continuing to belong to the Olympic Movement under the leadership of the IOC. In fact, the IBA does not need the IOC’s recognition to continue its activities outside the Olympic Movement as part of the wider sports community.”

And, if the IOC Executive Board’s view is confirmed by the special, remote Session on 28 June, the IBA will be part of the wider sports community and not part of the Olympic Movement.

Observed: The IOC is ready to jettison the IBA as soon as possible. An unannounced Executive Board meeting was called, with a special Session in 15 days to confirm the decision to remove the IBA’s affiliation with the Olympic Movement.

No waiting for the Mumbai Session and the inevitable lobbying campaign that would be launched to keep the IBA in. The IOC wants the IBA out now.

That’s just one of the impacts of Wednesday’s moves by the IOC. More:

● The biggest immediate winner are boxers themselves, whose place at the Paris Games had been in doubt because of the IBA’s antics. The IOC has said, multiple times, that it has no issues with the boxers or boxing, but the IBA.

The IOC’s moves are also a positive sign for boxing’s place in Los Angeles for 2028, which are now looking up, but is not yet assured. That will come later.

● The 106 federations who backed Russian Umar Kremlev in the ill-advised, September 2022 vote not to have a IBA Presidential election re-run against then-Dutch Boxing Federation chief Boris van der Vorst, are now in a bad spot, having chosen a leader who has overseen the federation’s impending exit from the Olympic Movement.

What do they do now? What of their funding from their National Olympic Committee or national government?

● The IOC’s move obviously strengthens the possibilities for the new World Boxing group, which so far has applications coming from Great Britain, Switzerland and the U.S. How quickly it grows will be fascinating to watch; the IOC’s report did not mention the new group.

If confirmed, Wednesday’s actions will remove an international federation which was essentially a captive of the Russian government. Kremlev was the Secretary General of the Russian Boxing Federation prior to his election in 2020 and brought in the state-controlled energy giant Gazprom to solve the federation’s financial problems. This is not the outcome that was foreseen and could stall similar future takeover concepts.

The IOC’s move is historic, and is the first time in memory that it has actually thrown a federation out, as opposed to removing a specific sport from a specific Olympic Games. That fact will not be lost on the other IFs.

2.
IBA calls IOC action “truly abhorrent and purely political”

The International Boxing Association reacted with predictable fury to the IOC Executive Board recommendation:

“The International Boxing Association (IBA) considers the IOC Executive Board (EB) recommendation to withdraw IBA’s recognition truly abhorrent and purely political, as all the efforts undertaken by the IBA, with its democratically elected leadership constituting the international of boxing during last two years were largely ignored and not taken into consideration by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). …

“The IBA as the home of boxing reserves its right to take retaliatory measures, as the organization in its current state will never acknowledge the assertion that IBA is not compliant with the standards of good governance or that IBA does not deserve its place at the Olympic movement.”

IBA chief Kremlev stated, in part:

“Now, we are left with no chance but to demand a fair assessment from a competent court.

“This is watershed moment for not just IBA but for all International Federations (IFs), as what it is taking place now is a litmus test to gauge the level of apathy within IFs and the Olympic movement. Strong, autonomous, and financially independent IFs should be keenly aware and concerned as they are witnessing the time tested political and strategic tool of orchestrated coups for the sake of regime change, leaving only one winner, the organization seeking absolute power, and many losers consisting mainly the athletes.

“Today this happens to IBA and becomes a precedent for others, so everybody should be concerned about the unchecked power of the body that has no limits.”

In Russia, State Duma deputy Svetlana Zhurova, the 2006 Olympic women’s 500 m speed skating winner, told the Russian news agency TASS:

“This was to be expected, no matter how much we resisted. It is clear that the IOC cannot allow our athletes to perform with an anthem and a flag, which is why they made such a recommendation. This is an absolutely political story, there is no sport here, everyone understands this very well.”

Fellow State Duma member Nikolai Valuev, twice WBA heavyweight champ between 2005 and 2009, said:

“This is an unauthorized decision, purely political. Apparently, they want to recognize the opposition organization, but even if they don’t want it, they are being persuaded to do so.

“In today’s realities, it will be difficult for the IBA to defend its rights, there is no hope – there is no need to talk about the fairness of international courts today.”

Alexei Tishchenko, a double Olympic boxing gold medalist in 2004 and 2008, told TASS:

“Yes, this is due to the fact that Umar Kremlev heads the federation and does not heed calls to remove the Russians.

“The prize fund of the world championships was increased, the athletes began to earn. And now the IOC is trying to show other federations by this example that if they allow the Russians, it will be the same.”

3.
World Rowing to allow Russian and Belarusian pairs

“The World Rowing Executive Committee decided to allow a limited number of eligible athletes, holding a Russian or Belarusian passport, to compete as individual neutral athletes in a limited number of boat classes at upcoming World Championships. The eligibility of these athletes will be determined by a number of criteria, including a background check to ensure they are not associated with, or publicly supporting, the war in Ukraine in any form, and an enhanced anti-doping control process.”

World Rowing became the latest federation to line up behind the IOC’s recommendations of 28 March to allow “neutral” Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in international competitions. Importantly, it also became the first federation to specify further what “team” means in terms of the number of competitors.

Its decision allows Russian and Belarusian to compete only in World Championship competitions and not in any lead-up events. So, participation is authorized, subject to an eligibility review and added anti-doping testing for:

● 2023 World U-19 Championships in Paris (FRA)
● 2023 World U-23 Championships in Plovdiv (BUL)
● 2023 World Championships in Belgrade (SRB)
● 2023 World Coastal Championships and Beach Finals (Barletta, ITA).

For the senior World Championships, Russians and Belarusians can compete in Single Sculls and Coxless Pairs, but not in Double Sculls, Quadruple Sculls, Fours or Eights, but only Single Sculls in the Lightweight division.

For the Coastal and Beach Championships, only solo events may be entered by seniors, but solos and doubles are allowed for U-19s.

Single Sculls and Coxless Pairs are approved for the World U-23s, but only Fours and Eights are prohibited in the World U-19s.

So, some two-person events (Pairs) are OK, but Double Sculls are not. No explanation was given.

World Rowing promises “a thorough background-check process, implemented by a third party, to ensure that athletes who are associated with the military or war in any form, or have publicly supported the war, will be automatically excluded.”

Alexei Svirin, head of the Russian Rowing Federation, told TASS:

“Now we see that we are given the opportunity to declare a minuscule number of athletes. … We’re going to discuss this issue with the coaching staff and the organizations involved in training athletes, and then we’ll make a decision. …

“A small window has opened, only a few people can participate in the World Championship. The final decision on participation will be made by the coaching staff and the athletes, who themselves must decide if they are ready to participate in this story.”

The World Rowing position will also, no doubt, be discussed by those questioning why participation in anything other than the Single Sculls would be allowed, especially in view of the IOC’s recommendation that no team entries should be permitted.

World Rowing promised more details would be forthcoming.

4.
FIFA details $152 million Women’s World Cup distribution

With its Women’s World Cup opening on 20 July, FIFA announced that each player in the tournament would receive at least $30,000, the first time a specific amount has been guaranteed to individual participants.

The winning team – 23 players – will receive $270,000 each; The Associated Press also reported:

“The 16 nations exiting in the group stage will get a total of $2.25M from FIFA — $690,000 to shares among the players and $1,560,000 for the federation.

“FIFA will pay $10.5M to the title-winning nation. The majority of that, $6.21M, will be distributed among the players with the remaining $4.29 million going to the federation.”

FIFA has committed $152 million to the tournament, more than three times the $50 million it spent for the 2019 edition in France.

Beyond the $110 million in prize money, the federation is providing $30.7 million in preparation funding for each participating national team, and $11.5 million in funds paid to clubs whose players are in the World Cup.

The Swiss Commission for Fairness (SLK), which handles concerns about commercial communications and issues non-binding judgement, upheld complaints about FIFA’s claims of a “carbon-neutral” World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

“Complainants from Switzerland, France, Belgium, the UK and the Netherlands have accused FIFA of making false statements in its communications about carbon neutrality at the World Cup. The Second Chamber of the SLK has now upheld all five complaints following a complex process.”

The complainers asserted that FIFA’s estimates of carbon emissions related to the event were too low, were not calculated using “generally accepted methods” and did not prove its carbon offsets or how it would do so in the future. So:

“The SLK has advised FIFA to refrain from making unsubstantiated claims in the future. Particularly the claim that the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar was climate- or carbon-neutral. At the time of communication, claims of this nature could only be made if the body could – using generally accepted methods – fully substantiate the calculation of all CO2 emissions caused due to the tournament and provide proof that these CO2 emissions have been fully offset.”

There is no legal jeopardy from the Commission’s findings; FIFA is subject to SLK review as it is headquartered in Zurich.

5.
Austin 9.89, Onwuzurike 19.76 in NCAA T&F semis in Texas!

Hot sprinting was on order at the first day of the NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships in Austin, Texas, with Florida senior P.J. Austin getting a lifetime best and moving to equal third in the world in the men’s 100 m at 9.89 to win his semifinal (wind: +1.3 m/s)!

Five men broke 10 seconds, with LSU sophomore Godson Oghenebrume (NGR) next fastest at 9.93 (+0.8) and equal-10th in 2023.

Fellow Nigerian Udodi Onwuzurike (Stanford) was even hotter in the 200 m semis, winning semi two in a sensational 19.76 (+0.6), no. 2 for 2023, ahead of Texas Tech senior Courtney Lindsey at 19.88 in semi three (+0.6, no. 5 this season). Soph Tarsis Orogot of Alabama (UGA) came in behind Onwuzurike at 19.04 and Florida soph Robert Gregory won semi one at 19.95 (+1.0) and was only fourth-fastest overall! Six men broke 20 seconds and the top nine all had lifetime bests!

The top six finishers in the 400 m heats all broke 45 seconds, led by Arizona State soph Justin Robinson with a lifetime best of 44.54, no. 9 on the year list, followed by Emmanuel Bamidele of Florida and Nigeria (44.67) and Georgia’s Elija Godwin (44.73).

The distances were not quite as crazy, but pretty good semifinals. Georgia freshman Will Sumner led the 800 m qualifiers at 1:46.00, a lifetime best, Washington junior Joe Waskom had the fastest 1,500 m at 3:39.50, and Eastern Kentucky’s Abdelhakim Abouzouhir (MAR) led the Steeple at 8:35.41.

In the men’s 10,000 m final, Stanford posted a 1-2 finish with Ky Robinson (AUS) at 28:10.96 and Charles Hicks (GBR) at 28:12.20.

Arkansas junior Philip Lemonious (JAM) led the 110 m hurdles qualifiers at 13.28 (+1.1) and Alabama junior Chris Robinson had the top time in the 400 m hurdles semis at 48.79.

The relay semis were sensational, with LSU – and Oghenebrume on anchor – running 38.06 in the 4×100 m semi two, just 0.16 off of its world-leading 37.90. In the 4×400 m, five teams broke 3:00 in the semis: Florida at 2:58.62, Arizona State at 2:59.14 and UCLA at 2:59.51 in semi three, and Alabama (2:59.24) and Clemson (2:59.78) in semi one. Oklahoma ran 3:01.85 for third in semi two and didn’t qualify for the final!

There were finals in five men’s field events, with South Africa’s Kyle Rademeyer taking the vault for South Alabama at 5.70 m (18-8 1/4), and Jamaican Carey McLeod winning the long jump for Arkansas at 8.26 m (27-1 1/4; he also won the NCAA Indoor in March).

Arizona’s Jordan Geist also completed an NCAA indoor-outdoor double, winning the shot at 21.04 m (69-1 1/4), after finishing third in the hammer throw. That was won by Harvard soph Kenneth Ikeji (GBR), who reached 77.92 m (255-8) on his final throw, moving from third to first. LSU’s Tzuriel Pedigo won the javelin at 79.79 m (261-6) with a lifetime best on his third toss.

That was day one. The women’s semifinals and first set of field events will be held Thursday, with the men’s finals on Friday and women on Saturday.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Surfing ● New champions were crowned at the ISA World Surfing Games off Surf City (ESA), with Peru leading the medal table with three (1-1-1).

Mexico’s Alan Cleland won his first World Surfing Games medal and it was gold, as he triumphed in the final. He scored 18.23 to finish ahead of veteran Lucca Mesinas (PER: 16.17), Miguel Tudela (PER: 14.96) and 2020 Tokyo silver medalist Kanoa Igarashi (JPN: 14.80) in fourth.

Cleland’s win was the first ever for Mexico. Mesinas won his third career World Surfing Games medal, previously runner-up in 2016 and the bronze medalist in 2018.

Brazil’s Tati Weston-Webb won the women’s title for her first World Surfing Games medal, scoring 15.00 in the final, ahead of Erin Brooks (CAN: 14.36), Johanne Defay (FRA: 13.54) and Vahine Fierro (FRA: 12.30).

Weston-Webb scored Brazil’s first women’s division gold since 2000. Defay won her second career World Surfing Games medal, after her silver in 2017. Two-time World Surfing Games gold medalist Sally Fitzgibbons from Australia finished fifth.

Peru won the team title over France, 3,253 to 3,230, with Brazil third (2,937) and Japan (2,653) fourth. The U.S. was 15th.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Games of the Small States of Europe ● You might not have heard of it, but the 19th edition of this event was held on Malta from 28 May to 3 June, with nine countries competing – Andorra, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro and San Marino – and Malta leading the medal table with 97 (38-30-29).

But there were complaints about whether the members of the Maltese squad were actually eligible. The Times of Malta reported:

● “All athletes representing Malta were compliant with the Small Nations Games’ rules, the Maltese Olympic Committee has insisted, amid complaints that a number of participants had no connection with the island, while other athletes protested about being left out of the team.”

● “The core of many complaints has been the nationalities of players who, despite having slight or no connection to Malta, were still able to compete under the red and white flag.”

● “[Organzing committee head Mark] Cutajar and [Malta Olympic Committee] director of sports Charlene Attard admitted that some athletes were indeed included by being given a passport, just as other countries do, they remained firm on their competitors’ connection to Malta.”

When medals and trophies are at stake, there is pressure to win. Even in the Games of the Small States of Europe.

● Swimming ● Paula Scanlan, a member of the University of Pennsylvania women’s swimming team, a teammate of controversial transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, said that the university tolerated no dissent about her position on the squad:

“The university wanted us to be quiet and they did it in a very effective way.”

She told the Daily Wire that the Penn women were told in September 2019 that Will Thomas – then a member of the men’s team – “would be joining the women’s team” the following season after going through “HRT” (Hormone Reduction Therapy); “I didn’t know what that was or what that meant.” In fact, it was Will Thomas himself who led the meeting that Scanlan attended.

Scanlan added:

“I felt a little shocked and a little uncomfortable, but everyone around me looked really happy and excited for this member of the men’s team to be ‘living their true self.’

“Honestly, I can’t speak for everyone, but in my own experience, I think it was definitely just a lot of shock, that was the biggest thing. You know, you kind of, like, smile when you’re uncomfortable. That’s how I would have read it, but I can’t speak for every single person on my team, but that’s how I interpreted it and it was a situation where we’re like, ‘well, we’re going to have navigate this for the next year. At least we have a year to think about it.’ … I never thought that would be my reality.”

She explained that after one team member complained to Penn athletic department, and was convinced that Thomas’ transgender experience was worthwhile, Scanlan recalled she thought “There was something going on in that athletic department that wanted to keep us quiet, and I was like ’this is getting scary.’

Two days later, a team meeting was held, with Thomas not attending:

“They said, ‘don’t talk to the media. You will regret it.’ … Another thing they said is , ‘Lia’s swimming is non-negotiable’ and then they provided us with counseling services to help us be OK with Lia swimming.”

Thomas won the NCAA women’s 500-yard title in March 2022 in Atlanta, the first known transgender woman to win a swimming title, which has sparked continuing controversy.

● Taekwondo ● Russian World 62 kg Champion Liliia Khuzina was told at the World Championships that she should not publicize her victory. She told TASS she was instructed:

“Upon arrival in Russia, we should not associate World Cup medals with national attributes – the flag, the anthem,” including on social media. “You can’t have a flag or even a uniform with country attributes in the background.”

Khuzina said there were no written requirements. “I didn’t sign anything, they just told me in words what not to do. I tried to take it calmly. The main thing is that the task is completed.”

● Tennis ● Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, 25, who lives in the U.S. and won the Australian Open in January, is into the French Open semifinals in Paris after a 6-4, 6-4 win over Ukrainian Elina Svitolina on Tuesday, but not without controversy.

Svitolina publicly stated that she would not shake hands following any match with a Russian or Belarusian player, but Sabalenka stood at the net as if expecting a handshake anyway.

But after the match, Sabalenka attended her post-match news conference – she had skipped the prior two – and had some of her strongest comments to date on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, aided by Belarus:

“I’m not supporting war. I don’t want my country to be involved in any conflict.

“I said it many times, and you know where I stand, you know. You have my position. You have my answer. I answered it many times. I’m not supporting the war.

“And the thing that I don’t want sport to be involved in politics, because I’m just a tennis player, 25-years-old tennis player. And if I would like to be political I wouldn’t be here. I don’t want to be involved in any politics. I just want to be a tennis player.”

Asked specifically about the administration of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, she replied:

“I don’t support war, meaning I don’t support Lukashenko right now.”

Observed: Those are the kind of statements that would impress the International Tennis Federation to allow Sabalenka to compete at Paris in 2024, but they will certainly cause her not to be selected or proposed by the National Olympic Committee of Belarus, thoroughly under the control of the government.

● Wrestling ● Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, born in Iran and who competed for a spot in the 1968 Olympic Greco-Roman competition, passed away at 81.

Better known as “The Iron Sheik” in professional wrestling, he became a widely-known villain, and briefly the World Wrestling Federation champion in 1983, losing the title to Hulk Hogan in 1984. He then teamed up with “Nikolai Volkoff” (Josip Peruzovic) to win the WWF Tag Team title in 1985 and was one of the most recognizable wrestlers in the world.

He worked in many different wrestling promotions until he finally retired in 2010, and was also a manager. He was in failing health in his final years before passing was announced on Wednesday.

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: IOC Exec Board meets today on boxing future; Paris 2024 offices briefly invaded by protesters; more Tokyo 2020 sentencings

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

★ Friends: If you would like to support our coverage, please donate here. Your enthusiasm is the reason this site continues. Thank you. ★

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. IOC Executive Board meeting on IBA future in Lausanne
2. Protesters invade Paris 2024 HQ during CoComm
3. More suspended sentences in Tokyo sponsorship scandal
4. Seven U.S. wins at Szewinska Memorial in Bydgoszcz
5. Khuzina: “We were given an absolutely faceless uniform”

Update: The IOC Executive Board recommended Wednesday that the IOC Session vote to withdraw recognition of the International Boxing Association.

The International Boxing Association released a pared-down version of its 5 May report to the International Olympic Committee, in advance of what it said will be a special meeting of the IOC Executive Board on Wednesday (7th). The document, responding to IOC criticisms and concerns, rejects any attempt to remove the IBA as the governing body of Olympic boxing as both wrong and legally insufficient. In the meantime, GB Boxing announced it will apply to join the new World Boxing federation. In Paris, the IOC Coordination Commission is in town, with continuing concerns over the budget, but with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo saying in a radio interview, “We’re ready.” A small group of protesters briefly invaded the Paris 2024 organizing committee offices as part of a national protest over changes in the national retirement program, but apparently did little damage. A Tokyo judge handed down two more suspended sentences in the third Tokyo 2020 sponsorship scandal case, this time against stuffed-toy maker Sun Arrow. A total of seven men have been convicted so, all receiving suspended sentences. More to come. Americans won seven events at Tuesday’s Irena Szewinska Memorial in Poland, including a 19.95 victory by teen 200 m star Erriyon Knighton and big hammer wins for Rudy Winkler and Brooke Andersen. A survey of post-event interviews from the Florence Diamond League meet included this from discus winner Valarie Allman: “I am looking forward to spaghetti and gelato so much now, I think I deserve it.” Russia won the most medals at the World Taekwondo Championships last week, but its only gold medalist, Liliia Khuzina, said the neutrality requirements were rigidly enforced, with blank uniforms and fingernails not allowed to be painted in national colors.

● Panorama: Russia (85 sanctions – a lot – announced by RUSADA so far this year) = Volleyball (U.S. women sweep to U-21 Pan Am Cup title) ●

1.
IOC Executive Board meeting on IBA future in Lausanne

Reuters reported that a specially-called meeting of the International Olympic Committee Executive Board is being held today (Wednesday) to consider the situation in the sport of boxing and the International Boxing Association.

The IBA – formerly known as AIBA – has been suspended since 2019 over finance, governance and refereeing and judging issues and the IOC has issued multiple letters and statements expressed its displeasure with the federation, now headed by Umar Kremlev, the former Secretary General of the Russian Boxing Federation.

Wednesday’s Executive Board session is separate from the already-planned 20-22 June meeting.

On Tuesday, the IBA published a 34-page excerpt of its 400-page report to the IOC, submitted on 5 May, that makes its case for reinstatement and a return to the governance of Olympic boxing. All “confidential” information – all of the documentation and exhibits – was excluded.

The IBA’s view of the situation was summed up thus:

“[W]e can conclude that IBA made significant progress within last years. There are still ongoing reforms and a lot of work to do to improve the boxing family’s culture, but withdrawal of the IBA’s full recognition by the IOC will be not justified, fair and legally correct decision.

“We call on the IOC members to hear our arguments, note our progress and make a fair decision about the future of boxing.”

The document was organized around what the IBA calls the IOC’s “Points of Potential Non-Compliance with the Olympic Charter,” outlined in a 6 April letter from IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper (BEL) and IOC Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer Paquerette Girard Zappelli (FRA), and begins with the assertion:

“IBA provides these objections against the PoPNC with the Olympic Charter, which we suppose are biased drafted and do not take into account significant progress made by IBA since December 2020.”

The IBA then lists multiple instances in which it perceives interference from the IOC: the formation of rival federation World Boxing, a recusal of its auditor due to a conflict of interest, a refusal by ASOIF to include it in governance rankings and an equipment supplier withdrawal. Conclusion:

“When something happened the first time it is an accident, when the second time it is a coincidence, and when the third time it is already a pattern. Unfortunately, we cannot believe in accident and coincidences anymore, and we are sure that somebody in the IOC does not want IBA to return its recognition and the boxing to be at the Olympics. …

“We do hope that the IOC members will be able to read the entire and full IBA position, instead of biased review prepared by the several IOC officials.”

The IBA argues that the IOC has not fulfilled its own rules in proposing a possible revocation of recognition, and essentially promises a prompt appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The remainder of the document is a hyper-technical reply to the IOC’s concerns, relying on third-party endorsements from reports it commissioned from McLaren Global Sport Solutions and its own governance oversight group, promises of future actions and playing up what it asserts is the IBA’s unmatched competence in staging boxing events. It also complains that the IOC is not following the IBA’s rules for its Olympic qualifying competitions for Paris 2024, even though the IOC is running the qualification program itself. In short:

“[T]he allegations made by the IOC appear to be baseless and lack validity. It appears that these allegations are being used as another pretext to make a decision against IBA.”

No decision about the IBA’s recognition by the IOC can be made by the IOC Executive Board; it must be made by the IOC Session, which will take place in October in Mumbai (IND). But it can make a recommendation.

In the meantime, the in-formation World Boxing group gained a third member on Tuesday with the announcement that Great Britain – GB Boxing – will join:

“GB Boxing is to apply for associate membership of World Boxing, the new international sport federation, which has been set-up to keep boxing at the heart of the Olympic Movement.

“The decision was made by the board of GB Boxing today and reflects its determination to support World Boxing’s commitment to sporting integrity and good governance and its efforts to ensure boxing is kept on the Olympic programme for Los Angeles 2028 and beyond.”

The announcement also shared immediate future developments:

“GB Boxing’s decision follows recent announcements by USA Boxing and the Swiss Boxing Federation to leave IBA and apply for membership of World Boxing. A statement from the Dutch Boxing Federation has said ‘a farewell to IBA seems inevitable’ while the leadership of Boxing New Zealand claimed to see ‘little future in continuing the association with IBA.’

“World Boxing was set-up by a collection of individuals from boxing organisations around the world in response to the persistent issues surrounding IBA, whose failure to address the IOC’s longstanding concerns over sporting integrity, governance, transparency and financial management has placed boxing’s future as an Olympic sport in doubt.”

Interestingly, GB Boxing is not a national governing body, but a publicly-funded management organization of the world-class Olympic boxing program in the country. Thus, it can apply to be a member of World Boxing while the governing bodies in England, Scotland and Wales can remain members of the IBA!

2.
Protestors invade Paris 2024 HQ during CoComm

In the middle of the continuing IOC Coordination Commission meetings with the Paris 2024 organizing committee, a protest over the French government’s pension reform plan resulted in a brief invasion of the organizing committee’s offices.

Protests have been continuing for months over the Macron government’s change in the national pension program, moving the eligibility from age 62 to 64 in view of coming financial challenges. The leftist CGT (General Confederation of Labor) called for a national protest on Tuesday, but saw far smaller crowds than on 1 May.

A Paris 2024 statement included, “Several dozen CGT militants got into the building for a few minutes to deploy banners against pension reform. There was no violence and no damage.”

Reuters reported, “Some protesters have threatened to disrupt next summer’s Olympics if Macron does not back down. Banners reading ‘No retirement, No Olympics’ were visible in Paris.”

The opening of the Coordination Commission meetings were highlighted by what were reported as opposing views on Paris’s readiness for the 2024 Games.

Belgian IOC member Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant, leader of the CoComm review group, urged the Paris 2024 team to “continue to work, continue to optimize, continue to seek efficiencies. There is still a lot of work to do.”

He added:

“There is commitment, will, but we know that we live in a difficult world, a world of inflation, a world where commercial partnerships are also more difficult to find. We will have to look for these optimizations together. But you have the commitment of the IOC to continue to play this role of partnership on optimization, with a collective objective of maintaining our budget.”

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo was more optimistic, speaking on France Inter radio on Tuesday:

“Look at all the previous Olympics and Paralympics around the world, one year before the Games, generally it’s stressful and people are saying ‘we’ll never manage this’. Well, we’re ready.

“We’re on budget and we’re on time.”

She also took a shot at continuing complaints about the price of tickets, praising the sales program that she explained was offering 50% of the tickets at €50 or less (about $53.46 U.S.).

Occasional chatter that Tahiti – the largest island in French Polynesia – would renounce the Olympic surfing competition was squashed by Polynesian President Moetai Brotherson, in Paris this week. He told Agence France Presse:

“We have a certain set of requirements for these events that we absolutely want to host here. The Games will be held in Tahiti, but my role is to ensure that they are carried out as efficiently as possible, both from the point of view of the Olympic Committee, and, above all, from the point of view of Polynesia and the Polynesians. …

“[T]he question of heritage arises: what will remain after these ten days of competitions? If we leave the structures with which we will not know what to do, then it’s not worth it. If we leave nothing to the young Polynesians who want to surf or even move to professional surfing, we will miss the boat too.”

3.
More suspended sentences in Tokyo sponsorship scandal

The Tokyo District Court imposed suspended sentences on two former executives of the stuffed-toy maker Sun Arrow Inc. for bribes paid to former Tokyo 2020 Executive Committee member Hiroyuki Takahashi for assistance in becoming a licensee of the organizing committee.

According to the Kyodo News Agency:

“In the trial, one of a series of Tokyo Olympic bribery cases, the Tokyo District Court gave the firm’s former president, Taiji Sekiguchi, 50, and his father and former Sun Arrow executive Yoshihiro Sekiguchi, 75, sentences of one year in prison, suspended for three years.”

A total of 15 people have been indicted in the bribery-and-influence scheme organized by Takahashi, who received as much as $1.5 million in all, either in direct payments, or via other firms working with him.

In the Sun Arrow case, about ¥7 million (~$50,135 U.S. today) was paid for Takahashi’s support in getting a license to produce and sell toys of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic mascots. The trial was over ¥2 million in payments in view of a three-year statue of limitations, made to a firm cooperating with Takahashi, headed by Joji Matsui, between January 2020 and April 2021. Upon getting the license, Sun Arrow paid Takahashi – indirectly – 1.5% of sales on their Olympic products every quarter.

This is the third group of defendants to be tried and sentenced, with seven men convicted so far and all receiving suspended sentences in view of their confessions and stated remorse.

On 21 April, three former executives of the Aoki Holdings men’s clothing firm received suspended sentences of one to two-and-a-half years. On 11 May, two executives from the ADK Holdings advertising agency received suspended sentences of three years each, all for bribes paid to Takahashi, either directly or indirectly.

Takahashi has conceded that he received the money, but says it was for legitimate consulting services. Arrested multiple times in connection with the sponsorship sales scandal, he has not yet been brought to trial.

4.
Seven U.S. wins at Szewinska Memorial in Bydgoszcz

American athletes won big at the fifth Irena Szewinska Memorial in Bydgoszcz in Poland on Tuesday (a Continental Tour Gold meet), including a second straight sub-20 victory for teen Erriyon Knighton.

The fifth-fastest 200 m man of all-time, Knighton, now 19, won at the Diamond League in Florence (ITA) last Friday in 19.89 in drizzly conditions, and dominated the race on Tuesday, running away in lane six in 19.95 (wind: +0.7 m/s) with Dominican Alexander Ogando way behind at 20.18 in second.

U.S. men also won the 110 m hurdles, with Daniel Roberts beating Jamal Britt, 13.24 to 13.31 (+1.1), Olympic silver winner Chris Nilsen taking the vault at 5.92 m (19-5) and Rudy Winkler reversing two close losses to Poland’s Tokyo Olympic champ Wojciech Nowicki, by 79.70 m (261-6) to 79.52 (260-11).

American Cambrea Sturgis won the women’s 100 m in 11.24 (-0.8) and was third in the 200 m (22.99) behind Britain’s Daryll Neita (22.23 lifetime best; +0.8) and fellow American Anavia Battle (22.47). Alaysha Johnson was a clear winner in the 100 m hurdles in 12.41 (+1.9) and World Hammer Champion Brooke Andersen won her latest battle with Canadian record setter Cam Rogers, 78.79 m (261-9) to 77.62 m (254-8) with 2022 Worlds bronze winner Janee Kassanavoid third at 75.10 m (246-5).

Italy’s Pietro Arese starred in winning the men’s 1,500 m in 3:33.56 over Ireland’s Andrew Coscoran (3:33.87) in lifetime bests for both, and New Zealand star Tom Walsh took the shot with a season’s best of 22.22 m (72-10 3/4), ahead of a personal record of 21.61 m (70-10 3/4) for Adrian Piperi of the U.S.

Next up: the Diamond League Meeting de Paris on Friday!

Athletes sometimes say interesting things, as after last Friday’s Diamond League meet in Florence (ITA). For example, Knighton after his impressive 200 m win:

“I am very satisfied with this time – under 20 in the first race of the season. I was hoping for such a result. The weather was going to affect anybody out here. I just hoped for the sunny conditions before the race but I was ready to come out and do the best. My main goal for the next two weeks is just to do what I can do the best – just to focus and to continue the training.

“I really do not know how to succeed on the world level, I just have to trust my coach [Jonathan Terry]. Whatever he says, I do.”

World 100 m champ Fred Kerley, often quite reserved, told his interviewer:

“The secret of my success is being consistent. I ran 9.88 already this year, so when my time will be sub-9.80 the world will be surprised, but I will not be surprised.

“I feel good, I feel good in my training. It was a good, open race for me, so I knew what I had to do. Pressure? I leave the pressure behind, I believe in myself and in what I am capable of doing.”

Hurdles winner (and World Champion) Grant Holloway ran 13.04 and was satisfied:

“I executed my race with perfection so I could not have done anything better today.

“Maybe the start could be a little bit better, there can be a thousand things that I can improve but I am consistent and the season is still going on. The conditions were good; a little bit cooler than in Florida but it was amazing and it just feels good to be here. When I do my race plan and the race pattern, it is a phenomenal thing and I am curious what can happen.”

Devon Allen, the U.S.’s hurdler turned NFL wide receiver and now hurdling again, was third in 13.19, a seasonal best:

“I am still in the training. The thing is I just need to compete and to do my best. I am feeling pretty good and I look forward to a couple more races next weeks. The change back to the track and field was difficult.

“You know, my body was a little bit tired going back to the training so it took me a little bit but I feel good now. We will see about the rest of the season, maybe it is a better question for my coaches.”

Olympic discus champ Valarie Allman of the U.S. won with her fifth-round throw of 65.96 (216-5) and said she was ready to celebrate:

“The rain messed with my timing and my technique. I was not able to fly properly, but in the end I managed. At my fifth attempt, I found the right tension. Before the sixth attempt it would have been nice to have more time to rest, but this is Diamond League. So I rolled with the rules and the rhythm.

“I am looking forward to spaghetti and gelato so much now, I think I deserve it.”

And for those who think traveling around Europe and competing must be lots of fun, here’s Slovenian star Tina Sutej – a former Arkansas Razorback – with a competing view:

“Yesterday, I was not sure that I would jump because I had a really bad pain in my back. It had spread to the front and into my shoulder. So I spent a lot of time at my physio. It was a really bad pain: on a scale from 1 to 10, it was the 10. It was really acute and they helped me and it got better.

“But it was hurting today and I did not want to think about it. I just wanted a few good jumps. I do not have much time to recover because I am traveling by car in the morning home to compete at the national competition [in Slovenj Gradec]. It is seven hours away and I need just one good jump. I believe I can make it [she won at 4.60 m/15-1].

“And the next start should be in Paris so I hope it will be OK by that time.”

5.
Khuzina: “We were given an absolutely faceless uniform”

Russia returned to the World Taekwondo Championships and won the most medals of any country – neutral or not – with seven, including a victory for Liliia Khuzina in the women’s 62 kg class, Russia’s first women’s gold since 2013.

Thrilled to win, she told the Russian news agency TASS that the World Taekwondo neutrality regulations were carried out with vigor:

“There could be absolutely no paraphernalia, it was impossible even to do a manicure in national colors. And talismans in the form of bears and nesting dolls were also banned. We were given an absolutely faceless uniform.”

She said that although IOC President Thomas Bach was in attendance for the final – the person most responsible for allowing her to compete – she didn’t have the time or opportunity to chat with him:

“At that moment, I didn’t see anyone except [Brazil’s 2019 Worlds silver winner Caroline Santos], whom I had already met in the past. I initially went to the World Championship only for gold, so I was focused on the fight and did not look at the stands. I saw him only at the award ceremony.

“What would Bach say? I think I would just thank him for coming to watch our competitions. What can I ask him? My task is to train and show results, I don’t go into politics because I don’t want to, and I don’t have time to figure it all out.”

Although admitted to the World Championships, Russia has not been permitted yet to compete on the Grand Prix circuit, which provides points towards qualification for Paris 2024. Said Russian head coach Vadim Ivanov:

“Unfortunately, we will not be able to take part in the first Grand Prix, which will be held next weekend in Italy, since at the moment our athletes were only allowed to participate in the World Championships.

“This tournament has passed, and now it will be further decision on the admission of our athletes. I admit that already at the next Grand Prix there may be some clarity in our issue. But skipping each stage has a very strong impact on the Olympic rating.”

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Russia ● For those still worried about doping in Russia, stay worried.

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) said it has collected 4,555 samples this year and has handed down 85 sanctions during calendar year 2023:

● “According to TASS, in just five months of this year, RUSADA took 4,555 samples (846 in May, 996 in April, 853 in March, 961 in February, 899 in January).”

● “In May 2023, RUSADA identified 21 cases of possible anti-doping rule violations …

“According to TASS, RUSADA recorded 16 such cases in April, 13 in March, 25 in February, and 10 in January. Over the 12 months of 2022, 135 cases of possible anti-doping rule violations were identified.

“Earlier, RUSADA Director General Veronika Loginova told TASS that anabolic steroids, diuretics and masking agents, as well as meldonium, are most often found in athletes’ samples.”

For comparison, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency reports statistics by quarter; it collected 1,969 samples in the first quarter of 2023, up from 1,774 in 2022. Last year, it reported 4,894 samples collected from January to June.

So far in 2023, USADA has announced 27 total sanctions (including three for Mixed Martial Arts and six for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) through 1 June 2023. Oy.

● Volleyball ● The U.S. women completely dominated the U-21 NORCECA Pan American Cup in Nogales (MEX) that finished last week, not only winning all five matches, but winning all 15 of its sets!

Already defending champions, the American women disposed of Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica in straight sets in group play, advancing directly to the semifinals. There, the U.S. was challenged by Cuba, but won by 26-25, 25-13 and 26-20.

Then came the final against Mexico, also undefeated, but which resulted in a 23-13, 25-16 and 25-21 win to seal the title. All told, the U.S. outscored its five opponents by 375-211.

U.S. outside hitter Chloe Chicoine was named Most Valuable and was recognized in the all-tournament team as First Outside Hitter. Teammate Norah Sis was named Second Outside Hitter, Gabrielle Essix as First Middle Blocker, Lauren Briceno the Best Receiver and Rachel Fairbanks the Best Setter. Mexico’s Regina Perez was the Best Server.

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For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Regan Smith’s 2:03.87 a U.S. record, no. 4 ever; Russian Rio gold medalist says neutral status OK; IBA says IOC is the problem in boxing

By
Rich Perelman
-
Why not smile? You're American Record holder Regan Smith!

★ 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 ≡

1. Regan Smith crushes American 200 m Fly record
2. Rio Olympic Pentathlon champ Lesun OK with neutral status
3. Russian NOC will continue to lobby IOC for changes
4. IBA report to IOC: you’re the problem, not us
5. Under-appreciated sprint star Jim Hines passes at 76

Four-time Worlds gold medalist Regan Smith was on fire at the Sun Devil Open swim meet in Arizona last weekend, crushing the American Record in the 200 m Butterfly and moving to no. 4 all-time. She’s now the U.S. leader in five events this season; could she try for the 2023 Worlds in all five? Russia’s Rio 2016 Modern Pentathlon gold medalist says competing as “neutrals” in Paris should not worry anyone, since in 20 years they will be remembered as Russians. But he would also like to see an alternative to the Olympic Games. The Russian Olympic Committee continues to lobby the International Olympic Committee to drop any requirement for declarations or other statements by athletes for neutrality purposes; an 18-year-old road cyclist was declared ineligible, apparently for social-media statements about Russia’s war against Ukraine. His father says his account was hacked. The International Boxing Association’s 400-page submittal to the IOC was seen by Reuters, which reported that the overarching theme was that the problem with Olympic boxing is the IOC, not the IBA. Jim Hines, the first man to run the 100 m under 10 seconds – with automatic timing – passed away on Saturday, but leaves memories of being the greatest sprinter in the world in 1968, when excitement about sprinting was at its peak.

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (Court of Auditors still worried about finances) = Athletics (4: Kenya anti-doping suspends 20!; Hassan’s amazing 10,000/1,500 back-to-back double!; Mu didn’t know she was entered in Music City 1,500; AIU warns on IV therapy violations) = Football (New Zealand slow to warm up to Women’s World Cup tickets) = Swimming (2: top swimmers on Insta; Chalmers now also working in construction … for mental health) = Wrestling (no medals thrown into the Ganges yet, but a hunger strike may be coming) ●

1.
Regan Smith crushes American 200 m Fly record

The amazing Regan Smith, still just 21 and a past world-record setter in the Backstroke, collected another record with a superb 2:03.87 American Record win in the 200 m Butterfly at the Sun Devil Open in Tempe, Arizona on Sunday.

She crushed a good field that included two-time Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Hali Flickinger, who finished second in 2:07.37. Smith’s time removed one of the last “supersuit” American records, Mary DeScenza’s 2:04.14 from the 2009 World Championships in Rome, and took the world lead for 2023.

It also moved Smith to no. 4 all-time (and the no. 4 performance all-time), and no. 2 behind China’s Yufei Zhang (2:03.86 in Tokyo in 2021) for performances in textile suits.

With the U.S. Nationals (and World Championships trials) coming up at the end of the month in Indianapolis, the question is which events will she contest? She leads the U.S. list this season in a startling five events:

● 100 m Back: 57.83, no. 1 worldwide
● 200 m Back: 2:04.76, no. 2 worldwide
● 100 m Fly: 56.60, no. 3 worldwide
● 200 m Fly: 2:03.87, no. 1 worldwide
● 200 m Medley: 2:08.48, no. 4 worldwide

That 200 m Medley performance also came at the Sun Devil Open – she’s now no. 4 all-time U.S. – and she took the 100 m Back (world leader!) and 100 m Fly events, in addition to the 200 m Fly record.

Smith set world records in the 100 m Back at the 2019 World Championships with a relay lead-off leg of 57.57, and in the 200 m Back at 2:03.35 in her semifinal; these have been broken since and she ranks no. 2 all-time in both. She won the Olympic bronze in the 100 m Back in Tokyo and silver in the 200 m Back.

In Indianapolis, the schedule appears to be in her favor: the 200 m Fly is on day 1, the 200 m Back is on day 2, the 100 m Fly is on day 3, the 100 m Back on day 4 and the 200 m Medley on day 5.

At the Worlds in Fukuoka in July, the situation is not as good. The 100 m Fly and 200 m Medley finals are both on day 2 (maybe 90 minutes apart), the 100 m Back on day 3, the 200 m Fly on day 5, and the 200 m Back on day 7. But there are also the Mixed 4×100 m Medley on day 4 and the women’s 4×100 m Medley on day 8. That would be 14 swims in eight days, assuming she does not participate in the heats of the relays.

That’s a heavy load. Will she try for the whole handful?

2.
Rio Olympic Pentathlon champ Lesun OK with neutral status

“I think that the Russians should agree to the condition to compete at the Olympic Games in a neutral status. Whether we have our own flag or not, the entire world elite still knows where the athlete came from. And all these undercover games around the flag and the anthem is a second matter.”

That’s Russian Aleksander Lesun, 34, a two-time World Champion in Modern Pentathlon and the Rio 2016 Olympic gold medalist. He told the Russian news agency TASS that, in the long term, Russian athletes will be remembered as Russians:

“Understand, the age of an athlete is short, and in 20 years no one will remember what flag we competed with at the Olympics. The strongest athletes come every four years to the most important start in their lives, with which nothing compares.

“I hope that Russian athletes will be allowed to the Olympic Games. After all, these competitions are very dependent on television, which wants to broadcast the show. And without the Russians, who are leaders in many sports, this show will not be the same. Therefore, I think that somehow our athletes will be allowed, but the long process of waiting, of course, is very annoying.

“I am very sorry that the world Olympic movement is step by step moving away from the principles of its founder Pierre de Coubertin. And then in the current situation, why not try to organize alternative Olympic Games? A sports project will not be launched immediately, but if there is a desire, backed by serious administrative and financial resources, it would be possible to start implementing an alternative Olympics.”

“The IOC would feel the competition and would start taking some action itself. And if 30-40 countries participate in the new project, then how can the IOC then remove them from their starts? But at the moment there is no alternative to today’s Olympic Games.”

Lesun was also puzzled by the composition of the neutrality review panel appointed by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne, which includes three-time Olympian Aya Medany (EGY), Ana Ruth Orellana (GUA), Sungjoo Park (KOR), Nishanthe Piyasena (SRI) and Dr. Harald Vervaecke (BEL).

“This is a very strange commission,” said Lesun. “The only person from it who left his mark on the pentathlon is the Egyptian Aya Medany, and the rest of the people I don’t know at all. The commission includes the president of the Sri Lanka Pentathlon Federation, but is there pentathlon there? I don’t understand how these people can decide whether or not to allow Russian athletes.

“But, on the other hand, I’m a little optimistic about all this. Let’s see how it all ends.”

Lesun was clear that even if Russians are re-admitted, it won’t be easy to return:

“If our athletes are now allowed to compete in international competitions, then in the first tournaments it will not be easy for us to fight on equal terms with world leaders. We will have physical and psychological problems. This is my opinion, and I admit that I could be wrong.”

“Still, the competition is not the same at internal starts, there is no motivation in the training process either. In the same fencing, it’s worth a lot to resist different schools, and at home we know each other as flaky.”

Vyacheslav Aminov, the head of the Federation of Modern Pentathlon of Russia, continued the party line in his message to TASS:

“I believe that justice and fair sport will prevail. It is clear that our suspension is far-fetched. It seems to me that patience is already running out inside the world of sports itself, other countries understand the secondary importance of tournaments without the participation of Russians and Belarusians in them.

“All the strongest athletes without exception should have the opportunity to compete at the same World Championships. And the absence of Russians and Belarusians casts doubt on the results of the competitions. I believe that everyone understands this and wants full compliance with the Olympic Charter. We are in dialogue with the president of the international federation, but he cannot ignore the instructions given to him by the International Olympic Committee.”

Neither Lesun or Aminov made reference to the upcoming change in the sport to remove riding and insert obstacle-course racing. The UIPM will essentially debut its new format at three championship events for young athletes:

● UIPM World U-17 Championships: 12-16 July in Alexandria (EGY)
● UIPM World U-19 Championships: 26-30 July in Istanbul (TUR)
● UIPM World Junior Championships: 12-17 September in Druskininkai (LTU)

Observed: Lesun is quite right that regardless of the conditions, if a Russian or Belarusian athlete wins a medal, everyone will know exactly where they came from. And the Russian and Belarusian governments will make sure of that with celebrations after their return from the Games. Anyone who thinks otherwise should be immediately scheduled for tests for doping, especially for hallucinogenics.

3.
Russian NOC will continue to lobby IOC for changes

“We continue to conduct a dialogue with our colleagues from Lausanne and try to convey our position that their recommendations and approaches are unacceptable and illegitimate.

“Of course, they harm the Olympic Movement not only in Russia, but also in the world.”

That’s Russian Olympic Committee chief Stanislav Pozdnyakov, speaking to reporters last Friday.

“If we look at the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee, we will see that they contain political demands that are absolutely unacceptable. It says that athletes have no right to represent either their national federations or their National Olympic Committee.”

These references are also to the requirement for Russian and Belarusian athletes who would be allowed to compete as neutrals being required to sign a declaration that, at the least, they do not support the Russian war against Ukraine.

In the context of possible Russian participation in the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou (CHN) in September, Pozdnyakov explained:

“In this area, even some hypothetical possibility of some kind of organized performance at these competitions will look rather strange.

“I can’t say anything more until the ROC receives an invitation to this event. It makes no sense to discuss this issue in detail.”

The Russian Olympic Committee had hinted that it could issue its own regulations on competing in international events, but did not do so at its last meeting and none is scheduled until October.

Pozdnyakov’s issues were reinforced by the decision of the Union Cycliste Internationale to add Savelii Laptev, 18, a road cyclist with the Astana Development team, to its listed of ineligible athletes on Monday.

His father, Grigory Laptev, thinks the suspension is a mistake:

“I consider the sanctions against Savelii some kind of misunderstanding. On June 2, he competed in Italy, and after the race he received a letter from the UCI, which said that the UCI had information that Savelii allegedly liked posts on social networks regarding the political situation. Savelii has already sent a letter to the UCI, in which he explained that he had nothing to do with this. I don’t understand how this could happen, probably his account was hacked.

“As far as I understand, the proceedings are underway, but for Savelii and the whole team, the letter that came on Friday about the impossibility of confirming the neutral status caused great surprise. He has no starts planned for the next 10 days, so it’s hard for me to say whether he can continue to continue to ride for Astana.”

The UCI already declared 2021 Worlds 500 m Time Trials silver medalist Anastasiia Voinova and Tokyo Olympic Madison bronze winner Maria Novolodskaya ineligible, along with Paralympian Alexey Obydennov.

4.
IBA report to IOC: you’re the problem, not us

Reuters obtained a copy of the 400-page submittal by the International Boxing Association to the International Olympic Committee announced on 5 May, but reported that it simply continued the organization’s continuing criticism.

Excerpts noted by Reuters included (as reported):

● “IBA did not find in the IOC Correspondence of 6 April 2023 any link to a specific rule of law that has been breached by IBA to be in the situation of potential withdrawal of the IOC’s recognition, but merely mention of an alleged unwillingness to cooperate.”

● “IBA is of the opinion that it successfully met the criteria mentioned in the roadmap.”

● “IBA settled all debts of the previous management. Concern on Gazprom [sponsorship] has no basis since Gazprom sponsorship agreement expired on 31 December 2022, and it has not been extended.”

● “In addition, it is false statement by the IOC that no information on diversify of the IBA revenues has been provided by IBA.

“IBA keeps working on diversification of its incomes. In particular, we significantly increased our incomes from the licensing program, TV and marketing rights, and hosting the competitions.”

● “Only this year IBA offered many times to enter into dialogue, however, all these requests have been disrespectfully ignored.

“IBA seeks acknowledgment of the extraordinary work done under the new management and requests a collaboration… in order to have the event run at the highest level.”

Further, the IBA report echoed a familiar theme: the boxing federation’s problems were all caused when C.K. Wu (TPE) was its elected head (then known as AIBA), and that the IOC is partly at fault:

“It is necessary to remind that CK Wu at that time was an IOC member, and it is completely wrong that IBA bears full responsibility for the wrongdoings of the IOC member.

“It is hard to believe that the IOC was not aware of the problems in the International Federation led by the IOC member, especially, most of these problems were directly connected with the Olympic Games and its qualifying tournament.”

And, of course, the IBA’s view of the IOC’s potential future actions is:

“Withdrawal of the IBA’s full recognition by the IOC will be not justified, fair and legally correct decision.”

The IOC’s Executive Board is expected to review the IBA situation at its upcoming Executive Board meetings from 20-22 June, but any removal of the IBA as the designated governing body for Olympic boxing can only be made at the IOC Session in Mumbai (IND) in October.

Observed: IBA President Umar Kremlev (RUS) has consistently touted his federation as “open and transparent,” but has strangely not made the IOC submittal publicly available. But the Reuters report shows that his federation does not want to grasp the reality, that the IOC OWNS the Olympic Games and can do as it pleases with the event and how it is run, in accordance with its own rules.

While the IOC has said that it will decide at the Mumbai Session whether to reinstate boxing, modern pentathlon and weightlifting into the Los Angeles 2028 program, its Executive Board is free to make a recommendation on one or all three of the sports at its upcoming June meeting.

And in the case of the IBA, it might very well do so, and the federation will likely not be happy about it. This is, in part, wrapped up with the emerging, rival World Boxing group, to which the U.S. and Switzerland have said they will join, and which has Board members from Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, the Philippines, New Zealand, Sweden and the U.S.

The IOC need not be in a hurry, either. It is – as the IBA noted and criticized – running the Olympic qualifying process for Paris 2024 and will operate the Olympic tournament next year, just as it did in Tokyo in 2021. If the sport is maintained for 2028, qualifying won’t start until 2027 and the IOC can wait – if it chooses – to name a new federation for boxing for 2-3 years.

5.
Under-appreciated sprint star Jim Hines passes at 76

The double gold medalist in the 100 m and 4×100 m at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games and the first man to conclusively run under 10 seconds, American star Jim Hines, died on Saturday at age 76.

Hines won everlasting glory at the Olympics, but was the world’s top sprinter in both 1967 and 1968, ranked no. 1 by Track & Field News in both years. Running for Texas Southern, Hines won the NAIA title in 1967 (9.6 for 100 yards) and the AAU nationals (9.3) and was the co-world leader at 100 yards (9.1, equaling the world record) and 100 m (10.0, equaling the world record).

In ‘68, Hines lost two early meets to rival Charlie Greene, as well as the AAU nationals in Sacramento, with both in a wind-aided 10.0. But Hines won his semi in 9.9 (10.03 automatic), the first time anyone had broken the 10-second barrier with legal wind (which Greene equaled in the next semi). Now the world-record holder, he won the Final Olympic Trials in 10.0 and headed to Mexico City.

Aided by Mexico City’s altitude, Hines got a good start in the final, but only came to the lead in the second half of the race, passing U.S. super-starter Mel Pender and then Greene, getting to the line in another 9.9, equaling his own world record. The electric timer on the field read 9.90, but the photo adjusted the final mark to 9.95, the first man to – for sure – break the 10-second barrier.

Nothing can top an Olympic 100 m gold, but Hines was even better on the anchor of the men’s 4×100 m. Don Potts wrote for Track & Field News:

“At the final takeover, Cuba was off in front, about five feet ahead of Hines. East Germany, anchored by Harald Eggers, had nearly a yard on the US while France’s Roger Bambuck was about a foot-and-a-half back of Hines. The [Ronnie Ray] Smith-Hines pass was near perfect and the now-proclaimed world’s fastest human was off well. Hines, running his last race, blew by Eggers and then [Enrique] Figuerola and won going away.

“It was an impressive burst of speed, and Jim said he was running faster than he had in the 100. One watch caught him in 8.2, which if correct is the fastest ever. As he flew through the tape, the jubilant Hines threw the baton high and into the stands. Once again a world record had been set as the electrical timer read 38.2.”

(The automatic time was 38.24.)

Hines was drafted as a wide receiver by the Miami Dolphins of the NFL and he played 10 games there in 1969 and one for Kansas City in 1970. After his athletic career, he worked with kids in Houston, and his achievements have been more and more highly respected over time.

His 9.95 world record was not surpassed for 15 years, until Calvin Smith of the U.S. ran 9.93 – also at altitude – in 1983. Although his achievements came 55 years ago, Hines was the world’s greatest sprinter at a time when sprinting was at one of its highest points ever.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The French Court of Auditors, dour about the economics of the Paris 2024 Games from the start, were reported to continue their worries about the organizing committee’s budget, according to a report in Le Monde.

“Many uncertainties and risks remain” was the verdict according to the story, emphasizing:

“While the level of resources retained seems plausible, substantial uncertainties remain, in particular for domestic partnerships.”

Paris 2024 has shown steady progress in attracting domestic sponsors, but so far only a handful at the top level, although there is constant chatter of one or two more still to come in.

The outlook was better on controlling expenses, with the reporting urging that “it is essential to follow precisely the realization of the savings retained and to ensure their effectiveness,” and advising “a continuous and systematic effort to seek new optimizations.”

● Athletics ● An alarming report from Kenya, where the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya is reported to have suspended 20 athletes for varying doping violations, including new star sprinter Samwel Imeta, the second Kenyan ever to break 10 seconds for the 100 m – under any conditions – with his wind-aided 9.94 in Nairobi in February.

The Nation explained that ADAK had suspended 20 in January in track & field, football, judo and bodybuilding. The new batch of 20 comes from track & field (15), basketball (1), rugby (1) and bodybuilding (1), with two not specified.

Imeta tested positive for steroids in a sample taken at the meet in February.

The suspensions come as the Kenyan government has added significant funding to ADAK to allow it to clean up rampant doping issues in the country, which if unchecked, could land Kenya on suspension by World Athletics. ADAK officials warned that with increased testing and vigilance, doping incidents would rise as cheaters are exposed, before finally receding. They are. 

More on double Olympic champ Sifan Hassan (NED) and her back-to-back 10,000 m and 1,500 m wins at the FBK Games in Hengelo over the weekend. She took the world lead in the women’s 10,000 in 29:37.80 on Saturday evening, then came back to win the 1,500 in 3:58.12 on Sunday, to move to no. 8 on the world list for 2023.

How good is this? Statman Jon Mulkeen (GBR) tweeted that she’s only the third woman ever with 1,500 m and 10,000 m bests under 4:00 and 30:00, and that neither China’s Junxia Wang (3:51.92/29:31.78 in 1993) or Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay (3:54.01/29:39.42 in 2021) did it on consecutive days!

Angst among fans who attended or watched USATF’s L.A. Grand Prix at UCLA’s Drake Stadium and did not see double Olympic champs Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone or Athing Mu has been high. And then there was this from a Citius Mag interview with Mu at the Music City Track Carnival in Nashville over the weekend:

“I honestly did know I was listed, to be honest, but I think just this week we had really great training and after our Friday run and workout, we just thought, it’s not really, you know, our legs are too heavy to be really going out there, but the girls did amazing. …

“I feel I’m getting more and more into the 1,500 as days go by, so it’s just nice to watch it and see where the girls are at.”

Mu was listed as a “Did Not Start” on the meet results site; she hasn’t run anywhere since winning the Worlds 800 m last July in Eugene. She was never entered – or even promised – for the L.A. Grand Prix, although she trains at UCLA, but some people thought she was. Atlanta 1996 icon Michael Johnson tweeted after the Nashville meet:

“She didn’t know she was entered. This after being entered in the LA meet and then pulled out [sic]. I don’t know what it means. But for some reason it concerns me for her and the sport.”

Paul Doyle, the founder of the American Track League of which the Nashville meet is a part, tweeted in reply:

“For clarity, Athing Mu was never entered in the meet. She was coming with her team as a spectator. Someone decided to put her on the startlist in case she decided last minute that she wanted to run.”

Because of her Worlds win in 2022, Mu has a direct entry into the 2023 Worlds in Budapest. She may or may not run at the U.S. Nationals in Eugene. Who knows?

In view of four-month suspensions of American sprinter Tamara Clark and Jamaica’s Rushelle Burton, the Athletics Integrity Unit issued a warning about the rising popularity of “intravenous drip therapy.” In specific:

“Both athletes admitted to each receiving an IV infusion ‘of more than 100mL in a twelve-hour period’ on 25 January 2023. This constituted an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) under World Athletics Anti-Doping Rule 2.2: use or attempted use by an athlete of a Prohibited Substance or a Prohibited Method. …

“IV infusions or injections have been on the WADA List of Prohibited Substances and Methods since 2005 and are the supply of fluid and/or prescribed medication by drip or push directly into a vein. In 2021, they were re-classified from ‘NonSpecified Methods’ to ‘Specified Methods’ after WADA deemed them to be methods which are more likely to be consumed or used by an athlete for a purpose other than the enhancement of sport performance.”

● Football ● The FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand opens on 20 July, with FIFA making another 250,000 tickets available for the 64 matches, including some with obstructed views, at a 50% discount.

Some 930,000 tickets have been sold so far, but only 220,000 in New Zealand, which has 29 of the 64 matches. Jane Patterson, the chief operating officer for the New Zealand side of the event, said in a radio interview last week:

“If anything is keeping me awake at night, it’s ensuring that New Zealanders maximise this opportunity. … We’ve priced tickets to be affordable, starting at NZ$20 (US$12) for adults and $10 for children; cheaper than going to the movies.”

She was optimistic, that “Kiwis will get behind this global event.”

Broadcasting rights sales have been made in 155 countries, but there is still no resolution to the impasse between FIFA and broadcasters in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.

● Swimming ● The ever-enterprising SwimSwam.com compiled a list of the top active swimmers on Instagram, starting with Australian pop singer Cody Simpson, who represented his country at the 2022 Commonwealth Games:

1. 5.0 million: Cody Simpson (AUS)
2. 804,000: Yusra Mardini (GER; 2016 IOC Refugee Team)
3. 645,000: Caeleb Dressel (USA)
4. 610,000: Adam Peaty (GBR)
5. 579,000: Katie Ledecky (USA)

Paralympic swimmers Jamal Hill of the U.S. (379,000) and Anastasia Pagonis (338,000) rank eighth and 10th, respectively. The only other American in the top 20 was Rio women’s 100 m Free co-champ Simone Manuel (224,000).

Rio 2016 men’s 100 m Freestyle gold medalist Kyle Chalmers of Australia was only 18 when he struck Olympic gold and he had a high profile in his home country ever since. His Tokyo silver and two relay bronzes were impressive, but he said in a radio interview last week that he has been finding new ways to maintain a healthy outlook, at 24:

“For me, I’m laboring on a building site two days a week, which is just something away from the pool for my mental health – something different, different stimulus, different dudes.

“I’m absolutely loving that, and reconnecting with those friends and family members that I haven’t had a heap to do with over the period. Obviously swimming is a massively intense sport where we train 50 hours a week, 50 weeks of the year. So the hours I’m not in the pool, I’m kind of at home sleeping and napping and preparing for the next training session. Or I’m interstate — last year I think I only spent eight weeks in Adelaide.”

So far, so good. Chalmers ranks third in the world in the 100 m Free at 47.69 from mid-May.

● Wrestling ● Protests are continuing in India over sexual harassment allegations against ex-Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Singh, with another large demonstration by wrestlers and hundreds of supporters on Sunday (4th) in New Delhi.

Last week, Olympic stars Sakshi Malik (2016 Olympic bronze: women’s 58 kg Freestyle) and Bajrang Punia (2020 Olympic bronze: men’s 65 kg Freestyle and 2019 and 2022 Worlds women’s 53 kg bronze winner Vinesh Phogat threatened to throw their medals into the Ganges River in protest, but relented in the face of popular opposition. They have threatened a hunger strike, with community leaders asking for the arrest of Singh by Friday (9th).

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For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Kipyegon smashes world 1,500 m record; Lightfoot soars U.S. record 19-11; is Modern Pentathlon on the way back, or … out?

By
Rich Perelman
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A world record for Kenyan star Faith Kipyegon at the Diamond League meet in Florence (Photo: Matthew Quine for Diamond League AG)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Kipyegon runs 3:49.11 world 1,500 m record in Florence!
2. Lightfoot scores U.S. vault record; Hassan on fire in Hengelo
3. Modern Pentathlon: on the way up, in, or out for 2028?
4. Brisbane 2032 legacy survey: make the future better
5. NHL’s Stanley Cup not going to Russia

A spectacular run by two-time Olympic 1,500 m champion Faith Kipyegon at the Diamond League meet in Florence yielded a 3:49.11 world record, taking almost a second off the prior standard of 3:50.07. The meet had three other world-leading marks and six wins by U.S. stars, including Fred Kerley in the men’s 100 m. The weekend continued hot, with KC Lightfoot raising the American men’s vault record to 6.07 m (19-11) in Nashville on Saturday, then losing the world lead to Sweden’s all-conquering Mondo Duplantis at the FBK Games in Hengelo on Sunday. Also in Hengelo, Dutch distance star Sifan Hassan took the world lead in the women’s 10,000 m on Saturday and came back and won the women’s 1,500 m on Sunday! In Jamaica, U.S. sprint star Noah Lyles grabbed the world 200 m lead at 19.67. Left off the program for the LA28 Olympic Games, the sport of modern pentathlon has been at odds with itself over the deletion of riding and inclusion of obstacle-course racing. The sport got some good news from the ASOIF meeting last week on possible payments from the Paris 2024 television rights, and the head of its athlete committee is optimistic about being added in for 2028. But a founder of the Pentathlon United athlete activist group thinks the sport is in grave danger of not being included in Los Angeles. The Queensland government, looking ahead to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond, asked residents for their thoughts on the legacy of the Games effort and received 14,000+ replies. Its report shows that people want to see the Games get the government to do what it should be doing anyway. The National Hockey League said that the Stanley Cup will not be going to Russia this year, even though there are Russian players on both the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers, now playing in the finals.

● World Championships: Basketball 3×3 (U.S. women, Serbian men win World Cup) = Football (Israel shocks Brazil, Uruguay beats U.S. in FIFA men’s U-20) = Taekwondo (Russian “neutrals” lead all medal winners at Worlds) ●

● Panorama: Artistic Swimming (Japan’s Inui stars in World Cup Super Final) = Badminton (three wins for Korea in Thailand Open) = Beach Volleyball (Mol-Sorum win again as U.S. gets two medals in Ostrava) = Canoe-Kayak (Fox takes 41st World Cup Slalom win) = Cycling (Shriever sweeps first two BMX World Cups of 2023) = Fencing (U.S. women take team title at Foil World Cup) = Football (Mexico beats U.S., 2-1, in CONCACAF women’s U-20) = Gymnastics (Godwin, Meszaros win two at World Challenge Cup) = Judo (Russian leads Dushanbe Grand Prix with 11 medals) = Modern Pentathlon (Micheli and Shaban take World Cup Finals) = Sailing (Dutch score four wins at Allianz Regatta) = Sport Climbing (Bertone and Lee score first World Cup Boulder wins) ●

1.
Kipyegon runs 3:49.11 world 1,500 m record in Florence!

There was nothing else left to achieve for Kenyan great Faith Kipyegon. At 29, she is a two-time Olympic 1,500 m champ, a two-time 1,500 m World Champion and a three-time Diamond League winner at the distance.

Only the world record remained, the 3:50.07 mark held by Ginzebe Dibaba (ETH) from 2015, and Kipyegon took it apart with a brilliant 3:49.11 run at Friday’s Golden Gala Pietro Mennea Diamond League meet in Florence, Italy.

The pace was hot from the start, with Kipyegon passing 400 m in 62.8 and 800 m in 2:04.1 (61.3). Only Britain’s Laura Muir attempted to stay close, but Kipyegon was 10 m up by 900 m.

The lead was 25 m by 1,200 m, with Kipyegon at 3:05.2 (61.2) and then charging hard to the finish. The clock stopped at 3:49.11, smashing Dibaba’s mark with a 58.9 last 400 m, and breaking 3:50! Sensational. Said Kipyegon:

“When I crossed the finish line, I knew I broke the world record because I had a good finish and felt very, very strong at the end. I knew everything was possible. After 1000, when the pace maker went out, I just pushed myself towards the finish line.

“This was really important because this was something I was still missing in my career … I was not expecting this but because of the fans and atmosphere it was possible and they pushed me to the finish. In the last 200 m, I did not know it was going to be the world record, but I was really pushing myself and I felt that the rest of the field was far behind.”

She was right. Muir was a distant second in 3:57.09 and Jessica Hull scored an Australian record with her lifetime best of 3:57.29 in third. American Josette Andrews was seventh at 4:01.39, ahead of Cory McGee (4:01.45). The entire field mobbed Kipyegon at the finish line, a wonderful tribute to a superb, historic performance.

The final event of the night overshadowed an interesting meet that included three other world-leading marks:

● Men/5,000 m: 12:52.09, Mohamed Katir (ESP)
● Women/Steeple: 9:00.71, Sembo Almayew (ETH)
● Women/400 m hurdles: 52.43, Femke Bol (NED)

Katir broke away from four others in the final 200 m, barely beating Ethiopian star Yomif Kejelcha, who finished second in 12:52.12, followed by Guatemala’s Luis Grijalva, who set a national record of 12:52.97. World-record holder Joshua Cheptegei was fourth (12:53.81), and Americans Woody Kincaid and Joe Klecker were 6-7 in 12:54.40 and 12:55.16. Grant Fisher of the U.S. was 11th in 12:56.99 as the top 13 broke 13 minutes.

In the women’s Steeple, Almayew, 18, was in front for good by 2,400 m and ran away from the field to win by 9:00.71 to 9:04.07 from Jackline Chepkoech (KEN), with Zerfe Wondemagegn (ETH) third in 9:04.61. American Courtney Wayment was eighth in 9:11.41 and Emma Coburn was 12th in 9:18.17.

Bol crushed a good field, running away on the far turn and fighting off a charge from American Shamier Little, second in 53.38, with heptathlon star Anna Hall with a personal b4est of 54.42.

The U.S. had a big night, with six wins. Fred Kerley won the men’s 100 m in 9.94 (wind 0.0), ahead of Ferdinand Omanyala (KEN: 10.05) and Trayvon Bromell (USA: 10.09). Teen star Erriyon Knighton stormed down the straight to won the 200 m in 19.89 (0.0) over Jereem Richards (TTO: 20.28). Grant Holloway held on to win the 110 m hurdles in 13.04 (-0.2) with Swiss star Jason Joseph second (13.10) and Devon Allen and Jamal Britt of the U.S. following in 13.19 and 13.26. JuVaughn Harrison won the high jump at 2.32 m (7-7 1/4), over Sang-hyeok Woo (KOR: 2.30 m/7-6 1/2).

Olympic and World Champion Katie Moon won the women’s vault at 4.71 m (15-5 1/2) over Tina Sutej (SLO) on misses and Olympic winner Valarie Allman exploded on her fifth throw for a 65.96 m (216-5) to 65.91 m (216-3) win over World Champion Bin Feng (CHN).

Marie-Josee Ta Lou (CIV), who skipped the final at the L.A. Grand Prix, won the women’s 100 m in 10.97 (-0.4). Italian Larissa Iapichino scored an upset in the long jump at 6.79 m (22-3 1/2), over Tara Davis-Woodhall of the U.S. (6.74 m/22-1 1/2).

Cuba’s Andy Diaz won the men’s triple jump with a lifetime best of 17.75 m (58-3).

2.
Lightfoot scores U.S. vault record; Hassan on fire in Hengelo

In a busy weekend of track & field, more major impacts were made at the Music City Track Carnival in the U.S., the Racers Grand Prix in Jamaica and the FBK Games in The Netherlands, including more world-leading performances:

● Men/200 m: 19.67, Noah Lyles (USA)
● Men/Pole Vault: 6.07 m (19-11), KC Lightfoot (USA)
● Men/Pole Vault: 6.11 m (20-0 1/2), Mondo Duplantis (SWE)
● Women/10,000 m: 29:37.80, Sifan Hassan (NED)

Lightfoot highlighted the Music City Track Carnival in Nashville, winning the competition at 5.80 m (19-0 1/4), then going on to clear 5.92 m (19-5) on his second try and 6.00 m (19-8 1/4) on his first. He asked for the bar to go to 6.07 m (19-11) for an American Record, one centimeter higher than Sam Kendricks (6.06 m/19-10 1/2).

No problem; over on his second try, snaking over the bar with 3-4 more inches of hip height, to move to no. 4 all-time, behind Duplantis (SWE: 6.21 m/20-4 1/2), Renaud Lavillenie (FRA: 6.16 mi/20-2 1/2i) and Sergey Bubka (UKR: 6.15 mi/20-2i).

That wasn’t the only mark of note, as Shawnti Jackson, the 18-year-old daughter of 400 m hurdles star Bershawn Jackson – won the women’s 100 m in 10.89 (+0.9), a lifetime best and tied for third-best in the U.S. this season.

At the Saturday evening session of the Fanny-Blankers-Koen Games in Hengelo, Hassan pulled away from Kenyan Grace Nawowuna on the final lap, finishing with the no. 7 performance of all-time in 29:37.80. Nawowuna, 19, finished in 29:47.42, now the no. 8 performer in history.

Said Hassan, who won the London Marathon on 23 April, said “I’m very happy with the time. The last three laps, I felt very amazing.”

But she wasn’t done. Hassan came back on Sunday to race the women’s 1,500 m and sprinted away from Kenyan Nelly Chepchirchir in the final 200 m to win in 3:58.12 to 3:58.96. Wow.

Duplantis, fully aware of Lightfoot’s vault, put his name back on top of the year list by clearing 6.11 m (20-0 1/2) on his first try and then had three misses at a world record of 6.23 m (20-5 1/4).

Dutch star Bol, who won the women’s 400 m hurdles in Florence on Friday, won the 400 m in front of home fans on Sunday in 50.11, despite stiff winds, moving to no. 4 on the 2023 world list. American Wadeline Jonathas was second at 51.74.

U.S. athletes scored wins in the men’s 110 m hurdles by Grant Holloway (13.03, wind +0.4 m/s), ahead of Devon Allen (13.12); in the 400 m hurdles by C.J. Allen (48.24), Nia Ali in the women’s 100 m hurdles (12.61; +0.2) and Maggie Ewen in the women’s shot (19.61 m/64-4).

After winning the high jump in Florence, Harrison was in the Hengelo long jump, finishing third at 8.07 m (26-5 3/4), behind the surprising 8.24 m (27-0 1/2) lifetime best from Italian Mattia Furlani.

Ukraine’s women’s high jump World Champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh continued her undefeated season with her 13th straight win, at 2.00 m (6-6 3/4).

At the Racers Grand Prix in Kingston (JAM), World Champion Lyles of the U.S. was in his favored lane seven for the men’s 200 m, burst around the turn and stormed home to the win in 19.67 (+0.3), best in the world this season. Zharnel Hughes (GBR) was second in 20.14.

Christian Coleman of the U.S. won the men’s 100 m in 10.03 (-0.3), while South Africa’s world-record holder in the 400 m, Wayde van Niekerk, won the men’s 400 m in 44.21, his second-best time of the season.

Women’s Worlds 200 m champ Shericka Jackson thrilled the home crowd with a season’s best in the 100 m in 10.78 (+1.6), to move to equal-second on the year list. Anthonique Strachan (BAH) was a strong second in 10.99.

3.
Modern Pentathlon: on the way up, in, or out for 2028?

/Updated/The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) announced Sunday that it received good news from last week’s meeting of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations that it has been moved from the fifth (lowest) tier of federations to the fourth tier, to join at least nine others for the proposed distribution of television rights fees paid to the International Olympic Committee for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

No document demonstrating this has been made available by ASOIF or the UIPM, but it is in line with the approach expressed at the meeting to condense the number of groups for distribution as much as possible. For Tokyo 2020, the UIPM received $12.98 million and the fourth-tier federations received $15.14 million; the ASOIF is asking the IOC for at least 10% more for Paris 2024.

UIPM Athletes Committee Chair Yasser Hefny (EGY) was equally upbeat about the sport’s chance to be included in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic program, telling GamesBids.com:

“UIPM is working closely with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to make some big changes that are in-line with Olympic Agenda 2020+5.

“And so far, the IOC’s feedback has been very positive. I know that UIPM has a strong feeling that the inclusion of Obstacle will not only meet the necessary criteria but add value to make the Olympic Games more accessible, dynamic and popular for young people everywhere. …

“I am excited to see it provide a massive boost to the popularity of Modern Pentathlon. Its broadcast-friendly format that has already proven to have global appeal to younger fans, commercial partners, and host countries.”

Hefny also addressed the ongoing split between the federation and the Pentathlon United athlete group, explaining:

“As someone who is very close with our community of athletes, I understand that change can often be uncomfortable and uncertain.

“However, I know that change is in the DNA of our sport, and that is why we have been proactive in addressing any concerns that athletes may have through open dialogue.”

That is not what you will hear from a Pentathlon United founder, Sydney Olympic bronze medalist Kate Allenby (GBR). In an in-depth interview last week, she was gloomy about the sport’s prospects going forward:

“We’ve spoken to various sources, close to the Programme Commission and within the Olympic Movement, and nobody’s really had anything positive to say.

“This is it, that Obstacle nowhere near fits inclusion on its own merits, and that seems to be an issue. If Obstacle met the inclusion criteria , they’d be trying to get it into the Olympics in its own right. But it doesn’t and the messages we’ve been getting have been consistent, that the IOC don’t want sports coming in through the back door.”

In December 2021, the IOC approved 28 sports for the LA28 program, not including boxing, modern pentathlon and weightlifting. As regards Modern Pentathlon, the instructions included:

“The UIPM must finalise its proposal for the replacement of horse riding and the overall competition format, and demonstrate a significant reduction in cost and complexity and an improvement across the areas of safety, accessibility, universality and appeal for young people and the general public.”

Allenby further explained:

“We’ve heard that the Programme Commission are not recommending anything on Modern Pentathlon on the basis that they haven’t seen a competition [with Obstacle included].”

/Updated/The first championship-level events with Obstacle included are scheduled to be the World U-17 Championships in Egypt and World U-19 Championships in Turkey, both in July, and the World Junior Championships in Lithuania in September; no senior-level events are including Obstacle now since the focus is on qualifying for Paris 2024, where riding will still be included. Allenby continued:

“That gives Pentathlon no chance to prove the new sport [before the vote at the IOC Session in Mumbai in October]. They can’t prove the inclusion criteria through a junior championship. The inclusion criteria is accessibility, additional audience, spectators.

“I think that’s how they’re going to get rid of Modern Pentathlon. I don’t think the IOC are going to re-include it.”

Pentathlon United has been pushing the UIPM to retain riding and reform the format and care for the horses, and has been trying to meet with the federation, only to be turned away. The most recent circumstance was at last weekend’s World Cup Final in Ankara (TUR), where the UIPM proposed a meeting, then postponed it until the World Championships in Bath (GBR) in August.

Allenby does not see how, if the IOC applies the criteria it specified, that the sport can be included for 2028:

“They [UIPM] won’t suddenly get more revenue or TV numbers or suddenly charge up the digital rankings between now and Mumbai. If they [IOC] wanted to include it, they could. It seems very clear they’re not sold on the idea of Obstacle.”

4.
Brisbane 2032 legacy survey: make the future better

The Queensland Government undertook a series of public forums and surveys to ask about the legacy of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games to the state and to Australia in general. It published a summary of its findings in “Elevate 2042: Creating sustainable benefits from the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

The report said more than 14,000 responses were received, either from in-persons forums or online, with four major themes heard consistently:

(1) Sport, Health and Social Inclusion
(2) A Better Future for our Environment
(3) Connecting Regionally and Globally
(4) Economy, Jobs and Innovation

The disclaimer at the bottom of every page cautioned:

“This paper provides an overview of the key consistent themes and ideas we have heard through the engagement process to date, including the Hopes and Dreams Survey and the Brisbane 2032 Legacy Forum. This is not the Brisbane 2032 Legacy Plan or government policy.”

In other words, the themes are as far as one can go in terms of consensus. From there, there are lots of ideas, but no concrete plans as yet. But at the Legacy Forum, priorities were requested; the most popular concepts:

Sport, Health and Social Inclusion
● 28.2% Sport and Physical Activity
● 27.9% Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
● 18.0% Community Spirit, Connections and Lifestyle
● 17.4% Health and Wellbeing

A Better Future for our Environment
● 34.5% Environment and Biodiversity
● 18.1% Circular Economy
● 17.2% Climate Positive
● 15.5% Energy and Water

Connecting Regionally and Globally
● 40.4% Active and Public Transportation
● 21.4% Urban Transformation, Places and Precincts
● 14.3% Tourism and Global Trade
● 14.3% City and Regional Impact

Economy, Jobs and Innovation
● 23.3% Emerging Industries, Jobs and Skills
● 19.8% Economic Development and Investment
● 16.7% Industry and Business Capability
● 15.9% Business and Talent Attraction

The paper asks readers to add their own ideas, for the nine years remaining until the 2032 Games, and for the period to 2042, 10 years after the Games.

Observed: This is a fascinating document, in that it contains no goals or projects specifically related to the 2032 events. It’s completely about what Queensland should be like, with or without an Olympic Games.

The exercise supports the conclusion that the Olympic Games continues to be – for governments anyway – only incidentally, or even trivially, a sporting event, but a major, worldwide spectacle that offers leverage for at-home public policy initiatives.

What item on the lists above is something related to a big sporting event? None. All are public policy dreams that are costly, complex and require patience, perseverance and extraordinary insight and leadership. Those are attributes that any great athlete will have, but not necessarily so of public officials.

It will be worthwhile to see what kind of legacy programs are actually adopted in the name of Brisbane 2032. At least for the government of Queensland, any of the survey’s primary legacies should be things that it should be doing anyway.

IOC President Thomas Bach (GER) regularly talks about putting sport at the service of humanity, but the Queensland survey shows that the value of the Olympic Movement may actually be to get public policy advancements using sport as an excuse.

Just ask the progressives in Qatar.

5.
NHL’s Stanley Cup not going to Russia

One of the now-cherished traditions of the National Hockey League is the unique ritual of allowing each player on the championship team to have the Stanley Cup in their possession for 24 hours, apparently formalized in 1995.

That’s not going to happen this year for at least one player on the winning team.

The Stanley Cup Finals began Saturday with the Vegas Golden Knights winning the opener, 5-2, over the Florida Panthers, both of which have a Russian player on the roster.

Florida star goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky and Las Vegas forward Ivan Barbashev were both asked about it by reporters last Friday:

“It’s not the good point to talk about right now,” said Bobrovsky, who was in goal for game one. “Right now we (are) focusing on hockey. It’s not about politics or what’s going on anywhere. It’s a big hockey celebration, Stanley Cup Final. I’ve never been in that spot before, and I want to enjoy this opportunity and enjoy this atmosphere.”

Barbashev – who had an assist in Vegas’ first-game win – was well aware of the situation and explained:

“To be honest, I don’t really care. I haven’t really thought about it. I don’t think the Cup is gonna go to Russia because it didn’t make it there last year. It is what it is, so I’m not really thinking about it.”

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told reporters last week:

“We made both clubs aware. The Cup isn’t going to Russia or Belarus. We may owe a Cup trip in the future. That can happen just like we’ve done with the pandemic, but it’s not happening this summer.”

When the Russian invasion started in February 2022, the NHL cut off its business ties in Russia and its announcement also included:

“We also remain concerned about the well-being of the players from Russia, who play in the NHL on behalf of their NHL Clubs, and not on behalf of Russia. We understand they and their families are being placed in an extremely difficult position.”

The Stanley Cup has been in Russia with winning players previously, as recently as 2021. But not in 2023.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Basketball ● The eighth FIBA 3×3 World Cup was held in Vienna (AUT) saw the U.S. women win their third title, but first since 2014 and first medal wince 2016 with a 16-12 win over France in the final.

The U.S. squad of Cameron Brink, Cierra Burdick, Linnae Harper and Louisville/LSU star Hailey Van Lith finished second in Pool C, but then dispatched Japan (22-17), Austria (21-17), and undefeated China (20-12) to get to the final. The French were also 3-1 in pool play, then beat Italy, Canada, and Australia to play for the title.

The game as tied at three, but the U.S. edged ahead slowly and had a 10-4 edge with 3:34 to play. The Americans were up, 12-8, with 1:40 to play, but got three points from Van Lith and one from Burdick to go up, 16-8, and cruise home ay 16-12. Van Lith and Burdick each had seven, with Harper and Brink getting one each.

Australia’s Marina Whittle was the scoring leader at 70; Brink was named Most Valuable Player. The U.S. women broke through after four World Cups without making the medal round. The French won at least a bronze for the fourth straight tournament.

In the men’s tournament, the U.S., Serbia and the Netherlands all went 4-0 in pool play. The very experienced Americans – Canyon Barry, Jimmer Fredette, Kareem Maddox and Dylan Travis – edged France in the quarterfinals by 21-19, then got by Brazil, 21-17, and landed in the final against five-time winner Serbia, which defeated Latvia, 21-18, in its semi.

The final was close throughout, tied at 10, and at 14, but the U.S. edged ahead, 19-15 on five straight points by Fredette. But the Americans did not score in the final 4:17 and after tying the game at 19, Strahinja Stojacic put Serbia up for good, 20-19, and Mihailo Vasic scored with 3:07 to play to finish the 21-19 win.

It’s Serbia’s second straight men’s title and sixth overall out of eight World Cups; the U.S. won its third medal and second silver. Fredette led all scorers in the tournament with 59.

● Football ● Complete shock at the FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup in Argentina, as Israel came from behind to edge Brazil, 3-2, in extra time and advance to the semifinals.

The game was scoreless at half, but Marcos Leonardo scored for Brazil in the 56th, only to have Anan Khalaili tie it in the 60th. Regulation time ended that way, but just a minute into added time, Matheus Nascimento put Brazil up 2-1 in the 91st, but again the Israelis tied it at 2-2 in the 93rd on a Hamza Shibli score.

Then, the Israelis pulled ahead, 3-2, on a Dor Turgeman goal at 105+3, in stoppage time at the end of the first extra period. Israel missed on two penalty shots in the second extra period, but would not concede a goal and moves on to the semifinals.

Remember, this is the Israeli team that the Indonesian government tried to keep out of the tournament, which resulted in it being moved to Argentina!

In Saturday’s other quarterfinal, Italy handled Colombia, 3-1, with Cesare Casadei scoring in the 9th minute and Tommaso Baldanzi in the 38th for a 2-0 halftime lead that proved too much to overcome.

The Italians will face South Korea, which out-lasted Nigeria, 1-0, in extra time on a 95th-minute goal from Seol-hyeon Choi.

On Sunday, the U.S. men came in with a 4-0 record and a 10-0 goals-against mark, but lost to Uruguay, 2-0. Anderson Duarte scored the only goal of the first half in the 21st minute for Uruguay and then Joshua Wynder was charged with an own goal in the 56th.

The U.S. had more possession, but shots were 11-10 for Uruguay and the U.S. offense could not solve the defense and had just three shots that were actually on goal.

The semis will be played on the 8th in La Plata with the medal matches on the 11th.

● Taekwondo ● The 26th World Taekwondo Championships finished in Baku (AZE), with South Korea and Turkey winning three classes each, but Russia topping the medal table with seven total (1-1-5).

Turkey followed with six (3-0-3) as did Croatia (2-1-3) and the Koreans (3-1-0) were one of four teams with four.

In the men’s 54 kg class (Finweight), Korea’s Tae-joon Park won his first Worlds medal, defeating Hugo Arillo (ESP) in the final, 7-0, 6-3. In the 74 kg final, Marko Golubic also won a first Worlds medal – a gold – by defeating 2022 Worlds bronze medalist Stefan Takov (SRB), by 4-3, 6-9, 8-8 (criteria).

The heavyweight (+87 kg) title went to Rio 2016 80 kg gold medalist Cheikh Sallah Cisse (CIV) for his first World Championships medal, defeating defending champ Carlos Sansores of Mexico, 2-1, 2-1.

The lightest women’s class, 46 kg, saw defending champion Lena Stojkovic (CRO) take a second straight gold over first-time medalist Kamonchanok Seeken (THA), 4-14, 12-11, 6-4.

Russian “neutral” Liliia Khuzina won the 62 kg class, 6-2, 8-6, over Brazil’s 2019 Worlds runner-up, Caroline Santos. Iran’s Nahid Kiani, the 2022 Asian Champion, won at 53 kg, defeating Ju Zuo (CHN) in the final, by 14-0, 11-7.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Artistic Swimming ● Double World Champion Yukiko Inui of Japan dominated the World Cup Super Final in Oviedo (ESP) with convincing wins in her specialties.

She won the Solo Technical by almost 29 points over Iris Tio Casas (ESP), 268.4217 to 239.9299, then took the Solo Free by more than 33 over Tio Casas, 252.2895 to 219.1000.

Tio Casas came back for gold, however, in the Duet Technical with Alisa Ozhogina Ozhogin, winning by 255.4066 to 242.4900 over France’s Anastasia Bayandina and Eve Planeix. Ukrainian sisters Maryna and Vladyslava Aleksiiva finished third (242.0541).

Israel’s Shelly Bobritsky and Ariel Nassee won the Duet Free, over the Aleksiiva sisters, 225.7915 to 217.1771.

Spain also won the Mixed Duet Technical with Emma Garcia and Dennis Gonzalez (237.6534), and China’s Wentao Cheng and Haoyu Shi won the Mixed Duet Free (226.3228) with Gonzalez and Mireia Hernandez second (204.3894).

And the Spanish, with Tio Casas and Garcia, won the Mixed Team Technical (278.2350) and was second to Israel in the Mixed Team Free (256.1375 to 247.8666).

Spain’s Fernando Diaz won the men’s Solo Technical (224.8233) and Filippo Pelati (ITA, 16) took the men’s Solo Free (178.8417).

● Badminton ● Korea was the big winner at the Thailand Open in Bangkok with three victories, but the home side also got a victory.

In the women’s Singles, Se Young An (KOR) beat Bing Jiao He (CHN), 21-10, 21-19 and Korea’s So Yeong Kim and Hee Yong Kong (KOR) won the women’s Doubles over Benyapa Aimsaard and Nuntakarn Aimsaard (THA), 21-13, 21-17.

Won Ho Kim and Na Eun Jeong (KOR) took the Mixed Doubles title in an upset in a ight battle over Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai (THA), 11-21, 21-19, 22-20.

Thailand got a win in the men’s Singles, with Kunlavut Vitidsarn (THA) prevailing over Cheuk Yiu Lee (KOR), 21-12, 21-10.

The men’s Doubles was a win for Wei Keng Liang and Chang Wang (CHN) over Muhammad Fikri and Bagas Maulana (INA), 21-10, 21-15.

● Beach Volleyball ● Two medals for the U.S. at the Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 in Ostrava (CZE), and wins for two of the top duos in the sport.

Olympic and World Champion Anders Mol and Christian Sorum (NOR) showed their class once more, winning their second Elite 16 tournament of the season with a 21-15, 19-21, 15-12 victory against Tokyo bronze winners Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan (QAT). Mol and Sorum have now appeared in the final of all four Elite 16 tournaments this season (2-2).

In a surprise, Americans Miles Partain and Andrew Benesh earned their second medal together on the Beach Pro Tour, defeating Czech stars Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner (CZE), 21-14, 21-17.

The women’s final was a come-from-behind win for World Champions Ana Patricia Ramos and Duda Lisboa (BRA) over Americans Terese Cannon and Sarah Sponcil, 17-21, 21-14, 15-12. It’s the third medal of the season for the Brazilians (1-1-1) this season, while Cannon and Sponcil scored their second medal this season (0-1-1) and fourth career on the FIVB beach circuit (0-2-2).

In the third-place match, Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson (CAN) got past Nina Brunner and Tanja Huberli (SUI), 21-16, 21-14.

● Canoe-Kayak ● Australian star Jessica Fox is now 28 and in her 14th international season, but showed no signs of slowing down at World Cup I for the Slalom racers, in Augsburg (GER).

She won the women’s Canoe final in 105.04 seconds, with no penalties, ahead of Angele Hug of France (111.55/0) and Elena Lilik (112.10, two penalties). It’s Fox’s 41st career World Cup win, to go along with her Tokyo Olympic gold in 2021.

Lilik, the 2021 C-1 World Champion, won the K-1 final, for her first World Cup gold, in 101.66 (0 penalties), beating Stefanie Horn (ITA: 105.95/2) and Viktoria Wolffhardt (AUT: 106.14/0). Horn scored her fourth career World Cup medal (1-1-2).

The men’s K-1 was a win for Giovanni de Gennaro (ITA) in 90.71 (0), his fifth career World Cup gold in the event. Britain’s Joseph Clarke (93.69/2) – the Rio 2016 gold medalist – finished second with two-time Olympic bronze medalist Hannes Aigner (GER: 93.74/0) third.

German star Saderis Tasiadis, the 2022 World Champion, with the C-1 in 98.25 (0), well ahead of Slovakia’s nine-time C-1 Team World Champion, Matej Benus (101.33/0) and Czech Jiri Prskavec (101.44/0), the Tokyo Olympic K-1 winner.

Sunday’s “Kayak Cross” competition (formerly known as “extreme”) saw wins for Italy’s Horn in the women’s final and 2021 Worlds K-1 Team gold winner Benjamin Renia (FRA) for the men.

● Cycling ● The 2023 BMX World Cup, rounds 1-2 were in Sakarya (TUR), with Britain’s Tokyo women’s Olympic gold medalist collecting two more wins.

Britain’s Beth Shriever, the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist, won a tight women’s first race, winning in 36.519 over 2022 Worlds runner-up Zoe Classens (SUI: 36.976) and the U.S.’s two-time World Champion Alise Willoughby (37.035). It was even tighter on Sunday, but Shriever completed the double, beating Willoughby, 36.493-36.845, with 2018 World Champion Laura Smulders (NED: 37.010) third.

Tokyo Olympian Romain Mahieu (FRA) conquered the field in the first men’s race, finishing in 32.626 to beat two-time Pan American champ Diego Arboleda (COL: 33.001) and two-time World Champion Joris Daudet (FRA: 33.243). But Daudet came back to lead a French 1-2 with Mahieu on Sunday, 32.766 to 33.019, with Izaac Kennedy (AUS: 33.223) third.

● Fencing ● The U.S. women collected a victory at the women’s Foil World Cup in Tbilisi (GEO), with Lauren Scruggs, Maia Weintraub, Jackie Dubrovich and Olympic champ Lee Kiefer taking the Team title with a 45-41 win over Italy in the final.

Italy’s Martina Favaretto, 21, won her second World Cup title of the season, stopping Germany’s Anne Sauer, 15-4 in the final.

● Football ● The U.S. and Mexico met for the fourth straight time in the final of the CONCACAF women’s U-20 Championship in the Dominican Republic.

The U.S. women, two-time defending champions in this tournament, slid past Costa Rica, 2-1, in their semifinals to earn a place at the 2024 FIFA women’s U-20 World Cup, as did Mexico, which defeated Canada, also by 2-1.

In the final, the game was scoreless until the 71st minute when Mailin Orozco put Mexico up by 1-0, only to be tied by the U.S. in the 80th on a Onyeka Gamero score. The winner came eight minutes later for Mexico’s Fatima Servin, giving the Mexicans a 2-1 victory and their second title in this tournament.

The U.S. is now 4-2 against Mexico in prior finals, accounting for half of the gold-medal matches all-time.

● Gymnastics ● The second stop on the FIG Artistic World Challenge Cup tour was in Tel Aviv (ISR) for the first time, with Commonwealth Games All-Around and Vault champ Georgia Godwin (AUS) the star.

She was busy, taking the Vault at 13.200 from Csenge Bacskay (HUN: 13.150) and then finishing second on the Uneven Bars to 2020 European bronze medalist Barbara Mokosova (SVK), 13.300 to 12.867. On Sunday, she won on Floor (13.567) just ahead of France’s Morgane Osyssek-Reimer (13.367). France’s 2016 European Beam runner-up Marine Boyer took the Beam win at 13.567, well clear of second-place Ana Perez (ESP).

European Championships Floor runner-up Krisztofer Meszaros (HUN) opened the men’s events with a win on Floor with a 14.550 score to 13.850 for Nicolas Mir (ESP). Meszaros picked up a silver in the Pommel Horse final at 13.950, behind Israel’s Eyal Indig (14.150). Austria’s Vinzenz Hoeck, the 2020 European silver winner, won on Rings at 14.600, with Nestor Abad second for Spain (14.000).

Meszaros collected a third medal with a win on Vault (13.750) over teammate Botond Molnar (13.725), and a fourth with a silver on the Parallel Bars (14.200) behind Turkey’s Ahmet Onder (14.350). Spain’s Abad won the Horizontal Bar for his second medal (13.800), over Israel’s Alexander Myakinin (13.600).

The third World Challenge Cup – before a long break – comes next week in Osijek (CRO).

● Judo ● The IJF World Tour was in Tajikistan for the Dushanbe Grand Prix, with a solid showing for the home team, but a very strong one by Russian fighters.

There were three “neutral” winners from Russia on Saturday, with Ramazan Andulaev winning the men’s 60 kg class, Makhmadbek Makhmadbekov taking the 73 kg division and Alesya Kuznetsova winning the women’s 52 kg class.

On Sunday, Matvey Kanikovskiy won at 100 kg over fellow Russian Niiaz Bilalov and Tokyo bronze medalist Tamerlan Bashaev – whose Wikipedia page shows him as a Senior Sergeant in the Russian Armed Forces – won at +100 kg.

Russian judoka won 11 total medals: seven for men and four for women, even though the “AIN” classification wasn’t shown on the medal standings page.

Tajik winners included Obid Dzhebov in the men’s 66 kg group and an all-Tajik final in the men’s 81 kg, with Somon Makhmadbekov defeating Shodmon Rizoev in the final. Komronshokh Ustopiriyon claimed his fourth career Grand Prix win at 90 kg.

Germany’s 2021 World Junior women’s 78 kg Champion Anna Olek defeated Tokyo bronze winner Anna-Maria Wagner (also GER) in the 78 kg final.

This event did not draw exceptional fields – only 315 competitors from 40 countries – although France’s Margaux Pinot, the 2019 Wolds bronze medalist at 70 kg, won her class.

● Modern Pentathlon ● Two furious finishes marked the UIPM World Cup Final in Ankara (TUR), with wins for Mohanad Shaban (EGY) and Elena Micheli of Italy.

The women’s final came first, with 2022 World Champion Micheli starting second, 12 seconds behind France’s Marie Oteiza, the 2018 Worlds bronze medalist. But after Oteiza had some trouble on the range, Micheli and third-starter Karolina Krenkova (CZE) moved up to lead the field.

Micheli shot better and finished with the ninth-fastest Laser Run of 12:13.90, while Krenkova faded. But the onrushing Ilke Ozyuksel (TUR) had the no. 2 Laser Run of 11:41.90 and made up almost all her 47-second start deficit and missed the tape by three seconds, finishing second overall, 1,377 to 1,374. Oteiza held on for third (1,373).

After a three-hour delay due to heavy rain, the men’s final finally commenced, with Egypt’s Shaban – fourth, first and second in the three World Cups this season – taking a 10-second lead into the Laser Run over Olympic champ Joe Choong (GBR), and 11 seconds ahead of Woo-jin Park (KOR).

The course was slick and Shaban fell early in the race, but shot very well and was stride-for-stride with Choong right to the finish and managed to get to the line first for an unlikely upset victory, his second of the season. Choong’s 10:36.60 on the course proved to be third-fastest overall, but Shaban was close enough at 10:44.61 and got the win, 1,496 to 1,494.

Mexico’s Emiliano Hernandez edged Csaba Bohm (HUN) for the bronze, 1,476 to 1,475, maintaining his two-second edge in the Laser Run start, 0:27 to 0:29.

Korea’s Sun-woo Kim and Woong-tae Jun won the Mixed Relay, building a lead with wins in fencing and swimming and starting the Laser Run with a 31-second edge over Egypt and 44 seconds on France. While the Koreans were only seventh-fastest on the course, they won comfortably, totaling 1,359 points to 1,338 for Christopher Patte and Rebecca Castaudi of France. Hungary’s Balazs Szep and Blanka Bauer came up for third with the fastest Laser-Run of the day, scoring 1,332, with Egypt fourth (1,326).

● Sailing ● The World Sailing World Cup Allianz Regatta, with competition in six of the 10 Olympic classes, concluded off of Amsterdam (NED), with the home team impressive with victories in four classes.

In the 49er class, two-time World Champions Bart Lambriex and Floris van der Werken wrapped up the title before the medal race, finishing with nine wins and a net point total of just 24.0 points. Australians Thomas Needham and Joel Turner were a clear second with 66.0 net points.

Duko Bos (NED) won the men’s Laser class, taking four wins and scoring a net of 15.0 points. Finn Valtteri Uusitalo was second with six top-three finishes and 26.0 points.

The Dutch scored again in the women’s Laser Radial, with Maxime Jonker scoring five wins in the first 12 races, and ending with 17.0 net points. German Julia Buesselberg had six top-three finishes and was second (30.0).

The men’s IQ Foil sailing saw a 1-2 Dutch finish for Luuc Vanopzeeland (34.0) and Huig-Jan Tak (56.0). Vanopzeeland had six wins and three seconds in 16 races, to three wins for Tak.

France swept the Formula Kite classes, with Jessie Kampman taking three wins in the medal series to finish ahead of Annelous Lammerts (NED), while Axel Mazzella took the men’s title from Conner Bainbridge (GBR) and Qibin Huang (CHN).

● Sport Climbing ● A major upset at the IFSC Boulder World Cup in Prague (CZE), with France’s Oriane Bertone winning over Olympic champ Janja Garnbret (SLO), the 2018 and 2019 World Bouldering Champion!

Garnbret was the leader through the semifinals, but in the final, Bertone made three tops in four tries and four zones in five, while Garnbret also claimed three tops (but in six tries) and four zones in seven. Flavy Cohaut of France took the bronze (2T3Z ~ 6/12). For Bertone, 18, it’s her first win and third medal (1-2-0) in her four starts this season and she now has six career World Cup podiums.

The men’s final saw Korea’s Doh-yun Lee score his first career World Cup win, reaching four tops and four zones in just five tries each, compared to 2014 World Champion Adam Ondra (CZE), who reached four tops, but in 13 tries and four zones, in nine.

Mejdi Schalck (FRA) finished third at 3T3Z ~ 3/6. Lee, 20, earned his second career World Cup medal.

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TSX REPORT: Don’t trust gadgets to measure world records; WADA still worried about Russian doping agency; Swiss leave IBA for new fed

By
Rich Perelman
-
World Anti-Doping President Witold Banka (POL)

★ 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 ≡

1. How far did Ryan Crouser actually throw?
2. WADA chief worries about RUSADA independence
3. Finnish NOC head thinks Russians will not be in Paris
4. Swiss leave International Boxing Assn., join World Boxing
5. European Fencing re-arranges events for Russia & Belarus

The sensational world record throw of 23.56 m (77-3 3/4) by Ryan Crouser at last week’s L.A. Grand Prix was originally measured to be longer! Enjoy the play-by-play on how the final distance was arrived at, and a lesson that high tech is not always better than no tech. World Anti-Doping Agency head Witold Banka told the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations that there are still doubt about the independence from government of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency. The head of the National Olympic Committee of Finland thinks the International Olympic Committee has been pro-Russian, but says he knows who Russia won’t be in Paris next year. The Russian NOC chief thinks differently. And how a Russian plan to remake international sport may start with checkers? The Swiss boxing federation left the International Boxing Association and will join the new World Boxing group, joining USA Boxing. The IBA isn’t happy. The International Fencing Federation commanded the European confederation to set up a special European Championships for individual events since Poland will not allow Russians or Belarusians into the country for this month’s European Games. But the team events are fine; there is an explanation.

● World Championships ● Football (Uruguay and South Korea advance at FIFA men’s U-20) = Taekwondo (Turkey sweeps both weights at Worlds on Thursday) ●

● Panorama: Anti-Doping (Smith new chair of USADA) = Athletics (3: Diamond League in Florence on Friday; Tamara Clark completes four-month ban due to IV infraction; Bolt looking for new role in the sport) = Cycling (UCI names two Russians as approved neutrals) = Football (Euro sports ministers worried about rights stalemate for Women’s World Cup) = Ice Hockey (Knight wins IIHF woman player of the year) = Shooting (Mein and Carroll win U.S. Trap nationals) = Tennis (U.S.’s Haggerty to be challenged by German von Armin for ITF chief) ●

1.
How far did Ryan Crouser actually throw?

The outstanding highlight of the USATF L.A. Grand Prix meet at UCLA’s Drake Stadium last Saturday was the mammoth world shot put record of American star Ryan Crouser, who crushed his 2021 mark of 23.37 m (76-8 1/4) with a brilliant, fourth-round toss of 23.56 m (77-3 3/4).

Or was it?

On Monday, Track & Field News correspondent Brian Russell, who was helping with the NBC telecast of the meet, said that the report of Crouser’s throw on the television production line – in real time from the shot circle – was that “the laser measured 23.58, but the steel tape recorded 23.56.”

Super-statistician and Federation of American Statisticians of Track (FAST) Annual Index Editor Alan Mazursky was the one charting the shot for NBC and explained the situation:

“Yes, the steel tape measurement was 2 cm shorter than the laser measurement. I have no idea whether other situations have found differences like this, or whether in non-record competitions with medals decided by 2 cm or less there might have been a different outcome.

“I did not notice if the person marking the landing spot moved after the laser measurement, but do not think they did, as the officials were all moving quickly and shouting instructions to assure a re-measurement for record purposes. The officials made multiple measurements with the steel tape.”

So, the original measurement with the laser was 23.58 m (77-4 1/2), which did show up in some tweets. There are video clips out there of the officials taking those steel tape measurements. Russell added:

“I’m wondering how many other laser measurements have been incorrect and effected the outcome of a meet or championships? For example, the 2019 [World Championships], where [Joe] Kovacs threw 22.91 (75-2), and [Crouser] and Tom Walsh threw 22.90 (75-1 3/4).”

Mazursky, who deals with numbers all day in his work as a controller for a logistics company, agreed:

“I recall that the statistical theory behind the Big Gold Book metric conversion tables refers to the fractional randomness in how implements of measurement are placed in when it comes to landing areas, so when Kovacs beat Crouser and Walsh in Doha I think they all probably realized that there is a certain amount of luck that the Kovacs throw happened to be measured 1 cm further.”

In the stands, there were murmurs about why a steel tape measurement was required, instead of simply trusting the latest, infallible electronic device. Now we know.

Crouser’s series, the best in history, started with a monster 23.23 m (76-2 3/4, no. 3 ever) toss that bounced up and hit the retaining wall at the Drake Stadium north end shot circle, which was originally designed for training and not for competition. He continued to tattoo the wall, including on his historic fourth throw for the world record.

The newest whisper is whether that wall meets the World Athletics requirement of 25 m (82-0) for ratification purposes; it appears that it does, but it’s close. When the stadium was renovated to accommodate a soccer field in 1999, shot circles throwing onto the grass infield were installed at the northeast and southwest corners, but were not used for the L.A. Grand Prix. The southwest corner circle is just inside the finish line and would have been right in front of the stands, but the meet organizers may not have known about it, since it is not used by UCLA for its meets these days.

Maybe next year.

2.
WADA chief worries about RUSADA independence

Among the six hours of the ASOIF General Assembly on Wednesday was a 14-minute address by Witold Banka (POL), the President of the World Anti-Doping Agency. He reviewed the progress of the anti-doping fight, and had some comments specifically about Russia and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency that included:

“RUSADA remains non-compliant. That is related to the 2020 decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, to declare RUSADA non-compliant and implement a number of consequences on Russian sport for a period of two years.

“RUSADA will remain non-compliant until it fulfills each of the reinstatement conditions, in full, as laid out by CAS, and until we’ve been able to verify that. We’ll continue to follow the agreed process; however, I must say that the confidence in the independence of the anti-doping system there remains very low.”

He added that the Operation LIMS project, which retrieved data from the infamous Moscow Laboratory from which the Russian state-sponsored doping program was run from 2011-15 has now results in 203 convictions, 73 more charges files and 182 cases that remain under investigation.

RUSADA Director General Viktoria Loginova brushed off the criticism and told the Russian news agency TASS:

“We react absolutely calmly to such statements, this is no longer news.

“All the functions of the anti-doping agency are carried out with strict observance of standards.

“As for RUSADA, we have taken unprecedented measures to ensure the independence of the agency: starting with amendments to the agency’s charter and ending with the introduction of the requirement for the approval of each new staff candidate with an independent ethics officer. This year, RUSADA has been transferred the authority to approve the all-Russian anti-doping rules.

“There are examples when in other countries current sports officials become the heads of the governing bodies of anti-doping organizations. But we do not criticize the activities of others or the sanctions imposed by foreign disciplinary bodies. We do not waste time on this, we make every effort to do our job well and fight doping at the highest level.”

Loginova has said that with the passage of legislation which integrates the World Anti-Doping Code with Russian law and payment of some WADA expense invoices, RUSADA will be in position to declared compliant once again.

3.
Finnish NOC head thinks Russians will not be in Paris

While the debate within international federations drones on about whether, when and how Russian and Belarusian athletes will be or might be re-admitted to international competitions, a close observer of Russian sport thinks they will not compete in Paris next year.

“I am still optimistic that Russian and Belarusian athletes will be kept out of Paris,” said Finnish National Olympic Committee Chair Jan Vapaavuori on Tuesday. Speaking with the Ilta Sanomat, he added that the situation is still fluid and not at all clear:

“It is true that the international sports federations have the mandate to decide on the qualifications, but on the other hand, the IOC set such strict conditions in its recommendations that it has reduced the risk.

“The situation is unclear, it is open and there are varied practices in different sports. On the other hand, there are clear signs that Russia itself feels that the conditions are so strict that it itself does not want to participate.”

As for the International Olympic Committee’s role in all of this, Vapaavuori added:

“Perhaps in general I could state that the IOC as an organization and its office in Lausanne has been confusingly pro-Russia throughout the war. The fact that even such strict measures against Russia and Belarus have been achieved is partly a result of the fact that individual countries, national Olympic committees, sports federations and European ministers have created pressure so that a strict line has been achieved.”

In Russia, however, Russian Olympic Committee chief Stanislav Pozdnyakov said Thursday, he thinks a Russian team will be in Paris:

“The Olympic dream is the main motivating factor for all athletes.

“I am absolutely sure that the clouds will clear and justice will prevail. That all our athletes return to the arenas, including the Olympic arenas. Russian sport will exist and will achieve victories. And to fight for the highest places – as it was, as it is, as it will be.

“For us, the absolute priority is that we do not divide the participants of the Olympic Movement into friends and enemies. For us, everyone who supports Olympic values is a friend.”

However, sensitivity to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine continues to bubble up, even where Russian athletes are allowed in competition as neutrals. At the French Open in Paris, 11th-ranked Veronika Kudermetova was told to remove a sponsorship logo from the Russian Tatneft energy company.

The organizers explained, “Any commercial or other identification that violates governmental / TV regulations is prohibited. Tatneft is on this list and not allowed.”

Kudermetova said in early May that she would not have a Tatneft logo on her uniforms for Wimbledon, having been instructed that this would not be allowed.

Russian efforts to create new, parallel sports organizations based on the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), former Soviet republics and some central Asian countries are continuing, now dealing with the board game of checkers (known as draughts internationally).

A new “Association of Draughts Federation” is being formed, to include Russia, Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, India, Armenia and Brazil.

The Vice President of the Russian Draughts Federation, Yuri Chertok, told TASS:

“On June 10, an agreement will be signed in Ufa as part of the first international tournament of the SCO and BRICS countries.

“We are creating a common management body, our own website and a competition calendar. I wouldn’t call it an alternative to the World Draughts Federation, because we don’t pretend to host world championships yet. On the contrary, we are creating an association that, with a favorable development of events, could join an international federation.”

World sport changed by checkers?

4.
Swiss leave International Boxing Assn., join World Boxing

“The SwissBoxing Association Council has decided to withdraw from the International Boxing Association (IBA) with immediate effect and to join the new World Boxing association.”

That’s from a 1 June announcement; the SwissBoxing notice also included (computer translation from the original German):

“This resolution has immediate effect, but is subject to subsequent approval by the delegates’ meeting. The reason for this is the announcement by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that the IBA – formerly AIBA – has been withdrawn from the hosting of the Olympic boxing competition for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, including qualifying competitions. The reason for this is massive allegations of corruption and breaches of ethics. From 2028, boxing, as one of the original sports of the Olympic movement, is to be completely removed from the program of the Olympic Games.”

The IBA, in reply, said it accepted the resignation with “deep regret,” but added:

“The grounds for the SwissBoxing decision that was communicated to the IBA are outdated and do not reflect or acknowledge any of the significant governance milestones achieved by the IBA. The IBA has improved significantly since 2020 when IBA President Umar Kremlev [RUS] was elected. Not acknowledging the obvious progress of the IBA in addition to the attempts to slander the organizations current state is simply not acceptable and the IBA reserves all it rights to protect its name.”

And the IBA wasted no time trashing the fledgling World Boxing organization:

“The Swiss organization, reportedly, left for the newly formed rogue boxing body to become their second member following the USA Boxing and to ensure their Olympic participation which to this day has not resulted in a single medal for the nation. With that said, new membership applications from USA and Switzerland are being carefully examined by IBA.

“‘The example set by former IBA member USA Boxing has left their athletes without an opportunity to compete and win titles and earn money to support their love of the sport and the cost of living required to follow their dreams. We now see SwissBoxing making the same mistake, and it is clear that these administrators do not think ahead and have blinders that prevent them from seeing the complete picture. IBA membership is a privilege, not a right, where the IBA and its National Federation’s are intent on building a prosperous future for the whole boxing family which requires a mutual commitment,’ IBA Secretary General and CEO George Yerolimpos stated.

“Mr Yerolimpos went on to say, ‘With two members, the rogue organization can now officially organize intimate international events while their administrators play political games rather than supporting their athletes’ needs, but rather chasing personal ambitions that will never lead any initiative to success or serve the greater good of our sport.’”

Many more defections from the IBA are expected, primarily from Europe, but also from Oceania. The IOC has indicated that a decision on boxing for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles will be made in October at the Session in Mumbai, India.

5.
European Fencing re-arranges events for Russia & Belarus

The IOC’s insistence on the re-entry of Russian and Belarusian athletes as individual “neutral” athletes has moved the European Fencing Confederation to change its championship arrangements for 2023.

The EFC had designated the European Games competition in Poland to be its 2023 championships, but with the Poles prohibiting Russian or Belarusian entries of any kind at the event, the Federation Internationale de Escrime ordered its European confederation to remove the individual events.

So, the European Championships for individual events will be held in Plovdiv (BUL) from 16-17 June, while the team events will still be part of the European Games in Krakow from 25-30 June.

Why?

Because the IOC’s recommendations of 28 March 2023 continue to ban all Russian and Belarusian teams, so not having any Russian or Belarusians admitted into Poland makes no difference. But for individual events, the FIE voted to allow Russians and Belarusians to return as neutrals. And the 2023 European Championships offer qualifying points toward the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

So, according to the FIE:

“The European Fencing Confederation must organise a separated Individual European Championship 2023 in June, before the WCH in Milan. The points awarded in this competition will be valid for Olympic qualification.

“The FIE will provide financial support for the organisation of this additional competition.”

The European Fencing Confederation noted only:

“The EFC acknowledges with regret the fact that the FIE has taken these decisions, only published with today’s letter [31 May]. The EFC balanced the legal arguments and the clear discrimination of European fencers that would come from not being able to collect points from the European championship and agreed that there was no good solution and that it should allow European fencers to gain qualification points.

“Consequently, the EFC agreed to cooperate with the FIE on organising the event the FIE decided.”

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Football ● The quarterfinals of the FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup in Argentina are set, with the final two Round-of-16 games concluded on Thursday.

Uruguay (2-1) defeated Group F winner Gambia (2-0-1) by 1-0 on a 65th-minute goal from Anderson Duarte, and will meet the U.S. in its quarterfinal on Sunday (4th). South Korea had a 2-1 lead at half, added another goal early in the second half and held on for a 3-2 win over Ecuador. The Koreans will play Nigeria on Sunday.

Saturday’s quarterfinals include Israel and Brazil and Colombia vs. Italy.

Brazil filed a complaint with FIFA concerning racial abuse by local fans against defender Robert Renan after their 4-1 win over Tunisia in the Round of 16. In addition, according to Reuters:

“The player, who was sent off after 45 minutes, was then subjected to racism on social media. After the match, Renan shared on Instagram screenshots of racist messages he received.”

● Taekwondo ● At the 2023 World Taekwondo Championships in Baku (AZE), Turkey’s Nafia Kus finally got to the top of the podium.

The bronze medalist in the women’s +73 kg class in 2015 and at 73 kg in 2019, she won her first Worlds gold with a 0-0, 6-11, 7-4 victory over defending champ Svetlana Osipova (UZB). Britain’s Bianca Cook and Russian Kristina Adebaio won bronzes.

On a great day for Turkey, Hakan Recber won the men’s 63 kg class for his first Worlds medal. The 68 kg bronze medalist from Tokyo in 2021, he defeated Thai Banlung Tubtimdang, 7-0, 5-6 and 6-2.

Turkey now leads all nations with three golds; the tournament continues through Sunday.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● U.S. Anti-Doping Agency ● Dr. Tobie Smith, a former U.S. National Team swimmer and Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at Georgetown University and founder of Street Health DC, was announced as the new Chair of USADA, having taken office in November 2022.

New board members as of May 2023 include World 10,000 m silver medalist and NBC track & field commentator Kara Goucher is the new athlete representative board member, with Lee Dunn, a Director of policy at Google Cloud, and former Congressman and U.S. Ambassador to India Tim Roemer.

● Athletics ● The Wanda Diamond League resumes on Friday in Florence (ITA), with strong fields for the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea meet.

In the U.S., the meet will be shown on the Peacock subscription service from 2-4 p.m. Eastern time with a replay on Saturday on CNBC from 1-3 p.m. Eastern.

The men’s 100 m features the three medalists from the 2022 Worlds: Americans Fred Kerley, Marvin Bracy-Williams and Trayvon Bromell, plus Erriyon Knighton in the 200 m, Grant Holloway in the 110 m hurdles and a fabulous 5,000 m field. American Olympic champs Valarie Allman (discus) and Katie Moon (vault) will go, with Kenyan Faith Kipyegon always a threat to the world 1,500 m record.

The Athletics Integrity Unit published sanction notices against American sprinter Tamara Clark – sixth in the 2022 Worlds women’s 200 m – and Jamaican sprinter Rushelle Burton, the 2016 World Junior 100 m hurdles runner-up, four months each for using intravenous injections above the allowable limit.

The suspensions are over; both were banned for four months from 1 February to 30 May 2023.

A Reuters story on retired Jamaican sprint superhero Usain Bolt, 36, quoted the star as ready to help the sport:

“I spend my time doing a lot of family things, when it comes to track and field, not as much as I would want to, but I still try and stay in touch with what is going on.

“I’m still waiting on a position from (World Athletics), I’ve reached out to them and let them know I would love to make a bigger impact in sports, as long as they want me to. We’ve been in talks, but we’ll have to wait and see what comes around. …

“I think over time, it will be better. I think young athletes are coming up and I see a few personalities that are needed in sport; hopefully, in the upcoming years, it will change. Hopefully, I can play a part and help the sport to grow.”

● Cycling ● The Union Cycliste Internationale published its first list of “neutral” Russian athletes allowed to compete in UCI competitions, with two people on it:

1. Gleb Syritsa, 23, a road and track cyclist, who won a European Games 2019 Track gold in the Team Pursuit.

2. Aeksei Medvedev, 40, a mountain bike rider and twice national champion.

Three riders were on the non-allowed list, including Anastasiia Voinova, an Olympic Track medalist in the Team Sprint in Rio (silver) and Tokyo (bronze), and a four-time World Championships gold medalist from 2015-17.

The UCI said that it will add to these lists as applications come in for neutral status from Russian or Belarusian riders.

● Football ● The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is coming up on 20 July from Australia and New Zealand, with no television rights yet awarded in multiple European countries.

FIFA chief Gianni Infantino is demanding more money in rights fees from broadcasters, but without any luck so far. On Wednesday, the sports ministers for France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain released a statement urging the situation to be resolved quickly. The statement included:

“We, as Sports Ministers of European countries whose women’s national football teams have qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand, from the 20th of July to the 20th of August 2023, have acknowledged with concern that until now, no television rights have been attributed for the matches broadcasting in our countries.

“We are aware of the legitimate interests and budgetary constraints pressuring both assignees and independent broadcasters, who need a viable economic model for each of them. We also recognise the specific organisational constraints that are likely to affect the ‘market value’ of the European broadcasters’ rights (period and hours of broadcasting). …

“[W]e know that discussions are in progress and we are confident in FIFA and independent broadcasters’ capability to find a common path toward fair development of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.”

● Ice Hockey ● The International Ice Hockey Federation announced that American star forward Hilary Knight was named as the first IIHF Female Player of the Year. According to the statement:

“She received 40.9% of the total votes and was the clear and favored winner. Second in the voting was teammate Caroline Harvey, with 18.2%, followed by teen sensation Nela Lopusanova of Slovakia, with 13.6%. Fourth was Finnish captain Jenni Hiirikoski with 11.3%, followed by Sarah Filler (CAN, 9.1%), Emma Soderberg (SWE, 4.5%), and Marie-Philip Poulin (CAN, 2.3%).”

Knight, 33, scored eight goals for the victorious U.S. team at the 2023 World Championships and scored a hat trick in the final against Canada. She became the first women to score more than 100 career points at the IIHF Worlds and now has 101. She’s won nine career Worlds golds – equal-most ever – out of 13 appearances at the World Championships.

● Shooting ● Reigning World Champion Derrick Mein won the USA Shooting Trap national title at Hillsdale, Michigan last weekend, logging the top qualifying score and winning the final.

Mein shot 234/250 to lead Seth Inman (232) and Logan Lucas (229), and then won in the final with Lucas second and Inman third for final totals of 237 (Mein), 233 (Inman) and 231 (Lucas). Lima 2019 Pan Am Games runner-up Derek Haldeman and Beijing 2008 Double Trap gold medalist Glenn Eller finished 4-5 (231, 230).

Ashley Carroll, the 2019 World Champion, topped the women’s division, at 225 for the qualifying and with a third-place finish in the final, ended with 226 points. Rachel Tozier, the 2019 Pan Am Games silver winner was second overall and second in the final (223 points), with Ryann Phillips finishing third with 221. Alicia Gough, who won the final, ended up eighth at 216.

● Tennis ● The International Tennis Federation announced that incumbent President David Haggerty of the U.S. will be challenged by Germany’s Dietloff von Armin in elections in September.

Haggerty has been the ITF President since 2015 and will be running for a third term, against von Armin, the head of the German tennis federation and a long-time tournament director.

If von Armin should win, Haggerty would lose his position as an IOC member since his election was linked to his position with the ITF. That would leave the U.S. with only Anita DeFrantz, now the third-longest-serving member, elected individually in 1986.

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For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Summer feds expect 10% raise in Paris ‘24 TV share; LA28 sports to be decided in October; middling TV audience for L.A. Grand Prix

By
Rich Perelman
-
Timeline of the LA28 sports program finalization, from Wednesday's ASOIF General Assembly. (Photo: screen grab of ASOIF feed)

★ 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 ≡

1. ASOIF asks IOC for $596 million-plus from Paris TV revenue
2. IOC’s McConnell: LA28 sports program decisions in October
3. No plans for ASOIF-led common declaration on Russia and Belarus
4. Badminton now reconsidering Russian, Belarusian re-entry
5. Middling TV audience for USATF’s L.A. Grand Prix

The Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) held its 2023 General Assembly in Lausanne, with issues of considerable interest. The group approved a distribution format for Olympic television revenues from Paris 2024, but resolved to ask for more money from the International Olympic Committee: at least $596 million, up from $540 million for Rio and Tokyo. The IOC’s sports director indicated that decisions on boxing, modern pentathlon and weightlifting for 2028, and any added sports requested by the LA28 organizers would be made at the 140th IOC Session in India in October. An opening speech by IOC chief Thomas Bach thanked ASOIF for its support of the IOC’s position on Russian and Belarusian re-entry, with ASOIF head Francesco Ricci Bitti noting that a “harmonized” approach across all federations was not possible. The Badminton World Federation decided Monday to look into possible re-entry of Russia and Belarus, with further discussion at its World Championships in August. The USATF L.A. Grand Prix meet last Saturday from UCLA drew an NBC average audience of 777,000, better than the Bermuda Grand Prix the week before, but short of the three NBC-televised indoor meets in February.

● World Championships: Football (Nigeria upsets Argentina in FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup round of 16) = Taekwondo (Nickolas takes first U.S. men’s Worlds medal in 14 years!) ●

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (no plastic; Coca-Cola to offer reusable glass bottles) = Transgender (new idea for classification: the pelvis) = Boxing (USA Boxing gets two-year, $800,000 grant) = Tennis (Djokovic comments on Kosovo bring request for IOC review) ●

1.
ASOIF asks IOC for $596 million-plus from Paris TV revenue

“So my aim, before I step down, would be to at least enforce what was in place 12 years ago. We never had enough money [before], so the project is based on $596 [million] total, means that this is the minimum money to achieve what we decide 12 years ago, without going down, with any federation should not go down with the money. …

“So this is the proposal of the scheme where we should start; it’s not any binding decision. The story will start with this, not the end. The end, I will keep you informed.”

That’s Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) President Francesco Ricci Bitti (ITA), the former 16-year head of the International Tennis Federation and ASOIF head since 2013, explaining to Wednesday’s ASOIF General Assembly in Lausanne (SUI) a proposal for the distribution of the federation’s share of the television rights fees received by the International Olympic Committee for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

These funds are a major source of revenue for these federations and while the actual amount to be distributed is up to the IOC, how it will be distributed is up to the federations to decide.

The current distribution scheme has three sports in Group A (aquatics, athletics, gymnastics), then five in Group B, eight in Group C, nine in Group D and three in Group E (28 total). While the scheme was not revealed publicly, it was approved as the ASOIF’s opening position with the IOC.

Ricci Bitti noted that the situation was good through London 2012, with significant increases in amounts to federations, but:

“After London, unfortunately, the negotiation has been come more and more difficult and extremely difficult in Tokyo. … The IOC has been, perhaps, too tough with us.”

The numbers demonstrate the reason for the unhappiness:

IOC TV revenue by quadrennial (Summer and Winter):
● 2000: $1.845 billion (Sydney)
● 2004: $2.232 billion (Athens: +21.0%)
● 2008: $2.570 billion (Beijing: +15.1%)
● 2012: $3.850 billion (London: +49.85%)
● 2016: $4.157 billion (Rio: +8.0%)
● 2020: $4.543 billion (Tokyo: +9.3%)
● 2024: more!

IOC share provided to ASOIF:
● 2000: $190 million (10.3% of the TV rights total)
● 2004: $257 million (11.5%)
● 2008: $297 million (11.6%)
● 2012: $520 million (13.5%)
● 2016: $540 million (13.0%)
● 2020: $540 million (11.9%)
● 2024: $596 million or more requested

Federation shares by group for Rio and Tokyo:
● Group A: $31.36 to $39.48 million (3 federations)
● Group B: $24.34 million (5 IFs)
● Group C: $17.31 million (8 IFs)
● Group D: $15.14 million (9 IFs)
● Group E: $12.98 million (3 IFs)

So while the IOC’s television revenue has continued to rise for Rio and Tokyo, the federations received only a small increase from 2012 to 2016 and then none for 2020 (2021).

A significant increase is expected for Paris 2024 as the $7.65 billion contract extension for NBC for six Games from 2024-32, signed in 2014, comes into effect.

Said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (GBR):

“As profits increase, there has to be a recognition that the proceeds of growth are recognized within the key element within the Olympic Movement with the delivery of the Games.”

Ricci Bitti also noted that the distribution formula has gotten more complex as what he called the “sliding door” for sports has been implemented, with some on the program for a single Games and then moving off. He emphasized that ASOIF is trying to implement its 2013 agreement with prior IOC chief Jacques Rogge (BEL) to accommodate three federations in Group A and share funds more equally with everyone else, especially those in groups C-D-E.

The next step will be the negotiations with the IOC on the amount to be provided, which, as Ricci Bitti repeatedly noted, is within the IOC’s purview.

2.
IOC’s McConnell: LA28 sports program decisions in October

The IOC Sports Director, Kit McConnell (NZL) made a presentation to the federations which highlighted the continuing cost reductions sought by the IOC and the Paris 2024 organizers. These include a reduction – by more than 500 – of the number of sports technical officials and a narrowing of training venue availability based on the sports schedule and team arrival patterns.

Also, the IOC will take over the entry process for the Games in Paris – rather than the organizing committee – and going forward, which will be of great interest to the federations.

He also spoke in detail about the sports program for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, which will, for the most part, be decided this year:

“We’re going through a key step and a new step in the process, the finalization of the disciplines in the existing 28 sports … which will culminate in June with decisions by the IOC Executive Board, and that goal – again – is designed to give certainty for everyone: certainty for the OCOG in terms of going forward with the master plan, certainty for you in terms of the direction, and certainty for your athletes, in terms of that certainty going into the final year before Paris knowing what will be in the program at the discipline level, and equally for the NOCs, and everyone else involved. …

“Disciplines to be confirmed, as you know, in June, then in terms of the other timelines: final decisions in terms of the pending sports on our side – let’s say boxing, modern pentathlon and weightlifting – and any OCOG-proposed sports by the time of the Session in Mumbai in October. And in terms of the event program and athlete quotas, they will be finalized either at the end of 2024 or the very start of 2025.”

The slide behind McConnell showed the projected timetable:

● Q2 2023: “[Olympic Program Commission] review and recommendation on the discipline programme 30 May 2023″

● Q2 2023: “IOC [Executive Board] decision on the discipline programme June 2023″

● Q4 2023: “140th IOC Session potential decision on 3 pending and OCOG-proposed sports Oct 2023”

This means that McConnell expects no decision on boxing, modern pentathlon and weightlifting at the 20-22 June Executive Board meeting. There is no Executive Board meeting scheduled until just prior to the IOC Session in Mumbai (IND) from 15-17 October, although one could be called at any time.

The decision on the actual program of events and quotas-per-sport will not come until after a debrief following the Paris 2024 Games, to consider what was seen there and what changes could or should be made.

3.
No plans for ASOIF-led common declaration on Russia and Belarus

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER) delivered comments at the opening of the ASOIF meeting, marking the 40th anniversary of the organization, created at the invitation of then-IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch.

In his five-page address, Bach returned once again to his theme on Russian and Belarusian athletes, and the IOC’s 28 March recommendation to allow “neutral” individual athletes to compete:

“Everybody knows that such an extremely complex political problem cannot have an easy solution. Only populists pretend to have easy solutions for the most complex problems in the world. This complex situation also presents one or the other challenge for you, when it comes to applying the recommendations and strict conditions.

“But many of you have proven that it can be done. Many IFs have organised international sport events and even world championships, applying the recommendations and very successfully delivering these competitions. And you are doing so against the backdrop of the many naysayers who want to make people believe that it would never work. …

“The overwhelming majority of the international community understands this challenging situation for sport and supports our middle-ground approach.”

Ricci Bitti also addressed the Russian and Belarusian situation, referring to the IOC’s 28 March policy statement:

“[B]ased on this recommendation, we start working on the federations, helping them, supporting them in the implementation, and possibly the harmonization; very difficult because of the specificity of each federation.

“So, basically I believe and repeat what the President said, the aim has been achieved. So, the vast majority of the federations have approached the problem. It has not been solved; in many cases, we still have clarifications on implementation because each sport is different, and we respect the position of all our member federations.

“But, in general, our organization are to [put up] bridge and not wall, and the world, as Thomas said, is very universal for us because we are an international organization, so we have to be universal, to be open, and we have to prepare the future, in case, hopefully, the situation is going to change.

“So this is our very practical and pragmatic view, so this approach and the support that we gave to the IOC trial to re-open the door to neutral athletes of these countries.”

And he noted that when the IOC finally decides what to do about Russian and Belarus for Paris 2024, it will have the benefit of “all this experience made by our member federations.”

In March, the IOC had urged the possibility of a common declaration, neutrality pledge or verification process to be developed for the summer-sport federations through ASOIF and for winter sports through its association (AIOWF), but this was glaringly absent from Ricci Bitti’s comments and he acknowledged the impossibility of “harmonization.”

So each federation will go it alone, and the responses have been all over the spectrum, and apparently will continue to be.

4.
Badminton now reconsidering Russian, Belarusian re-entry

The Badminton World Federation announced it will now consider possible procedures for re-entry of Russian and Belarusian athletes, after a Monday meeting of the BWF Council.

Neither country has any impact in the sport and neither has ever won a World Championships medal. The Council statement included:

“[A] regulative and operational framework to allow athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports to compete as individual neutral athletes has been commissioned to be presented to Council at its next meeting in August.

“Such a framework shall follow the IOC’s eligibility criteria for participation and aim to ensure a safe and peaceful competition environment for all athletes.

“BWF Council will then deliberate on the merits of the principles, framework and timeline to potentially lift the suspension of Russian and Belarussian athletes.”

The August meeting will be in Copenhagen (DEN) in conjunction with the 2023 World Championships.

This is a change of position from its 20 April statement, maintaining its suspension of Russian and Belarusian players over concerns on player safety, noting:

“However, in sight of risks to players and events that could arise by re-opening participation, plus steps to seek more clarity on IOC’s complex criteria for allowing participation, and any such repercussions this may have, including conditions related to Olympic qualification and potential participation in Paris 2024, BWF is not convinced there is satisfactory justification to lift the suspensions on Russian and Belarussian players and officials at this time.”

5.
Middling TV audience for USATF’s L.A. Grand Prix

Nielsen audience figures for over-the-air and cable television sports programs are in and Saturday’s first-time L.A. Grand Prix at Drake Stadium in Los Angeles drew a good, but not great audience of 777,000 on NBC on an otherwise light sports afternoon.

There was no single outstanding event on the day and the track meet was second in its time period – 1-3 p.m. Pacific time (4-6 p.m. Eastern) – to the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge tournament in Ft. Worth, Texas, which averaged 1.272 million on CBS and began an hour earlier.

The 777,000 audience was up from 636,000 for the USATF Bermuda Classic meet the week before, but well short of the viewership for the better-known indoor meets in February. Those included the 866,000 for the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston on 4 February, 972,000 for the Millrose Games in New York on 11 February and 954,000 for the USATF Indoor Nationals in Albuquerque on 18 February.

On a year-over-year basis, the 2022 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene – a much better-known meet – was held on the same weekend and drew 977,000 on NBC, also on Saturday, on 28 May last year.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Football ● At the FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup in Argentina, four more elimination matches were held on Wednesday, with Brazil, Italy, Colombia and Nigeria advancing to the quarterfinals.

The Brazilians handled Tunisia, 4-1, with a 2-0 halftime lead and then two goals in stoppage time at 90+1 and 90+10 before giving up a (really) late goal at 90+13. Colombia had no trouble with Slovakia in a 5-1 win with Oscar Cortes and Tomas Angel both scoring twice.

Italy and England were tied, 1-1, at half and played deep into the second half with no further scoring, but a penalty by Cesare Casadei in the 87th minute proved to be the difference.

The upset came in the day’s final match, as undefeated Argentina (3-0) was handled by Nigeria, 2-0, on second-half goals by Ibrahim Muhammad in the 61st and Rilwanu Sarki at 90+1.

The last round-of-16 games feature Gambia vs. Uruguay, with the winner to play the U.S. On Sunday, and Ecuador and South Korea, with the survivor to face Nigeria.

● Taekwondo ● The World Taekwondo Championships in Baku (AZE) continue, with the U.S. getting its first medal, a silver, in the men’s 80 kg class.

Carl Nickolas, the two-time Pan American champ, won his first four matches in two-round sweeps, then faced similarly-successful 2019 World Champion Simone Alessio of Italy in the final. The first period was a 0-0 tie, given to Alessio on criteria, and Alessio managed a tight, 2-1 win in the second round to earn the 80 kg gold, the second of his career.

It was the first Worlds medal for the U.S. men since 2009!

At 87 kg, Sang-hyun Kang won Korea’s second gold of the tournament, beating Ivan Sapina (CRO) in the final, 6-5, 9-7. Belarusian Artsiom Plonis won a bronze.

The only women’s final on Wednesday was at 49 kg, with Turkey’s Merve Dincel, the 2022 European Champion, winning her first Worlds medal, a gold over Thai star Panipak Wongpattanakit, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic champ and 2019 Worlds winner, 0-0, 4-2, 11-4.

The tournament continues through Sunday.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The latest sustainability showcase for Paris 2024 comes from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. In a Wednesday announcement:

“Visitors to temporary Olympics competition sites in the French capital will be admitted only without plastic bottles. Coca-Cola, TOP Sponsor of the Olympic Games, will distribute its products in re-usable glass bottles and more than 200 soda fountains, which will be redeployed after the games.”

No mention of crowd control for the fountains or plans to keep people from using glass bottles as weapons, however.

● Transgender ● OK, here’s the newest idea on a solution, from Dennis Shavelson of The Foot Centering Institute of the U.S., published in the online journal, Research and Investigations in Sports Medicine: “The Use of The Male vs Female Pelvis to Assist in Certifying Eligibility for Competition in Female Sports.”

Shavelson notes, “The aim of this correspondence is to merely suggest a theoretical answer to consider as a solution to the benefit of all involved that may reduce the political charged milieu that exists with a possible solution.”

He suggests that an exam could be developed “to determine the eligibility of each potential athlete as male or female.” One more opinion to consider.

● Boxing ● USA Boxing, which has broken away from the International Boxing Association, got a financial boost from a two-year, $800,000 grant – via the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation – from the Daniels Fund, established in 2000 by cable television pioneer Bill Daniels to support projects in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

Daniels, who passed away in 2000, was a Golden Gloves fighter himself. The announcement explained:

“The two-year grant will fund performance enhancement for USA Boxing’s elite teams, coaching education programming, and greater access to camps and competitions for USA Boxing’s youth and junior-level athletes.”

The gifts bring Daniels Fund contributions to the Foundation to $2.65 million since 2004.

● Tennis ● Superstar Serbian player Novak Djokovic has stirred up a new international trauma with his post-match marking on a television camera in Serbian, “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence” after his first-round victory at the French Open in Paris on Monday.

Djokovic’s father was born in what is now Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and was recognized as an independent state by the International Olympic Committee in 2014.

Violence broke out over a boycott of April elections in the country’s north, followed by clashes between ethnic Serbs and Kosovo police and U.N. peacekeepers over the weekend.

The Kosovo National Olympic Committee, which has been fighting refusals by some countries to admit them for competitions, posted a statement by Ismet Krasniqi on Tuesday which asked IOC President Bach for assistance:

● “As President of the Kosovo Olympic Committee, I have an obligation to raise my concerns and kindly ask you to react on behalf of the International Olympic Committee, as these messages and actions are dangerous for the future of sport if unpunished.”

● “I respectfully urge that IOC reacts within its framework and requests to the [International Tennis Federation] to follow the principles regulated by the Olympic Charter and investigate on this matter by opening a disciplinary proceeding against the athlete.”

● “Regardless of the fact that Novak Djokovic is one of the best tennis players in the world, such reiterated behaviour cannot be tolerated as it sets a dangerous precedent that sport can be used as a platform for political messages, agendas and propaganda.”

The French Tennis Federation said it no comment since there are no Grand Slam rules limiting player speech.

After his second-round win on Wednesday, Djokovic autographed the lens and drew a smiley face, and told reporters afterwards, “I have no more comment on that. I said what I needed to say.”

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Ukraine swimmers question country’s boycott plan re Russia; 10,000 Olympic torch bearers in 2024; Cordell Tinch runs 12.87w!

By
Rich Perelman
-
This guy just won the NCAA Div. II 110 m hurdles title at 12.87w: Cordell Tinch! (Photo: Pittsburg State Athletics)

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Aleksiiva sisters worry about Ukrainian boycott of Paris
2. 10,000 torchbearers for the Paris Olympic torch relay
3. British Cycling places trans women in “Open” category
4. Anthony Hudson leaves as U.S. Soccer head men’s coach
5. United World Wrestling condemns treatment of Indian wrestlers

Two Ukrainian artistic swimming stars are questioning whether a boycott is the right strategy if Russian athletes are allowed to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. In Russia, there is chatter about not going anyway, and that its suspension by the World Anti-Doping Agency will continue for as long as possible. The Paris 2024 organizers said there will be 10,000 Olympic torchbearers, with the public invited to apply. But they won’t be able to keep their torches. British Cycling announced a new transgender policy, with only women-by-birth allowed in the women’s division and all others in the new, “open” division. The reactions were along predictable lines. U.S. Soccer said that interim coach Anthony Hudson was moving on to another opportunity and named assistant coach B.J. Callaghan as his replacement. United World Wrestling decried the rough treatment of wrestlers by Indian police at protests calling for action against the head of the Wrestling Federation of India, accused of abuse of women wrestlers.

● World Championships: Football (U.S. and Israel roll into quarterfinals at FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup) = Taekwondo (France wins two at Worlds, as Russians also medal) ●

● Panorama: Munich 1972 (German-convened review commission on Israeli murders convened) = Athletics (new names to know: Cordell Tinch and Mia Brahe-Pedersen!) = Football (3: U.S. women advance in CONCACAF U-20 championship; racism allegation doubted in German fourth division match; Frito-Lay joins FIFA Women’s World Cup) = Triathlon (Rio ‘16 champ Jorgensen struggled in Cagliari) ●

1.
Aleksiiva sisters worry about Ukrainian boycott of Paris

“Maybe from our side we must do something with our (policy), to change it. So that we can go to championships where there will be Russians.

“Because it’s stupid that they can go – but they kill people – and we didn’t do anything and we can’t go.”

That’s Vladyslava Aleksiiva, 21, who with her twin sister Maryna, won World Championships silvers in artistic swimming in the Duet Technical and Duet Free events, and was a Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist as part of the Ukrainian team.

Now, with a government policy against competing in any events that Russian are admitted to, and International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach (GER) pushing hard to re-admit Russian and Belarusian athletes, the sisters may be on the outside looking in for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

In an interview with Agence France Presse, Maryna added:

“We’ve been training every day for seven hours and we have a goal, to show our braveness. We hope that other countries and sportsmen support us and understand our position about the Russian sportsmen.”

She also recalled messages from some Russian artistic swimmers from when the invasion began in February 2022, after they fled from their hometown of Kharkiv:

“Some girls wrote to us to say ‘don’t worry, we will save you’ during the first days of the war, ‘don’t worry, it’s a safety operation.’ You’re crazy? I invite you to Kharkiv and you will see how my home town is now… everything has been bombed: our pool, where we started training, our school, our city centre …

“We have a goal, to show our braveness.”

This is exactly the position of Bach and the IOC, despite the obvious humiliation of the Ukrainians and those supporting them, to have state-sponsored Russian and Belarusian athletes competing right next to them.

In Russia, however, there is continuing skepticism about whether they will actually be admitted to Paris in 2024, regardless of their qualification status.

Irina Viner, the head of the All-Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, a sport in which Russia has been dominant, told the Russian news agency TASS on Tuesday:

“Now, children are doing sports more than they were doing before these sanctions.

“We don’t need any Olympic Games, we will do alternative competitions for these children with our friendly countries. We will perform, teach them, compete with them and win.”

Further, the World Anti-Doping Agency continues with its suspension of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, insisting on full compliance with the current World Anti-Doping Code, including national legislative acceptance.

And so on Tuesday, Deputy Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Andrey Fedorov told a meeting of the State Duma Committee on Sports:

“We believe that it is necessary to approach it consciously and calmly and not to be led by WADA, especially with regard to legislation.

“Now the bill, which was sent by deputies, is in the Ministry of Sports, a review will be prepared. But if this bill passes and is adopted, we cannot guarantee that we will not receive other comments from WADA in the next monitoring. We understand that the goal, most likely, will be the longest possible suspension of our RUSADA from obtaining the status of [compliance]’ we must be prepared for this.”

And, while the summer-sport federations are in motion over Russian and Belarusian re-entry, winter-sport federations like the International Ice Hockey Federation see no hurry.

At a news conference prior to the close of the IIHF men’s World Championship in Finland and Latvia, President Luc Tardif (FRA) characterized the timetable thus:

“It will be at a Council meeting during the third week of March 2024, when we make a decision about the 2024/25 season, which will include the start of Olympic qualification.

“We hope to make a decision as soon as possible so the participants know exactly what is at stake for promotion and relegation.”

2.
10,000 torchbearers for the Paris Olympic torch relay

The Paris 2024 organizers made available more details on the Olympic torch procession to begun on 8 May 2024 in Marseille and finish at the Olympic Opening Ceremony on 26 July, with a total of 10,000 runners expected to carry the flame.

Called “éclaireurs” – scouts – by the organizers, 10,000 will run with the Olympic flame: 7,000 individuals and 3,000 in “collectives” of 24 (125 of those: two per day), each covering about 200 m.

The torch relay is expected to run for about 12 hours a day, covering a route to be announced on 23 June.

Applications to be a torch runner will open on 1 June and the selections, according to various criteria for “balance,” will be made by the organizing committee (30%), the sponsors of the relay – Coca-Cola and banking group BPCE – will select another 30%, other Paris 2024 sponsors will select 30% and 10% will be chosen by 64 departments of France. Applicants must be 15 years old.

A separate, shorter relay will be held for the Paralympic Games, beginning from Stoke-Mandeville in England, the birthplace of the concept. About 1,000 torch bearers are expected to participate.

Paris 2024 did not disclose the projected cost of the relay, but noted that each department which hosts the flame will contribute €150,000 (~$160,977 U.S. today) to the expenses in its territory.

For the torchbearers, one sad note: they will not be gifted or be able to buy their torch, as the number is being strictly limited for sustainability reasons.

3.
British Cycling places trans women in “Open” category

“The Policy for Competitive Activity covers all British Cycling-sanctioned competitive events. It will see the implementation of an ‘Open’ category alongside a ‘Female’ category. This means that the current men’s category will be consolidated into the ‘Open’ category.

“Transgender women, transgender men, non-binary individuals and those whose sex was assigned male at birth will be eligible to compete in the ‘Open’ category. The ‘Female’ category will remain in place for those whose sex was assigned female at birth and transgender men who are yet to begin hormone therapy.”

That’s from Friday’s British Cycling announcement of its new policy on participation in competitive events for transgender and non-binary individuals. Non-competitive events remain open for participation, generally according to an individual’s gender identity choice.

British Cycling “suspended” its rules on participation during the nine-month review, which included 14 focus groups and individual interviews with potentially impacted populations, and noted it was “sorry for the uncertainty and upset that many have felt during this period.

“Our aim in creating our policies has always been to advance and promote equality, diversity and inclusion, while at the same time prioritising fairness of competition.”

The policies have been approved by the federation, but are not immediately effective; this is expected by the end of 2023; why?

“Successful implementation of the policy will require a period of time to enact changes to our digital systems, provide support for our volunteers and event organisers, and ensure that the necessary changes are made to our regulations.”

The reaction was predictable on both sides of the divide on the issue.

Emily Bridges, 22, who has been singled out for her participation in the women’s division after setting national records as a male junior, posted on Instagram:

“British Cycling has just banned us from racing. They have no authority to control this conversation anymore.

“I know a lot of people will think I’m being dramatic. I’m having to consider an exit plan from this terrible island and figure out what point enough is enough. It terrifies me to exist at the moment… I don’t even know if I want to race my bike any more.”

Sharron Davies, a 1980 Olympic swimming relay silver medalist and critic of trans athletes in women’s competition, tweeted:

“So it’s ok to be discriminatory against females but not trans identifying males? I’m so over this PC crap… Do sport in categories based on the sex you are… not the sex you’d like to be but are not!”

The British Cycling policy is stricter than the current policy of the Union Cycliste Internationale, which is reviewing its current regulations.

4.
Anthony Hudson leaves as U.S. Soccer head men’s coach

Interim U.S. men’s head coach Anthony Hudson has left and U.S. Soccer announced that assistant coach B.J. Callaghan will replace him on an interim basis.

Callaghan, 41, joined the USSF in 2019 as a strategy analyst and became an assistant coach in 2021, working with Gregg Berhalter and then Hudson. He will be in charge of the American men’s team through the CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup tournaments in June and June and July, respectively.

Hudson joined Berhalter’s staff in 2021 and helmed the men’s team as interim head coach after Berhalter’s contract ran out following the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The statement said he was “departing for a new opportunity,” reported to be in the Middle East. Under his guidance, the U.S. men were 2-1-2.

U.S. Soccer is continuing its search for a new men’s head coach, with the knowledge that as a host country for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, it does not have to qualify.

5.
United World Wrestling condemns treatment of Indian wrestlers

United World Wrestling, the sport’s international federation, felt compelled to issue a statement following the weekend detention of wrestlers and supporters in India, including:

“For several months, United World Wrestling has followed with great concern the situation in India where wrestlers are protesting over allegations of abuse and harassment by the President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). It has taken due note that the WFI President has been put aside at an early stage and is currently not in charge.

“The events of these last days are even more worrying that the wrestlers were arrested and temporarily detained by the police for initiating a march of protest. The site where they had been protesting for more than a month has also been cleared out by the authorities.

“UWW firmly condemns the treatment and detention of the wrestlers. It expresses its disappointment over the lack of results of the investigations so far.”

More concretely, the federation insists that the timetable for new elections for officers at the Wrestling Federation of India be completed in the agreed-on 45-day time period, and that “[f]ailing to do so may lead UWW to suspend the federation, thereby forcing the athletes to compete under a neutral flag.”

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Football ● The U.S. and Israel moved along to the quarterfinals on the first day of elimination play at the 2023 FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup in Argentina.

The American men, 3-0 in group play, eased past New Zealand, 4-0, with goals from Owen Wolff in the 14th minute, and second-half scores from Cade Cowell (61st), Justin Che (75th) and Rokas Pukstas (75th). The U.S. had a 23-3 edge in shots and had 16 within the penalty area.

Israel, which was second in Group C with a 1-1-1 record, was in a scoreless match with Uzbekistan when Anan Khalaili scored deep into stoppage time at 90+7 for the 1-0 win. The Israelis controlled possession, but both sides had 13 shots. It’s a significant result, considering that the original tournament hosts, Indonesia, would not allow Israel to play, with FIFA removing the event to Argentina (which did not qualify, but won Group A at 3-0!).

Elimination matches will continue on Wednesday and Thursday, with the quarterfinals beginning on 3 June (Saturday).

● Taekwondo ● The 26th World Taekwondo Championships continue in Baku (AZE), with prior Olympic and Worlds medal winners taking four of the five classes completed so far.

Korea’s Jun-seo Bae won his second career Worlds gold – previously in 2019 – with a 10-2, 15-5 sweep over Russian Georgi Gurtsiev in the 58 kg class, while Britain’s Bradly Sinden scored his second Worlds title (also in 2019) by defeating Korea’s Ho-jun Jin, 3-2, 16-9, at 68 kg.

The women’s 67 kg and 73 kg classes were won by French stars Magda Wiet-Henin and Althea Laurin, respectively. Wiet-Henin, the 2019 Worlds bronze medalist at 62 kg, moved up to defeat Jordan’s two-time Asian Champion, Julyana Al-Sadeq, 6-3, 5-5, 6-4. At 73 kg, Laurin defeated 2021 European Champion Rebecca McGowan, 16-10, 9-5, for her first Worlds medal.

Russian Polina Khan, a two-time European medal winner, won a bronze.

Hungary’s unheralded Luana Marton won the women’s 57 kg class with a 2-1, 4-3 victory over Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Chia-ling Lo (TPE).

The championships continue through Sunday.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 1972: Munich ● The eight-member commission named by the German government to review the murderous terrorist tragedy at the Munich Olympic Games began its efforts with a meeting at the German Interior Ministry on Tuesday, with a three-year mandate.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in a statement, “The research findings should deliver answers to the many unresolved questions – answers which the German government has owed the victims’ family members and the public for more than 50 years.”

● Athletics ● While the L.A. Grand Prix in Los Angeles and the Rabat Diamond League meet stole the track & field headlines last weekend, there were other performers who signaled bigger things to come.

First on the list is sophomore hurdler Cordell Tinch of Pittsburg State University in Kansas, who won the NCAA Division II title with a very wind-aided 12.87 (+6.0 m/s)! He ran a lifetime best of 13.21 (+1.0) in the heats and won his fourth meet in a row, including the Mt. SAC Relays (13.22w), his conference meet (12.97w: +3.0) and now the NCAA Div. II title.

The 22-year-old has also high-jumped 2.22 m (7-3 1/4)) indoors and long-jumped 8.16 m (26-9 1/4). He attended Kansas in 2019 and won the Big 12 title in the hurdles at 13.72, but did not make it out of the NCAA Regionals.

At the Oregon state high school 6A girls 100 m final in Eugene, junior Mia Brahe-Pedersen of Lake Oswego High School (17) won in a stirring 11.00 (+1.5) to move to no. 3 on the all-time U.S. prep list, and no. 12 all-time on the World Junior list. Wow.

The fourth-placer at the 2022 World Junior Championships, she improved from 11.25 last year and also set a lifetime best in the 200 m of 20.61. She won the Oregon 6A title in the 200 m at 22.65.

Remember those names!

● Football ● The U.S. and Mexico have sailed into the semifinals at the CONCACAF women’s U-20 Championship in Santo Domingo (DOM).

The American women went 3-0 in Group A, defeating Panama, 6-0; Jamaica, 4-0; and Canada by 5-2. The Mexican squad defeated the host Dominicans, 4-0, then Puerto Rico by 4-0 and Costa Rica by 3-0.

In the semis on Thursday (1st), the Americans will face Costa Rica (2-1), with Mexico meeting Canada (2-1).

An alleged racist incident at a Regionalliga Nord (fourth division) match in Bremen (GER) between Teutonia Ottensen and Bremer SV last Saturday resulted in the Teutonia Ottensen team leaving the field, after captain Marcus Coffie was “racially abused” by a Bremer player.

The North German Football Federation said Monday that it had no evidence of the insult, questioned Teutonia’s actions and awarded Bremer a 5-0 win. The response from Teutonia was livid:

“This judgement and the way it was written demonstrate a tolerant attitude towards the problem of racism underlying this incident.

“It signals to all players who are confronted with racist insults on the soccer field that their options for dealing with the problem are limited to what the refereeing team can see.

“The questioning of whether an incident of this type is enough for a game to be abandoned not only borders on ignorance, but it also makes all the steps taken against racism so far look like measures that are only welcomed if they fit the prevailing circumstances of the club or association.

“The decision is not just an example of what is wrong in the sport, what is still wrong in our society, but it’s the latest example of looking the other way, the latest example of a decision to tolerate racism in the sport and therefore in society.”

FIFA announced a Frito-Lay North America sponsorship of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this summer, extending the company’s involvement from the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

That’s another positive sign of expanding support for the women’s game. And there will be special packaging:

“Frito-Lay brands Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos will offer FIFA Women’s World Cup-branded packaging just in time for the tournament. Cracker Jack will also feature FIFA Women’s World-Cup branded packaging through its limited-edition Cracker Jill packaging.”

● Triathlon ● The U.S. fields a powerful women’s roster at the World Triathlon Series, with four ranked in the world’s top 15, including no. 1 Taylor Spivey, no. 4 Summer Rappaport, no. 13 Kristen Kasper and no. 15 Taylor Knibb, plus two more in the top 30.

But Rio 2016 Olympic champ Gwen Jorgensen is having her challenges in returning to world class.

She did not finish the World Triathlon Series race in Cagliari (ITA) last week after being lapped during the bike phase and wrote afterwards:

“Posting before I process as I’m not sure I’ll ever have fully processed what happened on the field of play today.

“Lots of feelings flowing: confusion, frustration, guilt. My day ended halfway through the bike. I’m left questioning, wondering and hopefully processing.”

Jorgensen, now a mother of two, has said she has her sights on a Mixed Relay berth for Paris, a shorter event than the standard Olympic distance of a 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike race and 10 km run. But she will need better results, and is expected to try again at the World Triathlon Cup Huatulco in Mexico in mid-June.

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Russians won’t sign any declarations; IBA said to pressure boxers not to compete; 800 m star Murphy calls out L.A. Grand Prix

By
Rich Perelman
-
U.S. 800 m star Clayton Murphy after winning the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials (Photo: Tim Healy for Tracktown USA)

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Russian Olympic chief says declarations are “absolutely unacceptable”
2. Van der Vorst calls out IBA pressure tactics against boxers
3. Murphy, Johnson slam L.A. Grand Prix, pre and post
4. WADA’s 2020 violations report: doping less than 1%
5. More than 700 detained in Indian wrestling protest

In response to the latest demand for athletes to sign a “neutrality declaration” concerning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the head of the Russian Olympic Committee again stated any such declaration is “absolutely unacceptable.” Boris van der Vorst, who is ending his term as Dutch boxing federation chief to help get the new World Boxing group going, criticized the International Boxing Association for pressuring federations and boxers not to compete at the sixth Eindhoven Cup, which concluded Monday. Of the 25 federations who initially entered, 17 eventually sent fighters. Olympic medal winner Clayton Murphy had a good day on the track at the L.A. Grand Prix at UCLA last Saturday, winning the men’s 800 m, but was highly critical of the meet before and after on promotion, visibility and fan interaction. Olympic superstar Michael Johnson opined that the meet was promoted as a game-changer, but was “a perfect example of all the current problems.” The World Anti-Doping Agency published the violations report for the Covid pandemic year of 2020, showing the number of doping problems down, but the same countries and sports at the top of the lists anyway. In India, hundreds of wrestlers and fans are protesting the continued term in office of the head of the national federation over sexual harassment allegations, with hundreds interned by police on Sunday.

● Panorama: Aquatics (federation moving from Lausanne to Budapest) = Athletics (2: Bol gets 400H world lead; two more old Russian doping positives) = Canoe-Kayak (Poland wins six at Poznan Sprint World Cup) = Gymnastics (Penev wins home World Challenge Cup on return) ●

1.
Russian Olympic chief says declarations are “absolutely unacceptable”

The International Weightlifting Federation has allowed 13 Belarusian athletes to return to competition at the IWF Havana Grand Prix beginning 8 June and an early qualifying competition for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, after signing a special declaration of their neutrality in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

But Russian athletes will not sign and therefore will not compete.

Last week, Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdnyakov posted on the Telegram messaging service:

“Today we held a meeting of the executive committee of the Russian Olympic Committee, exchanged views with colleagues on our common urgent tasks. The main one is to restore justice, including not only returning athletes to international arenas, to the Olympic Games, but with a flag, an anthem and other attributes of the team Russia.

“The meeting participants expressed a unified position on the inadmissibility of Russian athletes signing any declarations or other statements of a political nature that contradict the legislation of the Russian Federation. For us, this is absolutely unacceptable.”

So what is it that they won’t sign?

The IWF posted both its “neutrality” policy and the declaration publicly. The policy includes:

● “Athletes who are or become contracted or are or become in any way connected to the Russian or Belarussian military or national security agencies and/or entities, whether public or private, providing services in support of the war in Ukraine, and/or are in any way personally engaged in the conduct, support or promotion of the war in Ukraine are not eligible to participate in IWF competitions.”

● “Athletes who have declared or at any time declare support to the war in any way, form or occasion or through any mean, including without limitation social media, are not eligible to participate in IWF competitions.”

The declaration, in pertinent part, says:

“5. I undertake to continue to abstain from expressing any support to the war and will immediately and voluntarily notify any relevant change in my activities that occurs after the date of this declaration.

“6. I undertake to duly and fully cooperate with any process of verification performed pursuant to art. 3 of the Policy. I understand and accept that adverse inferences may be drawn from failure to fully cooperate with the verification process, notably through refusal to answer and/or to provide evidence.”

Pozdnyakov added in his Telegram post:

“We will continue to support those of our athletes who have been illegally and unreasonably restricted from participating in international competitions over the past 15 months. We will work individually with our sports federations on the inadmissibility of accepting any proposals from international organizations that contradict the Olympic Charter.”

His hardened position is being backed up by the Russian government. Dmitry Svishchev, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports:

“Athletes should play sports and not sign dubious declarations.

“Athletes should not be involved in politics. Our athletes should be allowed without any additional conditions. And not a single one of our athletes will sign any documents or papers against their country.”

Another leading voice against the International Olympic Committee’s concept of a neutral status is Elena Vyalbe, head of the Russian Ski Racing Federation:

“I am also categorically against performing in a neutral status. In this situation, you need to perform exclusively with the flag and the anthem.”

The Vice-President of the All-Russian Volleyball Federation, Gennady Shipulin, echoed doubts about going to Paris as well:

“I can’t say whether we will participate in the Olympics or not.

“People should play there, be proud of their country, their anthem and flag. … I don’t know if it’s worth going in this status. Maybe I can come up with something alternative, a more significant competition, but this is the opinion of specialists, including the great coaches.”

The 2013 World Sabre Champion, 36-year-old Veniamin Reshetnikov, told the Russian news agency TASS:

“My career is almost over, the 2024 Games are the last chance to go and win an Olympic medal.

“But I understand that it doesn’t make any sense, because the IOC has discredited [itself] with its terms. The Olympic Charter clearly states that the competition is a struggle between athletes, not between countries, and as a result we are being terrorized on all fronts.

“The neutral status, in my opinion, is a formality, which is organized by the International Olympic Committee together with the International Fencing Federation, because the conditions imposed are practically impossible. I didn’t have high hopes that we would be allowed there. …

“There are many opinions about the current situation, but I would not divide everything into black and white. If it were possible to soften the conditions put forward, to allow the flag, then why not go? We decided not to go. I wouldn’t go on these terms myself, even though the dream of any athlete is to win an Olympic medal. However, the conditions put forward are unfair.”

Tokyo Olympic high jump champ Mariya Lasitskene, 30, told TASS after her second-place finish at the Russian championships:

“My international career is over. Everything has already been decided, no matter what we do, they are not waiting for us there. I don’t have any hopes, I’m just not ready to finish my career yet, so I want to jump.”

2.
Van der Vorst calls out IBA pressure tactics against boxers

The sixth Eindhoven Cup boxing tournament has concluded, but not without considerable controversy.

As the open war between the International Boxing Association and an expanding group of breakaway federations escalates, retiring Dutch boxing federation chief Boris van der Vorst tweeted last week at the opening:

● “It is an honor to extend a warm welcome to the teams participating in the 6th edition of the Eindhoven Box Cup. It is especially important to do that when the sanctioned international boxing association has gone so low as to threaten not only NFs but coaches & boxers directly”

● “The IBA has attempted to sabotage another competition that they have not contributed anything to. They literally made boxers cry by threatening them with suspensions in case they step into the ring in Eindhoven. Many received these threats when they were already here.”

● “After all blood, sweat and tears to get ready & having spent money to make their way to [Eindhoven]. This is unacceptable harassment that will require a severe response, but only after the end of competition. Boxing starts tomorrow!”

● “I would like this edition of the Eindhoven Box Cup to be the platform that unites nations, boxing clubs & individuals interacting with respect & expressing true passion for boxing. We must not allow external noise to deter us from celebrating our sport.”

● “The Eindhoven Box Cup does not accept the culture of intimidation & fear cultivated within the sanctioned IF. I thank the boxers & coaches from 17 nations that defied the harassment. I appreciate the resilience & devotion of the [technical directorate] & everyone involved in the organization.”

Some 25 countries registered for the tournament, but eight withdrew, leaving 17. Van der Vorst noted on Monday:

“Teams compete here despite all of the destructive efforts of the sanctioned international boxing association. Boxing does not belong to any international governing body by right. It is a privilege to lead the noble art worldwide & it has to be consistently earned.”

The IBA, for its part, is requesting sanctions of its Boxing Independent Integrity Unit against anyone involved in the new World Boxing group, as it noted in a 25 May statement:

“On 22 May, the IBA suspended seven National Federations, including the Dutch Boxing Federation, for various breaches of the IBA Constitution and Regulations, which deprives all of them of all membership benefits, including hosting of international competitions.”

Van der Vorst, who ran for the IBA Presidency once and was denied a second chance, is retiring as the head of the Dutch federation and will now work for the development of World Boxing as an alternative to the IBA.

3.
Murphy, Johnson slam L.A. Grand Prix, pre and post

One of the big winners at the USATF L.A. Grand Prix at UCLA’s Drake Stadium on Saturday was Rio Olympic 800 m bronze medal winner Clayton Murphy, who won his race in 1:44.75, fastest in the U.S. this season and no. 4 on the year list.

But he wasn’t happy with the meet as a whole and said so on Twitter. Back on 16 May, when Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone announced that she would not be running after being promoted as the top attraction at the meet, he posted:

● “I’m gonna say it for many athletes who might be thinking this: 99% of athletes don’t have the luxury to not race and still make a living… In a meet that you are the main attraction, to pull out post ticket sales and fans making plans to attend is a huge disappointment”

● “If your injured say it, if your [sic] not ready to race cause of an injury, that’s part of it. Our sport is struggling, and athletes are struggling. Faces of the sport who can help propel it forward continue to drop the ball There’s a select few who seem to really care about it”

In response to one fan who said he bought a ticket for the meet just to see McLaughlin-Levrone, Murphy offered to personally refund their money! Really.

On Friday, he posted:

“So the 800m tomorrow at the LA Grand Prix has been moved out of the [NBC] TV window, there is not even a live stream to watch. So imagine being a professional athlete competing at the biggest meet in your home country and no way for anyone to watch you…

“Oh and the 800 is a GOLD LEVEL PREMIER EVENT according to the meet that had moved it out of a 90 min tv window”

After the meet, he added:

“Just slapping a meet in a big city doesn’t help track grow…it takes a lot more than that.”

One poster replied: “It has to be an event bring acts out to perform fan interaction guest host. And promote the meet during other major sporting events (nba playoffs)”

Murphy’s retort:

“ZERO Fan and athlete interaction at the meet was organized by the meet that I saw, I created some by going over to the stands after the race concluded.”

Atlanta 1996 icon Michael Johnson was also not impressed:

“This meet was initially announced as a game changer for the sport. The highlight of that announcement was a music festival, but included no plans to address the obvious problems of the sport. For that reason my expectation for the meet was that it would be no game changer but actually more of the same.

“3 months prior to the meet a headline music artist few people were familiar with was announced but nothing at all about athletes or matchups.

“Some big name athletes were eventually announced but quickly pulled out.

“Few major matchups, few big names, athlete complaints, poor date planning. How does an organization plan for a meet to be a game changer, but instead end up with the meet actually being a perfect example of all the current problems?

“This is not easy but it becomes harder when you make a big announcement about a game changer and you didn’t change anything.”

That’s the opinion of two people in the sport. Another report card will come later this week when the NBC audience for the meet is available from Nielsen. Stay tuned.

4.
WADA’s 2020 violations report: doping less than 1%

It has taken a while, but the World Anti-Doping Agency published its “Anti-Doping Rules Violation” report for 2020, a year severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

With competitions canceled everywhere, it’s no surprise that both testing and violations were down substantially:

● Tests in 2019: 278,047
● Tests in 2020: 149,758
● Tests in 2021: 241,430

● Adverse findings in 2019: 2,701 (0.97%)
● Adverse findings in 2020: 1,007 (0.67%)

● Violations in 2019: 1,914 (0.69%)
● Violations in 2020: 910 (0.61%)

The “Adverse Findings” total shows the number of tests which come back with indications of a violations. Some of these are discarded for various reasons, including Therapeutic Use Exemptions.

So, the number of tests and violations were way down, but the nations and sports involved were once again familiar:

● Most Violations by Nation:
1. 135, Russia
2. 59, India
3. 57, U.S.
4. 47, Italy
5. 39, Ukraine
6. 25, China
7. 23, Brazil and France
9. 22, Kazakhstan
10. 21, Romania

● Most Violations by Sport:
1. 107, Athletics
2. 94, Cycling
3. 89, Weightlifting
4. 83, Powerlifting
5. 77. Bodybuilding
6. 74, Mixed Martial Arts
7. 67, Football
8. 44, Wrestling
9. 26, Aquatics
10. 25, Boxing

When confining the data to Olympic sports, the outcome is somewhat better:

● Summer Olympic sports: 114,840 tests, 418 violations (0.36%) with 49 pending
● Winter Olympic sports: 13,817 tests, 19 violations (0.13%) with one pending

The distribution of violations in some sports was fascinating. In athletics, the largest number of violations was among distance runners (26), followed by sprinters (23) and then throwers (11).

Also in athletics, the non-analytical violations – investigations and intelligence findings – totaled 63, with 28 of those from Russia and nine from Kenya.

By country, Russia had 71 non-analytic violations cases (out of 238 total), with Italy second at 17 and the U.S. third at 13.

The U.S. violations (57) came in weightlifting (16), athletics (11) and then cycling, Para-athletics and wrestling at four each.

Due to the pandemic, 2020 was an odd year and the issues with the Russian state doping program from 2011-15 were still being sorted out. Let’s hope that the reporting for 2021 and 2022 come much more quickly to allow a comparison of how the global testing re-start in 2022 is doing.

5.
More than 700 detained in Indian wrestling protest

Protests against the head of the Wrestling Federation of India are intensifying, with 700 protesters arrested on Sunday in New Delhi, insisting on action against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over sexual harassment issues.

The protesters included Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Ravi Kumar (men’s Freestyle 57 kg) and bronze medalist Bajrang Punia (65 kg), and were reported as being held in custody for several hours and charged with rioting, then released in the evening.

This round of protests began on 23 April and was held on Sunday near the newly-inaugurated Parliament Building. A police reported noted:

“Despite repeatedly telling protesters, they didn’t adhere to the requests. They went ahead, jumped the first barricades and pushed police and reached the second barricade line where again the police personnel tried to stop them but they continued pushing police and also they pushed away barricades.

“They continued sloganeering and started running towards us. More force came there and with great difficulty managed to overpower and detain them. While trying to stop them, protesters manhandled and assaulted police.”

About 15 police officers were treated for injuries; protester tents at the famed Jantar Mantar astronomical observation site in New Delhi were removed by the police. A statement from the Delhi Police further explained:

“If the wrestlers give an application for sit-in protest again in the future, they will be permitted for the same at a suitable place other than Jantar Mantar.”

The protest has now reached beyond the wrestlers and community and farming leaders from the Haryana state which surrounds Delhi on three sides are now pledging support; community leader Satbir Pehalwan said:

“We will intensify their agitation and if required, we will block Delhi from all sides. If action is not taken against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, we will stop supply of vegetables and milk, besides blocking all roads in Haryana.”

Singh, elected six times as a Member of Parliament, has been the head of wrestling in India for almost 10 years. He has been accused – and denies – harassment allegations by two of India’s top female wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, a two-time Worlds Freestyle bronze medalist at 53 kg, and Sakshi Malik, the 2016 Rio women’s 58 kg Freestyle bronze winner.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● ANOC World Beach Games ● Organizing multi-sport events isn’t easy. The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) announced Monday that the 2023 World Beach Games in Bali (INA) was dropping 3×3 basketball:

“The Local Organising Committee (LOC) was forced to look for an alternative sporting venue for 3×3 Basketball from the previously confirmed venue due to inflated rental costs imposed by the venue operator.

“However, due to these budgetary concerns and limited time available to find an alternative venue, it is with regret that ANOC accepted the decision and request of the LOC.”

● Aquatics ● Multiple reports on the signing of an understanding between the Hungarian government and World Aquatics to move the federation headquarters from Lausanne – where it has been since 1986 – to Budapest, where it will join the International Judo Federation, also located there.

Budapest has been a hot spot for aquatics, especially with the construction of the Duna Arena in 2017 and host to the World Aquatics Championships in 2017 and 2022, the 2020 European Championships, International Swimming League meets in 2019 and 2021 and the World Junior Swimming Championships in 2019. It will also host the World 25 m Championships in 2024 and the full Worlds again in 2027.

No terms of the agreement were announced, but special tax status and access to infrastructure may be assumed. The deal is something of a surprise, since the federation – then known as FINA – opened a two-story, 43,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Lausanne in 2018, purchased and renovated at a cost of about CHF 20 million (about $22.11 million U.S. today).

A report in Hungary noted that the federation made assurances that at least half of the future headquarters staff will be Hungarian.

● Athletics ● Dutch star Femke Bol continued her undefeated 2023 season with her first 400 m hurdles race of the year, a world-leading 53.12 in Oordegem (BEL), winning by more than two seconds.

Bol has now run seven individual events this season, six indoors and last Saturday, winning them all, not to mention her last five from 2022, in the 200 m (indoors), 400 m (in and out), 400 m hurdles and 500 m (indoors).

The Athletics Integrity Unit announced two more sanctions on Russian athletes from Moscow Laboratory data and the Global Sport Solutions reports: Vasiliy Kharlamov, the 2011 World University Games decathlon winner unseen in a meet since 2013, and Soslan Tsirikhov, a shot putter who last competed in 2016, but won the World University Games title in 2009.

Kharlamov got a four-year ban from 25 May 2023, but had his results annulled from October 2012 to May 2023. Tsirikhov got a two-year ban from the same date and his results from 2012-17 were wiped out. It’s his second doping sanction.

● Canoe-Kayak ● Homestanding Poland racked up six wins to lead the medal table at the ICF Sprint World Cup in Poznan that concluded on Sunday.

The team of Martyna Klatt and Helena Wisniewska won the women’s K2 200 m final in 38.95, then doubled back to take the K2 500 m final in 1:44.62. The World Champion K4 500 m women’s team won its race easily in 1:33.37 and Katarzyna Kolodziejczyk won the women’s K1 200 m for four of the team’s six wins.

The Polish men won the C4 500 m final in 1:36.16 and the Mixed C2 500 m team of Amelia Braun and Juliusz Kitewski struck gold in 1:57.85. The Poles won 12 medals in all (6-4-2).

Ukraine was a close second with 11 (3-4-2), with wins from reigning World 500-1,000 m Champion Lludmyla Luzan in the C1 200 m (47.65) and C1 500 m in 2:12.92. The Ukrainian men won the K4 500 m final.

Portugal’s four-time World Champion Fernando Pimenta was especially busy, with silver medals in the men’s K1 500 m and K1 1,000 m, and a win with Teresa Portela in the Mixed K2 500 m (1:42.33) for three medals on the day.

Czech World Champions Martin Fuksa (C1 1,000 m in 4:02.56) and Josef Dostal (K1 500 m in 1:41.55) both won their events. Denmark’s two-time World Champion Emma Jorgensen won the women’s K1 500 m in 1:53.57.

● Gymnastics ● The FIG Artistic World Challenge Cup in Varna (BUL) marked the return of a native son, from the U.S.: Eddie Penev.

Born in Bulgaria, he moved to the U.S. at age three, but represented Bulgaria from 2007-11. He changed to the U.S. in 2011, but changed back this year at age 32, and won the Floor Exercise at 14.366, over Botond Molnar (HUN: 13.833).

Armenian star Artur Davtyan, the 2022 World Vault Champion, won his specialty at 14.800, ahead of Norway’s Sebastian Sponevik (14.300), and teammate Artur Avetisyan took the Rings gold at 14.700, with Davtyan third (14.066).

Albania’s Matvei Petrov won on Pommel Horse (14.800), beating Abdulla Azimov (UZB: 14.500), with Davtyan third again (14.233). Rasuljon Abdurakhimov (UZB) took the Parallel Bars at 14.233, winning on criteria from Yordan Aleksandrov (also 14.233). Norway’s Sofus Heggemsnes was tops on the Horizontal Bar at 13.833.

The women’s events were won by Tijana Korent (CRO: 13.050) on Vault; former European Champion Zsofia Kovacs (HUN: 14.166) on the Uneven Bars and teammate Bettina Lili Czifra on Beam (13.466); with France’s Silane Mielle winning on Floor (12.933).

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For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Crouser explodes to 77-3 3/4 world record! Encouraging L.A. Grand Prix crowd; Roglic’s time trial win clinches Giro d’Italia title

By
Rich Perelman
-
Ryan Crouser celebrates his sensational 23.56 m (77-3 3/4) world record in the shot put on Saturday. (TSX photo)

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Crouser smashes WR again: 77-3 3/4 at L.A. Grand Prix
2. Grand Prix confirms L.A. market and Drake Stadium appeal
3. El Bakkali, Kerley, Tsegay star in Rabat Diamond League
4. Roglic’s time trial takes Giro d’Italia from Thomas
5. UIPM appoints panel to review Russia-Belarus re-entry

Ryan Crouser’s fabulous world record of 23.56 m (77-3 3/4) in the men’s shot was the highlight of the USATF L.A. Grand Prix at UCLA’s Drake Stadium, but there were seven world-leading marks in all. The meet was notable in proving the stadium as a worthy site for more events in the future, and the attendance showed that Los Angeles remains a good market for the sport … but there were issues. At the Rabat Diamond League meet on Sunday, there were four more world leads, including a rapturous roar for home hero Soufiane El Bakkali, who won the men’s Steeple in a lifetime best of 7:56.68; Fred Kerley of the U.S. shut down a good field in the men’s 100 m in 9.94. At the annual Hypomeeting in Austria, American Anna Hall won the heptathlon with a startling 6,988 points, moving to no. 5 all-time; she scored four lifetime bests among the seven events. Slovenian star Primoz Roglic won the 106th Giro d’Italia with a stirring time trial win on Saturday on an uphill course, taking the maglia rosa jersey away from Britain’s Geraint Thomas. The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne appointed a five-member panel to review Russian and Belarusian application for re-entry, as international federations continue to struggle with deciding what is required to be “neutral.”

● World Championships: Football (U.S. undefeated in FIFA men’s U-20) = Ice Hockey (Canada wins 28th Worlds, over Germany) = Table Tennis (China sweeps 2023 Worlds) ●

● Panorama: Badminton (Prannoy and Yamaguchi take Malaysia singles titles) = Cycling (new Dutch star Kool wins RideLondon Classique from U.S.’s Dygert) = Gymnastics (U.S. dominates Pan Am Artistic Champs) = Judo (Krpalek and Wagner star at Austria Grand Prix) = Shooting (ISSF Trap World Cup in Almaty) = Skateboarding (Cini and Brown win in San Juan) = Swimming (Manzi and Jouisse surprise in Setubal Open Water) = Triathlon (Yee and Taylor-Brown win in Cagliari) ●

1.
Crouser smashes WR again: 77-3 3/4 at L.A. Grand Prix

There hadn’t been a world-class invitational meet in the Los Angeles area since 2008. The last major invitational at UCLA’s Drake Stadium was in 1990, when Randy Barnes set a world record of 23.12 m (75-10 1/4) in the men’s shot put.

On Saturday, Ryan Crouser had the best meet in the history of shot putting, scaring and then surpassing his own world record – and the 77-foot mark – with a staggering fourth throw of 23.56 m (77-3 3/4) at USATF’s L.A. Grand Prix.

This was using his new “step-across” throwing motion – also known as the Crouser Slide – designed to help generate more speed in the ring, and did it ever. Throwing at the north end of the field, in what was originally designed as a practice ring, Crouser nearly hit the concrete retaining wall at the far back of the dirt landing area, way beyond the 22 m marking line.

Crouser was on fire from the start:

● 1: 23.23 m (76-2 3/4), equal-3rd performance all-time
● 2: 23.31 m (76-5 3/4), no. 2 all-time
● 3: 22.94 m (75-3 1/4)
● 4: 23.56 m (77-3 3/4), World Record
● 5: 22.80 m (74-9 3/4)
● 6: 22.86 m (75-0)

He had three of the top six throws in history in the same series, not counting his 23.38 m (76-8 1/2) indoor mark at the Simplot Games on 18 February, which was not ratified as a world record and classified as an “irregular measurement.”

His six-throw average was a staggering 23.12 m (75-10 1/4), a distance which only two others – Americans Joe Kovacs (2022) and Barnes (1990) – have ever reached once! He was the first to reach 76 feet and now the first to 77.

Just sensational; Crouser said afterwards that this was the first time he had been able to get his new technique working in competition, after seeing promising results in training. And he said there is more in the tank.

Former World Champion Tom Walsh of New Zealand was excellent in second at 22.12 m (72-7), but was completely overshadowed.

That was the highlight of an excellent afternoon of track & field, which saw a total of seven world-leading marks:

● Men/1,500 m: 3:31.47, Timothy Cheruiyot (KEN)
● Men/Vault: 5.91 m (19-4 3/4), Mondo Duplantis (SWE) and Sam Kendricks (USA)
● Men/Shot Put: 23.56 m (77-3 3/4), Ryan Crouser (USA) ~ World Record

● Women/400 m: 48.98, Marileidy Paulino (DOM)
● Women/1,500 m: 3:57.84, Diribe Welteji (ETH)
● Women/100 m Hurdles: 12.31, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (PUR)
● Women/Shot Put: 20.45 m (67-1 1/4), Maggie Ewen (USA)

The men’s and women’s 100 m dashes were much anticipated, even more so when the women’s heats produced a runaway 10.90 win (wind: -0.8 m/s) for Sha’Carri Richardson in the first race and then a 10.88-10.95 win (+1.3) for Marie-Josee Ta Lou (CIV) over American Aleia Hobbs in the second. But none of those three ran in the final, citing injuries or injury concerns, and resurgent Morolake Akinosun won the final in 10.97 (+0.2) over Melissa Jefferson (11.07).

The men’s 100 m was the final race of the day and super-starter Christian Coleman got out well and had the race in hand at 80 m. But Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake, to Coleman’s left, closed with a rush and got to the line first in a lifetime best of 9.89, no. 3 in the world for 2023. American Cravont Charleston caught Coleman at the tape and got second, with both in 9.91, a lifetime best for Charleston. Both ranked no. 4 in the world at meet’s end.

The other straightaway race that had the knowledgeable fans waiting was the women’s 100 m hurdles, and Olympic champ Jasmine Camacho-Quinn did not disappoint with a world-leading 12.31 (-0.2), just 0.05 off her best ever. She took control in mid-race and kept the pressure on to beat a late surge from Keni Harrison (12.35), her fastest since 2017!

There was a lot to like, including two come-from-behind wins in the men’s 800 m and 1,500 m. American Clayton Murphy smoked the straight to win the 800 m in 1:44.75, no. 4 on the year list. Kenyan Cheruiyot, the 2019 World Champion, took off in the final 100 m to pass countryman Raynold Kipkorir, 18, to win in a world-leading 3:31.47 to 3:32.01. American Hobbs Kessler, 20, also flew down the home straight and got third over Cooper Teare, 3:32.61 to 3:32.74, lifetime bests for both.

The women’s 1,500 m was a runaway for Ethiopia’s Welteji in 3:57.84, her third-fastest ever, with Kate Snowden (GBR) getting a lifetime best at 4:00.04, now no. 3 in 2023, and American Josette Andrews at 4:00.77, another lifetime best and no. 5 in 2023.

The women’s 800 m saw a late surge from Ajee Wilson of the U.S. that carried her to victory in 1:59.01, no. 4 on the year list, over 2019 World Champion Halimah Nakaayi (1:59.35).

Dominican star Marileidy Paulino ran away with the women’s 400 m in a national record 48.98, ahead of comebacking Salwa Eid Naser (BRN: 50.27). American Jenna Prandini ran down former USC Trojan TeeTee Terry to win the 200 m, 22.34-22.44 (+0.5).

Jamaica’s Sean Bailey stormed past 2012 Olympic winner Kirani James (GRN) off the final turn to win the men’s 400 m in 44.43 to 44.50. C.J. Allen of the U.S. continued his hot running in the men’s 400 m hurdles, winning in 47.91, now no. 2 in 2023, a lifetime best and his second race this season under 48 seconds.

World Champion Anderson Peters (GRN) put the men’s javelin to bed early with his winning throw of 83.16 m (272-10) in the first round. China’s Xiaomei Sun won the women’s jav with her second-round throw of 55.67 m (182-7).

The women’s shot saw the world-leading performance by Ewen, whose 20.45 m (67-1 1/4) moved her to no. 3 all-time U.S. World Champion Chase Ealey was second at 19.98 m (65-6 3/4).

It was a wonderful meet on the track and on the field (and shot circle), but there was significance well beyond the results.

2.
Grand Prix confirms L.A. market and Drake Stadium appeal

There was, in many track and field circles, as much interest in the attendance, optics and feel of the L.A. Distance Classic on Friday and the L.A. Grand Prix on Saturday as there was in the events themselves.

At least from Saturday’s L.A. Grand Prix, there are some noteworthy conclusions to be drawn:

● UCLA’s Drake Stadium, once one of the premier showcases for the sport in the U.S., shined brightly as an excellent competitive facility, with world-class performances in every event and more than a dozen stadium records. Not a huge surprise for the first high-end invitational there in 33 years, but still great to see.

● The attendance was a critical measure of success for this meet and while the 11,142-seat facility was hardly full, the crowd was good. Announced at 7,246, there were actually about 4,500 there on Saturday as shown by this photo taken after the men’s 800 m (some empty sections at the right side of the image are not shown):

The L.A. Grand Prix crowd on Saturday at UCLA’s Drake Stadium (TSX photo by Alan Mazursky)

But this was the best crowd for a meet in the Los Angeles area since the 2005 adidas Track Classic at the (then) Home Depot Center in Carson. And, given the indifferent promotion of the meet, was a concrete demonstration that Los Angeles is still – after all these years – a very viable market for track & field.

● The meet had a lot of important eyes on it. Underwritten by Southern California-based Internet Brands (WebMD, CarsDirect and many others), there was an evaluation team from World Athletics on site, as well as a member of its Executive Board. New U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee President Gene Sykes, also an LA28 Olympic & Paralympic Games Organizing Committee board member, was in attendance.

What they saw was an unevenly staged meet, beginning with the Friday night L.A. Distance Classic, a meet designed to create fast races for qualifying purposes, along with a few field events.

It was cold and dreary and this hurt the potentially-exciting women’s vault, which saw Olympic and World champ Katie Moon no-height, but with Worlds silver medalist Sandi Morris winning at 4.61 m (15-1 1/2), beat Canada’s Alysha Newman on misses.

The men’s and women’s hammer were held in the afternoon, with only modest public address support, so the dramatic, fifth-round, national-record win by Canada’s Cam Rogers at 78.62 m (257-11) over World Champion Brooke Andersen of the U.S. (76.06 m/249-6) was hard to follow. Rogers moved to no. 2 in the world this season and former World Champion DeAnna Price of the U.S. moved to no. 3 in third place at 75.89 m (248-11).

Poland’s Wojciech Nowicki won the men’s hammer in the sixth round with a 77.18 m (253-2) toss to edge American Rudy Winkler (77.17 m/253-2). also essentially unnoticed.

Same in the men’s and women’s discus, where Olympic gold medalist Valarie Allman was rarely noted prior to her throws; she set the field down with a first throw of 68.39 m (224-4), beating Cuba’s Yaime Perez (63.63 m/209-9). Jamaica went 1-2 in the men’s disc, with Traves Smikle upending 2019 Worlds silver medalist Fedrick Dacres, 67.06 m (220-0) to 64.51 m (211-7).

The running events concentrated on the distances, of course, and the cool weather made for excellent conditions. Not as good, however, was that the runners were in the dark as soon as the sun went down, because the 1999 renovation of Drake Stadium installed lighting for the soccer field and not on the track.

The 1,200 or so spectators could barely see Ahmed Jaziri of Tunisia win the men’s Steeple at 8:17.64, no. 2 in 2023, with American Isaac Updike just behind at 8:17.96 (no. 3). But the women’s 5,000 m – won by Emily Lipari of the U.S. with a 69.34 last lap in 15:08.87 – was hard to follow and the excellent men’s 5,000 was literally in the dark.

Too bad, because Abdi Nur scored an impressive lifetime best of 13:05.17, beating Edwin Kurgat (KEN: 13:08.46) and Morgan Beadlescomb (USA: 13:08.82); the top 12 all broke 13:20.

Crouser’s world-record performance was held at the north end circle, used by UCLA for practice and now for its low-key home meets. But when the field was re-designed in 1999, shot put circles were installed on the infield, including one just beyond the finish line, which would have been right in front of most of the spectators. But perhaps no one knew about it.

The meet is hoped to be an annual event in Los Angeles, so these issues and others can be addressed in the future. The enthusiasm of Saturday’s attendees sent a message that Los Angeles is a very viable future site for more high-quality meets like this one.

3.
El Bakkali, Kerley, Tsegay star in Rabat Diamond League

The second round of the Wanda Diamond League was the Meeting Mohammed VI in Rabat (MAR) on Sunday, with the home crowd screaming with delight as Olympic and World Champion Soufiane El Bakkali took a shot at the world record in the men’s Steeplechase and ended with a lifetime best and world-leading win. The four world leaders:

● Men/Steeple: 7:56.68, Soufiane El Bakkali (MAR)

● Women/1,500 m: 3:54.03, Gudaf Tsegay (ETH)
● Women/High Jump: 2.01 m (6-7), Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR)
● Women/Triple Jump: 14.84 m (48-8 1/4), Leyanis Perez (CUB)

El Bakkali finally shook free of Ethiopia’s Getnet Wale with 500 m to go and strode home with a lifetime best and now, the no. 8 performer of all time. Wale got a personal record of 8:05.15, , ahead of Abraham Kibiwot (KEN: 8:05.51 lifetime best) and American Hillary Bor, who had a seasonal best of 8:11.28 in fourth.

Tsegay dominated the women’s 1,500, taking over at 800 m and streaked to win, with fellow Ethiopians Freweyni Hailu (3:57.65) and Birke Haylom (3:57.66). American Cory McGee was fifth in 4:03.09. It’s Tsegay’s third-fastest race ever and she took over the world lead from Diribe Welteji (ETH)’s win in L.A. on Saturday.

Ukraine’s Mahuchikh won the women’s high jump at 1.95 m (6-4 3/4) over countrywoman Iryna Gerashchenko (1.91 m/6-3 1/4), then cleared 2.01 m (6-7) for the world lead.

Cuba’s Perez got her world-leading triple jump mark of 14.84 m (48-8 1/4) in the second round, well ahead of Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk’s sixth-round jump of 14.65 m (48-0 3/4). Americans Tori Franklin and Keturah Orji were fifth (14.22 m/46-8) and seventh (13.90 m/45-7 1/4).

The men’s 1,500 m featured Olympic champ Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR), taking over at the bell and unchallenged to the tape in 3:32.59, no. 3 on the 2023 world list. Australian Olli Hoare was his main challenger until the final 60 m, when the U.S.’s Yared Nuguse sprinted in for second (lifetime best 3:33.02), with Hoare getting third in 3:33.39.

The men’s 100 m was a marquee event, with World Championships bronze medalist Trayvon Bromell getting out best, but then came Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala and, at 50 m, World Champion Fred Kerley of the U.S. took over. He accelerated to the front, secured the win and looked back to see South Africa’s Akani Simbine come up for second, 9.94 to 9.99 (wind: +0.1 m/s), with Omanyala third (10.05) and Bromell fifth (10.10).

Jamaica’s World 200 m Champion Shericka Jackson was challenged around the turn by American Tamari Davis, but pulled away to win in 21.98 (+0.8), with Anthonique Strachan coming up for second (22.15 lifetime best) and Davis third with a lifetime best of 22.30. American Kayla White was fourth in 22.52.

Bahamian star Steven Gardiner, the world leader at 400 m, ran powerfully down the straight to win in 44.70, with American Vernon Norwood coming on late for second in 45.11.

World Champion Grant Holloway was out like a shot in the men’s 110 m hurdles, but he was reeled in over the final hurdle and the run-in by Jamaica’s Rasheed Broadbell, 13.08-13.12 (-1.3). Tokyo Olympic winner Hansle Parchment was third (13.24) and Americans Devon Allen (13.25) and Freddie Crittenden (13.43) fourth and fifth.

Kenya took 1-2 in the men’s 800 was Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi passed countryman Wyclife Kinyamal late to win by 1:44.36 to 1:44.73.

Worlds bronze winner Mary Moraa (KEN) ran away with the women’s 800 m on the home straight in 1:58.72, with Catriona Bisset (AUS: 2:00.11) second and American Sage Hurta-Klecker third (2:00.62).

American Shamier Little passed Jamaica’s Rushell Clayton on the home straight to win the 400 m hurdles in 53.95; Clayton was second in 54.15. Rio 2016 Olympic champ Dalilah Muhammad of the U.S. was fifth in a season-best of 55.72.

Portugal’s Auriol Dongmo won the women’s shot at 19.28 m (63-3 1/4) with her second-round toss.

Slovenian’s discus giant, Kristjian Ceh, reached 70.32 m (230-8) in the fifth round to win his specialty; it’s his no. 3 throw of 2023. Sweden’s Tokyo Olympic winner Daniel Stahl got a seasonal best of 69.21 m (227-0) for second.

One of the best – if not the best – multi-event meets in the world is the annual Hypomeeting in Gotzis (AUT), with world-leading performances from Canada’s Pierce LePage and American Anna Hall.

Hall, still just 22 and the 2022 Worlds bronze medalist, was brilliant, posting a stunning score of 6,988, not just the best in 2023, but moving her to no. 5 all-time, with the no. 11 performance in history and now no. 2 in U.S. history to Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

Hall went crazy, getting lifetime bests in the 100 m hurdles (12.75), high jump (1.92 m/6-3 1/2), 200 m (22.88) and the 800 m in 2:02.97.

Britain’s Katerina Johnson-Thompson was second (6,556), with her best score since her World Championship gold year if 2019; American Annie Kunz in sixth (6,330).

Canada’s LePage, the Worlds silver medalist in 2022, missed his lifetime best by a single point, winning at 8,700, ahead of countryman Damian Warner (8,619), the Olympic champ from Tokyo.

4.
Roglic’s time trial takes Giro d’Italia from Thomas

He left it late, but Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic, the three-time winner of the Vuelta a Espana, captured his fourth Grand Tour title, taking the 106th Giro d’Italia on his third try.

Britain’s Geraint Thomas, the 2018 Tour de France winner, held the lead from stages 10-13 and then from stages 16-19, with Roglic pushing from behind. On the four-climb 19th stage on Friday, Roglic chopped three seconds off of Thomas’s lead, closing to 26 seconds back with the Individual Time Trial coming on Saturday.

Saturday’s racing was a particularly misery-inducing course of 18.6 km, finishing with a 9 km climb from 850 to 1,744 m at the top of the Monte Lussari. While the first two time trials had been Roglic and Thomas finish close together, Roglic was ready to charge and won in 44:23, with Thomas second, but 40 seconds back, flipping the leaderboard and leaving Roglic, 33, 14 seconds up and assured of winning after the final, flat stage into Rome.

Thomas was down 16 seconds at the second checkpoint, with 3.3 km left and then 29 seconds on the climb, with 800 m to go. Portugal’s Joao Almeida finished third (+0:42) and cemented a third-place finish in the overall race.

The 126 km finale on Sunday in Rome was for the sprinters, with British specialist Mark Cavendish – who will retire at the end of this season – getting his 17th career Giro stage win, to go along with 34 in the Tour de France and three in La Vuelta. He won in 2:48:26, just ahead of Alex Kirsch (LUX) and Filippo Fiorelli (ITA).

Roglic finished 32nd and Thomas was 63rd, all with the same time. Roglic’s final time overall was 85:29:02, 14 seconds up on Thomas and 1:15 ahead of Almeida. American Sepp Kuss, riding with Roglic’s Jumbo-Visma team, was 14th overall (+13:09).

Roglic will try for his fourth La Vuelta win later this year.

5.
UIPM appoints panel to review Russia-Belarus re-entry

Desperate to regain its place on the Olympic program for 2028, there was no doubt whatsoever that the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) would follow the International Olympic Committee’s recommendations on re-entry for Russian and Belarusian athletes.

But the IOC left the details to the federations and so the UIPM announced a five-person review panel, “chaired by three-time Olympian Aya Medany OLY (Egypt) and comprising Ana Ruth Orellana (Guatemala), Sungjoo Park (Korea), Nishanthe Piyasena (Sri Lanka) and Dr Harald Vervaecke (Belgium).”

The group will review (1) applications made by Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials for re-entry into international competition and (2) the timing of re-entry, which is not specified by the IOC in its 28 March 2023 recommendations.

While the statement assures that “based on criteria to be set by the UIPM Executive Board in collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC),” those criteria are anything but clear and different federations have come up with differing interpretations of what “neutral” means in the context of the IOC Executive Board statements.

The International Judo Federation rejected eight of 18 entries submitted by Russia for its recent World Championships. World Sailing rejected any Russian or Belarusian re-entry until the spring of 2024. World Taekwondo is allowing all but two Russian entries for its World Championships. And so on.

What path will the UIPM take, in a decision which could create further confusion and upset within a federation already in the midst of a civil war over the replacement of the riding discipline in favor of obstacle racing as part of its bid for Los Angeles 2028.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Football ● The FIFA men’s U-20 Championships in Argentina completed group play on Sunday, with the U.S. the winner of Group B with a 3-0 mark and a 6-0 goals-against total.

Argentina (Group A) was the only other team with a perfect record; the U.S. moves on to the Round of 16 to face New Zealand (1-1-1 in Group A) on the 30th; Argentina will play Nigeria on 31 May. The quarters are on 3-4 June, semis on 8 June and the medal matches on the 11th.

● Ice Hockey ● A complete stunner in the semifinals of the IIHF men’s World Championship in Finland and Latvia, as the U.S. men, dominant throughout the tournament, lost in the semifinals to Germany, 4-3, in overtime.

The Americans were up, 3-2, after two periods thanks to an Michael Eyssimont goal at 8:47 of the second and had a 19-15 edge on shots. The Germans pulled keeper Mathias Niederberger with 1:39 to play and, with the extra attacker, got the tying goal 16 seconds later from Marcel Noebels.

On to overtime and while the U.S. was the aggressor, Frederik Tiffels scored for the Germans after 7:32 to move on to the final and relegate the Americans to the third-place match.

Canada, meanwhile, came from 2-1 down in the third period with three goals for a 4-2 win and a chance for the gold medal. In the final, in Tampere (FIN), the script was almost the same, as the Canadians scored three times in the third to break a 2-2 tie and win 5-2 for its 28th Worlds title, the most of any country (the USSR won 22). Germany won its third Worlds silver.

Samuel Blais, Tyler Toffoli and Scott Laughton (empty-netter) scored the decisive third-period goals.

The U.S. lost to co-host Latvia in the bronze-medal game, again by 4-3 in overtime. The U.S. was down 1-0 and 2-1 in the first, but two goals from Rocco Grimaldi tied it at two at the period break. The U.S. had a 3-2 lead after an Matt Coronato goal at 6:19 of the third, but Kristians Rubins tied it with 5:39 to play.

In the overtime, it only took 1:22 for Rubins to score again and give Latvia it’s first-ever Worlds medal, in its third appearance in the tournament. The Americans ended up fourth for the second straight year.

Germany’s J.J. Peterka was recognized as the top forward; Canada’s Mackenzie Weegar was named top defenseman and Arturs Silovs (LAT) won the award for top goaltender. Grimaldi won the scoring title with 14 (7+7); Czech Dominik Kubalik had the most goals, with eight.

● Table Tennis ● The 57th ITTF World Championships in Durban (RSA) was another sweep for China, which won all five events and won gold and silver in both the men’s and women’s Singles finals.

Zhendong Fan, 26, took his second consecutive title in the men’s Singles, defeating countryman Chuqin Wang, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 12-10, 11-13, 11-6. China also had both bronze medalists in Jingkun Liang and two-time Olympic gold medalist Long Ma.

Top-seeded Yingsha Sun, the Tokyo Olympic runner-up, defeated Tokyo gold medalist Meng Chen, 5-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6 to win her first World title in the women’s final. Japan’s Hina Hayata and China’s Xington Chen shared the bronze.

In the men’s Doubles, Fan and Wang teamed up to defeat South Koreans Woo-jin Jang and Jong-hoon Lim, 13-11, 11-6, 11-5. In the women’s Doubles, Chen and Yidi Wang sailed past Yu-bin Shin and Ji-hee Jeon, 11-8, 11-7 and 12-10 for the gold.

Chuqin Wang won his second gold and third medal of the tournament with Sun in the Mixed Doubles final, sweeping aside Hayata and Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN), 11-6, 11-2, 11-7. Sun also won three medals: two golds and a women’s Doubles bronze.

It’s the first sweep for China since 2019, but they have won at least four events in 2015-17-19-21-23.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Badminton ● South Korea captured two titles at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur, with unseeded teams taking the men’s and women’s Doubles.

Ha Na Baek and So Hee Lee had a difficult women’s final with home favorites Pearly Tan and Muralitharan Thinaah, but won, 22-20, 8-21, 21-17. The men’s gold-medal match was another Korea-Malaysia match-up, with Min Hyuk Kang and Seung Jae Seo winning another marathon, against Wei Chong Man and Kai Wun Tee, 21-15, 22-24, 21-19.

The singles winners were India’s H.S. Prannoy, a 21-19, 13-21, 21-18 winner against China’s Hong Yang Weng, for his first career tournament title on the BWF World Tour. He had won three times on the old BWF Grand Prix circuit.

Top-seeded Akane Yamaguchi of Japan swept past Indonesia’s Gregoria Tunjung, 21-17, 21-7 in the women’s final, while Thai Doubles stars Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai – seeded second – came from behind to beat China’s Yan Zhe Feng and Dong Ping Huang, 16-21, 21-13, 21-18.

● Cycling ● Another new Dutch star emerged at the UCI Women’s World Tour’s RideLondon Classique stage race that finished Sunday: Charlotte Kool.

The 24-year-old won her first multi-stage title by taking the first and third stages and finishing with a total time of 9:34:41, 11 seconds up on American Chloe Dygert, with Britain’s 2015 World Road Champion Lizzie Deignan third (+0:15).

Kool won the first-stage mass sprint, finished 22nd in the second stage as Dygert and Deignan led a group to the line, then Kool triumphed on Sunday’s final ride in London, finishing just ahead of Dygert in another all-out sprint.

● Gymnastics ● The U.S. performed strongly at the Pan Am Artistic Championships in Medellin (COL), with a 1-2 finish in the men’s All-Around and Tiana Sumanasekera won the women’s All-Around in her international senior-level debut.

Tokyo Olympian Yul Moldauer won the men’s All-Around over fellow Olympian Shane Wiskus, 84.200 to 82.800, and then Moldauer scored a win on Floor (14.500, with Wiskus third), a bronze on Pommel Horse (13.367, while Alex Young won at 14.300), a win on Parallel Bars (14.567, with Wiskus second: 14.100) and was part of a “sweep” on the Horizontal Bar.

Curran Phillips scored 13.833 to win the Bar final, with Moldauer second (13.600) and Wiskus third (13.533), but not allowed to receive the bronze medal with only two per country allowed.

Daniel Villafane (ARG) won on Rings at 14.133, with Moldauer fourth (13.733). Brazil’s Yuri Guimares won on Vault, scoring 14.300.

The U.S. men won the team title on Sunday with 247.499 points to 238.599 for Canada and 234.901 for Brazil.

Sumanasekera scored 53.900 to take the women’s A-A gold, with Natalia Escalera (MEX) second at 53.266; Nola Matthews of the U.S. was fourth (52.267).

The U.S. went 1-2 on the Uneven Bars with Matthews (14.000) and Addison Fatta (13.667), on Beam with Sumanasekera scored 13.767 to 13.267 for Jocelyn Roberson, and on Floor with Roberson getting the win at 14.100 to Sumanasekera’s 13.567.

Mexico’s Alexa Moreno won on Vault, scoring 13.700 with Roberson second at 13.583 and Fatta fifth at 13.100.

The U.S. women were a decisive team winner, scoring 163.700 to 154.698 for Mexico and 150.998 for Canada.

● Judo ● Japan led the IJF World Tour Upper Austria Grand Prix in Linz with three victories, all on the women’s side: Kisumi Omori at 52 kg, Momo Tatsukawa at 63 kg and Ruri Takahashi at +78 kg.

There were some well-known winners, including Czech star Lukas Krpalek, the two-time Olympic champ, winning at +100 kg, and Hungary’s Krisztian Toth, the Tokyo bronze medalist, won at 90 kg.

Anna Wagner (GER) the 2021 World Champion at 78 kg, won a clash with France’s 2019 World Champion Madeleine Malonga in the 78 kg final.

● Shooting ● Italy and Spain took the individual Trap titles at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Almaty (KAZ), with Massimo Fabbrizi, 45, the two-time World Champion winning the men’s final for Italy over Australia’s two-time Olympian James Willett, 46-43.

Spain went 1-2 in the women’s final, as Mar Molne Magrina, 21, won her second career World Cup gold with a 42-37 victory against 2015 World Champion Fatima Galvez.

In the Mixed Team final, Kazakhstan’s Victor Khassyanov and Mariya Dmitriyenko out-pointed Turkey, 142-140.

● Skateboarding ● At the World Skateboarding Tour in San Juan (PUR), Brazil’s Luigi Cini came out on top in the men’s final at 85.74, beating Tom Schaar of the U.S. (84.51), Australia’s Tokyo Olympic champ Keegan Palmer (84.13) and Americans Tate Carew (83.19) and Gavin Bottger (82.21). Cini threw down his 85.74 score on his first run and no one could catch him; Palmer took only his first run and withdrew due to injury.

Britain’s 14-year-old sensation, Sky Brown, won the women’s final, leading after round one at 85.22, then scoring 87.45 in the second round and an unbeatable 90.84 in the final round to win easily. Australian Ruby Trew got second (86.16 in round three) and Brazil’s Raicca Oliveira took the bronze with her third-round run that scored 85.17.

● Swimming ● Italy scored a 1-2 finish in the men’s Open Water World Cup III in Setubal (POR), with Andrea Manzi getting his first career World Cup gold in 1:52.37.1, just ahead of teammate Marcello Guidi (1:52.47.1). Hungarian stars David Betlehem (1:53:12.1) and last week’s winner, Kristof Rasovszky (1:53:18.8) went 3-4, but could not stay with the Italian surge on the fourth lap of five.

The women’s win was claimed by France’s Caroline Jouisse in 2:01:12.1, less than a second up on Italy’s 2017 Worlds bronze medalist Arianna Bridi (2:01:13.0) and Rio 2016 Olympic champ Sharon van Rouwendaal (NED), who tied for second. Rouwendaal led on the final lap, but Jouisse final surge propelled her to the win.

Hungary, with Rasovszky, Betlehem, Bettina Fabian and Mira Szimcsak won the Mixed 4×1,500 m in 1:24:13.1 over Italy (1:25:32.6).

● Triathlon ● Britain swept the World Triathlon Series in Cagliari (ITA), with Olympic silver winner Alex Yee taking the men’s race and Georgia Taylor-Brown, the 2020 World Champion and also Olympic silver medalist in Tokyo.

Yee trailed out of the water and was in contention after the 38 km bike phase, but was superb in the run, with the fastest 10 km of the race at 28:31. That was enough to give him a 1:36:28 to 1:36:33 win over New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde, the winner in Yokohama earlier in May. The 2022 World Champion, Leo Bergere, led three straight French in 3-4-5 in 1:37:04, then Dorian Coninx (1:37:15) and Pierre Le Corre (1:37:21).

Taylor-Brown was also behind after the 1,500 m swim, but had the second-fastest bike section to be among the leaders at the transition. She then simply ran away, with the fourth-fastest run in the field (32:45) to win in 1:46:43 to 1:47:06 for France’s Emma Lombardi.

American Taylor Spivey got third (1:47:36), with teammate Summer Rappaport seventh (1:48:12). Former World Champion Katie Zaferes was 12th.

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LANE ONE: An Olympic Games that has nothing to do with “elite athletes”

By
Rich Perelman
-
Los Angeles Deputy City Controller Rick Cole during his remarks to the L.A. Planning History Group on Los Angeles and the Olympic Games (Photo: The Sports Examiner)

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“Most of all, I think, we have to restore a sense of democracy, that the Olympics are not an occupying army, that the Olympics are our chance to welcome the world. Our chance not just to welcome the elite athletes, but to welcome people all over the world that for that brief two weeks who are going to be connected virtually, billions of people, and we are going to be the anchor of that sense of place.”

That’s the view of Rick Cole, the highly-respected Chief Deputy Controller of the City of Los Angeles, who has been an elected City Council member in Pasadena and the Mayor or City Manager of Pasadena, Azusa, Ventura and Santa Monica, and the Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles across a 40-year career in government.

He gave an enlightening keynote address, without cards, slides or a teleprompter last Saturday at the L.A. Planning History Group’s seminar “Los Angeles and the Olympic Games: 1932 – 1984 – 2028” at The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, that deliberately ignored the entire sporting aspects of all three Games.

Cole’s message was about the civic aspects of a worldwide event, addressed to a collection of current and retired elected officials, planners and government staff members from across Southern California. The Games – as in the competitions – hardly impacted Cole’s remarks. But the Games, as a worldwide, attention-getting spectacle, sure did.

He traced the history of Los Angeles and the city at three stages of its development, all marked by past and future Olympic Games.

● Of 1932:

“During the 1920s, the population of the city doubled from what it had been in 1920. An extraordinary era of boosterism, a sense that we could build a great city. …

“It was a city built around the streetcars, and this was the coming of age, to be able to host the world in 1932.

“This was a time pregnant with possibilities. The Olmstead firm, as many of you know, had done a plan for the future of Los Angeles, sponsored by of all institutions, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. And that plan was, instead of building Los Angeles around freeways, it was to build it around parkways, build it around a green Los Angeles River, build the city in a way that would celebrate the natural climate of one of the world’s few Mediterranean climates.”

Instead, the freeways came to Southern California in the late 1930s, laying the foundation for the future.

● Of 1984:

“Fast forward to the culmination of the auto era in Los Angeles … If 1932 was Los Angeles’s introduction to the world, 1984 was its introduction to being one of the world’s great cities.

“Dorothy Chandler had built the Music Center, the cultural center. [Mayor] Tom Bradley had presided over the building of a new, skyscraper downtown. [County Supervisor] Kenny Hahn and Tom Bradley had spearheaded the adoption of the master plan for mass transit. So we were finally going to be a city that had a subway, a cultural center, a skyline worthy of a great city, and we were indeed the capital of the Pacific Rim, a place where Latin America, Asia, the United States, will all converge and we would be the capital of that of the era, and we would invite the world to see and be part of this great international city. …

“And the result was, an extraordinary success. In every sense of the word, people came away impressed. There was a great fear that Los Angeles would be gridlocked, right, because we were famous for being the city of cars and traffic. People were so scared to drive that it was the smoothest traffic in 20 years.”

Cole stumbled on some of his facts, but he is not an Olympic historian. His focus was on what the 1984 Games did to and for Los Angeles. And he was impressed:

● “The brilliance of, and someone will remember her name – Deborah Sussman [along with Paul Prejza, Jon Jerde, Ed Keen, David Meckel and others] – designed an absolutely brilliant graphics package, and for the cost of printing up banners, created this illusion that all of Los Angeles – greater Los Angeles – was the Olympic Village. By simply lining the streets with these colorful and dramatic banners. Now, banners on street poles are a cliche. At the time, they were a brilliant innovation, and Deborah Sussman deserves a lot of the credit for the sense that every one was a part of this Olympic event, even if you couldn’t afford the tickets, even if it was simply an inconvenience to you, you felt a part of this. And they recruited thousands of volunteers, which also increased this sense.”

● “It was the zenith of local pride, a sense that Los Angeles had finally arrived as a great city, it had gotten its act together, it had put things together. We came out of the Olympics, we’d saved the Olympics, we came out of the Olympics with a huge amount of money that could be invested in youth sports for generations, and which that legacy continues today.”

● “And as I said, the traffic flowed smoothly, all of the fears did not materialize, there was no violence or terrorism, the Olympics were peaceful, they moved on, and they were paired with an international Olympic Arts Festival, which gave an even greater sense that these were not just about sports and corporations, but this was about the cultural richness of Los Angeles. They did a six-hour play of the Mahabharata of India; there was a sense of sophistication about Los Angeles.”

But this era of good feeling ended, suddenly. As Cole explained:

“And then, just eight years later, the Rodney King Riots tore the mask off of Los Angeles’s great pretensions to be the capital of affluence and success, prosperity and opportunity, and caused a wrenching self-reappraisal about what had been ignored with the colorful banners running down Olympic Boulevard and the great thoroughfares of Los Angeles.

“The neighborhoods that had not benefitted from the 74,000 jobs that came and went, that had not been beneficiaries of the billions of dollars that had flowed in, that there were neighborhoods of enormous suffering, discrimination and over-policing that had been celebrated because we had these safe Olympics and did not have any terrorism, but the LAPD had become a kind of an occupying army with sophisticated technology.

“And so we went from a time when everything about Los Angeles seemed to have turned to gold to a time when Los Angeles’s dreams had seemed to turn to ashes.

“That, in many ways, sort of buried the period of the Olympics. We swung, as often happens, in our country, from hubris to a sense that we were a failed state. And literally, within a decade, people were writing off California as a dream that had failed.”

That brought him to 2028:

● “We’re living in a time now where the Olympics are in the future. And for the first time, there is serious opposition to the Olympics. In 1984, there was skepticism about the Olympics, that we were getting into something we couldn’t afford, but this time there is active opposition to the idea that the world’s intelligence services and technology will be deployed to make this a police state. There is suspicion that the people living in tents will be swept up and sent to Lancaster for a couple of weeks. There is a no-Olympics movement.

“But the Olympics are coming … and so the question is not whether we have the Olympics, but what kind of Olympics will we have? And what will be the legacy for Los Angeles when the Olympics are done?”

● “Right now, we are in a feverish effort to prepare the infrastructure, so billions of dollars are being spent between now and 2028 on the airport, on the light rail, on the subway system. A huge amount of construction is already under way, and more to come in the next five years. …

“And so the question is what kind of third Los Angeles will it be? Will it be one that centers on equity, one where the benefits flow not just to the corporations that sponsor the Olympics, not just to major institutions that will be the cornerstones, but what about the people of Los Angeles, the four million people, a third of whom are clinging by their fingernails to housing at a time of extraordinary rent burdens, who are working hard, but hardly doing well.

“And so, can we make sure that this investment actually creates a more livable Los Angeles, creates a more walkable Los Angeles, creates a Los Angeles where we are less privatized in our lives, where we look around at the people who we don’t share the same neighborhood with, or the same religion, or the same language or the same facial color, that we can find in these Olympic Games the original spirit that is supposed to animate them, the sense of internationalism, the sense that people across the planet are brothers and sisters.

“And that means that we’ve got to not just build transportation systems, we’ve got to build the housing that’s so desperately needed, especially for people who can’t afford housing because there’s going to be a lot of people here in 2028 and if that leads to more evictions, more people out on the streets, it’s very hard, I think, for Los Angeles to be able to show its face with pride.”

Cole’s keynote was an amazing insight into the perspective of a decades-long, widely-appreciated civil servant.

As someone who has worked on more than a dozen mega-events on the organizing side, whether a multi-sport extravaganza like an Olympics, Winter Olympics or Special Olympics World Games, or a single-sport project like a FIFA World Cup or World Baseball Classic, Cole’s focus was – at the same time – impressive and depressing:

● There was no mention of the Paralympic Games at all, a noteworthy lesson about the still-too-low profile of this event which will come to Los Angeles for the first time in 2028.

● There was no mention that the LA28 organizers will pay for the Games – including any and all City services and security that it requests – en toto, with a budget of $6.9 billion all raised from the private sector. This was also true in 1932 (surplus of about $196,267 after repaying the State bond which had initially funded the organizing committee) and 1984 ($232.5 million surplus).

● The infrastructure projects that Cole mentioned, including upgrades to Los Angeles International Airport and multiple segments of the Southern California transit system, were not requested by the LA28 organizing committee, nor integral to its bid for the 2024, then 2028 Games back in 2017. Its plan for the Games does not require them at all, and it has said so.

But here they are, with Cole talking about a “feverish effort to prepare the infrastructure.”

Why does it take an Olympic Games to get governments to do things it should be doing all along? The LA28 organizers will not be building housing – the existing student housing at UCLA will be used for the Olympic Village – or subway systems, or reformatting the police department.

That’s what governments do, or permit to be done in the case of building housing. Where have they been?

The “serious opposition” to the Olympic Games is a modest group which also does not mention athletes or sports. It is all about issues of government – housing, jobs, police – and simply tries to use the Games to get attention to issues that have bedeviled Los Angeles and other cities around the world for decades.

Cole closed this way:

“We will be the place in the world – assuming we’re not in a world war at that point, or a world-wide depression – we will be the place where all of the world will be thinking about who we are as a planet. Given the financial crisis, given the international tensions, given the challenges of equity around the world, this is our chance to set the agenda.”

Sorry, no. People will be reveling in how their team – or country – did and the thrills brought by young men and women from around the world who will have brought a lifetime of effort to try and succeed in a single moment in time.

If the City of Los Angeles wishes to set the agenda for a better world, it should not wait for 2028. It should do so now. That is the job of elected officials and appointed staff members and there are many who are trying right now. That includes Cole.

The program included reviews of the 1932 Games effort, notably from Barry Siegel, author of “Dreamers and Schemers,” profiling William May Garland and the bumpy organizing effort that resulted in a brilliant event amidst the Great Depression. Siegel noted that one of the most effective aspects of Garland’s always-optimistic approach was to “ignore the critics and the naysayers.”

The discussion of the 1984 Games included comments from David Simon, the L.A. Olympic Organizing Committee’s Vice President for Government Relations, and Oscar Delgado, Vice President for Programs for the LA84 Foundation, the legacy organization of the LAOOC that uses the surplus for youth sports.

Simon, who led the private-sector Los Angeles Sports Council for many years, emphasized his realization that “what cuts through the clutter in Los Angeles is sports.”

The energetic ending discussion period demonstrated the current and future needs for government officials and staff to be fed information which will counter the urban myths that arise about every major sporting event in any city, especially about tickets, pricing, timetables (even if not finalized), the location of the competition venues, and what events are free to view, like the marathons and cycling road races.

It was also clear that governments, like many industries, are often siloed. Information from outside groups, like Olympic organizing committees, is secondary to whatever the existing lines of communication bring in, regardless of quality. That’s a situation that could be dangerous as 2028 gets closer, but can be remedied.

This colloquium was exceptionally valuable in demonstrating that the Olympic Games is, in some circles, not about sports at all, but about having a national and international spotlight focused on your city, town or village. For those of us who see the Games in terms of running, swimming and shooting a basketball, the alternate reality of government was eye-opening.

Rich Perelman
Editor

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Football ● The FIFA men’s U-20 Championships in Argentina continues with group play with the U.S. (Group B), Argentina (A), Colombia (C), Nigeria (D), England (E) and Gambia (F) all at 2-0.

The U.S. – already qualified for the playoffs – will play once more, against Slovakia (1-1) on Friday, in San Juan.

The final group matches will be on the 28th, with the round of 16 to start on the 30th. The championship match is on 11 June.

● Ice Hockey ● The U.S. men continued their undefeated run at the IIHF men’s World Championship in Finland and Latvia with a 3-0 win over the Czech Republic in their quarterfinal match in Tampere on Thursday.

The Americans got single goals in all three periods, from Matt Coronato (1st), defender Nick Perbix (2nd) and Cutter Gauthier (3rd) and a shutout from Casey Desmith. The U.S. out-shot the Czechs, 34-15.

While the U.S. won Group A with a 7-0 mark, Switzerland took Group B at 6-1, followed by Canada at 5-2. But the Swiss got surprised in the quarters by Germany (4-3) by 3-1 and was eliminated. Canada won its game against defending champs Finland and moved to face Latvia, a 3-1 winner over Sweden.

The U.S. will play Germany for a second time in the semis on Saturday (27th), having won the group-stage match by 3-2. In their group game, Canada crushed Latvia, 6-0. The gold-medal game is on Sunday.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● Agence France Presse reported on Wednesday:

“The French government plans to move homeless people out of Paris ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in the capital, sparking criticism from some mayors of regional towns and villages which are expected to house them.”

Olivier Klein, the French minister for housing, explained in a hearing earlier in May that the pressure for visitor accommodations expected for the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the 2024 Olympic Games will cause lower-end hotels to stop making beds available for the homeless and sell at market rates instead.

Klein estimated that 3-4,000 beds will be impacted, and so the government is looking for “emergency accommodation” in provincial areas. Officials from outlying areas expressed worry about how well organized the effort will be and activist organizations and politicians wondered whether this was a bridge to a long-term solution or only a beautification scheme for the Games.

● Olympic Games 2032: Brisbane ● A small group of Queensland legislators have asked for a spending cap to be put on the government’s contribution to the 2032 Brisbane Games and that the expensive renovation of the area around the iconic Gabba Stadium (formally the Brisbane Cricket Ground) be eliminated altogether.

The seven legislators, from three different parties, are hardly in the vanguard of the 93-seat Legislative Assembly, dominated by the Labor Party (52 seats) and the Liberal Nationals (34). But the expense of the Gabba project, starting with the stadium and spilling out to the surrounding area – now estimated at A$2.7 billion (about $1.77 billion U.S.) – has been a contentious issue.

The International Olympic Committee noted in its 2017 review of the Brisbane plan that the track & field competitions could be held in the existing Carrara Stadium in Gold Coast, which was used for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and held 40,000 with temporary seating.

● Olympic Winter Games 2030/2034 ● The Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games is not waiting around.

Although nothing dramatic is happening with the International Olympic Committee’s decision-making processes on the selection of the host for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games, the SLC-Utah Committee is charging ahead as if it was going to be imminently selected.

At a Thursday Board meeting, chief executive Fraser Bullock explained that the “Preferred Host Submission” document, essentially the formal bid for a Games – including financial and governmental guarantees – is being completed, months ahead of schedule. The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee won’t consider it until September, but being done in June allows for more feedback before sending it to the IOC and declaring the area ready to be awarded its preferred 2034 Games, or 2030 if that best fits the IOC’s situation.

Said Bullock, “Our strategy has always been to be prepared, to be ahead of the process. And that’s why technically, some of these things we’re doing wouldn’t be due until a targeted dialogue.”

● Boxing ● The International Boxing Association is splitting apart. USA Boxing has left and the IBA suspended five more federations on Monday (22nd) over ties to the new World Boxing group.

On Thursday, the IBA posted a notice condemning the Dutch Boxing Federation for holding an “unsanctioned international event,” the Eindhoven Cup. In response:

“[T]he Dutch Boxing Federation recklessly ignored the regulations and sent an official communication to the National Federations, stating that they will keep going on with the event. The IBA is forced to reiterate its commitment to protecting the integrity of the Boxing Family and its Constitution. All those entities who decide to breach the rules will trigger an automatic mechanism of the Constitution and Regulations implementation.”

The 6th Eindhoven Cup is scheduled for 26-30 May.

● Cycling ● Stage 18 of the 106th Giro d’Italia was another climbing test for race leader Geraint Thomas (GBR), the 2018 Tour de France winner. The 161 km route from Oderzo to Val di Zoldo featured three major climbs, including an uphill finish, and at the end, Thomas was still wearing the maglia rosa, with three stages left.

An early breakaway had five riders way out in front and by the time of the final ascent, it was Italy’s Filippo Zana and French star Thibault Pinot racing for the win, with Zana getting to the line first in 4:25:12. France’s Warren Barguil was third, 50 seconds back.

Thomas stuck like glue to his main challenger, Slovenian star Primoz Roglic, who could not shake him and they came together in seventh and eight (+1:56). However, Portugal’s Joao Almeida was ninth, 2:17 back, and dropped to third behind Roglic, who is now 29 seconds behind Thomas.

Friday brings a final climbing stage, with two category 1 ascents and another uphill finish, ending at 2,307 m. This is Roglic’s best chance to win, with an Individual Time Trial coming Saturday and then the final ride into Rome on Sunday.

● Skiing ● The International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) announced this week that the distances in Cross Country Skiing, which were equalized for men and women in the last World Cup season, will now also apply to the FIS World Championships: 10 km, 20 km and 50 km for men and women, a 10 + 10 km Skiathlon and a 4 x 7.5 km relay.

FIS will now begin the process of changing these distances for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games with the IOC.

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Sailing says no Russians or Belarusians until 2024; worldwide “athlete passport”? Why T&F athletes pull out of meets!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. World Sailing says no Russian, Belarusian return until 2024
2. Russia’s Zhurova proposes worldwide “athlete passport”
3. Giant, new FIS Games asking for 2028 hosts
4. Michael Johnson on why T&F athletes pull out of meets
5. Worries over North Korea for weightlifting Grand Prix

World Sailing chimed in with its answer to the Russian and Belarusian return question, pushing their re-entry all the way to the end of the Paris 2024 qualifying cycle, to the “last chance” regatta at the Semaine Olympique Francaise in April next year. In Russia, State Duma deputy Svetlana Zhurova, the 2006 Winter women’s 500 m winner, said the International Olympic Committee should consider an “athlete passport” that would allow supra-national entry into any country for the purpose of competitions. The IOC might like the idea, but governments around the world will not. The International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) is organizing an all-disciplines “FIS Games” in 2028, a year in which there is no Olympic Winter Games or FIS World Championships. Expressions of interest are due in August. Former world 200 m record-holder Michael Johnson explained why track & field athletes pull out of meets so often; to no one’s surprise, it’s about money. In weightlifting, the re-appearance of powerhouse North Korea in international competition for the first time since 2019 has coaches and athletes worried about doping, since no one is allowed to enter the country to test their lifters.

● Panorama: Cycling (Thomas still leads Giro d’Italia as the mountains await) = Diving (Bacon and Loschiavo finish U.S. Nationals with wins) = Shooting (2: Hancock and Smith win U.S. Skeet titles; ISSF Shotgun Grand Prix) = Wrestling (2: Lopez returning for fifth OG gold?; Winchester and Gray advance to Final X) ●

1.
World Sailing says no Russian return until 2024

The latest federation to decide what to do about Russian and Belarusian re-entry into international competitions is World Sailing.

Although Russia and Belarus are minor players in this sport, the World Sailing Board announced Wednesday, in pertinent part:

● “The Board recognises that the Fundamental Principles of Olympism inform the IOC’s recommendation to allow the return of Russian and Belarusian competitors as individual neutral athletes.”

● “Given the timing of the return is a matter for the International Federations, the Board’s decision remains consistent: April 2024 is the targeted opportunity for sailors with a Russian or Belarusian passport to return to international competition as neutrals. With regards to Olympic qualification, the Semaine Olympique Française (SOF), is an event at this time and presents opportunities for sailors with a Russian or Belarusian passport to compete as individual neutrals in qualifying for Paris 2024.”

● “World Sailing remains wholly committed to supporting Ukraine’s sailing community through what continues to be an unimaginably difficult time.”

So, the possibilities to participate in sailing in Paris will be limited to the “Last Chance” regatta at the 18-27 April 2024 Semaine Olympique Francaise, with 39 places out of 312 available (12.5%) for the Games. Russia and Belarus are shut out of the 2023 World Championships, the primary qualification opportunity.

This could set a workable precedent for other federations, as several have “last chance” or “universality” qualifying programs for their final qualifiers for Paris 2024.

The All-Russian Sailing Federation was livid, of course, with President Sergey Dzhienbaev telling the Russian news agency TASS:

“As they write, we have time until April 2024, but it’s also crazy to come without competitive practice and qualify for the Olympic Games. There is also a question of neutral status, we still have a big flag on the sail, unlike other sports, there will be a big question here.

“Naturally, after this decision, Russian athletes will miss the World and European Championships this year, as well as other international competitions. We are not even allowed into amateur mass sports now.”

2.
Russia’s Zhurova proposes worldwide “athlete passport”

The International Olympic Committee’s position on Russian and Belarusian athletes has emphasized that athletes are not responsible for the acts of their governments and are, somehow, international actors above politics.

Now, they have a new ally in Svetlana Zhurova, a deputy in the Russian State Duma after her speed skating career in which she won two World Championships golds and the 2006 Turin Winter Olympic women’s 500 m title.

Asked about a move by the International Fencing Federation (FIE) to remove the “European Championships” title from the upcoming European Games in Poland because Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be admitted to the country by the Polish government, she told TASS:

“This should not happen when athletes are not allowed to compete because of politicians.

“I think the IOC needs to think about creating athlete passports. Such a document will allow athletes from any country to participate in competitions. And it doesn’t matter what the current political situation will be, what the politicians will say.”

Observed: This will be fascinating to watch if attempted by the IOC. In essence, governments in every country – except the U.S., at least now – will be asked to fund athletes, for training and competitions, with coaching, facilities and living expenses, and have nothing to say about where they go and what they do. Free ride.

This will be welcomed in some outcast countries like Russia, Iran and North Korea (except they may not admit passport holders to their countries on other grounds), but hardly welcomed elsewhere. But it is certainly in line with the IOC’s view that athletes are a separate and privileged class, not subject to ordinary governance by their own local, regional and national authorities.

3.
Giant, new FIS Games asking for 2028 hosts

Another multi-discipline mega-event is in the offing, with the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) now looking for potential hosts for its first-ever FIS Games, to take place in 2028.

The concept is similar to the Union Cycliste Internationale’s World Cycling Championships that will debut in Glasgow (SCO) and environs from 3-13 August this year, with events in all 13 UCI disciplines and 2,600 athletes vying to win in about 200 different events.

FIS is similarly enormous and the program for the 2028 FIS Games is designed to create a major new, 16-day program in the “off year” that no Olympic Winter Games or FIS World Championships take place. So, the new event will include 10 disciplines:

● Alpine Skiing
● Cross Country Skiing
● Freeride
● Freestyle Skiing
● Nordic Combined
● Para SnowSport
● Ski Jumping
● Snowboard
● Speed Skiing
● Telemark

The project is clearly designed for multiple venues across a region, country or multiple countries. Letters of interest are due to FIS by 1 August, with official applications due in November, an inspection tour during the winter and then final bids by 31 March 2024. The inspection group will recommend a single candidate to the FIS Council, which will have the final say.

The event was originally expected to be held in 2024, but the pandemic scotched that. As a new event, FIS owns all of the rights to it and does not have to share the income with legacy partners (such as ski resorts). Can it create enough interest to become a money-maker and a prestige opportunity for potential future hosts in 2032 and 2036?

4.
Michael Johnson on why T&F athletes pull out of meets

The Atlanta 1996, triple-gold-medalist sprint icon Michael Johnson, a longtime and well-respected commentator on track & field for the BBC, recently posted a note on Twitter on athletes and meets. It’s a must-read:

“Why do track athletes pull out of meets and seldom compete against rivals? I’ll explain. Pro track ([Diamond League], etc) never established itself separate of OLY & WCH. Tracks structure prioritizes [Olympic Games] & [World Championships].

“OLY & WCH = Big money, big recognition, career legacy, end of year ranking.

“Pro Meets = Small money, no recognition, risk to end of year ranking.

“Most athletes’ majority income comes from shoe contracts with 3 components. Base salary, bonuses, & reductions. Big bonuses for good OLY & WCH performance. Big reductions to the base for poor OLY & WCH performance or poor ranking. Rankings heavily weighted to #1: OLY & WCH performance. #2: Record against top competitors.

“The champion athletes making high 6 figures or more can only gain (Bonus or bigger contract) from continued OLY, WCH, and ranking success and actually can lose (Reductions) from pro meet risk. Effectively, for the sports biggest stars, pro meets equal:

“Gain: $
“Risk: $$$$$$$”

Johnson also had an interesting response to a fan reply:

● “Some athletes just aren’t interested in chasing the money. If there were a true professional league, I’m not convinced they’d sign up to it because they would have to commit to a contract of a certain number of races, which would come into conflict with the greater goal of winning.”

● Reply: “If the professional league sucked, yes! And you’re probably assuming it will suck because pro track always has. It has to be reimagined and built for success. And nothing says you need to contract athletes to a bunch of races that’s too many.”

The latest nationally-televised meet in the U.S., the USATF Bermuda Grand Prix last Sunday in Devonshire, saw great – if wind-aided – marks, but a modest television audience.

Nielsen ratings data showed 636,000 watched the meet on NBC, worst of the four meets it has aired so far this year. The three indoor meets, all on Saturdays, drew 866,000 for the New Balance Grand Prix in Boston, 972,000 for the Millrose Games in New York and 954,000 for the USATF Indoor Nationals in Albuquerque.

NBC will have the USATF’s L.A. Grand Prix from UCLA’s Drake Stadium this Saturday and the NYC Grand Prix on 24 June.

5.
Worries over North Korea for weightlifting Grand Prix

“The IWF is aware of comments made by members of the weightlifting community regarding the return to competition of athletes representing the People’s Republic of Korea (PRK). As an International Federation determined to eradicate doping and deliver a fair and clean sport, we fully understand the strength of feeling on this matter and recognise the legitimate concerns of those speaking out.”

That’s from the International Weightlifting Federation on Wednesday, in advance of the start of the its Grand Prix tournament in Havana (CUB) from 8-18 June, a qualification event for the Paris 2024 Games which has attracted a huge field of 422 lifters from 72 nations plus 13 “neutrals” from Belarus.

North Korea has been a weightlifting power, winning nine medals (2-4-3) in its last appearance in the IWF Worlds in 2019, second-most behind China. Since then, it has been absent due to Covid worries, and there is wide concern that its lifters have not been subject to adequate out-of-competition drug testing.

For weightlifting, which is not on the program for Los Angeles 2028 at this time, a rash of doping positives could be ruinous. For lifters competing in Havana, the prospect of competing against a country whose athletes have not been tested, is worrisome.

Said Indian head coach Vijay Sharma, “Ethically, this is wrong. This should not happen. People are protesting. Even we are against it. It is wrong.”

The IWF statement noted that it asked the International Testing Agency – its contracted doping control partner – what was allowed and was told that it had to accept the North Korean entries. However:

“In the immediate term, the IWF will use the opportunity of the IWF Grand Prix in Cuba to meet with PRK officials and inform them of the seriousness of the situation. At the same time, the IWF will ask for the co-operation of PRK authorities to facilitate the access of independent testing teams in their country.”

North Korea’s national anti-doping agency is considered non-compliant by the World Anti-Doping Agency and how any testing is going to be done outside of international competitions is a problem. The IWF did promise this:

“If the IWF considers that the level of co-operation of PRK authorities is preventing the correct assessment and testing of their athletes, the participation of a PRK team at the Games will naturally be re-evaluated by the IWF.”

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Cycling ● Stage 17 of the 106th Giro d’Italia was a 197 km ride on a gentle descent and then a long, flat finish into Caorle, meaning it was time for the sprinters to charge. The expected rush to the line saw Italy go 1-2 with Alberto Dianese and Jonny Milan racing past Australian Michael Matthews in the final meters, all timed in 4:26:08.

The overall leader, Britain’s Geraint Thomas, maintained his lead against Joao Almeida (POR: +0:18) and Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic (+0:29). The next two stages are for the climbers and will decide the race, starting with a triple climb stage on Thursday that begins at 13 m altitude in Oderzo and finished at 1,514 m in Val di Zoldo!

● Diving ● The final day of the USA Diving National Championships in Morgantown, West Virginia, saw wins for Sarah Bacon and Brandon Loschiavo.

A two-time Worlds 1 m Springboard silver medalist, Bacon won her second event of the meet in the 3 m Springboard, scoring 636.95 points to ease past Hailey Hernandez (602.95) and Krysta Palmer (597.45).

Already the winner in the women’s 3 m Synchro event, Bacon qualified for the World Aquatics Championships in her second event.

Loschiavo won his second national title on the 10 m Platform at 950.90, beating Max Flory (914.55) and Joshua Hedberg (881.40). He also had a prior win in the men’s 10 m Synchro and will be going to the Worlds in two events.

● Shooting ● Three-time Olympic Skeet champ Vincent Hancock secured his place at the 2023 World Championships with a tight win in the USA Shooting National Shotgun Championships at Hillsdale, Michigan.

Hancock scored 246/250 to reach the finals and then won there to secure the championship with 249 total points, winning a shoot-off with runner-up Conner Prince (249). Hayden Stewart won another shoot-off, against Benjamin Keller for the bronze (247).

Austen Smith, still just 21 and a Tokyo Olympian, won the women’s title and scored 245 points overall. The 2017 World Champion Dania Jo Vizzi took the silver (243) and 2022 Worlds bronze medalist Sam Simonton won the bronze at 241.

USA Shooting named Hancock, Dustan Taylor and Christian Elliott to its 2023 Worlds team for men and Smith, Vizzi and Simonton for the women. The competition also served as the first leg of the U.S. Olympic Trials for 2024. The competitions continue this week with Trap.

At the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Almaty (KAZ), the Skeet events have concluded, with wins for three different countries in the three events.

Home favorite Assem Orynbay of Kazakhstan won the women’s Skeet final, 2-1 over Ganemat Sekhon of India in a shoot-out after a 50-50 tie after 60 shots. It’s the second career World Cup win for Orynbay, 29, and the second this year!

Greece’s Efthimos Mitas, 38, won his second career World Cup gold and first since 2012 (!), also with a 2-1 win in a shoot-off against the 2007 World Champion, 42-year-old Georgios Achilleos (CYP), after a 56-56 tie.

The Mixed Team win went to Italy’s Tammaro Cassandro and Chiara Cainero, 41-40, over Kazakhstan in the final.

● Wrestling ● Cuba’s Mijain Lopez, now 40, announced a return to the mat to try for a fifth Olympic gold in Paris in the Greco-Roman 130 kg category. The winner in Beijing and London at 120 kg and Rio and Tokyo at 130 kg, wants to be the only wrestler to win five golds; Japan’s Kaori Icho has also won four: in 2004-08-12 in the women’s 63 kg class and in 2016 at 58 kg.

USA Wrestling’s Senior World Team Trials Challenge in Colorado Springs last weekend produced a worthy set of challengers to try and make the U.S. team for the 2023 World Championships at the Final X matches on 10 June in Newark, New Jersey.

Places in three men’s Freestyle classes, four women’s Freestyle classes and all 10 Greco-Roman classes were up for grabs.

In the men’s Freestyle, Nahshon Garrett defeated 2021 Worlds runner-up Daton Fix at 61 kg, 12-4, to earn his first Final X slot since 2018, and Mason Parris overcame two-time Worlds bronze medalist Nick Gwiazdowski, 6-2, in the 125 kg final to earn a rematch with Tokyo Olympic champ Gable Steveson at Final X.

In the women’s Freestyle events, 2019 World Champion Jacarra Winchester advanced to Final X at 55 kg and six-time World Champion Adeline Gray won at 76 kg to try and go for a seventh Worlds gold. Both won by technical falls: Winchester by 11-0 over Areana Villaescusa, while Gray handled Dymond Guilford, 12-1.

Adam Coon, the 2018 Worlds silver medalist, headlined the Greco-Roman winners, taking the 130 kg final against Donny Longendyke by 9-0 to advance to Final X. Aliaksandr Kikiniou, 43, who won a 2009 Worlds bronze for Belarus, is now an American citizen and won at 77 k with a 10-0 technical over Payton Jacobson.

Two-time Olympian Ildar Hafizov (2008 for Uzbekistan and 2020 for the U.S.) won at 60 kg, beating Randon Miranda, 8-4, and Tokyo Olympian Alejandro Sancho qualified in the 67 kg class with a walk-over in the final.

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Paris 2024 has sold 68% of its Olympic tickets; all Opening Ceremony watchers to be ticketed; “short track” replaces “indoor track”

By
Rich Perelman
-
The Paris 2024 concept for the Opening Ceremony on the Seine (Image: Paris 2024)

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Paris 2024 says it has sold 6.8 million tickets so far!
2. All Opening Ceremony spectators will need tickets
3. World Athletics replaces indoors with “short track”
4. Seven arrested for abuse against Vinicius Junior
5. Russians refuse IWF’s anti-war declaration requirement

The Paris 2024 organizers announced that it has now sold 6.8 million of the 10 million tickets available for the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games tickets going on sale in October. The last sale saw 1.89 million tickets sold against a projected total of 1.5 million. Officials detailed some of the arrangements for the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony, with everyone needing to register for a ticket, even those watching for free, to allow authorities to position people for security and transportation needs. The World Athletics Council approved a new concept of “short track,” removing the indoor designation and replacing it with rules-to-come to allow use of smaller tracks in place where 400 m ovals are not possible or practical. This could have significant impact in future years. Spanish authorities arrested seven men in connection with hate-crime cases, especially involving Real Madrid striker Vinicius Junior from Brazil. A candlelight march was held in New Delhi, asking for action against the head of the Indian wrestling federation over abuse issues. In weightlifting, 13 Belarusians signed a “non-support” of the Russian war on Ukraine declaration required by the International Weightlifting Federation, allowing them to compete in the IWF Grand Prix tournament in Havana. But no Russians would sign it, leaving them unable to compete under the IWF’s regulations.

● World Championships ● Football (U.S. men undefeated in FIFA U-20 World Cup) = Ice Hockey (U.S. men finish pool play undefeated at IIHF Worlds) ●

● Panorama: U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum (names new chief executive) = Athletics (Spain’s Perez takes 35 km walk world record) = Cycling (Thomas back on top in Giro d’Italia) = Diving (Schnell and Capobianco impress at U.S. Diving nationals) = Judo (six repeat as USA Judo national champs) = Sport Climbing (Grossman wins IFSC World Cup in Salt Lake City) = Swimming (3: triple wins for Sims, Curzan, King and el Kamash at Tyr Pro Swim Mission Viejo; Sjostrom gets two world leads at Mare Nostrum Monaco; Beck and Rasovszky win Open Water World Cups) = Taekwondo (14 Russians and nine Belarusians admitted to Worlds) ●

1.
Paris 2024 says it has sold 6.8 million tickets so far!

“Taking into account the different stages of ticket sales already held (packs of tickets, followed by sales per unit), as well as the sales aimed at the various groups involved in the Games (travel and hospitality packages through the intermediary of On Location; stakeholders; communities; the sports movement; Olympic partners, etc.), Paris 2024 has already sold 6.8 million tickets for the Olympic Games, surpassing initial estimates.”

That’s from a Tuesday announcement by the Paris 2024 organizing committee, which has now sold 68% of all Olympic tickets planned to be available, with 14 months still remaining before the Games.

That’s impressive.

The statement noted that 3.25 million tickets were sold in the first wave of “ticket pack” sales and a further 1.89 million tickets in the second wave – more than the planned 1.5 million – for a retail total of 5.14 million. That means that another 1.66 million reserved for hospitality and travel packages and sponsors – out of about two million – have been reserved or sold.

The criticisms of ticket pricing continue to be heard, but the open market is hardly holding back. To meet the continuing high interest, another ticket sale is on the way:

“Additionally, to keep up with this considerable demand, Paris 2024 plans to open ticket sales again at the start of summer 2023 (on a date yet to be decided), focusing mainly on the competitions held in regions outside Paris, for football (Bordeaux, Nantes, Nice, Marseille, Lyon and Saint-Etienne), handball and basketball (Lille). These sales will be open to all in France as well as abroad. For the first time in the Paris 2024 sales process, the draw to purchasing timeslots will be replaced by direct sales.”

Another round of ticket sales for all events is slated for the end of the year and will continue through the Games.

The just-completed second-round of sales saw buyers from 178 countries, but 63.5% of the tickets sold went to buyers in France, with an average age of 40. In terms of cost and selection:

● “Almost 60 per cent of the tickets were priced at EUR 100 or less, with 17 per cent of tickets being sold at EUR 24.”

● “Team sports, for which the venues tend to be among the biggest and with the greatest number of sessions available, were the highest sellers as expected. Football was in first place for tickets sold, followed by basketball, handball, athletics and volleyball respectively.”

● “Tickets in all categories for triathlon, sports climbing, BMX racing, BMX freestyle and breaking sold out on the first day they became available (Thursday 11 May), in less than two hours! And sessions such as that where the famous French judoka Teddy Riner will compete (qualifying rounds in the morning and final phases in the evening), or the basketball 3×3 finals also sold out within two hours. The EUR 90 tickets for the Opening Ceremony were all taken up in less than an hour.”

Tickets for the Paralympic Games will begin on 9 October, with 2.8 million tickets to be made available and half of which will be priced at €25 or less. The most expensive seats are promised at €100 each.

2.
All Opening Ceremony spectators will need tickets

The questions of how the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony on the Seine will be arranged are beginning to be answered. At a Tuesday news conference, it was explained that all spectators – the 100,000 with purchased tickets closer to the water – and those on the upper levels watching for free, will be required to register for tickets.

This will allow the organizers and especially the French and Parisian security officials to place people more evenly throughout the 6 km route, avoid any masses in one area and try to match where people will watch to the available transit to the area.

The Ile-de-France transit authorities have said that the system could manage up to 500,000 people coming to the 26 July ceremony, which would mean 400,000 free spectators, but French Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin said that he expected 600,000 in total, and explained:

“The high quays will be free and, in connection with the town hall of Paris, we have decided that it was the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior to design, develop, finance and organize a secure pre-registration platform which will allow all the public to register and gain free access to the different areas of the high quays.”

Said Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet at a Tuesday news conference:

“When France organizes the Games — the last time was 100 years ago — it does so with ambition. It’s a challenge to organize a ceremony with these conditions but, again, it’s the biggest audience that France will ever have had, the most beautiful showcase. Our responsibility is to create dreams, to show how incredible this country is.”

Reuters reported that discussions were continuing about how to showcase the Olympic flame on the Eiffel Tower, but not at the top, already filled with various kinds of antennae.

The Opening Ceremony route will go from east to west in 91 boats, with another 25 in reserve for emergencies, with an additional 30 more craft for security. Police deployments are expected to reach 35,000 for the ceremony.

During the Games, there will be 30,000 police securing the Games, rising at a maximum of 45,000 on any single day. Darmanin noted that the security effort will be intense:

“We will be, in terms of security, extremely demanding towards those who will go to the low platforms, the high platforms or who will go to the stadiums, including with the private security management agents. We have increased the screening of the agents security, which sometimes explains the sector’s recruitment difficulties since we have required within the framework of the global security law levels of qualification, a clean criminal record and levels of moralization – let’s put it like that – much more higher than before.”

The threats are well known, from possible drone attacks to continuing protests of the changes in the French pension system. But the show is going on.

3.
World Athletics replaces indoors with “short track”

In a decision designed to significantly change track & field and essentially merge its traditional outdoor and indoor formats, the World Athletics Council gave approval – to be confirmed in August – of a plan to change “indoor” to “short course” track and re-set the possibilities for records in each. Tuesday’s announcement included:

“World Athletics intends to introduce the new term ‘short track’ to replace the current term ‘indoor’ to describe events and performances that are set on a 200m track, traditionally staged indoors.

“The World Athletics Council is supporting the concept of ‘short track’ competition to allow more flexibility in the setting of 200m tracks, which may, in the future, be constructed outdoors or in temporary city locations, rather than in a traditional indoor arena. Performances set on outdoor or temporary 200m tracks could therefore be recognised as official results for the purpose of records and rankings.”

So, it’s the track itself that will count, not whether events are held indoors or not. World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (GBR) explained:

“This change will allow and actively encourage the possibility for 200m tracks to move to an outdoor environment and will provide a more affordable option to cities, especially where space is in short supply, while stimulating the growth of the sport through investment in new infrastructure.”

The specific rules attached to this change were not released, but a new classification of records was listed, with some interesting changes:

● World records, in an absolute sense, will be available for some new distances, including 50 m and 60 m, and 50 m and 60 m hurdles, held anywhere, short track or long.

● Specific Short Track world records will be maintained for 200 m, 400 m, 800 m, 1,500 m, mile, 3,000 m, 5,000 m, 3,000 m walk, 5,000 m walk, 4×200 m, 4×400 m, 4×800 m, pentathlon and heptathlon.

● Field event world records can be set anywhere.

There are questions to be answered, of course, such as the definition of “short track” is: 200 m tracks only, or up to 300 m? Or less than 200 m, like the only 160-yard board tracks used in the heyday of American indoor track.

The World Athletics Council also made a critical change in advancement rules for major events in the 1,500 m, Steeple and 5,000 m, scraping the “next fastest times metric in favor of qualification by place only. So instead of the now-familiar “first two in each heat plus the next fastest three times,” qualifying will require a finish in a specified number of places.

This does not impact events below 1,500 m.

A new rule was approved to allow an empty lane to be filled at an event in case of injury or other difficulty that removes a competitor. Also, personal implements in field events will be allowed, as long as they are approved models.

4.
Seven arrested for abuse against Vinicius Junior

Police in Spain reported arrests of four men in Madrid and three in Valencia for hate crimes against Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior, who plays for Real Madrid:

● “A hate crime investigation was opened after an inflatable effigy dressed in the No. 20 jersey of winger Vinicius Jr was hung from a bridge in front of the club’s training grounds. Alongside it was a 16m (17.5-yard) red and white banner – the colours of rival team Atletico Madrid – that read ‘Madrid hates Real’.”

● “Three men were also arrested in Valencia for racist conduct aimed at Vinicius in a match between Valencia and Real Madrid, police said on Twitter.”

Police said that among the four arrested in Madrid were three were part of a “radical group of fans” in the city, who were already know to authorities.

For its part, the famed Spanish LaLiga asked for a change in Spanish law that would allow it to cancel matches and suspend or ban spectators who misbehave, saying in a statement:

“LaLiga is extremely frustrated by the lack of sanctions and convictions by sporting disciplinary bodies, public administrations and courts public administrations and the jurisdictional bodies to which complaints are made.”

There are rules in place for this, but only after an in-game waiting period, which have not been enforced.

Also on Tuesday in New Delhi, perhaps 1,000 people held a candlelight march “demanding the resignation and arrest of the president of the wrestling federation for allegedly sexually harassing young athletes, one of whom was a minor.”

The protests have been going on for about a month, asking for action against Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. He has denied the allegations and says they are politically motivated. Others have alleged that Singh has urged coaches to exploit female wrestlers being trained by them.

The matter is being investigated by Indian police, but with no results as yet. A report is due at the end of June.

5.
Russians refuse IWF’s anti-war declaration requirement

The International Weightlifting Federation announced Saturday that it had approved 13 Belarusian lifters and six officials to participate in the 2023 IWF Grand Prix in Havana, Cuba, all of whom signed a declaration of “non-support” of the Russian war against Ukraine.

However:

“No signed declarations were received from athletes or support personnel with a Russian passport by the end of the established deadline (May 15, 2023). Therefore, AIN lifters and related staff with Russian passports lost the opportunity to enter the upcoming IWF event in Cuba.

“The IWF gave an equal and fair opportunity to the athletes and support personnel from both concerned countries to participate at the IWF Grand Prix in La Havana (CUB). These recommendations follow the IOC guidelines.”

That’s not how Russian Weightlifting Federation President Maxim Agapitov saw it. He told the Russian news agency TASS:

“Almost two months after the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), on May 12, the IWF Executive Committee decided to allow Russians and Belarusians to the tournaments in a neutral status, but only established new, special, unfair eligibility criteria for us, calling them fair.

“For example, one of the many conditions for athletes’ admission to tournaments is a clause on political views.

“The eight hours provided to the athletes and the [federation] for familiarization and signing of the English-language legal document, which has been prepared for months for us, look like a planned action with a visual attempt to allow Russian athletes to international competitions, but in fact obviously impossible.

“The calculation, apparently, was to ensure that no one had the opportunity to delve into the essence of the document and thoughtlessly signed it for the sake of the long-awaited termination of illegal suspension. Moreover, admission to the IWF tournament, which is a qualification competition for the 2024 Olympics and which will be held in Havana from June 8 to 18, is at stake. What’s wrong with cheese in a mousetrap?”

He added:

“Russian weightlifters have fulfilled and are fulfilling all the conditions for participation in international competitions. [The federation] made all applications in a timely manner and fulfilled all the requirements for the participation of our athletes. If the legal participation of our athletes, prescribed in the IWF charter and the Olympic Charter, is still part of the IWF’s plans, then we urge you to stop trying to violate our rights.

“Having read the documents translated into Russian, not a single Russian weightlifter has yet signed a humiliating declaration with discriminatory criteria for admission to IWF competitions that do not comply with the constitution.”

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Football ● At the FIFA men’s U-20 Championships in Argentina, the U.S. men have won their first two games and will play Slovakia on Friday for the group title.

The Americans defeated Ecuador, 1-0, in the opener on a Jonathan Mendoza goal in stoppage time at 90+3, then had an easier time against Fiji with a 3-0 win on scores by Diego Luna (66th), Cade Cowell in the 88th and another ultra-late goal at 90+9 for Caleb Wiley.

The Round of 16 will begin on 30 May, with the quarters on 3-4 June, semis on 8 June and the championship final on the 11th.

● Ice Hockey ● Pool play has concluded at the IIHF men’s World Championship in Finland and Latvia, with the U.S. sporting the only unbeaten record at 7-0, including an overtime win. That’s good for 20 points atop Group A, ahead of Sweden (6-1, one OT win and one OT loss: 18) and defending champ Finland (5-2, one OT loss: 16).

Switzerland was the surprise Group B winner at 6-1 (one OT loss: 19 points), ahead of Canada, which was 5-2 with one OT win and one OT loss (15 points).

In the playoffs beginning on Thursday, the U.S. will face the Czech Republic (4-3), while the Swiss (6-1) will play Germany (4-3), Sweden (6-1) will take on Latvia (5-2) and Canada (5-2) will play Finland (5-2).

The U.S. is leading the tournament with a glossy 34-8 goals-against mark so far, with Cutter Gauthier (19) leading the team with six scores.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum ● Following a months-long search, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum announced that Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences President Marisa Wigglesworth as its new chief executive, to begin in July.

At the Buffalo Society, she is responsible for strategic and operational leadership of the Buffalo Museum of Science and the 264-acre Tifft Nature Preserve, with a budget of $5.4 million, a staff of 70 and more than 200,000 annual visitors.

Wigglesworth was previously the chief of philanthropy at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, head of external affairs at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and chief of philanthropy for Big Brothers Big Sisters International.

● Athletics ● A world record for the women’s 35 km race walk last Sunday for Spain’s Maria Perez at the European Race Walking Team Championships in Podebrady (CZE).

She crushed a good field and led a Spanish sweep, winning in 2:37:15 to shave 29 seconds off of the 2:37:44 by World Champion Kimberly Garcia of Peru in Dudince (SVK) in March. Raquel Gonzalez followed in 2:45:42 with Cristina Montesinos third in 2:45:58.

● Cycling ● Britain’s Geraint Thomas sailed back into the lead at the 106th Giro d’Italia on Tuesday, finishing just behind Portugal’s Joao Almeida, but 25 seconds ahead of Slovenian rival Primoz Roglic on a brutal uphill finish to Monte Bodone at the end of stage 16.

France’s Bruno Armirail started the day as the leader, but finished the 203 km, triple-climb stage in 19th, 4:24 back of the leaders and in seventh place. He dropped back on the final climb, with Almeida leading a group of six who took control of the race just 8 1/2 km from the end, and then he and Thomas accelerating away with 4 km to go, not to be headed.

Thomas’s lead is 18 seconds on Almeida and 29 seconds on Roglic, with Italian Damiano Caruso the next closest at 2:50 back. There’s plenty of climbing left this week on the road to Rome on Sunday, not to mention a third Individual Time Trial on Saturday

● Diving ● The USA Diving National Championships are roaring to a close in Morgantown, West Virginia, with impressive performances by Olympians Delaney Schnell and Andrew Capobianco.

Schnell, who won a Tokyo Olympic silver with Jessica Parratto in the women’s Synchronized 10 m event, teamed with Parratto to win that event, 575.16 to 528.00 for Nike Agunbiade and Katrina Young. Then Schnell won the women’s 10 m final at 689.05, way ahead of Agunbiade (613.95).

Capobianco, the Tokyo silver winner (with Michael Hixon) in the men’s Syncho 3 m, won the men’s 3 m Springboard final by more than 50 points over Tyler Downs, 887.20 to 835.30.

Downs added to his medal count with a win with Gregory Duncan in the men’s Synchro 3 m final, winning by 116.43 points, and Downs took a silver – with Kassidy Cook – in the Mixed Synchro 3 m final. Nineteen-year-old Jack Ryan and 30-year-old Krysta Palmer (the Tokyo 3 m bronze winner) teamed up for the win, 282.27 to 278.04.

Ryan added a win in the men’s 1 m Springboard, scoring 776.90 to 746.25 for Lyle Yost.

Cook got a win with Sarah Bacon in the women’s Synchro 3 m final at 568.08 to 531.30 for Kyndal Knight and Samantha Pickens. Cook and Bacon had previously won the U.S. title in this event in 2020.

In the Mixed Synchro 10 m, Maxwell Weinrich and Kaylee Bishop won with 247.62 points, over Bayleigh Cranford and Aiden Wang (241.86). Jordan Rzepka and Brandon Loschiavo took the men’s Synchro 10 m (763.35) over Maxwell Flory and Zach Cooper (713.52)

Tokyo Olympian Hailey Hernandez won the women’s 1 m Springboard, 530.10 to 501.60 over Joslyn Oakley.

The meet wraps up on Wednesday with the men’s 10 m Platform and women’s 3 m Springboard finals.

● Judo ● The USA Judo National Championships were on in Spokane, Washington, with a lot of familiar faces on the podium and six wins by defending champions.

Among the men’s highlights were repeat national titles from Ari Berliner at 66 kg, defeating Lenny Sheynfeld in the final; Alex Knauf at 90 kg (for his third career U.S. title) and Avtandili Bogveraze at +100 kg, who is listed this year as competing for Georgia, after being affiliated with the U.S. in 2022.

At 73 kg the 2022 runner-up, Dominic Rodriguez won gold this time, over Isaac Charmichael in the final, and defending 81 kg champ Kell Berliner was defeated in the gold-medal match by Johan Silot Suse.

There were three women defenders: Maria Laborde at 48 kg, beating Giovanna Prado in the final; Nicole Stout at 78 kg (her third national title), over Alyssa Zawack, and at +78 kg for Mackenzie Williams, also her third American national championship.

Jenna Schurr went from bronze last year to gold at 52 kg (over Katherine Wu), and Karlee Carrouth moved from silver to gold at 63 kg, beating Regina Arias. Last year’s winner at 70 kg, Yasmin Alamin, reached the final again, but lose to Melissa Myers.

● Sport Climbing ● The fourth stage of the 2023 IFSC World Cup was in Salt Lake City and included a home win for women’s Bouldering leader Natalia Grossman.

She dazzled in the final, clearing four tops and four zones (4T 4Z 5/5), impressively ahead of France’s Oriane Bertone (2T 2Z 3/6) and fellow Americans Brooke Raboutou (2T 3Z 4/10) and Anastasia Sanders (1T 4Z 6/16). For Grossman, it was her eighth career World Cup win, five of which have been at Salt Lake City.

In the men’s Bouldering event, it was Japan claiming gold and silver with two-time World Champion Tomoa Narasaki and Sorato Anraku quite close: 4T4Z 6/5 for the winner and 4T4Z 12/6 for Anraku. American Sean Bailey was fourth (3T3Z 8/7).

The women’s Speed final saw world-record holder Aleksandra Miroslaw claim another victory, ahead of Desak Made (INA) in the final, 6.43 to 6.82.

Indonesian stars Veddriq Leonardo – the world-record holder – and Kiromal Katibin went 1-3 in the men’s Speed, with China’s Peng Wu taking the silver. Leonardo was sensational in the final at 4.95 to 6.99 for Wu, while Katibin – a former world-record holder himself – clocked 4.98 in the bronze final to defeat Sam Watson of the U.S. (5.98).

● Swimming ● The Tyr Pro Swim Series meet in Mission Viejo, California saw triple wins for Bella Sims, Claire Curzan, Lilly King and Egyptian Olympian Marwan el Kamash, and a busy schedule for Torri Huske.

Sims, 17, scored a lifetime best in the 400 m Free to win in 4:06.41, then won the 200 m Free in 1:58.44 and the 800 m Free in 8:29.25, with 14-year-old Kayla Han second in 8:32.88.

Curzan, 18, won the 100 and 200 m Backstroke events in 59.00 and 2:07.78, then claimed the 50 m Fly title in 25.88, ahead of Huske, and finished in tie for third in the 100 m Free – with Rio Olympic co-champ Simone Manuel – in 54.50.

King was dominant in all three Breaststroke events, winning the 50 in 30.09, the 100 in 1:06.67, and the 200 m in 2:25.34.

Huske was everywhere, winning the 100 m Fly in 56.84, the 200 m Medley in 2:11.88, second in the 100 m Free to Abbey Weitzeil, 53.26 to 54.27 and second to Curzan in the 50 m Fly.

Teen star Han opened the meet with a runner-up finish in the women’s 1,500 m Free to Jillian Cox, was second in the 800 m Free and then got a win in the 400 m Medley in 4:42.96.

El Kamash took the 400-800-1,500 m Free races, the only man to win three events. Breaststroke star Nic Fink won the 50 m (27.50) and 100 m (59.77) races, but fell short at 200 m, losing to Jake Foster, 2:11.58 to 2:11.72.

The Backstroke races were closely fought, with Justin Ress, the 2022 World 50 m Champion, winning in 24.79 ahead of world-record holder Hunter Armstrong (24.91). But Armstrong grabbed the 100 m Back in 52.82, ahead of former Olympic champ Ryan Murphy (53.36), and then Keaton Jones won the 200 m Back, ahead of Murphy by 1:57.04 to 1:57.50.

Ryan Held grabbed sprint title in the 100 m Free (48.74) and 50 m Fly (23.76), tied with Youssef Ramadan (EGY).

Some more hot swimming at the third and final leg of the Mare Nostrum series in Monaco over the weekend, with Swedish star Sarah Sjostrom, now 29, claiming a world-leading time in the fourth round of the women’s 50 m Free in 23.82 (11th-fastest performance ever), just ahead of Australian star Cate Campbell (24.34), now fourth on the year list.

Sjostrom also won the women’s 50 m Fly final in 24.89, another world leader; she owns the top four performances of the year.

Lara van Niekerk (RSA) clocked 29.75 in the fifth round of the women’s 50 m Breast, fastest in 2023. Canada’s Ingrid Wilm moved to no. 2 in the women’s 50 m Back at 27.37.

In the men’s 50 m Free, Hungary’s Szebasztian Szabo out-touched American Michael Andrew, 21.72 to 21.74, to move to nos. 2-3 on the 2023 world list. Andrew, however, won the men’s 50 m Fly final in 22.85 to move to no. 2 in the world for 2023, just ahead of Italian star Thomas Ceccon (22.87), now no. 3.

At the World Aquatics Open Water 10 km World Cup races in Golfo Aranci, Italy (Sardinia), Hungary’s Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Kristof Rassovszky surged on the final lap to win in 1:47:17.6, just ahead of Italy’s Domenico Acerenza (1:47:20.1) and German Oliver Klemet (1:47:20.5). Joey Tepper was the top American in 10th (1:49:00.4).

Germany’s Leonie Beck, the 2022 Worlds runner-up, won her second straight World Cup in 1:56:17.4, ahead of Italians Ginevra Taddeucci (1:56:18.6) and Giulia Gabbrielleschi (1:56:20.5). Beck worked her way up from 56th after the first lap to the lead on the final lap and won by daylight. Mariah Denigan of the U.S. was sixth in 1:56:31.2.

The weather was rainy and the water itself was a challenge with the temperature at just 62 degrees F (17 C) and everyone was wearing wet suits. Germany, with Beck and Klemet, plus Rob Muffels and and Lea Boy, won the 4×1500 m relay in 1:04.57.7 over Italy (1:04:58.6).

The U.S. squad of Denigan, Tepper, Dylan Gravely and Kensey McMahon finished fourth in 1:06:17.1.

● Taekwondo ● The 2023 World Championships will begin in Azerbaijan on 29 May, with World Taekwondo declaring:

“23 athletes have been provisionally approved to participate as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) following the completion of the three-step verification process established by the World Taekwondo Council on April 3. On arrival in Baku they will have to sign a declaration committing to fully respecting the conditions of participation. Two athletes’ registrations were rejected after the Review Committee determined that they did not meet the eligibility criteria.”

The approved athletes apparently include 14 Russians and nine from Belarus, but the two were not allowed were Tokyo Olympic gold medalists Maksim Khramtsov (80 kg) and Vladislav Larin (+80 kg).

Gennady Zhigulsky, the Executive Director of the Taekwondo Union of Russia told TASS on Tuesday:

“We have just received information that both of these athletes have been suspended from the World Championships. What can I say? Apparently, it is beneficial for someone to eliminate competitors without waiting for the start of the competition.”

A undisclosed source told TASS:

“Larin and Khramtsov were not allowed the first time, there was an additional commission … They asked questions about social networks, why they liked something somewhere, there were some comments or photos somewhere.”

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TSX REPORT: IOC says G7 statement validates its Russia stance; French gov’t to distribute 401,220 tickets in 2024; IBA suspends five feds!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. IOC grabs hold of G7 mention of sport as validation
2. France unveils “Tous les Jeux” program with 401,220 tickets
3. Racism vs. Vinicius Junior in Spain, anti-Semitism from Iraq
4. IBA suspends five likely breakaway federations
5. WADA says more than 200 Russia doping sanctions so far

A small mention on neutralizing any identification of Russians or Belarusians in international sport was included in the G7 Summit statement on Ukraine and was seized upon by the International Olympic Committee as validation for its policies. Well, not quite. The French Ministry for sports and the Olympic Games announced the distribution plan for 401,220 tickets it is buying for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. More ugly racist incidents are plaguing Spanish football, notably against Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid. At the FIE men’s Epee Grand Prix in Istanbul, the Iraqi men’s team withdrew rather than fight against Israel. The International Boxing Association suspended five possibly breakaway national federations for refusing to say they would never join the new World Boxing group, or have U.S. boxers as part of a future tournament. The IBA is also trying to placate the IOC by “allowing” its technical officials to work at the IOC’s Olympic qualifying competition at the upcoming European Games in Poland. The World Anti-Doping Agency said that more than 200 sanctions have been imposed on Russian athletes as a result of WADA’s investigations and receipt of the LIMS database from the infamous Moscow Laboratory, center of the Russian state-sponsored doping program from 2011-15.

● Panorama: Archery (D’Ameida and Kim win Shanghai World Cup) = Athletics (five new world leads, Coleman 9.78w in Bermuda) = Badminton (China wins Sudirman Cup again) = Cycling (3: France’s Armirail surprise Giro leaders; Vollering takes Vuelta a Burgos Femininas; Australia’s Martin wins UCI BMX Freestyle) = Fencing (2: Massialas and Sauer win FIE Grand Prix; FIE approves 17 Russian fencers for competition) = Rugby (New Zealand wraps up men’s Seven Series title) ●

1.
IOC grabs hold of G7 mention of sport as validation

In the G7 Leaders’ Statement on Ukraine, released last Friday (19th), there was a two-sentence mention of sport in the ninth item in the 11-point declaration:

“We are also paying attention to the impact of Russia’s aggression on international sport. While fully respecting the autonomy of sporting organizations, we are focused on fair sporting competition as well as on ensuring that Russian and Belarusian athletes are in no way appearing as representatives of their states.”

On Monday, the International Olympic Committee wasted no time in citing this language as validation of its position:

“The International Olympic Committee (IOC) welcomes the reference to sport in the Group of Seven (G7) Leaders’ Statement on Ukraine, which they issued during their summit in Hiroshima, Japan. The statement says that the G7 are “fully respecting the autonomy of sporting organizations” and want to ensure that “Russian and Belarusian athletes are in no way appearing as representatives of their states”. This is fully aligned with the position of the IOC in this respect. …

“Unfortunately, a few countries, in particular European ones, are going beyond these very strict IOC recommendations. They are putting in place obstacles to prevent athletes from their own countries from participating in international competitions, and against organisers of international competitions on their territory.”

Said IOC chief Thomas Bach (GER);

“The IOC warmly welcomes the G7 support for the autonomy of sport and for the IOC’s recommendations on the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport, only as individual, neutral athletes. This commitment to the autonomy of sports organisations comes at a crucial time, when it is threatened by a few governments. Therefore, we are very grateful to the G7 Leaders for their unequivocal statement.”

In fact, the G7 did not confirm the IOC’s position in detail, since multiple sports ministers from the G7 countries have publicly questioned the IOC’s so-far-incomplete definition of what constitutes a “neutral” athlete.

Different international federations are already coming to different conclusions, for example fencing (FIE), which has rejected multiple Russian and Belarusian athletes attempting to return to international competitions, where the International Judo Federation waived in all but two proposed athletes for Russia and Belarus for its recent World Championships.

One of the key questions not answered – yet – by the IOC is whether state funding of an athlete disqualifies an athlete from “neutral” status. Lucy Frazer, the British Secretary of State of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, has explicitly insisted on this point, but no reply has come either from the IOC or the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), which has said it could/might/should/will play a coordinating role in this, but has not done so so far. Its Council will meet at the end of the month.

This is only getting more complex, not less. The only true statement seems to be that each federation has, in fact, complete leeway to do as it pleases.

2.
France unveils “Tous aux Jeux” program with 401,220 tickets

The French government announced details of its “Tous aux Jeux” program for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with 401,220 tickets to be distributed mostly to youth and to volunteers in the sports movement. The recipient groups:

● Most of the tickets are for the Paralympic Games, with 298,600 tickets to be distributed (74.4%), 1,920 tickets for the opening and 100,700 for the Olympic Games (25.1%).

● 258,800 tickets will go to youth through schools across mainland France.

● 100,100 tickets for volunteers in French sport, “including approximately 70,000 tickets distributed directly via sports federations approved by the ministry or affiliated to the committee. French National Sports Olympics (CNOSF).”

● 17,400 tickets to individual with disabilities and their caregivers.

● 24,920 for public officials, for “the State agents of categories B and C directly involved in the preparation or the delivery of the Games.”

As noted by the split of tickets in favor of the Paralympic Games, the program is specifically aimed at using the event as an educational program:

“By massively opening access to the Paralympic Games, organized from August 28 to September 8, 2024, the State is therefore choosing to allow more than 200,000 young people to discover this spectacular sporting event during their school time, which promotes the values of diversity and inclusion, and necessary to accompany the change in society’s view of disability.”

No further update from Paris 2024 after the roaring start of the second phase of ticket sales, with 1.5 million tickets on offer – for all sessions now – and two-thirds sold in the first two days on 11-12 May.

Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet said after the sales storm:

“We expected the criticism, we were warned that the sales periods were a difficult time. But we underestimated the scale.

“With four million registered in the draw for 1.5 million tickets on sale, we knew that some people would be disappointed.”

The FrancsJeux.com site reported Friday that the ongoing sales program, the sessions of track & field are not offered correctly, based on an old schedule. This concerns eight sessions of the sport, with more events in three, and less in five of the sessions. The listings are being corrected.

3.
Racism vs. Vinicius Junior in Spain, anti-Semitism from Iraq

Racism in sports continues to dog athletes and events, in this case in Spain in football and by Iraq in fencing.

“We have a problem of behavior, of education, of racism. And as long as there is one fan or one group of fans making insults based on someone’s sexual orientation or skin color or belief, then we have a serious problem. A serious problem that stains an entire team, an entire fan base and an entire country.”

That’s Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales on Monday, commenting on continued abuse hurled at Real Madrid’s speedy Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior. The latest incidents came during a Sunday match at Valencia, which defeated Madrid, 1-0, with Vinicius Junior compiling a video of offensive actions, such as chants, gestures from “fans”; he was even hung in effigy off a bridge in Madrid.

The video asked, “When will it be enough? Racism is a crime. Not to punish is to be an accomplice.”

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti (ITA) said, “Nothing will happen, because this has already taken place several times in other stadiums and nothing has been done. Nothing. We have to evaluate this situation, because it is very serious.”

F.C. Barcelona coach Xavi (ESP) told The Associated Press, “If there’s an insult, out, we stop playing, it’s over. I think it’s the message to the president of the league and the federation. We have to put an end to this. It’s the right time.”

Vinicius Junior is hardly alone as a target of abuse, but his high profile has elevated the issue. Prosecution of such crimes is a governmental exercise, of course, and moves slowly.

At the FIE men’s Foil World Cup in Istanbul (TUR), the Iraq team withdrew after being drawn to face Israel in their opening-round match on Sunday. The Jerusalem Post cited a statement from the Iraqi Fencing Federation:

“The Iraqi national team withdrew from the individual races in the World Cup fencing championship, which is taking place in Istanbul and qualifies for the Paris Olympics after the lottery pitted it against the team of the ‘occupying Israeli entity.”

“The decision to withdraw came in compliance with the law criminalizing normalization approved by the Iraqi parliament, in rejection of the occupying Israeli entity, and in solidarity with the Palestinian cause.”

The Post noted:

“Last year, the Iraqi parliament passed legislation criminalizing any form of ‘normalization’ with Israel, banning all Iraqi citizens from having any political, economic, cultural, or any other form of communication with Israeli citizens, even through social media. The punishment set for such interactions with Israelis is the death sentence or imprisonment.”

No response from the International Fencing Federation on Monday.

4.
IBA suspends five likely breakaway federations

In its continuing war with national federations who oppose its leadership, the International Boxing Association announced Monday:

“Four National Federations were suspended following violations and charges based on the IBA Constitution and Membership Policy due to their participation in a rogue boxing organization as decided by the IBA Board of Directors.

“The four consisting of the New Zealand Boxing Association, German Boxing Association, Swedish Boxing Federation, and the Dutch Boxing Federation were guilty in breaching the rules and regulations and were suspended as IBA members. All of them were given the right to be heard but none refused categorically their participation in the rogue governing body nor distancing themselves from the organization.”

A set of three conditions were offered for re-admission, including a commitment not to participate in any other boxing federation and condemning “any attempts to establish an alternative international boxing federation.”

The Czech Boxing Federation was also suspended for holding its annual Grand Prix tournament, in which U.S. boxers – now not members of the IBA – competed. Its re-admission requirements also include a guarantee “that only eligible boxers from member National Federations will participate in its events going forward.”

The IBA also suspended the Liberia Boxing Federation and Federation of Boxing of Equatorial Guinea for not providing annual reports under the IBA rules.

Further, the IBA passed new regulations to try and recruit its boxers away from suspended national federations:

“In addition, the IBA established Rules of participation in the Competitions of the Boxers and Officials affiliated to the suspended National Federations. It was decided that the athletes of the suspended NFs will still take part in IBA owned and sanctioned competitions, however, must be registered through the IBA Sport Department directly.”

The new World Boxing federation is still in formation, but USA Boxing and the five now-suspended national federations are obvious early choices to join.

The IBA, still on suspension by the IOC, agreed Saturday:

“to allow all its Boxers, Technical Officials, and Coaches of the European Boxing Confederation (EUBC) to freely participate in the upcoming European Games 2023 which constitutes part of the IOC Olympic Qualification System (OQS) as they pursue their Olympic aspirations.”

This is an about-face for the IBA, which had threatened any officials who had indicated a desire to work on these Olympic qualifying matches. But it is now trying to placate the IOC, knowing that the future of boxing in the 2028 Olympic Games is in serious jeopardy – not currently on the program – and the future of the IBA as a recognized governing body is in even worse shape:

“The IBA will continue to put its athletes and stakeholders first and this goodwill gesture towards the IOC is the first step and the IBA will continue to strive for open and free dialogue with the IOC for the benefit of boxing, its athletes, and the stability and quality of the Olympic Games.

“The IBA reiterates its desire for cooperation as we work to regain our Olympic recognition.”

A decision on boxing and the 2028 Los Angeles Games is expected later this year.

5.
WADA says more than 200 Russia doping sanctions so far

Russia’s state-sponsored doping program from 2011-15 was centered at the now-infamous Moscow Laboratory of the “Russian Anti-Doping Agency,” and the leak of lab data and the later retrieval of the lab records in 2019 have kept anti-doping authorities busy for years in pursuing sanctions.

The work has not stopped, but the World Anti-Doping Agency declared last week that the lab data has now resulted in more than 200 sanctions being levels against Russian athletes involved in doping during that time:

“As of today, a total of 203 Russian athletes have been sanctioned by 17 Anti-Doping Organizations (ADOs) with an additional 73 charged, as well as another 182 cases that remain under investigation.”

That’s a total of 458 cases in all, with 60.3% either already sanctioned or charged. It’s worthwhile to note that despite delaying and obfuscation efforts by the Russian “anti-doping “ authorities, WADA noted that its effort in “‘Operation LIMS’ was able to forensically recover much of the data that had been manipulated and/or deleted, which led to hundreds of strong cases being built against athletes who had been part of Russia’s doping program.”

It’s also important to note that WADA distributed much of this data to others for action and did not take the lead in most cases. In athletics, the Athletics Integrity Unit continues to hand out suspensions due to abuses during the 2011-15 period, as is the International Testing Agency, which is now responsible for anti-doping programs for multiple international federations.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Archery ● At the World Archery World Cup II in Shanghai (CHN), Brazil’s Marcus D’Almeida, the 2021 Worlds silver winner, won the men’s Recurve final against 41-year-old Korean star Jin-Hyek Oh, the London 2012 winner, by 6-4 in the final.

Korea scored a 1-2-3-4 finish in the women’s Recurve, with 19-year-old Si-hyeon Kim defeating Tokyo Team gold medalist Chae-young Kang, 6-0, in the final, and Olympic gold medalist San An winning the bronze by 6-2 against teammate (and five-time Worlds medal winner) Mi-sun Choi.

The Korean men won the team title, 6-2, over China; the Korean women shut out Chinese Taipei, 6-0, in the women’s team final, and Kang and Woo-seok Lee won the Mixed Team title over China, 6-2.

● Athletics ● A very busy weekend in the U.S. and elsewhere, with world-leading performances in five events:

● Men/Hammer: 80.88 m (265-4), Rudy Winkler (USA)

● Women/10,000 m: 29:59.03, Mizan Alem (ETH)
● Women/Shot Put: 20.06 m (65-9 3/4), Chase Ealey (USA)
● Women/Hammer: 80.17 m (263-0), Brooke Andersen (USA)
● Women/Javelin: 66.50 m (218-2), Sigrid Borge (NOR)

The wins for Ealey and Norge came at the “Halle Thrower Day” in Germany, while Andersen and Winkler won at the USATF Throws Festival in Tucson, Arizona. For World Champion Andersen, her 263-0 is a lifetime best and the third women to ever reach 80 m, behind only world-record holder Anna Wlodarczyk (POL) and former World Champion DeAnna Price of the U.S.

Ethiopia’s Alem, the 2021 World Junior Champion at 5,000 m, not only won at the Night of 10,000s in London (GBR), but became the 12th women to break through the 30-minute mark, and is now no. 11 all-time. American Weini Kelati was second with a lifetime best of 31:04.16.

U.S. star Paul Chelimo – Rio silver winner and Tokyo bronze medalist at 5,000 m – won the men’s featured 10,000 m in 27:12.73, a lifetime best, moving to no. 8 all-time U.S. in what was apparently his third career race at the distance, and first since 2019!

There was lots of other action overseas, with Fred Kerley continuing his Asian tour with a 9.91 win at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix meet in Yokohama; his 9.88 in the heats moved him to no. 2 in the world for 2023.

At the USATF Grand Prix in Bermuda, a Puma American Track League meet, all the notable marks were wind-aided, but still great. Christian Coleman ran his fastest all-conditions time since 2019 with a 9.78 win in the 100 m over Noah Lyles (9.80), aided by a stiff 4.4 m/s aiding wind. American Jamal Britt won the 110 m hurdles in 12.99w (+4.0) and Will Claye, the 2012 and 2016 Olympic triple jump silver winner, took that event at 17.45 mw (57-3w, his longest all-conditions jump since 2019.

Tamari Davis of the U.S. won the women’ 100 m in a legal (+2.0) 10.91, and Abby Steiner rolled to a windy 200 m win (+3.1) in 22.06. Olympic champ Jasmine Camacho-Quinn stormed to a 12.17w (+3.5) victory in the women’s 100 m hurdles, the third-fastest time ever run under all conditions. Americans Tara Davis-Woodhall and Quanesha Burks were 1-2 in the long jump with wind-aided bests of 7.11 m (23-4) and 7.04 m (23-1 1/4).

● Badminton ● China repeated as the winner – for the 13th time – of the Sudirman Cup team event, held in Suzhou (CHN).

The heavily-favored Chinese won their three group matches by 5-0, 5-0 and 5-0, the moved into the quarterfinals against Indonesia (3-0) before a tough 3-2 win over Japan in the semis. In the final, it was another shutout, this time over South Korea by 3-0.

● Cycling ● The 106th Giro d’Italia is entering its final week, with a surprise leader in France’s Bruno Armirail on top by 1:08 over 2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas (GBR) and Velua a Espana winner Primoz Roglic (SLO).

Thomas was the leader by two seconds over co-favorite Roglic going into the weekend, after Friday’s brutal 207 km stage ending at the Crans-Montana ski resort in Switzerland was shorted to just 76.4 km due to bad weather and safety concerns. Einer Rubio of Colombia attacked in the final 200 m to win in 2:16:21, ahead of France’s Thibault Pinot (+0:06), while Thomas and Roglic finished 9-10.

Saturday’s stage shook up everything, with a 194 km ride to Cassano Magnago that was made for the sprinters with a long, flat finish. A massive attack at 15 km separated the peloton and Thomas, Roglic and others are way behind the front group that finishes with a sprint by German Nico Denz for his second win of the race in 4:37:30, just ahead of Derek Gee (CAN) and Alberto Bettiol (ITA). The main group finished 21:11 behind and France’s Bruno Armirail held a 1:41 lead on Thomas and 1:43 on Roglic!

On Sunday, a triple-climb route of 195 km that ended in Bergamo was a special day for American Brandon McNulty, who won a final sprint from Ireland’s Ben Healy and Marco Frigo (ITA) in 5:13:39 for his biggest win ever!

Thomas and Roglic picked up a half-minute on Armirail in 32nd and trail by 1:08 and 1:10 entering the final six stages. The stages on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday are all for climbers and will test Armirail, 29, to the max. His biggest win to date was the French nationals in the Individual Time Trial in 2022.

Dutch stars dominated the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas in Spain, with Lorena Wiebes winning stages one and three and Demi Vollering, already a four-time winner on the UCI Women’s World Tour this season, taking the second and final stages. Vollering finished with a breakaway win on Sunday on the uphill finish to Lagunas de Neila, 1:35 ahead of Erica Magnaldi (ITA) and taking the overall title by 2:07 over countrywoman Shirin van Androoij, in 11:46:12. American Chloe Dygert was fourth, 2:43 behind the leader.

At the UCI BMX Freestyle extravaganza in Montpelier (FRA), Australia’s Tokyo Olympic champ Logan Martin won the men’s Park final, over France’s 2022 Worlds bronze winner Anthony Jeanjean and American Marcus Christopher.

China’s Huimin Zhou took the women’s final ahead of American star (and 2022 World Champion) Hannah Roberts (USA), Laury Perez of France and 2018 World Champion Perris Benegas (USA) in fourth.

● Fencing ● Rio Olympic silver winner Alexander Massialas of the U.S. scored a major win at the men’s Foil Grand Prix in Shanghai (CHN), winning over Francesco Ingargiola, 15-6, for his third career Grand Prix gold and ninth career medal. It was Massialas’ first Grand Prix win since 2017!

German Anne Sauer won the women’s final, 15-14, over Martina Batini (ITA), Sauer’s first career Grand Prix gold. Tokyo Olympic champ Lee Kiefer of the U.S. lost to 2014 Worlds silver winner Batini in her semi, 15-9, and took a bronze.

In the men’s Epee World Cup in Istanbul, where the Iraqis withdrew instead of facing Israel, it was France’s Alexandre Bardenet who won the individual title, 15-12, over Mate Koch of Hungary. It was Bardenet’s second win of the year and third career World Cup gold.

South Korea’s Sera Song won the women’s Epee World Cup in Fujairah (UAE) with a tough, 14-13 decision over Man Wai Vivan Kong of Hong Kong. Song, the 2022 World Champion, won her second career World Cup, while the no. 1-ranked Kong won her ninth career World Cup medal.

The Russian Fencing Federation said that the International Fencing Federation (FIE) approved 17 of its fencers and 12 support staff, but none of the eight medal winners (3-4-1) from the Tokyo 2020 Games.

The approved fencers will be able to compete in FIE events as neutrals.

● Rugby Sevens ● The 11th and final leg of the HSBC men’s Sevens Series was in London, with New Zealand already assured of its 14th overall title (no one else has more than four).

The All Blacks and Samoa ran through their pool matches with 3-0 records, while Argentina and Canada won their pools with 2-1 marks. Argentina won a defense battle, 10-7, against Samoa in its semi while Fiji knocked out New Zealand, 19-17. In the final, Argentina had little trouble and won by 35-14, with Samoa beating New Zealand, 24-19, for third.

It was Argentina’s third win of the season and they finished second to New Zealand in the final standings, 200-179. Fiji claimed third with 156, over France (151). The U.S. men finished 10th with 98 points.

More weekend summaries coming tomorrow.

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For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: IJF says Russian Tasoev should have beaten Riner; British Gym chief asks for safeguarding agency; millions to LA28 to add cricket?

By
Rich Perelman
-
Riner vs. Tasoev in the men's +100 kg final of the 2023 World Judo Championships (Photo: IJF)

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. IJF apologizes for judging error that allowed Riner’s Worlds win!
2. Russian bill would integrate sport in conquered territories
3. Ukraine skaters say no Russian re-entry until invasion ends
4. British Gymnastics head says his fed cannot do safeguarding
5. Cricket says 2028 inclusion could pay off for LA28

The amazing 11th Worlds gold for French judo superstar Teddy Riner last week in Qatar was an error, according to a statement from the International Judo Federation. Its Refereeing Commission stated that a move by Russian “neutral” Inal Tasoev in overtime should have counted as a score and won the match. Wow. A bill moving through the Russian State Duma would incorporate the conquered areas of Ukraine into the sports system of the Russian government, while a letter from the Ukraine Figure Skating Federation Athletes Commission asks the International Skating Union’s Athletes Commission not to allow Russian skaters to return to competition “until after the end of the Russian invasion.” The head of the British gymnastics federation says his body cannot handle the complaints concerning abuse and safeguarding issues and is asking for the government to take over. The International Cricket Council, making a final push to have the sport added to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, reportedly told the LA28 organizers that if included, media rights in India would go from $12 million to perhaps $268 million and LA28 could share in that rise, with the IOC’s agreement.

● World Championship: Ice Hockey (U.S. and Canada still undefeated) ●

● Panorama: Russia (2: Russian view of participation coming 25 May; no fencing re-entry so far) = Athletics (World Athletics’ content creator team announced) = Cycling (Denz wins Stage 12 sprint at Giro d’Italia) = Swimming (Haughey gets world leader at Barcelona Mare Nostrum) ●

● Schedule: No TSX post on Monday (22nd), but back at it for Tuesday. ●

1.
IJF apologizes for judging error that allowed Riner’s Worlds win!

The highlight of the 2023 IJF World Championships in Qatar, the 11th Worlds gold for France’s iconic open-weight star Teddy Riner, was wrongly decided.

Russian Inal Tasoev, the 2021 European Champion, competing as “Individual Neutral Athlete,” fought Riner to a standstill in the final of the men’s +100 kg class, and as described in the IJF report:

“Both players tired quickly as the fight entered golden score and in the 4th extra minute, Riner again attacked with harai-goshi [a hip throw], and Tasoev appeared to counter, rolling Riner across his back but replays showed there was no nameable judo technique used or proper landing and so no score was given.

“Riner decided enough was enough and he grabbed Tasoev, circled around him and threw him with what he refers to as his ‘pourri-waza,’ meaning rotten technique, which we know as uki-waza [floating flip-over], a technique that has saved him countless times over the years. A waza-ari was scored for Riner and an unbelievable 11th world title was his.”

A 1-0 win for Riner, adding to his legend. But there was considerable controversy about whether Tasoev’s move against Riner should have been scored, and the IJF posted this statement on Wednesday (17th):

“In the final contest of the +100kg category of the 2023 World Judo Championships, between the athletes Teddy Riner (FRA) and Inal Tasoev (AIN), there was one situation where neither the referee on the mat nor the IJF Refereeing Commission gave any score.

“The attack of Teddy Riner in white judogi was blocked and countered by Inal Tasoev in blue judogi. The decision was to continue the contest, without awarding a score for the counterattack.

“After the competition, taking into consideration the current refereeing rules and the opinion of judo experts, we find that a score for Tasoev’s counterattack could be awarded.

“Herewith the IJF Refereeing Commission apologises deeply for its decision and informs that this kind of action shall be scored in the future, following the current judo rules.

“Also, the IJF Refereeing Commission analyses the shido [rule violation] and golden score situations, which we consider to be the result of an over tactical combat between judoka. In preparation for the IJF Congress in Doha, at the beginning of the year the national federations were asked to submit technical proposals but none were received.

“We are constantly working for the improvement of the refereeing system in order to achieve maximum transparency and fair play and after each edition of the Olympic Games, we analyse and we reform all those refereeing aspects which need to adapt to the evolution of sport, those which maximise transparency and fair play.”

The statement was signed by Florin Daniel Lascau (GER), Armen Bagdasarov (UZB) and Ki-Young Jeon (KOR).

Good for the IJF to issue the statement on the match, but the result remains and Riner, 34, who lost to Russian Tamerlan Bashaev in the Tokyo Olympic quarterfinals, but came back to win a bronze medal (as did Bashaev after losing in his semifinal), has had his amazing 11th world title cheapened in advance of his try for a third Olympic gold in 2024.

In view of the IJF’s very liberal application of the International Olympic Committee’s 28 March recommendations on Russian and Belarusian re-entry, there have been no reported reactions from Tasoev.

2.
Russian bill would integrate sport in conquered territories

As a continuing demonstration of the Russian view of its continuing war of aggression against Ukraine, a bill was adopted on its first reading on Wednesday in the State Duma that

“is aimed at the comprehensive integration of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions into the existing system of physical culture and sports in Russia.”

These are all area overrun by the Russians in their war against Ukraine begun in February 2022. The Russian news agency TASS reported:

“According to the document, representatives of the four new regions will be able to join the all-Russian sports federations, as well as create their own regional ones. …

“The new norms also extend social support measures for champions and prize-winners of the Olympic, Paralympic and Deaflympics, World and European Championships, and other international sports competitions to athletes who were members of the national teams of the DPR, LPR and Ukraine. According to the bill, they will receive scholarships, benefits, incentive payments and other social support measures established by the regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation.”

3.
Ukraine skaters say no Russian re-entry until invasion ends

“Allowing officials and athletes from Russia in any status or form participate in the ISU sanctioned events should be unacceptable until after the end of the Russian invasion. I would like to point out the fact that not a single representative or official has condemned the actions of the Russian military on the Ukrainian territory.

“Russian athletes continue to participate in the events in support of the Russian military. These events are sponsored by the Russian governmental regime. There are records of Russian figure skating coaches publicly stating their desire for Ukraine to cease to exist as an independent and sovereign nation.”

That’s from a 15 May 2023 letter to the International Skating Union’s Athletes Commission from Anna Khnychenkova, head of the Ukraine Figure Skating Federation Athletes Commission.

She adds:

“We are thankful to ISU and everyone involved for continuing support of Ukraine and its athletes in this difficult situation. We are hopeful that the athlete committee will support our initiative of full and entire ban of Russian athletes and officials at all ISU international sanctioned events until the end of the Russian unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.”

The International Skating Union banned Russian and Belarusian skaters on 24 April 2022, declaring:

“Until further notice no Skaters belonging to the ISU Members in Russia (Russian Skating Union and the Figure Skating Federation of Russia) and Belarus (Skating Union of Belarus) shall be invited or allowed to participate in International Competitions, including ISU Championships and other ISU Events.”

No change has been made in this stance as yet, but the ISU has not commented on the IOC’s 28 March recommendations to allow Russian and Belarusian re-entry as neutrals, a move primarily made to potentially allow athletes to compete in qualifying events for Paris 2024.

The next meeting of the ISU Council, which would be the first body to consider a change in the federation’s position, will be in June.

4.
British Gymnastics head says his fed cannot do safeguarding

“Even if we had far more resources, I’m not sure we could ever escape from the fact that as a national governing body we sit in the middle, make the rules, and we’re investigator, judge and jury.

“I think that’s a pretty invidious place for any NGB to find themselves.”

That’s British Gymnastics Chair Mike Darcey in an interview with The Guardian, making the case for a government takeover of athlete safeguarding in sports, parallel to the way that UK Anti-Doping administers the country’s anti-doping programs.

“It’s time we bit the bullet. It’s time for the government to accept that it is time for action. We need, as a nation, to show that we care as much about athlete welfare as we do about the medal table.

“Such a body would also have clear economies of scale. Instead of asking 40 different Olympic sports to run their own systems we could have one centralised body as a centre of excellence. We would also take the conflict of interest out of the system, and everybody would rightly have much more confidence in the outcome. …

“Sports can get themselves into a tricky position where they either spend so much money on this that you put the financial wellbeing of the NGB in jeopardy, or you have to cut back on other areas. So it’s a series of unhappy choices, none of which are great.”

Darcey noted that while the situation is improving, the way that abuse cases are handled by British national federations is not uniform, take too long and there is a conflict of interest perceived by the losing side in any outcome.

It’s not clear that the U.S. Center for SafeSport, which has come for considerable criticism, would be a model for Britain. It is funded in significant part by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, but has also been called out for being slow and shallow in its case handling.

For Darcey, the answer is the government.

5.
Cricket says 2028 inclusion could pay off for LA28

Sportico.com reported that the International Cricket Council has sharpened its appeal to be added to the program of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles by suggesting that the LA28 organizing committee could profit substantially from enhanced television rights sales in India.

The ICC reportedly prepared an estimate of the marginal additional television rights for India alone could be $201-268 million U.S. with cricket added to 2028, vs. the reported $12 million paid now to the International Olympic Committee for broadcast of the Games now for the Paris 2024 Games.

And:

“[T]he ICC has pitched the possibility of a separate agreement under which LA28 could share in the economics of additional international IOC media rights, according to multiple people familiar with the pitch. Though an arrangement of that sort isn’t strictly forbidden, it’s not standard procedure, and it’s unclear if the IOC or LA28 would consider it.”

The IOC owns the television rights to the Olympic Games en toto, so it would be up to it whether it would share added revenues with LA28.

The ICC calculations were based on a six-team T20 tournament for men and women, a sped-up format which is better for television, with 20 total matches (10+10). It’s not clear what venue would be used, with LA28 averse to building anything new, and a baseball facility is likely large enough to handle a T20 tournament.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ≡

● Ice Hockey ● The IIHF men’s World Championship in Finland and Latvia continues with pool play through the 23rd, with the U.S. and Canada leading the groups.

The Americans are 4-0, with wins over defending champion Finland (4-1), Hungary (7-1), a come-from-behind, 3-2 victory over Germany and a 4-1 triumph against Austria. Games remain against undefeated Denmark, France and undefeated Sweden.

Canada is also 4-0, with an overtime win over Slovakia (2-1) and easier games against Latvia (6-0), Slovenia (5-2) and Kazakhstan (5-1).

The top four teams in each group advance to the quarterfinals on 25 May, with the semis on the 27th and medal matches on the 28th.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Russia ● The Russian Olympic Committee will “prepare recommendations on the participation of athletes in international competitions in a neutral status by May 25,” according to the Russian news agency TASS. The position will be reported by ROC chief Stanislav Pozdnyakov.

Russian officials at both the political and sports levels have railed against any and all restrictions placed against them due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including the IOC’s recommendations of 28 March.

The continuing slow roll-out of approvals by the Federation Internationale de Escrime (FIE) continues, with the Russian Fencing Federation confirming none of its athletes have been approved to compete in either the Foil Grand Prix or Epee World Cups being contested this weekend.

● Athletics ● Continuing its push for a higher profile, especially in visually-based social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, World Athletics named seven members to its new Content Creator Programme.

The project is initially designed to help promote and lift the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest (HUN) this summer. The new team, chosen “from thousands of creatives from all around the world” includes Brazil’s Joao Barretto, Haber Guo (CHN), Ellie Sunman and Maya Bruney from Great Britain, Dannel Flaveny (TTO) and Americans Charles Brockman III (13.80 110 m hurdles in 2022) and Katelyn Hutchinson (55.97 400 m in 2021).

● Cycling ● A calmer day at the 106th Giro d’Italia, with a first career Giro win for German Nico Denz, and no change in the overall leaderboard.

A big group of 27 broke away after 15 km of the 185 km route to Rivoli that included two important climbs, and a descent into the finish. Five men attacked with 90 km left and by the final climb up the Colle Braida with 28 km remaining, it’s only Denz, Latvia’s Tom Skujins and Australian Sebastian Berwick. Denz got to the line first in 4:18:11, with Skujins getting the same time and Berwick three seconds back. The rest of the field took nearly a minute to catch up.

The overall leaders stay in place, with Geraint Thomas (GBR) leading by two seconds over Primoz Roglic (SLO) and 22 seconds over Joao Almeida (POR). Things get harder now with climbing stages on Friday (to the Crans-Montana ski resort in Switzerland!) and Sunday.

● Swimming ● The second leg of the three-stage Mare Nostrum Tour was in Barcelona (ESP), with Tokyo two-time silver medalist Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong taking a women’s Freestyle triple.

She won the women’s 100 m Free on the first day in a world-leading 52.50, ahead of European champ Marrit Steenbergen (NED: 53.45) and Australian star Cate Campbell, the Tokyo bronze medalist just getting back to competition again, third in 54.07.

Haughey then won the 50 m Free in 24.67 over Steenbergen (24.86) and finally the 200 m Free in 1:55.56, with Steenbergen again second, this time in 1:56.10.

American Lydia Jacoby, the Tokyo 100 m Breast winner and still just 19, won her specialty in 1:05.84 to move to third in the world this season, and then took the 200 m Breast in a lifetime best of 2:24.03, now no. 10 on the year list.

U.S. sprint star Michael Andrew was busy, winning the 50 m Breast in 27.36, then third in the 50 m Free in 22.30, behind France’s 2012 Olympic winner Florent Manoudou (21.88). Andrew also collected a fourth in the 50 m Fly in 23.63.

The third and final leg of the Mare Nostrum series for 2023 comes this weekend in Monaco.

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: FIFA debuts World Cup 2026 logo; French Olympics minister defends 2024 ticket prices; another Kenyan star doping!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. FIFA unveils logo of the 2026 World Cup, in Los Angeles
2. French Olympics minister defends 2024 ticket prices
3. Strong volunteer interest in Santiago 2023 PanAms
4. Now 2020 winner Geoghegan Hart crashes out of Giro
5. AIU provisionally suspends Kenyan star Rhonex Kipruto

The logo of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. was unveiled Wednesday in Los Angeles, as well as the tournament motto of “We Are 26.” In Paris, the French Sports and Olympics Minister defended the event’s ticket prices, but indicated the number of attendees at the Opening Ceremony would be about 500,000, with 80% watching for free. The 2023 Pan American Games organizers in Santiago, Chile, said that some 28,702 applications for volunteer positions had been received, to fill 17,000 spots for the PanAm and Para PanAm Games starting in October. At the Giro d’Italia, 2020 winner and current contender Tao Geoghegan Hart of Great Britain crashed out of the race in another wet stage won in a final sprint by Germany’s Pascal Ackermann. The Athletics Integrity Unit provisionally suspended Kenyan star Rhonex Kipruto, the 10 km road world-record holder, for changes in his Athlete Biological Passport. The current list of ineligible persons in track & field has 64 athletes on it.

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (International Olympic Committee chief Bach reiterates call for all countries to participate in Olympic qualifiers) = Olympic Winter Games 2030 (French IOC member Drut says France has an outside shot to get 2030) = Russia (3: furious reaction to IWF regulations for gray uniforms for neutrals; Russian boxing coach looking to Asian Games for Paris qualifying (if available); Int’l Handball Federation confirms Russian men out for Paris 2024) = Boxing (Cuba’s Hernandez defects on return from Worlds) = Weightlifting (2024 World Cup to be held in Thailand) ●

1.
FIFA unveils logo of the 2026 World Cup in Los Angeles

An elegant Wednesday evening presentation held outdoors at the Griffith Park Observatory in Los Angeles began what will be a high-energy promotional campaign for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be held in Canada, Mexico and the U.S.

There were the obligatory videos and interviews, but FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI) pronounced the enormous expectations for this tournament:

“We are here to kick off, actually, what will happen in 2026, and what will happen from now to 2026. And what will happen there will be not just the greatest World Cup ever, it will be something else .. it will be beyond imagination, it will turn these three countries upside down and then back again. Forty-eight teams, forty-eight countries participating, 16 host cities, three host countries, 104 games, more than six million people watching live, the matches. Six billion tuning in from home; the world will stand still and watch what is happening here.

“So we have just witnessed the best World Cup ever, great emotions. We will witness here, in three years from now, starting from tonight, the best … but more.”

The 45-minute program was streamed live by FIFA with hosts Alexi Lalas (USA) and Telemundo host Ana Jurka (HON), leading to the unveiling of the tournament logo, a stylized stack of the numbers “2″ and “6″ with the FIFA World Cup trophy in the middle. Simple, but with endless coloration and animation possibilities, and a radical departure from the more involved and culturally-reflective marks of recent, single-nation hosts.

The tournament motto of “We Are 26″ was also introduced, described by FIFA as

“a campaign that empowers people, places and communities to play an integral role in launching the FIFA World Cup 26 Official Brand. The campaign has captured portraits of faces and places that tell their own unique FIFA World Cup stories, featuring individuals and experiences that await fans in 2026 and inviting everyone to be a part of it.”

Retired American women’s superstar Carli Lloyd, a two-time Women’s World Cup winner, told the invited guests:

“For the World Cup to be coming here, it’s going to captivate our country, and it’s going to allow kids to just continue to dream, and it will be the best World Cup for sure.”

Wednesday night’s launch is being followed by individual host-city marks to be unveiled on Thursday by the 16 sites for the tournament, in Canada (2), Mexico (3) and the U.S. (11).

2.
French Olympics minister defends 2024 ticket prices

Amelie Oudea-Castera, the French Minister of Sports and the Olympic Games, said Tuesday during a Finance Committee hearing at the National Assembly, that ticket pricing for the Paris 2024 Games is not excessive:

“We have 10% of the mass of tickets that are over 200 euros. These prices are totally in line with the pricing in previous editions of the Games and therefore, taking into account inflation, the prices are lower than those of previous editions.” (€1 = $1.08 U.S.)

She also noted, as has been widely promoted, that one million tickets – 10% of the total – are priced at €24, although half of these have been reserved for municipalities which intend to distribute them to low-income residents.

Asked about high-end pricing for the Opening Ceremony (€2,700) and track & field (€900), she noted that these price points were for “exceptional moments, with exceptional athletes, who compete for the holy grail.”

Oudea-Castera was also asked about the opening on the Seine, and perhaps previewed a downward revision in the total attendees expected:

“Only on the lower platforms are tickets paid for up to 100,000 people. For everything else, the gauge will be refined, it will be around 400,000, all this will be confirmed in the next few days.”

That 500,000 total would be in line with the advice of the Parisian transport planners, who have insisted that no more than that can be accommodated, down from the 600,000 initially announced as a likely capacity for the sides of the river.

3.
Strong volunteer interest in Santiago 2023 PanAms

The 2023 Pan American Games will be in Santiago, Chile beginning on 20 October, with an excellent report on volunteer enthusiasm for the event.

With 17,000 volunteer positions to be filled for the Pan American and Para Pan American Games, 28,702 have applied, with 26.0% from outside the country and 74% from Chile itself. Also:

● 57% are women and 43% are men
● 68.0% or 19,517 are between 18-30 years old
● 3.2% or 927 are over 60 years old
● 56.3% or 16,169 are volunteers in other programs
● 96.9% of applicants are from the Americas (27,799)
● Also from Africa (570), Asia (186), Europe (144) and Oceania (3)
● Northern neighbor Peru (1,888) had the largest number outside Chile

The total number of applications is considered a record, up by 114 over Lima for 2019 and 5,000 more than for Toronto in 2015.

The event is massive, with 6,916 athletes from the 41 Pan American countries expected, competing in 419 events in 39 sports, with Olympic qualifying implications in 33 of them.

4.
Now 2020 winner Geoghegan Hart crashes out of Giro

Another rainy, wet stage and another contender is washed out of the 2023 Giro d’Italia.

This time it was Britain’s Tao Geoghegan Hart, the 2020 champion and sitting just five seconds off the race lead at the start, who suffered badly in a crash with about 70 km to go on Wednesday’s 11th stage route of 219 km to Tortona.

The stage featured two major climbs in the first 142 km and a smaller one by km 177, but then descended into the finish, with a mass sprint for the line expected. But after cresting the second big climb – the Colla di Boassi – there was a crash involving the entire Ineos Grenadiers team, including race leader Geraint Thomas (GBR) and Geoghegan Hart, plus pre-race co-favorite Primoz Roglic (SLO).

Thomas and Roglic were able to get going again. Geoghegan Hart was taken away from the scene for medical attention. He tweeted later:

“I’m devastated this is how my giro ended. Thank you all for your messages and support. I was so excited about the remainder of this race and loving every minute of it. Arrivederci @giroditalia”

The stage’s expected sprint finish saw German Pascal Ackermann win in 5:09:02, just ahead of Jonny Milan (ITA), Mark Cavendish (GBR) and Dane Mads Pedersen. The first 124 riders received the same time, with Thomas in 62nd and Roglic in 95th. It’s Ackermann’s third career stage win at the Giro d’Italia, but first since 2019.

Thomas retained his two-second lead on Roglic, with Joao Almeida (POR) now third, 22 seconds behind the leader. Four riders on the Soudal-Quick Step team left the race after testing positive or Covid-19, as did race leader and teammate Remco Evenepoel (BEL).

Thursday’s stage has another major climb, with the 1,006 m Colle Braida in the final quarter of the 179 km route into Rivoli, but other major descent into the finish, amid more weather concerns heading into the weekend stages.

5.
AIU provisionally suspends Kenyan star Rhonex Kipruto

Kenyan Rhonex Kipruto, 23, is the world-record holder in the men’s 10 km road race at 26:24 from 2020, was the 2019 World Championships 10,000 m bronze medalist and now … is on suspension for suspected doping.

Kipruto was placed on the “Provisionally Suspended” list by the Athletics Integrity Unit on 11 May for “Use of a Prohibited Substance/Method (Article 2.2)” based on changes to his Athlete Biological Passport (ABP).

The Passport program is used to track changes in blood chemistry that could indicate doping activity that would not otherwise be caught during normal testing. According to The Associated Press:

“Kipruto’s management company said the AIU informed Kipruto that the alleged irregularities in his biological passport dated back to late 2018, before he won bronze at the worlds and set the 10K road record. Ikaika Sports said Kipruto denied doping and the case had been ‘under scrutiny for some time now.’”

The AIU lists six current or ex-Kenyans placed on suspension so far in 2023 and has 64 Kenyan athletes on the AIU’s Global List of Ineligible Persons as of 1 May. Tweeted David Monti (USA), the highly-respected founder and editor of Race Results Weekly:

“Every additional Kenyan athlete who tests positive drives down the value of all Kenyan athletes as sponsors and event organizers become less inclined to work with Kenyans in general, and more fans think their performances aren’t legitimate.”

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● No chance in position, but a re-iteration by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER): he’s all in for Russian and Belarusians to return to Paris 2024 qualifying competitions. At a ceremony in Sofia, Bulgaria to mark the centennial of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee, Bach told the attendees:

“The recommendation of the IOC is that athletes of all countries should be allowed to participate in the qualifying competitions that are already taking place. I hope that many federations will accept our recommendations. I am happy that I received support in this regard from the President of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev. He, like us, wants athletes from all 206 National Olympic Committees to be able to participate in the Olympic Games. We are working hard to unite athletes from all over the world so that they can take part in international competitions without restrictions.”

Bach did not mention that the IOC’s 28 March recommendations specifically asked not to allow Russian or Belarusian teams to compete and that participation only be allowed for “neutral” athletes.

● Olympic Winter Games 2030 ● France’s senior International Olympic Committee member Guy Drut told the all-sports newspaper L’Equipe that the country might bid for the so-far unclaimed Olympic Winter Games in 2030.

“If we succeed, we have a small chance, a chance, to get them. If the request is made only by the Southern Alps, it will not work. We need a bid bringing together the Southern Alps and the Northern Alps.”

The northern Alps area includes Chamonix, site of the first Winter Games back in 1924, 1968 site Grenoble, 1992 site Albertville, Annecy – a prior Winter Games bidder – and the Courchevel ski resort. The southern Alps include Gap and the ski resort Briancon.

● Russia ● “We view the addition of such requirements as another manifestation of the anti-Russian course dictated by the pro-Western conjuncture.”

That’s Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, complaining about previously-unpublished regulations from the International Weightlifting Federation, which announced on 12 May that “neutral” Russians and Belarusians would be able to participate, subject to verification of their status. The TASS story, however, added:

“In particular, the rules of neutral status established that Russians will have to perform in the form of a monochrome gray color without national symbols. In addition, athletes from Russia are prohibited from speaking out in support of a special military operation [vs. Ukraine].”

Russian Weightlifting Federation President Maxim Agapitov expressed further concerns:

“It is still completely unclear to me who will be entrusted with verification of the truth of certain information contained in the humiliating and human rights-violating declaration offered to athletes and staff for signing.

“It is alleged that this will be an independent investigative agency. The proposed system of sanctions and fines looks like an attempt at the expense of Russian and Belarusian athletes to improve the financial situation of the IWF and employ orphan international officials. It seems that, in addition to the obvious discrimination, all our athletes were immediately recorded as criminals, on whom some kind of investigation will be constantly carried out.”

And in keeping with the Russian line on the IOC’s re-entry recommendations of 28 March, he railed against any restrictions:

“Any restrictions related to the existence of relations with sports societies that have corporate ties with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation or similar state structures have nothing to do with the principle of equality, sports spirit and fair fight.

“This is especially surprising considering that a huge number of athletes from other countries are also employees of the military or other law enforcement agencies, but no one in the IWF comes to mind in any way to question (and even more so limit) their right to participate in major international competitions.

“In these charades, which only by some misunderstanding are now called world championships and continental championships, with obscure pseudo-independent ‘investigative agencies’ and in mouse-gray uniforms, Russian athletes, as far as I know, never planned to compete and do not plan to continue to do so. Those who love sport cannot betray its spirit and principles, which are designed to protect society from such phenomena.”

A TASS story quoted the IWF’s regulations as including (translated from the original Russian):

“Athletes and athlete support personnel must wear neutral uniforms, clothing and vestments. They must be plain, solid gray (no graphics). They must not have any inscriptions, including any abbreviations referring to Russia or Belarus, and/or any national emblems, symbols or logos, as well as any designations or designs that can be perceived as referring to the respective country or national federation, as well as any inscriptions, signs or markings that can be understood as a reference to war and its support.”

Russian and Belarusian lifters who violate the conditions of neutral status at international competitions may be fined up to $5,000 by the IWF’s Ethics and Discipline Commission.

The IOC’s recommendations for Russian and Belarusian re-entry would normally point boxers to the European Games qualifier in Krakow this summer, but the Polish organizers have said no Russians or Belarusians will compete there. On Wednesday, Eduard Kravtsov, chair of the Russian Boxing Federation Coaching Council, told TASS:

“We will keep waiting for the IOC decision regarding the team’s participation in the Olympics and the qualifying procedure. I believe that we will be able to do it by participating in the Asian Games.

“However, this does not mean that we prefer the easy path, because the level of athletes in Asia is much higher when compared to Europe.”

Russia may be able to compete at the Asian Games in Hangzhou (CHN) in September and October in specific sports, but the details have not been announced. Olympic Council of Asia officials have warned that Russian and Belarusian participation must not interfere with the selection of Asian athletes to the Paris 2024 Games.

The International Handball Federation confirmed that Russia cannot qualify a men’s team for Paris 2024, but there is still a chance for the women’s team:

“About the opportunity to qualify. For the men there is no possibility anymore, [but] the women could qualify if they would be allowed to participate at the upcoming IHF Women`s World Championship and would qualify there.

“We still follow the recommendation from the IOC who decided to recommend only the comeback from individual Russian and Belarusian so far but not for team sports.

“We are in close contact with the IOC and our council will discuss the situation if anything changes.”

● Boxing ● The talent exodus from Cuba continues, as the Cuban boxing federation confirmed that two-time middleweight World Champion Yoenlis Hernandez left the team on the way back from the 2023 IBA men’s World Championships in Uzbekistan.

The plane carrying the team home – where Hernandez won Cuba’s only gold – stopped in Panama and Hernandez would go no further:

“During his return to his homeland, on a stopover in Panama, the double world champion declined to continue his trip to Havana, which implies his break with the national team.”

Now 25, Hernandez won $200,000 for his victory in Tashkent, although it is not known whether the prize money will be paid to him directly, or through his federation, in which case the Cubans might not be forthcoming with a transfer.

● Weightlifting ● The International Weightlifting Federation announced that its 2024 IWF World Cup event, a mandatory competition for lifters who wish to compete at the Paris Olympic Games, will take place in Phuket (THA) from 2-11 April 2024.

It is planned to be the last qualifying event for Paris, with continental championships all scheduled prior to next April.

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Gymnastics chief wants Russia back in, but neutrality can’t be validated; Van der Vorst tweets; who’s the top T&F athlete on Insta?

By
Rich Perelman
-
Federation Internationale de Gymnastique President Morinari Watanabe (JPN) (Photo: FIG)

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Watanabe for Russia return, but waits for “verification” process
2. Van der Vorst steps out, calls for support of World Boxing
3. Cort wins in the rain, Thomas leads as Giro d’Italia resumes
4. List of top T&F athletes on Instagram has some surprises!
5. USL announces second tier-1 women’s football league

The head of the International Gymnastics Federation, Morinari Watanabe of Japan, has made no secret of his desire to see Russian and Belarusian athletes return to international competition. But the federation’s Executive Committee put the brakes on at its latest meeting in the absence of any consensus on what constitutes a “neutral” athlete according to the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee. In boxing, Dutch federation president Boris van der Vorst has been quiet since the formation of World Boxing, but has begin tweeting again and beginning to lobby support for the new federation. At the Giro d’Italia, riding resumed after race leader Remco Evenepoel of Belgium had to withdraw due to a positive Covid-19 test. Dane Magnus Cort won Tuesday’s wet and cold stage, with Britain’s Geraint Thomas holding on to the overall lead. An Indian sports site compiled a list of the most popular track & field athletes on Instagram, with four Americans on the list, but the “world’s sexiest athlete” – from Germany – at no. 2 and an Indian star – of course – at no. 1. The United Soccer League (USL) announced the formation of a second, first-tier women’s pro league in the U.S., to begin in August 2024: the USL Super League.

● Panorama: Athletics (McLaughlin-Levrone out of L.A. Grand Prix) ●

1.
Watanabe for Russia return, but waits for “verification” process

It was something of a surprise that the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) Executive Committee did not vote to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to international competition at its meeting in Antalya (TUR) on 14-15 May.

That’s because second-term FIG President Morinari Watanabe of Japan had repeatedly indicated his desire to have them back. But after it didn’t happen, Watanabe posted an extended statement on the matter on the FIG Web site on Tuesday, which included:

● “The crimes of the war lie with the government and the soldiers. People who are not involved in the war are not blamed for these crimes. This has been demonstrated in past war crimes trials.”

● “[F]ollowing the IOC recommendations of 28 March 2023, I firmly believe that all athletes, regardless of their nationality, have the right to be treated without discrimination. The same also applies to athletes from Russia and Belarus.”

● “I would like to follow the IOC’s recommendations and accept such ‘individual neutral athletes’ who are not involved in or supporting the war at international Gymnastics events.”

OK, he’s being clear enough about his view, which has been quite consistent for months. But then comes the point of departure:

“However, as pointed out by the IOC, the neutrality with regard to the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus is a strict and essential requirement for any participation in international competitions. At this stage, I believe that the definition of ‘neutrality’ must be clarified by a dedicated independent body, which should also be responsible for the verification of such neutrality.

“Until the definition of neutrality and the method of verifying the neutrality are clarified, the FIG will maintain the extraordinary measures adopted by the FIG Executive Committee. As always, the FIG is continuously monitoring the overall situation and, in particular, the FIG position on the ‘neutrality’ requirement for athletes will be discussed at the next EC meeting in July.”

On that basis, it’s going to be a while before any Russian or Belarusian gymnasts are competing internationally again, since:

(1) There is no agreed-upon definition of what a “neutral athlete” looks like, and

(2) There is no “dedicated independent body” to adjudicate whether a specific athlete is “neutral” or not.

The last month has shown wide differences in approach between different International Federations. The FIE Congress voted in March to allow “neutral” Russian and Belarusian athletes – following the IOC’s recommendations – but agreed to permit only 11 of the requested 24 Sabre fencers (men and women) to compete. This so angered the Russian Fencing Federation that it sent none.

By contrast, the International Judo Federation held its World Championships last week and swept in 19 “Individual Neutral Athletes,” including two from Belarus and 17 from Russia, reportedly rejecting just two.

Last weekend’s Athletes for Peace and Freedom International Sports Conference released a three-page statement which allowed for Russian and Belarusian athletes to return, but only for those who sign an anti-war declaration, make a donation to Ukraine, are not publicly funded, and are not part of their nation’s military or national security agencies!

There could be some movement on 30-31 May at the Council meeting and General Assembly of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), mentioned by the IOC on its 28 March recommendations on re-entry as a possible coordinating body for neutrality regulations or processes.

But for now, it’s chaos.

2.
Van der Vorst steps out, calls for support of World Boxing

Dutch Boxing Federation chief Boris van der Vorst had been largely absent from Twitter or other media in recent weeks, as USA Boxing withdrew from the International Boxing Association, and the IBA men’s World Championships got underway in Uzbekistan.

But van der Vorst, who will retire from his Dutch post at the end of the month at the federation’s general assembly, got back into gear last week on Twitter, noting a report from the German ZDF channel and asserting:

● “Sanctioned international boxing association is desperate to maintain its authoritarian grip on the sport. We’ve witnessed attacks on officials & boxers in recent months. Sports journalists are now feeling the effects of the oppressive regime”

● “I urge fellow boxing leaders, Presidents, & Secretaries General of boxing NFs to stand up to IBA leadership’s illegal & unethical actions with confidence. Let’s work towards a sustainable, democratic, & professional approach to developing boxing. It’s time for WORLD BOXING!”

Van der Vorst ran against IBA President Umar Kremlev (RUS), losing in the fourth round of voting in December 2020 and then being suspiciously disqualified prior to a one-on-one rematch in May 2022, then being reinstated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, only to see the IBA Congress vote not to hold the election in September, confirming Kremlev in office.

The International Olympic Committee has repeatedly voiced its concerns over IBA finances, governance and refereeing and judging processes, to which the IBA sent a 400-page reply on 5 May. As of now, the sport is not on the Los Angeles 2028 program and the IBA has been suspended by the IOC since 2019.

The real possibility that boxing could be left off of the program for 2028 led to the formation of World Boxing, announced on 13 April, with van der Vorst as a founding Board member, along with athletes and officials from Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand, the Philippines, Sweden and the U.S.

So far, only USA Boxing has withdrawn from the IBA.

Van der Vorst also noted a unique boxing tournament held in Ukraine, which did not attend the IBA Worlds in view of its admission of Russian and Belarusian fighters:

● “Allow me to draw your attention to an exceptional boxing event that took place last weekend in Kharkiv – a wonderful city in Ukraine that has been under siege for many months and still suffers from regular missile attacks.”

● “Ukrainian boxers, forced by the IBA to miss the World Championships, stepped into the underground ring & showcased their true fighting spirit. Held in a metro station & streamed live, this was the 1st sports competition held in Kharkiv since the start of the invasion.”

● “The Dutch boxing community stands firmly in solidarity with the Ukrainian Boxing Community & we look forward to welcoming Team Ukraine to the Eindhoven Box Cup soon!”

Expect to hear a lot more from van der Vorst after his term with the Dutch federation is ended later this month.

3.
Cort wins in the rain, Thomas leads as Giro d’Italia resumes

After the shock of losing race leader Remco Evenepoel (BEL) to a positive Covid test – along with Colombian star Rigoberto Uran and 2020-21 World Time Trial Champion Filippo Ganna (ITA), masks were required again for those coming in contact with the athletes as riding in the 106th Giro d’Italia resumed on Tuesday.

The conditions were cold and wet for the 196 km tenth stage from Scandiano to Viareggio, with the imposing 34 km climb up the Passo della Radici – from 398 m to 1,598 m – dominating the first half of the race, and then a fairly flat last half. A mass sprint was expected for the finish, but instead a small group broke away early.

With 75 km to go, only Alessandro di Marchi (ITA), Derek Gee (CAN) and Magnus Cort (DEN) were in contention and they raced to the line with Cort getting the win in the rain in 4:51:15, ahead of Gee (same time), with di Marchi two seconds back. The rest of the field followed some 49 seconds later.

In the overall race, Britain’s Geraint Thomas maintained his two-second lead on Primoz Roglic and five seconds on fellow Brit Tao Geoghegan Hart. Stage 11 on Wednesday features two stiff climbs in the first half, but ends with a long descent into Tortona, which should result in a mass sprint to the line.

The weather is playing a larger role in this year’s Giro, with the organizers fearing snow at the top of the 207 km 13th stage – to 2,469 m at the top of the Great St. Bernard Pass – and then finishing at the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana:

“Given the exceptional snowfall, and in the light of the avalanche danger, it is announced that the race will not pass over the Great St. Bernard Pass, but through the tunnel.

“As a result of this change, the stage will have a length of 199 km.”

4.
List of top T&F athletes on Instagram has some surprises!

KhelNow.com, an Indian sports news site headquartered in Singapore, published a list of the top 10 most-followed track & field athletes on Instagram. Most are familiar names, but not all. From no. 10 to no. 1:

● 10. 806,000+ for Trayvon Bromell (USA: 27), the two-time World Championships men’s bronze medalist at 100 m.

● 9. 856,000+ for Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM: 36), the two-time Olympic and five-time World Champion in the women’s 100 m.

● 8. 1,000,000+ for Yulimar Rojas (VEN: 27), the Olympic and three-time World Champion, and world-record holder, in the women’s triple jump.

● 7. 1,000,000+ for Fred Kerley (USA: 28), the Olympic silver medalist and 2022 World Champion in the men’s 100 m.

● 6. 1,100,000+ for Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA: 23), the Olympic and World Champion, and multi-time world-record setter in the women’s 400 m hurdles.

● 5. 1,100,000+ for Lamont Marcell Jacobs (ITA: 28), the U.S.-born, but Italian-raised Tokyo Olympic Champion in the men’s 100 m.

● 4. 2,200,000+ for Eliud Kipchoge (KEN: 38), the two-time Olympic Champion in the marathon and the multi-time world-record setter at that distance.

● 3. 2,200,000+ for Sha’Carri Richardson (USA: 23), the 2019 NCAA women’s 100 m champion and 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials winner, who was disqualified for marijuana use.

● 2. 3,700,000+ for Alica Schmidt (GER: 24), a national-class women’s 400 m runner with a lifetime best of 52.21 from 1980. She ran on the sixth-place German 4×400 m team at the 2022 European Championships in Munich but has been described as “the world’s sexiest athlete.”

● 1. 6,700,000+ for Neeraj Chopra (IND: 25), a sensation for his Tokyo Olympic triumph in the men’s javelin, followed up with a silver medal at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene. He was the first Indian track athlete to win a gold and only the second Olympic gold winner in India’s history, after Abhinav Bindra in shooting in 2008.

Had to be an Indian angle to this, right? But it’s nonetheless fascinating to see Chopra’s enormous popularity in a country which is hoping for more sports heroes on the international scene.

Breaking down the top 10 – according to KhelNow.com – four are from the U.S. (and all in the sprints and hurdles), with one each from Germany, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Venezuela and, of course, India.

5.
USL announces second tier-1 women’s football league

The drive to expand women’s football in the U.S. got another boost with the announcement of what may be a second first-tier league: the USL Super League.

The United Soccer League, originally founded in 1986 as a men’s indoor soccer minor league, now operates three men’s leagues in the U.S. and Canada, the USL W women’s amateur league and two youth leagues, and says it will begin a women’s professional league in 2024, with teams in:

● Charlotte, North Carolina
● Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas
● Lexington, Kentucky
● Phoenix, Arizona
● Spokane, Washington
● Tampa Bay, Florida
● Tucson, Arizona
● Washington, D.C.

Additional teams, subject to stadium completion, are expected in Chattanooga, Tennessee; Indianapolis, Indiana; Jacksonville, Florida; Madison, Wisconsin and Oakland, California.

Play is expected to begin in August 2024, with 10-12 teams, with a fall-to-spring schedule, in contrast with the 12-team National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), which plays from March to October.

The new league seeks Division I status, the same as the NWSL. The U.S. Soccer Federation’s Professional League Standards require a launch with at least eight teams in two different time zones, 75% or more must play in markets of 750,000 or more and stadiums must be of 5,000 seats or more. There are increased requirements for succeeding years.

Each principal owner must have a net worth of $15 million or more and the combined net worth of the ownership group must be $25 million or more.

It’s an interesting concept and another step toward the expansion of women’s professional football in the U.S. … if it succeeds.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Athletics ● Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will not be running in the women’s 400 m at the L.A. Grand Prix at UCLA’s Drake Stadium on 21 May, according to a Tuesday announcement:

“Regrettably, I won’t be competing in the LA Grand Prix due to my coach’s decision. I trust his judgment and will be cheering on my fellow athletes. Excited to see my fans! Thanks for your support.”

McLaughlin-Levrone trains at UCLA with legendary coach Bobby Kersee, himself a former UCLA head women’s coach, and one of the organizers of the L.A. Grand Prix meet.

After her world-record win in the women’s 400 m hurdles at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon last year, McLaughlin-Levrone was asked if she would be turning to the 400 m in the future. Her reply to NBC’s Lewis Johnson was a classic, modern-day one-liner on her relationship with, and trust in, Kersee:

“I just do what Bobby tells me.”

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TSX REPORT: Paris ‘24 sells million tickets in 48 hours; athletes demand Russian anti-war declarations + donations; L.A. Grand Prix entries!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Report: Paris 2024 sells a million tickets in 48 hours
2. No boycott yet, but EU asks IOC to keep Russia out of Paris ‘24
3. Russian border-state athletes want declarations and donations
4. Giro d’Italia leader Evenepoel out after Covid positive
5. Lots of star power in L.A. Grand Prix entry lists for 26-27 May

The Paris 2024 organizers hoped to sell 1.5 million tickets in its second sales phase, but moved more than a million last Thursday and Friday alone in the first 48 hours of sales Premium packages for the Opening Ceremony on the Seine were also announced, at €9,500-7,500-5,000 per person. European Union sports ministers continued to urge the International Olympic Committee not to allow Russia or Belarus to return to international competitions, or compete at the Paris 2024 Games, while an athlete’s conference in Estonia compiled a five-step list of requirements for readmission, including an anti-war declaration, a donation to Ukraine and no state funding. At the106th Giro d’Italia, co-favorite and race leader Remco Evenepoel of Belgium withdrew after a positive test for Covid after winning the seventh stage. The L.A. Grand Prix track & field meet coming to UCLA on 26-27 May unveiled most of its entries, including a long list of Olympic and Worlds medal winners, headed by 2022 world-record setters Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Mondo Dupantis, Ryan Crouser and Tobi Amusan.

● Panorama: Ancient Olympic Games (many were vegetarians) = Paris 2024 (caregivers, security staff to take up 3,000 dorm rooms) = Anti-Doping (WADA considering extending terms for President, Vice President) = Archery (Ellison and Kaufhold take Gator Cup titles) = Athletics (USC star Willie Deckard passes) = Boxing (IBA asks new sanctions on four national federations) = Cycling (2: UCI placing new tech on frames to prevent cheating; condemns use of helicopters to move some riders at Giro d’Italia) = Football (Unilever takes major sponsorship with FIFA) = Gymnastics (Colombia and Brazil win PanAm Trampoline titles) = Shooting (Australians raising their own money for competitions) = Swimming (big marks at Sydney Open in Australia) ●

1.
Report: Paris 2024 sells a million tickets in 48 hours

The FrancsJeux site noted Monday that the opening hours of the second phase of the Paris 2024 ticket sales effort was a smashing success.

More than 1,000,000 tickets were purchased on Thursday (11th) and Friday (12th) alone, out of a hoped-for total of 1.5 million tickets in this phase.

That’s a strong start and the report cited 20 disciplines or sports which have been marked as sold out:

● Aquatics: Artistic Swimming, Diving, Open Water
● Athletics: Marathon, Race Walking
● Basketball: 3×3
● Breaking
● Cycling: BMX Freestyle, BMX Racing, Road, Mountain Bike, Track
● Equestrian
● Fencing
● Gymnastics: Rhythmic
● Modern Pentathlon
● Shooting
● Skateboarding
● Sport Climbing
● Triathlon

These are all sports with fairly limited seating, compared with, for example, athletics and football. The most popular sports in terms of sales were football, athletics, beach volleyball, tennis and basketball.

These early “sell-outs” are a big help for the Paris 2024 organizers, who can now re-visit these sites – knowing their popularity – and see if there are ways to augment the seating, and ask for tickets back from International Federations, National Olympic Committees, sponsors and others if they are not going to be used. Because now they know they can sell them.

Premium seating packages for the Opening Ceremony on the River Seine went on sale last week, with multiple options for seeing the parade of nations and the protocol aspects of the event from various locations. Some of the options (€1 = $1.09 U.S. today):

● €9,500 per person (+ tax): Bridge 360 at the Alma Bridge, with a “cocktail-style dinner,” live entertainment and a gift.

● €7,500 per person (+ tax): Riverside Gold Package, with a Category A ticket, buffet dining and live entertainment at the Palais de Tokyo, and a gift.

● €5,000 per person (+ tax): Riverside Silver Package, with a Category B ticket, buffet dining and live entertainment at the La Maison de l’Amerique Latine, and a gift.

All three levels promise dedicated “way-finding” help and charging stations and restroom facilities nearby.

2.
No boycott yet, but EU asks IOC to keep Russia out of Paris ‘24

“I do think that the International Olympic Committee, they really risk a trust issue here if they are not listening, and also making sure that no Russian athletes can represent Russia in any way at the Olympics.”

That’s Swedish sports minister Jakob Forssmed, speaking with The Associated Press on Monday on the sidelines of a meeting of European sports ministers in Brussels (BEL).

He said that a boycott by European nations of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is not in the works, at least not yet. Sweden currently holds the rotating Presidency of the European Union, putting it in a position to advance its own agenda items through July.

The 27 member nations have been quite resolute against a Russian or Belarusian return to participation in international sports, or the Olympic Games next year, with the exception of Hungary.

As for the IOC’s recommendation that athletes returned to competition cannot be part of the armed forces or national security apparatus. Forssmed warned of the difficulties:

“It’s very, very difficult to see this happening because they are so integrated with the administration in Russia.

“[Athletes] are often governmentally employed or they are state sponsored or they were even employed by the army. So, that makes it very, very difficult.”

3.
Russian border-state athletes want declarations and donations

The just-concluded “Athletes for Peace and Freedom International Sports Conference” with athletes from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and dissident athletes from Belarus met in Tallinn (EST) and posted a three-page declaration, including a list of five points as “admission criteria” to international competitions:

“a) Athletes with a Russian or a Belarusian passport must publicly sign documents on condemnation of aggressive war or neutrality, including the Anti-War Declaration;

“b) Athletes with a Russian or a Belarusian passport must make a donation to help Ukrainian people;

“c) Athletes with a Russian or a Belarusian passport must compete only as Individual Neutral Athletes. A special procedure to check the eligibility and to nominate such Individuals independent from the National Olympic Committees or federations of Russia and Belarus must be introduced by international federations;

“d) Athletes who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies cannot compete. Support personnel who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies cannot be entered.

“e) Athletes who meet the criteria are prohibited from using public sources of funding from Russia and Belarus.”

In contrast with many calls for Russian and Belarusian exclusion, this declaration again would allow them to compete, but only under such stringent conditions that few, if any, would qualify.

The document goes on, and includes requests:

● “Recognize the right of the Ukrainian side to boycott international sporting events, including the Olympic Games, including a collective boycott, in case the eligibility criteria are not revised to become stricter and more specific. Such action should not be deemed as a derogation from autonomy of sport.”

and

● “Urge the International Olympic Committee to develop universal criteria for ensuring that the Olympic movement conforms to its main mission – to establish and maintain peace and sustainable development with a special respect to the values of human rights, freedom and democracy.”

It’s hard to see this specific declaration getting much traction, but it does state a position from athletes who are closest to this conflicts, in countries which have absorbed million of Ukrainian refugees.

4.
Giro d’Italia leader Evenepoel out after Covid positive

Belgian star Remco Evenepoel, 23, in the midst of a dream season and a day after regaining the lead in the 106th Giro d’Italia, is out of the race. He explained:

“I am really sorry to be leaving the race. As part of the team’s protocol, I took a routine [Covid] test, which unfortunately was positive.

“My experience here has been really special and I was looking forward to competing over the next two weeks. I can’t thank enough the staff and the riders who sacrificed so much in preparation for the Giro. I will be cheering them on over the next two weeks.”

The rest of his Soudal-Quick Step team tested negative and will continue. But Evenepoel, who crashed out of his first Giro in 2021, will not finish in 2023. He won the 2022 Vuelta a Espana and was a co-favorite in the Giro d’Italia with Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic, who will move up from third to second as a result of Evenepoel’s departure.

The new race leader will be Britain’s Geraint Thomas, winner of the 2018 Tour de France, then Roglic (+0:02), Britain’s Tao Geoghegan Hart (+0:05), Portugal’s Joao Almeida (+0:22) and former leader Andreas Leknessund (NOR: +0:22).

Evenepoel won the opening Individual Time Trial and was the race leader for the first three stages. He regained the lead on Sunday with his win in the second Individual Time Trial, by one second over Thomas, but 1:15 up on Leknessund, to re-take the lead.

Roglic and Thomas will now be the favorites to win, with Roglic undefeated in two prior multi-stage events this season, the Tirreno-Adriatico and Volta Ciclista de Catalunya. He’s a three-time winner of the Vuelta a Espana, and was third in the 2019 Giro and fourth in the 2018 Tour de France.

5.
Lots of star power in L.A. Grand Prix entry lists for 26-27 May

The upcoming L.A. Grand Prix posted entry lists and shared a complete schedule for its 27 May meet at 11,142-seat Drake Stadium at UCLA, with lots of star power from both the U.S. and aboard.

The meet schedules were also posted, with the distance meet on Friday from 5:15 p.m. with the hammer to about 9:15 p.m. with the finish of the men’s 5,000 m. The program includes the 800 m, 1,500 m, Steeple and 5,000 m for men and women and the women’s vault, and the men’s and women’s discus and hammer.

Saturday’s Grand Prix runs from 12:30 to 3 p.m., with NBC on from 1-3. It’s mostly sprints: men’s and women’s 100-200-400 m, women’s 100 m hurdles, men’s 400 m hurdles, men’s 800 m and 1,500 m and the men’s vault, women’s shot put and men’s and women’s javelin.

The fields are quite good, assembled by veteran athlete agent, coordinator and meet promoter Mark Wetmore. According to the listings for Saturday, the top matchups:

● Men/100 m: Christian Coleman, the 2019 World Champion, ran 9.76 that year and 9.87 in 2022. He’s not talked about much these days, but maybe he will be after this meet.

● Men/200 m: Olympic silver winner Kenny Bednarek vs. 2022 Worlds bronze medalist Erriyon Knighton, with Josephus Lyles chasing both.

● Men/400 m: World Champion Michael Norman – who has been toying with the 100 m this season – against London 2012 champ Kirani James (GRN), with ex-Florida star (and Worlds fourth-placer) Champion Allison trying to upset both. This could be Allison’s breakthrough race.

● Men/1,500 m: Kenya’s 2019 World Champion, Timothy Cheruiyot, and world leader Reynold Kipkorir (3:32.01) against Americans Cole Hocker, Cooper Teare and Sam Prakel.

● Men/400 m hurdles: Olympic and World silver winner Rai Benjamin, who ran on this track during his time at UCLA, against his top American threats: World bronze winner Trevor Bassitt, improving C.J. Allen (47.93) and Khallifah Rosser (47.59 in 2022).

● Men/Vault: Olympic and World Champion and world-record holder Mondo Duplantis (SWE), France’s former world-record holder and 2012 Olympic champ Renaud Lavillenie, 2017 World Champion Sam Kendricks of the U.S. and Olympic silver winner Chris Nielsen of the U.S.

● Men/Shot: Olympic and World Champion (and world-record holder) Ryan Crouser vs. two-time World Champion Joe Kovacs. The two best in the world.

● Women/100 m: Americans Sha’Carri Richardson (10.76 world leader) and U.S. indoor 60 m winner Aleia Hobbs, undefeated in nine meets this year (best of 10.86).

● Women/400 m: Olympic 400 m hurdles champ and world-record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone vs. Tokyo Olympic silver winner Marileidy Paulino (DOM).

● Women/100 m hurdles: World Champion and world-record holder Tobi Amusan (NGR), Olympic champ Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (PUR), and star Americans Keni Harrison (ex-world record holder), 2019 World Champion Nia Ali and 2018 World Junior Champion Tia Jones. This might be the best race of the day.

Britain’s Worlds 1,500 m winner Jake Wightman headlines the men’s 800 m, and Olympic bronze medalist Gabby Thomas will be in the women’s 200 m. World Champion Chase Ealey leads the women’s shot field.

General admission tickets for both days are $44 and for Saturday only at $39. Premium seating is available at $55-80-165.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Ancient Olympic Games ● Fascinating story from GreekReporter.com on the diet of ancient Greeks who competed in the Games:

“Many meals consisted of barley porridge, (as wheat was considered unhealthy and decadent), along with cheese, fresh vegetables, and seasonal fruits of some kind with figs being the most popular fruit in antiquity. …

“Lentils and beans were also an integral part of an athlete’s diet in ancient Greece, but they were controversial, as some claimed they had negative health effects.

“Lastly, seafood and eggs were an additional, significant part of the ancient Greek diet which likely served as good sources of protein for ancient Olympians.”

Meats were not widely consumed in the early years of the Games, but was more in vogue later, with a runner in 480 B.C.E. consuming a diet with a high amount of meat. The story notes that “boxers ate bull meat while wrestlers ate pork and runners consumed goat.”

Now you know.

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● Things are getting serious when rooms are reserved for security staff for the Games. The French Sports Ministry said last Friday that 3,200 rooms are being reserved for bus drivers, caregivers, first-aid workers and security forces.

The rooms will be used during the Games period, with students returning in September, after the end of the Olympic Games on 11 August, with a smaller number needed for the Paralympic Games, which end on 8 September. But, for those students who wanted to stay in their places during the Games period, they will be accommodated elsewhere.

An immediate cry went up from a student group, insisting that no one should be moved unless they volunteer.

● Anti-Doping ● The energetic German ARD Sportschau investigative team reported last week that discussions within the World Anti-Doping Agency about matching up the term limits for the President and Vice President with those of Executive Committee and Foundation Board members.

ExCo and Board members have limits of nine years, while the President (Poland’s Witold Banka) and Vice President (China’s Yang Yang) can serve in their positions for a maximum of six years.

A proposal is under discussion, but has not been approved yet.

● Archery ● The Easton Foundation Gator Cup in Newberry, Florida, a USA Archery team qualifying event, concluded over the weekend, with Olympic stars Brady Ellison and Casey Kaufhold winning both the qualifying and elimination rounds.

Former World Champion Ellison led the men’s qualifying at 679/720, followed by Jackson Mirich (673) and Matthew Requa (668). Ellison stormed through the eliminations, 6-0, 6-0, 7-3, 7-3 over fellow Olympian Jack Williams in the quarters, then 6-0 in his semi and winning a tight, 6-5 shoot-off battle over Mirich for the tournament title.

Kaufhold, still just 19 and the 2021 Worlds silver medalist, led the qualifying at 671/720, well in front of Emma Kim (649) and Erin Mickelberry (643). Kaufhold won her elimination matches by 6-0, 6-0, 6-2, 6-0 and 6-2 in the final over Alexandria Zuleta-Visser.

● Athletics ● Sad news of the death of former USC sprint great Willie Deckard, who passed away on 6 May from pancreatic cancer at age 72, in Inglewood, California.

Deckard set the world on fire at UCLA’s Drake Stadium in 1971, running 9.2 for 100 yards and 20.2 for 220 yards to help upset UCLA in their annual dual meet, 75-70. His 9.2 was equal-best in the world for 1971 and the 20.2 was the top mark in the U.S., making him a favorite for the 1972 U.S. Olympic team. But injuries slowed him and he finished fifth in the 200 m Olympic Trials final in 1972.

He became a well-recognized high school coach in Southern California, at Crenshaw, North Torrance and Redondo Union.

● Boxing ● The International Boxing Association is now after other federations beyond USA Boxing over the new World Boxing group, announcing Sunday:

“A complaint against Individuals affiliated to the National Federations has been submitted to the Boxing Independent Integrity Unit (BIIU) due to their participation in the governing body of so-called rogue world boxing organization. Moreover, the Board opened formal proceedings against National Federations of Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, and the Netherlands due to an alleged serious breach of the IBA Constitution and Regulations related to the participation in said organization.”

Although USA Boxing is the only national federation so far to withdraw from the IBA, can there be much doubt that the above-named national feds will follow?

● Cycling ● Trust, but verify. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announced a new “registration procedure” for equipment to be used for the upcoming Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes:

“This procedure strengthens the UCI’s monitoring of equipment for regulatory compliance. …

“While teams are already required to register their equipment at the beginning of each season as part of the annual team registration procedure, as well as whenever they intend to use new equipment during the season, it is very common for their respective sponsors to supply them with new equipment shortly before the Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. …

“Regarding frames, the UCI has developed a tamper-proof tag using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. This RFID tag will be placed on frames by UCI staff in the days leading up to the races. The tag will be scanned at random intervals during the races to ensure that the equipment is the same as that registered a few days earlier. Once attached to a bicycle, the tamper-proof RFID tag cannot be removed without being destroyed, thereby making it unreadable by UCI scanners.”

Concerns over cheating are constant in cycling, especially with the use of motors or other devices in frames.

The UCI registered considerable displeasure with the use of helicopters to remove some riders from the finish area after Stage 7 of the Giro d’Italia, atop the Grand Sasso d’Italia:

“This constitutes an advantage that goes against the principles of fair play and the regulatory provisions for ensuring equal treatment for transfer of teams to their hotels. In addition, some riders’ use of a helicopter transport for this purpose goes against the principle of carbon footprint reduction, as stated in the UCI WorldTour organiser specifications.

“The UCI will take necessary measures and sanctions to ensure that such a practice does not occur in the future.”

● Football ● Many sponsorship announcements aren’t especially noteworthy, but FIFA World Cup fans are going to start seeing billboards, commercials and promotions for beauty brands Dove and LUX, Lifebuoy soaps and Rexona deodorant, also sold as Sure, Shield and Degree.

They are part of a Unilever personal-care brands deal with FIFA that will debut at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this summer and continue through the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Canada, Mexico and the U.S., and into 2027.

Expect a high visibility from this deal, as the announcement noted, “Investing at all levels from grassroots to FIFA’s top tournaments, Unilever will have the opportunity to supply a total of 80,000 gift packs containing personal care products direct to fans at various FIFA events over the coming years.”

● Gymnastics ● The Pan American Trampoline & Tumbling Championships were held in Monterrey (MEX) last weekend, with Colombia and Brazil winning in the Olympic Trampoline events.

Angel Hernandez (COL) took the men’s title at 59.120, just ahead of Jeremy Chartier of Canada (58.460) and Ryan de Castro (BRA: 58.010). Americans Aliaksei Shostak and Isaac Rowley were 4-5, scoring 57.340 and 57.150.

Camilla Gomes of Brazil won the women’s division, scoring 55.120 to edge American Jessica Stevens (54.990) and Canada’s Sophiane Methot (54.300). Lima Pan Am Games silver medalist Nicole Ahsinger of the U.S. finished fourth at 53.140.

Ahsinger and Cheyenne Webster teamed up to win the women’s Synchro gold at 48.670, beating Brazil’s Alice and Camilla Gomes (47.340).

● Shooting ● It isn’t only American athletes struggling to get funding for competitions. ABC Australia reported Friday:

“With just over 12 months until the 2024 Paris Olympics, Australia’s elite clay target shooting athletes are in the midst of a funding crisis.

“Seven of the nation’s best contenders for an Olympic medal have been told by the sport’s peak body, Shooting Australia, to raise $6,000 each to attend a major international competition next week in Almaty, Kazakhstan.” (A$6,000 ~ $4,013 U.S.)

Athletes are doing individual fund-raising, starting GoFundMe pages and taking second jobs. Asked about the situation:

“Shooting Australia chief executive Adam Sachs said in a statement to the ABC that the peak body’s ‘resources do not extend far enough to cover all costs for all athletes, and so athletes will always be required to invest in themselves.’”

Its solution was to ask for more government support.

● Swimming ● Beyond the Speedo Atlanta Classic in the U.S. last weekend, there was some hot swimming in Australia at the Sydney Open, with multiple marks way up near the top of the world list for 2023.

In the men’s races, Rio Olympic 100 m Free champ Kyle Chalmers stormed to a 47.69 win to move to no. 3 in 2023. Tokyo Olympic 200 m Breast gold medalist Zac Stubblety-Cook won his specialty in 2:07.62, also no. 3 this season.

Tokyo relay gold winner Meg Harris took the women’s 50 m Free in 24.29, again no. 3 on the season, and triple Olympic backstroke gold medalist Kaylee McKeown moved to no. 2 in the world for 2023 in both the 200 m Medley (2:07.19) and 400 m Medley (4:31.68).

At the Mare Nostrum series opened in Canet (FRA), Hong Kong star Siobhan Haughey (HKG) won the women’s 100 m Free in 52.85, moving to no. 3 on the world list.

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TSX REPORT: Wilson’s 49.13 tops among 11 weekend world leads; weightlifting says yes to Russia, gymnastics says wait; Berlin 2036?

By
Rich Perelman
-
Arkansas' Britton Wilson set two collegiate 400 m records and won the SEC 400 m hurdles again! (Photo: University of Arkansas)

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Britton Wilson 49.13 at SEC; five world leads in Nairobi
2. Weightlifting re-admits Russia; gymnastics will wait
3. Paralympics says no re-entry until General Assembly vote
4. Berlin 2036 Olympic bid a real possibility
5. Park City allocating $25,000 for “Olympic work” in 2023-24

A sensational weekend of track & field, with world-leading performances in 11 events, including five at the SEC Championships and five at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi. Arkansas star Britton Wilson won another SEC double in the women’s 400/400H and smashed her own 400 m collegiate record twice during the meet, lowering it to 49.13 in the final! Wow! The International Weightlifting Federation, as expected, followed the lead of the International Olympic Committee and will allow “neutral” Russians and Belarusians to compete, but the gymnastics federation (FIG) was a surprise, opting to wait some more. The International Paralympic Committee was told by its independent appeal panel that it did not provide all of the available information when it suspended the Russian and Belarusian national committees, but the competition ban still stands. The IPC will take up the issue at its General Assembly in September. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser came out in favor of a Berlin 2036 bid, despite it being the centennial of the infamous Nazi Games of 1936. Park City is allocating $25,000 for “Olympic” work as a placeholder in its 2023-24, expecting to see more action on a possible bid visit in advance of a possible award of the 2034 Winter Games.

● World Championships: Boxing (Uzbekistan leads men’s Worlds medal table) = Ice Hockey (U.S. opens with two wins in men’s Worlds) = Judo (Riner wins 11th world title) ●

● Panorama: Artistic Swimming (Spain strong in Somabay World Cup) = Athletics (Korir and Saina win U.S. 25 km) = Canoe-Kayak (Carrington wins two in Szeged Sprint World Cup) = Cycling (3: Evenepoel back in front in Giro d’Italia; Reusser’s final-stage win takes Itzulia women’s; Pidcock and Pieterse win in Mountain Bike World Cup) = Fencing (U.S. grabs two team silvers in Sabre World Cups) = Modern Pentathlon (vet Prades and new star Bryson take World Cup wins in Sofia) = Rugby Sevens (New Zealand sweeps Toulouse and season titles) = Shooting (China wins big in ISSF Pistol-Rifle World Cup) = Swimming (Dressel returns, Ledecky and Douglass star in Atlanta) = Triathlon (Wilde and Coldwell win in Yokohama) ●

1.
Britton Wilson 49.13 at SEC; five world leads in Nairobi

It was a hot weekend of running, jumping and throwing starting with an excellent Continental Tour Gold meet in Nairobi (KEN), but then shifting to the conference championship meets in the U.S., including a staggering performance by Arkansas junior Britton Wilson.

She made a name for herself in 2022 by winning the NCAA Championships, finishing second at the U.S. Nationals and then grabbing a fifth-place finish at the World Championships in Eugene. Along the way, she scored a 50.05/53.75 double at the SEC Championships, leading many to ask how fast she could be in the 400 m flat?

Well, she told us. At the 2023 SEC meet in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she smoked the field in the 400 m prelims, winning in a world-leading 49.40, that is also a collegiate record, crushing her own mark of 49.51 from mid-April. She then won the 400 m hurdles prelims at 53.76, a mark which no one else has approached this season.

On Saturday, Wilson rewrote the record book again, winning the 400 m in another collegiate record of 49.13, moving her to no. 17 all-time and no. 4 all-time U.S. Only Sanya Richards-Ross (48.70 ‘06), Valerie Brisco-Hooks (48.83 ‘84) and Chandra Cheeseborough (49.05 ‘84) have ever run faster in U.S. history.

Of course, she also won the 400 m hurdles a little later in the meet for her second straight double-double, in 53.28, the no. 2 performance of the year in that event (she has the top three).

Will she go for a 400/400H double at the NCAA meet? That would be epic as the semifinals are only 30 minutes apart and the finals are 25 minutes apart, not to mention the 4×400 m relays. But nothing seems beyond Wilson at this point.

Elsewhere at the SEC meet, there were world-leading performances in four men’s events:

● Men/4×100 m: 37.90, LSU (mixed nationalities)
● Men/4×400 m: 2:57.76, Florida (mixed nationalities)
● Men/Triple Jump: 17.87 m (58-7 1/2), Jaydon Hibbert (JAM/Arkansas)
● Men/Decathlon: 8,589, Kyle Garland (USA/Georgia)

The relays and triple jump are collegiate records. LSU and Florida (37.93) both broke Florida’s 37.97 mark from 2019, with the LSU quartet of Brandon Hicklin, Dorian Camel, Da’Marcus Fleming and Godson Oghenebrume (NGR) getting to the line first.

In the 4×400 m, three teams were under three minutes, with Florida winning behind Jevaughn Powell (JAM), Emmanuel Bamidele (NGR), Jacory Patterson and Ryan Willie in a record 2:57.76, followed by Alabama’s Chris Robinson, Khaleb McRae, Tarsis Orogot (UGA) and Corde Long (2:58.01) and Georgia, at 2:59.63 with Elija Godwin, Matthew Boling, Chris Morales Williams (CAN) and Will Sumner. Only six nations have ever run faster than Florida did.

Garland’s 8,589 in the decathlon would also have been a collegiate record, if not for his 8,720 last year!

Not a record, but really fast was the women’s 100 m hurdles, with LSU’s Alia Armstrong winning in 12.40 (+0.4) ahead of Ackera Nugent (JAM/Arkansas: 12.43) and Kentucky’s Masai Russell (12.47). Armstrong won her heat in a blistering 12.31, but with over-the-allowable wind of 2.2 m/s.

At the Big XII Championships in Norman, Oklahoma, the newest women’s long jump prodigy from the University of Texas – Ackelia Smith from Jamaica – claimed the world lead at 7.08 m (23-2 3/4).

Texas teammate Julien Alfred (LCA) won the women’s 100 m in a wind-legal 10.84, now no. 3 in the world for 2023. She had earlier anchored the Longhorns to a 41.89 win in the 4×100 m, smashing their own collegiate record of 42.00 from the Texas Relays in April.

In Nairobi, five events saw world-leading performances at the Kip Keino Classic:

● Men/100 m: 9.84, Ferdinand Omanyala (KEN)
● Men/800 m: 1:43.32, Emmanuel Wanyonyi (KEN)
● Men/1,500 m: 3:32.01, Raynold Kipkorir (KEN)
● Men/Hammer: 79.78 m (261-9), Wojciech Nowicki (POL)

● Women/High Jump: 2.00 m (6-6 3/4), Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR)

The crowd was wild for seven Kenyan winners, especially for Omanyala, who won by daylight over Tokyo Olympic 200 m silver medalist Kenny Bednarek (9.98; wind -0.5). Wanyonyi won the 800 m over a lifetime best in 1:32.32, beating Commonwealth Games champ Wycliffe Kinyamal (1:43.66) and 1,500 m ace Timothy Cheruiyot (1:44.99).

Kipkorir, 18, won the men’s 1,500 in a lifetime best and world lead of 3:32.01, ahead of Abel Kipsang (3:32.70); Amos Kirui won the Steeple in 8:18.45; Mary Moraa won the women’s 800 m in 1:58.83; Beatrice Chebet took the 5,000 m in 15:15.82 and world-record holder Beatrice Chepkoech won the women’s Steeple in 9:13.51.

U.S. women were also impressive, with a wind-aided 10.86 win for TeeTee Terry in the 100 m (+2.5), and Sha’Carri Richardson in the 200 m in 22.07 (+1.7) – her second-fastest ever – beating Kyra Jefferson (22.77). Worlds bronze medalist Janee Kassanavoid won the women’s hammer at 74.25 m (243-7), ahead of fellow American Janeah Stewart (71.43 m/234-4) with Poland’s three-time Olympic champ Anita Wlodarczyk third at 70.27 m (230-6).

In the men’s sprints, Canada’s Aaron Brown won the 200 m in 20.12 ahead of American Kyree King (20.18), and Muzala Samukonga took the 400 m in 44.25, beating American Vernon Norwood (44.68).

2.
Weightlifting re-admits Russia; gymnastics will wait

The International Weightlifting Federation is desperately trying to get back onto the Olympic program for 2028, and so when the International Olympic Committee gives direction, it follows.

On Friday, the IWF announced:

“Following an online meeting of its Executive Board (EB) today, the IWF decided to endorse and apply the IOC’s ‘Recommendations for International Federations and international sports event organisers on the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international competitions.’”

And at the end, added:

“From the beginning of this profound crisis, which deeply affects the conduct of international sport, the IWF has been mindful to observe the recommendations issued by the International Olympic Committee.”

Truer words were never spoken.

However, Russian reaction was negative. Said Russian Weightlifting Federation chief Maxim Agapitov:

“This belated statement puts us in the position of journalists who have received an entry visa when the plane has already left for the competition.

“It seems that the IWF has become an instrument of hybrid war against Russia, allowing itself to be used in the Russophobic policy of the West. The IWF’s demonstration of the solidarity imposed by the IOC with one country against another does not correspond to either sports or Olympic principles. The decision on the possible admission of Russians and Belarusians in a neutral status is not a strong-willed decision of the International Weightlifting Federation, it only once again emphasizes its dependence on the ‘recommendations’ of the IOC.

“I call for a unified approach and the creation of equal conditions for athletes from all countries. And now we have witnessed a trend that has been established over the past year, when international federations only pretend to defend equality in sports, but in fact create new obstacles to the realization of the legitimate rights of our athletes in place of the previous barriers.”

One of the reason that Agapitov might have been so irritated was the approach taking by the Federation Internationale d’Escrime (FIE), which voted to allow Russian and Belarusian re-admission as “neutrals,” but then disqualified 13 of 24 fencers submitted by the Russian Fencing Federation, based on the IOC’s re-entry guidelines, especially those athletes who are part of, or supported by, clubs affiliated with the military or national security services.

Meanwhile, there was a surprise from the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), whose President, Morinari Watanabe (JPN) has consistently made references to re-inclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes.

Its Saturday announcement included:

“After a new assessment of the situation involving the Russian and Belarusian athletes/officials, the FIG Executive Committee considers that the measures already adopted on 1-2 March 2023 and based on Article 13.3 of the FIG Statutes remain fully in force, without any further changes. The FIG will continuously monitor the overall situation and may reassess those measures depending on the evolution of the circumstances.”

So, Russia and Belarus remain out, at least for now. FIG has time; it’s 2023 Worlds begin on 30 September in Antwerp (BEL).

3.
Paralympics says no re-entry until General Assembly vote

The International Paralympic Committee got a shock on Friday, when its Appeals Tribunal overturned its ban on Russian and Belarusian participation in events it controls. Per its announcement on Friday:

“The IPC Independent Appeals Tribunal did not decide on the merits of the two NPC suspensions, but instead determined that the General Assembly should have considered the same supporting evidence that the IPC put before the Appeals Tribunal, including new information that became available to the IPC after the General Assembly’s decision in November 2022.

“Although this issue was not raised by either party, the Appeals Tribunal did not wish to substitute itself for the IPC Membership which had voted to suspend the NPCs, and it therefore set aside the decision. As such, the full information and evidence available to the Appeals Tribunal will be put before the IPC’s General Assembly in September, for its consideration. …

“The Appeals Tribunal also confirmed that the IPC’s decision not to accept athlete entries from NPC Russia and NPC Belarus in the world and regional championships and sanctioned-level competitions of the six World Para Sports governed by the IPC, remains in force.”

IPC President Andrew Parsons (BRA) said:

“Following the events that we saw unfold just before the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, our members made it clear that the membership status of NPCs Russia and Belarus needed to be considered by the General Assembly.

“We believe that our actions taken to call the [November ] 2022 Extraordinary General Assembly in Berlin and allow every member the chance to present their views on these important matters, fulfilled our obligations under our rules. Our Independent Appeals Tribunal decided differently, which is a decision we certainly respect, but disagree with.

“As we already had committed to do, we will bring these matters back to our General Assembly later this year, follow the Appeal Tribunal’s directions by presenting the additional evidence we have since acquired, and give our members the opportunity to decide these important matters.”

The 2023 General Assembly is scheduled for 27-29 September in Manama, Bahrain, with more than 300 attendees from the IPC’s 209 members expected to attend.

4.
Berlin 2036 Olympic bid a real possibility

It has long been thought that a German bid for the 2036 Olympic Games would be a bad idea, coming on the centennial of the Berlin 1936 Games, one of its truly infamous editions due to its use by the Nazi Party as a propaganda exercise for its racist regime.

Those thoughts are changing, quickly, especially since the International Olympic Committee no longer uses an up-or-down vote of its members to select a host. The discussion-oriented approach now in place allows bids to be made inexpensively and without the humiliation of a public defeat.

So, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, who was critical of FIFA’s choice of Qatar as the site of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in view of its human right situation, but ultimately agreed that the pressure of the event to cause changes in conditions for migrant workers had some merit, now thinks Berlin 2036 might be right.

In an interview with the German news site, The Pioneer, she said should could “imagine” a bid for the 2036 Olympic Games:

“I generally think it would be a right step to apply for the Olympic Games again. I am very much in favor of it.”

As for a Games on the centennial of the 1936 Games, she noted that there will be a retrospective on the Nazi Games anyway, so why not do it “at the place where this happened, where exclusion, where this terrible disregard for humanity took place.

“They were terrible Games in 1936. The Nazis organized the games there and wanted to present themselves.

“If we demand these criteria, then I think we must set a good example and allow such a major sporting event to take place in Germany again.”

The German National Olympic Committee (DOSB) is studying the issue and expects to make a recommendation by the end of the year. Berlin tried for the 2000 Olympic Games, but existed in the second round as Sydney was ultimately chosen over Beijing.

5.
Park City allocating $25,000 for “Olympic work” in 2023-24

It’s not a large amount, to be sure. But it’s a nod toward more action on the Salt Lake City bid for the 2034 (or 2030) Olympic Winter Games.

The Park Record reported that a placeholder amount of $25,000 for the Park City budget for 2023-24 is being sought by the city’s events staff for “Olympic Project Management,” described as a just-in-case item. However, if Salt Lake City’s bid advances to the point where an International Olympic Committee inspection team visits Utah, there will be some work involved in accommodating their inspection requirements.

The Park City area is an important one for the Salt Lake City bid, as it hosted bobsled, luge and skeleton and ski jumping and Nordic Combined at the Utah Olympic Park, which continues today as a busy training and competition site. The alpine Giant Slalom and snowboard competitions were held at the Park City Mountain Resort, with the alpine Slalom and Freestyle skiing at Deer Valley Resort.

The 2030 Olympic Winter Games host is expected to be selected next year, and there is a possibility that the 2034 Winter Games could be awarded at the same time.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Boxing ● In the absence of the U.S. and many top European boxing powers, the 2023 IBA men’s World Championships in Tashkent (UZB) turned into a coronation for eastern Europe, with Uzbekistan (5), Kazakhstan (4) and Russia (2) winning 11 of the 13 weight classes.

Four men won the second or third world titles:

● Lightweight: Sofiane Oumiha (FRA) won in 2017 and 2021
● Middleweight: Yoenlis Hernandez (CUB) won in 2021
● Heavyweight: Muslim Gadzhimagomedov (RUS) won in 2019
● Super Heavy: Bakhodir Jalalov (UZB) win in 2019

Three more went from Worlds silvers to gold:

● Flyweight: Hasanboy Dusmatov (UZB) won a 2017 silver at Light Fly
● Bantam: Makhmud Sabyrkhan (KAZ) won the 2021 silver
● Feather: Abdumalik Khalokov (UZB) won the 2021 silver

Those were the stars who moved up in 2023; Uzbekistan also got wins from Ruslan Abdullaev at Light Welterweight and Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev at Welterweight for its five golds. They also two silvers and two bronzes for nine total medals, to lead the field.

Kazakhstan’s other wins came from Sanzhar Tashkenbay at Minimumweight, Aslanbek Shymberhenov at Light Middleweight and Nurbek Oralbay at Light Heavyweight.

Russia got a second win at Cruiserweight, from Sharabutdin Ataev; it also won four bronzes for a total of six, equal with Cuba (1-3-2) for second-most behind the hosts.

Prizes were $200,000 to the winners, $100,000 to the runner-ups and $50,000 to each of the bronze-medal winners for a total of $5.2 million. During the event, the IBA announced first-time awards to the 52 quarter-finalists who ended up losing in the bronze-medal matches, or $3,000 each ($156,000), upping the total purse to $5.356 million.

● Ice Hockey ● The 86th IIHF men’s World Championships is underway in Tampere (FIN) and Riga (LAT), with pool play continuing through the 23rd. The U.S. is off to a fast start, defeating defending champion Finland, 4-1, in the opener and then stomping Hungary, 7-1.

Switzerland and Canada have both won their first two games and lead Group B. The top four teams in each group advance to the playoffs, beginning on 25 May and concluding with the medal matches on 28 May.

● Judo ● The 2023 IJF World Championships in Qatar began with controversy with Russian and Belarusian participation as “neutrals,” but will end up being remembered for another superb performance from French superstar Teddy Riner.

Already a 10-time World Champion, the 34-year-old Riner won an unexpected silver at the Tokyo Olympic Games and would like to go out on top in front of home fans in 2024. He’ll be the favorite after an exhausting performance in Doha.

He won his third and fourth-round matches in overtime, but then scored an imposing ippon against no. 1-ranked Temur Rakhimov (TJK) in the semis, moving on to face Russian (that is, “neutral”) Inai Tasoev, the 2021 European Champion. This was another tense match and went scoreless into overtime, when Tasoev rolled Riner across his back, but no score was given. Riner followed with his own throw – an uzi-waza – that placed Tasoev on his back for a half-point (waza-ari) that won the match and gave Riner an 11th World title.

Spectacular, and the reception he will receive in Paris in 2024 will be deafening.

Elsewhere, Japan continues its decades-long reign as the world’s leading judo power with a total of 12 medals, winning six golds (no one else had more than two).

Japan its fourth win in the women’s division from Akira Sone, who won her second Worlds gold (also in 2019) at +78 kg, defeating 2022 bronze medalist Julia Tolofua (FRA) in the final.

The French also took silver in the men’s 78 kg class, with 2011 World Champion Audrey Tcheumeo winning her fourth individual Worlds medal, but losing in the final to first-time individual medal winner Inbar Lanir of Israel.

Russia’s “neutral” Arman Adamian, the 2019 European Games winner, took the men’s 100 kg class, beating two-time Olympic champ Lukas Krpalek (CZE) in the final.

The team event, of course, went to Japan, which defeated France (without Riner).

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Artistic Swimming ● The third stop on the Artistic Swimming World Cup tour was in Soma Bay (EGY), and continues through Monday with the women’s Duet Free and Mixed Duet Free.

In the Women’s Solo Technical, it was Vasiliki Alexandri (AUT) winning a tight battle from Spain’s Iris Tio Casas, 263.8959 to 262.9333, and Alexandri then took second in the Women’s Solo Free, 338.2750 to 299.8084 for China’s Shiyi Dai.

Tio Casas got a second win in the women’s Duet Technical, teaming with Alisa Ozhogina to score 261.8625, ahead of Anastasia Bayandina and Eve Planeix (FRA: 250.2334).

China’s Shuncheng Wang swept the men’s events, winning the Solo Technical at 232.5792 and the men Solo Free at 291.9209.

In the Mixed Duet Technical, Fernando Diaz and Emma Garcia (ESP) won at 244.8500, with the Free section coming Monday. Mexico got its first-ever World Cup gold in the Mixed Team Technical, scoring 270.1584 to edge Italy (268.8417). The Italians came back to win the Mixed Team Free at 310.9160.

● Athletics ● Leonard Korir defended his national championship in the USATF 25 km race in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday, striding away from Brian Shrader and Jacob Thomson in the final 1,500 m to win in 1:14:45. Thomson got second, ahead of Shrader, 1:14:49 to 1:14:53.

The women’s race was a first-time national title for Betsy Saina, who changed allegiance from Kenya in 2021. She ran together with former U.S. marathon record holder Keira D’Amato, the 2022 runner-up in this race, breaking away from the field after the 15 km mark. Saina then surged after 22 km and won in 1:24:32, to 1:24:39 for D’Amato. Jessa Hanson was a clear third in 1:25:33.

● Canoe-Kayak ● The ICF Sprint World Cup season got into full swing in Szeged (HUN), with New Zealand star and five-time Olympic gold medalist Lisa Carrington winning twice and taking a third medal.

The Tokyo Olympic winner in the K-1 500 m, Carrington led a New Zealand 1-2 with Aimee Fisher in 1:54.250 to 1:54.627, with former World 200 m Champion Emma Jorgensen (DEN) third in 1:55.917. Carrington also took the K-2 500 m race with Alicia Hoskin, 1:42.849 to 1:43.889 for Poland’s Martyna Klatt and Helena Wisniewska. And Carrington won a bronze on the women’s K-4 500 m, with China winning the gold.

Canadian star Katie Vincent was also busy. The six-time World Champion collected wins in the women’s C-1 500 m and the C-1 5,000 m and a bronze in the C-2 500 m race with Sloan MacKenzie.

Romania’s Catalin Chrilia, the 2022 Worlds winner in the men’s C-1 1000 m, won both the C-1 500 m and C-1 1,000 m, in 1:50.725 and 3:55.103, respectively.

Portugal’s Fernando Pimenta, a four-time World Champion, won the men’s K-1 500 m in 1:41.351, a silver in the K-1 1,000 m (3:34.677 behind Varga) and then a third in the Mixed K-2 500 m (1:37.794), behind World Champions Alyssa Bull and Jackson Collins (AUS: 1:36.110).

Hungary won four golds in the men’s races: Balazs Adolf in the C-1 5000 m (23:44.598), David Korisanszky and Adam Fekete in the C-2 500 m (1:40.969), Adam Varga in the K-1 1,000 m (3:33.104) and Bence Nadas and Sandor Totka in the K-2 500 m (1:30.456).

● Cycling ● Sunday’s second Individual Time Trial at the 106th Giro d’Italia was a throwback … to the first stage!

Belgian star Remco Evenepoel took the stage, just as he had in the opening stage, winning on the flat, 35 km course in 41:24, just one second ahead of Britain’s Geraint Thomas and two seconds up on Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBR), fourth in the first stage.

This jumbled the overall race standings, with Evenepoel back in the lead after nine of 21 races, in 34:33:42, 45 seconds ahead of Thomas, 47 up on Primoz Roglic (SLO) and 50 seconds in advance of Geoghegan Hart. Prior leader Andreas Leknessund (NOR) dropped to equal-fifth, down 1:09.

Leknessund had led for five stages, including Friday’s breakaway that finally stuck. Usually the big early attacks turn into nothing, as the peloton catches up – sometimes late – and flies by. This time, Italians Davide Bais and Simone Petilli, Henok Mulubrhan (ERI) and Czech Karel Vacek took off just five km into the 218 km ride that ended with a major climb to the Gran Sasso at Campo Imperatore.

Mulubrhan dropped back in mid-race, but the other three were up by more than six minutes heading up the Gran Sasso. Bais won with a final sprint in 6:08:40, with Vacek eight seconds back and Petilli 16 seconds back in third. It was Bais’s first-ever World Tour win.

On Saturday, the hilly finish to the 207 km route to Fossombrone did not deter Ireland’s Ben Healy, who jumped the field with 50 km to go and rode away to a huge win – by 1:49 – in 4:44:24. Derek Gee (CAN), Filippo Zana (ITA) and Warren Barguil (FRA) finished 2-3-4.

Monday is a rest day, followed by three straight hilly stages and then a climber on Friday (19th) up to the Crans-Montana ski resort in Switzerland, with a final, uphill climb of 13.1 km!

It looked like another win for Dutch star Demi Vollering in the three-stage Itzulia Women’s race in Spain, after she won the first stage over fellow Team SD Worx rider Marlin Reusser (SUI) by 47 seconds and the second stage in a sprint finish with Reusser third. But on Sunday, Reusser struck on the hilly, 114.8 km route into Donostia with 13 km left and no one had an answer.

Reusser won by 2:38 over Vollering and four others and took the overall title in 9:57:24, with Vollering second (+1:50) and Poland’s Kasia Niewiadoma third (+2:59). It’s Reusser’s first career win in a multi-stage race.

The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup began in Nove Mesto (CZE) with a tight win for Britain’s Thomas Pidcock over Sam Gaze (AUS) by 20:17 to 20:18 in the Cross Country Short race and then Austria’s Laura Stigger beating Swiss Alessandra Keller and Sina Frei, 19:02 to 19:03.

Then came the real test, the Cross Country Olympic final and Pidcock was great again, but fell on the fifth lap while leading. He quickly regained his poise and went on to a 1:22:46 to 1:22:51 victory over Joshua Dubau (FRA: 1:22:51) and Swiss immortal Nino Schurter (1:23:09).

The women’s race saw the continuing emergence of a new star, the 21-year-old Dutch redhead Puck Pieterse. The U-23 World Champion last year in Cyclo-Cross, she was brilliant in a fifth-place finish in the Strade Bianche road race in early March and battled over the final five laps with France’s four-time (and reigning) World Champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot. Trailing by seven seconds going into the final lap, Pieterse poured on the gas and scored a 12:25 lap that was 12 seconds better than Ferrand-Prevot, meaning a win by five seconds in 1:23:01. France’s Loana Lecompte was third (1:23:12); Halley Batten was the top American, in 11th (1:24:50).

● Fencing ● FIE World Cups in men’s and women’s Sabre were on this week in Madrid (ESP) and Batumi (GEO), with Georgia’s Sandro Bazadze winning the men’s final at the Villa de Madrid over Riccardo Nuccio (ITA), 15-6. It’s the second World Cup win of this season (third career) for Bazadze, the world’s no. 1-ranked men’s Sabre fighter. Nuccio, 36, won his second career World Cup medal and first in 10 years!

Hungary won the team title, 45-42, over the U.S. quartet of Eli Dershwitz, Andrew Doddo, Colin Heathcock and Mitchell Saron.

In Batumi, it was an all-French final as Sara Balzer won the women’s title over Caroline Queroli, 15-10. Balzer, ranked fourth worldwide, won her second World Cup of the year and now has five career World Cup medals (2-1-2). Queroli won her first World Cup silver; at 24, she now has a complete set of medals (1-1-1).

The women’s team saw another U.S. silver, with Ukraine winning the title, 45-42, against Maia Chamberlain, Tatiana Nazlymov, Magda Skarbonkiewicz and Elizabeth Tartakovsky.

● Modern Pentathlon ● France’s Valentin Prades had his best season in 2018, when he earned the Worlds silver and European gold. At age 30, perhaps a move back to the top in advance of Paris 2024?

That’s his plan after winning the fourth UIPM World Cup of the season, in Sofia (BUL), in a tight battle with Japan’s Taoshu Sato, Britain’s reigning Olympic champ Joe Choong and Hungary’s Balazs Szep.

Korea’s Jihun Lee started the Laser Run with a 13-second lead, but the first six starters all went within 30 seconds. Prades started 14 seconds behind and was up to second after the first shooting stage, then took the lead on the final shooting set. But even with Sato and German Marvin Dogue taking over, Prades sprinted back into the lead and crossed with the eighth-fastest run (10:38.30), good enough with Sato ninth (10:42.40) and Dogue seventh (10:37.10). Prades scored his first World Cup win in two years with 1,495 points to 1,492 for Sato and 1,485 for Dogue. Choong was fourth at 1,483 and Szep fifth, also at 1,483.

Lithuania’s Ieva Serapinaite, the 2021 European Champion, had control of the women’s division going into the Laser Run. But she was quickly caught by British newcomer Kerenza Bryson, 24, who got into contention with a fifth-place riding finish. The two were close through two more rounds of shooting, but Bryson took control on the fourth shoot and was now ahead of Korea’s Seung-min Seong, the Asian Championships bronze winner. Bryson sprinted to the line for her first World Cup win, with the third-fastest time on the course (11:33.50) with Seong moving up with the no. 2 time (11:26.90) and Serapinaite settling for third at 12:03.30 (10th).

Bryson’s final total was 1,400 over Seong’s 1,393 and Serapinaite at 1,384.

In the Mixed Relay, Bryson teamed with Charles Brown and the British paid scored a 1,346-1,339 win over Mexico’s Emiliano Hernandez and Mayran Oliver. The American pair of Tyler Evans and Phaelen French finished seventh (1,291), moving up with the second-fastest Laser Run in the field.

● Rugby Sevens ● New Zealand celebrated two World Cup wins in the HSBC Rugby Sevens Series for men and women and the seasonal titles as well, at Toulouse (FRA).

The men’s tournament saw all four pools with undefeated winners: Argentina, Australia, France and the Kiwis all 3-0. The All-Blacks had no trouble with Ireland in their quarterfinal, 35-0, and then edged France, 19-14, in their semi. Argentina got to the semifinals and then stomped Canada, 33-5, to meet New Zealand in the final, a tight, 24-19 final for the champions. France defeated Canada, 28-12, for the bronze medal.

With the win, the New Zealand men now have five tournament victories in their last six events and with one more to go, have 186 points to clinch the season’s title. Argentina is second at 159, with France at 139 and Fiji at 138. The U.S. men are ninth with 95.

It’s the 13th season title for New Zealand in 23 years of the Series, but its first since 2020.

In the women’s tournament, New Zealand and Fiji got through pool play undefeated, but the American defeated Fiji, 22-17, in the quarters and then got by Australia in a defensive, 10-7, semifinal. The New Zealanders, meanwhile, ran past Japan, 29-7, and France, 31-7. In the final, the U.S. was game, but lost, 19-14, a lot closer than the 31-12 pool-play loss. Australia won the bronze, 33-7, over France.

The women’s season is now concluded, with New Zealand standing clear at 138 points and six tournament wins in seven events. Australia was second at 118 and the U.S. women were third at 108 (with six medals in seven tournaments).

That’s seven Series titles in 10 seasons for the Black Ferns, who last won in 2020. It’s the first time for the U.S. women in the top three since 2019.

● Shooting ● China was the big winner at the ISSF Pistol and Rifle World Cup in Baku (AZE) that concluded on Sunday, winning four goals and seven medals overall to lead both categories.

China’s Yuehong Li, the Tokyo bronze medalist, took the men’s 25 m Rapid-Fire Pistol title from French 2022 Worlds silver winner Clement Bessaguet, 33-32, with German Peter Florian third (27). Sixuan Feng, 20, the 2022 World Junior Champion, won the women’s 25 m Pistol gold, 38-33, over Iran’s Haniyeh Rostamiyan, with Germany’s 2022 Worlds bronze winner, Doreen Vennekamp, third (30).

Jiayu Han, 21, won a tight battle in the women’s 10 m Air Rifle, out-lasting India’s Nancy Nancy, 254-0 to 253.3, for her first career World Cup medal. And China went 1-2 in the 10 m Air Rifle Mixed Team final, with Yuting Huang and Lihao Sheng defeating Zhilin Wang and Haoran Yang, 16-14.

No other country won more than one event. Iran’s Sajad Poorhosseini took the men’s 10 m Air Pistol final, 240.2-239.8 against Ukraine’s four-time Olympian, Oleh Omelchuk, and Zalan Pekler (HUN: 23) won the 10 m Air Rifle title, 252.4 to 251.9, against Hriday Hazarika (IND), 21. Emerging Czech star Jiri Privratsky, 22, won the 50 m Rifle/3 Positions gold, 466.1 to 465.5 against Ukraine’s Serhiy Kulish, the 2022 World Champion.

Greek star (and 2018 World Champion) Anna Korakaki won the women’s 10 m Air Pistol, 241.3 to 240.6 over Ukraine’s Olena Kostevych, the Athens 2004 gold medalist, now 38. Britain’s Seonaid McIntosh, the 2018 50 m Rifle/Prone Worlds gold winner, took the women’s 50 m rifle/3 Positions title by 467.0-463.6 over Jeanette Duestad (NOR), the 2022 Worlds bronze medalist.

India won the 10 m Air Pistol Mixed Team event, 16-14, over Serbia.

● Swimming ● All eyes were on the return of Tokyo superstar Caleb Dressel to the Speedo Atlanta Classic, after 11 months away from competition. The scorecard:

● 100 m Fly: 2nd in 52.41
● 50 m Free: 3rd in 22.57
● 200 m Fly: 12th in prelims in 2:05.18 (no final)
● 100 m Free: 5th in prelims in 50.29 (no final)

He also skipped the 200 m Free and 200 m Medley, although entered before the meet. It’s considered a solid start for Dressel, 26, who left the 2022 World Championships, with an undisclosed medical issue, believed to be fatigue.

There was lots more swimming, including a hot 3:58.84 in the 400 m Free for distance icon Katie Ledecky, the no. 16 performance all-time, no. 2 for 2023 and the earliest Ledecky has gone this fast. She won by 14.99 seconds.

She also logged a 1:55.63 win in the 200 m Free.

Kate Douglass, 21, the Olympic 200 m Medley and Worlds 200 m Breast bronze winner, was really busy, winning the 50 m Free in 24.40, a lifetime best (equal-3rd on the 2023 world list), the 100-200 m Breast events in 1:07.07 and 2:22.75 (no. 6 in 2023), the 100 m Fly in 57.19 (no. 3) and the 200 m Medley in 2:12.04!

Canada’s 16-year-old star Summer McIntosh, breaker of the 400 m Free and 400 m Medley world records in March, won the 100-200 m Back events in 1:00.06 and 2:07.34 (no. 6 in 2023). She also finished behind Douglass in the 200 m Breast and 100 m Fly.

Fellow Canadian Josh Liendo was busy, winning the 100 m Free in 49.19 and the 100 m Fly in 51.79 and second behind Macguire McDuff of the U.S. in the 50 m Free in 22.50, a lifetime best.

● Triathlon ● The ITU World Triathlon Series was in Yokohama (JPN), with a stirring first-time win for Britain’s Sophie Coldwell and a return to the podium for Hayden Wilde (NZL).

Coldwell, 28, braved the rain to literally run away with the victory in the final 10 km run segment, with the fourth-fastest time in the field at 33:53, and fastest among the top six finishers in the race. Her overall time of 1:53:32 was 17 seconds clear of a first-time medal winner, Mexico’s Rosa Tapia, who was sensational on the bike and highly competitive on the run. Americans Taylor Knibb (1:54:02) and Taylor Spivey (1:54:14) finished 3-4, with Kirsten Kasper eighth (1:55:03).

Tokyo Olympic bronze winner Wilde has much more of a battle, with 25 in contention between the bike and run transition. Wilde took the lead and despite challenges, held on to win by daylight in 1:42:13 for his first win and first medal of the season, and his third career World Triathlon Series victory.

Australian Matthew Hauser sprinted hard to the tape to claim his second career Series medal in second place, four seconds behind Wilde (1:42:17) with Vasco Vilaca (POR) third, one second behind. The top U.S. finisher was Seth Rider in 16th (1:43:28).

Coldwell and Vilaca now have the Series leads after two of seven events. Next up: Cagliari (ITA) on 27-28 May.

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Russian fencing stars not eligible to return; new call for Olympic alternative; soccer match-fixing scandal in Brazil!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Pozdnyakov says Russians may refuse return under IOC guidelines
2. Russia’s Viner calls for Olympic alternative
3. NBC to show Paris 2024 live in daytime
4. Major football match-fixing probe on in Brazil
5. Two more Tokyo 2020 bribery convictions announced

A meaningful curveball from the International Fencing Federation, rejecting a half-dozen Russian Olympic and World medal winners from re-entering international competition, ostensibly because of their affiliation with the nation’s military. The head of the Russian fencing federation hinted that this could mean no Russians will participate at all and the head of the Russian National Olympic Committee echoed the sentiment. In a conference in St. Petersburg, the high-profile head of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation called for an “Olympic alternative,” starting with countries that are part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Commonwealth of Independent States and the BRICS group (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa). NBC announced that it would show all Paris 2024 competitions live, meaning that swimming, gymnastics and athletics finals would be televised in the morning and afternoon in the U.S., followed by a prime-time highlights show. In Brazil, the government is now moving in on a match-fixing scandal in football, with the Goias state filing charges against seven players and nine gamblers involved in suspicious Serie A, Serie B and state championship games. Two more suspended sentences were handed out in the continuing Tokyo 2020 sponsorship bribery scandal, this time for ex-members of the ADK Holdings advertising agency. So far, five of the 15 defendants have received sentences, all of which have been suspended.

● World Championships: Judo (Japan and Georgia win again) ●
● Panorama: Paris 2024 (second phase of ticket sales starts) = World Games 2022 (State of Alabama could complete bailout) = Athletics (3: Simeoni’s Moscow gold stolen; Bou’s unrelenting run in the rain in Cambodia; two more 2012 Russian doping positives) = Cycling (Pedersen finally gets Giro d’Italia stage win) = Weightlifting (world records at Asian Championships) ●

● Errata: Some readers saw a version of Thursday’s post which wrongly stated that under Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument status, a property owner does not have to get special permission to change or demolish a protected building. If fact, special permission from the Cultural Heritage Commission is required. A correction has been made, with thanks to sharp-eyed reader Shirley Ito of the LA84 Foundation! ●

1.
Pozdnyakov says Russians may not return under IOC guidelines

The Federation Internationale de Escrime voted in March, in a special Congress, to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to competition on a neutral basis based on the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee, which included not allowing athletes affiliated with the military.

On Thursday, the head of the Russian Fencing Federation, Ilgar Mammedov was told what that meant:

“We have received the list of Sabre-fencing athletes who the FIE has cleared to participate in international tournaments, and it contains no names that are familiar to the world of sports.

“One cannot see the names of [Tokyo Olympic champ Sofia] Pozdnyakova, [2016-2020 Olympic Team gold medalist Sofya] Velikaya, [Rio Olympic champ Yana] Egorian, [Tokyo Olympic Team gold medalist Olga] Nikitina, [World Team Champion Kamil] Ibragimov, [2013 World Champion Veniamin] Reshetnikov, nor the names of many other promising fencers.

“The explanatory note to the letter stated that it was based on recommendations issued by the International Olympic Committee, while the FIE is abstaining from making any comments of its own on the issue.

“We are now waiting for the list [of eligible athletes] in the Epee and Foil competitions, as well as for the list of medical, coaching and other specialist staff. Afterwards, we will convene for a general session in order to get an understating of what to do next.

“I’m against splitting the Russian national team into the good ones and the bad ones, into favorable and unfavorable athletes. We are all mature adults and we will exchange opinions and come to common terms.

“The opinion I have voiced is purely of my own and, once I have resigned from the post of [FFR] president and head coach of the national team, I would not want to hear any talk behind my back about how I had somehow ruined somebody’s life and blocked someone’s path to the world of major league sports.”

On the FIE Web site, Egorian, Ibragimov, Nikitina and Velikaya are all listed as an “Armed Forces Athlete.”

Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdnyakov – father of Sofia Pozdnyakova – and himself a four-time Olympic gold medalist in fencing (Sabre), wrote on his Telegram channel on Thursday that Russia might just skip the whole program:

“If speaking about the sport of fencing in particular, I have repeatedly discussed with the national team’s members the proposed format for their return.

“I can say that none of them have ever considered or are considering now the previously proposed option of participating in international tournaments under the current restrictions.

“Our common stance remains steadfast: our fencers will participate only based on an equal footing with athletes representing other countries, without any contrived and illegitimate parameters and other artificial obstacles.”

That would be fine with Ukraine’s fencers, who will not compete in tournaments with Russian or Belarusian entries. And it leads to the question of whether the IOC’s recommendations will be seen as so strict as to cause Russia to boycott the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov chimed in about the FIE’s decisions as well:

“We consider it to be absolutely wrong in view of attempts to force political guidelines upon athletes in order for them to participate in international competitions and we oppose such recommendations.”

Dmitry Svishchev, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports added:

“Such moves on behalf of the international federation [FIE] are a blow to the further development of the sport. It is not important who these athletes represent; what is important is that the decision is discriminatory.”

2.
Russia’s Viner calls for Olympic alternative

The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) has maintained its competition ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes, restated in March of this year, and with no new position following the IOC’s 28 March recommendations on possible re-entry of “neutral” Russian and Belarusian athletes.

For Irina Viner, the President of the All-Russian Federation of Rhythmic Gymnastics, this is unacceptable. She told a legal forum held in St. Petersburg (RUS) on Thursday:

“Tashkent hosts boxing competitions, hundreds of countries participate in them, but the United States is not among them,” she noted, referring to the ongoing International Boxing Association men’s World Championships in Uzbekistan. The head of the IBA is Russian Umar Kremlev.

She then called for a change:

“Let’s make our own games, let’s hold alternative Olympic Games.

“The [Shanghai Cooperation Organisation], BRICS, the [Commonwealth of Independent States] are strong organizations that must agree that they will let and invite leading athletes here.

“So far they are afraid to do it, because the [gymnastics] federation secretly forbids [you] to participate in our competitions, and we in theirs. They say that security must be respected. This is not true: we have always been well received. No competition, no sport. If there are no competitors, the Olympic Games lose their meaning, and everything is coming to this.”

Russia’s Sports Minister, Oleg Matytsin, has said that Russia would offer to host a “BRICS Games” in 20204 in Russia if the other countries – led by China – were amenable.

Russian Olympic Committee chief Pozdnyakov told the Russian news agency TASS:

“The Russian Olympic family is about to make a difficult choice, which is being pushed by colleagues from Lausanne.

“Olympic solidarity is one of the main principles of Olympism. I am sure that all members of our sports community are fully committed to this principle, but those who interpret it too arbitrarily are highly likely to bear moral responsibility to their comrades, the country and history.”

3.
NBC to show Paris 2024 live in daytime

“Every day, NBC will provide Olympic fans with at least nine hours of daytime coverage of the Summer Games’ most exciting events, including live finals coverage of swimming, gymnastics, track & field, and more. With Paris six hours ahead of the United States’ eastern time zone, the daytime takeover will feature that day’s most popular events live on NBC in the morning and afternoon. Paris 2024 will have more programming hours on the NBC broadcast network than any previous Olympics.”

Thursday’s first announcement on NBC’s planned coverage is good news for American Olympic fans for next summer’s Paris 2024 Games, with no waiting to see the major events until the evening. A three-hour prime-time show is still planned for NBC at night.

NBC’s Peacock service will also provide a full view of the Paris Games, according to Thursday’s announcement:

“In a Summer Games first, the service will stream every sport and event, including all 329 medal events, and will feature full-event replays; all NBC programming; curated video clips; virtual channels; exclusive original programming; and more.”

NBCUniversal will also have heavy Spanish-language coverage on its Telemundo network, with a special emphasis on soccer, with added coverage on its Universo cable channel.

There will be more programming on USA Network, E!, CNBC and the GOLF Channel, to be announced later.

Paris 2024 will be crucial Games for NBC, the IOC and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, as U.S. ratings have dropped precipitously, to a reported 15.6 million in prime time for the Tokyo Games in 2021, albeit in a difficult time zone for American viewers. Strong ratings in 2024 would set the stage for a blockbuster 2028 Games in Los Angeles, important for both the USOPC and for the LA28 organizers.

4.
Major football match-fixing probe on in Brazil

A major probe into match-fixing in Brazil broke open on Wednesday, with Justice and Public Security Minister Flavio Dino asking the Federal police to investigate a significant corruption problem that has seen at least 16 players from various teams suspended. He wrote on Twitter:

“Faced with evidence of manipulation of results in sports competitions, with interstate and even international repercussions, I am determining today that an Inquiry be instituted at the Federal Police for the legally applicable investigations.”

The Public Ministry of the central Brazilian state of Goias filed a complaint on Tuesday against 16 people for “competition manipulation” concerning 13 matches, of which eight were in the top-level Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, one in Serie B and four in state-level championships.

Of the 16 defendants, seven are players, from seven different teams, and nine are involved on the gambling end. A tupi.fm report noted (computer translation from Portuguese):

“In the document provided by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the body reports 23 criminal acts that occurred during matches, in which players committed to committing fouls to receive cards and to cause penalties. The complaint brings, in more than 100 pages, read-outs of conversations and transcripts of audio recordings between the denounced that would prove the scheme.”

Additional matches are still being reviewed, and individual clubs have suspended another half-dozen players.

The Associated Press added, “Prosecutors said some of the athletes were paid between 50,000 and 100,000 Brazilian reals ($10,000 to $20,000) to get booked or give penalties to their rivals.”

5.
Two more Tokyo 2020 bribery convictions announced

The parade of guilty pleas and suspended sentences in the Tokyo 2020 sponsorship bribery scandal continued, with two ex-ADK Holdings executives receiving suspended sentences. According to Agence France Presse:

“Shigeharu Hisamatsu, a 64-year-old former executive at advertising firm ADK Holdings, received a sentence of 18 months, suspended for three years, a Tokyo District Court spokesman told AFP.

“His former assistant, 61-year-old Toshiaki Tada, was given a sentence of one year, also suspended for three years.”

Both were involved in a bribery scheme with former Tokyo 2020 Executive Committee member Haruyuki Takahashi to obtain organizing committee sponsors as clients, with the firm paying ¥14 million (about $104,068 U.S. today) to Takahashi.

ADK Holdings President Shinichi Ueno admitted the bribes, and is being tried separately. A total of 15 men from five companies have been indicted in the bribery probe so far; a separate prosecution is targeting a bid-rigging scheme for the Tokyo 2020 test events and Games-period venue management contracts.

Guilty pleas and sentences have been completed for five men so far, from business suit retailers Aoki Holdings (3) and now the ADK Holdings ad agency (2). Takahashi has not been tried and maintains his innocence: while he received money, he says it was for legitimate consulting work.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Judo ● Japan and Georgia won again at the 2023 IJF World Championships in Doha (QAT), with Niizone Saki winning her first individual world title in the women’s 70 kg class.

Saki had been part of Worlds team golds in 2017-21-22, and won an individual bronze in 2022. But this time she reached the final, impressively defeating two-time defending World Champion Barbara Matic in the semis and then Germany’s first-time finalist Giovanna Scoccimarro in the final.

Georgia’s Luka Maisuradze was the 90 kg Worlds bronze winner in 2022 and had earlier won a Worlds bronze at 81 kg in 2019. But this time he found himself in a finals battle against countryman Lasha Bekauri, the reigning Olympic champ! The battle was tight and the match went into overtime, with Maisuradze scoring a waza-ari to claim his first world title. It’s the second 1-2 for the same country in this year’s Worlds, after Japan’s Hifumi Abe and Joshio Maruyama made to the 66 kg final.

Individual competition continues through Saturday and the team event is on Sunday.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Paris 2024 ● The Paris 2024 organizers have begun the second phase of ticket sales, with about 1.5 million tickets available in this offer.

Unlike the first sale of ticket “packs,” tickets may be individually ordered for all events, including ceremonies. The sales are being conducted with buyers assigned to a specific, 48-hour time period via lottery; some four million accounts were opened.

Tickets range from €24 – about 10% of the total – to more than €1,000, depending on the event and the seat location. About 10% are priced at €200 or more. (€1 = $1.09 U.S. today)

Buyers can purchase up to 30 tickets in all, but not more than 4-6 for any individual event.

● World Games 2022: Birmingham ● The 2022 World Games in Alabama was aesthetically and athletically successful, but left a $14 million debt to be paid. That may be on the way to completion.

Last fall, the organizers asked and received $5 million from the City of Birmingham, $4 million from Jefferson County and $1 million from the Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau. That left $4 million or so and Governor Kay Ivey’s Alabama state supplemental appropriations list for the fiscal year ending 30 September from the Education Trust Fund includes $5 million for the World Games.

It’s part of a grant to the state’s Department of Commerce, among a series of programs to share $2.79 billion in spending, most of which is for school projects of various types. The budget request has now gone to the legislature, which must approve it.

● Athletics ● The 1980 gold medal for the women’s high jump, won by Italy’s Sara Simeoni, was stolen from her home in Rivoli Veronese, along with many other awards and trophies.

The thieves, who apparently overcame a home security system to break, did not take either of her Olympic silver medals from Montreal 1976 or Los Angeles 1984. Simeoni, now 70, said in a TV report of the stolen mementos, “It means years of training, sacrifices and renunciations, of choices. It is not easy to win a medal at the Olympics. It is the symbol of many wait, it means everything.”

The crime was reported to the police and an investigation is underway.

Monday’s women’s 5,000 m race in the Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh (CAM) was held in a torrential downpour and won by Vietnam’s Thi Oanh Nguyen – who also later won the 1,500 m and Steeplechase – in an understandably slow 17:00.33.

Well behind the top nine were Cambodia’s Romdul Run in 10th at 21:27.08 and finally, running all alone, Cambodia’s Samnang Bou, in 22:54.22 (the video of her final 125 m is here). Her perseverance was loudly acknowledged by the small crowd and she responded and even waved her flag in response, while breaking into tears.

Cambodian Prime Minister Sen Hun said afterwards, “To encourage perseverance, I and my wife donate $10,000 to her.”

For context, the average annual household income in Cambodia in 2021 was $1,592. Wow.

Two more Russian doping positives from 2012 were announced by the Athletics Integrity Unit, based on information from the infamous Moscow Laboratory information system and the inquiry by McLaren Global Sport Solutions into the Russian state-sponsored doping regimen from 2011-15:

● “[T]he AIU has banned Bogdan Pishchalnikov (Russia) for 4 years, from 20 March 2023, for the use of a Prohibited Substance/Method. DQ results from 15 July 2012 until 20 March 2023.”

● “Russian Aleksey Tovarnov has been banned for 2 years, from 30 June 2022, for the use of a Prohibited Substance/Method. DQ results from 4 July 2012 until 5 March 2015. This is a national decision.”

Pishchalnikov, 40, won seven Russian national titles in the discus and finished sixth at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and seventh at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. His best was 67.23 m (220-7) from 2010, which will stand. He also competed in the London 2012 Olympics, with his last marks recorded in 2015.

Tovarnov, now 38, was the World Junior Champion in the javelin in 2004 and had a career best – before the sanction – of 82.54 m (270-9) in 2013, when he competed in the World Championships; he last competed in 2017.

● Cycling ● After a second and a third in the first week of the 106th Giro d’Italia, Danish sprinter Mads Pedersen finally got a win, screaming to the finish of the 162 km route that began and ended in Naples on Thursday.

There were two significant climbs in the first half of the race, and a breakaway group of five piled up a lead of five minutes after the first 50 km. But only Simon Clarke (AUS) and and Alessandro De Marchi (ITA) were strong enough to stay in front, but were shedding time after the 130 km mark.

Still, they held on and were only passed by the peloton with about 200 m to go, with Pedersen across first in 3:44:45, ahead of Jonny Milan (ITA) and Pascal Ackermann (GER). De Marchi ended up 88th and Clarke was 89th.

With the top 89 receiving the same time, there was no change in the leaderboard, with Andreas Leknessund (NOR) maintaining his 28-second edge on Remco Evenepoel (BEL) and 30 seconds on Aurelien Paret-Peintre of France.

Stage 7 will be a tougher test, on a 218 km ride from Capua to the Gran Sasso d’Italia, with an uphill climb to the finish over the final 45 km!

● Weightlifting ● The Asian Weightlifting Championships are coming to a close in Jinju (KOR), with China leading the medal table as expected. Along the way, the record book has been rewritten in two divisions.

In the men’s 89 kg class, China’s reigning World Champion Dayin Li lifted a combined total of 396 kg to add one kg to the 395 kg lifted by Bulgaria’s Karlos Nasar in Yerevan (ARM) on 20 April of this year.

Li set a Snatch world mark of 180 kg, while teammate Tao Tian took the Clean & Jerk mark from Nasar as well, lifting 222 kg to Nasar’s 221. Tian won the overall silver at 387 kg.

In the women’s 71 kg division, Chinese star Guifang Liao, the 2019 World Junior Champion, swept to the Asian title, lifting a world combined-lifts record of 268 kg, bettering the 2018 mark of 267 kg by fellow Chinese Wangli Zhang.

Liao also took the Snatch at 120 kg, another world record, improving the 119 kg by Romania’s Loredana Toma from the 2022 Worlds last December. Liao also won the Clean & Jerk at 148 kg, short of Zhang’s 2018 mark of 152 kg.

The Asian Champs continue through Saturday.

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: WADA says Russia still not compliant; L.A. approves monument status for Johnson home and oak; UEFA in space

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. WADA: Russia is still not compliant
2. L.A. City Council grants Johnson home historic status
3. Argentina’s Scaloni on its FIFA World Cup win
4. UEFA and European Space Agency together on security
5. Paris 2024 and Sodexo show off athlete meal plans

The World Anti-Doping Agency’s Executive Committee, meeting in Montreal, confirmed that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency is still not in compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code, mostly over integration of the Code into the Russian legal system. Remember the Trump Administration threat to not pay its WADA dues if the U.S. didn’t more representation on the Executive Committee? Well, now it has. The L.A. City Council approved monument status for the Cornelius Johnson home and Olympic Oak, but the property is still for sale … and the price has come down. A new City working group to deal with energy and the 2028 Olympic Games was also approved. Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni explained some of the reasons why his team was able to rebound from an opening 2-1 loss at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and win. UEFA, still smarting from the security disaster at the 2022 Champions League Final in Paris, will work with the European Space Agency on security and other programs. The Paris 2024 organizers and food-service giant Sodexeo showed off some recipe samples and detailed the mammoth culinary program undertaken for the 2024 Olympic Games, including a 3,500-person dining hall in the Olympic Village!

● World Championships: Judo (2: Agbegnenou wins sixth;
Russian fans tossed for pro-war ribbons) ●
● Panorama: Laureus Awards (Messi & Fraser-Pryce honored) = Russia (three more old doping positives in canoeing) = Athletics (4: Kerley vs. Jacobs, Bromell twice now; Slinov suspension extended; Reider gets probation from SafeSport; Amos selling London ‘12 silver medal) = Cycling (new leader in Giro d’Italia) = Figure Skating (Hungary blames Russian invasion, gives back 2024 Euros) = Football (U.S. hires Onyewu as sporting V.P) = Swimming (Germany wins open-water relay) ●

1.
WADA: Russia is still not compliant

The World Anti-Doping Agency’s Executive Committee, its primary policy-making body, concluded its first 2023 meeting, in Montreal (CAN), with an important update on the status of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency.

Still not compliant:

“The ExCo received an update on the current status of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), which remains non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code. This is related to the 2020 decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to declare RUSADA non-compliant and implement a number of consequences on Russian sport for a period of two years. RUSADA will remain non-compliant until WADA has been able to verify that it fulfills each of the reinstatement conditions laid out by the CAS.”

The December 2020 decision by the Court of Arbitration included a long list of requirements, even while shortening the sanctions imposed by WADA from four years to two years. The specific issue for WADA appears to be the integration of the World Anti-Doping Code into Russian law, as is required.

RUSADA issued a statement to the Russian news agency TASS, which included:

“RUSADA’s operations are carried out in full compliance with the requirements of the World Anti-Doping Code.

“According to the results of the RUSADA audit, a remark was received that some provisions of the federal law on sports do not comply with the text of the World Anti-Doping Code. RUSADA does not have the right to legislative initiatives, that is, it cannot submit bills or proposals for the adoption, amendment or repeal of the law for consideration. But we immediately turned to the authorized organizations with a request to work on this issue, and we are very grateful to the members of the committee on physical culture and sports for fruitful and efficient cooperation.

“At the moment, the draft law on amending Articles 26 and 26-1 of the Federal Law ‘On Physical Culture and Sports in the Russian Federation’ is under consideration in the first reading in the State Duma.

“The comment on the legislation does not apply to the operating activities of RUSADA; differences in the text of the Code and federal law do not in any way restrict the agency in implementing the provisions of international standards. The activities of RUSADA are governed by the All-Russian Anti-Doping Rules, which, in turn, are fully consistent with the provisions of the World Anti-Doping Code. In addition, on May 9, 2023, amendments to the federal law came into force, giving RUSADA the right to approve the All-Russian Anti-Doping Rules.”

The WADA report on the Executive Committee meeting also noted the continuing prosecution of Russian athletes from the doping period:

“[T]he WADA Operation LIMS investigation into the data and samples retrieved by WADA Intelligence and Investigations from the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory in 2019 continues to be successful. As of today, 195 athletes have been sanctioned with an additional 77 charged and 188 cases that remain under investigation.”

There was another interesting note in the WADA report, remembering the threat by the Trump Administration in mid-2020 to not pay the agreed-on U.S. dues to the organization if the U.S. did not get more representation on the Executive Committee.

WADA’s reply at the time pointed out that there was no U.S. rep on the ExCo because it did not field any candidates for election for one of the then-available positions.

The WADA report from Monday’s meeting noted, three years later:

“Also attending the ExCo meeting for the first time was the new President of the Americas Sports Council (CADE), Dr. Rahul Gupta, who takes his place on the ExCo as the Americas representative. Dr. Gupta, who is Director of the United States Office of National Drug Control Policy, replaces the former CADE President from Colombia on the ExCo.”

2.
L.A. City Council grants Johnson home historic status

After a lengthy build-up, including hearings in front of the City of Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission and the City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee, the final vote by the Los Angeles City Council on Historic-Cultural Monument status for the Cornelius Johnson home and Olympic Oak passed without comment.

As item 11 of the City Council’s agenda for Wednesday (10th), the approval was swept up in a single vote with 17 other items that passed by 11-0, with four members absent.

So, the Johnson home – built in 1903 by Cornelius Johnson’s father – and the Olympic Oak, planed behind the house from a seedling brought back by Johnson as the Berlin 1936 Olympic high jump gold medalist, now have a modest amount of legal protection against being torn down or significantly altered.

While Historic-Cultural Monument status is not a prohibition against change, it does require any owner to obtain permission from the Cultural Heritage Commission to proceed, and the Commission can postpone any changes for a limited amount of time.

As it is now, the property was to have been developed for market-rate apartments or condominiums by owner KLD Investment, LLC when purchased for $927,000 in 2019. Now, it is on the market for $1.049 million, a price reduction from $1.09 million in the last week.

The Olympic Oak fell into distress, but the owner allowed the Huntington Gardens to come in and install an irrigation device to help revive it. There has been chatter about a potential non-profit buyer to take over the home, perhaps as a cultural center or museum, but no one has come forward yet.

The Los Angeles City Council also approved, by 12-0, a report from the Ad Hoc Committee on the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games to form a “Games Energy Council” to plan the energy program for the Games, focusing on “emerging realities related to climate change and the potential to disrupt energy systems.”

3.
Argentina’s Scaloni on its FIFA World Cup win

After its stunning, shocking, mind-bending, 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in its opening match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Argentina turned everyone around, going on to win its third title with a penalty-kicks victory over France in the final in Doha, Qatar. How?

Coach Lionel Scaloni returned to Doha to speak at Post-FIFA World Cup 2022 Coaches Forum, explaining the flexibility of the team and their playing systems were key. Highlights:

● “I can say that losing that match was a positive thing because I think it also gave the team a new perspective. It was all to play for, and perhaps that forced us to change our approach. … The team and the squad as a whole showed that they were ready for anything.”

The Argentines won their next three games by a combined 6-1 and moved on to an epic quarterfinal against the Dutch, losing a 2-0 lead in the final minutes, but then winning on penalty kicks.

● “My players know that we can change [our system] at any moment, and that we are not one-dimensional. In the end, it ends up like a game of chess: trying to hurt the opposition and prevent them from hurting you. The tactical side, the strategy, that is an important ingredient, but having players play for each other: that’s crucial.”

Tactically, he explained Argentina’s success was partly due to preventing counterattacks:

“We believe strongly in recovering the ball within the first three, four or five seconds after losing possession. If we can’t win the ball back, we move into midfield and wait. We never suffered many counter-attacks due to our team’s [defensive] work and keeping the opposition wingers in check. So, for us, when we prepare how to attack, we also prepare for how the opposition will look to counter-attack, and we didn’t suffer many of those.”

● And Scaloni planned specifically for how to get the most from superstar scorer Lionel Messi:

“I think is important, to realize what a player like him needs. In the first few months with the national team we tried to play a bit faster, a bit more direct and noticed he wasn’t comfortable and his teammates weren’t comfortable, so I think one of our merits, of all of us, the squad as a whole, was having found those players who could let him play his football.”

Despite giving up eight goals in its seven games – and three in the final to France prior to penalties – Argentina’s offensive firepower showed with 15 goals, of which Messi scored seven, with a goal in six of their seven matches.

4.
UEFA and European Space Agency together on security

The security disaster at the 2022 UEFA Champions League final at the Stade de France in Paris, between Liverpool and Real Madrid, that saw more than 200 fans injured and significant violence and robbery by local assailants, sent UEFA looking for more help in the future.

Beyond a detailed report and recommendations for the future, UEFA and the European Space Agency announced Monday a working agreement, which will include:

“In collaboration with UEFA, ESA will run an open call for technologies on crowd management solutions. The goal is to allow tech providers in the ESA network to provide UEFA with more accurate data on the crowd movement around stadiums, and to allow UEFA to access the historical crowd data in specific venues.”

Projects will also include a mapping of football sites across Europe to better target community programs, and sustainability development efforts that can be used in football contexts. The agreement will last through the end of 2025; the UEFA statement noted:

“This agreement is signed as part of the UEFA Innovation Hub’s mission to foster cross-industrial collaborations with a wide range of stakeholders from the innovation ecosystem, as a response to ever-changing habits and an increasingly demanding environment for football.”

After the 2022 Champions League final, UEFA is open to any help it can get. This might turn into something quite interesting.

5.
Paris 2024 and Sodexo show off athlete meal plans

France is justly famous for gastronomy and the Paris 2024 organizers and official supporter, food service giant Sodexo, explained their food service program for athletes in a Tuesday news conference.

The athlete feeding program has to take care of about 15,000 people in the Olympic Village, with an expected 40,000 meals of all sizes served daily. The main dining hall is expected to seat up to 3,500 people at a time, with dishes of many types and many styles to meet the nutritional and cultural needs of athletes and team officials, plus six other smaller locations.

One sample on Tuesday was from famed chef Amandine Chaignot: “What I cooked here is poultry, guinea fowl slowly roasted with a nice crayfish jus, very reduced, very intense, with a ‘poulette’ sauce (white sauce), so it’s a kind of creamy, comfort food.”

Other samples included crushed chickpeas with herbs and a smoked fish sauce, a quinoa risotto and a chocolate mousse with raspberries.

Sodexo expects to have more than 500 menu items available to cater to all tastes and needs, with more than 1,000 workers at the Village and 6,000 staff all together, with Sodexo also handling food service at 14 of the Olympic venues and eight Paralympic competition sites.

There are also sustainability goals, with kitchen equipment, reusable plates and utensils to be reused after the Games. Uneaten food will be donated to food banks and food waste will be composted.

Local foods will be featured, with 80% of the products from France and of that total, a quarter will come from within 150 miles of Paris.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Judo ● France’s Clarisse Agbegnenou cemented her place as one of the greatest judoka ever with her sixth individual World Championships gold at 63 kg on Wednesday at the 2023 IJF Worlds in Doha (QAT).

After skipping a year for maternity in 2022, Agbegnenou returned with another triumph, winning with steady precision, but also once in the first 20 seconds in he quarterfinal. She ended up exactly where she was two years ago, against Slovenia’s Andreja Leski, in the final. Agbegnenou waited, found an opening and scored a waza-ari (half-point) with 30 seconds to go and a second for a technical ippon and another Worlds golds.

Now 30, Agbegnenou now ranks equal-fourth all-time with six individual World titles; only the iconic Teddy Riner (FRA: 10 at +100 kg), and fellow female competitors Ryoko Tani (JPN: 7 at 48 kg from 1991-07), Tong Wen (CHN: 7 at +78 kg from 2001-11) have more. Agbenenou is tied with Belgian Ingrid Berghmans (72 kg and +72 kg from 1980-89) with six.

Counting all Worlds medals, including team events, Riner and Agbegnenou are tied for the most ever at 13 (8-3-2; Riber has 11-1-1). Amazing.

It has been a good World Championships for repeaters. On Tuesday, Japanese-born, but now Canadian star Christa Deguchi won her second Worlds gold – also in 2019 – in the women’s 57 kg class over Japan’s Haruka Funakubo, who now has silver medals in this class in 2022 and 2023.

In the men’s 81 kg division, Georgia’s Tato Grigalashvili defended his 2022 title by beating Belgium’s 2021 World Champion Matthias Casse for the second Worlds in a row. It’s the third time in a row that the two have met for the Worlds gold, with the Georgian taking the last two.

In Tuesday’s men’s 73 kg final, Swiss Nils Stump won his first career Worlds medal – a gold – by beating 2021 Worlds silver medalist Manuel Lombardo (ITA) in the final. Stump’s win was the first ever by a Swiss at the Judo Worlds.

The individual championships continue through the 13th, with the team event on the 14th.

On Tuesday, three spectators at the IJF Worlds were removed from the venue for refusing to remove a Russian military symbol. Inside The Games reported:

“Three people were spotted in the crowd wearing the Ribbon of St George – which is viewed by many Ukrainians as a symbol of Russian aggression and has been banned in several European countries – when watching yesterday’s competition at the Ali Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah Arena in Qatari capital Doha. …

“‘They were spectators and they were asked to remove the items and they didn’t want to,’ a spokesperson from the IJF told insidethegames.

“‘So they were removed from the venue and will not be allowed to re-enter.’”

The International Judo Federation has allowed Russian and Belarusian judoka to compete as neutrals in Doha. Russian Judo Federation President Sergey Soloveitchik told the Russian news agency TASS:

“We learned about this incident only from the media, and, in my opinion, there is a provocative component in it. We cannot comment on the decision of the organizers, especially since we have not seen with our own eyes either people with St. George’s ribbons, or how they were allegedly asked to leave. We are here for something else: we came to perform, to fight for medals. Our athletes have not performed for the last year, training day in and day out.”

A Russian State Duma member, 2006 Olympic Winter 500 m gold medalist Svetlana Zhurova, blamed Ukraine for the incident, pointing to an online post by Tokyo 2020 Greco-Roman 87 kg gold medalist Zhan Beleniuk of Ukraine, also a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, picturing the three fans with the ribbons:

“The organizers themselves would hardly have noticed the St. George ribbons. Ukraine will always monitor such things and provoke similar situations in order to further achieve our isolation. At all the sites where Russian athletes still remain, provocations are arranged only by Ukraine.”

In response to Russian and Belarusian participation, Ukraine is boycotting the 2023 IJF Worlds.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Laureus Awards ● The prestigious Laureus Awards were handed out on Monday in Paris, with Argentine football icon Messi winning for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year and his World Cup winners as the Laureus World Team of the Year for 2022.

Five-time World 100 m champ Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica won the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year, after being nominated five times previously!

Spain’s tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz won the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award for his victory at age 19. Danish football star Christian Eriksen recovered from cardiac arrest and losing his club contract to become the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award, while China’s triple Winter Games medalist snowboarder Eileen Gu won the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award.

● Russia ● More ancient doping positives from the International Testing Agency, which announced Wednesday that three canoeists have been charged with doping violations based on evidence from the infamous Moscow Laboratory at the center of the state-sponsored 2011-15 doping project:

“The cases are based on investigations conducted by WADA’s Intelligence & Investigations Department (WADA I&I) and by Prof Richard McLaren into allegations of systemic doping practices in Russian sport as well as Moscow Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) data retrieved by WADA I&I over time.”

The three athletes – Larisa Arakcheeva, Natalya Lobova and Vitaliy Yurchenko – are all Sprint competitors and have been provisionally suspended pending formal review of the charges. Lobova was the 2011 European gold medalist in the K-1 200 m and won four World Championships medals from 2010-14 in the K-1 4×200 m race.

● Athletics ● Lots of hype in the men’s sprints. On Tuesday, World Athletics ballyhooed the Wanda Diamond League meet in Florence, Italy on 2 June – the Pietro Mennea Golden Gala – with Tokyo Olympic 100 m champ Lamont Marcell Jacobs (ITA) confirmed against Olympic runner-up and Eugene Worlds winner Fred Kerley of the U.S.

Jacobs beat Kerley in Tokyo, 9.80 to 9.84, then Kerley won the 2022 Worlds in 9.86, with teammate Trayvon Bromell third in 9.88 (Jacobs was injured). Bromell will also be on the line in Florence.

On Wednesday, it was announced that all three would be running in the Diamond League meet in Rabat, Morocco – the Meeting International Mohamed VI – on 28 May, six days earlier!

There had been lots of chatter about a Jacobs-Kerley match race, and when the Florence announcement was made, former U.S. and Nigerian sprinter Rae Edwards – posting as @RaesTake – wrote on Twitter:

● “Is it nobody’s trying to waste the money or is it the Track World once again blocking the outside from getting in? I PERSONALLY know they both where offered $100k to do a one on one, plus $50k in travel expenses and accommodations to race head up.”

● “I mean I gotta call it the way it went. Marcel [sic] said yes and agreed to even come to America to do it. He also asked about a possible relay of Italy vs USA. I reached out to [Mike] Marsh (USA relay coach about it to). He said he’d ask the athletes and get back to me. Never did. Fred said $100k. When I had the investment group interested and let them know that they would put up a quarter mill. I never heard anything back from Fred’s camp or Marsh. It was never Marcel [sic] if I’m being honest.”

Jacobs has won both his meetings with Kerley, both in 2021. Jacobs also won his only head-to-head race with Bromell, also in 2021.

Beijing 2008 Olympic high jump champ Andrey Silnov of Russia was banned for doping from April of 2021 into April of 2025 for a doping positive in 2013 based on evidence from the Moscow Laboratory as part of the Russian state-sponsored doping program. Now he’s been banned for a further year.

The Athletics Integrity Unit announced that he breached the rules against participation in any athletics event “for attending an athletics competition in Russia on 11 August 2021 and presenting awards to young prize winners (pictured on Instagram the following day).”

According to the Russian news agency TASS, Silnov, now 38, accepted the additional suspension, according to an unnamed source:

“‘Initially, they wanted to assign Andrey an additional four-year suspension until 2028,’ the source said. ‘As a result, with the help of lawyers, he managed to reduce the period to one year. Andrey believes that it is already pointless to challenge the one-year suspension, it’s a waste of time.’”

“Renowned athletics coach Rana Reider has resolved his case with the U.S. Center for SafeSport. Mr. Reider will continue his elite level coaching of sprinters and jumpers.

“Mr. Reider acknowledged his consensual romantic relationship with an adult athlete, which presented a power imbalance during the relationship.

“Mr. Reider was not found in violation of any other sexual misconduct claims. All other claims are now administratively closed. Mr. Reider has credibly and consistently denied all other allegations of sexual misconduct.”

That’s from Reider’s attorney, Ryan Stevens, in a statement on Wednesday, which also included:

“Mr. Reider agreed to one year of probation with the U.S. Center of SafeSport, which will include an online SafeSport Education.”

Reider, based in Florida, coached Tokyo Olympic 200 m winner Andre De Grasse of Canada, two-time Olympic triple jump winner Christian Taylor of the U.S., among others.

Now serving a three-year suspension for doping into 2025, Botswanan 800 m star Nijel Amos said he is selling his London 2012 men’s 800 m Olympic silver medal in order to survive financially.

“At this time, my only investment or pension is the famous 2012 Olympic silver medal. I am in touch with different stakeholders, including financial advisors, on how that can sustain me and my family.

“I met with a team that wants to buy it with a value of 4.5 million Botswana pula [~$336,584 U.S.], but with my documentary coming out on Netflix it could change the value to 7.5 million.

“It is extremely difficult to survive as an athlete in Botswana where we are not given pension or any lump sum insurance payouts.”

Amos, 29, won his country’s first-ever Olympic medal in that famous London race, won by Kenyan Daniel Rudisha in a world-record 1:40.91; the Botswana men’s 4×400 m team won a bronze in Tokyo for its second medal. Amos said he expects to compete again at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

● Cycling ● The 106th Giro d’Italia continued in confusion, as Belgian race favorite Remco Evenepoel crashed early in the stage due to a dog on the course.

The hilly, 171 km route from Atripalta to Salerno was rainy and wet from the start and got crazy at the 19 km mark, when Evenepoel’s Soudal-Quick-Step teammate Davide Ballerini (ITA) skidded into him while trying to avoid a dog caught up in the peloton.

There were other crashes, including co-favorite Primoz Roglic, with 14 km to go, and then Evenepoel again with 2.4 km left, part of a 14-bike pile-up, although Evenepoel got up and finished (and since this crash was in the last 3 km, did not lose any more time).

The dash to the line was won by Australia’s Kaden Groves, ahead of Jonny Milan, with Mads Pedersen (DEN) third. There was another crash at the line just behind them that included Britain’s Mark Cavendish and second-stage runner-up David Dekker (NED).

All of this left Norway’s Andreas Leknessund still in the maglia rosa, with a 28-second lead on Evenepoel and 30 seconds on Aurelien Paret-Peintre (FRA), with Roglic in fifth, 1:12 down.

Leknessund took the lead with his runner-up finish in stage 4, the first climbing route of the 2023 Giro, finishing uphill to Lago Laceno. The Norwegian, Paret-Peintre and Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (ERI) broke free with 2.5 km remaining on the final climb, with Paret-Peintre getting the win by two seconds over Leknessund, but with Leknessund taking the race lead over Evenepoel with Paret-Peintre moving up to third overall.

● Figure Skating ● The Russian invasion of Ukraine was blamed for the withdrawal by the Hungarian National Skating Federation as host of the 2024 European Figure Skating Championships.

Scheduled for 22-28 January in Budapest, the federation issued a statement which noted “the prolonged war in our country’s neighborhood, its impact on the economy and the energy prices that are significantly affecting the sport of skating,” and “lack of sufficient funding to organize a high quality competition.”

The International Skating Union sent a circular asking for declarations of interest by 26 May 2023.

● Football ● The U.S. Soccer Federation has engaged former National Team defender Oguchi Onyewu as Vice President of Sporting, assisting new Sporting Director Matt Crocker (WAL).

Onyewu, 40, was the sports director for Orlando City B from 2018-19 and come back to the U.S. from being general secretary of the Belgian club Royal Excelsior Virton. He played for the U.S. in the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups and made 69 appearances for the National Team.

● Swimming ● Germany was a big winner in the Open Water World Cup mixed relay (4 x 1,500 m) in Somabay, Egypt on Tuesday, winning in 1:02:50.1 to 1:03.48.5 for France.

Second leg Celine Rieder broke the race open, giving Oliver Klement a 40-second lead, followed by star anchor Florian Wellbrock for the easy win. Egypt won the bronze medal.

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LANE ONE: “Track is an amateur sport that just so happens to have professionals in it.”

By
Rich Perelman
-
Sprinter Kyra Jefferson, during her interview in the moderneathletes video, "Road to Paris | E4: State of Track"

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

Sometimes, waves portend a storm. Sometimes, waves roll in and just roll back out. Having been involved, observed and tried to help the sport of track and field over multiple decades, a new video perfectly captures the moment we are in right now and must be shared.

Mentioned in our Tuesday post was a seven-minute video from moderneathletes, a 2023 start-up from Florida by principals Sharmila Nicolett and Jerome Green, Jr. and founding athletes Kenny Bednarek and Chris Mueller, the fourth in their “Road to Paris” series, titled simply State of Track, posted on Sunday (7th).

It primarily features sprinter Kyra Jefferson, 28, the 2017 NCAA 200 m champ (in 22.02) for Florida, with contributions from Tokyo Olympic 200 m silver medalist Bednarek and John-Edward Heath, a Para Track & Field athlete who also competes in other sports.

The video is excellent, but to really appreciate the commentary, here is a full transcript:

Jefferson: Track is one of those sports, we don’t make a lot of money, So you can’t compare a sponsorship for basketball, you can’t compare us to Nike football.

Q: How would you explain the sport of track & field?

Jefferson: Track is an amateur sport that just so happens to have professionals in it.

Sixteen [years old] and as long as you run a standard, you could come to our Trials.

Q: Are you’re considered a professional at that point?

Jefferson: Well, that’s the thing that we’ve all been trying to figure out: what determines a professional?

Q: So there’s no standard of, like, you’re either a professional track athlete of you’re not?

Jefferson: Well, it depends because some people say you’re a professional because it means you have a sponsorship. Does that mean that someone who just won an Olympic medal who doesn’t have a sponsorship is not professional?

Professional means you make money. OK, well, NIL [name-image-likeness], I’m in college, I make money. I’m professional, or am I still a collegiate athlete?

Q: You’re saying there’s no threshold for track and field?

Jefferson: For our track and field federation, there is no threshold. If you pay the $40 to get a USATF membership, you can compete at any meet that we at. Any meet that a professional’s at, if you get accepted to the meet.

Although I’m in a Nike [training] group, Nike does not pay my bills. They did for a hot five years; it was very fun, loved it. It’s pretty black and white. You either have a medal or you don’t. You have a medal, Nike’s going to pick you up, adidas is going to pick you up, Puma, New Balance.

If you don’t have a medal, you have to depend on outliers, sponsorships like Essentia or On Running is becoming hot.

Q: Did you notice that and you set yourself up differently, or was you were figuring it out?

Jefferson: My agent pulled me aside and told me, “if you don’t beat these two girls, Nike’s not signing you for anything.” It was very straight, to the point.

Q: Is that how the sport is?

Jefferson: Yeah, pretty much. Most sponsors know who they want by the time they get to national championships. You have to perform well at NCs, or you have to perform well at the U.S. Champs. There’s outliers where, you know, you ran fast, and they’re like, “oh no, we, we [saw you],” but it’s also a test of what have you done lately and can you do it again?

I can run 21 seconds [for 200 m]; can I do it again? Can I do it again against this person? Can I do it at Trials? Can I do it at Worlds? Sometimes they push the finish line further back. That’s the situation I’m kind of in right now.

Q: How do you see your situation going? How do you think through this situation now?

Jefferson: A coach at the USATF Annual Meeting gave the best explanation of track that I’ve ever heard in my life: “Whatever you sign for, the only way to get way more than that is medal, world record, American Record … something outlandish, outstanding, indisputable … oh, you’re great.”

I’m in a situation where bonus contracts are going to be mild. I’m OK with that because that’s the sport. The only way I would get a contract is, I have to win USAs. I have to win a medal. Those are my only options.

Bednarek: Once I became a professional, that’s when I had to start thinking deeper about the sport. I’m learning about the sport as I am kind of in this career right now. Before I become a professional, I really didn’t know much about track & field.

I only knew about Justin [Gatlin], [Usain] Bolt, Yohan [Blake], but now I’m trying to learn about, you know, the agents, because the agents for a track & field athlete are one point, you’ve got coaches for track & field athletes are one point. I’m trying to figure out who’s who, what have they done in the past? How did they get in this position?

Q: Is it a sport where everybody understands everybody’s position? Or is it a sport where like, I gotta get my own?

Bednarek: I think it’s more, I gotta get my own.

Jefferson: I’m a part of the AAC, which is the [USATF] Athlete Advisory Council. I’ve tried to be a part of that and we tried to determine at this last meeting, what is considered a professional athlete because we’re asking for these things, but it’s who [do] they apply to, who gets these things? Who are y’all talking about?

Because we have women and men who are literally top five in the world, with no sponsors.

Q: How does the track and field world operate?

Jefferson: Nobody’s really figured out what’s the best way to do something, because somebody’s going to be left out of the equation.

Like some people can say, OK, the people who should get pay are people who have medals. The person who got fourth is not worthy, because they got fourth, when they could have got third, but this year they didn’t have it?

To make our team, for example, the 200 for the men: nine out of 10, you know who will make the team. There’s maybe one other person, like, oh, they could sneak in. For the 100, you know you can’t predict who’s gonna make that team. For the [women’s] 100 hurdles, you definitely can’t predict who’s gonna make that team. Keni Harrison did not make the Olympic team; a week or two later, broke the world record.

So we use the criteria of who has medals, does that mean Keni doesn’t get money?

Q: Who’s setting the standard?

Jefferson: Well, that’s a good question. We were trying to figure that out. We’ve been trying to figure out what meetings we’re missing where they picked; who decides this?

How do you bring more marketing awareness to a sport that a lot of people think we only compete at the Olympics.

Q: You don’t feel like that’s changed?

Jefferson: With certain athletes it has. It’s brought like certain awareness. I was at the airport and they’re like, “oh my God, are you guys going to the Olympics?” Talking to three Olympians, they were like, “are y’all going to the Olympics?”

Heath: Ninety-five percent of society doesn’t know who just won a medal at the Olympics.

Jefferson: Having no clue who, like, [Tokyo women’s 4×100 m silver winners] Javianne [Oliver] was, having no clue who Teahna [Daniels] was. They literally got a medal from the Olympics, and they like, “oh, y’all run track, so you’re going to the Olympics.”

Anybody can say they’re an Olympian, because nobody knows track, they don’t pay attention enough.

All I got to do is say I’m a professional athlete, and the first question out of everybody’s mouth, “oh, so you’re trying to go to the Olympics?” We, individually, have to educate people like, well, you know Worlds is this year. They have no idea that we’re all training for Worlds in Budapest.

Us, as athletes, we like “Worlds pay more than the Olympics.”

I think that we should have like a minimum, like, hey, everybody at least needs to make $30,000 a year. But how do you do that? How do you determine who are the people that need to all make $30,000 a year?

Q: Do athletes study the numbers and see where the money is going?

Jefferson: I think there are some athletes that understand where the money is going. But the bigger scheme of athletes is like, I-gotta-take-care-of-myself mindset.

Bednarek: I’m looking at who’s making more than me, and I’m like, why aren’t I making more than them? Or making at least close to them because I’ve beaten them several times. That’s how simple it is.

Sometimes I think it’s about competition and other times, it’s just who has the best story. If you want to break records, you put the best people on the team.

Q: If all the athletes stand together …

Jefferson: Stop. Why would you stand with me, if you getting paid and I’m not?

Bednarek: You’re the talk of the town or you’re not, either you’re going to be the next guy or you’re not.

Jefferson: This is not no shade to anybody, but let’s be real. If I got a gold medal, I got two kids, I gotta do what’s best for them. I wish you was getting paid too. I do agree that it’s kind of messed up, but I’m getting paid. I got kids, I gotta to take care of my mom.

It sucks that you’re not getting paid. I do think they should do something. Somebody should do something, as long as it don’t make me have less money. (Host: Right). I’m for it. Like, let’s figure it out.

The comments are hardly new, it’s simply a new generation of athletes who are making them. The professional International Track Association came and went in the 1970s and successor concepts have consistently failed, usually for insufficient capitalization.

World Athletics Council member Willie Banks, the former Worlds silver medalist and world-record holder in the triple jump, explained last July that USA Track & Field is working toward “making a … direct investment in our athletes, meaning payments – a living wage to our athletes.”

The elements are fairly familiar: an actual, dependable salary, health insurance, recognition of the costs of travel and accommodations (if required), training support, coaching, child care for those with families and all the other things that employees expect from employers today.

Superstar Carl Lewis, now the coach at the University of Houston, was demanding these things in the 1980s, but they have not happened. Yet. But there appear to be stronger waves today than in recent years, for example April’s breakthrough Citius Magazine interview by Kyle Merber with Worlds 100 m runner-up Marvin Bracy on the business of track & field athlete sponsorships and Olympic icon Michael Johnson’s recipe on Twitter for moving the sport forward.

It may all just be another occasional, stronger wave. Or it could be something more.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Bach welcomes future China Olympic bid; first Rodchenkov Act conviction; ANOC to remove Beach Games from Bali?

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Bach tells China a 2036 Olympic bid will be welcome
2. Beijing 2022 announces surplus; Bach donates back IOC share
3. Lira pleads guilty to Rodchenkov Act violations
4. IBA angry over U.S. boxers competing in Czech Grand Prix
5. Report: ANOC could remove World Beach Games from Bali

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach was on a five-day visit to China and was asked about a Chinese bid for the 2036 Olympic Games. Sure, he said, but there about 10 or more others also interested. The Beijing 2022 Winter Games organizing committee announced a $52 million cash surplus from the event and the IOC agreed to give back its $10.4 million share for legacy programs in the country. The first conviction under the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act of 2019 came Monday as Eric Lira pled guilty to supplying performance-enhancing drugs to two Nigerian track stars, both now suspended. The International Boxing Association referred for sanctions the Czech Boxing Association after it allowed U.S. boxers to compete in its annual Grand Prix invitational. The U.S. left the IBA over its governance policies just prior to the tournament. A new report says that the Bali Governor continues to refuse to allow Israeli athletes to compete in the 2023 ANOC World Beach Games, leading to the possibility that this event could also be removed from Indonesia, as was the FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup, now to be held in Argentina later this month.

● World Championships: Judo (Abe and Abe win again and again!) ●
● Panorama: Paris 2024 (protest in Marseille over sailing beach closures) = Athletics (4: World Athletics promises $190,000 to aid Ukraine athletes; excellent seven-minute video on the world of “professional” track & field; London Marathon gets more than a half-million applications; UCI’s Len Miller passes at 85) = Cycling (2: Matthews wins Giro stage 3; Willoughby wins national BMX title no. 11) = eSports (Bach sees points of contact for future) = Fencing (another FIE World Cup called off in Germany) = Figure Skating (Gilles treated for ovarian cancer) = Modern Pentathlon (UIPM rolls the dice with co-brand with World Obstacle) = Swimming (Wellbrock and Beck win Open Water World Cup opener in Egypt) ●

1.
Bach tells China a 2036 Olympic bid will be welcome

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (CHN) is on a five-day trip through China and was asked about a bid for a future Olympic Games there.

“Candidatures from China are always the most welcomed,” he told the Xinhua state news agency.

“But right now we have already allocated the hosts until 2032, so China still has some time to think about the next candidature, which will be 2036. But I’m very sure and really looking forward to many major international sports events taking place in China in the coming years.”

Bach added that the interest is already high, adding there are “already a two-digit number of interested National Olympic Committees or regions who want to organize the Olympic Games in 2036.

“There is still some time to go. We will maybe have a better feeling how the world will look like in 2036 than we do at this very moment now.”

Bach has said that the selection of the 2036 Games is for his successor; he will conclude his second term in 2025. Los Angeles will host the Games in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032.

As for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games, Bach said that the election “will happen next year.

“By then we will have a clearer picture on the overall impact of climate change and the other challenges winter sports are facing.”

The IOC Executive Board has asked its Future Host Commission for the Winter Games to figure out whether a permanent rotation of host cities makes sense in order to assure wintry conditions and whether this should start with the 2030 award, or 2034, or further into the future.

2.
Beijing 2022 announces surplus; Bach donates back IOC share

Bach met with the Chinese Premier, with the head of the Chinese Olympic Committee and with TOP sponsor Mengniu Dairy, which has partnered with Coca-Cola in the beverage category.

He also announced that the IOC will donate its $10.46 million share of the organizing committee’s surplus from the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games back to China for use in legacy activities. According to an IOC announcement:

● “[T]he Beijing 2022 Organising Committee (Beijing 2022) revealed that it had achieved a surplus of USD 52 million (CNY 0.35 billion) from its organisational budget of USD 2.29 billion (revenue) (CNY 15.39 billion) with the successful Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.”

● Per Bach: “[The Games] gave a huge boost to international winter sport by having engaged 346 million Chinese people in winter sport. All of this in spite of a global pandemic. Congratulations to the Organising Committee of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 for this success and for delivering these Games with a financial surplus even under these extremely difficult circumstances.”

A retention of any operating surplus by the organizing committee is a standard clause in the host-city agreements for the Games. For Paris 2024:

“any surplus resulting from the planning, organising, financing and staging of the Games shall be divided as follows:

“a. twenty percent (20%) to the Host NOC;

“b. sixty percent (60%) to the OCOG to be used for the general benefit of sport in the Host Country, as may be determined by the OCOG in consultation with the Host NOC; and

“c. twenty percent (20%) to the IOC.”

However, the IOC will not share in any surplus from the 2028 Los Angeles Games, as the agreement specifies that 20% will go to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and the remaining 80% to the organizing committee, which is now obligated to form a successor entity with the City of Los Angeles for its post-Games use.

3.
Lira pleads guilty to Rodchenkov Act violations

The Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act of 2019 (now 21 U.S.C. §402) was passed to try to stem doping activities in sports and Monday saw the first conviction under this statute. The U.S. Justice Department announced:

“Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that defendant ERIC LIRA pled guilty today for his role in providing banned performance-enhancing drugs (‘PEDs’) to Olympic athletes in advance of the 2020 Olympic Games held in Tokyo in the summer of 2021.”

Lira, 43, a kinesiologist and naturopathic doctor in El Paso, Texas, will be sentenced at a later date; the statute specifies a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, but the actual sentence will be up to the judge. According to the statement:

“The charges in this case arise from an investigation of a scheme to provide Olympic athletes with PEDs, including drugs widely banned throughout competitive sports, such as human growth hormone and the ‘blood building’ drug erythropoietin, in advance of and for the purpose of corrupting the 2020 Olympic Games, which convened in Tokyo in the summer of 2021.”

Lira was identified as the supplier of drugs to Nigerian star sprinter and long jumper Blessing Okagbare, who was banned for 11 years in 2022, and Nigerian sprinter Divine Oduduru, who was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit in February, with the agency asking for a six-year ban.

The Rodchenkov Act is aimed at people who are recommending or providing drugs to athletes, but carries no penalties for athletes themselves.

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency head Travis Tygart said:

“This case was, in part, initiated thanks to the courage of a whistleblower who brought USADA information about intentional doping by athletes. [The Act] requires the sharing of information between organizations around the world, as was the case here. That collaboration between anti-doping organizations, law enforcement, and other federal agencies has since led to numerous cases and anti-doping rule violations, including the decision against Sabina Allen and the decision against Blessing Okagbare that prevented her from defrauding the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. In these matters, the collaboration with the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) was essential to the success of the investigation, and we are thankful for our partnership to protect clean athletes.”

4.
IBA angry over U.S. boxers competing in Czech Grand Prix

The newest twist in the struggle within Olympic boxing was a move last Friday by the International Boxing Association to withdraw from a tournament in the Czech Republic because of U.S. participation.

The IBA sent a letter on 5 May asking national federations to remove themselves from the 53rd International Elite Grand Prix in Usti nad Labem, near Prague, held from 3-8 May, “because of the illegitimate participation of US Technical and Team Officials as well as Boxers. As result, teams from Brazil, France, and Poland immediately left the tournament.”

U.S. boxers were on the second leg of a European tour, having competed in the 41st GeeBeeBoxing tournament in Helsinki (FIN) from 13-16 April, winning nine medals (5-0-4) with golds for Emilio Garcia (63.5 kg), Morelle McCane (66 kg), Omari Jones (71 kg) and Jamar Talley (92 kg). USA Boxing left the IBA on 26 April 2023.

The European Boxing Confederation asked the Czech association to take measures to remove the U.S. from its tournament, but was ignored. Now:

“[T]he IBA has filed an official complaint to the Boxing Independent Integrity Unit (BIIU) against the CBA for allowing the participation of USA Boxing … [and the national federations] that ignored the IBA communication urging them to immediately withdraw from the tournament have also had official complaints to the Boxing Independent Integrity Unit (BIIU) filed against them by the IBA. …

“The IBA reiterates that it will continue doing its utmost to protect the organization and all its member National Federations from any harm caused by individuals or entities within or outside of the IBA boxing family.”

The Grand Prix had more than 200 boxers compete from 18 nations, with the Americans winning eight medals (2-2-4), with wins by Jahmal Harvey at 57 kg and Jones at 71 kg.

5.
Report: ANOC could remove World Beach Games from Bali

The Sunday Times (London) reported that Indonesian officials are now concerned that the continued aversion of Bali Governor Wayan Koster to allow Israel to compete in the ANOC World Beach Games in August will result in the event’s removal from Indonesia.

Attempts by the Indonesian Sports Ministry and National Olympic Committee to obtain Koster’s cooperation have been unsuccessful – the report said “he will not budge” – and already cost the country the FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup, which was removed to Argentina and will begin later this month.

The Times of Israel noted:

“Indonesia and Israel do not have formal diplomatic relations and support for the Palestinian cause is high in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. But Israeli delegations have been to Indonesia for sporting and diplomatic events before, including four Israelis who competed in the World Cycling Championship in Jakarta in February.”

Indonesia has presidential elections coming in 2024 and the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle has nominated Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, also strongly anti-Israel as its candidate, with Koster’s support.

So far, ANOC has said it expects the event to go off without incident as to participants, including Israel, with qualifications continuing and the actual list of competing countries open until 8 July.

Another refusal to allow Israel to compete could bring the Indonesian Olympic Committee under scrutiny by the International Olympic Committee as well as the Association of National Olympic Committees.

The World Beach Games includes 14 sports for 2023, 43 events and an expected 1,584 athletes from about 100 countries, not so large that it could not be moved if there was another willing host.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Judo ● One of the highlights of the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games was the same-day golds for brother and sister Hifumi and Uta Abe in judo. It happened for the third straight year on Monday at the IJF World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Uta Abe completely dominated the women’s 52 kg class, winning all five matches by ippon, beating Tokyo silver winner Amandine Buchard (FRA) in the quarters and Diyora Keldiyorova of Uzbekistan in the final. It’s her second straight world title and fourth overall. Buchard came back to win one of the bronze medals.

Hifumi, the older brother, won a second straight title as well, meaning the pair won their Olympic golds in 2021, Worlds golds in 2022 and in 2023 on the same day. Hifumi beat countryman Joshiro Matsuyama in the title match for a second straight year and also took his fourth career Worlds gold.

The Worlds continue through the 13th.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Paris 2024 ● A demonstration is being called for Sunday, 21 May by local groups in Marseille (FRA) unhappy with the reduced use of beaches during Kitefoil class regattas in 2023 and 2024. The announcement of the demonstration included:

“Kitefoil is normally practiced on vast areas of empty beaches because the ‘things’ are very fast and excessively dangerous both on land and at sea. Planning this competition inside the city on public beaches is very risky and implies huge areas of exclusion, in the sand and on the shore, at the expense of all other water-based recreational activities, and for a long period running from spring 2023 to mid-August 2024.

“Summer seasons, often undergoing heat waves, are harshly impacted. This is unbearable for thousands of families who use these beaches, that are already scarce in Marseille in comparison with the number of people using them.

“Besides, authorities plan to completely shut down the south harbor of Marseille, forbidding all water-based recreational activities over a huge territory of 35km² in the middle of summer seasons, two weeks in July 2023 and three weeks in July and August 2024, all this for the sole ‘security’ of a few Olympic regattas!

“We consider that this is an excessive undertaking, completely disconnected from the real security needs that must be applied before the games and not at the expense of the population.”

The Formula Kite class is new for the 2024 Games. The single-sail IQFoil windsurfing class, with competitions for men and women, is new for 2024, replacing the RS:X class held from 2008-20.

● Athletics ● World Athletics announced an extension of the Ukraine Fund created in 2022 with the World Athletics Foundation and the Diamond League Association, with $190,000 assigned to assist 100 or more athletes this year.

The funding will cover accommodations, food and services for athletes with a credible chance to qualify for any World Athletics championship event, and travel and accommodations at qualifying events and the Worlds in Budapest this summer.

Additional funding will be provided for training camps and equipment for use in remaining available facilities, and support staff for the Budapest Worlds. The recent shelling of Bakhmut by Russian forces destroyed an important, year-round training facility there, including a stadium, indoor arena, throwing fields and a medical center.

If you want to understand the mind-bending state of U.S. track & field athletes, take seven minutes out of your day and watch this video by moderneathletes: Road to Paris E4: State of Track.

Sprinters Kyra Jefferson – the 2017 NCAA 200 m champ – and Tokyo Olympic 200 m runner-up Kenny Bednarek give a brilliant explanation of where the sport is now, and their frustrations with it. Very well done.

The London Marathon received a record 578,374 applications to run in the 2024 edition, reportedly the first race with more than a half-million applications. Most of the applicants – 457,105 or 79% – were from Great Britain.

London had received a then-record 457,861 in 2019 to run in the 2020 race that was wiped out by the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2023 London Marathon on 23 April had more than 48,600 finishers.

Sad news of the passing of long-time UC Irvine and Arizona State coach Len Miller, at age 85 on 4 March 2023.

Miller rose to prominence most especially in the 1970s as the coach of mile star Steve Scott, the long-time American record holder at 3:47.69 and the 1983 World Championships 1,500 m silver medalist.

After a long career at the high school and community college level, Miller coached at Irvine from 1973-79 and at Arizona State from 1980-83. While at Irvine, his teams won the NCAA Division II national cross country title in 1975 and 1976, and the outdoor track & field title in 1976.

A celebration of life is being held on 15 May at the Irvine Barclay Theatre at 11 a.m. and all are welcome.

● Cycling ● Stage three of the 106th Giro d’Italia came down to a final sprint as expected, with Australian Michael Matthews getting to the line first ahead of Mads Pedersen (DEN) and Jaden Groves (AUS).

The 213 km route from Vasto to Melfi was rainy, but the final 25 km descended from the Valico la Croce and ended with the expected mass sprint, as the top 57 riders got the same time: 5:01:41.

Mathews earned his third career stage win in the Giro, while Remco Evenepoel (BEL) continued to lead the race, now by 32 seconds over Portugal’s Joao Almeida and 44 seconds ahead of Slovenian star Primoz Roglic, expected to be his main rival.

Stage 4 has two major climbs and an uphill finish to Lago Laceno in the first real test of the race.

Two-time World BMX Champion Alise Willoughby was in excellent form and won her 11th national title in the USA Cycling BMX Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Sunday. She won most recently in 2021 and had won the national title in 11 of the last 13 years!

Payton Ridenour finished second and Lexis Colby third.

None of the men’s favorites got to the line first; instead, it was Anthony Bucardo who emerged as a first-time winner, taking charge around the final turn, ahead of Jeremy Smith and Cameron Wood.

● eSports ● IOC President Bach reiterated the body’s stance on electronic games during his China visit, telling the Xinhua news agency:

“Our approach to e-sports is with a priority to virtual sports, meaning reality sports, where there is physical activity, [like] cycling, rowing, in the meantime, you have even taekwondo in the e-form, and a number of other sports.

“This is where we are closest to because the physical activity of these athletes is on the same level as athletes in traditional sports. Whether you’re doing a leg of the Tour de France on your bicycle at home, or you do the real leg, the physical activity is the same and the challenges.

“When it comes to the e-games, there is a very clear red line, however. Every game which is contradictory to the Olympic Values, like killer games or games which are discriminatory, is an absolute taboo to the Olympic Movement.

“We think we have something to offer to the elite gamers because they are facing, in some respects, the same challenges as athletes in traditional sports.

“They realize more and more that in order to compete at this high level, they need physical fitness. And they realize that they need to do something for their mental health because they are in this industry [that has] some challenges to be addressed.”

● Fencing ● Another FIE World Cup event in Germany has been called off after the federation’s vote to allow “neutral” Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete.

This time, it is the men’s Foil World Cup in Bonn scheduled for 10-12 November 2023, which will not be held as originally scheduled. Gudrun Nettersheim, the President of the Olympic Fencing Club of Bonn, told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung that “a World Cup with Russian fencers would simply be unthinkable.

“This is a decision we have taken because there is an inhuman war going on. And we made it for all the athletes in the club.”

The German federation refused to hold a women’s Foil World Cup last weekend in Tauberbischofsheim, and the event was moved to Plovdiv (BUL).

● Figure Skating ● Remarkable announcement from Canada’s two-time Ice Dance Worlds medal winner Piper Gilles, who stated on Instagram that she had been treated for ovarian cancer.

She explained that when she had surgery for the removal of her appendix in January, she was also treated for stage 1 ovarian cancer and her left ovary was also removed.

Gilles, 31, recovered sufficiently to compete with Paul Poirier at the end of the 2022-23 season, winning a bronze medal at the ISU World Championships in Japan in March. She said in her post:

“I know we got bronze but for myself, and I know for Paul, it really feels like we won gold because of everything that we had been through just to even be there and perform it.”

● Modern Pentathlon ● The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) has not simply removed riding from its program after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, but is now betting its future on a tie-up with obstacle racing.

The federation announced Monday that it is joining with World Obstacle – which not an IOC-recognized federation – to co-brand two 2023 competitions:

● World Obstacle UIPM 2023 Ninja World Cup USA: 27-30 July in Orlando (USA).

● World Obstacle UIPM 2023 OCR World Championships: 14-17 September in Genk (BEL).

The UIPM’s announcement states the obvious: it is trying to (a) piggy-back on the popularity of televised obstacle programs and (b) recruit obstacle racers to pentathlon, where they will also have to fence, swim, run and shoot.:

“This historic change provides a pathway for obstacle athletes around the world to realise their Olympic dream.

“It also transforms Modern Pentathlon, creating the potential to engage an estimated 1bn people who watch global hit television show competitions like Ninja Warrior and SASUKE, and compete worldwide in mass participation events like Spartan.”

Observed: This is an enormous gamble for the UIPM. If it succeeds in being re-admitted to the 2028 Olympic program, its future is now leveraged on its relationship with World Obstacle and a perception that the television audience for commercial obstacle shows will be attracted to pentathlon. That’s very much in question as leagues for swimming and track & field have found out in the past.

If pentathlon is not re-admitted for 2028, then the sport is shattered and will have to be rebuilt – if possible – with no obvious pathway forward for Brisbane in 2032. High stakes indeed for the only sport contributed to the Games by modern Olympic founder Pierre de Coubertin of France.

● Swimming ● The World Aquatics Open Water World Cup opened Monday in Somabay (EGY), with wins at 10 km for Germans Florian Wellbrock and Leonie Beck.

Wellbrock, the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist and 2019 World Champion in the event, won a four-way fight to the finish, just holding off Marc-Antoine Olivier, France’s two-time Worlds medalist at 10 km, on the final lap, 1:52:53.2 to 1:52:52.3. France’s Logan Fontaine, who had shared the lead at times with Wellbrock, was a close third in 1:52:55.0 and Hungarian star Kristof Rasovszky was fourth (1:52:55.5).

Beck, the 2022 Worlds silver medalist at 10 km, worked her way slowly through the pack, ascending from 18th at 2,000 m to 12th at 4,000 m and sixth at 6,000 m. She had the lead by the 8,000 m mark and fought off Rio Olympic champ and reigning World Champion Sharon van Rouwendaal (NED), 2:04:04.6 to 2:04:07.3. Brazil’s Ana Marcela Cunha, the Tokyo Olympic winner, finished third at 2:04:11.0, just ahead of Aurelie Muller (FRA: 2:04:12.0).

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For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Richardson and Kerley impress in Doha; IBA gives IOC 400 pages of replies; Bach all in to return Russia & Belarus

By
Rich Perelman
-
World 100 m champ Fred Kerley of the U.S. zoomed to victory in the final 40 m of the Doha Diamond League men's 200 m (Photo: Marise Nassour for Diamond League AG)

★ 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 ≡

1. Richardson’s 10.76 and six more world leads in Doha!
2. IBA sends 400-page reply to IOC’s questions
3. Sports ministers of 36 countries question IOC approach
4. Bach “undertaking all efforts” to return Russia and Belarus
5. Indonesia ban on Israel resurfaces for World Beach Games

The first Wanda Diamond League meet of the season was a good one in Doha, Qatar on Friday, with sizzling sprinting and seven world-leading performances, including a sparkling 10.76 women’s 100 m win for Sha’Carri Richardson of the U.S. and a come-from-behind finish by Fred Kerley in the men’s 200 m. The International Boxing Association sent a 400-page file to the International Olympic Committee to answer all of its questions about the federation. Will this actually help? Sports ministers from 36 countries issued their fourth statement on Russia and international sport, asking the IOC to ensure that only truly “neutral” athletes compete, noting state funding as an important question to be answered. IOC chief Thomas Bach, on a visit to China, said the IOC is “undertaking all the efforts” to return Russian and Belarus to competition, “so that we can really unify the whole world.” Meanwhile, the governor of Bali in Indonesia continues to assert that Israel will not be allowed to compete in the ANOC World Beach Games this summer, and the Israel Olympic Committee has taken the matter up with the IOC. The governor has already cost Indonesia the FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup by refusing to allow Israel to compete.

● World Championships: Judo (Garrigos and Tsunoda win opening weights) ●
● Panorama: Artistic Swimming (Inui stars in World Cup in France) = Athletics (3: Hot 5,000 at Mt. SAC; Holloway world lead in Atlanta; Davis-Woodhall 23-2 1/2 in Arkansas) = Curling (Champions Cup) = Cycling (2: Giro d’Italia starts; van Vleuten repeats at La Vuelta Femenina) = eSports (ticket sales start for IOC’s Esports Week) = Fencing (2: Kiefer wins Foil World Cup; Epee Grand Prix) = Gymnastics (Griskenas second in Rhythmic World Cup) = Rowing (Swiss and Spain lead World Cup winners) = Sport Climbing (Miroslaw wins Speed World Cup) = Swimming (Chinese nationals produce six world leaders) = Wrestling (U.S. sweeps team titles at Pan Am Champs!) ●

1.
Richardson’s 10.76 and six more world leads in Doha!

The opening Diamond League meet of the season in Doha, Qatar was expected to produce hot marks, and it did not disappoint, with world-leading times and distances in seven events, led by a taut battle in the women’s 100 m.

There was no doubt about Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, the incoming world leader at 10.82 and the 200 m World Champion from 2022. But beside her in the blocks were Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, the 2019 200 m Worlds winner and mercurial American Sha’Carri Richardson, now 23, who wasn’t right in 2022, but ran a startling 10.57w in April.

Off the gun, it was Asher-Smith running best, but with Jackson in close attendance and Richardson close. Jackson accelerated in the middle and as Asher-Smith faded slightly, Richardson came on. And kept coming on, taking over in the final 30 m for a world-leading 10.76 win (wind: +0.9 m/s), her fastest in two years and her fourth-fastest ever.

Jackson was close at 10.85, with Asher-Smith at 10.98 and American TeeTee Terry fourth at 11.07. Said the winner, “I’m so blessed and thankful, I feel at peace. All I do is the best I do and I’m excited to do it.”

The world-leading performances:

● Men/3,000 m: 7:26.18, Lamecha Girma (ETH)
● Men/Triple Jump: 17.81 m (58-5 1/4), Hugues Fabrice Zango (BUR)
● Men/Javelin: 88.67 m (290-11), Neeraj Chopra (IND)

● Women/100 m: 10.76, Sha’Carri Richardson (USA)
● Women/1,500 m: 3:58.57, Faith Kipyegon (KEN)
● Women/Steeple: 9:04.38, Winfred Yavi (BRN)
● Women/Vault: 4.81 m (15-9 1/4), Katie Moon (USA)

The men’s 200 m was also much anticipated, with 100 m World Champion Fred Kerley of the U.S. against countrymen (and Worlds medal winners) Kenny Bednarek and Michael Norman, plus Kyree King, and Canada’s Tokyo 200 m gold winner Andre De Grasse and teammate Aaron Brown.

Bednarek was best on the turn and into the straight and looked like a winner until the final 40 m, when Kerley just jetted to the finish, winning in 19.92 (+0.3) to 20.11, with Brown third in 20.20 and Norman last in 20.65. This was amazing; said Kerley:

“I was comfortable, but I know I still got work to do. The most important thing was to win, and I did. I was happy with the competition, it was a good one, the guys gave me a fight. Next is Japan [21 May in Tokyo], open up my season in the 100.”

Wow. On an 81 F evening at the nearly-full Qatar Sports Club, Ethiopian Steeple star Lamecha Girma may want to consider more flat races, as he took control of the race at the bell and then ran away from countryman Selemon Barega – the 2022 World Indoor Champion – to win in a meet record of 7:26.18, with Barega at 7:17.16 and Berihu Aregawi (ETH) third in 7:27.61.

Olympic and Worlds silver medalist Rai Benjamin looked like an easy winner in the men’s 400 m hurdles, but slowed in the home straight and had to fend off a challenge from fellow American C.J. Allen over the final hurdle to win in 47.78 to 47.93, a lifetime best for Allen, now the 57th man (and 24th American) to break 48.

The men’s field events were intriguing, with JuVaughn Harrison of the U.S. clearing seven straight bars to win the high jump at 2.32 m (7-7 1/4). Home hero Mutaz Essa Barshim was third at 2.24 m (7-4 1/4) and the stadium emptied after he went out.

Olympic and World Champion Pedro Pablo Pichardo of Portugal was sensational, taking the lead at 17.65 m (57-11) in the first round, then riding a barely-illegal wind of 2.1 m/s out to 17.95 m in round two (58-10 3/4). That was enough to win, but Burkina-Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango ended with a legal jump of 17.81 m (58-5 1/4) to grab the world lead.

World Champion Kristjian Ceh won the discus with his first throw of 70.89 m (232-7), moving him to no. 2 in the world for 2023, and Olympic champ Neeraj Chopra (IND) also caught his big throw on the first try at a world-leading 88.67 m (290-11), with Olympic silver winner Jakub Vadlejch (CZE) just short with his second-round toss of 88.63 m (290-9).

Favored Marileidy Paulino (DOM) won the women’s 400 m over Shamier Little of the U.S., 50.51-50.84, and Olympic champ Jasmine Camacho-Quinn grabbed the 100 m hurdles in 12.48 (+1.1), taking control after the sixth hurdle. Americans Alaysha Johnson and former Worlds winner Nia Ali were 2-3 in 12.66 and 12.69.

The women’s 1,500 m was a master class given by Olympic and World Champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya, who led at the bell and then blasted away from the field on the turn for home, winning in a world-lead of 3:58.57, over Diribe Welteji (ETH: 3:59.34) and Freweyni Hailu (ETH: 4:00.29). Same for the 3,000 Steeplechase, with Winfred Yavi (BRN: 9:04.38) running away from Sembo Almayew (ETH: 9:05.83). American Emma Coburn fell early in the race and finished 10th in 9:29.41.

The U.S. was 1-2 in the women’s vault, with Olympic and Worlds gold medalist Katie Moon sailing over 4.81 m (15-9 1/4) for the world lead and the win over Slovenia’s Tina Sutej (4.76 m/15-7 1/4) and Sandi Morris of the U.S. (4.71 m/15-5 1/2).

2.
IBA sends 400-page reply to IOC’s questions

The International Boxing Association promised a thorough response to the International Olympic Committee’s continuing concerns over finances, governance and refereeing and judging, and delivered on Friday.

Said IBA Secretary General George Yerolimpos (GRE):

“The IBA has sent all the requested responses and documents to the IOC totalling over 400 pages.

“We are open to continued dialogue and cooperation for the sake of our core values and duty to protect our athletes, and the sport of boxing itself. We hope this helps to ensure a fair evaluation of the IBA and its progress done and will lead to a full reinstatement of the organization in the Olympic movement and production of the boxing events in the lead-up and during Paris 2024.”

The federation, previously known as AIBA, has been on suspension since June 2019, when it was headed by Uzbek businessman Gafur Rakhimov, who removed himself that year, replaced by Moroccan Mohamed Moustahsane on an interim basis. Russian Umar Kremlev, the Secretary General of the Russian Boxing Federation was elected in December of 2020, and the federation changed its name in December 2021.

The IOC has continued to be unhappy with the IBA’s finances, especially a two-year, $50 million deal with Russian energy giant Gazprom which paid off the IBA’s debts. That deal has not been re-signed. A scheduled election for President in 2022 turned into a farce as opponent Boris van der Vorst (NED) was disqualified just prior to the vote and then, after being reinstated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, a vote to not hold an election was passed.

Kremlev also reinstated Russian and Belarusian boxers without restrictions in 2022, ignoring the IOC’s recommendations to the contrary in view of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

For its part, the IOC has made it clear that it has no issues with boxing or the boxers, but with the federation, which is not involved in the Olympic qualifying process, or the operation of the Olympic tournament in Paris. Further, boxing is not currently on the program for Los Angeles in 2028.

Observed: The IBA’s announcement of the filing with the IOC was odd. Not so much that the documentation was sent as promised, but in how it was delivered.

Kremlev has taken great pride in saying, over and over again, that the IBA is “an open and transparent organization.” Strange, then, that the 400 pages of documentation sent to the IOC was not made available publicly, if not in full, then with some redactions of material which may – for some reason – need to be protected.

An open filing of this type is an old and trusted public relations tool to bolster confidence in the organization being investigated, saying “we have nothing to hide.” Odd that the IBA did not do so.

Have no doubt that the IBA is on a charm offensive, naming a “Communication Committee” of which Kremlev is not a member, to continue the discussions with the IOC. Instead, the heads of the five continental associations, two other Board members and Yerolimpos are the designees to try and win back the IBA’s place as the sport’s governing body for the Olympic Games.

They have an uphill fight ahead of them.

3.
Sports ministers of 36 countries question IOC approach

In their fourth announcement on Russia and sport, ministers from 36 countries, including the U.S., questioned the IOC’s approach – especially the details – on reintegration of Russian and Belarusian athletes into international sport. The four-paragraph statement includes:

“We, as Ministers and equivalent senior representatives for sport of our like-minded countries, have noted the recommended conditions of participation for individual neutral athletes and support personnel with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international sports competitions, and the accompanying press statement, published by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 28 March 2023. We maintain that the Russian state, which has broken the Olympic Truce twice, must not be allowed to use sport to legitimise its barbaric and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, nor should the Belarusian state be able to use sport to legitimise its complicity in Russia’s war of aggression.

“On the IOC recommendations, we are clear that while some aspects of the strong concerns we raised in our collective statement of 21 February 2023 have been addressed by the IOC, there are substantial issues remaining, not least around military connections of athletes, state funding, the definition of what constitutes teams, and on enforcement mechanisms.

“We underline again that our position is not one of discrimination against individuals on the basis of their passport, and we respect the rights of all athletes to be treated without any discrimination in accordance with the Olympic Charter. We are focused on fair sporting competition as well as on ensuring that Russian and Belarusian athletes are in no way appearing as representatives of their states, as the IOC is also seeking to ensure through its recommendations.

“While fully respecting the autonomy of sporting organisations, we will closely watch the implementation of the recommendations by the IOC and international sports federations over the coming weeks. If these issues are not addressed, we would expect the IOC to reconsider its approach.”

The second-paragraph notice of “state funding” for athletes was raised earlier by British minister Lucy Frazer and could be a key pivot point on whether governments and the IOC fall in line together, or the relationship becomes icy. Lee Satterfield, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, was the U.S. signatory.

4.
Bach “undertaking all efforts” to return Russia and Belarus

During a visit to China and meetings with the Chinese Olympic Committee, IOC President Thomas Bach (GER) told the Xinhua state news agency:

“Now we are undertaking all the efforts to accomplish the mission … of the Olympic Movement by having athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports back into the international competitions.

“We are in a very close cooperation and exchange with the International Federations who at this moment are responsible for running their competitions, and we hope very much that this mission then can be accomplished under the conditions which have been established that the athletes from these two countries must take part in a neutral status, so that we can really unify the whole world with the [view] to the Olympic Games in Paris.”

As usual, Bach insisted that a Ukrainian boycott would solve nothing and pushed back against government intrusion in sport:

“You know the statements of governments who want to decide the people who can participate in the Olympics, the international sports competition, and who not. We have to be very firm that these decisions have to be taken by the responsible sports organizations.

“I see that the governments, it’s their right to express their position. But that they also realize that any kind of boycott would only punish their own athletes and would deprive their people to be proud of their athletes of their Olympic performances.”

He reiterated that no decision has been made about Russian and Belarusian participation in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

5.
Indonesia ban on Israel resurfaces for World Beach Games

The Association of National Olympic Committees has insisted that Israel will compete in its World Beach Games in Bali, Indonesia from 5-12 August.

But the governor of Bali, citing the Indonesian government’s pro-Palestinian stance, continues to say Israel is not welcome.

The issue flared up again this week, with Bali governor Wayan Koster reiterating on Friday:

“It has been agreed when I received a visit by the youth affairs and sports minister and Indonesian Olympic Committee Chairman Mr. Raja [Sapta Oktohari] that the ANOC World Beach Games in Bali will be held without Israeli participants.

“The list of participating countries has been released and no Israel on it.”

Koster is quite wrong about the country list, especially since qualifications are still going on. Israel did not attend the Chef de Mission meetings in Indonesia, but that’s quite different from not participating in the event. The ANOC announcement on the meetings included:

“Representatives from nearly 70 National Olympic Committees attended the seminar in person with more than 30 joining the meetings remotely. With qualification for the Games ongoing, the final list of NOCs will be finalised on 8 July, but it is expected more than 100 NOCs from all five Continents will compete at the Games.”

For their part, the Israelis are getting irritated. The Israel Olympic Committee issued a statement last week that included:

“After many conversations with the chairman of the International Olympic Committee in recent months, a letter was sent to the President and CEO of ANOC clarifying that Israeli athletes will participate in ANOC only if given the same conditions as those of other countries.

“It should be noted that the IOC is in constant contact with us on this matter, and we are confident that they will uphold the equality and right of the State of Israel to compete in any competition around the world, as it has done throughout the year.”

This is an issue of importance for the IOC. Koster’s anti-Israeli comments already cost Indonesia the hosting opportunity for the 2023 FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup, which will not be held in Argentina this month. FIFA withdrew the tournament in March, moved it and is now considering sanctions against the Indonesian football federation.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Judo ● The 2023 IJF World Championships opened in Doha (QAT) with 19 entries from Russia and Belarus as “neutral” athletes and Ukraine boycotting the event in response.

So much for bringing the world together.

Japan’s Natsumi Tsunoda won her third straight World Championships gold in the women’s 48 kg class and her fourth career Worlds medal overall. She defeated France’s Shirine Boukli in the final, with fellow Japanese Wakana Koga taking a bronze medal. It was Boukli’s first senior-level Worlds medal.

Spain’s Francisco Garrigos was the upset winner of the men’s 60 kg division, beating Uzbek Dilshodbek Baratov in the final, after taking out Tokyo Olympic champ Naohisa Takato (JPN) in the semis. Baratov also made some history, winning his first career Worlds medal, at age 25.

The Worlds continue through the 13th.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Artistic Swimming ● The Artistic World Cup moved on to Montpellier (FRA), with reigning World Champion Yukiko Inui (JPN) claiming wins in both the Solo Technical and Solo Free finals.

Inui, now 32, won the Solo Technical convincingly, scoring 282.2583 to 262.1833 for Ukraine’s Marta Fiedina and 254.6542 for Spain’s Iris Tio Casas. She was even more dominant in the Solo Free, scoring 389.3583 to 334.6709 for Vasiliki Alexandri (AUT) and 260.8376 for Slovak Viktoria Reichova.

World Champion sisters Luiyi Wang and Qianyi Wang (CHN) won the Duet Technical at 285.4041 over Japan’s Moe Higa and Mashiro Yasunaga (276.7250) and Austria’s sisters, Anna-Maria Alexandri and Erini-Marina Alexandri (273.3468). Americans Megumi Field and Calista Liu finished fourth (254.5458).

Ukraine’s Maryna Aleksiiva and Vladyslava Aleksiiva won the Duet Free, 370.2791 to 334.0125 over Japan’s Higa and Yashunaga.

Spain’s Fernando Diaz won the men’s Technical (214.4959) and was second to Gabriele Minak (ITA, 16) in the Free final, 224.2291 to 193.2875.

A close Mixed Duet Technical final went to China’s Haoyu Shi and Yiyao Zhang (246.3042) over Tomoka Sato and Yotaro Sato (JPN: 244.5167). Sato and Sato won the Mixed Duet Free at 273.5708 to 267.8917 for Spain’s Diaz and Mirela Hernandez.

China won the Mixed Team Technical and Japan won the Mixed Team Free.

● Athletics ● Distance running was the focus at the Sound Running On Track Fest at Mt. SAC on Saturday evening, with world-leading marks in the men’s Steeple and the expected fireworks in the women’s 5,000 m.

BYU’s Kenneth Rooks won the Steeple in 8:17.62, ahead of George Beamish (NZL; 8:20.62), fellow American Hillary Bor (8:20.67) and Jean-Simon Desgagnes (CAN: 8:20.68), now the top four performers of the year.

The women’s 5,000 m was set for hot times and did not disappoint.

Josette Andrews took over after the pacesetter was done at 3,000 m and then turned out laps of 70.9, 69.9, 71.8, 68.4 and 64.5 to win with a huge lifetime best of 14:43.36, the 2023 world leader and moving her to no. 7 all-time U.S. Only Venezuela’s Joselyn Brea was really close, four-tenths back at the bell and finishing with a national record of 14:47.76, a lifetime best by more than 17 seconds!

Mexico’s Laura Galvan was third in 14:49.34, another national record, and American Emily Infeld was fourth (14:50.90), also with a lifetime best.

In seventh was North Carolina State junior Katelyn Tuohy, 21, who crushed her prior lifetime best of 15:14.61 with a time of 15:03.12, the fastest ever recorded by a collegian outdoors. Colorado’s Jenny Simpson ran 15:07.64 in 2009, but also had a 15:01.70 performance in 2009 indoors. But it’s a collegiate outdoor best for Tuohy, steadily moving up.

In the men’s 5,000 m, American Cooper Teare won in 13:21.73 with a 54.82 last lap, ahead of Morgan Beadlescomb (13:12.95) and Ben Flanagan (CAN: 13:13.97). Places 1-12 are now ranked 2-13 on the year list. South Africa’s Adriaan Wildschutt ran away with the men’s 10,000 m to win in 27:23.10.

At the Atlanta City Games, a street meet with an elevated track, emphasized the sprints and hurdles, with a world-leading mark from hurdles World Champion Grant Holloway of the U.S.

Running in his second meet of the year, Holloway – already the world leader at 13.03 from mid-April – won his heat in 13.15 and then stormed away in the final to win in 13.01 (wind: 0.0), ahead of Robert Dunning’s lifetime best of 13.09 and Jamal Britt (13.14).

Tia Jones won the women’s hurdles in 12.50 (+0.4), ahead of Keni Harrison (12.53).

The women’s 100 m went to U.S. star Aleia Hobbs in 10.99 (+0.2), her ninth meet without a loss this season (60 m x 5; 100 m x 4), beating Mikiah Brisco (11.02). The men’s 100 m was a tight finish between Oblique Seville (JAM: 9.99; wind -0.2), Akani Simbine (RSA: 10.01) and Zharnel Hughes (GBR: 10.01).

Noah Lyles was the dominant winner of the 150 m sprint in 14.56, beating teen star Erriyon Knighton (14.85) and Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala (14.89), while Tamari Davis of the U.S. won the women’s race in 16.44.

In Fayetteville, Arkansas, Tara Davis-Woodhall took the world lead in the women’s long jump at the Arkansas Twilight meet with her second-best jump ever, 7.07 m (23-2 1/2). She got out to a windy 6.91 m (+4.3) in the first round, another windy 6.91 m (+3.0) in the second, and after a foul, a legal 6.85 m (22-5 3/4 +1.9) in the fourth. Then she exploded out to 7.07 m with a just-legal +1.9 m/s wins before passing in round six.

● Curling ● The season-ending Grand Slam of Curling Champions Cup in Regina (CAN) came down to all-Canadian finals in both the men’s and women’s divisions.

Turin Olympic champ Brad Gushue’s team won the Beijing 2022 Olympic bronze and the 2023 Worlds silver, but it was Brendan Bottcher’s rink that scored two in the sixth and one in the eighth end to get a 5-3 win. It’s the second Champions Cup win for Bottcher – also in 2019 – and his fifth Grand Slam tournament title.

Defending Champions Cup winner and two-time Worlds medalist Kerri Einarson got off to a 4-0 lead in the women’s final after three ends against 2017 World Champion Rachel Homan, a three-time winner of this tournament. But Homan mounted a charge, scoring once in ends 4-5-6 and twice in the eight to force an extra end at 5-5. And Homan completed the comeback, scoring once to win, 6-5, with scores in five of the final six ends.

For Homan, it’s her 13th Grand Slam win and fourth Champions Cup title.

● Cycling ● The 106th Giro d’Italia got underway Saturday with one of the overall favorites, Remco Evenepoel (BEL) immediately taking charge with a win in the 19.6 km Individual Time Trial.

He dominated the flat course along the Abruzzo Coast to Ortona, winning in 21:18, well ahead of former World Time Trial champ Filippo Ganna of Italy (+0:22) and another of the contenders, Portugal’s Joao Almeida (+0:29).

Sunday’s hilly 202 km stage from Teramo to San Salvo was set for a mass sprint finish, but was hampered by a bad crash with 4 km left. The peloton reformed and the dash for the line was won by Italian Jonny Milan, 22, his biggest win ever. He timed 4:55:11, ahead of 43 more with the same time. Second was David Dekker (NED), ahead of Kaden Groves (AUS), with Evenepoel retaining the pink jersey and a 22-second lead on Ganna.

The ninth women’s La Vuelta Femenina concluded in Lagos de Covadonga in the Asturias region in northwest Spain, with Dutch superstar Annemiek van Vleuten – two-time World Road Champion – taking control after the sixth stage and leading into Sunday’s final ride.

Fellow Dutch master Marianne Vos, 35 – a three-time World Road winner – had the lead from the second stage through the fourth, winning both the third and fourth stages. But Dutch star Demi Vollering, the best rider so far in 2023, won the climbing fifth stage to take over the race lead, with van Vleuten just three seconds back on the day and five seconds back in the overall race.

Italy’s Gaia Realini beat van Vleuten to the line in the final sprint on Saturday, but both were more than a minute ahead of the field and that gave van Vleuten the lead by a hefty 1:11 over Vollering.

Stage 7 was no picnic, a 93.7 route with a major climb in the middle and then an uphill finish going from 65 m to 1,106 m in the final 22 km. Vollering, Realini and van Vleuten were all in contention on their way to the finish, but Vollering broke free and won in 2:43:02, ahead of Realini (+0:11) and van Vleuten (+0:56). That gave van Vleuten the overall title at 19:00:11, just nine seconds ahead of Vollering and Realini (+2:41).

That’s three in a row for van Vleuten in this race, who has also won three editions of the Giro Donne, four total UCI World Championships golds and the Tour de France Femmes in 2022. At 40, she can claim to be the best women’s road rider of all time.

● Diving ● China won all nine events at the World Cup opener in Xian. At the second Diving World Cup in Montreal (CAN), it was the same: nine for nine.

Current World Champion Zongyuan Wang won the men’s 3 m Springboard – as he did in Xian – scoring 556.75, with teammate Shixin Li second at 465.25. Xian winner and two-time Worlds medalist Hao Yang took the 10 m Platform gold in 580.25, followed by Rikuto Tamai (JPN) at 513.45. American Brendan Loschiavo was seventh (439.55)

Wang teamed with Daoyi Long to win the men’s 3 m Synchro title, scoring 492.18 for a decisive win over Anthony Harding and Jack Laugher (GBR: 443.10). Americans Tyler Downs and Greg Duncan finished sixth at 395.64.

In the 10 m Synchro, reigning World Champions Junjie Lian and Yang were not challenged, winning by 456.72 to 412.74 over Ukraine’s Kirill Boliukh and Oleksii Sereda.

The women’s sweep featured 2022 World Champion Yiwen Chen on the 3 m Springboard and Olympic gold medalist Hongchan Quan on the 10 m Platform. Chen won for the second time this season, scoring 404.70 to 365.40 for Canada’s Pamela Ware and 357.85 for American Sarah Bacon. Hailey Hernandez of the U.S. was sixth at 315.25.

Quan, who was second in Xian, won this time with 458.20, ahead of teammate and 2022 World Champion Yuxi Chen (438.90).

In the women’s 3 m Synchro, the 2022 World Champion duo of Yani Chang and Yiwen Chen won, but were pressed – 329.43 to 315.09 – by the U.S.’s Bacon and Kassidy Cook.

The women’s 10 m Synchro team of Yuxi Chen and Quan won easily, 378.60 to 316.68, for Britain’s Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson. Americans Jessica Parratto and Delaney Schnell were seventh at 281.52.

In the mixed team event, China won by 489.25 to 454.90 for Canada, with the U.S. eighth at 343.60.

That’s 18-for-18 for the Chinese; the World Cup Super Final will take place in Berlin (GER) in August.

● eSports ● The IOC announced the opening of ticket sales for the four-day Olympic Esports Week in Singapore from 22-25 June 2023. A sport-shooting game developed by the International Shooting Sport Federation with Fortnite has been added to the program.

Single-day general admission tickets are SGD 10 for 23 June and SGD 15 for 24-25 June, with three-day passes for adults at SGD 30. (SGD 1 = $0.75 U.S.).

● Fencing ● The Epee Grand Prix in Cali (COL) offered contrasting finals of well-knowns and unknowns.

The women’s championship matched pitting world no. 2 Man Wai Vivian Kong (HKG) against no. 3 Marie-Florence Candassamy of France, both looking for their first career Grand Prix gold. It was Kong in charge, winning 15-8, now with three career Grand Prix medals (1-1-1). Candassamy won her second career Grand Prix silver (0-2-4).

The men’s final had no. 27 Davide Di Veroli, 21, of Italy facing 114th-ranked Jiri Beran (CZE), now 41! And Beran won it, in a 9-8 defensive struggle to win his first Grand Prix gold and first Grand Prix medal since 2010! Di Veroli won a Grand Prix bronze last year and has now moved up to silver.

The women’s Foil World Cup scheduled for Tauberbischofsheim (GER), but returned by the German federation in protest against the FIE Congress vote to allow Russian and Belarusian fencers to compete as neutrals was held instead in Plovdiv (BUL).

Tokyo Olympic champ Lee Keifer of the U.S. collected her fifth career World Cup gold (and 21st medal) with a 15-11 win in the final over France’s Ysoara Thibus, the 2022 World Champion.

The U.S. team of Lauren Scruggs, Maia Weintraub, Zander Rhodes and Jacqueline Dubrovich finished third, with France defeating Italy, 45-41, for the gold.

Keifer’s husband, Gerek Meinhardt, was competing at the men’s Foil World Cup in Acapulco (MEX) and reached the semifinals against Tokyo Olympic winner Ka Long Cheung (KOR), but fell 15-7 and settled for a bronze medal. Cheung faced Egypt’s 22-year-old Mohamed Hamza – born in Houston, Texas! – in the final, with Hamza winning, 15-10, for his first career World Cup gold.

The U.S. team of Meinhardt, Alexander Massialas, Nick Itkin and Miles Chamley-Watson won gold, defeating Italy in the final.

● Gymnastics ● The FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge Cup series was in Portimao (POR), with 2022 Worlds All-Around silver medalist Darja Varfolomeev taking the All-Around at 125.200 from American Evita Griskenas (121.950) and Aibota Yertaikyzy (KAZ: 118.400).

It was the third career World Challenge Cup medal for Griskenas (0-2-1), and she wasn’t done.

Varfolomeev dominated the apparatus finals, winning with Hoop (33.800) over Griskenas second (30.450); with Clubs (33.150), with Griskenas second again (30.950) and on Ribbon (31.200), with Griskenas fifth (29.850).

Kazak Elzhana Taniyeva won with Ball (32.500) with Varfolomeev third (31.600) and Griskenas fourth (31.450).

● Rowing ● At the opening World Rowing World Cup in Zagreb (CRO), Switzerland picked up three wins in the full-weight classes and Spain won twice.

The star power was in the men’s races, with two-time World Champion Oliver Zeidler (GER) winning the Single Sculls, 6:46.82 to 6:49.40 over 2020 European Champion Sverri Nielsen (DEN).

The Croatian Sinkovic brothers – Martin and Valent – the Double Sculls gold medalists at Rio 2016 and then the Pairs winners at Tokyo 2020, won in Double Sculls in Zagreb, 6:16.74 to 6:20.53 against Spain’s 2022 Worlds runner-ups, Aleix Garcia and Rodrigo Conde. The Czech Republic won the Quadruple Sculls over Ukraine, 5:50.08 to 5:51.39.

In the men’s Pairs, Swiss Roman Roeoesli and Andrin Gulich won by daylight in 6:30.98 against Spain’s 2022 Worlds silver medalists, Jaime Canalejo and Javier Garcia (6:33.21). The Swiss Fours also won in 5:59.70, well in front of South Africa (6:02.12).

Spain got a win in the women’s Single Sculls, as Virginia Diaz eked out a 7:33.93 to 7:33.95 victory against Swiss Aurelia-Maxima Janzen. The Swiss took their third win in the Double Sculls, with Fabienne Schweizer and Lisa Loetscher finishing in 7:04.75, well clear of Katharina and Magdalena Lobnig (AUT: 7:08.32). Ukraine won the Quadruple Sculls, 6:24.43-6:37.48, over the Swiss.

Spain’s second win came in the women’s Pairs, as Aina Cid and Esther Briz Zamorano managed a 7:16.49 to 7:17.22 win over Czechs Radka Novotnikova and Pavlina Flamikova. Chile won the Fours final over Spain, 6:46.34 to 6:50.93.

The second World Cup comes from 16-18 June in Varese, Italy.

● Sport Climbing ● The IFSC Speed World Cup in Jakarta (INA) was much anticipated after the men’s and women’s world records has been shattered the week before in Korea.

Poland’s Aleksandra Miroslaw claimed four world-record performances in Seoul, and led the qualifying in Jakarta, but had a tough time in the final against home favorite Made Desak, winning by 6.43 to 6.52.

In the men’s final, Indonesian stars Kiromal Katibin (5.03) and Veddriq Leonardo (5.09) led the qualifying, but when the final came, it was the third Indonesian entry, Raharjati Nursamsa who won in 5.11, defeating China’s Xinshang Wang (5.14) with Katibin winning the bronze.

● Swimming ● A very fast Chinese Nationals concluded in Hangzhou, with world-leading marks in six events:

● Men/100 m Free: 47.22, Zhanie Pan (CHN)
● Men/200 m Free: 1:44.65, Pan
● Men/100 m Back: 52.26, Jiayu Xu (CHN)
● Men/100 m Breast: 57.93, Haiyang Qin (CHN)
● Men/200 m Medley: 1:55.55, Shun Wang (CHN)

● Women/100 m Fly: 56.48, Yufei Zhang (CHN)

Pan’s time in the 100 m Free is a national record and moves him to no. 11 all-time, at age 18. His 200 m win was a lifetime best and moves him up to a tie for 13th all-time.

Qin exploded to a national record in the 100 m Breast and his 57.93 makes him no. 3 ever and only the third man to break 58 seconds! His prior best had been 58.66 from the Chinese Spring Nationals in March!

● Wrestling ● The U.S. was expected to dominate the Pan American Championships in Buenos Aires (ARG), and left no doubt, winning all three teams titles and grabbing wins in a total of 20 classes!

The wins started in the Greco-Roman division, with golds for Dalton Duffield (55 kg), Dalton Roberts (60 kg), Justus Scott (72 kg), Kamal Bey (77 kg), Spencer Woods (82 kg) and Joe Rau at 97 kg. Cuba won the other three classes: Luis Orta (67 kg), Daniel Gregorich (87 kg) and three-time Worlds medalist Oscar Pino at 130 kg.

The U.S. piled up 175 points for the team title, ahead of Cuba (114) and Mexico (78).

The American women picked up five golds, with Tokyo bronze winner Sarah Hildebrandt winning at 50 kg; Xochitl Mota-Pettis at 59 kg, two-time Worlds medalist Mallory Velte at 65 kg, Forrest Molinari at 68 kg (her third PanAm gold) and World Champion Amit Elor at 72 kg. Alisha Howk took the silver at 55 kg and Kayla Miracle won bronze at 62 kg.

The U.S. women won the team crown with 178 points to 135 for Canada and 93 for Ecuador.

The men’s Freestyle finals started with seven straight wins for the U.S.: 2021 World Champion Thomas Gilman at 57 kg, Vito Arujau at 61 kg (his second PanAm gold), Yianni Diakomihalis at 65 kg (second PanAm gold), Worlds silver winner Zain Retherford at 70 kg; a sixth Pan American Champs gold for Jordan Burroughs, this time at 79 kg, and Michael Macchiavello at 92 kg.

Kyle Dake won at 74 kg, his third PanAm title; Kyle Snyder won his sixth at 97 kg and Dominique Bradley won at 125 kg to give the U.S. nine wins in 10 weights. At 86 kg, Cuba’s Yurieski Torreblanca won his fourth PanAm title, with Mark Hall of the U.S. third.

The American men won the Freestyle title by 240-136 over Canada, with Puerto Rico third at 123.

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TSX REPORT: Valieva hearing not until August; Russia fine with funding “neutral” athletes; UCI to review transgender rules again

By
Rich Perelman
-
Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin (Photo: FISU)

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Valieva doping appeal at CAS not coming until August?
2. Russian minister sees no issues funding “neutral” athletes
3. UCI to consider transgender rules again
4. Diamond League starts in Doha; Giro d’Italia starts Saturday
5. USATF publishes Road Worlds selection procedures

The Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed that a hearing on the appeal of the sanctions against Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva won’t be held until at least August. The Team event medals from the Beijing 2022 Winter Games continue to hang in the balance. Russian sports minister Oleg Matytsin said that government funding of “neutral” Russian athletes is fine as far as he is concerned. Others have cited state funding as a reason to disqualify such athletes from any return to international competitions. The Union Cycliste Internationale will review its transgender rules, deciding to look into the issue again a couple of days after an American transgender, Austin Killips, won the Tour of the Gila stage race in New Mexico. The Wanda Diamond League in athletics and the first of the Grand Tours in cycling, the 106th Giro d’Italia, start on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Neither will be shown live on U.S. television. USA Track & Field published selection procedures for its team for the inaugural World Road Running Championships in Latvia in September, focusing on results from the U.S. nationals in the mile and 5 km and World Athletics world rankings in the half marathon.

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (300,000+ volunteer applications received) = Shooting (Italy tops medal table at ISSF Shotgun World Cup) = Swimming (18 swimmers file suit vs. University of California over McKeever abuse) ●

1.
Valieva doping appeal at CAS not coming until August?

The seemingly unending saga of the Kamila Valieva doping positive from December 2021 will continue well into the summer.

The Russian news agency TASS reported a statement from the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which included:

“The exchange of written submissions is ongoing. All parties have agreed to extend the usual time limits for this phase.”

“The hearing date will be determined at a later stage, once the lists of witnesses and experts will have been filed.

“It is unlikely that the hearing will take place prior to August 2023. Once it has been set, the hearing date will be announced officially on the CAS website.”

The CAS hearing is a consolidated appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency, the International Skating Union and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (!) against the independent Disciplinary Anti-Doping Committee of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, which held that Valieva did, in fact, did return a positive test for the banned substance trimetazidine from her test on 25 December 2021. It held that she bore no fault for this positive and gave her a one-day sanction, instead of the four years sought by WADA.

Valieva was suspended by RUSADA in advance of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, but this was overturned by the Disciplinary Anti-Doping Committee, allowing her to compete. She was a member of the winning Russian squad in the Team event, but as her doping positive was revealed, the results have never been certified and no medals awarded.

2.
Russian minister sees no issues funding “neutral” athletes

One of the questions which has been raised about the International Olympic Committee’s 28 March recommendations for the re-admission of Russian and Belaursian athletes to international competitions is about state funding of such athletes.

British Minister Lucy Frazer has specifically called out athletes funded by the Russian or Belarusian state to be ineligible in the same way that the IOC has specified that athletes involved in the military or national security apparatus of their countries cannot compete.

But Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin told TASS he sees no problems:

“We will do everything necessary to ensure the participation of our athletes in international competitions, for us they were, are and remain our athletes, members of national teams.

“I don’t see any difficulties in terms of financing.”

“But we will look at the conditions that will be determined by the international federations. We are carefully working on these issues from a legal and financial point of view, I think that we will find a way out, because our main task is to ensure the participation of our athletes, subject to respect for our rights.”

Matytsin also noted, however, that re-admission as neutrals may be as much as Russia can hope for at this stage:

“Unfortunately, it is difficult to challenge these decisions legally, because one way or another, international federations are the governing organizations in their sports and determine the rules, which are also supported by decisions of the relevant bodies, the executive committee or congress.

“From a legal point of view, it is difficult to challenge them, although of course, there is a certain red line that neither leaders, nor athletes, nor coaches will cross.

“It’s too early to talk about it, we need to wait for specific requirements. So far we see recommendations and a neutral status, and everywhere the requirements are quite different. In each specific case, our All-Russian federations need to work with international federations, because in many ways the position and regulations depend on how persistent and reasoned the arguments of the Russian side will be.”

TASS quoted the International Golf Federation as allowing Russian and Belarusian players to compete in IGF events (of which there are very few outside of the Olympic Games and continental multi-sport games):

“The Board considered the recently published recommendations of the International Olympic Committee for international federations and organizers of international sporting events on the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international competitions and determined a number of conditions for IGF events.

“Athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport shall compete only as Individual Neutral Athletes. Any such Individual Neutral Athlete, as well as all other participating Athletes, must comply with all applicable anti-doping requirements set forth in the IGF Anti-Doping Rules.”

Russian and Belarusian golfers are not significant factors on the PGA or LPGA Tours, or in the Olympic rankings.

3.
UCI to consider transgender rules again

Just a couple of days after American transgender rider Austin Killips won the Category 2.2 Tour of the Gila in New Mexico, the Union Cycliste Internationale Management Committee convened in Cagliari, Sardinia and announced a review of its standards:

“The Management Committee decided to analyse the current situation by reopening consultation with the athletes and National Federations. Members therefore agreed to debate and take an eventual decision at its next meeting, in Glasgow, in August. The UCI’s objective remains the same: to take into consideration, in the context of the evolution of our society, the desire of transgender athletes to practise cycling. The UCI also hears the voices of female athletes and their concerns about an equal playing field for competitors, and will take into account all elements, including the evolution of scientific knowledge.”

Cycling’s current standards were considered fairly stringent, with a maximum serum testosterone level for women of 2.5 nmol/L maintained for two years, but this did not address the question of changing genders after the onset of male puberty. This was identified as an important factor by World Aquatics in its regulations issued in June 2022 and the World Athletics regulations from March of this year.

The UCI finally equalized race distances in track cycling, with the women’s Individual Pursuit increased to 4 km, the 500 m Time Trial increased to 1 km, and the Scratch event changed to 10 km for both. These changes will come into force on 1 January 2025.

The financial report showed an “expected operating loss” of CHF 4.0 million, but there was also an investment loss of CHF 9.1 million. However, reserves remain healthy at CHF 30.3 million, and “The financial plan up to the end of 2024 continues as planned, and the UCI remains in a good position to face the end of the current Olympic cycle.” (CHF 1 = $1.13 U.S.)

4.
Diamond League starts in Doha; Giro d’Italia starts Saturday

The Wanda Diamond League is back, beginning once again in Doha (QAT) on Friday.

There are lots of good match-ups (U.S. athletes unless otherwise indicated):

● Men/200 m: World 100 m champ Fred Kerley, Olympic and Worlds silver winner Kenny Bednarek and World 400 m gold medalist Michael Norman.

● Men/3,000 m: Kenyan 1,500 star Timothy Cheruiyot (3:28.28 1,500 m) will try the 3,000 m, with strong contenders in steeplechase stars Soufiane El Bakkali (MAR: Tokyo gold) and Lamecha Girma (ETH: Tokyo silver) and Getnet Wale (ETH). Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi (7:26.81) and Australian Stewart McSweyn (7:28.02) are the ones with the experience in this race, but look out for Selemon Barega (ETH), the Tokyo 10,000 m winner.

● Men/400 m hurdles: Olympic silver winner Rai Benjamin (47.74 already this year) leads this field, with fellow Americans Trevor Bassitt (2022 Worlds bronze) and C.J. Allen (48.17 best) ready to challenge.

● Men/High Jump: All eyes on home favorite Mutaz Essa Barshim, the Tokyo Olympic and 2022 World champ, who will be challenged by Americans JuVaughn Harrison and Shelby McEwen, and Canada’s Django Lovett.

● Men/Triple Jump: Is two-time Olympic champ Christian Taylor recovered from his injuries? Is Olympic and World champ Pedro Pablo Pichardo (POR) in shape? Same questions for Cubans Andy Diaz and Lazaro Martinez and Burundi’s Tokyo bronzer Hugues Fabrice Zango.

● Men/Javelin: World Champion Anderson Peters (GRN), Olympic champ Neeraj Chopra (IND), Olympic runner-up Jakub Vadlejch (CZE) and even 2015 World Champion Julius Yego of Kenya are here.

● Women/100 m: World leader and 200 m World Champion Shericka Jackson (JAM) is pitted against Americans Sha’Carri Richardson, TeeTee Terry, Abby Steiner, Teahna Daniels and Melissa Jefferson. Is 2019 Worlds runner-up Dina Asher-Smith (GBR) in shape yet?

● Women/1,500 m: Olympic and World champ Faith Kipyegon (KEN) is here, but who will challenge her? Ethiopians Hirut Meshesha, Axumawit Embaye, Freweyni Hailu and Diribe Welteji will try. American Cory McGee (4:00.34 best) could break four minutes here.

● Women/100 m hurdles: Olympic champ Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (PUR) will face a U.S. contingent of former Worlds winner Nia Ali, Tonea Marshall, and Alaysha Johnson, as well as Jamaican Worlds bronze winner Megan Tapper.

● Women/Steeple: Olympic champ Perth Chemutai (UGA), 2017 Worlds winner Emma Coburn of the U.S., world-record holder Beatrice Chepkoech (KNE) are all in, as is 2022 Worlds bronze winner Mekides Abebe (ETH).

● Women/Vault: Olympic and World champ Katie Moon and 2019/2022 Worlds silver winner Sandi Morris are both in as are Olympic bronzer Holly Bradshaw (GBR) and Worlds bronze winner Nina Kennedy (AUS).

As far as television is concerned, the meet will be streamed live on NBC’s peacock subscription service beginning at noon Eastern time, with delayed cable coverage on Sunday on CNBC, also at noon.

The first of the three Grand Tours in cycling begins on Saturday with the 106th Giro d’Italia, departing with an individual time trial along the Abruzzo coast and finishing with the 21st stage in Rome on 28 May.

The 3,448.6 km (2,142 mile) route includes three Individual Time Trials, three flat stages, four modestly hilly stages, five hilly stages and six mountain stages, including three in the final week!

Among the favorites:

● Remco Evenepoel (BEL) ~ 2022 La Vuelta winner; 2022 World Road champ
● Primoz Roglic (SLO) ~ La Vuelta winner 2019-20-21; Giro 3rd in 2019
● Tao Geoghegan (GBR) ~ 2020 Giro winner; La Vuelta 19th in 2022
● Joao Almeida (POR) ~ Giro 4th in 2020, 6th in 2021; La Vuelta 5th in 2022
● Geraint Thomas (GBR) ~ 2018 Tour de France winner; Giro DNF in 2017-20

Evenepoel, 23, has been on fire this season, winning the seven-stage UAE Tour in February, second in the seven-stage Volta a Catalunya and then winning the historic Liege-Bastogne-Liege race in April. He’s only tried the Giro once, in 2021, and did not finish.

The race will not be shown on U.S. television; it’s being streamed on the subscription-based Global Cycling Network site.

5.
USATF publishes Road Worlds selection procedures

The first World Athletics Road Running Championships this fall in Riga, Latvia, could be the start of something big. USA Track & Field published its six-page team selection procedures last week, starting with team size:

● In the mile and 5 km, teams can bring three, but only two can start, so USATF will select two per event.

● In the half marathon, teams can bring five, but only four can start, so USATF will select four.

The selection of the mile and 5 km entries will come from the USATF National Championships from 6-9 July in Eugene, Oregon, in the “rank order of finish” in the 1,500 m and 5,000 m for men and women.

The half-marathon entries are more complicated and will be based on the World Athletics world rankings for the Half Marathon-10 km grouping as of 1 August 2023. At present, the top four Americans are:

● Men: Conner Mantz, Abbabiya Simbassa, Sam Chelanga, Leonard Korir
● Women: Keira D’Amato, Emily Sisson, Sara Hall, Emily Durgin

Further, there will be some interesting choices to be made, with the U.S. Nationals from 6-9 July, the same 1,500 m and 5,000 m qualifiers going to the World Athletics Championships in Budapest from 19-27 August and then the World Road Champs on 30 September and 1 October, two weeks after the Diamond League Final at the Pre Classic in Eugene and a week after the USATF 10 km Championships and Berlin Marathon!

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Paris 2024 ● The French newspaper Le Monde reported that the Paris 2024 organizers have received more than 300,000 applications for volunteer positions at the Games, from which 45,000 are expected to be chosen.

The organizing committee projects 30,000 volunteers will be needed for the Olympic Games and 15,000 more for the Paralympics. The report noted that 55% of candidates are women, and about a third are under the age of 25.

● Shooting ● At the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Cairo (EGY), Italy led the leader board with five medals (1-3-1), starting with a good showing in the men’s Skeet final.

Rio 2016 Olympic champ Gabriele Rossetti won the event with 39 points to 38 for teammate Elia Sdruccioli, with Tokyo Olympic silver winner Jesper Hansen (DEN: 42 years old!) third (26).

Simona Scocchetti, 37, the 2013 Worlds runner-up almost claimed another win, but ended up second in the women’s Skeet final to China’s 18-year-old Yiting Jiang, 35-33, who claimed her first ISSF World Cup individual medal.

The Mixed Team final was a 6-0 win for India (Mairaj Khan and Ganemat Sekhon) over Mexico.

Tokyo Olympic champ Jiri Liptak (CZE), 41, won the men’s Trap final, 32-28 over Italy’s 42-year-old Massimo Fabbrizi, the London 2012 silver medalist. Portugal’s Maria Coelho de Barrios defeated Chun Lin Yi (TPE: 41 and the 2002 World Champion in Double Trap!) in the women’s final, 30-27.

● Swimming ● The University of California was sued by 18 former members of the Cal women’s swimming team on Monday, alleging abuse by former coach Teri McKeever, dismissed by the university for abusive conduct and violations of school policies.

The plaintiffs include Rio Olympic 4×200 m Freestyle gold medalist Cierra Runge (now Cierra Burnell) and numerous other All-American swimmers for incidents dating back to 1994. McKeever won four NCAA team titles over 30 years at Cal and was the U.S. head women’s coach at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

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For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Cycling to allow Russians, Belarusians in June; van de Vorst to focus on World Boxing; sprint star Bowie found dead at 32

By
Rich Perelman
-
Dutch Boxing Federation President Boris van der Vorst (l) and IOC President Thomas Bach of Germany, two men who will influence the future of boxing in the Olympic Games. (Photo: Boris van der Vorst Twitter page)

★ 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 ≡

1. UCI authorizes Russian and Belarusian re-entry as of 1 June
2. Van de Vorst to leave Dutch fed, focus on World Boxing
3. U.S. Olympic star sprinter Bowie dies at 32
4. Paris 2024 would-be “un-volunteers” detail possible acts
5. Perurena re-elected as World Games head, 30 sports in ‘25

The Union Cycliste Internationale approved the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to competition as soon as 1 June as neutral athletes, after a check of their public communications, of any type, about the Ukraine invasion since its inception in February 2022. The UCI is also taking heat for its transgender regulations, with American Austin Killips – a transgender woman – winning the women’s Tour of the Gila in New Mexico on Sunday. Dutch boxing federation chief Boris van der Vorst will step down as federation chief at the end of this month in order to concentrate on the development of the new World Boxing group in an attempt to keep boxing on the Olympic program. The International Boxing Association, which says it champions the right of all athletes from any country to compete, was rebuked by the Kosovo Olympic Committee after it said that Uzbek authorities would not issue visas for their fighters to compete in the ongoing men’s World Championships in Tashkent. Sad news of the passing of 2016 triple Olympic medal winner Tori Bowie, found dead in her Florida home, at age 32. The continuing turmoil in France over the increase of the retirement (pension) age from 62 to 64 has created an underground of “un-volunteers” who will seek to damage the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris – if they are selected – as a continuing protest against French President Emmanuel Macron. Spain’s Jose Perurena was elected to a third term as the head of the International World Games Association; also approved were 30 sports for the program of the 2025 World Games in China.

● Panorama: World University Games (remembering the 1923 origins of the concept) = Athletics (Amos suspended for three years) = Fencing (Ukraine files at CAS against FIE allowing Russian return) = Snowboard (U.S.’s Diebold retires at 36) = Volleyball (Brazil’s Wallace suspended five years for inciting violence) = Weightlifting (IWF releases doping control figure for 2022) = Wrestling (Mensah-Stock retires, joining WWE) ●

1.
UCI authorizes Russian and Belarusian re-entry as of 1 June

The Management Committee of the Union Cycliste Internationale announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes may be allowed back into international competitions as neutrals as of 1 June 2023. In specific, the UCI decided:

“To authorise, under strict conditions, the participation of athletes of Russian and Belarusian sporting nationality in events on the UCI International Calendar, including UCI World Cup and UCI Nations Cup events and UCI World Championships, as ‘neutral individual athletes’, without them having any involvement or association with the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus, their National Federation or National Olympic Committee. Any person wishing to obtain the status of ‘neutral individual athlete’ will have to apply to the UCI within the framework of a procedure which will lead, if the conditions are met, to the issue of this status by the UCI. The possibility of participating in international competitions as a ‘neutral individual athlete’ will become effective from 1st June.”

A supplementary document outlines the neutrality requirements, which include the now-familiar “No link with the Russian or Belarusian military or with any other national security agency” and “No active support for the war in Ukraine,” there was this regarding communications:

“Riders and support personnel must refrain from any activity or communication, either verbal, non-verbal or written, associated with the national flag, anthem, emblem or any other symbol of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, their National Federations or NOCs, or from any support for the war in Ukraine in any official venue or in the media (including interviews, social media, retweets and reposted messages on Twitter, forwarded messages, etc. ) at any time since the beginning of the military aggression in Ukraine by the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.

“Riders and support personnel must not make any public statements or comments or take any action or behave in any way that may prejudice the interests of the competition, its integrity or the participant’s neutrality required as a condition for participation.”

This will requite research on athlete and staff applicants going back to February 2022, when the invasion started. The UCI’s regulations state that it will “confirm if the status of Individual Neutral Athlete can be granted within a deadline of 30 days.”

The UCI’s opening to Russian and Belarusian athletes and support personnel also applies to race officials, who can now also apply to return to working at cycling events.

The UCI’s actions are hardly unexpected, given that it has allowed Russian and Belarusian riders for road cycling teams to continue to participate on a neutral basis, but has outlawed teams organized or sponsored by Russian or Belarusian companies.

The federation included the usual condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and pledged further assistance to Ukraine cycling, including CHF 100,000 to the Ukrainian Cycling Federation, and continuing credits of up to CHF 600,000 for technical support.

The UCI is also under pressure after American transgender racer Austin Killips came from 12th to first by winning last Sunday’s fifth and final stage of the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico.

The Tour of the Gila, held for women beginning in 2000, is an important American stage race, on the fourth level of the UCI calendar (category 2.2). The organizers posted a notice that reads in part:

“This race marks the first time an openly trans athlete (Austin Killips from Amy D Foundation) has won a UCI Women’s Stage Race. Tour of the Gila is a UCI sanctioned and regulated race; as such, Tour of the Gila is required to follow the rules and regulations set forth by UCI. All rules and regulations on racer eligibility and classification are set forth by the UCI and USA Cycling and must be followed by event organizers.

“Tour of the Gila recognizes the passionate debate regarding rider eligibility and classifications of riders set by UCI and USA Cycling and encourages UCI and USA Cycling to host an open discussion on the matter. All comments regarding rider eligibility should be directed to UCI and USA Cycling.”

According to a statement sent to CNN by the UCI:

“The UCI acknowledges that transgender athletes may wish to compete in accordance with their gender identity. The UCI rules are based on the latest scientific knowledge and have been applied in a consistent manner.”

The statement implies that Killips, 27, originally a skier who has been riding as a female since 2019, meets the UCI’s requirements for transgender participation, with serum testosterone levels of 2.5 nmol/L or less for at least 24 months prior to competing.

Her win has been met with substantial criticism, including from Canadian Alison Sydor, a three-time World Champion in Mountain Bike:

“The current UCI rules that allow males to compete in female cycling events are not fair to female athletes. Time for UCI to admit this current rule situation is unsustainable and leaving a black mark on cycling as a fair sport for females.”

Killips plans to continue on.

2.
Van de Vorst to leave Dutch fed, focus on World Boxing

Boris van der Vorst announced that he will conclude 10 years as the President of the Nederlanse Boksbond – the Dutch national boxing federation – on 29 May at the General Assembly. The future of Olympic boxing is the reason. He explained in a posted letter, reading in part:

“So why have I decided to say goodbye? This has to do with the fact that in recent times, I had to increasingly focus on international developments. After the judging scandals at Rio 2016, the international association was under a magnifying glass of its partners and stakeholders, including the IOC. The leadership culture within the [International Boxing Association] caused great concern for the IOC, as well as for many National Federations, particularly in the areas of sports integrity, governance, and financial management. The election of the controversial AIBA President, Gafur Rahimov [UZB], lead to the suspension of AIBA’s recognition by the IOC in 2019.

“Since then, the situation has only deteriorated, and that is why a group of like-minded representatives of National Federations from around the world, have been trying to change the leadership culture within the IBA. Unfortunately, we have not succeeded until now and I am concerned that the Olympic recognition of the IBA is about to be permanently lost. This would be a doomsday scenario, an outright nightmare for our sport. For this reason, World Boxing was presented to the global sports community on April 13, where I am among the Interim Executive Board Members, together with leaders from GB Boxing, USA Boxing, and others.

“World Boxing aims to save the Olympic-style boxing for the future generations by securing its place within the Olympic Family. That requires an immense investment of time and attention. For that reason, I have decided to step down as the President of the Dutch Boxing Federation and allow others to stay focused on driving Dutch boxing forward.”

USA Boxing announced on 26 April that it was leaving the IBA and applying for membership in the new World Boxing group. The IBA has reacted furiously, but continues on suspension by the IOC.

Boxing’s situation within the Olympic Movement remains precarious. The sport is on the Paris 2024 program, but is being managed by the IOC, without input from the IBA, which has told its registered officials not to become involved in the Paris 2024 qualifying events run by the IOC. Further, the sport is not on the program for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, with its fate to be decided this year. The IOC has been clear it has no qualms with the sport, but with the IBA.

The next expected actions will be the withdrawal of additional federations from the IBA and affiliation with World Boxing, but there is no established timetable for this.

The IBA is also being embarrassed during its current men’s World Championships in Uzbekistan by the apparent refusal of the Uzbek government to allow fighters from Kosovo to compete.

IBA President Umar Kremlev (RUS) told a news conference on Monday, “I don’t have the right to prohibit anything for the athletes. All I have to do is to provide money, if needed, and assistance for athletes to come and participate in tournaments.”

But the Kosovo National Olympic Committee tweeted the same day:

“For the third time in a row, #Kosovo’s boxing team lost the World Boxing Championships, due to politics.

“This time, Uzbekistan did not issue visas for our team.

“We lost: Serbia [men’s World Champs] 2021, India [women’s World Champs] 2023 & Uzbekistan [men’s World Champs] 2023.

“Are you @IBA_Boxing or IBA Politics?”

The Kosovo issue has been watched closely by the International Olympic Committee, which recognized Kosovo in 2014, and could be another problem for the IBA in its continuing struggle to obtain re-integration into the Olympic Movement.

3.
U.S. Olympic star sprinter Bowie dies at 32

Startling sad news that three-time Olympic medal winner Tori Bowie has passed at just 32 years old.

The Associated Press reported that police in Orlando, Florida were called Tuesday afternoon “for a well-being check of a woman in her 30s who had not been seen or heard from in several days.”

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office stated that Bowie “was found dead in the home. There were no signs of foul play.”

Bowie, the NCAA indoor and outdoor women’s long jump champion in 2011 for Southern Mississippi, exploded on the international scene in 2013 and led the world 100 m list in 2014 at 10.80 for 100 m.

Originally a basketball player, she won the Worlds 100 m bronze in 2015, the Olympic 100 m silver and 200 m bronze in 2016 and ran on the gold-medal-winning U.S. 4×100 m team, won the 100 m and 4×100 m golds at the 2017 Worlds. She suffered a bad leg injury at the 2018 Pre Classic and was never the same, although she was fourth in the long jump at the 2019 World Championships.

She won three U.S. national titles, in the 100 m in 2015-17 and the 200 m in 2016. Bowie competed in just four meets in 2021, with little success, and one meet in 2022, a 200 m race in Florida in June. She had lifetime bests of 10.78 for the 100 m in 2016 (no. 17 all-time) and 21.77 for the 200 m in 2017 (no. 18).

After her Olympic success in Rio, she was an in-demand fashion model, and was known for her bubbly, positive personality. No cause of death was provided.

4.
Paris 2024 would-be “un-volunteers” detail possible acts

The Associated Press posted an interesting story on Wednesday about the so-far loosely organized, mostly underground group that wants to join the Paris 2024 organizing committee as members of the 45,000-strong volunteer corps, and then sabotage the Games.

Bernard Gauvain, 68, was noted as one member of the anti-Games group; the story included:

“They’re considering an array of possibilities: not turning up to leave organizers short-handed; turning up but working badly and slowly; unfurling banners inside the Olympic perimeter; sabotaging equipment; using the opportunity to lobby other volunteers; or going to a labor court afterward to argue they should have been paid for their help. Gauvain even mentioned that some suggest gluing venue doors shut.”

He has been highly active on Twitter, so he knows he will not be selected as a volunteer, but plans to make trouble any way he can:

“The Olympic Games are Macron’s pride and joy. So it’s a way of stinging him.”

The Paris organizers announced that more than 200,000 applications have been received for the expected 45,000 positions, and an interview process will be part of the selection effort.

Most of the animus about the Games is related to the change in retirement age in France from 62 to 64 pushed through by President Emmanuel Macron on funding concerns, which has caused considerable turmoil in the country.

There are also civil liberties worries concerning the use of advanced surveillance technologies which were approved by the French legislature for the Games, but will also remain in place in 2025.

The Paris 2024 organizers have had budget worries for some time, but the Games project has generally been popular in France. But as a major public spectacle, the Games is also a long-standing target for those airing their favorite political issues.

5.
Perurena re-elected as World Games head, 30 sports in ‘25

Spain’s Jose Perurena was elected unopposed for a third term as the President of the International World Games Association (IWGA) during its Annual General Meeting in Madrid.

Perurena, 78, also served as the head of the International Canoe Federation from 2008-21 and was first elected to lead the IWGA in 2014.

The next World Games will be held in Chengdu (CHN) in 2025 and will include a maximum of 5,000 athletes spread across at least 30 sports, to include:

Air Sports, Archery, Billiards Sports, Boules, Canoe, DanceSport, Finswimming, Fistball, Floorball, Flying Disc, Gymnastics, Beach Handball, Ju-Jitsu, Karate, Kickboxing, Korfball, Lacrosse, Life Saving, Muaythai, Orienteering, Powerlifting, Racquetball, Roller Sports, Sambo, Softball, Sport Climbing, Squash, Tug-of-War, Waterski and Wushu.

The Chengdu organizers could also ask for the inclusion of additional sports, to be chosen from Flag Football, Cheerleading, Dragon Boat, Duathlon, and Freestyle Inline skating.

The 2022 World Games was held in Birmingham, Alabama. The World Games has been an important demonstration platform for sports that would like to be considered for the program of the Olympic Games.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● World University Games ● The 100-year anniversary of the event which eventually led to the World University Games came on Wednesday, 3 May, exactly a century after the first “Jeux Mondiaux Universitaires” in Paris.

The International University Sports Federation (FISU) noted the anniversary of the concept championed by French sports leader Jean Petitjean.

The four-day event included only track & field (18 events) and fencing (2), with American Olympic star Charley Paddock winning the 100 m (10.4) and 200 m (21.0). Dutch runner Adriaan Paulen, who later went on to head the IAAF from 1976-81, won the 400 m in 51.2 and was second at 800 m in 1:57.2.

The World University Games as known today and under the governance of FISU – established in 1949 – was first held in 1959 in Turin, Italy.

● Athletics ● Botswana’s Nijel Amos, the 2012 Olympic silver medalist at 800 m and still the equal-third-fastest man in history at 1:41.73, has been banned by the Athletics Integrity Unit for three years.

A three-time Olympian at 800 m, Amos’ sample from a test on 4 June 2022 turned up evidence of GW1516, a prohibited hormone modulator. The test of his “B” sample confirmed the positive and he approved an “Admission of Anti-Doping Rule Violations and Acceptance of Consequences Form” on 10 April 2023, which reduced his sanction from four years to three.

Now 29, he was a finalist at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 (8th), and will be eligible again on 11 July 2025.

● Fencing ● The FIE Congress may have approved the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes as neutrals, but the Ukrainian Fencing Federation is not amused and has registered an appeal:

“The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has registered the procedure CAS 2023/A/9522 Fencing Federation of Ukraine v. International Fencing Federation (FIE). The arbitration is at an early stage. No further information is available at this time.”

In April, Mykhailo Ilyashev, head of the Ukrainian federation, explained that the FIE Congress decision “was adopted with numerous violations of the FIE Statutes, which raises many questions about its legality.”

● Snowboard ● Sochi 2014 Olympic Snowboard Cross bronze medal winner Alex Diebold announced his retirement from competitive snowboarding at age 36.

He wrote on his Instagram page on Monday:

“After almost 20 years on the @ussnowboardteam I still don’t really know what to say other than thank you. Thank you to my family. Thank you to my teammates, coaches, team managers, trainers, doctors, and physios. Thank you to my competitors. To the people that tore me down and to the people who built me back up – you have taught me things I couldn’t learn anywhere else. And for all of this, I am grateful. I love snowboarding now was much as I did in 1990 when I started, and I can’t wait to see what new riding adventures await. I’m both terrified and excited for whatever is next.”

In addition to his Sochi Olympic bronze, he appeared in five World Championships, with a best finish of 15th in the individual SnowCross event and seventh in the Team event. He won six World Cup medals: three silvers and three bronzes between 2013-20.

● Volleyball ● Wallace de Souza won an Olympic silver as an Opposite on the Brazilian team in London 2012 and a gold in front of adoring home fans at Rio in 2016, plus three Worlds medals in 2014-18-22 (0-2-1). Now he is suspended.

De Souza, 35, was banned for five years by the Brazilian Olympic Committee for inciting violence. In February:

“Wallace posted stories on Instagram that featured guns and shooting clubs. In one of the posts, he asked his followers if he should use one of the guns to shoot [Brazilian] President Lula. The post had huge negative repercussions and generated criticism not only in the world of sport, but also in politics.

“Wallace deleted the post and apologized the next day.”

He supported prior president, Jair Bolsonaro, who was beaten by Lula in the last election.

● Weightlifting ● The International Weightlifting Federation posted a graphic which summarized its anti-doping results from 2022, as provided by the International Testing Agency.

In short, 2,725 tests were collected from 1,333 athletes from 124 countries. Of these, 65 adverse findings were returning, with one doping positive confirmed so far.

Without clarity on the 64 adverse-finding cases, it’s impossible to know how good or bad the doping situation is in the sport, which is trying to recover from decades of drug-use problems. It has been left off the 2028 Los Angeles Games program, but could be returned this year.

● Wrestling ● With nothing left to conquer in the Olympic wrestling world, American star Tamyra Mensah-Stock confirmed that she has retired and signed with the WWE.

Mensah-Stock, 30, won the women’s 68 kg gold in Tokyo in 2021 and also won two World Championships golds, in 2019 and 2022, plus bronzes in 2018 and 2021. ESPN reported:

“The Texas resident will start in WWE’s developmental program. Mensah-Stock reported Monday to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, she told ESPN. Her goal is to make WWE’s main roster within one year.”

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: IBA’s choice for a new U.S. federation might not matter; FIFA won’t show Women’s World Cup in Europe without more money!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Stevens Act will control IBA plan to pick new U.S. governing body
2. FIFA asks more for 2023 Women’s World Cup, or won’t show it!
3. Johnson home designation approved by L.A. City committee
4. IJF refuses eight of 18 Russian World Championships entries
5. Russia projecting team of 180 for Paris if allowed to compete

International Boxing Association President Umar Kremlev of Russia told a Monday news conference the federation plans to accredit a new member federation in the U.S. in the aftermath of the withdrawal of USA Boxing. He says he has multiple applicants, but may be unaware that by U.S. law, the selection of a sport’s national governing body has much more to do with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee than any international federation. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand may be blacked out in Europe if broadcasters do not pay more for the rights. In Los Angeles, a City Council committee approved a request for Historic-Cultural Monument status for the Cornelius Johnson home and Olympic Oak; the matter goes now to the City Council for final approval, which must be made by 12 May. The International Judo Federation approved Russian and Belarusian athletes for competition as neutrals, but has rejected eight of 18 Russian entries for the upcoming World Championships in Qatar that start this weekend. This could be a precedent. The Russian sports minister projects that if allowed to compete in qualifying events and without any team-sport entries, Russia could send a team of 180 to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. That would be the fewest since the Russian Empire sent 159 to the Stockholm Games in 1912!

● Panorama: Athletics (3: AIU April sanctions report led by five Vietnamese, three Russians; Atlanta 1996 400 m hurdles bronze winner Davis passed at 51; first-ever ban for online abuse leveled at British T&F official) = Swimming (Dressel to return to competition on 12 May; ex-Soviet swimmer and Moscow 1980 silver medalist arrested for drug sales in India) ●

1.
Stevens Act will control IBA plan to pick new U.S. governing body

At Monday’s International Boxing Association news conference at its men’s World Championships in Tashkent (UZB), President Umar Kremlev (RUS) was asked about the withdrawal of USA Boxing. According to the Russian news agency TASS:

“The American association has left, but we already have more than five applications from the USA from organizations that are ready to develop boxing in the country. We have created a special commission that will study which of them we accredit. But the decision [to leave] was not made by boxers, but by officials who decided to break the faith of athletes, American boxers write to me, complaining that they are not allowed [to compete].

“Only hyenas or jackals do this, you can’t call them otherwise. They should be pointed to their place, shown that they are outcasts of society and cleanse the sport of such people. The functionary’s task is to ensure the participation of the athlete, and not to tell them where to go.”

Regardless of Kremlev’s view of the U.S. federation, the IBA’s “accreditation” of a U.S. member association is not completely up to him or the IBA. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee also has a substantial say.

That say is codified in the U.S. Code in Title 36, Chapter 2205, also known today as the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act, first passed in 1978 and amended in 1998, 2006, 2018 and 2020.

It’s quite specific on National Governing Bodies, including:

● Sec. 220521, requiring that the USOPC “may not certify more than 1 national governing body.”

● Further, sub-section (c) notes that once a National Governing Body for a sport has been selected, the USOPC “shall recommend and support in any appropriate manner the national governing body to the appropriate international sports federation as the representative of the United States for that sport.”

So, it’s the USOPC which tells the International Federations who their national federation is, not the other way around.

● Sec. 220522 specifies the requirements for an NGB, including, among other items:

“the managerial and financial capability to plan and execute its obligations, including the ability to provide and enforce required athlete protection policies and procedures”

and

“demonstrates that it is a member of no more than one international sports federation that governs a sport included on the program of the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, the Pan-American Games, or the Parapan American Games.”

Big problem for the IBA here. It has been suspended by the International Olympic Committee since 2019 and is not the governing body of boxing insofar as it concerns the Olympic Games – controlled by the IOC itself – or the 2023 Pan American Games, which will be a Paris 2024 qualifier, also overseen by the IOC’s “Paris Boxing Unit.”

Without the designation as the federation which “governs a sport included on the program” of the Olympic Games or Pan American Games, the IBA cannot be an “appropriate” International Federation for a U.S. national federation to belong to.

(The 12-page USA Boxing qualifying procedures for selection for the Paris 2024 Games never mentions the IBA, only the IOC and its process.)

The Stevens Act enumerates the purposes for which the USOPC is authorized and a major aspect listed in §220503 is:

“(4) to obtain for the United States, directly or by delegation to the appropriate national governing body, the most competent amateur representation possible in each event of the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, the Pan-American Games, and the Parapan American Games.”

Can’t do that if you’re on suspension by the IOC. And the USOPC’s authority in this area is clear, as §220503 (3) includes:

“exclusive jurisdiction, directly or through constituent members of committees, over—

(A) all matters pertaining to United States participation in the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, the Pan-American Games, and the Parapan American Games, including representation of the United States in the games” and much more.

Moreover, the road to even challenge USA Boxing as the U.S. national governing body can’t begin until 6 November of 2023. Section 220528, concerning “Applications to replace an incumbent national governing body” states:

“An amateur sports organization may seek to replace an incumbent as the national governing body for a particular sport by filing a written application for certification with the [USOPC] … within one year after the final day of—

“(A) any Olympic Games, for a sport in which competition is held in the Olympic Games or the Paralympic Games, or in each of the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, the Pan-American Games, and the Parapan American Games; or

“(B) any Pan-American Games or Parapan American Games, for a sport in which competition is held in the Pan-American Games or the Parapan American Games, as applicable, but not in the Olympic Games or the Paralympic Games.”

The 2023 Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile end on Sunday, 5 November. No application to the USOPC can even be filed until then. If one is filed, the procedure requires a public hearing within six months, with USA Boxing also invited to present. Any new body must show that

“the applicant more adequately meets the criteria of section 220522 of this title [eligibility], is capable of more adequately meeting the criteria of sections 220524 [duties] and 220525 [sanctioning] of this title, and provides or is capable of providing a more effective national program of competition than the national governing body in the sport for which it seeks certification.”

A tall order, for sure.

The crux of the matter will be whether the IBA once again becomes the governing body of Olympic boxing, or some other association – perhaps the new World Boxing group – is so designated.

Right now, the IBA’s choice for a “new” U.S. national federation won’t mean much to the one group that – under U.S. law – counts, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.

2.
FIFA asks more for 2023 Women’s World Cup, or won’t show it!

The 32-team 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup begins on 20 July in Australia and New Zealand, but FIFA chief Gianni Infantino (SUI) said in a Monday Instagram post and during a women’s trade conference in Geneva (SUI) that the tournament may be blacked out in England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and elsewhere in Europe! Here it is:

“Today, I have repeated my call for broadcasters to pay a fair price for FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023? media rights. We did our part: FIFA has raised the prize money to USD 152 million, treble the amount paid in 2019 and ten times more than in 2015 (before I became FIFA President).

“However, the offers from broadcasters, mainly in the ‘Big 5’ European countries, are still very disappointing and simply not acceptable, especially considering that:

“1) 100% of any rights fees paid would go straight into women’s football, in our move to promote actions towards equal conditions and pay;

“2) public broadcasters in particular have a duty to promote and invest in women’s sport;

“3) the viewing figures of the FIFA Women’s World Cup are 50-60% of the men’s FIFA World Cup (which in turn are the highest of any event), yet the broadcasters’ offers in the ‘Big 5’ European countries for the FIFA Women’s World Cup are 20 to 100(!) times lower than for the men’s FIFA World Cup; and

“4) concretely, whereas broadcasters pay USD 100-200 million for the men’s FIFA World Cup, they offer only USD 1-10 million for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. This is a slap in the face of all the great FIFA Women’s World Cup players and indeed of all women worldwide.

“So, to be very clear, it is our moral and legal obligation not to undersell the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Therefore, should the offers continue not to be fair (towards women and women’s football), we will be forced not to broadcast the FIFA Women’s World Cup into the ‘Big 5’ European countries.

“I call, therefore, on all players (women and men), fans, football officials, Presidents, Prime Ministers, politicians and journalists all over the world to join us and support this call for a fair remuneration of women’s football.

“Women deserve it! As simple as that!”

Infantino did not disclose the bids from any of the broadcasters from these countries. It is worth noting that schedule shows most of the matches will be held in the late morning in the European time zones – Australia is eight hours and New Zealand in 10 hours ahead of Central European Time – not the most favorable for a large audience.

Infantino, of course, does not agree:

“It doesn’t make any economic sense because the viewing figures are there. Maybe, because it is in Australia and New Zealand, it’s not played on prime-time in Europe, but still, it is played at 9am or 10am, so it is quite a reasonable time.”

There isn’t a lot of time remaining, but a sale even weeks before would allow for broadcasting in the European markets since the feed of the matches is being produced by FIFA. This will be interesting.

3.
Johnson home designation approved by L.A. City committee

The long and winding path of the Cornelius Johnson home and Olympic Oak in Los Angeles moved slightly forward on Tuesday with a committee approval of its designation as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments.

The property, originally built by Johnson’s father in 1903 at 1156 South Hobart Avenue in midtown Los Angeles, includes a very special “Olympic Oak,” grown from a seedling given to Johnson for winning the men’s high jump at the Games of the XI Olympiad in Berlin, Germany in 1936.

This was the Nazi Games and Johnson, who had finished fourth in the 1932 Los Angeles Games, won at 2.03 m (6-8) on the first day of track & field on 2 August. It was Johnson whom German leader Adolf Hitler snubbed, not wanting to congratulate a Black athlete after seeing two Germans and a Finn win the prior events on that day.

As with all of the gold medalists in Berlin, Johnson was given a “Olympic Oak” seedling to take with him and plant at home. He did so and the tree grew spectacularly from 1936 until recent years when it was essentially abandoned.

Today, it is one of six believed to be remaining in the U.S. and one of 25 worldwide still living (out of 130 given).

Johnson passed away in 1946, but his home remained in the family until its sale in 1994. The family who followed the Johnsons maintained the tree in good shape, but it fell into distress since the sale in 2019 to KLD Investment, LLC, which had plans to develop the property, but now wants to sell it.

The property continues to be for sale, listed at $1.09 million; it was purchased by the current owner on 1 May 2019 for $927,000. The prior sale was in 1994 for $175,000. The tree is now being watered through an intervention by the Huntington Gardens.

Community interest in the tree and the Johnson home led to an application to the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission for Historic-Cultural Monument status, which was approved in August 2022.

To obtain the designation, the matter then had to come to the Los Angeles City Council’s Planning & Lane Use Management (PLUM) committee and finally made it on Tuesday (2nd). Only three of the five committee members were present: Marqueece Harris-Dawson (District 8), John Lee (12th) and Heather Hutt (10th, in which the property is located).

Two public speakers commented in favor of the designation and neither owner KLD Investments or the original proposers – Susan Anderson of the California African American Museum, and architect and preservation advocate Christian Kosmas Mayer – spoke during the discussion. The entire matter was concluded in just 3:47 with a unanimous vote for designation. Said Hutt:

“As the Planning Department has noted, this is a historical tree and home. It was certainly the ‘west side’ [of Los Angeles] when the Johnson family built the home, which was an unusual place for Black people to live with the [racial] covenants then on.

“And then for this man to be a two-time Olympian is really important. I feel like we need to protect this space. When the Olympics come here in 2028, that it will be a destination for all the comers to Los Angeles.”

The Historic-Cultural Monument designation now goes to the City Council for final approval, which must be completed by 12 May under the City’s timeline requirements.

There has been talk of a purchase of the property by a non-profit, but no one has come forward yet. While the Historic-Cultural Monument designation could come soon, the future of the property is anything but assured.

But Johnson’s Olympic Oak, now 88 years old, is still hanging in there.

4.
IJF refuses eight of 18 Russian World Championships entries

The International Judo Federation confirmed Saturday that it would allow “athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in IJF events as individual neutral athletes,” as it had done since the middle of 2022.

However, it also qualified the approval with a procedure, based on the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee:

“The Executive Committee has decided to engage an independent, reputable company to perform background checks on all the individuals proposed for participation, including social media content, with specific reference to possible war propaganda. Only those athletes and support personnel who are cleared during this verification process will be eligible and considered for participation in events by the IJF Executive Committee.”

By Monday, the entry list for the 2023 IJF Worlds in Doha, Qatar from 7-13 May showed 20 “Individual Neutral Athletes,” with 18 Russians (nine men, nine women) and two from Belarus (1+1).

On Tuesday, that number was reduced by the IJF:

“The IJF Executive Committee has received the list of proposed participants and has commissioned independent background checks on the athletes and delegates to ensure both their place of employment and any social media interactions regarding pro-war propaganda. …

“Only athletes employed at the Federal Training Sport Center of the representative teams of Russia and athletes for whom no information was identified suggesting support for or views on the Russian invasion of Ukraine have been approved to compete at the World Judo Championships 2023 and in IJF competitions. After conducting thorough background investigations, eight members of the delegation were rejected from participation following the Executive Committee vote. …

“The International Judo Federation will continue to monitor the situation and conduct further investigations to ensure that all athletes are participating ethically and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the sport and the judo values.”

The eight athletes removed were not identified, but the announcement indicates that members of the famed CSKA or Dynamo sports clubs were not permitted to compete. It appears the two Belarusians – Yahor Varapayeu in the men’s 90 kg class and Darya Kantsavaya in the women’s 78 kg class – were approved.

This is a precedent for other federations, none of which have been this fast in bringing Russian and Belarusian athletes back into competition.

Ukraine announced on Monday that it would not compete at the 2023 Worlds with Russian or Belarusian athletes present and competing. The IJF Worlds begin on Sunday.

5.
Russia projecting team of 180 for Paris if allowed to compete

“If our athletes successfully pass the qualifying tournaments and the conditions are not significantly changed, then the maximum number of participants from the Russian side in the Olympic Games will be about 180 athletes. …

“In total, international federations in 12 Olympic and 13 non-Olympic sports supported the admission of Russian athletes to international competitions. But nine organizations have not yet given clear criteria for admission to competitions.”

That’s Russian sports minister Oleg Matytsin, speaking after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the prospects for Russian participation in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

That’s way below the athlete totals from prior Games this century:

● 2000: 435
● 2004: 446
● 2008: 455
● 2012: 436
● 2016: 282 (reduced due to doping sanctions)
● 2020: 335 (reduced due to doping sanctions)

In fact, a total of 180 athletes would be the smallest number from a Russian team since 159 competed for the Russian Empire in 1912 in Stockholm. As the USSR, a team did not compete until 1952 (295).

Matytsin said the decision on Russian participation in Paris will not be made before 26 July 2023 and probably much later.

Meanwhile, Putin was reported to have told Matytsin and others:

“You and I are well aware that the main problems of modern high-performance sports are related to the excessive commercialization of sports. Hence both corruption and political dependence. But as the multipolarity of the modern world strengthens, the situation will change in international sports as well. It will change for the better. In any case, I really hope so.”

In this regard, Matytsin said that plans for a new multi-sport competition are emerging, with a 2024 target date:

“The situation today confirms the importance and necessity of further strengthening the sports agenda within the framework of interstate associations, such as the [Commonwealth of Independent States], [Shanghai Cooperation Organization] and BRICS, which are not subject to sanctions and restrictions from international sports structures. In 2024, under the Russian chairmanship of the BRICS association, we propose to hold the BRICS Games in our country, we consider this to be especially relevant, given the prospect of expanding the BRICS format in terms of the number of countries.”

(BRICS refers to Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.)

Russian access to qualification competitions remains at issue. While at least some Russian entries will be allowed at the upcoming Judo World Championships, the Russian Fencing Federation says it is being stonewalled by the International Fencing Federation (FIE), which approved Russian and Belarusian participation as neutrals back in March. Said Russian Fencing Federation (FFR) President Ilgar Mammadov:

“The FIE office does not respond to our letters, the release on athletes and specialists has not yet been received. Today our colleague from Belarus also called their office, where he was told that they were not authorized to answer these questions. Judging by everything, there is no international law in sports anymore, as there are ethical norms of behavior… If for some reason the FIE office was offended by the FFR, why don’t they respond to the Belarusians as well?”

Mammadov explained this means no Russians will compete at the Epee Grand Prix in Cali (COL) this weekend, or the men’s Foil World Cup in Acapulco (MEX):

“We are definitely missing the next two tournaments. Today we sent a corresponding letter to the Russian Ministry of Sports so that these tournaments were removed from the plan. We do this at the very last moment, but, I hope, the Ministry of Sports understands that we have to wait until it stops in the hope that something will happen after all.

“My foreign colleagues from the United States, who were waiting for us in Acapulco, were very surprised that we would not come, and they cannot understand how the FIE office can simply not respond. It turns out that they can.”

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Athletics ● The Athletics Integrity Unit published its sanctions recap for April, with 19 individuals listed:

● 5: Vietnam
● 3: India and Russia
● 1: Germany, Italy, Kenya, Morocco, New Zealand, Trinidad & Tobago, Uzbekistan and the U.S.

The American was shot put star Raven Saunders, suspended for 18 months for whereabouts reporting failures.

Sad news of the passing of 1996 Olympic 400 m hurdles bronze medalist Calvin Davis on Sunday, 1 May, at just 51 years of age.

Davis ran 47.91 in his Olympic semi in Atlanta for his all-time best, then no. 7 in American history. He was the 1993 NCAA champion at 400 m for Arkansas (45.04), then won the NCAA Indoor 400 m title in 1994 before switching to the hurdles and making the U.S. Olympic team just two years later.

At the time of his death, he was an assistant track and field coach at Springdale Har-Ber High School in Springdale, Arkansas.

Britain’s Athletics Weekly reported that an athletics official was banned from the sport by UK Athletics for online abuse:

“[Paul] Baxter, a former member of City of York AC, has been given a three-and-a-half year ban from the sport for online bullying and harassment of Katey Ross, a former athlete who acts as an administrator on the popular Facebook group ‘I Was, Or Am A Runner!’

“Baxter was charged by England Athletics with ‘making a number of inappropriate, threatening, bullying or harassing online posts’ toward Ross, who waived her anonymity in the case.”

It’s believed to be the first instance of a ban imposed for online actions. It will not be the last.

● Swimming ● Five-time Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Caeleb Dressel of the U.S. has been absent from the pool since leaving the 2022 World Championships after a couple of days last June. But he appears ready to re-emerge and is expected to compete in the Atlanta Classic on 12 May.

If fit, the 26-year-old can qualify for the 2023 Worlds at the USA Swimming nationals from 27 June-1 July in Indianapolis.

SwimSwam.com reported that 1980 Olympic 200 m Breaststroke silver medalist Svetlana Varganova was arrested for involvement as part of a drug cartel in Goa, India.

An Indian Narcotics Control Bureau said that Varganova, 58, sold drugs only to foreigners and have been uncooperative. She was arrested along with a former Russian policeman known as Andre and reportedly the head of the drug ring.

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: IBA to identify new U.S. boxing fed; remembering long jump superstar Ralph Boston; Ukraine aths will not compete with Russians

By
Rich Perelman
-
IBA President Umar Kremlev (RUS, at right) and Secretary General George Yerolimpos (GRE, left). (Photo: IBA video screenshot)

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Kremlev: IBA looking to select new U.S. national federation
2. Remembering long jump great, analyst and activist Ralph Boston
3. Canoe federation agrees to Russian and Belarusian re-entry
4. Ukrainian fencers and judokas ready to skip events with Russian entries
5. Russia continues to protest all sports sanctions

International Boxing Association President Umar Kremlev employed his usual colorful style to declare at a news conference in Uzbekistan that the IBA has no problems, is working to answer all the issues posed by the International Olympic Committee, is unconcerned by the new World Boxing group and has a committee reviewing five applications from possible replacement federations for the now-departed USA Boxing. Even casual track fans know the names Jesse Owens and Bob Beamon, but they set one world record each. Ralph Boston, who passed away on Sunday at age 83 was the one who broke Owens’ mark after 25 years and was credited with six world marks in his career and won three Olympic medals. The International Canoe Federation dropped into line with the International Olympic Committee on Russian and Belarusian re-entry, but noted that national federations running events would be allowed to exclude them if desired. In separate situations, Ukrainian fencers and judoka said they will not compete against Russian or Belarusians, with the Ukrainian Judo Federation announcing a boycott of the upcoming IJF Worlds in Qatar. Russian criticism of any and all restrictions against them due to Russia continuing war on Ukraine now includes a statement by the Athletes Commission of the Russian Olympic Committee, which called the sanctions “a gross violation.”

● Panorama: Athletics (3: Brooks wins GardaStars, Allen returns at Penn; Sawe now no. 5 all-time at 10 km) = Canoe-Kayak (U.S. star Liebfarth wins two in PanAm Slalom Champs) = Cycling (2: Andersen wins Eschborn-Frankfurt; U.S.’s Hoehn takes Tour of the Gila) = Modern Pentathlon (Korea wins World Cup mixed relay) = Rowing (Kohler win highlights U.S. National Selection Regatta) ●

● Errata: Some readers saw a version of Monday’s post which showed Ireland as part of the field for the 2023 FIBA men’s World Cup. Iran, ranked 22nd, will compete; not Ireland. Thanks to Olympic statman Hilary Evans (GBR) for the sharp eyes. ●

1.
Kremlev: IBA looking to select new U.S. national federation

During a nearly-90 minute news conference in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on the second day of the International Boxing Association men’s World Championships saw federation chief Umar Kremlev maintain his well-rehearsed lines about how well the IBA is doing and rejecting any challenge from the new World Boxing group. But there were some new twists:

● Asked about the withdrawal of USA Boxing from the IBA, Kremlev replied, according to the Russian news agency TASS:

“The American association has left, but we already have more than five applications from the USA from organizations that are ready to develop boxing in the country. We have created a special commission that will study which of them we accredit. But the decision [to leave] was not made by boxers, but by officials who decided to break the faith of athletes, American boxers write to me, complaining that they are not allowed [to compete].

“Only hyenas or jackals do this, you can’t call them otherwise. They should be pointed to their place, shown that they are outcasts of society and cleanse the sport of such people. The functionary’s task is to ensure the participation of the athlete, and not to tell them where to go.”

● Asked about the new World Boxing group, Kremlev said (transcribed from the English-language interpreter online):

“You know, we say that there’s always a black sheep in a family. There are always people who go their own ways. We need to keep our dignity, and as for this situation, yes, I heard about it, but I don’t think it’s worth discussing this matter here. So let’s not make a mountain out of a molehill.

“Someone just decided in their garage to register an international association. Why should we even pay attention to that? Our only concern are critical remarks, that we can handle and that we can improve.

“I am fine with any criticism, it gives motivation for development, but today the IBA is the only international association that manages boxing. Those who want to leave or move on, must understand that all the rules of boxing belong to the IBA, and we have the right to govern boxing. No one else decides [whether] IBA has the right to organize tournaments.”

● About the concerns of the International Olympic Committee and boxing’s future in the 2028 Olympic Games and beyond (transcribed interpretation):

“As of today, there are no problems at IBA. …

“Basically, I don’t see the reason or the point to explain anything. I am sure that they don’t like me. They didn’t like the fact that I’m not licking anyone’s ass – sorry for saying it such a straightforward way – but indeed. Maybe they don’t like us providing and giving prize money, which is even greater than the prize money at the Olympics. This is all their own problem.

“Our organization exists for us to provide all the money to the athletes. We don’t want to pay for five-star hotels, for travels of functionaries or sports officials. No, we would like dedicate all money to athletes. I can’t see any hurdles or difficulties in our communications with the IOC. I do not see any problems or any hurdles.”

Kremlev once again blamed all of the IOC’s issues at his predecessor as federation president, C.K. Wu (TPE), who he pointed out was an IOC Executive Board member: “So all the questions, they should be raised from C.K. Wu.”

The IBA has set up a committee to work on a reply to the IOC’s inquiries; Secretary George Yerolimpos (GRE) explained:

“The fifth of May, or a few days after, the IBA will present to the IOC a package of all the answers, and what we did in all this period, and I feel very proud to be part of this as a member of the IBA. …

“Olympics is a very nice and beautiful tree. We would like to be very close to this tree. But also, IBA must deal with other trees we have around. We want to deal with our forest, the boxers. We love this tree, but we need to take care about also the forest, the boxing.”

Yerolimpos explained that the prize money for the women’s Worlds ($2.4 million) and men’s Worlds ($5.2 million) came from the license fees paid by the host associations (India and Uzbekistan). He also said that additional sponsors would be announced by the IBA during the summer, to help fund the IBA office and its development projects.

Kremlev said that the sponsorship agreement with the Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom has run out and has not been renewed, at least not yet. The Gazprom agreement has been a sticking point for the IOC, given its state ownership and the sanctions on the Russian state amidst its continuing invasion of Ukraine.

2.
Remembering long jump great, analyst and activist Ralph Boston

Olympic icon Jesse Owens of the U.S. set the world long jump of 8.13 m (26-8) on his day-of-days in Ann Arbor, Michigan on 25 May 1935. Although today’s fans remember Bob Beamon’s astounding jump of 8.90 m (29-2 1/2) at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games, in-between was another all-time great: Ralph Boston.

Boston passed away on Sunday at age 83 at his home in Peachtree City, Georgia.

But he is the man who moved Owens out of the record books and took over the event until Beamon’s Mexico City miracle.

A Tennessee A&I grad, Boston was the 1960 NCAA champion after finishing third in 1959, then won the AAU Nationals and the U.S. Olympic Trials. But it was what he did next that made him famous: a win at a pre-Olympic meet at Mt. San Antonio College on 12 August of 8.21 m (26-11), taking Owens’ record for himself.

He went on to the Olympic gold in Rome, then became the dominant figure in the event for the next six years. He won the AAU Nationals from 1961-66 and set five more world records:

● 8.24 m (27-0 1/4) on 27 May 1961 in Modesto
● 8.28 m (27-1 3/4) on 16 July 1961 in Moscow (URS)
● 8.31 m= (27-3=) on 15 August 1964 in Kingston (JAM)
● 8.34 m (27-4 1/4) on 12 September 1964 in Los Angeles
● 8.35 m (27-4 1/2) on 29 May 19865 in Modesto

So, five outright records and a tie with Soviet Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, who was the first to jump 8.31 m, in 1962, and equaled Boston’s 8.35 m at altitude in the pre-Olympic meet in Mexico City in 1967. Only Boston (6) and Ter-Ovanesyan (2) have set the men’s world record more than once.

(In 2022, World Athletics recognized American Phil Shinnick’s 8.33 m [27-3 3/4] mark from the Modesto Relays in 1963 as a world record, which technically negates Boston’s 8.31 m equaler in 1964.)

Boston finished second to Britain’s Lynn Davies on Tokyo in 1964, 8.07 m to 8.03 m (26-5 3/4 to 26-4 1/4), with Ter-Ovanesyan third.

Beamon came on a strong competitor in 1967, then lost his scholarship at UTEP because he would not compete against BYU in 1968 in the aftermath of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boston reportedly helped Beamon, his direct competitor on an unofficial basis, with both qualifying for the U.S. team for Mexico City.

At the 1968 Games, Beamon made history on his first jump, with Boston the first to explain that 8.90 m was 29-2 1/2 and Beamon falling to the ground in disbelief. The competition went on and East Germany’s Klaus Beer ended up second with Boston third, but with the 16 other finalists all shattered by what Beamon had done.

Boston retired after the ‘68 season, but became even more well known as a member of the CBS broadcast team for U.S. and European meets in 1969-70-71-72, with host Jack Whitaker and analysts Dick Bank (1969-70) and Bill Toomey (1971-72).

His day job was as coordinator of minority affairs and assistant dean of students at the University of Tennessee from 1968-75 and later president and chief executive officer of ServiceMaster Services in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Boston was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1974 and into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1985.

He was a fierce competitor, an activist who made his views known more with quiet and dignity than with public outbursts, an excellent lecturer and speaker and a knowledgeable and relatable broadcaster. A special, 50-year celebration of his 1960 world record at Mt. SAC (and others set at that meet) was held there in 2011.

His athletic ability is often underrated; he also had bests of 9.6 for 100 yards, 13.7 for the 120-yard hurdles, 4.16 m (13-8) in the vault, 15.89 m (52-1 1/2) in the triple jump and even 51.51 m (169-0) with the javelin!

Said four-time Olympic long jump champ Carl Lewis on Twitter:

“I’m devastated about Ralph Boston’s passing. As a child I idolized him and he was a major influence in my life. I’ll miss his voice and support. He changed the game as an athlete, advocate and mentor. Jumpers, Know his name!!! Rest with the greats.”

3.
Canoe federation agrees to Russian and Belarusian re-entry

The International Canoe Federation is the latest to bow to the International Olympic Committee’s recommendations on Russian and Belarusian athlete re-entry into international competitions. A statement issued Saturday read in part:

“In view of the current circumstances, the ICF Executive Board fully backs the IOC Executive Board recommendations of 28 March 2023 and has decided to lift the protective measures against Russian and Belarusian athletes and highlighted the following key strict conditions ahead of appointing an independent panel. …

“The ICF will continue to collaborate closely with the IOC, [Association of Summer Olympic International Federations], and the [International Testing Agency] to determine the necessary anti-doping measures and neutral athlete status criteria. Furthermore, the appointment of an independent assessors to the Individual Neutral Athlete Eligibility Panel will be subject to a consultation process with important stakeholders and service providers before being confirmed by the ICF Executive Committee.”

There was also a list of six points that the ICF stressed, including a unique twist to accommodate individual countries in part:

● “Individual Neutral Athletes and support personnel who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies will not be able to participate as an individual neutral athlete.”

● “Only athletes who have not supported the war in public, on social media or on other occasions will be eligible to compete.”

● “In order to protect the implementation of ICF events and the safety of athletes the ICF will respect any position and decision of a National Canoe Federation as host of an ICF event not to include Individual Neutral Athletes. However, the ICF calls on all hosts of ICF competitions to respect the Olympic Charter and to establish conditions that guarantee unhindered access to competitions for all athletes. …

● “Athletes who want to compete as neutral athletes will have to declare in writing that they meet all the criteria set by the ICF before their individual evaluation. Any violation of these conditions will result in the withdrawal of their Individual Neutral Athlete status.”

The statement did not set out any timetable for the decision-making process on Russian or Belarusian athletes. Canoeing has multiple races in Sprint and Slalom disciplines coming in Poland and Germany, which have shown little interest in having Russian or Belarusian entries.

4.
Ukrainian fencers and judokas ready to skip events with Russian entries

“People in my country die every day. Militaries fighting for our freedom. We will not compete against Russians. They should not take part because it is unfair and impossible in a civilized world.”

That’s 20-year-old fencer Svitlana Sopit, speaking with Agence France Presse on the sidelines of a training camp in Paris for the Ukrainian Foil squad, adding “It was a really shocking decision for all fencing family because nothing changed since the war started.

“The athletes who stay in Ukraine live in really hard conditions for training but they never stop. No electricity, no heating but they continue to work.

“We keep working, we never stop because we believe in fair decision. There are things much more important than sports competitions.”

Her twin sister Olga explained:

“We still compete sometimes in Ukraine. We start to fence, hear the alarm, hold for a second, go to the shelter, wait for three hours, then you come out, fence again. At some moment, the lights turn off. You wait another two hours. Competition can last 11 to 12 hours.

“It is quite difficult to be in these conditions and then you realize, this is the life, you can adapt and can live.”

Alina Poloziuk, a FIE Grand Prix bronze medalist from February, has been training in a war zone. She told AFP:

“I come from Mykolaiv in the south of the country. It was bombed today by Russians.”

Ukrainian judoka, who include two-time World Champion and Tokyo Olympic women’s 48 kg bronze winner Daria Bilodid, are also ready to skip the upcoming World Championships in Doha (QAT) from 7-14 May if Russian or Belarusians are included. The Ukrainian Judo Federation statement of 1 May included:

“The Judo Federation of Ukraine informs that it is forced to withdraw the application of the national team of Ukraine to participate in the World Judo Championship in Doha (Qatar), which will be held from May 7 to 14.

“This is due to the fact that on Friday, April 28, the International Judo Federation IJF allowed the teams of Russia and Belarus to participate in the world championship as individual neutral athletes. Subsequently, the application of the ‘Individual Neutral Athletes’ team appeared on the Judobase website.

“The majority of the team are athletes who are active servicemen of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, part of the army that attacked Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and is still waging a brutal full-scale war on our territory, which is shelling Ukrainian cities and civilian homes every day, destroying peaceful citizens, children Instead, more than 250 Ukrainian athletes gave their lives defending the country. There are judo representatives among them.

“We do not see the neutrality, equal conditions and ‘bridge to peace’ mentioned in the IJF Resolution regarding the participation of Russian and Belarusian teams in the World Cup in Doha.

“Moreover, we see here a decision that contradicts the latest recommendations of the International Olympic Committee of March 28, 2023, where the IOC says that the status of neutral athletes can only be granted to those athletes who are not military personnel.”

Said Bilodid in an Instagram post:

“I think that it is unacceptable to allow military personnel of a terrorist country who every day kills Ukrainians to participate in international competitions. This is not at all about sports values.”

5.
Russia continues to protest all sports sanctions

The Russian position on all of the “re-entry” discussions is that they are all politics and no restrictions should be in place, regardless of the war against Ukraine.

For example, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin told reporters Friday:

“Our principled position is that this issue must not be politicized and athletes must not be denied participation in sports events on political grounds. Unfortunately, this takes place. We certainly condemn this.”

The Athletes Commission of the Russian Olympic Committee has now joined the chorus, with a statement issued by the Russian Olympic Committee on Friday:

“We believe the proposed reintegration and admission criteria are excessive and discriminatory – by nationality and by passport, by discipline and sport, and by affiliation to certain entities developing sports for decades in most post-Soviet states.

“Similar systems of athlete support are a common thing in many other countries, but in this particular case it is only used as a ground to exclude athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports.

“Depriving athletes of their national identity, of an opportunity to compete in team and group events, as well as sanctioning them just because of a contract with a sports club providing legal labor guarantees: all of this constitutes a gross violation of the principle of equality, which is fundamental not only to the concept of Olympism, but also in humanitarian, universal sense, in the International Law.”

Meanwhile, the Kremlin is deciding on its next move, according to Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, also commenting on Friday:

“As for the IOC recommendations, they are now being thoroughly analyzed, and we are currently working out our approach regarding this issue.”

Rest assured, the response will not be complimentary.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Athletics ● Another American world leader, this time in the women’s heptathlon at the annual GardaStars meet in Desenzano del Garda (ITA) over the weekend.

Taliyah Brooks, 28, who had to be carted off the field with heat stroke at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, got a lifetime best of 6,330 to win and take the world lead for 2023. She finished with a flourish, getting personal records in the javelin and 800 m to end the competition, her first completed heptathlon since the 2021 Texas Relays! Britain’s Jade O’Dowda was second at 6,178 and American Chari Hawkins was third with 6,036.

The men’s decathlon winner was Karel Tilga (EST) at 8,482, no. 2 on the 2023 world list, followed by Fredrik Samuelsson (SWE: 8,070) and American Devon Williams (7,956).

In his first race back since the NFL season ended, Olympian Devon Allen won the 110 m hurdles at the Penn Relays in 13.46, just out-leaning Rafael Pereira (BRA: 13.46) into a 1.0 m/s headwind.

In a hot Adizero Road to Records 10 km race in Herzogenaurach (GER), Sabastian Sawe led a Kenyan sweep in the nos. 2-3-4 times of the year ahead of 2020 World Half Marathon runner-up Kibiwott Kandie and Tokyo Olympic 5,000 m fourth-placer Nicholas Kipkorir in 26:49, 26:53 and 26:54!

The time moved Sawe, who broke away at the 7 km mark, to no. 5 on the all-time list.

● Canoe-Kayak ● Host Brazil picked up two wins to highlight the Pan American Slalom Championships in Tres Coroas (BRA) over the weekend.

Three-time Olympian Ana Satila of Brazil won the women’s C-1 in 119.20 seconds (no penalties), to win ahead of Canada’s Lois Betteridge (139.61). Brazilian Neta Estancia took the K-1 title in 111.34, beating Florence Maheu (CAN: 119.84).

The men’s winners included Argentina Olympian Sebastian Rossi in C-1 in 108.47, ahead of Alex Baldoni (CAN: 113.26) and American Zachary Lokken (114.44). Olguin Echevarria (CHI) won the K-1 final in 103.23, ahead of Pedro Goncalves (BRA: 106.81).

Tokyo Olympian Evy Leibfarth of the U.S. won the women’s Kayak Cross final and took the women’s U-23 division K-1 gold.

● Cycling ● The 60th edition of the one-day Classic Eschborn-Frankfurt was held on Sunday, with Danish star Soren Kragh Andersen getting his first career one-day-race win in 4:51:27 over the hilly 204.8 km course.

Although there were two significant climbs early in the race, the last section was downhill into Frankfurt and ended with the expected mass sprint, with nine given the same time at the finish. Andersen got to the line first, ahead of Patrick Konrad (AUT) and Alessandro Fedeli (ITA).

In the U.S., the 35th Tour of the Gila concluded in New Mexico on Sunday, with American Alex Hoehn getting the overall win by two seconds over Oscar Sevilla (ESP) at 13:11:20 across five stages.

Hoehn didn’t win any stage, but finished 14-3-3-9-2 to move up to 1:03 behind Dane Torbjorn Roed after the fourth stage. On Sunday, Sevilla beat Hoehn in a duel to the tape some 2:37 ahead of the pack and with Roed seventh and 3:20 behind, Hoehn moved up to get the overall victory.

● Gymnastics ● The Russian news agency TASS reported that Yuri Korolyov, a nine-time Worlds Championships gold medalist, but never an Olympian, passed away at age 60 on Saturday (29th).

Korolyov was dominant from 1981-87, winning the Worlds All-Around in 1981 and 1985, Floor in 1981, Rings in 1985 and 1987, Vault in 1985 and as part of the Team winners in 1981-85-87. He missed the 1984 Los Angeles Games because of the Soviet boycott and then was injured at the time of the Seoul Games in 1988. He is considered perhaps the best-ever gymnast never to have appeared at an Olympic Games.

● Modern Pentathlon ● The Mixed Relay that concluded the UIPM’s Budapest World Cup saw Korea’s Changwan Seo and Mexico’s Manuel Padilla coming off the final shooting set even, but as Padilla got tangled and Seo ran away for the win in 12:29.60, fastest in the final.

Seo and Sunwoo Kim finished with 1,382 points to 1,374 for Mariana Arceo and Padilla, with France’s Rebecca Castaudi and Jean-Baptiste Mourcia third (1,368), moving up from seventh during the Laser Run. Seo and Kim started in fifth place, about 14 back of Mexico (which started second), but made up the ground quickly in the final event.

Americans Tristen Bell and Phaelen French finished 12th with 1,255.

● Rowing ● The U.S. Rowing National Selection Regatta in Chula Vista, California saw Olympic and Worlds medal winner Kara Kohler – at age 32 – back into contention for another trip to the World Championships.

A 2011 World Champion for the U.S. in the Fours, Kohler won a London 2012 bronze in the Quadruple Sculls and seven years later took a Worlds bronze in the Single Sculls. Ninth in the Tokyo Olympic Single Sculls, she won another U.S. title in 7:42.25, ahead of Michelle Sechser (7:47.15) and Savannah Prija (7:52.72). The winners all earned the right to compete for the U.S. in the second World Rowing World Cup in Italy, set as a qualifier for the Worlds for American entries.

Tokyo Olympian Kristi Wagner and Lauren O’Connor won the women’s Double Sculls in 6:54.35 against 6:54.80 got Sophia Vitas and Emily Kallfelz. Molly Reckford and Mary Jones Nabel finished third in 7:04.95.

In women’s Pairs, Olympic veterans Meghan Musnicki (a two-time Olympic gold winner in the U.S. Eights) and Alie Rusher barely edged Claire Collins and Mollie Bruggeman, 7:11.62 to 7:12.42. Mary Mazzio-Manson and Emily Froelich were a close third in 7:14.80.

In the men’s Single Sculls final, Jacob Plihal was a decisive winner, 7:06.57 to 7:09.49 over Andrew LeRoux and Eliot Putnam (7:10.59). In Double Sculls, Ben Davison and Sorin Koszyk won in 6:23.56, comfortably ahead of Kevin Cardno and Dominique Williams (6:29.26).

Michael Grady and Liam Corrigan won the men’s Pairs in 6:30.78 over Henry Hollingsworth and Pieter Quinton (6:33.46).

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TSX REPORT: U.S. wins Curling Mixed Doubles Worlds, gets tough draw in FIBA World Cup; Utah no. 1 in U.S. volunteerism!

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 ≡

1. U.S. swamps Japan, 8-2, for first Curling World Mixed Doubles gold!
2. U.S. gets no favors, faces Greece in Basketball World Cup
3. IJF approves Russia and Belarus as “neutrals” (again)
4. New university study shines positive light on Utah Winter bid
5. IBA taunts Euro Games organizers, IOC with “eligibles” list

Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin won the U.S.’s first-ever World Mixed Doubles gold with a solid, 8-2 win over Japan in the final in Korea. The draw for the 2023 FIBA men’s World Cup to be held in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia was on Saturday, with the Americans in a tough group with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece, plus New Zealand and Jordan. The International Judo Federation surprised no one by approving Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals – they had done so previously in 2022 – but this time with outside verification of “athlete neutrality.” A expanded study from the University of Utah showed new factors in demographics, social capital and carbon control in favor of the Salt Lake City bid for the 2030 or 2034 Olympic Winter Games. The numbers showed Utah to be the no. 1 U.S. state for volunteerism! The International Boxing Association, shut out of the qualification process for the Paris 2024 Games, nonetheless issued a list of “eligible” boxers for the European Games in Poland in June, including Belarusian and Russian athletes, none of whom will be allowed to compete at the event in Krakow and Malopolska.

A sad note as Olympic long jump great Ralph Boston of the U.S. passed away on Sunday, at 83. A full remembrance will feature in Tuesday’s post.

● World Championship: Ice hockey (U.S. wins IIHF men’s U-18s) ●
● Panorama: Athletics (3: Four world leaders in Botswana, Crouser and Ealey win at Drake; big marks for Kovacs, Alekna, Burks) = Badminton (Canada sweeps PanAm Championships) = Beach Volleyball (U.S.’s Nuss & Kloth win in Brazil!) = Cycling (Yates wins Tour de Romandie) = Fencing (Korea’s Oh wins Sabre Grand Prix at home) = Gymnastics (Kovtun on fire in Apparatus World Cup) = Modern Pentathlon (Jun wins, Guzi surprises at World Cup) = Sailing (three wins for France at Semaine Olympique Francaise) = Sport Climbing (six Speed world records in Seoul!) = Wrestling (2: Steveson dominates U.S. Open in return; no 2023 World Cups!) ●

1.
U.S. swamps Japan, 8-2, for first Curling World Mixed Doubles gold!

The United States had appeared in exactly zero finals in the first 14 editions of the WCF World Mixed Doubles Championship that debuted in 2008. That ended with a first-ever gold medal in 2023 as Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin defeated Chiaki Matsumura and Yasumasa Tanida of Japan, 8-2 in the final in Gangneung, South Korea on Saturday.

The U.S. did have some experience on its side, with Thiesse (then Cory Christensen) and John Shuster winning the Worlds bronze in 2019. Dropkin had been in two prior Mixed Doubles Worlds, in 2015 and 2018.

In Gangneung, Thiesse and Dropkin were great, finishing round-robin play in Group B with a 7-2 record, behind only Matsumura and Tanida (8-1). The Japanese won their round-robin match vs. the U.S. by 7-5.

In the playoffs, the U.S. squeezed by defending champ Scotland, 8-6, in the play-in match to the semifinals. As a group winner, Japan was automatically in the semis and got past Norway, 5-4, to reach not just its first-ever gold-medal game, but its first medal match!

Tiesse and Dropkin faced Canada’s two-time Worlds Women’s gold medalist Jennifer Jones and Brent Liang in the semis, and moved on with a 6-2 win powered by four unanswered points in the fifth, sixth and seventh ends.

In the final, the U.S. got on top quickly, with a point in the first end and two in the second for a 3-0 lead. Japan got one back in the third, but the Americans put up another point in the fourth and two in the fifth for a commanding 6-1 lead on the way to the 8-2 final. It was the fifth time in 11 matches that the U.S. scored eight or more points.

Said Thiesse:

“I can’t even believe it, I’m definitely still speechless right now. It definitely hasn’t sunk in yet, but it’s incredible. I’m just so proud of my partner, we had a great week and it’s just incredible.”

Norway won the bronze, 6-2 over Canada, moving up from fourth in 2022 and claiming their third medal in tournament history (0-1-2).

2.
U.S. gets no favors, faces Greece in Basketball World Cup

A pretty tough draw for the United States in the draw for the FIBA World Cup coming up in August, with arguably the toughest group in the tournament:

● Group A: Angola (41), Dominican Republic (23), Italy (10), Philippines (40)
● Group B: China (27), Puerto Rico (20), Serbia (6), South Sudan (62)
● Group C: Greece (9), Jordan (33), New Zealand (26), United States (2)
● Group D: Egypt (55), Lithuania (8), Mexico (31), Montenegro (18)
● Group E: Australia (3), Finland (24), Germany (11), Japan (36)
● Group F: Cape Verde (64), Georgia (32), Slovenia (7), Venezuela (17)
● Group G: Brazil (13), Cote d’Ivoire (42), Iran (22), Spain (1)
● Group H: Canada (15), France (5), Latvia (29), Lebanon (43)

The U.S. will open with New Zealand in Pasay, the Philippines on 26 August, followed by ninth-ranked Greece – and the Antetokounmpo brothers – on the 28th and Jordan on 30 August, The top two teams in each group will advance to a second pool-play round with the top two in the second-round groups advancing to the quarterfinals.

Group A will play in the Philippines, in Bocaue and Quezon City; Group B only in Quezon City, Group C and Group D in Pasay.

Groups E and F will play in Okinawa City, Japan and Groups G and H will play in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The second-round groups will play in Quezon City and Pasay, Okinawa and Jakarta. All of the elimination playoffs will be at the 15,000-seat Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.

This will be the 19th Basketball World Cup, with Spain the defending champ from 2019. The U.S. won the prior World Cups in 2011 and 2015, and has won the tournament five times, ties for the most with Yugoslavia. France won the bronze medals in both 2015 and 2019.

USA Basketball noted that Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors) will serve as head coach of the 2023 USA World Cup Team. He will be assisted by Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat), Tyronn Lue (Los Angeles Clippers) and Mark Few (Gonzaga University). The 12-man USA roster will be selected by USA basketball National Team Director Grant Hill and announced at a later date.

FIBA announced that the 32-team 2027 FIBA World Cup will be played in Doha, Qatar, another in a steady stream of events to be held there, using existing facilities, with dates to be announced.

The federation awarded the 16-team 2026 Women’s World Cup to Germany, to be played in September in Berlin, at the Arena Berlin and the Max-Schmeling-Halle. The Germans previously hosted the event in 1998,

3.
IJF approves Russia and Belarus as “neutrals” (again)

As it had already allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals in June of 2022 – but with both countries staying away – there was no surprise in Saturday’s announcement of the same:

“The IJF Executive Committee has decided to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in IJF events as individual neutral athletes.”

What is different is the follow-on actions based on the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee:

“The Executive Committee has decided to engage an independent, reputable company to perform background checks on all the individuals proposed for participation, including social media content, with specific reference to possible war propaganda. Only those athletes and support personnel who are cleared during this verification process will be eligible and considered for participation in events by the IJF Executive Committee.”

And the IJF’s last line continues the IOC’s push to have athletes treated specially, against all others:

“Sport is the main bridge for dialogue and reconciliation.”

Russia has had success in judo in the recent past, winning four medals each in the 2017, 2018 and 2019 World Championships, but did not compete in 2022. Russia sent 13 entries to the Tokyo Olympic Games and won three medals, all bronzes (two men’s, one women’s).

4.
New university study shines positive light on Utah Winter bid

An expanded study from the University of Utah’s Gardner Policy Institute paper that projected an economic impact of $3.9 billion and 30,000 job-years of employment in May 2022, shows a 2030 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City to be well positioned for success based on non-pecuniary factors.

The new paper, titled “2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Utah: Demographic, Social, and Environmental Factors,” highlights positives for the bid, now looking more toward 2034 than 2030:

● Demographic Trends: “Utah continues to be a fast-growing, youthful, and rapidly diversifying state that attracts new migrants.”

● Social Factors: “Utah maintains its stature as a volunteer state with significant civic pride, nation-leading social capital, and high levels of well-being as measured by physical health, active lifestyles, healthy behaviors, and access to recreational activities.”

● Environmental Factors: “Utah remains well positioned to host an environmentally positive Games. A future Games will not require any Olympic-specific new construction projects, greatly reducing the environmental footprint. The Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games commitment to a ‘climate positive’ Games demonstrates the high priority of environmental outcomes.”

The specifics are interesting, as the research showed Utah population growing at a rate of 18.4% from 2010-20, compared to just 7.4% for the U.S. as a while. Statistics on volunteerism were remarkable, reporting that Utah ranked “first in volunteerism” in the U.S. at 116 hours per person per year vs. 90 hours for the U.S. as a whole, with 51.0% of all Utahns involved in some type of volunteer work (vs. 32.6% of the U.S.).

The volunteerism numbers are important as the report notes:

“In 2002, nearly 70,000 people applied for approximately 21,000 available Olympic Games volunteer positions. Utah’s spirit of volunteerism contributed an estimated 4.6 million hours and between $69 and $92 million in savings to the 2002 Games, playing a significant role in the Games’ economic success and financial surplus.”

The report projected 25,000 volunteers to be engaged for 2030 (or 2034), of which 6-7,000 would be new, meaning an impressive 18-19,000 would be repeat staff from 2002! This is a potentially critical positive for Salt Lake City as a permanent site – in a rotation – for future Winter Games.

The “climate positive” pledge for a 2030 or 2034 Games is significantly based on building no new facilities, whether for competition, training or athlete housing, and the existing and forthcoming environmental initiatives of local and statewide agencies.

Aside from the volunteerism numbers, there were no knock-out revelations in the report update, but the study adds to the “soft power” profile of the Salt Lake City bid in areas where the International Olympic Committee has shown increased concern.

5.
IBA taunts Euro Games organizers, IOC with “eligibles” list

In a continuing effort to annoy and/or embarrass the organizers of the 2023 European Games and the International Olympic Committee, the International Boxing Association released a list of “eligible” boxers for the event.

As this is not a federation competition, but a multi-sport Games, this would normally not be of much interest. But, the IOC has designated the European Games in June as its first qualifier for the Paris 2024 Games, a process that does not include the IBA, and which the IOC is managing on its own, as it did for the Tokyo Games.

The 27-page IBA list includes, in a rather hard-to-read format, boxers who will clearly not be part of the 2023 European Games:

● Belarus: 9 boxers (4 men/5 women)
● Russia: 13 boxers (7 men/6 women)

Ukraine is, of course, listed, in all 13 classes (seven men and six women) and is expected to compete, but not necessarily with the boxers listed.

The IBA explained the announcement as

“a move to ensure its ranked athletes have a fair chance to compete at the European Games, has released the official list of eligible boxers based on the internationally recognized IBA ranking system for the European Games 2023 boxing tournament.

“The IBA stresses the importance of a fair selection criteria for the continental event, where IBA rankings reflect the most up-to-date situation in the sport of boxing with the most important events outcome included.”

The Polish organizing committee, in concert with the Polish government, has stated that no Russian or Belarusian athletes will be allowed to compete in the 2023 European Games.

In the meantime, the 2023 IBA men’s World Championships opened on Sunday in Tashkent (UZB), that will run through the 14th of May. As of 6 April, 104 countries were reported to have registered, with multiple countries absent – including the U.S. – as a protest against the IBA’s governance, finances and procedures.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ≡

● Ice Hockey ● The 23rd IIHF men’s U-18 Worlds in Switzerland concluded with a rematch of the 2022 final between defending champion Sweden and the U.S., but with the outcome reversed.

In the semifinals, the U.S. stomped Slovakia, 7-1, while Sweden sailed past Canada, 7-2, leaving the tournament’s two best teams in the final. The Swedes came in 6-0 with a 31-6 goals-against total, while the U.S. was also 6-0 and scored 48 goals to just eight for its opponents. William Smith and Cole Eiserman both had nine goals for the U.S. to lead all scorers coming into the final.

Sweden got on top in Sunday’s gold-medal match, with a first-period goal by Elliot Stahlberg and a second-period, power-play goal from Noel Nordh for a 2-0 lead. But the U.S. got going in the third, with Danny Nelson cutting the deficit to 2-1 at 9:44 of the final period, then getting a power-play equalizer from Carey Terrance at 16:44.

The match went into overtime, and after just 2:20, Ryan Leonard scored to give the Americans a 3-2 win and their 11th World U-18 title. It’s the 19th U.S. medal in 23 editions of the tournament, but the first win since 2017 and first win in their last three finals. Sweden earned its 13th medal in this event, now with two wins, six silvers and five bronzes.

In the third-place match, Canada defeated the Czechs, 4-3, also in overtime.

Smith won the scoring title with 20 points (9+11) and was named the Best Forward in the tournament. Sweden’s Axel Sandin Pellikka was selected as Best Defenseman and Noah Erliden as the top goalkeeper.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Athletics ● Big marks from the Botswana Golden Grand Prix in Gaborone (BOT), including world-leading outdoor marks in four events:

● Men/200 m: 19.87, Letsile Tebogo (BOT)
● Men/400 m: 43.91, Muzala Samukonga (ZAM)
● Men/4×100 m: 38.26, Kenya
● Women/Long Jump: 6.77 m (22-2 1/2), Ese Brume (NGR) (later surpassed)

Tebogo, still just 19 and the two-time World Junior Champion at 100 m, came in with the fastest outdoor 200 m time in the world at 20.00, but crushed that with ease as he came off the turn fighting for the lead and then strode away from Canada’s Aaron Brown (20.00) and Joseph Fahnbulleh (LBR: 20.14) to win in 19.87 (wind -0.3 m/s).

That’s a lifetime best by 0.09 for Tebogo and moved him to equal-9th all-time in African history.

Tebogo was second in the 100 m behind Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, who ran the fastest time in the world in 2023 in 9.76, but with wind just over the allowable limit (+2.3 m/s). American Kenny Bednarek was third in his first 100 m of the season (10.02) and Kyree King fifth (10.06).

Maybe the shock of the day was Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga, 20, winning the 400 m in a world-leading 43.91, holding on in the straight to lower his all-time best from 44.66 in 2022. He finished ahead of 2012 Olympic champ Kirani James (GRN: 44.76) and Botswana’s Leungo Scotch (44.76). Samukonga now ranks no. 17 all-time and no. 3 in African history.

Americans won the women’s sprints, with TeeTee Terry edging Bassant Hemida (EGY) from 11.05 to 11.09 (+0.4), with American Kiara Parker third (11.16). Kayle White won the 200 m from Sha’Carri Richardson, 22.38-22.54 (-0.5), with Hemida third (22.75).

The long jumps were strong, with Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Brume taking the world outdoor lead at 6.77 m, beating Burundi’s Marthe Koala (6.69 m/21-11 1/2). American Marquis Dendy, 30, the 2016 World Indoor Champion, jumped up to no. 2 on the world outdoor list with his winning jump of 8.34 m (27-4 1/2), well in front of Ingar Bratseth-Kiplesung (8.21 m/26-11 1/4).

American Trevor Bassitt, the 2022 Worlds 400 m hurdles bronze medalist, won his specialty in 48.43, with Sokwakhana Zazaini (RSA) second at 48.58.

Kenyan Mary Moraa set a national record with her 50.44 wun in the women’s 400 m and Ethiopia’s Habitam Alemu jumped up to no. 5 on the world outdoor list with her 800 m victory in 1:59.35.

Despite cold and rainy conditions at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, Olympic and World Champion Ryan Crouser of the U.S. won the men’s shot with what was thought to be a world-leading outdoor mark of 22.28 m (73-5 1/4).

That made Crouser a five-time Drake Relays winner and he grabbed the meet record from Christian Cantwell, who reached 22.10 m (72-6 1/4) in 2006. Tripp Piperi was second at 21.49 m (70-6 1/4), for sixth on the outdoor world list. (Both were moved down by Joe Kovacs in Nashville at about the same time; see below).

Fellow American World Champion Chase Ealey moved up to no. 5 on the world outdoor list for 2023 with a win at 19.12 m (62-8 3/4), well ahead of Maggie Ewen (18.76 m/61-6 3/4).

On the track, American Tia Jones won the women’s 100 m hurdles in a swift 12.44, the no. 2 mark in the world for 2023 (wind: -1.1 m/s), over Tonea Marshall (12.61), former World Champion Nia Ali (12.67) and world-record holder Tobi Amusan (NGR: 12.69).

The men’s 400 m hurdles went to C.J. Allen (48.78), with Anna Cockrell winning the women’s race in 55.52.

Nikki Hiltz completed a women’s road mile-track 1,500 m double, winning in 4:09.02.

That wasn’t all. At the Cal-Stanford dual in Berkeley, Cal star Worlds discus silver medalist Mykolas Alekna (LTU) won his event with a lifetime best and world-leading 71.00 m (232-11), moving to no. 18 all-time. He’s also now no. 6 this century, but doesn’t have the family record yet. That still belongs to is father, Virgilijus, still no. 2 ever at 73.88 m (242-5) from 2000!

Two-time World Champion Joe Kovacs took the world lead in the men’s shot at the Music City Challenge in Nashville, winning at 22.69 m (74-5 1/2) on his third throw. He backed that up with 22.03 m (72-3 1/2) in the fifth and round and 22.22 m (72-10 3/4) in the sixth.

In Baton Rouge, Worlds fourth-placer Quanesha Burks won the women’s long jump at 6.95 m (22-9 3/4) – the outdoor world leader for 2023 – but was second to Tara Davis-Woodhall, who won with a wind-aided leap of 7.05 mw (23-1 3/4w) with a stout breeze of 5.9 m/s at her back. Davis-Woodhall had a best legal jump of 6.86 m (22-6 1/4).

At the Fresno State Invite, 2019 Worlds 4×1 relay gold winner Morolake Akinosun, 28, won the women’s 100 m in 10.95 (+1.1) – equaling her lifetime best from 2016! – ahead of hurdles star Keni Harrison (11.09). Same for Texas’ Julian Alfred at the Texas Invitational in Austin, 10.95 with an aiding wind of +1.8 m/s and both are now no. 5 this season.

Also at Texas was Gabby Thomas, the Tokyo Olympic 200 m bronze medalist, won the women’s 400 m in a sensational 49.68, ahead of Lynna Irby-Jackson (50.40). For Thomas, it was her first 400 m since 2019 and moved her to no. 2 in the world for 2023. She’s also now no. 18 all-time U.S. in what was apparently only her second-ever outdoor 400 m!

Olympic champ Valarie Allman, already the world leader, took the women’s discus at 68.20 m (223-9).

Sondre Guttormsen (NOR), the NCAA champ for Princeton, took the outdoor world lead in the men’s vault at 5.90 m (19-2 1/4).

At the University of North Florida East Coast Relays in Jacksonville, Olympic women’s 100 m hurdles champ Jasmine Camacho-Quinn screamed a 12.29 win, but with over-the-allowable wind of 3.2 m/s.

● Badminton ● Canada swept all five finals of the Pan American Championships in Kingston (JAM), including two wins in all-Canada matches!

Defending champion Michelle Li won the women’s Singles final from 2021 champ Beiwin Zhang of the U.S., 21-19, 21-9, and Brian Yang, the 2021 winner, earned a second victory by defeating Uriel Francisco Canjura of El Salvador, 21-10, 21-5.

The men’s Doubles was all-Canada, with Dong Adam and Nyl Yakura outlasting Kevin Lee and Ty Alexander Lindeman, 21-10, 16-21, 22-20. The Mixed Doubles final saw Joshua Hurlburt-Yu and Rachel Honderich win a tight match with Lindeman and Josephine Wu, 22-20, 18-21, 21-17.

The men’s Doubles final had Catherine Choi and Wu sweep aside Americans Francesca Corbett and Allison Lee, 21-14, 21-18.

● Beach Volleyball ● The third Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 tournament was in Uberlandia (BRA), with major upsets in both divisions.

In the women’s final, unheralded Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth (USA) came from behind to stun Australia’s Tokyo silver medalists Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy, 16-21, 24-22, 15-13.

Nuss, 25, and Kloth, 26, made a minor splash in March with a win in the La Paz Challenge tournament, but were underdogs against the Australian stars. This is their fourth win in FIVB tournaments, but by far their biggest win.

In the third-place match, Ana Patricia and Duda Lisboa (BRA) defeated Americans Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng, 21-16, 21-13.

The men’s final saw Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner (CZE), the 2022 European silver medalists defeat Norway’s Olympic and World champs, Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, 21-19, 15-21, 15-11. The Czechs won their first Beach Pro Tour medal of the season and first FIVB event title since 2021 and their third ever; Mol and Sorum have now reached the final in all three Elite 16 tournaments in 2023, but have won only one and lost two.

Poland’s Bartosz Losiak and Michal Bryl won the bronze-medal match from Steven van de Velde and Matthew Immers (NED), 21-19, 21-23, 15-9.

● Cycling ● The 76th Tour de Romandie in western Switzerland saw the first five stages conclude with a different winner each time and the winner taking the race lead.

Czech Josef Cerny won the Prologue, a 6.82 km Individual Time Trial, but lost the leads the next day to Britain’s Ethan Vernon, who won the hilly “Stage 1″ in a mass-sprint finish.

The hilly second stage was a win for British star Ethan Hayter in another sprint finish and he ended the day with a six-second lead over Tobias Foss (NOR) and Remi Cavagna (FRA). Stage 3 was another Individual Time Trial, won by Juan Ayuso (ESP), who then had an 18-second lead on American Matteo Jorgenson.

The mountainous fourth stage was the third British win, this time for Adam Yates, who attacked with 4.3 km left and won by seven seconds over Thibault Pinot (FRA). That flipped the script again and now Yates had a 19-second lead on Jorgenson, going into the final day, a hilly 170.8 km route that ended in Geneva.

The long, slightly downhill descent to the finish was tailor-made for a mass sprint, but Colombia’s Fernando Gaviria got the jump on the field and got to the line for a clear win in 3:58:01. Niklas Arndt (GER) was second, followed by Hayter. Yates came safely home in 25th – with the same time, of course – and won the overall title, 19 seconds up on Jorgenson and 27 seconds ahead of Damiano Caruso (ITA).

This was the best finish ever for 23-year-old Jorgenson in a UCI World Tour race in what is starting out as an excellent year for the American. He was eighth at Paris-Nice and ninth in the Tour of Flanders. He’s aiming for the Tour de France in July, where he was 20th as a rookie in 2022.

● Fencing ● Korea’s 2019 World Champion Sang-uk Oh gave the home crowd a thrill at the FIE Sabre Grand Prix in Seoul with a gold-medal victory over Sandro Bazadze (GEO), 15-14, earning his fifth career Grand Prix title, but first since 2019!

The women’s title went to Greece’s Theodora Gkountoura, winning the final by 15-11 over Sara Balzer (FRA). The 2019 worlds bronze winner, Gkountoura won her first Grand Prix gold, in her second final in three years. It’s Balzer’s first career Grand Prix medal.

● Gymnastics ● The final FIG Apparatus World Cup for Artistic Gymnastics was held in Cairo (EGY), and Ukraine’s Ilia Kovtun was everywhere.

Still just 19, Kovtun was the 2021 Worlds All-Around bronze medalist, and had already won the first two Parallel Bars World Cups. In Cairo, he added the Floor Exercise, scoring 14.433 to best Aurel Benovic (CRO: 14.166).

Chih-kai Lee (TPE) won the Pommel Horse at 15.033 over Gagik Khachikyan (ARM: 14.733), with Kovtun in a tie for third (14.566).

Kovtun then took the Parallel Bars at 14.833 and Horizontal Bar (14.100) on Sunday to give him three wins and four medals over two days. Mohamed Afify (EGY) scored 14.066 on the Parallel Bars for second, and Nicolo Mozzato was third (14.033). Maxime Gentges (13.766) was runner-up on the Horizontal Bar, with Casimir Schmidt (NED: 13.533) third.

Nikita Simonov (AZE: 14.966) won on Rings, followed by Salvatore Maresca (ITA: 14.700) and Artur Avetisyan (ARM: 14.666). World Champion Artur Davtyan (ARM) won on Vault, scoring 15.166, well clear of Nazar Chepurnyi (UKR: 14.799).

American Joscelyn Roberson, 17, continued her ascent with a win in the Vault, 13.983 to 13.600 over Asia D’Amato (ITA), with Panama’s Hillary Heron third (13.599). D’Amato returned to get the gold in the Uneven Bars, 14.633 to 14.200 over Giorgia Villa (ITA), for her second win on Bars this season.

On Sunday, Villa scored a win on Beam (13.600) with Roberson second (13.233) and then the American finished with some spectacular tumbling to score 13.700 and win on Floor. D’Amato was second at 13.500.

● Modern Pentathlon ● Korea’s Woong-tae Jun was in control of the UIPM World Cup in Budapest almost from the start and won his ninth World Cup gold on Saturday.

Jun won the fencing round, was fourth in swimming and a modest 11th in riding, good enough for a five-second lead into the Laser Run. He had the eighth-fastest time and cross with the victory in 10:14.20 and 1,534 points. Just behind was Mohanad Shaban (EGY), a little faster on the course at 10:13.60 and 1,530 points. The fastest man on the course was Czech Vlach Martin in 9:44.80, which earned him the bronze medal with 1,525 points.

The women’s final was chaos, as world no. 1 Michelle Gulyas of Hungary started the Laser Run in the lead, but was quickly challenged by Egypt’s Salma Abdelmaksoud. But behind them, fellow Hungarian Blanka Guzi was racing toward the front, having started 26 seconds behind the leader.

Guzi’s final sprint brought her the first World Cup gold of her career, with the third-fastest time in the field of 11:06.50. Gulyas’s time of 11:34.90 was only 10th-best and she had to hold on to fend off Abdelmaksoud (11:36.10) with the final scores being 1,424-1,422-1,419.

Gulyas was fourth in fencing, second in swimming and won the riding, compared to Guzi’s ninth, fifth and 12th, but the Laser Run changed everything.

● Sailing ● With a year to go until the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the 2023 Semaine Olympique Francaise off Hyeres was an important stepping stone and attracted an excellent field in the Olympic classes.

The home team did well, leading all nations with three wins, including both in the Formula Kite classes. Axel Mazella won the men’s medal race over Singapore’s Maximilian Maeder, with Britain’s Connor Bainbridge third. Lauriane Nolot won the women’s, taking the medal race from American Daniela Moroz – the 2018 World Champion – and fellow French Jessie Kampman.

France’s Fabien Pianazza took the men’s IQ Foil gold, winning the medal race over Onur Cavit Biriz (TUR) and Mateus Isaac (BRA). The women’s IQ Foil final saw Czech Barbora Svikova defeat Rina Niijima for the gold, with Laerke Buhl-Hansen (DEN) third.

There were tight finishes in the ILCA classes. Eliot Hanson (GBR) and countryman Michael Beckett raced to the finish in the Laser class, with Hanson ending with 36 net points to 37 for Beckett, on the strength of a win in the medal race, where Beckett was fourth.

Canada’s Sarah Douglas just edged Tokyo Olympic champ Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN) in the women’s Laser Radial division, 74-75, with three top-three finishes to one.

Britain got a second win in the Nacra 17 mixed-crew races, with Tokyo Olympic silver medalists John Gimson and Anna Burnet finishing with just 32 points, to 70 for Mateo Majdalani and Eugenia Bosco (ARG).

Dutch stars Odile van Aanholt (two-time World Champion) and three-time World Champion Annette Duetz dominated the women’s 49erFX sailing, winning with just 50 net points (and eight top-three finishes) to 102 for Jana Germani and Giorgia Bertuzzi (ITA).

The men’s 49er class was a close win for Spain’s Diego Botin and Florian Trittel, ending with 78 net points after taking four races, against Jim Colley and Shaun Connor of Australia (87) and Poland’s Mikolai Staniul and Jakub Sztorch (90).

In the Mixed 470 class, Tokyo 2020 bronze winner Jordi Xammar and new partner Nora Brugman (ESP) won their first two races and got three more top-three finishes to end with 53 points to 61 for Lara Vadlau and Lukas Mahr (AUT).

● Sport Climbing ● Astonishing performances in the Speed section of the IFSC World Cup in Seoul (KOR), with six new world marks: four from Poland’s Aleksandra Miroslaw and two more from Indonesian star Veddriq Leonardo.

Leonardo crushed the mark in the qualifying, getting to the top of the 15 m wall in a startling 4.98 seconds, taking down the 5.01 by countryman Kiromal Katibin last July. He then won his quarterfinal in 5.19, screamed a world-record 4.90 (!) in the quarters, a 4.93 in the semis and won the final in 5.01 over China’s Jinbao Long (5.12).

Miroslaw had set the three prior records of 6.84, 6.64 and 6.53 in 2022, but got right to work in the qualifying, setting marks of 6.46 and 6.37! She won her round-of-16 climb in 6.56, then 6.38 in the quarterfinals, a third world mark of 6.35 in her semi and an outrageous world record of 6.25 in the final! Fellow Pole Natalia Kalucka was second in 6.67, but wasn’t close.

In the Bouldering events, heavy rains caused the semi-final results to become the final results, with France’s Mejdi Schalck winning (2t3z ~ 2/7) ahead of Japan’s two-time World Champion Tomoa Narasaki (2t3z ~ 6/10) and Korea’s 2018 Worlds silver winner Jong-won Chon (2t2z~ 2/2).

Japan’s 2016 Worlds silver medalist Miho Nonaka won the women’s title (2t3z ~ 20/22) over Oriane Bertone (FRA: 2t2z ~ 4/3) and American Brooke Raboutou (2t2z ~ 10/7).

● Wrestling ● Tokyo Olympic Freestyle 125 kg superstar Gable Steveson made a triumphant return to Olympic wrestling with a victory in the U.S. Open in Las Vegas.

Steveson, who had been training with the WWE, was completely dominant, winning the final by a 10-0 technical fall over two-time Worlds medal winner Nick Gwiazdowski.

Rio Olympic 86 kg bronze medalist and two-time 92 kg World Champion J’den Cox has moved up to 97 kg and defeated Isaac Trumble, 12-3, in his final.

The U.S. Open winners will compete for the right to go to the 2023 UWW World Championships against the seven U.S. medal winners from the 2022 Worlds. In the other three men’s classes where the U.S. did not medal, the U.S. Open winners will face the winner of a challenge tournament coming in May.

In the other men’s Freestyle finals, Zane Richards won at 57 kg; Vitali Arujau at 61 kg; Nick Lee at 65 kg; Tyler Berger at 70; Jason Nolf at 74; Chance Marsteller at 79 kg; Aaron Brooks at 86; and Michael Macchiavello at 92 kg.

In the men’s Greco-Roman division, seven wrestler who had won at least one prior national title triumphed again, including Dalton Richards (61 kg), Hayden Tuma (63 kg), Kamal Bey (fifth title at 77 kg), Spencer Woods (82 kg), Alan Vera (87 kg), Josef Rau (97 kg) and defending champion Cohlton Schultz at 130 kg.

First-time national winners were Brady Koontz at 55 kg; Robert Perez at 67 kg and Justus Scott at 72 kg.

The women’s Freestyle finals on Sunday saw a stunning upset as six-time World Champion Adeline Gray returned from a year away from the mat, but lost to rising star Kennedy Blades in the 76 kg final by 12-2. Blades, 20, a 2019 U20 World Champion and 2022 U.S. Olympic Trials runner-up, earned her first U.S. Open title and will wrestle in the Final X series for a berth at the UWW World Championships.

Two-time Worlds medal winner Alyssa Lampe also suffered a loss in her final at 50 kg, with Audrey Jimenez winning on criteria after a 10-10 tie. Jimenez, the 2022 World U-20 silver medalist, was down 8-0 in the second period before starting her comeback. Wow!

Forrest Molinari, the 2021 Worlds 65 kg bronze medalist, did win her final against Alexandria Glaude with a pinfall in 4:21.

Katie Gomez, a 2022 World U-20 bronze winner, won at 53 kg over Samara Chavez, 12-2, and 2022 World U-23 bronze winner Alisha Howk defeated top-seeded Lauren Mason, 8-3, at 55 kg. Last year’s World U-20 bronze winner at 62 kg, Adaugo Nwachukwu, won her final, 10-8, over no. 1 seed Jennifer Page.

Xochitl Mota-Pettis took a 10-0 win in the final over Alexandria Hedrick at 57 kg; Michaela Beck won at 59 kg, and top-seeded Macey Kilty won the 65 kg class over no. 2 Emma Bruntil, 5-1. Joye Levendusky won the 72 kg final over Rose Cassioppi, by a 10-0 technical fall in the second period.

United World Wrestling announced on Friday that both the Freestyle and Greco-Roman World Cups for 2023 have been canceled.

The Greco event was slated for 24-25 November in Tehran (IRI) and the men’s and women’s Freestyle discipline in Coralville, Iowa in the U.S. on 10 December. According to the UWW:

“The decision to cancel the World Cups was made after careful consideration and analysis of the challenges and complexities involved in organizing such high-profile events during a pre-Olympic year. With many countries focusing on preparing their wrestlers for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the potential lack of participation in the World Cups in 2023 was a major concern for UWW. Additionally, the World Championships in Belgrade, scheduled for September 2023, would have added further pressure on countries.

“The lack of local support to host the events during November and December was also a contributing factor in the decision by the Bureau to cancel the World Cups. Finding local organizing committees to host the team competition has proven to be a significant challenge.”

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For our updated, 651-event International Sports Calendar (no. 2) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Poland pushing to keep Russia, Belarus out; athlete “declaration” will be required; IBA threatens officials again

By
Rich Perelman
-
The new National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary, to be the site of the 2023 World Athletics Championships (Photo: World Athletics)

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Poland coordinating diplomatic push vs. Russian return
2. Ricci Bitti says ASOIF guidance will include a declaration
3. Pozdnyakov “surprised” by low motivation of Russian athletes
4. IBA notes USA Boxing withdrawal; threatens officials again
5. Sightseeing tour of Paris included in 2024 triathlon route

Polish sports minister Kamil Bortniczuk said he is working to coordinate a European government response to the International Olympic Committee’s recommendations on Russian and Belarusian re-entry into international sports. He’ll have support from members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, who sternly criticized the IOC’s idea to allow “neutral” Russians and Belarusians to compete again, while the war against Ukraine continues. The head of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) said that Russian and Belarusian athletes who want to return will have to sign a declaration of some kind, attesting to their “neutrality.” The complexities are substantial and the effort is a work in progress. The President of the Russian Olympic Committee said he does not understand why some Russian athletes are having trouble with motivation during this period of exile from international competition. The International Boxing Association noted USA Boxing’s withdrawal, blaming it on a referral for sanctions against its officials for helping to found the new World Boxing federation. That’s not what USA Boxing’s letter said, however. The IBA also issued a letter “reminding” its referees and judges not to participate in the IOC’s Paris 2024 Olympic qualifying events without IBA permission; that drew a strong rebuke from Dutch Boxing Federation chief Boris van de Vorst, who said the IBA “is attempting to treat them like property.” The triathlon course for Paris 2024 was announced, starting in the River Seine and including multiple landmarks in the city on the bike and run routes.

● Panorama: Athletics (2: 2023 Worlds track in Budapest unveiled; Guardian Life sponsors Michigan wheelchair-sports program) = Basketball (Griner speaks of captivity at news conference) ●

1.
Poland coordinating diplomatic push vs. Russian return

Polish Minister of Sport and Tourism Kamil Bortniczuk told RMF Radio on Thursday that Russian and Belarusian athletes will not compete at the European Games in Krakow and Malopolska in June and that he is working on further political pressure on the International Olympic Committee:

“We are in the process of formulating the next position of the coalition of 36 countries. On May 15, we have the EU Council for Sport, where we also plan to adopt a declaration that will clearly oppose the return of Russians and Belarusians to the international arenas.”

He also noted that while Poland has protested the IOC’s 28 March recommendations opening a pathway for “neutral” Russian and Belarusian athletes to re-enter international competitions, the Russians and Belarusians are also angry because so many of their athletes have ties with their military or national security agencies:

“There are competitions where almost one hundred percent of Russian personnel are formally soldiers of the Russian army.”

He also offered a small surprise, that in discussions with Ukrainian colleagues, there could be some Russian athletes who could be accepted back into competition:

“They indicated probably five Russian sportsmen who opposed the war so clearly that the Ukrainians would see the possibility of competing with them.”

Bortniczuk’s comments followed Tuesday’s hearing in Strasbourg (FRA) by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media on “Excluding the athletes and officials of the Russian Federation and Belarus from participating in the international Olympic Movement.”

In addition to a strident, eight-and-a-half minute video from British lawmaker Lucy Frazer outlining her concerns over the IOC’s recommendations, there were passionate comments from the floor in the same direction.

Britain’s George (Lord) Foulkes was especially pointed in his criticism of “special status” for athletes:

“With due respect to our [IOC] guests, I find the special pleading for sportsmen quite sickening. There are two arguments that you are putting forward. One is that there are other conflicts around the world. That’s no explanation at all.

“What we’re fighting here, as an organization that upholds democracy, we are fighting – we are supporting – Ukraine because they are fighting, they are dying on our behalf, fighting for democracy against totalitarianism.

“And how is this war going to end? It’s only going to end in one way, and that is Putin deciding to give up. And how can we make him give up? There is only one way, that the people of Russia need to put pressure on him. And just as the sanctions on businessmen, on oligarchs, is to make sure that they – to protect their fortunes – put pressure on Putin, we need the athletes to put pressure on Putin.

“And the only way to do that is to stop them participating in any way whatsoever in these international events. And we need to be firm on this. As an organization destined, designed to protect human rights and democracy, if we don’t do that, then we are failing in our duty.”

Denmark’s Mogen Jensen, twice a national minister, took aim at the Olympic Charter:

“Imposing a war on another country with all that mass destruction, lost lives, violence, has to have a clear consequence. And for me, it overrules the statues of the Olympic Movement.

“We have imposed sanctions on a lot of people in Russia. When you impose sanctions on companies which cannot trade, you impose sanctions on, you could say, innocent workers in Russia, who has nothing to do with this conflict.

“Why should this be different when it comes to people who exercise sports? Is there is special discrimination on sports people to impose sanctions and to exclude other, ordinary Russian citizens? I don’t think so.

“Sport has also to take their responsibility when it comes to countries that impose wars on other countries, so I think there’s only one clear signal, one clear message to send here from the Assembly and that is to exclude officials and athletes from Russia and Belarus for the Olympic Games and I think that the Olympic Movement should take down that message.”

2.
Ricci Bitti says ASOIF guidance will include a declaration

Russian and Belarusian athletes who want to come back into international competition will need to have a pen with them.

In an interview with the French all-sport newspaper L’Equipe, Francesco Ricci Bitti (ITA), the former head of the International Tennis Federation and now head of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), explained that the current thinking about the specific process of certifying athlete “neutrality” will require the execution of a declaration concerning the Russian war against Ukraine:

“The athletes will have a declaration to sign.

“But they will not be asked to say that they are against the war because that becomes a criminal matter in Russia. We are in the process of developing, with legal assistance, a model declaration. Formula 1 drivers already do that. Federations like swimming are already ahead and we will try to harmonize all that, but it is not easy.

“There is another delicate subject, it is the control [of the conformity of the athletes to the reinstatement criteria]. We are studying the possibility of entrusting this task to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. But it’s not official yet.”

In its detailed recommendations brief, the IOC noted that “Only those Individual Neutral Athletes and support personnel who have not acted against the peace mission of the Olympic Movement by actively supporting the war in Ukraine may be invited to participate in international sports competitions” and added some further specifics, including:

“In order to ensure a harmonised interpretation of these criteria, the IFs should consider creating a single independent panel under the umbrella of the IF associations (ASOIF, AIOWF, ARISF) to take the decisions.”

That’s where Ricci Bitti’s ASOIF comes in, endorsing its role in a statement on 30 March:

“ASOIF is ready to support and assist the concerned International Federations in their forthcoming discussions with the IOC given the complexity of the implementation and the serious implications on the qualification system for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”

But, as Ricci Bitti said, “it’s not official yet.”

3.
Pozdnyakov “surprised” by low motivation of Russian athletes

“The sport of the highest achievements is a matter of special pride for both Belarusians and Russians. Our history is rich in sporting events, and continuity will be preserved. The sports of the highest achievements will live in our countries, today the conditions are difficult, but any athlete, if he is of a high level, can look for motivation in any particular fight.

“To be honest, I’m always surprised when they say that athletes lose motivation. How can you lose motivation if one of the main Olympic principles is the desire for improvement? To be the first always and everywhere, in all competitions. This is what the vast majority of our athletes strive for, and in this we will help them in every possible way.”

That’s Russian Olympic Committee chief Stanislav Pozdnyakov, a four-time Olympic fencing champion and 10-time World Championships gold medalist, from Wednesday in a rare joint appearance with Viktor Lukashenko, the head of the National Olympic Committee of Belarus and son of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, at the National Athletes Forum in Minsk.

Lukashenko added, “This has always been our top priority, and we have made great progress in this direction. We have created clusters, ranging from children’s to youth and adult competitions. CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] Games, which will be held in August, should clearly demonstrate that the sport has not stopped in place. We have a number of ideas, we are constantly looking for serious competitions, we do not have any kind of stagnation.”

Both criticized both the 2022 IOC sanctions recommendations and the IOC’s 28 March initiative to explore a pathway for “neutral” individual Russian or Belarusian athletes to return to international competition. Lukashenko said:

“The question is not only about symbolism, there are a number of conditions. We all heard the statement of the International Olympic Committee, where there have been some kind of warming, movement, from our point of view, in the right direction. But the decisions were submitted to the judgment of international sports federations.

“As for the Olympics, there is no talk of qualifying yet, only about international competitions. There should be some definite red line that we cannot cross. Only with respect for our country, our athletes, we will be able to take part in these competitions. We don’t rush headlong into the pool . . . if only ours were allowed in. There are certain moments in which we will never step over ourselves.”

Pozdnyakov maintained his steady line against any sanctions:

“A month ago, the IOC put forward rather complicated and, I would say, too strict conditions. I called this situation a farce. The IOC went forward, heard criticism from the U.N., the Human Rights Council. Discrimination on the basis of nationality has been supplemented by discrimination based on the type of activity, membership in sports organizations by sports.

“Today, those unfair and legally insignificant conditions that are not spelled out in any of the sections of the Olympic Charter are arbitrariness on the part of the IOC. And we will seek to change these conditions.”

He said the Russian Olympic Committee was in the process of formulating re-entry recommendations of its own for its national sports federations.

4.
IBA notes USA Boxing withdrawal; threatens officials again

The International Boxing Association posted a statement with its own take on the withdrawal of USA Boxing:

“The International Boxing Association (IBA) acknowledges the resignation of the National Federation of the United States of America, USA Boxing, on 26 April 2023 that came as an immediate reaction to the filing of the official compliant to the Boxing Independent Integrity Unit (BIIU) for their involvement in the creation of a rogue boxing organization

“With this decision, the National Federation and all its members, including officials, coaches, and boxers, are prohibited from having any relationship with IBA and from participating in any of its, or any affiliated member competitions as enshrined in the IBA Constitution and IBA Technical and Competition Rules. The above-mentioned is an automatic mechanism triggered by the resignation email of USA Boxing received by the IBA yesterday.

“Not only did the USA Boxing’s decision hurt all their affiliates who will now not be able to take part in IBA’s or affiliated member competitions, but it also deprives the boxing community as a whole from competing together and increasing the level of the talent within the boxing family.”

This interpretation is, of course, quite different from the reasons listed by USA Boxing chief executive Mike McAtee in his five-page letter made available on Wednesday, which focused on the IOC’s continuing issues with the IBA on finance, governance and refereeing and judging.

Also on Thursday, Dutch Boxing Federation President Boris van der Vorst referenced a letter sent by IBA Development Director Chris Roberts (GBR) to all IBA technical officials which noted a rule which prohibits participating “in an International Tournament which is not approved in advance by IBA.”

This is a specific warning against participation as an official with the IOC’s Paris Boxing Unit, which is overseeing the qualification process for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. There was more:

“It is within our duty to remind all recipients of this instruction, that all Technical Officials who have responded to any communication presented by the [Paris Boxing Unit], should inform the IBA Development Department at [email protected] as to their proposed intention regarding Paris 2024 and participation in the event holistically. This would include selection for any events that are known to be in a qualifying capacity, or a selection procedure moving towards the end-state of the tournament.

“The process in terms of communication to IBA is clear, all qualifications/certifications met by each respective official are owned and directed by IBA. The pathway and education are appropriately managed by IBA, with extensive investment to support everyone through that process of both events and continuous professional development.”

The obvious intent is to try and keep existing IBA officials from working at the IOC’s Paris 2024 qualifiers, who will first include 2023-24 continental multi-sport events such as the African Games, Asian Games, European Games and Pan American Games. A final Paris qualifier will be held in 2024.

Van de Vorst tweeted:

“An IF, suspended from the Olympic Movement, in big part for failing to establish & implement effective management and development systems for their competition officials, is attempting to treat them like property. Not acceptable. Time for change.”

and

“To boxing competition officials around the world: an International Federation is not in a position to restrict your professional affiliation choices! Don’t fall for continued threats. Time to leave the corrupting & authoritarian regime behind!”

Van der Vorst’s Dutch federation is expected to join the new World Boxing federation, following the U.S. lead.

5.
Sightseeing tour of Paris included in 2024 triathlon route

The Paris 2024 organizers announced Thursday the route of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic triathlon courses, beginning in the River Seine and continuing on bicycle and foot through multiple Parisian landmarks.

The Olympic triathlon comprises a 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike phase and 10 km run. Swimming will be held in the River Seine, now undergoing a major cleaning effort to once again allow swimming, with a two-loop course of 910 m and 590 m, followed by a climb of 32 steps to the Pont Alexandre III bridge for the first transition zone.

The bike segment will be over seven laps of a 5.715 km route on the Avenue Winston Churchill, the Champs Elysees, Avenue Montaigne, the Boulevard Saint-Germain and the Rue de Bac, and include some cobbled sections.

The run phase will be four loops of 2.5 km, finishing on the Pont Alexandre III bridge.

The Grand Palais, the Petit Palais, the Quai d’Orsay and Quai Anatole France are all along the route. The men’s race will be held on 30 July 2024 at 8 a.m. and the women’s race at the same time on the following day. Each race will have 55 entrants.

The Mixed Relay will also be held on the 31st, with a 300 m swim, 5.8 km ride and 1.8 km run for two men and two women.

The Paralympic courses will include most of the same elements, but in a course of 750 m for swimming, 20 km of cycling and a 5 km run on 1-2 September.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Athletics ● The new National Athletics Centre stadium in Budapest, Hungary was opened for inspection on Wednesday, just less than four months ahead of the 2023 World Athletics Championships from 19-27 August.

The facility was built to host the championships, but will be reconfigured for long-term use. Situated right on the iconic Danube River, it will seat 35,000-plus for the Worlds, but then reduced to a more suitable 14,000 for long-term use, allowing for the construction of a running path and a 26-acre sports park. About 160,000 tickets – perhaps 40% – have been sold so far.

As built for the 2023 Worlds, the facility includes press seating for 500, a news conference room for 110 and a workroom for 400.

The Mondo track has nine lanes and there is a six-lane indoor running track. And a change in the awards protocol:

“In contrast to previous world championships, the medal ceremonies will be held outside the stadium, in the adjacent Medal Plaza, before the evening sessions, instead of between the events, so that spectators arriving at the venue will be able to get up close to the world’s best athletes.”

An interesting sponsorship announcement came on Tuesday, with the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America stepping up in a new role in Paralympic sport with:

“a multi-year grant to the University of Michigan Adaptive Sports and Fitness (ASF) program for the creation of the Adaptive Student Athlete Program (ASAP). This national program significantly expands access to competitive opportunities in Para track and field, wheelchair tennis, and wheelchair basketball for collegiate student athletes with disabilities, paving the way for them to increase their participation and receive equitable recognition alongside their able-bodied peers.”

The project will immediately be showcased at this weekend’s Drake Relays, where the first National Collegiate Wheelchair Championships will be held in the 100 m.

Guardian is a leading disability insurer and financial services provider, and part of its funding will take care of the costs of the wheelchair races and athlete travel, lodging, and other costs.

Is this the start of more corporate sponsorship of Para programs at the collegiate level? In addition to the Drake Relays racing, the Wheelchair Tennis National Championships in Florida in May and a Michigan wheelchair basketball tournament in September.

● Basketball ● Two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner appeared at a Thursday news conference in Phoenix, describing in public for the first time some of her feelings during her wrongful detainment in Russia that ended with a prisoner swap last December.

“I’m no stranger to hard times,” Griner, 32, said, explaining that pictures of her family were of special comfort to her while imprisoned.

“Just digging deep. You’re going to be faced with adversities in life. This was a pretty big one. I just relied on my hard work to get through it.”

She has resumed training, readying to play for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury this season:

“I feel like I’ve hit the corner and just loving it now, but at first there was a point where it was like, wow, dang, I really want to do this this fast right now? But no, it was so worth it. So worth it.”

After being detained while going to play with her Russian club team, she also noted, “I’m never playing overseas again. The only time I would want to would be to represent the USA.”

She also thanked the news media for their coverage:

“Thank y’all for covering me and all the exposure you gave me, my family to help get me home. That coverage was much needed.

“I was aware of the efforts and everything that was going on. I know people were fighting for me and bringing awareness. That made me more comfortable there, and meant I had hope, which is a hard, dangerous thing to have because when it doesn’t work, it’s so crushing.

“No one should be in any of the conditions that I went through or they’re going through.”

Griner announced a new effort with the WNBA’s Mercury and the Bring Our Families Home campaign (BOFH) to raise awareness and support those impacted by wrongful detainment in other nations.

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