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HEARD AT HALFTIME: North Korea to skip Tokyo? Japan’s leukemia survivor Ikee makes Tokyo team; 125 years since Athens 1896!

By
Rich Perelman
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Opening Ceremony of the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens (Photo: Wikipedia)

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

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● Japan’s Kyodo News Service reported late Monday afternoon that “North Korea will not participate in this summer’s Tokyo Olympics to protect its athletes from the novel coronavirus, according to a North Korean website.”

North Korean athletes had participated in seven straight Games, dating back to 1992 in Barcelona, Spain. Moreover, the country won medals in all of those Games, with notable success in weightlifting, wrestling, boxing and judo.

The decision was seen in Japan as a setback for potential diplomatic discussions:

“North Korea’s decision to sit out the Tokyo Olympics this summer due to COVID-19 fears will likely prolong the diplomatic deadlock with neighboring Japan and South Korea and could delay the resumption of denuclearization talks with the United States.

“The announcement on a website run by North Korea’s sports ministry on Tuesday is a lost opportunity for a breakthrough in Tokyo’s efforts to secure the return of citizens abducted by Pyongyang in the 1970s and 1980s.”

● XXIV Olympic Winter Games: Beijing 2022 ● The subject of whether U.S. President Joe Biden approves of U.S. attendance in Beijing came up again at the White House press briefing last Friday (2nd):

“[W]hen can we expect a final determination from the President about the United States participating in the Beijing Olympics, given that he said the Chinese President doesn’t have a democratic bone in his body?”

The response from White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was, “Well, I think the U.S. Olympic Committee would play a big role in …” before she was interrupted by the questioner. So, no change from prior comments.

● Athletics ● Beyond the 1:04:02 world Half Marathon record for Kenyan star Ruth Chepngetich in Istanbul on Sunday, there were more world-leading marks over the weekend in U.S. meets.

New world leaders in the women’s 100 and 200 m came from American Aleia Hobbs with her 10.99 win at the Battle of the Bayou meet in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and from Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH) in the 200 m – 22.03 – at the Pure Athletics Spring Invitational in Clermont, Florida.

U.S. 400 m star Fred Kerley also lowered his lifetime best in the 100 m to 10.03 in winning in Clermont as well.

Anna Cockrell of the U.S. took the world lead in the women’s 400 m hurdles at 55.65, winning at the Florida Relays in Gainesville. American high jump star Vashti Cunningham claimed the women’s world outdoor lead in Chula Vista, California, winning at 1.97 m (6-5 1/2).

A fascinating story by Martin Fritz Huber from last Friday (2nd) on Outsideonline asks: “What Makes a Pro Runner Valuable to a Brand?”

The question is asked concerning American marathoner Noah Droody, whose 2:09:09 from last December has him at no. 9 on the all-time U.S. list, right between Meb Keflezighi and Alberto Salazar. From the story:

“In doing so, Droddy delivered for his sponsor, Saucony, by proving, among other things, that their rocket shoe could hold its own against the other rocket shoes on the market. Nonetheless, the brand opted not to renew his contract at the end of 2020. …

“That fact remains that for elite runners who are fortunate enough to get one, a shoe contract is the most dependable way to make a living as a pro. But while in previous eras an athlete’s value might be based primarily on podium finishes or qualification for marquee events like the Olympics, the brave new world of influencer marketing and social media has added another dimension.”

Huber asked Brooks marketing director Matt Weiss about that conflict; for Brooks, performance is still the highest point of interest. And for a brand which wants to show that its goods are world class, a world-class athlete can readily carry that message.

There are others who champion a big social-media following, but the question of how really impactful followers are on Instagram or Twitter continues to be hotly debated. For Droody, there are apparently offers coming. Let’s hope so.

● Basketball ● USA Basketball announced that 1996 Olympic gold medalist and 19-year NBA star Grant Hill will become the next Men’s National Team Managing Director.

Hill, 48, will replace Jerry Colangelo, 81, after the Tokyo Olympic tournament concludes. The place of the U.S. men as the dominant team in international basketball owes much to Colangelo; USA Basketball noted:

“Taking control in 2005 of a USA National Team that hadn’t won a major international competition since 2000, Colangelo rebuilt the program from the bottom up. Under Colangelo, the USA men have compiled a remarkable 97-4 overall record and have claimed top honors in six of eight FIBA or FIBA Americas competitions, including Olympic championships in 2008, 2012 and 2016.”

It is not much remembered any more than the 2004 U.S. Olympic men’s team struggled mightily at Athens, going 3-2 in group play and then losing to Argentina, 89-81, in the semifinals. The U.S. won the bronze medal game from Lithuania, 104-96. That 12-member team included 11 NBA players, including Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson, but was clearly not ready for international play. Colangelo changed the selection procedures, practice plan and created unbeatable squads for the last three Games which compiled a 24-0 record.

● Boxing ● When former Russian Boxing Federation Secretary-General Umar Kremlev was elected as AIBA President and pledged to reinvigorate the federation’s dismal finances, the likely source was focused on … Russia.

On Tuesday (6th), AIBA announced Russian state-owned energy giant PJSC Gazprom – and the largest company by revenue in Russia – not as a sponsor, but as “general partner” of the federation. Gazprom had 2019 revenues of more than $120 billion U.S. Said Kremlev:

“AIBA’s financial stability is one of our main goals. That is why the partnership with the largest companies in the world is important for us in order to jointly fulfill the tasks set for the boxing family. Today I am pleased to announce that PJSC Gazprom has become the General Partner of the International Boxing Association. This is a tremendous and extremely significant step for us.”

And of course, “The parties agreed not to disclose the content and commercial terms of the agreement.”

This relationship bears close watching, and even if Gazprom eliminates AIBA’s debt and provides working capital, its near-ownership status (especially as a state-owned entity) may run afoul of the International Olympic Committee’s concerns over the federation’s independence. This may be a masterstroke for Kremlev, or further cause the IOC to consider another solution for boxing besides AIBA, if the sport is to remain in the Games at all.

● Football ● In case you missed it, one of the stunners of the year came on 31 March in Duisberg, Germany as the hosts lost to North Macedonia by 2-1 and fell into third place in their World Cup qualifying group.

Germany had not lost a World Cup qualifying match at home since a 5-1 defeat to England in 2001, but it happened with a goal from Eljif Elmas on the 85th minute after Germany’s Ilkay Gundogan had tied it on a penalty shot in the 63rd minute.

The hosts had 69% of the possession during the game and 11 shots to six for North Macedonia, but it was not enough. “This is bitterly disappointing,” said German coach Joachim Loew. “We were not fresh enough, we made mistakes. When we played quickly we were dangerous but we did not find the tools to be really threatening. Overall, it was disappointing to lose like that at home.”

So now what?

Beyond the immediate shock of such a loss, the German squad will have to live with it until September, when it plays Liechtenstein, Armenia and Iceland in the next group of games. At present, after three of 10 games for each country in UEFA Group J, Armenia is 3-0 (9 points), North Macedonia is 2-1 (6) and Germany is 2-1 (6), but trails North Macedonia on goal differential! The group winner qualifies directly to Qatar 2022 and the runner-up will qualify for another round of play-offs.

Oh yes, there will be a re-match with North Macedonia on 11 October, but this time the Germans will be the visitors.

● Skiing ● Britain’s Sarah Lewis, who was fired by the Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS) last October after a long run as its highly-respected Secretary General, announced her candidacy to be the FIS President on Tuesday (6th).

Lewis’s firing was shrouded in secrecy, announced after a FIS Council meeting with no reason given other than “a complete loss of confidence” in her. She was not nominated by the British ski federation – which has its own candidate – but the Belgian federation and after decades of being an ultimate insider, is running essentially as an outsider after receiving many messages of support.

Current FIS President Gian Franco Kasper (SUI) is leaving after 23 years of sometimes controversial governance. Announced candidates include FIS Council member Mats Arjes (SWE), Swiss federation chief Urs Lehmann and Johan Eliasch (SWE), the Head skis chief (nominated by Britain). The vote is scheduled to be held online on 4 June.

● Swimming ● One of the feel-good stories of the Tokyo 2020 Games will be the appearance of Japanese star Rikako Ikee, whose remarkable recovery from leukemia landed her on the Olympic team last weekend.

Ikee, 20, won bronze medals in the 50 m and 100 m Fly at the 2016 World 25 m Championships and won six golds at the 2018 Asian Games in the 50/100 m Frees and Flys, plus relays. She was considered a medal contender for Tokyo, but was diagnosed with leukemia in early February 2019.

But just a little more than two years later, she won the 100 m Fly on Sunday at the Japanese championships in Tokyo in 57.77. That’s not fast enough to meet Japan’s super-stringent qualification mark of 57.10 to compete in the individual event, but will qualify Ikee to be part of the women’s Medley Relay.

The Japanese championships continue this week and Ikee could challenge for spots in the 50 m and 100 m Free events.

The Russian Olympic swimming trials are also underway, in Kazan, and if you’re looking forward to more torrid face-offs between reigning women’s Olympic 100 m Breaststroke champ Lilly King of the U.S. and Russian rival Yulia Efimova, half of the match is set.

Efimova, who won 2016 Rio silvers in the 100 and 200 m Breast events, qualified for the Russian 100 m Breast team on Monday, finishing second to 16-year-old prodigy Evgenia Chikunova, 1:06.06-1:07.07.

King, the world leader in the 100 m Breast at 1:05.32 this year, must qualify at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June, in which she will be the big favorite in both the women’s 100 m and 200 m Breast events.

Tokyo 2020 and the International Aquatics Federation (FINA) are trying to re-arrange three late-stage qualifying events for the Games in view of the pandemic.

The Tokyo-based FINA Diving World Cup scheduled for 18-23 April, and FINA Artistic Swimming Qualification Tournament for 1-4 May are now shown as “to be confirmed” on the FINA competition calendar, as is the FINA Marathon Swimming Olympic qualifier in Fukuoka from 29-30 May.

A water polo test event scheduled for this week has also been postponed.

Amid a rise in coronavirus infections, Japan has adopted strict entry regulations which are affecting many businesses, as well as events scheduled as Olympic qualifiers and test events. A message on the FINA Web site indicates that further details on these events are expected next week.

Australian swimming star Mack Horton, who famously refused to stand on the podium during the awards ceremony for the men’s 400 m Freestyle during the 2019 FINA World Championships as a protest against perceived doper Yang Sun (CHN), said he would do so again in a similar situation in Tokyo.

Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph in Australia, Horton told reporter Julian Linden:

“I did it because I didn’t want to regret not doing it or not saying something; so yeah, I would do something again.”

There was substantial reaction against Horton, especially from Chinese fans, but this died down after Sun was given an eight-year-ban in February 2020 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport for a doping-control incident in September 2018. The verdict was thrown out for possible bias on the part of one arbitrator and will re-heard with a new panel beginning on 24 May. Said Horton:

“It was obviously pretty brutal for a bit and it goes on. But you adapt. Everyone’s got used to it and we’ve obviously got a fair bit of support as well.”

The coronavirus has struck the U.S. Olympic Trials in swimming; USA Swimming announced today:

“In an effort to deliver the safest competition possible and to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19, the venue seating map has been reconfigured, reducing daily session attendance capacity to approximately 50%. Given the June 2020 Trials had already sold tickets in excess of 90% of capacity, there will be a complete refund of tickets and re-sale beginning Friday, April 16. …

“Seats will be sold in physically distanced pods of two (2), four (4), or six (6) seats. Fans may purchase up to six (6) tickets for each session and tickets will be sold on a first-come first-serve basis.”

The CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska is the site for the Trials, which is being held in two sections: from 4-7 June for lower-ranked swimmers to qualify for the main Trials, from 13-20 June.

● Wrestling ● London Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs fell short of his goal of a second Olympic title in Tokyo, losing in a taut 74 kg Olympic Team Trials final to 79 kg World Champion Kyle Dake, 3-0 and 3-2 on Saturday. Ever the epitome of class and grace, Burroughs, now 32, tweeted the morning after:

“This road has been long and difficult. I’m gonna take some time away to reflect and rebuild. This isn’t the end for me. Thanks to everyone for their support. Congratulations to all this year’s Olympians.”

Twice an Olympic medalist and a four-time World Champion, if he never wrestles again, Burroughs stands as one of America’s greatest wrestlers.

Congratulations to USA Wrestling for its successful Olympic Team Trials over the weekend in Ft. Worth, Texas. Not only did the U.S. select a powerful team for Tokyo, it also set a high standard for getting its message out in a continuing pandemic.

The bouts were televised on NBCSN, NBC’s digital channels or Peacock, but traditional, on-site media access was not available. So USA Wrestling got busy and provided a full suite of media support services, maximizing remote access, information and support:

● Live results and scoring, plus brackets, were available via TrackWrestling.com for every match on all mats. No questions about who is doing what, where and when, in real time. Superb.

● Post-match interviews were made available to off-site media on two Zoom feeds, from the Challenge Tournament semifinals on Friday and the championship matches on Saturday. All of these interviews were recorded and made available on USA Wrestling’s YouTube channel, and available via Dropbox for further use, so that no one missed anything.

● Photography of all matches was available on a complimentary basis from Tony Rotundo via his site WrestlersAreWarriors.com. Downloads for editorial use were available to media via a password.

● USA Wrestling sent summary results of each session to media by e-mail, and also included a pre-finals distribution with short biographies of all 36 finalists. Excellent.

● The federation was in overdrive with coverage on its own Web site, including a special page on the Trials specifically, plus coverage on its social-media platforms. The stories on this page also included quotes from many of the finalists on Saturday.

In addition to the world-class wrestling, the performance of USA Wrestling Director of Communications Gary Abbott and his team was outstanding and to be commended for its scope and follow-through in difficult circumstances. Well done!

● At the BuZZer ● Tuesday (6th) marks the 125th anniversary of the opening of the first Olympic Games of the modern era, in Athens, Greece.

The brainchild of France’s Pierre de Coubertin became reality with the opening ceremony, and the Games had 176 competitors – all men – from 13 countries, competing in 43 events in nine sports. There was also competition on the first day, in track & field; per Olympedia:

“The first event of the modern Olympics was the first heat of the 100 metres, won by American Frank Lane, a student at Princeton. But the first championship decided was that of the triple jump, won by James Connolly, a Harvard student, who left the Cambridge school to compete in the Olympics. He became the first known Olympic champion since Varasdates of Armenia had won the boxing in 369 CE.”

Connolly took the triple jump at 13.71 m (44-11 3/4) and the other final on the first day was the discus, won by American Bob Garrett with a world record of 29.15 m (95-7).

The closing ceremony was on 15 April.

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LANE ONE: Now that the EOPAAA Commission is set, what will it do in its study of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee?

By
Rich Perelman
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The Empowering Olympic, Paralympic and Amateur Athletes Act of 2020 (EOPAAA: S. 2330) became law on 30 October last year and created the potentially powerful Commission on the Study of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympics.

Its membership was completed last Friday, so now what?

The Commission make-up includes 16 members, of whom there are eight women and eight men, and ten are current or former Olympic, Paralympic or Pan American Games athletes:

Olympians (6):
● John Dane (sailing)
● Benita Fitzgerald Mosley (track & field)
● Nancy Hogshead-Makar (swimming)
● Edwin Moses (track & field)
● Brittney Reese (track & field)
● Jordyn Wieber (gymnastics)

Paralympians (3):
● Patty Cisneros Prevo (basketball)
● Karin Korb (tennis)
● Melissa Stockwell (swimming & triathlon)

USOPC Athletes Advisory Council (1):
● Han Xiou (ex-Chair; played table tennis)

The six non-athlete members include:

● Rob Cohen, Chair of IMA Financial Group and a USOPC Foundation trustee;
● Mitch Daniels, former White House OMB Director; two-term Governor of Indiana;
● Bill Hybl, chief executive, El Pomar Foundation; twice USOC President;
● Dionne Koller, Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore;
● Rob Mullens, Athletics Director at the University of Oregon;
● Joe Schmitz, former Inspector General of the U.S. Dept. of Defense.

It’s a powerful group, and no one can say that the “athlete voice” is not well represented, with 10 of the 16 members (62.5%). Koller has been announced as a co-chair and Xiao could be the other.

Now, what will the Commission do? Its responsibilities are outlined in detail, including 10 specified items:

● “a review of the most recent reforms undertaken by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee;

● “a description of proposed reforms to the structure of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee;

● “an assessment as to whether the board of directors of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee includes diverse members, including athletes;

● “an assessment of United States athlete participation levels in the Olympic and Paralympic Games;

● “a description of the status of any United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee licensing arrangement;

● “an assessment as to whether the United States is achieving the goals for the Olympic and Paralympic Games set by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee;

● “an analysis of the participation in amateur athletics of (I) women; (II) disabled individuals; and (III) minorities;

● “a description of ongoing efforts by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee to recruit the Olympic and Paralympic Games to the United States;

● “an evaluation of the functions of the national governing bodies (as defined in section 220501 of title 36, United States Code) and an analysis of the responsiveness of the national governing bodies to athletes with respect to the duties of the national governing bodies under section 220524(a)(3) of title 36, United States Code; and

● “an assessment of the finances and the financial organization of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.”

The Commission must meet within 30 days of the appointment of the final member, which means by 2 May 2021 and it will need to obtain funding and appoint a staff. It must hold at least one public hearing and has subpoena power. The Commission is charged with:

“Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to Congress a report on the results of the study conducted … including a detailed statement of findings, conclusions, recommendations, and suggested policy changes.”

That would mean the Commission would have to finish its work by the end of July, while the Olympic Games in Tokyo are actually ongoing. That isn’t going to happen, and the deadline will no doubt be extended.

The Commission membership has a lot of athletes on it, but also some folks who know a lot about the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Hybl was a two-time president of the organization, Fitzgerald Mosley was the organization’s Chief of Organizational Excellence and later Chief Operating Officer. As a USOPC Foundation trustee, Cohen has a deep knowledge of the organization’s finances.

Moses has a long and highly distinguished career as an athlete advocate, but also a deep commitment to anti-doping and is one of the most highly-respected people in the Olympic Movement. Wieber, at 25, is not only an Olympic gold medalist, but also a Larry Nassar survivor and will add an important perspective on athlete safety.

Hogshead-Makar is a civil-rights and athlete-rights attorney and has been a virulent critic of the USOPC. No one can say that the organization’s harshest critics do not have a seat at the table; it remains to be seen how effective she will be in promoting meaningful change.

So what are the priorities?

● Money. No surprise there; the USOPC lives off of a percentage of the U.S. television rights payments to the International Olympic Committee and the IOC’s TOP sponsors. The question is how the organization spends it – for example, is it worth having the Olympic training centers? Should Olympic team members be paid training stipends? – and whether any worthwhile effort has been made towards new funding opportunities.

● Structure. The EOPAAA required changes in athlete representation at the USOPC level and for the U.S. National Governing Bodies. Those have, or are being implemented, but the Commission could go further. At its core, the U.S. Olympic Movement is a volunteer organization built on the grass-roots work of thousands of people who help young athletes learn, train and compete in sports. Will they get any help?

● Role of the National Governing Bodies. How much support should be given to the NGBs vs. the USOPC in Colorado Springs? This will be a major discussion point, especially since the USOPC provides significant funding for many of the NGBs. Can some of the NGBs even handle more funding?

● IOC relations ● The EOPAAA is clearly in conflict with the Olympic Charter, in the sections which give the U.S. Congress the power, by joint resolution, to “dissolve” the USOPC Board of Directors or to “terminate the recognition” of a National Governing Body. The IOC is fully aware of these issues, but has other priorities at present; what will the Commission recommend?

● Goals. Perhaps this question will be the most discussed. The then-U.S. Olympic Committee emphasized Olympic Games performance over grass-roots programming many years ago and quickly became the top medal-winning National Olympic Committee at the Olympic Games. Will that change?

A key element of that discussion will be a consideration of the statutory instructions for the USOPC, the Ted Stevens Act Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, 36 U.S.C. 2205, originally passed as the Amateur Sports Act of 1978.

It’s clear from the USOPC’s actions over many years that it has only limited understanding of what’s in the Ted Stevens Act and the Congress has even less. That’s why the Commission would be well served by appointing the architect of the Amateur Sports Act, Mike Harrigan, as its Executive Director.

Harrigan lives in the Washington, D.C. area and has been continuously active in pushing for more attention to the Act’s requirements that no one pays attention to (for many years). With his help, both the Commission and the USOPC will get a much stronger grip on what the Act requires and what it can do to help the Olympic Movement in the U.S.

There are those who see the Commission as the instrument to deconstruct the USOPC, if not destroy it altogether. There is no doubt that the organization must continue to modernize and it has serious weaknesses, but the Commission itself is also on the spot: it has the burden of making the right choices and recommending the right fixes, or the onus of failure will be on it.

As the saying goes: “For to whom much is given, much shall be required.”

Rich Perelman
Editor

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

HIGHLIGHTS: Seven world champs win at U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials; Chepngetich crushes women’s world Half Marathon mark

By
Rich Perelman
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Kyle Dake (l) battles with 2012 Olympic champ Jordan Burroughs in the 74 kg finals at the USA Wrestling Olympic Team Trials (Photo: Tony Rotundo/WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

Headline results of noteworthy competitions around the world /updated/:

● Wrestling ● USA Wrestling completed its Olympic selection process with a thrilling set of Olympic Team Trials matches over two days at the Dickies Arena in Ft. Worth, Texas. The result is a potentially outstanding team which includes two reigning Olympic champions and seven current or former World Champions.

The women’s Freestyle team alone will send four current or former World Champions to Tokyo:

● 53 kg: Jacarra Winchester, the 2019 55 kg World Champion
● 57 kg: Helen Maroulis, a two-time World Champion
● 68 kg: Tamyra Mensah-Stock, the 2019 68 kg World Champion
● 76 kg: Adeline Gray, a five-time World Champion

Maroulis is the reigning Olympic Champion at 53 kg, but has moved up one weight class for Tokyo.

Moreover, Sarah Hildebrandt (50 kg) is the 2018 Worlds silver medalist and Kayla Miracle, at 62 kg, was the 2019 World U-23 Championships silver medalist. Four of the six final bouts were straight-match wins for Hildebrandt, Winchester, Mensah-Stock and Gray by combined scores of 82-13. Maroulis won her first match against Jenna Burkert, 5-3, but lost in the second match by 6-5, forcing a final match in which Maroulis managed a pinfall in just 24 seconds. Miracle and Macey Kilty split their first two matches, but after a Miracle takedown to start the third match, Kilty was hurt and could not continue.

The men’s Freestyle finals also had plenty of drama, especially at 74 kg, where 2012 Olympic champ and 2016 bronze medalist Jordan Burroughs, 32, faced Kyle Dake, 30, the two-time World Champion at 79 kg. These two had been involved in many epic struggles and this was no different. But Dake had enough to win 3-0 and 3-2 and secure his first Olympic berth.

Rio’s 97 kg Olympic champ Kyle Snyder will get to defend his title after a 10-0, 5-1 victory over former Ohio State teammate Kollin Moore. Snyder has won two world titles at this weight and was the Worlds bronze medalist in 2019.

The 2018 World Champion at 86 kg, David Taylor, will also be going to Tokyo after defeating fellow Penn State alumnus Bo Nickal, 4-0 and 6-0.

Tom Gilman, the 2017 Worlds silver medalist at 57 kg, defeated Vitali Arujau to punch his Tokyo ticket and 20-year-old Gable Steveson – the 2017 World Junior Champion – upset two-time Worlds medalist Nick Gwiazdowski at 125 kg.

The U.S. did not qualify yet at 65 kg, but after a convincing win by Jordan Oliver over Joey McKenna, Oliver will get a chance to grab an Olympic berth in the World Olympic Qualifier in Sofia (BUL) from 6-9 May.

The U.S. has not won an Olympic medal in Greco-Roman since 2008, but there are high hopes for the four Olympic nominees and two qualifiers from Saturday’s finals. The 2018 Worlds silver medalist at 130 kg, Adam Coon, defeated Cohlton Schultz to win the weight class, but will have to get to Tokyo through the World Olympic Qualifier in Sofia next month.

At the lightest weight, 60 kg, Ildar Hafizov completed a remarkable return to the Olympic Games with a 7-0 and 8-0 win over Ryan Mango. Hafizov, now 33, competed for Uzbekistan in the 2008 Games in Beijing, then came to the U.S. and became a citizen and now will compete for the U.S.

Alejandro Sanchez (67 kg), John Stefanowicz (87 kg) and G’Angelo Hancock (97 kg) also qualified for Tokyo, while Jessie Porter (77 kg) won his weight class, but will also have to qualify in Sofia for the Games.

● Athletics ● Kenya’s reigning World Champion in the marathon, Ruth Chepngetich, smashed the world record in the Half Marathon, winning the women’s division of the Istanbul Half Marathon on Sunday in 1:04:02.

This was her third win in this race, and she was in a three-women race by 15 km with Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw and fellow Kenyan track and cross-country star Hellen Obiri. Chepngetich then broke free and won by 22 seconds over Yehualaw (1:04:23: no. 2 time ever) and by 49 seconds over Obiri (1:04:51: equal-fifth performer, equal-6th performance in history), who ran the fastest women’s debut Half ever! Chepngetich’s fastest Half had been 1:05:06 in November 2020.

Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie won the men’s Half in 59:35, a course record.

At the rainy and windy USATF Sprint Summit in Hollywood, Florida – a World Athletics Continental Tour silver event – 2018 U.S. 400 m hurdles champ Kenny Selmon won impressively in 48.89, his fifth-fastest ever and the world leader in the event for 2021.

American hammer star Brooke Andersen won her specialty at 74.86 m (245-7), a seasonal best and maintaining her spot as no. 3 on the world list for 2021.

At the Hayward Premiere meet in Eugene, Oregon soph sensation Cole Hocker – the NCAA Indoor mile and 3,000 m champion – had the top marks in the first meet in the new facility with wins in the 800 m (1:46.60) and 1,500 m (3:38.99).

Iowa State soph Wesley Kiptoo (KEN) won the men’s 10,000 m in 27:58.10 over college and country teammate Edwin Kurgat (27:58.33). BYU frosh Zach McWhorter won the men’s vault at 5.65 m (18-6 1/2).

● Curling ● The 2021 men’s World Championships are underway– in a sequestered environment – in Calgary, Canada, with the 14 teams working through round-robin play, which began on Friday (2nd).

The early leaders include Norway (4-0), Canada (3-0), Switzerland (3-0) and Russia (3-0), with the U.S. – skipped by Olympic champion John Shuster – at 2-1. The top six teams will advance to the playoffs, beginning on 9 April. The semifinals and final will be held next weekend.

● Cycling ● The spring Classics season continues unimpeded in Europe, with two of the famed races in Belgium highlighting the week.

● 31 March: At the 75th Dwars door Vlaanderen in Belgium, it was a runaway for Dutch rider Dylan van Baarle, 28, who scored his first UCI World Tour one-day-race win over the hilly, 184.1 km course from Roeselare to Waregem. He attacked on the eighth of the 13 climbs in the race – the Berg Ten Houte – with 52 km remaining and no one could stay with him. He cruised home 29 seconds ahead of runner-up Christophe Laporte (FRA).

● 4 April: The 105th running of the Tour of Flanders – Ronde van Vlaanderen – came down to a sprint between Denmark’s Kasper Asgreen, winner of the E3 Classic nine days before, and Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel at the line in Oudenaarde.

It was Asgreen the winner again by a narrow margin, for his third win in a World Tour race. He and van der Poel had freed themselves from 2016 Olympic champ Greg van Avermaet (BEL) with about 16 km to go in the 254.1 race, on the final climb up the Oude Kwaremont before heading to the finish. Asgreen had more power at the finish and had the race in hand in the final 50 m. Van Avermaet won the sprint for third, 32 seconds back.

● 4 April: Dutch superstar Annemiek van Vleuten is reaching peak form, winning her second consecutive race with a dominant performance in the 18th Ronde van Vlaanderen for women, winning in a sensational 26 seconds over a six-rider chase pack led by German Lisa Brennauer and Australia’s Grace Brown.

Van Vleuten, 38, outsprinted Poland’s Kasia Niewiadoma at the finish of the Dwars door Vlaanderen earlier in the week, but this time left no doubt, attacking 14 km from the finish of the 152 km route and sailing home with her second victory in this race after winning in 2011!

Coming up this week is the 60th running of the six-stage Itzulia Basque Country in Spain, with three prior winners in the field: Spanish stars Alejandro Valverde (won in 2017) and Ion Izagirre (2019) and Slovenian star Primoz Roglic (2018).

The UCI Women’s World Tour will continue on the 18th with the Amstel Gold Race in The Netherlands.

● Golf ● The first major of the LPGA season, the ANA Inspiration, was conducted in 100-degree heat at Mission Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, but the play was just as hot.

New Zealand’s Lydia Ko started the day in seventh place, but shot a sensational, final-round, 10-under 62 to finish at 272 of 16 under par. But emerging Thai star Patty Tavatanakit, 21, continued – and concluded – a steady march to the title that began with a first-round 66 and followed with a 69, 67 and a Sunday round of four under par (68).

She finished at 270 and won by two strokes after entering the final round with a five-shot lead. It’s Tavatanakit’s first LPGA Tour victory, and in a major no less! There was a four-way tie for third for China’s Shanshan Feng, Sei Young Kim (KOR), Nanna Koerstz Madsen (DEN) and American Nelly Korda at -11 (277). Kim, Madsen and Korda all moved up eight places on Sunday with 66s, the fourth-best rounds of the day.

● Judo ● The Antalya Grand Slam in Turkey drew a crowd of 432 judokas from 91 countries, with wins for 12 countries, including two each for Italy and Japan.

Italy went 1-2 in the women’s 48 kg class with Francesca Milani defeating Francesca Giorda in the final, and Fabio Basile won the men’s 73 kg class. Japan got wins from two-time World Champion Hifumi Abe in the men’s 66 kg class and from two-time Worlds gold medalist Shori Hamada in the women’s 78 kg division.

There was one other single-country final, in the women’s 57 kg class, where Canadians Christa Deguchi and Jessica Klimkait faced off, with 2019 World Champion Deguchi winning.

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THE TICKER: Final four members of EOPAAA Commission finally named; 2021 WUG in Chengdu postponed to ‘22; USA Wrestling Trials start today

By
Rich Perelman
-
The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

The latest news, notes and quotes from the worldwide Five-Ring Circus:

● U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee ● It took five months since the passage of the Empowering Olympic, Paralympic and Amateur Athletes Act of 2020, but the Commission on the Study of the U.S. Olympics and Paralympics has finally been named.

Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) held the last four appointment slots and finally named her selections two months after the other 12 members of the Commission had been announced. She named:

● Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, the 1984 Olympic gold medalist in the women’s 100 m hurdles, who worked for USA Track & Field as Chief of Sport Performance and the United States Olympic Committee as Chief of Organizational Excellence and later Chief Operating Officer. She is universally respected as one of the brightest, most insightful and most practical thinkers in Olympic sport in the U.S.

● Nancy Hogshead Makar, a four-time Olympic medalist in swimming in 1984, winning the women’s 100 m Freestyle and swimming on two winning relay teams. She is a well-known civil rights and athlete-rights attorney and one of the fiercest critics of the USOPC.

● Dionne Koller, a professor of law at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she specializes in Olympic and amateur sports law. She is also a member of the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s Anti-Doping Review Board.

● Jordyn Wieber, a member of the Olympic champion U.S. women’s gymnastics team from the 2012 Olympic Games and currently the head coach of the University of Arkansas women’s gymnastics team. She is a Larry Nassar abuse survivor and spoke at his sentencing hearing.

With all 16 members now named, the Commission has – under the EOPAAA as passed, only four months left to deliver its recommendations and report. That end-of-July deadline will certainly be extended; the Commission must still be funded, appoint an Executive Director and staff. It is required to meet within 30 days of the last appointees being named, meaning by 2 May 2021, and must hold at least one public hearing.

Cantwell named Koller as a co-chair of the Commission; one other co-chair is still to be named.

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● The Olympic Torch Relay may not visit the Osaka Prefecture in mid-April due to a coronavirus outbreak and a curtailment of public activities.

Begun on 25 March, the relay is moving through all 47 prefectures in the country, and had Osaka targeted for the 10th stage on 13-14 April. Restrictions on activities in Osaka and two other prefectures were imposed by the government for 5 April-5 May.

The Tokyo organizers said further discussions will be held with Osaka officials about whether and how the relay might continue there.

Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto told reporters on Friday (2nd) that no replacement would be named for former creative and ceremonies chief Hiroshi Sasaki: “Most of the (planning) has been done, and we are at a stage of brushing it up. We will perfect everything under the current team.”

To the surprise of no one who has actually been paying attention, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva (BUL), told Kyodo News Service that the absence of foreign spectators – and the related costs – will pose no significant impact to the Japanese economy:

“In terms of economic impact, it would be very minor. We’ve done some calculations and we concluded that it is not going to harm the Japanese recovery.”

Kyodo further reported:

“Even in the case that the games, already postponed by one year, will not be held at all, the IMF assessment is that it will not be ‘a major factor’ to the Japanese economy, she said.” Japan’s pre-pandemic economy reached $5.08 trillion in Gross Domestic Product in 2019.

● Games of the XXXV Olympiad: 2032 ● While Brisbane, Australia remains the favorite to be named as host for the 2032 Games, the Seoul metropolitan government submitted a proposal for a joint North-South Korean bid for that Games.

Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported:

“The metropolitan government said its co-hosting proposal contains a vision of ‘Beyond the Line, Toward the Future’ and five major concepts, including cost reduction and minimal environmental damage, inter-Korean connection and peace and a combination of cutting-edge technologies and Korean culture.

“In particular, the proposal elaborated on the realization of global peace through sports and other positive ripple effects from the co-hosting of the Olympics by Seoul and Pyongyang, the government said.”

The document was submitted to the IOC’s Future Host Commission for the Games of the Olympiad, the group which recommended targeting Brisbane to host the 2032 Games.

● World University Games ● It seemed a little hard to believe that the 2021 World University Games in Chengdu, China was really going to take place as scheduled from 18-29 August. Now, it isn’t.

The International University Sports Federation (FISU) announced the WUG “will be postponed to 2022 due to global COVID-19 situation and international travel restrictions at present with rescheduled dates to be agreed by relative bodies.”

This makes good sense for everyone, and especially for FISU and the Chinese organizers, who would have had little chance to pick up any Tokyo Olympic athletes for the Games, which will end on 8 August.

● Athletics ● World Athletics posted its regulations for Russian athletes to apply for Authorized Neutral Athlete status on 31 March, asking for applications to be forwarded as soon as possible for consideration by a three-person panel.

The panel will review each athlete’s file against a 12-part test of whether the athlete has been tested for doping by one or more anti-doping organizations in which it has trust, when those tests took place, whether an athlete has previously been found to be doping, or has been in contact with, or under the supervision of coaches or others with doping histories. As for Tokyo:

“For applicants seeking to compete in a senior World Championships event or the Olympic Games, has the applicant, in the ten months prior to the competition, undergone at least three no notice out-of-competition tests, including (if they compete in any middle distance event from 800m upwards, a long distance event, a combined event or a race walk event) at least one [Athlete Biological Passport] and one EPO test, all such tests to be conducted no less than three weeks apart.”

The regulations ask that any applicant wishing to be declared eligible for a specific competition submit their application at least four weeks ahead of time.

Although the Penn Relays will not be held in 2021, the University of Pennsylvania has committed to hosting meets that will help area athletes with competition this spring. On Thursday, the “Philadelphia Metropolitan Collegiate Invitational” was announced, to take place on 24 April and feature “traditional Penn Relays events and individual events for qualification purposes. Events will include 4×100, 4×400, 4×800, both medleys, all field events, hurdles, the 1500m, 3000m steeplechase, 5000m, and 10000m.”

Meet entry is by invitation only and meant for schools with 40 miles of the Penn campus. No spectators will be allowed.

A new world outdoor lead for the women’s 1,500 m – and the first sub-4 of the outdoor season – came in Melbourne as Australian star Linden Hall set a national record of 3:59.67 on Thursday (1st).

She had already run 1:59.22 for 800 m this year; Hall finished her 1,500 m record with a final lap of less than 62 seconds.

● Figure Skating ● U.S. Figure Skating announced its team for the ISU World Team Trophy competition, scheduled for 15-18 April in Osaka, Japan. Given the enhanced anti-virus measures being taken in that area, the event will be held in a sequestered format.

The U.S. will have most of its best skaters available, including World Champion Nathan Chen and Jason Brown for the men, Karen Chen and Bradie Tennell for the women, Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier in Pairs and Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker in Ice Dance.

● Football ● The CONCACAF men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament concluded on Wednesday (31st) with the championship game, as Mexico out-lasted Honduras, 5-4, in a penalty shoot-out in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The game was tied 1-1 after regulation time, with goals from Edwin Rodriguez for Honduras in the 71st minute and the equalizer from Jose Macias on a penalty in the 80th minute. After extra time, the shoot-out commenced and while Mexico converted all five, keeper Sebastian Jurado denied Honduras’s Juan Carlos Obregon on the opening shot and that turned out to be the difference.

It was the third consecutive men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament win for Mexico and both teams will advance to the Tokyo Games.

Mexico’s Alexis Vega was named as Best Player, Honduran keeper Alex Guity was named as the top goalie and Mexico’s Sebastian Cordova was the top scorer, with four goals in five matches.

● Swimming ● The second hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport concerning Chinese swimmer Yang Sun and the World Anti-Doping Agency will take place from 24-28 May, online.

WADA appealed a light sentence imposed against Sun for doping violations by the International Federation for Aquatics Sports (FINA) in the first hearing, but was overturned on potential bias grounds by the Swiss Federal Tribunal, requiring a new hearing. A completely new panel of arbitrators will hear the matter.

● Weightlifting ● The International Weightlifting Federation announced that its Constitutional Congress will be held online (only) on 30 June, a key date for the federation to create a new organizational structure that will meet the requirements of the IOC.

The IWF also reversed some recent liberalizations of its anti-doping code, explaining:

“On anti-doping, upon advice from the IOC a revision to Article 12 of the IWF’s Anti-Doping Rules was approved. Recommendation for changes was made by the independent Anti-Doping Commission and the International Testing Agency and after reversing from 4 to 3 the threshold whereby a Member Federation would become eligible for sanction, possible sanctions for Member Federations breaching this threshold now include fines as high as $500,000, up from $300,000.”

All of this has been done with an eye toward pleasing the IOC, which has indicated it is quite ready to boot the sport out of the Olympic Games due to its continued doping incidence and poor (possibly even criminal) governance procedures.

● Wrestling ● USA Wrestling will choose its candidates for the Tokyo Games at its Olympic Team Trials, taking place in Ft. Worth, Texas on Friday and Saturday. Competition at the Dickies Arena will take place in a “challenge tournament” on Friday and part of Saturday, with the “championship series” on Saturday.

All of the action will be shown on NBCSN or the Peacock pay service.

The U.S. has Olympic berths in 15 of the 18 weight classes in men’s Freestyle (5), Greco-Roman (4) and women’s Freestyle (6). The Challenge Tournament winners in 14 classes (men’s Freestyle/4, Greco/4, women’s Freestyle/6) will face an already-determined finalist, who advanced directly by virtue of winning a medal at the 2019 UWW World Championships (men’s and women’s Freestyle) or 2020 Pan American Olympic Qualifier (Greco-Roman and women’s Freestyle).

A total of 221 wrestlers qualified for the Trials, including two high schoolers, both in the women’s competition. A late, unexpected scratch was J’den Cox, the 92 kg World Champion in 2018 and 2019. He was entered in the 97 kg class for the Trials – his 92 kg class is not part of the Olympic program – but did not make weight.

The biggest favorite to make the team is reigning women’s 68 km World Champion Tamyra Mensah-Stock, who has been thrashing everyone in sight for nearly two years, even beating 76 kg World Champion Adeline Gray in an exhibition earlier this year!

Look for results here.

● The Last Word ● The ReadySetGold! program, a unique legacy of the Los Angeles bid for the 2016 Olympic Games, named USOPC Board member John Naber as its Olympian of the Year.

ReadySetGold! was created by the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games as a legacy of its bid to be the U.S. candidate city for the 2016 Games and has continued to be a force in the Los Angeles-area community by sending Olympic and Paralympic athletes to work with students in elementary, middle and high schools. Over multiple sessions during each academic year, the athletes encourage students to maintain a positive attitude, respond as Olympians and Paralympians do to challenges and difficulties and to uplift their physical fitness.

Naber has been an RSG! Athlete mentor since the beginning in 2006, but also has served as the Chairman of RSG! since 2016. He was one of the superstars of the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, winning four gold medals and a silver in swimming, as well as being a primary driver of four NCAA team titles for USC.

His contribution to the Olympic Movement was recognized by his U.S. peers with his recent election to the USOPC Board by members of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Association.

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

THE BIG PICTURE: California Supreme Court shields USOPC from athlete abuse suit against USA Taekwondo

By
Rich Perelman
-

A potentially significant case in the continuing tumult over sexual abuse of athletes came down on Thursday (1st), with the California Supreme Court unanimously confirming the ability of three female plaintiffs to sue USA Taekwondo, but not the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

The case, Yazmin Brown, et al vs. USA Taekwondo, et al (no. S259216) concerned allegations by three taekwondo athletes – Brown, Kendra Gatt and Brianna Borden – that their coach, Marc Gitelman, sexually abused them when they were teenagers, under the age of 18, at various times between 2007-11. Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger wrote:

“This went on for years until the sponsor of these competitions, USA Taekwondo (USAT), banned Gitelman from coaching. Gitelman was ultimately convicted of multiple felonies for the sexual abuse of the minor athletes he trained.”

The three women filed suit in October 2015 against Gitelman, USA Taekwondo, the USOPC, NV Taekwondo Fitness and Training Center, the Latin American International Taekwondo Federation and California United Taekwondo Federation.

USA Taekwondo and the USOPC filed demurrers, an objection contending that the facts alleged by the plaintiffs – assumed to be true at this stage only – do not constitute a legitimate action under the law. While Gitelman abused the plaintiffs, the two federations argued that they did not have a direct duty to prevent the abuse as Gitelman was not an employee of either organization.

The trial court agreed with both USA Taekwondo and the USOPC and ordered a dismissal of the suit against both. The plaintiffs appealed and the California Court of Appeal for the Second District held that while USA Taekwondo did have a duty to protect, the USOPC did not.

The plaintiffs appealed again and Justice Kruger explained why the state’s Supreme Court took the case:

“Distilling the principles articulated in prior cases, we now clarify that whether to recognize a duty to protect is governed by a two-step inquiry. First, the court must determine whether there exists a special relationship between the parties or some other set of circumstances giving rise to an affirmative duty to protect. Second, if so, the court must consult the factors described in [Rowland vs. Christian, 69 Cal.2d 108 (1968)] to determine whether relevant policy considerations counsel limiting that duty.”

These questions were dealt with at length in the Court of Appeal opinion, but it’s the Supreme Court’s opinion that counts. Justice Kruger noted that in California, the basic standard of care comes from sec. 1714 of the California Civil Code:

“First enacted in 1872, section 1714 provides: ‘Everyone is responsible … for an injury
occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person.’”

and added in a footnote:

“[I]t bears emphasis that the relevant legal question is whether the defendant has engaged in activities that created or increased the plaintiff’s risk of harm. A defendant may have greater involvement in the plaintiff’s activities than a chance spectator yet play no meaningful part in exposing the plaintiff to harm.”

But against this broad standard of non-liability, there is a duty – based on other cases – and:

“We here focus, along with the parties, on another basis for finding an affirmative duty: In a case involving harm caused by a third party, a person may have an affirmative duty to protect the victim of another’s harm if that person is in what the law calls a ‘special relationship’ with either the victim or the person who created the harm.”

The plaintiffs argued that the 1968 Rowland case allows for a “special relationship” to exist with USA Taekwondo and the USOPC. But the Court determined that the language in a 2018 case was the standard to be used:

“[A] typical setting for the recognition of a special relationship is where ‘the plaintiff is particularly vulnerable and dependent upon the defendant who, correspondingly, has some control over the plaintiff’s welfare.’”

In the Court of Appeal decision (cited as Brown vs. USA Taekwondo, 40 Cal.App.5th 1077), that Court found that the USOPC had no such relationship to the plaintiffs, but that USA Taekwondo did:

“We conclude USAT, which is the national governing body for the Olympic sport of taekwondo, had a special relationship with Gitelman because Gitelman was required to register with USAT to coach taekwondo at USAT-sponsored competitions, athletes could only compete in competitions with registered coaches, USAT could (and later did) implement policies and procedures to protect athletes from sexual abuse by their coaches, and USAT could (and later did) bar Gitelman from coaching athletes at taekwondo competitions for his violations of USAT’s policies and procedures. USAT was therefore in a unique position to protect taekwondo youth athletes from harm.”

But:

“By contrast, USOC did not owe a duty to plaintiffs because it did not have a special relationship with Gitelman or plaintiffs. Although USOC had the ability to control USAT, including requiring it to adopt policies to protect youth athletes, it did not have direct control over the conduct of coaches.”

Thus, the California Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeal’s decision, which sends the case back to the trial court for further proceedings – possibly including a trial – but without the USOPC as a defendant.

The upshot of this case – which is based on California law and therefore not universally applicable in the U.S. – is that U.S. National Governing Bodies could be held liable for athlete abuse – in California – by an individual affiliated with the sport, such as being required to register with that NGB. That will be applied against all U.S. NGBs, who have national authority over their sports, in cases filed in California.

At the same time, but again limited by the fact that this is a California case, the USOPC has no such duty, at least in situations in which it does not have “some control over the plaintiff’s welfare.”

In the ongoing proceedings against USA Gymnastics still at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana, this case is not binding as it’s a state court decision. But many of the cases against USA Gymnastics and the USOPC in the Nassar abuse scandal have been filed in California and this new decision could impact those cases if there is no resolution to the continuing settlement conference and the cases go to trial.

However, it is also true that the USOPC could well be found to have the requisite “special relationship” once one or more of its officers were informed of the abuses by former USA Gymnastics team physician Larry Nassar, reportedly in July of 2015.

For the USOPC, this decision is still good news, at least retrospectively. However, its increased responsibility for NGB oversight in the Empowering Olympic, Paralympic and Amateur Athletes Act of 2020 means whatever advantage it received on Thursday from the California Supreme Court might be recalibrated in the future.

And the USOPC is certain to remain much concerned about the financial health of its NGBs in cases like this one where the federation could be subject to severe financial penalties.

The one sure result is that Brown, Gatt and Borden – and USA Taekwondo and the other defendants – are headed back to a California trial court.

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

LANE ONE: After 22 months, “Hayward Field” opens in Eugene as a new temple for track & field

By
Rich Perelman
-
View from the tower of the new Hayward Field at the University of Oregon (Photo: University of Oregon)

After a controversial and seemingly-endless construction process, the new version of Oregon’s famed Hayward Field will open for competition tomorrow (2nd) with the “Hayward Premiere,” a meet for more than a dozen schools in a facility which was described in a Thursday news conference as a “theater designed specifically for track & field.”

University of Oregon head coach Robert Johnson told reporters that, specifically, this facility is about Oregon track & field:

“One of the things from the start, that was one of the premises, is that this is going to be a facility for the University of Oregon track and field. And so that was first and foremost, from the very first minute that I walked into my first [coordination committee] meeting two years ago is that, sure, the World Championships are here, and the NCAAs and all the other meets, but first and foremost, this was a facility that was going to house and showcase the University of Oregon track & field program.”

In that light, Creative Director and Visual Branding lead Todd Van Horne explained the emphasis:

“[W]hat we describe as athlete-centered design. And what we mean by that is that this wasn’t just a theater, or a stadium that we just going to be built and just going to be occupied on game day. I think Coach [Johnson] from the start challenged us to make this active, every single day of the week, every single moment of the day, you can train day and night, year-round, you have all of these avenues that just become, as we said, what the athlete needs and that’s what we put into this design.

“We really took to this notion about the future. We wanted to respect the past, and Hayward Field has 100 years of amazing history, and take all that respect of the past and present it for the future. Basically, we’re throwing down the gauntlet for track & field for the next 100 years and we’re really proud of that.”

Johnson expanded on the team effort involved that stretched way beyond the architects, coaches and planners:

“I’ve been a lot of places, and the attention to detail is uncanny. We talk about the athletes, but athletes were a huge piece, but everybody involved.

“[W]e talked to the janitors and what space they needed. We talked to the A/V people, what do they need? We talked to the grounds crew, what do they need? We talked to the track people and the surfacing people, what do they need? We talked to the wind study people, what do they need? We talked to AVI and the video screen people, what do they need? And we talked to concession people, what did they need? …

“So, there’s everything that’s been thought of for our student-athletes and everybody involved. And then least, but not least, don’t forget the fans. Like, why do we need 22-inch seats? Maybe I’m on the narrow side of things, but I don’t need 22-inch seats to sit in, that’s comfortable, that has cup holders. Why do we need to give enough space to where your knees aren’t jammed up on the seat in front of you? So, I challenge you guys to find what we missed.”

SRG Partners lead architect Jeff Yrazabal underscored the importance of the fans and Eugene’s long-time love affair with track & field:

“It really was all about intimacy, and you feel it when you’re there. It’s a big stadium, but it doesn’t feel like a big stadium. This is an intimate place, everyone is on top of the action, and all of that benefits the athletes when they feel that energy and emotion from everyone in the place. Intimacy, proximity, being on top of the track, feeling it on the track all the way around, on lane nine, the connection, really drove a lot of it.

“The continuous roof and the spatial enclosure is a big deal in creating the intimacy and a sense of place. Acoustics, you know that really plays into energy … it’s going to be loud. It’s going to be awesome when fans can finally be there and can cheer the athletes on. The roof plays a big role is really creating that noise and energy for the athletes to feel as they are running around the track. …

“We were challenged from the very beginning to say every single person who’s there has to have an incredible experience. And so, you start with some of the data, you know, there’s wider treads, more leg room, comfortable seats – 22 inches wide – for every single person in the facility. That’s unlike any other facility in the world. You see premium experiences for a select few in some venues; here, every single person at Hayward Field is going to have an awesome experience.”

Van Horne detailed a fascinating element of the project, dealing with the facility as it impacts the Oregon track team members:

“It’s about the functional part of the training, but it’s also about their life as well. So, there’s parts that are just woven in where they’ve got now, a team lounge and a team theater and even a barber shop area. You know, things that can address their whole life, that they’re not having to bounce around; it feels like a home for them. So I think that’s probably the most important thing.

“What they were saying is, dealing with the functional side of training is probably a little bit easier because it’s kind of, ‘oh, we need to do this, it’s nuts and bolts,’ but when you try to make somebody feel comfortable, and at home, and loved, you know, that’s probably a little bit harder equation. So I think that’s what we really tried to embed within the rest of the building, even beyond the functional spaces.”

In fact, Oregon team members have at their disposal in the new team area – per the colorful press kit distributed before the news conference– to:

● Blue Ribbon Business Office
● Duck Pond Team Lounge
● Equipment room and laundry
● Locker rooms
● Razor Bill’s barbershop and salon
● Sports medicine, treatment and rehabilitation center:
= Active & passive treatment
= Boost anti-gravity treadmills
= Hydrotherapy
= Massage
= Sleep pods
● Team auditorium
● Waffle shop nutrition area

Whatever happened to being part of the student body?

The nine-lane facility has seating for 12,650 and can be expanded to 25,000, with the ultimate expansion to no doubt be tested for the 2022 World Athletics Championships. There is a separate area for the hammer throw – a plus for safety – and apparently three permanent concession stands, which should be a significant upgrade from the primitive food services available in the old facility.

Nearly all of the seats are covered by the curved roof, which incorporates significant wooden elements as a salute to the important of lumber in Oregon’s history; the original Hayward Field build in 1919 was all-wood construction. A nine-story, 118-foot, eight-inch tower stands as a landmark along Agate Street, reminiscent of the giant, 235-foot tower (71.72 m) at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland.

After all the hubbub, Johnson said can’t wait for his own team to experience competition in the new facility:

“We have 106 people on our roster here, and there’s less than 30 people that’s ever competed at Hayward Field. … They don’t know what that Hayward magic is.”

Rich Perelman
Editor

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

THE BIG PICTURE: USOPC issues protest guidelines, but only for Olympic and Paralympic Trials events

By
Rich Perelman
-

The long-awaited regulations concerning acceptable forms of protest by American athletes at the Olympic and Paralympic Games … have not yet been issued.

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee announced today (30th) its “Participant Rules for Racial and Social Demonstrations,” a nine-page document that applies only to Olympic and Paralympic Trials events, to be held – of course – in the U.S.:

“The rules apply to all future U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Trials events and are not applicable to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, or any competition or forum outside of Trials venues. The International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee have jurisdiction over the Olympic and Paralympic Games and enforce Rule 50 and Section 2.2. The USOPC’s guidance for the Games will be published separately in the coming months once the IOC and IPC issue their policies.”

This is an exceedingly careful and clever step by the USOPC, an organization which is literally surrounded on this issue on four sides:

● By its named and potential Olympic and Paralympic athletes, some of whom have expressed a deep desire for demonstrations and protests, at least at the Olympic Games;

● By the U.S. Congress, which will have the power in seven months time to “dissolve” the USOPC Board by a Joint Resolution, and which has created a commission to study the USOPC (but still waiting for Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) to name her four appointees);

● By the IOC, which has telegraphed that the findings of its Athletes’ Commission will recommend no protests be allowed during victory or other formal ceremonies events at the Games, but will likely liberalize other “expression” opportunities;

● By American fans, who – in a politically divided country – may or may not tolerate athlete protests at the Games.

Further, by seeing the reaction of all four of these groups to the Trials regulations, the USOPC Board can gauge its next steps once the IOC’s own revision – if any – to Olympic Charter Rule 50 (which bans all protests and demonstrations) if made later this spring.

The new Trials regulations state “Racial and Social Demonstrations (as defined below) will not be punished or undermined by the USOPC, nor will they affect an athlete’s participation rights at a U.S. Olympic or Paralympic Trials event” and elaborated further as:

“As a general matter, Demonstrations are not permitted at Trials Venues. However, Participants may engage in [Racial and Social] Demonstrations at Trials Venues. A Participant’s choice to engage in an R&S Demonstration at a Trials Venue will not impact team selection, team participation, or results, to the extent it is within the control of the NGB or the USOPC. …

“If a Participant engages in a Demonstration that includes Impermissible Elements at a Trials Venue, then the USOPC will determine a proportionate consequence for the violation of these Rules, which may range from a warning to removal or disqualification, based on the severity of the violation. The USOPC will also determine, on a case-by-case basis, proportionate consequences for Other Demonstrations.”

There is a detailed procedure for reporting, weighing and deciding on any possible sanctions once reported. The questions will come from the definitions of acceptable protests; the document defines “Racial and Social Demonstrations” as:

“A Demonstration, which does not include any Impermissible Elements, that is aimed at (1) advancing racial and social justice; or (2) promoting the human dignity of individuals or groups that have historically been underrepresented, minoritized, or marginalized in their respective societal context.”

The document specifically includes in this definition:

● “Wearing a hat or face mask with phrases such as ‘Black Lives Matter’ or ‘Trans Lives Matter’ or words such ‘equality’ or ‘justice’.”

● “Orally advocating for equity/equal rights for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals, or other historically underrepresented, marginalized or minoritized populations.”

● “Holding up one’s fist at the start line or on the podium.”

● “Kneeling on the podium or at the start line during the national anthem”

● “Advocating for equal treatment of underrepresented, marginalized, or minoritized groups around the world, or against systemic barriers to such equal treatment.”

● “Advocating for communities free from police violence, or against systemic police discrimination against Black individuals or other marginalized populations.”

Impermissible elements are defined as:

“Any element of a Demonstration that (a) advocates specifically against other people, their dignity, or their rights, which may include Hate Speech, Racist Propaganda, or threatening, abusive, or Discriminatory Remarks; (b) physically impedes or discourages Trials or medal ceremony participation by another Participant; (c) causes physical harm to others or to property; or (d) violates applicable laws. Impermissible Elements include, for example, the use of slurs, discriminatory remarks or gestures that denigrate, ridicule, or mock a person or persons based upon their race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, economic status, nationality, or country of origin.”

Not surprisingly, the Confederate flag is considered impermissible. But impermissible conduct also includes “Protests aimed explicitly against a specific organization, person, or group of people.” How does that work in the case of protests in favor of the Uyghur minority in China, currently being horrifically oppressed by the Chinese government?

There are clearly some grey lines in the document and the USOPC offers both help and a warning in two footnotes:

● “No policy can provide specific or definitive guidance for every possible demonstration. If a Participant has a question about a particular demonstration or element of these Rules, they can reach out to USOPC Athlete Services at [email protected] to obtain guidance.”

● “The USOPC may review an athlete’s apparel and equipment before an athlete enters the Trials Venue to determine if any logos, markings, or other physical Demonstrations include Impermissible Elements or are Other Demonstrations.”

This rules document follows through on the USOPC’s commitment to issue rules well in advance of the Games, in this case for U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Trials events. The regulations themselves are part outlet valves for domestic interests, and part trial balloons to try and impact what is – at present – a losing position at the international level concerning the protest and demonstration rules for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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LANE ONE: Japan is serious, wants to chop foreign accreditees for Tokyo Games by 30,000 in added anti-Covid safety measure

By
Rich Perelman
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If there was any doubt about how serious Japan is about hosting this summer’s Olympic Games as safely as is possible in the midst of a global pandemic, there is none now. On Friday (26th), the International Olympic Committee posted a message which included:

“[T]he Japanese government had made it very clear that [the foreign spectator ban] also requires a very significant reduction in the numbers of accredited participants who do not have essential and operational responsibilities. For obvious reasons, the IOC and IPC had to fully accept and respect these conclusions. …

“The IOC [Executive Board] has cancelled or reduced the IOC Guest Programme, the invitations to Olympic athlete legends and a number of other programmes. It will also not grant accreditation to any accompanying guest in any category.”

Kyodo News reported:

● “About 90,000 people had been expected to enter Japan from abroad, including about 30,000 athletes, coaches and team members.” This includes 11,000+ athletes for the Olympic Games and more than 4,000 for the Paralympic Games, and the accompanying staffs from their National Olympic Committees.

● That leaves about 60,000 others, of which the Japanese would like to see 30,000 cut. That includes news media, which take up a big part of that number.

For Rio in 2016, there were 25,696 news media accredited – that’s 43% of 60,000 – including:

(1) 12,912 from rights-holding broadcasters, including NBC from the U.S.

(2) 6,877 from the Host Broadcaster, the Olympic Broadcast Service (OBS)

(3) 5,897 press and photographers from around the world

There were an additional 6,695 news media who were supported by a special media center operated by the Rio de Janeiro government and not accredited for the Games. That program will have to essentially be eliminated.

To obtain the kind of reductions that the Japanese are looking for, there will be some hard conversations with broadcasters who have paid $1 billion or more – in the case of NBC – to broadcast the Games. True, broadcasters will be able to access the host signal in real time in their home studios via the new OBS Cloud service being provided by IOC sponsor Alibaba, but will that be enough? NBC alone had 2,000 production staff at the 2016 Games, working in the International Broadcast Center and the venues. Now what, especially since the host broadcast function really cannot be reduced?

Moreover, the reductions on entry for press and photographers, already facing difficult coverage restrictions from the IOC’s “playbook” requirements, will force some potentially devastating choices for National Olympic Committees, which are the entities responsible for assigning press and photo credentials from their country for the Games. No NOC will be shut out, but how will – for example – the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee make massive cuts in a country which is primarily regional in its news coverage, spread among newspapers, magazines and online services.

Much more pressure will descend on the international news agencies which service multiple countries, such as the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France Presse. But they will be asked to bring less staff as well.

The same pressure will be applied – sparingly? – to the thousands of technicians who come to the Games to install, operate and maintain the scoring, timing, scoreboard, security and many other systems that are part of the event. Will this make a difference in the eventual operations, or even the outcome of matches, games or races? Let’s hope not.

A whole host of folks who are always part of a multi-sports event such as an Olympic Games will be pushed away:

● Accompanying guests (spouses)? Out.
● Guest programs? Out.
● International Federation board members who are not officiating? Out.
● International Federation congresses and meetings? No.
● Observers for future Games or other mega-events? Out.
● Sponsor guests? Out.

The result is that much less will be known about how the Tokyo Games are run – both good and bad – than in recent editions, simply because less people who work in Olympic sport will attend. That is not a long-term positive for the Olympic Movement.

In case you were wondering about the IOC itself, Friday’s message specifically noted: “IOC Members as the ultimate decision-making body of the IOC are playing such an essential and operational role and will attend the Games.”

It’s completely unclear what the future impact of Japan’s actions against the virus, especially this one, will be for future Games. For decades, the IOC and its national partners worked diligently to build up the Games and have as many media, guests and side events as could be handled by the organizing committee in an effort to make the Olympic Games as important, as big and as desirable as possible.

But the Games is now, first and foremost, a television event. With the worldwide connectivity we have all learned to use during the pandemic, is an Olympic experience in your own country – or even a highly desirable resort location in a third country – just as meaningful, with evening interviews with athletes, coaches or experts on big screens during and/or after dinner. Would an Olympic sponsor prefer a Paris 2024 guest program that could include betting, in Monte Carlo, instead?

It will be up to the Paris 2024 organizers to decide how it views non-spectator attendance at the Games. Other organizing committees have pushed back against some of the ancillary events, guests and partying and the IOC has worked to smooth over these concerns, up to a point. Paris could decide to make a major tourism push and invite everyone to come, or could be more circumspect.

The lesson of Japan’s insistence on slimming the Games to its core to protect its citizens from Covid-19 exposure is that as the Games get close, the organizing committee is more and more in charge. After all, what is the IOC going to do? Take the Games away?

No. The IOC knows this, of course, and there are members who remember well this lesson from the Beijing organizers in 2008 … and perhaps again next year.

As IOC chief Thomas Bach said in January: “We just have to ask for patience, and understanding, and we are asking for this patience, you know, from the athletes, from the National Olympic Committees, the IFs, the Japanese people, the organizing committee; everybody.”

Everybody. Yes, everybody.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

FOOTBALL: Honduras beats U.S., 2-1, in Olympic Qualifying Tourney semifinal to earn Tokyo berth; U.S. eliminated

By
Rich Perelman
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/Updated to include Mexico-Canada report/ On a sunny, 90-degree afternoon in Guadalajara, Mexico, Honduras was more aggressive when it counted and got some luck to defeat the U.S. U-23 team, 2-1, in the first semifinal of the CONCACAF men’s (U-23) Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The win sends Honduras into the Olympic men’s tournament in Tokyo and the U.S. was eliminated, missing its third straight Olympic Games.

The game started slowly, with both sides playing cautiously for the first 26 minutes, then stopping for a water break thanks to the heat. Honduras got two clean shots at American keeper David Ochoa, first in the 18th from Edwin Rodriguez at top of the box and then from Luis Palma in the 21st minute. The U.S. had a couple of promising attacks, but no shots on goal.

Ochoa saved a third shot off the re-start, but the game degraded into an ineffective series of attacks until stoppage time. With just seconds left in the game, the game got chippy and after a yellow card was handed to U.S. defender Henry Kessler for a tackle against Juan Carlos Obregon, Honduras scored.

A scramble near the endline saw a cross to the front of the net that was saved by Ochoa, but then Obregon bodied the ball forward into the goal past Ochoa for a 1-0 lead. Possession was even in the half, but Honduras has five shots to two for the U.S. and the only real chances at scores.

The U.S. had to be more aggressive in the second half, but its Olympic fate was sealed just two minutes in, as Ochoa lazily cleared a backpass that was flicked at by Honduras striker Luis Palma and the ball rolled back, behind Ochoa and into the net for a 2-0 lead.

After Honduras’s Jose Reyes barely missed a third goal, American midfielder Jackson Yueill took control of the ball and then turned to the top of the box and sent a right-footed rocket curling into the top left corner of the Honduran goal to cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 52nd minute.

The U.S. increased the pressure and Yueill just missed another score on a free kick that was saved by Honduran keeper Alex Guity, prior to another water break in the 73rd minute. The U.S. created chance after chance in the final 10 minutes, but was unable to get the ball into the goal again.

The U.S. ended with 57% of the possession, but was outshot, 10-7, and where Honduras made the most of its chances, the Americans did not.

Honduras will go to its fourth straight Olympic tournament, and defeats the U.S. for the second time in a row in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying semifinal; the score was 2-0 in October 2015. The last U.S. men’s Olympic appearance was in 2008.

The second semifinal between Mexico and Canada followed the U.S.-Honduras match, with the winner going to Tokyo. Despite having only 35% possession in the first half and being out-shot by 6-2, Canada held Mexico scoreless.

The 0-0 tie continued into the second half, but a Canadian mistake on a clearance resulted in a pass to Uriel Antuna at the right of the goal and he sent it onto the back of the net in the 58th minute for a 1-0 lead for Mexico.

Then a second goal in the 65th minute salted the game away. An elegant free kick from Sebastian Cordova found the head of Johan Vazquez, whose shot smashed into the crossbar. But it then hit Canadian defender Callum Montgomery on the rebound and fell right back to Vasquez’s feet, who finished into the open net.

Mexico finished with 62% of the possession and had a 18-3 advantage in shots, which accurately depicts the one-sided nature of the match. “El Tri” will now be appearing in the men’s Olympic tournament for the third straight time.

The two semifinal winners – Honduras and Mexico, both now on the way to Tokyo – will play for the tournament title on Tuesday, 30 March.

HIGHLIGHTS: Collegiate long jump record for Tara Davis; U.S.’s Gerek Meinhardt wins Foil Grand Prix; U.S. men edge Northern Ireland, 2-1

By
Rich Perelman
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Joy for NCAA Indoor Long Jump champ and now collegiate record-holder Tara Davis! (Photo: University of Texas)

Headline results of noteworthy competitions around the world:

(For coverage of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships, click here)

● Athletics ● The Texas Relays once again sizzled, with world-leading marks all over the place and a special performance by NCAA Indoor long jump champ Tara Davis of Texas. First, the outdoor world leaders:

● Men/100 m: 9.94, Ronnie Baker (USA)
● Men/200 m: 19.81, Terrance Laird (USA)
● Men/400 m: 44.62, Bryce Deadmon (USA)
● Men/110 m Hurdles: 13.22, Damion Thomas (JAM)
● Men/Pole Vault: 5.80 m (19-0 1/2), K.C. Lightfoot (USA)

● Women/100 m: 11.12 (=), Tiana Wilson (USA)
● Women/200 m: 22.17, Gabby Thomas (USA)
● Women/400 m: 50.19, Shamier Little (USA)
● Women/Long Jump: 7.14 m (23-5 1/4), Tara Davis (USA)

Davis’s sensational long jump came in the fourth round, after two fouls and a world-leading 6.97 m (22-10 1/2) third-round effort. She exploded off the board on her next try, with just a 1.0 m/s wind aid, reaching 7.14 m (23-5 1/4) to break Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s 6.99 m (22-11 1/4) mark for UCLA back in 1985.

Davis, the 2015 World Youth Champion in the event, entered 2021 with a best of 6.73 m (22-1) from 2017, but won the NCAA Indoor at 6.93 m (22-9) before the 6.97 m bomb in the third round and the 7.14 m crusher in round four. She passed the last two rounds, but now stands as the no. 5 long jumper in U.S. history!

Away from Austin, there were also world-leading efforts in the men’s 400 m hurdles (49.34) by Trevor Bassett at the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, North Carolina, and an 8,008-point decathlon by American Steve Bastien at the Adams-Klein multis in Santa Barbara, California.

At the New Zealand national championships in Hastings, men’s shot star Tomas Walsh won his 12th straight title with a world outdoor leading mark of 21.79 m (71-6) while two-time Olympic champ Valerie Adams won her 17th career national shot championship at 18.43 m (60-5 3/4).

● Biathlon ● The U.S. Biathlon national championships were on this week in West Yellowstone, Montana, with Sprint, Pursuit an Super-Sprint races on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Joanne Reid and Scott Lacy were the big winners, with Reid sweeping all three of the women’s event. She won the 7.5 km Sprint on Friday ahead of Kelsey Dickinson, 23:39.2-24:44.2, with Lucy Hochschartner third (26:02.1). On Saturday. Reid took the 10 km Pursuit in 34:01.0, way in front of Dickinson (36:07.2) and Hochschartner (37:16.4). In Sunday’s 5 x1 km Sprint, the top three were the same again: Reid (20:18.0), Dickinson (22:37.5) and Hochschartner (23:28.9).

Lacy won the 10 km Sprint by more than a minute, finishing in 28:57.7 over Adam Farabaugh (28:59.4) and Luke Brown (30:17.4). On Saturday, Lacy scored again in the 12.5 km Pursuit, winning in 40:05.7, comfortably ahead of Brown (40:56.3) and Farabaugh (44:29.8.). Sunday saw Farabaugh win the 5 x 1 km Super Sprint in 23:40.9, with Brown second (23:44.8) and Lacy third (23:50.8).

● Cycling ● The week-long 100th edition of the Volta Ciclista de Catalunya ended on Sunday in Barcelona, finishing a busy week in Europe that included three of the spring’s famous one-day Classics:

● 24 March: Belgium’s 45th men’s Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne covered 203.9 km on a flat, sprinter’s course, with Ireland’s Sam Bennett continuing an already outstanding year by getting to the line first ahead of Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen and German sprinter Pascal Ackermann. Bennett moved had with 800 m and then got to the front with just 200 m to go, passing Philipsen and holding on for his fifth race win of the young season.

● 25 March: The Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne race for women on a flat, 158.8 km course was a breakaway win for Australia’s Grace Brown, 28, her first in a Women’s World Tour event. Not known as a sprinter, she surged with 10 km to go and a chase group of a dozen riders could not catch her. Dane Emma Norsgaard and Belgian stars Jolien D’Hoore and Lotte Kopecky finished 2-3-4 as the top chasers, ending seven seconds behind the winner.

● 26 March: Edition 64 of what is now known as the E3 Saxo Bank Classic covered 203.9 km on a hilly course in and around Harelbeke (BEL), with a runaway victory by Denmark’s Kasper Asgreen. His initial attack with 67 km remaining was finally reeled in by a chasing group of six with 12 km left, but his final move with 4.6 km left was too strong. He finished 32 seconds up on Florian Senechal (FRA), Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel, Belgian Oliver Naesen and defending champ Zdenek Stybar (CZE).

● 28 March: Both the men’s and women’s historic Gent-Wevelgem Races were run on Sunday, with the men covering 254 km from Ypres to Wevelgem and the women on 141.7 km course.

In the men’s race, a seven-man sprint coming to the finish and home favorite Wout van Aert the fastest to the line, just ahead of an Italian trio of Giacomo Nizzolo, Matteo Trentin and Sonny Colbrelli, all given times of 5:45:11. Van Aert scored his third win of the year, after two stage wins in the Tirreno-Adriatico.

Dutch star Marianne Vos, 33, the three-time World Champion, won Gent-Wevelgem for the first time in her historic career, reaching the line first in a final dash ahead of Belgium’s Kopecky, Lisa Brennauer (GER) and Italians Elisa Balsamo and Marta Bastianelli. Vos launched her final attack from 300 m to go and no one could stay with her. Kopecky and Brennauer finished 2-3 in 2021, repeating their positions from 2020!

● 28 March: The centennial edition of the Volta Ciclista de Catalunya was always going to decided in the three climbing stages in the middle of the race. After Australia’s Rohan Dennis conquered the Individual Time Trial in stage 2, Britain’s Adam Yates took charge.

He won the duel on the uphill finish of stage 3 at the 2,145 m top of Vall de Camprodon by 13 seconds over Esteban Chaves (COL) and 19 seconds on home favorite Alejandro Valverde (ESP). That gave him the overall lead in the race by 45 seconds on Australian star Richie Porte and 49 seconds on Portugtal’s Joao Almeida.

That margin did not change during the rest of the week. Chaves won stage 4, with its triple climbs, but Yates was just seven seconds back in fourth as part of the chase pack (with Porte and Valverde). The hilly fifth stage was a runaway for German Lennard Kamna – his third career win – by 39 seconds over Ruben Guerreiro (POR), but where Yates finished fourth, Almeida was 13th and lost time.

Saturday’s sixth stage was a hilly, 193.8 km course that sprint superstar Peter Sagan (SVK) win for his first victory of the year in a final dash over Daryl Impey (RSA) and Colombian Juan Sebastian Milano. Yates finished 20th and entered the final day’s ride in and around Barcelona with the same, 45-second lead on Porte and 49 seconds up on 2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas (GBR).

Sunday’s finale in and around Barcelona ended with a runaway win for Belgian Thomas De Gendt, who won by 22 seconds over Matej Mohoric (SLO) and 1:42 over Hungary’s Attila Valter. The leaders followed and the final leaderboard showed Yates the winner by 45 seconds over Porte, , 49 seconds over Thomas and 1:03 over Valverde and Wilco Keldermann (NED).

For Yates, 28, he moved up from second in this race in 2019 to the top spot, winning a multi-stage race for the second consecutive year after a victory in the UAE Tour in 2020.

In the Pan American Mountain Bike Championships in Salinas, Puerto Rico, Jose Ulloe of Mexico was an impressive winner in the Elite Cross Country division, taking the six-lap race in 1:29:03.70, easily ahead of Jonathan Botero (COL: 1:30:29.28) and Cutriel Soto (ARG: 1:31:30.31).

Daniela Campazano completed the Mexican sweep, winning the women’s five-lap race in 1:27:02.70, almost a minute-and-a-half ahead of Sofia Gomez (ARG: 1:28:30.43) with American Kelsy Urban third (1:28:30.97).

● Fencing ● The revived FIE schedule brought the Foil stars to Doha, Qatar for the first Grand Prix of the season, with a significant win for American Gerek Meinhardt.

Ranked second worldwide, Meinhardt scored his third career Grand Prix win and now has a combined 14 career medals in Grand Prix and World Cup events. Meinhardt had to face teammate and fourth-ranked Race Imboden in the semifinals, winning by 15-8, then out-dueling Japan’s Takahiro Shikine in the final by 15-11. Imboden and France’s Alexandre Ediri shared the bronze. For Shikine, it was his first career Grand Prix or World Cup medal.

Russian superstar Inna Deriglazova, 31, shows no signs of slowing as she won her seventh career Grand Prix title and now has 20 combined wins in Grand Prix and World Cup events. Ranked no. 1 in the world coming in, she breezed by China’s Qingyuan Chen by 15-5 in the final, after a tough, 15-10 win over France’s Ysaora Thibus in the semis. Russian Marta Martyanova also shared the bronze medal. The three-time World Champion and reigning Olympic gold medalist Deriglazova remains the prohibitive favorite for Tokyo.

● Football ● The CONCACAF men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament reaches the semifinals today, with Honduras and the U.S. in the first semifinal and Canada and Mexico in the other, both being played in Guadalajara, Mexico this evening. The winners of these two matches will qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Games this summer. (Results will be posted later this evening.)

In the final games in Group B, Canada and Honduras tied, 1-1, giving Honduras the group victory on goal differential (3-2) as both finished 1-0-2 with five points. El Salvador defeated Haiti, 2-1, for third.

The U.S. men’s National Team was in Belfast for a friendly vs. Northern Ireland on Sunday, with goals from Gio Reyna in the first half and a penalty from Christian Pulisic in the second half for a 2-0 victory.

Northern Ireland came in standing 45th in the FIFA World Rankings, but the American side dominated play and created multiple chances from both the starting group and with substitutes in the last half-hour of the game. Reyna scored in the 30th minute with a right-footed shot from outside the box as the U.S. had a 6-3 edge in shots in the half, and 63% of the possession.

The U.S. continued on the attack in the second half and Pulisic was taken down in the box in the 59th minute, then converted the penalty with a hard, low shot past keeper Conor Hazard.

Northern Ireland did little on offense until a surprise goal in the 88th minute on a sensational rocket of a shot by substitute striker Niall McGinn from the right side of the box that flew past U.S. keeper Zack Steffen to cut the score to 2-1.

However, it ended that way and the U.S. ended with 62% of the possession in the game, while both teams had nine shots on goal. This was only the second-ever meeting of the two countries, with Northern Ireland having won, 5-0, back in 1948; the series is now at 1-1. The American side extended its unbeaten streak to nine games (8-0-1) dating back to November of 2019.

● Freestyle Skiing ● World Championships silver medalist Colby Stevenson of the U.S. won the final Slopestyle competition of the season in Silvaplana (SUI) and wrapped up the seasonal title as well.

Stevenson won last week in Aspen and was superb on Saturday (27th), taking the lead in round one at 94.25 – a score no one else reached – and then improving to 96.75 in round two. Norway’s Ferdinand Dahl scored 93.00 on his second trial to finish second, and Alex Hall of the U.S. grabbed third with his 92.25 effort in the second round. Stevenson ended the three-meet season with 245 points, easily ahead of Dahl (172).

The women’s Slopestyle event completed a season’s sweep – 3 for 3 – for France’s Tess Ledeux. Her second-round score of 88.75 bested Swiss Sarah Hoefflin (86.50) and Mathilde Gremaud (83.75). Ledeux ended with a perfect total of 300 points to 124 for Britain’s Kirsty Muir.

● Gymnastics ● Rhythmic gymnastics returned to World Cup competition in Sofia (BUL), with Israel’s Linoy Ashram confirming she will be a medal contender in Tokyo.

She won the All-Around competition with 98.450 points, just ahead of Boryana Kaelin (BUL: 98.250) and Alina Harnasko (BLR: 96.150). American Laura Zeng was seventh at 90.200.

Ashram then won in Ball (26.500), but Kaelyn was the star of the individual finals, winning in Hoop (26.150), Clubs (26.100) and Ribbon (22.150). Ashram also won a bronze in Hoop (26.100). Zeng made the finals in Hoop (6th: 21.800) and Ball (8th: 20.300).

● Judo ● A big field of 441 judoka from 80 countries gathered for the Tbilisi Grand Slam in Georgia, with Canada, Mongolia and Georgia each winning two classes. Many of the top stars did not compete, but that opened the door for others.

The hosts got gold-medal performances from Temur Nozadze (men’s 60 kg) and Gela Zaalishvili (men’s +100 kg); Mongolia enjoyed wins from Tosgtbaatar Tsend-Ochir in the men’s 73 kg class and from Urantsetseg Munkhbat in the women’s 48 kg class. Canadian winners were Shady Elnahas (men’s 100 kg) and veteran Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (women’s 63 kg). Georgia won the most medals overall with nine.

● Modern Pentathlon ● The UIPM World Cup season opened in Budapest (HUN), with a surprise finish in the men’s final, with a 1-2 finish by athletes who had never won a World Cup medal before.

Latvia’s Pavels Svecovs forged a strong lead with second-place finished in the fencing and riding events, plus a seventh in swimming. But he barely held on against a charge from behind by Egypt’s Ahmed Hamed (EGY), who started the Laser Run some 19 seconds down. Both were credited with 1,478 points. Hamed won the fencing and was fourth in riding, but was let down by his swimming, with a 32nd-place finish. Patrick Dogue (GER) finished third with 1,464 points.

Veteran Kate French had a meet to remember, leading a 1-2 finish for Great Britain, , scoring 1,403 points to 1,388 for teammate Joanna Muir. French had the best fencing record in the history of the sport, winning 31 of 35 matches for a record total of 286 points; the old best was 280 (30 wins in 35 matches) by Xiaonan Zhang (CHN: 2013) and Lena Schoeneborn (GER: 2015).

Although only 17th in the pool and 21st in riding, French posted the ninth-fastest Laser Run and won with style for her fourth career World Cup gold. Starting with a nine-second lead over the field, French eventually won by 15 seconds over Muir. Gintare Venckauskaite of Lithuania grabbed the bronze with a strong finish in the final segment of the Laser Run.

Great Britain’s Olivia Green and Joseph Choong won the Mixed Relay on Sunday after dueling with Hungary’s Sarolta Simon and Balazs Szep until the final 300 m of the race. Korea was third.

● Shooting ● Host India dominated the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi, finishing with 30 medals (15-9-6) to eight (4-3-1) for the runner-up U.S.

India won the men’s Team Skeet, Mixed Team Skeet, men’s 50 m Rifle/3 Positions (Aishwary Tomar), went 1-2-3 in the women’s 25 m Pistol (Chinki Yadav, Rahi Sarnobat and Mahu Bhaker, with American Lexi Lagan sixth), women’s 25 m Team Pistol, Mixed Team 50 m Rifle/3 Positions, Men’s Team 50 m Rifle/3 Positions, went 1-2 in the Mixed Team 25 m Rapid-Fire Pistol, and won the Mixed Team Trap and the men’s and women’s Team Trap event.

Slovenia’s Ziva Dvorsak won the women’s 50 m Rifle/3 Positions (with American Mary Tucker fifth) and Poland won the women’s Team 50 m Rifle/3 Positions. Slovakia’s 2018 World Champion Zuzana Rehak Stefecekova took the women’s Trap title. Daniele Resca (ITA) won the men’s Trap event and Estonia’s Peeter Olesk took the men’s 25 m Rapid-Fire Pistol title.

The U.S. trio of Keith Sanderson, Jack Leverett III and Henry Leverett won the men’s Team 25 m Rapid-Fire Pistol final over India by 10-2; they were the only teams entered.

● Ski Jumping ● The final jumps of the 2020-21 World Cup season were in Planica (SLO) for the men and Chaykovsky (RUS) for the women.

The enormous 240 m ski-flying hill in Planica hosted three individual competitions and a team event, with Norway’s Halvor Egner Granerud already having salted away the seasonal title. On Thursday (25th), it was former World Cup champ Ryoyu Kobayashi talking the win, scoring 452.5 points over Germans Markus Eisenbichler (445.1) and Karl Geiger (431.2).

Weather shortened the second event to one round, with Geiger the winner (237.3) and Kobayashi second (227.7) and Slovenia’s Bor Pavlovcic third (225.2). The final jumping on Sunday saw Geiger confirm his standing as the best ski-flyer of the season, winning at 459.3. Kobayashi completed an excellent end of the season in second (452.4) and Eisenbichler was third (447.9).

For the season, Granerud finished at 1,572 points, well ahead of Eisenbichler (1,190) with Pole Kamil Stoch third (955).

This final weekend of the season was marred by a tragic crash of Norwegian star Daniel Andre Tande, 27, a 2018 Olympic Team Large Hill gold medalist, on Thursday (25th). Competing on the giant 240 m ski-flying hill on a practice run in Planica, he tumbled down the hill after losing control on his skis.

Unconscious, he was airlifted to a hospital in Ljubljana, and placed into a medically-induced coma. He suffered a broken collarbone, but it was reported that his head and neck were undamaged and that he is in stable condition.

The women’s season concluded in Chaykovsky with the Russian Blue Bird Tour, with the two individual competitions on Friday and Sunday. Austria’s Marita Kramer won her third World Cup event in a row, this time off the 102 m hill, scoring 258.1 points to 234.8 for Japan’s Sara Takanashi and 223.4 for Slovenian Nika Kriznar.

On Sunday, jumping off the 140 m hill, Kramer won again – her seven win of the season in 13 events – scoring 136.1 for the single-round event, to 120.1 for Silje Opseth (NOR) and 115.4 for Kriznar. The seasonal race rewarded consistency and went to Kriznar, 21, who finished in the top six in 12 of 13 events and won with 871 points to 862 for Takanashi and 860 for Kramer.

American women’s ski jumping pioneer Sarah Hendrickson announced her retirement on Instagram account on Friday (26th), finishing with 13 World Cup wins, as the 2011-12 seasonal World Cup champion and as 2013 World Champion. But she won’t be far away, writing:

“My career in the sport of ski jumping has undeniably been a dream come true. I am forever in love with this sport and every opportunity and person it has included. As I step away from being an athlete, my dedication to bettering the sport remains a top priority in my life. I will never be too far from the ski jumping family, as I remain involved politically.”

● Snowboard ● The final Slopestyle event of the season was contested in Silvaplana (SUI), with Norway’s Markus Kleveland winning his second race in a row to take the seasonal title. Kleveland defeated Liam Brearley (CAN), 96.00-89.00 to win, with American Chris Corning third (83.25). That gave Kleveland 260 points for the season, well ahead of Brearley’s 116.

The women’s race in Silvaplana was a 1-2 for Japan, with Reira Iwabuchi scoring 91.00 to edge teammate Kokomo Murase (88.75), with Tess Coady (AUS) third at 86.25. Austria’s Olympic Big Air gold medalist Anna Gasser won the seasonal title with 195 points, ahead of Murase (166) and Coady (165).

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FIGURE SKATING: Chen sensational in third straight Figure Skating Worlds win; Russians sweep the rest!

By
Rich Perelman
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Three-time World Champion Nathan Chen of the U.S. (Photo: U.S. Figure Skating via Twitter)

Going into Saturday’s Free Skate, two-time defending World Champion Nathan Chen of the U.S. was in a hole.

He had finished only third in the Short Program, scoring 98.85 points to 106.98 for two-time Olympic champ Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, and also behind his teammate Yuma Kagiyama, in his first ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

But Chen’s reign as World Champion has been marked by steely concentration when he has needed it most and he produced a sensational Free Skate, including five quadruple jumps, to score a stunning 222.03 points to run away with the competition, at the Ericsson Globe arena in Stockholm (SWE).

Kagiyama had the unenviable task of following Chen, but skated well and scored 190.81. Hanyu, skating last, needed 213.91 to win, but was not in the same form as in the Short Program and scored just 89.78 to place fourth in the Free Skate and dropped to third overall.

Chen’s final tally of 320.88 points ended up winning by a superb 29.11 points over Kagiyama (291.77), followed by Hanyu (289.18), Japan’s Shoma Uno (277.44) and Russian Mikhail Kokyada (272.04). American Jason Brown finished seventh with 262.17.

Said the winner, still just 21: “It’s amazing; the fact that I’m able to be here at this World Championship after that unprecedented year; I’m very happy to be here. I’m very elated right now.

“I just didn’t want to lose that (quad) Lutz again. I had struggled on it a little bit at Nationals as well to start off my free program [where he fell] and I always don’t like starting with an error; it’s hard to regroup after that. My intent was ‘hit the Lutz, move on.’ In theory I can come back, but realistically I know these guys are going to lay [it] down [and I wanted] to be able to leave this competition satisfied with how I skated in the free. I was able to do that so I’m pretty thrilled.”

Chen’s third straight Worlds win is the first time since Canada’s Patrick Chan did it in 2011-12-13 and the first time by an American since Scott Hamilton won four in a row from 1981-84. The record is seven by Austria’s Karl Schaefer from 1930-36.

Russian skaters dominated the Women’s and Pairs.

Anna Shcherbakova, 16, won her first World Championships gold in her first appearance, winning the Short Program and finishing a very close second in the Free Skate. Her total of 233.17 – a lifetime best – was enough to outlast 2015 World Champion Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (24, 220.46 ~ third in both the Short Program and Free Skate) and teammate Alexandra Trusova (16, 217.20 ~ winner of the Free Skate., also in her first Worlds).

The Russian sweep was the first in the women’s division since 1991, when the U.S. trio of Kristi Yamaguchi, Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan went 1-2-3. Russian women have now won five of the last six World titles and won 10 of the 18 total medals awarded in that span.

China’s Wenjing Sui and Cong Han entered as defending Pairs champs and had won two of the last three World titles, but lost out to first-time Worlds performers Anastasia Mishna (19) and Aleksandr Galliamov (21) of Russia.

Russian skaters Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii, in their second Worlds, led after the Short Program, with Sui and Han second. But Mishna and Galliamov rallied during the Free Skate and won it with 151.80 points to 148.09 for the Chinese, with Boikova and Kozlovskii dropping to fourth. That gave Mishna and Galliamov the gold medal at 227.59, to 225.71 for Sui and Han and 217.63 for Boikova and Kozlovskii. Two-time Worlds silver medalists Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov ended up a disappointed fourth (212.76).

American skaters Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier finished seventh (192.10) and Ashley Cain-Gibble and Timothy Leduc were ninth (185.31).

The powerful U.S. Ice Dance entries had earned medals in five straight World Championships and were in good positions for more as Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue and Madison Chock and Evan Bates stood 2-3 after the Rhythm Dance behind reigning Worlds silver medalists Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia: 88.15-86.05-85.15.

Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier put heavy pressure on the leaders with a 130.98 score in the Free Dance, and Chock and Bates fell behind them, scoring 127.54. Hubbell and Donohue were better, scoring 128.66 and standing second as Sinitsina and Katsalapov took the ice.

But the Russians came through with a brilliant, winning score of 133.02 to move up from second in 2019, and finished with 221.17 total points, to 214.71 for Hubbell and Donohue and 214.35 for Gilles and Poirier. Madison and Donohue won their third Worlds medal in succession, after a silver in 2018 and bronze in 2019.

The third American entry, Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker, finished ninth (188.51).

The Championships will finish on Sunday with an exhibition from the medal winners. The ISU announced two positive Covid tests among he 184 skaters entered for the week-long event, which otherwise was able to be held to the surprise of many within the skating community.

THE TICKER: Olympic Torch Relay is off and running; Brisbane City Council approves 2032 bid; Hanyu superb, Chen falls at ISU Worlds

By
Rich Perelman
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The start of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay (Photo: Tokyo 2020)

The latest news, notes and quotes from the worldwide Five-Ring Circus:

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● The Olympic Torch Relay began on Thursday in Fukushima prefecture, site of the devastating 2011 earthquake, tsunami and follow-on nuclear disaster.

Members of the Nadeshiko Japan football squad that won the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup started the 121-day run at the J-Village sports complex, with defender Iwashimizu Azusa the first torchbearer. The relay will hit 859 cities and towns while touching all 47 of the country’s prefectures.

Kyodo News reported:

“[T]he relay might be suspended, or some routes of the program may be skipped, if too many people gather on roadsides. Fans are encouraged to turn to live online broadcasts and refrain from traveling outside of their home prefectures to watch the relay.

“Spectators must wear face masks and are also urged to clap rather than cheer. The runners, who will each carry a cherry blossom-motif torch over a distance of about 200 meters, are required to log their health information and asked not to dine out with others.”

The Torch Relay is being counted on as a rallying point for the Games. A Kyodo News poll conducted over last weekend saw only 23.2% in favor of the Olympic and Paralympic Games moving ahead as scheduled; 39.8% thought they should be canceled.

The Russian Olympic Committee has asked the International Olympic Committee for permission to use a one-minute segment from iconic Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in place of its national anthem at the Tokyo Games.

This music is being used this week at the International Skating Union’s World Figure Skating Championships, as the Russian anthem has been barred through 2022 according to the sanctions imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

● Games of the XXXV Olympiad: Brisbane 2032 ● In its first closed-door meeting since 2007, the Brisbane City Council approved the city’s bid for the 2032 Games. The eight-hour session included presentations by Australian Olympic Committee chief (and IOC member) John Coates and the Queensland tourism authority, among others. Council members were required to sign a confidentiality agreement prior to the meeting.

Only one of the 27 council members voted against the proposal.

The bid file, including government guarantees, is expected to be completed in April and forwarded to the International Olympic Committee. If properly submitted, Brisbane (and Queensland) could be formally selected to host the 2032 Games as early as the IOC Session in Tokyo in July.

● World University Games ● The sanctions against Russia imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency – as modified by the Court of Arbitration for Sport – has required the Russian Minister of Sport, Oleg Matytsin, to temporarily resign as the head of the International University Sports Federation (FISU).

The Russian news agency TASS reported, “Switzerland’s Leonz Eder was appointed the acting president of FISU until December 17, 2022, the year when Matytsin is expected to take the FISU presidential seat again.”

Several Russian officials have been required to step away from International Federation posts per the sanctions, which do not allow sitting government officials – like Matytsin – to serve during the penalty period.

● Figure Skating ● The ISU World Championships are underway in Stockholm (SWE), but despite the best intentions, the federation announced on Wednesday (24th):

“During the rigorous testing procedures in place, a second positive case was identified. The ISU and Organizing Committee will respect the privacy of the respective person and inform the remaining Event Participants internally of the situation.

“The ISU can confirm that both cases were detected following the PCR test upon arrival on site prior to accreditation. Consequently, neither person obtained an accreditation nor were they included in the competition bubble which remains secure.”

The women’s and Pairs Short Program was held on Wednesday and the men’s Short Program on Thursday morning. The remaining schedule:

● 25 March: Pairs Free Skate
● 26 March: Ice Dance Rhythm Dance, Women’s Free Skate
● 27 March: Men’s Free Skate, Ice Dance Free Skate

The men’s Short Program belonged to two-time Olympic champ Yuzuru Hanyu, who scored a sensational 106.98 – one of the highest scores ever – more than six points clear of teammate Yuma Kagiyama (100.96) and more than eight points ahead of defending champ Nathan Chen of the U.S. (98.85), who suffered a fall early in his program. Jason Brown of the U.S. was seventh at 91.25.

The women’s Short Program was won by Russia’s Anna Shcherbakova at 81.00, ahead of Rika Kihira (JPN: 79.08) and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (RUS: 78.86). The top Americans were Karen Chen in fourth place (74.40) and Bradie Tennell in seventh (69.87).

Russian entries were 1-3-4 in the Pairs Short Program, led by Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii at 80.16, ahead of China’s Wenjing Sui and Cong Han (77.62). The U.S. entries were 6-7 with Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy Leduc (64.94) and Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier (64.67).

Look for complete results here.

● Football ● Competition in Group A of the CONCACAF men’s Olympic (U-23) Qualifying Tournament in Mexico concluded on Wednesday, with the hosts converting a U.S. error into a 1-0 win.

The game went back and forth during a scoreless first half, with the U.S. having 54% of the possession, but Mexico getting the better chances. But with only 30 seconds remaining, a poor clearance by U.S. forward Sebastian Soto led to a hard strike and a goal by Mexico’s Uriel Antuna from the left side of the box and that proved to be the difference.

While Mexico out-shot the U.S. in the first half by 8-1, there was better play from the Americans in the final half, but no goals. The U.S. got four shots on goal – as did Mexico – in the last half (12-5 for the game), but Mexico had control of the match at the end and finished with 51% of the possession time.

Costa Rica downed the Dominican Republic, 5-0, to finish third in the group at 1-2, with the Dominicans at 0-3. Mexico and the U.S. will move on to face the tournament semifinals and have the top two in Group B, to be decided on Thursday.

Honduras (1-0-1: 4 pts.) and Canada (1-0-1: 4 pts.) will face each other for the group title; El Salvador (0-1-1: 1 pt.) and Haiti (0-1-1: 1 pt.) will play in the opener. The semifinals – with the winners qualifying for Tokyo – will play on 28 March.

The U.S. Men’s National Team was in action against Jamaica on Thursday – in Wiener Neustadt, Austria of all places – in a friendly featuring American players who are part of European teams. It’s the first of a two-match schedule, with a match against Northern Ireland coming on the 28th.

In today’s match, the U.S. controlled most of the action, with 70% of the possession in the first half and 11 shots to four for Jamaica, but only one that really counted. That was a 35th-minute lob by left back Sergino Dest over the head of Jamaican keeper Jeadine White for the only goal of the first half (and Dest’s first goal for the U.S.).

The U.S. was back on offense to start the second half and a brilliant run down the left side of the Jamaican defense by Josh Sargent was followed by a perfect cross to a sprinting Brenden Aaronson in the 52nd minute for the second score. The American offense swarmed around the Jamaican goal almost continuously, but then the Reggae Boyz got back in the game in the 70th minute.

A run by Andre Gray on the right side led to a brilliant through-pass to a streaking Jamal Lowe, who lifted the ball over American keeper Zack Steffen from the right side of the goal to bring the Jamaicans close.

But the U.S. put the game away in the 83rd minute with a right-footed strike from a charging Sebastian Lletget, rushing to meet a well-timed cross at the top of the box from striker Nicholas Gioacchini.

Steffen made two saves on Jamaican chances in the 89th minute to keep the U.S. on top and then Lletget rushed forward for a final goal off a cross at the top of the box from midfielder Luca de la Torre in the 90th minute.

The U.S. finished with 68% of the possession and a 27-9 advantage on shots.

FIFA’s Ethics Committee, an group independent of the federation itself, returned guilty findings and imposed bans on former FIFA President Sepp Blatter (SUI) and former FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke (FRA). According to the FIFA statement:

“The investigations into Messrs Blatter and Valcke covered various charges, in particular concerning bonus payments in relation to FIFA competitions that were paid to top FIFA management officials, various amendments and extensions of employment contracts, as well as reimbursement by FIFA of private legal costs in the case of Mr Valcke.”

Both received sanctions – bans from all activities related to football – of six years and eight months and are required to pay a fine of CHF 1 million. And:

“As the previous bans from taking part in all football-related activity imposed on Messrs Blatter and Valcke by the independent Ethics Committee in 2015 and 2016 have not yet been purged, the bans notified today will only come into force upon the expiry of the previous bans (i.e. on 8 October 2021 and 8 October 2025, respectively).”

● Speedskating ● The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Dutch coach Wilma Boomstra was fired by U.S. Speedskating for a lack of achievement against the goals set for the Short Track team she was hired to guide since 2018.

Boomstra was the subject of three complaints by athletes during the past year and an inquiry ended with Boomstra being found to have bullied athletes. The Post story noted that “in an interview this month with Dutch newspaper Friesch Dagblad, Boomstra expressed no remorse and defended her coaching style while placing blame on the skaters.”

The U.S. will now need a new coach with 11 months remaining prior to the Beijing 2022 Winter Games.

● Swimming ● The International Swimming League announced the first details on its pivotal third season, with a 10-team, six-week, 10-match schedule foreseen in late August and September – after the Olympic Games are concluded – in a sequestered format as was held in 2020.

The second phase will be a three-week, eight-team, six-match “playoff” program to select four teams for the ISL Final, which will be held in December.

The 10 teams will stay the same as in 2020 and the meet locations are still to be identified.

This is a far less ambitious program that has been proposed by ISL in the past, but in the still-uncertain atmosphere of the pandemic and the need to better control the multi-million dollar losses of the first two seasons, a shorter and more intense schedule makes a lot of sense.

Interestingly, the ISL schedule concept appears to be fully compatible with the FINA World Cup calendar. That program has two meets in early-to-mid August, then is off until October (and ends on 30 October). The FINA World 25 m Championships will be in Abu Dhabi (UAE) from 16-21 December.

● Table Tennis ● The leadership of the International Table Tennis Federation continues in chaos after the ITTF Executive Committee approved the reinstatement of Qatari Khalil Al-Mohannadi as Deputy President and declared:

“[T]he majority of the [Executive Committee] members informed the President that he had unfortunately lost their trust, confidence and support and accordingly it was agreed that all decisions should be made by majority within the EC until the next [Annual General Meeting].”

The ITTF President, since 2014 and elected in 2017 for another term, is German Thomas Weikert. His statement “announced legal action before the respective sports courts against the majority decision of the Executive Committee, calling it an ‘unauthorized interference with his rights and a blatant violation of the ITTF Constitution’.”

The Executive Committee statement emphasized that its assumption of more authority was “in order to unify the Executive Committee in the best interest of the ITTF.”

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LANE ONE: The IOC is not asleep; its new bidding system is designed avoid its current problems with Beijing 2022 and human rights

By
Rich Perelman
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It’s pretty clear that the International Olympic Committee’s return to China as the host for the XXIV Olympic Winter Games in 2022 is going to be on a rocky road.

Elected officials in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, the U.S. and others have called for the Games to be moved because of the actions of the Chinese government against the Uyghur population in Xinjiang province, termed “genocide,” as well as other issues.

In the latest move, U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida) wrote to IOC sponsors asking them to insist than the 2022 Winter Games be moved. Fox News reported that Scott’s letter was sent to “Airbnb, Alibaba Group, Allianz, Atos, Bridgestone, Coca-Cola, DOW, General Electric, Intel, Omega, Panasonic, Procter & Gamble, Samsung, Toyota and Visa.”

In his letter, sent on Tuesday (23rd), Scott stated:

“As a sponsor of the IOC, you are uniquely positioned to join in this fight and demand the IOC stand for human rights and remove the games from Communist China, or lose your sponsorship and support. …

“I am sure you agree the crimes committed by General Secretary Xi are horrific. We cannot give a nation that is so overtly abusing human rights a platform to whitewash its crimes by hosting the Olympic Games. Therefore, I am asking you to stand for human rights and freedom, and use your considerable leverage as a sponsor of the 2022 Olympic Games to publicly urge the IOC to move the games to a nation that values human dignity and freedom.”

While Scott expressed confidence that the Games will be moved – he does not support a boycott of the Games – that’s hardly likely. But that does not mean that athletes are not conflicted or unaware; American skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin said in an interview earlier this month:

“The Olympics is big, and it’s something that you shoot for, and you don’t want to miss it.

“And you certainly don’t want to be put in the position of having to choose between human rights, like morality versus being able to do your job, which on the other hand can bring light to some issues or can actually bring hope to the world at a very difficult time.”

And there are excellent ways for governments to show their displeasure with the government of China in and around the Games. Senior IOC member Dick Pound of Canada, in an editorial earlier this month on the subject, noted:

“With all due respect, Governments know perfectly well how to deliver strong messages of displeasure with the actions of other Governments. Chinese invitations to any Olympic-related events can be refused, Government officials can be instructed not to attend any Olympic events, ambassadors can be recalled for consultations during the Games, international trade and other agreements can be enforced and visa requirements can be reviewed.

“Governments acting in concert can easily take steps of that nature. And also, with respect, China can consider taking some steps to mitigate the reputational damage from certain aspects of its conduct: the world is too interconnected for any country, including China, to exist in isolation.”

What has not been widely noticed is that the IOC has taken important steps to try to ensure that the Games are not awarded in the future to a country which could become a controversial host.

Beijing was chosen to host the 2022 Winter Games in 2015, winning 44-40 over Almaty (KAZ) in a “lesser of two evils” choice after European favorites Oslo (NOR), Krakow (POL), Stockholm (SWE) and Lviv (UKR) all withdrew, worried over the costs involved.

The flight of the potential European hosts for the Winter Games was especially hard to take for the IOC, and President Thomas Bach (GER) got busy changing the rules.

The first step was transparency, with the IOC publicly posting in March of 2017 – for the first time – its Host City Contract prior to the selection of the host, and guaranteeing in writing its financial and value-in-kind contribution to the Games. For Paris in 2024, that’s $855 million in broadcast revenue, $410 million in sponsorship revenue and in-kind services adding up to a total of $1.7 billion U.S. The IOC has released the Host City Contracts for 2026 (Milan-Cortina) and 2028 (Los Angeles) as well.

The second, crucial step came in October 2019 with the naming of “Future Host Commissions” for both the Games of the Olympiad and the Olympic Winter Games, creating an “open dialogue” with cities or regions interested in a future Games.

After the 24 February news conference after Brisbane, Australia had been selected for “targeted dialogue” with a view to being named as the host for the 2032 Olympic Games, Bach underscored again the need for the new approach:

“We had to face there a situation where we could see that because the candidates were put against each other in this kind of contest, that we had exponentially less and less candidates because the candidates were being eliminated or losing a vote [and] could not justify towards their community to come back with another candidature right after. …

“And these were the reasons why we said we have to change this procedure and, there again, to follow the examples from the business world or other sports events organizers where you avoid this kind of situation, where one candidate is attacking the other, and ‘I am better here’ and ‘I am better here and the best’. I don’t need to explain [to] you; you have experience enough, having followed all these procedures, but I can understand that this is interesting for journalists, for media to follow such a situation. But you also know from this work that this was not the best procedure, neither for the future of the Games, nor for the reputation of the IOC.”

What was not said – but was obvious to anyone looking closely – is that this new procedure can be used to shape the IOC’s path toward hosts who will not engender the issues that China is now.

In a program of elections, with open entries and fixed deadlines for submittals, evaluations and votes, any country can force its way onto the ballot. Bach’s IOC, fixated on being a “values-based organization” in line with United Nations recommendations and regulations, is more attentive now than ever with where its events will go. And with some good luck, look where the post-2022 Games are headed, to leading western democracies:

● 2022 Winter: Beijing, China (direct election in 2015)
● 2024 Olympic: Paris, France (by acclimation by agreement)
● 2026 Winter: Milan-Cortina, Italy (by direct election in 2019)
● 2028 Olympic: Los Angeles, USA (by acclimation by agreement)
● 2030 Winter: unknown as yet
● 2032 Olympic: Brisbane, Australia “targeted” (could be agreed in 2021)

Further, the 2026 Youth Olympic Games will go to Dakar (SEN), giving Africa its first-ever, major IOC event, with the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games to Gangwon, Korea, using many of the venues from the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang and helping to support the legacy of that event.

It’s worth noting that even with the doping sanctions through most of 2022 on Russia that there will still be World Cup events held in that country and even a couple of world championships – shooting and sport climbing, for example – with little international notice taken. Only the Olympic Games draw enough attention to count at all.

And while there are those who miss the bidding free-for-all that began in 1985 and may well have ended in 2019 – including potential 2032 bidders in Germany, Hungary, India, Korea, Qatar and elsewhere – the future is clear that being aggressive, advanced and foresighted like Brisbane is now the ante.

That is, if – and only if – the IOC wants to place a Games in your country.

The re-elected Bach will serve through 2025 and by then, the 2030 and 2034 Winter Games will likely be placed, perhaps in Barcelona (ESP) and Salt Lake City, Utah? It’s too early for 2036.

But add to the accomplishments of Bach’s tenure a new approach which allows the IOC to skirt the inevitability of handing more high-profile events to authoritarian regimes because of a lack of candidates.

The question going forward may not be who is talking to the IOC, but who the IOC leadership and staff might be reaching out to via its membership as future hosts?

Rich Perelman
Editor

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HEARD AT HALFTIME: Tokyo ticket refund process for U.S. buyers is murky; Covid positive at figure skating Worlds; surfer killed by lightning!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● U.S. purchasers of ticket and accommodations packages to travel to the Tokyo Games from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s official vendor, Cosport, received notices over the weekend about possible refunds.

It’s anything but straightforward, as the message noted:

● “The refund process Tokyo 2020 will develop likely will be similar to the way refunds were provided for those who chose the option not to attend due to the postponement. We have learned from that unprecedented situation and are endeavoring to make the process smoother.

● “The Tokyo 2020 organizers first will have to return the necessary funds to CoSport because CoSport, as an intermediary, long ago forwarded your payments for your tickets to them.

● “Tokyo 2020 has confirmed it will honor this responsibility in its announcement.

● “If you have purchased ticket and hotel packages, we also will have to work with the Japanese hotels to refund the monies already provided to them to secure your rooms.

● “We will provide your refund as soon as the process allows; however, as the organizers continue to navigate the impact of COVID-19, the process likely will take some time. We ask for your patience and understanding in advance as the Olympic authorities and we work through the details.

● “For the reasons specified above, CoSport is unable to provide an immediate refund. Any attempt to obtain a refund through third parties, such as credit card companies, rather than directly from CoSport, prior to any final announcement related to the refund policy Tokyo 2020 will develop or before the entities mentioned above return your monies to CoSport, will not be honored. Experience has shown that attempts to circumvent the official process will complicate the process and delay your refund.”

CoSport, headquartered in Far Hills, New Jersey, is the authorized seller for National Olympic Committees in Australia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Jordan, Norway, Sweden and the United States. Its special terms for the postponement last March from 2020 to 2021, as posted on its Web site, included:

“For all Package purchases, within specified days of the official competition schedule being published by [Tokyo 2020] as a result of postponement, if the client’s place cannot be secured for the new date due to changes in schedule and/or venue, [CoSport] will offer you the following purchase return options:

“1. Receive CoSport credit of the full value of your package and apply it to future Games, such as Tokyo 2020 or Beijing 2022 where CoSport is already preparing to offer new inclusive packages.

“2. Resell your package through CoSport so you are refunded 95% of its full value once it is purchased by a new Tokyo customer. Should your package remain unsold by January 15, 2021, CoSport will refund you 75% of its value.

“3. Return your package directly to CoSport and be refunded 75% of its full value.”

As CoSport explained, the situation is going to take some time to resolve, especially since it is not clear how and when the Tokyo organizers are going to refund the ticket money, what the venue capacities might be for the Games and if some of these tickets can be re-sold, and what happens with hotel refunds.

Kyodo News Service reported that most of the volunteers coming from abroad to work at the Games will not be allowed to enter Japan:

“Officials with knowledge of the planning said the exception could be made for around 500 volunteers, whose roles cannot easily be performed by somebody living in Japan, such as those who are capable of speaking minority languages. …

“[Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshiro] Muto said about 2,300 foreign nationals living abroad have been registered as volunteers. …

“Japanese citizens living abroad are expected to be allowed to volunteer, according to the officials.”

What has not been specified yet are any further conditions or restrictions on foreigners coming as Games staff for International Federations, National Olympic Committees, rights-holding broadcasters and others. These folks are involved in the staging of the Games, but the organizers could ask them to lower their staff levels and/or replace them with Japanese nationals to the extent possible.

● World Anti-Doping Agency ● The first meeting in 2021 of the WADA Athlete Committee took place last week, and included a report noting:

“[R]egarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the global anti-doping program. Members were told that testing is now back to about 80% of where it was in 2019; and, were reassured that COVID-19 vaccines would not interfere with anti-doping testing.”

● Athletics ● Britain’s Athletics Weekly reported that coronavirus infections were poorly controlled at the recent European Indoor Championships from 4-7 March in Torun, Poland:

“At least 10 members of the British squad have tested positive, leading to the entire party having to isolate for 10 days on their return to the UK. At least eight Dutch athletes also tested positive, with similar numbers in the German squad, a reported 15 in the Italian team and cases among the French, Irish and Danish teams too. …

“Belgian sprinter Eline Berings, meanwhile, criticised the testing procedures after having to pull out of the semi-finals of the 60m after what was she claimed was a false positive.”

European Athletics posted a message which went into great detail on the testing protocols used, and noted:

“All athletes, plus all member federation staff, guests, volunteers, technical suppliers and event staff, a total of 1,920 people, were tested according to this protocol. …

“[A]ll the positive cases that have been communicated to date can be traced back to two hotels where the affected teams were staying, although not all teams staying in these hotels posted positive cases. There have been no positive cases reported by member federations, or event staff, officials, volunteers or guests staying in the other hotels.

“Unfortunately the investigation also uncovered that the aforementioned strict sanitary protocol that should also have been followed in team hotels was not always fully respected.”

World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe (GBR) was asked about concerns for the World Relays, scheduled for 1-2 May and also in Poland (Silesia), and indicated that the federation’s Health and Science team is huddling with European Athletics to understand the issues in Torun.

World Athletics announced a unique “Global Conversation” about the future of the sport – open to anyone and everyone who wants contribute – as a prelude to the construction of a “World Plan for Athletics” for 2022-30:

“The World Plan will be a key document for all involved in the sport, setting out a roadmap for the growth and development of athletics through to 2030.

“Its purpose is to listen to the athletics community, to identify where the sport stands now throughout the world, and to establish a vision and direction for the period through to 2030, setting out how both World Athletics, its Member Federations and Area Associations, and other people involved in athletics can work together to develop and grow the sport across the world. The plan will contain clear roles and responsibilities, timelines, measurable outcomes and resource and budget implications. …

“This worldwide campaign will run for a six-week period in the form of a survey available in 12 different languages.”

The seven-member World Plan working group responsible for the program is chaired by U.S. World Athletics Council member Willie Banks, with assistance from the Deloitte Sport Business Group. The plan itself is to be developed by the middle of the year and the final plan submitted to the World Athletics Congress for approval in November.

The survey form can be accessed here.

Further world-leading performances from the weekend included a 49.48 in the men’s 400 m hurdles by American Kenny Selmon at the Panther Invitational in Atlanta, Georgia, and a 76.82 m (252-0) toss by World Champion DeAnna Price (USA) in the women’s hammer at the Cornell Invite in Carbondale, Illinois.

● Cycling ● The 100th edition of the seven-stage Volta Ciclista a Catalunya is underway in Spain, beginning in Calella and finishing on Sunday in Barcelona. Three-time winner Alejandro Valverde of Spain and four-time Tour de France champ Chris Froome (GBR) are the star attractions, but the first-stage winner on Monday (174.8 km) was Dane Andreas Kron, who won a downhill battle to the finish from Luis Leon Sanchez (ESP), Remy Rochas (FRA) and German Lennard Kamna.

After an Individual Time Trial tomorrow, the race will be decided in the three mountain stages on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

● Figure Skating ● The ISU World Championships in Stockholm (SWE) started on Monday, but the federation announced a positive test for the coronavirus in the sequestered athlete environment:

“The ISU and Organizing Committee will respect the privacy of the respective person and inform the remaining Event Participants internally of the situation.

“The protocol as set out in the ISU Health Regulations for Event participants is being followed namely:

“– the respective person will not be allowed to participate at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021

“ – the respective person has been quarantined and all the required measures have been followed

“– Close contact persons were identified and isolated for further checks and appropriate measures were taken

“– OC Medical Team/ISU Medical Advisor assessed the situation and followed the ISU Health Regulations for Event Participants in harmony with the Swedish public health guidelines”

The competitions begin on Wednesday with the women’s Short Program and Pairs Short Program and continue through Saturday. An all-star exhibition will be held on Sunday.

● Football ● Both of the Group B games at the CONCACAF men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament ended in draws on Monday, with Canada and Haiti finishing 0-0 and Honduras and El Salvador ending 1-1. So, Canada and Honduras both have four points, to one for Haiti and El Salvador. On Thursday, Canada and Honduras will play, as will El Salvador and Haiti. The top two in the group will advance to compete against Mexico and the U.S. in the tournament semifinals for the right to go to the Tokyo Games.

The final games in Group A on Wednesday have the U.S. (2-0) vs. Mexico (2-0) and the Dominican Republic (0-2) vs. Costa Rica (0-2).

● Gymnastics ● Former Canadian women’s national team coach Dave Brubaker was banned from the sport for life by Gymnastics Canada on Saturday (20th).

Brubaker was suspended when he was arrested in December 2017 on charges of sexual assault and sexual exploitation; he was found not guilty in a trial that concluded in 2019.

The Canadian Press reported “Liz Brubaker, his wife, also was provisionally suspended in 2019 following the receipt of written complaints while she was a coach at Bluewater Gymnastics Club in Sarnia, Ontario. Gymnastics Canada says Liz Brubaker’s suspension has been extended until 2024.” Both bans can be appealed within 15 days.

Very little is happening – publicly – with the USA Gymnastics bankruptcy case at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana, while the parties continue in court-ordered settlement mediation.

However, the clock keeps ticking on attorney’s fees, as shown by the newest operations report through the end of February 2021. Total legal fees in the case are now up to $13.737 million, with $7.668 million paid to far (55.8%).

USA Gymnastics itself had a good month with $1.021 million in revenue, including $700,000 in membership dues. But it still finished in the red, due to 1.288 million in expenses, especially $264,322 to stage the Winter Cup and $795,373 in administrative expenses. The USAG balance sheet shows $9.140 million in cash available.

● Surfing ● A stunning and sad announcement from El Salvador confirmed that Katherine Diaz Hernandez, a surfer trying to qualify for the Tokyo Games, was killed by a lightning strike while she was paddling in the water last Friday (19th).

She was paddling to hug a friend in the water off of El Tunco Beach and apparently died instantly. She was brought to shore quickly, but could not be revived. She had been working toward the final Olympic qualifying tournament, the Surf City El Salvador ISA World Surfing Games, to begin on 29 May.

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

LANE ONE: No surprise as Japan bans foreign fans for Games, but that’s only where the questions begin

By
Rich Perelman
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Will there be any fans at Tokyo 2020's Olympic Stadium for the Games? NOPE. (Photo: Tokyo 2020)

(For our Highlights recap of last week’s most noteworthy competitions, click here)

“Today, the Five Parties (the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG), the Organising Committee Tokyo 2020 and the Government of Japan) met virtually. During the meeting, the IOC and IPC were informed, as outlined below, about the conclusion of the Japanese parties not to allow entry into Japan for overseas spectators for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 due to the prevailing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Olympic and Paralympic tickets purchased by overseas residents from the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee will be refunded.”

Saturday’s statement from Tokyo 2020 was widely expected, but is still hard to take for the many thousands of Olympic fans, athlete family members and friends who want to be at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad.

Many of the National Olympic Committees sell tickets and travel packages through so-called “Authorized Ticket Resellers.” Cartan Global, the highly-regarded ticket and travel coordinators for a host of Caribbean, Central and South American countries, posted a notice including:

“This is devastating news for everyone involved in the Olympic movement and can only imagine the disappointment for all our clients as well.

“Unfortunately, we have not received any specific details from Tokyo 2020 yet, but please know that we will work aggressively on your behalf to obtain all eligible and applicable refunds.”

U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee chief executive Sarah Hirshland posted a letter which included:

“The grief, frustration and disappointment being felt by all whose plans have been ruined is understandable. It is truly sad that the families, friends and fans from around the world, who help make the Games a global celebration, will not be able to attend. We can only try to imagine the weight of the responsibility felt by the hosts – along with the IOC and IPC – to offer the participants and the host community the safest possible environment, and we acknowledge that safety has to be the priority.”

But the fan issues are only the beginning.

The International Olympic Committee’s statement – in which it fully accepted the Japanese decision – immediately identified the new responsibilities now expected from its largest financial partners:

“[T]he IOC’s top priority was, is and remains to organise safe Olympic and Paralympic Games for everyone: all the participants and, of course, our gracious hosts, the Japanese people. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder at the side of our Japanese partners and friends, without any kind of reservation, to make the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 a great success.

“Together with our Rights-Holding Broadcasters, we will make every effort so that the fans from around the world will be able to experience the Olympic spirit. In this way, the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 will be the light at the end of the tunnel and a safe manifestation of peace, solidarity and the resilience of humankind in overcoming the pandemic.”

How the IOC, the television networks and the attending press and photographers cover the Games becomes more important than ever. But these groups are under the same pressure as fans, with their working options compressed due to the pandemic. Kyodo News reported:

“In a related development, the Japanese organizers have determined that people living overseas will not be allowed to volunteer at the games in principle as part of precautions against the spread of the COVID-19 disease, officials with knowledge of the plan said on condition of anonymity.

“About 10 percent of the roughly 80,000 games volunteers were foreign nationals, the organizing committee said before the games were pushed back one year ago.

“The government will consider ways to permit the entry of volunteers from abroad whose roles are difficult to be replaced by somebody living in Japan, such as those who are capable of speaking minority languages.”

Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshiro Muto said on Saturday of foreign nationals coming to the Games:

“If they are part of the operation of the games, if they are somewhat involved in the operation then there is still a possibility they may be able to enter into Japan. But solely as spectators for watching games — no, they will not be allowed to make an entry.”

That’s a potentially difficult issue for broadcasters, some support staff for press and photographers, and what about the pressure that will be applied to foreign officials for the International Federations and the National Olympic Committees?

For example, the significant working restrictions on press, photographers and television has already created enormous new pressures on National Olympic Committees to expand their support services for media reporting from home; now, how many NOC media officers will even be allowed to travel to Japan? Can viable local hires be substituted? How will they be trained?

Muto said that 600,000 tickets had been sold to foreign fans for the Games, compared to 4.45 million for Japanese residents. The actual number of spectators that can attend the Games – perhaps up to 50% of some venues – won’t be determined until April. The original total ticket inventory was expected to be 7.8 million.

The decision to prohibit foreign visitors for the Games was very much a response to the pressure on the Japanese government and the organizing committee from its public. Polls by media organizations in the country showed that because of the virus, as many as 80% of Japanese preferred to have the Games postponed again – not a possibility – or cancelled altogether.

Relatively speaking, the incidence of the coronavirus has been well controlled in Japan, but that has hardly stemmed the concern over the Games being a super-spreader event. Japan in total has logged 456,271 Covid-19 cases and 8,821 virus-related deaths. By comparison, in the U.S., Los Angeles County alone has suffered 1.21 million cases and 22,810 deaths.

The widely-publicized rejection of vaccination by some high-profile athletes – Jamaica’s four-time Olympic sprint medalist Yohan Blake said “I don’t want any vaccine, I’d rather miss the Olympics than take the vaccine, I am not taking it” – has not helped either, and it is clear that many Tokyo Olympians will not have been vaccinated.

The next step in the story will be the April release of the second versions of the “playbooks,” expected to have even more detailed and heavier protocols for testing of athletes, officials and support staff. The question of venue attendance will be settled and the organizers will have to determine whether additional tickets can be sold for some events, in seats that would have been filled by foreign fans.

Organizing an Olympic Games is extraordinary complex because of the scale of the operations. For the even-more-burdened television networks who will show the Games, as well as the Olympic Broadcast Services team that will provide the host signal, one of the aesthetic elements in every Games is to try and avoid showing empty seats within sight of the cameras, for the worldwide audience.

Now, how will that work? Will we really see a (now-familiar) campaign to allow fans – especially families of Olympians – to purchase photographic cut-outs of themselves to be placed at Olympic venues, at least within the primary camera shots?

Said Tokyo 2020 chief Seiko Hashimoto:

“[T]he Tokyo 2020 Games will be completely different to any previous Games. … We are currently working on specific plans to share support remotely from around the world and help bring people together in ways suited to our current times. Even if you are no longer able to come to Japan this summer, we hope very much that you will continue to support the Tokyo 2020 Games.”

Family members, get your best cheering photos ready!?!

Rich Perelman
Editor

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

FOOTBALL: U.S. sweeps past Dominican Republic, 4-0, in men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament

By
Rich Perelman
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U.S. goal-scorer Jackson Yueill (Photo: Noah Salzman via Wikipedia)

After a difficult first hour, the U.S. Men’s U-23 National Team broke found its offense and skipped past the Dominican Republic, 4-0, in its second game of the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Mexico.

The first half was dominated by the U.S., which could not score. Despite having 67% of the possession, the Americans managed a modest six shots to two for the Dominicans. The situation was similar for the first 15 minutes of the second half, but then changed suddenly.

The best U.S. attack of the day included a Johnny Cardoso rocket that banged off the crossbar in the 60th minute, then ricocheted back to striker Sebastian Saucedo, who sent a laser toward the Dominican goal that was re-directed in the middle of the box by midfielder Jackson Yueill for the first score.

That changed the nature of the game and the U.S. began to get better opportunities, resulting in goals for substitute striker Hassani Dotson in the 73rd minute and then Dotson again five minutes later, both with assists from Djordje Mihailovic.

The Americans got a fourth goal, this time from Mihailovic in the 90th minute thanks to an endline pass from Benjamin Michel.

The game ended with the U.S. owning 66% of the possession and a 16-4 edge in shots. U.S. keeper James Marcinkowski didn’t not have to work too hard for the shutout.

The win advances the U.S. to the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying semifinals, although its opponent is unknown. A win there would propel the U.S. into the Tokyo Games.

In the nightcap game, Mexico defeated Costa Rica, 3-0, taking charge in the sixth minute on a Uriel Antuna goal. The 1-0 lead expanded in the second half with a 52nd-minute goal by Alexis Vega and then a final score from Sebastian Cordova in the 69th.

Mexico had 55% possession in the game, but the defenses were stingy, with only six shots – but three goals – from the winners, to five shots for Costa Rica.

The U.S. and Mexico, both 2-0, will meet on Wednesday to determine the group winner. Both will advance to a play-in game for the Tokyo Games in the tournament semifinals on 28 March in Guadalajara. The likely opponents are Canada and Honduras, both of which won their opening games in Group B on Friday.

HIGHLIGHTS: Two silvers for Shiffrin as Vlhova & Pinturault win Alpine World Cup; Chloe Kim wins World Cup Halfpipe; world 20 km Walk record

By
Rich Perelman
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Two ISSF World Cup golds for two-time U.S. Olympian Lucas Kozeniesky (Photo: USA Shooting)

Headline results of noteworthy competitions around the world:

● Alpine Skiing ● The FIS Alpine World Cup finished up on Sunday in Lenzerheide (SUI), surviving cancellations due to the coronavirus and the usual bad weather, to crown two new seasonal champions.

American Mikaela Shiffrin was a long-shot to pull out a seasonal win in Saturday’s Slalom, but ran into a hot Katharina Liensberger of Austria, who led after the first run, with Shiffrin third. But Liensberger poured on the gas in the second run and won convincingly, 1:49.77-1:51.01 over Shiffrin, who was third on the first run and second on the final time down the hill. Swiss Michelle Gisin was third (1:51.72), and American Paula Moltzan was seventh.

All that combined for Liensberger to take the seasonal Slalom title with 690 points, to 655 for Shiffrin and 652 for early-season leader Petra Vlhova (SLO).

But even with her sixth-place finish, Vlhova clinched the overall title over Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami and Gisin as the speed events were canceled earlier due to bad weather.

Sunday’s Giant Slalom looked like a possible season-ending win for Shiffrin, who led after the first run. But New Zealand’s Alice Robinson zoomed to the fastest clocking of the day, 1:07.63 on the second run and took over from Shiffrin (1:08.68) second run for a 2:19.48 total, ahead of Shiffrin’s 2:19.76, with Meta Hrovat (SLO: 2:19.96) third. Italy’s Marta Bassino won the seasonal G-S title at 546 points to 420 for Shiffrin and 391 for Tessa Worley (FRA).

All told, Vlhova finished with 1,416 points to 1,256 for Gut-Behrami, 1,130 for Gisin and 1,075 for Shiffrin.

As the Downhill and Super-G were lost to bad weather, Sofia Goggia (ITA) won the seasonal Crystal Globe for the Downhill with 480 points to 410 for Corinne Suter (SUI) and 383 for Gut-Behrami. Gut-Behrami won the Super-G title with 525 points over Federica Brignone (ITA: 323) and Suter (310).

In the men’s division, France’s Alexis Pinturault won his fifth race of the season in Saturday’s Giant Slalom and clinched his first World Cup overall title, ahead of Swiss Marco Odermatt and Austria’s Marco Schwarz.

Pinturault won four Giant Slaloms during the season and won that discipline with 700 points to 649 for Odermatt and 606 for Croatia’s Filip Zubcic. On Saturday, Zubcic finished second and France’s Mathieu Faivre was third.

Schwarz had already locked up the seasonal Slalom title going into Sunday’s finale, won by Austria’s Manuel Feller over Clement Noel (FRA) and Pinturault, 1:47.24-1:47.32-1:47.35. Schwarz ended with 665 points to 553 for Noel and 503 for Ramon Zenhaeusern (SUI).

Pinturault finished with 1,260 points to 1,093 for Odermatt and 814 for Schwarz.

With the speed events canceled, Swiss Beat Feuz was the seasonal Downhill champion, beating Matthias Mayer (AUT) and Dominik Paris (ITA) by 486-418-338. Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr took the Super-G title by 401-318 over Odermatt, with Mayer third at 276.

● Athletics ● China’s Jaiyu Wang crushed the women’s 20 km Walk world record with a stirring win in 1:23:49 at the Chinese nationals in Huangshan on Saturday (20th).

Rio Olympic champion Hong Liu had the record at 1:24:38 from 2015 in Spain, but Wang and Liu – in second in 1:24:27 – were both under that standard. Worlds silver medalist Shenjie Qieyang was third in 1:24:45, and was the race served as the Chinese Tokyo trials, all three earned a place on their Olympic team.

The men’s race was also a scorcher, with Kaihua Wang winning in 1:16:54, moving to no. 3 on the all-time list and the world leader for 2021. Zelin Cai, the Rio Olympic silver winner, and Lihong Cui went 2-3 with both timed at 1:17:39.

At the Chinese sprint meet in Shenzhen, Bingtian Su claimed the world lead at 100 m with a win in 10.05 and the Chinese 4×100 m relay timed 38.29 for another world lead.

● Badminton ● One of the season’s major events, the All-England Open was played as scheduled in Birmingham (ENG), with some skipping the event due to Covid restrictions, but with seven of the 10 finalists from Japan, and four of five event winners!

The only non-Japanese winner was sixth-seeded Zii Jia Lee (MAS), who upset second-seed Viktor Axelsen (DEN) in men’s Singles, 30-29, 20-22, 21-9. Second-seed Nozomi Okuhara (JPN) dispatched Pornpawee Chochuwong (THA), 21-12, 21-6 to win the women’s Singles.

All of the Doubles matches were all-Japan finals, with Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe beating Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda in men’s Doubles, 21-15, 17-21, 21-11; second-seeded Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagihara defeated top-seeds Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota, 21-18, 21-16 in the women’s final, and Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino eased past Yuki Kaneko and Misaki Matsutomo, 21-14, 21-13, in the Mixed Doubles.

● Biathlon ● The IBU World Cup season ended in Ostersund (SWE) with a full program that saw Norway clinch a 1-2 seasonal finish in both the men’s and women’s standings.

In just his second World Cup season, 24-year-old Sturla Holm Laegreid (NOR) logged his seventh victory on Saturday in the 12.5 km Pursuit with a convincing win over seasonal leader Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) by 22.5 seconds. Laegreid had two shooting penalties, but Boe had three and that was sufficient. Italy’s Lukas Hofer was third, 32.4 seconds behind.

That meant that Sunday’s 15 km Mass Start race would settle the season title between Laegreid and Boe. However, the winner was France’s Simon Desthieux, who had two shooting penalties and won comfortably in 35:43.7 over Eduard Latypov (RUS: +8.9). Boe finished third, suffering three penalties and was 17.5 seconds behind the winner. That was enough for the seasonal title, as Laegreid finished eighth (+48.4). Boe finished with 1,052 points to 1,039 for Laegreid, with France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet third (930) and Tarjei Boe (NOR) fourth (893).

In the 10 km Sprint held on Friday, Hofer was the winner by 4.0 seconds over Sebastian Samuelsson (SWE), with Norway’s Tarjei Boe third (+14.4).

The women’s season title was already settled for Tiril Eckhoff, who came into Ostersund having won four races in a row. She won one more in the 7.5 km Sprint, finishing 2.5 seconds up on Italian star Dorothea Wierer, despite having one penalty to none for Wierer. Norway’s Ingrid Tandrevold was third (+6.7).

Echkoff’s streak was ended in Saturday’s 10 km Pursuit, won by teammate Marte Olsbu Roeiseland (NOR) in 32:54.8, despite four shooting penalties. Eckhoff also had four, and finished second, 29.3 seconds behind, with Hanna Sola (BLR) third (+44.0).

On Sunday, Tandrevold, 24, won her first World Cup gold despite five shooting penalties, winning the 12.5 km Mass Start in 34:53.1, with Dzinara Alimbekava (BLR) second (+6.9) and Franziska Preuss (GER: +11.1) third.

The final tally showed Eckhoff with 1,152 points to 963 for Roeiseland and 840 for Preuss.

● Cycling ● The sport of cycling is huge in Belgium and Jasper Stuyven is the hero of his country after a thrilling sprint victory in the 112th edition of Milan-Sanremo on Saturday in Italy.

It’s the biggest win of Stuyven’s career – at age 28 – and his second win in a spring Classics race after his victory in front of home fans at Omloop Het Niewusbald in 2020.

The 299 km race had a mid-route rise up the Colle de Giovo, but the decision was always going to depend on the race in from the final descent from the Poggio di Sanremo. Stuyven launched a fierce attack with 2 km left, then was challenged by Denmark’s Soren Kragh Andersen, who took the lead. But Stuyven moved in front for good with less than 1,000 m to go.

He got to the finish line first, just ahead of a mad dash by Australia’s Caleb Ewan, Wout van Aert (BEL), Peter Sagan (SVK) and Mathieu van der Poel (NED), among others. The first 17 riders across the line were given the same time.

The UCI Women’s World Tour lined up on Sunday for the traditional Trofeo Alfredo Binda of of 141.8 km from Cocquio Travisago to Cittiglio, with home favorite Elisa Longo Borghini dominating the race.

The winner of this event in 2013, Longo Borghini attacked with 25 km to go and steadily built a lead of more than a minute with about 7.5 km left and coasted home. The trailing pack was finally led by Dutch star Marianne Vos – the four-time and defending champion in this race – some 1:42 back, ahead of Cecile Uttrup Ludwig (DEN) and Kasia Niewiadoma (POL).

● Fencing ● The FIE World Cup schedule is back on track, with the Epee stars in Kazan (RUS) and familiar faces on the podium.

The men’s tournament ended in a 15-11 win for Ukraine’s Igor Reizlin over Gergely Siklosi of Hungary. For Reizlin, it was his second career World Cup win and fifth career medal, while the 23-year-old Siklosi – ranked no. 1 in the world – won his third career World Cup medal and first silver. Bronzes went to Elmir Alimzhanov (KAZ) and Ahmed El-Sayed (EGY).

The women’s title went to Korea’s no. 2-ranked In-jeong Choi for her second career World Cup win, in a 15-9 duel with Aliya Luty of France, 21, who earned her first World Cup medal. Korean Young Mi Kang and German Ricarda Multerer shared the bronze.

● Football ● The second round of games in the CONCACAF U-23 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Mexico comes later today (Sunday: 21st) with the U.S. playing the Dominican Republic in Zapopan, followed by Mexico and Costa Rica.

The U.S. and Mexico both won their openers and will meet on Wednesday in Guadalajara to complete group play. The top two teams in each group will advance to the tournament semifinals, with the two winners obtaining a berth in the Tokyo Olympic tournament.

● Freestyle Skiing ● Due to the coronavirus and the weather, the one and only Halfpipe World Cup this season was held as part of the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix in Aspen, Colorado (USA) on Sunday.

American Aaron Blunck won his sixth career World Cup gold – and the seasonal title – with a come-from-behind win, scoring 96.50 points in the third round to move up from ninth! Canada’s Brendan MacKay led for most of the competition with his 92.75 score in the first round and even with a 95.00 routine in the third round, it wasn’t enough. New Zealand star Nico Porteous had the most consistent series of the day with scores of 84.75, 94.50 and 94.00 and finished third.

Canada’s Rachel Karker took the women’s event and seasonal title at 93.25, just ahead of Britain’s Zoe Atkin (91.50) and Americans Brita Sigourney (89.00) and Devin Logan (85.50).

In the Aspen Slopestyle competition, Americans grabbed a 1-2 in the men’s event, with Colby Stevenson winning here after a silver in the World Championships, over teammate Mac Forehand (19). Stevenson’s first run scored 89.58 and would have been enough to win, but he improved in the third round with the final score of 91.40. Forehand’s 86.60 in the first round was his best, with Swede Henrik Harlaut third (84.46). In the women’s competition, France’s Tess Ledeux won for the second time in two World Cup events, posting the best scores of the day in the second round (82.17) and again in the third round (83.90). Second was Kirsty Muir (GBR: 81.00) and Anastasia Tatalina (RUS: 78.55) was third. World Champion Eileen Gu (CHN) was fourth at 74.91.

The final Ski Cross World Cup was held Sunday in Veysonnaz (SUI), with Germany’s Florian Wilmsmann scoring his only win of the season, outlasting Jonathan Midol (FRA) and Tim Hronek (GER) in the men’s final. Canada’s Reece Howden won the seasonal title with 691 points over Jonas Lenherr (SUI: 405).

World Champion Sandra Naeslund (SWE) won her second event of the year and finished with gold or silver in her last four races in the women’s final. She finished ahead of Swiss star Fanny Smith and France’s Alizee Baron. Smith was the easy winner in the seasonal standings, piling up 945 points to 495 for Baron and 475 for Marielle Thompson (CAN).

● Nordic Skiing ● In Nordic Combined, Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber finished off his third straight World Cup overall title with two wins in the final stop of the season, in Klingenthal (GER). Jumping off a 140 m hill plus a 10.0 km race, Riiber barely beat former World Cup champ Akito Watabe (JPN) by 0.7 seconds on Saturday, with Johannes Lamparter (AUT: +1:05.3) third.

On Sunday, Riiber led a Norwegian 1-2, winning in 24:43.6, with Espen Bjoernstad (NOR) second by 3.7 seconds, and Fabian Riessle (GER: +17.2) third. For the season, Riiber scored 1,140 points, easily ahead of Vinzenz Geiger (GER: 810) and Watabe (757).

In Ski Jumping, the women’s tour landed in Nizhny Tagil (RUS) for two weeks of jumping in the second Russian Blue Bird Tour. Jumping off the 97 m Tramplin Stork hill, Austria’s Marita Kramer – who won three of the first four events of the year – won on Saturday and Sunday.

She out-pointed Japan’s Sara Takanashi on Saturday, 232.1-224.1, with Slovenia’s Nika Kriznar third (218.1). On Sunday, Kramer – still just 19 – upped her game to score 243.1, ahead of Kriznar (232.3) and Takanashi (230.0).

With two more events coming next week, the seasonal battle is right, with Kriznar at 751 points and Takanashi – a four-time World Cup winner – at 746, and Kramer rising at 660.

● Shooting ● American shooters were in good form in the opening events of the 12-day ISSF World Cup in New Delhi (IND).

Mary Tucker, 19, started the party, leading a 1-2 finish in the women’s 10 m Air Rifle, scoring 251.5 to edge Alison Weisz (250.4) with Hungary’s Eszter Denes third (230.2). Then Lucas Kozeniesky followed with his own win in the men’s 10 m Air Rifle; his score of 249.8 just edged Istvan Peni (HUN) at 249.7 with Divyansh Panwar (IND: 228.1) third.

Kozeniesky, Will Shaner and Tim Sherry combined to win the men’s Team Air Rifle by 15-14 over India. The U.S. women finished second to Denmark in the women’s Team Air Rifle, 16-8.

India scored three golds during the tournament’s first weekend. Yashaswini Deswal won the women’s 10 m Air Pistol, scoring 238.8 to 236.7 for teammate Manu Bhaker, with Viktoria Chaika (BLR) third at 215.9. Indian teams also won the women’s Air Pistol (over Poland) and the men’s Air Pistol (over Vietnam).

Iran’s Javad Foroughi took the men’s 10 m Air Pistol, edging India’s Chaudhary Saurabh by 243.6-243.2, with Abhishek Verma (IND) third at 221.8.

In Sunday’s men’s Skeet final, Dane Jesper Hansen scored 58 in the final to best Saif Bin Futais (UAE: 51) and Nasser Al-Attiya (QAT: 44). Britain’s Amber Hill took the women’s Skeet title, winning a shoot-off by 4-3 over Zoya Kravchenko (KAZ) after they tied at 51 after the first 60 shots. India’s Ganemat Sekhon (IND) was third at 40.

Competition continues through next Sunday.

● Snowboard ● World Cup competition wrapped up in three disciplines this weekend: SnowCross, Parallel Snowboard and Halfpipe, each in a different location.

The finale in SnowCross was in Veysonnaz (SUI), where Austria’s Alessandro Hammerle got to the line first ahead of American Hagen Kearney and Merlin Surget (FRA) in the men’s final, which confirmed Hammerle’s seasonal win with 430 points. Canada’s Eliot Grondin was second with 304, followed by Surget at 252.

Czech star Eva Samkova won her third race of the season to clinch her third career seasonal title, just ahead of Italy’s Michela Moioli, who finished second in the race and second on the season by just 450-430. Britain’s Charlotte Bankes was third in the race; American Faye Gulini took the seasonal bronze with 302 points.

The Parallel Slalom in Berchtesgaden (GER) was the last of the nine-race World Cup circuit, with Italian Aaron March winning for the second time this season and defeating Alexander Payer (AUT) in the final. Arvid Auner (AUT) won the bronze over Edwin Coratti (ITA). March took the Parallel seasonal title with 424 points to 339 for Andreas Prommegger (AUT), with Dmitry Loginov (RUS: 333) third. March also won the Parallel Slalom seasonal title at 238 points, over Loginov (191).

Swiss Julie Zogg won her second race – and fourth medal – of the season in the women’s Parallel Slalom, this time over German rival Selina Joerg by just 0.06. That gave her the seasonal Parallel Slalom title over Sofia Nadyrshina (RUS), by 295-249, but German Ramona Theresia Hofmeister won the seasonal Parallel overall title, 593-532 over Nadyrshina, with Zogg third (512).

On Saturday, the next-to-last Slopestyle event was held in Aspen, Colorado (USA) with World Champion Marcus Kleveland (NOR) scoring the win in the men’s division with 87.58 points. He topped Olympic champ Red Gerard of the U.S. (82.16) and Canadian Mark McMorris (81.90). The women’s title went to Austria’s Olympic champ Anna Gasser earning her ninth career World Cup gold, scoring 81.90, to 72.30 for American Hailey Langland and 71.91 for Finland’s Enna Rukajarvi.

The second and final World Cup in Halfpipe this season was also held in Aspen, on Sunday, with superstar Chloe Kim winning again and clinching the women’s season title. She put away the competition with her first-round run of 90.50, and was only challenged by Spain’s Queralt Castellet (86.00) and Japan’s Sena Tomita (82.50).

Like Kim, Japan’s Yuko Totsuka completed a short, undefeated season in men’s Halfpipe, winning his second World Cup competition by scoring 91.75 points in the first round. That held up against teammate Raibu Katayama (86.75) and German Andre Hofelich (84.00). Three-time Olympic champion Shaun White of the U.S. finished fourth (81.50).

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THE TICKER: Tokyo 2020 foreign-fan decision tomorrow? Paris 2024 to offer event ‘carbon calculator’; FIFA sees $4.7 billion revenue (!) for 2022

By
Rich Perelman
-

The latest news, notes and quotes from the worldwide Five-Ring Circus:

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● The question of whether foreign spectators will be allowed at the Tokyo Games may be decided tomorrow (20th).

A meeting is to be held with the Tokyo organizers, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Japanese national government, the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee on the issue. Reports are circulating widely that the decision has been made by the Japanese government to ban foreign spectators as a precaution against further spread of the coronavirus.

Said Tokyo 2020 chief Seiko Hashimoto: “When we think of the need to provide arrangements to accept (overseas spectators) and also of people who have been preparing public transport and places to stay, a fast decision is expected from us.

“Immigration (policy) is up to the government, but in the end it will be set based on discussion between the five parties and their approval.”

Another foot-in-mouth embarrassment has cost the Tokyo organizers their creative director. Kyodo News Service reported on Thursday (18th):

“Hiroshi Sasaki admitted in a statement in the early hours of Thursday that he proposed last year to a group of planning team members that celebrity Naomi Watanabe come down from the sky in a pig costume to play the role of an ‘Olympig’ during the Olympic opening ceremony.”

Sasaki, 66, took over the direction of the ceremonies after the Games were postponed, replacing actor Nomura Mansai. Sasaki had been the director of the highly-regarded Rio 2016 “handover” program which saw then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dressed as ‘Super Mario” and then the somber year-to-go ceremony at the new national stadium.

Whoever is selected to replace Sasaki will inherit enormous pressure to produce a quality program – in four months, on 23 July – that will appropriately celebrate the Games and the tumultuous path that Japan has taken through the pandemic.

Watanabe, 33, is well known in Japan as a comedian and now in fashion. Her agency released a statement which included, “In fact, I am happy with my figure. So, as usual, I would like to express myself as ‘Naomi Watanabe’ without being particular about being fat.”

It’s the second month in a row for a self-inflicted injury for Tokyo 2020, after former President Yoshiro Mori resigned in February following unkind comments about women serving on the board of the Japanese Olympic Committee.

● Games of the XXXIII Olympiad: Paris 2024 ● The Paris 2024 organizers announced on Wednesday (17th):

“The Paris 2024 Board of Directors has approved a climate strategy which commits Paris 2024 to organising the world’s first Olympic and Paralympic Games with a positive contribution to the climate. The strategy is based on three pillars: reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, support for projects with a positive contribution to climate, and mobilisation of stakeholders to maximise long-term positive impact.

“Paris 2024’s primary objective is to prevent and reduce greenhouse gas emissions linked to the event. This will be achieved through: a cost-effective and compact venue concept (95% of venues are existing or temporary), the inclusion of low-carbon solutions for all activities within the venues, the use of renewable energy for all venues which will all be accessible by public transport, a sustainable catering plan, a responsible digital plan, the use of low-carbon temporary equipment, and a reliance on principles of the circular economy .

“In total, Paris 2024 will reduce emissions linked to the event by 50% when compared to previous editions of the Games.”

The announcement, of course, begs the question of what the emissions of prior Games actually and who calculated them and how. But of more interest was another announcement later in the statement:

“By 2022, Paris 2024 will create a custom ‘carbon footprint calculator’ for sporting events
which will be made available to the industry.”

As the home country for the 2015 “Paris Agreement” on climate, Paris 2024 must respect this program and “is committed to offsetting all emissions that cannot be prevented by supporting CO2 avoidance and capture projects.”

Whatever the sentiment, it will be fascinating to see how the organizing committee keeps track of, and publishes, its emissions statistics as a matter of transparency. If credibly done, it could be a pivot-point in the production of mega-events in the future … or a wasted opportunity.

● Games of the XXXIV Olympiad: Los Angeles 2028 ● On Wednesday (17th), the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved the Memorandum of Understanding adding the City to the California Olympic and Paralympic Public Safety Command.

This organization, including the California Office of Emergency Services and the LA28 organizing committee, will begin the security and safety planning for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Additional local agencies will be added in time and the overall responsibility for security will shift to the U.S. government when the 2028 Games are recognized as a National Special Security Event.

● National Olympic Committees ● More investigations into abuse allegations are springing up in Great Britain, where British Judo acknowledged that it received an allegation of bullying this week:

“We are conducting a full independent investigation, in accordance with internal procedures, into the allegations made.

“British Judo will not be making any further comment at this time due to it being an ongoing process.”

According to a BBC story, “The national governing bodies of swimming, Para-archery, canoeing, cycling, bobsleigh and most recently gymnastics have all been rocked by bullying scandals in recent years.”

In Australia, coach Paul Gaudoin of the fourth-ranked women’s hockey team resigned with just four months to go to Tokyo. Per ABC News Australia:

“Hockey Australia (HA) made the bombshell announcement on Wednesday evening, saying Gaudoin had tendered his resignation ahead of the release of findings and recommendations of an independent review.

“The review was launched after explosive allegations of bullying, body shaming and homophobic behaviour within the Hockeyroos’ set-up emerged late last year, throwing the elite women’s hockey program into chaos.”

The review came out on Thursday and found “broadly found a dysfunctional culture within the program” that was “not conducive to athlete wellbeing or sustained on-field success.”

However, retired star defender Anna Flanagan told FoxSports Australia that Gaudoin was only the fall guy:

“He’s the face of it, but it’s a bigger issue to do with the management and a lot of that was directed at the high performance manager [Toni Cumpston] who resigned as a result of all of these allegations. But they’ve had the backing of the board and CEO. I think it’s a much broader and bigger issue.

“There’s been letters sent in 2018, there’s been complaints made since 2017, 2016, all the way to 2010, when the players went to the board about the coaching.

“It’s a much bigger issue – I feel for Gaudoin because he’s definitely been the fall guy in all of this and it’s not necessarily his fault.”

The report made 29 recommendations, but the full text was not made public.

● Athletics ● The Athletics Integrity Unit announced that Dilshod Nazarov, the Rio 2016 men’s hammer gold medalist, was found to be doping at the 2011 IAAF World Championships, where he finished 10th.

In specific, the re-test from the Daegu Worlds showed DHCMT (dehydrochloromethyltestosterone, commercially known as Turinabol), and his results from 29 August 2011 to 29 August 2013 were voided. He is further ineligible for two years from 24 September 2019, which includes this summer’s Tokyo Games.

The decision is appealable, but nullifies his 2013 Asian Games gold and fifth-place finish at the 2013 World Championships. Nazarov’s last competition was in July of 2019.

Nazarov, 38, is also the President of the Tajik Athletics Federation and World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe (GBR) said at yesterday’s news conference, “There should be an expectation that this particular individual should not be involved as president of their national federation.”

There is, of course, interest in what a re-test of his 2016 doping samples may turn up in a re-testing program.

● Cycling ● British Cycling is in a tizzy over a finding by the British Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service last Friday that Dr. Richard Freeman had secured testosterone (brand name Testogel) for the purpose of doping a rider.

Freeman has been part of the medical team for British Cycling and the dominant Team Sky road cycling squad from 2009-17. He admitted to 18 of the 22 charges presented during his hearing, but claimed he had never obtained drugs for the purpose of doping:

“I have never doped a rider in my life. I’m still to see any evidence of who this rider supposedly was. I accept there are people who don’t believe me. They will say I’ve lied and changed my story and can’t trust anything I say. I’ve admitted to those lies.

“I’m still shocked at this verdict. I’ve made plenty of mistakes, but I’m not a doping doctor.”

The tribunal found Freeman liable on three of the four remaining charges, and on Friday, revoked his medical license. Among the findings: “The tribunal considered that Dr Freeman’s conduct surrounding the order of the Testogel amounted to a long and considered pattern of very serious dishonesty.”

The 56th Tirreno-Adriatico race finished on Tuesday as expected, with Slovenian star Tadej Pogacar claiming the overall victory, 1:03 ahead of Belgian Wout van Aert and 3:57 up on Spain’s Mikel Landa.

Pogacar claimed the race lead after the difficult fourth stage, with its uphill finish to the Prati di Tivo and was never headed. He expanded his lead on the final three stages from 35 seconds to 1:03 with a second-place finish in Stage 5, 25th in the mass-finish sixth stage and then fourth in the final-day Individual Time Trial.

Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel claimed his second win of the race on stage five, 10 seconds up on Pogacar and Dane Mads Wurtz Schmidt won the hilly sixth stage. Van Aert won the time trial – after winning the opening stage also – by six seconds over Swiss Stefan Kung.

This weekend’s action stays in Italy with the famed Milan-Sanremo for the men on Saturday and the women’s tour back in action for the Trofeo Alfredo Binda in Cittiglio.

● Football ● The U.S. men’s U-23 team scored a tight, 1-0 win over Costa Rica in its first game in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico.

A Jesus Ferreira goal in the 35th minute was enough for the Americans to post the win, with Ferreira hitting the post on a try in the second minute, but making up for it later in the half. U.S. keeper David Ochoa managed to hold the Ticos at bay for the entire 90 minutes, recording eight saves as the U.S. was outshot, 19-7!

Mexico swamped the Dominican Republic by 4-1 on Thursday thanks to three second-half goals by Sebastian Cordova.

On Sunday, the U.S. will face the Dominican Republic (7 p.m. Eastern on FS1 and TUDN) and Mexico will play Costa Rica. The final game in group play comes on Wednesday with the U.S. meeting Mexico at 9:30 p.m. Eastern, also on FS1 and TUDN). The top two in the group will advance to winner-goes-to-Tokyo semifinals.

The FIFA Council took another step in matching the men’s and women’s World Cup by authorizing the FIFA Congress to make the selection of future Women’s World Cup hosts.

The Council had been making the selections, including the decision to go to Australia and New Zealand for 2023. But the future events, beginning in 2027 – if the event is to be held ever four years as opposed to every two years as some are proposing – will be awarded by FIFA’s full membership.

The FIFA financial statements for 2020 were released, showing $266.5 million in revenue for the year vs. $1.045 billion in expenses for a loss of $778.0 million before some positive investment results that brought the actual loss to $683.0 million. This is in line with the expectations, as FIFA spent $470.6 million on development activities and another $270.5 million in Covid relief to its member federations.

FIFA ended the year with $1.881 billion in reserves.

The budget for 2022 – a FIFA men’s World Cup year – shows revenue of a staggering $4.666 billion, with $3.807 billion already contracted by TV rights and sponsorships as of the end of 2020. FIFA will spend $1.696 billion on the Qatar World Cup, primarily on prize money, operations and television production. The total budgeted expenses for 2022 are $3.138 billion, forecasting a surplus of $1.528 billion.

● Skiing ● The FIS Alpine World Cup Final in Lenzerheide (SUI) has been doomed so far due to bad weather. Heavy fog and snow canceled the Downhill and Super-G events, with the Giant Slalom and Slalom hopefully to be run this weekend.

The cancellations left Swiss Beat Feuz as the men’s seasonal champ in the Downhill, 486-418 over Austrian Matthias Mayer, and Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr took the Super-G crown over Swiss Marco Odermatt, 401-318.

The women’s Downhill title went to Sofia Goggia of Italy by 480-410 over Swiss Corinne Suter and the Super-G winner is Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI: 525) over Federica Brignone (ITA: 323).

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LANE ONE: World Athletics Council agrees to allow Russian “neutral” athletes to compete in 2021; Continental Tour up to 85 meets in ‘21

By
Rich Perelman
-
World Athletics President Seb Coe (GBR) and chief executive Jon Ridgeon (GBR) during Thursday's news conference (Sorry, that's good as the online resolution got)

On its second of two days of online meetings, the World Athletics Council acted on the latest update from its Russia Task Force, chaired by Norwegian Rune Andersen:

“Council has accepted the Task Forde’s recommendation to allow Authorized Neutral Athletes to start competing again in international competitions, subject to a cap of 10 for the Olympic Games and for any World Athletics Series events. As a result of that decision, the Doping Review Board will start accepting applications for ANA status immediately.

“Council was clear that the ANA program depends on RusAF continuing to meet all the milestones for the implementation set up in the reinstatement plan. Subject to that, however, Russian athletes who can meet the specified criteria will be able to compete again, on a neutral basis, in international competitions.”

That means the three-member Doping Review Panel will begin receiving applications immediately, with a limit of 10 ANA athletes from Russia allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games and other World Athletics Series events in 2021. At least some approvals can be expected before the Diamond League meets begin in May.

Andersen noted that there are a lot of moving parts to the entire Russian status question:

“In my report to the World Athletics Council this afternoon, I confirmed that [the Russian Athletics Federation] has commenced to start the reinstatement plan that Council approved on 1st March. That plan was created by the RusAF Reinstatement Commission, with the support of international experts, and signed off by the Russia Task Force.

“I emphasized in my report, and Council members clearly agreed, that getting the plan into place is just the start, and it won’t mean anything until RusAF now carefully and consistently completes all of the enormous work that is required to implement the plan. And to begin the change in culture in athletics that it desperately needs.

“The President was clear that he wants the Task Force to monitor that work carefully and to report back to Council immediately if the expected progress is not achieved. The Task Force is well equipped to do this because the plan includes a detailed roadmap for implementation including detailed KPIs and milestones for each objective, and set deadlines to complete different tasks.

“In addition, we now have international experts on the ground in Russia, to act as our eyes and ears and to report back immediately if the plan is not being implemented as RusAF has promised.”

Andersen promised that if the Russian federation does not meet the numerous deadline and requirements of the plan, the Task Force will report this to the Council for potential future action.

But for now, this is good news for especially women’s high jump superstar Mariya Lasitskene and vaulter Anzhelika Sidorova, both of whom are reigning World Champions from Doha (QAT) in 2019. Former World Champion Sergey Shubenkov, the 2019 Worlds silver medalist in the 110 m hurdles, will now also be a contender for a medal this summer. Russia also won the silver and bronze medals in the men’s high jump in Doha, with Mikhail Akimenko and Ilya Ivanyuk, both of whom are also expected to apply for ANA status.

World Athletics has been the most demanding of all the federations in dealing with the Russian doping scandals, limiting Russia to one athlete in Rio in 2016 and now a maximum of 10 for Tokyo in 2021.

In what may have been its first-ever live-streamed news conference, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (GBR) emphasized the important of the return to competition and especially the growth of the World Athletics Continental Tour:

“We have a lot of new events, a lot of new cities coming onstream for our Continental Tour. Last year we had 29 events, this year, we’ll have 85, and this really has done what I wanted to do at the beginning of my term, which was really to breathe new, fresh life if you like into our one-day events.

“We have a lot of Council colleagues that owe their status in the sport to one-day events and I’m particularly pleased that 12 of them are going to be in the U.S.A., three of them are at Gold level. Montreal has a Bronze-level Continental Tour; that’s the first new athletics event in Canada this century. We’ve got a second Continental Tour event in Africa that will sit alongside the Nairobi event; in Oceania, we’ve gone from two to five events, and in Guyana, our CONSUDATLE – the South American federation, we’ve extended the footprint: we have an event there.”

World Athletics chief executive Jon Ridgeon (GBR) added:

“[W]hat’s so encouraging … is, that certainly if you look over the last 20-30 years, there’s been a slight reduction every year in the amount of one-day meetings … and it’s great to see, particularly for the Continental Tour, that that process is now reversing and it’s not just reversing in the traditional heartland of strong competition, which is Europe, it’s reversing all the way across the world.”

The Continental Tour just inhaled the USA Track & Field “Journey to Gold” series into its schedule on Wednesday (17th), including the three above-mentioned Gold level meets:

● 24 April: USATF Grand Prix, at a site to be announced
● 09 May: USATF Golden Games, at Walnut, California
● 23 May: adidas Boost Boston Games, at Boston, Massachusetts

The Drake Relays on 24 April will be a Silver level meet, along with five other meets, and there will be three Bronze level events.

Ridgeon noted:

“The athletes are going to have more competition this summer than they have had before, there’s going to have more opportunities to earn a living than before and fans are going to have more opportunity around the world to see more competitions.”

The added competitions are being welcomed already, although the opportunity to “earn a living” in these meets is limited. The regulations stipulate that prize money in Continental Tour meets is:

● Gold: Minimum 12 events; $200,000 total prize purse, with $20,000 for core events ($6,000-4,500-3,000-2,000-1,500-1,200-1,000-800) or $10,000 for other events ($3,000-2,250-1,500-1,000-750-600-500-400).

● Silver: Minimum 12 events; $75,000 total prize purse, with $5,000 per event: $1,600-1,200-900-600-400-300.

● Bronze: Minimum 12 events, $25,000 total prize money in the meet (no per-event minimums.

These are, of course, far less than the Diamond League prize distribution of $25,000 per event for each event in each of the 13 meets in 2021, with more for the Diamond League Final.

On Tuesday, the first World Athletics Road Running Championships for 2023 has drawn interest from 12 cities worldwide. The cities (or countries) were not named, but the selection will be made in July. The World Half Marathon Championships and World 5 km Championships will be held, along with public-participation events, an expo, clinics and many other programs.

Asked about including a road mile championship, Coe admitted that as a former world-record holder in the event, he’s completely biased in any such discussion. Ridgeon, a former hurdles, liked the idea, but said it would be up to the eventual host organizer to decide whether to include it.

This is a potentially major new event for the sport, so look for a European host for 2023 (Copenhagen, perhaps?) and then a move to a North American city after that.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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HEARD AT HALFTIME: Tokyo foreign spectator ban might come next week; LA28 adds Comcast as sponsor; Brisbane to get ‘32 in July?

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

While the 137th Session of the International Olympic Committee dominated last week’s news, there were still a lot of other things going on:

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● The widely-expected decision to ban foreign spectators from the Tokyo Games may be confirmed next week. The Tokyo organizers are expected to meet with the International Olympic Committee, International Paralympic Committee and Japanese governmental entities as soon as Monday to try to come to a conclusion.

Kyodo News reported: “The Japanese government has already decided that welcoming spectators from abroad is impossible, given concerns among the public over the further spread of the virus and the fact that more contagious variants have been detected in various countries, officials with knowledge of the situation said earlier.”

IOC chief Thomas Bach (GER) has said that the decision of the organizers and the Japanese government would be respected, although there are many details to be finalized, such as for officials, coaches and support staff not formally part of national teams.

A decision on the number of (domestic) spectators to be allowed in the Olympic venues is expected by the end of April; the whispers are that around 50% capacity is expected to be approved.

No spectators at all will be present for the start of the Olympic Torch Relay that begins on 25 March in Fukushima.

Kyodo also reported that the Tokyo organizers are discussing plans to increase the coronavirus testing of athletes and officials in the Olympic Village to as often as daily. The issue is “whether an increase in the costs and manpower needed for giving COVID-19 tests daily could be kept to an acceptable level without affecting the general public’s access to the tests.”

The increase is testing frequency could be extended to in-country host towns and training camps to reach as many Village residents before they even come to Tokyo itself. The Kyodo story also noted:

“The International Olympic Committee has also been calling for the testing scheme to be ramped up after tests on the virus took place almost daily at the handball’s World Championships in January and the Australian Open tennis tournament in February.”

Anti-doping activities are also being heightened in a first-of-its size effort by the International Testing Agency. Where only 1,500 athletes were targeted for testing prior to Rio, a stunning 26,000 recommendations for testing have been made by the ITA, covering all 33 sports on the Tokyo program and to be completed over a six-month period.

These samples will be stored for up to 10 years, with a long-term holding facility already set up and receiving specimens. The ITA announcement also noted:

“Thousands of these recommendations have already triggered additional doping controls, and many more are already planned, resulting in over 9’000 tests to be completed in the coming weeks. The closer Tokyo 2020 gets and the smaller the pool of potentially participating athletes becomes through the qualification process, the more the recommendations will focus on the athletes who will definitely take part in the Games.”

The Japanese government is asking political delegations coming to the Games to salute their teams to keep their delegations small, with not more than 11 support staff. All visiting officials are expected to be asked to obtain a coronavirus test within 72 hours of departure for Japan as well.

Kyodo’s report noted a not-well-appreciated aspect of being an Olympic host for the Japanese government:

“The government is eager to welcome top officials to broaden diplomatic bonds. Prior to the games’ one-year postponement, it had made preparations for the attendance of government leaders and heads of states from more than 100 countries and regions during the opening ceremony.”

The Russian news agency TASS reported that the famed folk song “Katyusha” – for whom the feared World War II-era Soviet rocket-launcher system was named – will not be allowed to be used as a substitute Russian anthem in Tokyo.

The Russian Olympic Committee, acting on a request from its athletes’ advisory group, had proposed the song, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport declared it unsuitable: “The CAS panel considers that ‘any anthem linked to Russia’ extends to any song associated with, or with links to, Russia, which would include Katyusha.”

Next?

● Games of the XXXIV Olympiad: Los Angeles 2028 ● The LA28 organizers and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee announced Monday a second founding partner in Comcast, the U.S. communications giant.

Already deeply partnered with the Olympic Movement through its long-term television rights agreement through the 2032 Games via its NBCUniversal division, Comcast is also a major player in the U.S. cable services market under its own name and its Xfinity brand for consumers and businesses, as well as in wireless telephony.

Comcast was already a USOPC sponsor from 2017, and NBC has been the U.S. television rights holder for the summer Games since 1988 (Comcast acquired majority control of NBCUniversal in 2011). The announcement noted:

● “Under the new agreement, Comcast brands, including Xfinity and Comcast Business, will continue as the official communications services provider to consumers and businesses, including Internet, video distribution, wireless and electronic home security for Team USA for Beijing 2022, Paris 2024, Milan Cortina 2026 and Los Angeles 2028. Comcast has been an Official Partner of Team USA since 2017.”

● “As Founding Partner of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Comcast will work with LA28 over the next several years to drive lasting social change and build a more equitable and inclusive society, including by championing the Paralympic Movement as Los Angeles prepares for its first-ever Paralympic Games. These efforts will support LA28’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Collective, raising awareness for underrepresented communities.”

This is the second major sponsorship announced by LA28, with Delta Airlines announced in February of 2020.

● Games of the XXXV Olympiad: 2032 ● A special, closed meeting of the Brisbane City Council has been called for 23 March to review the plan for a 2032 Olympic Games, with documents apparently due back to the International Olympic Committee in April.

Brisbane Mayor Adrian Schrinner called the first closed meeting of the City Council since 2007:

“The information to which councillors will be privy to is not speculation on where venues might go but narrowing down to a more specific decision on where those venues will be. That does have impacts on things like the property market — significant impacts.

“So, councillors will be getting this information before general members of the public, and for that reason, it is important it is confidential.”

If the IOC’s 38-page Future Host Questionnaire is completed with the relevant governmental guarantees on time, the 2032 Games could be awarded as early as the IOC Session in Tokyo in July.

● Games of the XXXIX Olympiad: 2048 ● Believe it or not, there is already a candidate for the 2048 Olympic Games, as India announced its interest!

Deputy Chief Minister of New Delhi Manish Sisodia said during a city budget presentation:

“Our government aims to bring the sports facilities and the atmosphere towards sports competitions to such a level through the new Sports University that we can apply to host the 39th Olympic sports competitions for 2048.”

New Delhi has had Olympic aspirations since hosting the 1982 Asian Games, but its hosting of the 2010 Commonwealth Games was widely seen as a disaster, with allegations of corruption and incompetence. There has also been discussions in India of hosting a Youth Olympic Games, an excellent way (if successful) to build trust for a future Olympic bid.

● XXV Olympic Winter Games: Milan-Cortina 2026 ● Fans are getting a unique opportunity to vote on the logo for the 2026 Winter Games, with a choice between a blue- green and red “Logo Dada” and a snowflake-white “Logo Futura.”

Online voting began on 6 March and will continue to 22 March, with a maximum of three votes per day per person. The winning design will be announced on a special Olympic and Paralympic Games edition of the Italian game show “Soliti Ignoti” on the national channelo RAI.

● National Olympic Committees ● More allegations of athlete abuse have come forward, one in a review of British Gymnastics and in a lawsuit filed in Canada by artistic swimmers.

In Great Britain, UK Sport and Sport England commissioned a report in August of 2020 by attorney Anne Whyte to look into abuse of British gymnasts. Her interim report was posted on 9 March, with the full report due in August.

Whyte’s findings were unsettling:

● Some 272 submissions of information were received through a specially-set-up Web site for the project, and another 118 submissions via the British Athletes Commission. Of the 400 submittals, 126 were by current and former gymnasts, 145 by parents or guardians, 46 by current and former coaches and even a small number by sports photographers!

● “Concerns have been raised about the practices and culture at clubs throughout England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Over 90 clubs and 100 coaches have been identified in submissions. Whilst many issues raised are at the elite level of the sport, this is not exclusively the case. Some of the re-occurring issues emerging from the information I have received are of bullying, belittling, extreme weight management, regular over-stretching, use of excessive physical force, training on serious injuries, gas-lighting, coercive control and a reluctance to raise complaints/lack of opportunity to do so. In a significant number of cases, the individual sharing their experiences with the Review continues to be impacted by their experiences in gymnastics, in some cases many years later.”

● Some 64 individual meetings have been held, with 19 more scheduled. The report notes:

“Due to the sensitive nature of the submissions and the desire to avoid causing further distress or trauma to potentially vulnerable individuals, these conversations about consent can be delicate and require experience in speaking with vulnerable individuals. Many individuals request that the referral be made anonymously with the primary reason provided that they remain involved in gymnastics and fear repercussions. To date, the Review has made 39 referrals to the statutory authorities.”

● British Gymnastics estimated that it received some 3,500 “complaints” of various kinds from 2008-20 – about 300 per year – but the numbers could not be more specific since the data was spread among various tracking systems over that time.

In Canada, five former members of the national artistic swimming squad filed a class-action suit against Canada Artistic Swimming. The CBC reported the suit alleged “psychological abuse and harassment suffered while training.

“The lawsuit would cover athletes who were training and competing between 2010 and 2020, and seeks compensation of $250,000 for punitive damages, as well as moral damages in the amount of $12,000 per athlete for each year they spent on the team.”

Specific complaints were made against four successive national-team coaches, including three women and one man, alleging body-shaming, excessive injuries, verbal abuse and more.

● Athletics ● World Athletics unveiled its 3-D, online Museum of World Athletics on Monday, with dozens of exhibits and a user experience that tries to replicate an actual walk-through of a physical museum. From the announcement:

“Demonstrating the unmatched universality of athletics, the museum features athletes from more than 30 countries and all six continental areas. The six areas (Africa, Asia, Europe, North and Central America, Oceania and South America) each have a section devoted to the history of athletics in their region.

“The museum includes other carefully thought out details such as the lines of an athletics track on the virtual floor to guide visitors, and even features the shadows of the objects, providing a convincingly immersive experience for sports and museum fans.

“The project took six months to bring to life and was designed with the capacity to evolve over time.”

It’s a pretty impressive program for such a short development time; World Athletics has been collecting objects, souvenirs and memorabilia from athletes, fans and organizations for years and having them available online is an up-to-date way to share them with fans worldwide, for free.

The Athletics Integrity Unit announced that the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed the appeal of the suspension of sprinter Michelle Lee Ahye (TTO). Her two-year ban for “Whereabouts” failures was confirmed, from 19 April 2019.

This allows Ayhe to return to competition in late April of 2021 and to be eligible for the Tokyo Games in July, a benefit for her of the postponement.

Double Olympic women’s 800 m champion Caster Semenya (RSA) is being financially supported with R12 million (~$895,495 U.S.) from the South African government in her appeal against the World Athletics regulations for individuals with Differences in Sex Development.

Athletics South Africa asked the government’s sports ministry for assistance. The Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation is also supporting Semenya and noted in a statement that “one of the fundamental elements of a just society is that the rules apply equally to every individual.

“It is sad how seldom this really happens. Whether or not the European Court of Human Rights rules in time for Semenya to take to the track in Tokyo later this year — and her lawyers don’t expect that to happen — hers is a test case for other athletes with differences in sex development.”

The World Athletics regulations apply only to events from 400 m to the mile; Semenya has said she is aiming for the 200 m for Tokyo.

● Figure Skating ● Figure skating coach John Zimmerman was suspended last week by the U.S. Center for SafeSport for “Abuse of Process, Emotional Misconduct, Failure to Report” incidents of abuse.

Reports noted that the incidents apparently involved French skater Morgan Cipres, who was accused of sending lewd photographs to an underage skater in 2017. Both Cipres and the minor skater were being coached by Zimmerman.

Zimmerman himself was a three-time U.S. Pairs champ, with Kyoko Ina and was a 2002 Olympian. The USCSS decision of a ban for up to two years is appealable.

● Football ● A major change in the way football is organized worldwide is being suggested by FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger (FRA), with discussions to begin in the spring.

In an interview with BeIN Sports, Wenger, 71, said

“Organise only competitions of meaning and kick all the parallel competitions out of the game. People must understand what is at stake and only have games with meaning.”

That could mean a FIFA men’s World Cup every two years perhaps, alternated with the European Championships and “Kick all the rest out.” The other confederations are hardly going to like the idea, but Wenger went further, also suggesting enforced breaks for players in what has become an all-year-round game.

Further, the 22-year manager of Arsenal in the English Premier League also suggested that the club calendar in Europe be adjusted to a March-to-November timeline so that all seasons are played inside the calendar year. This is done in Japan – where Wenger has also coached – and in Major League Soccer in the U.S.

These ideas would also impact women’s football, which Wenger noted must be more fully developed worldwide, and perhaps even the offside rule, perhaps the single rule which causes the most unhappiness in any sport in the world.

FIFA chief Gianni Infantino (SUI) has been urging a review of the international schedule with the idea to make the game more accessible and understandable to fans and less exhausting for players who have both club and national-team responsibilities.

The U.S. Women’s National Team, unbeaten in 37 straight matches, will head to Europe for its next friendlies, with challenging matches against Sweden and France coming in mid-April.

The American women will play at Friends Arena in Stockholm on 10 April, to be shown in the U.S. on Fox at 1 p.m. Eastern time; no spectators will be allowed. On 13 April, the U.S. will face France in Le Havre, to be shown on ESPN2 at 3 p.m. Eastern time.

The French handed the U.S. women their last loss, 3-1, at the Stade Oceane, in January of 2019.

The continuing battle between Swiss special prosecutor Stefan Keller and FIFA – especially President Infantino – saw a win for FIFA last Thursday.

The Swiss Federal Criminal Court (FCC) ruled that Keller has acted beyond his authority in investigating matters beyond the question of impropriety of former Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber, in meeting with Infantino. FIFA released a statement which included:

“On 10 December 2020, Mr Keller issued a media release stating that there were ‘clear indications of criminal conduct on the part of the FIFA President’. Now it is clear that this unfounded and defamatory statement was made on the basis of an investigative act which was itself illegal, null and void.

“The FCC further states that it is the task of the supervisory authority to oversee the conduct of the office of the extraordinary Federal Prosecutor. FIFA trusts that in future it will actually do so.”

● Gymnastics ● An 80-page “Findings of Compliance Audit” was posted by USA Gymnastics on 10 March, reviewing the progress – or lack thereof – on the recommendations of the 2017 “Proposed Policy and Procedural Changes for the Protection of Young Athletes,” better known as the “Daniels Report” on changes needed at the federation.

The Krieg DeVault law firm, of which Daniels is a member, issued the new report, with generally high praise:

“In the nearly four-year period since the Report was submitted to USA Gymnastics in June 2017, the organization has made significant progress toward compliance with the recommendations made in the Report. This progress has been far more pronounced and strategic in the nearly two year period since the Board of Directors selected Li Li Leung to serve as president of USA Gymnastics. …

“Overall, we conclude that USA Gymnastics has made tremendous strides, in particular over the past two years, in achieving the goals of the original Report – including in particular the overarching goal of a compete cultural shift to a focus on athlete safety first. While some additional work remains to be done, primarily but not solely in the area of communication, what has been accomplished to date constitutes an impressive re-focusing of the entire organization on the well-being of athletes.”

More work was suggested in communications, oversight and tracking of abusers, more training of hearing panel members and “Continued improvement in the organization’s support of athletes ultimately evidenced by a more universal perception by athletes that they are in fact supported and protected by the organization.”

The work of the U.S. Center for SafeSport was also lauded, especially for creating “what appears to be highly effective training.”

This is an important, milestone report for USA Gymnastics, especially in possible de-certification hearings by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, or in any move by the U.S. Congress in the fall (under the Empowering Olympic, Paralympic and Amateur Athletes Act) to de-certify the federation.

● Swimming ● Two-time Olympic gold medalist Klete Keller pled not guilty on 9 March to seven charges stemming from his presence during the U.S. Capitol riots on 6 January. His next hearing is scheduled for 6 April.

He was indicted by a grand jury in February, including civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a restricted building, and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.

● At the BuZZer ● Further to our 9 March note on the auction purchase of a 1972 Sapporo Session badge earlier this month for €1,500 (~$1,778 U.S.), long-time U.S. Olympic journalist and devoted collector Karen Rosen replied:

“The 1972 Sapporo IOC badges are extremely rare. One with the same ribbon just sold on eBay for a best offer of $2,000. In June 2018, [dealer] Ingrid O’Neill sold the same badge for $3,000 plus 15 percent commission, so $3,450.”

So, maybe a bargain, right?

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

LANE ONE: IOC’s Agenda 2020+5 “Road to the Games” initiative is about money: for athletes, continental Games and an IOC takeover?

By
Rich Perelman
-

One of the most interesting and possibly pivotal exchanges during the six-hour discussion at last week’s 137th Session of the International Olympic Committee about the unanimously-passed Olympic Agenda 2020+5 was about Recommendation 6: “Enhance and promote to the Road to the Olympic Games.”

Said Federation Equestre International President Ingmar de Vos of Belgium:

“I believe that given the possibility to qualifying events to use Olympic branding will really be a big game-changer.”

Said PanAm Sports President Neven Ilic (CHI):

“[I]f we could qualify for the Olympic Games through the Pan American Games, we will have a completely different product, and we need to increase the level of the Pan American Games, having the best athletes and we will have the best athletes if we could qualify for the Olympic Games.”

Said seven-time Olympic medalist and Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission Kirsty Coventry (ZIM):

“[T]his opens up an enormous platform and opportunity for athletes coming from much smaller [National Olympic Committees], much smaller countries, where it’s a lot harder to find sponsorship, it’s a lot harder for their communities to actually acknowledge that you do train for four years before an Olympic Games and not just six months … I know this can really open up so many more opportunities for athletes, especially on my continent.”

This is about money, specifically having the IOC extend the use of “Olympic branding” – that’s the Olympic rings and related symbols – to the qualification events that take place as much as two years prior to an Olympic or Winter Games. The recommendation was introduced by Australian IOC member John Coates, who noted:

● “There are thousands of Olympic qualification events and the purpose of this recommendation is to address a gap that currently exists in the use of these qualification events as part of the overall Games promotion, as well as celebrating the participation of those athletes in these events as part of their qualifying journey. Of course, not all of them are going to qualify, but they should still be recognized.”

● “At the moment, the Olympic and organizing committee brands have little to no visibility as part of the qualification events. The qualification events happen, but not enough people know the purpose of them and where they are ending up, and so the journey for the athletes and the ability for the athletes to be able to promote that journey is not always clear.”

● “[W]e know we can do this through initiatives such as the Olympic Channel and the new IOC digital platforms. … At first instance, we’d look at granting the use of the [organizing committee] marks in association with these events.

“The concept of an Olympic qualifier series is something we’d like to explore, the potential to group together several sports in a qualification period, at the same time while respecting the competition of each of those and potentially streamlining what we know [is] already an extremely busy global sports calendar. … [W]e’d be talking about offering them digital assets which could be produced specifically for athletes according to, and to be used to share and promote their journey to the Games, tell their stories through the Olympic Channel.”

It’s an interesting idea, with roots in the CBS promotion of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament with its – this year – “Road to Indianapolis” theme (which itself was a play on the seven “Road to” movies made from 1940-62 starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour!).

One wonders whether the organizing committees in Paris (2024), Milan-Cortina (2026) and Los Angeles (2028) are happy about this; they’re already working overtime selling their own sponsorships and rights to use their trademarks during a global pandemic. Do they get anything out of this?

But this is an obvious lifeline – with low costs to the IOC – being thrown to allow athletes some use of Olympic marks outside of the Olympic Games period, and potentially to International Federations which can use a tie-in with the Olympic marks to raise the profile (and saleability) of their otherwise uninteresting events that have Olympic qualifying elements. It’s actually a much better approach to athlete promotion than the continuing battle over Rule 40 of the Olympic Charter about personal-sponsor visibility during a Games period.

It’s not surprising that two IF presidents heartily endorsed the idea: de Vos from the equestrian federation (FEI) and Marisol Casado (ESP) from the International Triathlon Union. Both are in the next-to-lowest (fourth) tier for revenue distribution from the IOC’s television rights revenue and are looking for help. Added de Vos:

“I hope there will not be too many requirements that will be imposed or put in place to allow the use of Olympic branding and then I am thinking specifically to the fact that athletes but also organizers – and the majority of the organizers of qualifier events specifically – depend on sponsors to be able to organize the events.”

Even more enthusiastic was Ilic, who is looking for ways to build up the Pan American Games, a once-mega-event whose profile has lagged significantly in recent editions:

“[W]e have to protect the Pan American Games and increase the level in all the different aspects. One is the competition, the second one is the sponsorship, the third one is the media, how the media is watching our Games. And in this regard, I think that if, through this recommendation, the International Olympic Committee will consider the Pan American Games or the five continental Games like part of the ‘Road to Tokyo’, it will be incredible for us.

“[W]e need to feel that we are part of this Road and mainly to qualify directly to the Olympic Games. Only one spot in each of the sports will make a very different Pan American Games. I think this is tremendously important for us.”

Coates concurred, adding: “[T]he last Pacific [Islands] Games was starting to include Olympic qualifications in some of the events and I think that certainly lifted the profile of those events for the organizers and for the same reasons as you said, Neven. It helps them get sponsors, it helps them get general recognition.”

Dominican IOC member Luis Oviedo, who is also the President of Centro Caribe Sports, then jumped in and asked to extend the concept even further (per the Spanish interpreter): “What we would like to see is [Central American and Caribbean Games] that could then be qualifiers for the Pan American Games. This would add value to the [CAC] Games.”

In other words, it’s all about the Olympic Games and very little else. There are multiple International Federations who will have lots of questions, starting with FIFA (which doesn’t need any help). But most of the IFs – two-thirds for sure – will embrace this.

Coates floated some weak concepts that have been discussed by the IOC staff and underlined the goal:

“We want to be able to help the athletes tell their story of how they qualify and if we give them some identification they can use, I think it’s going to help them, help them with their expenses and hopefully help enhance the visibility of the qualification events themselves as well.”

The discussion of Recommendation 6 was followed by a presentation by Swedish IOC member Gunilla Lindberg, also the Secretary General of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) concerning the next recommendation, on “harmonizing” the international sports calendar. She noted:

“Over recent years, the sport calendar has become more congested, not less. More money has come into sport through sponsorship and broadcast rights. More cities and regions have sought events to promote themselves. New evolutions in sport have come, like urban and beach forms of sport. Both NOCs and IFs have sought more events in order to generate revenue and promotion which they could use to develop their sport.”

She and her working group – which dates back to 2015 – hoped to have a proposal coming within the next few months. What this will look like is anyone’s guess.

Both Coates and Lindberg stayed far away from one of the easy-to-make interpretations of Recommendations 6 and 7: that the groundwork is being laid for the IOC to take over parts of the process. This is even contemplated in the comment to Recommendation 6:

“Beyond the individual stand-alone events, some multi-sports qualification events could be developed by the IOC in collaboration with IFs, which would help streamline the qualification calendar and also potentially add value for the Hosts, IFs and athletes involved. These events, grouping sports by type or by culture (e.g. combat sports, urban sports), could also serve to build excitement for the Olympic Games.”

The discussion during the Session was focused on the promotion of athletes and existing events rather than having the IOC create new ones. But it isn’t hard to imagine an IOC initiative that would see the IOC co-opt major qualifying events like the African Games, Asian Games, and Pan American Games, create new multi-sport events and take an interest in specific IF world championships, producing the content for both the Olympic Channel and national broadcasters (on TV and online), using the Olympic Cloud distribution system pioneered by TOP sponsor Alibaba and managed by its Olympic Broadcast Systems subsidiary.

It could concentrate enormous authority over almost the entire Olympic-sport “system” in the IOC. Is this bad? Consider that as the IOC pieces together this assembly, it could also take over the television and sponsorship rights sales for these events, but with a twist. As it already supports the IFs and NOCs through distribution of the Olympic television rights sales, what if the distribution of funds for these qualifying events went 50/50 to the organizing committees – which desperately need the money – and the remaining half as prize money to support those athletes competing in the qualifying events?

Isn’t that the whole point?

Rich Perelman
Editor

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THE BIG PICTURE: Mitt Romney’s “The Right Way to Boycott the Beijing Olympics”

By
Rich Perelman
-

Former Massachusetts Governor, former President of the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games organizing committee and current U.S. Senator from Utah Mitt Romney posted a 703-word opinion piece on his Web site this morning, and was also published in The New York Times.

It’s excellent advice and well worth reading carefully:

The Right Way to Boycott the Beijing Olympics

The United States can repudiate Chinese policy
without unfairly punishing our athletes
U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah)

As the Beijing Olympic Games approach, it is increasingly clear that China, under the control of the Chinese Communist Party does not deserve an Olympic showcase. Because it is too late to move the Winter Games scheduled for Beijing next February, some have proposed, understandably, that the United States boycott the Games.

China deserves our condemnation. The Chinese Communist Party has reneged on its agreement to allow Hong Kong self rule; it has brutally suppressed peaceful demonstrators and incarcerated respected journalists. It is exacting genocide against Uighurs and other ethnic minorities; Uighur women are forcefully sterilized or impregnated by Han Chinese men. Adults, ripped from their families, are sentenced into forced labor and concentration camps. Among ethnic Chinese, access to uncensored broadcast news and social media is prohibited. Citizens are surveyed, spied upon and penalized for attending religious services or expressing dissent.

Prohibiting our athletes from competing in China is the easy, but wrong, answer. Our athletes have trained their entire lives for this competition and have primed their abilities to peak in 2022. When I helped organize the Salt Lake City Games in 2002, I gained an understanding of the enormous sacrifice made by our Olympic hopefuls and their families. It would be unfair to ask a few hundred young American athletes to shoulder the burden of our disapproval.

It could also be counterproductive. The Olympic Games aren’t just a showcase for the host nation, but a platform for values both American and universal. If our athletes skip the Games, millions of young Americans at home might skip watching it. And the Olympic Games are one of the most enduring demonstrations of the great qualities of the human spirit on the world stage: We witness determination, sacrifice, patriotism, endurance, sportsmanship. We would also lose the global symbolism of our young American heroes standing atop the medals podium, hand to their hearts, as “The Star-Spangled Banner” plays on Chinese soil.

Moreover, if an athlete boycott is meant to influence the behavior of the home country or delegitimize its government, it probably won’t work. When President Jimmy Carter applied an athlete boycott to the Moscow Olympics in 1980, the result was more medals for Russians and dashed dreams for American athletes. No one seriously believes it improved Soviet behavior.

So if we shouldn’t forbid American athletes from competing, then how should we meaningfully repudiate China’s atrocities? The right answer is an economic and diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics. American spectators — other than families of our athletes and coaches — should stay at home, preventing us from contributing to the enormous revenues the Chinese Communist Party will raise from hotels, meals and tickets. American corporations that routinely send large groups of their customers and associates to the Games should send them to U.S. venues instead.

Rather than send the traditional delegation of diplomats and White House officials to Beijing, the president should invite Chinese dissidents, religious leaders and ethnic minorities to represent us.

An economic and diplomatic boycott should include collaboration with NBC, which has already done important work to reveal the reality of the Chinese Communist Party’s repression and brutality. NBC can refrain from showing any jingoistic elements of the opening and closing ceremonies and instead broadcast documented reports of China’s abuses.

We should enlist our friends around the world to join our economic boycott. Limiting spectators, selectively shaping our respective delegations and refraining from broadcasting Chinese propaganda would prevent China from reaping many of the rewards it expects from the Olympics.

Finally, America and the nations of the free world need to have a heart-to-heart with the International Olympic Committee. The I.O.C. has hoped that awarding Games to repressive regimes would tend to lessen their abuses. But hope has too often met a different reality — in Hitler’s Germany, Putin’s Russia and Xi’s China. In authoritarian states, the Olympics has more often been a tool of propaganda than a lever of reform.

Let us demonstrate our repudiation of China’s abuses in a way that will hurt the Chinese Communist Party rather than our American athletes: reduce China’s revenues, shut down their propaganda, and expose their abuses. An economic and diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics — while proceeding with the Games — is the right answer.

HIGHLIGHTS: Another world title for Chloe Kim, Diggins clinches World Cup X-C title; Ross & Klineman win first women’s beach tourney in Qatar!

By
Rich Perelman
-
History for FIS Cross Country World Cup winner Jessica Diggins of the U.S. (Photo: U.S. Ski Team Twitter feed)

Headline results of noteworthy competitions around the world:

● Alpine Skiing ● The FIS World Cup neared its conclusion with the penultimate stops prior to the World Cup Final next week in Lenzerheide (SUI).

The men’s tour was in Kranjska Gora (SLO), with Swiss Marco Odermatt winning his straight World Cup on Saturday in the Giant Slalom, for his third win of the year. Odermatt finished with a combined time of 2:12.87, 1.06 seconds ahead of countryman Loic Meillard and 1.09 up on Austria’s Stefan Brennsteiner. Odermatt now leads the seasonal Giant Slalom standings, 625-600 over France’s Alexis Pinturault with one race left.

French star Clement Noel won the Sunday Slalom, ahead of countryman Victor Muffat-Jeandet, 1:47.51-1:48.13, with Swiss Ramon Zenhaeusern third (1:48.22). Austria’s Marco Schwarz has already clinched the seasonal Slalom title with 625 points, ahead of Zenhaeusern (503).

The women were in Are (SWE) for two Slalom races, with American Mikaela Shiffrin in the mix for another seasonal title. On Friday, it was seasonal leader Petra Vlhova winning her sixth race of the season in 1:45.16 after taking a big lead, 49.72-50.13 over Shiffin on the first run. Austria’s Katharina Liensberger skied well on the second run to move up to second from the third spot, while Shiffrin faded (10th on the second run); Vlhova was fifth-fastest on the second run, but had an 0.20 margin at the end over Liensbeger (1:45.26) and Shiffrin (1:45.80).

On Saturday, Shiffrin got out fastest on the first run, leading Liensberger, 52.75-52.94, but while the Austrian posted the second-best second run of 54.99, Shiffrin faded to 10th again on the second run, but ended up second overall, 1:47.93-1:48.65. Swiss Wendy Holdener was third in 1:49.58. Vlhova was eighth. With one race left, Vlhova has the seasonal lead with 612 points to 590 for Liensberger and 575 for Shiffrin.

● Athletics ● The NCAA Indoor Championships at Fayetteville, Arkansas essentially ended an eventful indoor season and produced five world-leading marks:

● Men/200 m: 20.19, Matthew Boling (USA/Georgia)
● Men/400 m: 44.71, Noah Williams (USA/LSU)
● Men/Long Jump: 8.45 m (27-8 3/4), JuVaughn Harrison (USA/LSU)

● Women/200 m: 22.38 Abby Steiner (USA/Kentucky)
● Women/Long Jump: 6.93 m (22-9), Tara Davis (USA/Texas)

The men’s events had two multi-event winners, including Cole Hocker (USA/Oregon) in the mile (3:53.71) and 3,000 m (7:46.15), and Harrison in the high jump (2.30 m/7-6 1/2) and the long jump. The women had one, with Trinidad & Tobago’s Kyra Gittens (Texas A&M) winning the high jump (1.90 m/6-2 3/4) and the Pentathlon (4,746, a national record).

Boling, still a sophomore, moved to equal-6th on the all-time world 200 m list with his 20.19 win, and Williams – who had a lifetime best of 45.72 coming in this year in the 400 m – is now no. 4 all-time, with the fifth-fastest performance ever! He had to run that fast as the winner of the first section of the 400 m, North Carolina A&T’s Randolph Ross (USA) ran 44.99! Also impressive were Baylor’s K.C. Lightfoot, the vault winner at 5.93 m (19-5 1/2) and Arizona State’s Turner Washington at 21.36 m (70-1) in the shot.

Among the women, Kentucky junior Steiner’s 200 m win places her in a tie for no. 5 on the all-time list and just 0.05 from Gwen Torrence’s 1996 American Record! Texas star Davis claimed the Collegiate Record with her 6.92 m (22-9) jump and is now the no. 6 American in the history of the event.

Outdoors, there were three early-season outdoor world leaders at the Canberra Track Classic, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meet in Canberra (AUS), with Peter Bol (AUS) winning the men’s 800 m in 1:45.23 and Chris Douglas (AUS) taking the 400 m hurdles in 50.12. Australia’s Linden Hall won the women’s 1,500 m in 4:02.02.

● Beach Volleyball ● The Katara Cup in Doha (QAT) was eagerly anticipated as the first major event on the FIVB World Tour in the 2021 season, and it was a good one for the U.S.

Most importantly, the duo of April Ross and Alix Klineman reached the top of the podium with an impressive 22-20, 21-18 win over Canadian stars (and 2019 World Champions) Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes in the final. In fact, Ross and Klineman won their six matches by a combined total of 12-1 sets; this was their fifth FIVB World Tour win together for one of the top medal contenders for Tokyo.

And it was historic: this was the first-ever women’s tournament in Qatar, and that was not lost on the winners.

Sais Ross, “It means so much! We are so grateful to be here. We felt so welcome here. It was an amazing tournament, amazingly run, and to come out on top, especially at the first event in so long is so exciting. We worked as hard as we could work and it still feels like there is a lot of room for improvement. Against that team, it’s really tough and I felt like we pushed each other. So we are going to take notes, go back and continue to work hard.”

The bronze medal went to Brazil’s Agatha Bednarczuk and Duda Lisboa with a 21-13, 21-14 win over Americans Emily Stockman and Kelley Kolinske.

The men’s title was a breakthrough win for unheralded, 14th-seeded Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner (CZE), winning 21-16, 21-19 over Evandro Oliveira and Gustavo Carvalhaes (BRA), for their first career World Tour victory. The all-U.S. bronze-medal match saw Jake Gibb and Taylor Crabb out-last Nick Lucena and Phil Dalhauser, 21-9, 23-21.

The World Tour will resume in a sequestered hub in Cancun (MEX) for three tournaments in mid-through-late April.

● Biathlon ● The second week of racing in Nove Mesto (CZE) was a never-to-be-forgotten experience for 28-year-old French star Quentin Fillon-Maillet, and Norwegian star Tiril Eckhoff.

Fillon-Maillet won both the 10 km Sprint and the 12.5 km Pursuit, and moved to third in the overall seasonal standings. In the Sprint, he shot clean and finished in 22:07.2, 11.3 seconds clear of runner-up Tarjei Boe (NOR) and 14.8 up on Italy’s Lukas Hofer. In the Pursuit, he suffered two shooting penalties, but no one was perfect, and the Frenchman recorded his sixth career World Cup win in 28:46.7, 8.0 seconds ahead of Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Boe and 14.6 seconds ahead of fellow Frenchman Emilien Jacquelin.

Going into the final week of the season, J.T. Boe has 1,011 points, ahead of Sturla Holm Langreid (NOR: 986) and Fillon Maillet (872).

The women’s races in Nove Mesto – last week and this week – belonged to Norwegian star Eckhoff. The winner of two World Championships golds, she won both the 7.5 km Sprint and 10 km Pursuit for her third and fourth straight World Cup wins! She has now won 12 races this season out of 23 total races!

In the Sprint, Eckhoff won by 6.1 seconds over Denise Hermann (GER), despite one penalty to none for Hermann, and 10.5 seconds ahead of Dorothea Weirer (ITA). American Susan Dunklee had a fine race, shooting clean and finishing eighth (+37.2).

In the Pursuit, Eckhoff missed one on the range, but was untouchable anyway, winning by 34.6 seconds over Dzinara Alimbekava (BLR) and 40.2 over Franziska Preuss (GER). Dunklee was eighth again, with just one penalty and finishing 1:12.9 behind the winner.

Eckhoff leads the season standings with 1,043 points vs. 903 for teammate Marte Olsbu Roeiseland and 824 for Swede Hanna Oeberg.

● Cycling ● One of the great races of any season – the 79th edition of Paris-Nice – saw a stunning, surprise finish as shoo-in Vuelta a Espana winner Primoz Roglic (SLO) crashed twice on the final, hilly stage into Levens and Germany’s Maximillan Schachmann ended up as the overall winner.

Roglic took over the leadership of the race after winning the fourth stage (of eight) and then won stages six and seven to pile up a seemingly insurmountable 52-second edge on Schachmann and 1:11 on Aleksandr Vlasov (RUS).

But on Sunday, Roglic crashed on an early descent and then again on the same area of the loop course about 25 km from the finish. All of that caused him to finish 56th on the stage, some 3:08 behind winner Magnus Cort (DEN). Schachmann finished 10th in the same time (2:16:58 for the 97.2 km course) and ended with a total time of 28:49:51, winning by 19 seconds over Vlasov with Ion Izagirre (ESP) third (-0:23). Roglic ended up 15th, 2:16 behind the winner. American Matteo Jorgenson was eighth (-1:29).

Further east, the 56th Tirreno-Adriatico race completed its fifth stage and will finish with an Individual Time Trial on Tuesday. Dutch star Wout van Aert took the lead right away in the first stage and led for the first three stages, but when Saturday’s difficult fourth climbing stage came, it was reigning Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar (SLO) who took charge.

Only Britain’s Simon Yates could stay with Pogacar on the steep, uphill finish of the 148 km route to the Prati di Tivo, with Pogacar winning by six seconds and then 29 seconds over third-placer Sergio Higuita (COL). Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel won the hilly fifth stage on Sunday – his second stage win of the race – but with Pogacar just 10 seconds behind in second place.

So, with two stages left, Pogacar leads by 1:15 over van Aert and 3:00 over Mikel Landa (ESP). Barring crashes, Pogacar should be a convincing winner come Tuesday in San Benedetto del Tronto.

● Fencing ● After just more than a year away from competition, the sabre-rattlers got back on the piste in Budapest (HUN) for the first FIE World Cup since March of 2020.

Both men’s and women’s Sabre events were held, and even with the layoff, with familiar results.

Korea’s reigning World Champion, Sang-Uk Oh, won the men’s Sabre in a 15-14 thriller with home favorite Aron Szilagyi, the 2012-16 Olympic gold medalist. Georgia’s Sandro Bazadze and Germany’s Matyas Szabo took home bronze medals.

Hungary’s Anna Marton, the 2015 Worlds bronze medalist, scored a win in the women’s Sebre, besting France’s two-time Worlds medalist Cecilia Bender, 15-9 in the final. Hungarian teammate Lisa Pusztai and Korea’s Jisu Yoon shared the bronze.

● Freestyle Skiing ● The World Championships in Moguls and Aerials were held in Almaty (KAZ), separately from the other disciplines as part of the adaptations to the coronavirus pandemic from Monday through Thursday, but the faces on the podium were quite familiar.

Canadian superstar Mikael Kingsbury won both the Moguls and Dual Moguls, defending both of his 2019 world titles and giving him six Worlds golds in his career … at age 28. Kingsbuty scored 87.36 in the final to easily outdistance Benjamin Cavet (FRA: 82.43) and home favorite Pavel Kolmakov (KAZ: 82.23). Kingsbury defeated Australia’s Matt Graham, 80.51-67.57 in the Dual Moguls final, with Ikuma Horishima (JPN) winning the bronze over Brenden Kelly (CAN).

Reigning Olympic champ Perrine Laffont (FRA) won her third World Championships gold, but first in Moguls in Almaty, scoring 82.11 against 79.52 for Kazakh star Yuilya Galysheva and 79.41 for Anastasiia Smirnova (RUS). In the Dual Moguls, two-time defending champ Laffont was eliminated in the quarter-finals and Smirnova, 18, took the gold over Russian Viktoriia Lazarenko. Kazakhstan’s Anastassiya Gorodko won the bronze over Canadian Sofiane Gagnon.

In Aerials, Russian star Maxim Burov has five wins on the 2020-21 World Cup circuit and won again here, defending his 2019 World Championship, scoring 135.00 to out-point American Chris Lillis (133.50) and fellow Russian Pavel Krotov (127.50).

Australia’s Laura Peel had won four medals in six World Cup events coming into the Worlds, and she won the Aerials title for the second time – also in 2015 – with a finals score of 106.46. American Ashley Caldwell – the 2017 World Champion – was second (101.74) and Lyubov Nikitina (RUS: 94.47) was third.

The Aerials World Cup season continued right away in Almaty, with Pirmin Werner (SUI) moving up from fourth at the World Championships to win on Saturday, ahead of fellow Swiss Nicolas Gygax and Lewis Irving (CAN), 121.72-119.46-113.28. This was the final event of the World Cup season in Aerials and Burov was the easy winner with 526 points, ahead of Noe Roth (SUI: 320) and Werner (305).

The women’s Aerials event was won by Canadian Marion Thenault for her first World Cup medal of the season, scoring 89.88 to best Nikitina (86.36) and Kazakh Zhanbota Aldabergenova (84.99). Peel won the seasonal title with 450 points, up on American Winter Vinecki (343) and Canada’s Thenault (312).

The World Championships in Halfpipe and Slopestyle are underway in Aspen, Colorado, with the Big Air finals coming later this week.

The Halfpipe title was claimed by New Zealand’s Nico Porteous, scoring 94.50, to defeat Canadian Simon D’Artois (91.25) and American Birk Irving (89.75), ahead of fellow American stars Alex Ferreira (84.75) and Aaron Blunck (83.25). The men’s Slopestyle gold was taken by Swiss Andri Ragettli, 22, for his first Worlds medal, scoring 90.65 over Colby Stevenson (USA: 89.65) and Alex Hall of the U.S. (86.01).

The women’s events were dominated by San Francisco-born Eileen Ailing Gu, 17, who now competes for China. She won the Halfpipe on Friday at 93.00, besting Canada’s Rachel Karker (91.75) and Zoe Atkin (GBR: 90.50), with Americans Hanna Faulhaber (86.75), Brita Sigourney (86.25) and Devin Logan (79.25) finishing 4-5-6. Gu then won the Slopestyle title on Saturday, scoring 84.23, ahead of Mathilde Gremaud (SUI: 77.15) and Canadian Megan Oldham (76.18). American Marin Hamill was fifth (71.18).

In the Ski Cross World Cup in Sunny Valley (RUS), seasonal stars Reece Howden (CAN) and Fanny Smith (SUI) were winners again. Howden won his fourth event of the season, ahead of Ryo Sugai (JPN) and Joos Berry (SUI), while Smith took her sixth win, beating Swedish star Sandra Naeslund and Austria’s Katrin Ofner in the final.

● Karate ● The Karate 1 Premier League was able to resume this week in Istanbul (TUR), with 584 competitors present for a full program.

Iran scored two wins in the men’s events, with Zabiollah Poorshab winning the 84 kg division and Sajad Ganjzadeh taking the +84 kg title. Home favorite Eray Samdan won the 60 kg class for Turkey.

Two reigning women’s World Champions won in Istanbul: Sandra Sanchez (ESP) in Kata and Serbia’s Jovana Prekovic at 61 kg. Turkey scored another win, as Serap Ozcelik, the 50 kg silver medalist at the 2018 Worlds, triumphed over German Shara Hubrich.

● Nordic Skiing ● History was made by Jessie Diggins, who became the first woman and the second American to win a FIS seasonal World Cup in Cross Country Skiing!

With the World Cup season shortened by the cancellation of the expected final events in China and with Norway also closing down, the final races of the season were held in Engadin (SUI).

The women’s program included a 10 km Classical Mass Start and a 30 km Freestyle Pursuit. The same three women won all the medals in both: Russian Yulia Stupak won the Mass Start ahead of Heidi Weng (NOR: +7.1) and Swede Ebba Andersson (+8.5), with Diggins fifth (+20.7). Then Weng won the Pursuit in 1:28:11.6, up 4.5 seconds over Andersson with Stupak 33.7 seconds back and Diggins in fourth (+37.3).

Added up, Diggins won the Crystal Globe with 1,347 points thanks to six World Cup victories and 13 World Cup medals, over Stupak (1,079) and Andersson (1,011) with American Rosie Brennan fourth at 919. True, Norway’s stars did not compete for big chunks of the season, but the trophies are handed out those who compete, not those who stay home. Diggins also won the Distance title, with 653 points over Andersson (640) and Stupak (619), with Brennan also fourth (484). Diggins was fourth on the Sprint table (262) as well.

Bill Koch, back in 1981-82, had been the only American to win the Cross Country overall World Cup title.

“It was really really nice to finish this season of my wildest dreams and it happened because of the team,” said Diggins. “We have so much incredible support behind the scenes. We have people back in the States, and an amazing crew over here. Through the four months that we were over here we really just held tight together as a team and took care of one another and had a great atmosphere. Everyone worked so hard and put their heart and soul into this, and I couldn’t be more grateful. The chance to race at all is amazing, but the chance to have a season like this, with a team like this is just incredible. I couldn’t be more thankful to be part of this team and get to celebrate this thing that we’ve achieved together.”

The men’s events completed the second consecutive overall title for Russian Alexander Bolshunov, who win his ninth event of the season in the 15 km Mass Start, finishing 18.4 and 18.9 seconds ahead of Norwegians Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo and Paal Golberg. In the 50 km Pursuit, Simen Hegstad Krueger (NOR) won in 2:10:41.4, beating Hans Christer Holund (NOR: +1.2) at the line with Swede Jens Burman (+3.0) just behind.

For the season, Bolsuhov piled up 1,765 points to overwhelm the field; teammate Ivan Yakimushkin was second at 800. Bolshunov also won the title with 921 points.

● Snowboard ● The amazing Chloe Kim added to her legend at the World Championships in Aspen this week, winning the Halfpipe title in stunning fashion.

Despite wind, snow and a sprained ankle from a practice run, Kim simply crushed the field, scoring 90.00 on her first run – a score no one else achieved – then exploding to 93.75 on her second try, winning easily over fellow American Maddie Mastro, who scored 89.00 on her final try to rise from sixth to second in the final round. Spain’s Queralt Castellet had two bad runs of 11.25 and 27.25 before uncorking a 87.50 in the final round to grab the bronze.

Kim, 20, celebrated her second straight World Championships gold in the event. Mastro, 21, improved on her bronze at the 2019 Worlds. Said the winner, “I am feeling really good . I am so grateful to be out here and happy the weather held up for the contest. Winning feels really good!”

In Slopestyle, New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski-Synnott defended her 2019 women’s title with a 85.95-81.10 over 2014-2018 Olympic champ Jamie Anderson, 30, of the U.S. Australia’s Tess Coady finished third at 78.13.

In men’s Halfpipe, Japan’s Yuko Totsuka won his first world title with a brilliant 96.25 run, ahead of Australia’s three-time defending champion Scotty James (90.50) and Swiss Jan Scherrer (87.00). Americans Chase Josey (81.00) and Chase Blackwell (80.50) finished 5-6.

The men’s Slopestyle winner, Norway’s Marcus Kleveland won his first Worlds medal in this event – he has a 2017 bronze in Big Air – with a 90.66 score, well ahead of Sebastien Toutant (CAN: 82.53) and Finn Rene Rinnekangas (82.51). American Red Gerard, the 2018 Olympic champ, finished fourth (82.28).

● Swimming ● The first leg of the 2021 FINA Marathon World Series was held in Doha (QAT) on Saturday, using a 2,000 loop course off Katara Beach.

A total of 99 swimmers from 27 countries were in the water for the 10 km race, with France’s two-time Worlds medal winner Marc-Antoine Olivier getting to the touchplate first in 1:52:02.40, just 3.10 seconds up on Hungary’s Kristof Rasovszky (1:52:05.50) and 5.50 seconds ahead of the 2016 Olympic 1,500 m champ, Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA).

The indefatigable, five-time Open Water World Champion Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil, 28, won the women’s race in 2:01:30.30, out-touching newcomer Oceane Cassignol, 20, by just 0.50 seconds, with 21-year-old Lea Boy (GER) third, just 1.60 seconds behind. The mass finish saw eight swimmers touch within five seconds of Cunha and the 11 finished within seven seconds of the winner.

Some $30,000 in prize money was available in each race, with the top eight place winners receiving $3,500-3,000-2,500-1,700-1,500-1,200-950-650.

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LANE ONE: IOC approves Olympic Agenda 2020+5 after six-hour discussion; Tokyo spectator decision not final; human rights & Beijing 2022 collide

By
Rich Perelman
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Thomas Bach (center left) leading the final day discussion during the 137th IOC Session (Photo: IOC/Greg Martin)

For those who expected the International Olympic Committee’s discussion of the 15-part Olympic Agenda 2020+5 to be completed by a voice vote in less than 10 minutes must have been in shock for most of Friday’s live stream of the final day of the 137th IOC Session.

The presentation and discussion of the 2020+5 program ran on for more than six hours, beginning at noon in Lausanne, Switzerland. But the final result was not in doubt.

The IOC membership, after making some very interesting and conflicting remarks, approved the Olympic Agenda 2020+5 package unanimously, at least based on a show of hands, to which IOC chief Thomas Bach (GER) saw no abstentions or votes against.

The discussions themselves did not change any of the recommendations, and the potential implications of the program are enormous. Beyond the many suggestions and questions raised, the implementation phase will now begin and the many changes contemplated will have to be worked on and worked out.

The 15 recommendations centered around solidarity of the Olympic Movement, digitalization, sustainability, credibility and economic and financial resilience. There were a lot of ideas tossed out, and Bach emphasized in opening remarks:

● “Digitalisation is a huge opportunity for us to address people more directly, engage with youth, and promote our Olympic values. Keeping in mind that about half the world’s population is still digitally underserved, our core value of solidarity will guide us in addressing also this part of our global society.”

● “Year after year, studies like the Edelman Trust Barometer highlight the ‘implosion of trust’ that define our times. …

“This ‘implosion of trust’, this risk of functioning of all our societies, is deeply affecting
governments, social institutions, businesses, and NGOs like the IOC. In fact, anyone who is
perceived to be part of the so-called establishment is scrutinised by a mistrusting public like never before. This trend is strengthened, or worsened, by a lack of open-minded discussion because many people are just living in their echo-chambers which only confirm their opinion and prejudices.”

Among the many points discussed was athlete protests and the athlete voice. During the discussion of the first recommendation, William Blick, a former rugby player and the President of the Ugandan National Olympic Committee, offered:

“Mr. President, I do not agree with athlete’s protests in areas of competition or on the podium. I think this should never happen, as discussed before, but I think we should now use and promote areas that we believe are more suitable for athletes to be able to air their voices on issues they find at heart and we should be able to continuously use these areas that we believe are most suitable leading up to the Games so that at least people can know that there is a platform that athletes can be able to use.”

The athlete’s voice issues were taken up further by IOC Athletes’ Commission Chair Kirsty Coventry (ZIM), who explained the process, and commented on the critics:

“[W]e have seen groups with special interests who claim to represent athletes, without a mandate from athletes or for any accountability. There have been calls for reviewing commercial and financial models across the Olympic Movement. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that we don’t only listen, and consider, the voices of a few, but ensure we give equal recognition to the voice of all athletes: athletes from all regions, cultures and backgrounds. We are a global movement and we must continue to reflect this in collecting athlete’s views in our decision making. …

“We have consulted with more than 3,500 elite athletes and Olympians, representing 185 NOCs from all Olympic sports. In addition, we have also had many one-on-one consultations with many NOC athlete commissions and International Federations commissions and what we’re doing now is we’re putting all of that feedback and information back together, and I must say a lot of National Olympic Committee athlete commissions have also done their own surveys and those have all been shared with us.

“We’re now compiling and putting all of that information together. We also have an independent expert who is putting their recommendations together and then give to the Athletes’ Commission. We will then have the huge task of going through all of that. We will come up with recommendations and those recommendations will go to the Executive Board for further discussion.”

On Thursday, the Session heard reports from the organizing committees for Tokyo 2020, the Beijing 2022 Winter Games and Paris 2024. The issue of whether foreign spectators will be allowed to attend the Tokyo Games continues to be front and center. In his end-of-Session news conference, Bach said:

“[T]his will be the decision of our Japanese partners and friends and we will respect and accept this decision, and this also concerns the timing of the decision because only they can know what it means for the health regulations in their country, what it means for the organizing committee and what it means for the overall situation in Japan. So, this is why I said in my opening speech already, that we are standing at the side of Japan without any reservation.”

Tokyo 2020 chief Seiko Hashimoto denied reports that a final decision to bar foreign spectators has been made and indicated the actual decision will come by 25 March, the date of the start of the Olympic Torch Relay in Japan.

Vaccines became an even bigger issue on Thursday, as the IOC announced:

“[T]he IOC has received an offer from the Chinese Olympic Committee, the host of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, to assist in making vaccines available. [Bach] noted that the plan was to make vaccine doses available to NOCs in whose territories the Chinese vaccine has been approved by the relevant national health authority.

“Although the details are still being worked out, President Bach confirmed that the IOC is ready to pay for these additional doses of vaccines for not only the Olympic but also the Paralympic teams, as well as for two further doses, which can be made available to the population in the respective countries according to their needs.”

Asked about vaccine requirements for the Games and whether the IOC would ask for athletes to be vaccinated – potentially ahead of the general public – at his news conference, Bach added:

“We have said from the very beginning and we are sticking to this principle that we are following and also the athletes and the National Olympic Committees should follow there the national regulations on vaccination. This is a clear government responsibility and in this we will not interfere. This is not within our expertise or remits; each government has to decide there, following the circumstances in their respective country.”

Part of the Olympic Agenda 2020+5 concerned human rights, which led to news conference questions about Beijing 2022 and Chinese treatment of its Uyghur minority, of Tibet and Hong Kong. Bach offered interesting answers, including perhaps the most brilliant statement ever made on athlete boycotts:

“We are redressing it within our remits and this was a part of the discussion there today, that within our remits, our responsibility, all these questions are being addressed. A number of these questions are a part of the Host City Contract and this is our responsibility, and this responsibility we are taking very seriously.

“This leads directly to the question which is behind there, of boycott discussion. And there, we can only repeat once again and give advice to learn from history, a boycott of the Olympic Games has never achieved anything. …

“Be mindful of the boycott in Moscow 1980, which was because of the intervention of the Soviet Army in Afghanistan. The Soviet Army withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, nine years after this boycott. So it really served nothing but punishing their own athletes and then led to the counter-boycott in Los Angeles.

“It also has no logic. Why would you punish the athletes from your own country if you have a dispute with the government from another country? This just makes no real sense. And the athletes would be the ones who are suffering.”

Pushed further, Bach also added:

“I think this has been very clear today, that within the remit of the IOC, we are taking this very seriously. This means, with everything, what is related to the Olympic Games – human rights, labor rights and others – are or will be part of the Host City Contract and on this we are working very closely with the organizing committee. There we are also monitoring; this includes, for instance, supply chains or labor rights and freedom of press and many other issues. This is our responsibility and again, this responsibility has been acknowledged by the United Nations, by the international community and this we are taking very seriously.

“We are not a super-world government, where the IOC could solve or even address issues for which not the U.N. Security Council, no G-7, no G-20 has solutions. This is in the remits of politics. We have to live up to our responsibilities within our area of responsibilities, and the governments have to live up to their responsibilities in their remits.”

On the future of the sports program and the inclusion of electronic sports that mirror physical sport, Bach said this is a long-term issue:

“Obviously, this is a question for my successor; we are not talking about Paris, this is probably more a question for Los Angeles. But as far as I am concerned, it would be in addition to; it would be additional, not in place of . It would not replace sports as we know it.”

There was a lot to process from this Session, not to much from the decisions taken there, but from where Bach has placed the IOC strategically for the future. But first will come the challenges of staging the Tokyo Games and then turning quickly to the Beijing Winter Games, where the questions about athletic performance will be rivaled by those about the hosts.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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THE BIG PICTURE: New USOPC Board readies for Tokyo, wants no Beijing boycott, still negotiating on Nassar survivor settlement

By
Rich Perelman
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While the International Olympic Committee was re-electing Thomas Bach, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee was also busy with its own Board meetings, concluding on Wednesday.

There were no blockbuster announcements, but a steady effort to prepare for the Tokyo Games this summer and to make sure the USOPC is well positioned against talk of a boycott of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China. USOPC Chair Susanne Lyons and chief executive Sarah Hirshland took questions from reporters following the conclusion of the meetings yesterday afternoon.

Noted Lyons:

“This meeting today with our Board was the first meeting with six of our new Board members, and represents a new configuration that really is based on the new governance reforms we incorporated over the past year or two.

“It has increased the representation of our athlete population and those athlete representatives are directly elected by their peer group. Athlete representation is now, in fact, well over the 33% threshold that we’ve now established; in fact, it’s almost half of the Board. We have nine of our Board members who are Olympic and Paralympic athletes either recent or from some time past.”

On Tokyo, Hirshland explained that the Board had multiple discussions:

“We heard [Tuesday] morning, directly, from one of our Tokyo-hopeful Team USA athletes, who offered perspective on the challenging training environment and continued lack of stability and certainty. And despite these challenges, our Sport team offered a very strong report on the High Performance outlook for Team USA. …

“We’re feeling quite positive around the progress we’re seeing here in the United States around vaccines, both in its advantage to our U.S. athletes, but also to those international athletes who may be living and training in our country right now, and we know there are always a number of international athletes, and so we’re happy that the vaccine situation here is looking very positive to help ensure that the broad base of athletes may have that access sooner than we initially thought might be possible. …

“[The coronavirus] will absolutely impede on the athletes’ typical experience, and that is the most unfortunate part of all of this. No one can be blamed for the fact that we are living through a global pandemic, but we all will have to make sacrifices in regard to that, and the experience of athletes and certainly anyone else who is going to be at the Tokyo Games will look very differently than it has in the past. And that’s something that we’re all prepared for and will continue to manage everyone’s expectations around. …

“We’re going to have to play to the safest common denominator to ensure that we reduce risk for everyone involved across the world and that’s just the reality of the situation we’re in.”

Lyons was direct that the USOPC is not going to caught flatfooted on any talk of a boycott in Beijing in 2022:

“We just wanted to acknowledge that there has been a steady drumbeat of concern about the human rights situation in Beijing as well as some calls for an athlete boycott. And while we would never want to minimize what is happening from a human rights perspective in China, as a valued-based organization, we support inclusion, respect and equality for all, but I do want to state, as I did in a statement that we released earlier this month, that we do not support an athlete boycott.

“We believe that such boycotts have not been effective in the past, particularly in 1980 as we can look back to history. We believe those boycotts have only hurt athletes who’ve trained their entire lives for this opportunity to represent their country. And we believe this is an issue which should be addressed at the government-to-government level with China. …

“Our strategy at the moment is to ensure that there is dialogue with many of the people in Congress who are, obviously, for good reasons concerned about the human rights issues in China, but need to understand what the impact was in 1980 when we boycotted. I think there are, actually, a lot of people who understand that what was meant to be accomplished by that boycott did not get accomplished, and in fact, all that happened was the hopes and dreams of a large number of athletes just never came to fruition. …

“[Utah Senator and Salt Lake City 2002 organizing committee chief] Mitt Romney is very knowledgeable about this. He’s shared his experience with a lot of his colleagues, and in large group meetings. And he’s actually not alone; there are others who are also talking with their peers about other potential options, such as a diplomatic boycott vs. an athlete boycott.”

Hirshland was asked about the status of the USA Gymnastics bankruptcy case – still in a court-ordered settlement conference – which is dragging on without resolution and to which the USOPC is a party:

“Let me start by saying we remain incredibly committed to finding and achieving a mediated settlement for the first and most important reason that the survivors deserve that closure and that finality. I can’t comment on the likelihood of [a settlement] and will tell you we remain very much committed to being at the table doing everything we can to facilitate that outcome as our preferred outcome without a doubt.

“I can’t confirm the details of the process. I can confirm that the process has remained active and that there are absolutely ongoing and active conversations occurring.”

Hirshland also saluted Tom Osborne, the chief executive of the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation, who passed away on Wednesday at age 65. Osborne had been deeply involved with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Movement, serving on the USOC Board’s Executive Committee from 1996-2000 and had been the head of the Sports Corp. since 2003.

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LANE ONE: Thomas Bach wins re-election as IOC President by 93-1, asks for “more solidarity” but underlines limits of what IOC can or will do

By
Rich Perelman
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Thomas Bach accepting re-election as International Olympic Committee President at the 137th IOC Session (Photo: IOC/Greg Martin)

The second consecutive annual meeting of the whole of the International Olympic Committee by videoconference concluded its first of three days with a 93-1 vote to re-elect Germany’s Thomas Bach as its president.

The 137th IOC Session opening by Bach underscored the determination to hold the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo (JPN) this summer, and highlighted the continuing return to competition worldwide:

“The many world championships that have been held during these recent weeks and months are proof that sport can be organised safely and successfully, even under present restrictions. Here our thanks go to the International Federations who have organised over 270 major sporting events, meaning world championships or world cups, since September 2020. Cumulatively, these events have involved over 30,000 athletes. All of them had rigorous health and safety protocols in place, including extensive testing regimes, which far exceeded 200,000 tests.

“Not a single of these events turned into a virus-spreader. So we have clear and obvious proof that very big international sport events with a large number of international participants can be organised while safeguarding the health of everyone.

“This fact is even more significant because none of these events could benefit from vaccinations. In contrast, we are now in the very fortunate position that several vaccines are already widely in use. A considerable number of Olympic athletes is even already or about to be vaccinated in time for Tokyo. This situation will continue to improve greatly the closer we get to the Opening Ceremony.”

Bach also gave a lengthy address on the Olympic Agenda 2020 reform package which has been the foundation of his first term, including:

● “To put our reforms into a broader perspective, let us not forget the “sea of troubles” we had to navigate since 2014.

“There was the unprecedented attack on the integrity of the Olympic Games with the systemic manipulation of the anti-doping system at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014. We responded with our toughest sanction: the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee from the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.

“The Olympic Games Rio 2016 were on the brink before and during the Olympic Games
because of the unprecedented political, economic, ethical and social crisis in Brazil. We met
this challenge with an equally unprecedented investment and concerted effort by the IOC,
the IFs and NOCs. …

“The Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 were on the brink because of the threat of
war and confrontation on the Korean Peninsula, just a few months before the opening.”

● “A major way that we have strengthened the credibility of the IOC was by revolutionising the candidature procedure for Olympic Games. Let us not forget the situation we were facing before Olympic Agenda 2020. The procedure was like applying for a business franchise – the IOC setting the conditions for the tender. Potential candidates wanting to outbid each other spent tens of millions in the process. When not being elected, the candidates were considered as losers at home and could not justify another candidature anymore. On top of that, we were facing serious ethical problems because of lobbying misconduct. As a result, we had less and less candidates and our reputation suffered.

“With Olympic Agenda 2020, we have turned this page. We introduced a more targeted and flexible approach to electing future hosts. We are ensuring that the Olympic Games are now fully aligned with the long-term plans and needs of Olympic hosts and of their communities. The new approach is focused on keeping costs to a minimum and it prevents undue influence and lobbying.

“Our revolution had immediate positive results.

“Soon after you approved the reforms in 2019, we received declarations of interest from more parties than we had seen for many, many years.

“Costs were significantly reduced. Before Olympic Agenda 2020, the average budget of candidates for the Olympic Winter Games 2022 was approximately 35 million US dollars. With the Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms, this average budget for the Olympic Winter Games 2026 was down to less than 5 million dollars – a reduction of 80 per cent. According to all information we have, we can safely expect the same reduction or even better with regards to the Olympic Games 2032.”

● “The credibility and trust we now enjoy with our Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms can even be measured in figures. Before Olympic Agenda 2020, the revenues from the TOP Programme were at about 1 billion dollars. With Olympic Agenda 2020, they are projected to triple to 3 billion for the Olympiad 2021-2024. What is more, we have already now, in 2021, secured contracts worth 4.1 billion dollars with TOP Partners and Rights-Holding Broadcasters for the Olympiad 2029-2032.”

In his acceptance remarks after being re-elected for a four-year term that will end in 2025, Bach doubled down on his devotion to solidarity, suggesting that the Olympic motto of Citius, Altius, Fortius by modified by the addition of “– communis” or “Faster, Higher, Stronger – together.”

Bach gave a short news conference afterwards, passing on specifics about foreign spectators at the Tokyo Games until after tomorrow’s presentation by the Tokyo organizers, but noting that while the question of foreign spectators needs to be resolved soon, the question of how many fans can attend the Games should wait as long as possible to take advantage of the latest development in safety.

He was also chided about the lack of dissent within the IOC over his reforms and actions; Bach had a ready reply which is instructive not only now, but for the future:

“Good governance is not only there if the people agree with your opinion or the opinion of others. Good governance is about that everybody has the opportunity to express his or her opinion.”

Bach was also asked about future challenges. Although not aimed at discussions about Beijing 2022 and China’s persecution of its Uyghur population especially, he offered a key insight:

“We will continue – within our remit – to contribute to a better and more inclusive society. Whether it’s about sustainability, whether it’s about climate change, whether it’s about credibility or you name it; but we have to stick to our remits there. (Emphasis added)

“I have not been elected there today to be a political leader and the IOC has no political mandate. And we can accomplish our mission only as we have it enshrined in the Olympic Charter, if we respect the political neutrality. And all what you have seen today, how we are working with the U.N. system, and with so many stakeholders; all this is only possible if we stick to this political neutrality, but emphasize in the same way … that we are reinforcing and strengthening our efforts how sport can be a really important enabler for achieving the U.N. Sustainable development goals through and with sport.”

For those not deeply conversant with the British noun “remit,” it is defined as:

“The area that a person or group of people in authority has responsibility for or control over.”

Translation: look for the IOC to stay as far away as it can from questions about China and the Uyghurs ahead of the 2022 Winter Games. Bach has succeeded greatly as IOC President in making his organization in specific and the Olympic Movement in general more accountable, more responsible and better managed, but he sees no way that the Olympic Games can effectively impact a government’s actions through something as actually trivial as competitive sport.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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HEARD AT HALFTIME: Bach re-election coming Wednesday; China offers vaccines for Olympians; $21,343 for a Lillehammer torch!

By
Rich Perelman
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang promises Covid vaccine for Olympians! (Photo: Chinese Foreign Ministry)

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

● International Olympic Committee ● The 137th Session of the International Olympic Committee will be held by videoconference over three days from Wednesday through Friday of this week, headlined by the re-election of Thomas Bach as President.

The agenda runs from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Lausanne time on each day, which will make for some bleary-eyed members in some parts of the world. Wednesday has a long list of Commission reports and the re-election of Germany’s Bach – running unopposed – for a four-year term into 2025. For those interested, the Sessions can be viewed on the IOC’s YouTube channel.

Thursday will have reports on upcoming Games, including Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024. No reports are scheduled for Milan-Cortina for the 2026 Winter Games or for Los Angeles 2028. A report from the Future Host Commissions is expected.

Friday’s program is dominated by Olympic Agenda 2020+5, essentially Bach’s blueprint for the next four years. It is expected to be approved, of course.

At Monday’s IOC Executive Board meeting, there were further, provisional sanctions approved against the National Olympic Committee of Belarus, specifically not to recognize the election of Viktor Lukashenko as the new NOC President. Lukashenko is the son of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, whose electoral victory last year has been continuously protested. Further, the IOC has – in response to numerous complaints from athletes in that country – “requested” that:

“[T]he NOC of Belarus and its member federations to ensure that there is no political discrimination in the participation of the Belarusian athletes in qualification events, and in the final selection of the team of the NOC of Belarus, for all Olympic Games.”

The Session program does not include any specific consideration of the status of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) or the International Weightlifting Federation.

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● The biggest news concerning the Tokyo Games came from Beijing (CHN) on Sunday, from a news conference held by Chinese Foreign Minister Yi Wang (family name: Wang), in which he declared:

“China is a steadfast advocate for equitable vaccine distribution. We have joined COVAX, under which China has undertaken to provide an initial 10 million doses for emergency use in developing countries. So far, China has donated or is donating COVID vaccines to 69 developing countries in urgent need, and is exporting vaccines to 43 countries. Responding to a U.N. appeal, we have donated vaccines to peacekeepers from various countries. We are also ready to work with the International Olympic Committee to provide vaccines to Olympians. It is our hope that Chinese vaccines will inject more confidence and hope into the global fight against the virus.” (Emphasis added)

This is a new development and a new offer from China, and sure to be discussed with Bach at his scheduled news conference on Wednesday evening (also available on the IOC’s YouTube channel). While the IOC and the Tokyo organizers have encouraged vaccination, it is not being required to compete at the Games.

● Basketball ● NBA star Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers confirmed over the weekend that he plans to play for the U.S. at this summer’s Tokyo Games.

“My plan is to go,” he said, adding “If I feel up to it and feel ready to go around that time, then I’m going to play.” Leonard would be reunited with Gregg Popovich, his coach at San Antonio, on the U.S. Olympic Team.

The issue is scheduling. The Games begin on 25 July, and Leonard could be playing with the Los Angeles Clippers teammates as late as 22 July if in a seven-game NBA Finals. USA Basketball is asking for flexibility in substituting players during the Games, a possible benefit not only to the U.S., but to other teams with NBA players.

But where the U.S. had trouble fielding a quality team for the FIBA World Championships in 2019, the cream of the American NBA talent appears ready to go for Tokyo … schedule permitting.

● Curling ● A world championship has returned from the dead, as the World Curling Federation announced that the Women’s World Championship will be held after all.

Originally scheduled for Schaffhausen (SUI) from 19-28 March, the event was cancelled due to the coronavirus, but now re-scheduled for 30 April-9 May at the WinSport Arena in Calgary, Canada.

A sequestered format for the men’s World Championship in Calgary from 2-11 April will be extended to include the women’s event, with significant 2022 Olympic Winter Games implications:

“The LGT World Women’s Curling Championship 2021 will feature 14 teams – Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, The Russian Curling Federation Team, Scotland, Sweden, reigning champions Switzerland and United States competing for the world title. The six highest ranking National Olympic Committees will earn their place in the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games women’s team competition.”

As a result, the World Mixed Doubles Championship, scheduled for 24 April-1 May, will be moved to 16-23 May, at a venue to be named. But this is good news for women’s curling, reinstating the key event in the selection of much of the 2022 Beijing field.

● Ice Hockey ● The coronavirus is playing havoc with the IIHF Women’s World Championship, which had been scheduled for 7-17 April in Nova Scotia, Canada (in Halifax and Truro). Now the event has been pushed back to 6-16 May, pending approval of the federal and provincial governments.

Nova Scotia has a low incidence of the coronavirus and a full set of precautions are planned:

“In order to eliminate any negative impact on the epidemiological situation and health care system in the province, participants travelling to the province will have to go through a thorough quarantine and COVID-19 testing process prior to travel to Canada. The tournament will be operated in accordance with Nova Scotia Government mandated protocols which will include but not be limited to regular COVID-19 testing, quarantine, masking and physical distancing.”

Sad news from Minnesota on 5 March, with the passing of American legend Mark Pavelich, one of the members of the 1980 Olympic “Miracle on Ice” champions. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune noted:

“Pavelich, who turned 63 a week ago, died at Eagle’s Healing Nest [in Sauk Centre, Minnesota], according to the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office. He had received mental health treatment there for the past several months. At the time of his death he was under civil commitment for a violent assault on a North Shore neighbor nearly 1½ years ago.”

A star at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, he played seven seasons in the National Hockey League following his Olympic season, a part of one season in Great Britain and two seasons in Bolzano, Italy. He was a land developer after his hockey career ended, but suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and after injuring a neighbor, was confined by a judge for treatment, including in Sauk Centre. The specific cause of death has not been announced.

● Speed Skating ● Good news from the 2021 ISU World Cup and World Speed Skating Championships in Heerenveen (NED), with no Covid-19 infections reported during the five-week sequestration period.

In order to salvage some portion of its 2020-21 season, the International Skating Union created a five-week program of two World Cups, the European Championships and the World Championships across 38 days. With more than 2,000 coronavirus tests administered during the period, none came back positive from the 196 athletes, plus coaches and officials.

There will be more to come on the achievement, as the ISU noted:

“A documentary was filmed to capture life in the bubble and document this unforgettable and unique situation. It will be released in due time as part of the ISU’s #UpAgain campaign and will serve as a memento of all these weeks that the Speed Skating community showed the World that it is possible to overcome life’s challenges to achieve ones full potential.”

● Weightlifting ● Score another first for USA Weightlifting, which just concluded a first-of-its-kind “hybrid” competition for the North American Open and National University Championships, with both in-person and online lifting as part of the same event!

USA Weightlifting announced that about 400 athletes were present at the Maverik Center in Salt Lake City, Utah and about 600 competed at home via the online Zoom meeting platform. The North American Open included youth, open and masters divisions for men and women; it’s more a development meet than a championship, but a key step toward national class.

Said USA Weightlifting chief executive Phil Andrews (GBR): “We made the decision back in December to run this as a hybrid event without spectators and I believe that we’ve shown that it can be done.

“The initial survey feedback shows that the event was well received by everyone involved and I anticipate that hybrid events will become a key part of the weightlifting calendar moving forward.”

It was not lost on the competitors or the federation that having remote lifting allowed many athletes to participate without the cost of travel and accommodations, a possibly important opportunity for further expansion of the sport in the future.

● At the BuZZer ● Lots of action at Saturday’s “SPORLYMPIQUE VI” auction by Vermot & Associates in Paris (FRA), with 471 lots available, including multiple Olympic torches:

● Tokyo 1964:, expected to bring €2,800-3,000, did not sell.
● Montreal 1976: expected to bring €2,500-3,500, sold for €4,000 (~$4,742).
● Moscow 1980: expected to bring €1,500-1,800, sold for €1,600 (~$1,897).
● Lillehammer 1994: expected to bring €20,000-30,000, sold for €18,000 (~$21,339).
● Sydney 2000: expected to bring €2,500-3,500, sold for €4,000 (~$4,742).
● Athens 2004: expected to bring €1,800-2,000, sold for €4,200 (~$4,979).
● London 2012: expected to bring €2,500-3,500, sold for €4,500 (~$5,335).

Two participation medals from the 1896 Athens Games went for €750 (~$889 U.S.) and €1,100 (~$1,304). An non-inscribed bronze medal from the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal – meaning it may not have been awarded – sold for €2,800 or about $3,319 U.S.

Perhaps the most amazing sale was for a medal-and-cloth badge from the 72nd IOC Session in Sapporo (JPN) in 1972, in good condition, expected to sell for €200-300, but which ended up selling for €1,500 (~$1,778). Really?

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HIGHLIGHTS: Ledecky wins four in Tyr Pro Swim; Shiffrin slaloms to 69th World Cup win; U.S. wrestlers win six in Rome

By
Rich Perelman
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Olympics-bound American Freestyle superstar Katie Ledecky (Photo: USA Swimming)

Headline results of noteworthy competitions around the world:

● Alpine Skiing ● The women’s FIS World Cup is coming down to the final races of the season, with rivals Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. and Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova fighting it out for the Slalom crown.

On Saturday, Shiffrin came from behind to win her 69th career World Cup victory, this time in the Slalom at Jasna, Slovakia. Vlhova posted a sensational first run, 0.27 ahead of Shiffrin and the rest of the field, but the American ripped through the second run with the fastest time in the field, while Vlhova was third-fastest in the second round. That left Shiffrin on top, 1:44.28-1:44.52, with a 0.61 differential on the second time down. Swiss Wendy Holdener was third.

Sunday’s Giant Slalom was a win for Vlhova, who also had to come from behind. This time it was Shiffrin who had the lead, 1:08.35-1:08.51. But as Shiffrin had trouble and was only 11th-fastest on the second run, Vlhova was steady and her third-fastest time of 1:08.15 proved to be enough for a 2:16.66 win, with New Zealand’s Alice Robinson getting second (2:16:82) and Shiffrin finishing third (2:17:03).

In the seasonal Slalom standings, there are three races to go and Vlhova is holding a 480-435 lead, with two Slaloms next week at Are (SWE). Those may be decisive.

The men’s World Cup was in Saalbach (AUT) for races originally slated for Kvitfjell (NOR). One Downhill race was cancelled due to bad weather, but Saturday’s Downhill was run and was yet another triumph for World Champion Vincent Kreichmayr of Austria. His 1:53.07 mark was 0.17 better than former World Champion Beat Feuz (SUI) and 0.27 better than Austrian teammate Matthias Mayer. It was Kriechmayr’s third on the World Cup circuit this season.

Sunday’s Super-G was another medal-winning performance for Kriechmayr, but a bronze this time. Swiss Marco Odermatt, still just 23, claimed his third career World Cup win in 1:23.59, up 0.62 seconds on France’s Matthieu Bailet (first career World Cup medal) and 0.81 ahead of Kriechmayr.

In the overall World Cup standings, France’s Alexis Pinturault still leads Odermatt, 1050-969 after 31 of 37 races.

● Athletics ● The European Championships in Torun (POL) was the star attraction of the weekend, with world-leading marks in eight events:

● Men/60 m: 6.47, Lamont Marcell Jacobs (ITA)
● Men/High Jump: 2.37 m (7-9 1/4), Maksim Nedasekau (BLR)
● Men/Long Jump: 8.35 m (27-43/4), Miltiadis Tentoglou (GRE)
● Men/Heptathlon: 6,392, Kevin Mayer (FRA)

● Women/60 m: 7.03, Alja del Ponte (SUI)
● Women/60 m hurdles: 7.77, Nadine Visser (GER)
● Women/Long Jump: 6.92 m (22-8 1/2), Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk (UKR)
● Women/Pentathlon: 4,904, Nafi Thiam (BEL)

Jacobs, 26, is an emerging sprinter to watch; born in El Paso, Texas, he moved to Italy as a child and has a 100 m best of 10.03 from 2019. He won easily in Torun, up 0.13 on German Kevin Kranz.

Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen won both the men’s 1,500 m (3:37.56) and 3,000 m (7:48.20), although he was disqualified in the 1,500 m and later reinstated. France’s Wilhem Belocian won the 60 m hurdles over Britain’s Andrew Pozzi, 7.42-7.43; that’s not Grant Holloway territory, but nos. 2-3 on the 2021 world list.

Nedasekau won a great duel with prior world leader Gianmarco Tamberi (ITA), who cleared 2.35 m (7-8 1/2), but could not negotiate 2.37 m (7-9 1/4), which the winner cleared on his first try. Mondo Duplantis (SWE) won the vault with a sensational 6.05 m (19-10 1/4) clearance, a height only he, Renaud Lavillenie (FRA), Sergey Bubka (UKR) and Steve Hooker (AUS) have ever cleated indoors. Portugal’s Pedro Pablo Pichardo unleashed his second-best performance of the season – 17.30 m (56-9 1/4) – to win the triple jump.

In the women’s high jump, world leader Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) won at 2.00 m (6-6 3/4), but missed at 2.07 m (6-9 1/2). Thiam’s 4,904 pentathlon score moves her to no. 7 on the all-time list.

At the latest Sound Running Invitational at JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, California, two great 5,000 m races provided world-leading and Olympic qualifying marks.

The top five women all ran under the Olympic qualifying standard of 15:10.00, with Emily Sisson leading the way at 14:55.82, followed by Allie Buchalski (USA: 14:57.54), Weini Kilati (ERI: 14:58.24), Alicia Monson (USA: 15:07.65) and 2016 Olympic Triathlon gold medalist Gwen Jorgensen (USA: 15:08.28). Three more achieved the U.S. Olympic Trials standard of 15:20.00. It’s a huge breakthrough for Sisson, who claimed a lifetime best by 14.80 seconds!

The men’s 5,000 m was a win and lifetime best for former Stanford star Grant Fisher, who ran a 55.38 last lap to pull away from Britain’s Marc Scott and win in 13:02.53, with Scott at 13:05.13, Sean McGorty (USA) at 13:06.45 and Joe Klecker at 13:06.67. The top five met the Olympic standard and four more got the U.S. Trials standard. Fisher’s prior best had been 13:11.68 in 2020.

In the women’s 1,500 m, Sinclaire Johnson and Elise Cranny (both U.S.) ran 4:05.91 and 4:06.23 for nos. 2-3 on the world list in 2021; neither was under the Olympic qualifying mark of 4:04.20. The men’s 1,500 m was a 3:35.78 win for Josh Kerr (GBR) over Amos Bartelmeyer (USA: 3:38.54) and Johnny Gregorek (USA: 3:38.76).

● Badminton ● The level 300 Swiss Open in Basel (SUI) attracted a strong field in view of the paucity of competitions this season, and ended with stars Viktor Axelsen (DEN) and Olympic champ Carolina Marin (ESP) in the winner’s circle.

Axelsen, the top seed in the men’s Singles, sailed past eighth-seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn (THA), 21-16, 21-21-6. Marin similarly dispatched India’s V. Sindhu Pusarla by 21-12 and 21-5. Both winners figure to be medal contenders in Tokyo.

Surprises ruled the doubles events, with unseeded Pearly Tan and Mura Thinaah (MAS) taking the women’s title over third-seeds Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva of Bulgaria, 21-19, 21-12. Sixth-seed Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen (DEN) won the men’s title over unseeded Germans Mark Lamsfuss and Marvin Seidel, 21-16, 21-11. The Mixed Doubles class was won by sixth-seeds Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue (FRA) by 21-19, 21-19 against Danes Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Boje.

● Biathlon ● Heading toward the end of the 2020-21 season, the IBU World Cup resumed in Nove Mesto (CZE) for the first of two weeks of competition, this time for Sprint and Pursuit races.

Norway’s Tiril Eckhoff won the women’s World Championships in the Sprint and Pursuit and keep right on going in Nove Mesto, winning both again to increase her lead in the women’s seasonal standings. Even with one shooting penalty, she took the 7.5 km Sprint on Saturday by 9.3 seconds (18:48.4) over Yuliia Dzhima (UKR) and 15.0 seconds over Italy’s Lisa Vitozzi, who both shot clean. Eckhoff then overpowered everyone in the 10 km Pursuit despite three penalties! Even so, she won in 27:28.0, a sensational 24.0 seconds up on Denise Hermann (GER; 1 penalty) and 29.9 seconds up on fellow Norwegian Marte Olsbu Roeiseland (3 penalties).

On the season, Eckhoff now leads Roeiseland, 923-843, with Swede Hanna Oeberg third with 798 points.

The men’s 10 km Sprint saw France’s Simon Desthieux take his first World Cup individual victory, finishing 2.4 seconds ahead of Sebastian Samuelsson (SWE) and 4.4 seconds ahead of Arnd Peiffer (GER), as all three shot clean. Sunday’s 12.5 km Pursuit was the third win of the season for Tarjei Boe, the older brother of seasonal leader Johannes Thingnes Boe. The brothers went 1-2 as Tarjei finished 8.2 seconds up in 28:17.3, aided by one shooting penalty while J.T. had two. Desthieux took third, 11.5 seconds back, with two penalties.

With five races left, J.T. Boe leads the men’s seasonal standings with 955 points, ahead of Sturla Holm Langreid (922) and Tarjei Boe (763).

● Cycling ● The famed Strade Bianche race in and around Siena (ITA) was held Sunday, with Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel overpowering France’s Julian Alaphilippe and Colombia’s Egan Bernal in the final 1,000 m stretch of the hilly, 184 km course.

Van der Poel, 26, claimed his eighth World Tour victory by accelerating into the final 12 km stretch and pulling Alaphilippe and Bernal with him. But neither could stand his finishing blast, which gave him a five-second margin on the French star and 20 seconds on Bernal.

The women’s Strade Bianche covered 136 km and another late break made the difference. This time it as 2017 World Champion Chantal van den Broek-Blaak who dashed away from the field with six km left, taking Italian star Elisa Longo Borghini with her. The two were unchallenged into Siena and the Dutch star had enough to power through the finish seven seconds clear, with Anna van der Breggen (NED) closing to nine seconds down at the line to grab third ahead of fellow star Annemiek van Vleuten (+:11).

The first stage of the 79th Paris-Nice race began on Sunday in Saint-Cyr-L’Ecole, with a hilly 165.8 km race made for the sprinters. It was Irish star Sam Bennett who won the final dash, leading France’s Arnaud Demare, Mads Pedersen (DEN), Jasper Philipsen (BEL) and Bryan Coquard (FRA) across the line. It’s Bennett’s third won of the season after two triumphs during the season-opening UAE Tour. It was also his fourth career Paris-Nice stage win.

The eight-stage race runs through next weekend, with Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic, the two-time Vuelta a Espana winner, expected to be a top contender.

● Judo ● Japan fielded a strong team at the Tashkent Grand Slam (UZB) and dominated the competition, winning 11 medals, including nine golds.

Their winners included Ryuju Nagayama in the men’s 60 kg class, Kenta Nagasawa at 90 kg and Kokoro Kageura at +100 kg. Japan won six of the seven women’s classes, including Uta Abe at 52 kg, Momo Tamaoki at 57 kg, Miku Tashiro at 63 kg, Chizuru Arai at 70 kg, Mami Umeki at 78 kg and Akira Sone at +78 kg.

Korea won six medals (1-1-4) including a victory from Baul An in the men’s 66 kg class. Mongolia (2-2-1) won five medals, with wins from Tsogtbaatar Tsend-Ochir in the men’s 73 kg category and Urantsetseg Munkhbat in the women’s 48 kg class.

● Nordic Skiing ● The legend of Norwegian Cross-Country star Therese Johaug added new chapters as the FIS Nordic Skiing World Championships closed in Obertsdorf, Germany.

In Cross Country, Johaug completed a brilliant Worlds with a fourth gold medal in the 30 km Classical Mass Start race, winning by a staggering 2:34.2 over countrywoman Heidi Weng (1:24:56.3-1:27:30.5), with Swede Frida Karlsson winning her third individual medal of the Championships in third (1:27:31.1). Sadie Bjornsen was the top American finisher, in 15th (1:29:38.7).

Johaug won four golds in Obertsdorf, in the 10 km Freestyle, 15 km Skiathlon, 30 km Mass start and on the 4×5 km relay with Weng, Tiril Udnes Weng, and Helene Fossesholm. She now owns 19 World Champs medals, of which 14 are gold, from 2011-21. Amazing, and at 32, she will be a prime contender for Beijing 2022 medals as well.

The men’s 50 km Classical Mass Start was another Norwegian win, this time for Emil Iversen, his first individual World Championships gold, after three on relays. He won a tight race to the finish with Russian star Alexander Bolshunov, finally winning by 2:10:52.9-2:10:53.6! The bronze medal went to Simen Hegsted Krueger (NOR), some 8.2 seconds back in 2:11:01.1. American Scott Patterson was 10th, in 2:12:17.6.

Iversen had also been on Norway’s winning men’s 4×10 km relay, with Pal Golberg, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo and Hans Christer Holund. They combined for an impressive 12.0-second win over Russia (with Bolshunov on anchor) and France, 1:52:39.0-1:52:51.0-1:53:51.6. Krueger’s bronze in the 50 km was his third individual medal of the Worlds.

In Nordic Combined, the Gundersen Large Hill + 10 km race was a stunning win for 19-year-old Johannes Lamparter of Austria, who dusted the field by 37.1 seconds, trouncing Norwegian superstar Jarl Magnus Riiber and former World Cup champ Akito Watabe (JPN) by 23:11.1-23:48.2-23:56.9. Coming into the event, Lamparter had one exactly one World Cup medal in his career and was seventh in the Worlds Normal Hill/10 km event. Now, he is a World Champion.

And he collected a second gold in concert with Lukas Greiderer in the Team Sprint/Large Hill 2×7.5 km event, beating Norway’s Riiber and Espen Andersen, 29:29.7-30:09.3, with Germany third. A star is born!

In Ski Jumping, Austrian veteran Stefan Kraft won the 137 m Large Hill title for his third Worlds gold medal; he also won the Large Hill gold in 2017. He out-pointed Norway’s Robert Johansson, 276.5-272.1, with Karl Geiger (GER) third with 267.4. Geiger helped Germany win the men’s team gold, with Pius Paschke, Severin Freund and Markus Eisenbichler, 1,046.6-1,035.5 over Kraft’s Austria team, with Philipp Aschenwald, Jan Horl and Daniel Huber, with Poland third.

Overall, Norway dominated the Worlds, piling up 31 total medals (13-11-7) to seven for Austria (4-1-2) and Sweden (2-2-3). The U.S. did not win a medal.

● Shooting ● The ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Cairo (EGY) finished on Friday (5th), with Russian shooters finishing with four golds among the nine events contested and eight medals in all.

During the final-week competitions in Trap, Croatia’s two-time Worlds medalist Anton Glasnovic carried away two golds with wins in the men’s competition and men’s team event. He won the individual crown with a 47-44 win over Joan Garcia (ESP), with Spanish teammate Alberto Fernandez third (34). The team title was a 6-2 win for Glasnovic, Giovanni Cernogoraz and Rio gold medalist Josip Glasnovic (Anton’s younger brother by three years), over Russia.

Spain scored a Trap gold with 2015 World Champion Fatima Galvez, who tied with Russia’s Daria Semianova at 44-44, then won the shoot-off by 5-4 in the first round. Russian Ekaterina Subbotina was third at 33.

The women’s and Mixed team events were Russian showcases. Semianova and Alexey Alipov won the Mixed event by 41-34 over Egypt’s Maggy Ashmawy and Ahmed Zaher, and Semianova, Subbotina and Iulliia Saveleva won the women’s team title by 6-4 over India’s Manisha Keer, Rajeshwari Kumari and Kirti Gupta.

Russia ended up leading the overall medal table with nine, followed by Spain with four and the Czech Republic with three.

● Snowboard ● The FIS World Cup circuit in SnowCross resumed this week, with the racers in Bakuriani (GEO) on 4-5 March. There were two new faces on top of the men’s podium, as Canada’s Eliot Grondin and Italian veteran Omar Visintin collected the golds. Grondin won on Thursday for his second World Cup medal of the season, sliding in ahead of Lukas Pachner (AUT) and Italy’s Lorenzo Sommariva. Visintin won on Saturday, beating Swiss Kalle Koblet (first medal of the season) and veteran Alessandro Hammerle (AUT). With one race left later this month, Hammerle leads the seasonal standings by 330-268 over Grondin.

Czech star Eva Samkova, the Sochi 2014 gold medalist, won her 16th career World Cup with a victory on Thursday over France’s Julia Pereira de Sousa Mabileau and American star Lindsey Jacobellis. Friday’s race produced three new medal winners: Britain’s Charlotte Bankes, the 2021 World Champion, won for the first time on the World Cup tour this season, ahead of French star Chloe Trespeuch and American Faye Gulini, who took a third medal in five World Cup races this season. With one race to go, Samkova and Michela Moioli have 350 points each, with Gulini at 282.

The Parallel racers were in Rogla (SLO), with home favorite Zan Kosir taking the final Parallel Giant Slalom of the season – his third World Cup medal in 2020-21 – over Andrey Sobolev (RUS) and Poland’s Oskar Kwiatkowski. The overall Parallel racing standings are tight, with Aaron March (ITA) with 324 points to 322 to Dmitry Loginov (RUS) and 311 for Kosir.

Germany’s Ramona Theresia Hofmeister won the Parallel Giant Slalom seasonal title with her third win in the five races, beating Russian Parallel Slalom World Champion Sofia Nadyrshina and Swiss star Julie Zogg. Hofmeister has a 553-503-412 lead in the overall Parallel standings over Nadyrshina and Zogg with one race remaining.

● Short Track ● The ISU World Short Track Championships was held in Dordrecht (NED), with multiple top squads either skipping the event in view of little training time, or sending secondary entries; Asian powerhouses China, Japan and Korea did not compete at all.

This meant that European skaters had the edge, and won seven of the eight events. The men’s competition was dominated by the Hungarian brothers Shaoang Liu and Shaolin Sandor Liu. Shaoang won the 500 m (40.524) over Semion Elistratov (RUS: 40.603) and Italy’s Pietro Sighei (40.673). Shaolin Sandor won the 1,000 m over Shaoang, 1:25.901-1:26:00 with Sighei third again (1:26.803). Canadian star Charles Hamelin took the 1,500 m (2:18.143) over Itzhak de Laat (NED: 2:18.202) and Elistratov (2:18.296). The Netherlands, Hungary and the Russians went 1-2-3 in the relay.

The women’s event were all won by Dutch skaters. PyeongChang Olympic 1,000 m winner Suzanne Schulting won the 500 m, 1,000 m and 1,500 m plus a leg on the 3,000 m relay to give her a career total of eight Worlds racing golds. She also won the Overall title for the second time.

None of the races were that close; Schulting won the 500 m by 42.661-42.719 over Italian Arianna Fontana; the 1,000 m by 1:26.854-1:26.993 against Belgian Hanne Desmet and the 1,500 m by 2:36.884-2:37.089 over Canada’s Courtney Sarault. The Dutch squad won the relay by more than two seconds over France, with Italy third.

All told, the Dutch won nine medals (6-1-2) with Hungary (3-3-0) and Italy (0-1-5) with six each.

● Speed Skating ● The USA Speedskating nationals were on, although spectator-free, at the famed Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah from Friday through Sunday. Two races were held in the 500 m and 1,000 m for men and women, one each at 1,500 m and the men raced at 5,000 m and 1,000 m while the women contested the 3,000 m and 5,000 m.

The men’s Sprints were headed by Austin Kleba, who won Sunday’s 500 m over Cooper McLeod, 34.89-34.90, with Jordan Stolz third (35.07). Stolz won Friday’s 500 m over Kleba, 34.99-35.10 with Kimani Griffin third (35.13).

Saturday’s 1,000 m winner was Conor McDermott-Mostowy in 1:08.12, over Griffin (1:08.54) and Stoltz (1:08.57), with Kleba fourth. World Mass Start champ Joey Mantia won Sunday’s 1,000 m at 1:08.01, beating Griffin (1:08.32) and McDermott-Mostowy (1:08.61).

Ethan Cepuran won the 5,000 m (6:18.21) ahead of Emery Lehman (6:19.72), with Mantia fourth. Casey Dawson took the 10,000 m in 13:04.12, beating Cepuran (13:16.92).

Superstar Brittany Bowe did not compete this weekend, leaving the women’s sprints and middle distances up for grabs. Erin Jackson won Friday’s 500 m in 37.63, over Kimi Goetz (37.92) and Brianna Bocox (38.92), but then Goetz won Sunday’s round in 37.60, with Jackson at 37.64 and Sarah Warren third in 39.16.

Goetz took Saturday’s 1,000 m race in 1:14.42, with Jackson (1:16.34), Bocox and Warren finishing 2-3-4, but well behind. Goetz cleaned house again on Sunday, cruising to a 1:13.86 seasonal best, with Bocox at 1:16.20, followed by Mia Kilburg, Warren and Jackson.

Kilburg starred in the longer races, winning the 1,500 m in a lifetime best of 1:54.85, followed by Bocox (1:59.99) and Paige Schwartzburg (2:02.77). Kilburg won the 3,000 m (4:07.12) and 5,000 m (7:08.52) with ease, to equal Goetz’s three wins on the weekend.

● Swimming ● Many of the top U.S. swimmers were back in action in San Antonio at the second Tyr Pro Swim Series meet of 2021, with distance superstar Katie Ledecky leading the way.

She won four events – the women’s 200-400-800-1,500 m Freestyles – and claimed world-leading marks in the 800 m (8:13.64) and 1,500 m (15:42.92), winning both events easily. She also finished third in the 100 m Free, clocking 54.74, behind Olympic gold medalist Simone Manuel’s 54.62.

Ledecky, Manuel and Rio 2016 double Backstroke gold medalist Ryan Murphy were the multi-event winners. Manuel won the women’s 50 m and 100 m Frees, while Murphy doubled in the 100 m and 200 m men’s Backstrokes.

Most of the swimmers are still in heavy training, but Ledecky was her usual impressive self, which is bad news for the rest of the world’s women distance freestylers.

● Wrestling ● The U.S. sent a massive squad of 36 wrestlers to the United World Wrestling ranking series tournament Matteo Pellicone in Rome, Italy and made a significant impression.

Three of the four U.S. women entered claimed wins:

● 50 kg: Victoria Anthony won a thriller over European champ Miglena Selishka (BUL), taking the lead for good only in the final minute after giving up a 9-3 lead after the first period. “It was the biggest win for me in recent history which is like five years,” said Anthony afterwards. “This is the first tournament where I have wrestled to my potential, peak ability. I am really happy with that.”

● 59 kg: Abby Nette out-fought Diana Kayumova (KAZ), 6-0, to win her first international tournament gold.

● 68 kg: Tamyra Mensah-Stock showed she is a force to be reckoned with, as she stomped Mimi Hristova (BUL) by 11-0 in the final, after winning her first two matches by 7-4 and 10-0.

The three U.S. wins were the most in the women’s division, trailed by Canada, which had victories from Michelle Fazzari at 62 kg and Erica Wiebe at 76 kg.

The U.S. men’s Freestyle team also scored three wins:

● 70 kg: Alec Pantaleo defeated 2019 Worlds silver medalist Daulet Niyazbekov (KAZ), 4-0, in the final, after defeating him by 6-2 in the preliminary rounds.

● 86 kg: Zahid Valencia faced fellow American Mark Hall in the final and won an overwhelming 11-0 victory for a technical fall.

● 97 kg: Kollin Moore faced Iran’s Worlds silver winner Alireza Karimimachiani and went down 3-1 at the end of the first period, but then scored on a double-leg takedown and won on criteria after a 3-3 tie.

American wrestlers also collected silver medals at 57 kg (Nick Suriano lost to Nurislam Sanayev/KAZ, 4-2); at 74 kg (2012 Olympic champ Jordan Burroughs lost to long-time rival Frank Chamizo/ITA, 3-2); and at 79 kg (David McFadden lost to Galymzhan Usserbayev/KAZ, 6-5).

The U.S. men won the Freestyle division with 190 points, ahead of Kazakhstan (175), which had three wins from Sanayev, Usserbayev and Adlan Askarov at 61 kg.

In Greco-Roman, Russia claimed four wins and Hungary three to dominate the division. Viktor Vedernikov (55 kg), Emin Sefershaev (60 kg), Adlan Akiev (82 kg) and Musa Evloev (97 kg) took the titles for Russia. Robert Fritsch (72 kg), Zoltan Levai (77 kg) and Istvan Takacs (87 kg) won for Hungary.

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THE TICKER: Foreign fans expected to be barred from Tokyo 2020; IWF committee member Chinen calls out Exec Board “gangsters”!

By
Rich Perelman
-
The International Weightlifting Federation Executive Board has gangsters?!

The latest news, notes and quotes from the worldwide Five-Ring Circus:

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● “We would really like people from around the world to come to the full stadium, but unless we are prepared to accept them and the medical situation in Japan is perfect, it will cause a great deal of trouble also to visitors from overseas.”

That’s Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto, setting the stage for an announcement later this month that no foreign fans will be allowed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Kyodo News reported:

“The heads of the organizing bodies of the Summer Games are expected to hold a virtual meeting in mid-March to make a decision on the issue, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. But one of them said, ‘Practically, the course has already been set.’”

The target date for announcing the decision on foreign spectators is 25 March, the starting date for the Olympic Torch Relay. The question of how many fans can be admitted to each site is to be made in April.

● Athletics ● A run at the men’s American Indoor 5,000 m record last night (4th) resulted in the no. 2 performance in American history as Emmanuel Bor win the FireFly Recovery 5,000 m in 13:05.60 at the Virginia Beach Sports Center.

The race had been set up for Paul Chelimo to take a shot at Galen Rupp’s 2014 mark of 13:01.26, but Bor was a clear winner, with Chelimo second in 13:12.51 and Willy Fink third in 13:34.00.

At the European Championships in Torun (POL), two world-leading marks came out of the second day (Friday), as Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou reached 8.35 m (27-4 3/4) in the long jump and reigning Olympic Heptathlon Champion Nafi Thiam (BEL) won the Pentathlon at 4,904, moving her to no. 7 on the all-time list.

Czech Tomas Stanek won the men’s shot at 21.62 m (70-11 1/4), ahead of Pole Michal Haratyk (21.02 m/68-11 3/4).

More cancellations from the coronavirus, as USA Track & Field announced the elimination of the 2021 U-20 Championships from the schedule on Wednesday (3rd). As for the 2021 Pan American Junior Championships in Chile in July, selections will be “based on performance rank order for the period Friday, January 1, 2021 through Sunday, June 13, 2021.”

The 2021 Penn Relays will also not held in its usual format. The University of Pennsylvania announced on Thursday (4th) that a program of three meets will be held., with a collegiate-only meet for Philadelphia-area Division I-II-III teams on 24 April. In addition, “The Penn Relays will also aim to host a meet for open and professional athletes in the coming months and a scholastic meet this summer.” The elite-athlete meet will be held prior to the deadline for Olympic qualifying marks.

The Athletics Integrity Unit sanctioned ex-Kenyan 800 m runner Nelly Jepkosgei with a three-year sanction for “Tampering with any part of Doping Control,” nullifying marks from 15 June 2020 and suspending her through 1 February 2024.

Now 29, Jepkosgei was scheduled to run for Bahrain beginning on 13 August 2021 and has bests of 1:58.96 from 2018 and 4:00.99 in the 1,500 m (also 2018). She missed a doping test scheduled for 18 March 2020 and then said she missed the test because she was at a local hospital in Kapsabet (KEN) following up on her sister, who had been in a car crash. The excuse was a lie and the “supporting” documentation from the hospital was faked. Hence, the suspension.

● Figure Skating ● The Russian TASS News Agency reported on Wednesday (3rd) that Alena Kostornaia, 17, the 2020 European Champion, wants to return to her old coach, Eteri Tutberidze. Kostornaia had left in July 2020 to train with Evgeni Plushenko, but after contracting the Covid-19 virus and then some uneven performances, she prefers to be trained by Tutberidze again … if the coach will agree.

The 2016 and 2017 World Champion, Evgenia Medvedeva, 21, reunited with Tutberidze in 2020 after two years with Canadian coach Brian Orser. Medvedeva also had the virus in late 2020 and has competed sparingly during the current season due to back injuries.

Retired Russian skater Maria Sotskova, eighth at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games and twice an eight-place finisher in the ISU World Championships, was suspended for 10 years for doping by the Russian Skating Federation. According to Reuters, she “submitted a forged document to explain a doping violation.” Sotskova announced that she was retiring from the sport in 2020.

● Football ● U.S. announced two European dates for the American men’s team, both in Europe. The U.S. men will play Jamaica on 25 March at the Wiener Neustadt Stadion in Wiener Neustadt (AUT) and then Northern Ireland on 28 March in Windsor Park in Belfast.

Playing Jamaica in Austria? Huh?

● Weightlifting ● The ongoing saga of the International Weightlifting Federation is now taking on the quality of a soap opera. The latest developments:

● Following the IOC’s letter of 24 February listing its concerns over the IWF’s management of the sport (and itself), the IWF issued a letter from Interim President Dr. Michael Irani (GBR) and Secretary General Mohammed Jalood (IRQ) to all member federations confirming that – in accordance with the IOC’s wishes, a Constitutional Congress will be held ahead of elections, instead of vice versa.

A draft Constitution has been prepared and is proposed to be circulated for comments, to be received by 31 March 2021.

● Later on Wednesday, Japan’s Reiko Chinen, a member of the IWF Technical Committee opined on Twitter:

“Changing order of Electoral and Constitutional Congresses is not enough. #IWF [Executive Board] hasn’t understood deeply yet #IOC Christophe De Kepper addressed, ‘in a satisfactory and TIMELY way’ – means Constitutional [congress] must be done at latest by end of [April] and Election by OG”

and

“Actually there exist wise and normal Members in #IWF board, who has same opinion as mine. Unfortunately we have too many gangsters in its [Executive Board], therefore we need more [Member Federations] realize our problem and speak out same opinion as mine.”

● Separately, former Interim IWF President and now candidate Ursula Papandrea of the U.S. sent out her own letter on Thursday (4th) to the IWF Executive Board and the member federations, including:

“My intent is to express my enduring concern that the Board has reacted to the IOC concerns insufficiently. I am particularly alarmed at the risks this presents to our sport and athletes.

“My concern extends to the reactive versus proactive decision making. While I congratulate you on reacting to part of the IOC warning letter, you have only addressed a fraction of their message by changing course on several points. I request that you address all facets of the warning letter from the IOC by addressing ALL of the listed concerns.”

Papandrea suggested a more aggressive timeline, with comments on the new constitution back by 25 March, the resulting document circulated by 24 April and a Congress by videoconference by 25 May. That would be followed by elections, with a 5 May deadline for applications, 4 June confirmation of the ballot and elections on 4-5 July, well prior to the start of Tokyo 2020.

In addition, she asked for action on anti-doping programs:

“As we have been given notice of a zero positive tolerance warning for the upcoming Olympic Games, it seems prudent to identify the Olympic athlete pool for out of competition testing as soon as possible. Once the testing pool has been identified, the IWF should require ADAMS registration to be maintained from now until the time of the Olympic Games, approximately four months. Waiting on continental championships, that may or may not happen, and the potential that some athletes may not be capable of participating shall the continental championships proceed as scheduled, does not seem to be a fair process.”

● The IWF issued a notice on its Web site on Thursday, posting its new constitution and expecting a Constitutional Congress in June, with elections in October!

Expect the IOC Executive Board to have more to say about this at its meetings next week.

● The Last Word ● The Commission on the Study of the U.S. Olympics and Paralympics is at a standstill, before it has held even a single meeting. The reason is Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Washington).

While 12 members of the Commission have been named, with Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) the last to announce his selections on 27 January, Cantwell has been silent. Well, not exactly silent: her office has posted 33 news releases since that date, but none about the Commission.

The statute (S. 2330) requires the Commission to complete its work essentially at the end of July, while the 2020 Tokyo Games are going on. An extension is obviously going to be needed, but unless Cantwell awakens, the Commission may not meet until after Tokyo is over. Maybe Beijing 2022 too?

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LANE ONE: IOC’s preference for Brisbane shows the bids of the future, and is perfect for Salt Lake City

By
Rich Perelman
-
Queensland combined speed and perseverance and was rewarded with an opportunity to be selected to host the 2032 Olympic Games. Who else is ready to step up?

The International Olympic Committee’s announcement last week that the bid from the Queensland region of Australia – centered around Brisbane – was now “targeted” as the first-in-line choice for the Games of the XXXV Olympiad in 2032 was a surprise to a lot of people.

It shouldn’t have been.

IOC chief Thomas Bach told reporters during his online news conference that this selection was the outcome of the enormous changes made in the Olympic bid process, which were badly needed:

“We had to face there a situation where we could see that because the candidates were put against each other in this kind of [voting] contest, that we had exponentially less and less candidates because the candidates were being eliminated or losing a vote could not justify towards their community to come back with another candidature right after. …

“And these were the reasons why we said we have to change this procedure and, there again, to follow the examples from the business world or other sports events organizers where you avoid this kind of situation, where one candidate is attacking the other, and ‘I am better here’ and ‘I am better here and the best’. I don’t need to explain [to] you; you have experience enough, having followed all these procedures, but I can understand that this is interesting for journalists, for media to follow such a situation. But you also know from this work that this was not the best procedure, neither for the future of the Games, nor for the reputation of the IOC.”

So what happened? A bid effort which was developed with serious intentions, moved forward with significant support from the National Olympic Committee in its country and all levels of government and which pushed all of the IOC’s hot buttons has the opportunity to land the 2032 Games.

Good for Queensland and Australia. Hard work paid off. Sloth, talk and speeches did not. The IOC noted in its announcement that:

“The main reasons why Brisbane 2032 was proposed for the targeted dialogue are:

● “The very advanced Games concept, which is fully aligned with Olympic Agenda 2020 and using 80 to 90 per cent existing or temporary venues.

● “The venue masterplan, which has already been discussed with International Sports Federations and the International Paralympic Committee. …

● “The existing and planned transport infrastructure and experience in traffic management, which can adequately meet the demands of the Olympic Games and were successfully implemented for the Commonwealth Games in 2018.

● “The existing hotel accommodation inventory, which already meets Games requirements.

● “Strong support from all three levels of government, as confirmed on several occasions by highest-level representatives from the City of Brisbane, the Southeast Queensland Council of Mayors, the State of Queensland and the federal government.”

There was plenty of head-shaking from other potential bidders for the Games who were caught flat-footed by the Queensland selection. Jurgen Kessing of the German Athletics Federation (DLV) asked the pertinent question:

“I think we have to ask ourselves how we can get into pole position with possible future Olympic bids.”

They, and others had their chance; they talked while Queensland walked. Norwegian IOC member Kristen Kloster Aasen, chair of the Future Hosts Commission, told reporters:

“In December, we asked the interested parties for a full update on their status and had discussions with all of them. The Commission gave the opportunity of a presentation and discussion to the interested parties that were in continuous dialogue and this resulted in meetings on the 3rd, the 8th and 9th of February this year. The Commission has also engaged with those NOCs which have chosen not to be in continuous dialogue at this stage.”

The German NOC indicated it was not ready to be part of the “continuous dialogue.” The disconnect between one or more potential German bidders and their National Olympic Committee eliminated them. Same for other bids which were more an idea than a reality, in Hungary, Indonesia, India, Korea and others. They were asleep while Queensland was awake, and its bid – more than two years in the making – won after originally targeting 2028, then being disappointed that Los Angeles was awarded that Games. Queensland didn’t whine, they got on with trying to win for 2032.

This is business. The first mover has the advantage, but has to be highly credible. Queensland did that while others talked about it. That’s the future.

Which brings us to Salt Lake City, Utah, which staged a brilliant Winter Games in 2002 and is ready to do so again. It already formed a bid committee a year ago, after being designated as the bid city for the United States by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee in 2018. In addition to having existing venues, accommodations and infrastructure in place, it also has the advantage of multiple veterans of the 2002 organizing committee deeply involved, including former chief Operating Officer Fraser Bullock, and Colin Hilton, now the head of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, which cares for many of the Olympic venues, continuously in use since 2002.

Salt Lake City is in line to be awarded a Winter Games, probably for 2034, with the only question on how to coordinate the timing to follow the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad in Los Angeles in 2028.

The IOC is also moving forward. The introduction of its “Agenda 2020+5” provides clear, new opportunities for countries and regions to show off their attributes in partnership with the IOC in future Olympic qualifying competitions, a clear gateway to future Olympic bids without the expense of a pricey continental Games or a Youth Olympic Games. The “Agenda 2020+5″ recommendation 6 explanation includes:

“Depending on the definition, there are hundreds or even thousands of events which act as Olympic qualifiers. However, today, there are very few opportunities to connect these events with the Olympic Games through branding and other initiatives. The Olympic and OCOG brands effectively have no visibility and therefore the Road to the Olympic Games is not as visible as it should be.

“An opportunity therefore exists to create additional associations between the Olympic Games and Olympic qualification events. This would have benefits for all parties – the Hosts of the events, the NOCs / NFs of the athletes, the IFs governing the events and the athletes themselves. …

“New types of qualifying events could also be explored. Beyond the individual stand-alone events, some multi-sports qualification events could be developed by the IOC in collaboration with IFs, which would help streamline the qualification calendar and also potentially add value for the Hosts, IFs and athletes involved. These events, grouping sports by type or by culture (e.g. combat sports, urban sports), could also serve to build excitement for the Olympic Games.” (Emphasis added)

There is little doubt that the “2020+5″ package will be passed by the IOC Session later this month. Potential Olympic bid cities and regions should then be calling on Kloster Aasen and her Winter Games Commission counterpart, Octavian Morariu (ROU), about these events – which don’t even exist yet – and how they can help create, develop and stage these programs; one good starting point is just to catalog all of the seasonal World Cup events already staged in a city, region or country!

(The IOC’s concept is hardly a new idea, either, especially in Germany. Berlin combined 10 national championships into a single week in 2019, called “Die Finals,” and drew 178,000 spectators!)

The 2032 Games should be in Queensland, but nothing is sure until the event is officially awarded, perhaps in 2021. The “losers” may be sulking now, but the IOC’s new process saved them the embarrassment of explaining how millions of publicly-provided dollars, euros or other currency were spent on nothing after losing an election.

Queensland is now the standard and Salt Lake City is not far behind. As the Sugar Hill Gang famously advised in 1981:

Tonto, jump on it, jump on it, jump on it
Kemosabe, jump on it, jump on it, jump on it
Custer, jump on it, jump on it, jump on it
Apache, jump on it, jump on it!

Rich Perelman
Editor

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SKIING & SNOWBOARD: Norway celebrates 12th Worlds gold for Johaug, second for Lundby; Russia’s Nadyrshina the teen queen in Snowboard

By
Rich Perelman
-
Norwegian Cross Country superstar Therese Johaug wins again!

Congratulations to the Federation Internationale de Ski, which is managing to get its 2021 World Championships in Nordic Skiing and Snowboard staged during the pandemic, albeit in unusual fashion. Here’s what happened since the weekend:

● Cross Country Skiing ● Norway – and distance superstar Therese Johaug – continued their winning ways at the Nordic World Champs in Obertsdorf (GER) with Johaug’s dominant win in the women’s 10 km Freestyle event on Tuesday (2nd).

Leading essentially from the start, the 32-year-old Johaug raced away from everyone in the final half and won in 23:09.8, a staggering 54.2 seconds ahead of runner-up Frida Karlsson (SWE). The win gives Johaug 12 World Championships gold medals, nine of which are in individual events. It’s her second gold of this Championships and she will be the overwhelming favorite in the 30 km Mass Start event on the weekend.

The fight for third saw American star Jessie Diggins holding the bronze-medal position into the final kilometer, but she faded to fourth as Swede Ebba Andersson took third at 24:16.7, with Diggins at 24:21.8.

The men’s 15 km Freestyle was a Norwegian sweep, their second in these Championships, with Hans Christer Holund winning in 33:48.7, trailed by Simen Hegstad Krueger (34:08.9) and Harald Ostberg Amundsen (34:24.3). Holund won his second medal of 2021, following his third in the Skiathlon; he also owns a 2019 Worlds golds for the 50 km Freestyle, coming up this weekend.

● Nordic Combined ● The next competition comes on Thursday (4th), with the men’s Gundersen off a 137 m hill and 10 km race. Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber, already the winner of the Normal Hill-10 km event, is again the favorite.

● Ski Jumping ● The women’s Large Hill (137 m) competition on Wednesday (3rd) was once again a Norwegian showcase, with Maren Lundby winning her second medal of these Championships and winning the first large-hill event for women in the Nordic Worlds.

After finishing second in the Normal Hill event (106 m) on 25 February, Lundby produced technically excellent jumps in both rounds to compile 296.6 points, ahead of Japan’s Sara Takanashi – the Normal Hill bronze medalist – by 8.7 points (287.9). Slovenia’s Nika Kriznar won the bronze at 287.1 points.

The Normal Hill winner, Eva Klinec (SLO) produced the longest jump of the day, in the second round, at 139.5 m (~458 feet!), but scored only 146.3 points; she finished sixth overall.

After 16 events in the Nordic Worlds, Norway leads with 22 of the 48 medals awarded; Sweden (2-2-2) and Slovenia (1-1-4) have six each.

● Snowboard ● The World Championships in Parallel events was held in Rogla (SLO) on 1-2 March, with strong results for Russia and Germany.

The Russians are, of course, required to compete as the “Russian Ski Federation” during their suspension period, but that did not stop Dmitry Loginov and Andrey Sobolev from winning half of the men’s medals available.

In the Parallel Giant Slalom, Loginov – still only 21 – defended his 2019 Worlds victory successfully, finishing ahead of Italian veteran Roland Fischnaller by just 0.01, with Sobolev winning the bronze by 0.21 over Korea’s Sangkyum Kim. It was Fischnaller’s sixth Worlds medal from 2011-21 and an amazing feat at age 40!

Sobolev, who was Parallel Giant Slalom World Champion in 2015, won his fourth career Worlds medal.

The Parallel Slalom was a 1-2 finish for Austria, with Benjamin Karl, 35, winning his fifth World title by 0.09 over countryman Andreas Prommegger, 40, who won his first career Worlds medal. Loginov won the bronze in the all-Russian third-place race by 0.02 over Sobolev.

The women’s Parallel races were dominated by Germany’s Selina Joerg and Russian Sofia Nadyrshina, who each won two medals. Joerg, 33, defended her 2019 Parallel Giant Slalom title with a 0.12 edge in the final against Nadyrshina – age 17 – who won her first Worlds medal. Austria’s Julia Drujmovits won the bronze over teammate Claudia Riegler by 1.05 seconds.

In the Parallel Slalom, Nadyrshina took the gold over Germany’s Ramona Theresia Hofmeister, 24, who did not finish in the final. Joerg won the bronze by 0.08 in a tight duel with Canadian Megan Farrell.

The final stage of the Snowboard Worlds, broken into pieces for 2021, will feature Big Air, Aerials and Moguls, and will be held in Aspen, Colorado (USA), from 10-16 March.

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

HEARD AT HALFTIME: Tokyo 2020 to elect 12 women to board; massive changes to Olympic TV coverage; Russia’s 20-step path to T&F reinstatement

By
Rich Perelman
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Technology is bringing major changes to the way the Olympic Games are broadcast worldwide (Photo: IOC)

News, views and noise from the non-stop, worldwide circus of Olympic sport/updated/:

● Games of the XXXV Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● The Tokyo 2020 organizing committee voted Tuesday (2nd) to expand its executive board from 35 to 45 members, accepted one resignation and then nominated 12 women to fill the open spots.

Once confirmed – the advisory committee vote is expected on Wednesday – the new members will bring the total number of women to 19 out of 45, or 42.2%, slightly ahead of the 40% goal set by new organizing committee chief Seiko Hashimoto.

She noted “We need to deal with the issue quickly to restore (public) confidence in the organizing committee and to produce results.” Reported as among the nominees are 2000 Sydney Olympic marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi and two-time Paralympic alpine skiing champion Kuniko Obinata.

A major change in the way the Olympic Games are televised is underway as the combination of new technologies and the pandemic is shrinking one of the biggest users of space, power and people.

The IOC Web site posted an important story on Tuesday (2nd), entitled “Olympic Games broadcasting via the cloud: technology at the service of storytelling,” underscoring the massive changes taking place in Tokyo.

Key to this is the introduction of a cloud-based signal distribution (noted in detail last October), which eliminates the need for a broadcaster to actually be on-site in Tokyo to produce live coverage of the Games.

Said Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) Chief Executive Yiannis Exarchos (GRE):

“We were lucky in the sense that we have the TOP partnership with Alibaba. Alibaba is one of the key players in the world in cloud technology, and together with them we developed what we call the OBS Cloud, which is a platform which allows broadcasters to receive content remotely on the cloud and even to work on this content remotely on a cloud basis.

“The major thinking, and what we want them to do and help them to do, is reduce the presence [of broadcast staff] that can happen anywhere in the world. To be shipping servers and setting up equipment in a city for things that can happen on the cloud is one of the things we want to avoid.

“If you have a journalist in the mixed zone you can receive everything [else] back in your home country.”

This is a major change in Games organization and will have far-reaching impacts:

● The massive amount of space, time and money needed to assemble an International Broadcast Center in the host city will be dramatically reduced. This is a benefit to the organizers, to the broadcasters and to fans, who will be able to access thousands of hotel rooms used by broadcast technicians.

● The space needed for broadcast commentary positions inside stadia will be markedly reduced over time, again freeing up hundreds of seats for spectators at most sites. Broadcasters pay for these positions to be installed and each one takes up 6-12 spectator seats, depending on the configuration in each venue. The experience of commentators calling events remotely during the pandemic will be a permanent change for many Olympic events that will now be available in real time anywhere in the world.

● The “mixed zone” area, where media can meet athletes as they exit the field of play, will become increasingly important. Introduced on a Games-wide basis in Los Angeles in 1984, the space needed for this function, and for formal news conference-style settings, will now increase exponentially, especially for Paris 2024 and beyond.

The IOC story notes:

“The International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in Tokyo is going to be 25 per cent smaller than the Rio IBC, with 27 per cent fewer broadcasters present. This trend is going only one way. The IBC for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 is already small enough for the Organising Committee to have combined it with the Main Press Centre.”

All of this opens substantial new opportunities for Games coverage, and the rights-holders, press, photographers and non-rights-holding broadcasters will be scrambling to take advantage. How future organizers and the IOC are able to adapt to this could allow for a huge expansion of the impact of the Games worldwide; it’s one of the most exciting changes to Games coverage ever.

● Games of the XXXIV Olympiad: Los Angeles 2028 ● The Los Angeles City Council tabled until 17 March discussion of the “2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games Public Safety Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2028 (LA 2028), and the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) to establish the California Olympic and Paralympic Public Safety Command (COPPSC).”

The memorandum spends no money and authorizes nothing except to have the City join the new COPPSC to begin joint planning and collaboration on public safety for the 2028 Games. Four public comments were posted on this item – three of which were anonymous – all repeating what will be a recurring theme of trying to use the 2028 Games as a straw man for protests on other issues. The most pithy: “Do no [sic] support, Defund the police.”

● National Olympic Committees ● Last December, the IOC sanctioned the NOC of Belarus, with IOC chief Thomas Bach stating that “The IOC has come to the conclusion that it appears that the current leadership has not appropriately protected the Belarussian athletes from political discrimination within the NOC, their member federations or the sports movement.” It banned then-NOC President Alexander Lukashenko – also the country’s President – and his son, Viktor, from attending any Olympic functions.

Last Friday (26th), Alexander Lukashenko left his NOC post with Viktor appointed in his place. The father has been under pressure from political protests against him following elections last fall, which have been criticized as unfairly held; the results gave him a sixth term. The IOC is sure to be irritated by the results and further sanctions may be forthcoming.

In the U.S., 19 National Governing Bodies, including USA Archery, USA Artistic Swimming, USA Baseball, USA Bobsled & Skeleton, USA Cycling, USA Diving, USA Fencing, USA Field Hockey, USA Football, USA Gymnastics, USA Hockey, USA Karate, US Lacrosse, US Ski & Snowboard, US Soccer, US Speedskating, USA Taekwondo, USA Triathlon and USA Wrestling, have signed on for the new CrashCourse Concussion Story Wall produced by the Brain Injury Association of America.

The program features an interactive database of 700 individual’s stories relating to how a brain injury occurred, the symptoms experienced, and personal suggestions from those who have been injured by a concussion (also known as a mild traumatic brain injury). It is intended as a comprehensive resource to help develop an understanding of the injury and appreciation for the whole person for the many who are impacted (athletes, parents, coaches, officials, teachers and military veterans).

It’s free to access here.

● Alpine Skiing ● The brutal injuries to alpine skiers Kajsa Vickhoff Lie (NOR) and Rosina Schneeberger (AUT) during the Super-G races at Val di Fassa (ITA) last weekend are healing, according to reports.

Vickhoff Lie suffered a broken left leg from her crash and had surgery on Sunday in Innsbruck (AUT). The Federation Internationale de Ski Alpine Twitter feed noted:

“[A]fter yesterday’s crash, Rosina Schneeberger was diagnosed with a fracture of the right tibia and fibula. She was successfully operated in the evening in Innsbruck. The fracture was stabilised with an intramedullary nail.”

Both are recovering in the same room!

● Athletics ● The World Athletics Council approved a detailed program for the reinstatement of the Russian Athletics Federation on Monday (1st), including a 31-page plan with dozens of requirements to be met. The Plan reviewed the situation, noting:

● “A history of extensive and sometimes blatant anti-doping rule violations involving athletes, coaches and officials is acknowledged. The root causes of an extensive doping and covering-up culture involving athletes, coaches and officials arose from inheriting a post-Soviet doping culture aimed at winning by all means including doping.”

● “The Strategic Plan, together with the Operational Roadmap that supports the Plan, are designed to deal with the root causes of previous systemic and systematic doping issues and achieve positive changes in both culture and practice regionally and nationally. To do this, the entire system of RusAF’s operations and Russian athletics must be changed, with core integrity-based behaviours and anti-doping values at its heart and at all levels within the sport.”

● “Pathways for clean athletes to come to the fore must exclude old coaching approaches based on doping practices. Measures to reward regions changing to clean athletics are required, and to punish those regions resisting changes. Increased athlete representation to support clean athletics must occur.”

● “It would be extremely erroneous to suggest that RusAF reinstatement per se is the ultimate goal of the Plan. Indeed, RusAF reinstatement is an important landmark, but it is merely a step towards a better future for Russian athletics. The main goal of this plan is to ingrain the sustainable change in culture throughout RusAF’s processes and decision-making and rehabilitate RusAF’s management and oversight of athletics in Russia so that doping no longer occurs in a systemic and systematic way in Russian athletics, and through its emphatic actions to deal with doping violations RUSAF becomes a trusted ally of World Athletics in the fight for clean sport.”

The plan explains that “[t]he consequences of ‘the Lysenko case’ were almost fatal for RusAF” and that the prior plan to reinstate the federation collapsed under the cover-up of “whereabouts” failures for former World Indoor High Jump champ Danil Lysenko. So, everything started over.

The new project specifies goals in nine groups are required to be met by 1 April, 1 September and reviewed with an audit by 2 March of 2022. There are 20 items with specific deadlines to be implemented – in the anti-doping and governance areas – by 1 April (8 items), 1 June (6), 1 July (1), 1 August (3) and 1 September (2).

The question on reinstating the “Authorized Neutral Athlete” program in time to allow some Russian athletes to compete in Tokyo will be considered by the World Athletics Council at its meeting from 17-18 March. In terms of incentive to implement the Plan requirements, perhaps provisional approval of Authorized Neutral Athletes, conditioned on meeting the 15 requirements for April, June and July, could be adopted.

The USA Track & Field National Championships in the men’s 50 km walk and women’s 35 km walk were held in Santee, California on Sunday. Nick Christie, 36, won the men’s 50 km race for what is believed to be his 18th national title at various distances in 4:10:53, ahead of A.J. Gruttadauro (4:19:18) and Joel Phahler (4:47:45), with 1992 and 1996 Olympian Allen James fourth (4:52:00). Defending champion Andreas Gustafsson was disqualified.

The women’s 35 km walk was taken by 37-year-old Robyn Stevens for her third straight national title, this time at the new distance, in 3:01:11. Stephanie Casey was second (3:05:21) and Amberly Melendez was third (3:23:14). The top finishers in each race received $8,000-6,000-4,000-3,000-2,000-1,000-1,000 for the top eight places, but only six men and five women finished.

(Thanks to U.S. Olympic walker and sharped-eyed reader Elliott Denman for a correction on A.J. Gruttadauro’s name and spelling!)

USA Track & Field announced a 10-meet “Journey to Gold” spring series from April into June, with six events already specified with a date and location. Three of those will be held at Prairie View A&M on 3 April, 25 May and 6 June. Prize money totaling $1 million is promised for the series, with details to come later.

World Athletics confirmed the final points standings of its World Indoor Tour and the event winners who earned a wild-card entry into the 2022 World Indoor Championships in Belgrade (SRB) and $10,000 prize money:

Men/400 m: Pavel Maslak (CZE)
Men/1500 m: Selemon Barega (ETH)
Men/60 m hurdles: Grant Holloway (USA)
Men/High jump: Gianmarco Tamberi (ITA)
Men/Long jump: Juan Miguel Echevarria (CUB)

Women/60 m: Javianne Oliver (USA)
Women/800 m: Habitam Alemu (ETH)
Women/3000 m: Lemlem Hailu (ETH)
Women/Pole vault: Iryna Zhuk (BLR)
Women/Triple jump: Liadagmis Povea (CUB)
Women/Shot put: Auriol Dongmo (POR)

● Cycling ● The organizers of the 2023 UCI all-disciplines World Championships in and around Glasgow (SCO) are working with the UCI to market “purpose-led sponsorships” which bring companies together with “key societal themes and outcomes.”

In an interview with SportBusiness, organizing committee commercial director Jonathan Rigby (GBR) explained, “So if we want to get more people on bikes more often, then there’s a fantastic opportunity for a mobility partner to work with us and identify how cars and bikes can co-exist in future cities.”

A technology partner could focus on second-screen engagement with the races and encouraging participation in cycling. An automaker could showcase electric or hybrid vehicles and/or promote road safety with cyclists. Whether this is the future of sponsorship or more of an experiment to yet to be seen.

The report noted that “Ahead of Scotland being awarded the hosting rights, it was forecast that the hosting budget would be £45.8m (€53m/$64.8m), with Glasgow City Council providing £15m in support.”

● Judo ● The Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision in the appeal of sanctions by the Iran Judo Federation “concluded that the kind of sanction (unlimited suspension) imposed in the challenged decision of 22 October 2019 had no legal basis in the IJF regulations. Accordingly, the Panel partially upheld the appeal and annulled the decision taken by the IJF Disciplinary Commission on 22 October 2019. The matter has been referred back to the IJF Disciplinary Commission for its eventual further.”

The International Judo Federation posted only a short note on its Web site in reply that the federation “is currently considering what further action and decisions will be taken.”

One item clearly on the agenda of a future IJF Congress is to amend its rules to allow indefinite suspensions for political interference.

● Volleyball ● An in-depth review of the massive investment in the creation of a new “Volleyball World” commercial agency to promote the sport worldwide by SportBusiness revealed that $100 million was contributed to the new venture by Luxembourg-based CVC Capital Partners, which represents one-third of the ownership of the new entity.

FIVB Secretary General Fernando Lima (BRA) explained that volleyball has huge opportunities for growth based on its enormous viewership at the Olympic Games, a metric which other sports have tried to leverage but found difficult. Said Lima: “Most international sport federations, like basketball and football, or even market-specific sports like rugby and cricket, found ways to connect with fans in the last century via different platforms and media. Volleyball missed that trajectory – its mission was to deliver the events and competitions, hand out the medals and then we’d all go home. We didn’t create a strong brand.”

The revenue opportunities targeted to start will include events, the fan experience, media rights strategies, data/digital opportunities and sponsorship.

● Weightlifting ● While the International Weightlifting Federation immediately conceded to the IOC demands for athlete representation on the Executive Board and the re-scheduling of the Congresses for adopting a new constitution and then for elections, the IOC’s letter also included other matters that can have a long-lasting impact. The letter, from IOC Director General Christophe de Kepper (SUI) objected to:

● “The large number of candidates for the upcoming elections that have been involved with the IWF leadership over the recent period”;

● “Lack of any age restrictions or restrictions on candidates from suspended or sanctioned national federations” and

● “The lack of engagement with the elected athlete representatives …”

The letter also notes concerns with the anti-doping program for the upcoming Olympic qualification events and the resolution of issues raised by the McLaren Global Sport Services Report and ongoing investigations by the World Anti-Doping Agency, the International Testing Agency and Hungarian police!

As the IOC’s dealings with the AIBA over boxing have shown, the IWF’s path out of the Games is clearer than its path to staying in.

● Wrestling ● USA Wrestling has re-scheduled its Olympic Trials for Ft. Worth, Texas for 2-3 April, moving it from its original site at Penn State due to the pandemic. In that announcement was some good news for wrestling fans: “there were 12,000 tickets sold for the Olympic Trials at Penn State before the pandemic began.”

That’s good news for wrestling in the U.S. and not to be taken lightly for the future. The new capacity at the Dickies Arena will be limited to 4,900.

● At the BuZZer ● A significant auction of sports memorabilia is scheduled for Paris on 6 March called “SPORLYMPIQUE VI.”

On offer are 471 lots, with some significant Olympic items including two participation medals from the 1896 Athens Games (expected to sell individually for €400-800 each) and Olympic torches from Tokyo 1964 (expected €2800-3000), Montreal 1976 (€2500-3500), Moscow 1980 (€1500-1800), Lillehammer 1994 (€20,000-30,000!!!), Sydney 2000 (€2500-3500), Athens 2004 (€1800-2000) and London 2012 (€2500-3500).

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

LANE ONE: Coronavirus, Beijing, Larry Nassar, weightlifting, doping: is the apocalypse right around the corner?

By
Rich Perelman
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From Michelangelo's immortal "The Last Judgment" (1535-41) in the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

Our Highlights of last weekend’s noteworthy competitions around the world is here.

In December, 1776, American political activist Thomas Paine began his first American Crisis pamphlet with the words, “These are the times that try men’s souls.”

Those words apply now – to men and women – just as they have for many periods since the Revolutionary War. For those in the world of international sport, the last month seems like the planet is spinning off of its axis:

● Tokyo 2020’s Mori implodes, but the coronavirus still looms

The Tokyo 2020 organizers already had their hands full when committee chief, former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, complained on 3 February about women talking too much during Board meetings. It took only about 10 days for him to resign, with federal Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto taking his place.

Many more women will be added to the Tokyo 2020 Board in what may be (or may not be) a catalytic moment for women in Japanese society. But none of this changes the coronavirus situation, the question of whether fans – foreign or domestic – will be able to attend the Games this summer, the difficulty in holding qualifying events, and the low public enthusiasm for the Games in Japan itself.

Hashimoto said last week that the spectator question should be clearer by the time the Olympic Torch Relay begins on 25 March; IOC chief Thomas Bach thought the decision will be needed by the end of April or beginning of May. But how many people will care?

● Beijing 2022 boycott talk continues, ominously

The consensus in the sports world is that athlete boycotts do not create the kind of change required to make them worthwhile. After all, the Nazi-organized Games of 1936 gave us Jesse Owens, while the U.S.-led boycott of 1980 hardly impacted the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

But that does not mean that politicians aren’t enamored of the idea to prick Chinese pride by having their country’s athletes skip the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. The continuing brutality of the Chinese regime in Hong Kong, against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang Province, the threats against Taiwan and more has energized elected officials in Australia, Canada, Great Britain and elsewhere. Those governments are the primary funders of their National Olympic Committees.

Even in the U.S., last Thursday’s comment by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki showed the question of what to do about the Beijing Winter Games was on the radar. Asked whether U.S. President Joe Biden would “participate” in the Games, Psaki replied, “There hasn’t been a final decision made on that. And, of course, we would look for guidance from the U.S. Olympic Committee.”

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee is not in favor of a boycott, of course. But it will be fascinating to see if the USOPC and its Team USA Council on Racial and Social Justice and Athletes’ Advisory Council will take a stand on the issue, or take a pass.

Interestingly, the new Chair of the Athletes’ Advisory Council is former Bobsled and Skeleton racer Bree Schaaf, whose LinkedIn profile lists her as a Program Manager for the athlete’s rights start-up Global Athlete. Concerning Beijing 2022, that organization tweeted on 27 February:

“Thousands of athletes are caught in the middle. For most, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance for fame and a medal. But they’re on their own. Those who speak out may be banned by @Olympics bodies, dropped by sponsors, and threatened by the Chinese state.”

The USOPC is hardly an individual athlete; the U.S. will have one of the largest teams in Beijing. And it could undertake – and lead other nations in – a silent protest that would speak volumes; one suggestion on how to do so is here. It will be fascinating to see what the USOPC and Schaaf do, or don’t do.

● Geddert suicide only complicates the endless Nassar scandal

The story of the Larry Nassar abuse scandal took a deadly turn last week when former U.S. Olympic gymnastics coach John Geddert, the long-time owner of the Twistars USA Gymnastics club in Michigan, was charged with 24 felony counts by state prosecutors last Thursday (25th) and then shot himself later that day.

Geddert had been charged with 20 counts of human trafficking, two counts of criminal sexual conduct, criminal racketeering and lying to police. He killed himself in his car while at a rest stop off I-96 in Grand Ledge, Michigan. According to clickondetroit.com, “Nassar worked for Geddert as a team physician and Twistars’ medical expert for about 20 years.”

In the meantime, there is no end in sight to the ongoing USA Gymnastics bankruptcy case at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of Indiana. A court-mandated settlement conference that was ordered last September, mediated by Judge James Carr, has produced no results to date, after a proposed $217.1 million settlement offered in February 2020 for the abuse survivors was rejected.

● International Weightlifting Federation in chaos after IOC letter reiterates complaints

After stating for months its displeasure with the activities of the International Weightlifting Federation, the International Olympic Committee sent a letter to the IWF President and General Secretary listing its issues, and copying it to all IWF national federations and the 206 National Olympic Committees last Wednesday (24th).

After doing very little for a long time, the IWF Executive Board held an emergency meeting on Saturday (27th) and immediately reversed course in a number of areas. Postpone its electoral and Constitutional Congresses scheduled for March and April, so that a Constitution can be adopted before elections? Done. Allow the Chair and Vice Chair of the Athletes Commission to vote at Executive Board meetings? Done. Tell us what else to do? Sure, absolutely.

The future of weightlifting on the Olympic program, and perhaps as an international sport of any significance, depends on its reforms along the lines that the IOC is demanding. But very few people give up power willingly and the IOC is essentially telling the IWF that anyone who has been part of the governing effort while potentially criminal activities have been taking place in IWF finances, doping cover-ups, bribery and more, must go. The elections, to be held sometime this spring, will likely determine the IWF fate for Paris 2024 and beyond.

The same goes for AIBA and boxing, which the IOC has already said is so far behind the curve in its reform efforts that its review committee will not even meet with them.

● Court of Arbitration for Sport lets Iran off the hook, for now

The celebrated case of judoka Saeid Mollaei, a former World Champion, who was forced to lose matches at the 2019 Worlds in order not to face, and not to have to stand on the podium with, Israeli star Sagi Muki (the eventual winner), resulted in the Iranian Judo Federation to be suspended indefinitely by the International Judo Federation.

Mollaei fled the World Championships in Japan for Germany and was eventually welcomed to Mongolia, for which he now competes. The Iranian Judo Federation appealed its indefinite sanction to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

On Monday, the arbitration panel decision “annulled” the sanction, stating:

“The CAS Panel determined that the I.R.I. JF committed severe violations of the IJF rules and that sanctions compliant with the IJF regulations should be imposed on it. However, the CAS Panel concluded that the kind of sanction (unlimited suspension) imposed in the challenged decision of 22 October 2019 had no legal basis in the IJF regulations. Accordingly, the Panel partially upheld the appeal and annulled the decision taken by the IJF Disciplinary Commission on 22 October 2019. The matter has been referred back to the IJF Disciplinary Commission for its eventual further decisions.”

So while the Iranians are not off the hook, they get to complain about how unfairly they have been treated. What was the reinstatement criteria required? According to the Court, “Iran Judo Federation [must give] strong guarantees and proves that they will respect the IJF Statutes and accept that their athletes fight against Israeli athletes.”

Perhaps we will see shirts with “Israeli judokas matter” in Iran? Not likely, at least any time soon.

All of this makes one wonder if international sport is headed off of a cliff, even after the pandemic is tamed thanks to widening use of vaccines.

The answer will come this summer, and in February of 2022 when the Olympic Winter Games take place. If people around the world – and especially in the United States and Europe – watch the Games in droves, all will be well.

The reality is that most – but not all – of the sports that make up the Games program are dependent on the IOC’s distribution of its enormous television revenue. If the Games viewing audience shrinks, the IOC’s ability to support these sports, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and the World Anti-Doping Agency and so on, will be compromised.

You see, it really isn’t all about the athletes. Television viewership of this summer’s Games and the 2022 Winter Games will be the ultimate arbiter of the future of the Olympic Movement, and will either reinvigorate Pierre de Coubertin’s project, or begin the slow path to its last judgement.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

GYMNASTICS: Bock, Chiles claim USA Gymnastics’ Winter Cup All-Around titles

By
Rich Perelman
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Winter Cup All-Around champion Jordan Chiles (Photo: Facebook page of Jordan Chiles)

The first step toward the U.S. Olympic Team in Artistic Gymnastics came this weekend in Indianapolis, Indiana with the USA Gymnastics Winter Cup, with Cameron Bock and Jordan Chiles claiming top honors in the All-Around competitions.

There was considerable anticipation for the first appearance since 2016 for women’s Olympic Team member and gold medalist Laurie Hernandez, but Saturday’s All-Around competition belonged to Chiles, 19, the 2017 U.S. All-Around silver medalist.

Chiles won or tied for the best score on the Vault (14.900), Beam (14.500 tie) and Floor (13.600) and was fourth on the Uneven Bars (14.050) to score 57.050, winning by almost two points. She was followed by Shilese Jones (2: 55.100), Emily Lee (3: 53.400), Lilly Lippeatt (4: 53.250) and Amari Dayton (5: 52.950). The top four qualified for the U.S. National Team for 2021.

Among the U.S. national-team stars who competed in some of the events, Jade Carey was second on Vault (14.800) and sixth and ninth on Uneven Bars and Beam; Riley McCusker was second on the Uneven Bars (14.650) and 10th on Vault and 19th on Beam; Sunisa Lee won the Uneven Bars (15.050) and was third on Beam (14.250).

Hernandez competed on Beam and was fifth (13.950) and Floor, finishing 13th (12.050). Other stars, including World Champions Simone Biles and Morgan Hurd, did not compete.

Among the men, the University of Michigan’s Bock was the most consistent of the men’s performers on Friday’s All-Around, finishing second or third on four of the six apparatus to finish with 84.150 points, almost a full point up on Riley Loos of Stanford (83.250). Third went to veteran star Shane Muldauer (82.600), followed by Shane Wiskus (Minnesota: 81.250), Allan Bower (Oklahoma: 81.150) and Paul Juda (Michigan: 79.850). The top six qualified for the 2021 national team.

The individual event winners were determined by the two-day scores on each apparatus. Wiskus won the Floor (28.550 two-day score); Alec Yoder took the Pommel Horse (29.500); Alex Diab won Rings at 29.800; Eddie Penev won the Vault at 29.150; Moldauer won the Parallel Bars with 28.150 and Genki Suzuki was tops on the High Bar at 27.250.

The USA Gymnastics National Championships in Artistic Gymnastics are from 3-6 June in Ft. Worth, Texas, and the Olympic Trials will be in St. Louis, Missouri from 24-27 June.

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

HIGHLIGHTS: Gut-Behrami on fire on snow; A&M frosh Mu runs 1:58.40; 42 sub-2:10 finishers in Lake Biwa Marathon!

By
Rich Perelman
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Texas A&M's amazing Athing Mu wins the SEC Indoor title with a World U-20 Record of 1:58.40! (Photo: Texas A&M)

Headline results of noteworthy competitions around the world:

● Alpine Skiing ● The FIS Alpine World Cup got back into action this weekend, with Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami sprinting into the overall lead with two wins and a silver in Val di Fassa (ITA).

Gut-Behrami won the last two races prior to the World Championships – both Super-Gs – then won the Super-G and Giant Slalom, plus a bronze in the Downhill at the Worlds. This time, she won the Downhills on Friday and Saturday and then claimed a silver medal in the Super-G on Sunday.

Her Swiss teammate, Corinne Suter – the Downhill World Champion – also won three medals in three days, finishing third in Friday’s Downhill, second in Saturday’s Downhill and third in Sunday’s Super-G. That left only Sunday’s gold for home favorite Federica Brignone, her 16th career World Cup win, a silver for Ramona Siebenhofer (AUT) on Friday and a bronze for Kira Weidle (GER) in Saturday’s Downhill as the remaining medal winners.

Sunday’s Super-G was marred by two severe crashes. Kajsa Vickhoff Lie (NOR), the 13th starter, skied off the course and into the safety nets, and then Rosina Schneeberger (AUT) also ran off into the nets. Both had to be removed from the site by helicopter for further attention.

Once all of the results were tallied, Gut-Behrami – who won the overall World Cup title in 2016 – with the overall lead after 25 of 33 races. She leads Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova by 1,227-1,040, with Swiss Michelle Gisin third (892). The schedule favors Vlhova, with four slaloms left, two Giant Slaloms, one Downhill and one Super-G, but Gut-Behrami is on a roll.

The men’s racing was in Bansko (BUL) for two Giant Slalom races. Filip Zubcic, the Worlds silver medalist in the Parallel, won his third World Cup gold on Saturday, just ahead of the Giant Slalom World Champion, France’s Mathieu Faivre, 2:20.62-2:21.02, with Austria’s Stefan Brennsteiner third (2:21.55).

Faivre got to the top of the podium on Sunday, winning his second career World Cup race – and first since 2016 – by 75/100ths of a second over Swiss veteran Marco Odermatt, 2:25.29-2:26.04, with French star Alexis Pinturault third (2:26.10).

Pintuault remains in the overall lead by 1,034-824 over Odermatt after 29 of 38 races, with Marco Schwarz (AUT) well back in third with 718 points.

● Athletics ● The track & field season is heating up as the indoor season ends and outdoors starts, but nowhere more so than Fayetteville, Arkansas at the SEC Indoor Championships:

● Men/200 m: Three world leads in this event, with Georgia soph Matthew Boling running 20.37 in the heats, then Joe Fahnbulleh (Florida soph) winning the first section of the finals in 20.32, followed by a win in the second section for Terrence Laird (LSU senior) in 20.28! That puts Laird in the no. 8 spot all-time U.S. What about Boling? He was disqualified for a lane violation in the final, but still claimed a school record from his heat time.

● Men/400 m: LSU junior Noah Williams won in 45.26 for sixth on the 2021 world list, with Georgia junior Elija Godwin second in 45.37, good for ninth in the world.

● Men/Long Jump: LSU senior JuVaughn Harrison equaled the world lead at 8.33 m (27-4) and also won the high jump at 2.20 m (7-2 1/2)!

● Men/Triple Jump: Tennessee junior Carey McLeod (JAM) won at 17.17 m (56-4) to move to no. 3 on the 2021 year list on his final jump.

● Women/400 m: Florida freshman Talitha Diggs ran a lifetime best 51.14 to win, placing her no. 5 on the 2021 world list, while Florida senior Taylor Manson was second at 51.82, now ninth on the world list.

● Women/800 m: The amazing Athing Mu (Texas A&M) won in 1:58.40, the no. 2 performance in U.S. history behind Ajee Wilson’s 1:58.29 from 2020. Mu won by almost four-and-a-half seconds and set a World U-20 Record in the process, a Collegiate indoor record and is the best-ever all-conditions Collegiate mark at 800 m, as the outdoor record is 1:59.40 by Oregon’s Raevyn Rogers from 2017. Wow!

Mu had a clear lead after a lap and just keep pouring it on, splitting 28.65, 29.32 [57.96], 29.64 and 30.81 to win by 1:58.40-2:02.85 over Florida soph Gabrielle Wilkinson!

At the “All-Star Perche” meet in Aubiere (FRA), the 2012 Olympic gold medalist in the men’s vault, France’s Renaud Lavillenie cleared 6.06 m (19-10 1/2), his highest clearance since 2014!

It’s the =14th best performance of all-time indoors, showing that at age 34, he cannot be counted out coming Tokyo time. He won the event at 5.96 m (19-6 1/2) from Menno Vloon of The Netherlands (26), who set a national record, but cleared on this third try, while Lavillenie cleared on his second. Lavillenie also tried 6.20 m (20-4), but missed all three times. Chris Nilsen (USA) was third at 5.86 m (19-2 3/4).

The latest mystery meet was the Texas Qualifier, a distances event in Austin, Texas on Friday and Saturday, with Olympic qualification in mind. The top marks:

● 10,000 m: German Konstanze Klosterhalfen won the fastest women’s section easily in 31:01.71, well under the Olympic qualifying mark of 31:25.00. Her mark was also good for a German national record in her first 10,000 m track race ever. Keira D’Amato was second in 32:16.82.

● 5,000 m: Ellie Purrier continued her hot running with a win in 15:08.61 in the fastest women’s section, easily making the Olympic qualifying time (15:10.00) and taking the world outdoor lead. Eritrea’s Weini Kelati was second in 15:13.12, a lifetime best.

● 800 m: Ajee Wilson took the world outdoor lead by winning in 1:58.93, ahead of Kaela Edwards (1:59.86) and Hannah Seagrave (2:01.33). Isaiah Harris won the fastest men’s 800 race in 1:46.19, also the fastest outdoor time this year.

A World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meet was held in Auckland (NZL) on Saturday, with two-time Olympic women’s shot champ Valerie Adams (NZL) taking the world outdoor lead with a win at 19.65 m (64-5 3/4). That’s her best since 2016!

In the men’s shot, New Zealand stars Tomas Walsh and Jacko Gill faced off again, but with Walsh winning this round, 21.60 m (70-10 1/2) to 21.44 m (70-4 1/4).

Unbelievable might be too tame for the results of the 76th Lake Biwa Marathon in Otsu, Japan on Sunday, with Kengo Suzuki won with a lifetime best and national record of 2:04:56.

In his fifth career marathon, Suzuki left the field behind with a break at 36 km and was never headed, setting a PR by more than five minutes from his old best of 2:10:21 from 2018.

“I never imagined such a time was possible, so, I am the one most surprised with the record,” Suzuki said. “The big factor of my success was that I was able to train for a year without any injury. My training since the new year went great.”

There was more to it than that; the entire race was a record-maker. An elites-only race with 369 starters, Hidekazu Hijikata finished second at 2:06:26, and Kyohei Hosoya third with 2:06:35. World Athletics reported:

“[F]ive runners cracked the 2:07 barrier with personal bests. Fifteen ran under 2:08 (the record for a race is 17 from the 2020 Tokyo Marathon) and a record 28 runners cracked 2:09, breaking the previous record of 24, also set at last year’s Tokyo Marathon. A record 42 runners finished in under 2:10, smashing the previous best of 30 from last year’s Valencia Marathon.”

To answer your next question, no report was filed on the shoes worn by the top 42.

● Beach Volleyball ● The FIVB World Tour returned to the sand for the first time in almost a year, in Doha (QAT), with the home team taking the win at the one-star Doha Beach Volleyball Cup on Saturday.

Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan were the top seeds and won Qatar’s second World Tour gold with a 21-15, 21-19 victory over Swiss Quentin Metral and Yves Haussener. Cherif had been part of the first Qatari win in the World Tour in 2016, but this was the first win for Cherif and Ahmed together.

Russia’s Alexey Gusev and Pavel Shustrov won the bronze-medal match by 19-21, 21-15, 19-17 over Murat Giginoglu and Volkan Gogtepe of Turkey. The four-star Katara Cup in Doha will start on 8 March.

● Cycling ● After building a solid lead in the uphill fifth stage, Slovenia’s reigning Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar won the UCI World Tour season opener, the UAE Tour, on Saturday.

He finished the seven-stage event in 24:00.28, thirty-five seconds ahead of Adam Yates (GBR) and 1:02 in front of Portugal’s Joao Almeida. Australian Chris Harper (+1:42) and American Neilson Powless (+1:45) were fourth and fifth.

The last two stages were flat routes for the sprinters, and Ireland’s Sam Bennett edged Elia Viviani (ITA) in the 165 km sixth stage (3:32:23), and Australian star Caleb Ewan got to the line first in the 147 km final stage in 3:18:29, just ahead of Bennett.

The first of the World Tour Classics races in Europe was on Saturday, the 76th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad from Ghent to Ninove in Belgium. The 200.5 km route ended in a bunch sprint, with Italian Davide Ballerini claiming his second career World Tour win, and his first in a one-day race.

Ballerini managed to get to the line just ahead of Jake Stewart (GBR) and Sep Vanmarcke (BEL), with the first 45 riders given the same time of 4:43:03.

● Freestyle Skiing ● The Ski Cross stars were in Bakuriani (GEO) for the resumption of the FIS Freestyle World Cup, with Swiss star Fanny Smith taking her fifth win of the season over long-time rival Sandra Naeslund of Sweden.

This was the eight medal of the season for Smith in nine races (5-2-1) compared to two for Naeslund and clinched the Ski Cross title for 2020-21 for Smith. France’s Marielle Berger Sabbatel was third, winning her second World Cup medal of the season.

The men’s race was the first career World Cup victory for Germany’s Florian Wilmsmann, 25, who got to the line first ahead of Swede David Mobaerg and Canada’s Jared Schmidt, 2, who won his first World Cup medal.

● Gymnastics ● The USA Gymnastics Winter Cup is being held in Indianapolis, Indiana; a separate report will be posted later today.

● Nordic Skiing ● The 42nd World Nordic Skiing Championships are on in Obertsdorf (GER), with Norway already running away with the medal count.

In Cross Country, Sweden’s Jonna Sundling won the first gold medal of the Championships, taking the women’s 1.2 km Classical Sprint in 2:36.76, just ahead of Maiken Caspersen Falla (NOR) and Anamarija Lampic (SLO), just 2.32 and 2.35 seconds behind. American Jessie Diggins reached the quarterfinals, but did not advance.

The men’s 1.5 km Classical Sprint was a Norwegian sweep, with defending champion Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo winning a tight race from teammates Erik Valnes and Havard Solas Taugboel, 3:01.30-3:01.96-3:02.10.

The women’s 7.5 km Classical/7.5 km Freestyle Skiathlon was the eighth career individual world title for Norwegian superstar Therese Johaug, who won in 38:35.5, a cool 30.0 seconds ahead of Sweden’s Frida Karlsson (39:05.5) and 30.2 ahead of Ebba Andersson (39:05.7). Diggins was 15th at 40:35.0.

The men’s 15 km Classical/15 km Freestyle Skiathlon was the first career Worlds gold for Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov, who won at the finish by 1.1 seconds over Simen Hegstead Krueger (NOR), 1:11.33.9-1:11:35.0 and 1.7 seconds up on Hans Christer Holund (1:11:35.6) as Norway went 2-3-4-5-6.

Sunday’s Team Sprints were won by Norway (Klaebo and Valnes) for the men, over Finland and Russia, and Sweden (Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist), over Switzerland and Slovenia.

In Nordic Combined, the first-ever women’s World Championships event was held on a 106 m hill and 5 km race. Norway swept the medals behind Gyda Westvold Hansen, who won in 13:10.4, followed by sisters Mari Leinan Lind (13:24.2) and Marte Leinan Lund (13:39.2). American Tera Geraghty Moats finished fifth in 14:19.8.

The first of two men’s individual events, this one off the 106 m hill and a 10 km race, was a second straight world title for Norway’s star Jarl Magnus Riiber, who won in 23:01.2, just ahead of Finland’s Ilkka Herola (23:01.6) and Jens Luras Oftebro (NOR: 23:02.1).

The men’s team relay was an easy win for Norway (including Riiber and Oftebro), over Germany and Austria, 43:57.7-44:40.4-44:36.8.

In Ski Jumping, Slovenia’s Ema Klinec won the women’s Normal Hill title, scoring 279.6 points to edge defending champion Maren Lundby (NOR: 276.5) and Japan’s Sara Takanashi (276.3). The women’s team title was won by Austria (959.3) over Slovenia (957.9) and Norway (942.1).

The men’s Normal Hill title went to Poland’s Piotr Zyla for his first individual Worlds gold, scoring 268.8 to 265.2 for German Karl Geiger – his second straight Worlds silver – and 261.5 for Anze Lanisek (SLO).

The Mixed Team event was a win for Germany (including Geiger), over Norway and Austria.

The Worlds continue through this coming week. After 13 events, Norway owns 17 medals (6-6-5), with Slovenia next at 5 (1-1-3) and Sweden with four (2-1-1).

● Rowing ● A ticket to Tokyo was on the line in the women’s Single Sculls at the first stage of the US Rowing Olympic Trials in Sarasota, Florida, claimed by 2019 World Rowing Championships bronze medalist Kara Kohler.

The 2,000 m race quickly developed into Kohler vs. Gevvie Stone, the Rio silver medalist in the event, but Kohler opened the lead by 1,000 m, extending it to the finish in 7:23.37, with Stone at 7:27.17 and Kristina Wagner at 7:39.29.

Said Kohler: “It’s a huge relief. I’ve worked incredibly hard the past few years to race the single in Tokyo, so there was a lot riding on today’s race. But, I had fun and trusted everything I’ve done up to this point. So, that was what I was thinking about while racing – trusting my preparation, thinking about my teammates, my coach and my family.”

In the men’s Single Sculls, John Graves won in 6:59.08, ahead of Lucas Bellows (7:03.50) and Kevin Meador (7:04.73). The men’s Double Sculls winners were Kevin Cardno and Jonathan Kirkegaard (6:22.07), beating Justin Keen and Sorin Koszyk (6:23.03) and Charles Anderson and Eliot Putnam (6:24.87).

The winners in the men’s Single Sculls, Double Sculls and lightweight men’s and women’s Double Sculls must race at the World Rowing Final Olympic Qualification Regatta from 15-17 May in Lucerne (SUI) to confirm their Olympic spots.

● Shooting ● The first half of the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Cairo (EGY) has been completed, including the men’s and women’s Skeet events and the three team Skeet events.

The men’s individual event was a 53-52 final victory for 2000 Olympic gold medalist Mikola Milchev (UKR) over Jesper Hansen (DEN), with Rashid Hamad (QAT) third at 48. Milchev and Hansen both hit of their first 20, then Milchev hit 18 of his next 20, while Hansen hit 17. In the last 20 shots, both hit 18.

The women’s title went to Czech Dante Bartekova, the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist, who scored a 55-53 win over Russian Alina Fazylzyanova, with Konstantia Nikolaou (CYP) third at 43. The difference came in the final 20 shots, as Bartekova hit 19 and Fazylzyanova, 17.

Russia swept the team events, defeating Poland, 35-31, in the Mixed Team, and beat the Czech Republic in both the men’s and women’s team events, by 6-0 and 6-2, respectively.

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

THE TICKER: Tokyo fan decision in April? Puma declares “war” on USOPC marks; hurdles world record for U.S.’s Grant Holloway!

By
Rich Perelman
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World record 7.29 in the 60 m hurdles for Grant Holloway (USA) in Madrid! (Photo via Twitter)

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The latest news, notes and quotes from the worldwide Five-Ring Circus:

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● Asked about when a decision on spectator attendance at the Tokyo Games will be made, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER) said on Wednesday:

“[W]e are very well aware that there, even if we would like to, to benefit from positive developments with regard to the coronavirus, that if we would like to wait until the very last moment, but this is not possible because the ticketing program has to be organized, the logistics has to be taken into consideration and then organized; this is about also immigration rules and so on. … I would say maybe April, early May, roundabout, that we would have to take this decision, but this is very much based on the technical factors.”

The decision to allow fans at the Games will be separate from the determination whether Covid-19 protocols will allow foreign spectators to attend.

Kyodo News reported that “roughly 1,000″ of the planned 80,000 volunteers for this summer’s Games resigned in the aftermath of comments by former Tokyo organizing committee chief Yoshiro Mori on 3 February.

The blowback from the comments, critical of women serving as members of boards of directors, forced Mori to resign. He was replaced by veteran Olympic and politician Seiko Hashimoto, who had been the government’s Olympics minister.

● Games of the XXXIV Olympiad: Los Angeles 2028 ● The Los Angeles City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Olympic Games reviewed the proposed creation of the California Olympic and Paralympic Safety Command and sent the Memorandum of Understanding to the City Council for final approval.

The committee voted 5-0 (with two absences) to forward the Memorandum for action.

● Games of the XXXV Olympiad 2032 ● Wednesday’s announcement that the bid from Queensland and specifically Brisbane for the 2032 Games has been selected for “targeted dialogue” raised the question of whether the IOC will now award the Games 10 or 11 years in advance instead of seven as has been the case since Seoul was awarded the 1988 Games back in 1981.

IOC member Kristin Kloster Aasen (NOR), Chair of the Future Host Commission for the Games of the Olympiad, answered it this way:

“The structure of the new process answers your question, because one of the [advantages] about the new approach is to actually see the world as it is at the moment and seize the opportunity when it presents itself. …

“This is an ongoing approach, where we assess the risks and the opportunities in terms of several different factors. It’s not a given, 11 years, or a given, seven years, it’s based on whichever context the world is in at that moment.”

Translation: the Commission saw a good opportunity to engage a quality, proven partner in Australia for 2032 and with the coronavirus still raging and some years of economic recovery ahead, thought this was a good time to get a deal done.

● U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee ● The USOPC filed suit on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Colorado against Germany’s Puma S.E and its North American affiliate, Puma North America, for “trademark infringement, unfair competition, and declaratory relief” against Puma.

The Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act grants the USOPC “the exclusive right to use and control the use of Olympic terminology and imagery within the United States.” The complaint explains the wide scope of the protections on so-called “Games Marks” and then declares:

“PUMA has declared war on Games Marks, tried to register them for itself, and petitioned to cancel Games Marks registrations. PUMA’s declaration of war on the Games Marks is a thinly veiled attempt to benefit from association with the Olympics without becoming a TOP [IOC] Sponsor.”

In specific, the complaint cites Puma’s filing trademarks for apparel, footwear and bags for “Puma Tokyo 2021,” “Puma Tokyo 2022,” “Puma Beijing 2022,” and “Puma Paris 2024.” The Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024 registration filings were rejected by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office; Puma then filed a new action asking for cancellations of multiple Games-related trademarks and that the USOPC “abandoned” the “Tokyo 2020″ and “Beijing 2022″ marks. The USOPC’s reply:

“This orchestrated global attack on Future Games Marks destabilizes the foundation of USOPC’s financial structure and threatens the ability of the USOPC to deliver on its mission, which includes the direct financial support of U.S. Olympic athletes.”

The USOPC asks for a jury trial, for cancellation of all of Puma’s suits, confirmation of the validity of the USOPC’s ownership of the marks and damages. By the way, Puma may not be Nike or adidas, but it had revenues of about $6.9 billion worldwide in 2019. Stay tuned.

● Athletics ● Even with multiple world indoor marks set during the 2021 indoor season, there hasn’t been anyone hotter than American hurdler Grant Holloway.

The 2019 World Champion in the 110 m hurdles, Holloway ran in five indoor meets and won them all, setting an American Record of 7.32 on 9 February. On Wednesday, he ran 7.32 in his heat of the Villa de Madrid meet in Spain and then improved on the 7.30 world record by Britain’s Colin Jackson in 1994 with a 7.29 time in the final. Britain’s Andrew Pozzi was second in 7.51.

Said Holloway: “I wouldn’t say it was a perfect race, but I tied my PR in the heat and that usually means I run faster in the final. I just went out there and executed my race to the best of my ability.

“I said before the race that if the record fell, it fell. But my main goal was just to have fun and that’s what I did. I know that it is not going to be in the record books forever and when I fall asleep tonight – if I fall asleep – it will already be in the past. Now I will start looking forward. I want to get back to Gainesville, talk to Coach [Mike] Holloway [who are not related], have a big old steak and go through the film.

“The world record outdoors (12.80 by Aries Merritt in 2012) is definitely in my sights but I want to let all this soak in first, then my priority is win the Olympic Trials and then the Olympic gold medal.”

That was not the only star performance in Madrid. Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay powered to a world-leading 8:22.65 in the women’s 3,000 m, moving her to no. 2 on the all-time list. Dutch hurdler Nadine Visser also claimed the world lead in the women’s 60 m hurdles, winning in 7.81.

On Wednesday on Belgrade (SRB), Swedish vault star Mondo Duplantis increased his world lead to 6.10 m (20-0) at the Serbian Open meet, with Brazil’s Thiago Braz and Pole Piotr Lisek tying for second at 5.70 m (18-8 1/4).

On Sunday in Moscow, Russia’s World Champion in the women’s vault, Anzhelika Sidorova, scored a world-leading 4.90 (16-0 3/4). In Ancona (ITA), star high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi cleared 2.35 m (7-8 1/2) in the men’s long jump for the world indoor lead.

Double Olympic 800 m champion Caster Semenya (RSA) is filing an appeal of the World Athletics regulations on women with “Differences in Sex Development” with the European Court of Human Rights.

This will be the third try in court for Semenya, who challenged the regulations in the Court of Arbitration for Sport and lost, and was unsuccessful in an appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal. Even a judgement of the European Court of Human Rights is not final, as it can be appealed to a larger panel of the Court.

It is also not clear that the proceedings will be finalized prior to the Tokyo Games this summer, but Semenya’s attorneys will push for a prompt resolution.

The American Track League IV meet in Arkansas did not draw 200,000 viewers on ESPN on Sunday and was not reported on reports of weekly television ratings. The final round of the PGA Tour’s Genesis Open, held at the same time, drew a 2.24 household rating and 3.62 million viewers.

● Beach Volleyball ● The “bikini boycott” of the Katara Cup 4-star FIVB World Tour tournament in Doha (QAT) from 8-12 March is off, as the Federation Internationale de Volleyball declared:

“The FIVB believes strongly that women’s beach volleyball, as all sport, should be judged on performance and effort, and not on uniform. Therefore, during the competition in Doha, should players request to wear the standard uniform, they will be free to do so.”

German stars Julia Sude and Karla Borger had said they would not play in the Katara Cup if required to wear the Qatar-proposed “short sleeve t-shirt … and wear knee-long sports shorts.” However, on Tuesday, the FIVB “clarified” that there would be “no restrictions on female players wearing standard uniforms.”

● Cycling ● The UCI World Tour season opener, the UAE Tour, is heading toward the finish this weekend, but Thursday’s fifth stage may have been decisive. The most demanding of the race, the 170 km stage featured an uphill finish, and was won by Dane Jonas Vingegaard, just three seconds up on race leader Tadej Pogacar (SLO), the reigning Tour de France champion, with British star Adam Yates alongside.

Pogacar won the hilly third stage over Yates at the finish line, then was 20th in the fourth stage, a flat sprinter’s duel won by Ireland’s Sam Bennett. Going into Thursday’s fifth stage, he had a 43-second overall lead on Yates and 1:03 on Portugal’s Joao Almeida.

With two flat stages remaining, Pogacar is 45 seconds up on Yates and is almost a sure winner. Almeida is 1:12 back and then Chris Harper (AUS) is 1:54 behind.

● Football ● The U.S. Women’s National Team won the 2021 SheBelieves Cup in style with a 6-0 win over Argentina at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday night. Coupled with Brazil’s 2-0 win over Canada, the U.S. finished with a perfect 3-0 mark and nine points, trailed by the Brazilians (2-1: 6), Canada (1-2: 3) and Argentina (0-3: 0).

The American squad was hot from the start on Wednesday, with Megan Rapinoe scoring in the 16th and 26th minutes, followed by Carli Lloyd (35th) and Kristie Mewis (41st) for a 4-0 halftime edge. Alex Morgan scored in the 84th minute and Christen Press finished with a goal in the 88th minute for the 6-0 final. The U.S. had a 26-1 edge in shots.

U.S. midfielder Rose Lavelle was voted the SheBelieves Cup Most Valuable Player. The USWNT extended its unbeaten streak to 37 games, going back to January of 2019. Its next match won’t be until April.

● Gymnastics ● A former U.S. Olympic coach, whose gymnastics club has been sued in parallel actions with the Larry Nassar abuse scandal, has now been charged by the State of Michigan with sexual assault and human trafficking.

According to The Associated Press, John Geddert was charged with “sexual assault, 20 counts of human trafficking and running a criminal enterprise. Geddert is accused of injuring people through forced labor and recruiting minors for forced labor.”

Geddert, now 63, was one of the coaches for the gold medal-winning U.S. women’s gymnastics team at the 2012 London Games and owned the Twistars USA Gymnastics club in Lansing, Michigan. Twistars is a defendant in multiple suits entwined with the USA Gymnastics bankruptcy case now before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Geddert retired in 2018 and transferred ownership of Twistars to his wife. The club was sold and renamed earlier this month.

No word of any breakthrough in the court-ordered settlement conference between the parties in the USA Gymnastics bankruptcy suit at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana, but a report of operations through 31 January has been filed.

Total legal fees in the case from filing in December 2018 are now at $13.74 million, with $7.52 million actually paid so far. The rest is still due.

For January only, USA Gymnastics had $1.48 million in revenue, but spent $1.51 million for a loss of $33,435.

● Weightlifting ● Further to the forthcoming International Weightlifting Federation elections in March, a new controversy has arisen due to the proposed “hybrid” nature of the voting, with some delegates to be physically present in a room and others voting remotely.

The Samoa Weightlifting Federation, Weightlifting Fiji, USA Weightlifting and the Chinese Weightlifting Federation combined on a letter to the IWF Executive Board including:

● “We, hereby, request that the IWF Executive Board rescind their decision and proceed with a virtual election in order to ensure that all candidates and delegates be given an equal opportunity for participation. We also request that the name of the firm conducting the election be disclosed.”

● “We question the validity of the procedures used to vet candidates including the implementation and notification after the submission of candidacy; the lack of an appeals process; and notification of the eligibility of a candidate (March 15) in such close proximity to the election date (March 26, 27).”

● “Further, in the spirit of transparency and fair play, we additionally request that the eligible voting Member Federations, Delegate Names, and Positions, be circulated to all candidates and Member Federations; and contact emails be shared with all candidates.”

The letter also questioned the candidature of interim President Dr. Michael Irani (GBR) as he is a member of an appeals board of Sports Resolutions, the firm tasked by the IWF to provide the Eligibility Determination Panel for the elections.

In addition to the federations submitting the letter, candidates from Germany, Great Britain and Greece have also added their endorsement.

At a time when the IWF should be doing everything possible to avoid controversy, it only seems to create more problems.

As IOC chief Bach noted in his Wednesday news conference: “We then had to turn again, unfortunately, to the International Weightlifting Federation, whose situation, as I mentioned, is becoming more and more grave. The [Executive Board] expressed its extreme concern, particularly by the lack of significant changes, with regard to the management and the culture there in IWF.”

On Tuesday, the International Testing Agency, which now runs the IWF anti-doping program, recommended that the IWF’s independent sanctions panel penalize the Romanian Weightlifting Federation “as a consequence of numerous Anti-Doping Rule Violations.”

The sanctions relate to five doping positives dating back to the 2012 London Games, four of which were caught during the re-testing of samples in 2019 and 2020. Under the applicable IWF rules, “these circumstances lead to the imposition of sanctions against the RWF, which can go up to two years of suspension and a fine.”

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LANE ONE: Brisbane on the verge of getting 2032 Games; weightlifting on the verge of being thrown out of 2024 Games

By
Rich Perelman
-
The IOC Executive Board meeting in Lausanne, with President Thomas Bach at right (Photo: IOC video screenshot)

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With just less than seven months left prior to the Tokyo Games, the news conference following the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board meeting was dominated by the news that the Brisbane 2032 bid is now the sole target to be host of the Games of the XXXV Olympiad.

However, IOC chief Thomas Bach (GER) also noted that significant discussion was also given to the unhappy situation of the International Weightlifting Federation. But Brisbane was the big news:

● Using the IOC’s new selection process, the Brisbane 2032 bid was selected by the Future Host Commission of the Games of the Olympiad to graduate from the “continuous dialogue” phase with multiple possible hosts to the “targeted dialogue” phase.

● Future Host Commission Chair Kristin Kloster Aasen (NOR) told reporters, “It’s not a done deal … It’s a process.” She explained:

“The objective of the targeted dialogue is to co-create an Olympic project with the preferred host. Where there was continuous dialogue, [there was] no formal submission by interested parties; the preferred host is now asked to submit some documents in the targeted dialogue, [including] in the form of guarantees. And these documents will be studied by the Future Host Commission and we will report back to the Executive Board in due course.”

The IOC’s announcement of the “targeted dialogue” phase with Brisbane 2032 was very specific as to why their proposal was preferred:

“- The very advanced Games concept, which is fully aligned with Olympic Agenda 2020 and using 80 to 90 per cent existing or temporary venues.

“- The venue masterplan, which has already been discussed with International Sports Federations and the International Paralympic Committee.

“- The high level of experience in hosting major international sports events.

“- The favourable climate conditions for athletes in July and August, despite the current global challenges caused by climate change.

“- The alignment of the proposed Games with South-East Queensland’s long-term strategy (“SEQ City Deal”, February 2019) to improve local transport infrastructure, absorb demographic change and promote economic growth.

“- Australia’s sporting success throughout modern Olympic history. The last Games in Oceania were Sydney 2000, which would mean the Games returning to the continent 32 years later.

“- The existing and planned transport infrastructure and experience in traffic management, which can adequately meet the demands of the Olympic Games and were successfully implemented for the Commonwealth Games in 2018.

“- The existing hotel accommodation inventory, which already meets Games requirements.

“- Strong support from all three levels of government, as confirmed on several occasions by highest-level representatives from the City of Brisbane, the Southeast Queensland Council of Mayors, the State of Queensland and the federal government.

“- The strong public support and that of the private sector.

“- Australia’s high scores on human development indices, in particular its great progress towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

“In evaluating Brisbane 2032’s proposal, the IOC also took into consideration detailed information from independent third-party sources, including the World Bank, the International Labour Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and numerous UN agencies including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).”

As to why this was done now, Kloster Aasen added:

“The decision to advance the process was taken now given the uncertainty the world is facing at this moment, which is expected to continue even after the Covid-19 health crisis is over. The IOC is seizing the momentum offered by the excellent prospect of Brisbane 2032 and the Australian Olympic Committee, in this way bringing stability to the Olympic Games, the athletes, the IOC and the whole Olympic Movement.”

There were no timeline provided for the ultimate selection of Brisbane, but the carefully-worded comments indicated that the next steps are to negotiate the Host City Contract for 2032 and likely award the Games not later than 2022, some ten years ahead of time.

Tokyo 2020 wasn’t exactly forgotten, but fell to the background at today’s briefing. However:

● The Executive Board did get a report from the Tokyo organizing committee, now led by former Olympic minister Seiko Hashimoto. Bach noted:

“She highlighted her strategic priorities, which will focus on safety, on gender equality and legacy and this is, as you know, fully aligned with the vision of delivered safe and secure Games for everybody.”

Bach also announced that the IOC is finalizing its refugee program for Tokyo, including:

“Related to Tokyo 2020, we have also discussed the IOC Refugee Olympic Team. There, Olympic Solidarity is currently supporting 55 promising refugee athletes, originating from 13 countries and being hosted by 21 NOCs across all five continents and representing 12 sports. Since the Olympic Games Rio 2016, Olympic Solidarity has invested more than two million U.S. dollars in support for refugee Olympic scholarship holders, preparing for the Olympic Games.”

As to the possibility for foreign spectators to attend the Games, Bach confirmed that the IOC and the organizers will wait as long as possible before a decision is taken, likely in mid-to-late April or possibly early May.

Then there is weightlifting. Said Bach:

“We then had to turn again, unfortunately, to the International Weightlifting Federation, whose situation, as I mentioned, is becoming more and more grave. The EB expressed its extreme concern, particularly by the lack of significant changes, with regard to the management and the culture there in IWF. We acknowledged that one change in the IWF anti-doping rules has been reversed after the intervention of the Executive Board, but we had also to note that many other requested changes and advice from the IOC, from the ITA, and from external experts, hae been ignored by IWF despite all the warnings we have issued.

“So there, the EB wants to be very clear by saying that if these concerns are not addressed in a satisfactory and timely way, the IOC EB will have to review the place of weightlifting on the program of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, and future Olympic Games.”

The IWF has scheduled elections for 26-27, with a separate vote on a new federation constitution to take place in April. As previously noted on this site earlier in February, many of the candidates for the “new” IWF Executive Board are veterans of the existing Board which has steered the federation into disrepute.

It’s an open question whether the IWF membership is awake enough to follow the IOC’s lead in reforming its operations. But it is certain that the debate in Queensland – and Australia – about whether it can afford to host the 2032 Games will be a hot topic for the next several months.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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HEARD AT HALFTIME: New York Rep. Katko calls for Beijing boycott, modest T&F television ratings, a boycott over bikinis in Qatar!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

● XXIV Olympic Winter Games: Beijing 2022 ● The drumbeat of government officials from multiple countries asking for boycotts of the Beijing Winter Games continues unabated.

Last week, Canadian Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to push for relocation of the Games, saying “I think Canadians would agree that it would violate fundamental ethical principles to participate in an Olympic Games hosted by a country that is committing a genocide against part of its population.”

Trudeau told reporters “We continue to be very, very vocal in standing up for human rights around the world and calling our human rights abuses … We know that the International Olympic Committee, the Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee and others are looking very closely at this issue and we will certainly continue to follow carefully.”

On Monday, the Canadian House of Commons voted 266-0, with two abstentions and 70 not voting, to support a motion declaring Chinese treatment of the Uyghurs a “genocide” under the 1948 United Nations definition. The motion further asked the Canadian government to ask the International Olympic Committee to remove the 2022 Winter Games from Beijing.

China’s ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, issued a statement, including “A few people in Canada and some other western countries are talking about upholding values, but one important part of the values should be: respect facts and stop spreading disinformation and even lies.”

Also on Monday, U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-New York 24th), the ranking member on the House Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden that started with:

“I write you to urge the boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. The United States must stand up and defend its commitment to human rights and the rule of law that this country was founded upon and act immediately to curb ‘the systematic attempt to destroy Uyghurs by the Chinese partystate.’ The actions taken by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are antithetical to the values of both the United States and its allies around the world. Participation in an Olympics held in a country that is openly committing genocide not only undermines those shared values but casts a shadow on the promise for all those who seek free and just societies.”

In the final paragraph, Katko wrote:

“Mr. President, the evidence is clear – the CCP is deliberately and systematically working to eliminate an entire population within its own borders. In doing so, it expects the rest of the world to be silent and, in the case of business operations and global supply chains, complicit in these actions. The United States simply cannot in good faith participate in an Olympic Games in a country that is committing genocide and continuously attempts to manipulate and lie to the global community about such atrocities.”

Comment: The calls for boycotts ask for the wrong solution to a difficult problem. Our 9 February column suggests that athletes of all nations should go to the Beijing Games, but a quiet, clear, inexpensive and continuously reinforcing message: “the uniforms of countries concerned with China’s behavior could be either all-black or all-white, with simple, identical block lettering for each country in the pale blue color of the protest flag used by the Uighurs.”

● U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee ● The USOPC’s College Sports Sustainability Think Tank announced its first set of concepts to help support the place of Olympic-focused sports in NCAA institutions:

(1) Sport sustainability: “Modifications of current [NCAA] policies may reduce operating costs, including recruiting expense reductions and streamlined regionalized competition, and open access to new resources, including increased collaboration with youth sport programs and national team partnerships.”

(2) Sport structure: After endorsing continuation of the requirement for a broad range of sports to be required for Division I membership – currently 16 sports – having the U.S. National Governing Bodies involved is suggested:

“Through partnerships with NGBs, the NCAA sport sponsorship umbrella could extend flexible membership requirements, agile season operations and sport-specific rules customization to help declining Olympic and Paralympic sports manage within the realities of each sport ecosystem.”

(3) Vertical Partnerships: “Many Olympic and Paralympic sports rights are bundled with football and basketball agreements, which may limit exposure and commercial opportunities. … Early efforts could include piloting partnerships around the NCAA championships and/or NGB events, and over time could expand to include content sharing plan and school recognition programs.”

This is a start and specific recommendations are to be developed and shared with the NCAA and college administrators.

● Athletics ● Television ratings information for February’s televised indoor meets has popped up with the New Balance Grand Prix doing the best by far:

● 24 Jan.: American Track League 1/ESPN: no rating; less than 200,000 total audience
● 31 Jan.: American Track League 2/ESPN2: 0.16 rating; 254,000 total audience
● 07 Feb.: American Track League 3/ESPN: 0.19 rating; 310,000 total audience
● 13 Feb.: New Balance Grand Prix/NBC: 0.64 rating; 969,000 total audience

Ratings were only available for programs with more than 200,000 total audience. Ratings for Sunday’s final American Track League meet won’t be available for another week.

For comparison, take the weekend of 30-31 January, where the X Games on ABC did household ratings of 0.57 and 0.54 on Saturday and Sunday. Also on Sunday (31 January), a highlights package of the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships on NBC did a 0.66 rating.

Comment: These ratings aren’t great, but they aren’t terrible, and are comparable to many lower-rated regular-season college basketball and NBA basketball games. The difference is that there are full schedules of basketball, hockey and soccer matches for networks to buy and then to show, and no such schedule of track & field events with recognizable names and a compelling, week-to-week story line. That’s been true for 50 years, but the American Track League was an excellent first move in the right direction; all credit to Paul Doyle and his team for creating this series.

Cue Spike Lee in his 1980s and 1990s appearance as “Mars Blackmon” for Nike’s Air Jordan basketball line: “It’s gotta be da shoes!”

The latest chapter in the shoe technology arguments came with Saturday’s “The TEN” distance races in San Juan Capistano, California. Winners Marc Scott (GBR) and Elise Cranny (USA) both set lifetime bests at 10,000 m of 27:10.41 (by 45.78 seconds, no. 2 in British History) and 30:47.42 (debut, no. 3 in U.S. history) and led a parade of lifetime bests behind them.

Referring to Scott, British commentator and former European Championships and Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Tim Hutchings chimed in on Twitter:

“Seriously? Despite the inevitable focus of plaudits on individual athletes, this isn’t meant to be personal. I’m don’t know @_MarcScott & am sure he’s a good bloke who trains hard & smart. But these big PBs pour out of one track meet after another & still nothing is done?”

Scott replied:

“You’re right, Tim. I have trained hard and smart for years and it’s finally showing! Maybe time to get off your high horse and give athletes some credit where it’s due rather than consistently nag about the shoe technology.”

A Monday story in The Guardian by Sean Ingle noted last week’s 1:43.63 indoor 800 m from Britain’s Eliot Giles – no. 2 ever, his fastest indoor time by almost two seconds and almost a full second lower than his outdoor best – observing:

“Not a single sponsored athlete appears to want to thank the spikes for their improved times. Giles, for instance, insisted his Air Zoom Victory spikes – which Nike claims offer a ‘paradigm shift’ – were not a key factor in his run. ‘Because I’ve done well, people say it must be the shoes,’ said Giles, who said he had been wearing them for a couple of years. ‘It’s a nonsense and a bit of an insult.’”

New Zealand middle-distance star Nick Willis – who has run sub-4:00 miles in a record 19 consecutive years(!) – also commented:

“Normally you’re asked by your sponsor to give a sales pitch, and it often seems so fake and contrived. And here’s your one opportunity to really preach about it. Yet they don’t.”

A report in The Times (London) declared that Nike was withdrawing a new “Viperfly” shoe line out of concerns that the new shoes would allow Jamaican legend Usain Bolt’s world marks at 100 m and 200 m to be eclipsed by “inferior sprinters.”

Caught in the middle is World Athletics, which has legislated requirements for distance-running shoes, but has not – so far – done much with spikes.

The brilliant Croatian high jumper Blanka Vlasic announced her retirement at age 37 on Friday (19th), leaving behind a great career in which she won two World Championships (2007-09) and two World Indoor Championships (2008-10), two Olympic medals (2008 silver, 2016 bronze) and finished with a best of 2.08 m (6-9 3/4) in 2009, ranking second on the all-time list. She wrote:

“Ever since Rio, I have been trying to overcome injury, a full four years of hope that I will stand in front of the bar and challenge myself once again. I have been breathing sports since I was born, the high jump is an integral part of me, and it will always be that way. So, I let the decision to end my career come naturally.

“Before I won bronze in Rio many people told me to give up as I have already done a lot in the sport. But if I had listened to them, I would not have won another Olympic medal, a medal that has a special meaning to me because I won it literally with one healthy leg. That competition took everything out of me, even what I didn’t know I had.”

● Beach Volleyball ● The FIVB World Tour has been shredded by the coronavirus and so the four-star season opener for women in Doha (QAT) from 8-12 March has been circled on everyone’s calendar. But three-time FIVB tournament winners Julia Sude and Karla Borger of Germany will not be there.

Agence France Presse reported that “female players have been asked to wear shirts and long trousers rather than the usual bikinis, a rule which the world beach volleyball federation FIVB claims is ‘out of respect for the culture and traditions of the host country’.”

Said Borger on radio station Deutschlandfunk on Sunday:

“We are there to do our job, but are being prevented from wearing our work clothes. This is really the only country and the only tournament where a government tells us how to do our job – we are criticising that. We are asking whether it’s necessary to hold a tournament there at all.”

Qatar has hosted World Tour events for men only for several years, but is allowing women in for the first time in 2021. Weather forecasts show that temperatures in Doha are expected to reach highs of 80 degrees (F) during the tournament. Their stance is supported by the German volleyball federation; the women have noted that events in Doha such as the ANOC World Beach Games and the 2019 IAAF World Championships allowed women to compete in two-piece suits without issue.

● Boxing ● The International Boxing Association (AIBA), on the verge of Olympic extinction, would be well advised not to “poke the bear,” defined as

“Deliberately provoke or antagonize someone, especially someone more powerful than oneself.”

Maybe someone didn’t get the memo on this, as AIBA posted a notice on Friday (19th), criticizing the IOC for cancelling – due to the pandemic – the final qualification tournaments for the Tokyo Games, and relying instead on rankings of boxers from prior years:

“We respect the decision of colleagues from the IOC Taskforce; it is important for us to find boxing in the Olympic program and fulfill the Olympic dream of our athletes. However, we believe that it was possible to retain the Qualifiers.

“We welcome the health care of our athletes, coaches and officials, this is also our priority in this pandemic situation. In this challenging time, AIBA strives to host as many tournaments as possible in compliance with all safety measures. Our experience and the experience of our National Federations suggest that it is possible to successfully conduct official competitions during the pandemic, and we would be ready to share this experience. …

“The situation with the division of quotas by continent is fair and democratic only in theory, however, in practice, it is not so unequivocally. …

“The Boxing Community is asking the IOC Taskforce to find a way to keep the dates of the European Qualifiers and not to cancel the World Qualifiers.”

AIBA is advertising for a Public Relations and Communications Director; it’s too bad the federation didn’t have that person in place last week …

● Cycling ● The UCI men’s World Tour for road cycling has finally begun, with the third UAE Tour now underway, beginning on Sunday (21st). The seven-stage race includes plenty of stars, including reigning Tour de France champ Tadej Pogacar (SLO), four-time Tour winner Chris Froome (GBR) and past Grand Tour stars such as Spain’s Alejandro Valverde and Italian Vincenzo Nibali.

The 176 km first stage was a 1-2 finish for Dutch stars Mathieu van der Poel and David Dekker, crossing the line in a mass finish of seven riders, including Pogacar. On Monday, the Individual Time Trial was won by World Time Trial Champion Filippo Ganna, who ripped through the flat, 13 km course in 13:56, followed by Stefan Bissegger (SUI: 14:10) and Dane Mikkel Bjerg (14:17). Pogacar retained the overall lead, by five seconds.

● Skateboarding ● Four-time Skateboarding Street World Champion Nyjah Huston was among five people charged with creating a nuisance by holding parties in violation of the anti-Covid regulations in the City of Los Angeles. These events were identified by the City as possible “superspreader” events and have been repeatedly shut down by police in September and October of 2020.

Per the Los Angeles Times: “It is the latest crackdown on the worst violations of emergency orders that seek to limit the spread of the virus, targeting a party scene driven in part by social media creators who make money by providing entertainment for the maskless mass gatherings. …

“Huston has gotten into trouble for house parties before. In September 2019, he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace at a 2017 Los Angeles party. The multiple X Games gold medalist, who has 4.5 million Instagram followers, was originally charged with felony assault. In 2014, he was cited for noise violations after Orange County deputies responding to multiple complaints found 200 to 300 people at his south Orange County home.”

● Sport Climbing ● Despite the holding of the Court of Arbitration for Sport that sanctions against the Russian Anti-Doping Agency prohibit world championship events from being held in Russia in 2021 or 2022 unless no alternative is available, the International Federation for Sport Climbing (IFSC) is holding theirs in Moscow this year anyway:

“It is confirmed that the IFSC Climbing World Championships Moscow 2021 will take place in the Russian capital, as scheduled, from 15 to 22 September.

“The announcement follows the decision taken by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the case between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, and is the result of a series of fruitful meetings IFSC President Marco Scolaris has had with both the International Olympic Committee and WADA.

“The IFSC will continue working closely with the Climbing Federation of Russia to fully respect the CAS decision and, at the same time, deliver an event that lives up to the standards required of the IFSC flagship competition.”

Reports indicate that the IFSC felt no alternative host was available, even with seven months to go. This decision is sure to be reviewed further by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

● At the BuZZer ● The reigning World Champion in the 110 m hurdles, American Grant Holloway, is tired of hearing about how fast football players are. He tweeted on Saturday:

“When is the Combine? I wanna run a 40 …”

and

“Let’s have our own pro day…”

Replied sprint superstar Noah Lyles: “I’m kinda down with that.” Sounds like a made-for-TV show, right?

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LANE ONE: LA28 organizers, City of Los Angeles and State of California get a head start on public safety cooperative

By
Rich Perelman
-
A July poll said Americans like the 2028 Olympics being in Los Angeles by 78-4%!

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(Our Highlights of the weekend’s top Olympic-sport competitions are available here and here.)

One of the most complex, difficult and fluid efforts required to stage the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles will be in the security sector thanks to real, perceived, expired and forecasted threats from local, regional, national and international actors.

The effort to manage this sector is taking an important move forward with the establishment – seven years ahead of the Games – of the “California Olympic and Paralympic Safety Command.” A memorandum of understanding with the beginning outline of the program was released by the City Administrative Office (CAO) and Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA) of the City of Los Angeles late Thursday (18th).

This plan will be considered on the 23rd (Tuesday) by the City’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Olympic Games and must be approved by the City Council, by Mayor Eric Garcetti, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and LA28.

The 14-page document acknowledges that the outlined activities are only the start of a very long and involved process:

● A 2019 State bill directed the California Office of Emergency Services to create the Cooperative, to include the City of Los Angeles in the framework of an agreement by 31 March 2021.

● “To further the shared goals of the Cooperative as well as the interests of each of the three Participants (i.e. CalOES, City, and LA28), unanimous consent by the Participants is required for approval of various actions of the Cooperative.”

● “These actions include approval of: all costs and obligations of the Cooperative, financial policies, authorization of funding requests to State and Federal agencies, requests for designation of the 2028 Games to be a National Special Security Event (NSSE), decision making processes, and other terms of reference for the Executive Council and Cooperative.”

● “Funding is not currently identified for the activities of the Cooperative or the costs incurred by Participants. It is anticipated that the Cooperative will prepare a request for federal grant funding to support its planning and operational activities.”

Subcommittees or working groups are expected to be established to work on:

(1) Policies and procedures, including those related to equity, transparency, and accountability;
(2) Training;
(3) Community engagement;
(4) Procurement;
(5) Finance and administration, personnel, equipment and logistics management;
(6) Command and control, and related systems;
(7) Public Affairs;
(8) Technology; and,
(9) Threat Assessment.

At the core of the program is that “The Cooperative shall utilize a Unified Command Structure for planning with attention to resourcing, training, and management that must be common to all involved agencies and jurisdictions. The Cooperative will agree on common procedures for Members, aimed at improving collaboration, mutual aid, and connectivity among agencies and jurisdictions. Consistent with its Unified Command Structure, the Cooperative will respect the jurisdictional, legal, and functional responsibilities of its members.”

This will include many more organizations than the three initial members. Based on the existing LA28 venue plan, law enforcement agencies to be added would at least include:

● Anaheim Police Department
● Inglewood Police Department
● Long Beach Police Department
● Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office
● Riverside County Sheriff’s Office
● Santa Monica Police Department

Federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Secret Service and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will participate as observers.

An annual report on the activities of the Cooperative is to be issued at least annually. The initial points of contact for each member include L.A. Police Chief Michel Moore or Lt. Shannon White; Tom Osborne, the Deputy Director of CalOES and LA28 senior advisor Doug Arnot, an enormously-experienced mega-event executive who worked on the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City and the 2012 Olympic Games in London (GBR), among many other events.

There is no funding – or expenditure – accompanying the Memorandum of Understanding; the text notes “This Memorandum does not involve the exchange of funds, nor does it represent any obligation of funds by either Participant.”

The designation of the 2028 Games as a National Special Security Event (NSSE) is a foregone conclusion; this program was created was Congress in December 2000 (P.L. 106-544) and includes Presidential nominating conventions, Presidential inaugurations, “major international summits held in the United States and “major sporting events.”

The designation of an event as an “NSSE” is made by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Then:

“When an event is designated an NSSE, [U.S. Secret Service] becomes the lead federal agency in developing, exercising, and implementing security operations. The goal of these security operations is to ‘develop and implement a seamless security plan that will create a safe and secure environment for the general public, event participants, Secret Service protectees, and other dignitaries.’”

This is serious business, as attendees at any recent Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup or other major event will recognize. The Congressional Research Office summary of the NSSE program notes:

● “NSSE operational plans include the use of physical infrastructure security fencing, barricades, special access accreditation badges, K-9 teams, and other security technologies. To ensure consequence management, DHS pre-positions Domestic Emergency Support Teams, Urban Search and Rescue Teams, National Emergency Response Teams, Nuclear Incident Response Teams, and assets from the Strategic National Stockpile and Mobile Emergency Response System.”

● “Specific teams and groupings of teams are designed for each event based on coordination with other federal entities, state and local jurisdictions, available local resources, and mutual aid agreements.”

● “Additionally, USSS sponsors training seminars for command-level federal, state,
and local law enforcement and public safety officials to provide principles for managing security at major events and strategies for reducing vulnerabilities related to terrorism. The seminars also discuss key strategies and lessons learned from past NSSEs.”

A list of NSSE-designated events from 1998-2015 included two sports programs: the 2002 NFL Super Bowl in New Orleans, and the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, both following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. Other editions of the Super Bowl have also been designated as NSSE programs.

This is a good start for security coordination for the 2028 Games, especially in view of the many law enforcement and security agencies in southern California. And it’s well ahead of the security effort for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, which did not formally kick off until October 1981 with the creation of the Olympic Law Enforcement Coordinating Council (OLECC).

This was a first-of-its-kind effort to bring area agencies together, and the inter-agency cooperation which was created by this working group was a continuing legacy of the Games well beyond 1984. An “Integrated Planning Group” brought in additional expertise from U.S. Customs, the Bureau of Arms, Tobacco & Firearms, the California Department of Transportation and local police forces such as the UCLA Police Department.

The Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee contracted and paid directly for security services that were above and beyond normal policing activities inside Olympic venue perimeters with six different agencies:

● $28.7 million to the Los Angeles Police Department
(of which there were unused funds that were refunded to the LAOOC);
● $282,881 to Orange County;
● $148,655 to Ventura County;
● $131,609 to the City of Monterey Park;
● $110,000 to the City of Anaheim;
● $35,000 to San Bernardino County.

In all, the LAOOC spent $35.3 million on the security function for the 1984 Games (~$88.9 million in 2021). The U.S. Congress made a one-time appropriation of $45.0 million for the Department of Defense, in December 1983, to support security efforts for the Games (P.L. 98-212). The equipment used for the Games was initially deployed for the 16-19 July Democratic National Convention in San Francisco and, after the Games ended, used again at the 20-23 August Republican National Convention in Dallas.

The ultimately-successful security effort in 1984 was due to excellent planning and good inter-agency cooperation, a new concept at the time. The effort for 2028 will be much larger and require much more coordination in our digital times, so the formation of an inter-agency working group seven years ahead of the Games is a welcome sign of progress.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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ATHLETICS: Felix & Crouser score impressive wins in American Track League IV, with 200 m prep record for Jaylen Slade!

By
Rich Perelman
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American superstar Allyson Felix, back in the winner's circle again (Photo courtesy Weltklasse Zurich, taken by Kirby Lee)

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Sunday’s final edition of the American Track League indoor series at the Randal Tyson Track Center at the University of Arkansas produced no world-leading marks, but a high school best in the men’s 200 m and a reminder not to forget about superstar Allyson Felix.

The nine-time Olympic medal winner was a beneficiary of the delay of the Tokyo Games from 2020 to 2021 and showed her rising form with an impressive win in the 200 m. She took an early lead in the one-lap race, but was pressed on the final turn by world-class hurdler Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico, then ran away to win by 22.59-22.91.

That’s a lifetime best for Felix in the indoor 200; she hadn’t run the distance since 2003 (23.14), but more importantly moved her to no. 4 on the 2021 world list at a time of the year when she’s rarely in competition.

Shot put superstar Ryan Crouser was thinking about another world indoor record – as at the first American Track League meet – but contracted food poisoning on Friday. He somehow made it to Fayetteville – “not exactly feeling great,” he said – and won his third American Track League meet at 21.93 m (71-11 1/2). That’s pretty ordinary for him, but still further than everyone else except he and reigning World Champion Joe Kovacs (USA) have thrown this year. American Payton Otterdahl was second at 21.40 m (70-4 1/2).

Former Central Arkansas sprinter Zachary Jewell produced two lifetime bests in the men’s 60 m and won in 6.58 before tripping and limping off the track. He held off Jackson Webb (6.59) and comebacking Jarrion Lawson, the 2016 NCAA outdoor champion in the 100-200-long jump, third in 6.62. Former Baylor star Wil London took over the men’s 400 m at the bell and won decisively in 46.36.

Kenyan Michael Saruni opened his 2021 season with a bold move at the bell in the men’s 800 m, winning easily in 1:45.34, no. 7 on the seasonal list. It’s his fourth-fastest race ever indoors. Trinidad’s Asa Guevara won the 300 m – his first race of 2021 – in 33.11, running, as he said afterwards, to “shake off the dust.” American Michael Dickson won the 60 m hurdles in 7.53, moving him to equal-4th on the 2021 world list.

American Andrew Irwin won the men’s vault as the only one who cleared 5.70 m (18-8 1/4). Marquis Dendy, the 2016 World Indoor Champion, won the long jump for the second time in this series, reaching 8.19 m (26-10 1/2) on his final effort.

The men’s high school 200 m race produced the fastest time in prep history, with Jaylen Slade (IMG Academy, Bradenton, Florida) storming to a 20.62 win, 0.01 better than Noah Lyles’s mark of 20.62 from 2016. Wow! Also worth noting: the 20.84 runner-up mark for Gavin Schurr of Fairview High School in Boulder, Colorado.

Britain’s Daryll Neita won the women’s 60 m in 7.24, just ahead of a charging 7.28 from Felix in second. Felix got a terrible start, but came on strongly after 20 m to move to second in what she called “a workout” afterwards.

American 400 m hurdle star Shamier Little continued working on her speed, winning the women’s 400 m in an indoor lifetime best of 50.57, running away from the field and moving to third on the 2021 world list, and no. 7 all-time U.S. Heather MacLean of the U.S. won the women’s 800 m in an indoor lifetime best of 2:00.54, now sixth on the 2021 world list and best in the U.S.

Jamaican star Danielle Williams came from behind to edge American Tonea Marshall, 7.86-7.89. That’s a seasonal best for Williams and equal-third on the world list.

Former two-time NCAA champion Olivia Gruver won the women’s vault at 4.70 m (15-5). The women’s shot was a close competition between Americans Raven Saunders (19.57 m/64-2 1/2), Maggie Ewen (19.54 m/64-1 1/4 ~ no. 5 all-time U.S.) and Jessica Ramsey (19.50 m/63-11 3/4 ~ no. 6 all-time U.S.), now standing 2-3-4 on the 2021 world indoor list.

Many of the athletes thanked meet promoter (and long-time agent) Paul Doyle for putting the series together and he deserves much credit for creating these opportunities in a safe and sane environment, when no one else did.

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HIGHLIGHTS: Shiffrin wins fourth Alpine Worlds medal, mystery meet produces 10,000 m world leaders, U.S. women top Brazil, 2-0

By
Rich Perelman
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Elise Cranny moved to no. 3 on the all-time U.S. list with her win at The Ten on Saturday (Photo: Citius Magazine)

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Headline results of noteworthy competitions around the world:

● Alpine Skiing ● The FIS World Alpine Championships concluded in Cortina d’Ampezzo (ITA), with more upsets in the Slalom racing.

The final weekend began with the women’s Slalom, with American Mikaela Shiffrin the four-time defending champion. However, her rival Petra Vlhova (SVK) had won three of the five Slalom races on the World Cup circuit this season, to Shiffrin’s one.

Neither had much of a chance, as it turned one. Austria’s Katharina Liensberger, who tied for the gold in the Parallel Giant Slalom, turned in the fastest time by a huge 0.30 seconds on the first run, clocking 48.48 to 48.78 for Vlhova, with Shiffrin fourth.

Liensberger left no doubt, putting together the fastest second run as well to finish with 1:39.50, an easy winner ahead of Vlhova (1:40.50). Shiffrin came from fourth to third with the third-fastest time on the second run, finishing with a combined total of 1:41.48. Swiss Wendy Holdener was fourth at 1:41.84.

Just 23, Liensberger came into the World Championships never having won a World Cup race, but leaves with two golds and a bronze. Shiffrin, who has won four World Cup medals this season, claimed four Worlds medals – gold in the Combined, silver in the Giant Slalom and bronzes in the Super-G and Slalom – for a career total of 11. And still just 25.

This was a Worlds for the stars, with the 18 women’s medals won by just 10 skiers. Shiffrin won four medals, Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI) and Liensberger each won three and Vlhova and Corinne Suter (SUI) each won two.

The men’s Slalom was another come-from-nowhere victory, this time for Norway’s Sebastian Foss-Solevaag, 29, who had won one World Cup race in his career – earlier this season – prior to the World Championships. He was third-fastest on the first run, then led the field in the second run to win with a combined time of 1:46.48. That was 0.21 faster than Austria’s Adrian Pertl, 24, the first-run leader, who had won one World Cup medal (last season) prior to the Worlds. The bronze medal went to veteran Norwegian star Henrik Kristoffersen (1:46.94), for his second career Worlds podium.

The overall medal count saw Switzerland win the most medals, with nine in total (3-1-5), with Austria at eight, but with five wins (one silver, two bronzes). France won five medals and the U.S. and Germany each had four. All of the American medals were won by the amazing Shiffrin.

● Artistic Swimming ● The first stage of the FINA World Series was “held” – on a remote basis – with the U.S. as host over the weekend, with very modest interest in terms of entries. All routines were filmed between 27-30 January, but the judging was done this weekend.

The one competition which was of interest was the women’s Solo Free, won by Canadian star Jacqueline Simoneau (90.1000) over American Anita Alvarez (87.1222). The Solo Technical event was won by American Nicole Dzurko (79.6044). The women’s Duet events were both won by Alvarez and Lindi Schroeder of the U.S., scoring 84.9222 in the Free and 82.4588 in the Technical event.

The men’s Solo Free was won by American William May (86.7333); Spain’s Fernando Diaz Del Rio Soto took the Solo Tech (68.5487). The Mixed Duets were both won by Spain’s Pau Ribes and Emma Garcia: 82.2000 in the Free and 81.6159 in the Technical.

The team events were won by the U.S. in the Free (87.5667), Belarus in the Technical (80.4160), the U.S. in the Highlights (85.9000) and Spain in the Combo (85.3667).

● Athletics ● Another mystery meet – except to the competitors – was held in San Juan Capistrano, California on Saturday evening called “The Ten” – 10,000 m – aimed at the Olympic qualifying standards of 27:28.00 (men) and 31:25.00 (women). Organized by Sound Running, the results were worth the secrecy.

Ten men started the race, with U.S. Steeple star Evan Jager leading through 5,000 m before dropping out, then Britain’s Marc Scott leading a pack of six through 8,000 m in 21:57.85. Only five continued, as Scott won the race to the finish with a 57.13 last lap to clock a world-leading and lifetime best 27:10.41, with Grant Fisher second (27:11.29), Woody Kincaid third (27:11.78), Ben True fourth (27:14.95) and Thai Kieran Tuntivate fifth (27:17.14), all well under the Tokyo standard.

Fisher moved to no. 5 on the all-time U.S. list, with Kincaid at no. 6 and True at no. 8.

The women’s race had a similar finish, with Elise Cranny storming past Karissa Schweizer on the way to a 65.11 last lap to finish in a world-leading 30:47.42 in her debut at the distance, with the no. 5 performance in U.S. history and making her the no. 3 performer.

This was Schweizer’s first 10,000 since 2018 and she lowered her best from 32:00.55 to 30:47.99 (65.74 last lap), moving her to no. 4 all-time U.S. (no. 7 performance).

Seven of the nine starters finished, with the next four placers all taking Olympic qualifying times: Eilish McColgan (GBR: 30:58.94 lifetime best), Emily Infeld (31:08.57 lifetime best: no. 10 all-time U.S.), Marielle Hall (31:21.78) and Kim Conley (31:30.25 lifetime best). Seventh-placer Gwen Jorgensen ran 32:39.96.

Prize money was raised online from fans and allowed the top two in each race – Cranny and Schweizer and Scott and Fisher – to receive $3,500 and $1,500, respectively.

(Separate report coming later on the fourth American Track League meet in Arkansas.)

● Basketball ● The United States won its final two games in the FIBA men’s AmeriCup qualifying tournament, defeating The Bahamas, 93-77, and then Mexico, 96-75, with both games at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

In Friday’s game, the U.S. ran out to a 54-40 lead at the half and cruised home behind 19 points from guard Isaiah Thomas and forward James Nunnally, with 15 from guard Dakota Mathias. Forward Brandon Bass led all rebounders with 10 and the Americans held Bahamas to 35.3% shooting from the field.

On Saturday, the U.S. jumped out to a 31-15 lead after the first quarter and 58-33 at the half. Guard Ra’Shad James scored 21 to lead all scorers, followed by Bass (12) and forward Joe Johnson (11, and eight rebounds).

The wins gave the U.S. – coached by Joe Prunty – a perfect 6-0 record and 12 points in Group D, qualifying for the 2022 FIBA AmeriCup. Puerto Rico (3-3) and Mexico (2-4) also qualified out of the group.

● Biathlon ● The IBU World Championships in Pokljuka (SLO) finished on Sunday with the Mass Start events, with existing medal winners adding to their totals.

The men’s 15 km Mass Start was the second straight win and fourth gold medal of the Championships for 24-year-old Norwegian Sturla Holm Langreid. With only one shooting penalty, he raced to a convincing win in 36:27.2 over teammate Johannes Dale (+10.2 seconds; 2 penalties) and France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet (+12.8; 2 penalties). American Jake Brown was 29th.

Langreid won the 20 km Individual race on the 17th and both relays (see below) for his four wins. With seven races left in the season, he’s now in striking distance of overall leader Johannes Thingnes Boe, 871-839.

Austrian Lisa Theresa Hauser won her third medal at the Worlds and her first gold in the women’s 12.5 km Mass Start race. She shot clean and that helped to give her the win in 36:05.7 over three Norwegians: Ingrid Tandrevold (+21.7 seconds, 1 penalty), Tiril Eckhoff (+23.0, 2 penalties) and Marte Olsbu Roeiseland (+23.6, 3 penalties). American Susan Dunklee was 25th (+3:11.3).

Norway swept both of the team relays. Laegreid, Tarjei Boe, J.T. Boe and Vetle Sjastad Christiansen combined to win the men’s 4×7.5 km event by 33.1 seconds over Sweden and Russia (+50.9). The women’s quartet of Tandrevold, Eckhoff, Ida Lien and Roeiseland took the 4×6 km race in a tight duel with Germany, winning by 8.8 seconds in 1:10.39.0, with Ukraine 8.8 seconds back.

The Norwegians won the women’s race despite having 11 shooting penalties to only five for the Germans and seven for Ukraine.

The overall medal count confirmed the Norwegian domination, with 14 medals (7-3-4) out of a total available of 36. France (2-2-3) had seven and Sweden (1-3-2) had six. Eckhoff had the most individual medals with six (4-1-1), followed by Langreid (4: 4-0-0) and J.T. Boe (4: 2-1-1).

● Bobsled & Skeleton ● The Women’s Monobob Series concluded in Koenigssee (GER) with the Swiss duo of Martina Fontanive and Melanie Hasler tying for the win, both with cumulative times of 1:48.37. Australia’s Breeana Walker was third in 1:48.91.

American Nicole Vogt won the seasonal series with 590 points, with four wins, ahead of Walker (502 points) and Brazil’s Marina Silva Tuono (502).

● Football ● The SheBelieves Cup continued on Sunday at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida, with the U.S. women facing Brazil in what is expected to be the deciding game of the tournament.

The U.S. put on the pressure from start and Christen Press took a pass from Lindsey Horan down the left side and struck a liner to the right side of the Brazil net in the 11th minute for a 1-0 U.S. lead. The game was increasingly open and fluid and Brazil – especially midfielder Debinha and striker Ludmila – made the U.S. defenders and keeper Alyssa Naeher increasingly uncomfortable as the half ended 1-0. The U.S. had 59% of the possession and led in shots, 12-5.

The second half went back and forth between the endlines, with both sides creating chances, but without any more scoring for the first 40 minutes. Brazil created big chances on a Marta pass to Debinha, who missed an open net in the 82nd minute, and then a curving shot toward goal by Ludmila in the 84th minute that was deflected.

Horan was on the attack in the 88th minute, running down the right side and sent a cross into the middle of the field that found the right foot of substitute striker Megan Rapinoe, who sent it into the net for a 2-0 lead and that’s the way it ended.

The U.S. extended its unbeaten streak to 36 matches (33-0-3) and 52 on home soil (47-0-5). Naeher had some scares, but posted her 10th consecutive shutout, a team record, and her 40th career shutout.

Today’s late game (6 p.m. Eastern start) had 0-1 Canada playing 0-1 Argentina. The final games of the tournament will be played Wednesday.

● Freestyle Skiing ● The Ski Cross World Cup resumed in Reiteralm (AUT), with new winners in this season for both men and women.

Austria’s Johannes Rohrweck, 30, won his first career World Cup gold and first medal in two years by defeating seasonal leader Reece Howden (CAN) in the final, with France’s Bastien Midol third.

Swedish star Sandra Naeslund, the 2021 World Champion, hadn’t won a World Cup race this season, but changed that, finishing ahead of season leader Fanny Smith (SUI) and Canadian Courtney Hoffos, who won first World Cup medal in two years.

● Judo ● Georgia’s men and the French women were the stars of the IJF World Tour Grand Slam in Tel Aviv (ISR), but the story was the return of former World Champion Saeid Mollaei at 81 kg.

The 2018 World Champion while competing for Iran, he was ordered by Iranian officials to lose matches at the 2019 Worlds to avoid facing Israeli star Sagi Muki, who eventually became World Champion. Mollaei was spirited away from the arena, left for Europe and finally obtained citizenship – and the ability to compete – for Mongolia.

There was the possibility of meeting Muki, but the Israeli star was surprised in the first round with a loss and eliminated. Mollaei got to the final, but lost to Uzbek Sharofiddin Boltaboev and had to settle for the silver medal.

Georgia won two men’s divisions, with Lasha Bekauri winning at 90 kg and heavyweight Gela Zaalishvili winning and 2018 World Champion Guram Tushishvili third, plus four other medals for a total of seven.

The French women scored gold medals by Shirine Boukli (48 kg), Margaux Pinot (70 kg) and Romane Dicko (+78 kg) to lead all countries, plus three other medals. Host Israel posted a win by Timna Nelson Levy at 57 kg, plus a silver from Gili Cohen at 52 kg.

● Nordic Skiing ● In Ski Jumping, both the men and women were in Rasnov (BUL), jumping off the 97 m Trambulina Valea Carbunarii, and it was a good weekend for Japan.

The 2019 World Cup winner, Ryoyu Kobayashi eked out a win, 257.9-256.3 over Polish star Kamil Stoch, with German Karl Geiger third (255.7) in the men’s event.

The women had two competitions, with Slovenian 20-year-old Nika Kriznar taking the opener for her second win of the season. Japanese star Sara Takanashi was second, 235.7-232.9 with Norway’s Silje Opseth third (230.1). But Takanashi came back to make history in the second event, winning for the third time this season and extending her record for World Cup wins to 60 (in 154 appearances). Opseth moved up to second this time, her fourth straight competition with a medal, but well behind Takanashi, 239.2-232.9. Kriznar was third (228.6) and with two medals, claimed the season lead in a tight race with Takanashi, 611-606, after nine of 16 events.

The Cross Country World Cup races in Nove Mesto (CZE) were cancelled due to the pandemic.

● Snowboard ● World Cup action in SnowCross resumed in Reiteralm (AUT), with familiar faces on the podium. Home favorite Alessandro Hammerle got to the line first in the men’s final, ahead of new World Champion Lucas Eguibar (ESP), with American veteran Mick Dierdorff third. It’s Hammerle’s 11th career World Cup gold.

Reigning Olympic champ and seasonal leader Michela Moioli won the women’s race, edging American star Lindsey Jacobellis, who won her first medal of the season and 55th of her brilliant career. French star Chloe Trespeuch finished third.

● Tennis ● The 109th Australian Open was unique, confusing and altogether frustrating for players, officials and fans, but turned out to, once again, offer compelling competition and demonstrate that where there is the will to overcome the coronavirus, it can be done.

In the end, it was defending champ Novak Djokovic (SRB) who won his ninth Australian Open title and his 18th Grand Slam tournament win. He ran past Russian Daniil Medvedev in the final by 7-5, 6-2, 6-2.

The women’s final was a straight-set triumph for Japan’s Naomi Osaka, who won her second Australian Open and fourth Grand Slam title over 25-year-old American Jennifer Brady, 6-4, 6-3. Osaka won her final eight sets of the tournament and lost only one set in her seven matches.

The Doubles titles were all decided in straight-set matches:

● Men: Ivan Dodig (CRO)/Filip Polasek (SVK) d. Rajeev Ram (USA)/Joe Salisbury (GBR), 6-3, 6-4.

● Women: Elise Mertens (BEL)/Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) d. Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE), 6-2, 6-3.

● Mixed: Barbora Krejcikova (CZE)/Rajeev Ram (USA) d. Samantha Stosur/Matthew Ebden (AUS), 6-1. 6-4.

The tournament’s pandemic rules required many players to be quarantined, and spectator attendance was capped at 50% of capacity until a snap lockdown was ordered on 12 February. That lasted for five days, with the final four days of the event allowing a maximum of 7,477 spectators per match. But the tournament got done, a positive of what can be done, even during a pandemic.

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THE TICKER: Hashimoto takes Tokyo 2020 reins; North Carolina to bid for 2027 WUG; more Worlds medals for Mikaela Shiffrin!

By
Rich Perelman
-

(★ Friends: THANK YOU to our 44 donors who have pitched in to cover our December bill for server and support costs! If you would like to join in, please donate here. Your enthusiasm is the reason this site keeps going. ★)

The latest news, notes and quotes from the worldwide Five-Ring Circus:

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● The Tokyo 2020 organizing committee selected Japan’s Olympics Minister, Seiko Hashimoto, 56, as its new President on Thursday, replacing 83-year-old Yoshio Mori, who resigned after sexist comments about women at a Japanese Olympic Committee meeting on 3 February.

Hashimoto was the obvious candidate, despite expressing “reluctance” to take the role. She was an Olympic speed skater in 1984-88-92-94 and a track cyclist in 1988-92-96. She owns an Olympic bronze medal from the 1992 Albertville Winter Games from the 1,500 m.

She has been involved in politics since winning a seat in the House of Councillors in 1995, as a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. She was State Secretary for foreign affairs from 2008-09. She was Minister of State for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games from September 2019 until taking the organizing committee post.

Upon appointment, Hashimoto said, “It is my mission to host the games by prioritizing safety for both participants and the Japanese people, and create an atmosphere for athletes to go on the stage of their dreams without worrying.”

Tamayo Marukawa, 50, also a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, was named as the new Olympics Minister. She had previously held that role in 2016-17 and has also served as Japan’s Minister of the Environment and Minister of State for Nuclear Emergency Preparedness.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER) posted a warm endorsement on the IOC’s Web site, including:

“With her great Olympic experience, having won a medal, participated in seven editions of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Winter Games, and having led Japan’s delegation to the Olympic Games multiple times, she is the perfect choice for this position. She will ensure that the focus in the final months of preparation remains on the athletes’ experience while planning all the necessary COVID-19 countermeasures. …

“With the appointment of a woman as President, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee is also sending a very important signal with regard to gender equality, which is one of the topics we addressed in Olympic Agenda 2020, the reform programme for the IOC and the Olympic Movement.”

Hashimoto faces a difficult task – and one which was paramount before Mori’s comments and subsequent replacement – in restoring enthusiasm for the Games in Japan. Public support for hosting the Games this summer, vs. cancellation or another postponement, has fallen to as low as 14.5% in a Kyodo poll.

The IOC announced the “implementation guidelines” of the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s December decision in the case of the World Anti-Doping Agency vs. the Russian Anti-Doping Agency. Warning that enforcement will be strict, the notice includes:

“WADA’s independent Compliance Review Committee (CRC) has now confirmed that the guidelines are in line with the CAS decision and, if respected, would not lead to a non-compliance procedure against World Anti-Doping Code signatories.”

The guidelines include the use of the acronym “ROC” for Russian athletes – short for Russian Olympic Committee – and allow flag use with the logo of the Russian Olympic Committee (no text) and a “musical score” to be proposed by the Russian Olympic Committee for ceremonies at the Olympic Games in 2020 and Winter Games in 2022, which if approved must also be used for all sport world championships in lieu of the Russian anthem.

On uniforms and equipment, the guidelines require use of the Russian Olympic Committee logo instead of any other symbols and/or the words “Russian Olympic Committee.” If “Russia” or “Russian” text appears on the uniform, then the words “Neutral Athlete” must be shown as well, in an equivalent size.

The benefit of the guidelines is to standardize the implementation of the Court decision across all Games and World Championships, instead of a one-by-one series of decisions for events in 2021 and 2022. The Russian Olympic Committee declared its agreement to comport with the guidelines almost immediately.

“As a prefecture, we cannot pledge our full support if the current situation continues.”

That’s Tatsuya Maruyama, the Governor of Shimane, a sparsely-populated prefecture in western Japan, on the island of Honshu, declaring Wednesday (17th) that it may cancel the appearance of the Olympic Torch Relay if the coronavirus situation does not improve.

Kyodo reported that “The remarks by Maruyama, who also criticized the state and Tokyo government over their antivirus measures at a press conference last week, are seen as intended to increase pressure on them to improve their handling of the pandemic.”

The Torch Relay is scheduled to start on 25 March and would come through Shimane in May.

● Games of the XXXIV Olympiad: Los Angeles 2028 ● The coronavirus has reached out and touched – again – the 2028 Los Angeles Games, further delaying the completion of a detailed agreement between the LA28 organizing committee and the City of Los Angeles.

The City’s Chief Administrative Analyst sent a note to the City Council on Wednesday, explaining:

“The [Memorandum of Understanding between the City and LA28] currently requires the Parties to negotiate and execute a Games Agreement by March 14, 2021, to identify various obligations and actions between the Parties regarding the hosting of the 2028 Games. To continue negotiations in good faith, and as a result of the continued impacts of the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), the Parties require additional time to develop the Games Agreement. Approval of the proposed Third Amendment will extend the date for executing the Games Agreement from March 14, 2021 to October 1, 2021.”

Los Angeles County (population ~ 9.97 million) has been hit hard by the virus, with 1,174,340 million cases reported and 19,514 deaths as of 18 February.

● World University Games ● The U.S.-International University Sport Federation has designated the Raleigh-Durham area as its candidate in a bid to bring the 2027 World University Games to the United States.

The candidate area – Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary, North Carolina – is locally referred to as “The Triangle” and has hosted a major multi-sport event before, the 1987 U.S. Olympic Festival. That event set numerous attendance records and totaled 464,423 spectators, the most at a Festival up to that time.

The head of the bid committee is Hill Carrow, 66, who was the head of the 1987 Festival organizing committee and brings invaluable experience to the task of bidding and, if successful, staging the event.

After being fairly dormant in the international university sports arena for years, the U.S. is suddenly a central player, with the 2023 Winter World University Games coming to Lake Placid, New York. New U.S. International University Sports Federation President Dan Guerrero – the recently-retired athletics director at UCLA – announced the Raleigh-Durham candidacy this way:

“We are very excited about the possibility of bringing the Summer World University Games back to the U.S., where it has only previously been held one time, in 1993 in Buffalo, New York. The next available year to bid on the Games, 2027, holds a lot of promise for Olympic sports in the United States as it is the year prior to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California.

“In addition, our country has strong momentum for attracting the Summer World University Games, thanks to excellent work being done by the Local Organizing Committee in Lake Placid, New York, where they are slated to host the Winter World University Games in 2023 and are receiving very positive reviews for their Games preparations.”

The selection of the 2027 host is expected to be made in the spring of 2022 and the U.S. bid will be a favorite, as the FISU, the federation for university sport, is eager to raise its almost non-existent profile in the U.S.

● Alpine Skiing ● The FIS Alpine World Championships continues in Cortina d’Ampezzo (ITA), site of the 2026 Winter Games, with more medals for Swiss star Lara Gut-Behrami and American Mikaela Shiffrin.

In Thursday’s Giant Slalom, Shiffrin scored the fastest first run at 1:13.22, but with only a lead of 0.02. While her second-run time of 1:17.46 was the fourth-fastest in the field, it was not enough to hold off Gut-Behrami, who jumped from third to first in 1:17.36 for a combined time of 2:30.66.

Shiffrin finished just 0.02 back, with Austrian Katharina Liensberger third (2:30.75); American Nina O’Brien was 10th overall (2:32.46).

Shiffrin has now won three medals in this Championships – one of each color – and now has a career total of 10 Worlds medals. Gut-Behrami has two golds and a bronze, and eight career medals and Liensberger now has a gold and a bronze for her first Worlds medals.

The men’s Giant Slalom was a wild affair, with France’s Alexis Pinturault – a 17-time World Cup winner in the event – leading after the first run. But he failed to finish his second run, as did German Alexander Schmid, standing third after the first run. That opened the door for France’s Mathieu Faivre, already the Parallel Giant Slalom gold medalist, who skied confidently down the Labirinti course and moved from fourth to first.

Italy’s Luca de Aliprandini was second after the first run and had a chance to win, but posted the 11th-fastest time on the second run and fell to second, 2:37.25-2:37.88. Austria’s Marco Schwarz, who won the Combined earlier in the week, posted the second-fastest second run in the field to move up from sixth to the bronze medal.

The results show once again the fluid nature of a World Championships or an Olympic Games: Faivre, 29, came into these Worlds with one career World Cup win … and has won two golds. Aliprandini, 30, had never won a World Cup medal in his nine-season career, but took silver.

The 2021 Worlds will finish this weekend with the Slalom races, with Shiffrin the four-time defending champion.

● Athletics ● One of the best indoor meets of the year was the Copernicus Cup in Torun (POL) on Wednesday, headlined by Britain’s Elliot Giles, who ran the second-fastest indoor 800 m of all time in 1:43.63. Only Dane Wilson Kipketer’s 1:42.67 from 1997 is faster, and runner-up Jamie Webb of Great Britain – in 1:44.54 – moves to no. 8 on the all-time list.

There were five other world leaders as well:

● Men/High Jump: 2.34 m (7-8), Maksim Nedasekau (BLR), Andrii Protsenko (UKR) and Gianmarco Tamberi (ITA)

● Women/60 m: 7.08 (=world lead), Javianne Oliver (USA)
● Women/3,000 m: 8:31.24, Lemlem Hailu (ETH)
● Women/60 m hurdles: 7.81, Christina Clemons (USA)
● Women/Triple Jump: 14.60 m (47-10 3/4), Paraskevi Papahristou (GRE)

In addition, Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega won the men’s 1,500 m in 3:32.97 to move to no. 8 on the all-time list; American Grant Holloway ran his 2021 win streak to four meets with a 7.38 victory in the men’s 60 m hurdles, and Sam Kendricks of the U.S. won the men’s vault over Piotr Lisek (POL) and Ernest John Obiena (PHI) as all three cleared 5.80 m (19-0 1/4).

Hailu’s 3,000 m win was especially impressive, coming at the expense of Steeplechase world-record holder (and last weekend’s 5 km road record-setter) Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN: 8:31.72).

The fourth and final American Track League meet comes on Sunday, once again in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Shot star Ryan Crouser will be back, looking for a third win in the series and trying to better his world indoor record 22.82 m (74-10 1/2) on 24 January.

Allyson Felix will make a rare indoor appearance, scheduled for some speed work on the 60 m and 200 m. ESPN will have live coverage beginning at 4 p.m. Central time.

Six members of Lamine Diack’s family are using a GoFundMe campaign to try to raise €500,000 (~$605,825) to post bail for Diack, now 88, to allow him to leave Paris and return to Senegal.

The fundraising group is shown to include Seydou Diack, N.K. Diack, Bineta Diack, Anta Diack, Mohamed Diack and Katifa Diack but interestly does not include the son Papa Massata Diack, one of the other primary figures in the charges for bribery and fraud brought against his father. The request includes:

“Our father Mr. Lamine Diack, who was the 5th President of the IAAF (World Athletics), aged 88 and sick, has been banned from leaving French territory since November 1, 2015.

“After the verdict delivered by the court, followed by an appeal from his lawyers, the ban was lifted on December 22, 2020, on the condition of paying a deposit of 500,000 € (327 million FCFA).

“We, his children, appeal for help in collecting the deposit, in order to make his return among us possible.”

Begun on 7 February, the appeal has thus far raised €17,398 (~$21,083) against the €500,000 goal.

Italian Alex Schwazer, now 36, was the Olympic gold medalist in the 50 km race walk in 2008 in Beijing, but was banned for doping prior to the 2012 London Games. Another doping test in January 2016 came back negative, but was re-tested and found to be positive, leading to an eight-year ban into 2024 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in an August 2016 decision.

However, on Thursday, Court of Bolzano Judge Walter Pelino issued a decision holding that:

“The preliminary investigation judge believes that it has been established with a high level of credibility that the urine samples taken from Alex Schwazer on Jan. 1, 2016, were altered with the aim of making them positive, and therefore obtaining the suspension and the discrediting of the athlete, as well as his coach Sandro Donati.”

This will not allow Schwazer to compete in Tokyo, but he could not appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal to nullify the 2016 decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The World Anti-Doping Agency issued a furious reply on Twitter, including:

“WADA is appalled by the multiple reckless and groundless allegations made by the judge against the organization and other parties to this case.

“During the course of the proceedings, WADA provided overwhelming evidence that was corroborated by independent experts, which the judge rejected in favor of unsubstantiated theories. …

“The agency stands by all the evidence it provided and rejects the defamatory criticism in the decision in the strongest terms. Once the full judgment has been analyzed, WADA will consider all options available, including what legal actions it may initiate.”

A rare news release from the Athletics Integrity Unit on Thursday announced and endorsed a holding by the independent Disciplinary Tribunal against a group of former Russian Athletics Federation officials, who actively interfered in a “whereabouts” failure case against former World Indoor Champion high jumper Danil Lysenko:

● Former President Dmitry Shlyakhtin: banned for four years
● Former Board Member Artur Karamyan: banned for four years
● Former Executive Director Alexander Parkin: banned for four years
● Former Senior Administrator Elena Orlova: banned for four years
● Former Anti-Doping Coordinator Elena Ikonnikova: banned for four years

The bans for Orlova and Ikonnikova will be served concurrently with existing bans (!) of six and eight years, respectively. The cases against Lysenko and coach Evengiy Zagorulko are still in process.

In essence, the conspirators worked together to create false documents to support claims that Lysenko was ill during his second “whereabouts” failure and had been in a car crash and unable to comply with what was the third “whereabouts” failure. The three-member panel found all were deeply involved in the plan and thus were sanctioned.

● Biathlon ● The IBU World Championships are continuing in Pokljuka (SLO), with the Individual races showcasing first-time winners in both the men’s 20 km and women’s 15 km competitions.

Czech Marketa Davidova, 24, was one of just two finishers not to suffer a shooting penalty and romped to a 27.9-second victory over Sweden’s 2019 World Champion Hanna Oeberg, 42:27.7 to 42:55.6. Davidova was hardly a favorite, having logged two wins in five years on the World Cup circuit and finishing 43rd and 37th in this race in the 2019 and 2020 Worlds, but was the best on Tuesday. Norway’s Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold was third in 43:31.7.

The men’s title went to Norway’s Sturla Holm Laegreid, 23, competing in his first World Championships, but clearly a rising star in the sport. He and Germany’s 2019 World Champion Arnd Peiffer both shot perfectly, but Laegreid managed a 16.9-second win, 49:27.6-49:44.5. Johannes Dale (NOR) was third in 50:08.5 (one penalty).

The Single Mixed Relay was held on Thursday, with a duel to the finish between France’s Julia Simon and Norwegian star Tiril Eckhoff, already a three-time winner at these Championships. Simon had two shooting penalties on her anchor leg after taking over from Antonin Guigonnat and although Eckhoff shot clean, Simon managed a 2.8 second win by 36:42.4 to 36:45.2. Eckhoff’s partner, superstar Johannes Thingnes Boe, had a tough time with a combined seven penalties on his two legs.

Sweden’s Sebastian Samuelsson and Oeberg combined for the bronze medal in 37:15.4.

The Worlds finish this weekend with the men’s and women’s relays and the Mass Start races.

● Figure Skating ● Figure skating coach Peter Oppegard, a U.S. Pairs skater who won – with Jill Watson – an Olympic bronze medal in 1988 in Calgary, has been reported to be under investigation for abusive behavior by the U.S. Center for SafeSport:

“Oppegard is accused of biting a skater in 2013 and throwing hot liquids on other trainees several times between 2005 and 2018, according to USA Today. During that time, Oppegard worked at East West Ice Palace in Artesia, Calif.”

● Football ● The SheBelieves Cup kicked off in Orlando, Florida on Thursday with Brazil and the U.S. winning the opening games in advance of their head-to-head meeting on Sunday.

The Brazilians defeated Argentina, 4-1, thanks to a penalty shot from Marta in the first half at the 30-minute mark, then three second-half scores from Debinha (47th), Adriana (54th) and Geyse (82nd minute). Mariana Larroquette scored for Argentina in the 60th minute. Brazil dominated with 57% of the possession time and six shots in the game to two for Argentina.

The U.S. struggled mightily against a tight, well-organized Canadian defense, but managed a 1-0 win, thanks to a 79th-minute goal from substitute striker Rose Lavelle. This was the most competitive game the American women had played in months and looked like it might end in a scoreless tie. But off of a failed clearance in the Canadian end following a free kick, Lavelle ripped a right-footed shot from just outside the penalty area that flew by Canadian keeper Stephanie Labbe. The U.S. had 53% of the possession during the game, but managed only five shots, but held Canada to just one.

● Rowing ● The first section of the U.S. Rowing Olympic Trials starts on 22 February in Sarasota, Florida, with five classes competing: men’s and women’s Single Sculls, men’s Double Sculls, men’s Lightweight Double Sculls and women’s Lightweight Double Sculls.

The selection for Tokyo 2020 will be decided for the women’s Single Sculls only, with the other selections finalized at the final Trials event in May.

There are 37 entries in the women’s Single Sculls, with the focus on Gevvie Stone, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist in the event, and 2019 Worlds bronze medalist Kara Kohler. Stone took a couple of years off after Rio to concentrate on her medical residency, but came back to the sport in 2019, losing to Kohler at the U.S. nationals, but teaming with Cicely Madden in the women’s Double Sculls and finishing fifth at the World Rowing Championships.

Heats will take place next Tuesday, repechages on Wednesday, semifinals on Thursday and finals on Friday.

● Weightlifting ● On Thursday (18th), the International Weightlifting Federation reversed a much-criticized decision on its anti-doping rules in hopes of currying favor with the already-angry International Olympic Committee. The posting on its Web site included:

“[The Executive Board] specifically approved a recommendation of the Independent Testing Agency (ITA) and the newly appointed independent IWF Anti-Doping Commission to restore Article 12 of the IWF Anti-Doping Rules to a threshold whereby three anti-doping rule violations in a single year would trigger suspension proceedings, instead of four.”

The prior rule had required suspensions after three violations, but was relaxed earlier this year.

An independent panel, outside of the IWF, will be named to verify the eligibility of candidates for next month’s elections, instead of the IWF’s own Ethics and Discipline Commission. However, the eligibility rules themselves are being reviewed as well.

● The Last Word ● Happy to report that one of TheSportsExaminer.com entries in the third AIPS Sport Media Awards category of “Best Column” has advanced to the “shortlist” and will be considered further.

Our story from 4 October 2020 entitled “After 79 years, the Paralympic Games deserves to have the world stage to itself … in 2027!” has passed through two rounds of judging and will now compete with 34 other entries from around the world by an international panel of judges during the next month. Thanks for the honor!

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

LANE ONE: IOC’s Agenda 2020+5 eyes massive commercial expansion, new multi-sport competitions, and eSports as future Games events

By
Rich Perelman
-

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For most of its 127-year history, the International Olympic Committee has mostly been about the staging of two events, the Olympic and Olympic Winter Games, now occurring for two weeks, every two years.

That’s about to change, big time.

The enormously ambitious Olympic Agenda 2020+5, released on Monday (15th), is nothing less than a declaration by the IOC to take charge – if not take over – the international sports calendar for much of every year, not just those years in which an Olympic or Winter Games will take place.

The release of this document in 2021, stating a plan through to 2025, is no accident. It comes 12 weeks after the IOC announced that German Thomas Bach would run unopposed for a second term as IOC President, which will run from 2021-25. So this new program is in effect Bach’s vision of his final term.

If read seriously, and with an appreciation of the ability of Bach and his executive team in Lausanne to create change – as it has done already during his eight-year first term – then Agenda 2020+5 is nothing less than the start of an IOC-led makeover of the quadrennial world sports calendar, as well as the Olympic event program. The centerpieces are Recommendations 6 and 9:

(1) Recommendation 6 is titled “Enhance and promote the Road to the Olympic Games”:

● “Elevate the profile of thousands of qualifying events by authorising the use of Olympic branding (e.g. OCOG marks) in a flexible manner”

● “Streamline calendars through new multi-sports Olympic qualifying events in the lead up to the Olympic Games Paris 2024″

● “The Olympic and OCOG brands effectively have no visibility and therefore the Road to the Olympic Games is not as visible as it should be.

“Beyond the individual stand-alone events, some multi-sports qualification events could be developed by the IOC in collaboration with [International Federations], which would help streamline the qualification calendar and also potentially add value for the Hosts, IFs and athletes involved. These events, grouping sports by type or by culture (e.g. combat sports, urban sports), could also serve to build excitement for the Olympic Games.”

Forget the cautious language. After 127 years, the IOC will now take charge of some (or all) of the Olympic qualification events for some sports, creating new, multi-sport events which will extend the Olympic brand to two years prior to each Games. This effectively makes the IOC a major event producer on its own, perhaps in collaboration with some of the IFs, perhaps with a continental association of National Olympic Committees, or perhaps by itself.

This is a major expansion – takeover? – of what has been the province of the IFs and groups like the Olympic Council of Asia and PanAm Sports. The proof comes in Recommendation 7 concerning the annual sports calendar: “Coordinate the harmonisation of multi-sports event planning across the Olympic Movement to ensure sustainability for all stakeholders,” which now includes the IOC.

What is the future of the Asian Games and Pan American Games if the IOC takes for itself all of the Olympic qualification aspects of these events? Or perhaps it will help to shore up these events and create a source of revenue for these continental associations? Those decisions will likely be for Bach’s successor.

The IOC got a taste of what will be involved in its close cooperation with the development and staging of the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires (ARG) in 2018 and the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne (SUI) in 2020. Add in the IOC-managed qualifying events for boxing for Tokyo, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, and there is obvious confidence that the team at Olympic House can handle the workload.

The International Federations will still have their own world championships as primary qualifiers for the Olympic Games, but look for the IOC to consider taking over the rest.

(2) Recommendation 9 is “Encourage the development of virtual sports and further engage with video gaming communities”:

● “Strengthen the roles and responsibilities of IFs in establishing virtual and simulated forms of sports as a discipline within their regulations and strategies”

● “Consider the addition of physical virtual sports in the Olympic Programme in cooperation with the respective IFs”

The concept of “physical virtual sports” refers to activities like the virtual Tour de France one does on a connected home bike, or virtual golf using specially-programmed “clubs” that must be actually swung to create a shot.

Agenda 2020+5 is clear that these styles of electronic gaming, which include a significant physical component, are going to be included on the Olympic program, as early as the Los Angeles Games in 2028 (whose event program will be finalized in 2025), as long as they are under the control and supervision of the applicable International Federation.

How well that will sit with an existing game maker is unclear, but the question is now not whether electronic games will be included as Olympic events, but which ones and when.

The aggressive elements of Agenda 2020+5 do not stop there. The IOC’s desire to become an impact player in sport on a daily basis – not for two weeks every two years, but every day – are decisively declared in Recommendations 1 and 8.

In Recommendation 1:

● “Offer opportunities for people to get active through programmes such as initiation to Olympic sports or participation in events connected to the Olympic Games, both before and during the Olympic Games”

● “Develop ‘phygital’ experiences with both physical and digital components, such as for example an online platform during the Olympic Games for fans and stakeholders to access exclusive experiences, regardless of their location (e.g. chat with athletes, behind the scenes tour, etc.)”

● “Introduce innovative ways to facilitate direct and interactive relationships of fans around the world with Olympic Games events.”

In Recommendation 8, titled “Grow digital engagement with people”:

● “Use Olympic digital and social media channels to deliver engagement during and between the Olympic Games” leading to the construction of “a single people-centric digital platform, Olympics.com” that will incorporate “the Olympic Channel as the sports video section” and “[m]erging the websites and apps of Olympic Games into the single Olympic platform,” including the Web presence of Olympic organizing committees (here’s looking at you, LA28).

● “[T]he IOC Digital Strategy was approved and initiated, to reinforce IOC’s people-centric approach, aiming at creating one single digital platform that allows data capture for the
benefit of the IOC and of the Olympic Movement.” (Emphasis added)

The IOC’s stated goal now is to create an owned, addressable database in the millions to which it can promote its goals for physical fitness, worldwide solidarity and its other goals. Oh yes, there is a vision for how to turn this to the IOC’s financial advantage.

The final recommendation, no. 15, concerns new sources of revenue. It specifically includes “Further involving TOP Partners’ expertise and resources in the programmes and activities of the Olympic Movement” with revealing additional comments:

● “Purpose-led marketing has become one of the most impactful tools for companies, institutions and rights-holders to position themselves to target audiences, with a focus on the ambitions, purpose and values of the company, rather than solely putting their products or services at the heart of their marketing strategy. In the Olympic context, this means developing mutually beneficial projects and programmes with Partners that support the role of sport as an important enabler for Sustainable Development Goals. As a values-based organisation, this is what we offer to our partners.”

● “The IOC will continue to explore ways in which commercial partners can support [athletes] and how we can bring the athlete community into the value proposition that we provide for our partners – both in terms of how athletes can contribute, but also how they can benefit from the possibilities that we offer through our Partners.”

This future vision has the IOC offering global companies the opportunity for direct, digital access to millions – or tens of million or hundreds of millions? – of individuals spread across 206 countries, drawn to the popularity of the Olympic Games. Sponsorship, rather than broadcast rights, has the greatest growth potential for the IOC going forward and having a continuous roll of events and addressable access to consumers around the world makes for a compelling sales argument … even at Olympic prices.

The comments on Recommendation 15 also note further expansion by the IOC “by creating a global licensing programme and developing a marketing alliance with the [International Paralympic Committee], which began on 1 January 2021” and “[t]o continue maximising benefits for all Olympic stakeholders, we will extend this centralised approach to the
business model of the Hospitality sector.”

This is a massive expansion of the vision of the role that the IOC can make for sport, and for itself, and shows that Bach continues to push the boundaries of what has been considered possible for an organization which has become a billion-dollar business off of just four weeks of programming every four years.

There are numerous smaller impact items in the recommendations, including:

● From Recommendation 1: “Preserve the principle of universality through guaranteed continental representation within the Olympic qualification systems.” Translation: individuals and teams that don’t – competitively – belong at the Games will still be there, as in “This is the opportunity for us to contribute to a more inclusive society and to peace.”

● From Recommendation 2: “Work with stakeholders to streamline numbers of on-site participants and actively promote opportunities to perform Olympic Games-related tasks remotely.”

● From Recommendation 5: “Encourage Olympic Movement constituents to establish a Safeguarding Officer position within their organisations and to fill such positions with an Officer certified through the International Safeguarding Officer In Sport Certificate.” This is a new project on safe sports, complementing the long-time anti-doping effort that has been led by the IOC.

● From Recommendation 14: “The IOC to make compliance with the ‘Basic Universal Principles of Good Governance’ conditional for recognition and inclusion in the Olympic Programme and granting of patronage.” This will include auditing of more National Olympic Committees and International Federations to assure money provided to them by the IOC is being spent as expected.

The IOC also took some pains to underline its commitment to corporate citizenship, currently an expanding issue with calls by some governments for boycotts and demonstrations related to the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in China. Recommendation 13 asks to “Adopt an overarching IOC human rights strategic framework with specific action plans for each of the IOC’s three different spheres of responsibility (the IOC as an organisation, the IOC as owner of the Olympic Games and the IOC as leader of the Olympic Movement).”

Its goal “to embed in a more systematic and comprehensive way human rights due diligence in its operations so as to reduce and mitigate risks of negative impacts on people, as well as ensure remediation in a proactive way” is, as always, couched within the context of mattes “that fall within its remit,” which is limited to sport. That won’t play well for 2022, but has better prospects for the Games to be held afterwards.

The recommendations do not include any comments guiding the selection of sports or events for the Games, other than the obvious interest in specific eSports related to existing Olympic sports. It does reiterate the IOC’s now-firm desire to avoid building facilities except where needed as part of a host city’s existing or long-term plan.

While some of the continental confederations of National Olympic Committees can be concerned about the future of their regional Games, the obvious losers in the document are the writing press and photographers. The only media entities even mentioned in the document are rights-holding broadcasters – who are Olympic “stakeholders” – and the comment that sustainability concerns should “actively promote opportunities to perform Olympic Games-related tasks remotely” could very well include press and non-rights-holding broadcasters. The IOC’s future vision is communicating to the public through its rights-holding broadcasters, its sponsors and its own database; all others are superfluous.

There is little doubt that the IOC members will confirm the document in March as the plan for the next four years. But that does not mean that all of it will be implemented, or be successful if implemented. The scope – and the stakes – are vast.

Are these good ideas, or is the IOC simply trying to vacuum up every possible opportunity for control and funding it can see in front of it? You can make a compelling case for both, but the IOC’s Agenda 2020+5 program is a reaction to the world it sees – where “unity and peace are at risk because of increasing social, political and economic polarisation” – and it is adopting many of the strategies and tactics for growth and impact already underway by other global marketers, including many of its own sponsorship partners.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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HEARD AT HALFTIME: IOC presents “Olympic Agenda 2020+5″; new U.S. athlete leaders; Shiffrin wins Alpine Worlds Combined!

By
Rich Perelman
-
American skiing superstar Mikaela Shiffrin: another World Championships gold!

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

● International Olympic Committee ● Since it’s 2021, the IOC’s turning-point reforms known as “Agenda 2020″ are now old news, so it is time for a new set of goals for the future. On Monday (15th), “Agenda 2020+5″ was unveiled and will be presented to the IOC Session for ratification – unanimously, no doubt – in March.

The program includes 15 points:

(1) Strengthen the uniqueness and the universality of the Olympic Games
(2) Foster sustainable Olympic Games
(3) Reinforce athletes’ rights and responsibilities
(4) Continue to attract best athletes
(5) Further strengthen safe sport and the protection of clean athletes
(6) Enhance and promote the Road to the Olympic Games
(7) Coordinate the harmonisation of the sports calendar
(8) Grow digital engagement with people
(9) Encourage the development of virtual sports and further engage with video gaming communities
(10) Strengthen the role of sport as an important enabler for the UN Sustainable Development Goals
(11) Strengthen the support to refugees and populations affected by displacement
(12) Reach out beyond the Olympic community
(13) Continue to lead by example in corporate citizenship
(14) Strengthen the Olympic Movement through good governance
(15) Innovate revenue generation models

All of these are familiar themes espoused by Bach during his term as President, but there is significant detail on each item, in a 37-page prospectus submitted to the membership. We’ll have a closer look at the specifics later this week.

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● The Tokyo 2020 organizers have started the recovery from the resignation of President Yoshiro Mori last week and a first meeting of the Candidate Selection Committee was held on Tuesday (16th). Five “criteria” for the new President were agreed on:

“(1) Profound knowledge of the Olympics, the Paralympics and sport in general.

“(2) Deep understanding of the principles of the Tokyo 2020 Games and the Olympic Charter, including gender equality, diversity and inclusion; ability to actualise them during the Games and as keystones of the Tokyo 2020 legacy.

“(3) Experience on the global stage; international profile and sense of awareness.

“(4) Understanding of the overall background of the Tokyo 2020 Games and their current state of preparation.

“(5) Organisational management skills and ability to bring together diverse stakeholders.”

A woman is widely expected to be named to the post, although Kyodo reported that the government’s Olympics Minister, Seiko Hashimoto – an Olympic cyclist and medal-winning speed skater – is “reluctant” to take up the post. The organizers are under significant pressure to fill the vacancy quickly, but also in a politically-sensitive way with “transparency.”

The magnitude 7.3 earthquake which struck northeastern Japan on Sunday (14th) apparently did no damage to the Olympic venues in the area. At issue were the Azuma Stadium in Fukushima, which will host baseball and softball games; and two football facilities: Miyagi Stadium near Sendai and Kashima Stadium in the Ibaraki Prefecture.

The impact of the coronavirus continues reaching into the qualification process for the Tokyo 2020 Games, with the final qualifying tournament in boxing, scheduled for June, set to be canceled. Kyodo reported on Tuesday:

“The rescheduling of the Olympic qualifiers saw the European qualifier moved from April to June, with some 53 Olympic spots supposed to be secured at the final world qualifier now set to be decided by point-based rankings, which reflect performance at international meets since 2017.”

The Olympic boxing program is being overseen by a specially-arranged IOC working group as the international federation for boxing – AIBA – is suspended.

● XXIV Olympic Winter Games: Beijing 2022 ● Republican firebrand Rep. Mike Waltz (Florida: 6th District) – a former Green Beret – introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday, asking the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee to “propose the transfer of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games to a site other than within the People’s Republic of China,” and following the certain refusal of the IOC to do so, then the “United States Olympic Committee and the Olympic Committees of other countries should withdraw from the 2022 Olympic Games.”

For Waltz, the first difficulty is that the USOPC has already accepted the invitation to attend the Beijing Games, provided by video during one-year-to-go ceremonies on 4 February.

The resolution includes:

“[H]osting the 2022 Winter Olympics Games in the [People’s Republic of China], where organized atrocities in the [Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region] are ongoing; where the freedoms of Hong Kong‘s citizens are being trampled; where the fundamental right to worship is brutally persecuted; and in the wake of the ongoing global devastation from COVID-19; would be immoral, unethical and wrong.”

In an interview, Waltz asked, “Social justice applies only in the United States but not in international relations?” and added, “We’re marching toward the Winter Games – it is right around the corner. We’re going to bang this drum louder and louder.”

The chances of any movement concerning Beijing and the 2022 Winter Games are near-zero. But the political pressure from multiple countries, also including Canada, Australia and Great Britain, will create uncertain reactions from the hosts, as well as new scrutiny on the changes to be proposed by the IOC Athletes’ Commission to Rule 50.2 of the Olympic Charter, which bans all forms of protests at a Games.

● U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee ● The USOPC Athletes’ Advisory Council formally introduced its new officer team on 12 February, including:

● Chair: Bree Schaaf (Bobsled and Skeleton)
● Vice Chair: Chuck Aoki (Wheelchair Rugby)
● Vice Chair: Greta Neimanas (Para-cycling)
● At-Large: Tony Ervin (Swimming)
● At-Large: Mark Ladwig (Figure Skating)
● At-Large: Cody Mattern (Fencing)

Schaaf, 40, was a Skeleton racer from 2002-07, then switched to Bobsleigh and was the driver of the fifth-place U.S. sled at the Vancouver Winter Games in 2010. She retired in 2014 and was part of the NBC announce team at bobsled in Sochi in 2014 and PyeongChang in 2018.

She was destined to be involved in the Movement, having graduated from Olympic High School in Bremerton, Washington in 1998 and then from Portland State University in 2002. She lists her current employment with Global Athlete, which describes itself as “a progressive athlete start-up movement aiming to inspire athletes and drive change across the world of sport.”

The changes hoped for by Congress in the U.S. Olympic Movement have been stalled as the final four appointments to the Commission on the State of U.S. Olympic and Paralympics have still not been announced.

While 12 appointments have been determined, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) has not released her selections as yet, now 20 days after Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) formalized his nominees.

The Commission actually could start without Cantwell’s group, since S. 2330 as passed lists a quorum requirement of 11 members to meet!

The USOPC announced its Coaches of the Year for 2020 on Tuesday, with legendary fencing mentor Greg Massialas selected as the Olympic Coach of the Year and Para-Equestrian Dressage coach Michael Assouline as Paralympic Coach of the Year.

The full list of honorees, which includes several other categories of excellence, is here.

● Alpine Skiing ● The FIS World Championships continue in Cortina d’Ampezzo (ITA), with American Mikaela Shiffrin winning her sixth Worlds gold on Monday in the Alpine Combined.

The Super-G came first and Shiffrin was third overall, just 0.06 behind leader Federica Brignone of Italy. But Brignone fell during the Slalom and Shiffrin, one of the world’s best in the Slalom, came on to post the fastest time of the day on the second leg and win with a total of 2:07.22. That was 86/100ths faster than Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova and 0.89 up on Swiss Michelle Gisin.

The conditions were difficult, with 17 skiers failing to finish one of the runs, but Shiffrin was in control. She said afterwards:

“It was quite nice to ski today again. Beautiful weather and really nice in the Super-G and again amazing in the Slalom. It was tough conditions – like a real Slalom – but I felt good and like I was pushing the whole time. It was nice when you feel like you’re skiing well and it works. Cool day.”

Shiffrin has a couple more shots at Worlds medals this week, with the Giant Slalom and Slalom still to come.

The men’s Combined was the third straight win for Austria in men’s racing, with Marco Schwarz winning his fourth Worlds medal, but his first gold. This was again a difficult event, with 20 racers failing to finish or abandoning the event after the Super-G. Schwarz was sixth after the Super-G, but like Shiffrin, had the fastest Slalom run and won with a combined 2:05.86. France’s Alexis Pinturault was second-fastest in the Slalom and second overall for his second medal of the Championships (2:05.90), with Swiss Loic Meillard third (2:06.98).

The Parallel races were held on Tuesday, with French star Mathieu Faivre defeating Croatia’s Filip Zubcic in the gold-medal final, 2-0, while Meillard won another bronze, this time over Alexander Schmid (GER), 2-0, in the bronze-medal final.

The women’s Parallel gold was a tie, for home favorite Marta Bassino and Katharina Liensberger (AUT); Tessa Worley (FRA) took the bronze over Paula Moltzan of the U.S., the latter’s best-ever finish in the World Championships.

● Athletics ● More great results from last weekend, with reigning men’s World Shot Champion Joe Kovacs of the U.S. reaching 22.05 m (72-4 1/4) at the B1G Invitational in Geneva, Ohio on Saturday (13th).

Arizona State junior Turner Washington set a men’s collegiate indoor shot mark of 21.85 m (71-8 1/4) at the Texas Tech Shootout in Lubbock, Texas, also on Saturday. Baylor junior K.C. Lightfoot claimed the men’s collegiate indoor mark in the vault, clearing the magical 6.00 m mark (18-8 1/4) on his second try. That equals the highest collegiate vault ever, done outdoors by Mondo Dupantis of LSU back in 2019.

Also, New Zealander Sam Tanner’s brilliant 3:34.72 third-place finish in the 1,500 m at the New Balance Grand Prix earned him the men’s collegiate indoor record as well. The Washington sophomore’s time bettered the 3:35.46 en route time by Oregon’s Cooper Teare (USA) the night before from the Tyson Invitational!

World women’s high jump leader Yaroslava Mahuchikh showed her 2.06 m (6-9) clearance was no fluke, winning the Ukrainian nationals at 2.00 m (6-6 3/4), with three close missed at 2.05 m (6-8 3/4).

The USA Track & Field Foundation awarded its first Maternity Grant to U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials winner Aliphine Tuliamuk, who gave birth to daughter Zoe in January. According to the announcement:

“The USATF Foundation Maternity Fund will assist elite women in Track & Field and running during their pregnancy and while recovering postpartum. This fund will allow elite females athletes confidence that there is financial assistance available, if needed.” The amount of the award was not disclosed.

Said Tuliamuk: “I am so grateful that the USATF Foundation chose me as their first recipient of the maternity grant; being a new mom is challenging enough, let alone being a new mom who’s representing her country in the summer Olympics 6.5 months postpartum. This grant will go a long way as it will cover our babysitting needs so that I can rest and get back to training soon.”

Russia says it is working hard toward reinstatement with World Athletics. The All-Russia Athletics Federation (RusAF) lost its President, Piotr Ivanov, to the World Anti-Doping Agency sanctions which prohibit any government officials from being involved in Olympic sport, but quickly installed 2000 Olympic 400 m hurdles winner Irina Privalova as interim head. She told reporters on Tuesday:

“We have sent to World Athletics on Saturday a strategic plan and all accompanying documents.

“RusAF has also asked the international federation to give Russian athletes as soon as possible an opportunity of participating in the European Athletics Indoor Championship under the neutral flag. This is because the deadline for submitting applications is February 24.”

The deadline for submission of a reinstatement plan is 1 March.

Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt told Zip 103 FM Jamaica that he is working diligently on his music career and wants to “not only dominate the Jamaican market but also to get into the international market.

“Music-wise we are working on some new rhythms to drop soon. Knowing the whole pandemic, we’re not trying to rush anything we’re taking our time to make sure the music comes out at the right time. We also have an EP that we are working on so that should be something interesting.

“We’re just trying to get a foothold, trying to make people understand that we’re not just here joking around. We’re serious about the music so we’re just going to take our time. Just like in track and field, it’s all about work and dedicating and just taking our time.

“We will get there. We believe in ourselves, and we believe in the product that we’re putting out there.”

● Boxing ● If you have experience in international sport and are “Robust and comfortable with operating in a challenging environment,” you may be interested in the newly-announced opening for the position of Secretary-General of the International Boxing Association (AIBA).

The federation desires to provide its Board with at least two candidates by 22 March. However, the federation is also deeply in debt, is currently suspended by the IOC and has no immediate prospects for revenue other than the promise of new President Umar Kremlev (RUS) that it will raise $50 million within six months.

The federation has listed openings for Secretary-General, Public Relations and Communications Director and Sport Director. The office, at least for now, is located in Lausanne, Switzerland.

● Figure Skating ● The WADA sanctions against Russia require that its national anthem cannot be played at world championships. But should a Russian national federation – for example, the Figure Skating Federation of Russia – be able to select its own music in place of the anthem?

It’s happening for the ISU World Figure Skating Championships, to take place in March in Stockholm (SWE), where the Russian federation has announced that a one-minute selection from Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto no. 1 will be used if a Russian wins gold at the event.

This was apparently already used last weekend at the ISU World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships in Heerenveen (NED), and is also scheduled for use at the ISU World Short Track Skating Championships in The Netherlands in March.

● Skiing ● The coronavirus has hammered Norway and new restrictions have eliminated all of the remaining FIS World Cup events in the country:

● Alpine Skiing: 4-7 March: Men’s World Cup in Kvitfjell
● Cross Country: 12-14 March: World Cup Finals in Oslo
● Nordic Combined: 11-14 March: World Cup in Oslo
● Ski Jumping: 12-21 March: Raw Air Tournament in Lillehammer-Trondheim-Vikersund

FIS is scrambling to replace these events, but at this late date, it will be tough.

The third replacement venue for the FIS Freestyle and Snowboard World Championships for Big Air, Halfpipe and Slopestyle was confirmed this last week for Aspen, Colorado, with World Cup events to follow shortly thereafter.

This was the last group of events to be re-assigned after the cancellation of the Freestyle and Snowboard Worlds in China.

● Swimming ● More trouble for five-time Olympic medalist Klete Keller, who was charged with three crimes for being in the U.S. Capitol during the 6 January riots.

Last Wednesday (10th), Keller was indicted by a grand jury, with seven charges, including civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a restricted building, and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.

He was easy to pick out on video of the incident, as he stands 6-6 and was wearing a U.S. Olympic Team jacket!

Former Australian star Scott Miller, a two-time Olympic medalist in 1996 in Atlanta, was reported arrested in Rozelle, New South Wales, on charges of “supplying a commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, dealing with the proceeds of crime and directing a criminal group.”

Miller, 45, and one other man of smuggling about 4 kg (~8.8 pounds) of methylamphetamine, hidden in candles, into the country with intent to distribute it for sale.

● Wrestling ● USA Wrestling quickly found a new site for its Olympic Trials, announcing that the Dickies Arena in Ft. Worth, Texas will host the event on 2-3 April. The event was moved from Penn State due to the coronavirus.

The U.S. team for men’s and women’s Freestyle and men’s Greco-Roman will be decided at the Trials.

● At the BuZZer ● A long-standing fissure within the Kuwaiti ruling family that spilled over into the Olympic world will take another step forward on 22 February when a forgery case against Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah comes to a criminal court in Geneva, Switzerland.

According to The Associated Press, “The criminal complaint alleges that Sheikh Ahmad and lawyers acting for him later took part in a false arbitration case in Geneva, staged to try to prove a video that circulated on social media was authentic and implicated Sheikh Nasser al-Sabah, the former prime minister, in financial and political wrongdoing.” Sheikh Ahmad’s camp has insisted that the claims against him and four others are based on Kuwaiti in-fighting that has gone on since 2012.

Sheikh Ahmad was elected to IOC membership and 1992 and became the head of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in 2012, but suspended his activities in both when this action was filed in 2018. He has continued as the head of the Olympic Council of Asia (elected 1991). He was deeply involved in FIFA Council for several years, but withdrew after accusations by the U.S. Department of Justice of vote-buying.

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LANE ONE: IOC letter slams boxing “progress” and weightlifting on the brink of chaos; can either survive in the Games to 2024?

By
Rich Perelman
-

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”The IOC Special Monitoring Committee would just like to reiterate that, unless significant
progresses are made, it will present its recommendations to the IOC Executive Board, which may include the exclusion of boxing from the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and beyond.”

That’s from a letter sent Friday (12th) from Nenad Lalovic (SRB), head of the International Olympic Committee’s Special Monitoring Committee to the International Boxing Association, known as ”AIBA.”

This working group was formed in November 2018 to look into the continuing problems in boxing, including but not limited to finances (including debts of $17 million), governance and the long-standing issues with refereeing and judging.

The federation has been in disarray for years with its Taiwanese President C.K. Wu stepping down amid financial and governance questions in November 2017, followed by the election of Uzbek businessman Gafur Rakhimov in November 2018. He resigned in July 2019, in part because he was listed by the U.S. Treasury Department as linked to an Eastern European drug operation (Rakhimov’s bid to be removed from the sanctions list failed in 2020).

The IOC suspended AIBA as the international federation for boxing on 26 June 2019 and it remains so today. In response, AIBA took until 12 December 2020 to elect a new President, with Russian Boxing Federation Secretary-General Umar Kremlev winning the post. He told the delegates after election:

“Getting rid of AIBA’s debt will be the first priority. As I promised when I announced my run for the presidency, I will clear this debt in the first six months. My administration will aim to raise $50 million within two years, all of which will be used to rebuild AIBA.”

But none of this has impressed Lalovic, who is also the chief of United World Wrestling, a federation which itself faced elimination from the Olympic program in 2013, but was voted back in by the end of that year. Lalovic’s letter further noted that his committee has not seen any evidence of a plan to retire the debt and also included:

“Regarding the new leadership team we can only note that, despite the rebranding of the Executive Committee to a ‘Board of Directors’, those who were involved in AIBA’s leadership during the past years, specifically since the Olympic Games Rio 2016 and under Mr. [Gafur] Rakhimov’s mandate, are still in charge of the governance of AIBA, including yourself. …

“Therefore, the IOC Special Monitoring Committee can only reiterate that at this stage it is
not in a position to meet with you.”

Boxers are being punished for the malfeasance of their federation. On the Olympic program since 1904 (except for 1912), boxing had its athlete quota cut from 286 for the forthcoming Tokyo Games (186 men + 100 women) to 252 for Paris in 2024, with 126 men and 126 women.

Now its place in the Games is up for discussion, as the IOC has repeatedly stated its displeasure. And there are good reasons to eliminate boxing:

(1) The concept of the Olympic Games is to provide peaceful competition between nations. How can two people beating each other up with their fists be considered peaceful? (This rationale does not apply to boxing alone; others are also in this category.)

(2) Boxing as a sport has been around for more than a century and has a continuing professional presence which does not require the Olympic Games for its existence.

(3) How can AIBA, which has had corruption and judging issues for decades, ever be trusted? And does the IOC really want to deal with the creation of a new federation for the sport?

(4) The IOC agreed that the total number of athletes who will compete in Paris in 2024 will be limited to 10,500, down from 11,092 for Tokyo. Eliminating the boxers would create 252 new spots for other (non-combat) events to be added, if desired.

The advancing case against boxing foreshadows what may happen to weightlifting in the wake of continuing scandal within the International Weightlifting Federation. After it also escaped from elimination from the Paris program in May 2019, the IWF imploded in early 2020 with the airing of a documentary by the German ARD network called “Lord of the Lifters,” alleging widespread corruption, doping cover-ups and lack of financial and governance controls, leading to the subsequent resignation of former IOC member and 20-year IWF President Tamas Ajan (HUN), in April.

American Ursula Garza Papandrea became interim IWF President when Ajan “stepped away” from his role as President on 22 January 2020 (he formally resigned in April) and worked closely with the IOC and with the McLaren Global Sport Solutions investigators, who filed a damning report in June 2020.

But Garza Papandrea was ousted by the IWF Executive Board on 13 October 2020, with British Dr. Michael Irani taking over as interim President. This was especially galling to close observers as Irani had been a member of the sport’s so-called “Medical Commission” since 1992, during which time wholesale doping has gone on, mostly undetected across the elite sector of the sport.

At present, some 18 national federations – more than 10% of the total membership – is either suspended, on the brink of suspension or has already had sanctions placed against them.

A new IWF Constitution has been proposed, to be voted on at a special IWF Congress on 29-30 April, but after new elections for officers and the Executive Board on 26-27 March; isn’t this backwards?

Garza Papandrea, who resigned from the Executive Board after being voted out as Interim President – to the dismay of the IOC – is running for President, First Vice President, Vice President, Executive Board member and Secretary General. Last week, she released a campaign pledge, which included:

● “Upon election, I would immediately travel to Switzerland – Covid-19 permitting – to meet with the IOC. I want to ensure there is an agreed roadmap to guarantee the retention of weightlifting for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, as well as its return as a core sport. I will publish a comprehensive reform plan, including but not limited to operations, finance, commercial, and governance.”

● “The IWF’s reputation has been badly tarnished by the past and would benefit from a total re-branding to signify a new era. As part of this, I propose changing from the IWF to ‘World Weightlifting’ to signify this new chapter for our sport.”

● “Within the first 100 days of being appointed as President of the Federation, I will complete the move to our headquarters to Lausanne, Switzerland, and hire a permanent CEO to professionalise and update operations.”

● “Costs have been increasing while revenue has stagnated and previous regimes have relied unreasonably on the IOC for financial support. I will immediately start work to expand our sponsorship base by appointing a professional sponsorship agency focused on key markets for our sport, primarily in Asia, to enable us to attract diverse, high-profile partners who support a clean sport message for our newly branded organization.”

● “Additionally, I will review the IWF events model to provide spectator-friendly events made for TV and attractive to sponsors. It is clear that our current competition format can be improved to create a more exciting experience and I look forward to introducing options to a newly elected board.”

Although electing Garza Papandrea specifically is not required, weightlifting’s fate is very much in the hands of its federations as it will be subject to the same scrutiny that AIBA has received. On the “provisional” ballot posted by the IWF, multiple candidates are shown from countries which are either sanctioned, suspended or are existing members of the IWF Executive Board which has mishandled its affairs directly over the past year and, for some members, for years prior during Ajan’s reign:

● President: 6 of the 11 candidates are current IWF Executive Board members
● 1st Vice President: 6 of 17 are current IWF Board members
● Vice President: 12 of 41 are current IWF Board members
● Executive Board: 10 of 71 are current IWF Board members
● Secretary General: 4 of 11 are current IWF Board members

Wouldn’t the IOC’s statement to AIBA that “those who were involved in … leadership during the past years … are still in charge of the governance” apply equally to the IWF? Yes, of course it would.

Weightlifting has been severely hit by its horrific doping record – its anti-doping program has now been outsourced to the International Testing Agency – and has seen its Olympic participation shrink from 260 athletes in Rio in 2016 to 196 for Tokyo and just 120 over 10 weight classes for Paris in 2024 … if it remains on the program at all.

Weightlifting has been on the Olympic program since 1920, and unlike boxing, the Olympic Games is its primary showcase. It’s very much open to question whether the IWF could survive for very long without its quadrennial share of Olympic television revenue: it showed revenues of just $3.86 million in the non-Olympic years of 2017 and $4.10 million in 2018.

How strong you are as demonstrated by the amount of weight you can lift is a pretty basic test of humanity, and the only combat involved is against the weights, not other people. So weightlifting has a chance to remain on the program, but it will have to clean house – as AIBA has been told to do – to remain on the Paris program.

If boxing and weightlifting do not make it to Paris for 2024, they may find themselves in a life-or-death struggle in Los Angeles for 2028 as sports attuned to the Southern California lifestyle like baseball, softball, skating, surfing and even flying disc may be more amenable to the organizing committee and to an IOC membership exhausted by excuses.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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HIGHLIGHTS: Kriechmayr sweeps Alpine speed events; three American Records at the New Balance Grand Prix; Worlds golds for Humphries, Mantia and Bowe!

By
Rich Perelman
-
World Champion once again: American Joey Mantia wins the ISU Speed Skating Mass Start gold! (Photo: ISU)

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Headline results of noteworthy competitions around the world:

● Alpine Skiing ● The FIS Alpine World Championship are continuing in Cortina d’Ampezzo (ITA), with the Downhills being held this weekend.

Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr made a major statement with a win in the Downhill on Sunday, winning his second Worlds gold in four days in 1:37.79 on the Vertigine course. He started first in the order and no one could catch him.

In fact, the gold and silver medals were decided in the first two runs, as German Andreas Sander – starting second – clocked 1:37.80 and had to settle for second, just 0.01 behind! Swiss Beat Feuz, the 2017 World Champion, finished third in 1:37.97.

Kriechmayr, 29, had eight wins in 11 World Cup seasons coming into the 2021 Worlds, but has been at his best when medals are at stake. He won a Super-G silver and Downhill bronze at the 2019 Worlds, but became the first to win both World titles for the first time since 2005, when American Bode Miller took the Downhill and Super-G, also in Italy (at Bormio).

The top American finishers in the Downhill were Bruce Bennett (tie for 10th) and Travis Ganong in 12th.

Earlier in the week, the delayed Super-G races saw Kriechmayr claim his third career World Championships medal – but first victory, in 1:19.41 – ahead of former Austrian star Romed Baumann (now GER: 1:19.48) and France’s Alexis Pinturault (1:19.79 for his fifth career Worlds medal).

Saturday’s women’s Downhill was a triumph for Switzerland, which logged its second winner in a single women’s Worlds since 1991 with Corinne Suter winning her fourth Worlds medal overall and first title.

Suter, 26, was the silver medalist in the 2019 Worlds Downhill and was second in the Super-G earlier in the week, 0.34 behind winner and fellow Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami. Starting seventh, Suter steamed down the Olympia delle Tofane course in 1:34.27 and no one could match her. Germany’s Kira Weidle, starting 11th, was the closest at 1:34.47 and Gut-Behrami was third for her seventh career Worlds medal in 1:34.64, ahead of Czech star Ester Ledecka (1:34.71). American Breezy Johnson finished ninth in a very creditable 1:35.17.

In the Super-G earlier in the week, Gut-Behrami won her seventh Worlds medal in the women’s Super-G, but first title, in 1:25.51, ahead of Suter (1:23.85) and American Mikaela Shiffrin (1:25.98). For Shiffrin, it was her eighth Worlds medal (5-1-2) and second in the Super-G, which she won in 2019.

The Worlds continue this week, with the Combined, followed by the Parallel races, Giant Slalom and Slalom.

American star Ted Ligety, who had announced his retirement, to take effect after the World Championships Giant Slalom, withdrew from the race due to sciatic nerve pain and concerns over injury. He leaves the sport at 36, having won Olympic golds in 2006 and 2014, five World Championships golds (and seven total medals) and five seasonal titles in the Giant Slalom. One of the finest American skiers ever.

● Athletics ● Big marks were expected at the New Balance Grand Prix meet, relocated to the Ocean Breeze Track & Field Athletic Complex on Staten Island, New York after the Reggie Lewis Center in the Boston area was unavailable due to its use as a Covid-19 vaccination site.

A great field of athletes looking for a way to start the season was assembled and resulted in eight world leaders and a batch of American-record performances:

● Men/800 m: 1:44.21, Donovan Brazier (USA) ~ American Record
● Men/1,000 m: 2:16.27, Bryce Hoppel (USA) ~ American Record
● Men/2-mile: 8:13.92, Justyn Knight (CAN)
● Men/High Jump: 2.33 m, Trey Culver (USA: 7-7 3/4)
● Women/300 m: 35.73, Gabby Thomas (USA)
● Women/400 m: 50.21, Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH)
● Women/2-Mile: 9:10.28, Elle Purrier (USA) ~ American Record
● Women/60 m hurdles: 7.82, Keni Harrison (USA)

Trayvon Bromell showed he is really ready for outdoors, winning the 60 m in 6.50, just 0.02 behind his world-leading mark of 6.48 in late January. His acceleration in the back half was impressive and bodes well for his spring at 100 m.

Noah Lyles won the 200 m in 20.80, ahead of Deon Lendore (TTO: 20.92), but was unimpressed with the time. “It’s indoors,” he said afterwards. The 400 m was an at-the-tape lean for Michael Norman over roommate Rai Benjamin, 45.34-45.39.

In the 800 m, Brazier was looking for a fast time, and separated from the field right away, passing the 400 m mark in 51.16 behind only pacesetter James Bias. He was never challenged, and came home in 53.05 for 1:44.21, shaving 0.01 from his own American Record, moving to equal-fourth on the all-time world list.

Hoppel ran away from the field over the final half-lap in the 1,000 m, taking with him the American Record of 2:16.76 of the late David Torrence from 2014. The mark moves Hoppel to no. 8 on the all-time world list.

Australia’s Oliver Hoare steamed past Britain’s Jake Wightman in the last half-lap to win the 1,500 m in 3:32.35, his best ever – indoors or out – and the no. 2 mark in the world for 2021, with Wightman in 3:34.48 (no. 3) and Sam Tanner (AUS) in 3:34.72 (no. 6). Hoare’s mark moves him to no. 7 on the all-time world list as well.

Culver equaled his best-ever jump, indoors or out, adding one cm to the world-leading mark, even though he hit the bar hard on the way over on his second try. He missed three times at 2.36 m (7-8 3/4).

Thomas came from behind on the final straight to edge Lynna Irby, 35.73-35.99, bettering her own world-leading time, and moving to no. 5 on the all-time list and no. 2 on the all-time U.S. list, just 0.02 behind Quanera Hayes’s American Record from 2017. Irby moves to no. 9 on the all-time world list.

Superstar Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH) went to the front early and cruised to a world-leading 50.21 in the 400 m, a national indoor record and equal-8th on the all-time world list. American Wadeline Jonathas was well behind in second at 51.95.

U.S. 800 m star Ajee Wilson took control over the final turn and won the 800 m in 2:01.79 from Kaela Edwards (USA: 2:02.17). Wilson said afterwards that she had scratched from the race due to a minor injury, but felt better on Saturday morning and looked comfortable throughout, emphasizing winning rather than a fast mark.

In the two-mile, Purrier finally broke former World Steeple champ Emma Coburn with 2 1/2 laps to go and ran away with the win in 9:10.28, an American Record (old: 9:18.35, Jenny Simpson in 2015) and the no. 3 mark of all-time in the event. Coburn finished in 9:15.71, also below Simpson’s mark, and no. 8 on the all-time world list.

Sandi Morris of the U.S. claimed the vault at 4.60 m (15-1).

Back at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Oregon senior Cooper Teare led teammate, soph Cole Hocker – both Americans – to a world-leading 3:50.39 men’s mile win, with Hocker at 3:50.55! That’s a collegiate indoor record for Teare, and he claimed the 1,500 m mark too at 3:35.46, with Hocker at 3:36.63.

The marks move Teare and Hocker to nos. 3-4 on the all-time U.S. indoor mile list, and positions 6 and 7 on the all-time U.S. 1,500 m list.

Florida State senior Isaac Grimes (USA) was second heading into the final round of the men’s long jump, but then he produced a lifetime best of 8.33 m (27-4) to win, a world-leading mark for 2021. He’d jumped 8.00 m (26-3) indoors coming into this season, but improved to 8.18 m (26-10) on 29 January and now this!

At the Orlen Cup in Lodz (POL), the ageless Mike Rodgers (USA) won the men’s 60 m over Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs, 6.52-6.53 for the no. 2 and equal-3rd positions on the year list, behind Bromell. Sam Kendricks of the U.S. won the vault over Ernest John Obiena (PHI), as both cleared 5.86 m (19-2 3/4).

On Sunday, Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay won the women’s 800 m in a sensational 1:57.52, moving to ninth on the all-time world indoor list, at the Meeting de L’Eure at Val-de-Reuil (FRA). Countryman Getnet Wale won the men’s 1,500 m 3:35.54 to 3:35.60 for fellow Ethiopian Lamecha Girma. American winners included Grant Holloway in the men’s 60 m hurdles in 7.41 and Javianne Oliver in the women’s 60 m in 7.14.

Outdoors, New Zealand’s Jacko Gill scored another win over star putter Tomas Walsh (NZL) in Hamilton on Saturday, once again reaching 21.52 m (70-7 1/4) to Walsh’s 21.45 m (70-4 1/2). Two-time Olympic champ Valerie Adams (NZL) had two world-leading throws to win the women’s shot at 18.68 m (61-3 1/2).

On the roads, Kenyan star Beatrice Chepkoech, the world-record holder in the Steeplechase, grabbed the 5 km road record by winning the Monaco Run in 14:43. That’s one second faster than the 14:44 mark by Sifan Hassan (NED) in the same race in 2019.

● Biathlon ● The 2021 World Championships are underway in Pokljuka (SLO), with competitions through next weekend and at the start, it’s the Tiril Eckhoff show.

The 30-year-old from Baerum, Norway had won nine Worlds medals coming into 2021, including two golds each in 2016 (Sprint and Relay), 2019 (both relays) and 2020 (both relays), but has won three golds in just the first five days of the 2021 championships.

She started with the third leg of Norway’s 4×7.5 km Mixed Relay on the 10th, handing a big lead to teammate Marte Olsbu Roeiseland, who finished off a 27.0-second win. Then she dominated the women’s 7.5 km Sprint, shooting clean and winning by 12.0 seconds over France’s Anais Chevalier-Bouchet, 21:18.7-21:30.7. Hanna Sola (BLR) was third, some 14.4 seconds behind. Susan Dunklee was the top American in 18th place, 1:17.9 behind the winner.

It was Eckhoff’s second world sprint title after her 2016 win. She then added a third gold in Sunday’s 10 km Pursuit, an event she where she won the silver medal in 2019. She had two shooting penalties, but still won by an impressive 17.3 seconds in 30:38.1 over Austria’s Lisa Theresa Hauser and by 33.0 over Chevalier-Bouchet. It was the first Sprint-Pursuit double at the women’s Worlds since 2008, when German Andrea Henkel managed the feat.

Dunklee was the top American in the Pursuit, 3:01.4 behind Eckhoff.

The men’s 10 km Sprint was won by surprise first-time World Champion Martin Ponsiluoma, who combined a perfect shooting performance with strong skiing to win in 24:41.1, 11.2 seconds ahead of France’s Simon Desthieux, with teammate Emilien Jacquelin (FRA: +12.9). Ponsiluoma, 25, wasn’t a total shock, having won two World Cup medals this season, but his best prior finish in a Worlds was 23rd in last year’s Pursuit!

Desthieux and Jacquelin were also first-time World Championships medal winners. The top American was Jake Brown in 12th, 44.8 seconds back of Ponsiluoma.

The men’s 12.5 km Pursuit remained in French hands, as Jacquelin defended his 2020 title in style, with no shooting penalties and a 7.3-second margin over Swede Sebastian Samuelsson in 31:22.1, with Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Boe third, 8.1 seconds back. France has now won this race in four of the last five Worlds and six of the last nine. Boe won his fourth Worlds medal in this race, having finished second three times in a row in 2017-19-20.

Brown was again the top American, finishing 25th, some 3:17.2 behind the victor. The Worlds continues this week, with all eyes on Eckhoff in Tuesday’s 15 km Individual race.

● Bobsled & Skeleton ● The IBSF Worlds wrapped up in Altenberg (GER) this week, with more golds for superstars Kaillie Humphries of the U.S. and Germany’s Francesco Friedrich.

Humphries won the two-women race with Lolo Jones last week, but collected the first-ever women’s Monobob title on Sunday. After placing fourth in the first run, Humphries zipped to the fastest time in each of the last three races, compiling a total time of 3:59.62, ahead of Germans Stephanie Schneider (+0.50) and Laura Nolte (+0.80). American Elana Meyers Taylor had a tough competition, ranking 22-9-10-15 and finishing 15th overall (4:05.44).

Humphries now owns five Worlds golds from 2012-21 and is clearly one of the hot stories of the forthcoming 2022 Winter Games.

Friedrich continued his dominance in the four-man sled, winning his fourth title in a row and a medal in his fifth straight Worlds. There was little doubt about the outcome, as Friedrich’s sled posted the fastest time on all four runs and won in 3:35.02. That was 0.79 seconds faster than Benjamin Maier (AUT) and 1.51 seconds up on German teammate Johannes Lochner.

Friedrich has now piloted the winning two-man and four-man sleds in four World Championships in a row.

In the Skeleton races, there were few surprises, with another German sweep of the golds. Defending champion Christopher Grotheer only won one medal on the World Cup circuit this season – a bronze – but he was ready when it counted. After running third after the first race, he clocked the fastest time in each of the final three to win in 3:46.31, a tight 0.28 seconds ahead of Russian Alexander Tretiakov (3:46.59) and then German teammate Alexander Gassner (3:47.51).

Seasonal winner Martins Dukurs (LAT) finished 11th after the first run and was never in contention, ending in 16th (3:50.69) The top American was Austin Florian in 15th (3:50.67).

It was the second straight Worlds win for Grotheer and second bronze in a row for Gassner.

The women’s title was once again the property of Tina Hermann (GER), who won her fourth World Championships gold in the event and third in a row. It wasn’t easy, however, as Hermann logged only the 11th-fastest ride in the first round, but then won the last three runs to finish just 0.11 ahead of teammate Jacqueline Loelling, 3:52.97-3:53.08. For Loelling, it was her third silver medal. In the last six years, to go along with her 2017 Worlds gold. Russian Elena Nikitina was third (3:54.65).

American Katie Uhlaender, the 2012 Worlds winner, was the top American in sixth (3:54.88).

For good measure, Grotheer and Hermann teamed up to win the Mixed Team event, ahead of Loelling and Gassner, 1:55.41-1:55.55, with Russia’s Nikitina and Tretiakov third.

● Freestyle Skiing ● The FIS World Freestyle Championships have been split into three parts with the cancellation of the planned program in China; the first section saw the Ski Cross title decided in Idre Fjall (SWE).

Swiss Alex Fiva, a consistent contender on the World Cup circuit, took his first Worlds medal with a win in the final on Saturday (13th), edging defending champ Francois Place (FRA), and ahead of Erik Mobaerg (SWE) and Oliver Davies (GBR). For Place, it was his third straight Worlds medal, after a bronze in 2017 and the gold in 2019.

The women’s final saw familiar stars on the podium, with Swede Sandra Naeslund winning her second world title – also in 2017 – over Swiss Fanny Smith, who took her third straight Worlds silver in the event! France’s Alizee Baron won her second straight bronze medal, with Talina Gantenbein (SUI) fourth.

The 2021 Worlds in Big Air, Halfpipe and Slopestyle will be held in Aspen, Colorado (USA) from 7-17 March, and the Aerials and Moguls Worlds will be in Almaty (KAZ) from 8-11 March.

● Ski Jumping ● The men’s World Cup tour was in Zakopane (POL), jumping off of the 140 m hill, with 2019 World Cup champ Ryoyu Kobayashi claiming his first World Cup medal of this season with his 17th career gold. Poland’s Andrej Stekala who won his first career individual World Cup medal in second, 268.9-268.6, with Marius Lindvik (NOR) taking third (267.8) for his fifth World Cup medal of the season.

Seasonal leader Halvor Egner Granerud took his 11th win of the season on Sunday, out-pointing Slovenia’s Anze Lanisek, 298.1-295.2. Norway’s Robert Johansson – the man with the big moustache – was third at 293.8.

Granerud leads the seasonal standings, 1,542-1,017, over Germany’s Markus Eisenbichler.

● Snowboard ● The Ski Cross Worlds were in Idre Fjall (SWE), along with the Freestylers, with experienced former medal winners moving up to take their first Worlds golds.

Spain’s Lucas Eguibar won the Worlds silver in 2017, but was first to the line in the final, edging Austrian star Alessandro Hammerle, who won his first Worlds medal in second. Canadian Eliot Grondin was a surprise in third, ahead of Austria’s Jakob Dusek.

The women on the victory stand in 2021 were the same as 2019 … but in a different order. Britain’s Charlotte Bankes was runner-up two years ago, but was the winner this time, ahead of with three-time bronze medalist Michela Moioli (ITA) finishing second this time and defending champ Eva Samkova (CZE) third. Australia’s Belle Brockhoff was fourth.

However, Brockhoff and Jarryd Hughes came back to win the SnowCross Team title, ahead of Italy and France. Americans Hagen Kearney and Faye Gulini finished fourth.

● Speed Skating ● The ISU World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships, like the World Cups before them, was held in Heerenveen (NED) to assure the health and safety of the skaters, and turned into one of the most competitive Worlds ever.

The U.S. got strong performances that included big Saturday wins by Joey Mantia in the 16-lap men’s Mass Start race and Brittany Bowe in the women’s 1,000 m.

Mantia was in familiar territory as the World Champion in 2017 and 2019, but wasn’t sure of himself after have recovered from the coronavirus. “After having Covid in December I didn’t really know what to expect.

“I was skating pretty well in practice but I was really, really tired all the time. The last two World Cups were really rough. The races weren’t overly fast but I just felt I couldn’t keep up. I had no legs.

“I said to my coach, ‘Man, if I get on to the ice and my body gives me what I want it to give me, I’m going to win.’ I was extremely confident. I felt like I could do whatever I wanted and coming down to five laps, I was just licking my chops because I knew, given the opportunity and a clear line, I should be able to win.”

He worked his way into a striking position and then surged to the front to win in 7:32.470, ahead of Arjan Stroetinga (NED: 7:32.770) and Belgian star Bart Swings (7:32.830).

Bowe was the clear favorite in the women’s 1,000 m, a race in which she was the 2015 and 2019 World Champion and bronze medalist in 2013 and 2016, but she didn’t let it bother her.

“Pressure is definitely a privilege because not many people get to feel it. It’s whether or not you can embrace it. It doesn’t always go the way you want it to go. Sometimes you’re able to deal with it and sometimes you’re not. We’re not machines, we’re only humans.”

Bowe was in the next-to-last pairing with another of the favorites, defending champion Jutta Leerdam (NED). Fine for her: “The draw was good. You always want to be paired with the best competitor and starting from the inner lane is always nice in the 1000m because you can chase in that last inner [corner].

“The race went exactly how I replayed it time and time again in my head, and I was really happy to cross the line and see that green number next to my name.”

Bowe finished in 1:14.128 to best Leerdam (1:14.672) for a third world title in the event and her fourth career Worlds gold. Russian Elizaveta Golubeva was third (1:14.848).

In Sunday’s 1,500 m, Bowe was again the favorite, but had to settle for silver as 20-year-old Norwegian Ragne Wiklund, skating in the seventh pair, put up a stunning time of 1:54.613 that held up against the rest of the field. Bowe won her pairing at 1:55.034, and Russian Evgeniia Lalenkova was third (1:55.099). Bowe now owns a career total of 11 Worlds medals.

Overall, however, it was the skaters from the Netherlands who dominated the women’s racing. Russian Angelika Golikova won the 500 m in a modest upset over Dutch sprinter Femke Kok, 37.141-37.281, but then the Dutch took over. Antoinette de Jong won the 3,000 m in 3:58.470 over six-time winner Marina Sablikova (CZE), Irene Schouten took the 5,000 m in 6:48.537, Marijke Groenewoud won the Mass Start over Canada’s Ivanie Blondin with Schouten third, and the Dutch squad of de Jong, Schouten and legend Ireen Wust won the Team Pursuit over Canada and Russia. The Dutch won nine of the 21 medals in the women’s competitions, with Russia next best at six.

The men’s honors started with the Dutch again, who took three events: Kai Verbij won the 1,000 m (his second) in 1:08.052 over Pavel Kulizhnikov (RUS: 1:08.313); Thomas Krol won his second 1,500 m world title, leading a Dutch sweep ahead of Kjeld Nuis and Patrick Roest, 1:43.752-1:44.110-1:45.493, and Roest teamed with Marcel Bosker and Beau Snellink to take the Team Pursuit over Canada and Russia.

Canada’s Laurent Dubreuil won the 500 m sprint in tight duel with Kulizhnikov and Dai Dai Ntab (NED), but the biggest surprises came in the 5,000 m and 10,000 m races. Sweden’s Nils van der Poel won both – the first-ever Worlds wins in these events for Sweden – defeating Dutch stars Roest in the 5 and Jorrit Bergsma in the 10, setting a world record of 12:32.952 in the 10,0000 m and a national record in of 6:08.395 in the 5,000 m.

Overall, the Dutch won 18 medals (7-6-5), with Russia at 11 (1-3-7). The Netherlands won seven golds, to two each for the U.S. and Sweden.

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ATHLETICS: Eight world leaders and three U.S. records at New Balance Grand Prix

By
Rich Perelman
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New American 1,000 m indoor record holder Bryce Hoppel, winner at the New Balance Grand Prix

Big marks were expected at the New Balance Grand Prix meet, relocated to the Ocean Breeze Track & Field Athletic Complex on Staten Island, New York after the Reggie Lewis Center in the Boston area was unavailable due to its use as a Covid-19 vaccination site.

A great field of athletes looking for a way to start the season was assembled and resulted in eight world leaders and a batch of American-record performances:

● Men/800 m: 1:44.21, Donovan Brazier (USA) ~ American Record
● Men/1,000 m: 2:16.27, Bryce Hoppel (USA) ~ American Record
● Men/2-mile: 8:13.92, Justyn Knight (CAN)
● Men/High Jump: 2.33 m, Trey Culver (USA: 7-7 3/4)
● Women/300 m: 35.73, Gabby Thomas (USA)
● Women/400 m: 50.21, Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH)
● Women/2-Mile: 9:10.28, Elle Purrier (USA) ~ American Record
● Women/60 m hurdles: 7.82, Keni Harrison (USA)

(All references below are to American athletes unless otherwise noted.)

Trayvon Bromell showed he is really ready for outdoors, winning the 60 m in 6.50, just 0.02 behind his world-leading mark of 6.48 in late January. His acceleration in the back half was impressive and bodes well for his spring at 100 m.

Noah Lyles won the 200 m in 20.80, ahead of Deon Lendore (TTO: 20.92), but was unimpressed with the time. “It’s indoors,” he said afterwards. The 400 m was an at-the-tape lean for Michael Norman over roommate Rai Benjamin, 45.34-45.39.

In the 800 m, Brazier was looking for a fast time, and separated from the field right away, passing the 400 m mark in 51.16 behind only pacesetter James Bias. He was never challenged, and came home in 53.05 for 1:44.21, shaving 0.01 from his own American Record, moving to equal-fourth on the all-time world list.

Hoppel ran away from the field over the final half-lap in the 1,000 m, taking with him the American Record of 2:16.76 of the late David Torrence from 2014. The mark moves Hoppel to no. 8 on the all-time world list.

Australia’s Oliver Hoare steamed past Britain’s Jake Wightman in the last half-lap to win the 1,500 m in 3:32.35, his best ever – indoors or out – and the no. 2 mark in the world for 2021, with Wightman in 3:34.48 (no. 3) and Sam Tanner (AUS) in 3:34.72 (no. 6). Hoare’s mark moves him to no. 7 on the all-time world list as well.

Culver equaled his best-ever jump, indoors or out, adding one centimeter to the world-leading mark, even though he hit the bar hard on the way over on his second try. He missed three times at 2.36 m (7-8 3/4).

Thomas came from behind on the final straight to edge Lynna Irby, 35.73-35.99, bettering her own world-leading time, and moving to no. 5 on the all-time list and no. 2 on the all-time U.S. list, just 0.02 behind Quanera Hayes’s American Record from 2017. Irby moves to no. 9 on the all-time world list.

Superstar Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH) went to the front early and cruised to a world-leading 50.21 in the 400 m, a national indoor record and equal-8th on the all-time world list. American Wadeline Jonathas was well behind in second at 51.95.

U.S. 800 m star Ajee Wilson took control over the final turn and won the 800 m in 2:01.79 from Kaela Edwards (USA: 2:02.17). Wilson said afterwards that she had scratched from the race due to a minor injury, but felt better on Saturday morning and looked comfortable throughout, emphasizing winning rather than a fast mark.

In the two-mile, Purrier finally broke former World Steeple champ Emma Coburn with 2 1/2 laps to go and ran away with the win in 9:10.28, an American Record (old: 9:18.35, Jenny Simpson in 2015) and the no. 3 mark of all-time in the event. Coburn finished in 9:15.71, also below Simpson’s mark, and no. 8 on the all-time world list.

Sandi Morris of the U.S. claimed the vault at 4.60 m (15-1).

LANE ONE: Tokyo’s Olympic Kabuki sees Mori resign, and 14.5% popularity of the Games in Japan, but the show will go on

By
Rich Perelman
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Merriam-Webster’s short definition of “Kabuki” is “traditional Japanese popular drama performed with highly stylized singing and dancing.” That’s exactly where the Tokyo 2020 Olympic organizing committee finds itself now with the formal resignation on Friday of its President, Yoshio Mori.

Just nine days after speaking to a meeting of the Japanese Olympic Committee and making remarks about women talking too much at board meetings, Mori, 83 and a former Prime Minister of Japan, resigned during a specially-called meeting of Tokyo 2020 Executive Board and Council members.

Mori is reported to have told the attendees, “There has been much turmoil in recent weeks due to my inappropriate behavior, and for that I apologize” and “What is important is to hold the Olympics in July, so I cannot stand in the way of preparations. If I cause trouble by remaining in the job, our efforts will all be wasted.”

The next step is to select a successor to Mori as Tokyo 2020 President. Chief executive Toshiro Muto told a news conference on Friday that a selection board will be assembled quickly and “will consist of less than 10 members of the Tokyo 2020 executive board, Muto said, half of whom will be women.”

This is also a quick change from reports on Thursday that Mori had asked 84-year-old Saburo Kawabuchi, former head of the Japan Football Association, to take his place, and was willing to do so, as he is already serving as the mayor of the Olympic Village. But Kawabuchi reversed course and declined the invitation on Friday, clearing the way for the to-be-formed committee, to be headed by Fujio Mitarai, chairman of Canon Inc., who also serves as honorary president of the organizing committee.

The Tokyo 2020 organizing committee’s Web site included a short note on its home page under the headline declaring Mori’s resignation:

“With just over five months to go before the opening of the Tokyo 2020 Games, President Mori’s resignation may be a cause of concern to you. However, we ensure you that we will proceed with the appointment of a successor in a swift and transparent manner in order to limit the impact on our preparation for the Games.

“We will also consider specific actions to take, in light of opinions and recommendations voiced at today’s gathering, regarding how we can use this opportunity to further promote gender equality in society.

“Tokyo 2020 would be most grateful for your continued cooperation as we work towards hosting the Games this summer. All of us at the Organising Committee will do our utmost to re-earn your trust, as we renew our commitment to contribute to society through the hosting of the Tokyo 2020 Games.”

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, whose role in the Games is critical as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is, in fact, the leading supporter of the event, told a Friday news conference:

“All eyes are on the transparency of the selection process. The result will largely impact the image Tokyo broadcasts to the rest of the world.”

The International Olympic Committee posted two statements on Friday, with President Thomas Bach commenting:

“The IOC fully respects President Mori’s decision to step down and understands his reasons for doing so. At the same time, we would like to thank him for his outstanding contribution to the organisation of the postponed Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 over the course of the past years. Among his many accomplishments, President Mori helped to make Tokyo the best-ever prepared Olympic city. The IOC will continue working hand-in-hand with his successor to deliver safe and secure Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in 2021.”

A second statement, of approval of the committee to replace Mori, included:

“The International Olympic Committee (IOC) welcomes the establishment and composition of a Candidate Review Committee for the appointment of the next President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee. It applauds the decision to have equal gender representation on the Review Committee, including athletes’ representatives, and the commitment to transparency. This is a clear commitment to gender equality, which is fully in line with Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC’s strategic roadmap.”

So where are we now? Five points to consider:

● Mori’s comments have ignited a societal storm in Japan which may have implications far beyond the Games. A change.org petition to “properly address” his remarks drew 147,836 signatures by Friday and is still open.

What happens to the gender-equality movement in the country now is unknown, but could be significant. One example: the Kabuki concept in theater was created around 1600 featuring women, but by 1629, women were banned from this format and still are – at least formally – today. If Mori’s comments are the catalyst for major change in Japan, then the legacy of the 2020/2021 Olympic Games will indeed be dramatic and historic.

● The winner in all of this is Koike, 68. First elected to public office in 1992, she has served as Minister of the Environment and, for 54 days, Minister of Defense; she was elected as Tokyo Governor in 2016 and reelected in 2020 with 59.7% of the vote.

An independent, she clearly has her eyes on becoming Prime Minister, but the Liberal Democratic Party and allies hold 282 of the 465 seats in the Diet (60.6%) going into elections this October. Nonetheless, she is a power to be reckoned with.

● The organizing effort for the Games won’t change much with Mori’s departure. Most importantly, Muto is remaining as the senior executive in charge and while he doesn’t have Mori’s national profile, he continues to lead the more than 1,000 staff members getting ready to stage the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Remember, too, that the Tokyo organizers have been in crisis before, in fact just a year ago when the coronavirus was becoming a serious issue in Asia. Tokyo 2020 was ready to stage the Games, and will be ready this time.

Having served on multiple organizing committees myself, I can vouch for the usual reaction to crisis as “we will show you what we can do.” The staging of the Games continues in good hands.

● The coronavirus is still a problem, and the IOC and the Japanese organizers must continue to monitor the situation and perhaps adopt even more restrictive measures to allow the Games to take place.

The easiest step to implement will be to refuse entry to foreign spectators. This will free up hotel rooms across the Tokyo area, which could be partially filled by those National Olympic Committees with money and ease the number of people sleeping in the Olympic Village. The newly-announced restrictions on news media – especially press and photographers – is going to lessen their attendance in Tokyo and will hit the Paralympic Games especially hard.

Given the continuing cancellation and postponement of qualifying events worldwide, it may be that not all of the available quota places for the Games can be filled. Fine, so be it. In this case – and while no one will ever publicly say that every possible athlete slot should not be filled – less really will be more (and safer).

● Before he exited, Mori identified the significant issue threatening the success of the event: public apathy. While his comments caused a reported 400 or so volunteers to recuse themselves from the Games – out of about 80,000 – there was this:

“A Kyodo News survey conducted over the weekend [6-7 February] found that 47.1 percent think the Olympics and Paralympics should be postponed again due to the coronavirus pandemic, while 35.2 percent believe the games should be canceled. Just 14.5 percent said they should be held as planned.”

That’s not good. Host cities often do not get Olympic fever until late and the pivot point is often the beginning of the torch relay in the host country. The 2021 version is scheduled to start on 25 March from Fukushima – site of the 2011 nuclear disaster – and touch all 47 prefectures in the country.

The public reaction to the relay, and to competitions such as the U.S. Olympic Trials in gymnastics, swimming and track & field, where young men and women are giving every effort to try to make it to Tokyo, will be key in reviving – if possible – public interest and support of the Games, regardless of the number of spectators allowed in the venues.

Back in September 2013, when Tokyo was selected by the IOC to host the 2020 Games, then-BBC sports editor David Bond wrote:

“There is no doubt that after all the problems the IOC has been experiencing in Sochi and Rio, they were looking for a safe pair of hands. Tokyo’s bid was ranked number one in the technical assessment carried out by the IOC evaluation commission in June.

“Add to that the commercial allure of Japan’s well-established sports and media market and it’s easy to see why they were such a popular choice.”

Maybe not as popular any more, but without question still as safe a pair of hands as could be hoped for after the unprecedented impact of Covid-19 and the self-inflicted end of seven years of Yoshiro Mori as the head of what should turn out to be a very fine organizing committee in Tokyo.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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HEARD AT HALFTIME: Mori expected to resign Friday; IOC wants U.S. rights enforcement help; world 1,500 m record for Ethiopia’s Tsegay

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● Reports indicate that Tokyo 2020 chief Yoshiro Mori, 83 and a former Japanese Prime Minister, will resign on Friday (12th) in the aftermath of remarks critical of women at a Japanese Olympic Committee meeting on 3 February.

Kyodo News reported that former Japan Football Association President Saburo Kawabuchi may be named to replace Mori. At 84, he is a year older than Mori and is recognized as the founder of the nation’s successful J. League. He is already serving the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee as the head of the Olympic Village.

The chief executive of Tokyo 2020 remains Toshiro Muto.

The International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 organizers posted the final “playbook” of the its first series, this time covering athletes and officials.

There were very few surprises in its 33 pages, as most of the requirements had been previously shared. Athletes and officials will be expected to test negative for the coronavirus within 72 hours of leaving for Japan and may be tested again on arrival, and then every four days while in Japan.

Use of public transit is only a last resort and athletes will be temperature checked when entering an Olympic site and will be admitted only with readings of less than 37.5 C (99.5 F). In line with the regulations already in use in Japan, athletes are asked to “[a]void unnecessary forms of physical contact such as hugs, high-fives and handshakes” and to “[a]void shouting, cheering and singing – find other ways to show support or celebrate during competition, such as clapping.”

There will be additional details for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies to be provided in the April update to the instructions. But for now, most of the people who will travel to Japan for the Games have an idea of what will be expected of them. The group most affected by the “playbook” program is clearly the press and photographers, with broadcasters also substantially impacted.

A major development on the relationship between the IOC and the U.S. government surfaced last week, with the public disclosure of a 28 January letter from IOC Chief Operating Officer Lana Haddad (GBR) and Legal Affairs Director Mariam Mahdavi (SUI) to Daniel Lee, the Acting Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Innovation and Intellectual Property.

The two-page letter explains the IOC’s continuing concerns in Saudi Arabia: “we note the significant difficulties sports rightsholders have experienced in protecting their intellectual property rights despite the establishment of the [Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property Rights] (many of which were set out in our submission dated 6 February 2020) and stakeholders report that there are ongoing, significant challenges in Saudi Arabia with respect to IP protection and enforcement.

“We are extremely concerned of the impact that online piracy could create during the next 12 months, which will include extensive broadcast coverage of not only the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, but also the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. An effective IP protection system will be essential to ensure an environment which enables these Olympic Games editions to reach the broadest possible audiences in [Middle East and North Africa region], via our broadcasting partnerships, while protecting the longterm funding of the Olympic Movement by ensuring concerted action to curb satellite and online piracy of sports content.”

Haddad and Mahdavi asks the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative “maintains Saudi Arabia’s position on the Priority Watch List, engages with the Kingdom to protect and enforce the intellectual property rights of rightsholders and considers taking further appropriate steps in order to address the ongoing harm caused to rightsholders and broadcasters from copyright infringements and piracy activities.”

TorrentFreak.com reported “The most egregious offender was the streaming service beoutQ, which disappeared in 2019. By then, however, many Saudis had become used to cheap streaming options and many unlicensed services remain available today. This is a problem and the IOC calls for stronger enforcement in the region.”

Where the World Anti-Doping Agency and others have protested extra-territorial jurisdiction of the U.S. in their spheres, the IOC continues to ask the U.S. government to police Saudi Arabia with regard to its television rights sales. Amazing, and something worth considering as other U.S.-related issues bubble up on the way to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Separate from all of this is the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, which is not funded by the U.S. government, but benefits from hundreds of millions of dollars each quadrennial from share of U.S. television rights sales and IOC sponsorships. But could this impact IOC discussions concerning the recent passage of S. 2330, which allows the Congress to dismiss the USOPC Board by a Joint Resolution? Stay tuned.

NBC announced on Wednesday that it would air its broadcast of the Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony live on 23 July, beginning at 6:55 a.m. Eastern time, with a prime-time enhanced broadcast that evening.

This is not completely new in that NBC has shown prior opening events via a live stream of the world feed, but without its own announcers, features and graphics.

● Alpine Skiing ● The 2021 World Alpine Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo (ITA) have been impacted by heavy snowfalls and fog, but hopes to get underway on Thursday (11th) with the Super-G for both men and women, with the Downhills on the 13th (women) and 14th (men).

American star Ted Ligety announced he will retire after the Giant Slalom in Cortina, capping a brilliant 17-year career. “I definitely achieved far more in my career than I would have ever thought as a 16/17-year-old kid when my coaches were telling me I’d be a good college athlete,” he said.

Now 36, Ligety debuted on the World Cup circuit in 2003 and piled up 25 World Cup wins (24 in Giant Slalom, one in Slalom), seven World Championships medals, including five golds and two Olympic golds, in the Combined in 2006 and the Giant Slalom in 2014. He won three golds in a single Worlds at Schladming (AUT) in 2013, taking the Combined, Giant Slalom and Super-G.

Ligety will be long remembered as a competitor, but will still be involved through his winter-wear apparel and equipment company Shred, but will get to spend more time with wife Mia and his three young children.

● Athletics ● The World Athletics Indoor Tour got hot in Lieven (FRA) on Tuesday night at the Hauts-de-France meet with a world indoor record and world-leading marks in six events, including a world 1,500 m record from Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay.

She had targeted the 2014 mark of countrywoman Ginzebe Dibaba of 3:55.17 and passed 800 m in 2:05.94 and finished with a final 400 m of 60.19 to chop more than two seconds off, finishing in 3:53.09. British star Laura Muir followed in a British indoor record of 3:59.58. The other world leads:

● Men/1,500 m: 3:31.80, Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR)
● Men/3,000 m: 7:24.98, Getnet Wale (ETH)
● Men/60 m hurdles: 7.32, Grant Holloway (USA ~ American Indoor Record!)
● Men/Long Jump: 8.25 m, Juan Miguel Echevarria (CUB: 27-0 3/4)
● Women/3,000 m: 8:32.55, Lemlem Hailu (ETH)

Ingebrigtsen won easily and set a European indoor mark, moving to no. 5 on the all-time list. Wale, better known as a steepler, authored the no. 2 performance in history, scaring the 7:24.90 world mark by Daniel Komen (KEN) back in 1998! He led a 1-2-3-4 finish for Ethiopia, with Selemon Barega not far behind in 7:26.10 (no. 3 performance in history), then Lamecha Girma in 7:27.98 (no. 6 performer ever) and Berihu Aregawi (7:29.24: no. 8 performer ever).

Holloway improved his own American Record of 7.35 from earlier this year the 7.32 is the no. 2 performance ever, just behind Colin Jackson (GBR) and his 7.30 from 1994. Wow!

Swede Mondo Duplantis won the vault, but with a pedestrian – for him – clearance of 5.86 m (19-2 3/4), ahead of Chris Nilsen (USA: also 5.86 m) and Renaud Lavillenie (FRA: 5.80 m/19-0 1/4). World-record setter Hugues Fabrice Zango (BUR) won the triple jump with an impressive 17.82 m (58-5 3/4), the no. 8 performance in history.

Hailu’s won in the 3,000 m was especially impressive, as she beat Dutch star Sifan Hassan to the line, 8:32.55 to 8:33.62, as well as Kenya’s outdoor Steeple world-record holder, Beatrice Chepkoech (8:34.21).

The two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 110 m hurdles, Roger Kingdom, scored another distinction as the strength and conditioning coach of the Super Bowl champ Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In case you were wondering, Olympedia lists three Olympians who also played on winning Super Bowl teams: 1964 sprint winner Bob Hayes, who played with Dallas when it won the 1972 Super Bowl; Mike Carter, the 1984 shot silver medalist who won three titles as a defensive tackle with the San Francisco 49ers in 1985-89-90, and Nate Ebner, a Rugby Sevens Olympian in Rio in 2016 who was a member of the 2015-17-19 New England Patriots. Now you know.

● Basketball ● ESPN reported that USA Basketball is in the planning stages of a “bubble” training program prior to the Tokyo Games for its men’s team and medal-class teams from Australia and Spain. The NBA playoff schedule could go as long as 22 July – one day prior to the Opening Ceremony in Tokyo – but the U.S. team training camp is expected to open around 4 July.

Australia and Spain – the reigning World Cup champion – also have significant NBA participation on their rosters and so a U.S.-based camp environment would be attractive.

Because of the conflict of dates with the NBA playoffs, USA Basketball is asking to allow player substitutions during the tournament. Usually not allowed, the date conflict is a by-product of the coronavirus, so substitutes during the Games makes sense. However, the question of virus protocols will have to be worked out to the satisfaction of the Tokyo organizers (and medical staffs).

● Curling ● It had to happen, of course. One day after posting of our revised, 649-event calendar for the remainder of 2021, the World Curling Federation cancelled its 2021 Women’s World Championship.

Scheduled for Schaffhausen (SUI) from 19-28 March, the event “has been cancelled following a decision by the Swiss Local Health Authority not to support the event.

“The World Curling Federation and the event’s Local Organising Committee were informed that due to the current pandemic situation and concerns around the spread of new variants, permission to host an international sporting event will not be granted. This decision was made despite the extensive efforts by the World Curling Federation, the local organisers and Swiss Curling to develop a set of comprehensive safety protocols to deliver a COVID-safe event.”

● Cycling ● During a two-day meeting of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) management committee, multiple rule changes were made for road cycling to ensure better safety, but may not be so well regarded by riders.

Cycling World reported that riders will not be allowed to use the “forearms-on-bars” position except during time trials, and banned sitting on the top tube, known as the “super-tuck” position. Neither is expected to be well received.

The UCI promised serious action against littering on the course and “the sport’s governing body also confirmed that riders could be fined, docked ranking points and penalised time if they throw objects such as [water bottles] and waste in a careless or dangerous manner or outside of new litter zones.

“In stage races, a first infringement of throwing waste can be punished with a 30-second penalty, a second infringement with a two-minute penalty, while a third infringement could lead to disqualification.” Races are being told to create new disposal zones for litter every 30 to 40 km. The new rules come into effect on 1 April.

● Gymnastics ● The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) has cancelled the European legs of its All-Around World Cup Series in Europe:

“Despite the organisers’ best efforts, the reinforcement of entry bans in Europe in recent weeks has drastically reduced the ability of foreign athletes to take part in events in the continent, leading first to the cancellation of the World Cup in Germany last week, then of the World Cup in Birmingham this week.

“The World Cup in Tokyo on 4 May, which serves as a test event for the Games in Artistic Gymnastics, remains unaffected for the moment.”

The remaining quota places for the Tokyo Games will be determined through the Apparatus World Cup series later this year and the continental championships. The U.S. picked up an additional place for Tokyo in women’s gymnastics because of its placing at the qualifications at the 2019 World Championships!

USA Gymnastics won a round in court with the agreement of the plaintiffs in a suit filed in Las Vegas, Nevada against a gymnastics school to remove all claims against the federation.

The plaintiffs can continue their suit against the gym and its staff members, but have dropped USA Gymnastics. The federation’s attorneys had asked for relief from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana under the automatic stay granted in bankruptcy matters against litigation commenced after the bankruptcy filing date.

Sad news from Chicago, where Dianne Durham, age 52, passed away on 4 February. She was the first Black gymnast to win a U.S. All-Around title, in 1983. She won three events – beam, floor exercise and vault – and a silver on the uneven bars.

She was expected to make the 1984 Olympic squad, but had to withdraw from the Olympic Trials due to an ankle injury. She petitioned to make the squad, but was denied because she had not competed at the 1983 World Championships, despite a request from Olympic coach Bela Karolyi.

Following her competitive career, Durham remained deeply involved in the sport, as both a coach and judge.

● Ice Hockey ● Two of the biggest stars on the gold-medal-winning U.S. women’s national teams retired together on Tuesday: Monique Lamoreaux-Morando and Jocelyne Lamoreaux-Davidson.

The twins announced their decision together: “Our dream since as long we could remember was to wear the red, white and blue and become Olympic champions together.

“As twins, our hockey career and lives will forever be intertwined, so it is only fitting that we are retiring together as well. We want to thank USA Hockey for giving us the opportunity to represent our country for so many years. It is the right time for us to step away from the game as players but we will remain in hockey in some capacity moving forward. Thank you to all of our teammates, coaches and fans who have supported us during our hockey journey.”

The pair, both now 31, played on the U.S. squad for 14 years and Olympic silvers in 2010 and 2014 and gold in 2018. Monique, on defense, and Jocelyne, a forward, played on World Champion teams in 2009-11-13-15-16-17.

● Swimming ● Sprinter Margo Geer, 28, announced her retirement on Tuesday, despite being a contender for the U.S. team at the Tokyo Games.

She wrote on Instagram, “For 23 years you have been an enormous part of my life. …

“You ignited something deep inside of me – a competitive fire. One so strong that no disappointment could be too painful, and no success could be too gratifying to extinguish.”

Geer is the “head coach-in-waiting” at the University of Alabama. She won three NCAA titles for the University of Arizona in 2013-14 and won four FINA World Championships medals on relays in 2015 and 2019. She finishes with bests of 24.72 in the 50 m Free (no. 15 on the all-time U.S. list) and 53.44 in the 100 m Free (no. 38 all-time world and ninth all-time U.S.).

She will take over at Alabama in August of this year.

● Weightlifting ● The International Weightlifting Federation released a “provisional” list of candidates for its forthcoming elections, with 11 candidates for President, 11 for Secretary-General, 17 for First Vice President, 41 for Vice President and 71 for the IWF Executive Board. Many individuals are candidates for multiple offices.

The striking feature of the lists is the presence of candidates from countries which are already subject to sanctions. There are candidates for President and Secretary-General from Iran, Kazakhstan and Romania, all on the sanctions list.

Further, both of these offices have candidates from elected members of the existing, ineffective and under-observation IWF board from Finland, Greece, Great Britain, Iraq, Kazakhstan and Romania. Right at the top of the list are the Interim President, Dr. Michael Irani (GBR), who had indicated he would not run (but of course he is), and the existing Secretary-General Mohammed Jalood (IRQ).

American Ursula Papandrea, for a short time the Acting President of the IWF following the resignation of long-time chief Tamas Ajan (HUN), has declared her candidacy for President, Secretary-General, First Vice President and Vice President.

The IWF Executive Board met with IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell (NZL) on 5 February and promised quick reforms on athlete representation and governance. Elections are scheduled for 26-27 March with the final list of candidates (after vetting) to be announced at least 30 days prior.

● At the BuZZer ● American bobsledder – and now World Champion – Lolo Jones reveled in her win with driver Kaillie Humphries last week, as usual, on Twitter:

“Old.”
“Washed up.”
“You should retire.”
“Can’t medal.”

“11 years since my last World champs medal. 11 years of hate.”

“Ignore them all. Keep grinding.” Pretty good advice.

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