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LANE ONE: The U.S.’s unequaled collegiate Olympic-sport programs may be heading to implosion, starting in California

By
Rich Perelman
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For those who have followed the long-running debate over amateurism and intercollegiate athletics, the issue is finally front and center. For those in the Olympic world who have not followed this, you will soon as it may be the start of the implosion of Olympic-sport programs in universities across the country.

The situation is this:

● The California legislature has passed S.B. 206, a bill which requires that four-year colleges in the state “shall not prevent a student of a postsecondary educational institution participating in intercollegiate athletics from earning compensation as a result of the use of the student’s name, image, or likeness.”

Students may be represented by agents or attorneys, but while the bill prohibits students from contracting “in conflict with a provision of the athlete’s team contract,” it also clearly states that this does not extend “when the athlete is not engaged in official team activities.”

The bill, if signed into law, would become effective in 2023.

● The bill is now with California Governor Gavin Newsom (D), who has been harshly critical of the current system of amateurism adopted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, made up of universities from across the country.

● In the past days, the bill has generated equally harsh comments from the NCAA and from individual athletic directors of schools outside California.

The NCAA Board of Governors sent a letter to Newsom on Wednesday (25th) stating, in part:

“If the bill becomes law and California’s 58 NCAA schools are compelled to allow an unrestricted name, image and likeness scheme, it would erase the critical distinction between college and professional athletics and, because it gives those schools an unfair recruiting advantage, would result in them eventually being unable to compete in NCAA competitions. These outcomes are untenable and would negatively impact more than 24,000 California student-athletes across three divisions.”

The letter further noted that the NCAA is working on its own rules on allowing students to use their name, image and likeness – with a report due at the end of October – “but not pay them to play.”

● USA Today quoted Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith as saying last Tuesday that “If the California law goes into effect in ’23 and let’s say the NCAA legislation, however it emerges, doesn’t quite meet what California wants it to be and they continue to hold that law, who’s going to play (California schools)? We’re certainly not. They won’t be members of the NCAA. I think that’s going to be the problem.”

California State Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) brushed off the threat saying that the state is too big and the economic opportunities too great to ignore.

At the same time, bills have been introduced, or are being talked about in New York, South Carolina and elsewhere, some with direct pay-to-play concepts in them.

This is mostly about Division I college football and men’s college basketball; that’s where the money is. But while the politicians preen about supporting athletes, the implications of this legislation are much more far-reaching:

(1) The California bill tries to protect the ability of a school to continue to have an apparel, shoe and equipment sponsor such as Nike, adidas, Under Armour and so on, but leaves a gaping loophole that does not require students to support such agreements “when not engaged in team activities.”

You can see the ads now: “Johnny Jones has to wear Nike on the court, but he kicks back in Under Armour.” What’s Nike – or any of the other big brands – going to think about that?

(2) The likely scenario is for all of the brands to sign fewer schools – many fewer – and to concentrate their attention on signing the top high school players so that they are locked up when they are in college, especially for football, where players are only eligible for the NFL Draft three years after finishing high school.

(3) This will result in a cash shortage that will be significant by 2025-26 for those schools without longer-term agreements and the pressure will be for either more money from the university to support athletic teams, or to cut teams.

(4) This will take some years into the future, but watch out for any change to the rules concerning the number of sports which must be competed in to maintain Division I status. The NCAA requirements for Division I status currently specify:

“Division I member institutions have to sponsor at least seven sports for men and seven for women (or six for men and eight for women) with two team sports for each gender. Each playing season has to be represented by each gender as well.”

If this goes down due to a dip in revenues across the country from support going to athletes instead of to athletic departments, the first sports on the chopping block will be those which generate only modest revenue, such as soccer, track & field, diving, swimming, wrestling and so on, the so-called “Olympic sports.”

It won’t have an impact on the U.S. team for Paris in 2024, but could certainly be felt for Los Angeles in 2028 and beyond. And it won’t hurt just American athletes, but many foreign athletes who receive scholarships at NCAA schools, especially in track and swimming.

Is this a reason for Newsom not to sign the bill? He likely hasn’t any appreciation of this aspect of the proposed law, since he’s fixated on the relatively small number of athletes who will reap the rewards from this legislation and not what it means more broadly. From the USA Today story, he said “in one respect there’s a racial component. Close to 90% of these coaches are white and the majority of Division I basketball players are black. The plurality of Division I football players are black.”

On top of all of the other issues facing the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, this is another one that needs to be planned for. The USOPC has a Collegiate Advisory Council that is already working for waivers of existing NCAA rules prohibiting off-season coaching of world-class collegiate athletes by their school coaches, and to allow training support and expenses provided by the USOPC or the National Governing Bodies.

But those changes won’t matter much if schools simply drop sports to lessen the costs of their athletic programs, leaving fewer students who are also athletes.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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ATHLETICS Worlds Preview III: Expect to hear “Jamaica, Land We Love” multiple times this coming week

By
Rich Perelman
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Hi, I'm Dalilah Muhammad, and I'm the world-record holder in the 400 m hurdles!

The IAAF World Championships finally get going on Friday in Doha’s Khalifa International Stadium with no finals, but the women’s marathon will be held at 11:59 p.m. However, when the medals start getting distributed in the women’s events, don’t be surprised if you’re able to hum the Jamaican anthem – “Jamaica, Land We Love” – by the end of the championships.

Jamaican sprint power has ebbed on the men’s side, but not for the women; a look at the women’s track events:

● Women/100 meters: 28-29 September

Leading entries:
10.73 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM) ~ 2018-12 Olympic Champion
10.73 Elaine Thompson (JAM) ~ Defending champion; 2016 Olympic Champion
10.88 Dina Asher-Smith (GBR)
10.93 Marie-Josee Ta Lou (CIV) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist
10.94 Briana Williams (JAM)

Fraser-Pryce and Thompson, who between them have won the last three Olympic titles, are the clear favorites, not only for their year-leading times at the Jamaica Nationals, but impressive running during the summer. That said, Asher-Smith is fully capable of breaking them up or even winning, and Ta Lou was the 100/200 m silver medalist in London two years ago. Williams, just 17, was cleared by a Jamaican doping panel on Wednesday with just a reprimand after testing positive; she insisted that the prohibited substances came from over-the-counter medications and had no intent to cheat.

Defending champ Tori Bowie of the U.S. has not healed fully from her injuries in 2018 and has run a modest 11.09 so far this year. American champ Teahna Daniels ran 10.99 at the NCAA West Regionals in May and 11.00 at the NCAA final, but no faster than 11.13 at sea level since.

● Women/200 meters: 30 September-1-2 October

Leading entries:
22.00 Elaine Thompson (JAM) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion
22.05 Blessing Okagbare (NGR)
22.08 Dina Asher-Smith (GBR)
22.16 Angie Annelus (USA)
22.22 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM)

Olympic champ Thompson and European champ Asher-Smith rate as favorites here, since Okagbare has been consistently inconsistent all season, She won at the Prefontaine Classic in 22.05, but nothing close since then. Annelus was fast at the NCAAs, winning her second title in a row, but hasn’t been seen since her third-place finish at the U.S. Nationals in 22.71.

U.S. champ Dezerea Bryant has run 22.47 and has a blazing start, but hasn’t shown much since Des Moines. Two-time defending champion Dafne Schippers (NED) has managed only 22.45 this season and may be hurt.

● Women/400 meters: 30 September, 1 & 3 October

Leading entries:
49.05 Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion
49.17 Salwa Eid Naser (BRN) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist
49.78 Shericka Jackson (JAM)
50.20 Shakima Wimbley (USA)
50.38 Kendall Ellis (USA)

With the exception of Miller-Uibo, this has been a down year for the 400 m. The Bahamas star has only run the distance three times, winning in 49.05-49.54-49.59 with no one close. She’s an overwhelming favorite.

Naser was thought to be a challenger, but her 49.17 at the Lausanne Diamond League meet is her only sub-50 of the year. Same for Jackson, whose sub-50 came at the Jamaican Nationals in June. That makes the minor medals up for grabs, but the Americans have not distinguished themselves either. Phyllis Francis of the U.S. came from nowhere to win in the final meters in London two years ago and she or someone else could surprise again … for second place.

● Women/800 meters: 27-28-30 September

Leading entries:
1:57.72 Ajee Wilson (USA) ~ 2017 Worlds bronze medalist
1:57.99 Natoya Goule (JAM)
1:58.19 Hanna Green (USA)
1:58.61 Lynsey Sharp (GBR)
1:58.65 Raevyn Rogers (USA)

With Caster Semenya (RSA), Francine Niyonsaba (DJI) and Margaret Wambui (KEN) all excluded due to the IAAF’s female eligibility regulations, Wilson has been the top performer this season and has won eight of 10 meets, losing only two Semenya twice and Niyonsaba once. Goule, who ran at LSU, looked like a top challenger, but was only fifth at the Diamond League Final in Brussels. Green has been a revelation in 2019 and along with Rogers, are medal contenders. The biggest challenger to Wilson might be the veteran Sharp, who has a strong tactical sense and finish.

● Women/1,500 meters: 2-3-5 October

Leading entries:
3:55.30 Sifan Hassan (NED)
3:55.47 Genzebe Dibaba (ETH)
3:56.73 Laura Muir (GBR)
3:57.40 Gudaf Tsegay (ETH)
3:58.84 Rababe Arafi (MAR)

It’s not clear if Hassan – who set the world record for the mile this year – will run this race; she’s set to compete in the 10,000 m on Saturday and then decide between the 5,000 m and 1,500 m. Even if she runs, she’s no more than a co-favorite with Dibaba, who looked unbeatable in Diamond League wins in Rome and Rabat, only to finish fourth in the Final in Zurich.

Those two are the class of the field in 2019, but in a championship – likely slow – race, there are other obvious contenders. Muir is still recovering from injury, but if she feels good, could try to break the race open from 600 m to go. Two Americans are medal threats: the 2011 World Champion Jenny Simpson, with her perfect tactical sense that earned her a silver medal in 2017, and sprint-finisher Shelby Houlihan, who won at the U.S. Nationals. Then there is German Konstanze Klosterhalfen (3:59.02), but it’s not clear whether she will run this race or the 5,000 m. This should be one of the best races of the meet.

● Women/3,000 m Steeple: 27 & 30 September

Leading entries:
8:55.58 Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN)
9:03.83 Hyvin Kiyeng (KEN) ~ 2017 Worlds bronze medalist
9:04.90 Emma Coburn (USA) ~ Defending champion
9:06.76 Celliphine Chespol (KEN)
9:07.23 Wilfred Yavi (BRN)

Chepkoech has won seven of eight races this year, including six in a row and owns the untouchable world record of 8:44.32 from 2018. She a heavy favorite and she has hinted that the WR could be in jeopardy in Doha. Defending champion Coburn and 2017 silver winner Courtney Frerichs (9:09.75 in 2019) have been saving their fitness and tactics for this race, but have not shown as much fitness as the Kenyans most of this year. In Coburn’s three Diamond League races, she’s finished 4-2-6 this season. A Kenyan sweep is unlikely, but certainly possible. Wild card: German Gesa Krause (9:07.51), who beat Coburn at the Diamond League Final in Zurich.

● Women/5,000 m: 2 & 5 October

Leading entries:
14:20.36 Hellen Obiri (KEN) ~ Defending champion
14:22.12 Sifan Hassan (NED) ~ 2017 Worlds bronze medalist
14:26.76 Konstanze Klosterhalfen (GER)
14:29.54 Letesenbt Giday (ETH)
14:31.69 Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi (KEN)

If Obiri is fit and Hassan is entered, it will be a clash of the titans. Obiri ran the fastest time of the year at the Diamond League meet in London, with Hassan third; Hassan won the Diamond League Final, with Obiri fourth. If they are both in shape, this will be epic.

It’s also not clear which race Klosterhalfen will choose, but she has shown great talent at this distance. Beyond those three, the best last lap will be in line for medals. It could be Giday or Chelimo, or Fantu Worku (ETH) or Lilian Rengeruk (KEN) or someone we don’t suspect.

● Women/10,000 m: 28 September

Leading entries:
30:37.89 Letesenbet Gidey (ETH)
30:40.85 Netsanet Gudeta (ETH)
30:45.14 Senbere Teferi (ETH)
30:49.57 Emily Sisson (USA)
30:53.11 Tsehay Gemechu (ETH)

Forget the year leaders; the defending champ, Almaz Ayana (ETH) hasn’t run the distance all year, but pulled a similar stunt in 2017, winning the 10,000 m and silver in the 5,000 m after having been quiet all during that year. Add in Kenyan Hellen Obiri and Dutch star Sifan Hassan – the favorites in the 5,000 m – and suddenly the race is wide open.

The U.S. has won medals in this event before; Emily Infeld famously out-leaned an already-celebrating Molly Huddle for bronze in 2015; Huddle is back and she and Sisson could be battling for a podium spot again.

● Women/Marathon: 28 September

Leading entries:
2:17:08 Ruth Chepngetich (KEN)
2:19:46 Lorna Salpeter (ISR)
2:20:40 Ruti Aga (ETH)
2:20:51 Roza Dejere (ETH)
2:21:05 Shura Demise (ETH)

The late data and proximity to the big fall marathons – like Berlin on Sunday – has hurt the field, but the medals will mean plenty to the winners. This race has no pacesetters, so the experience of Chepngetich and the Ethiopians will help; this will be Salpeter’s sixth career marathon and she has bean improving steadily and won in Prague in May at 2:19:46. She was 41st in the 2017 Worlds marathon and she is able to pace herself properly, could set off a celebration in Tel Aviv about 2:30 a.m. Sunday!

● Women/100 m hurdles: 5-6 October

Leading entries:
12.32 Danielle Williams (JAM)
12.40 Janeek Brown (JAM)
12.43 Keni Harrison (USA)
12.49 Tobi Amusan (NGR)
12.55 Nia Ali (USA)

Williams has been outstanding, winning her last three Diamond League meets in 12.32-12.46-12.46, with no one close. She’s a clear favorite, despite almost not making the team after she false-started out of the Jamaican Nationals. Harrison has been good, finishing second to Williams twice in the Diamond League and everyone else has been up and down. Brown has not regained her NCAA form that had her as the world leader in June.

Amusan, Ali, defending champ Brianna McNeal (USA/12.61) and Sharika Nelvis (USA/12.66) are all in contention for a medal. This is one event in which watching the heats and semis can tell you a lot about who’s in form.

● Women/400 m hurdles: 1-2-4 October

Leading entries:
52.20 Dalilah Muhammad (USA) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist
52.85 Sydney McLaughlin (USA)
53.11 Ashley Spencer (USA)
54.11 Zusana Hejnova CZE)
54.16 Rushell Clayton (JAM)

Muhammad and McLaughlin could become one of the must-see rivalries in the sport. Muhammad set the world record in the U.S. Nationals, but won just four of six races this year, with McLaughlin winning the other two and is 2-1 against her. Neither has raced much – just six times each – and both ran a grand total of one race since the end of July. Another record?

Spencer and Hejnova should fight for third; Clayton is coming on a medal threat and is not to be ignored. Defending champ Kori Carter of the U.S. has only managed 55.09 this season.

● Women/4×100 m Relay: 4-5 October
● Women/4×400 m Relay: 5-6 October

Jamaica should walk away with the 4×100, even with ordinary passes, with Elaine Thompson, Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce and Briana Williams on the team. Germany has run 41.67 and passes the stick perfectly and the Dutch should be close if Dafne Schippers is fit.

The U.S. has plenty of speed, but no experience. Good passes will mean a silver medal.

In the 4×400, the U.S. has the most depth and should win; no one else has run faster than 3:24.81 (Poland). Look for a possible leg for Allyson Felix, who ran a very encouraging 50.10 on her carry at the USA vs. Europe match in Minsk. She’ll be on the quirky Mixed 4×400 m on 29 September (Sunday) and if she continues to improve, she can really help in this race.

● Women/20 km Walk: 29 September

Leading entries:
1:25:29 Glenda Morejon (ECU)
1:25:34 Jiayu Wang (CHN) ~ Defending champion
1:25:37 Shenjie Qieyang (CHN)
1:25:56 Hong Liu (CHN)
1:27:15 Liujing Yang (CHN)

The race starts at 11:30 p.m. to beat the heat, with temperatures still expected to be around 90 F. Who handles the heat best will win and since there are four Chinese who can work together, it’s likely Yang or Qieyang.

● Women/50 km Walk: 28 September

Leading entries:
4:03:51 Maocuo Li (CHN)
4:04:50 Elenora Giorgi (ITA)
4:05:46 Julia Takacs (ESP)
4:07:30 Faying Ma (CHN)
4:13:57 Ines Henriques (POR) ~ Defending champion

The conditions are going to be hot at 11:30 at night, and once again, working together helps. There are three Chinese, including Rui Liang (4:19:34 this year) and any could win. This will not be a fun race, finishing about 4:00 a.m. Doha time.

Prize money at the Worlds is $60,000-30,000-20,000-15,000-10,000-6,000-5,000-4,000 for individual events at $80,000-40,000-20,000-16,000-12,000-8,000-6,000-4,000 for the top eight places.

Next up: women’s field events; look for results here.

TSX DAILY: Russia acknowledges Tokyo participation in jeopardy, but RUSADA held blameless; Coe re-elected IAAF chief and Banks elected to Council; Jack Hatton passes

By
Rich Perelman
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≡ TSX DAILY ~ 26 September 2019 ≡

| 1. |  LEADING OFF: While Russia may be suspended, anti-doping agencies come to the aid of RUSADA 

A very strange narrative is forming as the World Anti-Doping Agency looks into whether the historical lab data retrieved from the Moscow Laboratory that was at the center of the Russian doping scandal from 2011-15 was manipulated to continue the cover-up of athletes who were doping.

The head of the Russian Olympic Committee, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, issued a statement full of concern:

“Judging by the fact that the WADA Executive Committee has already initiated fast-track consideration of RUSADA’s status issue based on the Compliance Committee’s report, the situation is very serious.

“In a short time of three weeks, our organizations overseeing submissions of the database need to either conclusively disprove the accusations of any machinations on the Russian side or undertake thorough measures to identify persons involved in this case. Otherwise, along with the problem of RUSADA’s status and ramifications for our sports arising from that, the Russian national team’s prospects of taking part in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo will be jeopardized.”

The seriousness was underlined by a comment from the International Olympic Committee to the Russian news agency TASS on Monday as to whether Russia could be prevented from competing as a national team at the Tokyo Games next year:

“According to the new WADA rules, effective as of April 2018, this process is conducted by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the IOC fully respects this procedure.”

Translation: WADA will have the authority, under the new rules for World Anti-Doping Code signatories, to ban Russia from the Tokyo Games, subject to an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Yet, at the same time, the head of the 67-member Institute of National Anti-Doping Organizations (iNADO) – usually a hawk on sanctions vs. Russia – issued a statement which condemns the possible data manipulation, but praises the current version of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, including:

“‘WADA’s correct and only legal recourse in the light of further Russian defiance of sporting rules and principles is to declare the National Anti-Doping Organisation non-compliant even though there is no evidence that RUSADA itself is in any way involved.

“‘RUSADA has, since its reformation following the corrupt activities of previous officials, proven to be an eager and valued participant in international anti-doping work.’ said iNADO CEO, Graeme Steel.

“‘While a declaration of non-compliance is necessary under the rules, of all Russian organisations, RUSADA has been the one leading the way to effect positive change in the country’” said Steel.”

Pretty amazing, but this is consistent with the comments from WADA officials about the changes made in RUSADA under the direction of Yury Ganus (pictured). Steel added, “we will continue to support RUSADA” in its efforts to effect “positive change within Russia.”

This bodes well for the future, whenever the Russian doping saga is finally concluded, but it’s hardly solace to Russian athletes. High jumper Mariya Lasitskene, the reigning World Champion, posted a notice on her Instagram account reported by TASS as:

“In case RUSADA is suspended again, we will leave beyond the Russian borders to hold training sessions abroad in order to be available for international doping officers.”

Her stance harkens back to 2016, when the only Russian track & field athlete allowed to compete in Rio de Janeiro was long jumper Darya Klishina, who trained in the U.S. (Florida) and was therefore tested by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

Added Lasitskene, “I am not going to skip the second Olympic Games in a row due to some particular people, who are unable to honestly fulfill their work obligations.”

| 2. | ATHLETICS: Coe unanimously re-elected; Willie Banks elected to IAAF Council from the U.S.

It was a productive day for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), with 203 members convening in Doha (QAT) for the IAAF Congress and electing new officers.

There was no surprise in the re-election of Sebastian Coe for president; he received all 203 votes in support of a second term.

There were changes in the IAAF Council, including the election of U.S. candidate Willie Banks (pictured), the former world-record holder in the triple jump who has had significant sports management experience that can be of value to the group.

The elected members included:

Vice Presidents:
● Ximena Restrepo (COL)
● Sergey Bubka (UKR) ~ re-elected
● Geoffrey Gardner (NFI) ~ already a Council member
● Nawaf Bin Mohammed Al Saud (KSA) ~ already a Council member

Members:
● Hiroshi Yokokawa (JPN) ~ re-elected
● Antti Pihlakoski (FIN) ~ re-elected
● Anna Riccardi (ITA) ~ re-elected
● Nan Wang (CHN)
● Adille Sumariwalla (IND) ~ re-elected
● Nawal El Moutawakel (MAR) ~ re-elected
● Abby Hoffman (CAN) ~ re-elected
● Sylvia Barlag (NED) ~ re-elected
● Alberto Juantorena (CUB) ~ re-elected (previously a Vice President)
● Willie Banks (USA)
● Raul Chapado (ESP)
● Dobromir Karamarinov (BUL)
● Beatrice Ayikoru (UGA)

Two Council members who stood for re-election were unsuccessful; France’s Bernard Ansalem and Ahmad El Kamali (UAE), who was disqualified by the Athletics Integrity Unit.

There were further developments on the doping and sponsorships fronts announced at the Congress:

● The Congress voted by 164-30 to continue the suspension of the Russian Athletics Federation in view of the continuing issues noted by the IAAF’s Russia Task Force.

● The Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group signed on as a 10-year sponsor of the IAAF Diamond League from 2020-29, the first presenting sponsor of the circuit since Samsung ended its sponsorship after the 2012 season. As part of the deal, Wanda subsidiary Infront will market the Diamond League media rights for five years from 2025-29, replacing IMG, which is the marketer through 2024.

The agreement includes the creation of a new IAAF event to be held annually in China, with the details to be announced later.

The Congress will conclude on Thursday.

Check out our World Championships preview on the men’s field events here.

| 3. | CYCLING: Dennis repeats as World Time Trial champ in Yorkshire

The UCI World Road Championships continued in England, with a masterful performance by defending champion Rohan Dennis of Australia to win his second consecutive Individual Time Trial.

A hot early pace was set on the 54.0 km course from Northhallerton to Harrowgate by Italian Filippo Ganna at 1:07:00.35 that was not bettered until the 43rd of 57 riders finished, Belgium’s 19-year-old Remco Evenepoel, who took the lead at 1:06:14.28.

Four-time champion Tony Martin (GER) started strongly, but faded to nine overall as the 50th rider to go. Slovenian Primoz Roglic, a terror at the time trials in the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana, managed only a 12th-place finish.

Dennis, riding last as the reigning champ, had to deal with rain that started falling during his ride, but was undaunted. He was first at each checkpoint and steamed home in 1:05:05.35 to win by almost 69 seconds.

He hadn’t been seen since abandoning the Tour de France in July, but he was more than ready.

“I didn’t go without a lot of preparation: a lot of time at home, a lot of work on my head to get myself mentally prepared for today. 

“I knew what pace I went out with last year, so I just stuck on that and got into my rhythm. I knew I was 20 seconds up at the first check and I knew I had more to give, that I wasn’t going to die on the climbs.  It was absolutely perfect today.” Complete results are here.

| 4. | WEIGHTLIFTING: Solis moves up to win 81 kg at Worlds; U.S.’s Arthur wins bronze

It was a good day for the Western Hemisphere at the World Weightlifting Championships in Pattaya (THA), with Colombia’s Leydi Solis winning a second world title and American Jenny Arthur claiming her first-ever Worlds medal.

Solis was the Olympic silver medalist at 69 kg (~152 lbs.) in 2008 and the World Champion at that weight in 2017. But with the adoption of the new weight classes, she moved up to 81 kg (~179 lbs.) and won the Clean & Jerk and the overall total for a second career Worlds gold.

Arthur (pictured), 25, was a 2016 Olympian and finished sixth in the women’s 75 kg division. She finished seventh in the Snatch, but then made her heaviest lift of 139 kg (~306 lbs.) for runner-up honors in the Clean & Jerk and third overall at 245 kg combined (~540 lbs.).

Defending champ Lidia Valentin of Spain lifted a combined 246 kg (~542 lbs.) for the silver medal, and Solis lifted 247 kg (~545 lbs.) to win.

Arthur missed on her heaviest Snatch lift of 110 kg (~243 lbs.); if she had done it, she would have won the event! Solis and Valentin also missed their heaviest lifts in Snatch.

European champ Yauheni Tsikhantsou of Belarus finished second in the Snatch and Clean & Jerk and that was enough to give him the gold medal at 102 kg by 398 kg (~877 lbs.) to 397 kg (~875 lbs.) over Korea’s Yun-Seong Jin.

The Worlds continue through Friday; look for results here.

| 5. | JUDO: Sad news of the passing of U.S. judoka Jack Hatton

American Jack Hatton, a three-time member of the U.S. team for the World Judo Championships, has passed away at age 24, according to an announcement from USA Judo.

No cause of death or other details were provided; Hatton was teaching judo in Greenfield, New York. He competed at 81 kg and had his best year in 2019, winning a bronze medal in the Pan American Championships and placing fifth at the Montreal Grand Prix.

His top international performance was a silver medal in the Antalya (TUR) Grand Prix in 2018.

The USA Judo post added, “Jack made an indelible mark on all who had the pleasure of knowing him, and he will not be forgotten. We grieve with the entire USA Judo and international judo community during this tough time. USA Judo is in the process of providing grief counseling services for those in need and will share information on services for Jack as they become available.”

| 6. | FOOTBALL: UEFA President tells members not to play Iran or Saudi Arabia

The issue of admitting women as spectators into men’s matches expanded on Wednesday as European Football Association (UEFA) chief Aleksander Ceferin (SLO) suggested to the 55 members that they refrain from playing matches against Iran or Saudi Arabia:

“We know that two countries do not allow men and women to watch matches together, we can not punish anyone, but that does not mean we have to be quiet, so our advice to 55 federations and all clubs to ensure that their teams do not play in these countries or against teams from these countries where the basic rights of women are not respected.”

The AIPS report on the UEFA conference noted that FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI) has sent an inquiry delegation to Iran to look into the arrangements planned for the 10 October Asian World Cup qualifying match in Tehran vs. Cambodia. Infantino has been clear that women must be admitted as spectators to such matches.

| 7. | COMMONWEALTH GAMES: NOC chief of India says CWG is a waste

The Commonwealth Games will be in Birmingham, England in the summer of 2022, with India protesting the exclusion of shooting, at which it won 16 medals at the 2018 Games in Australia.

However, beyond talking about a “possible boycott” of the event over shooting, Indian Olympic Association chief Narinder Batra is now calling the entire program a waste. In an interview with the Indian Express newspaper, he said

“These Games have no standard. For me, these are a waste of time and money. We win 70 medals, 100 medals at the Commonwealth Games while at the Olympics, we get stuck at two (medals).

“That means the level of competition isn’t high at CWG. It’s not a ranking tournament either. So why waste time? We should rather go to better competitions and prepare for the Olympics.”

India hosted the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi; the organization of that event went well over budget and was widely panned.

ATHLETICS Worlds Preview II: Taylor vs. Claye, Kendricks vs. Duplantis, Walsh vs. Crouser top men’s field-event showdowns

By
Rich Perelman
-
American vault star Sam Kendricks

The IAAF World Championships in Doha (QAT) start Friday with tremendous match-ups in several of the men’s field events … and new world records are absolutely in play:

● Men/High Jump: 1 & 4 October

Leading entries:
2.35 m Maksim Nedasekau (BLR: 7-8 1/2)
2.35 mi Naoto Tobe (JPN: 7-8 1/2i)
2.34 mi Yu Wang (CHN: 7-8i)
2.33 m Mikhail Akimenko (RUS: 7-7 3/4)
2.33 m Ilya Ivanyuk (RUS: 7-7 3/4)
2.33 m Stefano Sottile (ITA: 7-7 3/4)

This event is the definition of wide-open, with no clear favorite, but many contenders.

Given the modest performances worldwide this year, a surprise is possible and many eyes will be on defending champ Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, returning from injury with a seasonal best of just 2.27 m (7-5 1/4). Is he ready to jump high? His last meet was at the Zurich Diamond League final, where he finished 10th at 2.20 m (7-2 1/2).

The winner there, Ukraine’s Andrei Protsenko (2.32 m/7-7 1/4) certainly rates attention as well.

● Men/Pole Vault: 28 September & 1 October

Leading entries:
6.06 m Sam Kendricks (USA: 19-10 1/2) ~ Defending champion
6.02 m Piuotr Lisek (POL: 19-9) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist
6.00 m Mondo Duplantis (SWE: 19-8 1/4)
5.92 m Thiago Braz (BRA: 19-5)
5.90 mi Pawel Wojciechowski (POL: 19-4 1/4i)

The battle between Kendricks, Lisek and Duplantis has been one of the highlights of the season so far. Kendricks has competed in an amazing 24 meets so far this season, winning 16 and finishing second five times. He had won five in a row until Duplantis defeated him at ISTAF Berlin at the end of August, with Lisek third.

It’s hard to see anyone else in the medals, but both the comebacking Braz and Wojciechowski are more than capable on a given day.

● Men/Long Jump: 27-28 September

Leading entries:
8.65 m Juan Miguel Echevarria (CUB: 28-4 1/2)
8.40 m Shoutarou Shiroyama (JPN: 27-6 3/4)
8.38 m Jeff Henderson (USA: 27-6) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion
8.38 mi Miltiadis Tentoglu (GRE: 27-6i)
8.37 m Luvo Manyonga (RSA: 27-5 1/2) ~ Defending champion

Echevarria is one of the most exciting – and inconsistent – stars in the sport. He clearly has the potential to take the world record from American Mike Powell (8.95 m/29-4 1/2), but he could also fail to qualify for the final. He’s the favorite, but a shaky one considering that Manyonga has won four of his last five meets and consistent in the 8.30 m (27-2 3/4) range.

Wild card? Try Jamaica’s Tajay Gayle, out to 8,32 m (27-3 3/4) this season.

● Men/Triple Jump: 27 & 29 September

Leading entries:
18.14 m Will Claye (USA: 59-6 1/4) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist
17.82 m Christian Taylor (USA: 58-5 3/4) ~ Defending champion
17.68 m Omar Craddock (USA: 58-0 1/4)
17.58 mi Hugues Zango (BUR: 57-8 1/4)
17.53 m Pedro Pablo Pichardo (POR: 57-6 1/4)

Should be one of the highlights of the meet: Will Claye – the three-time Worlds medalist – finally get the upper hand vs. three-time World Champion and two-time Olympic Champion Taylor?

Claye has the two best jumps of the year at 18.14 m (59-6 1/2) and 18.06 m (59-3) to win in Paris. But Taylor won the Diamond League Final in Brussels at 17.85 mw (58-6 3/4w), with Claye second and Craddock third. The world record of 18.29 m (60-0 1/4) is in play and don’t forget Portugal’s Pichardo, capable of a monster jump at any time.

● Men/Shot Put: 3 & 5 October

Leading entries:
22.74 m Ryan Crouser (USA: 74-7 1/4) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion
22.61 m Darlan Romani (BRA: 74-2 1/4)
22.44 m Tomas Walsh (NZL: 73-7 1/2) ~ Defending champion
22.35 m Darrell Hill (USA: 73-4)
22.32 m Michal Haratyk (POL: 73-2 3/4)
22.31 m Joe Kovacs (USA: 73-2 1/2) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist

The world record of 23.12 m (75-10 1/4) by American Randy Barnes from 1990 has been in the crosshairs of Crouser, Walsh and others for a while now and a breakthrough could come in Doha.

Crouser has been the best in the world when completely healthy, but with so many good throwers, there is no margin for error. Walsh has been the top competitor of late and Romani’s best came at the Prefontaine Classic at Stanford.

Crouser has won 10 of his 12 meets this season; Walsh has won 11 of 15 and took the Diamond League Final in Brussels. Americans and Hill and Kovacs (the 2015 World Champion) are both contenders for medals as well.

● Men/Discus: 28 & 30 September

Leading entries:
71.86 m Daniel Stahl (SWE: 235-9) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist
70.78 m Fedrick Dacres (JAM: 232-3)
68.14 m Lukas Weisshaidinger (AUT: 223-7)
67.78 m Ola Stunes Isene (NOR: 222-4)
67.73 m Andrius Gudzius (LTU: 222-2) ~ Defending champion

Stahl and Dacres have been the best all season; Stahl has won 12 of his 15 meets, and won the Diamond League Final over Weisshaidinger and Dacres. Expect those three to be the medalists.

● Men/Hammer: 1-2 October

Leading entries:
81.74 m Wojciech Nowicki (POL: 268-2) ~ 2017 Worlds bronze medalist
80.88 m Pawel Fajdek (POL:265-4 ) ~ Defending champion
79.38 m Javier Cienfuegos (ESP: 260-5)
78.97 m Denis Lukyanov (RUS: 259-1)
78.54 m Bence Halasz (HUN: 257-8)

Poland’s Fajdek is the three-time defending World Champion, but Nowicki has won two Worlds bronzes in a row and has the two best throws in the world this season. They have been competing against each other for 10 years now and Fajdek holds a career 74-13 lead and is 7-3 vs. Nowicki this year. If he wins again, Fajdek would become the first thrower to win four Worlds golds, not to mention four in a row!

● Men/Javelin: 5-6 October

Leading entries:
90.61 m Magnus Kirt (EST: 297-3)
90.03 m Johannes Vetter (GER: 295-4) ~ Defending champion
89.65 m Andreas Hofmann (GER: 294-1)
89.17 m Edis Matusevicius (LTU: 292-6)
89.06 m Bernhard Seifert (GER: 292-2)
89.05 m Chao-Tsun Cheng (TPE: 292-2)

Kirt has been the world leader since May and has extended his lead twice. He won the Diamond League Final in Zurich and has been consistent at 88 m-plus (288-8). However, Vetter got his seasonal best of 90.03 m (295-4) in the U.S. vs. Europe match and beat Kirt there. Both he and Hofmann are gold-medal possibilities. The wild card is Cheng, who has been strong in big moments and won the Asian Championships impressively early in the year.

● Men/Decathlon: 2-3 October

Leading entries:
8,711 Damian Warner (CAN) ~ 2015 Worlds silver medalist
8,572 Niklas Kaul (GER)
8,473 Lindon Victor (GRN)
8,453 Pierce LaPage (CAN)
8,444 Kaz Kazmirek (GER) ~ 2017 Worlds bronze medalist

No doubt that Warner is capable of winning it all, but the focus of this event will be on France’s Kevin Mayer, the world-record holder at 9,126 from 2018. As defending champ from 2017, he had a free pass into this meet and has set lifetime bests during the season in the 110 m hurdles and shot put. He’s been excellent in the biggest meets, finishing fourth in the 2013 Worlds, second in the 2016 Olympics and won the 2017 Worlds. Another world record? Possible!

Prize money at the Worlds is $60,000-30,000-20,000-15,000-10,000-6,000-5,000-4,000 for individual events at $80,000-40,000-20,000-16,000-12,000-8,000-6,000-4,000 for the top eight places.

Next up: women’s track events; look for results here.

TSX DAILY: USOPC Hall of Fame elects Smith and Carlos, making athlete sanction threats toothless + Dygert-Owen wins Worlds Time Trial and more World Champs previews

By
Rich Perelman
-

≡ TSX DAILY ~ 25 September 2019 ≡

| 1. |  LANE ONE: USOPC Hall of Fame committee selections renders USOPC’s protest sanctions toothless

Much was made of the award ceremonies protests by American gold-medal winners Race Imboden and Gwen Berry at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru last month.

Imboden went to one knee during the national anthem after being part of the men’s Team Foil winners in fencing and Berry raised her fist during the anthem after her victory in the women’s hammer throw in track & field.

Both received a letter from U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee chief executive Sarah Hirshland placing them on probation for 12 months and indicating that stronger sanctions would be in place if such behavior was repeated.

On Monday, the USOPC announced its first class of inductees into the organization’s Hall of Fame. Five Olympians, three Paralympians and one team were selected based in part on a public vote. There were also four inductees selected by the Hall of Fame nominating committee in the categories of coach, contributor and “legends.”

The “legends” were 1968 Olympic 200 m gold medalist Tommie Smith and bronze medalist John Carlos, much more famous today for raising their gloved fists in the air during the awards ceremony than for their brilliant running on the track, including a world record for Smith that lasted 11 years.

By selecting Smith and Carlos, the Hall of Fame nominating committee – whose members are not identified anywhere on the USOPC’s vast Web site – have effectively torpedoed any concept of sanctions for U.S. athletes who are involved in political demonstrations in Tokyo in 2020.

Never mind that all athletes will be required – as Imboden and Berry were – to sign an agreement that they will not participate in any such demonstrations. No matter what anyone does, as long as it is not illegal in Japan, they can simply say, “You put Smith and Carlos into the Hall of Fame for doing the same thing” and they would be right.

There are many more moving parts to this, including the view of the International Olympic Committee, which has its own rules against political protests. The IOC banished Smith and Carlos from the Mexico City Games shortly after they left the victory stand, and did the same for the casual stance of Vince Matthews and Wayne Collett on the awards stand after the 400 m final in 1972.

Did the USOPC management team know about the election of Smith and Carlos? They’ve been selected now and there will be discussions with the IOC and many others about the implications of naming them as individuals who “courageously stood up for racial equality during the civil rights movement” during the Mexico City Games.

Oh yes, and have you noticed that the Tokyo Games fall between the Democratic and Republican conventions next summer? More details here.

| 2. | CYCLING: American Chloe Dygert-Owen runs away with World Champs Time Trial

There’s winning and then there’s what Chloe Dygert-Owen of the U.S. did during the rainy women’s Individual Time Trial at the UCI World Road Championships in Yorkshire (GBR).

Already the winner of the Pan American Games Time Trial in August, Dygert (pictured) started 30th in the field of 53 and despite ridiculously wet conditions, starting passing rider after rider ahead of her.

She whipped past eight in all and stopped the clock at 42:11.57 and then waited for the remaining riders to finish. No one came close.

Dutch star Anna van der Breggen, runner-up the prior three years in this race, moved into second, but was more than 1:32 behind Dygert-Owen. The final rider was two-time champ Annemiek van Vleuten (NED), but she could manage only third.

Coached by two-time Time Trial World Champion Kristin Armstrong, Dygert-Owen now moves to medal-favorite status for Tokyo. But she wasn’t the only American who shined, as Amber Neben – now 44, but also a two-time World Champion in this event – finished fourth and Leah Thomas was seventh.

The U.S. won two medals in the men’s U-23 Time Trial, with Ian Garrison and Brandon McNulty taking the silver and bronze medals behind three-time winner Mikkel Bjerg of Denmark.

The Road Worlds continue through Sunday; the men’s Time Trial is scheduled for Wednesday. More here.

| 3. | ATHLETICS Preview: Can the U.S.’s Coleman, Lyles and Norman sweep the Doha sprints?

In the first of a four-part preview of the IAAF World Championships starting Friday in Doha (QAT), the men’s running and walking events are reviewed with at least one world record in danger and good prospects for the U.S. in the sprints:

● The U.S. has the favorites in the men’s 100-200-400 with Christian Coleman, Noah Lyles and the duo of Michael Norman and Fred Kerley in the 400 m. Coleman (pictured), however, hasn’t run since the USATF Nationals while Lyles is the biggest favorite in the whole meet.

● The middle distances have a strong 1,500 m favorite in Kenya’s Tim Cheruiyot, but the 800 m should be a duel between Nijel Amos (BOT) and American Donavan Brazier, who showed great tactical sense in his recent, come-from-behind Diamond League win.

● The long distances appear ripe for Ethiopian wins in the 5,000 m, 10,000 m and marathon, but who knows if the races turn into slow, tactical affairs? The 3,000 m Steeple favorite is Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali, but he will be challenged by Kenyans Benjamin Kigen and defending champ Conseslus Kipruto.

● The 110 m hurdles looked for a long time like a 1-2 for the U.S. with Grant Holloway and Daniel Roberts. But only Roberts has looked strong in Europe and Orlando Ortega (ESP) and defending champ Omar McLeod (JAM) are coming on.

The world record is at stake in the 400 m hurdles, with the no. 2 and no. 3 performers of all time in the race: Norway’s defending champ Karsten Warholm and American Rai Benjamin. And if Qatari star Abderrahmane Samba is back in form, it could be a three-way race for gold.

● The U.S. is a huge favorite in the 4×400 m relay, but the 4×100 m is always a question about the U.S. passing. Good passes could mean the first world title for the U.S. in the event since 2007; otherwise, look for Britain, Germany or Japan.

Much more detail on each event is here; look for more previews daily this week.

| 4. | CANOE-KAYAK Preview: More medals for Martikan and Fox at Slalom Worlds?

The all-time leading medal winners in the ICF Slalom World Championships are Slovakia’s Michal Martikan (now 40) and Australia’s Jessica Fox. Both will be looking to extend their records at the 2019 Worlds in La Seu d’Urgell, Spain.

While Martikan is not among the favorites this time, he has won 22 Worlds medals in the C-1, including 14 golds, with his last podium appearance in 2017. Fox, 25, has rocketed to fame in both the C-1 and K-1, and has nine golds – the most ever – and 12 total medals. She could reach the record of 14 currently held by Czech Stepanka Hilgertova (1989-2015).

The top 18 countries in men’s and women’s K-1, and the top 11 countries in men’s and women’s C-1 will qualify one quota place for the 2020 Games. More here.

| 5. | DOPING: Latest call to throw out the WADA Board from Global Athlete group

In the aftermath of the announcement that the World Anti-Doping Agency has commenced a sanctions review over “discrepancies” in the Moscow Laboratory data retrieved in January, the Global Athlete Start-Up Group posted an open letter on Tuesday calling on the Chair, Director General and head of the Compliance Review Committee to resign.

At issue, of course, is WADA’s decision to reinstate the Russian Anti-Doping Agency in September 2018, with its agreement to provide the Moscow Lab data and the stored samples according to a specified timetable. Global Athlete says the WADA has “failed to protect clean athletes” and “not fit for purpose.”

Yawn.

| 6. | THE LAST WORD: How much are medals worth … in Zambia?

Reader Dan Bell has studied the awards given to medal winners by various governments over the years and found a remarkable recent controversy from the All-African Games held in Morocco last month.

Zambian swimmer Tilka Paljk won a bronze medal in the women’s 50 m Breaststroke and was rewarded with 3,000 Kwacha, worth about $230.85 U.S. at current exchange rates. Wrote Paljk in a Facebook post:

“When I first heard that I got K3,000 from the government for winning a bronze at the all African games, I thought ‘wow, are these guys serious? Is this it?’ But I didn’t want to come [out] ungrateful so I just kept quiet and said ‘thank you’. After seeing this in the paper today, I am glad that this is out there and that people can see how ridiculous it is. We are the BEST athletes on the continent and to be given a K5,000 for being the African champion is honestly embarrassing and insulting. I can’t even pay my rent with that money, let alone my coach. I want to ask the government if they feel content or proud for giving us a K5,000 for being the best in Africa. It’s honestly a joke. But thanks anyway.”

LANE ONE: USOPC Hall of Fame committee selections renders USOPC’s protest sanctions toothless

By
Rich Perelman
-


Remember the awards ceremony protests during the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru last month by American gold medalists Race Imboden in fencing and Gwen Berry in track & field?

Imboden went to one knee during the playing of “The Star Spangled Banner” as a member of the winning Team Foil squad and Berry raised her fist during the anthem during the medal presentation ceremony for the women’s hammer throw.

These actions did not go unnoticed and USOPC spokesman Mark Jones released a statement shortly afterwards, noting in the case of Imboden:

“Every athlete competing at the 2019 Pan American Games commits to terms of eligibility, including to refrain from demonstrations that are political in nature. In this case, Race didn’t adhere to the commitment he made to the organizing committee and the USOPC. We respect his rights to express his viewpoints, but we are disappointed that he chose not to honor his commitment.”

A similar note was circulated concerning Berry.

A week later, USOPC chief executive Sarah Hirshland sent a letter to both, which included:

“This letter will serve as a formal reprimand from the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Additionally, the USOPC considers you to be in a probationary period for the next 12 months. This means you could face more serious sanctions for any additional breach of our code of conduct than might otherwise be levied for an athlete in good standing.”

Hirshland’s letter indicated that the USOPC would be discussing the issue of protests and punishments with the International Olympic Committee, which has the authority to ban athletes from participating in the Games for, among other things, political protests.

It’s going to be a more interesting discussion now.

In case you missed it, the USOPC announced its first class of inductees in seven years for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame on Monday (23rd), naming five Olympians, three Paralympians, one team and four others: a coach, contributor and two “legends.”

The legends were 1968 Olympic 200 m gold medalist Tommie Smith and bronze medalist John Carlos. They famously each raised a gloved fist – universally recognized at the time as the “Black Power Salute” – during the playing of the anthem during the awards ceremony in Mexico City (MEX).

They were promptly banished from the Games and sent home.

Now they will be inducted as members of the USOPC Hall of Fame in November. The selection was not part of the public vote – done for the Olympians, Paralympians and team – but the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame nominating committee.

The members of this group are not listed anywhere on the USOPC Web site, but it is made of individuals who “represent the following areas of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic movements: U.S. Olympians and Paralympians Association, Athletes’ Advisory Council, Paralympic sport, media, USOC Board of Directors, USOC executive and one at-large committee member.”

So as a person representing “USOC executive” had a vote in this, Hirshland was at least indirectly present in the decision-making process.

And by this action, Hirshland and the USOPC now cannot possibly contemplate sanctions against U.S. athletes who publicly protest just about anything during next summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Let’s be clear: Smith and Carlos are being honored for their protests during the Mexico City Games; the USOPC biography of both in the Hall of Fame announcement starkly describes each as individuals who “courageously stood up for racial equality during the civil rights movement.”

Their protests were deeply political and aimed at audiences in the U.S. and were noticed because of the wide interest in the Olympic Games vs. limited interest (and television exposure) of track & field.

If the USOPC even thinks of sanctioning an athlete for some form of protest in 2020, the answer back will be, “You put Smith and Carlos into the Hall of Fame for doing the same thing.”

What will the USOPC’s response be to that?

And the IOC?

Most especially under current President Thomas Bach, the IOC has declared itself as an organization which places “sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.” How does a T-shirt worn during fencing warm-ups by Imboden reading “Impeach Trump” or one worn by football star Megan Rapinoe that says “Pay Me Now” suit the IOC?

How can the USOPC ask its athletes to sign the pledge against political “demonstrations” in view of honoring Smith and Carlos as members of its Hall of Fame? Hirshland described the new class of inductees as “champions who have transcended sport through the legacy they leave both on and off the field of play. … We thank them for their impact on sport and society, and for continuing to inspire the next generation of athletes and fans.”

Of course, there are people who may be offended that Smith and Carlos are receiving this honor. First in line should be Vince Matthews, now 71, and the family of the late Wayne Collett – who passed in 2010 – the gold and silver medalists in the 1972 Olympic 400 meters and stood casually on the victory stand in Munich (GER) during the playing of the U.S. anthem. Said Collett at the time, “I couldn’t stand there and sing the words because I don’t believe they’re true. I wish they were. I believe we have the potential to have a beautiful country, but I don’t think we do.”

Surely they must be inducted also, yes, and as soon as possible?

The Hall of Fame nominating committee has created an untenable position for Hirshland and the USOPC and seriously undercuts the integrity of the organization’s “probation” imposed on Imboden and Berry.

Hirshland, USOPC Board chair Susanne Lyons and the U.S. IOC members Anita DeFrantz and Kikkan Randall will indeed have to have a serious discussion with Bach and others in Lausanne, and soon. With the Tokyo Games taking place in a U.S. election year and between the Democratic and Republican conventions, it will be prime time for political demonstrations for American athletes.

And if the U.S. athletes are doing it, you may rest assured that the floodgates will be opened for similar actions by others in countries where free speech is allowed … and thanks to television, will cause problems for those watching in countries where speech is repressed.

Maybe someday we’ll find out who the members are of the little committee that caused such a big uproar.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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ATHLETICS Worlds Preview I: Will the U.S. men sweep the sprints at Doha?

By
Rich Perelman
-

A massive throng of 1,972 athletes from 210 countries have gathered in Doha, Qatar for the 2019 IAAF World Championships, where the daily high temperatures range from 97-101 degrees (F), but are guaranteed to be in the 70s inside the Khalifa International Stadium for the competition.

Having the Worlds so late – a month later than any of the prior 17 editions – has caused a substantial uproar in training schedules and no one is quite sure of what will happen when the running, jumping and throwing starts on Friday.

The heat in Qatar has also changed the schedule, with a single, long session each day, with no rest days, going straight through for 10 days, to 6 October.

There are plenty of controversies already, with considerable chatter about doping and a report – rejected by the Qatari organizers – that ticket sales for the 40,000-seat stadium have only reached 50,000 for the entire meet and that free tickets will be given to children and migrant workers to fill the place.

Regardless, the athletes are there and that’s what’s important, so let’s look ahead to the men’s running events in Doha (based on entry data from the IAAF):

● Men/100 meters: 27-28 September

Leading entries (with 2019 seasonal bests):
9.81 Christian Coleman (USA) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist
9.86 Divine Oduduru (NGR)
9.87 Justin Gatlin (USA) ~ Defending champion
9.93 Akani Simbine (RSA)
9.93 Arthur Cisse (CIV)
9.93 Cravon Gillespie (USA)

Coleman, who was subject to sanctions for not reporting his whereabouts but saw the complaint withdrawn, is the favorite. He has been faster and more consistent than anyone else, but hasn’t been seen on a track since the end of July. He could be rusty, or he could be ready to do something special

Gatlin ran 9.97 in a small meet in Italy on 1 September, then felt a tug in a hamstring two days later in Croatia and hasn’t been seen since. Is he healed? Oduduru and Gillespie ran their hot times back in June at the NCAA meet, so Simbine, Jamaica’s Yohan Blake, British star Zharnel Hughes or Canada’s Andre De Grasse might be in line for a medal.

● Men/200 meters: 29-30 September-1 October

Leading entries:
19.50 Noah Lyles (USA)
19.73 Divine Oduduru (NGR)
19.82 Kenny Bednarek (USA)
19.86 Ramil Guliyev (TUR) ~ Defending champion
19.87 Andre De Grasse (CAN)
19.87 Alex Quinonez (ECU)

Lyles has to be the biggest favorite in the meet and has been sensational since a tight loss to Michael Norman in the Diamond League in Rome back in early June. In his five finals, he’s run 19.72, 19.50, 19.78. 19.65 and 19.74!

Guliyev and De Grasse looked good in chasing Lyles home in the Diamond League final, in 19.86 and 19.87 and are favored for medals. But then there is Quinonez, who seems to surprise when no one is looking, and Coleman, who has run 19.91 this year and swears he will do some damage here.

Oduduru won the NCAA with a hot time and has disappeared; Bednarek pulled up at the USATF Nationals in the final, but ran 19.86 at altitude in May and 20.07 in his USATF semi. If healed, he could be a contender.

● Men/400 meters: 1-2-4 October

Leading entries:
43.45 Michael Norman (USA)
43.64 Fred Kerley (USA)
44.14 Steven Gardiner (BAH) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist
44.29 Nathan Strother (USA)
44.40 Akeem Bloomfield (JAM)
44.40 Vernon Norwood (USA)

The U.S. has dominated this event, with Norman running 43.45 to move to no. 4 ever back in April and Kerley running a lifetime best to beat him, 43.64-43.79 at the USATF Nationals. They are clear favorites to run 1-2, but Gardiner – who has a lifetime best of 43.87 – will be conceding nothing.

These three are prohibitive medal favorites, but much attention will be paid to 2011 World and 2012 Olympic champ Kirani James (GRN). Still just 28, he ran 44.47 in his only race this season, on 6 September in Spain. More in the tank?

● Men/800 meters: 28-29 September-1 October

Leading entries:
1:41.89 Nijel Amos (BOT)
1:42.54 Ferguson Rotich (KEN)
1:42.70 Donavan Brazier (USA)
1:43.51 Brandon McBride (CAN)
1:43.62 Amel Tuka (BIH)

The clock says that Amos, Rotich and Brazier are the class of the field, but they are hardly locks for medals. Amos and Rotich ran 1-2 with stirring times in the Diamond League Monaco race, but Brazier was tactically perfect in coming from seventh with a half-lap to go to win the Diamond League final just 0.10 from the American Record.

Kenya’s Emmanuel Korir (1:43.69 this year) cannot be counted out and a slower, more tactical race will play into the hands of 2017 Worlds silver medalist Adam Kszczot (1:44.61 in 2019). Want a wild card? How about the two Puerto Ricans: Wesley Vazquez (1:43.83) and Ryan Sanchez (1:44.82)?

● Men/1,500 meters: 3-4-6 October

Leading entries:
3:28.77 Timothy Cheruiyot (KEN) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist
3:30.16 Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR)
3:30.58 Ronald Musagala (UGA)
3:30.62 Charlie Grice (GBR)
3:30.66 Ayanleh Souleiman (DJI)

No matter what the pace, Cheruiyot has been dominant in this event for a couple of years. He’s a strong favorite to win, with a battle royal behind him for the other medals. Defending silver medalist Filip Ingebrigtsen (NOR: 26 years old) has run 3:30.82, but ranks only sixth among the declared entries. Younger brother Jakob (19) and Musagala both have lifetime bests this season and have closed hard at the end of races.

After looking so great indoors, Ethiopia’s Sam Tefera has had an indifferent outdoor season, but he’s a medal threat if fit. It’s hard to see how 2016 Olympic champ Matthew Centrowitz of the U.S. could figure in the medal hunt, but if the race is slow, his tactical sense is not to be underestimated.

● Men/3,000 m Steeple: 01 & 04 October

Leading entries:
8:04.82 Soufiane El Bakkali (MAR) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist
8:05.12 Benjamin Kigen (KEN)
8:05.51 Getnet Wale (ETH)
8:05.69 Fernando Carro (ESP)
8:05.72 Abraham Kibiwot (KEN)

The top five all ran their seasonal bests in finishing 1-2-3-4-5 at the Diamond League Monaco race in July, but Wale won at the Diamond League Final in Brussels. Those two and Kigen look like likely medalists, but defending champ (and Rio Olympic champ) Conseslus Kipruto (KEN) swears he will be ready to run for gold here.

● Men/5,000 m: 27 & 30 September

Leading entries:
12:52.98 Telahun Haile Bekele (ETH)
12:53.04 Selemon Barega (ETH)
12:54.92 Hagos Gebrhiwet (ETH)
12:56.26 Birhanu Balew (BRN)
12:56.48 Abadi Hadis (ETH)

Looks like an Ethiopian sweep, doesn’t it? But the year list is deceiving since the top five times all came in the terrific Diamond League Rome race, the best of the year so far. All four Ethiopians are medal threats, as are Uganda’s Diamond League Final winner, Joshua Cheptegei (12:57.41) and Kenya’s Nicholas Kimeli (12:57.90). A slower pace will give tacticians like American Paul Chelimo – the bronze medalist in 2017 – a better shot at a medal.

Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen (13:02.03) is running this as a warm-up for the 1,500 and could surprise with his excellent final-lap speed.

● Men/10,000 m: 6 October

Leading entries:
26:48.95 Hagos Gebrhiwet (ETH)
26:49.66 Selemon Barega (ETH)
26:49.99 Yomif Kejelcha (ETH)
26:50.16 Rhonex Kipruto (KEN)
26:53.15 Andamlak Belikhu (ETH)

The year list is again dominated by a single race, the Ethiopian Trials in Hengelo (NED) in July, with 13 of the top 14 marks run so far. If the four Ethiopians at the Worlds work together, a similar result is possible, but that seems unlikely. That opens the door for others, possibly including American Lopez Lomong (27:30.06 at the U.S. Nationals). But the top three Ethiopians are all experienced internationals; they will be hard to beat.

● Men/Marathon: 5 October

Leading entries:
2:02:55 Mosinet Geremew (ETH)
2:03:16 Mule Wasihun (ETH)
2:05:01 Shura Kitata (ETH)
2:06:46 Amos Kipruto (KEN)
2:06:46 Okubay Tsegay (BRN)

The marathon will start at 11:59 p.m. and be run in the middle of the night due to the hot weather in Doha. It sounds exotic, but who knows what will happen? Geremew, Wasihun and Shura Kitata ran 2-3-4 behind Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) in London, but this race will have no pacesetters and no Kipchoge. Label the Ethiopians favorites, but they need to work together to forge a pace which will shake off any challengers.

The entries for this race were certainly impacted by the late date, especially with the Berlin Marathon coming this Sunday.

● Men/110 m hurdles: 30 September & 2 October

Leading entries:
12.98 Grant Holloway (USA)
13.00 Daniel Roberts (USA)
13.05 Orlando Ortega (ESP)
13.07 Omar McLeod (JAM) ~ Defending champion
13.12 Sergey Shubenkov (RUS) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist

Holloway and Roberts were 1-2 at the NCAAs in June; Holloway has lost his form since then, but assures anyone who will listen that he’ll be ready. Roberts has been good on the Diamond League circuit, winning in Paris in 13.08 a month ago, but he skipped the final. In the meantime, Ortega has been excellent and McLeod has been coming on.

Those three are the medal favorites; Shubenkov is certainly a possibility. But what about Holloway?

● Men/400 m hurdles: 27-28-30 September

Leading entries:
46.92 Karsten Warholm (NOR) ~ Defending champion
46.98 Rai Benjamin (USA)
47.27 Abderrahmane Samba (BRN)
48.30 Ludvy Vallant (FRA)
48.33 Kyron McMaster (BVI)

Kevin Young’s 1992 world record of 46.78 is unquestionably in jeopardy, with Warholm and Benjamin racing to the nos. 2-3 times in history at the Diamond League Final in Zurich (SUI) at the end of August.

This time, they have to work through two preliminary rounds and there might also be Samba to worry about. He won the Diamond League meet in Shanghai in May, but hasn’t been seen since, reportedly due to a foot injury. If he is right, he could challenge, but the pressure to perform in his home country makes this a lot to ask.

If Samba isn’t fit, the fight for third could be epic, with 2017 silver winner Yasmani Copello (TUR) and McMaster the most likely to claim a medal.

● Men/20 km Walk: 4 October

Leading entries:
1:17:15 Toshikazu Yamanishi (JPN)
1:17:25 Koki Ikeda (JPN)
1:17:45 Massimo Stano (ITA)
1:18:00 Eiki Takahashi (JPN)
1:18:07 Perseus Karlstrom (SWE)

The strong Japanese marks were from the Asian Championships back in March, but Yamanishi also won the IAAF Race Walk Challenge event in La Coruna (ESP), so he’s the favorite. Stano was second at La Coruna and Karlstrom was fourth and Ikeda should challenge for a medal

This event will start at 11:30 p.m. on Saturday evening and finish about 1 a.m. The competitors can literally say they went for a midnight stroll in Doha.

● Men/50 km Walk: 28 September

Leading entries:
3:37:43 Yohann Diniz (FRA) ~ Defending champion
3:38:02 Qin Wang (CHN)
3:39:07 Yusuke Suzuki (JPN)
3:41:04 Wenbin Niu (CHN)
3:41:15 Yadong Luo (CHN)

If Diniz is right, there’s no stopping him, but in six Worlds appearances, he has gone DQ-2nd-12th-DQ-10th-1st. So who knows? All of the top marks are from early in the year, so form is a question; the minor medalists figure to come from China or Japan.

This event will also start at 11:30 p.m., and finish about 3:30 a.m., which will make it a unique show on its own.

● Men/4×100 m Relay: 4-5 October
● Men/4×400 m Relay: 5-6 October

The U.S. hasn’t won the men’s 4×1 since 2007 and blew both relays in 2017. With a team that will include Coleman, Lyles and Mike Rodgers, this year looks better, IF the American sprinters can get the stick around the track.

The British (37.60), Japanese (37.78) and Dutch (37.99) have all been under 38 seconds; if the U.S. passes were actually good, they could be under 37!

The American quartet, with Norman, Kerley and Benjamin, should win the 4×400 m without too much difficulty. The lesser medals should be sorted out about Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and Colombia, which won the Pan Am Games at 3:01.41.

Prize money at the Worlds is pretty good: $60,000-30,000-20,000-15,000-10,000-6,000-5,000-4,000 for individual events at $80,000-40,000-20,000-16,000-12,000-8,000-6,000-4,000 for the top eight places.

Back later with more previews of the men’s field events; look for results here.

CANOE-KAYAK Preview: Martikan and Fox try to extend record totals at World Slalom Champs

By
Rich Perelman
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Australia's Slalom star Jessica Fox

A massive turnout of 450 athletes from 63 countries is anticipated for the 2019 ICF World Canoe Slalom Championships at La Seu d’Urgell in Spain, with Olympic qualifying spots on the line as well.

The top 18 countries in men’s and women’s K1, and the top 11 countries in men’s and women’s C1 will qualify one quota place for the 2020 Games. But beyond that will be the performances of two of the all-time greats in the sport, Michal Martikan (SVK) and Jessica Fox of Australia.

Martikan, now 40, is the all-time leader with 22 World Championships medals and 14 golds in C-1, starting in 1995 (at age 16!). His last individual medal was a 2017 C-1 bronze.

Fox, 25, started at the 2010 Worlds and has won nine golds and 12 total Worlds medals. The nine golds is the most ever in women’s Slalom, but she is within striking distance of the all-time record for Slalom medals – 14 – held by Czech Stepanka Hilgertova (1989-2015), The next closest active paddler is German Jasmin Schornberg, who has 10 medals from 2006-18.

The expected contenders:

Men/C-1:
● Matej Benus (SVK) ~ 2011 Worlds bronze medalist; three 2019 World Cup medals
● Alexander Slafkovsky (CZE) ~ 2013-17 Worlds silvers
● Roberto Colzingari (ITA) ~ World Cup winner in Tacen
● Franz Anton (GER) ~ 2018 World Champion
● Sideris Tasiadis (GER) ~ 2018 Worlds bronze
● Luka Bozic (SLO) ~ three 2019 World Cup medals
● Benjamin Savsek (SLO) ~ 2017 World Champion; 2014-15 World silvers
● Ryan Westley (GBR) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist; 2015 Worlds bronze

Men/K-1:
● Jiri Prskavec (CZE) ~ 2015 World Champion; 2013-18 Worlds silvers
● Vit Prindis (CZE) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist; 2019 World Cup winner in Markkleeberg
● Giovanni de Gennaro (ITA) ~ 2019 World Cup winner in Tacen
● Peter Kauzer (SLO) ~ 2009-11 World Champion; 2017 Worlds bronze
● Joe Clarke (GBR) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion; 2019 World Cup winner in Lee Valley
● Boris Neveu (FRA) ~ 2014 World Champion
● Andrej Malek (SVK) ~ 2019 World Cup winner in Bratislava
● Hannes Aigner (GER) ~ 2018 World Champion

Women/C-1:
● Jessica Fox (AUS) ~ 2013-14-15-18 World Champion
● Kimberley Woods (GBR) ~ 2019 World Cup silver in Lee Valley & Prague
● Tezera Fiserova (CZE) ~ 2017 Worlds silver; 2018 Worlds bronze
● Nuria Villarrubla (ESP) ~ 2015 Worlds bronze
● Viktoria Wolffhardt (AUT) ~ 2019 World Cup silver in Tacen
● Evy Leibfarth (USA) ~ 2019 World Cup bronze in Tacen
● Mallory Franklin (GBR) ~ 2017 World Champion; 2013-14-18 Worlds silver
● Claire Jacquet (FRA) ~ 2019 World Cup winner in Bratislava
● Ana Satila (BRA) ~ 2017 Worlds bronze medalist

Women/K-1:
● Jessica Fox (AUS) ~ 2016 Olympic bronze; 2014-17-18 World Champion
● Ana Satila (BRA) ~ 2019 World Cup Final silver medalist
● Ricarda Funk (GER) ~ 2015 World Champion; 2017-18 Worlds bronzes
● Stefanie Horn (ITA) ~ 2019 World Cup winner in Tacen
● Eva Tercelj (SLO) ~ 2019 World Cup silver medalist in Tacen; World Cup Final bronze
● Mallory Franklin (GBR) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist
● Corinna Kuhnle (AUT) ~ 2010-11 World Champion
● Luuka Jones (NZL) ~ 2016 Olympic silver medalist

This is the third time for La Seu as the site for the World Championships, and always in the ninth year of a decade: 1999, 2009 and now 2019. Look for results here.

CYCLING: Dygert crushes field in Worlds Time Trial win; U.S. has three of top seven finishers

By
Rich Perelman
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World Time Trial medalists Ann van der Breggen (NED-silver), Chloe Dygert (USA-gold) and Annemiek van Vleuten (NED-bronze). (Photo: UCI)

American Chloe Dygert-Owen served notice to the entire cycling world that she is going to have to be dealt with in Tokyo next year with a brilliant, overwhelming victory in the Individual Time Trial at the 2019 UCI World Road Race Championships in Yorkshire, England.

Dygert, 22, started 30th in the field of 53, but passed eight riders (!) on the way to a stunning time of 42:11.57, with no one close.

She took over the lead from Alena Amialiusik by more than 3:17, with 19 of the best riders in the world still to come. Dutch star Anna van der Breggen, who had finished second in this race for the past three years, came within 1:32.35 of the lead as the 45th rider in the order and she stayed right in that position.

The last rider to start was two-time winner Annemiek van Vleuten (NED), who also flew through the rainy conditions on the 30.3 km course, but was way behind at the finish, 1:52.66 behind the winner and in third place behind teammate van der Breggen.

Dygert-Owen wasn’t the only American star on the day, as former World Champion Amber Neben, 44, was fourth and Leah Thomas finished seventh.

“I really prepared very well for this,” said Dygert-Owens afterwards. “We took this year and just worked towards this race. I had my concussion last year so we had to take this slow and now we’re looking forward to Tokyo. It’s always very special to wear the stripes, it’s everybody’s goal, and I’m just super thankful for everyone who believed in me. I live in Washington State so I’m used to riding in the rain and I knew everyone else was going to be scared so I tried to make the most of it.”

Dygert-Owen is coached by two-time Time Trial World Champion Kristin Armstrong (2006, 2009), so she was indeed ready. It’s her third international senior title, after the Pan American Time Trial in 2017 and the Pan American Games Time Trial earlier this year in Lima, Peru. She also won the 2015 World Junior Road Race and Time Trial, and won two golds at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in 2018 in the Individual and Team Pursuits!

She wasn’t the only American highlight at the Road Worlds so far, as Ian Garrison and Brandon McNulty won the silver and bronze medals in the men’s U-23 Individual Time Trial behind three-time winner Mikkel Bjerg of Denmark.

The UCI World Road Championships continue with the men’s Time Trial tomorrow – look for Vuelta a Espana winner Primoz Roglic (SLO) as one of the favorites and continue with the road races through Sunday. Look for results here.

UCI World Road Championships
Yorkshire (GBR) ~ 22-29 September 2019
(Full results here)

Men

Time Trial/U-23 (30.3 km): 1. Mikkel Bjerg (DEN), 40:20; 2. Ian Garrison (USA), 40:47; 3. Brandon McNulty (USA), 40:48; 4. Mathias Norsgaard Jorgensen (DEN), 40:58; 5. Brent van Moer (BEL), 41:04.

Time Trial/Junior (27.6 km): 1. Antonio Tiberi (ITA), 38:28; 2. Enzo Leijnse (NED), 38:36; 3. Marco Brenner (GER), 38:41; 4. Quinn Simmons (USA), 38:48; 5. Michel Hessmann (GER), 38:56.

Women

Time Trial (30.3 km): 1. Chloe Dygert-Owen (USA), 42:11; 2. Anna van der Breggen (NED), 43:44; 3. Annemiek van Vleuten (NED), 44:05; 4. Amber Neben (USA), 44:50; 5. Lisa Klein (GER), 44:53; 6. Marlen Reusser (SUI), 45:14; 7. Leah Thomas (USA), 45:25; 8. Lucinda Brand (NED), 45:27.

Time Trial/Junior (13.7 km): 1. Aigul Gareeva (RUS), 22:16; 2. Shirin van Androoij (NED), 22:20; 3. Elynor Backstedt (GBR), 22:27; 4. Camilla Alessio (ITA), 22:31; 5. Wilma Olausson (SWE), 22:33. Also in the top 10: 7. Zoe Ta-Perez (USA), 22:42; … 9. Megan Jastrab (USA), 23:01.

Mixed

Mixed Team Time Trial: 1. Netherlands (Brand, Markus, Pieters, Bouwman, Mollema, van Emden), 38:27.60; 2. Germany, 38:50.35; 3. Great Britain, 39:18.87; 4. Italy, 39:23.49; 5. France, 39:50.64; 6. Switzerland, 39:54.54; 7. Slovenia, 40:25.00; 8. Denmark, 40:31.98.

BADMINTON Preview: All five no. 1-ranked shuttlers in Korea Open in Incheon

By
Rich Perelman
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Japan's no. 1-ranked Akane Yamaguchi

No one can say that the Badminton World Tour doesn’t feature its top players on a regular basis. Once again, all five of the no. 1-ranked players in the BWF World Rankings are in the field for the 28th edition of the Korea Open.

This year’s edition is being held – for the third time – in Incheon and includes not only the five top-ranked players/teams, but also four of those ranked no. 2 and three of those ranked third! The top seeds (and their current world rankings):

● Men/Singles:
1. Kento Momota (JPN: no. 1 in BWF World Rankings) ~ Won 5 tournaments in 2019
2. Tien-Chen Chou (TPE: 2) ~ Defending Champion
3. Jonatan Christie (INA: 6)

● Men/Doubles:
1. Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (INA: 1)
2. Junhui Li/Yuchen Liu (CHN: 3)
3. Takeshi Kamura/Keigo Sonoda (JPN: 4)

● Women/Singles:
1. Akane Yamaguchi (JPN: 1) ~ 2016 Champion
2. Yufei Chen (CHN: 2)
3. Tzu-Ying Tai (TPE: 4)

● Women/Doubles:
1. Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara (JPN: 1)
2. Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi (JPN: 3) ~ Defending Champions
3. Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota (JPN: 2)

● Mixed Doubles:
1. Siwei Zheng/Yaqiong Huang (CHN: 1)
2. Yilyu Wang/Dongping Huang (CHN: 2)
3. Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino (JPN: 3)

Prize money is $30,000-15,000-5,800 for the top three placers in the Single events and $31,600-15,200-5,600 for the top three in the Doubles. Look for results here.

TSX DAILY: WADA confirms Russian doping inquiry on data “discrepancies”; Nye and Rogers in historic 1-2 for U.S. lifters; 13 new U.S. Hall of Fame members

By
Rich Perelman
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≡ TSX DAILY ~ 24 September 2019 ≡

| 1. |  LEADING OFF: Russian doping data “discrepancies are not random” per AIU 

The World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed the details of its deepened inquiry into the quality of the information retrieved from the Moscow Laboratory in January of this year, while the details of a possible cover-up came from the IAAF’s Athletics Integrity Unit.

WADA issued a statement following its Executive Committee meeting on Monday in Tokyo (JPN) clarifying the current status, noting that WADA’s Compliance Review Committee had opened a formal compliance procedure into possible manipulation of the data on 17 September. The notice to the Russian Anti-Doping Agency provided three weeks in which to explain “inconsistencies” in the data and answers to other questions.

The Moscow Lab data is being compared to a copy provided by a whistleblower in 2015, and the most detailed explanation of the issues was provided by the IAAF’s Athletics Integrity Unit, which was provided with all of the data related to track & field athletes.

The IAAF Council, meeting in Qatar in advance of the World Championships due to begin on Friday, agreed to maintain the suspension of the Russian Athletics Federation. The report from its Russian Taskforce chair, Rune Andersen (NOR) explained the issue plainly:

“[S]ome of the underlying raw data and PDFs presenting those data (the chromatograms) in visual hard copy form either are not present or are present only in altered form. 

“Importantly, the AIU advises that these discrepancies are not random: in many cases, they relate to positive findings that appear in the LIMS database copy provided by the informant (including the ‘disappearing positives’ referenced in the McLaren report) but do not appear in the 2019 copy of the database (or in the underlying raw data and PDFs).” (Emphasis added)

Andersen’s report further noted that the “discrepancies” seen by the AIU mirror those seen for other sports by WADA and lead to the inexorable conclusion that even while ostensibly complying with the WADA requirements for reinstatement last January, the cover-up of doping positives by Russian athletes continued.

So the next step will be the comments from Russia, due on or about 8 October. The WADA Compliance Review Committee will then review the replies and then decide what to recommend, if anything, to the Executive Board. The next ExCo meeting is scheduled for 4 November 2019 in Poland and could see the Russian Anti-Doping Agency re-classified as non-compliant, thereby putting Russian participation – as a national team – in the 2020 Tokyo Games in jeopardy.

The WADA statement did note that 47 cases of possible doping positives had been developed from data deemed trustworthy and these had been distributed for further action to the relevant International Federation.

There’s more; the details are here.

| 2. | WEIGHTLIFTING: Historic 1-2 finish for Katie Nye and Mattie Rogers in Worlds 71 kg final

For the first time in 64 years, American lifters finished first and second in a weight class at the World Weightlifting Championships, continuing in Pattaya (THA).

In the women’s 71 kg division, 20-year-old Katie Nye (pictured) led the Snatch, Clean & Jerk and the combined total to win the world title at 248 kg (~547 lbs.), ahead of teammate Mattie Rogers, who lifted a combined total of 240 kg (~529 lbs.) for the combined silver medal.

Nye became only the fourth U.S. women to win a world title in weightlifting, following Karyn Marshall in 1987 (at 82.5 kg), Robin Byrd in 1994 (50 kg) and Sarah Robles in 2017 (+90 kg).

The gold-silver combination was the first ever for U.S. women; the last time it happened for the men was way back in 1955 for Paul Anderson and James Bradford in the +90 kg division, the heaviest at the time.

It’s Nye’s second international title this season, as she also won the World Junior Championships earlier in the year; Rogers won a medal for the third consecutive World Championships, making her one of the most decorated American women in the sport, with a total of six medals (counting medals for individual lifts as well as the combined total).

More here; the championships continue through the 27th, with Robles still to lift.

| 3. | GYMNASTICS: Biles leads U.S. women’s team for World Championships

USA Gymnastics named its six-woman team for the 2019 FIG Artistic World Championships in early October in Stuttgart (GER), selecting the top six finishers from last weekend’s Team Selection Camp in Florida.

There was no doubt about four-time All–Around world champ Simone Biles, of course, who won the U.S. nationals All-Around as well as the Team Selection Camp competition. But some of the other choices were more surprising.

First-year senior competitor Sunisa Lee (pictured) was a stunning second at the U.S. Nationals and second again at the Selection Camp, so she was easily selected. But then it got more complicated.

Grace McCallum was third in the Nationals All-Around and sixth at the Selection Camp, so she was in. But the 4-5 placers at the Nationals – Morgan Hurd (the 2017 World Champion) and Leanne Wong – were only 9-8 at the Selection Camp and left as non-traveling alternates.

Kara Eaker, 10th at Nationals, but third at the Selection Camp made it, as did McKayla Skinner, who was eighth at Nationals, but fourth at the Selection Camp. Jade Carey, who was seventh at Nationals and fifth at the Selection Camp, was named as she is a prime candidate for medals in the Vault and Floor.

Of the six who will go to Stuttgart, five will compete in the Team round, but the declaration does not have to be made until just before the competition starts. More here.

| 4. | FOOTBALL: FIFA annual awards honor Lionel Messi, Megan Rapinoe and Jill Ellis

FIFA announced its annual awards in a ceremony on Milan, Italy, with Argentina’s Lionel Messi awarded the “Best FIFA Men’s Player” for the sixth time and American striker Megan Rapinoe winning the women’s award.

The top coaches were German Jurgen Klopp, who guided Liverpool to the UEFA Champions League title and American Jill Ellis, coach of the two-time U.S. women’s World Cup winners.

The best keepers were Alisson Becker, the Brazilian goalie playing for Liverpool and Sari van Veenendaal (NED), who played a major role in getting the Dutch to the Women’s World Cup final.

Five American women were named to the women’s World 11: Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Rose Lavelle, Kelley O’Hara and Julie Ertz. The complete list is here.

| 5. | BASKETBALL: Thompson and Mitchell confirm interest in 2020 Olympic team

The outlook for the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team continues to brighten, as a third member of the Golden State Warriors, star shooting guard Klay Thompson, said he planned to play for the American team next summer.

Thompson (pictured) was a member of the 2016 Olympic gold medalists and also played with teammate Steph Curry as a member of the 2014 FINA World Cup winners and – with Curry – can bring the outside shooting touch the U.S. lacked at the recent FIBA World Cup in China.

Thompson is recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but is expected back in February.

In addition, Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz also signaled his readiness to play in 2020, after being one of the best players on the U.S. team at the World Cup. He averaged 13.1 points per five and 5.0 assists and shot 46.6% from the field (40.5% on three-pointers) in 27.2 minutes per game.

| 6. | ATHLETICS: Sad news of the passing of Olympic discus thrower Jarred Rome

Two-time U.S. Olympic discus thrower Jarred Rome died on Saturday (21st) after complaining of not feeling well the previous evening. He had been inducted into the Snohomish County Hall of Fame on Wednesday in Everett, Washington and had been out with friends on Friday evening at a local casino. No more details of his passing have been published.

Rome, just 42, won national discus titles in 2004 and 2011, made the 2004 and 2012 U.S. Olympic teams and competed in four IAAF World Championships with a best of seventh in 2005. His best of 68.76 m (225-7) came in 2011; he ranks no. 15 on the all-time U.S. list.

¶The IAAF World Championships start on Friday and the IAAF is ramping up its information express with two important documents now available for download:

● Confirmed entry lists, with seasonal and personal best marks, and

● IAAF Doha 2019 Statistics Handbook, a stunning 850-page compilation of past results, records, all-time lists and much more. Amazing, and free to download!

The World Championships are about prestige, but also money. Some $7.53 million in prize money will be handed out to the top placers: $60,000-30,000-20,000-15,000-10,000-6,000-5,000-4,000 for the top eight. Relay teams will be rewarded with $80,000-40,000-20,000-16,000-12,000-8,000-6,000-4,000 for the top eight.

World records will be worth a $100,000 bonus, but it has to be a new record, not a tie!

| 7.| USOPC: Hall of Fame class of 2019 named, including “legends” Tommie Smith and John Carlos

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced its first class of Hall of Fame inductees in seven years, with 13 new members to be enshrined on 1 November.

The five Olympians selected from a field of 15 included:

● Lisa Leslie (Basketball)
● Nastia Liukin (Gymnastics)
● Misty May-Treanor (Beach Volleyball)
● Apolo Anton Ohno (Short Track Speedskating)
● Dara Torres (Swimming)

Three Paralympians were selected:

● Candace Cable (Alpine Skiing/Nordic Skiing/Track & Field)
● Erin Popovich (Swimming)
● Chris Waddell (Alpine Skiing/Track & Field)

The team selection was the 1998 women’s ice hockey team, which won the inaugural Olympic gold medal in the sport.

In addition, the Hall of Fame nominating committee selected four additional inductees:

● Legend: Tommie Smith, 1968 gold in Track & Field (200 m)
● Legend: John Carlos, 1968 bronze in Track & Field (200 m)
● Coach: Ron O’Brien, Diving (Olympic coach in 1972-76-80-84-88)
● Contributor: Tim Nugent, founder of the Division of Disability Resources and Services program at the University of Illinois

The 13 new members bring the Hall of Fame total to 154; the USOPC reported that “nearly 200,000 votes were cast” for the Olympic/Paralympic/Team categories.

STAT PACK: Results for the week of 16-22 September 2019

By
Rich Perelman
-

The Stat Pack: a summary of results of international Grand Prix, World Cup and World Championships events, plus U.S. domestic events and Pan American championships events of note.

In this week’s issue are reports on 11 events in nine sports:

● Badminton: BWF World Tour 1000: China Open in Changzhou
● Boxing: AIBA Men’s World Championships in Yekaterinburg
● Canoe-Kayak: ICF Sprint Super Cup in Linyi
● Figure Skating: ISU Challenger Series/U.S. Int’l Classic in Salt Lake City
● Gymnastics: FIG Artistic World Challenge Cup in Guimaraes
● Gymnastics: FIG Rhythmic World Championships in Baku
● Gymnastics: FIG Trampoline World Cup in Khabarovsk
● Judo: IJF World Tour: Tashkent Grand Prix in Tashkent
● Shooting: USA Shooting Shotgun Fall Selection in Kerrville
● Skateboard: World Skate Street World Championships in Sao Paulo
● Wrestling: UWW World Championships in Nur-Sultan

plus our calendar of upcoming events through 27 October. Click below for the PDF:

[wpdm_package id=16894 template=”link-template-button-popup.php”]

For the stories behind the stats, be sure to visit TheSportsExaminer.com often!

WEIGHTLIFTING: Sensational 1-2 finish for Katie Nye and Mattie Rogers in Worlds 71 kg!

By
Rich Perelman
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Weightlifting history for Mattie Rogers (left, silver) and Katie Nye (gold) of the U.S. at the 2019 IWF 71 kg Worlds, with North Korea's Hyo-Sim Kim (bronze) and Emily Godley (GBR, fourth). (Photo: IWF)

When the entry lists for the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships were finalized, the women’s 71 kg division was the one where U.S. hopes were centered.

Based on the confirmed list of lifters, Americans Katie Nye and Mattie Rogers had the top expected totals of 246 kg and 238 kg, respectively. But would it turn out that way?

Yes and yes.

Nye led all three lifts at 112 kg (~247 lbs., a World Junior Record) for the Snatch, 136 kg (~300 lbs.) for the Clean & Jerk and 248 kg for the total (~547 lbs.), winning her second international title of the season. Still only 20, she won the World Junior Championships in Fiji in early June and now owns both world titles in the same season.

“I am happy that I did what I had to do for the win,” said Nye afterwards. “As an athlete, you’re trained to not be satisfied with what you do, then you’re not going to make any progress. Leaving 141 kg out there [in the Clean & Jerk], I was proud of what I was done, [but] I knew I had that in me.”

Rogers was third in the Snatch (106 kg/234 lbs.) and second in the Clean & Jerk (134 kg/~295 lbs.) and her combined total of 240 kg (~529 lbs.) was well clear of North Korea’s Hyo-Sim Kim, at 230 kg (~507 lbs.) combined in third.

“I was definitely a little tired going into the clean and jerks, the second was a personal best by 2 kilograms. The third was a little wild and crazy,” Rogers said. “I’m really happy to be here. I was here for myself more than anything else. I was not after a medal, I was not after a total, I was not here for any particular person. I was here to just have fun and I think we did a really good job of doing that.”

It’s the third Worlds in which Rogers, 24, has won a medal. She won the bronze for all three lifts at 69 kg in the 2017 Worlds in Anaheim (USA) and claimed a bronze for the Clean & Jerk at 71 kg in Ashgabat (TKM) in 2018. With two medals in Pattaya, she has a career total of six.

The 1-2 finish is the first ever for U.S. women in the World Championships; the last time it happened for the men was in 1955, when Paul Anderson and James Bradford won gold and silver in the +90 kg division, the heaviest at the time.

In the men’s 89 kg division, Armenia’s Hakob Mkrtchyan was fourth in the Snatch and second in the Clean & Jerk, but his combined total of 375 kg (~827 lbs.) was the winner, just better than Iran’s Ali Miri, who totaled 374 kg (~825 lbs.).

The meet continues through the 27th. Summaries so far:

IWF World Championships
Pattaya (THA) ~ 18-27 September 2019
(Full results here)

Men

55 kg: 1. Yun Chol Om (PRK), 294 kg (World Record; new weight class: 2. Igor Son (KAZ), 266 kg; 3. Mansour Al Saleem (KSA), 265 kg; 4. Tran Nguyen (VIE), 263 kg; 5. Arli Chotney (KAZ), 263 kg; 6. John Ceniza (PHI), 262 kg; 7. Hafez Ghashghaei (IRI), 260 kg; 8. Surahmat Wijoyo (INA), 250 kg.

61 kg: 1. Fabin Li (CHN), 318 kg (World Record; old, 317 kg, Eko Yuki Irawan (INA), 2017); 2. Eko Yuli Irawan (INA), 306 kg; 3. Francisco Mosquera (COL), 302 kg; 4. Kim Tuan Thach (VIE), 296 kg; 5. Jhon Serna (COL), 295 kg; 6. Yoichi Itokazu (JPN), 293 kg; 7. Shota Mishvelidze (GEO), 287 kg; 8. Aznil Muhamad (MS), 285 kg.

67 kg: 1. Lijun Chen (CHN), 337 kg: 2. Lyudong Feng (CHN), 333 kg; 3. Jong Ju Pak (PRK), 330 kg; 4. Adkhamjon Ergashev (UZB), 328 kg; 5. Luis Mosquera (COL), 320 kg; 6. Mitsunori Konnai (JPN), 317 kg; 7. Daniyar Ismayilov (TUIR), 316 kg; 8. Henadz Laptseu (BLR), 313 kg. Also: 23. Alex Lee (USA), 295 kg; … 27. Jordan Wissinger (USA), 283 kg.

73 kg: 1. Zhiyong Shi (CHN), 363 kg (World Record; old, 362 kg, Shi, 2019); 2. Kang Chol O (PRK), 347 kg; 3. Bozhidar Andreev (BUL), 346 kg; 4. Vadzim Likharad (BLR), 338 kg; 5. Briken Calja (ALB), 337 kg; 6. Julio Mayora (VEN), 337 kg; 7. Joohyo Bak (KOR), 337 kg; 8. Jeongsik Won (KOR), 336 kg. Also: 9. Clarence Cummings Jr. (USA), 333 kg.

81 kg: 1. Xiaojun Lyu (CHN), 378 kg (World Record; old, 375 kg, Dayin Li (CHN), 2019): 2. Dayin Li (CHN), 377 kg; 3. Brayan Rodallegas (COL), 363 kg; 4. Rejepbay Rejepov (TKM), 363 kg; 5. Yunder Beytula (BUL), 358 kg; 6. Antonino Pizzolato (ITA), 358 kg; 7. Andres Mata (ESP), 356 kg; 8. Zacarias Bonnat (DOM), 355 kg. Also: 9. Harrison Maurus (USA), 350 kg; … 23. Christian Rodriguez (USA), 327 kg.

89 kg: 1. Hakob Mkrtchyan (ARM), 375 kg; 2. Ali Miri (IRI), 374 kg; 3. Revaz Davitadze (GEO), 371 kg: 4. Aliaksandr Bersanau (BLR), 370 kg; 5. Toshiki Yamamoto (JPN), 368 kg; 6. Dongju Yu (KOR), 367 kg; 7. Olfides Saez (CUB), 364 kg; 8. Keydomar Vallenilla (VEN), 364 kg. Also: 17. Jordan Cantrell (USA), 350 kg.

Women

45 kg: 1. Saziye Erdogan (TUR), 169 kg; 2. Ludia Montero (CUB), 167 kg; 3. Lisa Setiawati (INA), 165 kg; 4. Thi Vuong (VIE), 164 kg; 5. My Phuong Khong (VIE), 161 kg; 6. Rosielis Quintana (VEN), 157 kg; 7. Mary Flor Diaz (PHI), 156 kg; 8. Rosina Randafiarison (MAD), 155 kg.

48 kg: 1. Huihua Jiang (CHN), 212 kg (World Record; old, 210 kg, Zuihui Hou (CHN), 2019); 2. Zhihui Hou (CHN), 211 kg; 3. Song Gum Ri (PRK), 204 kg; 4. Chanu Mirabai (IND), 201 kg; 5. Ana Segura (COL), 188 kg; 6. Kristina Sobol (RUS), 187 kg; 7. Beatriz Piron (DOM), 187 kg; 8. Morghan King (USA), 183 kg. Also: 13. Alyssa Ritchey (USA), 178 kg.

55 kg: 1. Qiuyun Liao (CHN), 227 kg; 2. Wanqiong Zhang (CHN), 222 kg; 3. Hidilyn Diaz (PHI), 214 kg; 4. Zulfiya Chinshanlo (KAZ), 213 kg; 5. Yenny Sinisterra (COL), 210 kg; 6. Muattar Nabieva (UZB), 209 kg; 7. Ana Lopez (MEX), 202 kg; 8. Rachel Leblanc (CAN), 201 kg. Also: 9. Jourdan Delacruz (USA), 200 kg.

59 kg: 1. Hsing-Chun Kuo (TPE), 246 kg (World Record; old, 243 kg, Kuo, 2019); 2. Hyo Sim Choe (PRK), 245 kg; 3. Guiming Chen (CHN), 233 kg; 4. Rosive Silgado (COL), 222 kg; 5. Mikiko Andoh (JPN), 222 kg; 6. Zoe Smith (GBR), 216 kg; 7. Yusleidy Figueroa (VEN), 215 kg; 8. Rebeka Koha (LAT), 215 kg. Also: 16. Hunter Elam (USA), 200 kg; … 20. Jessica Lucero (USA), 191 kg.

64 kg: 1. Wei Deng (CHN), 261 kg (World Record; old, 257 kg, Deng, 2019); 2. Un Sim Rim (PRK), 251 kg; 3. Loredana-Elena Toma (ROU), 240 kg; 4. Mercedes Perez (COL), 238 kg; 5. Irina-Lacramoiara Lepsa (ROU), 235 kg; 6. Maude Charron (CAN), 230 kg; 7. Nathalia Llamosa (COL), 222 kg; 8. Sarah Davies (GBR), 222 kg.

71 kg: 1. Katie Nye (USA), 248 kg; 2. Mattie Rogers (USA), 240 kg; 3. Hyo Sim Kim (KOR), 230 kg; 4. Emily Godley (GBR), 226 kg; 5. Anastasiia Anzorova (RUS), 219 kg; 6. Maya Laylor (CAN), 218 kg; 7. Yekaterina Bykova (KAZ), 211 kg; 8. Kristel Macrohon (PHI), 210 kg.

GYMNASTICS: Biles leads women’s World Championships team; Hurd only an alternate

By
Rich Perelman
-
Olympic gold medalist and now twice World Champion Jade Carey (USA)

USA Gymnastics named its women’s team for the FIG Artistic World Championships in Stuttgart (GER) starting on 4 October, led by Simone Biles.

Gymnastics is very much a sport of “what have you done lately” and the six women named to the Worlds team were the top six at last weekend’s Team Selection Camp All-Around in Sarasota, Florida:

● Simone Biles ~ 2019 National All-Around Champ; 1st at Selection Camp A-A
● Jade Carey ~ 7th at Nationals; 5th at Selection Camp
● Kara Eaker ~ 10th at Nationals; 3rd at Selection Camp
● Sunisa Lee ~ 2nd at Nationals; 2nd at Selection Camp
● Grace McCallum ~ 3rd at Nationals; 6th at Selection Camp
● McKayla Skinner ~ 8th at Nationals; 4th at Selection Camp

Not selected, but named as non-traveling alternates were 2017 World Champion Morgan Hurd (4th at Nationals, 9th at Selection Camp) and 2018 National Junior Champion Leanne Wong (5th at Nationals, 8th at Selection Camp).

Left out were Faith Torrez (7th at Selection Camp), Emily Lee (10th), Jordan Chiles (11th) and Trinity Thomas (12th). Not invited to the camp were past stars who have been injured, such as Ragan Smith and Riley McCusker, both members of the 2018 Worlds team.

Of the six who are headed to Stuttgart, only five will be selected to compete in the Worlds Team qualifying, but that decision won’t be made until just before the event starts.

This will be the first Worlds for Lee and Skinner, but the other four have all been there:

4: Biles: 2013-14-15-18
1: Carey: 2017
1: Eaker: 2018
1: McCallum: 2018

Only Biles has Olympic experience, from 2016, and she owns an astonishing 20 World Championships medals (14-3-3). Biles owns the career records for most gold medals (14) and most golds in an individual event (11), the most individual events medals (17) and is tied with Soviet Svetlana Khorkina (1994-2003) for the most total Worlds medals with 20.

THE BIG PICTURE: WADA wants answers on Russian data; IAAF continues RusAF suspension

By
Rich Perelman
-

The stunning revelations concerning possible “manipulation” with the Moscow Lab data provided to the World Anti-Doping Agency in January reverberated around the globe on Monday, with developments coming from Japan and Qatar:

● WADA: Fast-track review of Russia Code compliance now underway

The World Anti-Doping Agency’s Executive Committee met in Tokyo (JPN) on Monday and issued a statement clarifying the action now underway:

“The ExCo was also informed that further investigation, by WADA [Intelligence & Investigations Department] and independent experts in digital forensics, of the inconsistencies in the Moscow Laboratory data outlined in WADA’s press release dated 2 July 2019 had led WADA to open a formal compliance procedure against RUSADA on 17 September 2019. Ensuring the authenticity of the Moscow Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) and underlying raw data was one of the critical conditions imposed by the ExCo for RUSADA to maintain its compliance with the Code when the ExCo decided to reinstate RUSADA as Code-compliant in September 2018.”

Three weeks from the 17th would mean the answers are due back to the Compliance Review Committee by the 8th of October. The Russian response will be evaluated by the WADA staff, then sent to the Compliance Review Committee for recommendations to the Executive Committee.

None of this is going to happen quickly, but there should be more action at the next WADA Executive Committee meeting, in Katowice (POL), on 4 November. An action by WADA to make Russia non-compliant could lead directly to sanctions against it under the Code Compliance Standards … which will immediately be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The good news here is that there is sufficient time – for now – to consider all of these issues well before the Tokyo Games approach next July.

The statement also noted that 47 case files on possible doping cases that have come up through the review of the Moscow Lab data have been forwarded to the appropriate International Federation for action. Per the statement, “The aforementioned 47 cases are unaffected and contained no inconsistencies in the data.”

● IAAF: No change in status; Russian Athletics Federation still suspended; data “discrepanices are not random”

The IAAF Council met in Doha (QAT) in advance of its World Championships that begin on Friday and confirmed the continuing suspension of the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF).

The report presented by the IAAF Russia Taskforce Chair Rune Andersen (NOR) confirmed serious issues with the Moscow Lab data (paragraph broken apart for readability):

“The AIU has advised that it is still in the process of analysing that data, but it has already identified numerous discrepancies between the copy of the LIMS database that an informant provided to WADA in 2015 and the copy of the LIMS database that WADA took at the Moscow lab in January 2019.

“In addition, some of the underlying raw data and PDFs presenting those data (the chromatograms) in visual hard copy form either are not present or are present only in altered form.

“Importantly, the AIU advises that these discrepancies are not random: in many cases, they relate to positive findings that appear in the LIMS database copy provided by the informant (including the ‘disappearing positives’ referenced in the McLaren report) but do not appear in the 2019 copy of the database (or in the underlying raw data and PDFs). (emphasis added)

“As a result, the AIU has advised that it is not able to confirm that the data provided by the Russian authorities to WADA in January 2019 are authentic and have not been tampered with, and therefore currently the AIU does not have everything it needs to determine whether any of the RusAF athletes in the LIMS database has a case to answer for violation of the anti-doping rules.

“The Taskforce’s view is that the ongoing situation is detrimental to the sport of Athletics as it impacts on AIU’s ability to prosecute cases which in turn is unfair to clean athletes. The AIU is now working with WADA to determine the cause of the discrepancies it has identified.”

This is a major problem and the report further noted that “The AIU has been advised that WADA has found very similar discrepancies in those data.”

Andersen cited other issues, including falsification of medical records for high jumper Danil Lysenko and continuing coaching by banned individuals.

The Russian federation confirmed that 448 athletes are in the registered testing pool and are required to file “whereabouts” information for testing purposes. During the first eight and a half months of 2019, 824 Russian athletes were tested a total of 2,581 times, with 67 suspected rule violations so far (that’s a positives rate as high as 8.1% of those tested).

In effect, there are now two anti-doping organizations working on the Moscow Lab data: WADA and the IAAF’s Athletics Integrity Unit, and as both are seeing the same manipulations of the data provided in January, the situation appears to be getting worse, not better.

TSX DAILY: Russia reported to have manipulated doping data; U.S. wins five Worlds wrestling golds + fourth Skateboard title for Huston

By
Rich Perelman
-

≡ TSX DAILY ~ 23 September 2019 ≡

| 1. |  LANE ONE: Here we go again – Russia could be suspended after evidence of data manipulation!

At the end of a week in which Russia athletes posted dominating performances in multiple sports came news that could shake Russian sport once again.

ARD reporter Hajo Seppelt, whose December 2014 documentary exposed the Russian doping scandal to the world, reported late Friday on Twitter:

RUS under suspicion to have manipulated Moscow lab data (provided to @wada_ama  early 2019). @wada_ama  Compliance Review Committee will inform WADA Exco at Tokyo meeting next week. „Non Compliance” procedure already initiated.

After suspending Russia in 2015, the World Anti-Doping Agency controversially reinstated the country’s Anti-Doping Agency to compliant status in September 2018 and was finally able to obtain the Moscow Laboratory testing data from 2011-15 last January and the requested stored specimens last April.

The hard work of comparing the 24 terabytes of data retrieved to a version of the data provided to WADA by a whistleblower then began. In July, WADA sent information on as many as 298 additional positive tests from 2011-15 to the relevant international federations for their review and possible sanctions.

But now there are problems with the data and a story on the Danish site SportsPressen quoted Michael Ask, the Danish head of the Institute of National Anti-Doping Agencies:

“I was informed by WADA about the case last Friday, where I was told that the agency has initiated a process which means that Russia has now been given three weeks to answer WADA’s questions about the inaccuracies in the Russian doping data provided, which the agency’s data experts have found.”

The WADA Executive Committee will meet on Monday (23rd) in Tokyo (JPN) to discuss the issue and the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board has a meeting upcoming from 2-4 October in Lausanne (SUI), by which time the Russia response could have been received. WADA has a further meeting in Poland on 4 November, and the Russian reply will certainly be in by then.

What happens?

Is Russia going to be suspended again? In advance of the 2016 Olympic and 2018 Winter Games, the IOC had only a very short time to make decisions about Russia’s participation. Now it has months ahead of it and plenty of time to implement any desired program.

What about the International Paralympic Committee, which banned Russia from 2015 into early 2019? And the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which has suspended Russia continuously since 2015, will meet this week to consider what further steps to take, if any, concerning reinstatement.

It’s a mess, and a serious one with Tokyo 2020 coming up quickly. More here.

| 2. | WRESTLING: U.S. ends World Champs with wins from Mensah, Dake and Cox

The U.S. claimed its third women’s Freestyle title and two men’s Freestyle titles in the now-concluded United World Wrestling World Championships in Kazakhstan.

After wins by Jacarra Winchester (55 kg) and Adeline Gray (76 kg), Tamyra Mensah (pictured) continued her rampage through the 68 kg division, winning her five bouts by 10-0, 6-1, 10-1, 10-0 and 8-2 in the final against Swede Anna Fransson to claim her first world title. She’s clearly the favorite in Tokyo for 2020.

The U.S. men’s team won four medals, including repeat World Championships golds from Kyle Dake (79 kg) and J’Den Cox (92 kg), with Cox unscored on for the tournament (26-0). Both of these are non-Olympic weights, so they will have to decide at which class they will compete in 2020.

Previous World Champions Jordan Burroughs (74 kg) and Kyle Snyder (97 kg) both won bronze medals, losing very tough, late-scoring matches in the semifinals. They scored the only men’s Olympic qualifying places in the tournament; most of the places will be awarded in regional competitions next year.

Besides Dake and Cox, there were four other repeat champions from 2018: Zavur Uguev (RUS: 57 kg), Zaurbek Sidakov (RUS: 74 kg), Abdulrashid Sadulaev (RUS: 97 kg) and three-time winner Geno Petriashvili (GEO) at 125 kg.

Russia won five of the 10 classes in men’s Freestyle and won the team title easily (the U.S. was third); Japan won the women’s Freestyle team title again, with the U.S. also third. More here.

| 3. | WEIGHTLIFTING: China dominating like it’s 1997 with seven wins in 10 classes!

The 2019 Weightlifting World Championships are all about China. Its lifters have been superb, winning seven of the first 10 classes (of 20) to be contested and winning 12 medals so far, double that of second-place North Korea (6).

The Chinese have regularly led the medal table at the IWF Worlds, but have not had this kind of success – nobody has – since 1997, when the Chinese won 10 golds (in 19 classes), and there are still 10 more classes to be contested.

The record books are also being re-written with eight of the 10 classes completed posting new world marks for the combined lifts:

● Men/55 kg: 294 kg (~648 lbs.) by Yun-Chol Om (PRK) ~ fifth Worlds gold

● Men/61 kg: 318 kg (~701 lbs.) by Fabin Li (CHN)

● Men/67 kg: 361 kg (~796 lbs.) by Zhiyong Shi (CHN) ~ third Worlds gold

● Men/73 kg: 378 kg (~833 lbs.) by Xiaojun Lu (CHN) ~ fifth Worlds gold

● Women/49 kg: 212 kg (~467 lbs.) ~ Huihua Jiang (CHN) ~ second Worlds gold

● Women/58 kg: 246 kg (~542 lbs.) ~ Hsing Chun Kuo (TPE) ~ fourth Worlds gold

● Women/64 kg: 261 kg (~575 lbs.) ~ Wei Deng (CHN) ~ fifth Worlds gold

Deng swept her event with world record in each lift: Snatch 116 kg/~256 lbs.), Clean & Jerk (145 kg/~320 lbs.) and the total. More here.

| 4. | SKATEBOARD: Huston wins fourth Worlds Street title; qualifies for Tokyo

Meet the favorite for the Skateboard Street event at the 2020 Olympic Games: it’s American Nyjah Huston.

Huston (pictured) won his fourth World  Championships gold – 2014-17-18-19 – and a spot for the 2020 Tokyo Games at the World Skate Street World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

He was fifth in the semis, but won in the final with two excellent runs of 8.9 and 9.1 points and two high-scoring tricks of 9.7 and 9.3 for a total of 36.9. That was just slightly better than Japan’s Yuto Horigome (36.6).

Brazil’s Pamela Rosa won her first world title in the women’s division, scoring 25.2, well ahead of teammate Rayssa Leal (24.3) and Japan’s defending World Champion, Aori Nishimura (21.6). More here.

| 5. | SHOOTING: Olympic star Hancock and teen Smith win Skeet Fall Selection and lead Olympic Trials

USA Shooting uses a lengthy process to select its Olympic participants and the Fall Selection meet concluded the first half of the program for Skeet.

Following up on the Trap finals held the week before, the competition in Kerrville, Texas saw four days of action, with 75-50-75-50 targets each day, with the top six advancing to an ISSF-style elimination finals.

The men’s event was led by country singer – and ace shooter – Colt McBee, who had a one-point lead over twice-Olympic champ Vincent Hancock. But McBee was quickly eliminated in the finals and with three points for the win, Hancock now leads into the second stage by 248-247-246 over Phillip Jungman and McBee.

The women’s program saw 2019 national champion Austen Smith – still just 188 – confirm her role as a major contender for 2020 by winning the four-day trial with 243 points. She trailed 2017 World Champion Dania Vizzi (241) after the first 250 targets, but Smith won the elimination finals over six-time Olympic medalist Kim Rhode to finish ahead, 243-241-240-239 over Vizzi, Samantha Simonton and Rhode.

The second half of the Trials will come in February. More here.

| 6. | GYMNASTICS: Total domination – as usual – by Russia in Rhythmic World Championships

Coming into the 2019 FIG Rhythmic Worlds in Baku (AZE), Russia’s domination of the event was so deep that it had won 48 of the last 50 individual events in the prior 10 championships from 2005-17.

Nothing changed.

Russians won all five individual events again, with Dina Averina (pictured) winning her third straight All-Around title, as well as the Ball, Clubs and Ribbon. Teammate Ekaterina Selezneva won in Hoop.

Just behind them was Israel’s Linoy Ashram, who joined Averina in winning five individual medals, with silvers in Hoop, Clubs and Ribbon and a bronze in the All-Around and Ball.

Russia also won the team title, with Israel second, and four athletes – Averina and sister Arina Averina, Selezneva and Ashram – won 16 of the 18 individual and team medals available. More here.

Simone Biles won the All-Around at the USA Gymnastics women’s Team Selection Camp in Sararota, Florida and qualified automatically for the U.S. team for the 2019 FIG World Championships.

Biles scored 58.550 and won the Vault and Floor events to finish ahead of Sunisa Lee (58.200) and Kara Eaker (57.100).  The rest of the women’s team for the Worlds will be announced on Monday. More here.

In the FIG Trampoline & Tumbling World Cup in Khabarovsk (RUS), Americans Jeffrey Gluckstein and Aliasei Shostak won the Synchronized Trampoline event for their first-ever World Cup golds. The pair had won World Cup bronzes together back in 2015 and 2016. More here.

| 7. | BOXING: AIBA men’s Worlds conclude with ex-USSR winners in seven of eight classes

The strange 2019 AIBA men’s World Championships in Yekaterinburg (RUS) concluded last Saturday with Russia and Uzbekistan winning three titles each and Kazakhstan one, all with first-time World Champions.

The only repeat winner was Cuba’s Andy Cruz, who defeated American Keyshawn Davis at 63 kg. It was Cuba’s only gold in a tournament where they were big favorites, but won only three medals. Davis’s silver was the only American medal and the U.S. had only one other quarterfinalist.

Perhaps the most stunning result was Kazak Bakzad Nurdauletov’s victory at 81 kg. He defeated Cuba’s Julio Cesar La Cruz in the semifinals, denying the Cuban and fifth World Championships gold. Kazakhstan actually led the medal table with six (1-1-4).

Because AIBA has been suspended by the IOC, there was no Olympic qualifying from the World Championships; the Tokyo entries will be determined by a series of regional tournaments early in 2020. More here.

| 8. | JUDO: Tushishvili wins in Tashkent; Rio star Rafaela Silva caught for doping

The IJF World Tour was in Uzbekistan for the Tashkent Grand Prix, with Russia winning five weight classes for top honors. The lone top-ranked judoka in the field was Georgia’s 2018 World +100 kg Champion Guram Tushishvili, who won his division. More here.

Off the field, Brazil’s iconic Rio 57 kg Olympic champ Rafaela Silva announced last Friday that she had tested positive during the Pan American Games for a banned substance. “I am clean and I will continue to train and fight to prove my innocence,” she said. “I tested positive for fenoterol … but I did not use this substance, I am not asthmatic.”

She passed a second test on 29 August and has not been suspended as yet. She promises an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

| 9. | COMING ATTRACTIONS: World Champs continue in cycling and weightlifting, start in track and canoeing

A busy week in this “World Championships” season, with four on tap this week:

● Weightlifting in Pattaya (THA): through 27 September
● Road Cycling in Yorkshire (GBR): through 29 September
● Canoe Slalom in La Seu d’Urgell (ESP) from 25-29 September
● Athletics in Doha (QAT): from 28 September to 6 October

Also on this week’s schedule is the annual Berlin Marathon on Sunday. Normally, a race of this magnitude would never be scheduled during the IAAF Worlds, but this is another unintended consequence of the late scheduling of the event in Qatar.

GYMNASTICS: Gluckstein & Shostak win World Cup Synchro Trampoline in Russia!

By
Rich Perelman
-
World Cup winners: Jeffrey Gluckstein (l) and Aliaksei Shostak (Photo: USA Gymnastics)

No surprise that China’s three-time World Champion Lei Gao won the individual Trampoline title at the FIG Trampoline & Tumbling World Cup in Khabarovsk (RUS), but it was a first-time experience for the American Synchro team of Jeffrey Gluckstein and Aliaksei Shostak.

National champ Gluckstein and Shostak teamed up for a narrow 52.540-52.070 win over the Belarus pair of Uladzislau Hancharou and Aleh Rabtsau, the 2017 World Champions. Gluckstein and Shostak had won Synchro bronzes together in 2015 and 2016 World Cup events, but the victory was a first.

Gao defeated Hancharou, 61.895-61.860 in the men’s individual competition, while 2019 World Champs bronze medalist Yana Pavlova (RUS) won the women’s event, 56.600-56.550 over Japan’s Hikaru Mori. Summaries:

FIG Trampoline World Cup
Khabarovsk (RUS) ~ 19-22 September 2019
(Full results here)

Men

Trampoline: 1. Lei Gao (CHN), 61.895; 2. Uladzislau Hancharou (BLR), 61.860; 3. Nikita Fedorenko (RUS), 61.020.

Synchro Trampoline: 1. Jeffrey Gluckstein/Aliaksei Shostak (USA), 52.540; 2. Uladzislau Hancharou/Aleh Rabtsau (BLR), 52.070; 3. Daiki Kishi/Ryosuke Sakai (JPN), 50.790.

Double Mini: 1. Mikhail Zalomin (RUS), 78.100; 2. Diogo Carvalho Costa (POR), 73.700; 3. Aleksandr Odintsov (RUS), 72.700.

Tumbling: 1. Mikhail Malkin (AZE), 76.300; 2. Maksim Riabikov (RUS), 72.300; 3. Maxim Shlyakin (RUS), 71.700.

Women

Trampoline: 1. Yana Pavlova (RUS), 56.600; 2. Hikaru Mori (JPN), 56.550; 3. Lingling Liu (CHN), 55.785.

Synchro Trampoline: 1. Ayano Kishi/Yumi Takagi (JPN), 49.240; 2. Lauren Sampson/Jessica Pickering (AUS), 48.450; 3. Lea Labrousse/Marine Jurbert (FRA), 47.890.

Double Mini: 1. Lina Sjoeberg (SWE), 71.600; 2. Aleksandra Bonartseva (RUS), 69.900; 3. Bronwyn Dibb (NZL), 69.400.

Tumbling: 1. Fangfang Jia (CHN), 71.000; 2. Viktoriia Danilenko (RUS), 69.300; 3. Elena Krasnokutckaia (RUS), 67.600.

LANE ONE: Here we go again – Russia could be suspended after evidence of doping data manipulation!

By
Rich Perelman
-

Last week was a great one for Russian sport … until the news began leaking out about a possible calamity.

Russia hosted the men’s World Boxing Championships and won three of the eight weight classes, dominated – as usual – the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, taking all five individual events and the team title, and then finishing off a brilliant World Wrestling Championships with nine golds, including five wins in the men’s Freestyle division.

But Hajo Seppelt, head of the German ARD television team that helped break the Russian doping scandal wide open back in December 2014, tweeted late Friday that the World Anti-Doping Agency suspects that Russian authorities may have “manipulated” the long-sought data bank from the Moscow Laboratory where the 2011-15 national doping scheme was managed:

Seppelt further tweeted on Sunday concerning a report from the Danish agency SportsPressen that Michael Ask (DEN), the chair of the 67-member Institute of National Anti-Doping Organizations (iNADO), had been told by WADA that the Russians had been asked – within three weeks – to “explain the inconsistencies.”

In the SportsPressen story, Ask states (per Google Translate):

“I was informed by WADA about the case last Friday, where I was told that the agency has initiated a process which means that Russia has now been given three weeks to answer WADA’s questions about the inaccuracies in the Russian doping data provided, which the agency’s data experts have found. …

“I do not want to finally decide on the possible consequences at this time. But of course, WADA should of course exclude RUSADA again. And maybe one should also punish the country as a whole and not just the national anti-doping agency.

“Of course, even though the doped Russian athletes themselves have a responsibility and must be punished for cheating their pure competitors, in this case there is also a responsibility in Russia’s political system. But the pendulum also points back to the IOC, which in its time was opposed to punishing Russia collectively.”

Conveniently, a WADA Executive Committee meeting will be held in Tokyo (JPN) on Monday (23rd), followed by another on 4 November. The process for monitoring the Russian situation starts with WADA’s Compliance Review Committee, the group that controversially recommended Russia’s reinstatement back in September 2018, which will then forward any comments or suggestions to the Executive Committee.

What now?

The only thing that is sure is that the process will be deliberate. What is helpful is that the relevant regulatory bodies are all in motion and meeting soon:

● 23 September ~ WADA Executive Board in Tokyo (JPN)
● 02-04 October ~ IOC Executive Board in Lausanne (SUI)
● 30 Oct.-1 Nov. ~ IOC Coordination Commission meeting in Tokyo (JPN)
● 04 November ~ WADA Executive Board in Katowice (POL)
● 03-04 December ~ IOC Executive Board in Lausanne (SUI)

So, the three-week period for a response from Russia will end about 8th of October, leaving plenty of time for the issue to be reviewed and resolved and acted upon by both WADA and the International Olympic Committee with regards to the 2020 Tokyo Games.

While WADA will do the heavy lifting, all eyes will be on the International Olympic Committee, which has had a decided lean toward Russia:

● 2016 Olympic Games: On 18 July, the World Anti-Doping Agency released the first edition of the McLaren Report, which described in detail the doping scheme used by Russia to maintain the eligibility of its athletes from 2011-15. WADA suspended Russia, but on 24 July – just 12 days prior to the start of the Rio Games – the IOC decided to allow Russian competitors at the Games with eligibility to be decided by the International Federations. Of a total of 389 athletes submitted, 278 were allow to compete.

● 2018 Winter Games: Russia was suspended by the IOC and a procedure set up to allow “neutral” athletes from Russia to compete. The sanction was announced on 5 December 2017 and the Winter Games started on 9 February, 66 days later. A total of 168 Russian athletes were allowed to compete.

The difference now is that the issue has popped up well in advance: the Tokyo 2020 Games won’t start until 24 July.

The recently-released WADA Annual Report noted that “The significant progress that has been made in relation to the retrieving by WADA of the data and samples from the Moscow Laboratory would not have happened without the September 2018 ExCo decision. Time has shown it was the right decision for the good of athletes and clean sport.”

Now those who made this decision will face the same strategic questions as before:

(1) Should Russia be suspended as non-compliant once again?

(2) What about the much-praised current status of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, directed by Yury Ganus?

(3) Even if WADA suspends Russia again, will the IOC fo9llow and what of the international federations, almost all of whom – excepting athletics and weightlifting – allowed Russia to compete en masse in 2016?

(4) The International Paralympic Committee banned Russia en toto for its 2016 Games and 2018 Winter Games; what will its stance be for Tokyo?

Along with the IPC – which did not reinstate Russia until 15 March of this year – the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has been the toughest on Russia and continues to hold the Russian Athletics Federation on suspension. The IAAF will meet in advance of its World Championships in Doha (QAT) this week and is not expected to reinstate Russia, especially with the additional news from last Friday.

All of this comes against the background of continuing scrutiny of 298 athletes identified by WADA as having “suspicious data,” with the evidence sent on 2 July to the relevant international federations for their follow-up. What about that data?

It’s a mess. There are no winners here, only losers, but no one knows who the losers will be yet, since the extent of the data “manipulation” has not been defined.

But it’s a headache that WADA, the IOC and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency did not want. But we have it and now it has to be dealt with. The Olympic Movement appeared to be past this damaging chapter in its history, but now must agree with the famous line spoken by Al Pacino, as Michael Corleone in “The Godfather: Part III” (1990):

“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”

Rich Perelman
Editor

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BADMINTON: Marin returns with win over Tai in China Open in Changzhou

By
Rich Perelman
-
Rio Olympic champion Carolina Marin (ESP)

Rio Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain tore her anterior cruciate ligament in January.

On Sunday, she faced no. 4-ranked Tzu Ying Tai (TPE) in the finals of the China Open and promptly lost the first set, 21-14. But that didn’t stop her and she returned in style, winning the last two sets by 21-17 and 21-18 for the 2-1 win.

“I cannot describe my feelings right now because I’m so happy,” said Marin. “There was some frustration with myself in the first game. I tried to keep calm. I had to be patient and find the good length on the shuttle. But the most important thing is I could fight until the end. I just waited until she made mistakes. I just wanted to play some long rallies because I knew this match was going to be really tough. She has good strokes, she has so much deception that I had to be careful.”

No. 1-ranked Kento Momota (JPN) continued to impress, winning his fifth tournament of the season with a come-from-behind, 19-21, 21-17, 21-19 win over Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting.

The no. 1-ranked men’s and Mixed Doubles teams both won: Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (INA) and Siwei Zhend and Yaqiong Huang (CHN), respectively. China’s Qingchen Chen and Yifan Jia, ranked nl. 4, pulled off a minor upset by defeating no. 3 Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi of Japan in straight sets. Summaries:

BWF World Tour/China Open
Changzhou (CHN) ~ 17-22 September 2019
(Full results here)

Men/Singles: 1. Kento Momota (JPN); 2. Anthony Ginting (INA); 3. Long Chen (CHN) and Anders Antonsen (DEN). Final: Momota d. Ginting, 19-21, 21-17, 21-19.

Men/Doubles: 1. Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (INA); 2. Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan (INA); 3. Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Ardianto (INA) and Junhui Li/Yuchen Liu (CHN). Final: Gideon/Sukamuljo d. Ahsan/Setiawan, 21-18, 17-21, 21-15.

Women/Singles: 1. Carolina Marin (ESP); 2. Tzu Ying Tai (TPE); 3. Yufei Chen (CHN) and Sayaka Takahashi (JPN). Final: Marin d. Tai, 14-21, 21-17, 21-18.

Women/Doubles: 1. Qingchen Chen/Yifan Jia (CHN); 2. Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi (JPN); 3. Ye Na Chang/Hye Rin Kim (KOR) and Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota (JPN). Final: Chen/Jia d. Matsutomo/Takahashi, 21-14, 21-18.

Mixed Doubles: 1. Siwei Zheng/Yaqiong Huang (CHN); 2. Yilyu Wang/Dongping Huang (CHN); 3. Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai (THA) and Seung Jae Seo/Yujung Chae (KOR). Final: Zheng/Huang d. Wang/Huang, 21-17, 13-21, 21-16.

JUDO: Russia best in Tashkent Grand Prix; no. 1 Tushishvili wins at +100 kg

By
Rich Perelman
-
Tashkent +100 kg winner Guram Tushishvili of Georgia (Photo: IJF)

Coming so soon after the IJF World Championships, a modest field showed up for the Tashkent Grand Prix, with Russia claiming seven medals (5-2-0) for top honors. The hosts from Uzbekistan had a good showing, also with seven medals, but with two golds (2-3-2).

The lone no. 1-ranked fighter in the field, Georgia’s Guram Tushishvili (+100 kg World Champion in 2018), won his division, defeating Belmurod Oltiboev (UZB) by ippon in the final. Summaries:

IJF World Tour/Tashkent Grand Prix
Tashkent (UZB) ~ 20-22 September 2019
(Full results here)

Men

60 kg: 1. Yago Abuladze (RUS); 2. Genki Koga (JPN); 3. Diyorbek Urozboev (UZB) and Yung Wei Yang (TPE).

66 kg: 1. Yakub Shamilov (RUS); 2. Yuji Aida (JPN) and Sardor Nurillaev (UZB) and Mohamed Abdelmawgoud (EGY).

73 kg: 1. Khikmatillokh Turaev (UZB); 2. Behruzi Khojazoda (TJK); 3. Bilal Clioglu (TUR) and Magdiel Estrada (CUB).

81 kg: 1. Sharofuddin Boltaboev (UZB); 2. Kamoliddin Rasulov (UZB); 3. Shamil Borchashvili (AUT) and Sami Chouchi (BEL).

90 kg: 1. Marcus Nyman (SWE); 2. Khusen Khalmurzaev (RUS); 3. Mashu Baker (JPN) and Peter Zilka (SVK).

100 kg: 1. Kazbek Zankishiev (RUS); 2. Zelym Kotsoiev (AZE); 3. Daniel Mukete (BLR) and Mikita Sviryd (BLR).

+100 kg: 1. Guram Tushishvili (GEO); 2. Belmurod Oltiboev (UZB); 3. Yakiv Khammo (UKR) and Alisher Yusupov (UZB).

Women

48 kg: 1. Sabina Giliazova (RUS); 2. Leyla Aliyeva (AZE); 3. Melodie Vaugarny (FRA) and Maryna Cherniak (UKR).

52 kg: 1. Bokyeong Jeong (KOR); 2. Khorloodoi Bishrelt (MGL); 3. Soumiya Iraoui (MAR) and Gefen Timo (ISR).

57 kg: 1. Hedvig Karakas (HUN); 2. Ivelina Ilieva (BUL); 3. Jandi Kim (KOR) and Youjeong Kwon (KOR).

63 kg: 1. Kathrin Unterwurzacher (AUT); 2. Anriquelis (VEN); 3. Lucy Renshall (GBR) and Inbal Shemesh (ISR).

70 kg: 1. Elisavet Teltsidou (GRE); 2. Gulnoza Matniyazova (UZB); 3. Hilde Jager (NED) and Elvismar Rodriguez (VEN).

78 kg: 1. Bernadette Graf (AUT); 2. Antonina Shmeleva (RUS); 3. Karla Prodan (CRO) and Natalie Powell (GBR).

+78 kg: 1. Kseniia Chibisova (RUS); 2. Hayun Kim (KOR); 3. Sarah Adlington (GBR) and Milica Zabic (SRB).

SKATEBOARD: Huston wins fourth World title and qualifies for Tokyo in Street Worlds

By
Rich Perelman
-
World Champion (again): American Nyjah Huston (Photo: Monster Energy)

American Nyjah Huston showed once again that he is the man to beat in Street with a four World Championships triumph in the World Skate Street World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

He’s now won in 2014-17-18-19 and clinched a qualifying spot for the 2020 Tokyo Games, as did all of the medal winners.

Huston was only fifth in the semifinal (34.8), won by fellow American Dashawn Jordan (35.5). But in the final, he scored 8.9 and 9.1 on his two runs and his two best tricks scored 9.7 and 9.3 for a total of 36.9 points and a tight win over Japan’s Yuto Horigome (36.6).

The best score for any run went to Japan’s Yukito Aoki (9.2), who finished sixth; Jordan couldn’t duplicate his semifinal success and finished last at 23.4.

In the women’s division, Brazil’s Pamela Rosa has been the best on tour this season and she won again, taking her first world title at 25.2, well ahead of teammate Rayssa Leal (24.3) and Japan’s defending World Champion, Aori Nishimura (21.6).

Rosa’s two runs scored poorly – 2.8 and 1.2 – but her four tricks were winners, earning 7.8, 6.3, 6.0 and 5.1 for a 25.2 total. Leal had the best women’s run in the final at 5.0.

Most of the contestants for Tokyo will be selected from the World Skate rankings as of next June. Summaries:

World Skate Street World Championship
Sao Paulo (BRA) ~ 16-22 September 2019
(Full results here)

Men/ Final: 1. Nyjah Huston (USA), 36.9; 2. Yuto Horigome (JPN), 36.6; 3. Gustavo Ribeiro (POR), 36.2; 4. Kelvin Hoefler (BRA), 36.0; 5. Jamie Foy (USA), 34.8; 6. Yukito Aoki (JPN), 33.6; 7. Angelo Caro (PER), 31.8; 8. Dashawn Jordan (USA), 23.4.

Women/ Final: 1. Pamela Rosa (BRA), 25.2; 2. Rayssa Leal (BRA), 24.3; 3. Aori Nishimura (JPN), 21.6; 4. Candy Jacobs (NED), 16.2; 5. Mariah Duran (USA), 15.5; 6. Gabriela Mazetto (BRA), 14.9; 7. Alexis Sablone (USA), 9.6; 8. Yumeka Oda (JPN), 8.7.

WEIGHTLIFTING: China dominating World Champs with seven wins in first 10 classes!

By
Rich Perelman
-
China's Olympic and World Champion lifter Wei Deng.

The 2019 World Championships in Thailand has been marked with a tidal wave of Chinese wins and world records as the meet reached the halfway mark on Sunday.

Chinese lifters won seven gold medals in the 20 events of the 2018 Worlds in Turkmenistan, but have equaled that feat in just the first 10 classes in 2019. No one has won more than seven since 1997, when the Chinese won 10 golds (in 19 classes) at another Worlds in Thailand, in Chiang Mai!

The world record lists have also been taking a beating, with new records for the total amount of the combined lifts set in four of five men’s classes and three of five women’s classes:

Men:
● 55 kg: 294 kg (~648 lbs.) by Yun-Chol Om (PRK) ~ fifth Worlds gold
● 61 kg: 318 kg (~701 lbs.) by Fabin Li (CHN)
● 67 kg: 361 kg (~796 lbs.) by Zhiyong Shi (CHN) ~ third Worlds gold
● 73 kg: 378 kg (~833 lbs.) by Xiaojun Lu (CHN) ~ fifth Worlds gold

Women:
● 49 kg: 212 kg (~467 lbs.) ~ Huihua Jiang (CHN) ~ second Worlds gold
● 58 kg: 246 kg (~542 lbs.) ~ Hsing Chun Kuo (TPE) ~ fourth Worlds gold
● 64 kg: 261 kg (~575 lbs.) ~ Wei Deng (CHN) ~ fifth Worlds gold

Deng was especially impressive, setting world marks in her class for all three lifts: Snatch 116 kg/~256 lbs.), Clean & Jerk (145 kg/~320 lbs.) and the total.

The meet continues through the 27th. Summaries so far:

IWF World Championships
Pattaya (THA) ~ 18-27 September 2019
(Full results here)

Men

55 kg: 1. Yun Chol Om (PRK), 294 kg (World Record; new weight class: 2. Igor Son (KAZ), 266 kg; 3. Mansour Al Saleem (KSA), 265 kg; 4. Tran Nguyen (VIE), 263 kg; 5. Arli Chotney (KAZ), 263 kg; 6. John Ceniza (PHI), 262 kg; 7. Hafez Ghashghaei (IRI), 260 kg; 8. Surahmat Wijoyo (INA), 250 kg.

61 kg: 1. Fabin Li (CHN), 318 kg (World Record; old, 317 kg, Eko Yuki Irawan (INA), 2017); 2. Eko Yuli Irawan (INA), 306 kg; 3. Francisco Mosquera (COL), 302 kg; 4. Kim Tuan Thach (VIE), 296 kg; 5. Jhon Serna (COL), 295 kg; 6. Yoichi Itokazu (JPN), 293 kg; 7. Shota Mishvelidze (GEO), 287 kg; 8. Aznil Muhamad (MS), 285 kg.

67 kg: 1. Lijun Chen (CHN), 337 kg: 2. Lyudong Feng (CHN), 333 kg; 3. Jong Ju Pak (PRK), 330 kg; 4. Adkhamjon Ergashev (UZB), 328 kg; 5. Luis Mosquera (COL), 320 kg; 6. Mitsunori Konnai (JPN), 317 kg; 7. Daniyar Ismayilov (TUIR), 316 kg; 8. Henadz Laptseu (BLR), 313 kg. Also: 23. Alex Lee (USA), 295 kg; … 27. Jordan Wissinger (USA), 283 kg.

73 kg: 1. Zhiyong Shi (CHN), 363 kg (World Record; old, 362 kg, Shi, 2019); 2. Kang Chol O (PRK), 347 kg; 3. Bozhidar Andreev (BUL), 346 kg; 4. Vadzim Likharad (BLR), 338 kg; 5. Briken Calja (ALB), 337 kg; 6. Julio Mayora (VEN), 337 kg; 7. Joohyo Bak (KOR), 337 kg; 8. Jeongsik Won (KOR), 336 kg. Also: 9. Clarence Cummings Jr. (USA), 333 kg.

81 kg: 1. Xiaojun Lyu (CHN), 378 kg (World Record; old, 375 kg, Dayin Li (CHN), 2019): 2. Dayin Li (CHN), 377 kg; 3. Brayan Rodallegas (COL), 363 kg; 4. Rejepbay Rejepov (TKM), 363 kg; 5. Yunder Beytula (BUL), 358 kg; 6. Antonino Pizzolato (ITA), 358 kg; 7. Andres Mata (ESP), 356 kg; 8. Zacarias Bonnat (DOM), 355 kg. Also: 9. Harrison Maurus (USA), 350 kg; … 23. Christian Rodriguez (USA), 327 kg.

Women

45 kg: 1. Saziye Erdogan (TUR), 169 kg; 2. Ludia Montero (CUB), 167 kg; 3. Lisa Setiawati (INA), 165 kg; 4. Thi Vuong (VIE), 164 kg; 5. My Phuong Khong (VIE), 161 kg; 6. Rosielis Quintana (VEN), 157 kg; 7. Mary Flor Diaz (PHI), 156 kg; 8. Rosina Randafiarison (MAD), 155 kg.

48 kg: 1. Huihua Jiang (CHN), 212 kg (World Record; old, 210 kg, Zuihui Hou (CHN), 2019); 2. Zhihui Hou (CHN), 211 kg; 3. Song Gum Ri (PRK), 204 kg; 4. Chanu Mirabai (IND), 201 kg; 5. Ana Segura (COL), 188 kg; 6. Kristina Sobol (RUS), 187 kg; 7. Beatriz Piron (DOM), 187 kg; 8. Morghan King (USA), 183 kg. Also: 13. Alyssa Ritchey (USA), 178 kg.

55 kg: 1. Qiuyun Liao (CHN), 227 kg; 2. Wanqiong Zhang (CHN), 222 kg; 3. Hidilyn Diaz (PHI), 214 kg; 4. Zulfiya Chinshanlo (KAZ), 213 kg; 5. Yenny Sinisterra (COL), 210 kg; 6. Muattar Nabieva (UZB), 209 kg; 7. Ana Lopez (MEX), 202 kg; 8. Rachel Leblanc (CAN), 201 kg. Also: 9. Jourdan Delacruz (USA), 200 kg.

59 kg: 1. Hsing-Chun Kuo (TPE), 246 kg (World Record; old, 243 kg, Kuo, 2019); 2. Hyo Sim Choe (PRK), 245 kg; 3. Guiming Chen (CHN), 233 kg; 4. Rosive Silgado (COL), 222 kg; 5. Mikiko Andoh (JPN), 222 kg; 6. Zoe Smith (GBR), 216 kg; 7. Yusleidy Figueroa (VEN), 215 kg; 8. Rebeka Koha (LAT), 215 kg. Also: 16. Hunter Elam (USA), 200 kg; … 20. Jessica Lucero (USA), 191 kg.

64 kg: 1. Wei Deng (CHN), 261 kg (World Record; old, 257 kg, Deng, 2019); 2. Un Sim Rim (PRK), 251 kg; 3. Loredana-Elena Toma (ROU), 240 kg; 4. Mercedes Perez (COL), 238 kg; 5. Irina-Lacramoiara Lepsa (ROU), 235 kg; 6. Maude Charron (CAN), 230 kg; 7. Nathalia Llamosa (COL), 222 kg; 8. Sarah Davies (GBR), 222 kg.

WRESTLING: Dake repeats at 79 kg, Snyder takes 97 kg bronze as six champs repeat at Worlds

By
Rich Perelman
-
World Champion again: Kyle Dake (USA) wins second straight world title at 79 kg

The UWW World Championships concluded in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, with Russia finishing off one of its best tournaments ever and six of the 2018 gold medalists repeating in their weight classes.

Russians won five of the 10 classes, picked up one silver and three bronze medals on the way to the men’s Freestyle team title. On Sunday, Abdulrashid Sadulaev claimed his second consecutive world title at 97 kg, becoming the sixth successful defender in 2019:

● 57 kg: Zavur Uguev (RUS)
● 74 kg: Zaurbek Sidakov (RUS)
● 79 kg: Kyle Dake (USA)
● 92 kg: J’Den Cox (USA)
● 97 kg: Abdulrashid Sadulaev (RUS)
● 125 kg: Geno Petriashvili (GEO)

Dake won his second straight 79 kg title by defeating Jabrayil Hasanov (AZE) in a 2018 re-match by 4-2. It’s a non-Olympic weight class, so Dake will have to decide whether to try for the 74 kg class or go up in weight to 86 kg to try for the 2020 Olympic Games.

There were two 2017 champions who won again, with heavyweight Geno Petriashvili (GEO) claiming his third straight title at 125 kg. Iran’s Hassan Yazdani won his second title at 86 kg.

The 2019 Worlds qualified the top six in each Olympic class for the 2020 Games; there will be regional tournaments in February and March of 2020 for most of the places in the tournaments. Men’s Freestyle summaries:

United World Wrestling World Championships
Nur-Sultan (KAZ) ~ 14-22 September 2019
(Full results here)

Men/Freestyle

57 kg: Gold: Zavur Uguev (RUS) d. Suleyman Atli (TUR), 13-3. Bronze: Kumar Ravi (IND) d. Reza Atrinagharchi (IRI), 6-3; Nurislam Sanayev (KAZ) d. Stevan Micic (SRB), 4-3.

61 kg: Gold: Beka Lomtadze (GEO) d. Magomedrasul Idrisov (RUS), 6-1. Bronze: Rahul Balasaheb Aware (IND) d. Tyler Graff (USA), 11-4; Behnam Ehsanpoor (IRI) d. Abbos Rakhmonov (UZB), 8-0.

65 kg: Gold: Gadzhimurad Rashidov (RUS) d. Daulet Niyazbekov (KAZ), 11-0. Bronze: Iszmail Muszukajev (HUN) d. Takuto Otoguro (JPN), 5-3; Bajrang Bajrang (IND) d. Tulga Ochir (MGL), 8-7.

70 kg: Gold: David Baev (RUS) d. Nurkozha Kaipanov (KAZ), 14-2; Bronze: Yones Aliakbar Emamichoghaei (IRI) d. Nicolae Cojocaru (GBR), 8-0; Magomedmurad Gadzhiev (POL) d. Zurabi Iakobishvili (GEO), 3-2.

74 kg: Gold: Zaurbek Sidakov (RUS) d. Frank Chamizo (ITA), 5-2. Bronze: Jordan Burroughs (USA) d. Mao Okui (JPN), 10-0; Zelimkhan Khadjiev (FRA) d. Daniyar Kaisanov (KAZ) , 4-3

79 kg: Gold: Kyle Dake (USA) d. Jabrayil Hasanov (AZE), 4-2. Bronze: Taimuraz Salkazanov (SVK) d. Galymzhan Usserbayev (KAZ), 3-2; Gadzhi Nabiev (RUS) d. Rashid Kurbanov (UZB), 8-3.

86 kg: Gold: Hassan Yazdani (IRI) d. Deepak Punia (IND), 0-0 (criteria). Bronze: Artur Naifonov (RUS) d. Myles Amine (SMR), 6-0; Stefan Reichmuth (SUI) d. Carlos Izquierdo (COL), 3-0.

92 kg: Gold: J’Den Cox (USA) d. Ali Karami (IRI), 4-0. Bronze: Alikhan Zhabrailov (RUS) df. Georgii Rubaev (MDA), 3-2; Irakli Mtsituri (GEO) d. Nurgali Nurgaipuly (KAZ), 2-1.

97 kg: Gold: Abdulrashid Sadulaev (RUS) d. Sharif Sharifov (AZE), 4-0. Bronze: Magomedgadji Nurov (MKD) d. Alisher Yergali (KAZ), 8-5; Kyle Snyder (USA) d. Elizbar Odikadze (GEO), 5-0.

125 kg: Gold: Geno Petriashvili (GEO) d. Taha Akgul (TUR). 6-6 (criteria). Bronze: Khasanboy Rakhimov (UZB) df. Zhiwei Deng (CHN), 6-1; Oleksandr Khotsianivskyi (UKR) d. Badzha Khutaba (SYR), 5-1.

Team Leaders: 1. Russia, 190; 2. Kazakhstan, 103; 3. United States, 94; 4. Iran, 93; 5. Georgia, 85; 6. India, 79; 7. Azerbaijan, 50; 8. Uzbekistan, 49; 9. Turkey, 48; 10. Japan, 34.

SHOOTING: Veteran Hancock and teen Smith win Shotgun Fall Selection in Skeet

By
Rich Perelman
-
Two-time Olympic Skeet champ Vincent Hancock

The lengthy process of selecting the U.S. Olympic Team in the Shotgun events started in Kerrville, Texas, with the Skeet events completed on Saturday. This first stage included a surprise on the women’s side.

Competing against six-time Olympic medalist Kim Rhode, 2017 World Champion Dania Vizzi, 2018 World Champion Caitlin Connor and 2018 Worlds bronze medalist, 18-year-old Austen Smith followed up her 2019 national title with the top total score of 243 to lead the women’s field.

Vizzi actually led after the four days and 250 targets of shooting, 241 to 240 for Smith and Samantha Simonton, but then the top six competed in an ISSF-style finals for additional points for the top three (3-2-1).

Smith out-lasted everyone, finally defeating Rhode in the final shoot-out, 56-54, to win the overall title with a score of 243-241 over Vizzi, followed by Simonton (240) and Rhode (239), who is trying to make her seventh Olympic team. The second half of the Trials will come in February.

There was no surprise in the men’s event, with two-time Olympic champ and reigning World Champion Vincent Hancock leading the overall totals with 248 after winning the finals.

Colt McBee, 22, best known as a country singer, was perfect through the first two days of shooting (125-125) and finished at 246. But he was only a point ahead of Hancock and Philip Jungman (245) and in the finals, Hancock out-shot Jungman, 59-57; McBee was the first to be eliminated.

That leaves Hancock as the leader at 248, ahead of Jungman (247) and McBee (246). Summaries:

USA Shooting Shotgun Fall Selection
Kerrville, Texas (USA) ~ 7-21 September 2019
(Full results here)

Men/Skeet: 1. Vincent Hancock, 248; 2. Philip Jungman, 247; 3. Colt McBee, 246; 4. Dustan Taylor, 244; 5. Frank Thompson, 241; 6. Nic Moschetti, 241; 7. Eli Christman, 241; 8. Hayden Stewart, 240.

Men/Skeet ~ Finals: 1. Hancock, 59; 2. Jungman, 57; 3. Taylor, 47; 4. Christman, 36; 5. Moschetti, 26; 6. McBee, 13.

Women/Skeet: 1. Austen Smith, 243; 2. Dania Vizzi, 241; 3. Sam Simonton, 240; 4. Kim Rhode, 239; 5. Caitlin Connor, 236; 6. Amber English, 236; 7. Haley Dunn, 235; 8. Erin Lokke, 226.

Women/Skeet ~ Finals: 1. A. Smith, 56; 2. Rhode, 43; 3. Connor, 40; 4. English, 33; 5. Vizzi, 25; 6. Simonton, 16.

BOXING: Ex-USSR countries win seven of eight titles at AIBA World Championships

By
Rich Perelman
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The only repeat champion from 2017 was Andy Cruz (CUB) at 63 kg. (Photo: AIBA)

The 2019 AIBA World Championships had an unusual feel to it, with the federation on suspension and the results having no impact on qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. But the Russians felt right at home in Yekaterinburg, as did fighters from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan who combined for seven of the eight winners in the Worlds which concluded on Saturday.

Russian fighters won at 69 kg (Andrei Zamkovoi), 75 kg (Gleb Bakshi) and 91 kg (Muslim Gadzhimegomedov), all first-time World Champions. Uzbekistan also had three winners, with Shakhobidin Zoirov taking the 52 kg title, Mirazizbek Mirzakhalilov winning at 57 kg and Bakhodir Jalolov winning at +91 kg, also all first-time winners, although Zoirov won the Rio Olympic tournament in 2016 in the same class.

Mirzakhailov defeated Cuba’s Lazaro Alvarez in the final – 3:2 – denying Alvarez a fourth world title; he now owns five Worlds medals from 2011-19.

But it was Kazakhstan that led the medal table with six (1-1-4), but with only one gold medalist: Bakzad Nurdauletov at 81 kg. But he scored the win of the tournament with his semifinal victory over four-time World Champion Julio Cesar La Cruz of Cuba in the semifinals, winning on four of the five judges’ cards. La Cruz won a bronze medal for his fifth career Worlds podium.

The Cubans, heavily favored coming into the tournament, won only three medals, with the one victory for Andy Cruz at 63 kg. He won his second consecutive title; he won at at 64 kg in 2017, and was the only repeat winner from Hamburg.

The U.S. won one medal, from Keyshawn Davis at 63 kg, who lost to Cruz in the final. That’s down from the 2017 total of three medals, but better than 2015, when the U.S. was shut out. Just as dismal for the U.S. was that only one other fighter made it to the quarterfinal: Richard Torrez in the +91 kg division and he was knocked-out in his quarterfinal by eventual winner Jalolov.

Because AIBA is on suspension, no one qualified from these Worlds to Tokyo for 2020; qualifying will be done in a series of regional tournaments next year. Summaries:

AIBA Men’s World Championships
Yekaterinburg (RUS) ~ 7-21 September 2019
(Full results here)

52 kg: 1. Shakhobidin Zoirov (UZB); 2. Amit Panghal (IND); 3. Saken Bibossinov (KAZ) and Billal Bennama (FRA). Final: Zoirov d. Amit, 5:0.

57 kg: 1. Mirazizbek Mirzakhalilov (UZB); 2. Lazaro Alvarez (CUB); 3. Tsendbaatar Erdenebat (MGL) and Peter McGrail (ENG). Final: Mirzakhailov d. Alvarez, 3:2.

63 kg: 1. Andy Cruz (CUB); 2. Keyshawn Davis (USA); 3. Manish Kaushik (IND) and Hovhannes Backhov (ARM). Final: Cruz d. Davis, 5:0.

69 kg: 1. Andrei Zamkovoi (RUS); 2. Pat McCormack (ENG); 3. Ablaikhan Zhussupov (KAZ) and Bobo-Usmon Baturov (UZB). Final: Zamkovoi d. McCormack, 4:0.

75 kg: 1. Gleb Bakshi (RUS); 2. Eumir Marcial (PHI); 3. Herbert Sousa (BRA) and Tursynbay Kulakhmet (KAZ). Final: Bakshi d. Marcial, 5:0.

81 kg: 1. Bekzad Nurdauletov (KAZ); 2. Dilshodbek Ruzmetov (UZB); 3. Julio La Cruz (CUB) and Benjamin Whittaker (ENG). Final: Nurdauletov d. Ruzmetov, 5:0.

91 kg: 1. Muslim Gadzhimagomedov (RUS); 2. Julio Castillo (ECU); 3. Radoslav Pantaleev (BUL) and Vassiliy Levit (KAZ). Final: Gadzhimagomedov d. Castillo, 5:0.

+91 kg: 1. Bakhodir Jalolov (UZB); 2. Kamshybek Kunkabayev (KAZ); 3. Maksim Babanin (RUS) and Justis Huni (AUS). Final: Jalolov d. Kunkabayev, 5:0.

CYCLING Preview: Roglic looking for more trophies at World Road Champs in Yorkshire

By
Rich Perelman
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Two-time World Time Trial champ Amber Neben (USA) (Photo: Claudio Martino via Wikimedia)

The World Tours are taking a time-out for the annual UCI World Road Race Championships, being held this year in and around Yorkshire, England with a full week of racing planned:

● 22 September: Mixed Team Time Trial (28 km)
● 23 September: Men’s Junior Time Trial (28 km), Women’s Junior Time Trial (14 km)
● 24 September: Men’s U-23 Time Trial (30 km), Women’s Time Trial (30 km)
● 25 September: Men’s Time Trial (54 km)
● 26 September: Men’s Junior Road Race (148 km)
● 27 September: Women’s Junior Road Race (92 km), Men’s U-23 Road Race (192 km)
● 28 September: Women’s Road Race (150 km)
● 29 September: Men’s Road Race (285 km)

The Time Trials on Tuesday and Wednesday follow loop courses and there are strong performers entered in both the men’s and women’s divisions:

Men (54 km):
● Tony Martin (GER) ~ Winner in 2011-12-13-16, second in 2015
● Rohan Dennis (AUS) ~ Winner in 2018
● Primoz Roglic (SLO) ~ Second in 2017
● Jonathan Castroviejo (ESP) ~ Third in 2016
● Victor Campanerts (BEL) ~ Third in 2018

Roglic was just dominant in the Time Trial stages, winning three of the four he has competed in this year, in the Tour de Suisse, at the Giro d’Italia and in La Vuelta a Espana.

The sentimental favorite for a medal is clearly Poland’s Maciej Bodnar, 34, for whom this will be his 13th World Champs Time Trial; he’s finished in the top 10 three times, with a best of fourth in 2016. In addition to the prior medalists, look for Kasper Asgreen (DEN) and Lawson Craddock (USA) as contenders.

Women (30 km):
● Amber Neben (USA) ~ Winner in 2008-16
● Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) ~ Winner in 2017-18
● Lisa Brennauer (GER) ~ Winner in 2014; third in 2015
● Anna van der Breggen (NED) ~ Second in 2015-17-18

Van Vleuten is the World Tour leader and the winner the last two years, Neben has been magical in this race (twice) and Brennauer just won the Individual Time Trial that keyed her victory in the Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta last week. Is this is a “lucky 13th” for Neben? It’s the 13th time she will ride in this race.

With three second-place finishes, van der Breggen wants to win; she is more than capable, having finished fifth and second in the two Time Trial legs of the Giro d’Italia Internationale Femminile in July.

The U.S. two more capable entries in Chloe Dygert-Owen and Leah Thomas, who have finished as high as fourth and fifth in this race, respectively. Stars such as Lucinda Brand (NED) and Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) cannot be counted out as well.

Look for results here.

GYMNASTICS: Dina Averina and Linoy Ashram win six medals each at Rhythmic Worlds

By
Rich Perelman
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Russia's Rhythmic World Champion Dina Averina

The formchart ahead of the 37th FIG World Rhythmic Championships showed that Russia’s Dina Averina would dominate the competition, winning most of the events, chased by teammates Arina Averina and Ekaterina Selezneva and Israel’s Linoy Ashram.

Yes. Exactly.

● Dina Averina won the All-Around for the third straight year and won the Ball for the second consecutive year and Clubs for the third year in a row. She also won her first Worlds gold in Ribbon. She finished third in Hoop.

● Ashram won the All-Around bronze, her third straight Worlds medal in that event, and took medals in all four apparatus finals: silvers in Hoop, Clubs and Ribbon and a bronze in Ball.

● Arina Averina won the All-Around silver and the Ball silver.

● Selezneva won in Hoop and scored a Ribbon bronze.

Add in the team title for the Russians and a silver for Israel, and between these four athletes, 16 of the 18 total medals in the individual and team competitions were accounted for. Further, for Russia, their domination of the Rhythmic Worlds from 2005-19 now includes 53 of the 55 individual golds plus nine straight team titles. Just astonishing.

In terms of Olympic qualification, the top 16 in the All-Around qualified for Tokyo, which included Americans Evita Griskenas (eighth) and Laura Zeng (10th).

In the Group events on Sunday, Japan won in the 5 Balls program, while Russia (without the Averinas or Selezneva) took the 3 Hoops + 2 Clubs competition. Summaries:

FIG Rhythmic World Championships
Baku (AZE) ~ 16-22 September 2019
(Full results here)

All-Around: 1. Dina Averina (RUS), 91.400; 2. Arina Averina (RUS), 91.100; 3. Linoy Ashram (ISR), 89.700; 4. Boryana Kaelyn (BUL), 86.275; 5. Vlada Nicolchenko (UKR), 84.150; 6. Alexandra Agiurgiuculese (ITA), 83.500; 7. Milena Baldassari (ITA), 83.250; 8. Evita Griskenas (USA), 83.000. Also: 10. Laura Zeng (USA), 81.850.

Hoop: 1. Ekaterina Selezneva (RUS), 23.500; 2. Ashram (ISR), 23.400; 3. D. Averina (RUS), 23.350; 4. Nicol Zelikman (ISR), 21.450; 5. Kaleyn (BUL), 21.400; 6. Agiurgiuculese (ITA), 21.350; 7. Katsiaryna Halkina (BLR), 21.000; 8. Anastasiia Salos (BLR), 19.250.

Ball: 1. D. Averina (RUS), 23.500; 2. A. Averina (RUS), 21.050; 3. Ashram (ISR), 22.400; 4. Baldassarri (ITA), 22.200; 5. Kaelyn (BUL), 22.100; 6. Nicolchenko (UKR), 21.450; 7. Zelikman (ISR), 21.450; 8. Griskenas (USA), 20.350.

Clubs: 1. D. Averina (RUS), 23.800; 2. Ashram (ISR), 23.300; 3. Nikolchenko (UKR), 22.350; 4. A. Averina (RUS), 22.050; 5. Agiurgiuculese (ITA), 21.900; 6. Alina Harnasko (BLR), 21.600; 7. Zelikman (ISR), 20.850; 8. Halkina (BLR), 20.800.

Ribbon: 1. D. Averina (RUS), 21.800; 2. Ashram (ISR), 20.750; 3. Selezneva (RUS), 20.650; 4. Nikolchenko (UKR), 20.350; 5. Zeng (USA), 19.300; 6. Harnasko (BLR), 18.800; 7. Salos (BLR), 17.800; 8. Baldassarri (ITA), 16.725.

Team: 1. Russia (D. Averina, A. Averina, Zelezneva), 186.500; 2. Israel (Ashram, Telegina, Voronkov, Zelikman), 174.750; 3. Belarus (Halkina, Harnasko, Salos), 168.550; 4. Italy, 167.000; 5. Ukraine, 166.850; 6. Bulgaria, 164.250; 7. United States (Laura Zeng, Evita Griskenas, Camilla Feeley), 163.150; 8. Japan, 157.475.

Group/5 Balls: 1. Japan, 29.550; 2. Bulgaria, 29.350; 3. Russia, 28.150; 4. Israel, 26.950; 5. China, 26.800; 6. Italy, 25.900; 7. Belarus, 25.800; 8. Ukraine, 24.800.

Group/3 Hoops + 2 Clubs: 1. Russia, 29.450; 2. Japan, 29.400; 3. Italy, 29.200; 4. Belarus, 29.100; 5. Bulgaria, 28.850; 6. Israel, 26.500; 7. Azerbaijan, 26.450; 8. China, 26.250.

WRESTLING: Cox wins Worlds gold at 92 kg, Burroughs has to settle for bronze again, as will Snyder

By
Rich Perelman
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A second world title at 92 kg for American J'Den Cox (Photo: UWW)

Russia continued to dominate the men’s Freestyle competition at the UWW World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, and with one day remaining, could end up winning six of the 10 weight classes.

This is a powerful showing and was exemplified at 74 kg, where reigning World Champion Zaurbeck Sidakov had to defeat four-time World Champion Jordan Burroughs of the U.S. and then two-time World Champion Frank Chamizo of Italy to win his second title.

In the semifinals against Burroughs, Sidakov managed a 2-1 lead with a takedown in the second period, but Burroughs went behind him for a takedown with 45 seconds left for a 3-2 lead. Sidakov launched attack after attack and managed a step-out against Burroughs with three seconds left for a 3-3 tie and since the first criteria is the last person to score, he won the match. The U.S. asked for a review, which was denied and cost a point, so the final was 4-3.

In the final, Sidakov had a 1-0 lead after the first period, then scored a takedown for a 3-1 lead and coasted in for a 5-2 win. This will be one of the most closely-watched divisions on next year’s Tokyo Games.

Burroughs had no trouble winning the bronze medal – his eighth career medal in the Worlds and Olympic Games – with a 10-0 victory over Japan’s Mao Okui.

American J’Den Cox won his second straight title with a 4-0 win over Ali Karami of Iran at 92 kg – a non-Olympic weight – thanks to two first-period takedowns and then a powerful defense that kept the Iranian scoreless.

“I don’t know why, but it feels better,” said Cox, comparing this title to 2018. “It’s a rare thing when people get to go back-to-back. I knew that coming into this, so to be able to do it, I knew the hard work I put in, the sacrifices I made. I wanted to do it better. I came here and didn’t get scored on. Great.”

Cox won his matches by 11-0, 8-0, 3-0 and 4-0 for a total of 26-0.

In the 125 kg division, Georgia’s Geno Petraiashvili made it three titles in a row by defeating Turkey’s 2014-15 World Champion, Taha Atgul (TUR), thanks to a single-leg takedown with eight seconds left for a 6-6 tie and a win on last-to-score criteria.

A much-anticipated rematch between American Kyle Snyder and Russia Andulrashid Sadulaev (RUS) at 97 vanished when Snyder was defeated in his semifinal against Sharif Sharifov (AZE), 5-2. Sadulaev will be a heavy favorite for another title and Snyder will wrestle for the bronze medal.

American Kyle Dake, the reigning World Champion at 79 kg – a non-Olympic weight – is in the final vs. Jabrayil Hasanov (AZE) in a re-match of their title fight in Hungary a year ago.

The Worlds conclude on Sunday; men’s Freestyle summaries so far:

United World Wrestling World Championships
Nur-Sultan (KAZ) ~ 14-22 September 2019
(Full results here)

Men/Freestyle

57 kg: Gold: Zavur Uguev (RUS) d. Suleyman Atli (TUR), 13-3. Bronze: Kumar Ravi (IND) d. Reza Atrinagharchi (IRI), 6-3; Nurislam Sanayev (KAZ) d. Stevan Micic (SRB), 4-3.

65 kg: Gold: Gadzhimurad Rashidov (RUS) d. Daulet Niyazbekov (KAZ), 11-0. Bronze: Iszmail Muszukajev (HUN) d. Takuto Otoguro (JPN), 5-3; Bajrang Bajrang (IND) df. Tulga Ochir (MGL), 8-7.

70 kg: Gold: David Baev (RUS) df. Nurkozha Kaipanov (KAZ), 14-2; Bronze: Yones Aliakbar Emamichoghaei (IRI) d. Nicolae Cojocaru (GBR), 8-0; Magomedmurad Gadzhiev (POL) d. Zurabi Iakobishvili (GEO), 3-2.

74 kg: Gold: Zaurbek Sidakov (RUS) d. Frank Chamizo (ITA), 5-2. Bronze: Jordan Burroughs (USA) d. Mao Okui (JPN), 10-0; Zelimkhan Khadjiev (FRA) d. Daniyar Kaisanov (KAZ) , 4-3

92 kg: Gold: J’Den Cox (USA) d. Ali Karami (IRI), 4-0. Bronze: Alikhan Zhabrailov (RUS) d. Georgii Rubaev (MDA), 3-2; Irakli Mtsituri (GEO) d. Nurgali Nurgaipuly (KAZ), 2-1.

125 kg: Gold: Geno Petriashvili (GEO) d. Taha Akgul (TUR). 6-6 (criteria). Bronze: Khasanboy Rakhimov (UZB) d. Zhiwei Deng (CHN), 6-1; Oleksandr Khotsianivskyi (UKR) d. Badzha Khutaba (SYR), 5-1.

WRESTLING: Mensah storms to Worlds gold at women’s 68 kg; Cox wrestles for gold, Burroughs for bronze

By
Rich Perelman
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World Champion: American Tamyra Mensah wins at 68 kg

She had been dominating her competition in tournament after tournament this year. Now she dominates the world.

American Tamyra Mensah clubbed her way through the 68 kg division at the UWW World Championships in Nur-Sultan (KAZ) and move from a bronze medal in 2018 to the world title in 2019.

She won her preliminary matches by 10-0, 6-1 and 10-1 and then crushed Germany’s Anna Schell in the semis, 10-0. In the final against Sweden’s Anna Fransson, she scored three first-period takedowns for a 6-0 lead, then cruised in for an 8-2 win and the gold medal.

It’s the third gold for the U.S. women, after wins by Jacarra Winchester (55 kg) and Adeline Gray (76 kg). Japan, as usual, won the team title, with 137 points to 108 for Russia and 105 for the U.S.

In the men’s Freestyle division, J’Den Cox of the U.S. will wrestle for a second consecutive gold medal at 92 kg, but four-time World Champion Jordan Burroughs lost a close fight to defending World Champion Zaurbek Sidakov (RUS) in the 74 kg semifinals, 4-3. Burroughs will wrestle for a bronze medal.

The World Championships continue through the weekend in Nur-Sultan. The men’s Freestyle competition will begin on Friday. Summaries so far:

United World Wrestling World Championships
Nur-Sultan (KAZ) ~ 14-22 September 2019
(Full results here)

Men/Freestyle

57 kg: Gold: Zavur Uguev (RUS) d. Suleyman Atli (TUR), 13-3. Bronze: Kumar Ravi (IND) d. Reza Atrinagharchi (IRI), 6-3; Nurislam Sanayev (KAZ) d. Stevan Micic (SRB), 4-3.

65 kg: Gold: Gadzhimurad Rashidov (RUS) d. Daulet Niyazbekov (KAZ), 11-0. Bronze: Iszmail Muszukajev (HUN) d. Takuto Otoguro (JPN), 5-3; Bajrang Bajrang (IND) d. Tulga Ochir (MGL), 8-7.

Men/Greco-Roman

55 kg: Gold: Nugzari Tsurtsumia (GEO) d. Khorlan Zhakansha (KAZ), 9 – 0; Bronze: Shota Ogawa (JPN) d. Liguo Cao (CHN), 11-2; Eldaniz Azizli (AZE) d. Max Nowry (USA), 8-0.

60 kg: Gold: Kenichiro Fumita (JPN) d. Sergey Emelin (RUS), 10-5; Bronze: Ali Reza Nejati (IRI) d. Elmurat Tasmuradov (UZB), 7-5; Mirambek Ainagulov (KAZ) d. Lenur Temirov (UKR), 10-0.

63 kg: Gold: Shinobu Ota (JPN) d. Stepan Maryanyan (RUS), 10-4; Bronze: Almat Kebispayev (KAZ) d. Tynar Sharshenbekov (KGZ), 9-0; Slavik Galstyan (ARM) d. Meysam Karamali Dalkhani (IRI), 7-5.

67 kg: Gold: Ismael Borrero Molina (CUB) d. Artem Surkov (RUS), 3-1; Bronze: Frank Staebler (GER) d. Mohamed El Sayed (EGY), 6-5; Mate Nemes (SRB) d. Fredrik Bjerrehuus (DEN), 10-0.

72 kg: Gold: Abuiazid Mantsigov (RUS) d. Aram Vardanyan (UZB), 9-0. Bronze: Balint Korpasi (HUN) d. Jiyeon Lee (KOR), 9-0; Aik Mnatsakanian (BUL) d. Michael Widmayer (GER), 3-3 (criteria).

77 kg: Gold: Tamas Lorincz (HUN) d. Alex Bjurberg Kessidis (SWE), 8-0; Bronze: Jalgasbay Berdimuratov (UZB) d. Askhat Dilmukhamedov (KAZ), 3-1; Mohammadali Geraei (IRI) d. Karapet Chalyan (ARM), 9-6.

82 kg: Gold: Lasha Gobadze (GEO) d. Rafig Huseynov (AZE), 5-3; Bronze: Saeid Morad Abdvali (IRI) d. Iurii Shkriuba (UKR), 7-0; Haitao Qian (CHN) d. Nurbek Khashimbekov (UZB), 4-4.

87 kg: Gold: Zhan Beleniuk (UKR) d. Viktor Lorincz (HUN), 2-1. Bronze: Rustam Assakalov (UZB) d. Atabek Azisbekov (KGZ), 6-2; Denis Kudle (GER) d. Mikalai Stadub (BLR), 2-1.

97 kg: Gold: Musa Evloev (RUS) d. Artur Aleksanyan (ARM), 0-0 (criteria); Bronze: Cenk Ildem (TUR) d. Giorgi Melia (GEO), 4-1; Mihail Kajaia (SRB) d. Tadeusz Michalik (POL), 9-1.

130 kg: Gold: Riza Kayaalp (TUR) d. Oscar Pino Hinds (CUB), 3-1. Bronze: Iakobi Kajaia (GEO) d. Eduard Popp (GER), 5-0; Heiki Nabi (EST) d. Amir Ghasemimonjezi (IRI), 8-0.

Team Leaders: 1. Russia, 132; 2. Uzbekistan, 80; 3. Georgia, 79; 4. Iran, 75; 5. Kazakhstan. 72. Also: 20. United States, 18.

Women/Freestyle

50 kg: Gold: Mariya Stadnik (AZE) d. Emilia Vuc (ROU), 13-0. Bronze: Ekaterina Poleshchuk (RUS) d. Yanan Sun(CHN), 9-9 (criteria); Valentina Islamova Brik (KAZ) d. Oksana Livach (UKR), 5-0.

53 kg: Gold: Yong Mi Pak (PRK) d. Mayu Mukaida (JPN), 12-1. Bronze: Qianyu Pang (CHN) d. Roksana Marta Zasina (POL), 0-0 (criteria); Vinesh Vinesh (IND) d. Maria Prevolaraki (GRE), 4-1.

55 kg: Gold: Jacarra Winchester (USA) d. Nanami Irie (JPN), 5-3. Bronze: Bolortuya Bat Ochir (MGL) d. Bediha Gun (TUR), 12-9; Olga Khoroshavtseva (RUS) d. Marina Sedneva (KAZ), 13-0.

57 kg: Gold: Risako Kawai (JPN) d. Ningning Rong (CHN), 9-6. Bronze: Odunayo Adekuoroye (NGR) d. Anastasia Nichita (MDA), 10-0; Iryna Kurachkina (BLR) d. Jowita Wrzesien (POL), 4-0.

59 kg: Gold: Linda Morais (CAN) d. Liubov Ovcharova (RUS), 6-3; Bronze: Shoovdor Baatarjav (MGL) d. Anhelina Lysak (UKR), 8-0; Xingru Pei (CHN) d. Pooja Dhanda (IND), 5-3.

62 kg: Gold: Aisuluu Tynybekova (KGZ) d. Taybe Yusein (BUL), 5-3. Bronze: Yukako Kawai (JPN) d. Jong Sim Rim (PRK), 12-1; Henna Johansson (SWE) d. Marianna Sastin (HUN), 4-1.

65 kg: Gold: Inna Trazhukova (RUS) d. Iryna Koliadenko (UKR), 13-0. Bronze: Elis Manolova (AZE) d. Yuliana Yaneva (BUL), 3-1; Xiaoqian Wang (CHN) d. Forrest Molinari (USA), 10-0.

68 kg: Gold: Tamyra Mensah (USA) d. Anna Fransson (SWE), 8-2; Bronze: Anna Schell (GER) d. Sara Dosho (JPN), 4-1; Battsetseg Soronzonbold (MGL) df. Alla Cherkasova (UKR), 2-2 (criteria).

72 kg: Gold: Natalia Vorobeva (RUS) d. Alina Berezhna Stadnik Makhynia (UKR), 4-2. Bronze: Paliha Paliha (CHN) d. Victoria Francis (USA), 2-1; Masako Furuichi (JPN) d. Zhamila Bakbergenova (KAZ), 2-0.

76 kg: Gold: Adeline Gray (USA) d. Hiroe Minagawa (JPN), 4-2. Bronze: Aline Rotter Focken (GER) d. Elmira Syzdykova (KAZ), 3-0; Epp Maee (EST) d. Qian Zhou (CHN), 6-4.

Team Leaders: 1. Japan, 137; 2. Russia, 108; 3. United States, 105; 4. China, 102; 5. Ukraine, 92; 6. Kazakhstan, 53; 7. Mongolia, 48; 8. Azerbaijan, 47.

TSX DAILY: WADA report shows steady progress, but Center for SafeSport is overwhelmed; fifth World title for Adeline Gray & FIFA warns Iran

By
Rich Perelman
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Five-time World Champion Adeline Gray of the U.S. (Photo: UWW)

≡ TSX DAILY ~ 20 September 2019 ≡

| 1. |  LANE ONE: World Anti-Doping Agency report shows progress, but SafeSport needs more help right now

Earlier this week, the World Anti-Doping Agency’s annual report for 2018 showed an agency continuing to expand, working steadily to push its anti-doping message, but also to find those cheating and hold them accountable.

In contrast, a story from the Associated Press described the three-year-old U.S. Center for SafeSport as underfunded and dealing with a severely increased flow of abuse complaints and far from enough staff to handle the workload.

These stories are related, as these watchdog agencies are working against chemical and personal abuse in the Olympic athlete community. But as WADA is now 20 and increasingly stable, the Center for SafeSport is struggling as it becomes better known and more and more complaints are received.

● WADA’s Annual Report notes the increased number of doping tests undertaken in 2018, about half of which are now out-of-competition tests. But beyond this is a significant expansion of its investigative team, which opened 118 cases in 2018 and has 11 full-time staff now involved.

Further, WADA compiled compliance reports on all 103 of the International Federations that are members of the Global Assembly of International Sports Federations (GAISF) and reported that almost a third had remedied their outstanding issues. That’s not enough, but it is progress.

There are also very encouraging collaborations going on between countries which need better management of their anti-doping activities and more advanced anti-doping agencies. Ethiopia and Egypt are being assisted by Great Britain; Kenya is being helped by the anti-doping agency of Norway.

The budget continues to expand as well, with 50% being paid by the International Olympic Committee. From a budget of $29.9 million in 2015, some $35.4 million was budgeted for 2018 and the expectations are for $46.6 million by 2022.

Has WADA won the doping fight? No, but it is having a major impact. The International Weightlifting Federation – nearly eliminated from the Olympic Games for 2024 – revealed at its Congress this week that it is spending 40% of its annual budget on anti-doping activities.

● On the other side is the U.S. Center for SafeSport, only formed in 2017, and now awash in new allegations of abuse coming from athletes. From a start-up average of 31 cases a month coming into the Center during its first year, the 2018 average jumped to 131 cases a month and now at an average of 239.

The Associated Press reported that the Center has closed 2,237 cases and has 1,290 still open. With a staff of 37, it is estimated that it would need to double that to keep up with the workload in 2020.

But someone has to pay for this and right now, the Center receives nearly all of its funding from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee ($7.4 million) and the U.S. National Governing Bodies (about $2.1 million). The total budget for 2019 is about $10.5 million, but there is hardly money lying around from either group to give seriously more.

The U.S. government, which does contribute more than $9 million a year to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), contributes very little to the Center for SafeSport. The proposed USOPC reform bill submitted by Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) requires the USOPC to fund the Center to the tune of $20 million a year, but there is not even a companion bill in the U.S. House as of yet.

In the meantime, the Center needs more help and it is not clear where it might come from. WADA and the USADA have gone through this and came out intact and functioning. The Center for SafeSport must now find a way to do the same. More here.

| 2. | WRESTLING: Adeline Gray makes U.S. wrestling history with fifth world title

Up until Thursday, four American wrestlers had won four World Championships gold medals: John Smith (62 kg: 1987-91), Jordan Burroughs (74 kg: 2010-11-15-17), Tricia Saunders (46 kg: 1996-98-99; 50 kg: 1992) and Adeline Gray (67 kg: 2012; 75-76 kg: 2014-15-18).

Now, Gray is all alone.

She won her fifth world title in Nur-Sultan (KAZ) on Thursday evening, defeating Japan’s two-time Worlds bronze medalist, Hiroe Minagawa Suzuki, 4-2, in a bout she controlled much of the way. Devastated by her seventh-place finish in Rio in 2016, she took a year off and came back to win the Worlds gold in 2018 and 2019 and is now the clear favorite for Tokyo in 2020.

The U.S. will get another women’s Freestyle medal on Friday as Tamyra Mensah is into the final at 68 kg against Sweden’s Anna Fransson. More here.

A powerful U.S, men’s Freestyle team will begin its competitions on Friday; three Americans who are already World Champions received the top seeds in their weight classes: Kyle Dake (79 kg), J’Den Cox (92 kg) and Rio Olympic champ Kyle Snyder (97 kg).

In addition, Burroughs will try to tie Gray for the most world titles by an individual American wrestler, as he goes for his fifth title at 74 kg. Our preview is here.

| 3. | WEIGHTLIFTING: China sweeps day two of the IWF Worlds

A very good day for Chinese lifters at the World Weightlifting Championships in Thailand, with both titles and three total medals.

In the men’s 61 kg division, 2018 runner-up Fabin Li had the best scores in Snatch, Clean & Jerk and a world-record total of 318 kg (~ 701 lbs.) to defeat defending champ and prior world-record holder Eko Yuli Irawan (INA: 306 kg). Irawan, however, won his sixth career Worlds medal (1-3-2).

In the women’s 49 kg class, China went 1-2 with 2018 bronze medalist Huihua Jiang moving up to gold, lifting a combined world record of 212 kg (~467 lbs.). She took the record of last year’s silver medalist, Zhihui Hou, who finished second again (211 kg). American Morghan King finished eighth at 183 kg (~403 lbs.).

| 4. | GYMNASTICS: More gold for Dina Averina, more silver for Ashram in Rhythmic Worlds

The FIG Rhythmic World Championships completed two more individual events … with the same results on the top of the podium: Russia’s Dina Averina first and Israel’s Linoy Ashram second.

Averina and Ashram went 1-2 in Clubs at 23.800 to 23.200 and then in Ribbon, with scores of 21.800 to 20.750. So far, both have four medals in four events; Averina has three golds and a bronze; Ashram has three silvers and a bronze. The All-Around is on Friday.

| 5. | FOOTBALL: FIFA President Infantino tells Iran to allow women in as spectators

In the aftermath of the stunning death on 10 September of Sahar Khodayari, who set herself on fire after being told she could be sentenced to jail after dressing in men’s clothes to sneak into a football match in Tehran, FIFA President Gianni Infantino posted a short, to-the-point message on the FIFA Web site on Thursday:

“I am hopeful that the Iranian Federation and the Iranian authorities were receptive to our repeated calls to address this unacceptable situation.

“I contacted them several times in the recent past and so has the FIFA administration. We have a delegation of FIFA members in Iran at the moment and I am looking forward to hearing good news from them.

“Our position is clear and firm. Women have to be allowed into football stadiums in Iran.

“We understand there are steps and processes that need to be taken before this is done in a proper and safe way but now is the moment to change things and FIFA is expecting positive developments starting in the next Iran home match in October.”

The next step, of course, is suspension, but FIFA is taking it one step at a time.

| 6. | ATHLETICS: Want to bet on the World Championships?

With the spread of legal sports gambling in multiple states, USBets.com reported that there are places taking some action on the IAAF World Championships starting on the 28th.

FOX Bet in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and Parx Online, also in Pennsylvania, have lines up on some events, including:

● Men/100 m: FOX Bet has American sprinters Christian Coleman at -188 to win, and Justin Gatlin as +300, with Canada’s Andre De Grasse at +400. How about Jamaica’s Yohan Blake, the 2011 World Champion? He’s a whopping +1,200!

● Men/200 m: Talk about a prohibitive favorite … Parx has Noah Lyles (pictured) as -1,000 to win (!) and -3,335 to win a medal.

● Men/800 m: Botswana’s Nijel Amos is the favorite at +140 and American Donavan Brazier is nicely priced at +250.

● Men/400 m hurdles: FOX bet has defending champ Karsten Warholm (NOR) as the favorite at -225, while American Rai Benjamin is an attractive alternative at +163.

In terms of the medal table, the U.S. is -670 to win the most medals, while Great Britain and Kenya are +700. Won’t be taking those odds.

Although the fate of the Worlds team from The Bahamas is apparently still in limbo, there’s little doubt that 400 m stars Steven Gardiner and Shaunae Miller-Uibo will be there, even if they have to pay their own way.

Figuring on that, while the Bahamas federation and the government fight about money, the Thomas Robinson National Stadium in Nassau will be opened on the afternoons of 3-4 October for the sessions during which the 400 m finals will be run. The “watch party” is a fund-raiser for relief efforts from Hurricane Dorian. Admission will be free, but everyone is asked to bring a relief item or a $1 donation.

This is part of a larger fund-raising drive during the weekend for hurricane relief after the extensive damage from Dorian.

The women’s 100 m has one less contender after the Athletics Integrity Unit announced the provisional suspension of South African sprinter Carina Horn for a prohibited substance (Ibutamoren and LGD-4033 [Ligandrol]).

Horn had run 11.01 this season in late August and a potential finalist in Doha; she could be suspended for up to for years. She ran a lifetime best of 10.98 – in Doha – last season.

| 7.| THE LAST WORD: ESPN extends Special Olympics agreement to 2027

The Special Olympics and ESPN extended their broadcast and global presenting sponsorship rights to 2027.

The network televised the 2015 Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles and made a major impact for Special Olympics and the relationship has deepened from there. It’s an important promotional program for Special Olympics and one which is much cherished by ESPN and its parent, The Walt Disney Company.

LANE ONE: World Anti-Doping Agency report shows progress, but SafeSport needs more help right now

By
Rich Perelman
-

On Tuesday (17), the World Anti-Doping Agency released its 2018 Annual Report that showed continued, steady progress in its activities against doping and considerably larger staff, funding and impact around the world.

On Wednesday (18), a detailed story from the Associated Press revealed that the U.S. Center for SafeSport is being inundated with reports of athlete abuse and has insufficient resources to address them.

Both are important developments; some highlights:

(1) WADA Annual Report 2018

It’s a little hard to believe, but WADA is 20 years old, having been formed in 1999. From a standing start, it now has 117 staff members in five offices around the world and spent $35.4 million on its activities in 2018.

The report went through the various programs underway, including the testing report. The last anti-doping statistical review available are for 2017 and were issued during 2018. Total tests were up to 351,180 (+6.8%), almost evenly split between in-competition and out-of-competition tests. The number of adverse findings went down from 4,822 in 2016 to 4,596 in 2017.

The report also highlighted the increased importance placed on investigations and the expanded work of the Confidential Investigations Unit. This group now has 11 staff members and opened 118 cases in 2018, 68 of which are being handled by other groups after sharing of the files. Further cooperation with law enforcement was also worked on in 2018; this was especially apparent in the raids by Austrian authorities on suspected dopers during the 2019 World Nordic Skiing Championships in Seefeld (AUT).

The CIU report included reviews of projects carried out in Guatemala, Kenya, Romania, Spain and, of course, the continuing work in Russia.

Just as important has been WADA’s watchdog role over the work of national and regional anti-doping organizations. The report noted that the WADA team reviewed some 2,328 doping-review decisions from other organizations and appealed 18 of these to the Court of Arbitration for Sport; only 10 were resolved, with two cases settled and WADA losing the rest. WADA also had a poor record on cases brought prior to 2018 and resolved last year, losing 26 of those 27 appeals with one still unresolved. Those are poor results, but at least they were appealed.

Further to the watchdog effort, WADA reviewed the anti-doping programs of 103 International Federations that are members of the Global Assembly of International Sports Federations (GAISF) and filed a “Corrective Action Report” that listed needed steps. By the end of 2018, 33 IFs had completed the corrective-actions requirements (32%), but there was still work to do at many of these IFs.

WADA also created a really interesting program that pairs national anti-doping organizations that need help with more sophisticated, better-funded programs. There were 13 such partnerships listed in the report, including:

● Argentina being helped by Canada;
● Belarus being helped by Great Britain;
● Egypt and Ethiopia being helped by South Africa;
● India being helped by Australia;
● Kenya being helped by Norway.

Russia has had a long-standing relationship with the British anti-doping organization, to help lift it out of suspension.

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RusADA) was controversially readmitted as compliant in 2018 and after considerable haggling, WADA was able to obtain the computer data and stored samples it requested from the Moscow Laboratory that was the center of the national doping scheme from 2011-15. In July, WADA identified 298 suspicious cases (involving 598 samples) and provided the data and evidence to the relevant International Federations for follow-up.

That story is not over, but it is nearly its final chapter.

If the ability for WADA to function as it should is a matter of money, it’s worth noting that the budget has been rising steadily and is expected to increase by 8% for each of the next three years. The finance report showed that where the actual costs in 2015 were $29.9 million U.S., that had increased to $35.4 million in 2018, and the expectation is that funding of $46.6 million will be in place by 2022.

In addition to funding provided by the International Olympic Committee and governments, WADA also has a fund-raising arm which is seeking out corporate and foundation support.

Is WADA working? There are plenty of people on both sides, but at least regarding the Olympic-sport federations, the reality of doping control is well appreciated. The IAAF (for Athletics) and the IBU (for Biathlon) both have their Russian federations on some form of suspension; in the case of the IAAF, since late 2015.

And if there was any doubt of the seriousness with which the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) treats doping – over which it was nearly cut from the Olympic program for 2024 – it was disclosed this past week during the IWF Congress in Thailand that some 40% of its budget is spent on anti-doping activities! Moreover, the IWF suspended the entire Egyptian federation for two years on Wednesday, reportedly over doping violations at the 2016 African Youth Championships, coincidentally held in Cairo.

Are doping problems solved? No, but the activity level is higher and there is considerable optimism on the scientific front of new breakthroughs in testing that will make doping easier to detect.

(2) U.S. Center for SafeSport

The alarming report that appeared on Wednesday detailed that the Center for SafeSport, which was founded in 2017, is dealing with a mass of allegations of sexual abuse in Olympic sports in the U.S., well beyond its current capability to handle.

The story by Eddie Pells of the AP led with “The U.S. Center for SafeSport is fielding 55 percent more reports of sex abuse and other misconduct in 2019 than it did last year, leading to an increasingly urgent debate about who should provide the lion’s share of money to an organization struggling to manage its caseload.”

Reports are coming into the Center at an average of 239 a month in 2019, compared to 154 per month in 2018. The story reported that the Center has closed 2,237 cases and has 1,290 open cases and noted “The center projects it will need to double its staff next year and triple it by 2023 to keep up with the work.” It currently has a staff of 37, including 18 investigators and attorneys.

So the issue is funding, and the Center receives most of its funding from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee at $7.4 million for 2019. Another $2.1 million comes from the National Governing Bodies and other donations and a small government grant bring the total to $10.5 million.

The USOPC reform bill introduced by Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) would require annual USOPC funding of $20 million for the Center, but a companion House bill has not been introduced.

The Center hopes to have $16 million available next year, but that will depend on substantially increased funding from the USOPC especially.

These two groups – WADA and the U.S. Center for SafeSport – are related. Both have important responsibilities to reduce and eventually eliminate chemical and personal abuse in sport, and to investigate and sanction those who break the rules.

WADA, and its U.S. counterpart, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) have come a long way in 20 years; the U.S. Center for SafeSport is only in its third year. The future of Olympic sport in the U.S. depends on both of them, and, once again, it’s the USOPC which is on the spot to ensure they continue.

Those sponsorships for the 2024 Paris-2026 Milan-Cortina-2028 Los Angeles Games can’t come in soon enough.

Rich Perelman
Editor

WRESTLING Preview: U.S. men’s Freestyle squad starts Wrestling Worlds with three top seeds

By
Rich Perelman
-
He did it again: a sixth World Championships gold for American wrestling icon Jordan Burroughs! (Photo: Lima 2019)

In 2017, the wrestling world was stunned by the U.S. men’s Freestyle team, which took the team title away from perennial power Russia by a point, 54-53. The Russians got the title back last year under the new scoring system by 178-150, but the battle will continue in Nur-Sultan (KAZ) this weekend as the UWW World Championships conclude.

The American team enters with three top seeds in the draw – Kyle Dake (79 kg), J’Den Cox (92 kg) and Kyle Snyder at 97 kg – more than any other country. And that doesn’t count four-time World Champion Jordan Burroughs, seeded second at 74 kg, or Nick Gwiazdowski, seeded fourth at 125 kg.

Turkey has two top seeds in Suleyman Atli (57 kg) and Fatih Erdin at 86 kg. Russia has just three seeded wrestlers overall, but are expected to show well, as always.

There are eight returning champions from 2018 in the 10 weight classes and the top-four seeds show the possibility of four potential matches between current and former World Champions: at 57 kg, 74 kg (three World titlists in the same class!), 97 kg and 125 kg. The top seeds:

● 57 kg:
1. Suleyman Atli (TUR) ~ 2018 Worlds bronze medalist
2. Zavur Uguev (RUS) ~ 2018 World Champion
3. Yuki Takahashi (JPN) ~ 2017 World Champion; 2018 Worlds bronze
4. Nurislam Sanayev (KAZ) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist

● 61 kg:
1. Yowlys Bonne Rodriguez (CUB) ~ 2018 World Champion
2. Rahul Aware (IND)
3. Beka Lomtadze (GEO) ~ 2016 Worlds silver medalist
4. Nikolai Okhlopkov (ROU)

● 65 kg:
1. Bajrang Punia (IND) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist
2. Takuto Otoguro (JPN) ~ 2018 World Champion
3. Selahattin Kilicsallayan (TUR)
4. Sayatbek Okassov (KAZ)

● 70 kg:
1. Adam Batirov (BRN) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist
2. Nurkozha Kapoanov (KAZ)
3. Yones Emamichoghaei (IRI)
4. Zurabi Iakobishvili (GEO) ~ 2018 Worlds bronze medalist

● 74 kg:
1. Frank Chamizo (ITA) ~ 2015 World Champ (65 kg); 2017 World Champ (70 kg)
2. Jordan Burroughs (USA) ~ 2011-13-15-17 World Champion; 2014-18 Worlds bronzes
3. Zaurbek Sidakov (RUS) ~ 2018 World Champion
4. Avtandil Kentchadze (GEO) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist

● 79 kg:
1. Kyle Dake (USA) ~ 2018 World Champion
2. Jabrayil Hasanov (AZE) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist; 2016 Olympic bronze
3. Muhammet Kotanoglu (TUR)
4. Bahman Teymouri (IRI)

● 86 kg:
1. Fatih Erdin (TUR) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist
2. Boris Makoev (SVK) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist; 2015 Worlds bronze
3. Hassan Yazdani (IRI) ~ 2016 Olympic gold; 2017 World Champion
4. Deepak Punia (IND) ~ 2019 World Junior Champion

● 92 kg:
1. J’Den Cox (USA) ~ 2018 World Champion
2. Alireza Karimimachiani (IRI) ~ 2018 Worlds bronze medalist
3. Ivan Yankouski (BLR) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist
4. Irakli Mtsituri (GEO)

● 97 kg:
1. Kyle Snyder (USA) ~ 2016 Olympic gold medalist; 2015-17 World Champion
2. Abdulrashid Sulaev (RUS) ~ 2016 Olympic gold (86 kg); 2014-15-18 World Champion
3. Batzul Ulziisaikhan (MGL)
4. Elzibar Odikadze (GEO)

● 125 kg:
1. Geno Petriashvili (GEO) ~ 2017-18 World Champion; 2016 Olympic bronze
2. Zhiwei Deng (CHN) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist
3. Taha Akgul (TUR) ~ 2016 Olympic gold; 2014-15 World Champion
4. Nick Gwiazdowski (USA) ~ 2017-18 Worlds bronze medalist

The 74 kg class with Chamizo, Burroughs and Sidakov will be amazing, with the 97 kg class pitting the winners of the last five World Champions and the last four in the 125 kg class. Wow!

Look for results here.

WRESTLING: Gray wins fifth World title, the most by any U.S. wrestler … for now

By
Rich Perelman
-
For five-time World Champion Adeline Gray of the U.S., Tokyo is a business trip! (Photo: UWW)

American star Adeline Gray placed her name above all others American wrestling greats with a confident and disciplined 4-2 win over Japan’s Hiroe Minagawa Szuzuki at the UWW World Championships in Nur-Sultan (KAZ).

The victory at 76 kg was her fifth World Championships gold, surpassing the four titles won by John Smith, Jordan Burroughs and Tricia Saunders … but Burroughs will wrestler later this week and could catch up.

Gray dominated her division, winning 10-0, 10-0, 10-0 to reach the semifinals, where she defeated Aline Rotter Focken (GER), 5-1. In the final vs. Suzuki, a two-time Worlds bronze medalist, Gray went down 1-0, but scored a takedown and scored again for a 4-1 lead at the end of the first period. She held Suzuki without scoring until three seconds left in the match, when she stepped out for a point and the final was 4-2.

“Heading into the Olympics in Tokyo, beating Japan; man, that country is so good at women’s wrestling. It’s pretty awesome. Sara McMann, Kristie Davis, Trish Saunders, they reach out to me every once in a while just to let me know they’re watching and excited about women’s wrestling, and it’s pretty special.”

Gray, 28, owns World titles in 2012-14-15-18-19, and has also won bronze medals in 2011 and 2013.

This is not the last U.S. women’s medal at the Worlds, as Tamyra Mensah cruised through the 68 kg division with 10-0, 6-1, 10-1 and 10-0 wins to reach the final and will wrestle Sweden’s Ana Fransson for the title on Friday.

Forrest Molinari was in contention for a medal at 65 kg, but lost in her bronze-medal match, 10-1, to China’s Xiaoquan Wang.

Powerful Japan continued to lead the women’s team scoring and got a gold-medal performance from Risako Kawai at 57 kg. Canada’s Linda Morais won the 59 kg class, pinning Lyubov Ovcharova (RUS) in 2:15. Russia did get a gold on Thursday, with Inna Trazhukova defeating Iryna Koliadenko at 65 kg.

The World Championships continue through the weekend in Nur-Sultan. The men’s Freestyle competition will begin on Friday. Summaries so far:

United World Wrestling World Championships
Nur-Sultan (KAZ) ~ 14-22 September 2019
(Full results here)

Men/Greco-Roman

55 kg: Gold: Nugzari Tsurtsumia (GEO) d. Khorlan Zhakansha (KAZ), 9 – 0; Bronze: Shota Ogawa (JPN) d. Liguo Cao (CHN), 11-2; Eldaniz Azizli (AZE) d. Max Nowry (USA), 8-0.

60 kg: Gold: Kenichiro Fumita (JPN) d. Sergey Emelin (RUS), 10-5; Bronze: Ali Reza Nejati (IRI) d. Elmurat Tasmuradov (UZB), 7-5; Mirambek Ainagulov (KAZ) d. Lenur Temirov (UKR), 10-0.

63 kg: Gold: Shinobu Ota (JPN) d. Stepan Maryanyan (RUS), 10-4; Bronze: Almat Kebispayev (KAZ) d. Tynar Sharshenbekov (KGZ), 9-0; Slavik Galstyan (ARM) d. Meysam Karamali Dalkhani (IRI), 7-5.

67 kg: Gold: Ismael Borrero Molina (CUB) d. Artem Surkov (RUS), 3-1; Bronze: Frank Staebler (GER) d. Mohamed El Sayed (EGY), 6-5; Mate Nemes (SRB) d. Fredrik Bjerrehuus (DEN), 10-0.

72 kg: Gold: Abuiazid Mantsigov (RUS) d. Aram Vardanyan (UZB), 9-0. Bronze: Balint Korpasi (HUN) d. Jiyeon Lee (KOR), 9-0; Aik Mnatsakanian (BUL) d. Michael Widmayer (GER), 3-3 (criteria).

77 kg: Gold: Tamas Lorincz (HUN) d. Alex Bjurberg Kessidis (SWE), 8-0; Bronze: Jalgasbay Berdimuratov (UZB) d. Askhat Dilmukhamedov (KAZ), 3-1; Mohammadali Geraei (IRI) d. Karapet Chalyan (ARM), 9-6.

82 kg: Gold: Lasha Gobadze (GEO) d. Rafig Huseynov (AZE), 5-3; Bronze: Saeid Morad Abdvali (IRI) d. Iurii Shkriuba (UKR), 7-0; Haitao Qian (CHN) d. Nurbek Khashimbekov (UZB), 4-4.

87 kg: Gold: Zhan Beleniuk (UKR) d. Viktor Lorincz (HUN), 2-1. Bronze: Rustam Assakalov (UZB) d. Atabek Azisbekov (KGZ), 6-2; Denis Kudle (GER) d. Mikalai Stadub (BLR), 2-1.

97 kg: Gold: Musa Evloev (RUS) d. Artur Aleksanyan (ARM), 0-0 (criteria); Bronze: Cenk Ildem (TUR) d. Giorgi Melia (GEO), 4-1; Mihail Kajaia (SRB) d. Tadeusz Michalik (POL), 9-1.

130 kg: Gold: Riza Kayaalp (TUR) d. Oscar Pino Hinds (CUB), 3-1. Bronze: Iakobi Kajaia (GEO) d. Eduard Popp (GER), 5-0; Heiki Nabi (EST) d. Amir Ghasemimonjezi (IRI), 8-0.

Team Leaders: 1. Russia, 132; 2. Uzbekistan, 80; 3. Georgia, 79; 4. Iran, 75; 5. Kazakhstan. 72. Also: 20. United States, 18.

Women/Freestyle

50 kg: Gold: Mariya Stadnik (AZE) d. Emilia Vuc (ROU), 13-0. Bronze: Ekaterina Poleshchuk (RUS) d. Yanan Sun(CHN), 9-9 (criteria); Valentina Islamova Brik (KAZ) d. Oksana Livach (UKR), 5-0.

53 kg: Gold: Yong Mi Pak (PRK) d. Mayu Mukaida (JPN), 12-1. Bronze: Qianyu Pang (CHN) d. Roksana Marta Zasina (POL), 0-0 (criteria); Vinesh Vinesh (IND) d. Maria Prevolaraki (GRE), 4-1.

55 kg: Gold: Jacarra Winchester (USA) d. Nanami Irie (JPN), 5-3. Bronze: Bolortuya Bat Ochir (MGL) d. Bediha Gun (TUR), 12-9; Olga Khoroshavtseva (RUS) d. Marina Sedneva (KAZ), 13-0.

57 kg: Gold: Risako Kawai (JPN) d. Ningning Rong (CHN), 9-6. Bronze: Odunayo Adekuoroye (NGR) d. Anastasia Nichita (MDA), 10-0; Iryna Kurachkina (BLR) d. Jowita Wrzesien (POL), 4-0.

59 kg: Gold: Linda Morais (CAN) d. Liubov Ovcharova (RUS), 6-3; Bronze: Shoovdor Baatarjav (MGL) d. Anhelina Lysak (UKR), 8-0; Xingru Pei (CHN) d. Pooja Dhanda (IND), 5-3.

65 kg: Gold: Inna Trazhukova (RUS) d. Iryna Koliadenko (UKR), 13-0. Bronze: Elis Manolova (AZE) d. Yuliana Yaneva (BUL), 3-1; Xiaoqian Wang (CHN) d. Forrest Molinari (USA), 10-0.

72 kg: Gold: Natalia Vorobeva (RUS) d. Alina Berezhna Stadnik Makhynia (UKR), 4-2. Bronze: Paliha Paliha (CHN) d. Victoria Francis (USA), 2-1; Masako Furuichi (JPN) d. Zhamila Bakbergenova (KAZ), 2-0.

76 kg: Gold: Adeline Gray (USA) d. Hiroe Minagawa (JPN), 4-2. Bronze: Aline Rotter Focken (GER) d. Elmira Syzdykova (KAZ), 3-0; Epp Maee (EST) d. Qian Zhou (CHN), 6-4.

SKATEBOARD Preview: U.S.’s Houston looks for fourth title in Street Worlds in Sao Paolo

By
Rich Perelman
-

The sixth edition of the World Skate Street World Championships is moving through the qualifying round in Sao Paulo, Brazil, following right behind the Park Worlds held last week.

As with the Park Worlds, the top three in this week’s Worlds will earn qualifying places in the first Olympic Skateboarding competition, in Tokyo in 2020. So far, the top riders in the World Street Rankings are:

● Men:
1. 60,000 Nyjah Houston (USA) ~ 2014-17-18 World Champion
2. 36,000 Gustavo Ribeiro (POR)
3. 21,600 Shane O’Neill (AUS) ~ 2016 World Champion; 2017 silver medalist
4. 17,280 Kelvin Hoefler (BRA) ~ 2015 World Champion; 2018 silver; 2017 bronze
5. 13,830 Manny Santiago (PUR)

● Women:
1. 60,000 Pamela Rosa (BRA)
2. 36,000 Haley Wilson (AUS)
3. 21,600 Jhulia Mendes Leal (BRA)
4. 17,280 Leticia Bufoni (BRA) ~ 2015 World Champion; 2016-17-18 silver
5. 13,830 Aori Nishimura (JPN) ~ 2018 World Champion

Quarterfinals will be held on Friday, semis on Saturday and the SuperCrown finals on Sunday. Look for results here.

While the medalists will earn places in Sao Paulo, the very majority of the Olympic skaters (16 of the 20) will be picked off of the rankings list as of 1 June 2020.

TSX DAILY: Winchester claims first U.S. gold at wrestling Worlds; Int’l Judo Fed suspends Iran; NBA stars Curry & Lillard in for 2020

By
Rich Perelman
-
World Champion: A happy Jacarra Winchester of the U.S. after winning the UWW 55 kg Freestyle title (Photo: UWW)

≡ TSX DAILY ~ 19 September 2019 ≡

| 1. |  WRESTLING: American Jacarra Winchester wins wrestling world title; more coming

The United World Wrestling World Championships in Kazakhstan saw its first U.S. medalist on Wednesday, in the first day of final in women’s Freestyle as Jacarra Winchester won her first Worlds medal.

Leading 2-0 after the first period in the 55 kg final, Winchester was taken down by Japan’s Nanami Irie in the second period to tie the match and then forced off the mat to go down 3-2. But staying disciplined and focused, Winchester attacked and obtained a single-leg takedown with a minute to go and it held up for a 4-3 lead as time ended. Japan asked for a review of a late takedown try, which was denied and Winchester got a final point for a 5-3 win.

It’s her first world medal in her second World Championships as she was fifth last year. But the medal count is just starting for the U.S.

Adeline Gray will go for her fifth world title tomorrow at 76 kg, and Forrest Molinari will fight for a bronze medal at 65 kg.

The Greco-Roman division was won – as usual – by Russia, which took its fourth team title in a row. It had gold medals from Abuiazid Mantsigov at 72 kg and a successful title defense at 97 kg by Musa Evloev. Japan also had two champions, in Kenichiro Fumita (60 kg) and Shinobu Ota (63 kg). The U.S. managed a fifth-place finish from Max Nowry at 55 kg. More here.

| 2. | JUDO: Iranian Judo Federation under “protective suspension”

“Following what happened during the last World Judo Championships Tokyo 2019, the International Judo Federation pronounces against the Iran Judo Federation a protective suspension from all competitions, administrative and social activities organized or authorized by International Judo Federation and its Unions.”

Wednesday’s announcement was a result of the finding of the IJF Disciplinary Commission, which noted that given Iran’s commitment letter of earlier in the year to refrain from discrimination against Israel and its action in violation of that commitment at the Judo Worlds:

“The Commission has a strong reason to believe that the Iran Judo Federation will continue or repeatedly engage in misconduct or commit any other offence against the legitimate interests, principles or objectives of the IJF.”

The suspension is preliminary and not finalized, but is immediately effective. The IJF notes that the decision is appealable to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

In the meantime, the Iranian judoka in the middle of the controversy, 2018 World Champion Saeid Mollaei, (pictured) spoke with Time magazine from his undisclosed location in Germany.

“For once, I decided to live as a free man for myself, and prove to the world that I am a brave man.” he said. He said that his situation has been difficult.

“Even the clothes you can see on me (are gifts). I had nothing when I arrived in Germany. I just decided to come and I came. I had a lot of gifts from friends and this is how I live now, with the help of a few friends and the IJF. I’m still waiting to see what will happen later, how I can compete, but obviously from the very beginning of my arrival here in Germany I started my training. Where and how I will compete later, I don’t know yet.”

| 3. | BASKETBALL: Curry, Green and Lillard volunteer for 2020 U.S. Olympic team

The unhappy seventh-place finish for the U.S. men’s team at the recent FIBA World Cup in China had one silver lining. The team qualified the Americans for the 2020 Olympic tournament in Tokyo, Japan, eliminating any need for a qualifying tournament effort.

As only one of the 12 American All-NBA players from last season was a member of the World Cup team – Kemba Walker – the question was whether the top U.S. will compete in Tokyo.

The initial answer is yes. Since the World Cup ended last weekend, star guards Steph Curry (Golden State, pictured) and Damian Lillard (Portland) have both indicated they will play in Tokyo, as has Golden State forward Draymond Green.

These players know exactly what they are getting themselves into, as Green was a member of the 2016 gold-medal-winning team in Rio, and Curry was a member of the 2010 and 2014 World Cup winners.

The only member of the 2016 team who played in the recent World Cup was forward Harrison Barnes. He and Walker both stated they would be happy to come back and play in Tokyo. Who’s next?

| 4. | GYMNASTICS: Russians continue dominance at Rhythmic Worlds in Baku

The 37th World Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics is starting off just the same as at all the recent editions: Russia on the top of the podium.

Through the first two individual events (of five), Russia has won the maximum four medals and the others have gone to Israel’s Linoy Ashram. Defending champion Dina Averina won again on Ball, with sister Arina Averina second and Ashram third.

However, it was Russia’s Ekaterina Selezneva who won in Hoop, with Ashram taking silver and Dina Averina third.

This is dominance: a Russian has won every individual event in the last four World Championships – that’s 20-for-20 – plus the first two in Baku. Plus all but one event in the prior four (2009-10-11-13) and nine of 10 in the two before that (2005-07). That’s 48-of-50 coming in, and now add two more, with three events remaining this week. Look for results here.

| 5. | WEIGHTLIFTING: Om wins fifth world title (with a world record) to open IWF Worlds

It’s the “World Championships” season and the International Weightlifting Federation’s annual championships is underway in Pattaya (THA) with a record performance.

North Korea’s Yun-Chol Om won a fifth world title in the lightest men’s division, now 55 kg. He lifted a combined total of 294 kg (~ 648 lbs.), a new world record and sixth of his career. He set a world mark in the Clean & Jerk (166 kg/~366 lbs.) along the way. He also won the Olympic title in 2012 and silver in 2016. And he’s still just 27.

The lightest women’s class, 45 kg, was won by Saziye Erdogan of Turkey at 169 kg (~ 373 lbs.).

The Egyptian weightlifting federation was suspended for two years just prior to the start of the championships due to seven doping violations at the 2016 African Youth Championships, which was held in Cairo! The penalty, which would keep the Egyptian out of Tokyo 2020, will be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. But it knocks them out of the 2019 Worlds. More here.

| 6. | BOBSLED: Humphries denied release by Canada, refuses to re-join its team

The drama surrounding twice-Olympic gold medalist Kaillie Humphries of Canada continues.

After filing a complaint with Bobsled Canada Skeleton alleging abuse by coach Todd Hays (an American) last year, she demanded her release by the federation so that she could join the U.S. Bobsled Team after just marrying former American sledder Travis Armbruster.

On Tuesday, a judge in Calgary ruled that the Canadian federation does not have to release her to compete in another country. Her suit for C$45 million against the Canadian federation continues; for its part, the federation said that it completed its investigation into her harassment complaints and found no wrongdoing.

On Wednesday, she told the Canadian Press by email that “I will not be returning to Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton with the administration as it exists at this point. It’s been made very clear I am not wanted by them, and I do not feel safe psychologically and physically.”

In the meantime, triple Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor (pictured) of the U.S. is pregnant and will miss the 2019-20 bobsled season as she is expecting in March.

Taylor said that she and husband Nic Taylor were told a pregnancy might not happen. “When we were told by doctors that this might not be possible, I put all my efforts into winning two gold medals in 2022. However, they were wrong and now I have the chance to live this dream. We are excited for our little miracle.”

| 7. | FIGURE SKATING: Canadian Ice Dance stars Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue retire

Although widely expected, the retirement announcement finally came on Wednesday for decorated Ice Dance stars Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada.

The pair began their skating careers together way back in 1997 and continued through 22 years, with an astonishing list of achievements, including:

● Five Olympic medals, including Ice Dance golds in 2010 and 2018 and the Team gold in 2018;

● Seven World Championships medals, including Ice Dance golds in 2010-12-17.

They made the announcement in video shown on their Twitter accounts; “We still feel like the most fortunate kids in Canada,” Moir said. “But it just feels like the right time to say goodbye.”

| 8. | ATHLETICS: Still no funding for Bahamas team to attend World Champs

Despite having the favorite in the women’s 400 m in Shaunae Miller-Uibo and a medal favorite in the men’s 400 m in Steven Gardiner, there is still no funding resolution for The Bahamas to send its team to the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Qatar.

Federation chief Drumeco Archer said on Tuesday that “There has been a long tradition of the government underwriting that cost – it’s never been a consideration. In 2015, we received $150,000 and in 2017, we received $140,000. This is no different than what our expectations are now.”

Where the federation requested $116,000 for costs to attend the Worlds, only $25,000 was promised. Possible assistance from Pan Am Sports has come to nothing and some of the nine qualified athletes may end up going to Doha on their own – certainly Miller-Uibo and Gardiner could do this – and ask for reimbursement later.

| 9. | GAMES OF THE XXV OLYMPIAD: Queensland ‘32 decision due by the end of the year

“If the Games do not offer real benefits to this state then, of course, we will not pursue them.”

That’s Annastacia Palasczuk, the Premier of the Australian state of Queensland,  speaking to the Brisbane Times about the now highly-publicized potential bid for the 2032 Olympic Games, now under study.

That examination is to be completed by the end of the year and then the politicians will decide whether to, and how to, go forward – or not – with a bid for the Games. Palasczuk has more than welcoming the world in mind as a reason for getting the Games.

“This is not just about a couple of weeks of competition. It is about accelerating decades’ worth of jobs investment. It’s about getting things off the drawing boards and into our lives.”

The bid is not without complexities, such as how an Olympic Village(s) would be arranged and the need – at least for the Games – of a new stadium. Those things don’t come cheap.

What Palasczuk and the rest of the bid promoters have done is place significant pressure on any other potential suitors for the 2032 Games. Those could include Germany, India, Indonesia, Korea and others, but if the Queenslanders can place an enticing bid in front of the International Olympic Committee quickly, they might be able to steal the Games. And that’s exactly what they are hoping for.

WEIGHTLIFTING: Amazing Om wins fifth World title in Pattaya; Egypt banned for youth doping positives

By
Rich Perelman
-
A fifth world title and a new world record for North Korea's Yun-Chol Om (Photo: IWF)

The International Weightlifting Federation World Championships opened on Wednesday in Pattaya (THA) with a huge field of lifters and a brilliant performance by one of the sport’s all-time stars.

On the first day of competition, North Korea’s Yun Chol Om won his first world title in the 55 kg division, winning in a rout by almost 30 kg. It’s his fifth world title, including 2013-14-15 (all 56 kg)-18-19 (55 kg), plus an Olympic gold medal in 2012 (56 kg) and a silver in Rio in 2016 (56 kg).

Naturally, his win was accompanied by new world records in the Clean & Jerk (166 kg) and for the total of 294 kg. And at age 27, he’s hardly done.

The first women’s class, 45 kg, was won by Saziye Erdogan of Turkey at 169 kg, in a tight competition with Cuba’s Ludia Montero, who lifted 167 kg.

The Egyptian weightlifting team was sanctioned, reportedly for seven doping positives at the 2016 African Youth Championships, which was held in Cairo. The independent doping authority set up by the IWF imposed the ban, which is for two years. This would mean that Egypt could not participate in the 2020 Tokyo Games, but the ban will be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Summaries so far:

IWF World Championships
Pattaya (THA) ~ 18-27 September 2019
(Full results here)

Men

55 kg: 1. Yun Chol Om (PRK), 294 kg (World Record; new weight class) 2. Igor Son (KAZ), 266 kg; 3. Mansour Al Saleem (KSA), 265 kg; 4. Tran Nguyen (VIE), 263 kg; 5. Arli Chotney (KAZ), 263 kg; 6. John Ceniza (PHI), 262 kg; 7. Hafez Ghashghaei (IRI), 260 kg; 8. Surahmat Wijoyo (INA), 250 kg.

Women

45 kg: 1. Saziye Erdogan (TUR), 169 kg; 2. Ludia Montero (CUB), 167 kg; 3. Lisa Setiawati (INA), 165 kg; 4. Thi Vuong (VIE), 164 kg; 5. My Phuong Khong (VIE), 161 kg; 6. Rosielis Quintana (VEN), 157 kg; 7. Mary Flor Diaz (PHI), 156 kg; 8. Rosina Randafiarison (MAD), 155 kg.

WRESTLING: Winchester wins Worlds gold at 55 kg for U.S. women; Russia takes Greco-Roman team title

By
Rich Perelman
-
A happy World Champion Jacarra Winchester of the U.S.! (Photo: UWW/Kadir Caliskan)

What is expected to be a powerful U.S. women’s Freestyle team claimed the first American medal of the United World Wrestling 2019 World Championships in Nur-Sultan (KAZ) with a gold medal from Jacarra Winchester at 55 kg.

After disposing of her first two opponents by 10-0 and 13-2, Winchester defeated Bedina Gun of Turkey in a tight semifinal by 6-4. In the final against Japan’s Nanami Irie, Winchester scored a takedown for a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period. But Irie responded with a takedown and a force-out and had a 3-2 lead with a minute left. But Winchester scored a single-leg takedown for a 4-3 lead and time ran out. Irie’s corner asked for a review of a possible takedown in the final seconds, but this was denied, and Winchester was awarded a final point for a 5-3 win.

It was Winchester’s second appearance at the Worlds, finishing fifth last year.

Victoria Francis got to a bronze medal match at 72 kg, but lost to Ukraine’s Alina Stadnik, 4-0, and then was defeated by Paliha of China, 2-1 in the bronze match.

The U.S. has two more medal bouts tomorrow, as four-time World Champion Adeline Gray goes for a fifth title at 76 kg vs. Hiroe Minagawa Sukuzi of Japan, and Forrest Molinari will wrestle for the bronze medal at 65 kg.

The top six athletes in each of the Olympic weight classes qualify their country for a quota spot at the Tokyo Games.

In the men’s Greco-Roman division, both Russia and Japan won two titles and the Russian team won for the fourth consecutive Worlds.

The Russians piled up 132 points, winning at 72 kg with Abuiazid Mantsigov and a successful title defense at 97 kg by Musa Evloev. Russia also had three defending champions who reached the final, but had to settle for silver in Sergey Emelin (60 kg), Stepan Maryanyan (73 kg) and Artem Surkov (67 kg).

There were two Greco-Roman winners who moved up from silver to gold in 2019: Hungary’s Tomas Lorincz at 77 kg and Ukraine’s Zhan Beleniuk at 87 kg.

The first day of women’s finals saw a great story in the 50 kg class as Mariya Stadnik, 31, won her second Worlds title some 10 years after her first, in 2009! In between, she won silver medals in 2011, 2015 and 2018 (plus the 2016 Olympic Games), but finally got back to the top.

“Maybe some things changed mentally,” she said. “Ten years ago, I was younger and I wrestled with emotion and a burning heart. Now, I’m older, and I use my head more.”

Yong Mi Pak surprised at 53 kg, becoming North Korea’s first women’s World Champion, stunning two-time Worlds winner Mayu Mukaida (JPN) by 12-1 in 4:31, and Russia’s Natalia Vorobina – the 2012 Olympic gold medalist and 2016 silver medalist – came back from a 2 1/2-year layoff to defeat Alina Makhynia of Ukraine.

The World Championships continue through the weekend in Nur-Sultan. The men’s Freestyle competition will begin on Friday. Summaries so far:

United World Wrestling World Championships
Nur-Sultan (KAZ) ~ 14-22 September 2019
(Full results here)

Men/Greco-Roman

55 kg: Gold: Nugzari Tsurtsumia (GEO) d. Khorlan Zhakansha (KAZ), 9 – 0; Bronze: Shota Ogawa (JPN) d. Liguo Cao (CHN), 11-2; Eldaniz Azizli (AZE) d. Max Nowry (USA), 8-0.

60 kg: Gold: Kenichiro Fumita (JPN) d. Sergey Emelin (RUS), 10-5; Bronze: Ali Reza Nejati (IRI) d. Elmurat Tasmuradov (UZB), 7-5; Mirambek Ainagulov (KAZ) d. Lenur Temirov (UKR), 10-0.

63 kg: Gold: Shinobu Ota (JPN) d. Stepan Maryanyan (RUS), 10-4; Bronze: Almat Kebispayev (KAZ) d. Tynar Sharshenbekov (KGZ), 9-0; Slavik Galstyan (ARM) d. Meysam Karamali Dalkhani (IRI), 7-5.

67 kg: Gold: Ismael Borrero Molina (CUB) d. Artem Surkov (RUS), 3-1; Bronze: Frank Staebler (GER) d. Mohamed El Sayed (EGY), 6-5; Mate Nemes (SRB) d. Fredrik Bjerrehuus (DEN), 10-0.

72 kg: Gold: Abuiazid Mantsigov (RUS) d. Aram Vardanyan (UZB), 9-0. Bronze: Balint Korpasi (HUN) d. Jiyeon Lee (KOR), 9-0; Aik Mnatsakanian (BUL) d. Michael Widmayer (GER), 3-3 (criteria).

77 kg: Gold: Tamas Lorincz (HUN) d. Alex Bjurberg Kessidis (SWE), 8-0; Bronze: Jalgasbay Berdimuratov (UZB) d. Askhat Dilmukhamedov (KAZ), 3-1; Mohammadali Geraei (IRI) d. Karapet Chalyan (ARM), 9-6.

82 kg: Gold: Lasha Gobadze (GEO) d. Rafig Huseynov (AZE), 5-3; Bronze: Saeid Morad Abdvali (IRI) d. Iurii Shkriuba (UKR), 7-0; Haitao Qian (CHN) d. Nurbek Khashimbekov (UZB), 4-4.

87 kg: Gold: Zhan Beleniuk (UKR) d. Viktor Lorincz (HUN), 2-1. Bronze: Rustam Assakalov (UZB) d. Atabek Azisbekov (KGZ), 6-2; Denis Kudle (GER) df. Mikalai Stadub (BLR), 2-1.

97 kg: Gold: Musa Evloev (RUS) d. Artur Aleksanyan (ARM), 0-0 (criteria); Bronze: Cenk Ildem (TUR) d. Giorgi Melia (GEO), 4-1; Mihail Kajaia (SRB) d. Tadeusz Michalik (POL), 9-1.

130 kg: Gold: Riza Kayaalp (TUR) d. Oscar Pino Hinds (CUB), 3 – 1. Bronze: Iakobi Kajaia (GEO) d. Eduard Popp (GER), 5-0; Heiki Nabi (EST) d. Amir Ghasemimonjezi (IRI), 8-0.

Team Leaders: 1. Russia, 132; 2. Uzbekistan, 80; 3. Georgia, 79; 4. Iran, 75; 5. Kazakhstan. 72. Also: 20. United States, 18.

Women/Freestyle

50 kg: Gold: Mariya Stadnik (AZE) d. Emilia Vuc (ROU), 13-0. Bronze: Ekaterina Poleshchuk (RUS) d. Yanan Sun(CHN), 9-9 (criteria); Valentina Islamova Brik (KAZ) d. Oksana Livach (UKR), 5-0.

53 kg: Gold: Yong Mi Pak (PRK) d. Mayu Mukaida (JPN), 12-1. Bronze: Qianyu Pang (CHN) d. Roksana Marta Zasina (POL), 0-0 (criteria); Vinesh Vinesh (IND) df. Maria Prevolaraki (GRE), 4-1.

55 kg: Gold: Jacarra Winchester (USA) d. Nanami Irie (JPN), 5-3. Bronze: Bolortuya Bat Ochir (MGL) d. Bediha Gun (TUR), 12-9; Olga Khoroshavtseva (RUS) d. Marina Sedneva (KAZ), 13-0.

72 kg: Gold: Natalia Vorobeva (RUS) df. Alina Berezhna Stadnik Makhynia (UKR), 4-2. Bronze: Paliha Paliha (CHN) d. Victoria Francis (USA), 2-1; Masako Furuichi (JPN) df. Zhamila Bakbergenova (KAZ), 2-0.

TSX DAILY: World Urban Games finished in Budapest, but was it a success? Plus Tokyo volunteers pelted with snow and ice at canoeing test event!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Big turnout for the BMX Freestyle event at the World Urban Games in Budapest (Photo: World Urban Games)

≡ TSX DAILY ~ 17 September 2019 ≡

[Please note that due to a scheduling conflict,
there will be no TSX DAILY e-mail on Wednesday morning (18th)]

| 1. |  LEADING OFF: World Urban Games draws 50,000 spectators over three days in Budapest

The first World Urban Games took place over the weekend in Budapest, Hungary, with a reported 50,000 spectators coming to see six medal sports and two “showcase sports” in an “urban park.”

A total of 300 athletes from 46 nations were reported to compete in 3×3 Basketball, BMX Freestyle Cycling, Break Dancing, Flying Disc, Parkour and Freestyle Roller Sport. Indoor Rowing and the Laser Run – part of the Modern Pentathlon – were the showcase (non-medal) sports.

There were some interesting competitions for those looking ahead to 2020, especially the continuing dominance of American teen Hannah Roberts in the women’s BMX Freestyle. She won with a spectacular 93.00 score on her first run, winning by almost six points and then trying some new tricks to wow the crowd.

The U.S. was identified as the top medal winner, but without any chart or numbers. In the six competition sports, American athletes won seven medals in all (3-2-2). Russia won six (3-2-1).

But was the event a success?

According to Raffaele Chiulli (ITA), the President of the Global Assembly of International Sports Federations – the body which created the event – it was:

“In Budapest we have seen a great combination of sport, of social engagement and a showcasing of culture. It has been a great way for people to express their creativity.

“When we talk about playing our part to stimulate a more active society, the World Urban Games is a great example of bringing sport to the people and engaging them proactively.”

What we have is an extension of International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach’s concept of “taking sport to the people” and a micro-scale version of the Youth Olympic Games held in 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina:

● Compact program: Eight sports, three days, 300 athletes
● One primary venue, the “WUG Park,” with four competition areas
● Free admission and free parking
● Music stage, food court, sports demonstration areas

This is a smaller program that was envisioned for the World Urban Games as planned for Los Angeles, but it worked well enough. The 50,000 spectators for three days is reasonable, considering there were four venues inside the park.

The event continued to polish Budapest’s reputation as a sports center in Europe. After having to pull out of the race for 2024 in view of calls for a referendum, the city has worked continuously to attract events of every kind, bringing new visitors to Hungary over time rather than all at once. It is scheduled to host the next World Urban Games in 2021.

But buried in all the praise are the costs, which no one has talked about, but there were costs. Further, the event was televised by Eurosport, but otherwise only available online on the IOC’s Olympic Channel service.

If the goal is to offer a combination of a low-key sports spectacle primary designed to demonstrate activities in which youth can participate, this event can fulfill that mission. But at what point do such events have to pay for themselves?

| 2. | BASKETBALL: How many people actually attended the 2019 FIBA World Cup?

Spain’s triumph in the 18th FIBA men’s World Cup over Argentina was a popular victory for a team which grew during the tournament. It’s not clear how popular it was with local spectators in China.

You see, attendance figures were not provided after a couple of games in each first-round group. In the second round, only two Group J games had figures published: 2,849 for Spain vs. Italy in Wuhan and 4,264 for Puerto Rico vs. Italy.

No figures were given for any of the other second-round groups at all. In the first round, Canada and Australia played before 9,330 in Dongguan on 1 September in Group H. France and Germany had 10,438 in the arena in Shenzhen in Group G and Brazil and Greece had 11,945 in Nanjing for Group F.

The first two U.S. games drew 17,800 (vs. the Czech Republic) and 18,000 in Shanghai (vs. Turkey) in Group E. The Italy vs. Serbia game in Group D had 15,000 in Foshan, but no attendance figures were given in Group C.

The crowds in Wuhan for Group B had some lowlights: 1,637 for South Korea vs. Russia and 2,100 for Nigeria vs. Argentina. The two games with China in Group A both drew more than 11,000 in Beijing.

The 2014 World Cup had attendance reported for the entire tournament of 645,135 or 8,489 per game. Did the 2019 World Cup surpass that total? We’ll never know.

FIBA moved the tournament from 2018 to 2019 to get away from the long shadow cast by the FIFA World Cup. Whether for the men’s World Cup in 2018 or the Women’s World Cup in 2019, FIFA dependably reported attendance, whether good or bad. If FIBA wants to be more like FIFA, this would be one way to start.

| 3. | CANOE-KAYAK: Ready Steady Tokyo Sprint test event features upsets, and … snow?

The latest test event for the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee came at the Sea Forest Waterway from last Thursday through Sunday. But almost no one saw it as:

“Test events hosted or co-hosted by the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee serve as a rehearsal to test the organisational and operational readiness, and therefore will not be open to the public.”

There were some interesting results, however:

● Russian Kseniia Kurach won the C-1 200 m race in 50.371, but right behind was American teen Nevin Harrison (50.665), ahead of two-time 2018 World Championships medalist Dorota Borowska (POL).

● Maryna Litvinchuk of Belarus scored thrice, winning the K-1 200 m and K-1 500 m, the latter over New Zealand superstar Lisa Carrington, and then teamed with Volha Khudzenka to win the K-2 500 m race!

● Three-time Olympic champion Sebastian Brendel (GER) won the C-1 1,000 m in 4:10.392, just ahead of Russia’s Kirill Shamshurin (4:10.891).

Another test made during the event was the use of artificial snow machines to help cool spectators, who were “played” by Tokyo 2020 volunteers. However, as the Japan Times reported:

“But instead of light fluffy snowflakes, the crowd, consisting mainly of Tokyo 2020 staff, was pelted with fairly coarse shards of shaved ice at a canoeing test event. …

“One problem became immediately apparent after the volunteers were doused in 300 kilograms (650 pounds) of snow in a matter of minutes: the “spectators” were quickly soaked through and the floor became slippery — resulting in one journalist taking a tumble.”

Tokyo 2020 spokeswoman Taka Okamura explained, “We are trying everything possible to ease heat risks. This is not meant to cool the entire atmosphere but have spectators feel refreshed when the flakes of ice touch them.”

Good for the organizers for trying new ideas, but this one appears to need some more work. Have they heard of misters?

| 4. | GYMNASTICS: Ageless Chusovitina wins at Paris World Challenge Cup

The World Urban Games were full of youngsters. The FIG Artistic World Challenge Cup in Paris had Oksana Chusovitina.

Now 44, she owns 11 World Championships with the first won back in 1991! She has competed  for the USSR, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Unified Team, Germany and now Uzbekistan, and won a silver medal in Vault at last year’s Asian Games.

She won again in Paris, as her Vault score of 14.300 easily out-distanced Sara Peter (HUN: 13.900) for her first win this season and fourth 2019 medal in the World Cup and World Challenge Cup programs combined. Amazing.

The 2017 High Bar World Champion, Tin Srbic (CRO) won his specialty at 14.900, ahead of Russian Sergei Eltcov (14.700).

| 5. | SHOOTING: Mein and Browning lead in Trap in Shotgun Fall Selection Match

The first of the two stages of the U.S. Olympic Trials in Trap was completed in Kerrville, Texas at the USA Shooting Shotgun Fall Selection Match … and it’s close.

Among the men, Derrick Mein goes into the second (and final stage) with just a five-point lead over Brian Burrows, 243-238, with four more scoring 230 points or more.

In women’s Trap, it’s even closer, with 2018 Americas Champion Kayle Browning leading 2019 World Champion Ashley Carroll, 232-230 and Rachel Tozier at 225.

The final leg of the Trials program comes in late February 2020 in Tucson, Arizona.

| 6. | SKATEBOARDING: World Champion says “no idea about the Olympics”

Lost in the furor over the bronze medal by 11-year-old British rider Sky Brown at the World Skate Park World Championships, was the victory by 13-year-old Japanese Misugu Okamoto.

Despite winning all three of her events in the Olympic qualifying period – including the World Championships last weekend in Brazil – she told Agence France Presse:

“I don’t feel like I’m the best in the world. I have no idea about the Olympics yet, but I will work with my coaches to keep pushing to learn new tricks and to go bigger.

“Skateboarding is not just based on competition. I want to be one of the best from a cultural perspective. I’m still a long way from that, but that’s my vision.”

Brown also had ideas of competing for Japan at the 2020 Games, but switched to British allegiance in sports, as she has a British father and Japanese mother, and lives and trains in Miyazaki (JPN).

| 7. | THE LAST WORD: Neighbors complain about shooting sounds from Lake Placid Biathlon range

From the Adirondack Explorer:

“New York State Police abruptly halted using the state’s Mount Van Hoevenberg Nordic ski facility as a shooting range on Friday after the Adirondack Explorer reported neighbors’ complaints about the unsettling and explosive noise echoing in the surrounding residential, tourist and school community.”

The police were using the biathlon range at the Mt. van Hoevenberg for firearms training, but have been relocated after an inquiry from the Explorer newsmagazine and a Friday post on the topic.

The residents noted that the level of noise generated by the police is completely different than that from biathletes, who use a .22-caliber round that makes a light noise. The police equipment, however, “thunders.

STAT PACK: Results for the week of 9-15 September 2019

By
Rich Perelman
-

The Stat Pack: a summary of results of international Grand Prix, World Cup and World Championships events, plus U.S. domestic events and Pan American championships events of note.

In this week’s issue are reports on 13 events in nine sports:

● Basketball: FIBA Men’s World Cup in China
● Canoe-Kayak: ICF Olympic Sprint Test Event in Tokyo
● Cycling: UCI MWT: La Vuelta a Espana in Spain
● Cycling: UCI MWT: Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec in Quebec City
● Cycling: UCI MWT: Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal in Montreal
● Cycling: UCI WWT: Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta in Madrid
● Cycling: BMX Supercross World Cup in Rock Hill
● Gymnastics: FIG Artistic World Challenge Cup 6 in Paris
● Shooting: USA Shooting Shotgun Fall Selection in Kerrville
● Skateboard: Park World Championships in Sao Paulo
● Surfing: World Surfing Games in Miyazaki
● Taekwondo: World Taekwondo Grand Prix 2 in Chiba
● Multi-Sport: I World Urban Games in Budapest

plus our calendar of upcoming events through 27 October. Click below for the PDF:

[wpdm_package id=16772 template=”link-template-button-popup.php”]

For the stories behind the stats, be sure to visit TheSportsExaminer.com often!

SHOOTING: Derrick Mein and Kayle Browning win first half of Olympic Trap Trials

By
Rich Perelman
-
Top three from the Fall Shotgun Selection for Trap: Ashley Carroll (2nd), Kayle Browning (1st) and Rachel Tozier (3rd). (Photo: USA Shooting)

The lengthy process of choosing the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team in shooting is well underway with the Shotgun Fall Selection program in Kerrville, Texas. The Trap portion of the program was concluded over the weekend, with the second half coming on late February at the Shotgun Spring Selection event in Tucson, Arizona.

Derrick Mein and Kayle Browning led the Fall scoring, with small leads of five points (over Brian Burrows) and two points (over Ashley Carroll). The competition was spread over four days with 75-50-75-50 targets per day (250 total) and then a finals competition with the top six, which added 3, 2 or 1 point to the top three finishers.

The Mixed Team winners were Glenn Eller and Aeriel Skinner, who edged Derek Haldeman and Carroll, 135-134.

The Fall Shotgun program continues with the Skeet competition from 18-21 September. Summaries:

USA Shooting/Shotgun Fall Selection
Kerrville, Texas (USA) ~ 7-21 September 2019
(Full results here)

Men

Trap: 1. Derrick Mein, 243; 2. Brian Burrows, 238; 3. Alex Rennert, 232; 4. Seth Inman, 231; 5. Jeff Holguin, 230; 6. Dominic Grazioli, 230.

Trap/ Finals: 1. Mein, 46; 2. Inman, 44; 3. Rennert, 34; 4. Burrows, 29; 5. Holguin, 25; 6. Grazioli, 20.

Women

Trap: 1. Kayle Browning, 232; 2. Ashley Carroll, 230; 3. Rachel Tozier, 225; 4. Madelynn Bernau, 224; 5. Aeriel Skinner, 223; 6. Julia Stallings, 216.

Trap/ Finals: 1. Carroll, 44; 2. Skinner, 43; 3. Browning, 32; 4. Stallings, 28; 5. Bernau, 22; 6. Tozier, 18.

Mixed

Team/ Final: 1. Glenn Eller/Aeriel Skinner; 2. Derek Haldeman/Ashley Carroll; 3. Alex Rennert/Rachel Tozier; 4. Seth Inman/Alicia Gough. Third: Rennert/Tozier d. Inman/Gough, 133-132. Final: Eller/Skinner d. Haldeman/Carroll, 135-134.

WEIGHTLIFTING Preview: China looks to defend 2018 team title at 2019 Worlds

By
Rich Perelman
-

A massive field of 606 lifters from an even 100 countries has gathered in Pattaya, Thailand for the International Weightlifting Federation World Championships. But it’s an unusual championship.

The Thai Weightlifting Federation successfully bid for the 2019 championships in view of the success of its lifters and the national acclaim they received after a highly-successful 2016 Olympic Games, five medals at the 2017 Worlds and six in 2018.

But then a series of doping violations were revealed and the Thai federation withdrew its lifters from the event, but agreed to host it in any case. And so the Worlds are in Pattaya.

Other countries which had been forced to compete at recent Worlds with reduced squads have significant teams in Pattaya, including Belarus and Russia, among others. The top lifters in each of the 20 classes by entry weights:

Men

● 55 kg:
1. 280 kg Yun Chol Om (PRK)
2. 270 kg Gia ThanhLai (VIE)
2. 270 kg Tran Nguyen (VIE)
2. 270 kg Mansour Al Saleem (KSA)

● 61 kg:
1. 310 kg Fulin Qin (CHN)
1. 310 kg Fabin Li (CHN)
1. 310 kg Francisco Mosquera (COL)
4. 305 kg Eko Yuli Irawan (INA)
4. 305 kg Jhon Serna (COL)

● 67 kg:
1. 335 kg Lijun Chen (CHN)
2. 330 kg Luis Mosquera (COL)
2. 330 kg Daniyar Ismayilov (TUR)

● 73 kg:
1. 351 kg Vadzim Likharad (BLR)
2. 350 kg Bozhidar Andreev (BUL)
2. 350 kg Kang Chol O (PRK)
2. 350 kg Zhiyong Shi (CHN)

● 81 kg:
1. 371 kg Petr Asayonak (BLR)
2. 370 kg Rejepbay Rejepov (TKM)
2. 370 kg Andranik Karapetyan (ARM)
2. 370 kg Dayin Li (CHN)

● 89 kg:
1. 373 kg Keydomar Vallenilla (VEN)
2. 372 kg Ali Miri (IRI)
2. 372 kg Safaa Aljumaili (IRQ)
2. 372 kg Mohammad Zarei (IRI)

● 96 kg:
1. 400 kg Tao Tian (CHN)
2. 395 kg Fares Elbakh (QAT)
2. 395 kg Jhonatan Rivas (COL)

● 102 kg:
1. 395 kg Samvel Gasparyan (ARM)
1. 395 kg Yunseong Jin (KOR)
3. 392 kg Reza Beiralvand (IRI)

● 109 kg:
1. 420 kg Simon Martirosyan (ARM)
2. 418 kg Akbar Djuraev (UZB)
3. 415 kg Rodion Bochkov (RUS)
3. 415 kg Timur Naniev (RUS)

● +109 kg:
1. 460 kg Lasha Talakhadze (GEO)
2. 450 kg Gor Minasyan (ARM)
3. 445 kg Ruben Aleksanyan (ARM)

Women

● 45 kg:
1. 180 kg Saziye Erdogan (TUR)
2. 170 kg Ludia Montero (CUB)
2. 170 kg Thi Huyen Vuong (VIE)
2. 170 kg Jhilli Dalabehera (IND)
2. 170 kg My Phuong Khong (VIE)
2. 170 kg Lisa Setiawati (INA)

● 49 kg:
1. 210 kg Zhihui Lu (CHN)
1. 210 kg Huahua Jiang (CHN)
3. 200 kg Chanu Mirabai (IND)
3. 200 kg Beatriz Prion (DOM)
3. 200 kg Song Gum Ri (PRK)

● 55 kg:
1. 222 kg Muattar Nabieva (UZB)
2. 220 kg Qiuyun Liao (CHN)
2. 220 kg Zulfiya Chinshanlo (KAZ)
2. 220 kg Hidilyn Diaz (PHI)
2. 220 kg Wanqiong Zhang (CHN)

● 59 kg:
1. 240 kg Hyo Sim Choe (PRK)
2. 235 kg Boyanka Kostova (AZE)
3. 230 kg Hsing-Chun Kuo (CHN)
3. 230 kg Guiming Chen (CHN)

● 64 kg:
1. 246 kg Yuliia Shymechko (RUS)
2. 245 kg Un Sim Rim (PRK)
3. 240 kg Wei Deng (CHN)
3. 240 kg Loredana Toma (ROU)

● 71 kg:
1. 246 kg Katherine Nye (USA)
2. 238 kg Mattie Rogers (USA)
3. 235 kg Hyo Sim Kim (PRK)
3. 235 kg Anastasiia Anzorova (RUS)

● 76 kg:
1. 286 kg Iryna Dekha (UKR)
2. 270 kg Jong Sim Rim (PRK)
3. 255 kg Wangli Zhang (CHN)
3. 255 kg Aremi Fuentes (MEX)
3. 255 kg Neisi Dajomes (ECU)

● 81 kg:
1. 250 kg Suhyeon Kim (KOR)
1. 250 kg Leidy Solis (COL)
3. 245 kg Lidia Valentin (ESP)
3. 245 kg Jenny Arthur (USA)
3. 245 kg Darya Naumava (BLR)

● 87 kg:
1. 270 kg Un Ju Kim (PRK)
2. 260 kg Zhouyu Wang (CHN)
3. 255 kg Tamara Salazar (ECU)

● +87 kg:
1. 315 kg Suping Meng (CHN)
2. 315 kg Tatiana Kashirina (RUS)
3. 315 kg Wenwen Li (CHN)

China had a superb 2018 World Championships and led the medal table with 19 (7-8-4), way ahead of runner-up Thailand (6: 3-0-3) and North Korea (4: 1-3-0). Look for results here.

VOX POPULI: The Match: USA vs. Europe was “refreshing”

By
Ron Brumel
-

So, I watched the U.S. vs. Europe matchup on my NBCsportsnetwork channel … my video recorder is programmed to record all track & field meets on any channel.

I’ve become somewhat bored watching the Diamond League events, in spite of the number of outstanding performances that raise their heads from the muck, specifically the 400 meter hurdles events for men and women, and a few others such as the women’s 100 hurdles, which are competitive and exciting on a consistent basis.

But, the effort of bringing team competition into the mix of available track & field spectatorship, was very refreshing, and made the meet somewhat compelling and exciting to watch, even without a plethora of top ranked athletes and results. So here is my short list of what made the meet worth watching, and, possibly a template for a future series of similar events:

1. Team scoring:

A unique scoring system of 9,7, 5,4,3,2 1 for all eight places. This made depth of quality important, not just the winner or even first three places. We definitely need more of this as an enticement for competition. (as in swimming, which can reward up to 16 places in meets).

2. Identifiable uniforms.

3. Total team scores, including men and women’s events, not separated.

3a. Coed relays scored.

4. A novel venue (Minsk, Belarus…enthusiastic fans in a non-traditional area)

5. NO pacesetters.

It’s about time. This should be universally accepted, even outlawed in the sport.

On the negative side, my usual complaints about the one-and-out false-start rule. In this particular case, the start was noticeable only to the hypersensitive starting blocks, which allows for an athlete to be red-carded (DQ’d) for a quicker-than-humanly averaged response time.

I agree that the rule is OK to allow for the meet to progress, but unless a false start is noticeable to the naked eye (which it hardly was), a warning yellow card should enable the athlete to continue, rather than wasting an even a greater amount of time in arguing in settling the computerized disqualification.

Responses are welcomed, as well as suggestions for the future of events such as this and the World Relays.
~ Ron Brumel (Los Angeles, California)

[≡The Sports Examiner encourages expressions of opinion – we really do – but preferably based on facts. Comments may be sent to [email protected] We do not guarantee publication of any comment, but all comments submitted will be considered and your submission implies your agreement to publication (and light editing if needed to meet our grammatical and punctuation standards) at our sole discretion. Please include your name and hometown on any comment submitted for publication.≡]

GYMNASTICS: Amazing Chusovitina, 44, wins vault at Paris Challenge Cup

By
Rich Perelman
-
The amazing Oksana Chusovitina (UZB), still going strong!

There is no stopping Oksana Chusovitina; you can’t even slow her down.

Uzbekistan’s 11-time World Championships medalist and three-time gold medalist is now 44, and won the Vault at the FIG World Challenge Cup Vault in Paris on Sunday. Her score of 14.300 easily out-distanced Sara Peter (HUN: 13.900) for her first win this season and fourth medal in the World Cup and World Challenge Cup programs combined.

France won two events, with Loris Frasca taking the men’s Vault (14.850) and Melanie de Jesus winning on the Uneven Bars (14.650).

The 2017 High Bar World Champion, Tin Srbic (CRO) won his specialty at 14.900, ahead of Russian Sergei Eltcov (14.700). Summaries:

FIG Artistic World Challenge Cup
Paris (FRA) ~ 14-15 September 2019
(Full results here)

Men

Floor: 1. Kazuki Minabe (JPN), 15.100; 2. Artem Dolgopyat (ISR), 14.900; 3. Kirill Prokopev (RUS), 14.850.

Pommel Horse: 1. Joshua Nathan (GBR), 14.600; 2. Prokopev (RUS), 14.500; 3. Thierry Pellerin (FRA), 14.450.

Rings: 1. tie, Ali Zahran (EGY) and Samir Ait Said (FRA), 14.950; 3. Kentaro Yunoki (JPN), 14.600.

Vault: 1. Loris Frasca (FRA), 14.850; 2. Jake Jarman (GBR), 14.375; 3. Adria Vera (ESP), 14.050.

Parallel Bars: 1. Kaito Sugimoto (JPN), 15.300; 2. Eltcov (RUS), 14.850; 3. Ryan Macleod Sheppard (HUN), 13.950.

High Bar. 1. Tin Srbic (CRO), 14.900; 2. Sergei Eltcov (RUS), 14.700; 3. Chia-Hung Tang (TPE), 14.550.

Women

Vault: 1. Oksana Chusovitina (UZB), 14.300; 2. Sara Peter (HUN), 13.900; 3. Franchesca Santi (CHI), 13.750.

Uneven Bars: 1. Melanie de Jesus (FRA), 14.650; 2. Anastasiia Agafonova (RUS), 14.600; 3. Zsofia Kovacs (HUN), 14.200.

Beam: 1. Agafonova (RUS), 13.400; 2. Anastasiia Bachynska (UKR), 13.300; 3. Diana Varinska (UKR), 13,200.

Floor: 1. Varinska (UKR), 13.450; 2. Marine Boyer (FRA), 13.400; 3. Aneta Holasova (CZE), 13.100.

GYMNASTICS Preview: Russia looks to extend dominance at Rhythmic Worlds in Baku

By
Rich Perelman
-

The 37th edition of the FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships starts a week-long run at the Milli Gimnastika Arenasi in Baku (AZE), with 312 competitors from 62 countries. But there is only one country that counts: Russia.

Please consider this record of Worlds dominance, beginning at the 2005 Worlds, also in Baku:

● 2005: Won 5 of 5 individual events + Team + Group All-Around
● 2007: Won 4 of 5 individual events + Team + Group All-Around
● 2009: Won 5 of 5 individual events + Team
● 2010: Won 5 of 5 individual events + Team
● 2011: Won 5 of 5 individual events + Team
● 2013: Won 4 of 5 individual events (no Team event)
● 2014: Won 5 of 5 individual events + Team
● 2015: Won 5 of 5 individual events + Team + Group All-Around
● 2017: Won 5 of 5 individual events + Group All-Around (no Team event)
● 2018: Won 5 of 5 individual events + Team + Group All-Around

That’s 48 of 50 wins in the individual events and eight straight team titles (when contested). Among the entries for 2019 are the dominant forces since Rio:

● Dina Averina (RUS) ~ 2018 All-Around/Hoop/Ball/Clubs golds; 2017 All-Around/Hoop/Clubs golds

● Arina Averina (RUS) ~ 2017 Ball/Ribbon golds, All-Around/Hoop silvers, Clubs bronze; 2017 Hoop/Clubs bronzes

● Linoy Ashram (ISR) ~ 2018 All-Around/Hoop silver, Ribbon bronze; 2017 All-Around/Ribbon bronzes

● Alexandra Agiurgiuculese (ITA) ~ 2018 Ball bronze
● Milena Baldasarri (ITA) ~ 2018 Ribbon silver
● Katsiaryna Halkina (BLR) ~ 2018 Clubs silver; 2017 Clubs silver
● Neviana Vladimova (BUL) ~ 2017 Ball bronze
● Kaho Minegawa (JPN) ~ 2017 Hoop bronze

Those eight people are all but one of the medal winners from the last two World Championships! And they will win most of the medals this time as well.

Prize money is CHF 6,000-4,000-2,000 for the top three in the All-Around, CHF 4,000-3,000-2,000 for each apparatus and CHF 10,000-6,000-4,000 for the Group All-Around. There is also a CHF 6,000-4,000-2,000 prize for the Team rankings at the end of the competition. Look for results here.

TSX DAILY: USOPC is saying the right things, but will it have cash to do them? + Spain wins FIBA World Cup & Roglic makes La Vuelta history

By
Rich Perelman
-
The U.S. team at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony in PyeongChang. (Photo: Jon Gaede)

≡ TSX DAILY ~ 16 September 2019 ≡

| 1. |  LANE ONE: The USOPC is working, changing, but its reach is shorter than its desires

The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) held its annual Assembly this past weekend in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the new leadership team was front and center with opening remarks and a post-Board meeting news conference with one message: we listened and we are making changes.

Chief Executive Sarah Hirshland previewed a five-year program that is being developed in detail now, to be reviewed by the Board later this year”

“Our four priorities – and where you’ll see us invest and make substantive change in the coming years – are focused around how we create a better experience for our athletes, on and off the field of play; how we improve the effectiveness of all the organizations that serve our athletes; how we establish an athletes-first culture; and ultimately begin preparing for the awesome, transformational opportunity represented by hosting the Games in LA in 2028.”

These changes accurately reflect the comments from the USOPC’s Athlete Advisory Council, from the USOPC-created Borders Commission and from the testimony at Congressional hearings held in 2018. That’s good.

But Hirshland also hinted at the problem which could stand in the way of some of this progress: money.

The Borders Commission report noted that there is, at present, insufficient funding to undertake all of the changes it would like to see in the athlete support area. Hirshland spoke about “resource-allocation work” that will be needed before the plan can be approved in detail and then implemented.

The perception that the USOPC is swimming in money is simply wrong. In fact, the organization’s financial statements for 2018 – an Olympic Winter Games year – show $296 million and $270 million in expenses, including $211 million spent on athlete support, athlete medical insurance and support for the National Governing Bodies.

Could the USOPC pay an annual stipend to members of the U.S. Olympic Team? That would help a lot, but there were 796 members of the 2016 Olympic and 2018 Winter Games teams combined; an annual stipend of $5,000 a month ($60,000 a year) to cover personal and training expenses would cost $48 million.

Where’s that going to come from? Broadcast revenues from the USOPC’s share of the NBC agreements for the Games will increase by less than $10 million on an annual average once its new deal kicks in for the 2022-32 Games. How is sponsorship going to be increased, when the USOPC puts on no events of its own? And public donations are, in truth, quite modest.

These are real-life problems that the USOPC Board will have to worry about and try to solve. No word from the critics on how to solve them, either.

| 2. | BASKETBALL: Spain wins second FIBA World Cup title with rout of Argentina

It’s a little hard to remember, but about a month ago, the U.S. National Team defeated Spain, 90-81, in its first exhibition game, in Anaheim.

On Sunday, the U.S. had already finished seventh in the tournament as Spain tipped off against Argentina in the championship final of the FIBA World Cup. After getting off to a 14-2 start and a 43-31 halftime lead, Spain ran off 14 straight points during the third quarter and coasted in after piling up a 55-33 lead.

Guard Ricky Rubio was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after scoring 20 points in the final, and center Marc Gasol was also named to the All-Tournament team. Serbia’s Bogdan Bogadanovic ended the event as the top scorer, averaging 22.9 points a game.

It’s the second World Cup title for Spain, which also won in 2006. More here.

France won the bronze medal for the second straight World Cup, coming from behind to beat Australia in a defensive battle, 67-59.

Serbia won the fifth-place game by 90-81 and the U.S. swept past Poland, 87-74 in the seventh-place game.

U.S. coach Gregg Popovich commented after the win over Poland that “ It’s not written in stone that USA should walk to a championship” and added, “Some people want to play the blame game. There’s no blame to be placed anywhere. They want to play the shame game, like we should be ashamed because we didn’t win a gold medal? That’s a ridiculous attitude. It’s immature, it’s arrogant, and it shows that whoever thinks that doesn’t respect all the other teams in the world and doesn’t respect that these guys did the best they could.”

But the reality is that the U.S. should have done better, and – as pointed out by the players – had a seven-point lead halfway into the fourth quarter against France and let it slip away. More experience and better shooting are needed for the 2020 Tokyo Games and USA Basketball is more than aware of this. More here.

| 3. | CYCLING I: Roglic survives crashes, attacks and rain and wins the 74th La Vuelta

The big prizes in cycling are Grand Tours, the three-week monsters that test endurance like no other event in the sport. Slovenian star Primoz Roglic, 29 (pictured below), looked nearly unbeatable in the spring and was the favorite in the first Grand Tour, the Giro d’Italia.

He led for a while, but eventually fell off the pace and had to settle for third. Other than a single, national road race, he disappeared from the competitive scene in order to prepare for the final Grand Tour of the year, La Vuelta a Espana.

And ready he was. He took charge exactly when everyone expected him too, in the Individual Time Trial in stage 10 and took it from there. He met every challenge, stayed with the other contenders except for one error in stage 17, and showed brilliant climbing ability in one of the most challenging courses ever in the 74-race history of La Vuelta.

On the final weekend, he survived a crash and a controversial catch-up maneuver on Friday in the rain and then survived multiple attacks from runner-up Alejandro Valverde from Spain and essentially clinched his victory. His final-day ride into Madrid was mostly ceremonial.

Roglic is the first Slovenian to win any of the Grand Tours, but was hardly the only success story of the race. Countryman Tadej Pogacar won three stages, finished third overall and looks to have a brilliant future, so it’s likely that while Roglic was the first win a Grand Tour, he’s hardly going to be the last. More here.

| 4. | CYCLING II: Kimmann clinches BMX World Cup title while Smulders wins twice at Rock Hill

The penultimate weekend of the UCI BMX World Cup came to the famous race course at Rock Hill, South Carolina and the question of whether Dutch star Niek Kimmann would defend his 2018 seasonal title was definitively answered.

Yes.

Only 13th in Friday’s race, he came back to win on Saturday and clinch the 2019 title with 1,005 points, beyond the reach of Ecuador’s second-place Alfredo Campo (700) in the remaining two races at the end of the month in Argentina.

The women’s seasonal race is not decided, even through three-time defending champion Laura Smulders (NED) swept the Rock Hill races. Right behind her, however, was American Alise Willoughby, finishing third and second; Smulders will head to Argentina with only a 970-910 lead over her. With plenty of points available, it will be a fight to the finish. More here.

| 5. | SKATEBOARDING: Japan goes 1-2 in Park Worlds, but what about 11-year-old Sky Brown!

The World Skate Park World Championships featured Olympic qualifying for the first time in the five-year history of the event and Japan made good use of the opportunity, going 1-2 with seasonal leader Misugu Okamoto and 2018 World Champion Sakura Yosozumi and clinching spots in the 2020 Games.

U.S. star Heimana Reynolds, the 2018 silver medalist, moved up to the top of the podium in 2018 and led Brazilians Luiz Francisco and Pedro Quintas as the Tokyo qualifiers in the men’s division.

But although they were the best, they weren’t the star of the show. That was Britain’s bronze medalist in the “women’s” division: 11-year-old Sky Brown. She will be 12 by the time of the Tokyo Games and eligible to compete; her 58.13 points on her best run was 2.13 points better than fourth-place Poppy Starr Olsen of Australia.

Brown’s life has been changed forever. More here.

| 6. | SURFING: Ferreira wins men’s title for Brazil at World Surfing Games

The biggest annual competition in international surfing finished in Miyazaki, Japan, with Brazil’s Italo Ferreira completing a wild week with a world title in the finale of the World Surfing Games.

He had his passport stolen just days before he had to leave for Japan, managed to get a new one, but with all of the delays, he only made it to the beach with a reported eight minutes to spare before his first heat was scheduled.

Ferreira made it on time, won his heat and continued on to a victory in the finals over American Kolohe Andrino and fellow Brazilian Gabriel Medina.

There was Olympic qualifying on the line for continents other than the Americas – those were decided at the Pan Am Games – so none of the men’s medalists qualified for Tokyo in 2020. They will have other chances, however, in the future. More here.

| 7. | ATHLETICS: World record Half for Geoffrey Kamworor; Bukowiecki out to 73-0!

If you have any doubts about the exploding importance of the half-marathon distance, consider that three-time World Champion Geoffrey Kamworor (KEN) passed on the IAAF World Championships in Qatar to try for a world record at the Copenhagen Half Marathon on Sunday.

The mark he was chasing was a very good 58:18 by countryman Abraham Kiptum from 2018. But Kamworor didn’t beat the mark, he massacred it.

Consider these 5 km splits: 13:53, 13:41, 13:31 and 13:56 and then 3:01 on the 1.097 km run-in; every split under 14 minutes? A 4:26 mile pace for 13.1 miles? Are you kidding?

“It is very emotional for me to set this record,” said Kamworor. “And doing it in Copenhagen, where I won my first world title, adds something to it.” More here.

Add another place setting in the men’s shot put medal hunt in Doha, as Poland’s young star Konrad Bukowiecki (22) reached 22.25 m (73-0) at the Skolimowska Memorial n Chorzow (POL) last Saturday (14th).

It’s his fourth lifetime best in a month and moves him to no. 7 on the world list for 2019. There are now an amazing eight throwers who have reached 22 meters (72-2 1/4) this season.

Also of note: Steven Gardiner of The Bahamas sent a message that he is not conceding any medals to the Americans in the 400 m, winning that event in a seasonal best of 44.14, now no. 3 on the 2019 list. Then again, the entry of the Bahamian team in Doha is now uncertain due to a lack of funds for travel (more here)!

American Shannon Osika produced another stunner, lowering her lifetime best from 4:04.22 to 4:01.80 to win the 1,500 m; the started the year with a best of 4:06.17! More here.

| 8. | BOBSLED: Humphries files suit vs. Canadian Bob Federation, wants to compete for U.S.

This is almost beyond comprehension: Canada’s Kaillie Humphries, a two-time Olympic champion and three-time Olympic medalist, filed a complaint last year with Bobsled Canada Skeleton, “against the team’s head coach, Todd Hays, citing ‘verbal and mental abuse’ among other charges, but said the organization has yet to complete their investigation after more than a year, leaving her no choice but to seek a full release from BCS.” She says now that she wants to compete for the U.S.

The CTV News report further explained that in the charges against Hays – an American who was a two-time Olympian in Bobsled – “Humphries wrote, ‘I have felt disrespected, degraded, demoralized, worthless, unsafe, emotionally exhausted and overwhelmed.’ She further alleged that Hays is the subject of similar complaints from female athlete members of the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation.”

According to the story, Humphries, 34 – born in Calgary – married American former bobsledder Travis Armbruster on Saturday (14th). She has asked for her immediate release by BCS so she can begin training for the U.S. team. CTV reported that “Humphries says she sent a letter requesting a release from BCS on August 3, 2019, in order to compete for the United States Women’s National Bobsleigh Team, and was told on August 22 that she would not receive the release until the investigation into her harassment complaint was complete.” Wow.

| 9. | ICE HOCKEY: Four Nations tournament in Sweden called off since Swedes are on strike

The annual Four Nations Tournament featuring four of the world’s top teams – the U.S., Canada, Finland and Sweden – has been canceled for 2019. The event was scheduled to be hosted in Lulea, Sweden in November, but the Swedish Ice Hockey Association announced the cancellation last Friday (13th) as the Swedish women’s team is on strike for better pay and training conditions.

That action was called on 14 August and the team members and the Swedish federation appear to be far apart on an agreement. This is the second tournament canceled due to the strike; a five-team event held in Finland in August was also skipped.

Originally known as the 3 Nations Cup in 1996, the event expanded with the addition of Sweden in 2000 and had been held in Sweden – on rotation – four times, beginning in 2003. No word yet if the Americans, Canadian and Finns will try to reschedule it in one of their countries.

| 10. | SWIMMING: ISL finally selling tickets for 2019 season

In a late but positive sign for the International Swimming League, ticket sales were announced on 6 September for four of the inaugural season’s seven meets, beginning in Indianapolis, Indiana on 5 October. Dates and adult prices (regular and premium) now available:

● 05-06 October in Indianapolis: $25 and $40 per day
● 19-20 October in Dallas (area): $25 and $40 per day
● 16-17 November in Washington, D.C. (area): $35 and $60 per day
● 23-24 November in London (GBR): £21 (available) and £26 (sold out)

The meets are described as “The fast-paced, electrifying short-course sessions will feature elite swimmer’s from around the world including Olympic and World Champions from over 10 different countries.”

Do they really mean “electrifying”? Kind of a scary thought when referring to swimming, don’t you think?

LANE ONE: The USOPC is working, changing, but its reach is shorter than its desires

By
Rich Perelman
-

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) held its annual U.S. Olympic Assembly last weekend in Colorado Springs, Colorado and the new leadership said all the right things.

Board chair Susanne Lyons underscored the importance of continuing the fundamental reform of the organization in her comments to news media following the Board meetings, including:

“We obviously spent a lot of time talking about governance and reform. With all of the input that we received from all the different report – Ropes & Gray, from the Congressional reports, from the Borders Commission – we are very much in the process of cataloging and getting people’s points of view on how we reform, with many of those recommendations; a very great number of them are already in progress, so clearly that was something the Board discussed as well.”

Chief Executive Sarah Hirshland explained in detail some of the coming changes, especially at the athlete level:

“[W]e’re in process now of going from the strategic level down to tactical and programmatic levels, but I can tell you a few: increased emphasis on mental health services, looking at revisions to medical benefits, our elite-athlete health insurance policies around that. Certainly, we have already implemented significant changes in athlete safety policies and those are changes that will be felt in the natural progression of taking our delegation to Tokyo for the Games. So, those are the kinds of places where athletes will start to see impact.

“We are in the process, as you know, of looking for a Chief of Athlete Services, who will lead our Athlete Services function, that I expect to come in and have some real strong, strategic thinking around our athlete career and education programs, and how we really help with life-cycle transition for athletes along the way. That’s something we have talked a lot about and are very focused on.

“In addition, increased compliance for NGBs, our auditing process and compliance process with NGBs, coupled with our support that will come in the form of shared services for those NGBs , where they really do need administrative help to run their organizations. Many are very small with very small staffs. So we’re looking at what are the shared services, what does that model look like? That would be a few examples.”

These are right out of the request lists from the USOPC’s Athletes Advisory Council, the report of the USOPC-created Borders Commission, Congressional hearings and others. This is all to the good. But Hirshland also, subtly, signaled the trouble ahead. In her prepared remarks at the opening of the event last Thursday (12th), she noted:

“Our four priorities – and where you’ll see us invest and make substantive change in the coming years – are focused around how we create a better experience for our athletes, on and off the field of play; how we improve the effectiveness of all the organizations that serve our athletes; how we establish an athletes-first culture; and ultimately begin preparing for the awesome, transformational opportunity represented by hosting the Games in LA in 2028.”

Speaking to reporters about that plan, to be implemented in a strategic program from 2020-24, she explained that during the Board meetings:

“[W]e have really outlined in detail four pillars of our strategic planning that’s now leading the sort of strategic, and also the tactical and resource-allocation work we’ll do for the next few months before we bring that plan back to the Board.”

Key words: “resource-allocation work.”

Translation: the USOPC does not have the money it needs to implement the kinds of programs it would like to in meeting the real and perceived needs of its primary constituent groups – athletes, coaches and National Governing Bodies – as well as the demands of the Congress as it considers legislative and oversight changes to the U.S. Olympic Movement.

The idea that the USOPC is somehow sitting on a mountain of money so large that it only has to eliminate its wasteful spending to fund thousands of athletes from Maine to California is not only wrong, but laughable. And that’s a major problem, and recognized explicitly in the Borders Commission report filed last July.

Per the USOPC’s own financial statements (collected here), it took in $296 million in revenue in 2018 (an Olympic Winter Games year) and spent $270 million. Of that expense number, it spent $81.1 million on grants to athletes, to National Governing Bodies and for athlete health insurance coverage (for about 2,100 athletes). That was part of $211.0 million in total spent in support athletes, competitions and travel, training facilities and more.

That’s where most of the money goes. Here’s where most of it comes from:

Sponsorships:
● 2018: $125.2 million in cash
● 2017: $130.4 million in cash
● 2016: $87.7 million in cash

Broadcast revenue:
● 2018: $121.8 million
● 2017: $5.2 million
● 2016: $169.5 million

Donations:
● 2018: $23.3 million
● 2017: $15.6 million
● 2016: $22.8 million

The broadcast revenue from NBC will go up somewhat based on the new agreement for the 2022-32 Games, but not by that much. Calculations show an average of $88.7 million per year on average compared with $79.9 million under the current agreement. So that’s not going to change the situation much.

Sponsorship revenue was way up in 2017 and 2018 (good!), but how much more can be expected from this is problematic, since the USOPC does not put on any revenue-producing events of its own; its job is to field teams for events put on by others: the Olympic and Pan American Games.

And donation revenue is, frankly, modest.

Still look like a lot of money? If the USOPC paid every Olympic and Winter Olympic athlete – not counting the Pan Am Games here – an annual honorarium/salary/stipend of $5,000 a month or $60,000 annually, that would cost $48.0 million year, for 800 athletes. The U.S. also took 664 athletes to Lima for the Pan American Games this year; aren’t they also deserving?

And what about the Paralympic Games, to which the U.S. sent 279 athletes in 2016 and 68 to the Winter Paralympics in 2018? What do they get?

The Borders Commission had a whole list of things – not including the stipend idea above – that the USOPC could fund for athletes, but was clear that there is not, at present, money to pay for these things.

It’s pretty easy to see how spending money on athletes gets out of hand very quickly. And with the number of athletes continuing to increase with added sports and events to each of these Games, the need for athlete support services (and the funding needed) will continue to grow.

Neither Lyons or Hirshland announced that the lengthy list of proposed by-law changes had been passed at last weekend’s Board meeting. But neither was it revealed whether there was any discussion by the Board of how to increase the USOPC’s revenues to meet even its own desires for athlete support.

That’s why there will be a need for “resource allocation,” and the USOPC’s critics will be quick to point out the deficiencies in program support, but will no doubt be silent on how to increase the funding available to do more.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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TAEKWONDO: Two wins and four medals for Korea in first-ever Grand Prix in Japan

By
Rich Perelman
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The World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Japan was much anticipated as the first in that country, but it was old favorites Korea which won two weight classes and for medals in total.

The Koreans got wins from reigning 58 kg World Champion Jun Jang and 2017 Worlds bronze medalist Kyo-Don In at +80 kg. However, the tournament finals featured three World Championships rematches from earlier this year:

● Men/80 kg: Azerbaijan’s Worlds winner Milad Beigi managed to overcome (again) silver medalist Maksim Khramtcov (RUS), 38-28;

● Women/49 kg: Thai Panipak Wongpattananakit defeated, as she did in Manchester, China’s Jingyu Wu, 9-2;

● Women/+67 kg: China’s Shuyin Zheng reversed the World Championships result with a tight, 12-10 win over Britain’s Bianca Walkden.

The next Grand Prix comes 18 October in Sofia (BUL). Summaries:

World Taekwondo Grand Prix
Chiba (JPN) ~ 13-15 September 2019
(Full results here)

Men

58 kg: 1. Jun Jang (KOR); 2. Armin Hadipour (IRI); 3. Vito dell’Aquila (ITA) and Adrian Vicente (ESP). Final: Jang d. Hadipour, 22-14.

68 kg: 1. Mirhashem Hosseini (IRI); 2. Christian McNeish (GBR); 3. Edival Pontes (BRA) and Dae-Hoon Lee (KOR). Final: Hosseini d. McNeish, 36-20.

80 kg: 1. Milad Beigi (AZE); 2. Maksim Khramtcov (RUS); 3. Toni Kanaet (CRO) and Anton Kotkov (RUS). Final: Beigi d. Khramtcov, 38-28.

+80 kg: 1. Kyo-Don In (KOR); 2. Vladislav Larin (RUS); 3. Radick Isaev (AZE) and Sajjad Mardani (IRI). Final: In d. Larin, 6-5.

Women

49 kg: 1. Panipak Wongpattanakit (THA); 2. Jingyu Wu (CHN); 3. Jae-Young Sim (KOR) and Tijana Bogdanovic (SRB). Final: Wongpattanakit d. Wu, 9-2.

57 kg: 1. Hatice Ilgun (TUR); 2. Nada Laaraj (MAR); 3. Tatiana Kudashova (RUS) and Phaanapa Harnsujin (THA). Final: Ilgun d. Laaraj, 4-3.

67 kg: 1. Magda Wiet Henin (FRA); 2. Matea Jelic (CRO); 3. Yunfei Gao (CHN) and Nigora Tursunkulova (UZB). Final: Wiet Henin d. Jelic, 5-4.

+67 kg: 1. Shuyin Zheng (CHN); 2. Bianca Walkden (GBR); 3. Maria Espinoza (MEX) and Svetlana Osipova (UZB). Final: Zheng d. Walkden, 12-10.

CYCLING: Sprint finishes in Quebec give titles to Matthews and van Avermaet

By
Rich Perelman
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Australia's Michael Matthews, winner of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec

The annual Grand Prix Cycliste road races in Quebec City and Montreal are a treat for the sprinters and wild charges to the finish were the keys to both races this year, especially for Australian Michael Matthews and Belgium’s Greg van Avermaet.

Matthews out-dueled three-time World Champion Peter Sagan on Friday in Quebec. Sagan attacked with 1,000 m to go, but couldn’t shake France’s Julian Alaphilippe. Behind both of them, the peloton was coming on and Belgian Tim Wellens sprinted for the front, with Alaphilippe, Sagan and Olympic champ van Avermaet all chasing,

But Australia’s Matthews had the most legs left and ran out on the right side, passing everyone and getting to the line first. Sagan held on for second against van Avermaet. It was the second straight Quebec win for Matthews.

On Sunday, it was van Avermaet’s turn to get to the line first, in Montreal. This time, it was against Italy’s Diego Ulissi (the 2017 winner) as van Avermaet won his second Montreal race, previously in 2016.

It was van Avermaet’s third win of the year, but first in a World Tour race.

In Spain, the two-day Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta was decided in the opening race, a 9.3 km Time Trial won by Germany’s Lisa Brennauer by four seconds over Dutch star Lucinda Brand and nine seconds over Dane Pernille Mathiesen.

That proved to be enough as the second-day race ended on a mass sprint, leaving the first-day standings intact.

Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec
Quebec City (CAN) ~ 13 September 2019
(Full results here)

Final Standings (201.6 km): 1. Michael Matthews (AUS), 5:13:01; 2. Peter Sagan (SVK), 5:13:01; 3. Greg van Avermaet (BEL), 5:13:01; 4. Diego Ulissi (ITA), 5:13:01; 5. Jasper Stuyven (BEL), 5:13:01.

Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal
Montreal (CAN) ~ 15 September 2019
(Full results here)

Final Standings (219.6 km): 1. Van Avermaet (BEL), 6:09:38; 2. Ulissi (ITA), 6:09:38; 3. Ivan Garcia Cortina (ESP), 6:09:38; 4. Tim Wellens (BEL), 6:09:38; 5. Michael Valgren (DEN), 6:09:38.

UCI Women’s World Tour/Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta
Madrid (ESP) ~ 14-15 September 2019
(Full results here)

Final Standings: 1. Lisa Brennauer (GER), 2:33:06; 2. Lucinda Brand (NED), +0:10; 2. Pernille Mathiesen (DEN), +0:28; 4. Christine Majerus (LUX), +0:35; 5. Eugenia Bujak (SLO), +0:36.

Stage 1 (9.3 km Indiv. Time Trial): 1. Brennauer (GER), 12:52; 2. Brand (GER), 12:56; 3. Mathiesen (DEN), 13:05. Stage 2 (98.6 km): 1. Chloe Hosking (AUS), 2:20:31; 2. Letizia Paternoster (ITA), 2:20:31; 3. Roxane Fournier (FRA), 2:20:31.

SURFING: Wild week for Ferreira results in Worlds win as Brazil takes the team title

By
Rich Perelman
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Brazil's Italo Ferreira uring his gold-medal-winning ride at the World Surfing Games (Photo: Int'l Surfing Assn.)

Brazil’s Italo Ferreira didn’t have an easy time getting to the 2019 World Surfing Games, but he enjoyed himself once he got there.

He has his passport stolen a few days before his flight was scheduled, got a new one just in time and was reported to get to the beach in Miyazaki (JPN) about eight minutes before his first heat.

But he did get there, won his heat and moved through the rounds, eventually using a brilliant full turn aerial to score 17.77 points to win the gold medal. “That was a super cool contest,” he said afterwards. “I want to congratulate every surfer and country here. I am so tired, that was a lot of heats with a lot of emotional moments. I just tried to show my best surfing.”

Brazil – thanks in part to Ferreira – also won the team title, out-pointing the U.S.

There were Olympic qualifying places available for the top finishers in Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania; the Americas places were determined at the Pan American Games in August. Most of the 2020 qualifying will come with the conclusion of the 2019 World Surfing League season, and the 2020 World Surfing Games. Summaries from Miyazaki:

ISA World Surfing Games
Miyazaki (JPN) ~ 7-15 September 2019
(Full results here)

Men/ Final: 1. Italo Ferreira (BRA), 17.77; 2. Kolohe Andino (USA), 17.06; 3. Gabriel Medina (BRA), 14.53; 4. Shun Murakami (JPN), 11.74.

Women/ Final: 1. Sofia Mulanovich (PER), 13.80 points; 2. Silvana Lima (BRA), 12.77; 3. Bianca Buitendag (RSA), 12.64; 4. Carissa Moore (USA), 12.60.

Team: 1. Brazil, 4,060 points; 2. United States, 3,415; 3. Japan, 2,680; 4. Peru, 2,610; 5. South Africa, 2,485.

Team Aloha Cup/ Final: 1. Australia (Ryan Callinan, Owen Wright, Sally Fitzgibbons, Nikki Van Dijk), 38.19; 2. South Africa, 38.11; 3. United States, 35.38; 4. Japan, 28.10.

SKATEBOARD: Rankings leaders Reynolds and Okamoto clinch Olympic berths in Park Worlds

By
Rich Perelman
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The World Skate Park Worlds women's podium: Sakura Yosozumi (JPN: silver); Misugu Okamoto (JPN: gold) and Britain's Sky Brown (bronze). (Photo: World Skate)

The debut of Skateboarding at the 2020 Olympic Games is getting pretty real pretty fast as the medal winners at the Park World Championships in Brazil all clinched places at the Games, including an 11-year-old sensation from Great Britain.

The wins went to the top-ranked rides coming into the Worlds: American Heimana Reynolds, who moved up from the silver-medal spot in the 2018 Worlds, and Japan’s Misugu Okamoto, who has now won all three of the top-level competitions this season.

While Japan went 1-2 in the women’s final, with last year’s World Champion, Sakura Yosozumi, finishing second, a lot of the talk was about Britain’s 11-year-old Sky Brown, who finished third and expects to compete in Tokyo …. at age 12!

American Olympic snowboarding star Shaun White, 33, finished 13th in the men’s final and was eliminated in the semifinals.

World Skate Park World Championhips
Sao Paulo (BRA) ~ 10-15 September 2019
(Full results here)

Men: 1. Heimana Reynolds (USA), 88.00; 2. Luiz Francisco (BRA), 85.50; 3. Pedro Quintas (BRA), 85.00; 4. Keegan Palmer (AUS), 84.70; 5. Thomas Schaar (USA), 84.60; 6. Pedro Barros (BRA), 84.50; 7. Tate Carew (USA), 84.20; 8. Mateus Hiroshi (BRA), 83.70.

Women: 1. Misugu Okamoto (JPN), 61.17 points; 2. Sakura Yosozumi (JPN), 60.00; 3. Sky Brown (GBR), 58.13; 4. Poppy Starr Olsen (AUS), 56.00; 5. Lizzie Armanto (FIN), 49.00; 6. Dora Varella (BRA), 48.00; 7. Isaodra Pacheco (BRA), 46.00; 8. Kisa Nakamura (JPN), 45.57.

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