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ATHLETICS Panorama: Ochocinco must have missed the Shanghai 100 m!

By
Rich Perelman
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U.S. sprint superstar Noah Lyles

Seeing stupid posts on Twitter is no surprise, but former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson – a.k.a. “Ochocinco” – posted a doozy on Friday … and Noah Lyles – he of the co-world-leading 9.86 100 m after his rocket finish at the Shanghai Diamond League – tweeted right back:

The announced “40 Yards of Gold” competition, an elimination-style “tournament” to supposedly determine the fastest player in football, is another slap at track & field.

The event is supposed to take place on 29 June and feature as many as 24 players. But where’s the challenge to the guys who actually run for a living?

New Orleans Saints receiver Ted Ginn, Jr. is one of the listed competitors; he told Bleacher Report’s Adam Lefkoe on “The Lefkoe Show” that he’s race anyone “pole to pole” – on a football field, that’s 120 yards or about 110 m – for $10,000.

He got a quick answer in a tweet back from Texas high school sprint star Matthew Boling (10.13):

The only problem with all of this is the NCAA would be pretty unhappy with Boling: such a stunt would likely cost him his eligibility at Georgia. But how about Lyles or co-world leader Christian Coleman? The $10,000 is first-prize money in a Diamond League meet!

Highlights from the Thursday and Friday events at the NCAA Division I regionals at Jacksonville (East) and Sacramento (West):

● Men/200 m:
OK, it was wind-aided – +2.5 m/s – but Texas Tech’s Divine Oduduru (NGR) romped through his West Regional heat in 19.93. His quarterfinal is on Saturday.

● Men/400 m:
North Carolina A&T junior Trevor Stewart ran away with the East Regional 400 m heats in 44.55 and his quarterfinal in 44.77. In the West quarterfinals, Houston senior Kahmari Montgomery – the reigning USA Track & Field national champ – ran 44.78 to win heat two of the quarters.

● Men/110 m hurdles:
Florida’s Grant Holloway dominated the East Regional heats, winning heat six in 13.19 (wind: +1.7 m/s). Kentucky’s Daniel Roberts won heat three in 13.67. The quarterfinals are on Saturday.

● Men/400 m hurdles:
Impressive 48.54 in the East Regional quarterfinals for South Carolina junior Quincy Hall.

● Women/100 m:
LSU frosh Sha’Carri Richardson continues to show that she’s for real, winning her East Regional quarterfinal in 10.99 (+0.7), moving her to no. 2 on the world list for 2019. That’s a huge PR for Richardson, who had run windy times of 10.91 and 11.00 earlier, but had a legal best of just 11.25.

She was joined a few hours later by Texas senior Teahna Daniels, who won heat three of the West Regionals in 10.99 (+1.4). That’s a lifetime best, improving on her 11.06 from 2017.

They are the 107th and 108th women to ever run under 11 seconds with legal wind!

Agence France Presse reported that South Africa’s Caster Semenya will run next on 11 June in Montreuil (FRA) in a 2,000 m race, ahead of a 3,000 m at the Pre Classic at Stanford on 30 June. She can run at distances over the mile without any change to her testosterone levels under the IAAF’s eligibility rules, and won the South African title earlier this year at 5,000 m.

In case you missed it, the Athletics Integrity Unit issued a “Notice of Allegation” for doping against Bahrain’s Eunice Kirwa, the former Kenyan runner who won the Olympic silver medal in the marathon in 2016.

She was caught for using EPO (erythropoietin), commonly used for blood doping. Now 35, her last recorded race was a marathon win in Macau (CHN) on 3 December 2017. She was sixth in the 2017 World Championships marathon.

CANOEING Preview: Carrington headlines World Cup season opener in Poland

By
Rich Perelman
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New Zealand's kayaking superstar Lisa Carrington

The first of two ICF World Cup Sprint events is underway in Poznan (POL), with a huge program of events continuing through Sunday. Thanks to being the season opener, a large cadre of 2016 Olympic and 2018 medal winners are in attendance:

Men:
● Fernando Pimenta (POR) ~ K-1 1,000 m
● Liam Heath (GBR) ~ 2016 Olympic K-1 200 m Champion
● Maxime Beaumont (FRA) ~ 2016 Olympic K-1 200 m silver
● Arturas Seja (LTU) ~ 2018 World K-1 200 m silver
● Sebastian Brendel (GER) ~ 2016 Olympic C-1 1,000 m Champ; 2016 C-2 1,000 m gold
● Isaquias dos Santos (BRA) ~ 2016 Olympic C-1 1,000 m silver; 2016 C-1 200 m bronze
● Ilia Shtokalov (RUS) ~ 2016 Olympic C-1 1,000 m bronze
● Martin Fuksa (CZE) ~ 2016 Olympic C-1 1,000 m silver
● Josef Dostal (CZE) ~ 2016 Olympic K-1 1,000 m silver; 2018 Worlds bronze
● Stefan Vekic/Vladimir Torubarov (SRB) ~ 2018 Worlds K-2 500 m silver
● Tom Liebscher (GER) ~ 2018 Worlds K-1 500 m silver
● Dmytro Ianchuk/Taras Mishchuk (UKR) ~ 2016 Olympic C-2 1,000 m bronze
● Yul Oeltze/Peter Kretschmer (GER) ~ 2018 World C-2 1,000 m Champions
● Serguey Torres/Fernando Enriquez (CUB) ~ 2018 World C-2 1,000 m silver
● Hleb Saladhuka/Dzianis Malkhlai (BLE) ~ 2018 World C-2 200 m Champions
● Arsen Sliwinski/Michal Lubniewski (POL) ~ 2018 World C-2 200 m silver

Women:
● Lisa Carrington (NZL) ~ 2012-16 Olympic K-1 200 m Champ; 8-time World Champ
● Marta Walczykiewicz (POL) ~ 2016 Olympic K-1 200 m silver
● Linnea Stencils (SWE) ~ 2018 World K-1 200 m bronze
● Emma Jorgensen (DEN) ~ 2016 Olympic K-1 500 m silver; 2018 World K-1 200 m silver
● Laurence Vincent-Lapointe (CAN) ~ 2018 World C-1 200 m Champion
● Dorota Borowska (POL) ~ 2018 World C-1 200 m silver
● Katie Vincent (CAN) ~ 2018 World C-2 500 m Champion with Vincent-Lapointe
● Vloha Khudzenka (BLR) ~ 2018 World K-1 500 m bronze

Carrington is the star of the show and rightfully so. In addition to being undefeated in her K-1 200 m speciality since before the 2012 Games, she is an eight-time World Champion from 2011-18, winning six titles in the K-1 200 m, one in the K-1 500 m and one in the K-2 500 m, with Caitlin Ryan. In eight years of World Championships competition she has 15 total medals.

The ICF has live Webcast coverage of the Poznan World Cup on its Web site; you can look for results here.

SHOOTING Preview: Three Rio gold medalists and four World Champions in Pistol and Rifle World Cup in Munich

By
Rich Perelman
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The famed ISSF World Cup for pistol and rifle events in Munich (GER) is one of the annual highlights of the international shooting season, with a startling total of 919 athletes from 98 nations descending on the Olympia Shooting Range for five days of competition. The finals schedule:

● 26 May: Women/10 m Air Rifle
● 27 May: Men/10 m Air Pistol & 50 m Rifle/3 Pos.; Women/25 n Pistol
● 28 May: Men/10 m Air Rifle
● 29 May: Men/25 m Rapid-Fire Pistol; Women/10 m Air Pistol & 50 m Rifle/3 Pos.
● 30 May: Mixed/10 m Air Pistol & Mixed/10 m Air Rifle

As expected, the fields are excellent. In just the individual events, there are winners of at least 26 medals from the 2016 Olympic Games and 2018 World Championships alone, three current Olympic gold medalists and four reigning World Champions:

Men/10 m Air Pistol:
● Xuan Vinh Hoang (VIE) ~ 2016 Olympic gold medalist
● Felipe Almeida Wu (BRA) ~ 2016 Olympic silver medalist
● Wei Pang (CHN) ~ 2016 Olympic bronze medalist
● Artem Chernousov (RUS) ~ 2018 World Championships silver medalist

Men/25 m Rapid-Fire Pistol:
● Christian Reitz (GER) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion
● Jean Quiquampoix (FRA) ~ 2016 Olympic silver; 2018 World Champs bronze
● Yuehong Li (CHN) ~ 2016 Olympic bronze medalist
● Junmin Lin (CHN) ~ 2018 World Champion
● Jian Zhang (CHN) ~ 2018 World Championships silver medalist

Men/10 m Air Rifle:
● Serhiy Kulish (UKR) ~ 2016 Olympic silver medalist
● Petar Gorsa (CRO) ~ 2018 World Championships silver medalist
● Miran Mancic (CRO) ~ 2018 World Championships bronze medalist

Men/50 m Rifle ~ 3 Positions:
● Alexis Raynaud (FRA) ~ 2016 Olympic bronze medalist
● Tomasz Bartnik (POL) ~ 2018 World Champion
● Petar Gorsa (CRO) ~ 2018 World Championships silver medalist
● Michael McPhail (USA) ~ 2018 World Championships bronze medalist

Women/10 m Air Pistol:
● Mengxue Zhang (CHN) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion
● Anna Korakaki (GRE) ~ 2016 Olympic bronze medalist; 2018 World Champion
● Bo-Mi Kim (KOR) ~ 2018 World Championships bronze medalist
● Zorana Arunovic (SRB) ~ 2018 World Championships silver medalist

Women/25 m Pistol:
● Anna Korakaki (GRE) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion
● Heidi Gerber (SUI) ~ 2016 Olympic bronze medalist
● Olena Kostevych (UKR) ~ 2018 World Champion
● Doreen Vennekamp (GER) ~ 2018 World Championships bronze medalist

Women/10 m Air Rifle:
● Ginny Thrasher (USA) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion
● Anjum Moudgil (IND) ~ 2018 World Championships silver medalist

Women/50 m Rifle ~ 3 Positions:
● Snjezana Pejcic (CRO) ~ 2018 World Championships bronze medalist

India has the biggest delegation in Munich, with 35 shooters attending. China and Germany are next with 30 each and then the United States at 27.

The ISSF does a remarkable job with coverage on its Web site; look for results here.

CYCLING: Russia’s Zakarin scores surprise win in Giro Stage 13 and rides into overall contention

By
Rich Perelman
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russia's Ilnur Zakarian (Photo: Filip Bossuyt via Wikimedia Commons)

It had been three years since Russian Ilnur Zakarin had won a UCI World Tour stage, and certainly no one saw him coming to the fore in the brutal climbing stage on Friday that scaled the Ceresole Reale over the last 45 km, finishing at 2,245 m (7,365 feet) of altitude.

After Thursday’s stage had scrambled the leaderboard, Zakarian was trying to get into contention in overall standings. He started the stage in 12th place, some 7:45 behind Jan Polanc (SLO).

He took off with a breakaway group after the first climb of the day and when the race came to the Ceresole Reale, he was part of a four-rider lead group. He attacked with 5 km to go – all uphill – and dropped Bauke Mollema (NED) and then managed to get clear of Spain’s Mikel Nieve for a 35-second victory in 5:34:40.

Suddenly, Zakarin finds himself third overall, just 2:56 behind Polanc and 31 seconds behind Primoz Roglic (SLO), who continues to out-perform the other pre-race favorites. With eight stages to go – most of them climbing stages – only the first seven riders are within 5:00 and only 14 within 10 minutes of the lead.

Saturday’s stage is another soul-crusher, with four major climbs and an uphill finish over 131 km. Sunday’s stage from Ivrea to Como also has three tough climbs, but not quite as bad as the prior two stages. Summaries so far:

UCI World Tour/Giro d’Italia
Italy ~ 11 May-2 June 2019
(Full results here)

Stage 1 (8.0 km Time Trial): 1. Primoz Roglic (SLO), 12:54; 2. Simon Yates (GBR), 13:13; 3. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), 13:17; 4. Miguel Angel Lopez (COL), 13:22; 5. Tom Dumoulin (NED), 13:22. Also in the top 25: 21. Chad Haga (USA), 13:48.

Stage 2 (205.0 km): 1. Pascal Ackermann (GER), 4:44:43; 2. Elia Viviani (ITA), 4:44:43; 3. Caleb Ewan (AUS), 4:44:43; 4. Fernando Gaviria (COL), 4:44:43; 5. Arnaud Demare (FRA), 4:44:43.

Stage 3 (220.0 km): 1. Gaviria (COL), 5:23:19; 2. Demare (FRA), 5:23:19; 3. Ackermann (GER), 5:23:19; 4. Matteo Moschetti (ITA), 5;23:19; 5. Giocomo Nizzolo (ITA), 5:23:19. (Viviani (ITA) won the race, but was disqualified for impeding another rider at the finish.)

Stage 4 (235.0 km): 1. Richard Carapaz (ECU), 5:58:17; 2. Ewan (AUS), 5:58:17; 3. Diego Ulissi (ITA), 5:58:17; 4. Ackermann (GER), 5:58:19; 5. Florian Senechal (FRA), 5:58:19.

Stage 5 (140.0 km): 1. Ackermann (GER), 3:15:44; 2. Gaviria (COL), 3:15:44; 3. Demare (FRA), 3:15:44; 4. Ewan (AUS), 3:15:44; 5. Matteo Moschetti (ITA), 3:15:44. Also in the top 25: 13. Sean Bennett (USA), 3:15:44

Stage 6 (238.0 km): 1. Fausto Masnada (ITA), 5:45:01; 2. Valerio Conti (ITA), 5:45:06; 3. Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP), 5:45:39; 4. Ruben Plaza (ESP), 5:45:39; 5. Giovanni Carboni (ITA), 5:45:44. Also in the top 25: 20. Brent Bookwalter (USA), 5:52:20.

Stage 7 (185.0 km): 1. Pello Bilbao (ESP), 4:06:27; 2. Tony Gallopin (FRA), 4:06:32; 3. Davide Formolo (ITA), 4:06:32; 4. Lucas Hamilton (AUS), 4:06:36; 5. Mattia Cattaneo (ITA), 4:06:36. Also in the top 25: 23. Joe Dombrowski (USA), 4:07:34.

Stage 8 (239.0 km): 1. Ewan (AUS), 5:43:32; 2. Viviani (ITA), 5:43:32; 3. Ackermann (GER), 5:43:32; 4. Fabio Sabatini (ITA), 5:43:32; 5. Manuel Belletti (ITA), 5:43:32.

Stage 9 (34.8 km Time Trial): 1. Roglic (SLO), 51:52; 2. Victor Campenaerts (BEL), 52:03; 3. Bauke Mollema (NED), 52:52; 4. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), 53:57; 5. Tanel Kangert (EST), 53:02. Also in the top 25: 6. Haga (USA), 53:06.

Stage 10 (145.0 km): 1. Demare (FRA), 3:36:07; 2. Viviani (ITA), 3:36:07; 3. Rudiger Selig (GER), 3:36:07; 4. Ewan (AUS), 3:36:07; 5. Nizzolo (ITA), 3:36:07. Also in the top 25: Bennett (USA), 3:36:07.

Stage 11 (221.0 km): 1. Ewan (AUS), 5:17:26; 2. Demare (FRA), 5:17:26; 3. Ackermann (GER), 5:17:26; 4. Viviani (ITA), 5:17:26; 5. Davide Cimolai (ITA), 5:17:26. Also in the top 25: 10. Bennett (USA), 5:17:26.

Stage 12 (158.0 km): 1. Cesare Benedetti (ITA), 3:41:49; 2. Damiano Caruso (ITA), 3:41:49; 3. Eddie Dunbar (IRL), 3:41:49; 4. Gianluca Brambilla (ITA), 3:41:51; 5. Eros Capecchi (ITA), 3:41:55.

Stage 13 (196.0 km): 1. Ilnur Zakarin (RUS), 5:34:40; 2. Mikel Nieve (ESP), 5:35:15; 3. Mikel Landa (ESP), 5:36:00; 4. Carapaz (ECU), 5:36:18; 5. Bauke Mollema (NED), 5:36:25. Also in the top 25: 13. Dombrowski (USA), 5:39:05.

25 May: Stage 14 (131.9 km) ~ Saint Vincent to Courmayeur (mountains)
26 May: Stage 15 (232.0 km) ~ Ivrea to Como (hilly)
27 May: Rest day
28 May: Stage 16 (226.0 km) ~ Lovere to Ponte di Legno (mountains)
29 May: Stage 17 (181.0 km) ~ Commezzadura to Anterselva/Antholz (mountains)
30 May: Stage 18 (222.0 km) ~ Valdaora / Olang to Santa Maria di Sala (flat)
31 May: Stage 19 (151.0 km) ~ Treviso to San Martino di Castrozza (mountains)
01 June: Stage 20 (194.0 km) ~ Feltre to Croce D’Aune-Monte Avena (mountains)
02 June: Stage 21 (17.0 km Time Trial) ~ Verona to Verona

THE BIG PICTURE: IOC evaluation shows more (a lot more) confidence in Italy than in Sweden

By
Rich Perelman
-

The International Olympic Committee’s Evaluation Commission released its report on the two candidates for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, with considerably excitement over the Milan-Cortina bid and not so much for Stockhom-Are.

The 144-page report profiled each bid in specific areas including Games Concept, Games Experience, Paralympic Games and Games Delivery. There was no numeric scoring – and thus no direct comparison – between the two bids, but the preference for the Italian offer was clear in section after section:

● Games Concept

The normal lofty rhetoric was present for both bids, but the Milan-Cortina concept had two exceptional drivers that can actually happen:

“Goal 2: Sustainable development and cooperation in the macro-alpine region”

“Goal 4: Development of Italy’s Alpine and Dolomites region into a major sports and tourism hub”

The report further noted – approvingly – of the integration of the Games concept into the development goals of the northern Italian regions where the events would be held:

“(1) Games can enhance the attractiveness of the mountain region as a place to live and work, to reverse the trend of de-population (including improved physical and digital infrastructure)

“(2) Olympic Village development aligns well with Milan’s need to meet growing demand for affordable university accommodation.”

These are crucial elements to making an Olympic Games “fit” into a region rather than changing the region to meet the needs of a Games.

Milan’s venue plan has 14 competition sites, with six existing, four existing that need work, three temporary and only one to be built, and which will be built regardless of whether the Games are awarded. The only yellow card was for the renovation plan of the 1956 Cortina sliding venue; although the regional government wants to fix it – it’s been closed since 2008 – the Evaluation Commission suggested these sports could be held in an existing facility else and save a lot of money. For example, the track at St. Moritz (SUI) is less than 200 km distant to the north.

The Stockholm-Are concept has the typical goal of “Encourage more physical activity and sports participation to promote a healthy lifestyle among Swedish youth,” but does not tie in with the long-term plans for the Stockholm region in any significant way.

The Stockholm-Are venue concept obviously troubled the Evaluation Commission: six of the 12 proposed sites are existing, two exist but need work, one is temporary and three need to be built. A new Cross Country and Biathlon facility at Hamra is proposed, but excellent existing venues at Falun and Oestersund are already available and “Games-ready.” Moreover, that facility, a planned Speed Skating venue at Barkarby and the Stockholm-area village are all to be privately developed and no back-up plans were submitted. The post-Games operating funding for the skating oval is expected to come mostly from public sources, but this is not confirmed.

The sliding sports would be held in Sigulda (LAT), across the Baltic Sea, which is an established World Cup site for bobsleigh and luge.

● Games Experience

Milan proposes six Olympic Villages to keep the athletes close to their competition venues. The Milan village will be built to support the growing need for university housing for students in the area and if not built by private developers, will be underwritten by the Lombardy region.

Stockholm-Are has four housing centers; in addition to the privately-built Stockholm village, the housing in Are is also a new development to be built by the resort owner with private financing. The Evaluation Commission also saw significant risk in this. Further, almost all of the accommodations in Falun (Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping) and Are (Alpine Skiing, Freestyle & Snowboard) will be needed for athletes, officials and media, leaving very little for spectators.

● Paralympic Games

Milan-Cortina’s proposal is to use the existing Olympic sites for the Paralympics, with three venue clusters. The Evaluation Commission suggested simplifying the plan to two clusters to save costs. The regional governments have committed to $62 million in subsidies to support the Paralympics.

Stockholm-Are has the six sports in two clusters; the usual questions about accessibility at the to-be-built accommodations in Stockholm and Are were raised. No government support for the Paralympics was noted.

● Games Delivery

There’s no doubt that Sweden, an established winter-sports power, can stage excellent Winter Games. But in comparing the reports on the two bids, there is an obvious edge for Milan-Cortina.

In hotel room availability, Milan-Cortina shows 71,000 existing; Stockholm-Are has existing inventory of about 50,100.

The budget for Milan-Cortina – in 2018 dollars – is strikingly low at $1.57 billion, but is balanced with a 9% contingency ($142.4 million), in a country with the eighth-largest economy in the world and a developed commercial sponsorship sector.

The Evaluation Commission was obviously dismayed by Stockholm-Are’s budget. At $1.52 billion, it used the 2026 numbers (not discounted to 2018) for IOC support subsidies and $100 million more from the IOC’s sponsorship program that has been committed to. Conclusions: “If [IOC contribution was] discounted, this would create a significant gap in the 2018 USD budget” and “Scale of the Swedish economy and market may prove to be a limiting factor in revenue generation.”

The Milan-Cortina bid has enthusiastic support of both municipal councils and both will sign the Host City Contract. The regional governments of Lombardy (Milan) and Veneto (Cortina) are both deeply involved.

For Stockholm-Are, neither the city of Stockholm or City of Are are proposed as signers of the Host City Contract. The Swedish government has agreed to provide security and customs services.

The kicker is the vast difference in public support. The IOC’s own polling in February 2019 showed support for the candidature at 83-4% in favor in Italy and 87-4% in Milan. It’s much difference for Stockholm-Are: just 55-17% (28 no opinion) in Sweden and 54-17% (30% no opinion) in Stockholm.

The Evaluation Commission’s report is written with great precision, and while intentionally bland in some areas, clearly favors Milan-Cortina as a better bet for the IOC. The venue plan, the infrastructure support, the budget and most of all the interest of the public clearly make the Italian site the preferred selection.

What will the IOC membership do? That’s yet to be seen, but the report does a good job of making clear the strengths and shortcomings of each bid, based on the admittedly-limited information available right now.

In a month, we’ll see how many IOC members actually took the time to read the Evaluation Commission’s report.

SPEED READ: Headlines from The Sports Examiner for Friday, 24 March 2019

By
Rich Perelman
-

Welcome to The Sports Examiner SPEED READ, a 100 mph (44.7 m/s) review of what happened this week in Olympic sport:

LANE ONE

Wednesday: Our Monday column asking why FINA and the European swimming confederation continue to have an accused murderer on their governing boards was responded to by Tamas Gyarfas himself, the man in the middle of the controversy. He stated, “You have to be sure that I didn’t commit any crime.” In the meantime, former IAAF president Lamine Diack should know within the next 90 days whether he will be put on trial for corruption in France, and the IOC Executive Board may decide the fate of the Tokyo boxing tournament on Wednesday.

Friday: The International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board recommended that AIBA, the federation responsible for Olympic boxing since 1946, be suspended until after the 2020 Tokyo Games. Its report details where AIBA went wrong, and it’s a long list. It’s also a warning to the other International Federations about what not to do.

THE BIG PICTURE

Wednesday: The IOC Executive Board confirms there will be a boxing tournament in Tokyo in 2020, but AIBA will not be involved. It’s suspended until after the Games and the IOC created a group to figure out how to manage the tournament!

HEARD AFTER HALFTIME

Thursday: The IOC has decided to be even more flexible in its bidding procedures in the future … more defendants identified in the French corruption probe that stars former IAAF head Lamine Diack … Kenya’s Margaret Wambui confirms hyperangrogemism … FIFA will play the 2022 World Cup with 32 teams, not 48 … shock 2012 Breaststroke gold medalist Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) retires at 22 … what’s happening with Olympic wrestling star Helen Maroulis? … surgery for Gwen Jorgensen temporarily halts her try for the 2020 Olympic marathon.

STAT PACK

Monday: Our statistical review of 17 events in 12 sports during the week of 13-19 May.

ARCHERY

Tuesday: Strong fields lined up for the third World Archery World Cup, this time in Antalya (TUR). The Koreans aren’t there, but American star Brady Ellison and 15-year-old emerging talent Casey Kaufhold are ready to go.

ATHLETICS

Tuesday: Excellent meet in the IAAF World Challenge Series in Nanning (CHN) on Tuesday, with China’s Lijiao Gong taking the world lead in the shot put back from American Chase Ealey. And U.S. sprint ace Christian Coleman suggests some perspective on the spectacular Shanghai 100 m, where he lost by a whisker to Noah Lyles.

Thursday: The biggest decathlon/heptathlon meet of the year, the annual Hypomeeting in Gotzis (AUT) is on this weekend, with Canada’s Damian Warner looking for a record-tying fifth title.

CYCLING

Tuesday: Preview of the UCI Women’s World Tour Emakumeen Bira in the Basque Country of Spain. Can anyone beat the Dutch?

Wednesday: Preview of the second UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Nove Mesto (CZE). How about two in a row for American Kate Courtney & Swiss Mathias Flueckiger after their surprise wins in tough conditions in the season opener?

Thursday: The 102nd Giro d’Italia has moved to the Alps, so the racing is getting serious. Thursday’s stage completely upset the leaderboard and more climbing in on the way this weekend! Are Slovenian riders really standing 1-2?

DIVING

Tuesday: The USA Diving Senior National Championships are underway in Indianapolis, with selections being made for the U.S. World Championships team for later this year. The synchronized teams have been determined; a preview of the likely contenders for the men’s and women’s Springboard and Platform spots.

FOOTBALL

Thursday: The U.S. women finish their prep games before the Women’s World Cup on Sunday vs. Mexico, and the FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup starts in Poland.

ICE HOCKEY

Thursday: Russia eliminated the U.S., 4-3, in the IIHF World Championship quarterfinals in Slovakia, so they will move on to the semis to face Finland, while Canada takes on the Czech Republic.

RUGBY

Thursday: A berth in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic tournament is within the grasp of the first-place USA Eagles at this weekend’s ninth leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series in London! Wow!

SKATEBOARDING

Wednesday: The first step in the long road to the inaugural Olympic skateboarding Street competition is underway in London with the World Skate SLS Tour event. The event itself is pretty complex, but one of the stars to look for is World Champion Nyjah Huston of the U.S.

VOLLEYBALL

Tuesday: The FIVB Women’s Nations League has just started, with the United States women the defending champions. But the U.S. women are not ranked no. 1 in the world, but started their title defense with a 3-0 whitewash of Belgium in Ruse. That’s in Bulgaria!

PREVIEWS & RESULTS

● Beach Volleyball: FIVB World Tour four-star in Jinjiang (CHN).
● Fencing: Korea’s Oh truing for third straight FIE Sabre Grand Prix victory in Moscow
● Gymnastics: Eight wins for China in first FIG World Challenge Cup
● Gymnastics: Croatia’s Tin Srbic headline second World Challenge Cup
● Modern Pentathlon: Fourth World Cup starts in Kladno (CZE).

UPCOMING

Highlights of the coming week, with previews in the coming days on TheSportsExaminer.com:

● Athletics: The third IAAF Diamond League meet, in Stockholm (SWE).

● Cycling: The final week of the year’s first Grand Tour, the Giro d’Italia!

● Swimming: Third and final leg of the FINA Champions Swim Series, in Indianapolis.

And a look at a revolution … or implosion? … in swimming.

LANE ONE: The reasons behind the IOC’s suspension of AIBA, or what a ruined International Federation looks like

By
Rich Perelman
-

On Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board recommended the suspension the International Boxing Association (“AIBA”) from its role as the governing body of Olympic boxing, and to run the 2020 Olympic boxing tournament itself.

This highly unusual and possibly unprecedented action was the culmination of an 18-month build-up of concerns by the IOC. And the reasons for the action were disclosed in detail in a 30-page report made public.

Even with its ponderous tone, the document is a fascinating look at what the IOC sees as the bad behavior which cost the AIBA its position. And there was quite a lot to take in. The report highlighted four main factors:

● “Continuous disregard of basic governance standards, in breach of the Olympic Charter and the IOC Code of Ethics”

The report showcased how seemingly unrelated tools have hurt AIBA … and could be used against other federations. The Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) Governance Task Force report which measures how well the IFs implement good governance practices does not show the actual scores for each federation yet, but the IOC knows what they are, and stated that AIBA’s 2017 scoring “showed very serious shortcomings.”

Some of the issues were resolved in 2018, but the report cited multiple instances of unacceptable procedures. Last September, AIBA suspended then-Vice President Franco Falcinelli (ITA) for a breach of ethics, but still allowed him to stand for re-election during the suspension. Multiple conflict-of-interest situations persist within the AIBA rules, including a President’s appointment of one of the federation’s chief creditors to the Executive Committee.

After two Swiss banks closed AIBA’s accounts and the federation was unable to find a Swiss bank to open an account for it, it chose a Serbian bank formed in mid-2018 as a spin-off of a Russian bank, VTB. The report noted:

“The seller, VTB Bank, appears to be subject to US sanctions. Another bank of Mr Andrey Shlyakhovoy, the Agrosoyuz Bank, also appears to have been added to the US specially designated national list and subjected to sanctions two weeks after API Bank was sold. The Agrosoyuz Bank is accused of facilitating “significant transactions on behalf of the person who was on the sanctions list for activities related to weapons of mass destruction in connection with North Korea.

“Neither the API Bank nor its owner, Mr Andrey Shlyakhovoy, are under sanction; however, their links with US sanctioned entities and persons expose AIBA as well as the IOC and the Olympic Movement stakeholders to a serious reputational risk, potentially even legal risks.”

The impact of being monitored by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asserts Control (OFAC) was clearly demonstrated in the report and concerned the Inquiry Commission considerably. This makes sense since one of its members, Richard Carrion (PUR) is the Executive Chair of Banco Popular, and well familiar with the impact of U.S. Treasury regulations and U.S. Justice Department inquiries.

The committee also had a lot of problems with the 28 March 2019 offer by the secretary-general of the Russian Boxing Federation, Umar Kremlev, to – apparently – personally pay off AIBA’s long-term debt of about $16 million, especially since it was not at all clear that he had such funds available. “[T]he IOC Inquiry Committee questions the seriousness of the due diligence carried out by AIBA before the announcement to the media. Background checks on the origin of funds from external parties is part of basic standards of good governance expected to be implemented by Olympic IFs.”

And there was the election of Gafur Rakhimov (UZB) as AIBA’s President in February 2018. He is alleged to be involved in criminal activities by the U.S. Treasury and U.S. Justice Department. The IOC takes these listings seriously:

“According to US law, US persons are prohibited from dealing with sanctioned persons or entities, directly or indirectly, controlled by sanctioned persons. As a consequence, this designation may have an impact on the relationship between AIBA and the US boxing entities, or more generally US companies or companies with significant presence in the US, as well as US sponsors of AIBA.

“This prohibition also concerns IOC members from the US or IOC’s US sponsors and commercial partners, since the IOC provides funding to the Olympic Movement stakeholders.

“In addition to US persons, given broad enforcement of US sanctions laws by US authorities, even non-US persons chose, more and more often, out of precaution, to decide not to deal with US-sanctioned persons or entities. This includes many US and non-US banks, including the bank of the IOC, which refuses to make any payments to AIBA at the moment.”

In short, AIBA’s own actions have made it radioactive as far as the IOC is concerned.

● “Insufficient safeguards to ensure sustainable and fair management of refereeing and judging”

AIBA is infamous for horrific gaffes in refereeing and judging and the report runs through the issues raised at the 2008-2012-2016 Olympic Games and even a problem in the assignment of referees and judges at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018.

Conclusion: “the IOC Inquiry Committee notes that AIBA has experienced consistent allegations related to refereeing and judging processes and decisions, which have caused long standing and ongoing concern for athletes. These allegations show that AIBA was unable to establish an effective firewall between the professional judges and referees on one hand and the AIBA political leadership and management on the other hand; thereby represented a significant risk for the IOC and the Olympic Movement.”

● “Incapacity to renew the AIBA management team, in particular regarding the influence over the refereeing and judging”

In 2017, the IOC asked AIBA to change its leadership tean in view of the many challenges at the federation. Instead, former Executive Director Ho Kim (KOR) – dismissed in 2015 – was still receiving consulting payments in 2018. His replacement, Karim Bouzidi (FRA), was responsible for the disastrous 2016 Olympic boxing tournament, in which all 36 judges were removed from active service in October 2016. He was removed in 2017, but continued to attend AIBA events, with access to top officials, in 2018. Three more officials, including current Interim President Mohamed Moustahsane (MAR), who were deeply involved in the refereeing and judging in Rio, are still members of the AIBA Executive Committee or involved with refereeing administration.

Conclusion: “[T]he IOC Inquiry Committee notices the incapacity of AIBA to effectively renew its leadership.”

● “Over-indebtedness and impossibility to confirm going concern”

AIBA is, today, about CHF 17 million in debt (the Swiss Franc and U.S. Dollar are about equal in value at present). That amount could rise to CHF 29 million by mid-2021.

This crushing debt, and AIBA’s agreements to essentially turn over its operations to one of the creditors, troubled the Inquiry Committee greatly. It noted that any payments by the IOC to AIBA “will first have to be used to cover the existing debts. Thus, AIBA will not be able to use the money from sport for its original purpose, which is the development of sport and the support of the athletes” and “the IOC ultimately risks funding a financially unviable organisation that will remain at risk of failing.”

All of this contributed to the recommendation that AIBA’s suspension be continued until it can fix these issues, and in the meantime, the IOC should organize the 2020 Olympic boxing tournament.

AIBA’s suspension by the IOC is not final, and most be confirmed by the entire IOC at its general meeting (called a “Session”) in late June in Lausanne (SUI). But there seems little doubt that the action will be confirmed and AIBA will find itself in the cold through the 2020 Games.

It has a difficult road ahead of it. Even if it was able to wean itself off of its many bad practices (and people), how it will reorganize its finances is hard to fathom. As it is no longer the owner of the qualifying process for Olympic boxing, its World Championships – its primary qualifying competitions – may be essentially worthless.

It might be possible for one of the professional boxing organizations – the World Boxing Council, World Boxing Association or International Boxing Federation – to take over AIBA and make an agreement for future management satisfactory to the IOC. But pro boxing is hardly a bastion of credibility, honesty and reliability itself. And why would any of these groups wants to settle AIBA’s debts for an uncertain Olympic future?

From the IOC’s standpoint, the Inquiry Committee’s report demonstrates that under current chief Thomas Bach, the organization has no qualms about disciplining its “partners” in sport production. It has, in recent years, hammered the wrestling, weightlifting and biathlon federations into compliance with what it sees as proper governance and integrity.

Everyone has now been warned: if you want the IOC’s money, you have to play by its rules, including anti-doping, good governance and well-run competitions. Or else. Who will be next?

Rich Perelman
Editor

ICE HOCKEY: Russia eliminates U.S. in men’s Ice Hockey worlds, but Canada advances to semis

By
Rich Perelman
-

The IIHF men’s World Championship in Slovakia has reached the semifinal stage, with some familiar teams still standing: Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland and Russia.

The Canadians and Russians were the best in the group stage. Canada won six of seven games to finish ahead of Finland (5-1 + an overtime loss), Germany (5-2) and the U.S. (4-2 + an overtime win) in Group A and played Switzerland in the quarterfinals.

Russia won Group B with a perfect 7-0 record, ahead of the Czechs (6-1), Sweden (5-2) and the Swiss (4-3).

Thursday’s quarterfinals mostly held to form: Canada eliminated the Swiss, 3-2, but in overtime; the Czechs defeated Germany, 5-1, but Finland overcame Sweden, 5-4 in overtime.

Russia took a 2-0 lead over the U.S. in the first period of their match, but a Brady Skjei goal closed up the margin to 2-1 heading into the third period. The first seven minutes of the final period were wild, with a Russian score by Kirill Kaprozov after just 1:31, then a U.S. goal from Noah Hanifin four minutes later. Russia went up 4-2 with a Mikhail Grigorenko score at the 7:02 mark of the period, but the U.S. got within 4-3 ten minutes later on an Alex DeBrincat goal. That’s the way it ended.

So the Russians will move on to face Finland, while Canada and the Czechs will play for the right to play for the title. The semis and the finals will be played at the Ondrej Nepala Arena in Bratislava, with coverage on the NHL Network. Look for results here.

CYCLING: As the climbing starts, the leaderboard shifts at the 102nd Giro d’Italia

By
Rich Perelman
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Italy's Cesare Benedetti celebrates his win in Giro stage 12

Most of the initial stages of the 2019 Giro d’Italia have been fairly flat, but not anymore. Thursday’s stage signaled the start of the climbing stages in the Italian Alps and with it, how the race will be decided.

The 158 km ride from Cuneo to Pinerolo was another hilly stage except for the massive climb up the category one Montoso, rising a misery-inducing 835 m in just over 9,500 m. While a group of 25 broke away in the early kilometers, the climb over the Montoso broke up the group and eight riders formed up in front on the descent.

Italy’s Cesare Benedetti came back up to win the stage – his first career World Tour win – with six others close, but the story was the carnage behind them.

The race leader, Valerio Conti (ITA) was caught way back and finished 10:47 behind the winner, losing the Maglia Rosa after wearing it for six stages. The race favorites were riding together, but didn’t finish until 7 1/2 to eight minutes after the leader, completely upsetting the leaderboard.

Now, Slovenia’s Jan Polanc, who had been 23rd at the start of the day, was the race leader and now with a 4:07 lead over race favorite, countryman Primoz Roglic, 4:51 over Conti and 5:02 over Eros Capecchi, who finished fifth in the stage.

But it’s going to change some more as the climbing stages are up. Friday’s stage features an uphill mountain finish at Ceresole Reale and Saturday is another doozy, with four major climbs. In the final week of the race, four of the last six stages in mountain routes. Summaries so far:

UCI World Tour/Giro d’Italia
Italy ~ 11 May-2 June 2019
(Full results here)

Stage 1 (8.0 km Time Trial): 1. Primoz Roglic (SLO), 12:54; 2. Simon Yates (GBR), 13:13; 3. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), 13:17; 4. Miguel Angel Lopez (COL), 13:22; 5. Tom Dumoulin (NED), 13:22. Also in the top 25: 21. Chad Haga (USA), 13:48.

Stage 2 (205.0 km): 1. Pascal Ackermann (GER), 4:44:43; 2. Elia Viviani (ITA), 4:44:43; 3. Caleb Ewan (AUS), 4:44:43; 4. Fernando Gaviria (COL), 4:44:43; 5. Arnaud Demare (FRA), 4:44:43.

Stage 3 (220.0 km): 1. Gaviria (COL), 5:23:19; 2. Demare (FRA), 5:23:19; 3. Ackermann (GER), 5:23:19; 4. Matteo Moschetti (ITA), 5;23:19; 5. Giocomo Nizzolo (ITA), 5:23:19. (Viviani (ITA) won the race, but was disqualified for impeding another rider at the finish.)

Stage 4 (235.0 km): 1. Richard Carapaz (ECU), 5:58:17; 2. Ewan (AUS), 5:58:17; 3. Diego Ulissi (ITA), 5:58:17; 4. Ackermann (GER), 5:58:19; 5. Florian Senechal (FRA), 5:58:19.

Stage 5 (140.0 km): 1. Ackermann (GER), 3:15:44; 2. Gaviria (COL), 3:15:44; 3. Demare (FRA), 3:15:44; 4. Ewan (AUS), 3:15:44; 5. Matteo Moschetti (ITA), 3:15:44. Also in the top 25: 13. Sean Bennett (USA), 3:15:44

Stage 6 (238.0 km): 1. Fausto Masnada (ITA), 5:45:01; 2. Valerio Conti (ITA), 5:45:06; 3. Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP), 5:45:39; 4. Ruben Plaza (ESP), 5:45:39; 5. Giovanni Carboni (ITA), 5:45:44. Also in the top 25: 20. Brent Bookwalter (USA), 5:52:20.

Stage 7 (185.0 km): 1. Pello Bilbao (ESP), 4:06:27; 2. Tony Gallopin (FRA), 4:06:32; 3. Davide Formolo (ITA), 4:06:32; 4. Lucas Hamilton (AUS), 4:06:36; 5. Mattia Cattaneo (ITA), 4:06:36. Also in the top 25: 23. Joe Dombrowski (USA), 4:07:34.

Stage 8 (239.0 km): 1. Ewan (AUS), 5:43:32; 2. Viviani (ITA), 5:43:32; 3. Ackermann (GER), 5:43:32; 4. Fabio Sabatini (ITA), 5:43:32; 5. Manuel Belletti (ITA), 5:43:32.

Stage 9 (34.8 km Time Trial): 1. Roglic (SLO), 51:52; 2. Victor Campenaerts (BEL), 52:03; 3. Bauke Mollema (NED), 52:52; 4. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), 53:57; 5. Tanel Kangert (EST), 53:02. Also in the top 25: 6. Haga (USA), 53:06.

Stage 10 (145.0 km): 1. Demare (FRA), 3:36:07; 2. Viviani (ITA), 3:36:07; 3. Rudiger Selig (GER), 3:36:07; 4. Ewan (AUS), 3:36:07; 5. Nizzolo (ITA), 3:36:07. Also in the top 25: Bennett (USA), 3:36:07.

Stage 11 (221.0 km): 1. Ewan (AUS), 5:17:26; 2. Demare (FRA), 5:17:26; 3. Ackermann (GER), 5:17:26; 4. Viviani (ITA), 5:17:26; 5. Davide Cimolai (ITA), 5:17:26. Also in the top 25: 10. Bennett (USA), 5:17:26.

Stage 12 (158.0 km): 1. Cesare Benedetti (ITA), 3:41:49; 2. Damiano Caruso (ITA), 3:41:49; 3. Eddie Dunbar (IRL), 3:41:49; 4. Gianluca Brambilla (ITA), 3:41:51; 5. Eros Capecchi (ITA), 3:41:55.

24 May: Stage 13 (196.0 km) ~ Pinerolo to Ceresole Reale (mountains)
25 May: Stage 14 (131.9 km) ~ Saint Vincent to Courmayeur (mountains)
26 May: Stage 15 (232.0 km) ~ Ivrea to Como (hilly)
27 May: Rest day
28 May: Stage 16 (226.0 km) ~ Lovere to Ponte di Legno (mountains)
29 May: Stage 17 (181.0 km) ~ Commezzadura to Anterselva/Antholz (mountains)
30 May: Stage 18 (222.0 km) ~ Valdaora / Olang to Santa Maria di Sala (flat)
31 May: Stage 19 (151.0 km) ~ Treviso to San Martino di Castrozza (mountains)
01 June: Stage 20 (194.0 km) ~ Feltre to Croce D’Aune-Monte Avena (mountains)
02 June: Stage 21 (17.0 km Time Trial) ~ Verona to Verona

RUGBY Preview: Sevens Series-leading U.S. can clinch Tokyo 2020 spot this week in London

By
Rich Perelman
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U.S. star scorer Carlin Isles

Coming into this season, the USA Rugby Eagles – that’s the men’s team’s nickname – had never finished higher than fifth in any season of the World Rugby Sevens Series, which started back in 1999-00.

Now the Eagles are sitting in first place in the 2018-19 Sevens Series with just two rounds to go, including this weekend’s tournament in London (GBR). The standings:

1. 145 United States
2. 142 Fiji
3. 130 New Zealand
4. 121 South Africa
5. 107 England
6. 87 Samoa
7. 80 Australia
8. 79 Argentina

Scoring in each round is 22-19-17-15-13-12-10-10-8-7 for the top 10 places, so if the U.S. can finish ninth or higher, it will clinch a top-four finish and a place in the Tokyo 2020 tournament. So far this season, the U.S. finishes are 2-2-2-2-1-4-2-4, so the chances of a top-nine finish are good. Who saw this coming?

The pools for this week’s London tourney:

● Pool A: Argentina, Canada, Japan, South Africa
● Pool B: Fiji, France, Kenya, Samoa
● Pool C: England, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland
● Pool D: United States, Australia, Wales, Spain

The U.S. has been led by three men who are in the top 11 in scoring in the 2018-19 Series: top scorer Madison Hughes (243 points), no. 3 Carlin Isles (220) and no. 11 Steve Tomasin (160). With two legs left, Hughes leads Andrew Knewstubb (NZL) and Isles from 243-220-220, with Canada’s Nathan Hirayama next at 193.

Isles is the series leader in tries with 44, well ahead of the 33 for Dan Norton (ENG) and the 32 by Fiji’s Aminiasi Tuimaba. Tomasin is second on the U.S. team in tries with 26.

Look for results here.

FOOTBALL Preview: U.S. women finish pre-World Cup prep vs. Mexico; FIFA U-20 World Cup starts in Poland

By
Rich Perelman
-
Mallory Pugh celebrates one of her two goals in the 5-3 win over Australia (Photo: U.S. Soccer)

The U.S. Women’s National Team has its final tune-up game on Sunday prior to leaving for France and the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup against Mexico at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

After a rough start in January, the U.S. has rebounded and now has a 6-1-2 record for the year, with five wins in a row and a combined score in those games of 20-3.

Mexico’s women’s team did not qualify for the World Cup and has a 3-4-1 record in 2019, losing to Italy, Netherlands, Canada and New Zealand. The U.S. pummeled the Football Ferns, 5-0, on 16 May, but the Mexicans lost, 2-1, on 22 May.

Sunday’s game begins at noon Eastern time and will be shown on ESPN and UDN.

The U.S. women start their World Cup title defense on 11 June against Thailand in Reims (FRA) and then has group games against Chile and Sweden.

The FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup is underway in Poland, with 24 teams doing battle in the 22nd edition of the tournament for the top junior teams in the world. The groups:

● Group A: Colombia, Poland, Senegal, Tahiti
● Group B: Ecuador, Italy, Japan, Mexico
● Group C: Honduras, New Zealand, Norway, Uruguay
● Group D: Nigeria, Qatar, Ukraine, United States
● Group E: France, Mali, Panama, Saudi Arabia
● Group F: Argentina, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea

The top two teams in each group and the four best third-place teams will advance to the elimination round of 16. Those games will begin on 2 June and continue with the quarterfinals on 7-8 June, the semis on 11 June and the third-place match on 14 June (in Gdynia) and the title match on 15 June (in Lodz).

The tournament was originally known as the FIFA World Youth Championship and first held in 1977. It was changed to the U-20 World Cup for the 2007 edition. Historically, the event has been dominated by Argentina (six wins) and Brazil (five wins), but the last three winners have come from France (2013), Serbia (2015) and England (2017). The best-ever U.S. finish was fourth, way back in 1989.

Look for results here.

JUDO Preview: Five recent world champions headline Hohhot Grand Prix in China

By
Rich Perelman
-

The third Hohhot Grand Prix will feature 301 judoka from 43 nations in competition at the 6,000-seat Inner Mongolia Stadium at 28 Genghis Khan Street this weekend, with five recent world champs among the top seeds:

Men:

● -60 kg:
1. Albert Ozugov (RUS: 11)
2. Yung Wei Yang (TPE: 25)
3. Moritz Plafky (GER: 29)

● -66 kg:
1. Kherlen Ganbold (MGL: 13)
2. Baskhuu Yondonperenlei (MGL: 17)
3. Aram Grigoryan (RUS: 24)

● -73 kg:
1. Tommy Macias (SWE: 3)
2. Odbayar Ganbaatar (MGL: 7) ~ 2017 World Championships bronze medalist
3. Arthur Margelidon (CAN: 8)

● -81 kg:
1. Saeid Mollaei (IRI: 3) ~ 2018 World Champion; 2017 Worlds bronze
2. Dominic Ressel (GER: 5)
3. Sotaro Fujiwara (JPN): 11) ~ 2018 World Championships silver medalist

● -90 kg:
1. Ivan Felipe Silva Morales (CUB: 3) ~ 2018 World Championships silver medalist
2. Nemanja Majdov (SRB: 6) ~ 2017 World Champion
3. Eduard Trippel (GER; 11)

● -100 kg:
1. Guham Cho (KOR: 2) ~ 2018 World Champion
2. Otgonbaatar Lkhagvasuren (MGL: 5) ~ 2018 World Championships bronze medalist
3. Benjamin Fletcher (IRL: 9)

● +100 kg:
1. Lukas Krpalek (CZE: 2)
2. Duurenbayar Ulziibayar (MGL: 6) ~ 2018 World Championships bronze medalist
3. Sungmin Kim (KOR: 7)

Women:

● -48 kg:
1. Yujeong Kang (KOR: 12)
2. Eva Csernoviczki (HUN: 15)
3. Shira Rishony (ISR: 16)

● -52 kg:
1. Uta Abe (JPN): 4) ~ 2018 World Champion
2. Gili Cohen (ISR: 6)
3. Evelyne Tschopp (SUI: 8)

● -57 kg:
1. Sumiya Dorjsuren (MGL: 4) ~ 2017 World Champion; 2018 Worlds bronze
2. Theresa Stoll (GER: 8)
3. Timna Nelson Levy (ISR: 10)

● -63 kg:
1. Martyna Trajdos (GER: 7)
2. Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (CAN: 8)
3. Maylin del Toro Carvajal (CUB: 11)

● -70 kg:
1. Anna Bernholm (SWE: 5)
2. Saki Niizoe (JPN: 8)
3. Assmaa Niang (MAR: 10)

● -78 kg:
1. Anna Mara Wagner (GER: 8)
2. Kaliema Antomarchi (CUB: 10) ~ 2017 World Championships bronze medalist
3. Luise Malzahn (GER: 11)

● +78 kg:
1. Idalys Ortiz (CUB: 1) ~ 2018 World Championships silver medalist
2. Yan Wang (CHN: 19)
3. Kseniia Chibisova (RUS: 21)

Even with five Worlds gold medalists in the fields, there is only one no. 1-ranked fighter in the event: Cuba’s Ortiz in the women’s heavyweight division. After Hohhot, there are three IJF World Tour Grand Prix meets scheduled before the break for the World Championships, which will take place in Tokyo from 25-31 August.

In Hohhot, prize money of $3,000-2,000-1,000 is available to the top three finishers. Look for results here.

ATHLETICS Preview: Sensational fields in Gotzis for 45th annual Hypomeeting

By
Rich Perelman
-

Outside of the Olympic Games or the World Championships, the annual Hypomeeting in Gotzis (AUT) has been one of the biggest prizes in the decathlon and heptathlon events worldwide.

The meet attracts most of the best multi-event stars. For example, in this year’s meet, nine of the top 100 decathletes in history are lined up to compete.

Canada’s Damian Warner will be trying for his fifth Gotzis title, having won in 2013-15-16-18; only former world-record holder Roman Sebrle (CZE) has won five decathlons there. The top entries by lifetime bests:

● Men:
8,795 Damian Warner (CAN) ‘18 ~ 2016 OG bronze; 2015 Worlds silver; 2017 WCh fifth
8,663 Rico Freimuth (GER) ‘17 ~ 2015 World Champs bronze; 2017 World Champs silver
8,601 Ilia Shkurenev (RUS) ‘17 ~ 2015 World Championships fourth
8,580 Kai Kazmirek (GER) ‘16 ~ 2016 Olympic fourth; 2017 World Champs bronze
8,539 Eelco Sintnicolaas (NED) ‘17
8,539 Lindon Victor (GRN) ‘17
8,514 Maicel Uibo (EST) ‘18 ~ 2015 World Championships 10th place
8,479 Oleksiy Kasyanov (UKR) ‘09 ~ 2019 Worlds bronze; 2017 Worlds sixth
8,371 Janek Olegane (EST) ‘17 ~ 2017 World Championships fourth
8,345 Devon Williams (USA) ‘17 ~ 2017 World Championships 10th place
8,342 Pieter Braun (NED) ‘18 ~ 2018 European Championships seventh
8,336 Tim Duckworth (GBR) ‘18 ~ 2018 European Championships fourth
8,308 Keisuke Ushiro (JPN) ‘14
8,304 Mathias Brugger (GER) ‘18

● Women:
6,836 Carolin Schafer (GER) ‘17 ~ 2016 OG fifth; 2017 Worlds silver; 2018 Euro bronze
6,815 Laura Ikauniece (LAT) ‘17 ~ 2015 World Champs bronze; 2016 Olympic fourth
6,759 Katarina Johnson-Thompson (GBR) ‘18 ~ 2016 OG sixth; 2018 European silver
6,725 Erica Bougard (USA) ‘18 ~ Third at Gotzis in 2018
6,564 Kendell Williams (USA) ‘17
6,539 Nadine Broseren (NED) ‘14 ~ 2015 World Championships fourth
6,400 Katerina Cachova (CZE) ‘18 ~ 2018 European Champs sixth
6,391 Geraldine Ruckstuhl (SUI) ‘18 ~ 2018 European Champs ninth
6,390 Xenia Krizsan (HUN) ‘17 ~ 2015-17 World Championships ninth
6,330 Caroline Agnou (SUI) ‘17
6,280 Grit Sadeiko (EST) ‘17
6,253 Niamh Emerson (GBR) ‘18
6,252 Hanne Maudens (BEL) ‘18 ~ 2018 European Champs 10th
6,230 Marthe Koala (BUR) ‘17
6,225 Sarah Lagger (AUT)’18
6,221 Maria Vicente (ESP) ‘18

In the women’s division, Britain’s Johnson-Thompson will be looking for her second win at Gotzis, after her triumph in 2014. Germany’s Schafer comes in with the highest score, but has never won here. In her six competitions at the Hypomeeting, she has been second twice and third once; she didn’t finish last year.

Watch for the qualifying standards for Doha: 8,200 for the men and 6,300 for the women, as they will be under attack. Look for results here.

HEARD AFTER HALFTIME: IOC is going to be even more flexible in the Olympic bid process in the future

By
Rich Perelman
-
IOC President Thomas Bach (GER)

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

● Olympic Games ● The International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board received a report on Wednesday from a working group charged with reviewing the procedures for selecting the host city/region/country for the Olympic Games.

Its recommendations, which will be offered for approval by the IOC Session in June, included establishing a “permanent dialogue” about hosting interest, a more flexible approach to when a Games could be awarded – breaking away from the seven-years-prior election currently specified in the Olympic Charter, and creating two permanent commissions – one for Olympic Games, one for Winter Games – to “oversee interest” in hosting future events.

Some of this is simply housekeeping, but there are interesting implications in these ideas that could radically change the way Olympic Games are organized in the future.

● Athletics ● The remaining targets of the French prosecution of the international money-laundering and vote-buying scheme are slowly coming to light.

Yousef Al-Obaidly (QAT), director general of Qatar-based beIN Media Group, was reportedly charged with corruption on 28 March 2019 in connection with attempted bribery related to the selection of the host of the 2017 IAAF World Championships, which was awarded to London (GBR). Doha was later awarded the 2019 World Championships, to take place later this year.

Al-Obaidly said in a statement, ““The allegations raised are not only utterly baseless and unsubstantiated, but they have been – quite remarkably – leaked to the media. For the avoidance of any doubt whatsoever, the allegations are completely and categorically denied and will be vehemently challenged using the full force of the law.”

There will undoubtedly be more to come.

● Athletics ● Kenya’s Rio Olympic 800 m bronze medalist Margaret Wambui confirmed on Wednesday what was already well known, that she also has the hyperandrogenism symptoms faced by South Africa’s gold medalist, Caster Semenya and the silver medal winner, Francine Niyonsaba (BDI).

If she wants to continue competing in the 800 m, Wambui, 23, will be required to take medication to lower her testosterone level. She criticized the IAAF’s regulations, saying “The ruling has affected me greatly because you are not sure of what to train for … this season I was focusing on the World Championships and Diamond League races but all that effort has gone to waste.”

Semenya has entered the women’s 3,000 m at the Prefontaine Classic, the only IAAF Diamond League meet held in the United States, being held this year at Stanford while the new Hayward Field is being built in Eugene, Oregon.

While the 3,000 m does not have any restrictions for women with hyperandrogenism, it’s also not an Olympic event. That would be the 5,000 m, in which Semenya won the South African Championships in February, but she is not yet a world-class runner at that distance. The Prefontaine race on 30 June may be a clue to her future.

● Football ● FIFA announced on Wednesday that the 2022 World Cup would be played with the currently-planned 32 teams and not expanded to 48.

The short announcement noted:

“Following a thorough and comprehensive consultation process with the involvement of all the relevant stakeholders, it was concluded that under the current circumstances such a proposal could not be made now.

“Additionally, FIFA and Qatar have once again explored the feasibility of Qatar hosting a 48-team tournament by in particular lowering certain key FIFA requirements. A joint analysis, in this respect, concluded that due to the advanced stage of preparations and the need for a detailed assessment of the potential logistical impact on the host country, more time would be required and a decision could not be taken before the deadline of June. It was therefore decided not to further pursue this option.”

The tournament will expand to 48 teams for 2026, when Canada, Mexico and the U.S. are the joint hosts.

● Swimming ● Lithuania’s surprise 2012 Olympic gold medalist in the 100 m Breaststroke, Ruta Meilutyte, announced her retirement on Tuesday, at age 22.

Meilutyte was looking at a suspension of a year for missing reporting her whereabouts – as required under the World Anti-Doping Code – three times over the prior 12 months.

She said in a statement, “I have given all of myself to swimming. I used to live with it since my early years. Due to a busy workout schedule, I had to compromise my studies, but I want to start again now. I want to do simple things now, to grow, understand myself and the world around me in a better way.”

Meilutyte won the 100 m Breast at the 2013 World Championships and took silver in 2015. She finished seventh in the 2016 Olympic final. Her last major competitions were silver medals in the 2018 European Championships in the 100 m Breast and in the World Short-Course Championships in the 50 m Breast.

She held the world record in the 100 m Breast (1:04.35) for almost four years, from July 2013 to July 2017, when it was broken by American Lilly King (1:04.13). Meilutyte remains no. 2 on the all-time list.

● Wrestling ● With the completion of USA Wrestling’s World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in Raleigh, N.C. last weekend, the line-ups for the Final X events on 8 and 15 June are set. The winners will be the U.S. entry in the 2019 World Championships.

One person who is not in Final X, and hasn’t been seen on a mat for a while is 2016 Olympic 53 kg Champion Helen Maroulis. She was dominant in winning the 2017 World Championship at 58 kg, but was pinned in the opening round of the 2018 Worlds, probably due to continuing concession issues from a match in January of that year.

So what now? She addressed the issue, and her current healing process in a tweet on 9 May:

https://twitter.com/helen_maroulis/status/1126647075985215488?s=20

Now you know.

● At the BuZZer ● Rio Olympic triathlon champ Gwen Jorgensen of the U.S. had been targeting the marathon for Tokyo 2020, but has progress has now been hampered by surgery.

She had a procedure on 17 May to repair a Haglund’s Deformity on her heel and is expected to be out of action for three to four months for recovery. She has the right attitude: “The number-one goal is to be healthy.”

FENCING Preview: Oh going for three in a row at Sabre Grand Prix in Moscow

By
Rich Perelman
-
Korean Sabre star Sang-Uk Oh

American Eli Dershwitz has held the worldwide no. 1 ranking in men’s Sabre for most of the last couple of seasons, due in part to his consistency. He doesn’t always win a medal – he has two World Cup medals so far this season – but he’s consistently good.

In fact, he’s finished fifth in each of the last five FIE World Cup or Grand Prix tournaments.

Even so, his no. 1 ranking cold be on the line this week in Moscow, as Korea’s Sang-Uk Oh is going for the third straight Grand Prix victory. In fact, he could end up facing the same man he defeated in both the Cairo and Seoul Grand Prix events: Hungary’s 2016 Olympic champ Aron Szilagyi.

It won’t be easy, as the Grand Prix in Moscow has attracted a large field of 177 men and 171 women, including the entire top-10 in the men’s and women’s world rankings:

● Men:
1. Eli Dershwitz (USA) ~ 2018 World Championships silver medalist
2. Sang-Uk Oh (KOR) ~ 2018 World Championships Team gold medalist
3. Max Hartung (GER)
4. Aron Szilagyi (HUN) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion
5. Luca Curatoli (ITA) ~ 2018 World Championships Team silver medalist
6. Bong-Il Gu (KOR) ~ 2017 World Championships silver medalist
7. Jung-Hwan Kim (KOR) ~ 2016 Olympic bronze; 2018 World Champion
8. Jun-Ho Kim (KOR) ~ 2018 World Championships bronze medalist
9. Kamil Ibragimov (RUS) ~ 2017-18 World Championships bronze medalist
10. Fares Ferjani (TUN)

● Women:
1. Sofya Velikaya (RUS) ~ 2016 Olympic silver; 2018 World Championships silver
2. Cecilia Berder (FRA) ~ 2017 World Championships bronze medalist
3. Ji-Yeon Kim (KOR) ~ 2012 Olympic Champion
4. Sofia Pozdniakova (RUS) ~ 2018 World Champion
5. Olga Kharlan (UKR) ~ 2016 Olympic bronze; 2017 World Champion
6. Anna Marton (HUN)
7. Anne-Elizabeth Stone (USA) ~ 2018 World Championships bronze medalist
8. Jiarui Qian (CHN)
9. Manon Brunet (FRA) ~ 2018 World Championships Team gold medalist
10. Lisa Pusztai (HUN)

In addition to the men’s top 10 fencers, American Daryl Homer – the 2016 Olympic silver medalist – is also entered at no. 11.

In the women’s Grand Prix events held so far, no. 1-ranked Velikaya won in Cairo over surprise finalist See-Yeon Choi (KOR); in Seoul, 2017 World Champion Kharlan (UKR) won over Korea’s Ji-Yeon Kim.

The finals for both men and women will be held on Sunday. Look for results here.

SKATEBOARDING Preview: First Olympic qualifier underway in London

By
Rich Perelman
-
World Champion Nyjah Huston of the U.S.

The sport of Skateboarding is beginning the process of qualifying for its first-ever Olympic appearance in 2020. This week’s World Skate/SLS competition features street competition, one of the two Tokyo 2020 (also Park).

In London, the men’s and women’s division have an open qualifying round. For the men, the top 10 will advance to the quarterfinals to compete with the 21-38 finishers in the last World Championship. The top 10 from the quarterfinals will advance to the semis to compete with the top 20 in the World Championships; the top eight will make it to the final.

For the women, the top 12 from the qualifying round will advance to the semifinals. They will compete with the top 18 from the last World Championships, with the top eight advancing to the final.

In the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals, each skater will perform 2 runs and 5 Tricks; the best 4 scores from runs or tricks will be added to give the total round score.

Street skateboarding has only had five World Championships, starting in 2014. The top performers:

Men:
● Nyjah Huston (USA) ~ 2014-17-18 World Champion; 2015-16 Worlds silver
● Kevin Hoefler (BRA) ~ 2015 World Champion; 2018 Worlds silver; 2017 Worlds bronze
● Felipe Gustavo (BRA) ~ 2018 World Championships bronze medalist
● Shane O’Neill (AUS) ~ 2016 World Champion; 2017 Worlds silver

Women:
● Lacey Baker (USA) ~ 2016-17 World Champion; 2018 Worlds bronze
● Leticia Bufoni (BRA) ~ 2015 World Champion; 2016-17-18 Worlds silvers
● Aori Nishimura (JPN) ~ 2018 World Champion
● Alexis Sablone (USA) ~ 2016 World Championships bronze medalist
● Marian Duran (USA) ~ 2017 World Championships bronze medalist

These are the folks to beat. Tokyo qualifying is based mostly on the World Skate world rankings as of 31 May 2020; athletes accumulate points from designated events like this one to earn their rankings placement.

Look for results here.

CYCLING Preview: Can Courtney and Flueckiger repeat in Nove Mesto?

By
Rich Perelman
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Swiss Mountain Bike star Mathias Flueckiger (Photo: Shimano)

Fans of Mountain Bike Cross Country racing had to be shaking their heads last week at the results of the season opener in Albstadt (GER). Sure, it was rainy and windy, but seeing Swiss veteran Mathias Flueckiger and American Kate Courtney on the top of the podium – instead of perennial Swiss stars Nino Schurter and Jolanda Neff – had to be a bit of a surprise.

The UCI’s Mercedes-Benz Mountain Bike World Cup has moved on to Nove Mesto (CZE) for this week’s events, including a Short Track race for men and women, as well as the Cross Country competition.

The entries include the big names and will pose a real test for both of last week’s winners. Let’s not underestimate them, however:

● Flueckiger was the 2012 World Championships bronze medalist and finished sixth at the Rio Olympic Games.

● Courtney came through the junior and U-23 ranks as a consistent winner and won the World Championship in 2018.

But they will have their hands full this week, with a challenging course and a great field:

Men:
● Nino Schurter (SUI) ~ 2009-12-13-15-16-17-18 World Champ; 2016 Olympic Champion
● Gerard Kerschbaumer (ITA) ~ 2018 World Championships silver medalist
● Maxime Marotte (FRA) ~ 2016-17-18 World Cup seasonal bronze medalist
● Ondrej Cink (CZE) ~ 2015 World Championships bronze medalist
● Mathieu van der Poel (NED) ~ 2018 World Champs bronze; World Cup seasonal bronze
● Stephane Tempier (FRA) ~ 2017 World Cup seasonal silver medalist
● Thomas Litscher (SUI) ~ 2017 World Championships bronze medalist

Women:
● Jolanda Neff (SUI) ~ 2017 World Champ; 2018 Worlds silver; 2014-15-18 World Cup gold
● Annika Langvad (DEN) ~ 2016 World Champion; 2016-18 World Cup runner-up
● Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (FRA) ~ 2015 World Champion; 2017 Worlds bronze medalist
● Emily Batty (CAN) ~ 2018 World Championships bronze medalist
● Yana Belomoina (UKR) ~ 2015 World Championships bronze; 2017 World Cup winner
● Annie Last (GBR) ~ 2017 World Championships silver medalist
● Catharine Prendel (CAN) ~ 2011-14 World Champion; 2010-16 World Cup Champion

Last year in Nove Mesto, Schurter was the winner for the second year in a row, ahead of Anton Cooper (NZL) and Marotte. Langvad won the women’s race, beating Neff and Ferrand-Prevot.

Look for results here.

GYMNASTICS Preview: Croatia’s Srbic headlines Second World Challenge Cup in Osijek

By
Rich Perelman
-

The 11th edition of the FIG World Challenge Cup in Artistic Gymnastics in Osijek (CRO) comes this weekend, with finals on Saturday and Sunday (24-25).

The World Challenge Cup is a second-tier competition, below the World Cup level almost completed (one meet left) for 2019. It’s apparatus only – no All-Around – with prize money of CHF of 800-600-400-300-250-200-150-100 for the top eight finishers.

Among the entries are several notable athletes, including one World Champion:

● Artem Dolgopyat (ISR) ~ 2017 World Championships Floor silver medalist
● Nikita Simonov (AZE) ~ 2019 World Cup/Baku Rings silver medalist
● Tin Srbic (CRO) ~ 2017 World Championships High Bar gold medalist
● Robert Seligman (CRO) ~ 2014 World Cup seasonal Pommel Horse winner
● Saso Bertoncelj (SLO) ~ 2018 European Championships Pommel Horse silver medalist

Look for live results scoring here.

MODERN PENTATHLON Preview: Fourth World Cup in Kladno will set World Cup Final field

By
Rich Perelman
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Egypt's World Cup winner Ahmed Elgendy (Photo: UIPM)

The fourth and final “regular season” World Cup will set the field for the World Cup Final, with competition this weekend in Kladno (CZE).

The World Cup Final in Tokyo (JPN) in late June is limited to the top 33 competitors; the current top 10 in the World Cup standings:

● Men:
1. 137 Ahmed Elgendy (EGY) ~ World Cup Cairo winner
2. 108 Christian Zillikens (GER) ~ World Cup Szekesfehervar winner
3. 101 Joseph Choong (GBR)
4. 99 Jan Kuf (CZE) ~ 2014 World Championships bronze medalist
5. 91 Eslam Hamad (EGY)
6. 90 Justinas Kinderis (LTU) ~ 2013 World Champion; 2017 bronze
7. 85 Pavels Svecovs (LAT)
8. 83 Thomas Toolis (GBR)
9. 82 Patrick Dogue (GER)
10. 81 Marvin Faly Dogue (GER)

● Women:
1. 107 Ilke Ozyuksel (TUR)
2. 107 Volha Silkina (BLR)
3. 104 Uliana Batashova (RUS) ~ World Cup Cairo winner
4. 102 Gintare Venckauskaite (LTU) ~ 2018 World Cup Final bronze medalist
5. 96 Marie Oteiza (FRA) ~ 2018 World Champs bronze; World Cup Sofia winner
6. 96 Natsumi Tomonaga (JPN)
7. 92 Francesca Summers (GBR)
8. 91 Valeriya Permykina (UKR)
9. 88 Annika Schleu (GER) ~ 2018 World Championships silver medalist
10. 86 Gulnaz Gubaydullina (RUS) ~ 2017 World Champion

Some of the better-known pentathletes are hanging out in the middle of the World Cup scoring list; the competitors for the Tokyo World Cup final are calculated on the best three scores of the season, allowing one to be dropped (or if one was missed). That should make this week’s event a tight one; scoring in a World Cup is 60-55-51-48-46-44-42-40-39-38 for the top 10 places and points are awarded all the way to 47th place.

The women’s final is on Saturday; the men’s final is on Sunday and the Mixed Relay final is on Monday. Look for results here.

THE BIG PICTURE: Boxing confirmed for Tokyo 2020, but organized by the IOC, not AIBA

By
Rich Perelman
-

/Updated: see footnote/The International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board kept its promise to the athletes.

There will be a boxing tournament at the Tokyo Games in 2020, but the International Boxing Association – AIBA – will not organize it. The IOC’s statement included:

“After a thorough discussion, the IOC EB recommended to the IOC Session that boxing maintains its place on the sports programme of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The Olympic Boxing Tournament Tokyo 2020, including all qualifying competitions, shall be organized following guidelines established by the IOC Executive Board.”

The statement further explained:

“The Inquiry Committee was set up by the IOC EB on 30 November 2018 due to the ongoing seriousness of the issues in the areas of finance, governance, ethics and refereeing and judging. Those areas of concern were already identified in 2017 and closely monitored. Since then there has been a lack of satisfactory progress.”

The statement elaborated further on AIBA’s future:

“The status of AIBA’s full recognition will in principle be reviewed after Tokyo 2020. The evolution of AIBA’s situation and progress towards compliance with the Olympic Charter and the IOC Code of Ethics are monitored through a special monitoring committee which consist of the members of the former Inquiry Committee.

“’Today’s decision was taken in the interest of the athletes and the sport of boxing. We want to ensure that the athletes can live their dream and participate in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 while drawing the necessary consequences for AIBA following the recommendations of the Inquiry Committee. At the same time, we offer a pathway back to lifting the suspension, but there needs to be further fundamental change,’ said IOC President Thomas Bach.”

The IOC is forming a task force to run the Tokyo boxing tournament, to be chaired by Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) chair – and IOC member – Morinari Watanabe (JPN). However, as the IOC’s statement points out, all of this must be confirmed by the IOC Session, taking place from 24-26 June.

Asked at his news conference after the meeting about whether the IOC had ever done anything like before, Bach expressed his regret at the whole process:

“I would not remember that the IOC has established such a task force, but there was a need for it and quite frankly, I also hope that it’s the last time that we need this, that we will not face another time such an agglomeration and such a high number of issues with any international federation. I really hope this is unique experience there.”

He also noted that the athletes were the winners:

“For the boxers of the world, I think this is a very good day; this is good news, because now they know there will be an Olympic boxing tournament in Tokyo. Now they know that they will have appropriate qualification system, and now they know that the IOC and the task force and all the partners which may be involved will do everything, that this will be safe and fair competition in which all the athletes have equal chances.”

AIBA posted a statement on its Web site: “The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has taken note of the announcement made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). AIBA is currently reviewing the report from the IOC and will not make any comments until further clarification is made, however AIBA does look forward to working with the IOC in the future.”

/Updated to include the AIBA statement at 11:25 a.m. PDT/

LANE ONE: Gyarfas responds: “I didn’t commit any crime” plus the day of reckoning coming for Diack and AIBA

By
Rich Perelman
-
FINA Bureau member Tamas Gyarfas (HUN)

As a result of our Lane One story on Monday about the international aquatics federation – FINA – having an accused murderer as a member of its Board and governing council, and as the Technical Delegate for Artistic Swimming at the forthcoming World Championships in Korea, we heard from … the accused himself.

Tamas Gyafas (HUN) sent this message to us on Tuesday:

“May I respond to your article published on 19 May.

“On 11 February 1998 a well-known figure was shot dead with whom I had had debates which had been finally settled one and a half years prior to the murder.

“A couple of persons, who got sentenced in the meantime, wanted to blackmail me with the story that I stood behind the murder.

“One of them recorded our conversations. The voice-recordings having surfaced recently prove that I never ordered or asked anyone to commit this killing. The investigations have been going on for more than a year. There was no prosecution and trial.

“You have to be sure that I didn’t commit any crime.

“It’s quite pitiful that one of my fellow citizens, who failed in every position in sport he held, wants to see me behind his failures and tries to bring me into disrepute wherever he can.

“May I say that it would have been a bit more appropriate to ask the other side, myself, just to stay true to traditional media principles, before you go public with this article.

“Sincerely yours,

“Tamas Gyarfas”

Since he provided his e-mail address with the message, we asked a series of follow-up questions, which were responded to off the record. But Gyarfas promised to respond fully at a more appropriate time in the future.

Fair enough. The point of Monday’s Lane One was actually not about Gyarfas at all, but why FINA – and the European aquatics confederation, known as LEN – have maintained a person facing such serious charges as a member of their officer group or governing board. Whatever the eventual disposition of Gyarfas’s case in Hungary, the obvious questions about FINA and LEN will continue.

The International Olympic Committee and the Global Assembly of International Sports Federations (GAISF) have made good governance a priority into the future. It will be highly instructive to see what they will say – if they say anything – about the standards the International Federations employ concerning the service of individuals accused of crimes vs. individuals caught for doping.

While Gyarfas points out in his reply that “The investigations have been going on for more than a year” in his case, without the filing of formal charges, that’s hardly the end of the matter.

Ask former IAAF chief and former IOC member Lamine Diack of Senegal. Under house arrest in France on suspicion of bribery, extortion, fraud, money laundering and other offenses since 2015, Diack’s day in court may finally be coming after four years.

Agence France Presse reported on Monday that “Prosecutors have recommended that Diack, who was president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) from 1999 to 2015, be tried for corruption and money laundering.”

The AFP story indicates that the French authorities want to try six people in all for a web of crimes dealing with cover-ups of Russian doping cases, possible vote-buying in the selection of Olympic host cities, fraud and money laundering while Diack was the elected president of the IAAF.

The story notes that among those who may be tried are his son, Papa Massata Diack, advisor Habib Cisse (SEN), and the IAAF’s former anti-doping chief Dr. Gabriel Dolle (FRA). Reuters reported that Dolle has asked for a plea bargain; Papa Massata Diack remains at large in Senegal, which has refused to allow his extradition to France.

Under French criminal procedure, the recommendations of the prosecutors are now in the hands of the magistrate responsible for the case, Renaud Van Ruymbeke. He must decide within three months whether to allow the matter to go to trial.

The Diack matter will impact corruption cases elsewhere, and will be followed closely by authorities in Brazil – site of the 2016 Olympic Games – and Japan, host of the 2020 Games, as there are allegations that Lamine Diack was involved in vote-buying activities with IOC members regarding both host city selections.

On Wednesday (22nd), the IOC Executive Board will meet in Lausanne and take up the question, among others, of what to do about the International Boxing Association – AIBA – and whether it will manage the boxing competition at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The IOC has made no secret of its unhappiness with AIBA and appointed a three-member inquiry committee, headed by IOC member Nenad Lalovic (SRB), who is also the head of United World Wrestling. The report of the inquiry group is slated to be delivered in Lausanne on Wednesday and the Executive Board may make its decision quickly thereafter, or wait to conside the matter further at its meetings in June.

AIBA has been turning itself into a pretzel to try and confirm to the form required by the IOC. Its elected president – characterized as a criminal by the U.S. Treasury Department – stepped down and an interim president was named; a mysterious offer to eliminate AIBA’s $16 million in debt was made by the secretary-general of the Russian Boxing Federation, but not formally offered or accepted by AIBA, and the federation has provided thousands of documents to the IOC to satisfy its questions.

The interim president of the AIBA, Moroccan Dr. Mohamed Moustahsane, issued a statement on Monday, which included:

“We had a very productive meeting with the IOC inquiry committee today and we remain confident that Mr. Lalovic and his team will be able to positively report back to the IOC Executive Board in a few days’ time. We have done everything in our power to work with the IOC and all of our Olympic Partners, and we remain optimistic about the future of Olympic Boxing and AIBA’s ability safeguard this great sport.”

There is, sorry to say, as much going on off the field as there is on the fields of play. Good governance is a process and a messy one at that. These three matters and many more elsewhere, are tests of credibility for sport – not just athletics, boxing and aquatics – and whether the public can actually trust what they see in arenas, stadiums and on television. Stay tuned.

Rich Perelman
Editor

VOLLEYBALL Preview: U.S. women start 2019 Nations League with sweep of Belgium

By
Rich Perelman
-
American hitter Sarah Wilhite in action vs. Belgium

Last we saw the United States women’s national volleyball team, the celebration was on for a championship in the inaugural season of the FIVB Women’s Nationals League after defeating Turkey, 3-2, in the final. Outside hitter Michelle Bartsch-Hackley was named Most Valuable Player.

The Women’s Nations League is back for 2019, and includes 16 teams: 12 “core teams” and four which are “challenger teams.” The field, including current FIVB world rankings:

● Americas ~ 3 teams:
Brazil (4), Dominican Republic (10), United States (3)

● Asia ~ 4 teams:
China (2), Japan (6), Korea (9), Thailand (14)

● Europe ~ 9 teams:
Belgium (19), Bulgaria (16), Germany (15), Italy (8), Netherlands (7), Poland (26), Russia (5), Serbia (1), Turkey (12).

The format includes five weeks of play in rotating pools of four, creating a 15-game schedule for each team:

● Round 1: 21-23 May
● Round 2: 28-30 May
● Round 3: 4-6 June
● Round 4: 11-13 June
● Round 5: 18-20 June

The top five teams will advance to a final round in Nanjing (CHN) from 2-6 July.

For the U.S. women, play started on Tuesday in Ruse (BUL) with a 3-0 sweep of Belgium: 25-23, 25-8, 25-22. The U.S. was led in scoring by Andrea Drews with 19 points and Sarah Wilhite with 14.

The Women’s Nations League replaced a 25-year program called the World Grand Prix. Brazil had the most success with 12 titles, followed by the U.S. with six and Russia with three. The Americans and Brazilians have been dominant this decade: the U.S. won in 2010-11-12-15 and the new Nations League in 2018; Brazil won in 2013-14-16-17.

Look for 2019 Women’s Nations League results here.

GYMNASTICS: Eight wins for China in opening World Challenge Cup in Zhaoqing

By
Rich Perelman
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China's Parallel Bars World Champion Jingyuan Zou

The FIG World Cup series in artistic gymnastics has been completed and the second-tier World Challenge Cup series began over the weekend in China.

The hosts were by far the most successful, winning eight of the 10 events, with 2017-18 World Parallel Bars Champion Jingyuan Zou taking his specialty and the Pommel Horse; he was the only two-event winner.

In the women’s events, Shijia Li of China won the Uneven Bars and Balance and was the only omen’s double winner. Of note was the silver medal on vault for the amazing Oksana Chusovitina (UKR), still going strong at age 43!

FIG Artistic World Challenge Cup
Zhaoqing (CHN) ~ 19-21 May 2019
(Full results here)

Men

Floor: 1. Shudi Deng (CHN), 14.300; 2. Takuya Sakakibara (JPN), 14.000; 3. Seung-Min Lee (KOR), 13.650.

Pommel Horse: 1. Jingyuan Zou (CHN), 15.200; 2. Rhys McClenaghan (IRL), 14.600; 3. Hao Weng (CHN), 14.350.

Rings: 1. Yang Liu (CHN), 15.400; 2. Yo-Seop Jeon (KOR), 13.450; 3. Sakakibara (JPN), 13.400.

Vault: 1. Hyok Kim (PRK), 14.275; 2. Jeah-Wan Shin (KOR), 14.175; 3. Genta Tsuyuki (JPN), 13.975.

Parallel Bars: 1. Zou (CHN), 16,150; 2. S-M Lee (KOR), 14.000; 3. Yong-Min Ri (PRK), 13.650.

Horizontal Bar: 1. Sakakibara (JPN), 13.600; 2. Chaopan Lin (CHN), 13.350; 3. S-M Lee (KOR), 13.300.

Women

Vault: 1. Linmin Yu (CHN), 14.625; 2. Oksana Chusovitina (UZB), 14.325; 3. Yueh Tan Ing (MAS), 12.625.

Uneven Bars: 1. Shijia Li (CHN), 13.750; 2. Jingxing Liu (CHN), 13.550; 3. Do-Hyun Eom (KOR), 13.050.

Balance Beam: 1. S. Li (CHN), 15.050; 2. Sisi Yin (CHN), 13.850; 3. D-H Eom (KOR), 12.300.

Floor: 1. J. Liu (CHN), 12.950; 2. Tan Ing (MAS), 12.900; 3. D-H Eom (KOR), 12.400.

DIVING: U.S. spots on the World Championships team being decided at Senior Nationals in Indianapolis

By
Rich Perelman
-

Spots on the U.S. team for the FINA World Championships are on the line this week at the USA Diving Senior National Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana this week. The synchronized events have come early in the week with six pairs qualifying to represent the U.S. in Changwon (KOR) later this year:

● Men/Synchro 3 m: Andrew Capobianco/Michael Hixon
● Men/Synchro 10 m: Steele Johnson/Ben Bramley

● Women/Synchro 3 m: Alison Gibson/Krysta Palmer
● Women/Synchro 10 m: Samantha Bromberg/Katrina Young

● Mixed/Synchro 3 m: Briadam Herrera/Lauren Reedy
● Mixed/Synchro 10 m: Zach Cooper/Olivia Rosendahl

Only two of these events were close: Gibson and Palmer won the women’s 3 m by 5.43 points over Sarah Bacon and Kristen Hayden, and the Mixed 3 m came down to the final dives between Herrera and Reedy and Tyler Downs and Maria Coburn.

Downs and Coburn entered the final round with a 10.23-point advantage, but their dive had a modest degree of difficulty, a major multiplier of the dive score. When Herrera and Reedy hit their final dive, the higher difficulty propelled into a national championship.

In the men’s 10 m Synchro, the national title went to David Dinsmore and Brandon Loschiavo, but the World Championships berth will be taken by Steele Johnson and Ben Bramley. While the national championship is determined in the finals only, the Worlds selection was based on the combined scores from the prelims and the final added together. That made the different for Johnson and Bramley, with Johnson a returning Olympic silver medalist in the event after diving with David Boudia in 2017.

Johnson’s performance was quite impressive, coming off of foot surgery. “My only goal was to put on the best showing I can, because I’ve only been doing my competitive list for two weeks now and Ben and I have only been training together for two weeks. It’s hard to have high expectations when you’ve been out of the sport for 11 months now.

“I came in here with the mindset that I’m just going to do the dives as best I can and hope Ben does the best he can and we’ll see where we land. Fortunately that landed us on the World Championships team, and I am ecstatic to be going back to Worlds and I’m ecstatic to be diving with Ben.”

The remaining finals schedule:

● 22 May: Men’s and women’s 1 m Springboard
● 25 May: Men’s 3 m Springboard and women’s 10 m Platform
● 26 May: Men’s 10 m Platform and women’s 3 m Springboard

The favorites to make the team for the 2019 Worlds. There’s a good chance it will be one of the divers who has already won a U.S. nationals or Olympic Trials or World Championships Trials over the past three years; these are the past champions who are expected to compete in Indianapolis:

● Briadam Herrera ~ 2018 Men’s 1 m
● Michael Hixon ~ 2018 Men’s 3 m, 2017 World Champs Trials 3 m
● David Dinsmore ~ 2018 Men’s 10 m, 2017 World Champs Trials 10 m
● Jordan Windle ~ 2017 Men’s 10 m
● Grayson Campbell ~ 2017 Men’s 1 m
● Zach Cooper ~ 2016 Men’s 10 m
● Nathaniel Hernandez ~ 2016 Men’s 1 m
● Andrew Capobianco ~ 2016 Men’s 3 m
● David Boudia ~ 2016 Olympic Trials Men’s 10 m

● Alison Gibson ~ 2018 Women’s 1 m, 2017 Women’s 1 m
● Krysta Palmer ~ 2018 Women’s 3 m
● Maria Coburn ~ 2017 Women’s 3 m, 2016 Women’s 3 m, 2016 Women’s 1 m
● Olivia Rosendahl ~ 2017 Women’s 10 m, 2016 Women’s 10 m
● Jessica Parratto ~ 2016 Olympic Trials 10 m, 2017 World Champs Trials 10 m
● Brooke Schultz ~ 2017 World Champs Trials 3 m

Boudia, now 30, has been quiet since the Rio Games, but is entered in the 3 m Springboard and intends to try for the 2020 Tokyo team. He’s won more than a dozen national titles as an individual diver and many more in synchronized events.

NBCSN has coverage on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time, then switching to NBC at 2 p.m. Eastern. Summaries so far:

USA Diving Senior National Championships
Indianapolis, Indiana (USA) ~ 19-26 May 2019
(Full results here)

Men

Synchro 3 m: 1. Andrew Capobianco/Michael Hixon, 423.96; 2. Jacob Cornish/Tyler Downs, 344.82; 3. Jacob Fielding/Lyle Yost, 334.05; 4. Ethan Foster/Luke Foster, 283.38 (only finalists).

Synchro 10 m: 1. David Dinsmore/Brandon Loschiavo, 414.39; 2. Benjamin Bramley/Steele Johnson, 404.91; 3. Jordan Windle/Brandon Loschiavo, 369.57; 4. Maxwell Flory/Zach Cooper, 363.06; 5. Jordan Rzepka/Tyler Downs, 348.54 (only finalists).

Women

Synchro 3 m: 1. Alison Gibson/Krysta Palmer, 292.23; 2. Sarah Bacon/Kristen Hayden, 286.80; 3. Samantha Bromberg/Brooke Schultz, 272.70; 4. Emily Grund/Hailey Hernandez, 272.22; 5. Carolina Sculti/Daria Lenz, 269.79; 6. Grace Walker/Margo O’Meara, 229.35; 7. Lauren Chennault/Abigail Egolf-Jensen, 210.63; 8. Ruth McCranie/Lily Witte, 201.48.

Synchro 10 m: 1. Samantha Bromberg/Katrina Young, 294.42; 2. Daryn Wright/Amy Magana, 281.40; 3. Jessica Parratto/Delaney Schnell, 280.38 (only finalists).

Mixed

Synchro 3 m: 1. Briadam Herrera/Lauren Reedy, 291.81; 2. Tyler Downs/Maria Coburn, 289.08; 3. Noah Duperre/Bridget O’Neal, 280.05; 4. Meghan Obrien/Jacob Cornish, 278.40; 5. Connor Watling/Joslyn Oakley, 216.30.

Synchro 10 m: 1. Zach Cooper/Olivia Rosendahl, 268.80; 2. Quinn Henninger/Isabel Gregersen, 249.03; 3. Maxwell Weinrich/Sophia McAfee, 242.46 (only finalists).

BEACH VOLLEYBALL Preview: Clash of stars in 4-star in Jinjiang, with Vikings look for third conquest

By
Rich Perelman
-
Norway's beach superstars Anders Mol and Christian Sorum (Photo FIVB)

A power-packed line-up of teams has assembled for the FIVB World Tour 4-star tournament in Jinjiang (CHN), led by the Norwegian pair of Anders Mol and Christian Sorum.

Off of winning two five-start majors and the World Tour Final last season, they have continued as one of the dominant teams in the world, already taking the title for the Las Vegan Open last October and the Itapema Open last week in Brazil. This week, they are the top seeds:

● Men:
1. Anders Mol/Christian Sorum (NOR)
2. Viacheslav KrasilnikovOleg Stoyanovskiy (RUS)
3. Pablo Herrera/Adrian Gavira (ESP)
4. Nick Lucena/Phil Dalhausser (USA)
5. Martins Plavins/Edgars Tocs (LAT)

Krasilnikov and Stoyanovskiy also have two four-star wins this season, at The Hague Open in January and the Xiamen Open in China in April. Herrera and Gavira were runner-ups at Xiamen and also have a bronze medal on the Doha Open in March. Veterans Lucena and Dalhauser have one World Tour medal this season, a silver in Doha.

Two dangerous Brazilians pairs are seeded sixth and seventh: Pedro Solberg and Vitor Felipe, and Evandro Goncalves and Bruno Oscar Schmidt.

● Women:
1. Barbora Hermannova/Marketa Slukova (CZE)
2. Agatha Bednarczuk/Duda Lisboa (BRA)
3. Ana Patricia Silva Ramos/Rebecca Cavalcanti (BRA)
4. Maria Antonelli/Carol Solberg (BRA)
5. Sara Hughes/Summer Ross (USA)

The Czech pair has been hot lately, winning the 3-star Kuala Lumpur Open a week after finishing second to Ana Patricia and Rebacca at the Xiamen Open. The Brazilians also won at The Hague Open and the 2-star Qinzhou Open last October.

Agatha and Duda have been quiet on the World Tour this season, with no medals so far. Maria Antonelli and Carol won a bronze at the Las Vegas Open last October. Americans Hughs and Ross were third at the Las Vegas Open in October and finished fourth in Xiamen in April.

The season is now about two-thirds completed and the World Championships are coming quickly, to be held in Hamburg (GER) beginning on 28 June, so the intensity is increasing. Look for results here.

CYCLING Preview: Women’s Tour goes Basque for 32nd Emakumeen Bira

By
Rich Perelman
-
Australia cycling star Amanda Spratt

One of the early women’s cycling stage races comes this week with the 32nd edition of the Emakumeen Bira, with four stages rolling through the Basque country of Spain:

● 22 May: Stage 1 (101.9 km): Iurreta to Iurreta (flat)
● 23 May: Stage 2 (110.8 km): Aduna to Amasa (hilly)
● 24 May: Stage 3 (97.6 km): Murgia to Santa Teodosia (hilly)
● 25 May: Stage 4 (155.8 km): Oñati › Oñati (hilly)

Defending champ Amanda Spratt (AUS) is back, along with three other previous medal winners:

● Amanda Spratt (AUS) ~ Defending Champion
● Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) ~ Second in 2010-17-18
● Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) ~ Second in 2013
● Tatiana Guderzo (ITA) ~ Second in 2008

Other contenders will certainly include Jolien D’Hoore (BEL), Amy Pieters (NED) and Amalie Dideriksen (DEN), all riding for the Boels-Dolmans Team.

There have been 11 races completed on the Women’s World Tour for 2019 and Dutch riders have won eight, including four in a row. Van Vleuten is the current World Tour leader, and won Strade Bianche and Liege-Bastogne-Liege and has a long history in this race. Can Spratt repeat her 2018 win? She does have a World Tour silver this season from the Trofeo Alfredo Binda race back in March, but there hasn’t been a repeat winner in the Emakumeen Bira this century!

Look for results here.

ARCHERY Preview: Strong fields lined up for third World Cup in Antalya

By
Rich Perelman
-

The third World Archery World Cup is in Antalya (TUR) this week, with a full program of Recurve and Compound shooting for men, women and teams. The fields are large, with 383 shooters from 54 nations registered.

The race to qualify for the World Cup Final continues; only the winners qualify directly from the World Cup stages. Through the first two stages at Medellin (COL) and Shanghai (CHN), the finalists:

Men/Recurve:
● Medellin: Brady Ellison (USA) d. Woo-Seok Lee (KOR)
● Shanghai: Woo-Seok Lee (KOR) d. Woo-Jin Kim (KOR)

Men/Compound:
● Medellin: Mike Schloesser (NED) d. Braden Gellenthien (USA)
● Shanghai: Braden Gellenthien (USA) d. Brend Frederickx (BEL)

Women/Recurve:
● Medellin: Chae-Young Kang (KOR) d. Melanie Gaubil (FRA)
● Shanghai: Chae-Young Kang (KOR) d. Tomomi Sugimoto (JPN)

Women/Compound:
● Medellin: Sara Lopez (COL) d. Jody Vermuelen (NED)
● Shanghai: Chae-Won So (KOR) d. Sophia Strachan (USA)

Korea is not sending a team to Antalya, which opens opportunities for others. The top expected shooters include:

Men/Recurve:
● Marcus d’Almeida (BRA) ~ 2014 World Cup Final runner-up
● Crispin Duenas (CAN) ~ 2013 World Championships bronze medalist
● Jean-Charles Valladont (FRA) ~ 2016 Olympic silver medalist
● Steve Wijler (NED) ~ 2017 World Championships bronze medalist
● Sjef van den Berg (NED) ~ 2016 World Cup Final runner-up
● Rick van der Ven (NED) ~ 2015 World Championships silver medalist
● Brady Ellison (USA) ~ 2016 Olympic bronze; 2010-11-14-16 World Cup Final winner

Men/Compound:
● Stephan Hansen (DEN) ~ 2015 World Champion; 2017 World Champs silver
● Sebastien Peineau (FRA) ~ 2017 World Champion
● Abhishek Verma (IND) ~ 2018 World Cup Final bronze medalist
● Sergio Pagni (ITA) ~ 2009-10 World Cup Final winner, 2011-13 World Cup bronze
● Mike Schloesser (NED) ~ 2013 World Champion
● Braden Gellenthien (USA) ~ 2007 Worlds silver; 2017 bronze; 2017 World Cup gold
● Kris Schaff (USA) ~ 2018 World Cup Final winner

Women/Recurve:
● Maja Jager (DEN) ~ 2013 World Champion
● Lisa Unruh (GER) ~ 2016 Olympic silver medalisr
● Deepika Kumari (IND) ~ 2011-12-13-15 World Cup Final silver; 2018 bronze
● Aida Roman (MEX) ~ 2012 Olympic silver medalist
● Ksenia Perova (RUS) ~ 2017 World Champion; defending Antalya World Cup champ
● Ya-Ting Tan (TPE) ~ 2017 World Championships bronze medalist
● Yasemin Anagoz (TUR) ~ 2018 World Cup Final runner-up

Women/Compound:
● Sara Lopez (COL) ~ 2015 Worlds bronze; 2014-15-17-18 World Cup Final winner
● Tanja Jensen (DEN) ~ 2017 World Cup Final silver medalist
● Kristina Heigenhauser (GER) ~ 2017 World Championships bronze medalist
● Marcella Tonioli (ITA) ~ 2016 World Cup Final winner
● Natalia Avdeeva (RUS) ~ 2014 World Cup Final bronze medalist
● Yesim Bostan (TUR) ~ 2017 Worlds silver medalist; defending Antalya World Cup champ
● Alexis Ruiz (USA) ~ Medellin and Shanghai World Cup bronze medalist

Also in the women’s Recurve field is 15-year-old American Casey Kaufhold, who was the sensation of the Indoor World Cup, winning a gold and silver medal in her first season on the tour. She did well in Medellin, making to the round of 32.

The Compound finals will be on Saturday and the Recurve finals will be on Sunday; look for results here.

STAT PACK: Results for the week of 13-19 May 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 17 events in 12 sports:

● Athletics: IAAF Diamond League 2: Shanghai
● Athletics: IAAF Race Walk Challenge: European Cup in Alytus
● Beach Volleyball: FIVB World Tour 4-star in Itapema
● Cycling: MWT: Amgen Tour of California
● Cycling: WWT: Amgen Tour of California
● Cycling: UCI Mountain Bike World Cup XCO-XCC in Albstadt
● Diving: FINA World Series 5 in London
● Fencing: FIE Foil Grand Prix 3 in Shanghai
● Fencing: FIE Men’s Epee World Cup 5 in Paris
● Fencing: FIE Women’s Epee World Cup 5 in Dubai
● Golf: PGA Championships in Farmingdale
● Shooting: ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Changwon
● Sport Climb: IFSC World Cup (B) in Munich
● Swimming: Tyr Pro Swim Series 4 in Bloomington
● Taekwondo: World Taekwondo Championships in Manchester
● Triathlon: ITU World Series 3 in Yokohama
● Wrestling: U.S. Team Trials Challenge Tournament in Raleigh

plus our calendar of upcoming events through 30 June. Click below for the PDF:

[wpdm_package id=13493 template=”link-template-button-popup.php”]

ATHLETICS Panorama: Gong stars in Nanning, takes world lead away from Ealey

By
Rich Perelman
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China's World Champion in the women's shot, Lijiao Gong (Photo: Wikipedia/Paalso - Paal Sorensen)

One of the shocks of the Shanghai Diamond League meet was American Chase Ealey’s victory in the women’s shot over reigning World Champion Lijiao Gong of China. But that was only round one.

At the new IAAF World Challenge meet in Nanning (CHN) on Tuesday, Gong was in better form, getting out to 19.84 m (65-1 1/4) in the third round to take the world lead from Ealey. That was the winning mark, but Gong also had a final throw of 19.77 m (64-10 1/2), the no. 2 throw in the world for 2019.

Ealey threw 19.21 m (63-0 1/4), the same as Jamaica’s Danniel Thomas-Dodd, but finished third as Thomas-Dodd had a better back-up throw.

Another world leader came in the women’s 1,500 m, as Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay, who barely lost to Rabab Arafi (MAR) in Shanghai, 4:01.15-4:01.25, posted the win in 3:59.97. She led a mass finish that had Axumawit Embaye (ETH) and Sifan Hassan (NED) at 4:00.17 and 4:00.53.

There were plenty of other highlights in Nanning:

● Men/100 m: Michael Rodgers of the U.S. out-leaned Andre De Grasse (CAN) as both were timed in 10.09.

● Men/800 m: Botswana’s Nijel Amos, the world leader at 1:44.29, posted the no. 3 time of 2019 with a tight win in 1:44.38 over Cornelius Tuwei (KEN), 1:44.91 and Jonathon Kitilit (KEN: 1:45.58).

● Men/3,000 m Steeple: Kenya’s Benjamin Kigen moved up to no. 4 on the world list for thus year with an 8:08.94 victory, ahead of Abraham Kibiwot (KEN: 8:10.27) and Lawrence Kipsang (KEN: 8:11.26). American Stanley Kibenei was seventh in 8:15.94, the second-fastest U.s. mark in 2019.

● Men/110 m Hurdles: Tight finish, with Orlando Ortega (ESP) just holding off Jamaica’s Omar McLeod, 13.27-13.28, with American Freddie Crittenden third in 13.37, beating Russia’s Sergey Shubenkov (also 13:37).

● Men/Triple Jump: A U.S. sweep, with Christian Taylor coming back to win in the sixth round at 17.47 m (57-3 3/4), passing world leader Omar Craddock (17.42 m/57-2), with Donald Scott third at 17.03 m (55-10 1/2). Craddock had the lead at 17.40 m (57-1) from round two and after Taylor took the lead in the final round, Craddock had his best jump of the day, but ended up 5 cm short.

● Women/200 m: Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson moved to no. 2 in the world for 2019, winning in 22.40 (+0.2 m/s), ahead of Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser, who posted a lifetime best of 22.56.

● Women/100 m hurdles: The U.S. went 1-2-3-4, with Brianna McNeal just holding off Nia Ali in a Rio 2016 repeat, this time with both timed in 12.78. Christina Clemons was third (12.79) and Queen Harrison was fourth (12.80).

● Women/Hammer: China’s Zheng Wang reached 75.27 m (246-11) to win over DeAnna Price of the U.S. (74.21 (243-5) and Polish star Anita Wlodarczyk (73.64 m/241-7). Brooke Anderson of the U.S. was fourth (73.40 m/240-10).

Pretty good for a first meet in Nanning! The IAAF reported attendance of more than 12,000!

There are other world leaders to report:

● Men/4×100 m: At the IAAF World Challenge meet in Osaka (JPN) last week, Japan ran 38.00 in the men’s 4×100 m, taking the world lead from Brazil’s 38.05 to win the World Relays.

● Men/50 km Walk: French star Yohann Diniz routed the field in the European Walking Cup in Alytus (LTU) in 3:37:43 to take the yearly lead in that event.

Although not a world leader, Rio Olympic shot champ Ryan Crouser continues on fire, winning at the Tuscon Elite Classic in Arizona on the 18th, reaching 22.67 m (74-4 1/2), the equal-11th performance in history and no. 4 in U.S. history. Crouser now has the top eight throws of 2019, including his world-leading 22.74 m (74-7 1/2) on 20 April in Long Beach, California. Wow!

It’s important for athletes to focus on their goals and not get sidetracked along way. For Christian Coleman, out-leaned at the finish of the Shanghai Diamond League 100 m by fellow American Noah Lyles – both in 9.86 – he wanted to be sure that everyone kept this in mind, tweeting:

He’s right: the season is just getting going and it looks like Coleman and Lyles are going to be quite the show, all the way to Doha!

SPEED READ: Headlines from The Sports Examiner for Monday, 20 March 2019

By
Rich Perelman
-

Welcome to The Sports Examiner SPEED READ, a 100 mph (44.7 m/s) review of what happened over the last 72 hours in Olympic sport:

LANE ONE

Monday: This is not a joke: FINA has a man who is accused of murder in Hungary as a member of its governing board, its executive committee and as the technical delegate for Artistic Swimming for the 2019 World Championships later this year in Korea. Sorry to say, we’re not kidding.

HEARD AFTER HALFTIME

Friday: A Community College sprinter runs a wind-aided 19.49 (!) at the national championships … the concessions menu at the Mountain Bike World Cup in Germany … the latest filing in the USA Gymnastics cases … good news on the Moscow Lab data from the World Anti-Doping Agency and a disappointing apparel collection from Lacoste that is supposed to “celebrate” the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

ATHLETICS

Saturday: Sensational Shanghai Diamond League meet, with six world-leading marks and a men’s 100 m for the ages as Noah Lyles came from nowhere to catch and pass Christian Coleman at the line in 9.86!

Sunday: That guy who ran a windy 19.49 for 200 m? He just won both the 200 m and 400 m at the National Junior College Champs and became the second man ever to run sub-20 and sub-45 on the same day! Plus the secret of how U.S. putter Chase Ealey became a world beater!

BADMINTON

Saturday: Preview of the prestigious Sudirman Cup in Nanning (CHN), a team event that figures to be a fight to the finish between China and Japan.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

Sunday: Impressive win for the on-fire pair of April Ross and Alix Klineman, winning the FIVB four-star tournament in Itapema, Brazil, just as they did at the AVP Huntington Beach Open a couple of weeks back!

CYCLING

Sunday: The Giro d’Italia stops for a rest day on Monday after nine stages. Favored Primoz Roglic (SLO) took the lead after the first-stage time trial, but a calamitous sixth stage put him way back in the field. Not to worry; Sunday’s second time trial put him right back into contention and into second place overall behind Italy’s Valerio Conti.

Sunday: American Kate Courtney won the Mountain Bike Cross Country world title last season, but had never won a World Cup race. No worries; she routed the field in the Cross Country season opener in Albstadt (GER)!

Saturday: The Amgen Tour of California was decided for both men and women on the brutal climb up Mt. Baldy. For the men, it brought Tadej Pogacar (SLO) to the front of the leaderboard and he collected his first World Tour victory on Saturday. For the women, Dutch star Anna van der Breggen took the lead on the first stage and kept up with Mt. Baldy winner Katie Hall of the U.S., and that turned out to be the difference.

DIVING

Sunday: China didn’t send its best team to the final FINA Diving World Series, but still won five of the 10 events. The big winner was Australia’s Maddison Keeney, who won three events, including two synchronized events, and British stars won the other two.

FENCING

Sunday: More gold for World Champions Alessio Foconi (ITA) and Inna Deriglazova (RUS) in the Foil Grand Prix in Shanghai. But the U.S. won two medals there, and two more at the women’s Epee World Cup in Dubai. Not a bad weekend …

SHOOTING

Saturday: The U.S. continued its good shooting in the Trap events of the ISSF Shotgun World Cup, winning a Mixed Team silver and Ashley Carroll won a bronze. With five medals in all, the U.S. led the medal table in Changwon!

SPORT CLIMBING

Sunday: Janja Garnbret stayed perfect, winning her fifth straight World Cup in Bouldering, in Munich (GER). She can complete an undefeated season in Vail in June. The men’s Bouldering title was taken by Jakob Schubert (AUT).

SWIMMING

Friday ~ Saturday ~ Sunday: A very good Tyr Pro Swim Series meet in Bloomington, Indiana with world-leading marks in the 50-10-200 m Breaststrokes. Two were from Indiana star Lilly King, but Sunday’s stunner came from emerging star Annie Lazor! Plus more great swimming from Katie Ledecky. Check out our full report from the last three days.

TAEKWONDO

Sunday: A memorable World Championships in Manchester (GBR), in which home favorite Bianca Walkden won a third world title, but was booed by the home fans due to her unusual tactics. After all, she was losing, 20-10, with a minute left … but she won! British fighters won two more titles, but Korea was the best team overall.

TRIATHLON

Saturday: She’s perfect! Katie Zaferes wins her third ITU World Series race in a row, leading a historic U.S. sweep of the podium at Yokohama (JPN).

UPCOMING

Highlights of the coming week, with previews in the coming days on TheSportsExaminer.com:

● Cycling: Second week of the famed Giro d’Italia!

● Football: U.S. women finish their pre-World Cup schedule vs. Mexico in New Jersey.

● IOC: Executive Board meeting on 22 May to announce what happens to Olympic boxing and AIBA for Tokyo 2020!

And previews, results and reports on almost two dozen events scheduled for the week of 20-26 May!

LANE ONE: Why does FINA have an accused murderer as a Technical Delegate at the 2019 World Championships?

By
Rich Perelman
-

It’s amazing what you can find out if you make an effort to read even the most boring documents.

The international federation for aquatics sports, known as “FINA” by its French acronym, is staging its biennial World Championships, which will take place in Changwon (KOR) from 12-28 July of this year. It’s a massive event with competitions in swimming, diving, open-water swimming, water polo and artistic swimming (formerly synchronized swimming).

Each of these disciplines is overseen by a “technical delegate,” a person appointed by FINA to ensue that the competitions run smoothly and that issues are resolved quickly and efficiently as they come up in the organizing effort. They are listed on six lines on page 13 of a 30-page document called a “Summons,” which lists – in numbing detail – the technical aspects of the World Championships. Accreditation, housing, transportation, practice schedules, visa regulations, qualifying standards, prize money and a lot more is included.

None of the Technical Delegates are household names. The six people listed comes from six different countries and four continents. The technical delegate for swimming is from the U.S.: Dale Neuburger from Indianapolis, a long-respected administrator in the sport.

For those who have followed FINA politics, however, one name does stand out. It’s the last one listed, and assigned to Artistic Swimming: Tamas Gyarfas of Hungary.

What? Tamas Gyarfas?

The same guy who was arrested in April of 2018 and alleged to have “instigated the killing” of media executive Janos Fenyo in 1998? Yep, that’s him.

In April 2018, Gyarfas was in the headlines; Reuters reported his arrest and noted:

● “Police have never resolved who ordered the murder of Hungarian mogul Janos Fenyo who was sprayed with submachine gun bullets at a stop light in Budapest in February 1998.”

● “In the 1990s, [Gyarfas] and Fenyo vied for control of a Hungarian television production company, according to public records.”

● “Police said the man [Gyarfas] is suspected of instigating the killing along with another man whom they named only as 50-year-old Tamas P. State news agency MTI and Hungarian newspapers identified the second man as Tamas Portik, a businessman sentenced to 13 years in jail for another crime in May last year.”

Slovakian native Jozef Rohac, was convicted of the killing and sentenced to life in prison, but the person(s) responsible for having the crime undertaken have not been charged.

Since then, Gyarfas has protested his innocence repeatedly, but the case is ongoing. Last August, he posted a bond worth about $700,000 U.S. so that he would be able to travel outside the country. In January of this year, a recording surfaced of a conversation between Gyarfas and Portik from a meeting in a Budapest cemetery which “strengthens” the charges against Gyarfas.

Situations like this almost always result in the accused being suspended from almost all activities until the case is resolved. But not in the swimming world:

● Gyarfas is a sitting member of the FINA Bureau, the governing council of the federation.

● According to SwimSwam.com, he was appointed by FINA President Julio Maglione to serve on the eight-member FINA Executive, which is otherwise made up of elected FINA officials and the treasurer.

● He continues to serve as the Treasurer of the European swimming federation, known as “LEN,” and attended the May, 2019 LEN Congress in St. Petersburg (RUS).

And now he’s the Technical Delegate for Artistic Swimming: a man overseeing a sport almost wholly dedicated to women and in which the FINA Technical Committee includes 15 actual members, of whom 14 are women. Gyarfas has been involved in swimming and water polo, not in artistic swimming.

Why is FINA doing this?

There’s no doubt that Gyarfas has given long service to the sport of swimming. After an 18-year career as a sportswriter with a strong emphasis on the swimming sports, he served as the head of the Hungarian Swimming Federation from 1992-2016, when he was forced out by the country’s star swimmers on charges of mismanagement. According to Rio triple gold medalist Katinka Hosszu, “Tamas Gyarfas was the first one who said in 2008 that I should quit swimming and retire because, among other issues, poor training conditions haven’t improved.”

Hosszu complained that the federation took undue credit for the results of Hungarian swimmers; that the organization’s decision-making process was undemocratic, and implied that financial pressures were involved in the selection of leadership. The federation denied the charges, but Gyarfas resigned in order to maintain some semblance of peace.

Now 70, Gyarfas has a lot ahead of him if the Hungarian prosecutors move ahead with a case against him. He will have to navigate, with his attorneys, the criminal adjudication process, and the charges are very serious. Whether he is innocent or guilty, or somewhere in between, is for the Hungarian justice system to determine.

But why does FINA have an accused murderer on its governing council, executive committee and now as a Technical Delegate for a women’s sport?

These should be happy times for FINA. The Changwon Worlds should be a success and the federation has moved into the top tier of international federations for the distribution of television revenues from the International Olympic Committee, joining the IAAF (track & field) and FIG (gymnastics). FINA opened a new headquarters building in Switzerland last year, and as of the end of 2017, had assets of about $158 million U.S.

But having an accused murderer as a member of its administrative inner circle makes FINA look more like a New York organized-crime family of the 1950s than an organization dedicated to promoting fitness, water safety and worldwide competition.

This is FINA’s fault and FINA can fix it, now. And it can show it understands by suspending Gyarfas until his case is resolved; a simple announcement on its Web site is enough (and corresponding removals from his name from the relevant boards).

Because there are people who read these things, no matter how boring.

Rich Perelman
Editor

TAEKWONDO: Korea wins four, but Britain surprises with three wins at World Championships in Manchester

By
Rich Perelman
-
Britain's Olympic and World Champion Jade Jones

There’s no doubt that the 2019 World Taekwondo Championships will be remembered for a long time, and just for the fact that the event was held in Great Britain for the first time.

British fighters scored three memorable victories, including a controversial third world title for heavyweight Bianca Walkden.

She had won world titles in 2015 and 2017, but was facing 2016 Olympic gold medalist Shuyin Zheng of China in the final. As the World Taekwondo report of the final noted:

“Walkden took an early lead in the first round. Zheng evened up the scores with a kick to the body at the start of the second round and by the start of the third round was in the lead. However, in the third round she was penalised for a 10th gam-jeon which resulted in an automatic disqualification and Walkden was awarded the gold.”

In fact, Walkden was down 20-10 with a minute to go, but knew that Zheng – with seven penalties – was close to the limit, and that 10 would result in disqualification.

Zheng was furious and so was Chinese head coach Guan Jianmin, who told Xinhua News Agency the result was “a scandal” and “very dirty.” He added that, “I have been doing this sport for 16 years but this is the first time I realized taekwondo can be played like this.”

A British media report explained “Walkden capitalised on Zheng’s defensive style with brutal aggression which repeatedly pushed the Chinese fighter off the mat. Although some will question the ‘sportsmanship’ Walkden showed, she fought within the rules. She was in tears herself as she took to the podium amidst a chorus of boos but was defiant in her post-fight interviews, insisting she would use the same tactics again.’Obviously it wasn’t nice [to hear the boos], but I never gave up and was going to die out there fighting for the win, which I think showed,’ said Walkden.’I did what I had to and I’m now a three-time world champion, which they can’t take away from me.’”

There was no doubt about the other two wins. Bradly Sinden, 20, faced Korea’s three-time World Champion Dae-Hoon Lee in the semis, but managed a 24-23 victory and then edged Spain’s Javier Perez, 24-21, in the final.

Jade Jones, the 2012-16 Olympic champ at 57 kg; finally won her first World Championship title after a silver in 2011 and a bronze in 2017. She had to overcome 2017 World Champion Ah-Reum Lee of Korea, and did so with a 14-7 victory. Jones was named as the outstanding female fighter of the tournament.

Korea’s Jun Jang, the winner at 58 kg, was named the outstanding men’s fighter of the event.

There were only two repeat winners from 2017, both women: Walkden at +73 kg and Jae-Young Sim (KOR) at -46 kg. There were also three winners from 2015: Walkden, Panipak Wongpattanakitt (THA: -49 kg) and Irem Yaman (TUR: -62 kg).

Korea and China led the medal with seven each, but the Koreans had four wins (4-1-2) while China had to settle for two (2-2-3). Brazil had five total medals (0-2-3) and Britain (3-0-1) led a group of five countries who won four, including Russia (1-2-1), Turkey (1-1-2), Mexico (0-3-1) and Croatia (0-0-4).

It was quite a show. Summaries:

World Taekwondo Championships
Manchester (GBR) ~ 15-19 May 2019
(Full results here)

Men

-54 kg: 1. Jun-Seo Bae (KOR); 2. Georgy Popov (RUS); 3. Paulo Melo (BRA) and Armin Hadipour Seighalani (IRI). Final: Bae d. Popov, 53-24.

-58 kg: 1. Jun Jang (KOR); 2. Brandon Plaza Hernandez (MEX); 3. Lucas Guzman (ARG) and Rui Braganca (POR). Final: Jang d. Plaza, 25-9.

-63 kg: 1. Shuai Zhao (CHN); 2. Soroush Ahmadi (IRI); 3. Jaouad Achab (BEL) and Iordanis Konstantinidis (GRE). Final: Zhao d. Ahmadi, 27-7.

-68 kg: 1. Bradly Sinden (GBR); 2. Javier Perez (ESP); 3. Dae-Hoon Lee (KOR) and Alexey Denisenko (RUS). Final: Sinden d. Perez, 24-21.

-74 kg: 1. Simone Alessio (ITA); 2. Ahmad Abughuash (JOR); 3. Kairat Sarymsakov (KAZ) and Daniel Quesada Barrera (ESP). Final: Alession d. Abughuash, 18-11.

-80 kg: 1. Milad Beigi (AZE); 2. Apostolos Telikostoglou (GRE); 3. Moses Hernandez (DOM) and Woo-Hyeok Park (KOR). Final: Beigi d. Telikostoglou, 22-12.

-87 kg: 1. Vladislav Larin (RUS); 2. Ice Miguel Soares (BRA); 3. Zhaoxiang Song (CHN) and Ivan Sapina (CRO). Final: Larin d. Soares, 19-9.

+87 kg: 1. Rafael Alba (CUB); 2. Carlos Sansores (MEX); 3. Hamza Kattan (JOR) and Maicon Andrade (BRA). Final: Alba d. Sansores, 9-5.

Women

-46 kg: 1. Jae-Young Sim (KOR); 2. Mahla Momenzadeh (IRI); 3. Xueqin Tan (CHN) and Julanan Khantikulanon (THA). Final: Sim d. Momenzadeh, 11-6.

-49 kg: 1. Panipak Wongpattanakitt (THA); 2. Jingyu Wu (CHN); 3. Kristina Tomic (CRO) and Rukiye Yildirim (TUR). Final: Wongpattanakitt d. Wu, 21-6.

-53 kg: 1. Phannapa Harnsujin (THA); 2. Tatiana Kudashova (RUS); 3. Aaliyah Powell (GBR) and Inese Tarvida (LAT). Final: Harnsujin d. Kudashova, 20-10.

-57 kg: 1. Jade Jones (GBR); 2. Ah-Reum Lee (KOR); 3. Skylar Park (CAN) and Lijun Zhou (CHN). Final: Jones d. Lee, 14-7.

-62 kg: 1. Irem Yaman (TUR); 2. Caroline Santos (BRA); 3. Bruna Vuletic (CRO) and Magda Wiet-Henin (FRA). Final: Yaman d. Santos, 21-7.

-67 kg: 1. Mengyu Zhang (CHN); 2. Nur Tatar (TUR); 3. Farida Azizova (AZE) and Milena Titoneli (BRA). Final: Zhang d. Tatar, 18-9.

-73 kg: 1. Da-Bin Lee (KOR); 2. Maria Espinoza (MEX); 3. Marie Paule Ble (FRA) and Nifia Kus (TUR). Final: Lee d. Espinoza, 22-2.

+73 kg: 1. Bianca Walkden (GBR); 2. Shuyin Zheng (CHN); 3. Doris Pole (CRO) and Briseda Acosta (MEX). Final: Walkden declared winner by Punitive Declaration (Zheng leading 20-11).

SPORT CLIMBING: Garnbret maintains perfect season with win in Munich Bouldering

By
Rich Perelman
-
Slovenia's climbing star Janja Garnbret

She’s still perfect.

Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret, the favorite for the 2020 Tokyo Sport Climbing title, won her fifth straight World Cup, maintaining her perfect record and can go for an undefeated season in the final World Cup in Vail (USA) in early June.

Competing on the grounds of Munich’s famed Olympiastadion, she cleared the same obstacles as runner-up Fanny Gibert (SUI), but did so more efficiently and won cleanly. Garnbret now has 500 points on the season (5 wins x 100 points), with Gibert standing second (268) and japan’s Akiyo Noguchi third (240).

The men’s event was won by Austria’s Jakob Schubert, his first win of the season. He can be considered the men’s favorite for Tokyo after winning the 2018 Combined title – the Tokyo event in Climbing will be a Combined – and his Bouldering win is important since his best event is Lead.

Just behind was Adam Ondra (CZE), who finished second at the 2018 World Combined Championships. On the season, Ondra leads with 284 points to 260 for Japan’s Tomoa Narasaki and 214 for Aleksey Rubtsov (RUS). Schubert is seventh with 184. Summaries:

IFSC World Cup
Munich (GER) ~ 18-19 May 2019
(Full results here)

Men/Bouldering: 1. Jakob Schubert (AUT), 3T4z~7/8; 2. Adam Ondra (CZE), 3T3z~3/3; 3. Jan Hojer (GER), 2T4z~4/14; 4. Aleksey Rubtsov (RUS), 2T3z~5/6; 5. Anze Peharc (SLO), 1T4z~3/6.

Women/Bouldering: 1. Janja Garnbret (SLO), 4T4z~5/5; 2. Fanny Gibert (SUI), 4T4z~8/7; 3. Mia Krampl (SLO), 3T3z~9/9; 4. Julia Chanourdie (FRA), 2T2z~5/5; 5. Ievgeniia Kazbekova (UKR), 1T3z~3/7.

SWIMMING: Lazor lights up King, moves to no. 2 all-time U.S. in Tyr Pro Swim Bloomington

By
Rich Perelman
-
World Short-Course 200 m Breaststroke Champion Annie Lazor

The story of the second and third days of the Tyr Pro Swim Series in Bloomington, Indiana has been Indiana star Lilly King, who set world-leading marks in the 50 and 100 m Breaststroke events. But on day four, she got Lazored.

The gold medalist in the 2018 FINA World Short-Course Championships in the 200 m Breast, Annie Lazor pulled away from a good field and finished in a lifetime best of 2:20.77, far ahead of Emily Escobedo (2:24.51) and King (2:24.60). The time was more than special: best in the world for 2019 and makes her the no. 9 performer ever. Among American swimmers, she’s now no. 2, with the no. 6 performance ever: only American Record holder Rebecca Soni has ever swum faster (five times). Even Lazor was stunned when she saw the time on the scoreboard!

There were some other impressive swims on Sunday, including Regan Smith’s sweep of the Backstroke event with a win in the 100 Back in 58.82, fourth-fastest in the world for 2019. Simone Manuel’s win in the 50 m Free – in 24.41 – ranked sixth in the world this season.

All told, there were four world-leading marks during the meet, including all three Breaststroke events:

● Women/800 m Free: 8:10.70, Katie Ledecky (USA)
● Women/50 m Breast: 30.03, Lilly King (USA)
● Women/100 m Breast: 1:05.68, Lilly King (USA)
● Women/200 m Breast: 2:20.77, Annie Lazor (USA)

Ledecky’s 800 m Free swim was impressive; not only the world-leading time for 2019, but the no. 7 performance of all time. She now has the top 21 swims in the event all-time.

Nine swimmers won two or more events, including Smith’s Backstroke sweep:

● 3: Zane Grothe: 200-400-800 m Freestyle
● 3: Michael Andrew: 50 m Back, 50 m Breast, 50 m Fly
● 3: Jay Litherland: 200 m Fly, 200-400 m Medley
● 2: Cody Miller: 100-200 m Breast

● 3: Katie Ledecky: 200-400-800 m Freestyle
● 3: Regan Smith: 500-100-200 m Back
● 2: Lilly King: 50-100 m Breast
● 2: Sarah Gibson: 50-100 m Fly
● 2: Simone Manuel: 50-100 m Freestyle

Nathan Adrian once again heard cheers from the crowd as he get into the blocks for the 50 m Free. Only sixth-fastest in the heats, he was close to the lead with about 10 m to go, but finished third (22.22), tiring slightly at the end, just as in the 100 m Free. But it’s a good start for him to try to regain form in time for the World Championships in Korea.

The Bloomington meet wasn’t the only action in the U.S. for elite swimmers. At the 2019 Atlanta Classic at Georgia Tech (results here), a carload of American stars were in lower-key action. The top mark came from Hali Flickinger of the U.S. in the women’s 200 m Fly, winning in 2:06.98, the no. 2 mark in the world for 2019. Caeleb Dressel posted the no. 4 time in the world this year in the 100 m Free at 47.86. That was his fourth win of the meet; he also took the 100 m Breast (1:01.22), 100 Fly (51.41), and 200 Fly (1:56.29).

Summaries from Bloomington:

USA Swimming/Tyr Pro Swim Series
Bloomington, Indiana (USA) ~ 16-19 May 2019
(Full results here)

Men

50 m Freestyle: 1. Ali Khallafalla (EGY), 22.05; 2. Robert Howard, 22.19; 3. Nathan Adrian, 22.22.

100 m Free: 1. Zach Apple, 48.76; 2. Blake Pieroni, 48.86; 3. Robert Howard, 49.09.

200 m Free: 1. Blake Pieroni, 1:47.25; 2. Zane Grothe, 1:47.90; 3. Apple, 1:49.49.

400 m Free: 1. Grothe, 3:48.27; 2. Felix Auboeck (AUT), 3:52.69; 3. Johannes Calloni (ITA), 3:54.21.

800 m Free: 1. Grothe, 7:53.40; 2. Auboeck (AUT), 8:04.69; 3. Mikey Calvillo, 8:08.56.

1,500 m Free: 1. Grothe, 15:17.12; 2. Marcelo Acosta (ESA), 15:28.66; 3. Ricardo Vargas (MEX), 15:30.04.

50 m Backstroke: 1. Michael Andrew 24.91; 2. Grigory Tarasevich (RUS), 25.10; 3. Gabriel Fantoni (BRA), 25.34.

100 m Back: 1. Tarasevich (RUS), 54.28; 2. Nikos Sofianidis (GRE), 55.12; 3. Fantoni (BRA), 55.25.

200 m Back: 1. Calloni (ITA) 1:59.01; 2. Jacob Steele, 2:01.29; 3. Zachary Poti, 2:02.12.

50 m Breaststroke: 1. Andrew, 27.21; 2. Nic Fink, 27.55; 3. Ian Finnerty, 27.71.

100 m Breast: 1. Cody Miller, 59.24; 2. Andrew, 59.52; 3. Anton McKee (ISL) 1:00.62.

200 m Breast: 1. Miller, 2:08.98; 2. Will Licon, 2:10.97; 3. Daniel Roy, 2:12.00.

50 m Butterfly: 1. Andrew, 23.40; 2. Luis Martinez (GUA), 23.48; 3. Vini Lanza (BRA), 24.20.

100 m Fly: 1. Martinez (GUA), 51.81; 2. Lanza (BRA), 52.72; 3. Fantoni (BRA), 53.71.

200 m Fly: 1. Jay Litherland, 1:57.99; 2. Corey Gambardella, 1:58.49; 3. Carson Foster, 1:59.32.

200 m Medley: 1. Litherland, 2:00.64; 2. Will Licon, 2:02.03; 3. Lanza (BRA), 2:02.75.

400 m Medley: 1. Litherland, 4:14.42; 2. Charlie Swanson, 4:22.64; 3. Daniel Sos (HUN), 4:22.89.

Women

50 m Freestyle: 1. Simone Manuel, 24.41; 2. Julie Meynen, 25.13; 3. Margo Geer, 25.24.

100 m Free: 1. Manuel, 53.65; 2. Mallory Comerford, 54.11; 3. Geer, 54.18.

200 m Free: 1. Katie Ledecky, 1:55.80; 2. Manuel, 1:57.24; 3. Madisyn Cox, 1:58.52.

400 m Free: 1. Ledecky, 3:59.95; 2. Cox, 4:10.21; 3. Brooke Forde, 4:11.91.

800 m Free: 1. Ledecky, 8:10.70; 2. Sierra Schmidt, 8:36.71; 3. Ally McHugh, 8:37.34.

1,500 m Free: 1. Hannah Moore, 16:11.42; 2. Kristel Kobrich (CHI), 16:23.19; 3. Becca Mann, 16:25.49.

50 m Backstroke: 1. Regan Smith, 28.08; 2. Kylee Alons 28.21; 3. Elisa Haan, 28.37.

100 m Back: 1. Smith 58.82; 2. Isabelle Stadden, 1:00.26; 3. Lisa Bratton, 1:00.88.

200 m Back: 1. Smith, 2:06.47; 2, Stadden, 2:09.10; 3. Asia Seidt, 2:09.99.

50 m Breaststroke: 1. Lilly King, 30.03; 2. Annie Lazor, 31.01; 3. Olivia Calegan, 31.31.

100 m Breast: 1. King, 1:05.68; 2. Lazor, 1:06.03; 3. tie, Emily Esbobedo, Cox and Bethany Galat, 1:07.59.

200 m Breast: 1. Lazor, 2:20.77; 2. Escobedo, 2:24.51; 3. King, 2:24.60.

50 m Butterfly: 1. Sarah Gibson, 26.52; 2. Katie Drabot, 26.66; 3. Aly Tetzloff, 26.97.

100 m Fly: 1. Gibson, 58.41; 2. R. Smith, 58.52; 3. Lillie Nordmann, 59.31.

200 m Fly: 1. Drabot, 2:08.57; 2,. R. Smith, 2:08.58; 3. Ella Eastin, 2:09.92.

200 m Medley: 1. Cox, 2:11.10; 2. Seidt, 2:15.03; 3. Allie Szekely, 2:16.23.

400 m Medley: 1. Eastin, 4:37.18; 2. Cox, 4:41.14; 3. Makayla Sargent, 4:41.33.

CYCLING: Courtney shows she is no fluke; routs World Cup field in Albstadt

By
Rich Perelman
-
Mountain Bike Cross Country World Champion Kate Courtney (USA)

It would be easy to dismiss American Kate Courtney’s win at the 2018 World Mountain Bike Championships as a fluke. After all, her best finish on the World cup circuit had been sixth, a year after dominating the U23 division.

But her world title ride was confirmed by her outstanding performance in the Cross Country World Cup opener in Albstadt (GER), where she routed an excellent field, winning by 49 seconds over 2017 World Champion Jolanda Neff (SUI) and 1:31 over 2017 World Cup seasonal champ Yana Belomoina (UKR).

Courtney never let up from the start, taking the lead on the initial 2.8 km lap, taking a 13-second lead over Neff and then blowing up the field with a 14:42 clocking on the first of five 4.2 km laps. By the end of that segment – 7 km into the 23.8 km race – she already had a 29-second lead and it grew from there. Her lead was as big as 1:10 at one point, but Neff kicked hard over the final lap to close to 49 seconds down at the finish.

It’s Courtney’s first career World Cup win in Cross Country, but also she won Saturday’s Short Course race (9.6 km) in 21:05, again beating Neff, but only by one second, with Swiss Kathrin Stirnemann third, two seconds behind. How far has Courtney come in a year? She was 10th in the Albstadt World Cup in 2018.

In the men’s Cross Country, Swiss riders Lars Forster and superstar Nino Schurter got out fastest on the 28.0 km course, but countryman Mathias Flueckiger challenged for the lead by the end of the second lap and then took control. He turned in the fastest or second-fastest time on four of the final five laps and won by 32 seconds over Mathieu van der Poel (NED) and 33 over France’s Jordan Sarrou. Schurter faded to sixth overall. Summaries:

UCI Mountain Bike World Cup
Albstadt (GER) ~ 17-19 May 2019
(Full results here)

Men/Cross Country (28.0 km): 1. Mathias Flueckiger (SUI), 1:23:54; 2. Mathieu van der Poel (NED), 1:24:26; 3. Jordan Sarrou (FRA), 1:24:27; 4. Titouan Carod (FRA), 1:25:14; 5. Florian Vogel (SUI), 1:25:16.

Men/Short Track (10.8 km): 1. Van der Poel (NED), 20:28; 2. Lars Forster (SUI), 20:28; 3. Nino Schurter (SUI), 20:30; 4. Maxime Marotte (FRA), 20:30; 5. Henrique Avancini (BRA), 20:30.

Women/Cross Country (23.8 km): 1. Kate Courtney (USA), 1:26:03; 2. Jolanda Neff (SUI), 1:26:52; 3. Yana Belomoina (UKR), 1:27:34; 4. Anne Tauber (NED), 1:27:52; 5. Anna Terpstra (NED), 1:28:23. Also in the top 25: 6. Chloe Woodruff (USA), 1:29:00.

Women/Short Track (9.6 km): 1. Courtney (USA), 21:05; 2. Neff (SUI), 21:06; 3. Kathrin Stirnemann (SUI), 21:07; 4. Linda Indergand (SUI), 21:08; 5. Annika Langvad (DEN), 21:09. Also in the top 10: 7. Woodruff (USA), 21:17.

FENCING: Champs Foconi and Deriglazova dominate Foil Grand Prix; four medals for U.S.

By
Rich Perelman
-
American Foil star Lee Kiefer

World Champions Alessio Foconi of Italy and Inna Deriglazova of Russia confirmed their status by winning the Foil Grand Prix titles in Shanghai (CHN), but with good news for the U.S. in both divisions.

Foconi, who won the world title in 2018, had his hands full in the final, barely defeating 19-year-old American Nick Itkin, 15-14. It was another step forward for Itkin, who won his first-ever Grand Prix medal; he won his first World Cup medal last November (a bronze) and is making big strides in an event which already a strong one for the U.S.

Deriglazova, the 2016 Olympic and 2017 World Champion, won her sixth career Grand Prix gold and continues to dominate the women’s Foil division. She won her final, 15-10, over Italy’s 2018 World Champion, Alice Volpi.

One of the two women’s bronzes went to American Lee Kiefer, now up to fourth in the FIE World Rankings. It was her third medal this season, including two prior World Cup bronze medals. This was her sixth career Grand Prix medal.

Those were good results for the U.S. and there was more to celebrate from the Epee World Cup in Dubai, as American women won two medals: an individual silver for Courtney Hurley and a team silver for Katharine Holmes, Courtney and Kelley Hurley and Catherine Nixon.

For Courtney Hurley, the silver against Korea’s Injeong Choi was her second career World Cup medal after a bronze in Chengdu (KOR) in March, to go along with her 2018 World Championships bronze medal, won in China. The American team lost to Poland in the Team final.

In Paris (FRA), the men’s Epee World Cup was taken by Korea’s Sangyoung Park, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist. It was his first World Cup or Grand Prix medal of the season and his first win in either level of tournament since a 2017 World Cup victory in Bern (SUI). He defeated surprise finalist Nikita Glazkov (RUS), 27, who won his only other career World Cup medal back in 2016, also in Bern. Summaries:

FIE Foil Grand Prix
Shanghai (CHN) ~ 17-19 May 2019
(Full results here)

Men: 1. Alessio Foconi (ITA); 2. Nick Itkin (USA); 3. Chun Yin Ryan Choi (HKG) and Timur Safin (RUS). Semis: Itkin d. Safin, 15-7; Foconi d. Choi, 15-11. Final: Foconi d. Itkin, 15-14.

Women: 1. Inna Deriglazova (RUS); 2. Alice Volpi (ITA); 3. Arianna Errigo (ITA) and Lee Kiefer (USA). Semis: Deriglazova d. Errigo, 15-10; Volpi d. Kiefer, 15-9. Final: Deriglazova d. Volpi, 15-10.

FIE Epee World Cup
Paris (FRA) ~ 17-19 May 2019
(Full results here)

Men/Epee: 1. Sangyoung Park (KOR); 2. Nikita Glazkov (RUS); 3. Gergely Siklosi (HUN) and Mate Tamas Koch (HUN). Semis: Glazkov d. Koch, 15-10; Park d. Siklosi, 15-1. Final: Park d. Glazkov, 15-13.

Men/Team: 1. Switzerland; 2. France; 3. Italy; 4. Spain. Semis: France d. Spain, 45-26; Switzerland d. Italy, 36-27. Third: Italy d. Spain, 39-37. Final: Switzerland d. France, 45-32.

FIE Epee World Cup
Dubai (UAE) ~ 17-19 May 2019
(Full results here)

Women/Epee: 1. Injeong Choi (KOR); 2. Courtney Hurley (USA); 3. Violetta Kolobova (RUS) and Man Wai Vivian Kong (HKG). Semis: Choi d. Kong, 15-6; Hurley d. Kolobova, 15-14. Final: Choi d. Hurley, 15-12.

Women/Team: 1. Poland; 2. United States (Katharine Holmes, Courtney Hurley, Kelley Hurley, Catherine Nixon); 3. Italy; 4. China. Semis: U.S. d. China, 45-35; Poland d. Italy, 36-30. Third: Italy d. China, 30-29. Final: Poland d. U.S., 41-28.

DIVING: China wins five, Keeney wins three in final World Series meet, in London

By
Rich Perelman
-
Australia's 2017 diving World Champion Maddison Keeney

Truth be told, the Chinese made the final stop in the 2019 FINA Diving World Series a lot more interesting by keeping their top performers at home.

Still, Chinese entries won five of the 10 events in London (GBR), with Hao Yang (men) and Yuxi Chen (women) winning the 10 m events, and Chen winning a second gold with Haoyan Yuan in the women’s 10 m Synchro. Oh yes, let’s note that Chen and Yuan are both 13!

But the star turned out to be the 2017 World 1 m Springboard champ, Australia’s Maddison Keeney. She took the 3 m Springboard by 15.25 points over Jennifer Abel (CAN), then won the women’s 3 m Synchro event with Annabelle Smith, and the Mixed 3 m Synchro event with Domonic Bedggood.

The remaining two events were won by British divers: Jack Laugher took the 3 m Springboard title and the team of Tom Daley and Matty Lee won the men’s 10 m Synchro event. Summaries:

FINA Diving World Series
London (GBR) ~ 17-19 May 2019
(Full results here)

Men

3 m Springboard: 1. Jack Laugher (GBR), 562.65; 2. Daniel Goodfellow (GBR), 500.55; 3. Zongyuan Wang (CHN), 481.70.

10 m Platform: 1. Hao Yang (CHN), 559.15; 2. Junjie Lian (CHN), 532.10; 3. Tom Daley (GBR), 525.25.

Synchro 3 m: 1. Zongyuan Wang/Luxian Wu (CHN), 418.68; 2. Nikita Shleikher/Evgenii Kuznetsov (RUS), 417.12; 3. Oleksandr Gorshkovosov/Oleg Kolodniy (UKR), 405.63.

Synchro 10 m: 1. Tom Daley/Matty Lee (GBR), 477.90; 2. Junjie Lian/Hao Yang (CHN), 459.00; 3. Viktor Minibaev/Aleksandr Bondar (RUS), 448.50.

Women

3 m Springboard: 1. Maddison Keeney (AUS), 368.30; 2. Jennifer Abel (CAN), 353.05; 3. Nur Dhabitah Binti Sabri (MAS), 344.40.

10 m Platform: 1. Yuxi Chen (CHN), 413.80; 2. Minjie Zhang (CHN), 385.80; 3. Mi Rae Kim (PRK), 360.90.

Synchro 3 m: 1. Maddison Keeney/Anabelle Smith (AUS), 323.70; 2. Yani Chang/Shan Lin (CHN), 316.77; 3. Jennifer Abel/Melissa Citrin Beaulieu (CAN), 306.45.

Synchro 10 m: 1. Haoyan Yuan/Yuxi Chen (CHN), 334.92; 2. Mi Rae Kim/Jin Mi Jo (PRK), 327.24; 3. Eden Cheng/Lois Toulson (GBR), 284.76.

Mixed

3 m Synchro: 1. Grace Reid/Tom Daley (GBR), 322.89; 2. Maddison Keeney/Domonic Bedggood (AUS), 322.14; 3. Jennifer Abel/Francois Imbeau-Dulac (CAN), 319.02.

10 m Synchro: 1. Minjie Zhang/Yu Duan (CHN), 356.28; 2. Jin Mi Jo/Il Myong Hyon (PRK), 333.48; 3. Iullia Timoshinina/Nikita Shleikher (RUS), 316.05.

CYCLING: Roglic routs Giro field in time trial again to close the first week, but Conti still leads

By
Rich Perelman
-

When Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic took the lead by winning the first-day time trial by 19 seconds over Simon Yates (GBR), he made a statement that he was serious about winning the Giro d’Italia.

On Sunday, after a calamitous sixth stage in which Roglic and most of the other expected contenders let a breakaway group bury them by more than seven minutes, Roglic stood up again and signaled he was not going to be too easily brushed aside.

Roglic covered the hilly, 34.8 km course from Riccione to San Marino in 51:52, winning by 11 seconds over Belgium’s Victor Campenaerts but a minute or more over the rest of the field, including 3:34 ahead of race leader Valerio Conti (ITA).

So that 12 stages remaining and a rest day coming on Monday, Roglic has narrowed the gap; the overall standings heading into stage 10:

1. 36:08:32 Valerio Conti (ITA)
2. +1:50 Primoz Roglic (SLO)
3. +2:21 Nans Peters (FRA)
4. +2:33 Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP)
5. +2:36 Fausto Masnada (ITA)

Some of Roglic’s expected competitors for the overall title are also working their way back toward the front of the standings. Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali is now 11th, some 3:34 behind, with Dutch rider Bauke Mollema one place back (+3:45). However, Yates is well back in 24th position, some 5:36 behind the leader. Dutch star Tom Dumoulin, the 2017 winner, abandoned the race in the fifth stage after suffering a right knee injury as part of a mass crash in stage 4.

The racing will get rougher in the coming week, with a couple of mean mountain stages ahead and the leaderboard could shift again. One thing for sure: Roglic won’t let another breakaway go as he did this past week. Summaries so far:

UCI World Tour/Giro d’Italia
Italy ~ 11 May-2 June 2019
(Full results here)

Stage 1 (8.0 km Time Trial): 1. Primoz Roglic (SLO), 12:54; 2. Simon Yates (GBR), 13:13; 3. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), 13:17; 4. Miguel Angel Lopez (COL), 13:22; 5. Tom Dumoulin (NED), 13:22. Also in the top 25: 21. Chad Haga (USA), 13:48.

Stage 2 (205.0 km): 1. Pascal Ackermann (GER), 4:44:43; 2. Elia Viviani (ITA), 4:44:43; 3. Caleb Ewan (AUS), 4:44:43; 4. Fernando Gaviria (COL), 4:44:43; 5. Arnaud Demare (FRA), 4:44:43.

Stage 3 (220.0 km): 1. Gaviria (COL), 5:23:19; 2. Demare (FRA), 5:23:19; 3. Ackermann (GER), 5:23:19; 4. Matteo Moschetti (ITA), 5;23:19; 5. Giocomo Nizzolo (ITA), 5:23:19. (Viviani (ITA) won the race, but was disqualified for impeding another rider at the finish.)

Stage 4 (235.0 km): 1. Richard Carapaz (ECU), 5:58:17; 2. Ewan (AUS), 5:58:17; 3. Diego Ulissi (ITA), 5:58:17; 4. Ackermann (GER), 5:58:19; 5. Florian Senechal (FRA), 5:58:19.

Stage 5 (140.0 km): 1. Ackermann (GER), 3:15:44; 2. Gaviria (COL), 3:15:44; 3. Demare (FRA), 3:15:44; 4. Ewan (AUS), 3:15:44; 5. Matteo Moschetti (ITA), 3:15:44. Also in the top 25: 13. Sean Bennett (USA), 3:15:44

Stage 6 (238.0 km): 1. Fausto Masnada (ITA), 5:45:01; 2. Valerio Conti (ITA), 5:45:06; 3. Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP), 5:45:39; 4. Ruben Plaza (ESP), 5:45:39; 5. Giovanni Carboni (ITA), 5:45:44. Also in the top 25: 20. Brent Bookwalter (USA), 5:52:20.

Stage 7 (185.0 km): 1. Pello Bilbao (ESP), 4:06:27; 2. Tony Gallopin (FRA), 4:06:32; 3. Davide Formolo (ITA), 4:06:32; 4. Lucas Hamilton (AUS), 4:06:36; 5. Mattia Cattaneo (ITA), 4:06:36. Also in the top 25: 23. Joe Dombrowski (USA), 4:07:34.

Stage 8 (239.0 km): 1. Ewan (AUS), 5:43:32; 2. Viviani (ITA), 5:43:32; 3. Ackermann (GER), 5:43:32; 4. Fabio Sabatini (ITA), 5:43:32; 5. Manuel Belletti (ITA), 5:43:32.

Stage 9 (34.8 km Time Trial): 1. Roglic (SLO), 51:52; 2. Victor Campenaerts (BEL), 52:03; 3. Bauke Mollema (NED), 52:52; 4. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), 53:57; 5. Tanel Kangert (EST), 53:02. Also in the top 25: 6. Haga (USA), 53:06.

20 May: Rest day
21 May: Stage 10 (145.0 km)~ Ravenna to Modena (flat)
22 May: Stage 11 (221.0 km) ~ Carpi to Novi Ligure (flat)
23 May: Stage 12 (158.0 km) ~ Cuneo to Pinerolo (hilly)
24 May: Stage 13 (196.0 km) ~ Pinerolo to Ceresole Reale (mountains)
25 May: Stage 14 (131.9 km) ~ Saint Vincent to Courmayeur (mountains)
26 May: Stage 15 (232.0 km) ~ Ivrea to Como (hilly)
27 May: Rest day
28 May: Stage 16 (226.0 km) ~ Lovere to Ponte di Legno (mountains)
29 May: Stage 17 (181.0 km) ~ Commezzadura to Anterselva/Antholz (mountains)
30 May: Stage 18 (222.0 km) ~ Valdaora / Olang to Santa Maria di Sala (flat)
31 May: Stage 19 (151.0 km) ~ Treviso to San Martino di Castrozza (mountains)
01 June: Stage 20 (194.0 km) ~ Feltre to Croce D’Aune-Monte Avena (mountains)
02 June: Stage 21 (17.0 km Time Trial) ~ Verona to Verona

BEACH VOLLEYBALL: Ross and Klineman score major victory at Itapema 4-star

By
Rich Perelman
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Itapema Open winners April Ross and Alix Klineman of the U.S. (Photo: FIVB)

Back in 2016, April Ross was the junior partner on the Olympic bronze-winning team with beach legend Kerri Walsh-Jennings. Now she’s the senior partner of an emerging medal threat for Tokyo after winning her second FIVB World Tour title this season with Alix Klineman at the Itapema Open in Brazil.

This is a four-star tournament that has been dominated by the home team, but this time the final was an all-North American affair, with Ross (36) and Klineman (29) facing a familiar foe: Canada’s Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes. The same two teams had played for the AVP Huntington Beach Open title two weeks prior with the Americans winning, and it turned out the same way in Brazil.

It was close, however. Klineman and Ross won the long first set, 25-23, then lost the second, 18-21, to force the tie-breaker. That was a 15-10 win and the third World Tour title for Klineman and Ross since joining forces in late 2017.

“It was very close again,” Ross said afterwards. “I think both teams always try to get better against each other every time we play and, in certain ways, we did get better again. It’s going to be a battle every time and we just feel great that we came out on top one more time.”

In the men’s final, Norway’s no. 1-ranked pair of Anders Mol and Christian Sorum won their second four-star tournament of the year with a straight-set win over Poland’s Grzegorz Fijalek and Michal Bryl. It was the fifth win for the Viking pair over the past two seasons – four of which have come over Fijalek and Bryl. Summaries:

FIVB World Tour
Itapema (BRA) ~ 16-19 May 2019
(Full results here)

Men: 1. Anders Mol/Christian Sorum (NOR); 2. Grzegorz Fijalek/Michal Bryl (POL); 3. Christiaan Varenhorst/Steven van de Velde (NED); 4. Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak (POL). Semis: Mol/Sorum d. Kantor/Losiak, 2-1; Fijalek/Bryl d. Varenhorst/Van de Velde, 2-0. Third: Varenhorst/van de Velde d. Kantor/Losiak, 2-0. Final: Mol/Sorum d. Fijalek/Bryl, 2-0 (21-19, 28-26).

Women: 1. Alix Klineman/April Ross (USA); 2. Sarah Pavan/Melissa Humana-Paredes (CAN); 3. Heather Bansley/Brandie Wilkerson (CAN); 4. Joy Stubbe/Marleen Ramond-van Iersel (NED). Semis: Pavan/Humana-Paredes d. Bansley/Wilkerson, 2-1; Klineman/Ross d. Stubbe/Van Iersel, 2-0. Third: Bansley/Wilkerson d. Stubbe/van Iersel, 2-1. Final: Klineman/Ross d. Pavan/Humana-Paredes, 2-1 (25-23, 18-21, 15-10).

ATHLETICS Panorama: More history for Bednarek: 19.82 and 44.73 on the same day!

By
Rich Perelman
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Only the second ever to run sub-20 and sub-45 on the day: Kenny Bednarek (USA). (Photo: USTFCCCA)

The Kenny Bednarek story just keeps getting better. After running an astonishing – but very wind-aided – 19.49 in the prelims of the 200 m at the National Junior College Championships in New Mexico, he came back on the final day to win the 400 m in 44.73 and then took the 200 m in 19.82 into a 0.8 m/s headwind!

All of these marks are altitude-aided (+1,105 m), but fast is fast!

He’s only the second man to run sub-20 and sub-45 on the same day; Botswana’s Isaac Makwala did it twice, in 2014 and again in 2017. That’s pretty good company.

Bednarek is a freshman at Indian Hills CC in Iowa; you see the 200 m race here. His competition from the Friday prelims, soph Terrance Laird (Hinds CC: 19.64w) did not run in the finals on Saturday.

The Seiko Golden Grand Prix, an IAAF World Challenge Series meet, held on Sunday in Osaka (JPN) had a bevy of American stars, led by Michael Norman, who won the 200 m in 19.84, also into a headwind of 0.4 m/s.

Another the other highlights, Justin Gatlin (USA) just edged Japan’s Yoshihide Kiryu, 10.00-10.01 in the men’s 100, and Vernon Norwood (USA) won the 400 m easily in 45.79. American triple jumper Omar Craddock won with a leap of 17.16 m (56-3 3/4), also into a slight headwind.

The U.S. had three winners on the women’s side, starting with Mikiah Brisco in the 100 m (11.33) into a 2.2 m/s headwind; Sharika Nelvis beat Sally Pearson (AUS) in the 100 m hurdles as both were timed in 12.70, and Dalilah Muhammad looked great in winning the 400 m hurdles in 53.88, the no. 2 mark in the world this season, behind only her own 53.61 from the Doha Diamond League meet.

China’s Zheng Wang won a tense battle in the women’s hammer over Americans Gwen Berry and DeAnna Price, 75.27 m (246-11) to 74.09 m (243-1) to 72.92 m (239-3).

Another world leader came in the Elite de la Grande Caraibe meet in Baie-Mahault (FRA) on Saturday, with American Keni Harrison winning the 100 m hurdles in 12.47 (wind 0.0).

There was also some good triple jumping from Will Claye (USA), who won over Chris Benard, 17.40 m (57-1) to 16.94 m (55-7). Byron Robinson of the U.S. won a photo finish in the 400 m hurdles over Kyron McMaster (IVB), with both timed in 49.37.

There was a surprise in the women’s long jump with American Keturah Orji – the former American Record holder in the triple jump – beating four-time World Champion Brittney Reese: 6.80 m (22-3 3/4) to 6.73 m (22-1).

One of the shocks of the Shanghai Diamond League meet was American Chase Ealey’s win in the women’s shot over China’s reigning World Champion Lijiao Gong.

Sure, she had improved from 18.46 m (60-6 3/4) in 2016 to a world-leading 19.67 m (64-6 1./2) this season, but beating Gong in China? What happened? Said Ealey after the win:

“To compete against Lijiao Gong was actually a little nerve-wracking because I have looked up to her for so long. My series wasn’t so good today but I’m pleased with my distance (for the winning throw). I’ve changed coaches (to former World Indoor champ Ryan Whiting) and changed to the rotational technique ten months ago and I feel that has made the difference.”

It sure has!

BADMINTON Preview: China looking to regain Sudirman Cup in Nanning

By
Rich Perelman
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Named in honor of Dick Sudirman, the founder of the Indonesian Badminton Association, the mixed-team championship of badminton will be played for the 16th time beginning on Sunday in Nanning (CHN).

While Indonesia would like to win to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the inaugural tournament – which it won – back in 1989, China is once again the favorite. Although Korea won its fourth title two years ago in Gold Coast (AUS), China has won the tournament 10 times and has won each and every time – four so far – the tournament has been held in China.

Japan finished second in 2015 and third in 2017 and is given the best chance to upset the hosts. The Group 1 contestants:

● Group A: Japan, Thailand, Russia
● Group B: Indonesia, Denmark, England
● Group C: Chinese Taipei, Korea, Hong Kong
● Group D: China, India, Malaysia

Each match is in a dual meet format with a men’s Singles, women’s Singles, men’s Doubles, women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles competition. The two favorites have sensational teams, each with complete line-ups of players (and substitutes) ranked in the top 10:

China:
● Men/Singles: Long Chen (5) and Yuqi Shi (2)
● Men/Doubles: Junjui Li/Yuchen Liu (3)
● Women/Singles: Yufei Chen (3) and Bingjiao He (6)
● Women/Doubles: Qingchen Chen/Yifan Jia (3)
● Mixed Doubles: Siwei Zheng/Yaqiong Huang (1)

Japan:
● Men/Singles: Kento Momota (1) and Kenta Nishimoto (10)
● Men/Doubles: Takeshi Kamura/Keigo Sonoda (2)
● Women/Singles: Nozomi Okuhara (2) and Akane Yamaguchi (4)
● Women/Doubles: Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara (1)
● Mixed Doubles: Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino (3)

Group play will take place from 19-22 May. The quarterfinals will be on 23-24 May, the semis on 25 May and the final on 26 May. Look for results here.

TRIATHLON: Zaferes leads historic U.S. World Series sweep, this time in Yokohama!

By
Rich Perelman
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Three World Series wins in a row for Katie Zaferes (USA) in Yokohama (Photo: ITU)

“Every time I think this has got to end sometime, but I go for it each time. I am using a more risky mindset where I am just trying different things and I think it makes it more fun and it’s going well.”

No kidding. That’s American Katie Zaferes, who continued an undefeated 2019 season in the ITU World Series with her third straight victory, this time by 21 seconds leading a rare podium sweep for the U.S.

Zaferes and fellow American Summer Rappaport separated themselves from the rest of the pack in the run phase and the former Syracuse track star ran away in the final 500 m from Rappaport, who claimed her second-ever World Series medal.

Rappaport said afterwards, “I had a really difficult 2018 and then my first WTS in Abu Dhabi didn’t go as I hoped. I have been working hard, I took a lot of gains but just wasn’t able to transfer it into my racing. Today I was able to work with myself and make everything work.

“I feel like I have been doing my best training for a while but I just couldn’t put it together and it was so difficult and discouraging. Today I felt like my work just finally came through. You have no idea how much I have prepared and trained for improving my bike skills. Today I was able to figure it out and perform the way I am able to train.”

Behind the two leaders, training partners Taylor Spivey of the U.S. and Yuko Takahashi (JPN) were also running together, but Spivey was able to claim third on the final run-in.

The medals sweep was the first in the World Series since the penultimate race of the 2016 Series, a sprint in Edmonton, where Summer Cook, Sarah True and Zaferes took the three places. It’s the fourth time the U.S. has managed the feat, also doing it twice in 2015, with Gwen Jorgensen winning in London (GBR) ahead of Zaferes and True, and in Gold Coast (AUS), with Jorgensen leading in True and Zaferes.

It’s also the first time one athlete has won three World Series races in a row in a couple of seasons; Bermuda’s Flora Duffy won four in a row during the 2017 campaign.

Vincent Luis won France’s second straight World Series race in the men’s division, and his first win since the final race at Gold Coast in 2018. He broke away on the run from a leading group of 10 from the bike phase.

He was immediately chased by South Africa’s Henri Schoeman, Spain’s Javier Gomez Noya and Bence Bicsak (HUN) and the four opened a serious gap with 7 km remaining. Luis maintained the lead to the finish, winning by three seconds, with Bicsak passing Gomez Noya late for the bronze medal.

Luis has been consistently near the front this season, finishing 5-4-1 in the three races so far, and is now the series leader with 2,523 points over Alarza (2,069). Zaferes has a perfect score of 3,000, well ahead of Jessica Learmonth (GBR) and Spivey, both of whom have 2,458 points. Summaries:

ITU World Series
Yokohama (JPN) ~ 18 May 2019
(Full results here)

Men: 1. Vincent Luis (FRA), 1:43:21; 2. Henri Schoeman (RSA), 1:43:24; 3. Bence Bicsak (HUN), 1:43:26; 4. Javier Gomez Noya (ESP), 1:43:38; 5. Alex Yee (GBR), 1:43:57; 6. Fernando Alarza (ESP), 1:44:06; 7. Luke Willian (AUS), 1:44:07; 8. Marten Van Riel (BEL), 1:44:09; 9. Ryan Sissons (NZL), 1:44:13; 10. Sam Ward (NZL), 1:44:19. Also in the top 25: 15. Morgan Pearson (USA), 1:44:49.

Women: 1. Katie Zaferes (USA), 1:52:12; 2. Summer Rappaport (USA), 1:52:33; 3. Taylor Spivey (USA), 1:53:29; 4. Yuko Takahashi (JPN), 1:53:38; 5. Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR), 1:54:25; 6. Jessica Learmonth (GBR), 1:54:52; 7. Maya Kingma (NED), 1:54:59; 8. Non Stanford (GBR), 1:55:10; 9. Tamara Gorman (USA), 1:55:35; 10. Laura Lindemann (GER), 1:55:43. Also in the top 25: 13. Chelsea Burns (USA), 1:56:18.

SHOOTING: U.S. wins five medals to lead all nations at Shotgun World Cup in Changwon

By
Rich Perelman
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World Cup Mixed Trap silver medalists Derek Haldeman and Ashley Carroll (USA) (Photo: ISSF)

After winning both the men’s and women’s Skeet events during the first week of the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Changwon (KOR), the U.S. continued its success in the Trap program with two more medals in the three events.

The American duo of Ashley Carroll and Derek Haldeman had an excellent chance to win the Mixed Trap event on the final day, but lost in a shoot-out. Both Carroll and Haldeman and Italy’s Silvana Stanco and Daniele Resca his 42/50 in the final; both teams hit their first five shoots in sudden death, but Carroll missed the sixth U.S. shot and the Americans had to settle for bronze.

Carroll also won a bronze medal in the women’s Trap event, behind China’s Weiyun Deng and Xaojing Wang. It was the third straight year that Carroll, 24, has won a World Cup medal and her third career podium.

All told, the U.S. won five medals in Changwon (2-2-1), two ahead of Italy (1-1-1) and three ahead of China (1-1-0). Summaries:

ISSF Shotgun World Cup
Changwon (KOR) ~ 7-18 May 2019
(Full results here)

Men/Skeet: 1. Vincent Hancock (USA), 57; 2. Christian Elliott (USA), 53; 3. Mansour Al Rashedi (KUW), 45; 4. Hyun Suk Kang (KOR), 32; 5. Lari Pesonen (FIN), 26.

Men/Trap: 1. Andreas Makri (CYP), 45; 2. Matthew Jon Coward-Holley (GBR), 45 (Makri won shoot-off: 6-5); 3. James Willett (AUS), 37; 4. Yavuz Ilnam (TUR); 5. Tolga Tuncer (TUR), 21.

Women/Skeet: 1. Kim Rhode (USA), 57; 2. Diana Bacosi (ITA), 54; 3. Chiara Cainero (ITA), 44; 4. Danka Bartekova (SVK), 33; 5. Assem Orynbay (KAZ), 24.

Women/Trap: 1. Weiyun Deng (CHN), 46; 2. Xaojing Wang (CHN), 46; 3. Ashley Carroll (USA), 36; 4. Silvana Stanco (ITA), 30; 5. Carole Cormenier (FRA), 24.

Mixed/Trap/ Final: 1. Silvana Stanco/Daniele Resca (ITA), 42; 2. Ashley Carroll/Derek Haldeman (USA), 42 (Italy won shoot-off, 5-4). Third: 3. Yi-Chun Lin/Kun-Pi Yang (TPE), 46; 4. Dae-Myong Ahn/So-Yeon Eom (KOR), 42.

CYCLING: Mt. Baldy stage made the difference for Amgen Tour winners Pogacar and van der Breggen

By
Rich Perelman
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Slovenia's Amgen Tour of California champion, Tadej Pogacar

When the 2019 Amgen Tour of California route was finalized for both men and women, it was clear that the brutal stage that ended with a climb up Mt. Baldy would be the determining race within the race.

The win for Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar in that sixth stage, and the second-place finish of Dutch star Anna van der Breggen were the keys to their victories as the race finished in Pasadena, California on Saturday.

In the men’s race, Peter Sagan (SVK) won the opening stage with his patented final sprint, extending his record as the leading stage winner with his 17th career victory in the Amgen Tour. But then American Tejay van Garderen – a former winner – took control after Stage 2 and wore the yellow jersey for three more stages, but always with a slim lead of just a few seconds.

He entered the decisive sixth stage with just a four-second lead on Denmark’s Kasper Asgreen, with the first 19 riders all within a minute. In the final climb, Colombia’s Sergio Higuita had the lead, but Pogacar made the chase and caught him with about 2 km to go. Then the fun started.

“Over the last few kilometers, I was really on the limit,” Pogacar said. “But when I caught Higuita,, I knew that I shouldn’t ride full gas because he could attack me and take the jersey from me, so I was just riding behind him or next to him. I was prepared.”

When the finish came, Pogacar, 20, waited for a straight line and then charged to the line, just edging Higuita and taking the lead by 16 seconds – including the time bonuses – over the Colombian. In Saturday’s final stage, Dutch rider Cees Bol edged Sagan, trying for a second stage win, and Pogacar cruised in with the pack, five seconds off the pace.

The final tally saw Pogacar win his first-ever World Tour race with the 16-second margin intact over Higuita, with Asgreen third, 17 seconds back. Van Garderen finished ninth, 1:22 down.

The three-stage women’s Amgen Tour was actually decided on the first day, when van der Breggen attacked and no one followed. Her victory gave her a 25-second lead on the field and 33 seconds over defending champ Katie Hall of the U.S., her main challenger, but also a teammate on the Boels-Dolmans group.

The second stage that also finished on the road up Mt. Baldy and Hall pushed the pace with 4 km to go, with van der Breggen pushing to catch up, and separating from the rest of the riders. Hall took the stage win, but with van der Breggen not losing any time to Hall (other than the time bonus between first and second), the outcome on Saturday appeared clear.

The final stage featured a long climb through the Angelus National Forest and then a descent into Pasadena that turned into a final mass sprint. Italy’s Elisa Balsamo, second in the first stage, managed to get to the line first this time, just ahead of Cuban Arlenis Sierra, with Hall and van der Breggen riding in the peloton and given the same time , in 13th and 17th place, respectively.

The final margin of 29 seconds gave van der Breggen her second Amgen Tour win in the last three years and Hall has now finished 2-1-2 in the last three editions.

The men’s World Tour now focuses solely on the Giro d’Italia through its finish on 2 June. The women’s tour is in Spain for the Emakumeen Euskal Bira four-stage race starting on Tuesday. Summaries:

UCI World Tour/Amgen Tour of California
California (USA) ~ 12-18 May 2019
(Full results here)

Stage 1 (143.0 km): 1. Peter Sagan (SVK), 3:14:10; 2. Travis McCabe (USA), 3:14:10; 3. Max Walscheid (GER), 3:14:10; 4. Kristoffer Halvorsen (NOR), 3:14:10; 5. Michael Morkov (DEN), 3:14:10. Also in the top 25: 13. Miguel Bryon (USA), 3:14:14; … 20. Michael Hernandez (USA), 3:14:14; … 22. Gavin Mannion (USA), 3:14:14; … 25. Neilson Powless (USA), 3:14:14.

Stage 2 (194.5 km): 1. Kasper Asgreen (DEN), 6:17:11; 2. Tejay van Garderen (USA), 6:17:11; 3. Gianni Moscon (ITA), 6:17:15; 4. Tadej Pogacar (SLO), 6:17:21; 5. Maximilian Schachmann (GER), 6:17:27.

Stage 3 (207.0 km): 1. Remi Cavanga (FRA), 5:44:22; 2. Ben King (USA), 5:51:33; 3. Simon Geschke (GER), 5:51:33; 4. Asgreen (DEN), 5:52:09; 5. Jasper Philipsen (BEL), 5:52:09. Also in the top 25: 11. McCabe (USA), 5:52:09; … 25. Kyle Murphy (USA), 5:52:09.

Stage 4 (212.5 km): 1. Fabio Jakobsen (NED), 5:53:22; 2. Philipsen (BEL), 5:53:22; 3. Sagan (SVK), 5:53:22; 4. Nacer Bouhanni (FRA), 5:53:22; 5. Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (RSA), 5:53:22. Also in the top 25: 20. McCabe (USA), 5:53:22; … 22. Bryon (USA), 5:53:22.

Stage 5 (218.5 km): 1. Ivan Garcia Cortina (ESP), 4:56:11; 2. Maxmiliano Richeze (ARG), 4:56:11; 3. Sergio Higuita (COL), 4:56:11; 4. Joris Nieuwenhuis (NED), 4:56:11; 5. Asgreen (DEN), 4:56:11. Also in the top 25: 12. Gavin Mannion (USA), 4:56:11; … 16. Van Garderen (USA), 4:56:11.

Stage 6 (127.5 km): 1. Pogacar (SLO), 3:48:49; 2. Sergio Higuita (COL), 3:48:49; 3. George Bennett (NZL), 3:48:54; 4. Richie Porte (AUS), 3:49:59; 5. Riccardo Zoidl (AUT), 3:49:11. Also in the top 25: 14. Mannion (USA), 3:50:15; … 17. Van Garderen (USA), 3:50:17; … 25. Murphy (USA), +3:51:44.

Stage 7 (141.0 km): 1. Cees Bol (NED), 2:53:16; 2. Sagan (SVK), 2:53:16; 3. Philipsen (BEL), 2:53:16; 4. Phil Bauhaus (GER), 2:53:16; 5. Richeze (ARG), 2:53:16. Also in the top 25: 7. McCabe (USA), 2:53:16.

Final Standings: 1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO), 32:55:12; 2. Sergio Higuita (COL), +0:16; 3. Kasper Asgreen (DEN), +0:17; 4. George Bennett (NZL), +0:29; 5. Richie Porte (AUS), +0:41; 6. Simon Spilak (SLO), +1:03; 7. Jesper Hansen (DEN), +1:1:18; 8. Felix Grossschartner (AUT), +1:18; 9. Tejay van Garderen (USA), +1:22; 10. Maximilian Schachmann (GER), +1:23. Also in the top 25: 15. Gavin Mannion (USA), +2:17.

UCI Women’s World Tour/Amgen Women’s Tour of California
California (USA) ~ 16-18 May 2019
(Full results here)

Stage 1 (96.5 km): 1. Anna van der Breggen (NED), 2:36:17; 2. Elisa Balsamo (ITA), 2:36:35; 3. Arlenis Sierra (CUB), 2:36:35; 4. Leah Kirchmann (CAN), 2:36:35; 5. Ashleigh Moolman (RSA), 2:36:35. Also in the top 25: 7. Emma White (USA), 2:36:35; … 13. Katie Hall (USA), 2:36:37; 14. Kristabel Doebel-Hickok (USA), 2:36:37; … 21. Chloe Dygert (USA), 2:36:39; 22. Coryn Rivera (USA), 2:36:39.

Stage 2 (74.0 km): 1. Hall (USA), 2:36:39; 2. Van der Breggen (NED), 2:36:39; 3. Moolman (RSA), 2:37:12; 4. Clara Koppenburg (GER), 2:37:25; 5. Omer Shapira (ISR), 2:37:36. Also in the top 25: 9. Doebel-Hickok (USA), 2:37:58; 10. Amber Neben (USA), 2:38:16; … 12. Tayler Wiles (USA), 2:38:32; … 25. Whitney Allison-Schultz (USA), 2:41:20.

Stage 3 (115.5 km): 1. Balsamo (ITA), 3:19:57; 2. Sierra (CUB), 3:19:57; 3. Leigh Ann Ganzar (USA), 3:19:57; 4. Dygert (USA), 3:19:57; 5. Kirchmann (CAN), 3:19:57. Also in the top 25: 12. Doebel-Hickok (USA), 3:19:57; 13. Hall (USA), 3:19:57; … 15. Erica Clevenger (USA), 3:19:57.

Final Standings: 1. Anna van der Breggen (NED), 8:32:34; 2. Katie Hall (USA), +0:29; 3. Ashleigh Moolman (RSA), +1:06; 4. Clara Koppenburg (GER), +1:25; 5. Kasia Niewiadoma (POL), +1:34; 6. Brodie Chapman (AUS), +1:46; 7. Kristabel Doebel-Hickok (USA), +1:58; 8. Omer Shapira (ISR), +2:12; 9. Emma Grant (GBR), +2:15; 10. Pauliena Rooijakkers (NED), +2:28. Also in the top 25: 11. Tayler Wiles (USA), +2:32; 12. Amber Neben (USA), +

SWIMMING: She’s the King: Lilly King swims world-leading 50 m Breast at Tyr Pro Swim Series in Bloomington

By
Rich Perelman
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Olympic and World breaststroke champ Lilly King

With her NCAA career at Indiana now completed, Olympic and World champ Lilly King has time for events like the Tyr Pro Swim Series in her home pool in Bloomington, Indiana. And she took advantage this week with her second world-leading mark on Saturday.

She led from the start to post a 30.03 mark, easily surpassing Russian rival Yuliya Efimova (30.26) to top the world list for 2019. It’s the second world-leading time in two days, as she swam 1:05.68 to top the list in the 100 m Breast on Friday.

Asked if she is aware of the times and where she stands, King smiled and said, “Why shoot for second” Why not get that top time in the world? I try to be as educated as I can about my events and the people I race against.” She’s expected to face Efimova at the third FINA Champions Swim Series meet in Indianapolis in June.

Other stellar performances on Saturday came from 17-year-old Regan Smith, who logged the no. 3 time in the world this year with a 2:06.47 win in the 200 m Backstroke. “It was definitely a surprise,” she said afterwards. “I’m super happy.”

Ella Eastin raced away with the 400 m Medley in a lifetime best of 4:37.18, which places her no. 6 in the world in 2019. In her post-race chat, she explained that she was thinking about the details of her race plan as she went along, but also noted, “It kind of helps to numb the pain when you can think of other things.”

After three of four days in Bloomington, Michael Andrew leads all swimmers with three wins, in the 50 m Back, 50 m Breast and 50 m Fly; Zane Grothe has two distance wins, in the 400 m and 1,500 m Free, and Jay Litherland won the 200 m Fly and impressively swam away from everyone in the 400 m Medley.

In addition to King, two other women have two wins each so far: Katie Ledecky in the 200 m and 400 m Frees, and Smith in the 50 m and 200 m Backs.

Sunday’s meet will only be available online (no NBC television broadcast); for the second day in a row, the live results link did not function during the meet itself. Summaries so far:

USA Swimming/Tyr Pro Swim Series
Bloomington, Indiana (USA) ~ 16-19 May 2019
(Full results here)

Men

100 m Freestyle: 1. Zach Apple, 48.76; 2. Blake Pieroni, 48.86; 3. Robert Howard, 49.09.

200 m Free: 1. Blake Pieroni, 1:47.25; 2. Zane Grothe, 1:47.90; 3. Apple, 1:49.49.

400 m Free: 1. Grothe, 3:48.27; 2. Felix Auboeck (AUT), 3:52.69; 3. Johannes Calloni (ITA), 3:54.21.

1,500 m Free: 1. Grothe, 15:17.12; 2. Marcelo Acosta (ESA), 15:28.66; 3. Ricardo Vargas (MEX), 15:30.04.

50 m Backstroke: 1. Michael Andrew 24.91; 2. Grigory Tarasevich (RUS), 25.10; 3. Gabriel Fantoni (BRA), 25.34.

200 m Back: 1. Calloni (ITA) 1:59.01; 2. Jacob Steele, 2:01.29; 3. Zachary Poti, 2:02.12.

50 m Breaststroke: 1. Andrew, 27.21; 2. Nic Fink, 27.55; 3. Ian Finnerty, 27.71.

100 m Breast: 1. Cody Miller, 59.24; 2. Andrew, 59.52; 3. Anton McKee (ISL) 1:00.62.

50 m Butterfly: 1. Andrew, 23.40; 2. Luis Martinez (GUA), 23.48; 3. Vini Lanza (BRA), 24.20.

200 m Fly: 1. Jay Litherland, 1:57.99; 2. Corey Gambardella, 1:58.49; 3. Carson Foster, 1:59.32.

400 m Medley: 1. Litherland, 4:14.42; 2. Charlie Swanson, 4:22.64; 3. Daniel Sos (HUN), 4:22.89.

Women

100 m Freestyle: 1. Simone Manuel, 53.65; 2. Mallory Comerford, 54.11; 3. Margo Geer, 54.18.

200 m Free: 1. Katie Ledecky, 1:55.80; 2. Manuel, 1:57.24; 3. Madisyn Cox, 1:58.52.

400 m Free: 1. Ledecky, 3:59.95; 2. Cox, 4:10.21; 3. Brooke Forde, 4:11.91.

1,500 m Free: 1. Hannah Moore, 16:11.42; 2. Kristel Kobrich (CHI), 16:23.19; 3. Becca Mann, 16:25.49.

50 m Backstroke: 1. Regan Smith, 28.08; 2. Kylee Alons 28.21; 3. Elisa Haan, 28.37.

200 m Back: 1. Smith, 2:06.47; 2, Isabelle Stadden, 2:09.10; 3. Asia Seidt, 2:09.99.

50 m Breaststroke: 1. Lilly King, 30.03; 2. Annie Lazor, 31.01; 3. Olivia Calegan, 31.31.

100 m Breast: 1. King, 1:05.68; 2. Lazor, 1:06.03; 3. tie, Emily Esbobedo, Cox and Bethany Galat, 1:07.59.

50 m Butterfly: 1. Sarah Gibson, 26.52; 2. Katie Drabot, 26.66; 3. Aly Tetzloff, 26.97.

200 m Fly: 1. Drabot, 2:08.57; 2,. R. Smith, 2:08.58; 3. Ella Eastin, 2:09.92.

400 m Medley: 1. Eastin, 4:37.18; 2. Cox, 4:41.14; 3. Makayla Sargent, 4:41.33.

ATHLETICS: Lyles edges Coleman in 9.86; six world leads in sensational Shanghai Diamond League

By
Rich Perelman
-
Just that close: Lyles nips Coleman at the tape in the Diamond League Shanghai 100 m!

This is more like it! The much-anticipated Diamond League meet in Shanghai delivered with fabulous head-to-head competition and six world-leading marks:

● Men/100 m: 9.86, Noah Lyles (USA) and Christian Coleman (USA)
● Men/5,000 m: 13:04.16, Yomif Kejelcha (ETH)
● Men/400 m hurdles: 47.27, Abderrahmane Samba (QAT)
● Men/Javelin: 87.55 m (287-3), Andreas Hofmann (GER)

● Women/1,500 m: 4:01.15; Rababe Arafi (MAR)
● Women/Steeple: 9:04.53, Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN)

The final event of the night was the men’s 100 m, and how could it be better than the rest of a great meet? It was.

Christian Coleman of the U.S. had the best mark of the year in both 2017 and 2018 and owns the world indoor record for 60 m, and he was off like a shot. He had a clear lead after 50 m, but the man who loves to come from behind – Noah Lyles – found that extra gear in the final 40 m and came from sixth to close at the tape and get the decision over Coleman with both timed in 9.86, fastest in the world for 2019.

Said Lyles, “I said to my coach in warm up, ‘today is the day.’ I feel hot. I knew if I got out of the blocks and if I was anywhere close, I knew I could come late for the win.” It was a lifetime best for the 21-year-old, and moves him up to equal-17th all-time, just as fast as six others, including Carl Lewis in 1991 and Ato Boldon in 1998!

“This is my first race in nine months,” said Coleman afterwards. “It is always a struggle to get in good form after such a long time away from competition, so I didn’t have any specific expectations for today’s race. In general, I am fine with 9.86 today.”

That was one of three sprint wins for the U.S., with Aleia Hobbs – running with a broken right wrist – taking over in the middle of the race and running away from Blessing Okagbare (NGR) and Rio champ Elaine Thompson, 11.03-11.07-11.14. Hobbs ran impressively at the World Relays last week and now has the no. 2 mark in the world for 2019. She was ecstatic: “This is my biggest win. I needed to start well, which I did and I managed to hang on.”

In the men’s 400 m, a hamstring injury kept favored Steven Gardiner (BAH) out, so Fred Kerley of the U.S. took over. He ran the co-fastest split at the World Relays last week – 44.4 – and charged out of the blocks and built a huge lead down the backstraight. No one could challenge, but the U.S. ended 1-2-3 with Michael Cherry and Nathan Strother following. Kerley finished in 44.81, with Cherry well back at 45.48 and Strother at 45.52.

The other U.S. win was a shocker. Chase Ealey, the world leader in the women’s shot at 19.67 m (64-6 1/2), took the lead in round two from China’s 2017 World Champion and home favorite Lijiao Gong and it held up: 19.58 m (64-3) to 19.44 m (63-9 1/2)! It was the only quality throw of the day for Ealey, while Gong produced four throws over 19 m (62-4), but the best throw counts. For the former NCAA runner-up from Oklahoma State, Ealey has gone from 18.46 m (60-6 3/4) in 2016 to the undisputed world leader in 2019!

There were more thrillers, like the long-awaited showdown between Qatar’s Abderrahmane Samba and Rai Benjamin of the U.S. in the 400 m hurdles. Benjamin fired into the lead on the back stretch and came into the final straight with the lead, but lost his cadence over the ninth hurdle and Samba got even. The Qatari then passed him and held his form best to the line for his 12th straight win, this time in 47.27. Benjamin ran 47.80, and now knows what he will face if he wants to win a world title in Doha.

Said Benjamin afterwards, “This is my first Diamond League competition in the 400 m hurdles and I am quite excited about the result today. I have not set up any specific objectives for myself since it is still in the very early stage of this season.”

In the women’s 400 m, Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser rocketed into the lead on the back straight and held her form all the way through to win in 50.65. American Sydney McLaughlin came on in the second half of the race, but had to settle for second in 50.78. Naser said “Today was just okay,” while McLaughlin was more upbeat: “I feel good today to run close to my PB.”

The distance races were fast and competitive. Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha waited until 300 m to go to charge to the front, but once he did, he was not to be headed and won in 13:04.16 – a world leader – and held off countryman Selemon Barega (13:04.71). Same for the women’s 1,500 m, where Ethiopians Gudaf Tsegay and Dawit Seyaum had the lead on the final lap, but a mass finish left favored Sifan Hassan (NED) in a box and Morocco’s Rababe Arafi finding clear running and a win in the last 50 m in a world-leading 4:01.15.

Just great! Summaries:

IAAF Diamond League
Shanghai (CHN) ~ 18 May 2019
(Full results here)

Men

100 m (wind +0.9 m/s): 1. Noah Lyles (USA), 9.86; 2. Christian Coleman (USA), 9.86; 3. Akani Simbine (RSA), 9.95. Also: 7. Isiah Young (USA), 10.14; 8. Michael Rodgers (USA), 10.15.

200 m (non-Diamond League; 0.0): 1. Aaron Brown (CAN), 20.07; 2. Andre De Grasse (CAN), 20.21; 3. Clarence Munyai (RSA), 20. 37.

400 m: 1. Fred Kerley (USA), 44.81; 2. Michael Cherry (USA), 45.48; 3. Nathan Strother (USA), 45.52.

5,000 m: 1. Yomif Kejelcha (ETH), 13:04.16; 2. Selemon Barega (ETH), 13:04.71; 3. Hagos Gebrhiwet (ETH), 13:04.83. Also:12. Paul Chelimo (USA), 13:13.94; … 16. Hassan Mead (USA), 13:23.15.

110 m hurdles (+0.7): 1. Omar McLeod (JAM), 13.12; 2. Wenjun Xie (CHN), 13.178; 3. Sergey Shubenkov (RUS), 13.28. Also: 5. Freddie Crittenden (USA), 13.36.

400 m hurdles: 1. Abderrahmane Samba (QAT), 47.27; 2. Rai Benjamin (USA), 47.80; 3. Thomas Barr (IRL), 49.41.

High Jump: 1. Yu Wang (CHN), 2.28 m (7-5 3/4); 2. Maksim Nedasekau (BLR), 2.28 m (7-5 3/4); 3. Ilya Ivanchuk (RUS), 2.28 m (7-5 3/4). Also: 4. Jeron Robinson (USA), 2.25 m (7-4 1/2).

Long Jump: 1. Tajay Gayle (JAM), 8.24 m (27-0 1/2); 2. Jianian Wang (CHN), 8.16 m (26-9 1/4); 3. Ruswahl Samaai (RSA), 8.14 m (26-8 1/2). Also: 9. Zack Basile (USA), 7.55 m (24-9 1/4).

Javelin: 1. Andreas Hofmann (GER), 87.55 m (287-3); 2. Chao-Tsun Cheng (TPE), 87.12 m (285-10); 3. Marcin Krukowski (POL), 84.51m (277-3).

Women

100 m (+0.2): 1. Aleia Hobbs (USA), 11.03; 2. Blessing Okagbare (NGR), 11.07; 3. Elaine Thompson (JAM), 11.14. Also: 5. Jenna Prandini (USA), 11.19; … 9. Ashley Henderson (USA), 11.53.

400 m: 1. Salwa Eid Naser (BRN), 50.65; 2. Sydney McLaughlin (USA), 50.78; 3. Christine Botlogetswe (BOT), 51.29. Also: 8. Shakima Wimbley (USA), 52.69.

1,500 m: 1. Rababe Arafi (MAR), 4:01.15; 2. Gudaf Tsegay (ETH), 4:01.25; 3. Winnie Nanyondo (UGA), 4:01.39. Also: 9. Alexa Efraimson (USA), 4:04.53; … 14. Emily Lipari (USA), 4:19.94.

3,000 m Steeple: 1. Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN), 9:04.53; 2. Celliphine Chespol (KEN), 9:11.10; 3. Peruth Chemutai (UGA), 9:17.78. Also: 12. Mel Lawrence (USA), 9:44.36.

Pole Vault: 1. Katerina Stefanidi (GRE), 4.72 m (15-5 3/4); 2. Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou (GRE), 4.72 m (15-5 3/4); 3. Ling Li (CHN), 4.72 m (15-5 3/4). Also: 4. Sandi Morris (USA), 4.72 m (15-5 3/4); 5. Katie Nageotte (USA), 4.72 m (15-5 3/4); …9. Annie Rhodes-Johnigan (USA), 4.42 m (14-6).

Shot Put: 1. Chase Ealey (USA), 19.58 m (64-3); 2. Lijiao Gong (CHN), 19.44 m (63-9 1/2); 3. Aliona Dubitskaya (BLR), 18.78 m (61-7 1/2). Also: 4. Jessica Ramsey (USA), 18.61 m (61-0 3/4); … 6. Maggie Ewen (USA), 18.48 m (60-7 3/4); … 10. Daniela Hill (USA), 17.36 m (56-11 1/2).

Javelin: 1. Huihui Lyu (CHN), 66.89 m (219-5); 2. Lina Muze (LAT), 64.87 m (212-10); 3. Chrustin Hussong (GER), 64.10 m (210-4). Also: 7. Ariana Ince (USA), 60.26 m (197-8).

HEARD AFTER HALFTIME: Who is Kenny Bednarek and how did he just run the 200 m in 19.49?

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

● Athletics ● It’s a World Championship year, so crazy things are happening. Like Kenny Bednarek, a freshman at Indian Hills Community College running a wind-aided 19.49 in the prelims of the National Junior College Championships in Hobbs, New Mexico.

What? 19.49? What?

Bednarek has been an emerging star all season after being an outstanding high school sprinter at Rice Lake High School in Wisconsin. He won the Wisconsin State titles in the 100-200-400 m and had bests of 10.42, 20.43 and 46.68 in 2018.

But that’s nothing compared to what he’s done in 2019, exploding during the Drake Relays to win the 200 m in a lifetime best of 20.29 and then lowering his 400 m PR to 45.62 a week later.

At New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, he screamed to a win in the heats of the 200 m in a very wind-aided 19.49, with an aiding 6.1 m/s zephyr – almost 14 miles per hour – behind him. It’s an altitude-aided mark, since Hobbs is at 3,622 ft. (1,105 m), but even so – using mathematical conversion formulas – the 19.49 would be worth about 19.89 or so, which would be no. 2 in the world for 2019.

Bednarek ran in heat four and knew he had to run fast, since the first heat was won by Hinds Community College (Raymond, Mississippi) sophomore Terrance Laird in a windy 19.64 (+5.6 m/s)!

Remember, these are in the prelims! The final is tomorrow; the live timing site is here.

● Athletics ● The highlight of the 10th USATF Distance Classic at Occidental College in Los Angeles was the world-leading women’s 5,000 m by Rachel Schneider.

She shattered her prior best of 15:15.88 to win in 15:06.71, but just steps ahead of Jamaica’s Aisha Praught-Leer, who set a national record at 15:07.50, with American Lauren Paquette third at 15:14.64.

Other winners of note included Ryan Murphy in the 800 m in 1:46.10; Kalle Berglund (SWE) in the men’s 1,500 in 3:37.84 and Lawi Lalang in the 5,000 m at 13:25.14. The top women’s winners included Kate Grace at 800 m in 2:02.95, and Nikki Hiltz won the 1,500 in 4:07.71.

● Cycling ● Not that it’s all that important, but would you like to know what’s on the spectator concession menu at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup at Albstadt (GER) this weekend? Here you go:

€ 1.50 (~$ 1.68): Buttered Pretzel or Cake
€ 3.00 (~$ 3.35): Bratwurst or Red Bratwurst on a roll
€ 4.50 (~$ 5.02): Steak on a roll, Hamburger or Vegetarian Burger

And a selection of beverages, including beer!

● Gymnastics ● The USA Gymnastics bankruptcy process continues in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana. At a hearing on Wednesday (15th), it was confirmed that Gregg Zive, a Federal Bankruptcy Court judge in Nevada, but currently assisting with cases in Los Angeles, will act as mediator in the sexual-abuse cases in which USA Gymnastics is being sued.

USA Gymnastics also filed a statement of its operations with the Bankruptcy Court for the month of April, 2019. USAG took in $4.99 million in April, thanks to a $2.75 million grant from the National Gymnastics Foundation, and spent $2.19 million. The biggest single cost item? Legal fees, which totaled $704,191 for the month.

The USAG Balance Sheet shows about $7.4 million in assets plus $75 million in expected insurance coverage. However, the federation and its insurers are at odds over the coverage and it is not clear what the outcome will be, and therefore how much will be available to pay to survivors.

● Skateboarding ● The Pan American Games in Lima (PER) this summer will be without the skateboarding competition.

It was canceled on Thursday by the Executive Committee of PanAm Sports, the governing body of the Pan American Games. It announced that:

“Although we had the commitment of World Skate that the Pan American Games would be a qualifying event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, this was never concrete and we finally received confirmation that it would not be one of the events that offered points towards qualification to the Olympic Games. …

“The recent scheduling of a qualifying event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games for the discipline of Street Skateboarding in the city of Los Angeles, on exactly the same dates as the Skateboarding events at the Pan American Games of Lima 2019, is something we understand as a lack of respect to the Pan American Games, to the athletes that were going to participate in these Games and fundamentally, to the Organizing Committee of Lima 2019.”

The qualifying event mentioned is the World Skate SLS Tour 2019 Los Angeles, scheduled for 23-28 July; the Pan Am Games dates were 27-28 July. With the deletion of skateboarding, the PAG will now have 39 sports, of which 22 will have Olympic qualifying included.

World Skate replied, noting “it was not possible to include the Pan-American Games in the Olympic qualification process and guarantee the presence of top athletes due to a basic incompatibility between the qualification system established by World Skate America for Lima 2019 and the qualification criteria as defined by the International Federation in view of Tokyo2020.”

● Doping ● The World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed at its Foundation Board meeting in Montreal (CAN) on Thursday that:

“[A] very high percentage of the data collected in the Moscow Laboratory is authentic and matching with the copy of the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) that WADA’s Intelligence and Investigations (I&I) had acquired through a whistleblower in November 2017.

“Armed with this material, as well as other evidence, WADA’s Intelligence & Investigations (I&I) has started providing International Federations (IFs) with evidentiary packages, which IFs will assess with the view to taking the cases forward as Anti-Doping Rule Violations. WADA will work in close collaboration with IFs and, in cases where IFs choose not to take action, the Agency will review the facts, discuss with the relevant IF and reserves the right to bring them forward to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”

This is the beginning of what could be the final stage in the Russian doping scandal; estimates have been as high as 300-500 new doping cases could be brought. If the Russians do not hinder the investigations and prosecutions, the reinstatement of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency will be considered successfully completed.

There was also an important amendment to the World Anti-Doping Code that allows laboratories to essentially allow – without penalties – a finding of clenbuterol “when established that it is as the result of ingesting contaminated meat products.

“It has been scientifically established that an athlete can test positive for clenbuterol at low levels following ingestion of contaminated meat in a small number of countries where this is an issue.”

● At the BuZZer ● The International Olympic Committee has a licensing agreement with the famed Lacoste brand to create new apparel items based on the marks of prior Games, such as the 1968 Games in Mexico City (MEX) and Winter Games in Grenoble (FRA).

The newest edition revives the famed Star-in-Motion logo of the Games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad in Los Angeles on 15 items. There are $70 T-shirts, $135 sweatshirts, $125 polo shirts and a $60 cap, plus a special $165 zip sweatshirt.

≡ REAX ≡ As an LAOOC staff member and remembering the enormous success of the Festive Federalism design scheme in 1984, the collection is a dud. Beyond the simple use of the basic red, white and blue Star-in-Motion logo, the other items are completely inauthentic.

Several feature the Star-in-Motion logo without the Olympic rings, which was never allowed on licensed items for the 1984 Games, and the color choices ignore the pastel color scheme for which the Games was so famous, especially the use of magenta and aqua as primary colors. Some use of secondary colors such as yellow and orange are included, but it’s a mis-managed attempt to share the design statement made by the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee in 1984. Sad, disrespectful and unnecessary.

SWIMMING: Indiana’s King posts world leader in Bloomington, while Adrian returns for fourth in 100 m Free

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

While the focus heading into the Tyr Pro Swim Series meet in Bloomington was the return to competition of Nathan Adrian, an Indiana star actually stole the headlines.

In her professional debut, ex-Indiana star Lilly King – swimming in her home pool – won the 100 m Breaststroke in a world-leading 1:05.68, the only best-in-the-world performance during the meet on Friday.

There was almost another in the women’s 400 m Freestyle, as Katie Ledecky swam all alone and finished in a seasonal best of 3:59.95. She’s only the second swimmer to break four minutes this season, and missed a world-leading time by just 0.3 seconds; Australia’s Ariarne Titmus continues with the top time in the world so far at 3:59.66.

Adrian swam pretty well in his first meet since 2018 and after his diagnosis and treatment for testicular cancer. He was fifth in the prelims at 49.83 and then was fighting for the lead in the final until the final 10 m, when he faded to fourth in 49.31. Indiana star Zach Apple won the race in 48.76.

Asked about what it was like to finally be back in the pool – his first racing since last December – he was smiling and said:

“It’s a good feeling. I mean, it’s tough to describe, right? This is home for me. Honestly, I’ve never been to Bloomington, but, like, this environment – the Pro Swim Series, having you guys up here – you know, that’s what feels right.

“You get something like an adverse health diagnosis, everything kind of stops, right? You realize, health is no. 1, and everything had to be pushed to the side. And fortunately, we’re through that for now, and I get to do what I can to get back on track.”

Another encouraging set of performances came from Madisyn Cox, who fought off a drug suspension in 2018 and set lifetime bests in the 100 m Breast (1:07.59 in a tie for third) and the 400 m Free (4:10.21 for second).

Zane Grothe won the 1,500 m Free on Thursday and 400 m Free on Friday for the only double winner in the meet so far.

The Bloomington meet continues tomorrow; it will be televised on NBCSN at 6 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday. The live results link is here, but no live results were available during the Friday evening session at all (they came up later). Summaries from Friday:

USA Swimming/Tyr Pro Swim Series
Bloomington, Indiana (USA) ~ 16-19 May 2019
(Full results here)

Men

100 m Freestyle: 1. Zach Apple, 48.76; 2. Blake Pieroni, 48.86; 3. Robert Howard, 49.09.

400 m Free: 1. Zane Grothe, 3:48.27; 2. Felix Auboeck (AUT), 3:52.69; 3. Johannes Calloni, 3:54.21.

1,500 m Free: 1. Grothe, 15:17.12; 2. Marcelo Acosta (ESA), 15:28.66; 3. Ricardo Vargas (MEX), 15:30.04.

50 m Backstroke: 1. Michael Andrew 24.91; 2. Grigory Tarasevich (RUS), 25.10; 3. Gabriel Fantoni (BRA), 25.34.

100 m Breaststroke: 1. Cody Miller, 59.24; 2. Michael Andrew, 59.52; 3. Anton McKee (ISL) 1:00.62.

200 m Butterfly: 1. Jay Litherland, 1:57.99; 2. Corey Gambardella, 1:58.49; 3. Carson Foster, 1:59.32.

Women

100 m Freestyle: 1. Simone Manuel, 53.65; 2. Mallory Comerford, 54.11; 3. Margo Geer, 54.18.

400 m Free: 1. Katie Ledecky, 3:59.95; 2. Madisyn Cox, 4:10.21; 3. Brooke Forde, 4:11.91.

1,500 m Free: 1. Hannah Moore, 16:11.42; 2. Kristel Kobrich (CHI), 16:23.19; 3. Becca Mann, 16:25.49.

50 m Backstroke: 1. Regan Smith, 28.08; 2. Kylee Alons 28.21; 3. Elisa Haan, 28.37.

100 m Breaststroke: 1. Lilly King, 1:05.68; 2. Annie Lazor, 1:06.03; 3. tie, Emily Esbobedo, Madisyn Cox and Bethany Galat, 1:07.59.

200 m Butterfly: 1. Katie Drabot, 2:08.57; 2,. Regan Smith, 2:08.58; 3. Ella Eastin, 2:09.92.

SPEED READ: Headlines from The Sports Examiner for Friday, 17 March 2019

By
Rich Perelman
-

Welcome to The Sports Examiner SPEED READ, a 100 mph (44.7 m/s) review of what happened this week in Olympic sport:

LANE ONE

Wednesday: Track & field is almost never mentioned on the multiple talks shows on the major sports networks, but they were all agog on Monday after Texas high schooler Matthew Boling won the 100 m, the long jump and brought his team from behind to win the 4×400 m in a world-class split of 44.74. But to compare him to Carl Lewis? Let’s check our facts first, shall we?

Friday: One of the founders of the world of statistics in international sport passed away last Monday: Italy’s Roberto Quercetani. Out of the ashes of World War II, he and American mathematician Don Potts created the field that has spread to so many other sports today. I knew them both, and others who helped enormously: a tribute.

THE BIG PICTURE

Monday: The National Olympic Committee of Iran and the Iranian Judo Federation sent a letter to the president of the International Judo Federation, committing themselves against discrimination in sport. Translation: Iranian athletes will now compete, openly, against Israeli athletes. But there are conditions …

Thursday: The World Anti-Doping Agency’s public-authority members nominated Poland’s Witold Banka to be the next head of the organization, taking over in January 2020. WADA also confirmed a long-term presence for its headquarters in Montreal (CAN) and released a report that stated that Canadian gold medalist and WADA Athletes Commission head Beckie Scott (CAN) was not bullied or harassed at a prior meeting.

HEARD AFTER HALFTIME

Tuesday: Although Athletics South Africa said it would abide by the Court of Arbitration for Sport decision in the Caster Semenya case against the IAAF’s female eligibility regulations, they are appealing anyway. So much for promises. Plus, a judoka is disqualified after his mobile phone falls out of his gi during a match (!), say hello to the International Camel Racing Federation (this is not a joke) and more!

ATHLETICS

Thursday: A fabulous IAAF Diamond League meet appears to be ahead in Shanghai (CHN) on Saturday with terrific match-ups including Americans Christian Coleman and Noah Lyles in the 100 m, Qatar’s Abderrahamane Samba and Rai Benjamin of the U.S. in the 400 m hurdles and Qatar’s Salwa Eid Naser trying to star in front of American star Sydney McLaughlin in the 400 m. And much more; a full preview.

CYCLING

Tuesday: The women’s edition of the Amgen Tour of California includes just three stages, but this year’s stages are misery-inducing, soul-crushing climbs that include a race up Mt. Baldy that gains 5,300 feet of altitude over the last 24 miles! Ouch!

Thursday: Wild results at the Giro d’Italia, where the expected favorites were routed in Stage 6 by the Italian duo of Fausto Masnada and Valerio Conti by more than seven minutes, making Conti the new race leader! At the Amgen Tour of California, American Tejay van Garderen and Dutch star Anna van der Breggen lead the men’s and women’s races heading into Friday’s brutal ascent up Mt. Baldy!

FOOTBALL

Thursday: The U.S. women’s National Team started slowly, but then pounded Women’s World Cup-bound New Zealand, 5-0, in front of a big crowd at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. An encouraging performance with the Women’s World Cup just three weeks away!

SWIMMING

Tuesday: A look ahead to the fourth Tyr Pro Swim Series this weekend in Bloomington, Indiana. Sure, Katie Ledecky will be there, but the headline is the return to competition of five-time Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian after being diagnosed with testicular cancer in January.

TAEKWONDO

Tuesday: As many as 15 defending champions expected to compete in the first-ever Taekwondo World Championships to be held in Great Britain. Korean Tae-Hun Kim will try for his fourth consecutive world title.

TRIATHLON

Wednesday: The third ITU World Series race is in Yokohama (JPN), with American Katie Zaferes trying to keep her record perfect: she’s won both races so far this year. And Spain’s Mario Mola will try to get on track after a disastrous 26th-place finish in his last race.

PREVIEWS

Beach Volleyball: Measuring stick for three U.S. duos in World Tour 4-star in Brazil
Cycling: Mountain Bike World Cup season starts with Swiss Nino Schurter favored again
Diving: China sending second team to World Series finale in London; who wins now?
Fencing: Foil Grand Prix in Shanghai to see whether anyone can beat Inna Deriglazova!
Sport Climbing: Can Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret win fifth Bouldering World Cup in a row?
Wrestling: Final X match-ups finalized at World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in Raleigh

UPCOMING

Highlights of the coming week, with previews in the coming days on TheSportsExaminer.com:

● Cycling: Second week of the famed Giro d’Italia!

● Football: U.S. women finish their pre-World Cup schedule vs. Mexico in New Jersey

● IOC: Executive Board meeting on 22 May to announce what happens to Olympic boxing and AIBA for Tokyo 2020!

And previews, results and reports on almost two dozen events scheduled for the week of 20-26 May!

LANE ONE: Remembering an under-appreciated Founding Father of track & field: Roberto Quercetani

By
Rich Perelman
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One of the finest sports statisticians of all time: Italy's Roberto Quercetani (1922-2019)

This is a very personal column, about the lives of a few men who made an enormous difference in sport, and who were my friends. And of the passing of a slender giant last Monday.

Imagine living in the early 19th Century, and having known John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who both died on 4 July of 1826. These two men were key players in creating a new political concept, a new country that was – even at the time of their passing – playing an expanding role in the world.

Their impact was enormous and lasting. In a much smaller way, in the field of sport, so were two men – later aided by others – who literally created the field of statistics in international sport. Their names were Don Potts, an American mathematician, and Robert Quercetani, an Italian sportswriter.

The millions of dollars now spent on keeping statistics and calculating world rankings in track & field, in swimming, canoeing, cycling, figure skating, modern pentathlon, rowing, speed skating, triathlon and many other sports, started with them.

After World War II, the sports world was beginning to reassemble itself. Track & field, which had been the pre-eminent Olympic sport since the Games were revived in 1896 in Athens, had been essentially dead since 1939. There were records, but how accurate were they?

There were sports statistics in those days, mostly about baseball, which had benefited enormously from the introduction of the box score by New York sportswriter Henry Chadwick, beginning in the late 1850s. In the aftermath of the horror of war, two men in their mid-20s began a correspondence that created a small booklet in 1948 that changed everything.

Both were born in 1922. Potts, who had just finished receiving his Doctorate in Mathematics from the California Institute of Technology, and Quercetani, the Italian sportswriter from Florence deeply devoted to collecting track & field results, somehow found each other by mail in 1946 and eventually collaborated on a 72-page collection of numbers entitled, A Handbook on Olympic Games Track and Field Athletics in advance of the 1948 Olympic Games in London.

Printed in Evanston, Illinois and priced at $1.50, it was the first-ever publication to chronicle the entire sport, just as it is today. There were record lists for the Olympic Games, for the U.S. and for Europe, the top 20 or so performers from 1947 and the first-ever 100-deep list of the all-time best performers in each event, as of the end of 1947. In the introduction, Potts and Quercetani noted:

“The following list of the best track and field marks of all time has been compiled by us from our own collection of track statistics. We have tried to make it as complete and accurate as possible, emphasizing the latter point. (That is to say, we have not included marks concerning which we were doubtful.) We feel that out list is bound to be incomplete, and we sincerely hope that other interested track followers who know of additions and corrections will pass them on to us, so that we may make future editions of this list truly complete and accurate.”

The lists were way ahead of their time, and owing to Potts’ training as a mathematician, included an amazing new concept of time “conversions” between marks made at metric and English running-event distances. Those original calculations mostly hold true today, more than 70 years later.

That was the start. It was a labor of love and Potts told me decades later that the book didn’t really make any money, but essentially paid for itself. The idea hatched by their two men took off quickly. In 1950, Quercetani and 10 others – including Potts – founded the Association of Track & Field Statisticians (ATFS) in Brussels, with the help of another devoted statistician, Swiss track nut Fulvio Regli. A year later, the ATFS published its first annual, with 128 pages of lists of best marks from around the world for 1950, in addition to lists of records, national championships results and all-time best marks.

Wrote Quercetani 50 years later in the 2000 ATFS Annual, that although the compilation efforts in the early days were almost all by mail, “it was, believe me, GREAT FUN. Even the ‘discovery’ of a minor detail was enough to fill us with joy and encourage us towards greater efforts. We were setting foot in what was generally, if not entirely, no-man’s land.”

From that start, the ATFS continues today, with a few hundred members, spread among countries all around the world, but the Annual is now 592 pages long. After the founding of Track & Field News in 1947, Potts and Quercetani were asked in 1948 by founders Bert and Cordner Nelson to take over an annual set of rankings of the top performers in each event at the end of each year, based not solely on time, but on honors won, head-to-head results against others and the sequence of marks during the year. The T&FN World Rankings were – and are today – the gold standard in the sport and have been copied by others, but never equaled or surpassed.

Neither Potts nor Quercetani were ever track statisticians for a living. Potts had an outstanding career as an academic, teaching at Northwestern, Cal State Long Beach, UC Santa Barbara and then joined what is now Cal State Northridge in 1965, eventually becoming the head of the Mathematics Department. He was deeply involved in the early days in computer science at Northridge and might have been the first to use computers to help compile track & field lists.

Quercetani was a sportswriter and was a familiar byline in Italy in the major publications of the day, including the famous La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper – for years immediately recognizable by its pink front page – and for many sports magazines, as well as for Track & Field News in the U.S.

He wrote many books about the sport, including the brilliant Athletics: A History of Modern Track & Field Athletics (1860-1990), and many others. But last Monday (13th), we lost him at the age of 97, survived by his wife, Maria Luisa. He had suffered a fall during the previous week and had been in the hospital since then, until his passing.

Potts died in 2001, and two other men who helped Potts advance his work in the U.S. tremendously, have also passed: Stan Eales in 1984, and Scott Davis in 2010. The latter two men were also outstanding public address announcers whose voices were well known to track & field fans all along the West Coast.

I knew all four and they all had a positive impact on my life. Their greatest gift was their enthusiasm for the sport they loved – track & field – and their encouragement to make my own contribution.

Potts explained in detail how he and Quercetani created the field from nothing because they wanted to share their interest in the sport. Eales helped me – very quietly – to apply to work for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee in 1980, which became the most important experience in my life (so far). And Davis, who was a very close friend, shared his joy for the sport and contributed so much to it that no one person has ever been able to replace him.

I only met Quercetani a few times, during trips to Europe in the 1980s. He was a true gentleman, soft-spoken but resolutely excited about new projects we discussed, on technical issues concerning the sport and he was, at all times. a man of dignity, warmth and class.

He and Potts, now free to roam among history’s souls, are undoubtedly sharing eternity with the greats who have preceded them, like Lon Myers, Jesse Owens, Paavo Nurmi and so many others. It’s our job to ensure that their legacy continues, and with the expansion of sports betting that will undoubtedly engulf Olympic sports in the future, what they started will likely be expanded to levels they never dreamed of.

For now, I’m happy to say I knew the giants on whose shoulders the field of international sports statistics were founded. Rest in peace, Roberto, and say hi to Don, Stan and Scott for me.

Rich Perelman
Editor

/Update: This story was amended to reflect that Quercetani and Potts headed the Track & Field News world rankings program beginning with the 1948 season, not in 1947; those rankings were done by T&FN founder Cordner Nelson. Thanks to T&FN Managing Editor Garry Hill for the correction./

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