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PANORAMA: Bermuda Tourism drops ‘25 USATF Grand Prix support; Brazilian Kite Olympian saves drowning swimmer; 14-year Swiss doping ban!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games ● One of the greatest sports photographers in history, German-born Heinz Kluetmeier, passed away on Tuesday (14th) at age 82 after a battle with Parkinson’s Disease and a stroke.

He is remembered for more than 100 Sports Illustrated covers and brilliant photography that made him a legendary figure in the field. He started with the Milwaukee Journal as a teenager and went to Time Inc. at 28 to shoot for LIFE and Sports Illustrated. He might be best remembered for his 1980 Olympic Winter Games photograph of the U.S. men’s hockey team celebrating their upset win over the USSR, the “Miracle on Ice.”

How important was he? If he was shooting at an event, the word passed quickly among the other press and even participating athletes; “Heinz is here.”

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● “We are currently in communication and expect that in the near future the IOC Executive Committee will specify the conditions for admission to the 2026 Olympics, and this will be a signal for international sports federations.”

That’s Russian Deputy Sports Minister Alexander Nikitin, who added, “Among them, there are those who so far refuse to comply with the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee, but they are in the minority.”

Most winter-sport federations continue to close the door to Russian and Belarusian participation, but the International Ski Mountaineering Federation has approved some to compete as “neutrals,” and the International Skating Union has approved allowing a very limited number of “neutrals” to compete only in Olympic qualifying events, in case the IOC agrees to allow them for 2026.

● Commonwealth Games 2030 ● “Glasgow 2026 is set to act as a bridge to a bright future for the Commonwealth Games – an exciting first step in the CGF’s journey to reset and redefine the Games as a truly co-created, flexible and sustainable model for the future that inspires athletes, delivers tangible legacy benefits, minimises costs, reduces the environmental footprint, and enhances social impact.”

That’s Commonwealth Games Federation chief Chris Jenkins (WAL), opening the door for discussions on a 2030 centennial Commonwealth Games, now that Glasgow (SCO) has agreed to stage a compact and subsidized 2026 Games.

The CGF’s approach follows the lead of the International Olympic Committee’s “Olympic Agenda 2020,” with an emphasis on existing venues for accommodations and competitions and welcoming co-hosting concepts among locations with a country or even across countries to ensure the most cost-efficient event possible.

● World University Games ● The Winter WUG in Turin continues through the 23rd, with Ukrainian biathlete Bohdan Borkovskyi won the first gold of the Games in the 15 km Short race on Tuesday morning in 38:40.9. Finn Patrik Kuuttinen was well back second in 39:06.4.

Through two days, the U.S. claimed its first medal, a bronze in the men’s Freestyle Dual Moguls by Jackson Crockett.

● Anti-Doping ● Swiss Sport Integrity handed down a 14-year ban on an unnamed doctor from Bern, concluding a case which first surfaced from media reports in January 2018:

“As already communicated at the time in a statement by the Antidoping Switzerland Foundation (now Swiss Sport Integrity), criminal charges were brought after several years of investigations into the matter. In a penalty order dated July 5, 2022, the doctor was declared guilty of several violations of the Federal Act on the Promotion of Sport and Exercise. …

“The Bernese doctor has been found guilty by the Swiss Sports Tribunal of repeated distribution (Art. 2.7 Doping Statutes), attempted administration (Art. 2.8), possession (Art. 2.6) and use (Art. 2.2) of prohibited substances. The doctor had supplied testosterone, growth hormones and tamoxifen to so-called “sports friends” and other persons. Furthermore, he had repeatedly attempted to administer or distribute erythropoietin and testosterone to an elite athlete.”

The penalties are a 14-year suspension, a fine of CHF 14,000 and costs of proceedings of CHF 29,000 (CHF 1 = $1.10 U.S.).

The World Anti-Doping Agency announced that the National Anti-Doping Organizations in Namibia, Samoa and Senegal have resolved issues highlighted in their compliance reports and that Panama has corrected the technical flaws in national legislation concerning the World Anti-Doping Code. All four are no long being “watched” for possible compliance sanctions.

Compliance issues have been identified with Pakistan, Uruguay and Uganda and all three have been formally alleged to be non-compliant, subject to an appeal due by 3 February 2025.

● U.S. Center for SafeSport ● The Associated Press reported on a message from SafeSport chief Ju’Riese Colon to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and U.S. National Governing Bodies that former investigator Jason Krasley – arrested on rape charges on 10 January and later freed on bond – which included:

“I am angry and so disappointed. I’m sad for our organization and the impact this may have on athletes. And I’m sure many of you, as well as your members, are feeling a range of emotions as well. This work is so hard, and to know that someone could have not only fooled us, but also law enforcement, is just sickening.”

The cases which Krasley worked on – he joined SafeSport in 2021 – are being audited for errors or omissions; Colon noted, “While we do not have any reason to believe he committed any wrongdoing while at the Center, the audit may result in the Center re-opening cases.” The organization’s hiring process is also being scrutinized.

● Alpine Skiing ● Emerging Swiss start Camille Rast took her second win of the season in the Slalom at Flachau (AUT), taking the overall lead this season!

Never better than 20th before – last season – Rast, 25, won her fourth medal of the season (those are the only medals she has won), coming from eighth after the first round, with the second fastest second run to finish at 1:55.03, just better than teammate (and two-time Olympic medalist in the event) Wendy Holdener (1:55.19) and Sweden’s Olympic Giant Slalom champ Sara Hector (1:55.41). American Paula Moltzan was sixth overall (1:55.76).

● Archery ● “In an Olympic context, it could be held in the urban park which is now a part of every Summer Games, and which hosts BMX freestyle, skateboarding, and other youth oriented sports. It’s not really been explored yet – and there are some obvious safety and spectator issues – but it’s just possible that something like that may be on the horizon some way into the future.”

Can you imagine archers, with live arrows, shooting in field style – at foam targets in the shape of animals – while walking through an Olympic mega-venue?

John Stanley, a British digital communications specialist and archer, explored the concept of field archery as a future Olympic possibility in a fun story that emphasizes the untamed nature of shooting along a walking course in an open setting: field, forest, hills and streams. He notes that it does not have the contained nature of target archery, but it is more challenging in its own way.

He asks, is field archery the future? Not yet.

● Athletics ● The USATF Bermuda Grand Prix, held in 2022 (9 April), 2023 (21 May) and 2024 (28 April) is not listed on the USATF calendar for 2025 and appears dead.

The Royal Gazette daily reported Wednesday that the meet’s major sponsor, the Bermuda Tourism Authority, decided not to fund it in 2025 for lack of a demonstrable return:

“The primary goal was to leverage the heightened global attention during this period. Following the conclusion of the 2024 activation, our Business Development team evaluated the event’s impact and future potential and explored alternate partnership models. The assessment determined that the evolving post-Olympic landscape posed significant challenges to achieving the desired return on investment for spring 2025.”

USATF lists two Grand Prix events for 2025, in Los Angeles (7-8 June) and New York (29 June).

“The AIU has banned Faith Chepchirchir Kiprotich (Kenya) for 3 years from 23 December 2024 for Presence/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Norandrosterone). DQ results from 29 September 2024″

Chepchirchir, 23, ran 31:04 in a road 10 km in 2023 (no. 34 for the year) and has run the Half Marathon in 1:10:32 in January of 2024.

● Sailing ● “I went in at 5:40 pm to do the last test on the camera, it was a cloudy day, wind conditions were not the best, but I decided to test the support that had arrived, it was the first day using this material, I put the camera to record and went towards the coast.

“After sailing a few metres, I heard a cry for help and saw the girl who was drowning. I quickly approached her with the kite, tried to calm her down and asked her to climb on my back. She was very tired and without strength. I used the equipment to bring her to the beach safely, where the lifeguards carried out the first aid on the seashore and thankfully everything went well.”

That’s Brazilian Dr. Bruno Lobo, 31, an orthopedic physician, Paris Olympian (7th) and two-time Pan Am Games champion in the Formula Kite class, who rescued a woman off of San Luis on 10 January and brought her back safely.

He reported the incident on Instagram, sharing the video shot with his camera on the kite:

“The day God used me as an instrument to save this young woman, all honor and glory to Him. Be warned about the dangers of the sea, rivers and any place you don’t know because the current in some places tends to be very strong!”

Fantastic; the video is short and absolutely worth a look.

● Snowboard ● The fourth of five Parallel Slalom World Cups was in Bad Gastein (AUT), with 2021 Worlds runner-up Ramona Theresia Hofmeister (GER) getting her first win of the season, beating Japan’s Tsubaki Miki in the final.

But Miki, 21, the 2023 World Champion in the Parallel Giant Slalom, was hardly a loser, as she clinched the seasonal Parallel Slalom title with 360 points to 226 for Sabine Payer (AUT). In her four meets, Miki won two and was second twice, with one more event left on the schedule.

Italian men got their third win in four Parallel Slaloms this season, with 38-year-old two-time Olympian Aaron March getting the win – his fourth career World Cup gold – over three-time World Champion Andreas Prommegger (AUT).

American Cody Winters won the Small Final for third over Austria’s Alexander Payer; it’s Winters’ first career World Cup medal!

● Wrestling ● Watch out for the wrestling apparel, footwear and accessories firm RUDIS, founded in 2013 and located in Marysville, Ohio. On 31 December, the company announced a four-year sponsorship deal with USA Wrestling to supply all national-team gear and promote wrestling nationally from 2025-28, effective on 1 January.

On Wednesday (15th), RUDIS and United World Wrestling announced an eight-year tie-up, to promote and grow the sport worldwide. This bears watching.

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GENDER: U.S. House passes bill stopping transgenders in school sports; Senate outlook is cloudy at best

By
Rich Perelman
-
Florida Rep. Greg Steube speaking after the passage of H.R. 28 on Tuesday (Photo: C-SPAN video screenshot).

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

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≡ H.R. 28 PASSES HOUSE≡

By a mostly party-line vote, the U.S. House of Representatives agreed by 218-206 to approve the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025” on Tuesday.

The bill is quite explicit:

“Section 901 of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“‘(d) (1) It shall be a violation of subsection (a) for a recipient of Federal financial assistance who operates, sponsors, or facilitates an athletic program or activity to permit a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls.

“‘(2) For the purposes of this subsection, sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”

The bill does allow for men to practice with women’s teams, a popular practice in multiple sports, notably at the collegiate level:

“Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit a recipient from permitting males to train or practice with an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls so long as no female is deprived of a roster spot on a team or sport, opportunity to participate in a practice or competition, scholarship, admission to an educational institution, or any other benefit that accompanies participating in the athletic program or activity.”

This is the third time this bill has been introduced by Rep. Greg Steube (R-Florida); it was passed by 219-203 in the last Session, but never saw action in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

Two Democratic representatives voted for H.R. 28 this time, and one voted “present.”

The Senate is now controlled, 53-47, by Republicans, so the vote will get attention, but has a significant hurdle to clear, as 60 votes are required to close debate and advance legislation to a vote. So at least seven Democrats would be required to let the bill go forward.

The politics of this are difficult, as Democrats are generally against this action, but the issue of transgenders in women’s sport was a significant campaign issue for Republicans and Senators in swing states for the 2026 mid-terms might be looking at the consequences of their votes. Of the 33 seats up in 2026, only two – Georgia and Michigan – have Democrat Senators in states won by President-elect Donald Trump.

So, the bar may be high for H.R. 28 to advance, but there will be pressure. It has not yet been introduced in the Senate.

Steube said after the vote, “It’s absolutely absurd that we actually have to pass a bill that says only women can be in women’s sports.” He added in a statement:

“The House has delivered on its promise to protect women’s sports.

“Americans are united in our belief that men have no place in women’s sports, whether it’s breaking records, entering locker rooms, or stealing scholarship opportunities. Denying biological truth erases fairness in sports and puts women’s safety and opportunities at risk. Today’s passage sends a clear message to the Senate – protecting women and girls in sports is not negotiable.”

Title IX rules introduced by the Biden Administration that allowed access for transgenders in women’s locker rooms were struck down by a U.S. District Court order last Thursday (9th). Another set of Education Department regulations proposed in 2023 that would have created a new Title IX rule to force the inclusion of transgender men on women’s athletics teams was abandoned last December.

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LOS ANGELES FIRES: National Weather Service forecasts indicate the worst may be over; will the fires damage people who were not burned out too?

By
Rich Perelman
-
The Olympic and Paralympic flags on display at Los Angeles City Hall (TSX photo)

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≡ LOS ANGELES 2028 ≡

The good news started with the Tuesday morning Los Angeles-area forecast notes from the National Weather Service:

“Winds starting off generally a little lighter than expected as previous models were a little heavy handed for today.”

“Winds are mostly under 30 mph and confined to a corridor that runs from Acton to Oxnard and about 20 miles either side. This corridor still does not include the Palisades fire area as the wind axis still has a stronger east component than a north.”

While the “Red Flag Warnings” have continued and have all emergency service providers on a continued high alert, Wednesday morning’s forecast discussion – at 9:31 a.m. Pacific time – was considerably calmer in tone:

“Day 9 now of offshore flow and still getting some gusts into the 50s across some of the valleys of western LA and eastern Ventura Counties as well as the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains.

“May see a 5-10 mph wind increase through the morning hours as is typical with offshore conditions, but weakening again in the afternoon and evening. Overall, we`re definitely on the back end of this long stretch of Santa Ana winds but winds expected to continue into Thursday morning before onshore flow finally returns by afternoon.”

This is great news for crews who are still battling the Palisades Fire (23,713 acres burned; 19% contained) and the Eaton Fire in and around Altadena (14,117 acres burned; 45% contained), still both active and requiring enormous efforts to overcome.

None of the named venues for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles have been directly impacted by the fires and the one site that was threatened – Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades – has not been touched.

Golf Channel host Rex Hoggard said in a Monday interview:

“I spoke with a member today at Riviera and he said the club is fine. The golf course didn’t receive any damage and the clubhouse hasn’t received any damage. But everything around it is devastated. This member told me they are still in evacuation mode. People can’t get anywhere close to the golf course. Even if the golf course is fine and can logistically pull it off, I think it would be such a drain on the resources of that community I don’t know how you have it there.”

The Genesis Invitational has teamed with Fanatics to create a themed “LA Strong” T-shirt, available for $35 with proceeds going to the American Red Cross and the L.A. Fire Department Foundation.

The chatter now is about what to do with the tournament, scheduled for 13-16 February 2025. It could be canceled, postponed or moved and there are endless possibilities, and questions about resources available to support the event in case it does go forward.

Similar discussions have now arisen about the Academy Awards, scheduled for 2 March at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, which was not threatened by the fires at any point. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences issued a statement on Monday, including:

“The 97th Oscars will still be held on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live at 7 p.m.”

Amid a report from a British tabloid that discussions about cancellation are taking place, The Hollywood Reporter noted Wednesday:

“Any change to the Oscars ceremony itself would require significant consultation between the Academy and its longtime broadcasting partner ABC. And it is currently the prevailing sentiment within the Academy’s leadership that the show should go on — in a dignified manner that would help to raise funds for and celebrate fire relief efforts.”

The story also stated that four members of the Academy’s own Board had lost homes in the fires.

Observed: The fire devastation is real, brutal and catastrophic. And the sentiment to cancel everything and just mourn is completely understandable.

Is a professional golf tournament important next to the fire damage? No.

Are the Academy Awards important when Altadena – 20 miles northeast – lies in ruins? No.

BUT: What about the hundreds – if not thousands – of people whose lives will be impacted by the cancellation or movement of these events?

Beyond the pro golfers and the movie stars, there are the technicians, ushers, parking service staff, caterers, camera crews, telecommunications support staff and a lot more who work in and around these events – let’s not forget the hotels, restaurants and shops at which auxiliary events are held – and whose lives are impacted if they DO NOT happen.

Too often, these folks are forgotten.

Safety cannot be compromised, but there are lots of folks who were not impacted by the fires who will be impacted if the rest of Los Angeles shuts down.

This brings us to the clown posse – individuals, organizations and news media – who question whether the 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games, along with other L.A.-area events coming more quickly, should be canceled.

No.

In the coming months and years, the Los Angeles area will host the NBA All-Star Game in 2026 (Intuit Dome), matches of the FIFA World Cup in 2026 (SoFi Stadium), Super Bowl LXI (2027 at SoFi Stadium) and the 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games.

On Tuesday, Bank of America and U.S. Soccer announced a sponsorship which will include a first-ever “U.S. Soccer House” during the 2026 World Cup, reported to be located in the Los Angeles area.

Events are coming to Los Angeles, not leaving. And these events bring with them jobs, spending and visits to the area, all good for the local economy and the people in it.

The Paris 2024 organizing committee reported it had 4,200 staff members at the time of the Games, and the LA28 organizing committee has, at present, less than 200. A lot of jobs are coming, all related to the Games, not to mention operations by related organizations such as National Olympic Committees, International Federations, broadcasters, sponsors and others.

The vast majority of the people who will make these programs go are locals. The events they work at need to be supported too.

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LOS ANGELES FIRES: Wind warnings for Tuesday and Wednesday; Chula Vista training center reaches out; FIG offers support

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

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≡ LOS ANGELES 2028 ≡

“Particularly dangerous situation (PDS) Red Flag Warning in effect 4 am Tuesday until noon Wednesday due to damaging northeast to east winds and low humidities. …

“There will likely be damaging winds gusting between 55 and 70 mph across portions of the red flag warning area from early Tuesday morning through Wednesday morning, leading to the PDS Red Flag Warning upgrade. areas in the Red Flag Warning (especially during the PDS time frame) will have a high risk for large fires with very rapid fire spread, extreme fire behavior, and long range spotting.

“While dangerous PDS Red Flag Fire weather conditions are likely with this event early Tuesday morning into Wednesday morning, this wind event is not expected to be as strong and destructive as last week`s windstorm.”

That is from the U.S. National Weather Service on Monday afternoon, with the warnings for high winds again – less than last week – that could cause more damage, especially from the Palisades Fire, which is under better control, but still dangerous.

This fire has threatened Riviera Country Club, slated as the site for golf for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, but without any damage so far. The UCLA campus has gone to remote learning just in case the easterly winds move toward the campus.

The LA28 organizing committee posted a message of support on X last week:

“To LA, our city, our community, our home –

“We are eternally grateful to the firefighters, first responders, and everyday Angelenos working around the clock to keep us safe from the devastating wildfires.

“Our hearts are broken, but we are resilient and so proud to be part of this united and kind community.”

There was also a link to a page with more links to fire, housing and Red Cross sites.

The fires are also a problem for athletes, with so many in the L.A. area, and disruptions to training schedules. Brian Melekian, the President of the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center, south of San Diego, posted a statement which included:

“Sport may not seem the highest priority right now, but we understand the need and comfort of routine, for athletes training for collegiate championships, professional competition, and international events such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup or the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“For athletes affected here in Southern California, we are here to offer you a place to train, eat and rest. We can provide you a community to feel safe in the company of a caring environment. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.

“There are tough and challenging times, and we are steadfast in our desire to be there for you: tomorrow, or any time in the near future.”

The Chula Vista facility opened in 1995 as a U.S. Olympic training facility but is now independent and has facilities for more than a dozen sports, plus housing and dining.

A survey of International Federations Web sites found one salute to Los Angeles, from the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique:

“The whole world has been shocked by the news of wildfires in Los Angeles and the huge scale of devastation they have left in their wake.

“The FIG commends the work of all those involved in emergency and rescue work in order to protect the lives of those at risk due to these catastrophic fires.

“’Gymnastics is a huge sport in the US and USA Gymnastics has thousands of members in Los Angeles,’ said FIG President Morinari Watanabe.

“’It is so sad to see the level of destruction across the region at the start of a new year. Our thoughts are with the gymnastics family, our friends at the Organising Committee for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and the entire population of the region at this difficult time. The FIG will do everything it can to support affected gymnasts in the region.’”

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PANORAMA: More than 100 Paris medals returned for repair; lots of Russian “whereabouts” violations; U.S. after 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup

By
Rich Perelman
-
French swimming bronze winner Yohann Ndoye Brouard pictured the condition of his Paris 2024 Olympic medal on X on 28 December 2024.

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The French online site La Lettre reported Monday that more than 100 Olympic medals have been returned for replacement to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee in the past four months.

The story states that three senior executives from the Monnaie de Paris – the French Mint – have left or are leaving their posts, and the Mint did not comment on the medal returns, “and threatening La Lettre with a complaint for defamation.”

The Paris organizers and the Mint have promised to replace any defective medals.

● Winter World University Games 2025: Turin ● The 11-day Winter WUG opened in Turin on Monday, with 2,564 participants from 54 countries, competing in 11 sports and 92 events at six host cities in the Piedmont region.

The program has expanded to include Paralympic events in some sports; competitions will continue through the 23rd.

● International Olympic Committee ● In an interview with Agence France Presse, Morinari Watanabe (JPN), the head of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) explained that his idea to spread the Olympics to five cities at once, competing on a 24-hour cycle is simply an opening to a larger discussion:

“Whether it happens or doesn’t happen is not so important – we must open discussions and make new ideas. I give the first time some crazy idea, but I think young people have more ideas. My job is to open the door.”

He added that taking this approach would be the best for the athletes:

“It would be done across different time zones so they wouldn’t need to compete early in the morning or late at night. When it’s summer in the Northern Hemisphere it’s winter in the Southern Hemisphere, so you could have the marathon and the athletics events there.”

And it would make the Games local to all regions of the world: “Most people enjoyed the Paris Olympics, but looking at it from Asia it felt like something far away.”

The IOC Presidential election will take place on 20 March at the 144th IOC Session in Greece.

● Russia ● The Russian Anti-Doping Agency reported that it had 282 “whereabouts” violations in 2024, continuing a large number in that category. There were 375 in 2022, then down to 242 in 2023, now back up again.

RUSADA reported 102 doping violations in 2024 (these are violations, not the same as sanctions), an improvement from 2022 (135) and 2023 (150).

The agency also reported 141 applications for Therapeutic Use Exemptions in 2024, a significant increase from 2023 (117) and 78 in 2022.

World Curling extended the ban on Russian and Belarusian team through the end of the 2024-25 season. As for the future:

“The Board are continuing to monitor Member Association and athlete concerns and are monitoring the actions of other sporting bodies relating to the conflict and potential return to competition and reserve the right to revisit their decision if required.”

● Fencing ● Interesting continuation of a 2022 and 2024 program from USA Fencing, the 2025 Listening Tour:

“Whether you’re an athlete, parent, coach, referee or club owner, this tour is your opportunity to have meaningful, face-to-face conversations with USA Fencing’s leadership. [CEO] Phil [Andrews] and other members of the USA Fencing team are eager to hear from members across the country, and we’ve made it easy for everyone to participate with stops at some of the largest fencing events of the year – and even a virtual option.”

Five in-person events are scheduled for New York (February), Charlotte (February), Cleveland (March), Los Angeles (April) and Milwaukee (June), all but one tied to a major national competition. An online-only meeting is slated for June.

No way to know how many National Governing Body leaders go face-to-face with their membership around the country, but it’s an idea worth doing in every sport.

● Football ● “As soon as they do, we’ll put our bid in. And we’re going to win it.”

That’s U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone at the United Soccer Coaches Convention, confirming that the U.S. and Mexico will bid for the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

She said the federation is waiting for FIFA to provide the bidding documents so they can get started. U.S. Soccer initially intended to bid for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, but deferred to 2031 as the FIFA World Cup for men will be held in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. in 2026.

Brazil was selected as the host for 2027.

● Ski Mountaineering ● More of the same on the final day of the ISMF World Cup in Sahdag (AZE), as the winners of the Vertical Race won again in Monday’s Individual Race.

Swiss star Remi Bonnet won his third World Cup race of the five held this season, taking the men’s Individual in 1:28:23.8 to 1:31:51.1 for France’s Samuel Equy. The women’s race was closer, with France’s Axelle Gachet Mollaret winning – also her third in five World Cup races this season – in 1:30:35.8 to 1:32:12.6 over teammate Emily Harrop.

In the six races in Sahdag, the Swiss won all three men’s races and the French won all three women’s races. Overall, the French won seven of the 12 available medals, to five for the Swiss.

● Speedskating ● American stars Jordan Stolz and Brittany Bowe posted multiple wins at the U.S. Winter World Cup Qualifier in Kearns, Utah, with seven-time World Champion Stolz – still just 20 – taking four races by decisive margins.

On Friday, he won the men’s 500 m in 34.21, ahead of Cooper McLeod (34.61), then took the 1,000 m in 1:07.10, with McLeod at 1:07.97.

Stolz followed up on Saturday with a win in the second 500 m in 34.14 to 34.86 for Zach Stoppelmoor, and finally a 1,500 m victory in 1:43.39, with Emery Lehman second in 1:44.50.

Olympic Team Pursuit bronze medalist Ethan Cepuran won the men’s 5,000 m on Friday by more than 17 seconds in 6:20.39 and the 10,000 m in 13:34.40, by more than 34 seconds. He got a third win in Sunday’s first Mass Start race, in 8:04.61, ahead of Lehman (8:04.64).

Bowe, a six-time World Champion, claimed wins in the women’s 500 m and 1,000 m over two-time Worlds medalist Kimi Goetz: 37.93 to 38.08 in the 500 and 1:13.83 to 1:13.90 in the 1,000.

But Goetz came back to win the 1,500 m over Bowe on Saturday, 1:54.14 to 1:54.19. National team member Greta Myers won the 3,000 m in a lifetime best of 4:03.68 and the first Mass Start race in 9:29.13. Giorgia Birkeland won the 5,000 m in 7:29.83.

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LOS ANGELES 2028: L.A. Metro sees $200 million in Federal grants possible, pursuing $3 billion more for 2028 Games

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

A lengthy memorandum prepared for now-canceled Wednesday meeting of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Agency’s Ad Hoc 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games Committee once again stressed:

“Funding for the essential Games-specific projects is currently the most significant challenge facing Metro and the [Games Mobility Executives] partners.”

Metro, the lead agency for most of the public transit needs for the 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games, has been in an all-out sprint to obtain funding support from Washington for six primary areas of action:

● Games Enhanced Transit Service ~ added buses to support Games spectators;
● Mobility Hubs ~ to connect communities with the Games bus services;
● Countywide bus-only lanes;
● Key station support and light-rail improvements;
● Wayfinding support;
● Heat mitigation.

There has been some good news, as the report explained:

“In 2024, staff has been working with the appropriate congressional committees to explore how the FY2025 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development [THUD] bill might include funding for mobility-related projects and initiatives tied to the upcoming 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“Staff is pleased that the U.S. Senate’s FY2025 THUD bill included $200 million for Games-related mobility projects. Likewise, staff are encouraged that Congressman Robert Garcia [D-Long Beach] circulated a letter on August 9, 2024, signed by 17 members of the House, urging House leaders to include a similar amount of funding in their FY2025 THUD spending measure.

“Over the next several months, staff will work with House and Senate stakeholders to ensure that the $200 million for Games-related mobility projects is included in the final FY2025 THUD bill adopted by Congress and signed into law by the President.”

Metro is continuing to press for much more money for the Fiscal Year 2026 – 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026 – as the memo details:

(The references to GME, or Games Mobility Executives, is to a working group of government and transit agencies, and the LA28 organizers.)

“Metro has and will continue to work with the federal government to include funding for the GME priority workstreams in the FY2026 Budget. Most recently, on November 21, 2024, the Metro Board conveyed a letter addressed to incoming President Donald Trump urging his administration to include $3.2 billion for GME priority workstreams in the FY2026 Budget that will be issued early next year.

“The requests outlined in this correspondence and in accompanying fact sheets include funding for legacy and essential Games-specific projects, such as the [Games Enhanced Transit Service] and [Games Route Network]. Funding for the essential Games-specific projects is currently the most significant challenge facing Metro and the GME partners.

“This is analogous to the challenges faced by the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. This was resolved, in part, by Congress appropriating funding identified in the FY2002 Budget released by then-President George W. Bush. Staff will work with the Metro Board, our Los Angeles County Congressional Delegation, and key stakeholders to support our FY2026 Budget funding request.”

A further level of clarity is being sought by Metro vis-a-vis the LA28 organizing committee, with a formalization to come later this year:

“Metro is preparing to be the primary mobility service provider for the 2028 Games spectators and workforce. Metro has dedicated resources and aligned with the preliminary roles and responsibilities identified in the [Games Mobility Executive coordination group] RACI [Responsible, Accountable, Consult, and Inform matrix].

“However, to bring greater certainty and commitment from LA28 so that Metro can continue planning and delivering the projects and services for the 2028 Games transportation, Metro and LA28 are working together to develop and execute a Memorandum of Understanding by the summer of 2025.”

The Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Games received Federal transportation funding support of $1.3 billion from the U.S. government. While the LA28 organizers are fully responsible for the transportation of Games participants – athletes, coaches, officials, news media – it is not responsible for spectator transportation.

Due to the fires still burning in the Los Angeles area, Metro’s Ad Hoc committee meeting on the 2028 Games was canceled, but the agenda and presentations are available.

Responses to Metro’s massive Request for Proposal for architectural and engineering services to support the Olympic and Paralympic Games program in 2028 are due tomorrow (14th). Metro staff, in its report for Wednesday’s meeting, promised more details on the bus support systems soon:

“Metro staff is preparing a [Games Enhanced Transit Service] Strategic Roadmap to fully respond to the Board Motion in April 2025 with greater detail … The GETS Strategic Roadmap will identify off-ramps and scenarios for different levels of funding that may materialize in the future, including the FY25 and FY26 budget requests.”

There is concern within Metro whether the incoming Trump Administration will support the funding requests; the Biden Administration did not include them in its funding process. But the reports indicate that the planning is advancing to see how much can be done with what is or will be available.

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LANE ONE: Los Angeles is hurting, but the 2028 Olympics has not been hurt; we’ll know more by Wednesday

By
Rich Perelman
-
Devastation from the Palisades Fire where a home once stood (Photo: Cal Fire).

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≡ THE LOS ANGELES FIRES & 2028 ≡

I was born and spent my first 59 years in Los Angeles. The horrific images of fire and devastation from the Palisades Fire are of places I know well and of where friends live, whose homes have been damaged or destroyed.

This unimaginable destruction has come to an area – Southern California – which has paid much more attention to earthquakes than fire. The 1971 San Fernando quake (6.6) killed 65 and the 1994 Northridge quake (6.7) killed 57 and caused as much as $40 billion in damage.

But there is also damage being inflicted by mis-information and dis-information on multiple sides, including about the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. Having been a Vice President of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for the transformational 1984 Games and been deeply involved in 20 multi-day, multi-site events in my career, there is no doubt in my mind of this:

The devastating 2025 Southern California fires pose no threat to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The most ridiculous commentary I have seen so far is from an Egyptian “investigative journalist” who posted a 10 January story headlined, “LA is burning—should it still host the 2028 Olympics?”

The story goes on to show a list of the 20 largest fires in California history and claim that seven of the top 20 were in July, when the 2028 Games will take place. The list actually shows two, both in Northern California counties from 500-600 miles north of Los Angeles. Maybe he was absent from some math classes, and California geography probably wasn’t a priority subject in Egyptian schools.

This kind of trash has shown up multiple times in multiple places over the last few days, but there are some truths that can be reported about the fires and the 2028 Games. Let’s try this again:

The devastating 2025 Southern California fires pose no threat to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

At least so far. The historically high Santa Ana winds that propelled the Palisades and Eaton fires into storms – 70 to 100 miles per hour in places on 7 January, when the fires exploded – have calmed as this is written on Sunday evening (12th). There is concern about winds increasing to as much as half that speed late Monday (13th) and on Tuesday (14th). By mid-day Wednesday (15th), conditions should resume a more normal shape and the biggest dangers for fire spread will have subsided.

On Sunday, the Los Angeles Fire Department issued a updated alert, rolling back an evacuation order to an evacuation warning on the eastern edge of the Palisades Fire that was moving toward the Brentwood section of west Los Angeles and nearing the UCLA campus, site of the Olympic Village in 2028. It’s not moving that way at present, and if this week’s winds can be managed, the danger will likely be over.

There are other reasons why any hysteria over the 2028 Games and the Palisades and Eaton Fires is misplaced:

● Not one of the planned venues for the 2028 Games has been directly impacted by the fires. The only one close to the fire area is Riviera Country Club, slated to host golf, which is in the Palisades area. But it has not been hit as yet.

● The reason Los Angeles can host the 2028 Games is its wealth of facilities. If Riviera were to be impacted, there are more than a dozen other championship courses in the area. For the 1984 Games, only three new venues were built, for cycling, swimming and shooting; two are still in use and the third was turned into a multi-venue complex for a half-dozen sports.

For 2028, nothing is being built and for almost every venue, there are others not being used that could be if desired. Even the irreplaceable UCLA Village was one of two villages in 1984: the other was at the University of Southern California and it’s still there.

● By the way, the no. 1-ranked UCLA women’s basketball team was scheduled to play Penn State at Pauley Pavilion on campus on Wednesday. On Sunday, it was announced that the game has been moved to the Walter Pyramid at Long Beach State, just in case and in part due to continuing poor area air quality due to the fires. No problem.

● The Olympic and Paralympic Games are a long way off, relative to the impact of the fires. At Riviera Country Club, the focus is not on 2028, but on the annual PGA Tour’s Genesis Open, scheduled for 13-16 February. The PGA Tour said Thursday, “At this point, it is premature to discuss the potential impact on the Genesis Invitational.”

And well prior to 2028, the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open will be held at Riviera. But no one is talking about that, right?

● The Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area, now slated for temporary installations for archery, BMX cycling and skateboarding is in Encino and could be threatened. But the totally temporary nature of the 2028 sports means there is virtually no infrastructure needed, at all.

However, there will be impacts on the 2028 Games from the fires, no doubt. Some of these will include:

● The LA28 organizers will see the costs for insurance for the Games rise significantly (by millions), partly from increased risks, but also because major insurers will be spending billions to pay policy holders from the fires.

● Costs will be added for the organizing committee for fire prevention and readiness for the Games, and local fire chiefs will offer no breaks or leniency on permitting and emergency readiness for the temporary installations needed for the Games.

● Los Angeles will rebuild, and the politicians have already started pointing to 2028 as a time to show off the recovery. California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) told NBC’s Meet The Press today:

“Not to be naively optimistic, [having the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Games] only reinforces the imperative moving quickly.”

And Newsom, who actively campaigned against President-elect Donald Trump, praised him:

“President of the United States, Donald Trump, to his credit, was helpful in getting the Olympics to the United States of America, to get it down here to L.A. We thank him for that. This is an opportunity for him to shine, for this country to shine, for California and this community to shine.”

He added that a recovery plan is in the early stages of development: “We’re already organizing a ‘Marshall Plan,’ we already have a team looking to reimagine L.A. 2.0 and we’re making sure everyone is included, not just the folks on the coast, the people here who were ravaged by this disaster.”

What the prophets of disaster forget – they weren’t here, but I was – is that the area recovered quickly after the 1994 Northridge quake. A section of the Santa Monica Freeway – a key artery – collapsed, but was restored within three months, earlier than expected. The Northridge area required much longer to recover, but it has; anyone who has seen the lines at Brent’s Delicatessen in recent weeks can bear witness. The scale of the fire destruction in the Palisades will require years, but it will come, albeit with much frustration and pain.

The politics of the fires will burn considerably longer than the fires themselves. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was out of the country last Tuesday and has received considerable anger about the fires; a petition against her has gathered more than 100,000 signatures. Perhaps more damaging was a post on X by Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, who was himself evacuated from his home:

“Maybe the lesson we learned out of this catastrophe in California is to now vote not based on left or right or D versus R but perhaps based on competent or no experience in operating a job !! We have to elect based on competence…yes competence matters.”

Bass, 71, is up for re-election in 2026 and how the rebuilding from the fires is handled will be a key campaign point. She has, up to this point, been quite popular for a dedicated fight against the top issue in the area: homelessness.

The 2028 Games may be challenged by any number of issues, not the least of which are wars, trade tensions, politics of all kinds and interference from all sides. And please do not forget about earthquakes.

But, unless the winds come back in a big way on Monday and Tuesday, the 2025 fires in Southern California will not be one of them.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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PANORAMA: Former WADA V.P. asks Norway not to pay dues; U.S. ski star Macuga wins Super-G, Vonn fourth in St. Anton!

By
Rich Perelman
-
The newest U.S. ski star, Lauren Macuga, seen here in 2024 after her first top-10 World Cup finish (Photo: U.S. Ski & Snowboard).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2004: Athens ● A request for proposal has been issued by the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund for the repair of the iconic roof of the Olympic Stadium and the adjacent velodrome.

Both designed by Spanish starchitect Santiago Calatrava, reports of continuing failures of the stadium roof led to support from the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Fund, which will pay for the project, with an expected cost of more than €78 million (€1 = $1.03 U.S.).

The job is complicated by the requirements that the roof repairs do not shut down the facilities and allow events to continue, and to be completed within 14 months. Bids are due in mid-February.

The roof was declared unsafe in 2023 due to rust, and removing it was considered, but it will now be restored.

● Anti-Doping ● Following the decision of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy to withhold its 2024 dues contribution of $3.625 million, former WADA Vice President Linda Helleland, a member of the Norwegian Parliament, asked the Minister of Culture Lubna Jaffrey to do the same in 2025.

Norway paid NOK 2.2 million in dues to WADA in 2024, (~$191,708 U.S.); Helleland was a WADA Vice President from 2016-19.

● Russia ● Doping continues to be an issue in Russia as the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) reported 102 doping violations in 2024 (these are violations, not the same as sanctions).

This is an improvement on the number from 2022 (135) and 2023 (150). Among the positives, steroids, diuretics and meldonium were the largest contributors. RUSADA collected 11,070 samples in 2024, up from 11,091 in 2023 and 11,1053 in 2022.

Although not an exact comparison, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency posted 35 sanctions in 2024, and 40 in 2023.

● Alpine Skiing ● Triple Olympic medalist Federica Brignone (ITA) won her third race of the season at the FIS women’s World Cup in St. Anton (SUI), this time in the Downhill on Saturday, the 30th career World Cup gold, but first-ever Downhill gold!

She started 14th and took the lead at 1:16.08, and no one could get close. Czech star Ester Ledecka, the surprise 2018 Olympic Super-G winner, started 27th and came in second at 1:16.26, but was passed by Swiss Malorie Blanc, 21, who won her first World Cup medal in 1:16.15 for the silver.

American Lindsey Vonn, 40, competing in her first Downhill since 2019, finished a very creditable sixth (1:16.66), starting from the 32nd position. It’s her best finish in a Downhill since March of 2018. Fellow American Lauren Macuga continued her solid season in ninth (1:16.87).

Sunday’s Super-G was even better, as Macuga, 22, starting 17th, roared through the course and took the lead at 1:17.51, replacing Stephanie Venier (AUT: 1:18.19), who took the lead as the no. 15 starter. And no one got close.

Italy’s Brignone, who started seventh, took third at 1:18.43 and Vonn, starting 31st, finished fourth in 1:18.75.

It’s the first-ever World Cup medal and win for Macuga, who scored her first top-10 finish last season at Zauchensee (AUT) and was fourth this season in the Beaver Creek Downhill on 14 December. Now, she’s a World Cup winner.

At the FIS men’s World Cup in Abelboden (SUI), France’s Olympic Slalom champ Clement Noel got his third win of the season – all in his specialty – moving from third to first on the second run with a combined time of 1:51.53. He had to sweat out the two skiers who were faster on the first run, but leader Manuel Feller (AUT) failed to finish and Linus Strasser (GER) faded to 23rd and finish fourth overall. It’s Noel’s 13th career World Cup win.

Defending World Cup champion Marco Odermatt (SUI) won his third World Cup Giant Slalom in a row on Sunday, winning by 0.02 seconds over countryman Loic Meillard (2:27.75). River Radamus was the top American in 10th (2:29.93). After 17 of 38 events this season, Odermatt now has a 730-574 lead on Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen, trying for a fourth consecutive seasonal title.

● Athletics ● The men’s and women’s races at the USATF Cross Country Championships in Lubbock, Texas were both won decisively, with margins of nine and 23 seconds. Tokyo Steeple Olympian Benard Keter won the men’s 10 km race in 29:43, well ahead of Joseph Berriatuna (29:52) and Anthony Camerieri (29:59).

Carrie Ellwood won the women’s title by 23 seconds in 34:22, with Cailie Logue second (34:45) and Katie Camarena third (35:13). Both races had very small fields: 27 for the men and 12 for the women.

Sweden’s 2022 Worlds bronze medalist Perseus Karlstrom dominated the USATF 35 km Walk Championships in Santee, California, winning in 2:27:19 – his third-fastest ever – well ahead of Mexico’s Ever Palma (2:37:46). Third was Tokyo Olympian Nick Christie (2:45:31), the 2025 U.S. champion, ahead of Jordan Crawford (2:46:20).

Mexico took the top places in the women’s race, with Valeria Ortuno the winner at 2:51:33 and Nadia Gonzalez (3:02:49) second. The U.S. winner was Katie Burnett at 3:05:10, beating Rio Olympian Miranda Melville (3:05:20) and two-time Olympian Maria Michta-Coffey (3:09:57).

● Badminton ● The top seeds took the Singles titles at the BWF World Tour Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur, with China’s Yu Qui Shi defeating Anders Antonsen (DEN), 21-8, 21-15, in the men’s final and Se Young An (KOR) sweeping aide second-seed Zhi Yi Wang (CHN), 21-7, 21-7.

Korea got a second win in the men’s Doubles, with Won Ho Kim and Seung Jae Seo taking down China’s Bo Yang Chen and Yi Liu, 19-21, 21-12, 21-12. Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto (JPN) won the women’s Doubles over Yi Fan Jia and Shu Xian Zhang (CHN), 17-21, 21-15, 21-15, and Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supisara Paewsampran (THA) won the Mixed Doubles, 21-13, 19-21, 21-18 over Yan Zhe Feng and Dong Ping Huang (CHN).

● Biathlon ● France dominated the IBU World Cup in Oberhof (GER), winning three of the four individual races!

Paula Botet won her first World Cup medal in the women’s 7.5 km Sprint, winning in 22:52.0 (0 penalties), over Maren Kirkeeide (NOR: 23:23.9/1). Then four-time Worlds medalist Lou Jeanmonnot won the 10 km Pursuit in 31:14.9 (1), for her third win of the season! Kirkeeide was second again (31:33.0/2) and Beijing 2022 silver winner Elvira Oeberg (SWE: 31:41.1/1) was third.

France’s double Beijing 2022 gold medalist Quentin Fillon Maillet got the third win, taking the 10 km Sprint in 23:36.2 (0) to lead a French sweep, with Fabien Claude (23:51.1/0) second and Emilien Jacquelin (23:59.3/1) in third. It was the 17th career World Cup gold for Fillon Maillet.

Norway’s Sturla Holm Laegreid took the men’s 12.5 km Pursuit, leading a Norse sweep, in 33:25.5 (2), just ahead of Tarjei Boe (33:30.7/1) and young brother Johannes Thingnes Boe (33:45.2/3).

Finland (Tero Seppala and Suvi Minkkinen) won the Single Mixed Relay over Fillon Maillet and Potet, 39:17.1 (5) to 39:22.9 (8). Sweden out-dueled France to win the Mixed Relay, 1:04:24.1 to 1:04:36.8.

● Bobsled & Skeleton ● German sledders continued dominating the IBSF World Cup in St. Moritz (SUI), as double Olympic champ Francesco Friedrich and Beijing 2022 runner-up Johannes Lochner tied for the Two-Man gold, both at 2:12.21; Lochner made up 0.05 on the second run to get the tie. Adam Ammour made it a sweep for Germany in third (2:12.28); Frank Del Duca and Carsten Vissering finished eighth in 2:13.50.

In the Four-Man on Sunday, Lochner’s sled was in the lead after the first run, but Friedrich had the best second run and won, 2:09.13 to 2:09.36. Del Duca was 16th (2:11.60).

The Germans swept the Two-Woman race, with 2023 World Champion Kim Kalicki (and Leonie Fiebig) winning in 2:16.85, ahead of Olympic champs Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi (2:16.90) and Lisa Buckwitz and Neele Schuten (2:17.27). The U.S. went 4-5 with Elana Meyers Taylor and Sadie McMullen (2:17.84) and Kaillie Armbruster Humphries and Jasmine Jones (2:17.87).

The women’s Monobob was canceled due to warm weather conditions and will be held on 24 January instead, also at St. Moritz.

In Skeleton, Britain’s 2023 World Champion Matt Weston got his second straight win and took the overall lead with one race to go in 2:14.61, ahead of Olympic champ Christopher Grotheer (2:15.15). Austin Florian of the U.S. was fifth in 2:15.95.

Three-time European champ Janine Flock got a second straight win in the women’s racing and took the seasonal lead, in 2:18.65, ahead of Kim Meylemans (BEL: 2:18.83) and Brazil’s Nicole Rocha Silveira (2:18.92). Americans Kelly Curtis and Mystique Ro finished 7-9 in 2:19.80 and 2:19.87.

In the Mixed Team race, Jacqueline Pfeifer and Axel Jungk (GER) won in 2:23.91, just ahead of the American pair of Ro and Florian (2:24.04).

● Fencing ● Italy’s 2018 World Champion, Alessio Foconi claimed his sixth career FIE men’s Foil World Cup gold in Paris (FRA) on Saturday, defeating 2016 Olympic silver winner Alexander Massialas in the final, 15-10.

Massialas had won eight out of nine World Cup finals coming, but Foconi was too strong. For the American, it was his 18th career World Cup medal.

Italy won the team title, 45-44 against Japan, with the U.S. (Chase Emmer, Nick Itkin, Massialas, Gerek Meinhardt) getting one of the bronze medals.

A new American star arrived at the FIE women’s Foil World Cup in Hong Kong, as 15-year-old Jaelyn Liu – the 2023 U.S. National Junior Champion – won the women’s title, defeating Martina Sinigalia (ITA) in the final by 15-12. Liu got by Italy’s 2014 Worlds runner-up Martina Batini in the semis and won her first international medal! Liu moved from 93rd to 6th in the FIE standings with the win.

Italy won the team event over the U.S. (Delphine Devore, Lee Keifer, Lauren Scruggs, Maia Weintraub), 45-27.

At the FIE Sabre Grand Prix in Tunis (TUN), Korea’s Sangwon Park took the men’s title with a 15-12 win over France’s Sebastien Patrice. It’s the first career Grand Prix gold for Park, 24.

The women’s gold went to Japan’s two-time World Champion, Misaki Emura, a 15-13 winner over Michela Battiston of Italy.

● Freestyle Skiing ● New Zealand’s 20-year-old Luca Harrington won his second FIS World Cup Big Air in a row in Krieschberg (AUT), scoring 187.75 to edge home favorite and 2021 World Junior champ Matej Svancer (178.75) and Leo Landroe (NOR: 178.50).

Italy’s 17-year-old Flora Tabanelli got her first career World Cup gold in the women’s competition, winning with 175.50, ahead of Finn Anni Karava (173.50), who won her first World Cup medal at age 24. Tabanelli is also the only skier to medal in all four Big Air events this season!

● Ice Hockey ● For the 14th time in 17 editions, the IIHF Women’s U-18 World Championship in Vantaa (FIN) came down to the U.S. and Canada in the final, with the Canadians posting a 3-0 victory for their eighth title in this tournament.

The team were scoreless in the first period, then Calleigh Tiller got a power-play goal at 8:06 of the second period, followed by a second at 9:03 of the third by Dorothy Copetti. The U.S. could not score and the Canadians got an empty-netter from Stryker Zablocki at 18:23 of the final period. Marilou Grenier turned away 14 shots in goal for Canada, who had 29 shots against Morgan Stickney.

The U.S. edged Sweden, 2-1, in their semi, while Canada sailed by the Czech Republic, 4-2. The Czechs took the bronze, 2-1, in the third-place match.

In the 14 finals with the U.S. and Canada in this tournament, each has won seven.

● Luge ● Reigning World Champion Max Langenhan (GER) got his second win of the season in the FIL World Cup in Altenberg (GER), taking the men’s title by 1:48.210 to 1:48.440 over countryman and two-time Olympic champ Felix Loch. Jonny Gustafson was the top American, in 13th (1:49.804).

Olympic relay bronze medalists Martins Bots and Roberts Plume (LAT) got the gold in the men’s Doubles for their second win this season, edging three-time Olympic winners Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt (GER), 1:23.900 to 1:24.023. Americans Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa finished sixth in 1:24.405.

Worlds bronze medalist Madeleine Egle (AUT) took the women’s Singles, winning both runs and finishing at 1:45.642, ahead of Beijing 2022 runner-up Anna Berreiter (GER: 1:45.792) and Merle Fraebel (GER: 1:45.905). Ashley Farquharson was the top American, in sixth (1:46.108).

The women’s Doubles was the fourth straight win for Austrians Selina Egle and Lara Kipp, finishing in 1:25.077, just beating two-time World Champions Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal (GER: 1:25.474) and Americans Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby (1:25.633). It was the third medal of the season for the Americans; teammates Maya Chan and Sophia Gordon, were eighth (1:26.309).

● Ski Mountaineering ● At the second ISMF World Cup of the season, in Shahdag (AZE), French star Emily Harrop got her 18th career World Cup gold in the women’s Sprint 2:28.2, beating Marianne Fatton (SUI: 3:02.5) and Celia Perillat-Pessey (FRA: 3:08.3).

France’s five-time World Champion Axelle Gachet-Mollaret won the Vertical Race in a rout in 22:08.0, ahead of Johanna Hiemer (AUT: 23:00.6) and Harrop (23:10.5).

The 2019 World Champion, Arno Lietha, led a Swiss 1-2 in the men’s Sprint, winning in 2:27.7, barely ahead of teammate Robin Bussard (2:28.5).

Four-time World Champion Remi Bonnet (SUI) won the men’s Vertical Race in 18:09.2, a half-minute ahead of Christof Hochenwarter (AUT: 18:39.2).

The Individual race will be held on Monday.

● Snowboard ● The home fans were happy at the FIS World Cup Big Air in Krieschberg (AUT), as Austria’s two-time Olympic champion Anna Gasser took her 13th World Cup win over Japan’s Reira Iwabuchi, 167,75 to 157.75. British teen star Mia Brookes – 17 – won the bronze at 148.00.

China’s Wenlong Yang got his first career World Cup win in the men’s final at 182.50, just ahead of Japan’s 19-year-old Taiga Hasegawa (180.25) and Kira Kimura (20: 168.75).

Italy’s Maurizio Bormolini, 30, took his sixth career FIS World Cup win and his second of the season in the Parallel Giant Slalom in Scuol (SUI), out-dueling Austrian Dominik Burgstaller in the final. Burgstaller, 23, won his first career World Cup medal!

● Tennis ● The appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency of the “No Fault or Negligence” ruling given to Italian star Jannik Sinner will be heard on 16 April in Lausanne. The Independent Tennis Integrity Agency ruled in August that the two low-level positives for the steroid Clostebol at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California came from an over-the-counter spray purchased in Italy and applied by his physiotherapist to heal a small wound.

Where the ITIA excused the two positives at Indian Wells, WADA is asking for a suspension of 1-2 years.

The case, and Polish star Iga Swiatek’s one-month suspension for an August positive for trimetazidine – again from an over-the-counter product – have riled the tennis world with questions of whether the doping process is being taken seriously enough in the sport.

● Water Polo ● Defending champion Spain won the World Aquatics men’s World Cup in Bucharest (ROU), taking the final from four-time winner Hungary, 15-9.

Spain, second in its group, won its play-in game, 14-9, over Serbia, then beat Croatia (15-14) and Montenegro (15-8) to reach the final. The Hungarians won Group A, then beat Georgia, 21-10, in the quarters and Greece, 20-10, in the semis.

The U.S. lost to Montenegro in the quarters by 15-8 and eventually finished seventh.

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LOS ANGELES FIRES: IOC’s Bach says Gary Hall Jr.’s 10 Olympic medals will be replaced; swimmer shares video of destroyed home site

By
Rich Perelman
-
U.S. Olympic swim star Gary Hall Jr. on the podium at Athens 2004 (Photo: GoFundMe appeal page)

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≡ SCENE & HEARD ≡

“We are in full solidarity with the citizens of Los Angeles and full of admiration for the tireless work of the firefighters and the security forces. Currently the full focus must be on the fight against the fires and the protection of the people and property.

“We have also learned that a great Olympian, Gary Hall Jr., has lost his medals in the fire. The IOC will provide him with replicas.”

That’s from International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER) on X early this morning, Pacific time, with good news for American swim star Gary Hall Jr. amid the continuing fires in Southern California.

The hardest-hit area has been Pacific Palisades, where Hall was renting a home which was destroyed when the Palisades Fire exploded on 7 January and has consumed 23,713 acres and 5,000 structures as of Sunday morning.

On a GoFundMe page for Hall Jr., his situation was described:

“Gary Jr. lost his home and his livelihood in the devastating Palisades Fire on January 7th. Gary saw flames out his window while he was at home before collecting his dog, Puddles, his insulin, a painting of his grandfather, and a religious wooden piece his daughter Gigi gave him and drove towards the ocean as quickly as possible.

“He was forced to leave behind everything else he owned, such as irreplaceable family heirlooms, photos, and more. He has also most likely lost his ten Olympic medals, but nothing can take away his spirit that won those medals. Gary was renting a home located right in the middle of the Palisades Fire which had a pool where he taught swim lessons to children through his business, Sea Monkeys Swimming.”

He eventually got to San Diego to stay with family last Wednesday. On Saturday, he posted a short video and added:

“Here it is. Or rather, here it isn’t. My home, minus the home. Not gonna lie, it was tough to see this. National Guard is still keeping residents out of the area. I’ll head over with a shovel when they open it up and go digging for gold, like the California prospectors from a couple centuries back.

“Thank you again to so many people. I feel the love. It means so much. Please allow me time to respond to those who’ve reached out. I’ve been a bit distracted lately.”

The GoFundMe appeal has had excellent response, with $73,620 raised from a $50,000 goal as of Sunday morning.

Bach’s support to replace the Olympic medals will set the IOC staff to work; Hall Jr. won 10 medals from 1996 through 2004:

● Atlanta 1996 (4): Gold medals in the men’s 4×100 m Free, men’s 4×100 m Medley, silvers in the 50 m and 100 m Freestyles.

● Sydney 2000 (4): Golds in the 50 m Free and 4×100 m Medley, silver in the 4×100 m Free, bronze in the 100 m Free.

● Athens 2004 (2): Gold in the 50 m Free, bronze in the 4×100 m Free.

Now 50, Hall also won six medals (3-3-0) in the FINA World Championships and three Pan American Games medals (1-1-1) from 1995 to 2007. He was a showman on the deck, often with a shadow-boxing routine that made him a popular figure.

He posted an Instagram video on Saturday showing the complete destruction of the home, with added graphics reading:

“Heartbroken
“Thank you to all who have reached out expressing sympathy and support”

He added in the text section:

“Having love is more important than having things. All worldly possessions are gone. Home is gone. Business is gone. The support from the community is so appreciated. Thank you to all who have generously contributed to the GoFundMe campaign to help me get back on my feet.”

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PANORAMA: L.A. Council’s Park pans “under-investment” in infrastructure ahead of ‘28; two final options for LA28 surfing

By
Rich Perelman
-
Los Angeles City Council member Traci Park on an appearance on NBC4 Los Angeles (screen shot).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Los Angeles 2028 ● “So much of our beloved Palisades is just gone.”

That’s Traci Park, the Los Angeles City Council member for the 11th District, which includes fire-destroyed Pacific Palisades on the far-western edge of the city, on Wednesday in an interview with KNBC (channel 4).

Asked about the response from residents and business owners who have lost homes, offices and shops, she acknowledged anger, frustration and not knowing what the future will bring. She added:

“It is also frustration that stems from chronic under-investment in our critical infrastructure and our public safety partners.

“Here in the City of Los Angeles, we just recently received a standard-of-coverage report that indicates that here, we need at least 62 new fire stations, in the City of Los Angeles, to meet just our average daily need.

“We do not have the staffing and the resources that we need on a daily basis; the demands we are putting on our public safety resources is absolutely untenable, and we can’t continue this way.

“We have 100 fire engines and ambulances out of service at the mechanic’s yard because we don’t have mechanics to repair them.”

Park is the Chair of the Council’s Ad Hoc Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and added:

“We are not staffed to deal with this level of emergency, or this number of emergencies spread around a geographic footprint like we have in this City and the County of Los Angeles. And as we look forward to the [FIFA] World Cup in 2026 and the Olympics in 2028, this is a painful and tragic reminder of how much work we have ahead.”

Surfing site TheInertia.com reported on the December general meeting of the International Surfing Association, with confirmation that the surfing site for 2028 will be either Huntington Beach in Orange County or Lower Tresles at the north end of San Diego County.

The ISA is asking for an increase in the number of competitors in the existing Shortboard events from 48 to 72 for 2028, and has asked for Longboard to be added, with 32 athletes, to the crowded schedule with 35 or 36 sports already on the program and 11,242 athletes expected, without any further additions.

● Anti-Doping ● While the U.S. government has declined to pay its 2024 dues to the World Anti-Doping Agency, Russia reported that it sent its 2023 government dues to WADA of about $1.21 million, according to Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev:

“We sent WADA the fee for 2023 on December 19. This is more than €1.1 million. Given the difficulties with international transactions, the receipt is expected in January. We are closely monitoring the situation.”

The Russian news agency TASS reported Russia’s 2024 dues at $1,408,094.

● Russia ● The Russian government adopted a plan for national sports development for the next five years, with the first goal to return its athletes to international competitions. According to TASS:

“Among other tasks is the formation of a positive image of Russia in the international sports community as a state with high sporting achievements and an active fight against doping. The development of international sports cooperation must be ensured on conditions that ensure equal and mutually beneficial multilateral cooperation, as well as full protection of the national interests of the Russian Federation.

“The Russian national team has been tasked with entering the top three in the unofficial medal count of the Olympics by 2030.”

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, who headed the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games organizing committee, will head the effort.

● Athletics ● For those who use the World Athletics scoring tables for comparing performances across events, a new edition has been published for 2025 and is available for download from the federation Web site.

● Ice Hockey ● The U.S. advanced to the semifinals of the 17th IIHF Women’s U-18 World Championship, being played in Vantaa (FIN).

The American women won their three group games by a combined 14-0 to win Group A, and Canada took Group B at 3-0 (16-3 on goals). In the playoff quarters, the U.S. squashed Slovakia, 9-1 and Canada crushed Japan by 17-0.

In the Saturday semis, the U.S. will play Sweden (3-1), with the Americans winning the group game, 3-0. Canada will play the Czech Republic, having won their group game by 5-0. The gold medal final will be on Sunday.

● Swimming ● Gary Hall, Jr., a 10-time Olympic medalist in 1996-2000-2004, had to evacuate his home in the Palisades area of Los Angeles due to the raging fires on Tuesday and lost the house, likely including his medals.

A GoFundMe page to support Hall collected 41,753 of a $50,000 goal by 4 p.m. Pacific time on Thursday and included:

“Gary Jr. lost his home and his livelihood in the devastating Palisades Fire on January 7th. Gary saw flames out his window while he was at home before collecting his dog, Puddles, his insulin, a painting of his grandfather, and a religious wooden piece his daughter Gigi gave him and drove towards the ocean as quickly as possible.

“He was forced to leave behind everything else he owned, such as irreplaceable family heirlooms, photos, and more. He has also most likely lost his ten Olympic medals, but nothing can take away his spirit that won those medals. Gary was renting a home located right in the middle of the Palisades Fire which had a pool where he taught swim lessons to children through his business, Sea Monkeys Swimming.”

Hall Jr., now 50, won two Olympic relay golds in 1996, Sydney 2000 golds in the 50 m Free and the 4×100 m Free Relay, and the 50 m Free at Athens 2004. He also won three World Championships relay golds in 1994 and 1998.

● Water Polo ● The World Aquatics Water Polo World Cup is underway, with the men’s Division I tournament in Bucharest (ROU) and the U.S. as one of three group winners.

The Americans went 2-0 in Group C, beating Japan by 19-17 and Romania by 10-7. The U.S. advanced to the quarterfinals and will play Montenegro (1-1) in the lower bracket and with a win, the survivor of Croatia-Spain. The upper bracket features Hungary vs. Georgia and Greece vs. Japan. The gold-medal game is on Sunday (12th).

The women’s Division I tourney, with the U.S., starts on 14 January.

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MEMORABILIA: St. Louis 1904 Olympic gold medal already at $168,209 at auction, with a week to go!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Amazing: a well-preserved 1904 St. Louis Olympic gold for the 110 m hurdles, won by Fred Schule of the U.S., now on auction! (Photo: RR Auction)

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≡ RR AUCTION ONGOING ≡

A beautifully-preserved gold medal from the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis was expected to bring as much as $150,000 in the ongoing RR Auction of Olympic memorabilia that will end on 16 January.

It has already zoomed past that with a week to go, drawing 14 bids so far and standing at $168,209!

St. Louis was the first Olympics to use the now-traditional gold, silver and bronze-medal scheme for the top three placers. This specific medal was presented to winner Fred Schule of the U.S., who led an American sweep.

Minted in New York, the medal is in excellent condition and includes part of its original, four-color ribbon and gold clasp, and is offered in its original, worn, leather case, reading “Medal for Olympic Games, Universal Exposition, St. Louis U.S.A., F. J. V. Skiff, Dir. of Exhibits, Jas. E. Sullivan, Chief.”

The response to the medal has been remarkable, said RR Auction chief operating officer Bobby Eaton, “It is the BEST 1904 medal to ever come to auction.”

The 384-item auction has eight other items already at $10,000 or more; auctions usually draw the heaviest interest very close to the end. But so far:

● $27,500: 1968 Grenoble Winter Olympic torch (one of 33 made)
● $22,987: 2024 Paris Olympic bronze medal for women’s wrestling
● $22,000: 1998 Nagano Winter Olympic gold medal for ski jumping
● $16,500: 1994 Albertville Winter Olympic torch (one of 130 made)
● $15,700: 2012 London gold medal for men’s volleyball
● $13,200: 1956 Stockholm Olympic equestrian gold medal
● $11,000: 1908 London Olympic gold medal for field hockey
● $10,000: 1932 Los Angeles Olympic gold medal with box

The auction also includes a 2024 Paris Olympic torch, now at $8,860 after eight bids, and a lot more. A unique, four-torch collection from the late Phil Coles, an International Olympic Committee member from Australia, from Rio 2016 and Winter Games from 2002-2018-2022 is currently at a modest $3,025!

Bidding ends on 16 January and you must be registered to bid.

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GENDER: Federal Court strikes down Biden Administration Title IX rules allowing locker room access by “gender identity”

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ COURT REPORT ≡

“Put simply, there is nothing in the text or statutory design of Title IX to suggest that discrimination ‘on the basis of sex’ means anything other than it has since Title IX’s inception – that recipients of federal funds under Title IX may not treat a person worse than another similarly-situated individual on the basis of the person’s sex, i.e., male or female.”

That’s from a 15-page order from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, released Thursday, striking down a U.S. Department of Education rule which expanded Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 to allow “gender identity” as the basis for discrimination claims.

Granting a motion for summary judgement from the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia West Virginia and others, Judge Danny Reeves further wrote that the entire rule submitted by the Department of Education was invalid and unconstitutional (citations omitted):

● “As this Court and others have explained, expanding the meaning of ‘on the basis of sex’ to include ‘gender identity’ turns Title IX on its head. While Title IX sought to level the playing field between men and women, it is rife with exceptions that allow males and females to be separated based on the enduring physical differences between the sexes.”

● “The Final Rule would leave 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681(a)(1)-(9) and 1686 intact while adding regulations that mandate access to showers, locker rooms, and sexual education classes, among others, consistent with an individual’s gender identity.

“But this approach simply does not make sense. Confirming the arbitrary nature of these new regulations, the Department has offered no rational explanation for the stark inconsistencies that will result if the Final Rule is allowed to go forward.”

● “The Court remains persuaded that the Final Rule is arbitrary and capricious. The Department does not provide a reasoned explanation for departing from its longstanding interpretation of Title IX.

“Although it relies primarily on [Bostock vs. Clayton County], the Supreme Court was clear that the decision was limited to the context of Title VII and did not purport to address ‘bathrooms, locker rooms, or anything else of the kind.’ Given the Court’s express disclaimer and the striking differences between Title VII and Title IX, Bostock is a very shaky place for the Department to hang its hat.”

● “[T]he new regulations say that recipients cannot separate the sexes (thus inflicting more than de minimis harm) for purposes of other ‘living facilities’ such as bathrooms, toilets, or showers.

“In support, the Department cites ‘case law, research, testimony and comments from stakeholders, and evidence from schools’ many years of practical experience’ indicating ‘that preventing a person from participating in a program or accessing a sex-separate facility consistent with their gender identity subjects them to harm.’

“Assuming this is true, doesn’t it also subject such persons to harm when they are prevented from participating in the social fraternity or sorority consistent with their gender identity? Or when they are prevented from residing in a living facility consistent with their gender identity? It seems clear that the answer is ‘yes,’ which indicates that Title IX does not encompass the issue of gender identity at all.”

The District Court holding can be appealed, of course, but with the Biden Administration in its waning days, the decision is unlikely to be disturbed. This decision followed the withdrawal in late December of Education Department regulations proposed in 2023 that would have used a new Title IX rule to force the inclusion of transgender men on women’s athletics teams:

“The Department recognizes that there are multiple pending lawsuits related to the application of Title IX in the context of gender identity, including lawsuits related to Title IX’s application to athletic eligibility criteria in a variety of factual contexts.

“In light of the comments received and those various pending court cases, the Department has determined not to regulate on this issue at this time. Therefore, the Department hereby withdraws the Athletics NPRM and terminates this rulemaking proceeding.”

The incoming Trump Administration has indicated no interest in either set of proposed rules.

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ANTI-DOPING: USADA’s Tygart explains that WADA cannot impact U.S. hosting of events due to non-payment of government dues

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ COMPLIANCE CONSEQUENCES ≡

Wednesday’s announcement that the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has not paid its $3.625 million dues for 2024 (covered here) was met with a response from the World Anti-Doping Agency that the U.S. would lose its seats on the WADA Executive Committee and the Foundation Board.

The refusal primarily stems from the continuing tug-of-war over the January 2021 positives of 23 star Chinese swimmers, who received no provisional suspensions – as required by the World Anti-Doping Code – and were ruled by the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency to have ingested the prohibited heart medication Trimetazidine from contaminated food served to them at a hotel, and therefore no sanctions of any kind.

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency chief executive Travis Tygart said in a statement that no U.S. athlete would be impacted by the non-payment of government dues.

However, our story went further, examining the question of whether WADA could hold USADA to be non-compliant, and therefore impose sanctions that could include a prohibition on Olympic Games or world championships being held in the U.S. during such time as the U.S. would be out of compliance.

Not so says Tygart, in a Thursday interview, who explained that this exact issue has – in fact – been discussed in recent months within WADA:

● In September 2024, WADA initiated a consultation process concerning “proposed additions to the 2021 World Anti-Doping Code, which address the matter of voluntary withholding of funding by a government.”

● A document defining terms and possible consequences – including “limitations on the relevant country bidding for major events, as well as restrictions on its government representatives attending major events and sitting on Code Signatory boards/committees etc.” – would require changes to the World Anti-Doping Code. However, the proposals did not advance and were shut down. No changes to the Code were made on this issue.

Tygart explained further, “A private organization – WADA – does not have the authority to require a sovereign country to pay it,” and a WADA working group which considered this specific issue within the last couple of years rejected the imposition of sanctions – by WADA – on athletes competing and on hosting Games, world championships or other events which had already been awarded.

That means there is no threat of a WADA action, holding the U.S. in non-compliance, which would threaten the holding any upcoming world championship or the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, or the 2034 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

Tygart noted a key legal difference in the compliance area regarding dues payments by governments:

“Non-compliance for an anti-doping organization … for not running an effective program or covering up cases, whatever, that’s a different matter. But for purposes of non-payment by a government is not in the compliance structure. …

“The compliance scheme does not cover non-payment by governments to WADA.”

There are also technical questions about whether the U.S. would have to leave its seats on the WADA Executive Committee and Foundation Board due to non-payment as WADA has opined, but these do not impact athletes or events.

This is a good news for those considering a worst-case scenario in the continuing war of words between WADA, USADA, the U.S. government and the Congress, but does not end the discord.

The International Olympic Committee’s added language in its Olympic Host Contract with the Salt Lake City organizers for 2034 still stands, however, allowing termination of the award of that Games if:

“the Host Country is ruled ineligible to host or co-host and/or to be awarded the right to host or co-host the Games pursuant to or under the World Anti-Doping Code or if, in any other way, the supreme authority of the World Anti-Doping Agency in the fight against doping is not fully respected or if the application of the World Anti-Doping Code is hindered or undermined.”

That clause was not part of the host agreement for the LA28 Games.

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ATHLETICS: U.S. track & field had an even better year overall than in Paris, according to Track & Field News’ world rankings

By
Rich Perelman
-
U.S.’s Rai Benjamin wins the Paris Olympic men’s 400 m hurdles over Tokyo champ Karsten Warholm (Photo: Dan Vernon for World Athletics)

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≡ T&FN WORLD RANKINGS ≡

The United States men’s and women’s track & field team had a brilliant Paris Olympic Games, winning 34 total medals and dominating the meet, with 14 golds, with Kenya next with four.

But that was one meet. A review of the full season by the most-respected rankings in the sport showed that 2024 was even better for America’s track & field athletes.

That would be the Track & Field News world rankings, first reported in 1948 and using a simple formula to rank the top ten competitors in each event, according to (1) honors won; (2) win-loss record and (3) sequence of marks.

The 77th edition, recapped in the magazine’s January Annual Edition, demonstrated the year-long success of U.S. athletes. Using 10 points down to one for rankings 1-10, the scores for 2024 showed:

Men:
● 1. 229, United States
● 2. 92, Ethiopia
● 3. 83, Kenya
● 4. 77, Jamaica
● 5. 46, Italy
● 6. 42, Norway
● 7. 32, Great Britain
● 8. 31, Germany
● 9. 29, Canada, France and Spain

Women:
● 1. 219, United States
● 2. 102, Kenya
● 3. 95, Ethiopia
● 4. 83, Great Britain
● 5. 60, Jamaica
● 6. 57, Netherlands
● 7. 49, Australia
● 8. 44, China
● 9. 36, Germany
● 10. 30, Canada

Combined:
● 1. 448, United States
● 2. 187, Ethiopia
● 3. 185, Kenya
● 4. 137, Jamaica
● 5. 115, Great Britain
● 6. 77, Germany
● 7. 73, Netherlands
● 8. 70, Italy
● 9. 62, Australia
● 10. 59, Canada

This is amazing. In the men’s rankings, the U.S. had at least one athlete in 16 of 21 events and had five ranked no. 1: Noah Lyles (100), Quincy Hall (400), Grant Holloway (110 hurdles), Rai Benjamin (400 hurdles) and Ryan Crouser (shot).

The American women had ranking athletes in 15 of 21 events and four winners: Gabby Thomas (200), Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (400 hurdles), Tara Davis-Woodhall (long jump) and Valarie Allman (discus),

Both the U.S. men and women scored more points in the rankings in 2024 than in 2023, although the women’s total was up by just three. The U.S. men have been the top scorer in 75 of the 77 T&FN World Rankings all-time; the U.S. women have been on top from 2011 on, making 2024 the 13th year in a row (no 2020 rankings due to Covid).

So when the publicity about the U.S. being the no. 1 team in the world comes up, it’s actually true.

In terms of individual awards, the men’s Athlete of the Year was vault star Mondo Duplantis of Sweden, with Benjamin no. 2 and the U.S. Athlete of the Year. Hurdles star McLaughlin-Levrone was the women’s Athlete of the Year, worldwide and for the U.S.

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PANORAMA: WADA reviewing Ozempic and Wegovy; Gold Coast trying to pull ‘32 Olympic swimming from Brisbane; Barbosu headed to Stanford!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Hungary's swimming superstar Katinka Hosszu

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2032: Brisbane ● Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate, an relentless promoter of his city, is now proposing to have the 2032 Olympic swimming competition – a key sport for the host country – held in Gold Coast instead of Brisbane.

Tate suggests the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre, which held 10,000 spectators for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, as the venue for Brisbane 2032, instead of a temporary pool in the to-be-built, 17-18,000-seat Brisbane Live arena.

Speaking at the Aquatic Centre this week, he told reporters, “We estimated the roof for here, and 10,000 seating, you’re looking at about $150 million. A temporary pool arena [in Brisbane], you’re looking at $2.5 billion. Do the sums.” (A$1 = $0.62 U.S.)

Tate ignores, of course, that the proposed arena is designed as a legacy facility for the downtown Brisbane area, of which the 2032 Olympic Games would simply be one event. Also, from the organizing committee’s point of view, it would get substantially more ticket revenue from a 17-18,000-seat arena than from a 10,000-seater. The arena is to be built with government funds.

The Queensland government is awaiting a review of Olympic facilities, due in March, principally to decide what to do about a track & field stadium and ceremonies site.

● World Games ● Voting for the World Games Athlete of the Year for 2024 opens on 9 January, with the top-10 vote getters on 22 January advanced to the final round, with continued voting until 31 January.

This is for sports and events on the World Games program, comprised of competitions which are not part of the Olympic Games. Among the 22 nominees are two American entries: Allison Hoeft and Sydney Martin for Cheerleading and Vanita Krouch for Flag Football, where she quarterbacked the U.S. women’s squad to the 2024 Worlds gold, her third title.

One of the favorites will be Canada’s Phil Wizard (Philip Kim), the Paris 2024 gold medalist in men’s Breaking.

● Anti-Doping ● Fascinating story at triathlete.com noting that the World Anti-Doping Agency continues to review the high-profile anti-obesity and anti-diabetes drug semaglutide, known best by its market names Ozempic (for diabetes) and Wegovy (for weight loss).

Dr. Olivier Rabin (FRA), the WADA Senior Director for Science and Medicine observed that the impact of the drug on food intake and glucose uptake in cells could create advantages for triathletes:

“If you can improve your weight-to-power ratio, you’re going to have a benefit in cycling, running, and possibly in swimming as well.”

WADA is in an evaluation phase with the drug, begun in 2024. Rabin explained, “We are collecting information and looking at this. We’re going to analyze urine and blood samples and we’ll see, as we have for other substances, whether we observe a pattern of abuse.”

The story, by Elaine K. Howley, is thorough and offers a clear profile of what semaglutide does and does not do, as it known today. But the research is continuing.

● Alpine Skiing ● A mid-week Slalom in the men’s FIS World Cup, in Madonna di Campiglio (ITA), with Bulgaria’s Albert Popov, 27, claiming his first career World Cup gold and second career medal.

He was only eighth after the first run, but had the fastest second run in the field by 0.21 and passed everyone to win in 1:45.22. He was well clear of Swiss star Loic Meillard, second after the first run, but 10th-fastest on the second (1:45.66). Benjamin Ritchie was the fastest American, in eighth – coming from 22nd after run no. one – in 1:46.14.

● Athletics ● Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service has filed a charge of manslaughter against the UK Athletics governing body and 2017 World Paralympic Athletics Championships executive Keith Davies for the death of UAE thrower Abdullah Hayayei in 2017.

Hayayei had the metal protective discus cage fall on him during a training session at the Newham Leisure Centre in July 2017, in advance of the Paralympics Worlds in London. He died at the scene.

UK Athletics was charged with “corporate manslaughter and a health and safety offence” and Davies, now 77, with “gross negligence manslaughter and a health and safety offence.” Both are to appear in court on 31 January.

● Gymnastics ● As if the tale of the Paris Olympic women’s Floor Exercise bronze medal isn’t strange enough, here’s a new twist.

Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu, 18, handed the Olympic Floor bronze by the Court of Arbitration for Sport over American Jordan Chiles, is headed to compete in the U.S. NBC Sports reported that Barbosu announced a commitment to Stanford and could compete for the Cardinal next season (2025-26).

Chiles, 23, is continuing her collegiate career at UCLA and is a junior this season, and so could also be competing next season as well. Although both would be at California schools, UCLA is now in the Big Ten Conference and Stanford is in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

While Chiles was awarded the Floor bronze after the competition and Barbosu was declared the bronze winner by the Court of Arbitration, the matter has been appealed by multiple parties to the Swiss Federal Tribunal.

● Ice Hockey ● Ice Hockey Australia returned the hosting of the IIHF men’s World Championship in Division II, scheduled to be held in Australia and New Zealand from 27 April to 3 May due to the participation of the Israeli team.

Ice Hockey Australia did not mention Israel in a statement about its decision:

“The decision was primarily made to ensure the safety and security of athletes, volunteers, spectators, and other participants.

“IHA does not shy away from making this decision with safety at the forefront. IHA is not in a position to comment on global issues outside the sport of ice hockey and did not intend for an internal email to be shared broadly.”

Israel qualified in Group A, with Australia, Belgium, Netherlands, Serbia and the UAE.

IHA President Ryan O’Handley wrote in an internal message to his board:

“Anti-Israel protests and activities (in Melbourne) have escalated significantly since we were awarded the championship and there are now significant concerns regarding safety and security of the event.

“Victoria Police advised us that there was a high chance of an incident occurring during the championship due to the escalating anti-Israel sentiment in Melbourne.

“Our decision is based entirely on the fact that the safety and security of participants, the venue and precinct staff, and the general public cannot be assured to a reasonable level due to the current environment in Melbourne.”

However, a spokeswoman for the Victoria Police said, “We understand that people are concerned following this incident. However, there are currently no known or specific threats to any Victorian organisation, infrastructure or event and police encourage people to go about their daily business.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked about the situation and replied during a television interview:

“This is a decision made by Ice Hockey Australia. They’re not a body, I’ve got to say, I’m familiar with and it’s not a sport I’m familiar with, like most Australians. But we should be opposed, and are, as a country to any form of racism, but particularly to antisemitism.”

The IIHF will look to find a new host for the same dates; Group B is being played in New Zealand.

● Swimming ● Hungarian star Katinka Hosszu, now 35, announced her retirement from competitive swimming on her Instagram page, leaving as one of the star swimmers of the 21st Century:

“Now, as I look back on my career, I feel a sense of immense fulfillment. Medals and records are precious, but what remains most deeply is my undying love for swimming.”

A four-time Olympian, she won three Olympic golds in Rio, in the 100 m Backstroke and the 200 and 400 m Medleys, won nine World Championships golds from 2009-19 and 17 World short-course titles from 2012-18. Nicknamed “The Iron Lady” for her ability to swim seemingly endless events at a world-class pace, she won an astonishing seven individual events at the 2016 World 25 m Champs!

She set long-course world records in the 200 and 400 m Medleys, and her 200 m mark still stands. Hosszu also fought with the Hungarian federation, over its treatment of her and other athletes and was a fierce advocate of athlete rights.

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ANTI-DOPING: U.S. did not pay its ‘24 World Anti-Doping Agency dues, loses ExCom and Board seats; a threat to 2026 World Cup, LA28?

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

/Updated/The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said in a Wednesday statement:

“Today, it was announced that the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has withheld its 2024 dues payment of $3.6M from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). USADA fully supports this decision by the White House ONDCP as the only right choice to protect athletes’ rights, accountability, and fair competition.

“Unfortunately, the current WADA leaders left the U.S. with no other option after failing to deliver on several very reasonable requests, such as an independent audit of WADA’s operations, to achieve the transparency and accountability needed to ensure WADA is fit for purpose to protect athletes.

“Since the exposure of WADA’s failed handling of the 23 Chinese swimmers’ positive tests that gave China and its athletes special treatment under the rules, many stakeholders from around the world, including athletes, governments, and National Anti-Doping Agencies, have sought answers, transparency, and accountability from WADA leadership.”

This is the latest inflammation in a continuing feud between the U.S. and WADA that dates back to the first Trump Administration, and seems to have no end in sight.

WADA confirmed to Agence France Presse in a statement:

“The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirms that it did not receive the agreed contribution to WADA’s 2024 budget from the Government of the United States by the deadline of 31 December 2024.

“Under Article 6.6 of the WADA Statutes, Public Authority representatives from a country which has not paid its dues are ineligible to sit on the Foundation Board or the Executive Committee. Therefore, on 1 January of each year, any Foundation Board or Executive Committee member representing a country that has not paid its annual contribution for the previous year automatically loses their seat.”

The U.S. owes its agreed-on 2024 WADA dues of $3.625 million and did not pay by the end of 2024, primarily over the continuing tug-of-war over the January 2021 positives of 23 star Chinese swimmers, who received no provisional suspensions – as required by the World Anti-Doping Code – and were ruled by the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency to have ingested the prohibited heart medication Trimetazidine from contaminated food served to them at a hotel.

USADA chief executive Travis Tygart has been leading the charge against WADA, and has found allies in the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Congress, with a House sub-committee hearing held in June featuring swimming stars Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt.

But his statement noted that the issues with WADA go back further:

“The U.S. has been the highest government payor to WADA since WADA’s inception in 2000 and has been a staunch supporter of having an effective global anti-doping system to protect athletes competing at the highest levels. However, the authority to withhold payment to WADA was initially put in place under the first Trump Administration in conjunction with Congress when WADA’s ineffectiveness was exposed in the Russia state-sponsored doping scheme.

“As a result of WADA’s failure during this sad saga that ultimately saw Russia rob hundreds of athletes from the U.S. and other countries at the highest levels of competition, Congress passed the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act, which President Trump signed into law in 2020. Also, the Trump Administration and Congress granted ONDCP the authority to withhold payment from WADA in the event that it did not act in a fair, effective, and transparent manner.”

Tygart noted in his statement that the non-payment of dues will not impact U.S. athletes:

“The current non-payment of the 2024 dues to WADA will have no impact on U.S. athletes’ right to compete in the United States or around the world. The WADA statutes are crystal clear that the non-payment of voluntary dues does not affect athletes in any way even if the 2024 U.S. payment is never paid.

“The non-payment will have no impact on the current anti-doping program in the U.S. and USADA will continue to robustly implement its WADA Code program so that all U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes’ rights are protected.”

However, that is only part of the story. WADA has sent the matter of prior USADA and Office of National Drug Control Policy issues to its Compliance Review Committee. If – and it’s a big if – WADA should hold the U.S. to be non-compliant, it would be subject to a series of sanctions which could include loss of flag and anthem at international competitions, and a ban on being able to hold regional or world championship events of International Federations which are bound to uphold the World Anti-Doping Code.

(Update: USADA chief Tygart explained in a later interview that this will not happen under current rules; click here for details.)

This is not a far-off scenario, but could have near-term consequences, as the U.S. will host five significant world championship events in the next year:

● 06-15 Mar. 2025: IBSF (bobsled and skeleton) World Championships in Lake Placid, New York

● 25-30 Mar. 2025: ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston, Massachusetts

● 14 Jun.-13 Jul. 2025: FIFA Club World Cup, in 11 U.S. cities

● 26-28 Sep. 2025: World Athletics Road Running Championships in San Diego, California

● 10 Jan. 2026: World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida

It is worth noting that FIFA itself is organizing the 2025 Club World Cup and the 2026 World Cup, in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. Further down the road is the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, also potentially impacted – although years away – by this issue, and the 2034 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.

WADA’s next Executive Board meeting is scheduled to be held online, on 27 March 2025, which would be during the Figure Skating Worlds in Boston. But emergency meetings could be held at any time and a recommendation from the Compliance Committee could come anytime.

Observed: This is a mess and only getting worse. It may not get any better until the IOC Presidential Elections are held – also in March – and a new leader is identified.

In the Olympic Movement today, everything inevitably seems to come back to the IOC, which, incidentally, provides half of WADA’s annual budget.

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LANE ONE: Football and men’s basketball in line for 90+% of all NCAA revenue sharing if House settlement agreement confirmed

By
Rich Perelman
-
College sports now is all about football; here, the 2020 Rose Bowl Game (Photo: Wikipedia via Itsschneebly).

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≡ COLLEGE REVENUE SHARING ≡

College football is, by several measures, the no. 2 sport in the U.S. and the men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament – “March Madness” – is one of the most popular events in the country, with television rights sales in the billions of dollars.

And that’s where almost all of the money coming from the big sports universities in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big XII and Southeastern Conference are going to go. Athletes in the money-losing sports such as fencing, golf, gymnastics, swimming, tennis, track & field and wrestling will get next to nothing.

That’s the reality and it’s being talked about openly now. The House vs. NCAA class-action settlement could be approved in April and will bring with it a formula for schools to share revenue with its players. The Bradley law firm note on the case explained:

“[T]he preliminarily approved settlement establishes a 10-year revenue-sharing plan, allowing NCAA conferences and their member schools to share 22% of annual revenue with student-athletes.

“This revenue-sharing plan is permissive, not required. Most importantly, schools can also opt into an athlete pay model of sports revenue, which is capped at $22 million annually for each school (for all athletes in a given school’s athletic program, at the school’s discretion).

“This salary cap is the next step in moving college sports closer and closer to ‘pro-style’ sports, with schools under this model now having to choose where and how to distribute that $22 million figure. The revenue-sharing figure is expected to grow up to $32.9 million by the end of the 10-year revenue-sharing agreement.”

The next question is who gets the money, and the answer has been provided. The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal interviewed Texas Tech Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt and Deputy Director Jonathan Botros in mid-December (Texas Tech is a Big XII school) concerning its projected $20.5 million revenue share:

“Hocutt and deputy AD Jonathan Botros said Tech will distribute about 74% to football players, 17-18% to men’s basketball, 2% to women’s basketball, 1.9% to baseball and smaller percentages to other sports. In dollar amounts, it’s about $15.1 million to football, $3.6 million to men’s basketball and less than $500,000 each to the other teams.”

The “other teams” among Tech’s 17 sports include men’s and women’s cross country and track & field, golf and tennis, and women-only teams in soccer, softball and volleyball. So, two sports will get about 92% and the other 15 – including women’s basketball and men’s baseball – will get 8%.

This is a Title IX lawsuit over discrimination between men’s and women’s programs waiting to happen, and lawyers are already looking into it.

Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports, who has covered this area closely, spoke with the leadership at Ohio State, which has the most athletic revenue in the country at $279.5 million in 2023, about their distribution plans:

● OSU will offer 91 more scholarships than it does now and expects to maintain all 36 of its athletic teams. Of the 91, 58 will be targeted for women, in order to meet Title IX requirements.

● For revenue sharing, the plan is to “stratify” the sports into groups, “presumably tiering them based on their revenue generation as a way to determine for each the allocation of resources, including the portion of athlete-revenue distribution.”

● Athletic Director Ross Bjork said that the distribution would be “proportionally” based, with factors including a “male-female split” and a “market-based approach” using objective indicators such as attendance, viewership on television, social-media traffic and so on.

Dellenger wrote that “For schools offering the maximum $20.5 million of rev-share pool money, the formula means that football rosters would receive $13-16 million and men’s basketball rosters $2-4 million, according to estimates.” That doesn’t leave much.

And if that wasn’t already enough of a problem, Dellenger explained that the projected money for football … is not enough! A school-affiliated, athlete fund-raising collective executive told him:

“If you’re not spending close to $20 million all-in on your football roster, you’re not going to be in the top 20 of schools. That’s where we are trending.

“The trick is, what’s that [House settlement-created] regulatory body going to look like to justify the $7 million for your football roster?”

Dellenger’s story goes on to explain that further fund-raising will be needed specifically to support football, creating valid – as opposed to the current name-image-likeness deals that are really “pay-for-play” payments – corporate and personal sponsorships and name-image-likeness deals that actually have some marketing value.

As much as $3-7 million a year for football alone is projected by some; Dellenger wrote that an SEC-school collective official told him, “We already do $2 million in real deals. We can maybe push it to $4 million.”

The Texas Tech mission statement reads:

“As a public research university, Texas Tech advances knowledge through innovative and creative teaching, research and scholarship. The university is dedicated to student success by preparing learners to be ethical leaders for a diverse and globally competitive workforce. The university is committed to enhancing the cultural and economic development of the state, nation and world.”

The Ohio State University mission statement:

“The university is dedicated to:

“● Creating and discovering knowledge to improve the well-being of our local, state, regional, national and global communities;

“● Educating students through a comprehensive array of distinguished academic programs;

“● Preparing a diverse student body to be leaders and engaged citizens;

“● Fostering a culture of engagement and service.

“We understand that diversity and inclusion are essential components of our excellence.”

Neither speaks to fielding professional football or basketball teams, or athletic programs of any kind. We now have a tail wagging the dog, so to speak, at least at Texas Tech, where the university is spending $14.71 million to support athletics in institutional operating funds and debt service. Does that support its mission? Ohio State says its athletics program does not receive taxpayer funding.

What started as extra-curricular activities more than a century ago have now become, for football and men’s basketball, professional sports teams. This is a problem for the universities themselves, and only the universities themselves can solve it.

The Sports Examiner has shared its own solution, back in April, but the House vs. NCAA settlement – whose name plaintiff, Grant House, was an Arizona State swimmer – will only concentrate collegiate sport into football, basketball and some leftovers.

LA28 Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee Chair Casey Wasserman said in a December forum:

“You add $20 million of expense to the athletic department. What’s the first thing you cut? … Olympic sports, non-revenue sports. You cut the sports that cost money that don’t generate revenue.

“A lot of schools will hang in, not just in California, but in the country, until 2028, until the games are in L.A. And after that, you’re going to see a lot more schools have SEC numbers of teams than former Pac-12 numbers of teams. The days of 25 and 30 teams are over. So now you’re going to have 15 to 17.”

The NCAA’s statistical overview of sports sponsored on campuses shows that the average number of teams at Division I schools has increased only marginally since women’s sports were added in 1981-82: from an average of 17.5 to 19.1. That’s it. And in 1981-82, that was roughly 10 men’s teams and seven women’s teams. Today, it’s 8.5 men’s teams on average and 10.6 women’s teams. And with the House settlement, the numbers are going to go down.

This problem is a challenge not to athletes, coaches or athletic departments. The NCAA is, in reality, the university presidents, and they have to fix this. That assumes they want to; two more numbers to indicate how small an issue athletics may really be:

● Ohio State’s overall, fiscal 2025 budget includes $9.9 billion in spending.
● Texas Tech’s overall, fiscal 2025 budget includes $3.1 billion in spending.

Do school presidents really care about the cost of athletics? Only 46 schools had athletics costs of $100 million or more in 2023 and another 21 spent $50 million or more, all at billion-dollar, major universities.

Who cares is the issue and if the schools don’t, the President and the Congress might. And what happens then?

Rich Perelman
Editor

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PANORAMA: Paris 2024 chief Estanguet nominated for IOC; “Jedi” Robinson is U.S. Soccer’s men’s Player of the Year

By
Rich Perelman
-
Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet (FRA)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● International Olympic Committee ● To the surprise of no one, the IOC Executive Board nominated Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet (FRA) for election to the organization as an independent, individual member.

Estanguet, 46, a three-time Olympic gold medalist in canoeing, headed the highly successful organizing committee and will enjoy an easy confirmation at the 144th IOC Session in Greece in March.

● Association of Summer Olympic International Federations ● ASOIF welcomed a new President on 1 January as Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) chief Ingmar De Vos (BEL) took over for Italian Francesco Ricci Bitti, the former head of the International Tennis Federation, who served for 12 years as ASOIF leader.

ASOIF also admitted as Associate Members, in the new Olympic cycle from 2025-28, federations representing the added sports for Los Angeles 2028: the International Cricket Council (ICC), the International Federation of American Football (IFAF), World Lacrosse and World Squash.

● Alpine Skiing ● Impressive support for young skiers from American World Cup veteran and Beijing 2022 Olympian River Radamus, 26, who announced Tuesday he will fund all U.S. U-16 skiers who qualify for the Federation of European Ski & Snowboard Associations FESA Alpine Ski Cup.

Six U.S. skiers can qualify, with an entry requirement of $3,000 each that Radamus will handle; he explained, “I’m trying to do my part to ensure the sport becomes less expensive as these athletes climb the ladder.”

Qualifying is from 5-10 January in Burke, Vermont and the FESA Alpine Ski Cup will be from 28 February to 10 March in France. Radamus’ support will come in coordination with his ARCO Foundation and the World Cup Dreams Foundation.

● Boxing ● USA Boxing posted a list of the top five gyms in the nation according to the most wins in USA Boxing National Tournaments. Did you guess two of the five are from Hawaii?

● 1. 76: WestSide Striking (Waianae, Hawaii)
● 2. 51: Real Deal Boxing (Cincinnati, Ohio)
● 3. 44: HR Boxing (Waianae, Hawaii)
● 4. 32: Team Cartel Elite Boxing (Toledo, Ohio)
● 5. 26 wins: Relentless Boxing Academy (Round Rock, Texas)

The win totals are a product, of course, of entries in specific tournaments, but are still an eye-opener. Hawaii? Wow.

● Cross Country Skiing ● Norway’s Andreas Kirkeng, competing for the University of Denver, won two events at the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships in Anchorage, Alaska, that finished on Tuesday.

Kirkeng, the defending champ, finished a very close second in the first-day men’s 10 km race to John Steel Hagenbuch of Dartmouth, 21:23.4 to 21:24.2, then won the Classical Sprint race over defending champ Luke Jager, 2:55.49 to 2:55.93. Kirkeng then won the 20 km Mass Start in 50:47.5, with defending champion Hagenbuch second in 50:58.0 and Jager at 50:59.2.

Tuesday’s Freestyle 1.4 km Sprint was taken by Michael Earnhardt in 2:51.95, ahead of Walker Hall (Utah: 2:52.48).

There were four different women’s winners, with Kate Oldham taking the 10 km in 24:29.8 over Kendall Kramer (24:41.0), but Kramer came back to win the 20 km Mass Start in 58:17.2, beating Swede Erica Laven (58:19.6).

Laven, competing for the University of Utah, won the Classical 1.4 km Sprint in 3:25.03, well clear of Estonia’s Mariel Pulles (3:29.64). But Pulles won the second  (Freestyle) Sprint, on Tuesday, in 3:11.63 to 3:11.6 for Laven and 3:13.67 for Oldham.

● Football ● U.S. Soccer announced that defender Antonee “Jedi” Robinson, 27, as its 2024 men’s player of the year. A star back for Fulham F.C. in the English Premier League, he suited up for the U.S. in 11 matches – starting all 11 – and is the first defender to win since Oguchi Onyewu in 2006.

Robinson received a weighted total of 55% of the vote, ahead of nominees Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, Christian Pulisic and Tim Ream.

● Table Tennis ● After losing both Olympic champions – Chinese stars Zhendong Fan and Meng Chen – from the World Table Tennis tournament circuit to heavy participation rules, the International Table Tennis Federation created a task force “to gather feedback from players and review existing regulations.”

A five-member team, which includes Athletes Commission co-Chair Sharath Kamal Achanta (IND), will meet with athletes and coaches and hold a forum at the upcoming Singapore Smash beginning 30 January. Their report will come following the Singapore event, which closes on 9 February.

The current rules require top-10-ranked players to compete in the high-profile World Table Tennis events with only two events off; Fan and Chen preferred voluntary retirement after their Paris wins to what they considered a grueling schedule and fines of $5,000 per tournament missed.

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ATHLETICS: Kenya, India and Russia lead the 481-deep AIU ineligible list for worldwide track & field at the end of 2024

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ DOPING IN ATHLETICS ≡

The Athletics Integrity Unit is the independent arm of World Athletics which is charged with keeping the sport free from doping, manipulation and other ills, and has been busy with (mostly) doping sanctions over the past year.

It published its list of ineligible persons as of 31 December 2024 it runs to 29 pages of small type, in a spreadsheet format, listing 481 people from 75 national track & field federations who are temporary or permanently ineligible to compete in the sport.

There are some familiar countries at the top of the list, with 15 federations with 10 or more people excluded:

● 119: Kenya
● 108: India
● 73: Russia
● 26: China
● 20: Turkey

● 18: Italy
● 18: South Africa
● 17: Ukraine
● 16: United States
● 15: Morocco

● 14: Ethiopia
● 11: France
● 10: Belarus
● 10: Kuwait
● 10: Nigeria

World Athletics has 214 federations, so 139 had no one on the list!

But Kenya continues to be the leading offender and has had significant issues, requiring the AIU to warn Athletics Kenya of a possible suspension, leading to a government promise at the end of 2022 to provide $25 million U.S. in funding over five years for anti-doping programs.

But there were budget cuts in 2024, with Kenyan President William Ruto promising International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach (GER) during an October visit that funding for ADAK (Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya) work will be available.

But that has not stopped the AIU from continuing to suspend Kenyans. On Tuesday, Faith Chepchirchir was provisionally suspended on a charge of using the prohibited steroid Norandrosterone. Chepchirchir, 23, has a road 10 km best of 31:04 from 2023, which ranked her 34th in the world that year.

India is also a problem, at no. 2, and the AIU provisionally suspended Archana Jadhav, 29, a former national women’s 1,500 m champion, for using Oxandrolone.

And in comparison to the AIU ineligible list from two years earlier – 31 December 2022 – the numbers are way up for the two largest offenders:

● Kenya: 119 as of 31 Dec. 2024 vs. 54 at 31 Dec. 2022 (+65)
● India: 108 as of 31 Dec. 2024 vs. 65 at 31 Dec. 2022 (+43)

Russia, which had the most ineligibles – 92 – at 31 December 2022, is down to 73 as of the end of 2024.

The U.S. has two stars whose eligibility will be restored in 2025 and it will be fascinating to see if they return and how they perform.

Distance star Shelby Houlihan was banned for four years after testing positive for the steroid Nandrolone in December 2020. She appealed, but was suspended from 14 January 2021 and will be eligible once again on 14 January 2025. Now 31, she was a 2016 Olympian in the 5,000 m and a finalist in the 2017 Worlds at 5,000 m (11th) and 2019 Worlds at 1,500 m (fourth). She is still the American Record holder in the 1,500 m at 3:54.99 from 2019, and is no. 2 at 5,000 m (14:23.92 in 2020).

Randolph Ross, 24, won the NCAA men’s 400 m title in 2021 in a world-leading 43.85 and won an Olympic 4×400 m relay gold in Tokyo, but was suspended for three years as of 22 June 2022 for “whereabouts” failures. He will be eligible again as of 30 June 2025, and with the U.S. Nationals being held very late this year (31 July to 3 August), he could try for the World Championships team if he gets a qualifying mark.

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PANORAMA: Noah Lyles’ tribute to Ralph Mann; Johnny Gregorek retires; 31 years since the attack on Nancy Kerrigan

By
Rich Perelman
-
Noah Lyles (left) with the late Ralph Mann in 2024, from a Lyles’ YouTube video saluting Mann’s contribution to his success.

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Deaflympics ● Sad news that Ralph Fernandez (USA), the chief executive of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) passed away suddenly at age 60 on Sunday (5th).

He was a Deaflympian himself in cycling, winning a silver in the 1,000 m Sprint in 1985. A tireless coach, he stayed involved with cycling for decades and was the ICSD technical director for road and mountain bike from 2010-17.

He designed the ICSD logo in 2004 and was the ICSD’s Information Technology Officer since 2011. He was the organization’s Sports Director beginning in 2023 and became the chief executive in 2024. He received the ICSD Medal of Honor, at the 2017 Summer Deaflympics.

● Athletics ● A touching video tribute from triple World Champion and Paris 2024 100 m gold medalist Noah Lyles on YouTube, to 1972 Olympic 400 m hurdles silver winner and sports performance guru Ralph Mann, who passed away at 75 on 2 January:

“An Olympian and former world Record holder But that’s not why I know him. I know Ralph because he is the crazy scientist that helped me and my coach turn me into the athlete I am today.

“He brought a new way of thinking to my starting blocks that help me to become a great 60m runner and 100m Olympic Champion. I will forever be grateful for the love and support he showed me and for sharing his craft I will forever remember you. RIP Ralph and THANK YOU”

Lyles included some videos of he and Mann working together in 2024, specifically on his start. Lyles plans to open his 2025 season on 2 February at the New Balance Grand Prix in Boston.

Johnny Gregorek, a 3:34.35 1,500 m man (2023) and 3:49.98 indoor miler (2019), announced his retirement on Saturday at age 33. He made two U.S. World Championships teams in the 1,500 m, in 2017 (ninth) and 2022 (eighth in his semi). He won the Pan American Games silver in the 1,500 m in 2019. He finishes as no. 12 all-time in the indoor mile and no. 4 all-time U.S. indoor.

He’s the son of John Gregorek, a Georgetown star who made the U.S. Olympic in the Steeple in 1980, but did not compete in Moscow due to the U.S. boycott. He was a 1984 Olympian in the Steeple, but did not advance out of the heats, and did not make the 1988 team. He had bests of 3:35.3 and 3:51.34 – both from 1982 – and 8:18.45 for the Steeple, in 1984.

● Figure Skating ● Monday marked the 31st anniversary of the infamous attack on reigning U.S. figure skating champion Nancy Kerrigan, struck with a baton at Detroit’s Cobo Arena after she finished a practice session, on 6 January 1994.

Kerrigan was attacked by Shane Stant, engaged by Jeff Gilooly, ex-husband of star skater Tonya Harding and Shawn Eckardt, in order to injure Kerrigan and remove her from the ongoing U.S. national championships and the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer (NOR),

While Harding, the 1991 national champion, won in Detroit, Kerrigan was not able to skate, but was named to the 1994 Olympic team anyway. Meanwhile, U.S. Figure Skating Association was convening a hearing panel over Harding’s conduct, but had run out of time vis-a-vis the Olympic women’s figure skating competitions, which began on 23 February.

To prevent any interference with her participation in Lillehammer, Harding filed suit in her home state of Oregon to restrain the U.S. Olympic Committee from holding a hearing to remove her from the Olympic team. Kerrigan won the Olympic silver and Harding finished eighth.

Eventually, Gilooly, Stant, Eckardt pled guilty to varying charges and Harding pled guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution, but avoided prison. She resigned from the U.S. Figure Skating Association and was eventually banned for life.

The U.S. Congress took note of the incident, including Harding’s suit in Oregon, and passed what became known as the “Tonya Harding Rule” in its 1998 amendments to the Amateur Sports Act of 1978:

“In any lawsuit relating to the resolution of a dispute involving the opportunity of an amateur athlete to participate in the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, or the Pan American Games, a court shall not grant injunctive relief against the Corporation [USOC] within 21 days before the beginning of such games if the Corporation, after consultation with the chair of the Athletes’ Advisory Council, has provided a sworn statement in writing executed by an officer of the Corporation to such court that its constitution and bylaws cannot provide for the resolution of such dispute prior to the beginning of such games.”

● Gymnastics ● The Gymnastics Ethics Foundation Disciplinary Commission Panel imposed sanctions on four Azerbaijani coaches and officials, but suspended any ban on the Azerbaijan federation. Considering charges of athlete abuse, the panel responded to a 2020 complaint, which was followed by an investigation in 2023:

Former Rhythmic team coach Mariana Vasilieva was suspended for eight years from gymnastics activities (and for life as a coach) for “various mistreatments and physical abuse against athletes, including beating for weight gain; for requiring athletes to perform or train when they were not fit to do so, so as to put the gymnasts’ wellbeing and health at risk; for orally abusing and weight-shaming athletes; for withholding monies and/or rewards of athletes; for depriving and/or preventing athletes from having contact with their families and/or other private communication by depriving them of their mobile phone.”

Two others received sanctions for “hitting a gymnast with a phone” and “harassing a gymnast about her weight” and received suspended sentences of 2-3 years. The Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation received a ban of six months, which was suspended for 12 months pending a review and upgrading of its safeguarding procedures, with a first report due by 31 March. A fine of CHF 30,000 was also imposed.

● Ski Jumping ● The final leg of the 73rd Four Hills Tournament in Bischofshofen (AUT) ended with a showdown between two Austrian stars, with 2015 champion Stefan Kraft in the lead.

And Kraft added to his lead by winning the first jump off the 142 m hill, scoring 154.8 points. Countryman Daniel Tschofenig – who won the second leg in Garmisch (GER) – got off a big jump in round two, scoring 159.0 points and putting him in the lead at 308.6 points, with Kraft getting the final jump.

But Kraft’s ending jump was impeded by a 10-delay due to high winds and then ranked only eighth in the round – 148.4 points – and left him third on the day (303.2), with teammate Jan Hoerl completing a sweep in second place (306.5).

All together, Tschofenig was crowned the Four Hills champion, at 1,194.4 points, barely ahead of Hoerl (1,1.93.0) and Ktaft, the 2015 winner (1,190.3). In fact, it was the first Austrian win since Kraft in 2015 and Austrians swept all four legs, something which has not happened since Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi won all four events in 2019. Austria last won all four events in 2012.

It took until the ninth event of the season in the women’s World Cup for someone other than Katharina Schmid (GER) or Nika Prevc (SLO) to win, but Austria’s Eva Pinkelnig came through on Monday’s jumping in Villach (AUT) in the 98 m hill for victory.

The 2023 Worlds runner-up, Pinkelnig, 36, picked up her 16th career World Cup gold by moving from second to first in the second round, scoring a combined 244.1 points. Second was Schmid, who was only seventh after round one, but was second to Pinkelnig in round two and took the silver at 237.0. Prevc led after the first round, but her fourth-place finish in the second round moved her down to third overall (236.7).

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TRANSGENDER: H.R. 28 introduced in U.S. House to ban males-at-birth from competing on women’s teams under Title IX

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

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≡ LEGISLATION ≡

“It shall be a violation … for a recipient of Federal financial assistance who operates, sponsors, or facilitates an athletics program or activity to permit a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designed for women or girls.

“For the purposes of this subsection, sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”

That language is from H.R. 28, The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, introduced by Rep. Greg Steube (R-Florida) on Friday, 3 January, amending Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. It would apply to all collegiate sport (and more) and was referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

This follows one of the promises made during the 2024 election campaign by President-elect Donald Trump and fellow Republicans, and was included as part of the rules package for the 119th Congress.

Steube had 56 cosponsors for the bill – all Republicans – and said in a statement:

“Americans have loudly spoken that they do not want men stealing sports records from women, entering their daughters’ locker rooms, replacing female athletes on teams, and taking their daughters’ scholarship opportunities. My legislation stands for truth, safety, and reality: men have no place in women’s sports. Republicans have promised to protect women’s sports, and under President Trump’s leadership, we will fulfill this promise.”

The bill allows women’s teams to have men involved in practices – as is common, for example, in women’s basketball – “as long as no female is deprived of a roster spot on a team or sport, opportunity to participate in a practice or competition, scholarship, admission to an educational institution, or any other benefit that accompanies participating in the athletic program or activity.”

Title IX applies to all educational entities which receive Federal support, at any grade level, from elementary school up, and would override any competing State legislation.

This is the third try on this bill for Steube, who pursued legislation in the 117th and 118th Congresses. With Republican control of the House, the bill passed the in the 118th Congress, but was never brought to the Senate floor. Republicans also control the Senate now, but the bill will have to pass a possible Democratic filibuster. Trump has indicated he will sign the bill.

The language of this bill is clear and definitive and has none of the judgement calls requested in the International Olympic Committee’s 2021 non-binding Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations.

However, it does follow the path used by the IOC when questioned about boxers (and eventual gold medalists) Yu-ting Lin (TPE) and Imane Khelif (ALG) in the Paris 2024 Olympic women’s boxing tournament; both had birth certificates identifying them as female.

Importantly, H.R. 28 does not touch the continuously-debated area of differences in sex development, in which South Africa’s two-time Olympic women’s 800 m champion Caster Semenya continues to try and overturn the World Athletics regulations which do not allow her to run under her natural conditions.

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ICE HOCKEY: IIHF chief says he wants to welcome Russia back … as soon as the war against Ukraine is over

By
Rich Perelman
-
IIHF President Luc Tardif (FRA) (Photo: Chris Tanouye/IIHF).

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≡ RUSSIA ≡

France’s Luc Tardif, President of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), was asked about the future return of Russia and Belarus to international competition during a news conference before the medal matches of the 2025 men’s World Junior Championship in Ottawa (CAN).

He was clear on the circumstances:

“For us, we still want them back as soon as possible because if they are back, it will mean the war will be over.”

Russian and Belarusian teams have been excluded from international play since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022, following a recommendation from the International Olympic Committee.

While the IOC has relaxed its stance regarding individual athletes, allowing verified “neutrals” to complete, it has continued to ask that national teams not be allowed. And International Federations have maintained that stance regarding teams; some federations have allowed individual Russian entries on varying degrees of “neutrality.”

Tardif further explained, with specific reference to the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games:

“We won’t risk any competition or the players. That’s the most important for us. We have to see what happens in the next two months.

“We will wait as long as possible, but we must make a decision in February [2025] to give organizers the chance to make the game schedule, know who is coming to the Olympics, the promotion, and do all the planning.

“And the IOC will also have to make decisions. We will analyze everything next month, but the main issue is the security of the players. We won’t take any risks.”

Notably, Tardif’s February timetable does not account for any change in the IOC leadership, with elections coming in March and the new president taking office on 24 June 2025.

Russia last fielded a team in the 2021 IIHF men’s World Championship and last participated in a Winter Olympic Games in Beijing in 2022 as the “Russian Olympic Committee” due to sanctions related to the state-sponsored doping program from 2011-15.

Russian Sports Minister and Russian Olympic Committee President Mikhail Degtyarev was more interested in the “want them back as soon as possible” part of Tardif’s comment than the “war will be over” element, saying:

“We are grateful to Luc Tardif for his frank position.

“The sanctions in sports against Russia were introduced under pressure, as a result of blackmail and unacceptable conditions of a number of countries in relation to federations and competition organizers, although even during the Cold War, the national teams of the USSR, Canada and the USA played hockey very well, bringing joy to fans and giving hope for a common peaceful future. Sports should unite, and not become a weapon of propaganda, and we call on sports authorities of all countries to pursue responsible policies.

“In addition, Russia has always been one of the world leaders in hockey. And the absence of our team at international tournaments makes these competitions noticeably poorer: less spectacular, less competitive. Therefore, the return of Russian hockey players is awaited by both the organizers and our rivals and, of course, spectators around the world. In the matter of normalizing world sports, returning to fair competition, we are all allies, not opponents.”

The IIHF was deliriously happy with the men’s World Juniors, with exceptional attendance at the games, even those in which the Canadian team did not play.

The tournament was held at the 18,655-seat Canadian Tire Centre and 8,585-seat TD Place Arena in Ottawa, with the 29 games drawing 296.894 fans for an average of 10,238. The final between the U.S. and Finland drew 16.,822 on Sunday and the bronze-medal match between the Czech Republic and Sweden had 11,393!

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LOS ANGELES 2028: Organizing committee leases 160,000 sq. ft. of offices in famed downtown L.A. skyscraper

By
Rich Perelman
-
The landmark USC Tower in downtown Los Angeles, soon to also house the LA28 Olympic & Paralympic Games organizing committee (Photo: USC)

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

The LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games organizing committee has been headquartered at the 10900 Wilshire Boulevard building in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, leasing about 14,000 sq. ft. of space for its small but growing staff of about 180.

Although that space is leased through 31 December 2028, it was never going to be enough to house an organizing committee that will eventually have as many as 4,000 people working on the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The likely location for LA28 was in downtown Los Angeles and details became available on Monday.

Real estate site TheRealDeal.com reported that LA28 has leased 160,000 sq. ft. in the USC Tower in the South Park Center complex at 1150 South Olive Street. This is a famous tower toward the southern edge of downtown, designed by architect William Pereira & Associates and built in 1965.

It was originally the Occidental Life Building, built to house its computer operations, then was known for decades as the Transamerica Building, then the AT&T Center and now the USC Tower – since 2015 – after the university took 245,000 sq. ft. of space in the 581,630 sq. ft., 32-floor, 452 foot-high facility.

When it opened, it was the second-tallest building in Los Angeles and is still in the top 50.

Sources say the LA28 lease is for three years, starting this summer, and comprises five floors. 

The lease is a significant boost for the downtown L.A. rental market, which had been lagging in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. LA28 still owes about $4.1 million in remaining lease payments on the 10900 Wilshire space from 2025-28.

This will not be the last lease for the LA28 organizers, if prior experience is any indicator.

The Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for the 1984 Olympic Games opened in a suite at 10100 Santa Monica Boulevard in Century City in 1979, then moved to the UCLA Extension Building in Westwood from 1981-82 in about 30,000 sq. ft. across two floors.

The LAOOC built a new, three-story, 55,000 sq. ft. office building across the street on the southern edge of the UCLA campus, opening in mid-1982. But as the staff count passed 500, a much larger space was needed and in mid-1983, the LAOOC moved into a former Hughes Helicopter design facility in Marina del Rey.

The “Marina Center” as it was known, was a cavernous, 180,000 sq. ft. space that was built up to house the LAOOC staff through the Games, which 1,750 full-time employees and more than 100 consultants and staff from suppliers and vendors. (Today, it’s a Costco Wholesale store.)

At the same time, the LAOOC building at UCLA was used by the Olympic ceremonies staff and there were LAOOC staff working at separate facilities for ticketing, uniforms, design and “Look” warehousing, four staffing centers and nine remote ticketing facilities.

LA28 will have plenty of satellite facilities too, but it appears to have landed in its main headquarters space, in downtown Los Angeles.

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ANTI-DOPING: Think being a star Olympic athlete is all glory? Then you don’t know about “Whereabouts” testing

By
Rich Perelman
-
The Athletics Integrity Unit’s “All about Whereabouts” brochure.

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≡ “WHEREABOUTS” TESTING ≡

Doping has been an issue in Olympic sport for decades, most blatantly demonstrated by the German Democratic Republic in the 1970s and 1980s, when East German stars – especially women – dominated their sports and won medals by the dozens via a state-run doping system.

The International Olympic Committee banned performance-enhancing drug use in 1967, but it was the startling disqualification of Canadian 100 m star Ben Johnson at the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988 that drove home the need to do something serious about doping.

The anti-doping movement was growing up, becoming more sophisticated and in 1999, the World Anti-Doping Agency was formed. While not a perfect answer, it centralized the rule-making program for doping and brought together the sports movement – through IOC funding – and governments, who signed on to help fight drug use in sport.

The key element demanded by athletes and coaches was the introduction of out-of-competition testing, so that athletes were not only monitored at competitions, but during training when the most important benefits of doping were realized.

Today, the top athletes are subject to being tested anywhere and at any time, and are required to make themselves available on demand to produce a testing sample, usually urine. Blood samples are also taken and will eventually be the primary samples used, but not yet.

The process by which the top athletes, who are registered by various anti-doping organizations depending on sport and country, are found is called “Whereabouts.”

It is a price that Olympic-sport athletes pay to complete at the highest levels of their sport. In track & field, the highly-regarded Athletics Integrity Unit was set up in 2017 as the first independent, sport-based testing agency, that also monitors betting and other aspects of cheating throughout the sport.

The AIU published a clear, concise guide to “Whereabouts” in 2024 that spells out just what is expected:

● “The World Athletics Registered Testing Pool (RTP) is a select group of elite athletes who are subject to regular out- of-competition tests and responsible for providing Whereabouts information.”

● “You are required to provide sufficient detail in your Whereabouts to enable a DCO to locate you for unannounced testing, without making a phone call or asking neighbors for direction. The AIU generally advises DCOs not to place a phone call. You can be tested at any time, also outside of your 60-minute time slot.”

● “The AIU, your NADO [National Anti-Doping Organization] and other NADOs with authority may use your whereabouts to test you.”

● “Your Whereabouts shall be submitted four times per year and must be kept updated throughout the year. The quarterly deadlines are 15 March, 15 June, 15 September and 15 December.”

Information required to be provided to the AIU includes:

(1) A 60-minute time slot when you can be tested daily and will be at a specific address (usually at home).

(2) A schedule of “regular activities” including training and work or class schedules (and locations).

(3) Travel schedules, including the location of any overnight accommodations, such as for competitions, including room number and telephone number.

The brochure notes that the filing of the quarterly Whereabouts reports may be made by someone else, such as a family member or manager. But, any changes which would impact a visit from a Doping Control Officer must be reported, and “Remember, you remain directly and ultimately responsible for any failure to comply with your Whereabouts requirements.”

This is to be taken seriously. In 2023, the AIU tested 3,504 athletes from 136 countries a total of 9,803 times. Of those, 56% were out-of-competition tests, mostly on the 857 athletes who were in the AIU Registered Testing Pool. The AIU warns:

“You cannot refuse testing. Refusal = testing positive, therefore a likely 4-year ban. As soon as you are aware a [Doping Control Officer] is there to test you, you must comply.”

There are penalties for missing Whereabouts tests – this is different from refusing to provide a specimen – with three missed tests in a 12-month period bringing suspensions of up to two years, disqualifications of results and financial penalties.

This is a pain, and the testing process, while mundane, simply has to be tolerated. But it is required of thousands of athletes across all of the Olympic sports in order to compete at the world-class level and be eligible to participate in the Olympic Games.

It’s not all about medals, free shoes and sponsorships.

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PANORAMA: Kerley posts bond in domestic violence case; Biles sounds done with gymnastics; small amounts for non-rev athletes from House settlement

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● House vs. NCAA ● Swimswam.com reported on postings of estimated payments from the yet-to-be-approved House vs. NCAA lawsuit, which could pay $2.78 billion to collegiate athletes as compensation for not having name-image-likeness opportunities available to them.

The Bradley law firm’s note on the case explained:

“The largest class in the settlement consists of Division I athletes who played sports from June 15, 2016, (due to the statute of limitations) through the present. However, the $2.78 billion will not be equally distributed. Approximately 75% is expected to go to football players, with 20% going to men’s and women’s basketball players and 5% for other athletes. The expected average damages award for a Power Five football or men’s basketball player is approximately $135,000 in payments over 10 years.”

Swimswam was told by a male swimmer at a Southeastern Conference school, who reached the C final at the conference meet, that his posting showed a $286.92 payment, but also an additional $3,140.17 in Alston award money, a program from a 2020 lawsuit which allowed schools to provide academic-related expenses of up to $5,980 per year.

An NCAA swimming champion told the site that earnings of about $600 were coming, along with $3,100 in Alston award money.

Not much compared to what football and basketball players will get, but a likely preview of what many athletes in the non-revenue sports can expect.

● Alpine Skiing ● The women were in action at the FIS World Cup in Kranjska Gora (SLO), with Sweden’s Olympic Giant Slalom gold medalist Sara Hector won her second Giant Slalom of the season in 1:54.86, after leading the first run. Rising Albanian Lara Colturi was second in the first run and remained there to win the silver in 1:56.28 for her second medal this season.

A.J. Hurt was the top American in 10th (1:57.59), ahead of Nina O’Brien (11th: 1:57.83).

Sunday’s Slalom was the second straight win for 20-year-old Croatian Zrinka Ljutic, who won both runs to time 1:39.62, just ahead of two-time Olympic Slalom medalist Wendy Holdener (1:39.78), who tied for the fastest first run and was second in run no. 2. Katie Hensien was the top American, in 12th (1:42.44).

The win vaults Ljutic to the top of the overall seasonal standings with 456 points to 447 for Hector.

French team physician Stephane Bulle told reporters that the recovery process for star speed racer Cyprien Sarrazin, who suffered a bad crash on a training run in Bormio (ITA) on 27 December and required surgery to relieve bleeding on the brain, is going to take a while.

“We certainly don’t have the time we would have in the event of a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligaments. Today, we have much longer times. We are talking about months, we are absolutely not talking about a recovery in weeks, that is irrelevant, we will start by allowing him to do the things that everyone does: sit on the edge of the bed, eat well, get up.

“I don’t know when he will return, but everything we will do is aimed at getting him back on track. We will be there to support him.

“It is very complicated to provide the phases of his rehabilitation because the definitive assessment of potential injuries has not yet been made.

“In the coming weeks we will try to define the skills he already has, then we will see how to help him recover the others. But it is too early. He is fine, but very, very tired.”

● Athletics ● Two-time Olympic 100 m medal winner Fred Kerley posted bond and was released from jail on Saturday after his hearing on a domestic violence charge involving his estranged wife, Angelica, in Miami.

The incident took place last May; Fred Kerley’s attorneys said the domestic violence allegations “are made by a highly motivated and angry woman.”

Sad news of the passing of men’s 400 m hurdles star Ralph Mann at age 75, from pancreatic cancer on Thursday (2nd).

Mann was a three-time NCAA champion for BYU in the 440-yard hurdles in 1969-70-71, winning a tight duel in 1970 with UCLA’s Wayne Collett in a world record of 48.8 (to 49.2). Mann went on to get the silver medal at the 1972 Munich Games, behind the world-record 47.82 by Ugandan John Akii-Bua.

He continued competing into 1977, finishing sixth at the 1976 U.S. Olympic Trials. Meanwhile, he earned a Ph.D. at Washington State in biomechanics and went on to teach at the University of Kentucky, was a consultant on sport performance and to author notable works on golf as well as track & field. He was inducted into the U.S. National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2015.

● Bobsled & Skeleton ● Germany led off the IBSF World Cup in Winterberg (GER) with its second sweep of the season in the Two-Man, and four-time Olympic winner Francesco Friedrich taking his 50th World Cup win in all sleds. This time with Alexander Schueller, Friedrich timed 1:48.26 to beat countrymen Adam Ammour (1:48.47), and two-time Olympic silver winner Johannes Lochner (1:48.88). Frank Del Duca and Manteo Mitchell had the best U.S. finish, in 10th (1:49.59).

Britain’s Brad Hall, the 2023 Worlds runner-up, took the Four-Man title in 1:48.07, winning both runs, ahead of Friedrich (1:48.26) and Ammour (1:48.55). Del Duca was 12th (1:49.15).

The women’s Monobob had 2018 Two-Woman Olympic champ Lisa Buckwitz taking her second straight World Cup win in 1:56.83, ahead of Swiss Melanie Hasler (1:56.92). Elana Meyers Taylor had the best American finish, in seventh (1:57.38).

Buckwitz led a German sweep in the Two-Woman, winning in 1:54.01 with Kira Lipperheide aboard, just 0.01 ahead of 2022 Olympic champ Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi (1:54.02), with Kim Kalicki and Leonie Fiebig in third. U.S. star Kaillie Armbruster Humphries and Emily Reina finished fourth (1:54.76), and Meyers Taylor and Lolo Jones were 12th (1:55.53).

In the men’s Skeleton, the 2023 World Champion, Britain’s Matt Weston won his sixth medal of the season (in six races), but got his first win in 1:53.12, with Austrian Samuel Maier second (1:53.70). Three-time European champ Janine Flock (AUT) won her fourth medal, but first gold of the season at 1:56.66, over Anna Fernstadt (CZE: 1:56.93) and 2022 Olympic champ Hannah Niese (GER: 1:56.95). The top U.S. finisher was Mystique Ro, in 11th (1:57.37).

● Cross Country Skiing ● Norwegian stars Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo and Therese Johaug rolled to victory in the Tour de Ski finales at the FIS World Cup in Val di Fiemme (ITA).

Four-time World Cup seasonal champ Klaebo won the Classical Sprint on Friday in 2:35.45, ahead of teammate Even Northug (2:35.77) and then claimed a tight win in Saturday in the 20 km Skiathlon in 49:29.0, beating Italian star Federico Pellegrino (49:31.4) and Jan Jenssen (NOR: 49:32.9).

Klaebo won his fourth career Tour de Ski title on Sunday’s 10 km Freestyle Mass Start, finishing 18th, while teammate Simen Krueger won the race in 32:39.6 over Austrian Mika Vernuelen (32:47.4). Zanden McMullen was the top American, in 19th (33:56.2).

The women’s title demonstrated that Norway’s four-time Olympic gold medalist Johaug, now 36, is back in top form and will be a major contender for medals again in 2026. After Swiss Nadine Faehndrich won her fifth career World Cup gold in the Freestyle sprint with lean at the finish over Linn Svahn (SWE), 2:57.63 to 2:57.67, Johaug dominated the Skiathlon, winning in 54:53.3, more than 30 seconds up on runner-up Teresa Stadlober (AUT: 55:23.9) and Norway’s Astrid Slind (same time).

Johaug crushed the field in Sunday’s 10 km Mass Start, winning in 35:59.0 at the head of a Norwegian medals sweep, ahead of Slind (36:24.5) and Heidi Weng (36:27.0). Johaug won her fourth career Tour de Ski at 3:46:59.0 over Slind (+47.5).

American Jessie Diggins was fifth in the Skiathlon in 55:48.3, and sixth in the Mass Start (36:53.3), finishing third in the Tour de Ski standings (+2:41.3).

● Freestyle Skiing ● New Zealand’s Luca Harrington, 20, got his first FIS World Cup Big Air gold in Klagenfurt (AUT) on Saturday, scoring 94.80 and 87.80 on his first two runs to total 182.60. That was just better than France’s Timothe Sivignon (180.40), who won his second career World Cup medal.

American Cody LaPlante was ninth (130.40).

China’s Mengting Liu, 20, also got her first World Cup win in the women’s final, scoring 170.60 to edge Flora Tabanelli (ITA: 170.20).

● Gymnastics ● Sounds like American superstar Simone Biles has had enough. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, she explained:

“Because I’ve accomplished so much, there’s almost nothing left to do, rather than to just be snobby and to try again and for what? I’m at a point in my career where I’m humble enough to know when to be done.

“If you go back, you’ll be greedy. Those are the consequences. But that’s also your decision to decide. What sacrifices would be made if I go back now? When you’re younger, it’s like, prom, college. Now it’s like, starting a family, being away from my husband. What’s really worth it?”

Biles would be 31 at the time of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, well past the age with almost every gymnast has retired. Then again, Uzbek star – two-time Olympic and 11-time Worlds medal winner – Oksana Chusovitina competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021 at age 46 and tried to qualify for Paris 2024 at 49!

● Ice Hockey ● The IIHF men’s World Junior Championship in Ottawa (CAN); could not be settled in regulation time, and it took a first-time goal scorer to get the win for the U.S.

The final was a re-match of a group-stage game in which Finland handed the U.S. its only loss, 4-3, in overtime on a Tuomas Uronen goal. The U.S. swamped Switzerland in the quarterfinals by 7-2, then hammered the Czech Republic, 4-1, in its semi to reach the gold-medal match for the ninth time.

The Finns eliminated Slovakia in the quarters by 5-3, then faced Group B winner Sweden in the semis, getting a 4-3 win in overtime, with Benjamin Rautiainen getting the game-winner.

In the final, Finland went up 1-0 on a power-play goal by Jesse Kiiskinen at 7:13 of the first period and were up 2-1 at the end of the period, and 3-1 when defender Emil Pieniniemi scored 4:52 into the second. But the U.S. fought back with goals from Brandon Svoboda at 17:38 and then defender Cole Hutson at 19:31 of the second to tie it at 3-3.

Neither side could score in the third; the U.S. had 34 shots on goal to 22 for the Finns, including 26 in the last two periods. On to the overtime, Finland goalie Petteri Rimpinen turned away shot after shot, but a cross-ice pass from defender Zeev Buium to Teddy Stiga on the right side allowed Stiga to come in and send a short shot underneath Rimpinen’s pads for the gold-medal goal at 8:04. It was Stiga’s first score of the tournament.

It was the seventh title in this tournament for the U.S. and sixth silver for Finland, and the Americans won back-to-back titles for the first time in their history.

The Czechs won the bronze medal from Sweden in a 3-2 shoot-out, after a 2-2 tie, repeating their bronze from 2024.

● Luge ● Austria came away with two wins at the FIL World Cup in Sigulda (LAT), led by 2024 Worlds runner-up Nico Gleirscher, who won his second race of the season by winning both runs and finishing in 1:35.199. That was 0.184 better than home favorite (and 2022 European runner-up) Kristers Aparjods (1:35.383) and 2024 World Champion Max Langenhan (GER: 1:35.480). Tucker West was the top American in seventh (1:35.798).

Three-time Olympic champs Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt (GER) won their first race of the season in the men’s Doubles, winning both runs and timing 1:23.045, with Latvia’s two-time European silver medalists Martins Bots and Roberts Plume close at 1:23.146. Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa (1:24.222) and Zachary Di Gregorio and Sean Hollander (1:24.417) finished 8-9.

The women’s Singles winner was a surprise, with home favorite Elina Bota (LAT) in 1:23.280, beating Merle Fraebel (GER: 1:23.344). Americans Ashley Farquharson (1:23.424), Emily Sweeney (1:23.434) and Summer Britcher (1:23.444) finished 5-6-7.

Austria’s Selina Egle and Lara Kipp won their third straight World Cup race in 1:24.483, just ahead of Americans Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby (1:24.599), who took their third medal of the season and won the second run to move up from third.

● Ski Jumping ● Three-time World Championships gold medalist Stefan Kraft (AUT) took his second win in the 73rd Four Hills Tournament on Saturday at the FIS World Cup in Innsbruck (AUT). On the 128 m hill, Kraft came from second to first in the final round, scoring 273.3 points to 271.9 for countryman Jan Hoerl and teammate Daniel Tschofenig (263.3).

Kraft took the Four Hills lead at 887.1 points to 886.5 for Hoerl and 885.8 for Tschofenig; the final test is on Monday in Bischofshofen (AUT).

The Women’s World Cup resumed on the 98 m hill in Villach (AUT) with jumping on Sunday and Monday, with Germany’s two-time Olympic runner-up Katharina Schmid getting her fourth win of the season on Sunday at 264.7 points over Slovenian teen star Nika Prevc (19) – who had her three-meet win streak snapped – at 260.2. They are 1-2 in the seasonal standings as well, with Schmid at 655 points and Prevc at 609.

● Snowboard ● Sunday saw the FIS World Cup in Big Air in Klagenfurt (AUT), with Japan’s 19-year-old star Taiga Hasegawa scoring his fifth career World Cup gold, scoring 179.75, to beat fellow 19-year-old Ian Matteoli (ITA: 175.25), who won his third career World Cup medal.

Britain’s Mia Brookes (17), the 2023 World Slopestyle Champion, won the women’s event with 184.25 points, ahead of Japan’s 18-year-old Mari Fukada (182.25) and 17-year-old Momo Suzuki (166.75). 

● Water Polo ● USA Water Polo announced that men’s National Team coach Dejan Udovivic (SRB) and women’s National Team coach Adam Krikorian will return through the 2028 Olympic year.

Udovivic has been the U.S. men’s coach since 2013, and led the U.S. to the Paris bronze medal in 2024, the first medal for the American men since 2008. His teams have also won three World League silver medals.

Krikorian led the U.S. women to Olympic golds in 2012-16-20 and five World Championship titles from 2009-22, but saw his squad finish fourth in Paris, losing in the semifinals in a penalty shoot-out with Australia and then to the Netherlands by 11-10 in the bronze-medal match.

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ATHLETICS: Two-time Olympic 100 m medalist, 2022 World Champion Fred Kerley arrested in Miami; what the !@#$ happened?

By
Rich Perelman
-
Two-time Olympic men's 100 m medal winner and 2022 World Champion Fred Kerley (Photo: Marta Gorczynska for Diamond League AG)

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≡ KERLEY ARRESTED IN MIAMI ≡

/Updated/The story spread like wildfire on track & field Web sites on Friday as Fred Kerley, 29, the Tokyo Olympic 100 m runner-up, Paris Olympic bronze medalist and 2022 World Champion, was arrested after getting into an altercation with police officers in Miami Beach on Thursday evening (2nd).

From multiple reports:

● Kerley and girlfriend Cleo Rahman (“DJ Sky High Baby”), 32, were in Miami Beach, walking back to their car in the 100 block of Ninth Street at about 11:25 p.m., with police involved in another matter and blocking access to Kerley’s vehicle.

● According to the police report, Kerley – who lives in the Miami area – approached with an “aggressive demeanor (and) was concerned about his vehicle that was parked in the area of the scene.”

● Kerley was told to go around the officers and circle back to his car. Officer Chris Bess of the Miami Police Department told WPLG TV: “Our officers attempted to de-escalate the situation multiple times. However, unfortunately, the defendant escalated it by using physical force on an officer and was subsequently dealt with accordingly.”

● Kerley was wrestled to the ground by what appeared to be four officers and was tased, finally being arrested, along with Rahman and taken into custody. He was charged with felony battery on a law enforcement officer and misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. Rahman was arrested on a misdemeanor resisting-arrest charge.

● He appeared before Miami-Dade 11th District Circuit Court Judge Mindy Glaser on Friday afternoon, with Glaser asking the prosecutors:

“Was there any responsibility on behalf of the police? Hopefully there’s video and body cam that will show what happened.”

She told Kerley: “I don’t know what happened here, sir. But obviously you were not at your best behavior here when dealing with these police officers.”

Glaser replied to a police officer interviewed remotely, “Sergeant, this could have been handled a different way. And I don’t know if the officers in Miami Beach are busy handling a lot of complicated crime scenes there, but I have a gentleman who’s never been arrested, there’s no prior arrests, who his attorney’s saying has competed in the Olympics, who is obviously a professional athlete and it’s unfortunate that he got to this position.”

She dismissed the disorderly conduct charge, but did find cause to retain the battery-on-an-officer and resisting arrest charges.

● She told Kerley later in the proceeding, “Sir, you’re probably smart to stay off Miami Beach. Go somewhere else to go to dinner, avoid getting in trouble, because if you get re-arrested, you’re going to be locked up in jail until your trial.”

Kerley was due back for a hearing in bond court on Saturday on a May 2024 domestic violence charge (see update below).

This was a wild way to start 2025 after Kerley had a tumultuous 2024 on the track. He left his primary sponsor ASICS in June, then rebounded to run three seasonal bests in a row at the U.S. Olympic Trials two weeks later and made the American team with a third-place finish in the 100 m. He got two more seasonal bests to end up with the Paris bronze in the men’s 100 m at 9.81.

He signed with Grand Slam Track for 2025, the only Olympic 100 m medal winner from the past two Games to be a contracted “Racer” for all four events, beginning in April in Jamaica.

There’s no way to know whether this situation will impact Kerley’s ability to participate, as he still has two charges (one felony, one misdemeanor) pending against him, not including the domestic violence allegations against him.

/Update/On Saturday, Kerley posted bond and was released from jail after his hearing on a domestic violence charge against his estranged wife, Angelica, in Miami.

The incident took place last May; Fred Kerley’s attorneys said the domestic violence allegations “are made by a highly motivated and angry woman.”

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MEMORABILIA: RR Auction offering rare 1904 St. Louis Olympic gold, 1968 Grenoble Winter torch, both valued at $150,000, until 16 January

By
Rich Perelman
-
Amazing: a well-preserved 1904 St. Louis Olympic gold for the 110 m hurdles, won by Fred Schule of the U.S., now on auction! (Photo: RR Auction)

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

A sponsored post by RR Auction.

The 1904 St. Louis Olympic Games was sparsely attended and was only one of the attractions at the seven-month long Louisiana Purchase Exposition, a major World’s Fair that drew 19.7 million attendees on a 124-acre site.

It was dominated by the U.S., which won 76 of the 97 events across 16 sports, including the men’s 110 m high hurdles, with 1903 U.S. national champion Fred Schule winning the gold in 16.0 and leading a U.S. sweep.

After 121 years, his gold medal is one of 384 lots on offer by Boston-based RR Auction, with bidding finishing on 16 January 2025.

It’s in amazing condition, and includes most of the original ribbon, and the original (worn) case; the medal itself bears the event name. Expected to bring perhaps $150,000, it was already up to $53,594 before New Year’s!

The breadth of this auction is remarkable, with 57 lots of Olympic medals and 35 lots of Olympic torches. The listings show a sensational 39 lots expected to bring $10,000 or more:

● $150,000: St. Louis 1904 gold medal (track & field)
● $150,000: Grenoble Winter 1968 torch
● $75,000: St. Louis 1904 silver medal (football)
● $60,000: Stockholm 1956 gold medal (equestrian)
● $60,000: Nagano Winter 1998 gold medal (ski jumping)
● $50,000: London 2012 gold medal
● $40,000: Nagano Winter 1998 silver medal (ski jumping)
● $35,000: Lillehammer Winter 1994 torch
● $30,000: Tokyo 1964 gold medal (fencing)
● $30,000: Albertville Winter 1992 torch

● $30,000: Paris 2024 bronze medal (wrestling)
● $30,000: Paris 2024 torch
● $25,000: London 1908 gold medal (hockey)
● $25,000: Los Angeles 1932 gold medal
● $25,000: Berlin 1936 IOC Chain of Office
● $25,000: Innsbruck Winter 1964 gold medal (speed skating)
● $25,000: Sapporo Winter 1972 torch
● $25,000: Calgary Winter 1988 torch and flame lamp
● $20,000: Nagano Winter 1998 bronze medal (ski jumping)
● $20,000: Turin Winter 2006 silver medal

● $15,000: Zappas 1889 Winner’s Diploma
● $15,000: St. Louis 1904 participation medal
● $15,000: FIFA World Cup 1938 gold medal
● $15,000: Cortina Winter 1956 gold medal
● $15,000: Mexico City 1968 gold medal (volleyball)
● $15,000: Albertville Winter 1992 bronze medal
● $15,000: Athens 1904 gold medal (boxing)
● $12,000: Beijing 2008 silver medal (baseball)
● $10,000: Chamonix Winter 1924 bronze medal
● $10,000: Berlin 1936 silver medal (equestrian) and other items

● $10,000: St. Moritz Winter 1948 gold-silver-bronze medals
● $10,000: Melbourne 1956 silver medal (and participation medal)
● $10,000: Rome 1960 silver medal (track & field)
● $10,000: Rome 1960 bronze medal (shooting)
● $10,000: Tokyo 1964 gold-silver-bronze medals
● $10,000: Munich 1972 gold medal
● $10,000: Montreal 1976 gold-plated torch
● $10,000: Sydney 2000 bronze medal (handball)
● $10,000: Beijing 2008 silver medal (baseball)

Three of the most valuable lots belong to Olympic torches for Games held in France! Yes, there’s a Paris 2024 torch, expected to bring $30,000, but two ultra-rare Winter Games torches are also available. The legendary 1968 Grenoble torch is also expected to bring $150,000, as one of just 33 made, and shared by the torch runners. The 1992 Albertville torch, one of the most graceful ever designed, was also made in an exceedingly limited quantity of just 130; it’s expected to bring $30,000, with bidding at $16,500 before New Year’s.

The St. Louis Games has two more rarities in the auction, with the oddly-shaped silver medal for the men’s football tournament available, expected to bring $75,000 and the ultra-rare Olympic participation medal – maybe the most-desired of all such medals – expected to reach $15,000.

The auction includes multiple items from the estate of Australian Olympic canoer Phil Coles, who became a member of the International Olympic Committee in 1982 and served to 2011. He passed away in January 2023.

A collection of torches and other items from Coles includes a potential bargain, a group of four Olympic torches from Rio 2016 and Winter Games torches from Salt Lake City (2002), PyeongChang (2018) and Beijing (2022), estimated to go for $8,000, and already at $2,000 by 30 December.

Two other Coles torches on offer are from Tokyo 2020, and the Sochi 2014 Winter Games, plus his IOC member medal and Olympic Order in Silver.

There are also two unique medal sets – gold, silver and bronze – from the 1948 St. Moritz Winter Games and Tokyo 1964. The St. Moritz set are specimen medals, never awarded, but the Tokyo set has medals from water polo, gymnastics and fencing! Both are expected to bring $10,000.

A full set of medals is also available – individually – from the 1998 Nagano Winter Games in ski jumping. Rarely seen, the gold is expected to bring $60,000, the silver at $40,000 and the bronze at $20,000. Bidding on the gold has already reached $22,000.

There are also a rich selection of Olympic diplomas, including a winner’s certificate from the 1889 Zappas “Olympics,” a precursor to the revival of the modern Games in 1896.

A unique item among all the Olympic items is a FIFA World Cup gold medal from the 1938 tournament in France, won by Italy. The research note adds, “In addition to the players on the winning Italian squad, high-ranking executives in FIFA and the French Football Federation (FFF) also received gold winner’s medals.”

Not considered as rare, but still compelling are early Olympic items, including eight medals from the 1900 Paris Games and 15 badges for various officials for the 1908 London Games.

Fans of pin sets can choose from a Tokyo 2020 Torch Relay commemorative set from Coca-Cola with 47 pins representing the 47 prefectures the relay was to visit, and national sets for the 2018 Winter Games for Russia (20 pins) and Beijing 2022 for China (31).

Maybe the wildest items are two “license plate toppers” for the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. These attached to the top of auto license plates at the rear fender, one showing an athlete running and the other inscribed “Olympic 1932 Games” and “Los Angeles.” Bids for those started at $150 each.

The auction runs to 16 January, with cut-off times depending on each item’s status beginning at 6:00 p.m. Eastern time. All bidders required to register before placing a bid.

This is quite a show, with an amazing breadth of items, especially among the medals and torches, and strong interest from collectors before the end of the year.

A sponsored post by RR Auction.

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LANE ONE: The top story of 2025 will take place in March, but watch for developments in doping, track and a new focus on LA28!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland, home of the International Olympic Committee

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≡ STORIES OF 2025 ≡

Happy New Year from The Sports Examiner! We’ve run down the top stories of 2024, topped by a brilliant Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and shared our picks for the stories of 2025 – from no. 10 to no. 6 – and so, here are our top five for the new year:

No. 5: LA28 – and Los Angeles – coming into focus

When the International Olympic Committee made the dual hosting awards to Paris and Los Angeles in 2017, the 2028 Olympic Games seemed so far away. Not any more.

With the enormous success of Paris, L.A. is on the clock now and will be the full focus of the Olympic Movement in little more than a year, following the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games next February.

Will L.A. be ready?

The LA28 organizing committee received a vote of confidence in November from the IOC Coordination Commission, via Chair Nicole Hoevertsz of Aruba:

“I think that Paris 2024 really took the global appetite for the Olympic and Paralympic Games to new heights, something really historic, I should say. … It demonstrated the importance of engaging everyone and bringing them along on the journey. LA28 also has the capacity to energize the Games, with L.A.’s culture of innovation and through its vision of harnessing the power of sports and community to collectively create ‘what’s next’ for new generations. …

“Our visit this week reaffirms that LA28 is poised to inspire the next generation and make a positive impact.”

However, the organizing committee still needs to name venues in 12 sports, will need to expand from about 180 staff now to perhaps 600 or more during 2025, and has retooled its leadership team with former U.S. Army Lt. General Reynold Hoover as chief executive, and former Nike senior executive John Slusher as the head of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Properties sales team.

LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman has confirmed, over and over again, that some $4.6 billion – about 64% of the budget – has already been committed from the IOC, sponsors and suppliers, hospitality providers and licensing and merchandising agreements. But that leaves $2.2 billion to go and more is looked for from domestic partnerships.

Elsewhere, the City of Los Angeles named ex-Council member Paul Krekorian – a budget hawk – as its Executive Director of the Office of Major Events, responsible for oversight of the City’s responsibilities, coordination of efforts for 2028 and to keep an eye on LA28 and its spending.

Some City Council members were critical of LA28’s mid-year announcement of multiple venue changes, as approval by the City is required for several of the moves. But there has been no meeting of the Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games since June, so nothing has been done.

The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has made no secret of its need for support to provide service for the 2028 Games, and in November asked the Trump transition team for $3.2 billion in funding for 10 projects, including rental of 2,700 buses. Metro has a multi-million-dollar contract now in the bidding process to engineer, prepare and deliver the 2028 Games support system, with first proposals due on 14 January.

A lot needs to happen in 2025.

No. 4: Will Grand Slam Track save the sport?

Fans of track & field have seen performances in the sport rise to perhaps the highest level in history, and both athletes and supporters are waiting for a breakthrough that will raise its profile to equal golf, tennis, Formula 1 racing and so on.

Michael Johnson, the iconic Atlanta 1996 double gold medalist in the 200 and 400 m, is trying and raised $30 million in support to launch Grand Slam Track, a four-meet program that will debut in 2025:

● 04-06 Apr.: Kingston, Jamaica
● 02-04 May: Miramar, Florida
● 30 May-01: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
● 27-29 Jun.: Los Angeles, California

It will work like this:

“Racers and Challengers will be assigned to compete in one of the following categories, and will all race in two events during each Slam: short sprints (100m/200m), short hurdles (100H or 110H/100m), long sprints (200m/400m), long hurdles (400H/400m), short distance (800m/1500m), or long distance (3000m/5000m). All competitors’ final placement score will be determined by their combined finishing order between the two races. …

“The winner of each Slam group will take home $100,000 in prize money, and the 8th place competitor will earn $10,000. Grand Slam Track will have a total of $12.6m of prize money that will be awarded across the slams each year in addition to the base compensation and appearance fees paid to racers.”

The project will have just 96 total competitors, and does not include field events, or the 10,000 m or relays. Johnson explained to the BBC:

“Grand Slam Track is track, that is what we’re doing. I am going to save what I think I can save; I think I can save track, I don’t think I can save track and field.

“Putting the two together works at the Olympics and World Championships, but I’m not sure it works when you’re trying to create a professional sport outside of those global competitions.”

Johnson is one of several individuals and groups which are looking at track & field once again for investment, and the enthusiasm has not been this high since the International Track Association was formed as a fully professional circuit following the 1972 Olympic Games. It held 51 meets, but folded in the fall of 1976.

Grand Slam Track is now selling tickets, but no broadcast arrangements have been announced as yet. There are many cheering the project on, and there will be a lot of eyes on this program to see if it can lift interest to a new level, but it will not be easy.

No. 3: Will boxing make it onto the LA28 Olympic program?

Boxing has been a part of the Olympic Games since 1904, when it was introduced at the St. Louis Games, except for Stockholm in 1912, because the sport was banned in Sweden. It may or may not be a part of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Its fate is expected to be known in the first quarter of 2025, specifically at the IOC Session in Costa Navarino, Greece, during the 144th IOC Session.

What happened? The short version is that federation president C.K. Wu (TPE), elected in 2006, made a series of what turned out to be disastrous organizational and financial decisions that left the federation deeply in debt. Wu resigned in 2017 and the IOC suspended AIBA in 2019 and formed an internal task force to run the qualifications and Olympic tournament for Tokyo 2020 and later for Paris 2024.

Meanwhile, Russian Umar Kremlev was elected to head AIBA (now IBA for International Boxing Association) in 2020 and enlisted the Russian energy giant Gazprom to pay off its debts, while resisting disclosure of the agreement. After a dubious second election of Kremlev in 2022, the IOC decided, in a special Session in June 2023, to withdraw recognition of the federation and leave the sport without a governing body for Olympic purposes. Therefore, it could not be confirmed for the 2028 Olympic Games.

A possible new federation – World Boxing – was formed in 2023, specifically to govern Olympic boxing and requiring recognition by the IOC. By the end of 2024, it had 60 members.

The IOC has not recognized World Boxing yet, but has told the National Olympic Committees not to support any national boxing federation which is still affiliated with the IBA, ramping up the pressure to join World Boxing. And in December, IOC chief Thomas Bach explained the future of boxing in the Olympic Games:

“This is in the hands of the national boxing federations, whether they want their athletes to give an opportunity to win Olympic medals or not. It’s very easy and there, we see there is some moves with a number of federations. We are watching this and when the time comes, we have to make, like for any recognition, a provisional recognition of any International Federation, we have to make an assessment whether there is a federation – and in this moment, it looks like the only one it could be is World Boxing – whether they are meeting the criteria which we have for such situations.

“And there, to be very clear, it cannot be IBA [International Boxing Association]. This story is over, for all the reasons: governance, ethical reasons, you know.”

Bach has said that the decision whether or not to have boxing in 2028 needs to be made in the first quarter of 2025. Well, we’re here.

There is movement toward World Boxing, but also resistance, with IBA pressuring members to stay affiliated and hoping for a better relationship with whoever the next IOC President will be. The losers, as always, appear to be the boxers.

No. 2: The showdown: WADA vs. USADA

This was our no. 6 story of 2024, stemming from the controversy over the 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for the heart medication trimetazidine in January 2021. The Chinese Anti-Doping Agency investigated and held that the positives were due to food contamination in a kitchen in which meals for the swimmers were prepared.

The World Anti-Doping Agency had doubts about the excuse, but in a situation where it could not make its own, on-the-ground examination as China was still on lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, decided it could not win an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and therefore did not file.

In April 2024, a German ARD channel documentary exposed the case and the decisions made by CHINADA and WADA.

Other anti-doping organizations were horrified, especially that no provisional suspensions were handed to as per the World Anti-Doping Code, which shifts the burden to the athletes to explain how the prohibited drug got into their systems. Instead, CHINADA simply exonerated them without penalty. Eleven of the 23 who tested positive competed at the Paris 2024 Games.

The most vocal outrage came from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which highlighted the issue in front of Congressional hearing with Olympic swimming stars Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt as witnesses.

In response, WADA unleashed its own barrage against USADA, and the IOC added a clause at the last moment in the Olympic Host Contract with Salt Lake City for the Olympic Winter Games in 2034 in late July, with the award of the Games to be terminated if:

“the Host Country is ruled ineligible to host or co-host and/or to be awarded the right to host or co-host the Games pursuant to or under the World Anti-Doping Code or if, in any other way, the supreme authority of the World Anti-Doping Agency in the fight against doping is not fully respected or if the application of the World Anti-Doping Code is hindered or undermined.”

This had no impact on USADA, or the U.S. Congress. WADA, under increasing pressure, commissioned former Swiss prosecutor Eric Cottier for a limited report on whether WADA showed bias toward China and whether the decision to appeal was “reasonable.” Cottier found for WADA on the two questions asked, but had lots of questions about its process and decision-making.

In September, WADA blasted USADA and its testing programs in a publicly-released letter to the Central European Anti-Doping Organization, with a November response from USADA Board Chair Dr. Tobie Smith that included:

“The baseless and defamatory claims outlined in your letter and the CEADO letter are being revealed for what they are – a politically motivated diversion to undermine the credibility of USADA and to attempt to weaken trust in the U.S. sports governance at the very time the world is demanding answers from you as to why you allowed China to violate the rules.”

What happens now?

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee has been working to try and ease the tensions between USADA and WADA, an important first step. However, the U.S. government – notably the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy – continues to be unhappy with WADA and did not pay the U.S. dues for 2024 in protest, of $3,624,983.

The WADA Compliance Review Committee is reviewing the USADA status and WADA has said it has filed a defamation suit against USADA. If USADA is held to be non-compliant, then under the rules, the U.S. would not be authorized to host either the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, or the 2034 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

Neither side has shown any interest in conciliation, but the situation has to be resolved, and the parties all know it. With no Olympic Games in 2025, this could be the time for cooler heads to prevail.

No. 1: The IOC Presidential Election

For better or worse, the President of the International Olympic Committee has been, for decades, the leader of international sport and because of the enormous television and sponsorship revenues attached to the Games, has been the funder of much of the Olympic Movement since the 1980s.

The IOC was transformed from a tiny entity in Lausanne, Switzerland in the early ‘80s to a behemoth under President Juan Antonio Samaranch (ESP), who was in charge until 2001. The growth continued under Belgian head Dr. Jacques Rogge (2001-13) and has accelerated during the presidency of Bach, elected in 2013.

Bach revised the IOC’s processes in many area, including new bidding procedures for the Games that eliminated the many losers that marked the historical format, insisted that no new venues be built for any Games unless as part of a permanent legacy program, greatly expanded the IOC’s staff and reach and much more.

He was asked by many members to stay on for a time in view of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and a time of transition for sport in the digital age. But he decided not to continue past his 12-year, two-term mandate and so the election of the 10th IOC President will take place at the 144th IOC Session in March in Greece.

Seven are running:

● Prince Feisal Al Hussain (JOR): 61, IOC member since 2010
● Sebastian Coe (GBR): 68, IOC member as World Athletics President
● Kirsty Coventry (ZIM): 41, IOC member since 2013
● Johan Eliasch (GBR): 62, IOC member as Int’l Ski & Snowboard President
● David Lappartient (FRA): 51, IOC member as Union Cycliste Int’l President
● Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. (ESP): 65, IOC member since 2001
● Morinari Watanabe (JPN): 65, IOC member as Fed. Int’l de Gymnastique President

TSX profiled their positions on the key issues of the campaign here and here. Coe inserted a fascinating tactical procedure into the election, offering to stand for just a four-year term instead of the regulation eight years in view of his age (68) and IOC regulations that would require him to end his term after six years.

That will, apparently, require the IOC members to vote on whether to allow Coe to participate in the full election – for his proposed four-year term – which could bring a closer look at his manifesto and his 30 January presentation.

Who will win? Coe is favored by some due to his lengthy experience and wide range of roles within the Olympic Movement. But all seven have been successes in their own right and, as these elections often do, will come down to (1) who has the members’ trust and (2) what behind-the-scenes agreements on voting blocs are made, at least for the first round of voting.

The next step is the 30 January presentations to the members, which will be behind closed doors, with no question-and-answer period. The decisions will come a couple of months later.

Who wins is a big deal, as under Bach, the IOC President has set the agenda for the organization, and therefore for the entire Olympic Movement. It will almost certainly be the most impactful story of 2025.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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PANORAMA: Hungarian star Keleti passes at 103; Shiffrin feeling better, France’s Sarrazin out of intensive care

By
Rich Perelman
-
International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons speaking at the closing ceremony, with Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet at right. (Photo: IPC)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games ● Hungarian gymnast Agnes Keleti, 103 and the oldest living Olympic champion, passed away on Thursday (2nd) in Budapest, having been hospitalized with pneumonia last week.

Born in Budapest in 1921, she started in gymnastics as a child and was a prodigy, but World War II changed everything, and being Jewish, had her life threatened.. She, her mother and sister survived with help from Swiss diplomat Carl Lutz and possibly Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, working as a maid with fake identity documents. Her father and other family members were murdered by the Nazis.

In 1946, she won a Hungarian title in the Uneven Bars and was an alternate for the 1948 Olympic Games. She competed in the 1952 and 1956 Olympic Games, winning 10 medals, including golds in 1948 on Floor, and 1952 in Beam, Uneven Bars, Floor (tie) and the Team Portable Apparatus. She was, at 35, the oldest gymnastics gold medalist ever, and was also the All-Around and Team silver winner in Melbourne.

She did not return to Hungary, staying in Australia and moving to Israel in 1957, teaching and coaching gymnastics. She returned to Budapest in 2015.

Per Olympic super-statistician Bill Mallon, crediting Paul Tchir: “The oldest living Olympic gold medalist is now Charles Coste (FRA) in 1948 cycling team pursuit at almost 101 years old.”

● International Paralympic Committee ● A salute to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in the New Year’s message from President Andrew Parsons (BRA):

“The event set a new benchmark for all future Paralympic Games and had a tremendous transformational impact.

“Hosting the Games triggered the French government to invest EUR 1.5 billion into inclusion and accessibility projects, led the City of Paris to spend EUR 125 million improving accessibility, and acted as a catalyst for the Ile de France region to announce plans to make the Paris Metro accessible. …

“Change Starts with Sport, and no other sport event on this planet has such a profound impact on society.”

● Alpine Skiing ● U.S. star Mikaela Shiffrin said in an Instagram post on Wednesday (1st) that she is moving toward a return to competition after her 30 November crash in Vermont:

“Making progress over here…I can move and sweat and use my body which is so exciting!

“This next phase of recovery is all about getting my strength and conditioning back as much as possible while working within the limitations of my obliques. Long hours of gym/rehab time but it’s coming along and I’m so happy with that. Hoping to work into some easy turns on snow in the next week or so.

“There’s a little ways to go before I’m ready to truly ski with intensity – from a pain and a fitness perspective—but I am psyched with where we’re at now.”

French star Cyprien Sarrazin, who crashed on a Downhill training run on the famed Stelvio slope in Bormio (ITA) and had to have surgery to clear a subdural hematoma, is out of intensive care and will return to France on Friday.

He was in a hospital in Sondalo (ITA) and will go to a neurological rehab facility in Lyon to continue his recovery.

● Ice Hockey ● The U.S. and Sweden advanced to the semifinals of the IIHF men’s World Junior Championships in Ottawa (CAN), with wins on Thursday.

The U.S. led Group A at 3-1 (losing in overtime to Finland) and Sweden was 4-0 to win Group B and move on as the top two teams in the playoffs. The Americans stomped Switzerland by 7-2 in the quarterfinals, while the Swedes edged Latvia, 3-2.

The winner between Canada and the Czech Republic will face Sweden, while the U.S. gets the Finland-Slovakia winner.

The semis will be on Saturday and the final on Sunday.

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TSX SPECIAL: It’s here! Our updated, 895-event International Sports Calendar for 2025 and more now posted!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

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≡ TSX CALENDAR ≡

No Olympic Games in 2024, but that just leaves more room for other events! Here’s an update to our TSX calendar – an exclusive 895-event listing– for 2025 and a few of the larger events beyond to 2034.

Our updated International Sports Calendar focuses on sports and events on the Olympic and Winter Games program for 2026 and 2028, plus a few other meetings and multi-sport events.

Please note: this listing will change! However, this edition is a good place to start for following many of the events coming up in the rest of a busy year ahead.

Two calendars are included in the single PDF download: an 19-page listing in chronological order and a 20-page listing by sport (and in date order within each sport).

It’s free! Get your download right now here!

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PANORAMA: IOC warns of fake Bach messages; Chebet crushes own 5 km road record; both Paris 2024 table tennis champs “retire” over fines!

By
Rich Perelman
-
“Retired” over having to play too much: China’s Paris 2024 table tennis gold medalist Zhendong Fan

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

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● International Olympic Committee ● “The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been made aware of a campaign involving two fake accounts on WhatsApp and Telegram, together with email messages impersonating IOC President Thomas Bach. They are contacting high-ranking persons from various walks of life, including senior politicians and Olympic Movement officials. Among other means, the campaign uses a deep-faked voice purporting to be that of the IOC President, which has been created using Artificial Intelligence (AI).”

Wednesday’s message echoed prior warnings from November 2023, March and July of 2024 of fakes message impersonating the IOC. In this case:

“The aim of the campaign seems to be to obtain sensitive information, draw the contacted persons into sensitive conversations and gain unauthorised access to their systems.

“The unknown perpetrator has also tried to gain access to sensitive data of the IOC President, by contacting him and impersonating a high-ranking politician. The attempt was not successful.”

In March 2024, Bach was called by hoaxsters claiming to be representatives of the “African Union Commission,” but actually from Russia, who called other political leaders as well. This latest attempt appears to have failed.

● Athletics ● Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet had a 2024 for the ages, winning the Olympic 5,000 m and 10,000 m titles and setting world records of 14:05.92 for 5,000 m and 28:54.14 in the 10,000.

But that was not enough, and Chebet destroyed the world road 5 km record on 31 December in Barcelona (ESP), winning the Cursa dels Nassos 5 km in a sensational 13:54, becoming the first woman to run under 14 minutes!

She mauled her own prior mark of 14:13, set in the same race in 2023, and then equaled by Agnes Ngetich (KEN) in January 2024. She won by 29 seconds over Medina Eisa (ETH: 14:23). Said the winner:

“I’m super happy as everything went according to plan. I felt capable of running under 14 and I managed to do so. Two races in Barcelona and two world records, can I ask for more? My focus for next year is to win gold medals over 5,000 m and 10,000 m at the World Championships in Tokyo.”

● Cross Country Skiing ● Norway swept to the front of the Tour de Ski races in Toblach (ITA) on Tuesday and Wednesday, winning both men’s and both women’s races.

Harald Amundsen, a two-time Worlds medalist in the 15 km Freestyle, won the men’s Freestyle 20 km in 44:05.3, ahead of teammate Simen Krueger (44:26.5), then took Wednesday’s 15 km Classical Pursuit in 35:18.9. Edvin Anger (SWE: 35:21.4) was second.

American Ben Ogden was ninth in the 20 km Free (45:04.7), and Gus Schumacher was the top U.S. finisher in the Classical Pursuit in 17th (36:24.4).

Norway went 1-2 in both women’s races, with Astrid Slind beating 14-time World Champion Therese Johaug twice. Slind came from behind to overtake Johaug to win the 20 km Free in 48:54.9 to 48:58.2, then the two worked together in the 15 km Classical Pursuit, with Slind winning by 38:39.9 to 38:40.1!

American Jessie Diggins finished sixth in the 20 km in 49:31.2, with Sophia Laukli in 10th (49:56.0). Diggins was sixth again in the Pursuit, in 40:48.4. Slind is now the Tour de Ski leader on total time, with Diggins in fourth (+1:01).

Three stages are coming on 3-4-5 January, in Val di Fiemme (ITA).

● Ski Jumping ● Austria continued winning in the 73rd Four Hills Tournament, with Daniel Tschofenig taking the second event, on Wednesday in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER). Jumping off the 142 m hill, Tschofenig won the first jump and was in the second round to score 298.9, ahead of Gregor Deschwanden (SUI: 290.3).

Tschofeniug is now the overall leader, heading to home hills in Innsbruck (AUT) on Saturday and Bischofshofen on 6 January.

The women’s “Two Nights” tournament in Garmisch on Tuesday and Obertsdorf (137 m) on Wednesday saw Slovenia’s 19-year-old Nika Prevc sweep both!

Prevc scored 275.8 – winning both runs – in Garmisch to outpoint Eirin Kvandal (268.6), then came from fourth after the first round to win the second jump and score 311.9 points to 304.5 for Norwegian Anna Stroem, with Kvandal third (300.1). Prevc’s two-event total of 587.7 was 19.0 points ahead of Kvandal’s 568.7.

● Table Tennis ● China’s Paris 2024 Olympic Singles champions Zhendong Fan, 27, and Meng Chen, 30, both withdrew from international competitions in view of World Table Tennis participation rules. Fan wrote on his Weibo page on 27 December:

“Recently, the WTT (World Table Tennis) has announced new rules imposing fines for non-participation. Individuals cannot afford it but still respect international organisations, so the only course of action is to withdraw from the world rankings.”

He filed a “Player Career Retirement Notification” which removes him from WTT events. Chen also filed, writing on Weibo:

“Because my body is currently unable to bear every high-intensity event, out of respect for international organisations, I signed the document on Monday and finally made the choice to withdraw from the world ranking.”

The WTT rules state:

“Players are entitled to two (2) free withdrawals from Main Draw and Qualifying per year at WTT Star Contender, WTT Contender and WTT Feeder Series, and from Qualifying in Grand Smash without financial penalty.”

Penalties for missing events for top-10 players are $5,000 per tournament.

Losing both Olympic champs prompted a posted reply from WTT, which noted:

“The rules referenced by Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng are not newly introduced. These regulations, which include automatic entry for players ranked in the global standings, have been in place since WTT’s inception four years ago. …

“The penalties for non-participation are designed to support the structure of the WTT calendar, ensuring that fans, organisers, event partners and broadcast partners can rely on the participation of the world’s top players. This is particularly important for marquee events such as the WTT Grand Smashes, WTT Champions and WTT Finals.”

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LANE ONE: The top stories of 2025? Here are nos. 10-6: Lyles, NCAA, FIFA, Milan Cortina and what about Russia?

By
Rich Perelman
-
FIFA President Gianni Infantino leading the applause to confirm the host selection for the 2030 and 2034 World Cup (FIFA video screenshot).

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≡ STORIES OF 2025 ≡

Happy New Year from The Sports Examiner! We’ve run down the top stories of 2024, topped by a brilliant Paris 2024 Olympic Games, so what should we look for in 2025? Here’s a look ahead at our top 10, starting with nos. 10-6:

No. 10: Lyles running wild?

There’s track & field and then there’s American sprinter Noah Lyles, who has created a separate level of interest with his speed – Olympic 100 m champ, World 100-200 m champ – and a level of showmanship that has produced a legion of fans, and some vocal detractors.

All the better for him, and at 27, he’s in his prime with a sport on the verge of a major rise … or a series of devastating failures. But Lyles, who won the 200 m bronze in Paris while suffering from the Covid-19 virus, isn’t even talking about Tokyo and the 2025 World Athletics Championships.

He’s talking about racing Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill in a one-on-one showdown, possibly in a streaming project like the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight on Netflix. In early December, Lyles teased a possible “undercard” with hurdles star Grant Holloway facing another football star like Seattle’s DK Metcalf and 2019 World Champion Christian Coleman against fastest-40-at the Combine receiver Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs).

In a 19 December podcast, YouTube star MrBeast (James Donaldson), who instigated the one-off race between Lyles and IShowSpeed (Darren Watkins Jr.) on 6 November, suggested doing more short takes, like a one-on-one race between Lyles and the world’s fastest woman.

Donaldson had no idea who that was – track fans will shout back Olympic champ Julien Alfred (LCA) or Worlds winner Sha’Carri Richardson of the U.S. – but said it would be a huge viral winner, with millions of views. Lyles was not as eager, knowing that he would win such a race easily, but Donaldson said it would attract a lot of attention as a short-form video.

This is the world Lyles is living in, far away from the usual build-up to a World Athletics Championships in Japan in September. But he can live in both and brings attention to the sport.

His reality, the introduction of Grand Slam Track, the Tokyo Worlds, the World Road Running Championships in San Diego at the end of September, make this an interesting and possibly pivotal year for track & field in 2025. It is possible that the sport could look and feel very different a year from now … better or worse.

Whatever the situation, Lyles will be in the middle of it.

No. 9: The disintegration of collegiate sports

The new year of 2025 may be remembered as the year collegiate sports were reborn, or marched toward a painful death.

The settlement in House vs. NCAA is scheduled to be approved, or cast aside, in April. If approved, it will create a $2.75 billion liability for the NCAA and its member schools for compensation owed to Division I college athletes over the prior 10-year period, and, beginning with the 2025-26 academic year, require that 22% of the average revenues of Power Five conference athletic programs be used for revenue sharing; this is expected to create an added cost of about $20.5 million per school per year.

Moreover, it will lift scholarship limits on all sports and replace them with hard limits on roster size, with all team members allowed to be on scholarship. The immediate impact will be to eliminate walk-on spots in many sports in many schools.

The settlement is also likely to create an enormous imbalance between football – whose players will see perhaps 90 cents of every dollar spent on athlete revenue sharing – and all other sports, and raises Title IX questions that are sure to create another lawsuit.

And there is the question of how athletic departments deal with a sudden added burden of $20.5 million per year, paid almost exclusively to football and basketball players. What happens to all the other sports?

The NCAA rules require that to compete in Division I, a school must field at least 16 sports for Football Bowl Subdivision status, or 14 sports – with at least six for women – for the rest of Division I. Look for that requirement to be challenged, and if reduced or eliminated, for schools to start eliminating sports quickly.

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee in painfully aware of the issues and the impact on major Olympic sports such as swimming and diving, track & field, wrestling and many more. Within the collegiate sports community, the alarm bells are already ringing loudly and clearly.

Sam Seemes, the head of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) told coaches at their December convention:

“Let me be blunt: Our sports are under siege. Not in some distant future, but right now. The threats are real and immediate:

“– Shrinking opportunities for student-athletes
“– Vanishing budgets
“– Disappearing scholarships
“– Reduced coaching positions
“– Complete program elimination
“– Replacement by sports perceived as more valuable

“If you think I’m being an alarmist, wake up.”

It is entirely possible that hundreds of programs across multiple sports across the country may be dead or dying at the end of 2025, unless an organizational solution is found. There are ideas out there to do that.

No. 8: FIFA decides to go its own way

There wasn’t one decision, but four which point to FIFA taking its own path to the future, away from tradition, and without concern for who might care. It’s an interesting path and one very much worth observing:

● FIFA greatly expanded its previously unheralded Club World Cup from seven teams to 32 for 2025, put the tournament in the U.S., and drew a furious response from the FIFPRO players union, the European Leagues association and others, including a lawsuit at the European Union’s Court of Commerce. The filing challenges the international match calendar and the added burden on players. FIFA denies any issue and continues to prepare for the tournament in June.

● On 11 December, FIFA held an online Congress and selected – by acclamation via applause – a six-nation World Cup for 2030 and Saudi Arabia to solely host the 2034 World Cup, with eight stadiums to be built. Human rights organizations were appalled, but FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI) hailed the selection, after working through a process which collapsed FIFA’s normal continental rotation to claim both Europe and South America were World Cup hosts for 2030.

● The Club World Cup drew only modest interest from national broadcasters, so FIFA made a deal reported at $1 billion with British-based streaming service DAZN. There may be sub-licenses to other broadcasters, but this was a unique solution that takes the tournament to a smaller audience that it hoped for.

● On 20 December, FIFA doubled down on its streaming strategy, selling the broadcast rights for the Women’s World Cup in Brazil in 2027, and in 2031 – unassigned, but which could be in the U.S. – to the streaming giant Netflix, which has now moved strongly into live sports.

The wisdom of these decisions won’t be known for some time, but Infantino has now put his strong support behind two World Cups in the Middle East, with Qatar in 2022 and Saudi in 2034. And FIFA has decided it no longer needs to try and offer two of its prize tournaments to the largest possible audiences, but will take a better financial offer to collect more money that it can distribute to its member federations, who will happily receive larger checks.

Is streaming the future of televised sports, with FIFA in the lead, or simply a bridge to direct-to-consumer sales that take all the middlemen out of the picture completely. FIFA does not have its own production company … but the International Olympic Committee does.

Interesting.

No. 7: All eyes on the next Olympics: Milan Cortina 2026

There was plenty of angst about Paris in 2024, especially about security and costs. Both came up aces, with the French security forces keeping the Games – and Paris – safe, and the two organizations spending money within limits. The government building subsidy, Solideo, built the Olympic Village and an arena within budget, and the organizing committee announced a surplus of at least €28.6 million in its operations. (€1 = $1.04 U.S.)

Now the attention turns to the next Games, the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, in February 2026.

The Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 – the organizing committee – has had plenty of challenges, including replacing its chief executive, with Andrea Varnier taking over in November 2022. The domestic sponsorship program has advanced quickly, and the organizing effort is also moving along, with multiple test events being held this winter.

Now the attention is on another government building project, a controversial new facility in Cortina for bobsled, luge and skeleton, replacing the historic Eugenio Monti track used for the 1956 Winter Games in Cortina. The track project had multiple false starts and the plan was to relocate the competition to Austria or Switzerland.

But the Italian government wanted the events to be held in Italy, slimmed down the project and finally found a builder in Parma-based Impresa Pizzarotti & C., which agreed to an €81.6 million fee and began the work in February.

The track is slated to begin certification procedures next March, and is said to be on schedule.

Nevertheless, it was announced in December that the organizers continue in discussions with the folks in Lake Placid, New York, to have the famed Mt. van Hoevenberg track as a back-up, just in case.

The newest worry came last week with three crashes during the FIS Alpine World Cup racing in Bormio, on the brutal Stelvio track, considered one of the most challenging in the world. French star Cyprien Sarrazin had to have surgery to drain blood near the brain, and the Milan Cortina organizers had to issue a statement that safety procedures for the 2026 Games will be beefed up.

There will be more drama, for sure.

No. 6: What about Russia?

The Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022 and has continued without end. While the shock of the attack has worn off, there has been no let-up and resentment against Russia continues in many places.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER) led the imposition of “protective measures” which kept Russian and Belarusian athletes out of international competition. But he also led a move to allow limited participation for Russian and Belarusian “neutrals” in December 2023 that led to an independent IOC review committee and small squads of 15 Russians and 17 Belarusians at Paris 2024. It was the smallest Russian “team” at an Olympic Games in 108 years.

Now, the questions are over Milan Cortina 2026. The IOC’s request for teams to be banned continues and still applies to curling and ice hockey. Biathlon, bobsled and skeleton, luge and skiing have continued to keep Russians and Belarusians out, but the International Skating Union has allowed limited participation in Olympic qualifying events only, and the International Ski Mountaineering Federation has approved five Russians as “neutrals.”

Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev said last week:

“The most difficult situation is in winter sports. Those who qualify will definitely be supported by the Ministry of Sports and the Russian Olympic Committee, but there will be few of us for now. This is due to the fact that selections will begin soon, but not all federations have ‘opened.’ There is also a problem in biathlon, among skiers.”

But he sees a “fully armed” team competing in Los Angeles in 2028. How Russia gets there will depend on who is elected as the next IOC President in March. Among the seven candidates, positive comments have been made by officials about veteran member Juan Antonio Samaranch (ESP), cycling chief David Lappartient (FRA) and gymnastics head Morinari Watanabe (JPN).

But the one candidate who Russia does not want elected in Britain’s Sebastian Coe, the head of World Athletics, which continues to maintain a complete ban on Russia. It’s one more intrigue for the 144th IOC Session.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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PANORAMA: Johnson says track can be “on par” with golf, tennis, F1; Commonwealth Games future brighter now; Paris medals develop “crocodile skin”

By
Rich Perelman
-
French swimming bronze winner Yohann Ndoye Brouard pictured the condition of his Paris 2024 Olympic medal on X on 28 December 2024.

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

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 1980: Moscow ● Further to our post on the death of Jimmy Carter, the 39th U.S. President who kept the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team at home, 3 Wire Sports’ Alan Abrahamson offered a deeper look into the impact on the U.S. athletes who never got to compete, in a story he wrote in 2005 for the Los Angeles Times.

Twenty-five years later, it still hurt.

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● Complaints continue to come in on the deterioration of some of the medals presented during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. RTL French radio posted photos of men’s Medley Relay bronze medals from swimmers Clement Secchi and Yohann Ndoye Brouard, with Secchi referring to his as having “crocodile skin.”

The French Mint, which made the medals, has said it will replace any which are defective.

● International Olympic Committee ● In his New Year’s message, IOC President Thomas Bach reflected on the success of the Paris 2024 Games and looked to how the Olympic Movement can help shape the future:

“In our difficult times, with wars and conflict on the rise, we need our Olympic values more than ever. There is a new world order in the making. In these times, our Olympic Movement has a unique and important role – because the Olympic Games are the only event that still manages to bring the entire world together in peaceful competition. We can only achieve this through our full commitment to equality through solidarity.”

● Paralympic Games ● In another sign of wider acceptance of Paralympic athletes alongside Olympic athletes in Japan, the Japanese Olympic Committee and the Japanese Paralympic Committee agreed to have sponsor companies sign a single joint support agreement beginning in 2025.

The governing bodies are two separate entities in Japan – unlike the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee – but feel a more flexible approach can increase their profiles among potential corporate supporters.

● Commonwealth Games ● “We’ve changed the Games. So it’s much more affordable, much more attractive.

“We’re not the Olympics. We are not going to be the Olympics. We’ve learned over the last couple of years, we’ve analysed it, where we sit within the environment and we’re really comfortable.

“We’ve reset and reframed the Games to exactly the sweet spot of where we should be.”

That’s Commonwealth Games Federation President Chris Jenkins (WAL), in an interview with the BBC, explaining that the format of the compacted 2026 Games in Glasgow (SCO) is the way forward.

Only 10 sports will be contested in Glasgow, after 20 in Birmingham (ENG) in 2022, and while Jenkins sees a potential for more sports in the future, the new approach is better:

“Glasgow’s showing how you can co-create. We’ve taken 50-plus percent of the costs out. It’s going to be a very, very compact Games.

“But also I think it is going to showcase the first phase of the reset. Using existing accommodation, existing venues, using indoor facilities really well, perhaps for ceremonies. So that’s one aspect of what I find exciting about Glasgow.”

He’s open to a single city hosting, multiple cities, or even countries. Next up is finding a host for the centennial edition in 2030, with a new approach that will hopefully be more digestible for potential new hosts.

● Russia ● The TASS news agency reported on a new Olympic and Paralympic scholarship program announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin. A total of 4,000 scholarships are to be made available, paying a maximum of 60,000 rubles a month (about $555 U.S.), for athletes or others supporting their achievements, such as coaches.

● Athletics ● Michael Johnson sees his Grand Slam Track project being able to lift the sport on a par with golf and tennis. He said in an interview with Britain’s Daily Mail:

“I think it can be huge. I think the potential of this sport is immense. It’s the greatest Olympic sport. Every four years, it’s the most watched sport – and probably the most watched thing – in the world.

“It is a sport that everybody understands. It’s perfect for today’s audience. It’s really a series of highlights. Two thirds of our races take place in under a minute and you just keep getting more and more of them. …

“Half of my team have come from WWE and that is huge. Look at what has happened with UFC and where they are now. Tennis has four Grand Slams every year. Golf has four majors every year. Look at what F1 has done. There is no reason that track can’t be on par with those sports.”

He said the circuit’s television arrangements will be announced in January.

● Swimming ● Sweden’s sprint star Sarah Sjostrom told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper that she plans to take 2025 off, but is not retiring.

“As it is now, I have no competitions planned. I will train, but at a low load and then slowly increase. I think that is the best way to last in the long run.”

She’s considering a possible run at a sixth Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028, especially looking at the 50 m Free, when she will be 34. The 50 and 100 m Free winner in Paris, she noted her build-up to 2024 was especially good:

“In both the fall of 2022 and 2023, I had an extremely easy time competing, and my body responded very well to that. It was as if I came back stronger because I was fresh when I then started the hard training.”

She’ll skip the 2025 World Championships, but could return in 2027 in Budapest.

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For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

LANE ONE: The top stories of 2024, nos. 5-1: Swimming heroes and records, Russia’s return, track explodes, Bach steps away and there was Paris

By
Rich Perelman
-
A very popular innovation at Paris 2024: the Parc des Champions (Photo: Clement Dorval/City of Paris)

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

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≡ STORIES OF 2024 ≡

It was a grand year for Olympic sport in 2024, and after counting down the most compelling stories of the year from no. 10 to no. 6, let’s get to the top five!

No. 5: Records galore in swimming, in and out of the pool

It was a wild year in swimming, with amazing performances, starting with the U.S. Olympic Trials in June, held for the first time in an NFL stadium! USA Swimming held the Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, setting an indoor swim meet record with 20,689 in the house on 15 June and then 22,209 on the 19th.

In all, there were 285,202 ticketed attendees for the 17 sessions, an average of 16,777, to see a world record in the women’s 100 m Backstroke for Regan Smith and four wins by Katie Ledecky in the 200-400-800-1,500 m Freestyles.

On to Paris, where France’s Leon Marchand conquered everyone with gold-medal performances in the 200 and 400 m Medleys and a sensational, one-night double on 31 July in the 200 m Butterfly and 200 m Breaststroke, all four in Olympic Record times.

Four world records were set, including China’s Zhanle Pan with an other-worldly 46.40 in the men’s 100 m Freestyle, American Bobby Finke in the 1,500 m Free (14:30.67) and U.S. relay teams in the women’s 4×100 m Medley and Mixed 4×100 m Medley.

The U.S. led the medal table with 28 (8-13-7) and won one more gold than Australia (7), but was down vs. Tokyo 2020 (30: 11-10-9). USA Swimming chief executive Tim Hinchey’s contract was not renewed amid complaints from coaches about relations with the National Office, and the lack of a coach as the director of the national team program.

But the year wasn’t over and there were surprises to come at December’s World 25 m (short course) Championships in Budapest (HUN). There were many stars – like Marchand – who decided not to swim, but that did not stop a historic assault on the record books.

A stupendous total of 30 world short-course records were set, especially by American star Gretchen Walsh! Winner of two relay golds, a relay silver and the women’s 100 m Fly silver in Paris, she exploded in Budapest, winning seven golds, in the 50-100 Frees, 50-100 Flys, 100 m Medley and two relays and setting an unbelievable 11 world records along the way! She had never contested a short-course 100 m Fly before, but set world records in the heats, semis and final. She’s 21.

The U.S. also got world records from Luke Hobson, Kate Douglass and Regan Smith on the way to winning 39 total medals (18-13-8), with Canada second with 15 (4-5-6). Wow.

No. 4: Russia returns, in a small way

As the Russian war against Ukraine ground on in 2024, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER) was determined to find an appropriate way to have some presence for Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, holding that athletes who are “neutral” on the government’s war should have an opportunity to qualify and compete.

The IOC relaxed its 2022 protective ban on Russia and Belarus slightly, to allow individual “neutral” athletes to compete in Paris, but only after the IOC’s own review on neutrality vis-a-vis the war. Russian athletes qualified for 48 places, but the IOC review committee accepted only 30 and just 15 competed in Paris, winning one silver medal. Belarus earned 32 quota places and eventually sent 17, winning four medals (1-2-1).

Multiple federations relaxed their rules to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as “neutrals,” including cycling, gymnastics, judo, rowing and wrestling, with varying levels of scrutiny. However, the ban on Russian and Belarusian teams remained in place.

All of this outraged Ukraine and its supporters, who charged the IOC and others with allowing Russian to use these athletes to promote the government and its policies of aggression.

In a strange end to the year, Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov was once again elected as the President of the International Fencing Federation (FIE), then announced he would step away from the office and retain the interim head of the federation to run things.

With the IOC set to elect a new President in 2025, the Russian government started a charm offensive, naming a former territorial governor, Mikhail Degtyarev, as Sports Minister and Degtyarev – with the approval of the Kremlin – also later elected as the President of the Russian Olympic Committee. He said Russia has to stop insulting the IOC and believes a full team will attend the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.

No. 3: U.S. sensational in 2024; 12 world records set

It was a huge year for the United States in 2024, with a magnificent performance at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, but also for multiple performers who claimed a dozen world records across nine events:

● Men/3,000 m: 7:17.55, Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR)
● Men/Vault: 6.24 m (20-5 1/2), Mondo Duplantis (SWE)
● Men/Vault: 6.25 m (20-6), Duplantis
● Men/Vault: 6.26 m (20-6 1/2), Duplantis
● Men/Discus: 74.35 m (243-11), Mykolas Alekna (LTU)

● Women/1,500 m: 3:49.04, Faith Kipyegon (KEN)
● Women/2,000 m: 5:19.70, Jessica Hull (AUS)
● Women/10,000 m: 28:54.14, Beatrice Chebet (KEN)
● Women/400 m H: 50.65, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA)
● Women/400 m H: 50.37, McLaughlin-Levrone
● Women/High Jump: 2.10 m (6-10 3/4), Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR)

● Mixed/4×400 m: 3:07.41, United States

The Paris Games were the centerpiece of the year, with the American team winning a superb 34 medals, its best since Los Angeles in 1984 (40), with men’s golds from Noah Lyles (100), Quincy Hall (400), Cole Hocker (1,500), Grant Holloway (110mH), Rai Benjamin (400mH), the 4×400 m relay and Ryan Crouser in the shot. The women got wins from Gabby Thomas (200), Masai Russell (100mH), McLaughlin-Levrone, in both relays, the long jump (Tara Davis-Woodhall) and discus (Valarie Allman). Crouser won the shot for the third straight Olympic Games.

Kenya’s Kipyegon won her third straight women’s 1,500 m, teammate Chebet won both the 5,000 and 10,000 m and Dutch star Sifan Hassan tripled with a bronze in the 5,000 m and 10,000 m and then won the marathon! Belgium’s Nafi Thiam won the heptathlon for the third straight time.

World Athletics made headlines by becoming the first federation to offer Olympic prize money, paying $50,000 to each Paris winner. There was condemnation from most other federations – who don’t have that kind of money to spend – and from the IOC as well. World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe (GBR) – himself a two-time Olympic 1,500 m champion – said athletes should be rewarded, but admitted the announcement could have been handled more deftly.

Off the track, there was significant news with Atlanta 1996 icon Michael Johnson raising $30 million to start his Grand Slam Track circuit, with 96 contracted athletes racing for $12.6 million in prize money across four meets in 2025. The Athlos NYC meet in September had six all-women races and paid prizes of $60,000-25,000-10,000-8,000-5,000-2,500.

In November, World Athletics introduced its “Ultimate Championship” for 2026, a three-night show with 26 individual events, two relays and $10 million in prize money. It may be that 2024 will be the pivotal year for track & field athletes to be better paid and presented.

No. 2: IOC’s Bach declines to stay on

“So many of you have asked me to have my mandate extended and to agree with a change to the Olympic Charter for this purpose. …

“As a result of deep deliberations and extensive discussions, also with my family, present in the room, I have come to the conclusion that I should not have my mandate extended beyond the term limits enumerated by the Olympic Charter.”

That was IOC President Thomas Bach, now 70, at the 142nd IOC Session in Paris on 10 August, the day before the close of the Paris Olympic Games.

In a carefully-prepared speech, he pointed to the IOC’s strong position, with Olympic Games already awarded for 2028 and 2032 and Winter Games awarded for 2026-30-34, $13.5 billion in committed revenues through 2032, and a host of new initiatives. But he added:

“To implement effectively all these projects, to address the technological tsunami of converging sciences like A.I., biochemistry and neuroscience, you need to be immersed in this digital world. You need to participate in this digital world. You need to have a deep understanding of these new ways of thinking and communicating. Otherwise, you cannot safely navigate our Olympic Movement ship through the high waves of this tsunami.

“For this new way of living, I, with my age, I am not the best captain. New times are calling for new leaders. I know, with this decision, I am disappointing many of you. I can only plead to you to respect that I am deeply convinced this to be in the best interest of our beloved Olympic Movement.”

In response, the election of the next IOC President was set for March 2025, at the IOC Session in Greece, with seven candidates coming forward: Prince Feisal Al Hussein (JOR), World Athletics chief Coe, swimming gold medalist and Zimbabwe Youth Minister Kirsty Coventry, FIS chief Johan Eliasch (GBR), UCI President David Lappartient (FRA), Juan Antonio Samaranch (ESP), and gymnastics head Morinari Watanabe (JPN). And the campaigning has started in earnest.

Bach has his detractors, but he will be remembered as a transformative IOC President, who turned the organization around from disarray to a new high in prestige, power over sport and financial security.

No. 1: A fabulous, wonderful Olympic Games in Paris

In the aftermath of the Covid-impacted Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, held in 2021, the Olympic Movement needed a powerfully-produced, high-impact Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. Desperately.

And Paris delivered. Did it ever.

Placing the competitions against a backdrop of iconic Parisian location, topped by the Eiffel Tower, the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad proceeded with brilliance, glory and a rapt audience that filled the stands and glued viewers to television sets, computers, tablets and phones for 17 days in July and August.

There was plenty of controversy prior to the Games – as always – with severe doubts and warnings about budgets, the radical opening on the Seine River, security, air conditioning in the Olympic Village, too much emphasis on sustainability and so on. In the end, Paris was the winner:

● The Seine opening went off without security issues, although the ceremony programming itself was criticized over some of the content. And despite some delays, the open-water swimming and triathlon events were held in the Seine as well.

● The Games were visually brilliant and although there were issues, they were mostly behind the scenes and workarounds were found. The athletes got to the venues on time and the competitions were spectacular.

● While the U.S. led the medal table at 126 – its best performance ever outside of a U.S.-hosted Games – the French heroes delivered, starting with swimmer Leon Marchand and his four gold medals, all in Olympic Record times. And there was judo star Teddy Riner, who won his third gold in the men’s +100 kg class and clinched the Mixed Team gold with a final victory for the French team. French athletes won 64 total medals (16-26-22), up from 33 in Tokyo and the most since the 1900 Olympics, also held in Paris!

● Fans had more opportunities to experience the Games than ever before, with the new Champions Park program to salute medal winners, the Nations Park with the hospitality houses of 15 National Olympic Committees, and the first-ever Marathon Pour Tous, with nearly 34,000 runners taking part in the 10k or marathon, on the Olympic route.

And despite all of the fears, the Paris Games were contained within expected costs:

● The government’s Solideo construction subsidiary completed the work on a new arena, the Olympic Village and other projects on time and within its €3.2 billion budget. (€1 = $1.04 U.S.).

● The Paris 2024 organizing committee reported it finished with a surplus of at least €26.8 million, on revenues of €4.481 billion and expenses of €4.454 billion, including 70 sponsors and suppliers.

● The surplus was primarily the result of the fabulous ticket sales, with an all-time record of 9.55 million Olympic tickets sold and 2.57 million Paralympic tickets, for a total of 12.12 million.

Paris 2024 had 41,000 volunteers helping with the Olympic and Paralympic Games, universally adored for their positive attitude and willingness to help.

It was a wonderful Games, with a worldwide audience approaching five billion, and restored the luster of the Olympic Games as an unmatched, worldwide celebration of sport. For those who still doubt the power of the Games, those who experienced the 2024 edition will say, “We’ll always have Paris.”

Coming next: the stories to look for in 2025!

Rich Perelman
Editor

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For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

LANE ONE: The top stories of 2024, nos. 10-6: Pogacar, Elor, FIFA, transgenders, Biles, Chiles and a nasty fight over doping

By
Rich Perelman
-
The amazing, incomparable Simone Biles (Photo: Panam Sports)

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

★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ STORIES OF 2024 ≡

There’s no question about the top story of 2024; it’s the brilliant success of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad in Paris last summer. But that was not the only story of 2024, as there was a lot happening both on and off the fields of play.

And some things that happened in 2024 will continue into 2025. So let’s check out our top stories of this year – in two parts – before looking ahead to what 2025 has in store.

No. 10: Pogacar and Elor remain unbeatable

You may not follow cycling or wrestling closely, but two stars won sensational victories that continued to raise their profiles, into 2025.

Slovenian star Tadej Pogacar came into 2024 already a two-time winner of the Tour de France, but he had bigger plans for the season. After taking the early-season Strade Bianche in Italy, he finished third in the important Milan-Sanremo race and then won the seven-stage Volta Ciclista a Catalunya by 3:41, and the 110th Liege-Bastogne-Liege by 1:39.

All that led up to his first appearance at the famed Giro d’Italia. He destroyed the field, winning by 9:56 and taking six stage victories. A month later, he lined up for the Tour de France and won his third title – taking six stages again – beating two-time defending champ Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) by 6:19.

He said he would not try the never-before-done Grand Tour sweep at the Vuelta a Espana, instead focusing on the UCI World Road Championship, winning by 0:34 and becoming only the third ever to pull off that triple. He then won Il Lombardia for a second Monument win. Wow. He’s still just 26.

American wrestler Amit Elor, 20, came into 2024 with back-to-back triples, winning the women’s World Junior, World U-23 and World Championship golds in 2022 and 2023 at 72 kg. But there is no 72 kg class at the Olympic Games, meaning she had a choice and decided to compete at 68 kg. Any loss in power or efficiency? Nope.

She won the Olympic Trials final over 2021 Worlds bronze winner Forrest Molinari, 6-0 and 2-1, to advance to Paris. Once there, she stomped reigning 68 kg World Champion Buse Tusun (TUR) by 10-2 in the first round, then won 8-0 and 10-0 to get to the final, where she win by 3-0 over 2021 World Champion Meerim Zhumanazarova (KGZ). At 20, she’s the youngest American wrestler to ever win an Olympic gold.

Born in California to Israeli parents – her father attended Boise State as a shot and discus man on scholarship – Elor received her share of social-media anti-Semitic hate, but replied on Instagram with a video, wearing a yellow pin as a symbol of efforts to return the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and saying “Eighty years ago, my grandparents survived the Holocaust, but antisemitism is all around us. My grandparents won, I won. Humanity will win. Never again.”

Watch for both in 2025.

No. 9: Football’s wild year, in Saudi Arabia and Paris

FIFA had a big year in 2024, awarding the 2030 and 2034 men’s World Cups, and launching itself into controversy with both feet. The federation has had a tradition of moving the high-profile World Cup in a continental rotation, but with the 2030 World Cup also being the centennial of the event, it maneuvered the process cleverly, awarding the event to a European-African combined bid from Morocco, Portugal and Spain, while also playing “celebratory” opening matches in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The 1930 World Cup was played in Uruguay with the hosts defeating Argentina in the final.

So, that meant the rotation moved to Asia for 2034, with Saudi Arabia the only bidder and ready to spend lavishly on the event. So on 11 December, a special FIFA Congress was held in which there was not even a vote on each event, but a call for acclimation by applause from an online audience of delegates from the national federations.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI) hailed the award of both events, with the sport returning to the Middle East just 12 years after Qatar hosted the 2022 World Cup. Human Rights Watch was appalled, saying in a statement:

“Today’s confirmation of Saudi Arabia as host of the 2034 FIFA men’s World Cup, despite the well-known and severe risks to residents, migrant workers and visiting fans alike, marks a moment of great danger. It should also mark a moment for change.

“As global and regional human rights organisations, trade unions, fans groups and organisations representing migrant workers, many of us have long highlighted the severe risks posed by Saudi Arabia’s hosting of mega-sporting events. By awarding the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia without meaningful protections, FIFA has today decided both to ignore our warnings and discard its own human rights policies.”

On the field, the U.S. women staged a stunning rebound from its elimination in the quarterfinals of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, winning the CONCACAF W Gold Cup under interim coach Twila Kilgore. Chelsea coach Emma Hayes (GBR), hired in November 2023, came on in May and after four friendlies (3-0-1), assembled the American Olympic squad for Paris.

The U.S. selectees responded with fiercer defense and a revitalized offense with forwards Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman, sailing through their group matches by 3-0, 4-1 and 2-1, then winning extra-time matches against Japan and Germany by 1-0, and then the gold-medal match against Brazil, also by 1-0. It was the first U.S. Olympic gold since 2012.

Hayes finished the season with her teams winning 13 of their 15 matches, with draws in the other two. She earned FIFA Women’s Coach of the Year honors and the U.S. finished the season ranked no. 1 again.

No. 8: Challenges over women’s sport, everywhere

The question of who should be allowed to compete in the women’s division was a hot topic in 2024, no more so than at the Olympic Games in Paris.

There, two veteran women fighters – Yu-ting Lin (TPE) at 57 kg and Imane Khelif (ALG) at 66 kg – were entered and competed in Paris, with Lin having been a two-time World Champion and Khelif a 2022 Worlds silver medalist. However, the International Boxing Association disqualified both at the 2023 World Championships for not meeting “eligibility” requirements, but with no specifics.

In Paris, questions were raised about both by the IBA, which accused the International Olympic Committee of allowing them to compete in the Games despite failing the IBA’s tests in 2023, which it continued to refuse to provide. Both Lin and Khelif won their weight classes in Paris and the argument went on. The IOC issued a statement which noted:

“We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments.

“These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process. …

“The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure – especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years.”

A later French newspaper report on Khelif’s test was challenged by her and a lawsuit was promised. That drama continues. In October, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls released a study and called for the re-introduction of gender testing in sports, explaining:

“Current technology enables a reliable sex screening procedure through a simple cheek swab that ensures non-invasiveness, confidentiality and dignity.

“In a small number of cases, such screenings can indicate a need for follow-up tests as part of standard medical care with associated duty of care and support. The need for follow-up tests is primarily relevant for athletes who may have been registered as female at birth but who are males that have differences of male sexual development involving functioning testes, male puberty or testosterone in the male range and, therefore, male advantage, and who may be unaware of their condition.”

In the U.S., the issue of transgender participation was highlighted in women’s volleyball, with San Jose State outside hitter Blaire Fleming – who had played for the Spartan women without incident for two seasons – being singled out. Six matches were forfeited to San Jose State and seven players entered the transfer portal. The state of Texas filed suit against the NCAA for

“engaging in false, deceptive, and misleading practices by marketing sporting events as ‘women’s’ competitions only to then provide consumers with mixed sex competitions where biological males compete against biological females.”

The issue was featured during the November U.S. elections, and isn’t going away.

No. 7: The brilliance of Simone Biles, the trials of Jordan Chiles

The greatest women’s gymnast in history, American Simone Biles, returned to the Olympic Games in Paris after her difficulties in Tokyo in 2021, where she withdrew from part of the competition after experiencing the “twisties,” losing a clear idea of her physical position in the air during her routines.

Biles was once again brilliant and dominant, leading the U.S. to the Olympic team title and then winning the women’s All-Around by a huge 59.131 to 57.932 score over Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade with American teammate Suni Lee – the defending champion – third at 56.465.

In the individual finals, Biles dominated the Vault, scoring 15.300 to 14.966 for Andrade, with U.S. teammate Jade Carey third (14.466). In the Floor, Biles was favored, but two deductions for stepping out of bounds gave the gold to Andrade, 14.166 to 14.133.

In three Olympic appearances, Biles has won 11 medals (7-2-2) and has a staggering 30 World Championships medals, including 23 golds. She also has five skills named for her on Floor (2), Vault (2) and Beam (1).

The lasting controversy from Paris was also in Floor Exercise, but over the bronze medal. American Jordan Chiles was awarded the bronze during the event after her score of 13.666 was upgraded to 13.766, ahead of Romanians Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Voinea, both at 13.700.

The Romanians filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Paris and on 10 August, after a confused hearing in which the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and USA Gymnastics were not notified until the day before, the Court rescinded Chiles’ change in score – saying the appeal came too late – and awarded the bronze to Barbosu. A day later, the U.S. provided video evidence showing its challenge had come within the one-minute time limit, but the Court refused to hear anything further.

Chiles, the USOPC and USA Gymnastics filed appeals to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, where the matter sits today. Voinea also filed an appeal, saying that video evidence shows that an out-of-bounds deduction was improperly given and she should be awarded the bronze medal. A Romanian proposal for all three to share the bronze has gone nowhere.

This will get figured out in 2025.

No. 6: WADA and USADA’s war of worlds over China

On 21 April, the German ARD channel aired a documentary, “Die Akte China” – “The China Files” – which revealed that 23 world-class Chinese swimmers had tested positive for the prohibited heart medication trimetazidine at a meet in January 2021, but with no sanctions applied.

The show sparked a huge reaction, with details showing that China’s anti-doping agency had not imposed the required provisional suspensions, investigated and decided that the positive tests were due to food contamination and not doping. This was accepted by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which determined that an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport would fail. Eleven of the 23 swimmers competed at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Harsh criticism of the process followed and especially of WADA’s decision not to appeal, especially on the decision to let the CHINADA procedures stand without challenge.

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency chief Travis Tygart was the most visible critic, and had high-profile opportunities to complain, including a rare evening session of the U.S. House Energy & Committee’s sub-committee on Oversight and Investigations in June, supported by Olympic swimming stars Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt.

In response, WADA unleashed its own barrage against USADA, and the IOC added a clause at the last moment in the Olympic Host Contract with Salt Lake City for the Olympic Winter Games in 2034 in late July, with the award of the Games to be terminated if:

“the Host Country is ruled ineligible to host or co-host and/or to be awarded the right to host or co-host the Games pursuant to or under the World Anti-Doping Code or if, in any other way, the supreme authority of the World Anti-Doping Agency in the fight against doping is not fully respected or if the application of the World Anti-Doping Code is hindered or undermined.”

This had no impact on USADA, or the U.S. Congress. WADA, under increasing pressure, commission former Swiss prosecutor Eric Cottier for a limited report on whether WADA showed bias toward China and whether the decision to appeal was “reasonable.” Cottier found for WADA on the two questions asked, but had lots of questions about its process and decision-making.

In September, WADA blasted USADA and its testing programs in a publicly-released letter to the Central European Anti-Doping Organization, with a November response from USADA Board Chair Dr. Tobie Smith that included:

“The baseless and defamatory claims outlined in your letter and the CEADO letter are being revealed for what they are – a politically motivated diversion to undermine the credibility of USADA and to attempt to weaken trust in the U.S. sports governance at the very time the world is demanding answers from you as to why you allowed China to violate the rules.”

The USADA’s status is under review by WADA’s Compliance Review Committee and WADA has said it has filed a defamation suit against USADA. Despite efforts to calm the situation, there is no resolution in sight.

Coming tomorrow: the top five Olympic-world stories of 2024!

Rich Perelman
Editor

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For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

BULLETIN: Jimmy Carter, U.S. President who led the 1980 Olympic Games boycott, passes at 100

By
Rich Perelman
-
U.S. President Jimmy Carter in April 1980

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

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≡ JIMMY CARTER DIES ≡

Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, passed away at age 100 on Sunday in Plains, Georgia.

He served from 1977-81, rising from a little-known Democratic governor to U.S. President, but had a troubled term, marked by high inflation and the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, and was soundly defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his post-presidential work in promoting peace.

Carter will also be remembered as no friend to the U.S. Olympic Movement.

He did sign the landmark Amateur Sports Act of 1978, which placed the U.S. Olympic Committee (now U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee) in charge of Olympic sport in the country. But he could not be bothered to attend the formal signing of the award of the 1984 Olympic Games to Los Angeles – at The White House – in October 1978, sending White House Cabinet Secretary Jack Watson instead.

Then came the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, leading Carter to introduce several sanctions, including a decision that a U.S. team would not participate in the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow after a 20 February deadline for the USSR to withdraw was ignored.

In a 21 March 1980 address, he declared:

“The Olympics are important to the Soviet Union. They have made massive investments in buildings, equipment, propaganda. As has probably already been pointed out to you, they have passed out hundreds of thousands of copies of an official Soviet document saying that the decision of the world community to hold the Olympics in Moscow is an acknowledgment of approval of the foreign policy of the Soviet Union, and proof to the world that the Soviets’ policy results in international peace.

“I can’t say at this moment what other nations will not go to the Summer Olympics in Moscow. Ours will not go. I say that not with any equivocation; the decision has been made. The American people are convinced that we should not go to the Summer Olympics. The Congress has voted overwhelmingly, almost unanimously, which is a very rare thing, that we will not go. And I can tell you that many of our major allies, particularly those democratic countries who believe in freedom, will not go.

“I understand how you feel, and I thought about it a lot as we approached this moment, when. I would have to stand here in front of fine young Americans and dedicated coaches, who have labored sometimes for more than 10 years, in every instance for years, to become among the finest athletes in the world, knowing what the Olympics mean to you, to know that you would be disappointed. It’s not a pleasant time for me.”

It wasn’t actually up to Carter whether the U.S. went or not; that was up to the United States Olympic Committee. Under enormous pressure from the Carter Administration, the USOC House of Delegates voted by 1,704 to 697 on 12 April not to attend the Games.

The U.S., along with 62 other National Olympic Committees, did not participate in the Games, and that action led to a retaliatory boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Games by 14 nations. Moscow 1980 is the only Olympic or Winter Games that the U.S. has not participated in.

On 30 July 1980, Carter hosted the 1980 team at The White House, with the athletes awarded Congressional Gold Medals in lieu of attending the Games. In a remembrance for The Sports Examiner in 2020, the late, then-USOC spokesman Mike Moran described a years-later incident about the boycott:

“[T]he late 1984 Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling gold medalist Jeff Blatnick, who was on that ’80 team, told a story that startles me even now. He was on an airplane, flying from Bismarck, N.D., to Minneapolis and came upon former President Carter, seated in the first-class cabin.

“As soon as the plane gets up in the air and levels off, he gets up and starts saying hi to everybody,” recalls Blatnick. “I say to the person next to me, ‘I wonder how this is going to be.’ He gets to me, I go, ‘President Carter, I have met you before, I am an Olympian.’ He looks at me and says, ‘Were you on the 1980 hockey team?’ I say, ‘No sir, I’m a wrestler, on the summer team.’ He says, ‘Oh, that was a bad decision, I’m sorry.’”

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PANORAMA: Carter passes; Russian sport chief sees “fully armed” team at LA28 Olympics; U.S. owes anti-doping dues of $3.6M, Russia $2.5M, Diggins wins two!

By
Rich Perelman
-
American cross country skiing star Jessie Diggins (Photo: Dustin Satloff/U.S. Ski Team).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 1980: Moscow ● /Update/ Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, passed away at age 100 on Sunday in Plains, Georgia.

He served from 1977-81, rising from a little-known governor to U.S. President, but had a troubled term, marked by high inflation and the Iran hostage crisis in 1979. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his post-presidential work in promoting peace.

Carter was no friend to the U.S. Olympic Movement, although he did sign the landmark Amateur Sports Act of 1978, which placed the U.S. Olympic Committee (now U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee) in charge of Olympic sport in the country. But he could not be bothered to attend the formal signing of the award of the 1984 Olympic Games to Los Angeles – at The White House – in October 1978, and, following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, led a boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow.

The U.S., along with 62 other National Olympic Committees, did not participate in the Games, and that action led to a retaliatory boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Games by 14 nations. Moscow 1980 is the only Olympic or Winter Games that the U.S. has not participated in.

● Paralympic Games ● A CNN story on Sunday explored wide inconsistencies between medal bonuses for Olympic and Paralympic athletes across competing nations. In the U.S., the Olympic and Paralympic teams are administered by the same agency – the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee – which pays the same bonuses to athletes for both events.

In other countries, there are often separate entities, although more National Olympic Committees are beginning to take on responsibilities for Paralympic athletes and teams.

● World Anti-Doping Agency ● The Russian news agency TASS reported on the exact amounts owed to WADA by the U.S. and Russian governments and others:

● $3,624,983 due from the U.S. for 2024
● $1,335,680 due from Russia for 2024
● $1,213,786 due from Russia for 2023 ($2,549,466 total)
● $693,889 due from Spain for 2024
● $270,458 due from Kuwait for 2024

TASS said that Russian officials had tried to pay, but WADA “was refusing to accept the contribution for 2023 under various pretexts.” The Russian Anti-Doping Agency continues to be held “non-compliant” by WADA.

WADA and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency have been in a continuous war of words since the mass-positives incident of 23 Chinese swimmers from January 2021 was reported earlier in 2024, and the U.S. government has held back dues payments so far.

● Russia ● “The most difficult situation is in winter sports. Those who qualify will definitely be supported by the Ministry of Sports and the Russian Olympic Committee, but there will be few of us for now. This is due to the fact that selections will begin soon, but not all federations have ‘opened.’ There is also a problem in biathlon, among skiers.”

That’s Russian Sports Minister and Russian Olympic Committee President Mikhail Degtyarev, in an interview with Russia 24 television. He added:

“I have some hopes for hockey, I’ll be honest. Our guys play great in the National Hockey League, and if I were the organizers of the Olympic Games and the International Ice Hockey Federation, I would, of course, allow Russia in because it would immediately increase the entertainment value, and they love money there, they know how to make it, and the box office would be completely different.

“So for now, there will be a truncated format, but by 2028 in Los Angeles, I’m sure our team will be fully armed.”

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the International Olympic Committee has recommended banning all Russian and Belarusian teams, but allowed a small number of “neutral” athletes – who are not supporting the war – to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

● Alpine Skiing ● The men’s Downhill and Super-G in Bormio (ITA) were marred by two bad training crashes on Friday, but when the racing did start, it was a Swiss 1-2 with Alexis Monney, 24, taking his first medal and first win in Saturday’s Downhill in 1:53.43. Teammate Franjo von Allmen was second (1:53.67); Sam Morse was the top American, in 34th (1:56.42).

Sunday’s Super-G saw another crash, as Swiss Gino Caviezel, 32, rolled off the course about 45 seconds in and had to be airlifted out. He was immediately taken to Switzerland for care for a shoulder dislocation and a “complex knee injury.”

The race was held up for about 20 minutes, then resumed, with Norway’s Fredrik Moeller getting his first World Cup win in 1:29.22, just 0.20 up on Austria’s 2021 World Champion, Vincent Kriechmayr (1:29.42) and Monney in third (1:29.46).

Kyle Negomir was the top U.S. finisher in 21st place, in 1:31.13.

In view of the crashes, the Italian news agency ANSA reported a statement from the 2026 Olympic organizers:

“[T]he Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation reiterates its unwavering commitment and attention, in synergy with the federations and the IOC, to place the athletes in the best safety conditions and in facilities and structures capable of making them perform at their best.”

At the women’s Giant Slalom in Semmering (AUT), it was Italy’s Beijing 2022 runner-up Federica Brignone with her 29th career World Cup gold, with the fastest first run and second-fastest second run to win in 2:03.14 over Beijing Olympic champ Sara Hector (SWE: 2:03.71). American Paula Moltzan was fifth (2:04.25).

The Slalom on Sunday belonged to Croatian 20-year-old Zrinka Ljutic, who led the first run by 0.51 and then won the second run as well to finish in 1:43.33. That was well clear of German Lena Duerr (1:45.08) and Katharina Liensberger (AUT: 1:45.18). The top American was A.J. Hurt in 18th (1:47.32).

It was Ljutic’s first World Cup win, after four silvers and a bronze in the past two seasons. The Associated Press reported it was the “first World Cup victory for a Croatian woman since four-time Olympic champion Janica Kostelic earned her 30th and last win in March 2006.”

● Athletics ● Track & Field News has revealed its Athletes of the Year: Swedish vault star Mondo Duplantis for the men and 400 m hurdles world-record setter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

McLaughlin-Levrone was asked if he might take events other than the 400 hurdles at a future Olympic Games: “I don’t know that I can give a definitive yes or no. I do love doing other events. There’s other events that I haven’t done since high school that I’d also love to do.”

● Cross Country Skiing ● The opener of the 19th Tour de Ski in-season tournament opened in Toblach (ITA), with four-time World Cup champion Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo winning his fourth race of the season in the men’s Freestyle Sprint.

He crossed in 2:32.34, just ahead of Lucas Chanavat (FRA: 2:32.76) and Swiss Janik Riebli (2:32.83).

Klaebo then led a Norwegian sweep in Sunday’s 15 km Classical Mass Start, winning a tight race in 38:24.4, with Erik Valnes just 0.6 behind and Haavard Moseby third in 38:25.6.

The women’s Tour de Ski started with the second win of the season for defending World Cup champion Jessie Diggins of the U.S. in 2:59.62 in the Freestyle Sprint, with Finland’s Jasmi Joensuu a close second at 2:59.93.

The 15 km Classical Mass Start was another showcase for Diggins, winning in 42:23.6, edging Kerttu Niskanen (FIN: 42:24.1) and Astrid Slind (NOR: 42:24.3) at the line. Diggins now has 24 World Cup wins, but this one was special, as it was her first in a Classical-style race. Her prior 23 wins were all in Freestyle races.

Already the defending World Cup seasonal champion, she leads the 2024-25 standings with 758 points to 579 for German Victoria Karl.

● Ski Jumping ● One of the great prizes in jumping is the annual Four Hills Tournament, always held over the New Year’s week, opening in Obertsdorf (GER) on the 137 m hill, with 2015 winner Stefan Kraft taking the first stage with 335.1 points, leading an Austrian sweep.

Jan Hoerl was second at 331.6 and Daniel Tschofenig took third (323.6). It’s Kraft’s fourth career win in a Four Hills event, and his third at Obertsorf.

Next up is Garmisch (GER) on New Year’s Day, then Innsbruck (4 January) and Bischofshofen in the 6th.

● Ski Mountaineering ● The International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF), an added sport for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Italy, announced that five Russian athletes have been approved to compete as “neutrals” during this ISMF World Cup season.

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ALPINE SKIING: French skier Allegre calls 2026 Winter Olympic Downhill “dangerous” after star Sarrazin has head surgery after crash

By
Rich Perelman
-
French ski star Cyprien Sarrazin (Photo: Federation Francaise der Ski).

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≡ BORMIO DOWNHILL CRASHES ≡

Five-time Alpine World Cup winner Cyprien Sarrazin of France suffered a bad crash during a Friday Downhill training session in Bormio, Italy, on the famed Stelvio ski course, and was one of two skiers airlifted off the mountain and taken to a hospital.

The French federation released a statement which included:

“Following further examinations, as well as Cyprien’s evolving clinical examination, it has been decided in agreement with the Italian surgeons to operate on Cyprien this evening in order to drain the subdural haematoma.”

A subdural hematoma is a collection of blood that forms between the brain’s dura mater and arachnoid mater, the two layers of the meninges that protect the brain, and can be extremely dangerous. But Sarrazin was not alone, as Italian Pietro Zazzi also crashed; the Italian federation said he had Saturday surgery in Milan for “a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula of his right leg.”

And Swiss Josua Mettler, 26, also crashed Friday; he headed back to Switzerland for examinations for an injured knee.

Sarrazin, 30, led the Downhill qualifying on Thursday, and was stable after his procedure, according to the French federation:

“Following his operation on Friday evening at the Sondalo hospital near Bormio, Cyprien Sarrazin is awake and conscious. His condition is stable. He will be kept under observation for an as yet undetermined period, says Dr. Stéphane Bulle, doctor of the French Alpine ski team.”

The Stelvio course is one of the venues for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan and Cortina and has long been celebrated and feared. The Milan Cortina organizers describe it thus:

“It is 3,250m long and has an elevation of 1,010m. At the start, the athletes face a gradient of 63% and the first curves lead to the Salto della Rocca – a leap of 30 metres. Then it’s straight into the Canalino Sertorelli, a diagonal where the skiers gather speed, and then face the Curve degli Ermellini which leads them to the Carcetina diagonal, one of the most challenging and spectacular parts of the course.

“After the diagonal, skiers descend to the Ciuk before hitting the Muro di San Pietro at full speed – a jump of 45 metres with a gradient of 50%. The final two hundred metres lead to the finish line, directly in Bormio, with the last spectacular jump of a breathtaking run.”

Sarrazin’s crash aroused criticism from French skier Nils Allegre, in his seventh year on the World Cup circuit, who told The Associated Press:

“My opinion here is clear, it’s that they don’t know how to prepare a course. It’s been 40 years that they have been preparing courses, but they don’t know how to do anything, apart from dangerous things.

“Maybe it’s not something everyone agrees with but it’s my opinion and it’s deep-seated. It’s not right, I don’t know what they’re trying to prove, but a year ahead of organizing the Olympics, having a course like this – they don’t deserve to have the Olympic Games here.”

Allegre’s view was immediately challenged by race director Omar Galli (ITA), who said added safety features had been installed, with more to come:

“I would invite [Allegre] to come here just in the past 10 days, fortnight and see what happens from 5 a.m. until 8 p.m., when there’s wind, when there’s rain and see how we manage to resolve things.

“Everyone has their own opinion and it should be respected because at the end it’s the athletes who race. But probably if we asked 70 athletes we would probably end up with 70 different courses, maybe not 70 but at least 66. What’s the middle point is up to us but it could be right for one and wrong for another.”

Galli noted that both Sarrazin and Zazzi “caught an edge,” but acknowledged the course is a challenge:

“We know the Stelvio. It’s not by chance that it’s alluded to as, if not the most difficult, then certainly among the most difficult.”

The French had more trouble on Saturday, this time at the FIS Women’s Alpine World Cup races in Austria:

“Victim of a fall during the Semmering giant slalom in Austria today, Clara Direz was taken to hospital with head trauma.

“All the medical assessments carried out on site are reassuring. She will leave this evening to join the French team at the hotel. She is expected to follow an adapted protocol for the next few days, said Dr. Stéphane Bulle, doctor for the French Alpine ski team.”

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PANAM SPORTS: Ilic hopes for World Boxing Olympic recognition, not sure about the five new LA28 sports for Pan Am Games in 2027

By
Rich Perelman
-
Re-elected Panam Sports President Neven Ilic of Chile (Image: Panam Sports screenshot)

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

“We have not decided how to integrate them. To be honest, I think we need to study them very carefully.”

That’s Panam Sports President Neven Ilic (CHI), in a year-end interview posted on the Panam Sports Web site, explaining that the added sports for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles – baseball and softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse, squash – present some challenges for inclusion in the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru:

“There are sports that have been included in Los Angeles that are not deeply developed in our region. Some do not even have a Pan American Confederation. And we, while we follow the [International Olympic Committee] guidelines, also have our own rules. And to be part of the Pan American Games, there must be a presence and development of sports in more than 50% of the countries in our region. But all of that is on the table of the Executive Committee as part of the decisions that must be made in the short term.”

There is also the issue of boxing’s inclusion, with the removal of the International Boxing Association as the governing body for Olympic boxing in 2023. Ilic is hopeful of a solution in 2025:

“In the IOC there is a vision that it is necessary to resume boxing within our Olympic activities, because it is very relevant for many countries, and especially for America.

“A few days ago I met with World Boxing to see how we can collaborate to speed up the process, both of IOC recognition and the integration of Boxing in our Pan American Games in Lima. Today, of the 41 countries in our organization, 17 of them are integrated into World Boxing, but as Panam Sports we need more countries to join.

“We hope that in March, the IOC will provisionally accept World Boxing. Progress has been made and we are very close to consolidating the return of boxing to the Olympic world, and that would allow for a reconsideration on our part, in order to be able to include it in Lima 2027 and we also hope in the future in Los Angeles 2028 or Brisbane 2032.”

It was reported last week that Panam Sports informed its 41 National Olympic Committees that it must have a national federation affiliated with World Boxing in order to participate in the sport at the 2027 Pan American Games, with a final decision on boxing’s inclusion for Lima expected to be made by the end of June, 2025.

Ilic was re-elected as the President of Panam Sports in October, and considered the possibility of running to be the IOC President. He explained:

“Indeed, I considered, internally, the possibility of standing as a candidate for the presidency of the IOC. But I quickly came to the conclusion that for me it would have many family costs.

“I do not live in Europe, I do not live an hour from the IOC like many other candidates. When one analyzes this, one thinks about completing the project, which in truth takes eight plus four, 12 years.

“I am sixty-two, I have my children and in February I will have my first granddaughter. I felt that it was a matter of moving away from my family for a personal desire. But that desire was going to have consequences for all my surroundings and also at work. In Chile, I am a real estate developer, so it was also going to affect me. In the end it was a decision discussed with my wife. We evaluated the pros and cons and decided not to.”

Ilic, however, will stand as a candidate for the IOC Executive Board at the 144th IOC Session in Greece.

He will have plenty to do in 2025, with the second edition of the Junior Pan American Games to be held in Paraguay next August, and then the preparations for the 2027 Pan Ams in Lima.

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RUSSIA: Russian sports officials feeling better about reinstatement in 2025, even for RUSADA, but Sports Minister says it’s barely a start

By
Rich Perelman
-
The logo of the Russian National Olympic Committee.

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≡ RUSSIA IN WORLD SPORT ≡

“We will work with the federation. But for now this is a gradual movement. I repeat – participation is better than isolation. We must enter any crack, any gap.

“Are the conditions draconian? We will demand that they be softened. But, I repeat, in a working order, legally in contact with the international federation, that’s the only way.”

That’s Russian Sports Minister (and Russian Olympic Committee head) Mikhail Degtyarev, commenting to the TASS news agency about the International Skating Union’s approval of very limited 2026 Olympic Winter Games qualifying opportunities in figure skating, speed skating and short track. This follows the 10-medal performance – as “neutrals” – at the World Aquatics Short-Course (25 m) Championships in Hungary; the news is better, but the situation is hardly satisfactory.

Nevertheless, a sense of optimism has started, with Vladimir Leonov, the sports minister for the Republic of Tatarstan, saying he’s looking forward to booking events in the aquatic center of Kazan, about 530 miles east of Moscow. He told TASS:

“We talked with World Aquatics, we’ll see how things are going, maybe we’ll get back to negotiations about holding World Cup stages in Kazan. If the situation normalizes, they’re ready to give it to us, to hold the World Cup in one sport or another. There’s swimming, diving, and synchronized swimming.

“We also talked about water polo; some title matches. Such negotiations are being held not only with World Aquatics, but also with other federations. Today, windows and opportunities are opening, largely due to what we’ve done this year, we’ve shown that we’re open, free, athletes are coming.

“Now gymnastics has relaxed its rules, negotiations have begun on speed skating, figure skating; judo is already allowing our athletes. This is the trend, it is great for our athletes, for the national team. The guys have missed it. When we enter the world arena and show that we remain in the leading roles, we are competitive, it proves that we have not lost our heads, we have continued training.”

Some Russian athletes are agreeing to neutral status in gymnastics, specifically in trampoline, applying to the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) for permission. Five have received “neutral” status and seven more are applying, including one for junior events.

It isn’t free, and the head coach of the Russian trampoline team, Alexei Ryzhkov, complained bitterly about the costs:

“The international federation still uses draconian methods.

“It is necessary to pay money for neutral status. Today it costs 3,000 Swiss francs per athlete and 1,500 per specialist. I do not understand this decision, and I do not want to comment on it” (CHF 1 = $1.11 U.S.).

Even the Russian Anti-Doping Agency is hoping for reinstatement by the World Anti-Doping Agency, with Director General Viktoria Loginova telling TASS:

“In December, it was three years since I took over the Russian Anti-Doping Agency. The year 2024 passed for RUSADA without any high-profile stories, which often distract attention from the implementation of our key functions and the improvement of our work. We continue a constructive dialogue with WADA regarding operational activities. The audit date has not been set, but we are confident in our activities and are ready even for a surprise inspection without prior notice, in the best traditions of doping control.

“If we move on to the issue of restoring RUSADA’s status, the last thing we heard on this matter was that we can return to it only after the critical remark [in Russian law] is eliminated. In 2024, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency did everything in its power to restore its compliance status with the World Anti-Doping Code. We established a dialogue with the new heads of the Ministry of Sports and the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports and, accordingly, informed them about the problem, expressed our willingness to participate in the preparation of the bill, and prepared a draft federal law that could satisfy WADA’s requirements.

“I am looking forward to the start of our dialogue with WADA on the issue of restoration, in order to finally be convinced of the real independence of the world anti-doping system. The good news is that I have not heard criticism of us from WADA for a long time; on the contrary, recently WADA spoke positively about the level of testing in Russia, which our colleagues from some other countries did not like at all.”

As 2024 turns into 2025, it’s worth remembering that the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues and will mark a sad, third anniversary on 24 February 2025.

Less than a month later, the International Olympic Committee will elect a new President, at the 144th IOC Session in Greece. Russia’s future in international sport got brighter in 2024, as some federations relaxed their rules a bit, especially after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games concluded. But the new IOC President will have a lot to say about the circumstances of Russia’s future participation, most immediately at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan Cortina.

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PANORAMA: Texas sues NCAA on transgenders in women’s sport; FIFA Women’s World Cup TV partner serves 55% of U.S.; near-$5M surplus for USA Wrestling!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Transgender ● The tug-of-war over the inclusion of transgender men on women’s teams continues in court, as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday (22nd) a suit in Texas State Court against the NCAA for “engaging in false, deceptive, and misleading practices by marketing sporting events as ‘women’s’ competitions only to then provide consumers with mixed sex competitions where biological males compete against biological females.”

Said Paxton in a statement:

“The NCAA is intentionally and knowingly jeopardizing the safety and wellbeing of women by deceptively changing women’s competitions into co-ed competitions.

“When people watch a women’s volleyball game, for example, they expect to see women playing against other women – not biological males pretending to be something they are not. Radical ‘gender theory’ has no place in college sports.”

The suit asks for “[p]ermanent injunctive relief prohibiting the NCAA from permitting biological males to compete in women’s sporting events in Texas or involving Texas teams, including championship and tournament events, or alternatively requiring the NCAA to stop using the term ‘women’ in relation to its women’s sporting events where biological males are permitted to compete that take place in Texas or involve Texas teams,” and $10,000 damages per violation of the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

At San Jose State, whose women’s volleyball team has included transgender outside hitter Blaire Fleming for the past three seasons, seven players have entered the NCAA transfer portal and intend to go to another school.

The San Jose State team was engulfed in controversy this season over Fleming, who had played two seasons with the Spartans with little notice. Opponents forfeited six matches this season, and a lawsuit was filed in November to keep Fleming from playing in the Mountain West Conference tournament; she was allowed to play. The team finished 14-7 this season and lost in the finals of the conference tournament to Colorado State, 3-1.

● U.S. Center for SafeSport ● The Associated Press reported that investigator Jason Krasley of the U.S. Center for SafeSport was fired “last month after learning he’d been arrested for stealing money confiscated after a drug bust he was part of during his previous job as a police officer.”

Krasley came to the Center in 2021 after serving with the Allentown (Pa.) Police Department for 20 years as a detective/task force officer. He is alleged to have stolen $5,500 from a seizure of drugs and related items in a 2019 action. SafeSport chief executive Ju’Riese Colon told the AP: “We take this matter seriously and are assessing the situation to determine what, if any, additional vetting could have prevented this individual from being eligible for hire.”

Krasley’s cases have to be re-assigned, and the Center has been criticized for already taking too long to resolve its cases.

● Alpine Skiing ● In an interview with SnowBrains.com, recovering U.S. star Mikaela Shiffrin explained that she works through about 80 pairs of skis each season!

She has had a long-term relationship with the Austrian manufacturer Atomic for her skis.

● Curling ● Yes, betting – also known as “fan engagement” – is coming to curling. World Curling announced last week a partnership with London-based FeedConstuct to provide “Exclusive International Betting Rights” for the federation’s World, European and Pan Continental championship events.

FeedConstruct explains its mission as “to bridge the gap between federations, leagues, and betting operators to widen the exclusive coverage offer.”

● Football ● FIFA’s interesting choice of Netflix as the U.S. rights-holder – in all languages for the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cup events – will be fascinating to watch, given that its reach is currently around 55% of all Americans.

Nielsen estimates that the U.S. has about 125 million households (97%) with at least one television, serving about 315 million people. In 2024, Netflix had 66.7 million U.S. accounts, not more than 53.6% of the U.S. household total and about 179.4 million U.S. users, or about 56.9% of the U.S. population with in-home television.

Those are, of course, much larger numbers than the U.S. viewership of the prior FIFA Women’s World Cups.

For the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, Fox Sports averaged 669,000 viewers across all 64 matches – in a difficult time zone – down 60% from 2019 in France (1.66 million average). In Spanish, Telemundo and allied streaming platforms averaged 147,000 viewers per match in 2023, down 44% from France 2019 (302,000).

● Snowboard ● A tragedy at the Arosa ski resort in Switzerland, where 26-year-old Olympic snowboarder Sophie Hediger died in an avalanche on Monday (23rd). She competed in Snowboard Cross at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, eliminated in the round-of-32, and in the Mixed Team event with Kalle Koblet, reaching the semifinals.

She was riding with another person on a closed slope, got caught in the avalanche, but her companion was able to go for help. Hediger was found under the snow about two hours later and could not be revived.

Hediger won two World Cup medals in the 2023-24 season, at St. Moritz (silver) and Gudauri (bronze).

● Wrestling ● USA Wrestling posted its annual report for 2023-24 and noted that the organization set an all-time membership record with 344,494 members, rolling past the prior-year’s record total by more than 47,000!

Consider that in 2015, USAW membership was 229,889 and has increased by 49.85% in those 10 years, and rebounded from just 142,147 in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The “Living The Dream Medal Fund” increased its donor Stewards to 17 and in conjunction with USA Wrestling and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, distributed $735,000 in bonus payments to medal winners at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and UWW World Championships.

The federation’s financial report showed an impressive increase from revenues of $14.60 million in 2021 to $25.36 million in 2024, against $20.60 million in expenses for a surplus of $4.77 million. In the 2021-24 quadrennial, USAW had a surplus each year and added $10.36 million to its total assets during the quadrennium.

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LANE ONE: IOC candidate promises and priorities, part II: revenue and broadcast ideas, athlete payments, women in sport and more

By
Rich Perelman
-
Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland, home of the International Olympic Committee

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≡ IOC PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION ≡

As noted in yesterday’s part one of an issue-by-issue look at the IOC Presidential candidates and their positions:

● The International Olympic Committee will choose its 10th President at the 144th IOC Session in Greece in March 2025, its first such election in 12 years. Seven members are running and their manifestos have been published.

● The candidate statements take on extra importance in view of the IOC’s regulations for the 30 January 2025 in-person presentations that state: “The presentation by the candidates must reflect the content of their respective Candidature Document published on the IOC website.”

● The Sports Examiner profiled the statements – one by one – of Prince Feisal Al Hussein (JOR) and Sebastian Coe (GBR) here; of Kirsty Coventry (ZIM), Johan Eliasch (GBR) and David Lappartient (FRA) here, and of Juan Antonio Samaranch (ESP) and Morinari Watanabe (JPN) here.

Let’s continue our look at some of the hot-button issues that ran through most, or all, of the manifestos. All of the statements emphasized good governance, sustainability, a more meaningful outreach to engage young people and to responsibly employ artificial intelligence.

Yesterday’s review covered increased roles for IOC members, the Olympics in the future, and selection of host cities. On to part two:

Revenue generation and sponsorship:
All of the candidates want more revenue and pledged to look at new ways to find it. Five had more specific comments:

● Al Hussein: Wants to “reimagine” the IOC’s TOP program, specifically to have benefits for partners between the Games.

● Coe: “We must create revenue streams that appeal to younger fans. Drawing on the expertise of our membership, I will develop new, more affordable partnership models while respecting the rights of our trusted partners and our unique values and traditions.”

● Coventry: “I will advocate for a new value proposition that strengthens relationships with existing partners and attracts new ones, whilst protecting the uniqueness of the Games and our core values. By working with the innovative potential of our digital engagement projects around [Olympic Broadcasting Services] and Olympic Channel, our top sponsors and media partners, we can implement strategies to expand the Olympic platform. This will deepen audience engagement and create more touchpoints with sponsors and partners, between the Games.”

● Eliasch: He suggested two pathways forward, starting with “We must be particularly careful not to fall into the trap of exclusive arrangements and partnerships which suppress creativity and growth. We should pursue an approach which encourages competition and dynamism.”

But he added: “We must safeguard our top sponsors’ interests, ensuring that there are no short-cuts to the level of exposure they benefit from … they wish to integrate their brand into stories and moments around the Games. We must work on unlocking the next level of value creation with sponsors, creating unique stories that not only resonate with viewers but which continue to improve their experience.”

● Samaranch: Clear directive to “Launch a comprehensive review of the TOP Programme” and also to change the equation going forward: “Create new levels of “Partnership” with more dynamic opportunities for companies to engage with the Olympic Movement and programmes. This should include exploring new avenues of promotional exposure at the Games while fully respecting our Clean Venue and Field of Play Guidelines.”

So, the no in-venue advertising rule would remain. But Samaranch – whose background is finance – sees new revenue opportunities with an Olympic Donor Program, using IOC assets such as Olympic Broadcasting Services and Olympic Channel Services for outside contracts, creation of a Sports Investment Fund, and monetizing the IOC’s massive data inventory.

Television and broadcasting:
This is a really interesting area as no one knows where technology and viewers are headed, and how fast? Four candidates shared specific comments.

● Al Hussein: Wants to “reimagine advertising models to ensure broadcasting rights value.” Is this an opening for on-field advertising, a la the FIFA World Cup, or something else?

● Coventry: “It is impossible to see where the media landscape will be in five years but it is clear that the trend of linear television remains a key pillar of engagement. However, the rapid growth of digital platforms, streaming services, and on-demand content calls for greater adaptability.”

● Eliasch: Sees a new model emerging quickly, and wants to be prepared. “Doing this will mean embracing new modes of storytelling and being open to new forms of monetisation. With digital technology, we have unparalleled opportunities to proliferate our values.”

He did give his view of the future, decidedly on the digital side: “we must continue investing in digital innovations; the expansion of direct-to-consumer platforms, with high-quality exclusive content and different tier-focused content models; and more premium fan engagement experiences” and “Ahead of LA 2028 we should be preparing the ground for a completely different viewer experience, with storytelling and highlights more prominent.”

So, perhaps the IOC will sell Olympic coverage directly to consumers past 2032, when the longest current broadcast contracts expire? A fascinating concept, especially if paired with the National Olympic Committees, but with far more risk than today’s broadcast agreements.

● Samaranch: Took a stand on behalf of athletes and their need for self-promotion through the Games: “Encourage our Media partners to be more flexible with athletes regarding their social media activities during Games-time, while respecting existing Olympic rules and obligations, for mutual benefit.”

Athlete support, payments and prize money:
World Athletics – headed by Coe – offered first-ever federation prize money payments at Paris 2024, with $50,000 for each gold medalist (individual or team). Current IOC President Thomas Bach (GER) strongly criticized this and Coe has apologized for not communicating the federation’s plan in advance to other IFs and Olympic stakeholders. But it further opened the door to questions of athlete pay at the Games and there was little agreement among the candidates. Not surprisingly, the two Olympic champion candidates – Coe and Coventry – were the most enthusiastic about athlete compensation.

● Al Hussein: Noted carefully, but without further elaboration that athlete “participation in the Olympic Games [must be] properly valued.”

● Coe: As expected, he was aggressive, writing “I will expand resources and support programmes, with the help of our commercial partners, to address the pressures faced by athletes today and ensure they are better equipped for post competition careers. Athletes’ financial well-being will also be prioritised, in consultation with all stakeholders, ensuring their contributions are rewarded fairly.”

He added: “Athletes drive the value of the Games. I will develop programmes that could allow all athletes to share the commercial rewards they help generate, empowering them as partners, not just participants.”

● Coventry: “[C]reate an environment where athletes are further supported and valued. … expand existing programs and identify new opportunities for athletes to benefit from our Olympic Partner Program (Tops), Media Rights Holders, Olympic Solidarity.”

● Eliasch: “We must ask ourselves: is introducing prize money consistent with this spirit? And is it necessary? … Instead of concentrating monetary rewards on a few elite athletes, we should focus on ensuring more athletes have the opportunity to compete at the highest level.”

He also wanted to take the Russian and Belarusian “neutral” athlete idea further: “We should, therefore, expand on the approach of allowing neutral athletes to compete under their own name at the Games.” So, this could apply to anyone who wants to be a “free agent”? Lots of wild possibilities there.

● Lappartient: Was clear that the “absence of financial prizes from the IOC” should continue, but as the head of the Union Cycliste Internationale, said nothing about IF prizes.

● Samaranch: Was more interested in allowing athletes to have the tool to promote themselves: “Provide every Olympian access to footage of their Olympic performances made available through IOC’s Olympic.com, which can be linked to their social media channels” and “provide all Olympic Alumni with digital access to footage of their Games performances.”

As noted above, he also wants rights-holding broadcasters to allow “more flexible” use of social media during the Games.

In terms of athlete training, Lappartient wants to discuss “the concept of continental high performance centres in conjunction with International Federations and continental associations of National Olympic Committees.”

Women and sport:
This has become a hot-button issue in several sports and four of the seven made specific statements on the issue.

● Coe: “I will advocate for clear, science-based policies that safeguard the female category.” He has been the most ferocious IF chief on this issue to date.

● Coventry: Committed to “protecting female athletes and promoting equal opportunities for women at all levels of our Movement.”

● Eliasch: “There can be no grey areas. The integrity of women’s sport must be protected whatever the cultural pressures. In the face of these pressures, fairness and clarity can be achieved if we come back to biological facts.”

● Samaranch: “The IOC has a fundamental duty to safeguard women’s sport by adopting a policy to maintain unambiguous distinctions between men’s and women’s categories.”

Funding of the International Federations and National Olympic Committees:
Only two made specific comments on this area, which in itself was a surprise.

● Al Hussein: Emphasized that the IOC “maximise revenue share … valuing their critical role” of both the IFs and NOCs.

● Eliasch: “Wherever possible we must build bridges with the IFs and the NOCs, taking advantage of synergies, reducing duplicated tasks and pooling wisdom.”

In other areas, Al-Hussein mentioned the Youth Olympic Games and wants to “rethink their format” as part festival, part high performance events. Lappartient specifically noted that in the fight against doping, the IOC needs to increase its subsidy of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The candidate statements were each interesting and ranged in length from five pages (Watanabe) to 52 (Eliasch), and each had interesting design elements, including some lavish illustrations and photography.

But one candidate decided to fracture the process altogether.

That would be Coe, who at the bottom of page five of his brochure, states:

“My focus is on embedding transformative change over the next four years after which I will put myself forward for re-election.”

This tactical gambit offers high risk, but also potentially significant rewards:

● The IOC’s election rules specify that the vote will be for a term of eight years. In order for Coe to be able to run for a four-year term, the likely scenario – and this has been reported elsewhere – is that the IOC members will be asked to vote first on whether Coe is to be allowed to enter the Presidential vote on his terms.

● If this is in fact the procedure to be followed, then Coe’s ploy has created an extra step for the membership, inviting (requiring?) them to take an even closer look at his manifesto and presentation.

● By running for a four-year term (2025-29), he can serve by a simple change of status to individual membership and the regularly-granted four-year extension past age 70 (he’s 68 now), and no need for an age-rule change to the Olympic Charter.

Coe’s supporters point to his unique career as a star athlete, Olympic champion, head of a National Olympic Committee and an International Federation, an Olympic bid winner and head of an organizing committee, as well as roles within the British government and deep sports marketing experience. On resume, he is a formidable candidate, but his age is an issue vis-a-vis the Charter rules. His four-year-term proposal sidelines most of that, if the members agree.

And the IOC has not always had the eight-year term rules. Early IOC chiefs were essentially elected for as long as they wanted to serve. In the 1950s the IOC established the policy that the President is elected for an initial eight-year term, and can be re-elected indefinitely for four-year terms after that. That was changed to a maximum of one eight-year term and a second, four-year term, in 1999.

As Coe has said repeatedly, it’s now up to the members to decide.

Who’s the favorite? Believe it or not, there are live odds out there, from the Antigua-based BetOnline, with Coe at +150, Al Hussein at +400, Lappartient at +500, then Coventry, Samaranch and Watanabe at +600 and Eliasch at +800.

But there’s no way to tell yet. The presentations in January will essentially eliminate 2-3 candidates and some may drop out, which will re-shuffle things further.

In March, the question of trust in one of the candidates will be the key, along with the political calculations of the IOC members, weighing the future of the Movement against what a specific candidate might do for them, their sport, their National Olympic Committee … and for those in certain countries, what their governments will say. In a world in turmoil, there is a lot at stake.

It’s still early, but at least all seven are on the record.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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LANE ONE: IOC candidate promises and priorities, part I: return host-city selection to a member vote? Re-visit the sports program?

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

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≡ IOC PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION ≡

The International Olympic Committee will choose its 10th President at the 144th IOC Session in Greece in March 2025, its first such election in 12 years. Seven members are running and their manifestos have been published.

And the candidate statements take on extra importance in view of the IOC’s regulations for the 30 January 2025 in-person presentations that state:

“The presentation by the candidates must reflect the content of their respective Candidature Document published on the IOC website.”

So, where do the candidates stand – and differ – on key issues, ahead of the 30 January presentations (with, by the way, no questions allowed)?

TSX profiled the statements – one by one – of Prince Feisal Al Hussein (JOR) and Sebastian Coe (GBR) here; of Kirsty Coventry (ZIM), Johan Eliasch (GBR) and David Lappartient (FRA) here, and of Juan Antonio Samaranch (ESP) and Morinari Watanabe (JPN) here.

Now let’s compare them on some of the hot-button issues that ran through most, or all, of the manifestos. All of the statements emphasized the need for the IOC to adhere to good governance, emphasize sustainability, make a more meaningful outreach to engage young people and to responsibly employ artificial intelligence.

But there were other, more direct issues that are high priorities not only for the Olympic Movement, but especially the 111 members of the IOC who will select a new leader for an eight-year term from 2025-33 (or maybe not).

Let’s take a look at the candidate files and some of the hot-button issues identified by the candidates. First, a quick assessment of the statements (in alphabetical order):

● Al Hussein: Three primary themes, fairly concrete ideas, excellent list of priorities, wants to create an “Agenda 2036.”

● Coe: Five-part theme, with a startling offer: “My focus is on embedding transformative change over the next four years after which I will put myself forward for re-election.”

● Coventry: Deep experience with the IOC and as a government minister, but was less direct about specific changes. Identified technology as key to new audiences and less costs.

● Eliasch: Named to the IOC only this year, he posits his enormous business success and experience as what is needed to drive the Movement forward.

● Lappartient: Offers his experience heading cycling and the French NOC as showcasing a steady, fair, collaborative approach. Offers a page of 30 specific pledges and wants to create an “Agenda 2036.”

● Samaranch: The most concrete statement, with 40 action pledges across six themes, including specific new support for the members.

● Watanabe: A wild proposal to create a 50-sport Olympic Games, with 10 sports per host city and taking place 24 hours a day to create a truly worldwide audience. He also outlines a complete governance change, with a bicameral approval process.

There were several areas which one or more candidates made – or hinted at – specific proposals, and these areas could be deciding factors for the IOC members. Who said what?

A more active role for the IOC members:
All seven mentioned this area, and there was a clear reflection of member discontent with the very strongly-controlled management of the IOC during the term of Thomas Bach (GER). But the statements varied in approach:

● Al Hussein: Increase the age limit from 70 to 75, and “[g]ive every IOC Member a role to play in defining and executing policy.” Wants to create a “Members Department” for better communications.

● Coe: “I will ensure decision-making in the Movement clearly sits with the members, ensuring greater accountability, transparency and efficiency.”

● Coventry: “I pledge to bring all members together to assess the current state of the Olympic Movement and collaboratively define the objectives for the short, medium, and long term.”

● Eliasch: “[E]very voice will be heard, no matter how long you have been a member for.”

● Lappartient: “In my discussions with Members, I have been confronted by a burning desire to continue to participate in decisions and, in particular, those that have to do with the Olympic Games.” Nothing more specific.

● Samaranch: Specific proposals to establish a “Member’s Office” with direct communications and support for speeches, statements and appearances, and closer relationships with governments, including diplomatic passports. He also wants to extend the retirement age to 75.

● Watanabe: Creation of a “House of Representatives” made up of the presidents of the International Federations and the National Olympic Committees, and a “Senate” of the IOC members: “The proposals of the IOC Executive Board are discussed in the House and then decided by the Senate.”

The Olympic Games of the future:
Another major theme, with specific approaches to the future of the Olympic Games, most couched in careful language to ensure a consultative approach with the IOC membership.

● Al Hussein: Noted that climate change requires looking at changed Olympic Games dates “so more host cities can bid,” outside of the currently mandated July-August period.

● Coe: “I will create greater opportunities for these two key stakeholders to work together, and with the International Paralympic Committee, to strengthen our sporting interdependencies throughout the full Olympic cycle.”

● Coventry: “Actively involving IFs means initiating a new approach by which IFs would be in a leading position when it comes to their sport at the Games. It also means that IFs would be in a better position to draw full benefit of increased revenues generated by this new approach, including the opportunities offered by the Olympic Qualifiers, the Olympic E-Sports Games and the exploitation of AI and digital engagement activities.”

The IFs will absolutely be in favor of more money, but she also notes: “I will rely on our collective expertise to thoroughly explore the review of the Sports program.”

● Eliasch: He was even clearer than Coventry about the Games and sports: “I will initiate a review of all sports and formats to maximise their attractiveness to fans” and “This review could consider both the inclusion of new disciplines and the continuing viability of others.” Ominous?

A new content approach: “We must use this to create more ‘star-powered’ entertainment features – not only for the opening and closing ceremonies, but throughout the Games” and “Relay competitions with able-bodied and Para athletes teaming up should be explored, looking for new formats that will allow viewers to focus on the extraordinary abilities – not disabilities – of all participants.”

Citing his business success, he posits, “[W]e can deliver future editions of the Games more efficiently, at significantly less cost – and at an even higher standard of quality.”

● Lappartient: He urged caution on continuing to add sports: “We are receiving numerous bids again, but we should avoid an XXL approach.” Also, it would be “worthwhile to better define the conditions for adding new sports to the programme of the Olympic Games (universality, quotas, Olympic revenue, etc.) and integrating new disciplines of sports already on the Olympic programme.”

● Samaranch: “Remain flexible and open to adjusting our calendar to make hosting the Games more accessible for all regions” and “Excessive widespread Games may affect the authenticity and communal spirit of the Olympics, where the Olympic Village serves as the cornerstone of the Games experience and brand.” He advocates a review of service levels across the Games to balance costs with “Olympic Standards.”

● Watanabe: “Stage the Olympic Games in five cities from the five continents, in the same period of time.”

Selection of the Olympic host cities/regions/countries:
As a result of the Salt Lake City bidding scandal that broke in 1999, member visits to candidate cities were abolished, new age limits adopted and Bach later pushed through a new selection process based on discussions and evaluations of Olympic and Winter “Future Host Commissions,” with the members asked only to confirm their recommendations.

This eliminated the losers in a winner-takes-all process and reduced the bid cost by tens of millions of dollars. But it also took away a key aspect of IOC membership. Some want to change that:

● Al Hussein: Wants the members to “decide the electorate for future host cities.”

● Lappartient: Proposed to strengthen the role of IOC Members in the decision-making process on host cities, and also wrote “we need to think about a balance between the continents for future hosts” recommending taking the Games to Africa (something he is doing in cycling).

● Samaranch: Was the clearest about change: “Members should decide on the Host City selection.”

● Eliasch: Chimed in on locations, stating “The risks can be managed … the prospect of future editions in Africa, India and the Middle East should excite and energise us. Let’s make it happen.”

Coming tomorrow in part II: ideas for revenue generation, what to do about broadcasting, athlete support, women, doping and more. Stay tuned.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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LOS ANGELES 2028: LA28 organizers well behind Paris 2024’s hiring pace, but starting to staff up with 23 good-paying positions shown now

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ LA28 IS HIRING ≡

The Los Angeles bid for the 2024 Olympic Games turned into an award for the 2028 Olympic Games instead, awarded in 2017. In the seven years since, the LA28 organizing committee has remained small, with 157 staff reported at the end of 2023 and a public mention of 180 by the middle of 2024.

But as the Paris 2024 legacy report recounts, it had 4,200 staff members at the time of the Games, with 1,180 hired in 2024. That’s a long way from 180.

And the Paris 2024 organizers had quite a few more staff than LA28 at a comparable time:

● Paris end-of-2020 staff: 379 ~ comparable to 31 Dec. 2024 for LA28
● Paris end-of-2021 staff: 663 ~ comparable to 31 Dec. 2025 for LA28

So LA28 has a lot of hiring to do, and is starting to ramp up. Its job site usually had from 6-12 jobs listed for most of 2024, but now has 23 positions – some with multiple hires to be made – shown on 25 December.

In compliance with California law, expected annual base salaries are listed for each position; the site notes “LA28 does not provide relocation assistance”:

● Vice President/Business Affairs ($220-260,000)

● Senior Director/Look & Signage ($175-200,000)

● Head/Live Sites & Experience ($175-200,000)
● Head/Medical Operations ($150-170,000)
● Head/Data – Fan Engagement ($150-170,000)

● Director/Commercial Asset Development ($150-170,000)
● Director/Economic Impact & Strategic Sourcing ($150-170,000)
● Director/Venue Security ($150-170,000)
● Director/Telecoms Program Delivery ($150-170,000)

● Managing Counsel/Labor & Employment ($160-175,000)

● Senior Sport Group Manager ($115-130,000)

● Senior Manager/Civil Engineering ($115-170,000)
● Senior Manager/Containment ($115-170,000)
● Senior Manager/Mechanical, Engineering & Plumbing ($115-170,000)
● Senior Manager/Cost Management ($115-130,000)
● Senior Manager/Risk & Assurance ($115-130,000)
● Senior Manager/Rights Management ($115-130,000)

● Manager/Accommodations Stakeholder Relations ($80-105,000)
● Manager/Int’l Federation Relations & Services ($80-105,000)
● Manager/Sport ($85-105,000; multiple hires)
● Manager/Technology Workday HCM & Finance ($85-105,000)

● Specialist/Games Management System ($75-90,000)

● Associate/Client Sales & Service ($70-75,000)

These are good-paying jobs and LA28’s 2023 Federal tax return showed a remarkable 91 of 157 staff (58%) of all staff paid $100,000 or more during the year. Of these 23 positions, 17 have starting salaries above $100,000 and three others with starting salaries that could be more than $100,000. LA28 has maintained, as shown above, significant discipline in salary ranges according to classifications.

Of course, Los Angeles is identified as the second-most-expensive place to live in the U.S. in 2024, according to the U.S. News & World Report ranking. (Hartford, Connecticut was ranked no. 1, with Miami at no. 3, New Haven, Connecticut at no. 4 and New York at no. 5.)

Housing cost, especially is an issue in Los Angeles, and for most residents, a car is a necessity, although the public transit program is rapidly expanding.

Reynold Hoover, a former U.S. Army Lt. General, is now the LA28 chief executive and has the responsibility to devise and fill up the org chart he has developed for the organizing committee. If he were to pull LA28’s staffing even with Paris 2024 by the end of 2025, he’ll be hiring 483 people next year. Looks like he’ll be busy.

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ATHLETICS: USATF financial statements explain $13.46 million, two-year drop in net assets as due to “one-off operational expenses”

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

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≡ USA TRACK & FIELD ≡

USA Track & Field posted its 2023 financial statements and IRS Form 990 tax return on Tuesday, 24 December, with the statements confirming a staggering drop of $13.46 million in net assets over two years:

● 2021: $8.53 million in USATF net assets shown
● 2022: $548,002 in USATF net assets shown
● 2023: –$4.93 million in USATF net assets shown
● Loss of $13.46 million from 31 December 2021 to 31 December 2023

The 27-page financial statements start with a cover note that addresses the financial downturn:

“The 2023 Audited Financial Statements include both cash and non-cash transactions which impact the decrease in net assets. These include a decrease in value-in-kind (non-cash) assets (approximately $3.0M) and a decrease in cash (approximately $1.8M, driven by one-off operational expenses, as approved by the Board of Directors.

“This includes residual obligations related to 2022 World Athletics Championships, including expenses related to the 2023 Diamond League Final; prepayment of housing for coaches and team staff for the 2024 Olympic Games; expenses related to training facility track improvements for the 2024 Olympic Games; significant increase in insurance costs without concomitant increases in member fees; legal fees related to unplanned litigation; and the USATF Grand Prix series.”

The drop from 2021 to 2022 was from a $9.9 million subsidy paid to the Oregon22 organizers for the World Athletics Championships held in Eugene.

The expense side of the USATF activities statement showed less spending in 2023 than in 2022, thanks to a much lower cost for the World Championships in 2023 (Budapest: $1.46 million) vs. 2022 (Eugene: $7.75 million). But overall spending – mostly for elite-athlete competitions – has ballooned over the past two years:

● 2021: $35.52 million total ~ Olympic year
● 2022: $45.58 million total ~ Worlds in Eugene
● 2023: $42.17 million total ~ Worlds in Budapest

● 2021: $11.16 million for Elite competitions ~ Olympic year
● 2022: $20.92 million for Elite competitions ~ Worlds in Eugene
● 2023: $15.81 million for Elite competitions ~ Worlds in Budapest

Note 1 to the financial statements added some detail to the added expenses in 2023:

“[S]ignificant funds were invested in the Diamond League-2023 Prefontaine Classic which provided vital competitive opportunities to prepare athletes for global competition. USATF’s expenses highlight critical, board-approved investments such as the USATF Grand Prix meets. These events provided prize money, travel support and world-ranking opportunities for athletes, resulting in many of those athletes competing in the 2023 World Championships and qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (ultimately resulting in a record medal count for USATF).”

Comparing the 2021 costs to 2023 (ignoring spending on a home World Championships in 2022):

● 2021: $2.192 million in Services and Professional fees
● 2021: $4.379 million in Grants and Support payments
● 2021: $1.606 million in Travel
● 2021: $1.172 million in Supplies and Shipping
● $9.349 million for these four categories

● 2023: $5.005 million in Services and Professional fees
● 2023: $4.037 million in Grants and Support payments
● 2023: $2.852 million in Travel
● 2023: $1.937 million in Supplies and Shipping
● $13.831 million for these four categories

That $4.482 million cost increase accounts for most of the losses in 2023.

In terms of revenue, the statements note that 53% of USATF revenues ($19.45 million) came from one sponsor (Nike) and 16% from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee grant of $5.827 million. That’s 69% from two sources

With the difference in accounting methods between the Federal Form 990 tax return (mostly cash) and the financial statements (accrual), the financial statements show a higher revenue total for 2023: $36.71 million vs. $35.01 million on the tax return.

Even so, USATF revenues in 2023 remained in the same narrow range – excepting the pandemic year of 2020 since the decades-long, current Nike sponsorship package came into effect in 2014 (figures from financial statements):

● 2014: $35.05 million
● 2015: $30.40 million
● 2016: $38.43 million
● 2017: $33.67 million
● 2018: $36.71 million
● 2019: $37.24 million
● 2020: $23.30 million (Covid impact)
● 2021: $35.52 million
● 2022: $36.54 million
● 2023: $36.71 million

If inflation is taken into account, the situation is even worse. One dollar in 2014 is worth about $1.33 today, so the $35.05 million revenue from 2014 represents $46.61 million in 2024. But USATF revenue has advanced by just 4.7%.

The federation nevertheless made it through 2024. It had $11.89 million in cash and investments at the end of 2023 and $3.1 million remaining on an $8.0 million line of credit. But it is hardly comfortable.

In Note 1 of the statements, a sentence was added noting:

“Management and the board of directors have introduced a range of revenue-generating and cost-cutting initiative to address its financial position as part of its post-2024 Olympic Games and 2025 business strategy.”

In this regard, on 9 November 2023, USATF announced that chief executive Max Siegel was given a contract extension through 2028.

Even in the protective language of its own financial statements, USATF is in financial difficulties, presenting the new Board and new President Curt Clausen with substantial challenges.

It’s worth comparing the situation of the two major U.S. Olympic medal-producing federations, USATF and USA Swimming. The swim federation lists audited financial data back to 2017 and released its 2023 financials earlier this year:

● 2017: $43.09 million revenue
● 2017: $75.86 million in assets
● 2017: $57.71 million in reserves

● 2023: $45.23 million in revenue
● 2023: $70.39 million in assets
● 2023: $45.02 million in reserves

The swimmers have had their own tribulations over finance, but receive a majority of their funding from memberships have more than 375,000 members, and is still quite healthy financially. But its revenues have also not kept pace with inflation.

USA Swimming’s chief executive, Tim Hinchey, who joined in 2017, was dismissed in August over a lack of trust within the organization, especially from coaches. The organization is looking for a new chief executive now.

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ATHLETICS: Diamond League prize money up to $9.24 million in 2025; new “Diamond+” events will pay up to 67% more at each meet!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ DIAMOND LEAGUE ≡

As previously announced, the Wanda Diamond League will increase its prize money to $9.24 million in 2025 from about $6.90 million in 2024, but without any details. Now we know.

In 2024, the Diamond League in-meet payouts were:

● 2024: $25,000 per event in 14 Diamond League meets
($10,000-6,000-3,500-2,000-1,250-1,000-750-500).

● 2024: $60,000 per event in the Diamond League Final
($30,000-12,000-7,000-4,000-2,500-2,000-1,5000-1,000).

For 2025, there will be four tiers: an increased standard event pay-out of $30,000-plus, a payout of $50,000-plus for four events per meet (about $7 million total) and $2.24 million for the Diamond League final (with pay now for places 9-12, if applicable) for Diamond and new, Diamond+ disciplines:

● 2025: $32,000 per Diamond discipline at 14 meets
($10,000-6,000-4,000-3,000-2,500-2,000-1,500-1,000 and 500 for 9-12)

● 2025: $53,000 per Diamond+ discipline at 14 meets
($20,000-10,000-6,000-5,000-3,000-2,500-2,000-1,500 and 750 for 9-12)

● 2025: $62,000 per Diamond discipline at the Diamond League Final
($30,000-12,000-7,000-4,000-2,500-2,000-1,500-1,000 and 500 for 9-12)

● 2025: $104,000 per Diamond+ discipline at the Diamond League Final
($50,000-20,000-10,000-6,000-5,000-4,000-3,000-2,000 and 1,000 for 9-12)

What events will be Diamond+? The announcement explains:

“There will be four (two male and two female) Diamond+ Disciplines at each series meeting and eight (four male and four female) at the Final. Each meeting will announce their Diamond+ Disciplines in the first half of 2025.”

The total athlete support package was summarized:

● “Including promotional fees for top athletes, a total of around 18 million USD will be paid to athletes in total over the course of the 2025 season.”

● “As every year and in addition, around 6 million USD will be invested in athlete services such as travel and transport, accommodation and medical and physio provision.”

As usual, the schedule stretches over the spring and summer, from April to the end of August:

● April (1): Xiamen
● May (3): Suzhou, Doha, Rabat
● June (4): Rome, Oslo, Stockholm, Paris
● July (3): Eugene, Monaco, London
● August (4): Chorzow, Lausanne, Brussels, Zurich

In terms of conflicts, the new Grand Slam Track program starts early from 4-6 April in Kingston (JAM) and the first Diamond League meet comes on 26 April in China. The next meet, from 2-4 May in Miramar, Florida, conflicts with the Suzhou Diamond League (3rd), but the other two are clear, on 30 May-1 June in Philadelphia and 27-29 June in Los Angeles. The Grand Slam Track payouts are to be $100,000 for each winner, down to $10,000 for eighth place.

The increased prize money follows the lead of World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe (GBR) to inject more athlete pay into meets, as well as the pressure from the new Grand Slam Track program, and the Athlos NYC meet in September, which had limited fields and paid $60,000-25,000-10,000-8,000-5,000-2,500 for each event.

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PANORAMA: Another conviction in Tokyo 2020 bid-rigging scandal; special women’s swim suits approved; a women’s 400 m WR in 2025?

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2020: Tokyo ● Another company in the Tokyo 2020 bid-rigging scandal has been found guilty and a senior executive handed a suspended sentence.

Event-management firm Cerespo was found to have participated in a six-party bid-rigging scheme to award about $4 million in Tokyo 2020 contracts to stage test events prior to the 2020 Olympic Games, and then to obtain much more lucrative contracts for venue management – about $294 million – during the Olympic Games, which were eventually moved to 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

High-profile Japanese ad agencies Dentsu, Hakuhodo and the Tokyu Agency, and event-management companies Cerespo, Fuji Creative Corp., and Same Two, Inc., were involved, coordinating the program between February and July 2018 with Yasuo Mori of the organizing committee’s Operations Bureau.

The Tokyo District Court fined Cerespo ¥280 million (about $1.78 million U.S.) and sentenced Yoshiji Kamata to 22 months in prison, with the sentence suspended for four years. All of the individuals sentenced in this scandal have received suspended sentenced. Kamata, 61, said he will appeal the conviction.

● Alpine Skiing ● Norway’s Timon Haugen grabbed his third career FIS World Cup victory in the Slalom in Alta Badia (ITA) on Monday, holding on to his first-run lead and winning in 1:45.40. That was comfortably ahead of Swiss Loic Meillard (1:46.53) and Norwegian teammate Atle Lie McGrath (1:46.66).

Jett Seymour was the top American, in 13th, at 1:48.31. The men’s tour heads to Bormio (ITA) for a Downhill and Super-G this weekend.

● Aquatics ● World Aquatics completed its rules revisions for 2025 and beyond and included an important change for women’s swimsuits:

“Updated regulations now permit the use of specially designed swimwear for women during their menstrual periods. These swimsuits prioritise functionality and discretion while adhering to performance standards.”

A significant change was made for water polo, standardizing the field of play for both men and women at 25.60 m by 20.00 m, or 84-0 by 65-7 1/2 in feet and inches. Pool depth remains at not less than 1.80 m (5-10 3/4).

● Athletics ● Paris women’s 400 m Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino (DOM) has East German Marita Koch’s astounding world record of 47.60 in her sights for 2025.

Speaking with Panam Sports, she reflected on her 48.17 win in Paris – she’s now no. 4 all-time – and looked ahead:

“I’m betting on the work my team and I have done on my legs, and I know that if God allows it, I will be able to break the world record, which is my greatest desire.

“I just have to wait for the perfect moment, the perfect day and the perfect track. I know it can be done. The results of the Paris Olympic Games showed me that it can be done.

“I know that I’m going to work on the small details I have [to fix] to be able to break the world record, although I’m happy with breaking 47.99 seconds.”

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LOS ANGELES 2028: LA28 organizing committee 2023 tax return shows a loss of $66.03 million, but that’s actually an improvement!

By
Rich Perelman
-
The LA28 emblem designed by Olympic gold medalist swimmer Simone Manuel (USA)

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

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

A $66.03 million annual loss is not usually the basis for optimism, but a review of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Organizing Committee’s Form 990 tax return for 2023 gives an insight into future funding to come.

LA28 has not posted its returns on its Web site, but has included them in its required annual report to the City of Los Angeles, made available in June the following year. So, the posting of its 2023 IRS Form 990 return by ProPublica is a much earlier-than-usual glimpse of the financial status of the LA28 organizers.

(It’s worth noting that the Form 990 information will vary somewhat from the audited financial statements, probably not available until the City’s annual report next year, since the accounting methods differ. But much of the data will be the same.)

For 2023, what would normally be considered fairly dismal results are actually an improvement:

● Revenue was $12.34 million, down from $53.66 million in 2022.
● Expenses were $78.37 million, down from $140.22 million in 2022.
● Losses were $66.03 million, down from $86.56 million in 2022.

● Assets were $141.71 million, up from $65.05 million in 2022.
● Cash and receivables were $74.93 million, up from $56.42 million in 2022.
● Net assets were –$219.69 million, down from –$153.67 million in 2022.

The hidden bright spot was in deferred revenue – income which will be declared later – which went from $180.00 million at the end of 2022 to $280.80 million at the end of 2023. This is sponsorship revenue which is starting to come in, but for accounting purposes, is shown as a liability. The significant increase is a good sign.

There was only $12.34 million in revenue, mostly from donations ($8.00 million), plus a little more than $2 million each in investment income and hospitality sales. LA28 does intend to solicit donations, noting:

“Starting in 2021, the organization began receiving contributions to support its mission of hosting the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The organization is actively working at developing its strategy for philanthropy and public contributions.”

Spending was $78.37 million, primarily for the 157 staff members:

● $34.74 million for salaries, benefits and payroll taxes
● $16.95 million for other program expenses
● $15.29 million in grants, to the PlayLA youth sports initiative
● $5.41 million in rent, office expenses, insurance and technology
● $2.44 million in rights payments
● $1.53 million for legal, lobbying and accounting services
● $1.02 million in advertising and promotional costs

That’s $77.38 million of the $78.37 total.

The big number of $16.95 million for program expenses is not broken out in the return, but a note on payments to contractors shows that 42 different outside companies received $100,000 or more from LA28 during 2023, led by engineering giant AECOM, which was paid $5.12 million. Security services firm Gavin de Becker & Associates was paid $1.36 million.

LA28 also paid significant amounts to senior staff members who have since stepped down. Former chief executive Kathy Carter was shown with reportable income in 2023 of $1.995 million; former Chief Business Officer Brian Lafemina received $3.12 million, and former Chief Legal Officer Tanja Olano – who left in 2024 – received $1.02 million in 2023.

The return also includes information on the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Properties (USOPP) joint marketing venture with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Its director, Chris Pepe, retired in 2024; he received $928,358 in 2023.

Seven other employees were paid more than $500,000, nine others were paid more than $200,000; a total of 91 staff were paid more than $100,000. An explanatory entry on the return noted that all executive salaries had been benchmarked by an outside firm and approved by the Board of Directors.

There are more questions to be asked, but the audited financial statements – whenever they are made available – will answer many of those.

Some perspective is needed on these numbers and the LA28 “net assets” total of –$219.69 million, as LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman – who has served without pay – confirmed to reporters in November that approximately $4.6 billion in revenue has been contracted for LA28 already.

This comes from the International Olympic Committee’s pledge of at least $1.335 billion, and the remainder from contracts with sponsors, hospitality providers and licenses for merchandise sales. Ticket revenues will be on top of that.

So, some money is coming in and much more is on the way. But the exodus of the prior leadership team at LA28 and the USOPP means that it will be up to new chief executive Reynold Hoover and new USOPP head John Slusher to do more with the money they have, and for Slusher to bring in more.

But the costs will be enormous; one example is in staffing. While LA28 reported 157 staff at the end of 2023, Paris 2024’s post-Games report showed 3,020 at the end of the year before its Games (i.e., the end of 2023) and 4,200 at the time of the Games.

Using the same timeline, Hoover & Co. will need to hire 2,863 more people by the end of 2027. On Monday (23rd), the LA28 jobs site showed job openings for 23 positions.

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RUSSIA: Sports Minister and ROC chief applauds “no final divorce,” says Russian return to sport “will be difficult”

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

After being forced out of international sport almost entirely after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and then allowed back in in very limited fashion for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, December has been a good month for Russian sport:

● Russian swimmers were allowed to compete as “neutrals” at the World Aquatics 25 m Championships in Budapest (HUN) from 10-15 December and won 10 medals, including six golds, setting a world record in the men’s 4×100 m Medley relay.

● Last week, the International Skating Union decided to allow a very limited number of Russian athletes to participate in Olympic qualifying events (only) in the 2025-26 season in figure skating, speed skating and short track, subject to a review to ensure these athletes are not supporting the war against Ukraine.

However, there is hardly much joy among Russian sports officials about these openings. Said Russian sports minister and Russian Olympic Committee President Mikhail Degtyarev on Friday:

“The process of a full return to international sport will be difficult, but events such as the International Skating Union’s decision to allow our athletes to participate in the Olympic qualifications while still in neutral status, or the recent successful performance of Russian swimmers at the World Championships, are important steps along this path.

“This is definitely better than a final divorce and self-isolation.

“We will continue to develop this trend, supporting our athletes and systematically improving the conditions for their participation in international competitions. This process requires time, great effort and unity of our community.”

From a total ban in February 2022, following a request from the International Olympic Committee, Russian participation as “neutrals” has been allowed by several summer Olympic federations following a December 2023 IOC directive. Teams, however, have been banned entirely.

Russians qualified 48 athletes for Paris 2024 in eight sports – canoeing, cycling, gymnastics (trampoline), judo, swimming, taekwondo, tennis and wrestling – but after the IOC’s own “neutrality” review, a total of 15 Russian athletes were accepted in six sports: canoeing, cycling, gymnastics (trampoline), judo, swimming, taekwondo and tennis.

Now the regulations for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games are coming, with the ISU trying to get ahead of the process, even before the IOC speaks on the issue.

A complicating factor in all of this will be the IOC Presidential Election in March in Greece. Russian comments have indicated a preference for candidates such as cycling federation head David Lappartient (FRA) or gymnastics chief Morinari Watanabe (JPN), or veteran IOC member Juan Antonio Samaranch, all seen as moderates on allowing Russian athletes to compete internationally once again.

But there is considerable worry that if World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (GBR) is elected, that Russians will be banned entirely. Russian athletes continue to be banned from international track & field events.

Sports Minister Degtyarev is well aware of the possibilities.

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ATHLETICS: USA Track & Field tax return for 2023 shows federation with $5 million loss, revenue down again and a negative net worth!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

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≡ USA TRACK & FIELD ≡

Bad news, again.

The Form 990 Federal tax return for 2023 for USA Track & Field was posted by ProPublica, after having been filed with the Internal Revenue Service on 14 November. In short:

● Revenue declined again to $35.01 million, from $37.94 million.
● Loss for the year of $5.60 million, after a loss of $6.72 million in 2022
● Declared reserves from $597,933 in 2022 to –$4.491 million in 2023

These totals are at 31 December 2023, so USATF has gone almost an entire year since these numbers were current. It has not, as of Sunday evening (22nd) posted this tax statement on its Web site, or its audited financial statements for 2023. And, of course, nothing for 2024.

The tax return shows that the federation is in financial difficulty, but not out of money. The return showed:

● $1.07 million in cash
● $10.62 million in investments
● $7.26 million in deferred revenue, likely advanced sponsor payments

The major change listed on the return is an increase in accounts payable and accrued expenses from $4.67 million at the end of 2022 to $9.05 million at the end of 2023. So, the organization’s net assets were –$4,490,686 at the end of 2023.

(Please note that these tax-report figures are not the same as the audited financial statements – not yet posted – which use a different accounting method. But the results will not be too different.)

USATF revenues in 2023 remained in the same narrow range – excepting the pandemic year of 2020 since the decades-long, current Nike sponsorship package came into effect in 2014 (figures from financial statements for all but 2023):

● 2014: $35.05 million
● 2015: $30.40 million
● 2016: $38.43 million
● 2017: $33.67 million
● 2018: $36.71 million
● 2019: $37.24 million
● 2020: $23.30 million (Covid impact)
● 2021: $35.52 million
● 2022: $36.54 million
● 2023: $35.01 million (Form 990 figure)

Essentially, the 2023 revenue of $35.01 million is the worst since 2017, and comes from the same sources as prior years:

● $19.17 million in sponsorships
● $8.47 million in donations
● $2.51 million in membership dues
● $1.36 million in media sales revenue
● $1.33 million in sanctioning fees
● $1.32 million in events and tickets

That’s $34.16 million out of a $35.01 million total.

Where did the money go?

● $10.03 million to athletes for prize money and support
● $9.25 million for staff salaries, benefits and payroll taxes
● $6.72 million in other items (security screening, team services)
● $2.11 million in insurance
● $2.03 million in U.S. Olympic direct-athlete support
● $1.92 million for non-U.S. programs (such as pre-Paris training camp)
● $1.66 million in other expenses (not detailed)
● $1.63 million in team gear and equipment
● $1.14 million in information technology services
● $1.13 million in travel expenses

That’s $37.62 million out of a total of $40.61 million in expenses.

In the financial statements for 2022, there was an explanation that the dive in net assets was due to the $9.9 million paid by USATF to the organizing committee of the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon as support for the staging of the meet. USATF had no such obligation for 2023; perhaps the financial statements – when posted – will have more details.

USATF staffing totaled 95 individuals in 2023, down from 97 at the end of 2022. Chief executive Max Siegel received reportable compensation of $1.17 million and Chief Operating Officer Renee Washington received $609,775. There were six others paid more than $200,000 and an additional seven who received more than $100,000.

This was the third straight year with net losses for USATF and skipping the $8.28 million surplus from the Covid year of 2020, the organization has shown an operating loss for five straight years, back to 2018. In 2025, USA Track & Field will take charge of Paralympic track & field governance in the U.S., an added responsibility.

USATF got through 2024 and despite all of the financial concerns, American track & field athletes had one of the finest Olympic performances in history, with a staggering 34 Olympic medals, including 14 golds.

How the federation moves forward with a newly-elected volunteer President, former race walk Olympian Curt Clausen, and uncertain finances will be an issue not only for U.S. track & field athletes, coaches, associations and fans, but also for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, already planning for a home Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.

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