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≡ FIG WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡
The furor over the refusal of the government of Indonesia to allow Israeli athletes into the country for the 53rd FIG World Artistic Championships in Jakarta is slowing as the competitions have begun.
But after the International Olympic Committee issued an unhappy statement on Friday, the GymCastic podcast quoted Israel Olympic Committee Chair, Olympic judo medalist and International Olympic Committee member Yael Arad in a Facebook post about what comes next:
● “The cancellation of the visas by the Indonesian government and the conduct of the International Gymnastics Federation are a disgrace. Over the past week, sports leaders from around the world – including senior IOC officials and President [Kirsty] Coventry [ZIM] herself – have worked to reverse this decision, understanding clearly that the actions taken are in complete violation of Olympic values, the FIG statutes, and the Olympic Charter, which prohibits political involvement in sport.
“The conduct of FIG President Morinari Watanabe [JPN] is the most disappointing of all.”
● “The main appeal will continue to be examined by [the Court of Arbitration for Sport], and it holds symbolic importance for the entire world of sport. I trust that CAS will see the full picture.
“Indonesia is not worthy of hosting sporting events, and we will act on all levels to ensure that this remains the case. My heart is with the athletes, but we will always act, in every possible way, to ensure that such situations are not repeated in the future.”
Arad as an IOC member has unique standing to challenge fellow IOC members Watanabe (JPN) and Erick Thohir (INA), who as the Indonesian Youth and Sports Minister, publicly supported the government’s decision to refuse entry to the Israeli team, which had already been registered as competitors.
Arad’s reference to the Court of Arbitration for Sport concerns a filing requesting that “CAS orders FIG to take the necessary measures that guarantee Israeli participation in the championships, or in the alternative, to move or to cancel the championships.”
According to the Court’s summary:
“The requests for urgent provisional measures were considered by the Deputy President of the CAS Appeals Arbitration Division. Both requests have been rejected. … The second appeal is still ongoing.”
But it will not be settled until after the competition concludes.
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The FIG World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta actually started on Sunday, with the men’s qualifying round completed on Monday:
● Two-time World Champion and Tokyo 2020 Olympic champ Daiki Hashimoto (JPN) led the All-Around qualifying at 83.065, followed by Noe Seifert (SUI: 82.499) and Boheng Zhang (CHN: 82.331). The lone U.S. entry, national A-A champ Asher Hong, did not compete due to an injury.
● Floor: Britain’s Olympic bronze medalist Jake Jarman led the qualifying at 14.700 ahead of Paris champ Carlos Yulo (PHI: 14.566) and American Kam Nelson (14.300). Israel’s Olympic silver medalist, Artem Dolgopyat (the defending champion) was, of course, unable to compete.
● Pommel Horse: Olympic silver medalist Nariman Kurbanov (KAZ) led qualifying at 14.700, ahead of Yanming Hong (CHN: 14.600) and American Patrick Hoopes (14.566). Brandon Dang of the U.S. was a non-qualifying 21st at 13.900.
● Rings: China’s Xingyu Lan scored 14.766 to lead the qualifying, with American Donnell Whittenburg – in his sixth Worlds – second at 14.700. China’s Zhang was third at 14.600; Brody Malone of the U.S. was a non-qualifying 14th at 13.766.
● Vault: Olympic champ Yulo led after qualifying at 14.750 (average of two vaults), followed by Paris silver winner Artur Davtyan (ARM: 14.566) and Ukraine’s Nazar Chepurnyi (14.316). For the U.S., Nelson was a non-qualifying 17th (13.666)
● Parallel Bars: China’s Olympic champ Jingyuan Zou led the field at 15.466, with Japan’s Paris bronzer Shinnosuke Oka (14.533) and Tomoharu Tsunogai (14.500) at 2-3, with Whittenburg qualifying sixth at 14.300. Malone was a non-qualifying 22nd at 13.633.
● Horizontal Bar: Tsunogai led qualifying at 14.800, ahead of Joe Fraser (GBR: 14.533) and defending champ Hashimoto (JPN: 14.400). Malone qualified in sixth for the U.S. (14.166); Whittenburg placed 48th (12.533).
The men’s All-Around final comes on Wednesday.
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