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Putin’s “tough response” if Russia is banned from 2018 has nothing to do with sports

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December 3, 2017

PALM DESERT, December 4, 2017 – The International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board is scheduled to decide whether Russia will be allowed to compete in the 2018 Olympic Winter Games and under what conditions or circumstances, if any.

The Kremlin is already expecting a full ban, or close to it, and has planned its response on the parallel tracks of sports and politics. The sports track is somewhat predictable, but the political track has nothing to do with sports. It has a lot to do with Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin and the Russian national elections coming up on 18 March.

How are they tied together? The details are in our Lane One commentary, plus a wild weekend of breakthrough performances by U.S. athletes at home and aboard:

= p. 5/Weightlifting: Long-sought medals for the U.S. in World Weightlifting Champs!
= p. 11/Anti-Doping: Oswald Commission extends hearings beyond the McLaren Report;
= p. 14/Alpine Skiing: Mikaela Shiffrin wins first World Cup Downhill, at Lake Louise!
= p. 19/Cross Country: Sadie Bjornsen in the medals again in Lillehammer Sprint!
= p. 28/Speed Skating: Heather Bergsma wins first World Cup race of the season!

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How the Oswald Commission is finding Russian athletes guilty of doping

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December 1, 2017

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IN THIS ISSUE – The International Olympic Committee’s Disciplinary Commission – better known as the Oswald Commission – has been handing down penalties for doping against Russian athletes throughout the month of November.

But on Monday (27th), the first detailed explanation of how the Commission’s findings were arrived at were made public. It’s a 46-page, 495-paragraph, densely-written legal opinion designed to stand up to scrutiny in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and elsewhere.

What does it say? Check out our digest – in six pages – in our Lane One commentary, plus previews of a massive weekend of major Olympic-sport action:

= p. 9/Phil Hersh: ISU warns Skate Canada over gifts linked to ice dancer Tessa Virtue;
= p. 11/Weightlifting: World Championships open with women’s 58 kg showdown;
= p. 17/Anti-Doping: Three more Russian doping cases confirmed by Oswald Commission;
= p. 18/Alpine Skiing: U.S. women stars Lindsey Vonn & Mikaela Shiffrin at Lake Louise;
= p. 29/Wrestling: U.S. women face no. 1 Japan in in Freestyle World Cup!

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How the Oswald Commission is finding Russian athletes guilty of doping

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December 1, 2017

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PALM DESERT, December 1, 2017 – The International Olympic Committee’s Disciplinary Commission – better known as the Oswald Commission – has been handing down penalties for doping against Russian athletes throughout the month of November.

But on Monday (27th), the first detailed explanation of how the Commission’s findings were arrived at were made public. It’s a 46-page, 495-paragraph, densely-written legal opinion designed to stand up to scrutiny in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and elsewhere.

What does it say? Check out our digest – in six pages – in our Lane One commentary, plus previews of a massive weekend of major Olympic-sport action:

= p. 9/Phil Hersh: ISU warns Skate Canada over gifts linked to ice dancer Tessa Virtue;
= p. 11/Weightlifting: World Championships open with women’s 58 kg showdown;
= p. 17/Anti-Doping: Three more Russian doping cases confirmed by Oswald Commission;
= p. 18/Alpine Skiing: U.S. women stars Lindsey Vonn & Mikaela Shiffrin at Lake Louise;
= p. 29/Wrestling: U.S. women face no. 1 Japan in in Freestyle World Cup!

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Disciplinarians or hypocrites? What will the IOC do about Russia and weightlifting?

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November 29, 2017

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IN THIS ISSUE – The International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board will have a full agenda when it meets on 5-6 December, including deciding whether Russia will be permitted to compete at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games and whether weightlifting will be confirmed on the program of the 2024 Games in Paris.

While the IOC’s Oswald Commission makes headlines almost daily with confirmations of doping disqualifications of Russian athletes from the 2014 Winter Games, the International Weightlifting Federation is beginning its 2017 World Championships with a more serious tone, having banned nine countries – including Russia – for multiple doping infractions.

Will the IOC play disciplinarian or hypocrite in the decisions it makes regarding these two groups: one repentant and reformed and the other defiant and vowing to fight the IOC anywhere it can. Get the story in our Lane One commentary, plus our first look at the week ahead:

= p. 6/Phil Hersh: The collapsing U.S. women’s figure skating situation for PyeongChang;
= p. 10/Weightlifting: Crossroads World Championships for this sport starts in Anaheim;
= p. 12/Anti-Doping: Five more Russian doping disqualifications; 11 medals now rescinded!
= p. 14/Fencing: Powerful U.S. men’s and women’s Foil teams at Turin Grand Prix;
= p. 17/Wrestling: U.S. wins three medals in inaugural U-23 World Championships!

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Disciplinarians or hypocrites? What will the IOC do about Russia and weightlifting?

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November 29, 2017

PALM DESERT, November 29, 2017 – The International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board will have a full agenda when it meets on 5-6 December, including deciding whether Russia will be permitted to compete at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games and whether weightlifting will be confirmed on the program of the 2024 Games in Paris.

While the IOC’s Oswald Commission makes headlines almost daily with confirmations of doping disqualifications of Russian athletes from the 2014 Winter Games, the International Weightlifting Federation is beginning its 2017 World Championships with a more serious tone, having banned nine countries – including Russia – for multiple doping infractions.

Will the IOC play disciplinarian or hypocrite in the decisions it makes regarding these two groups: one repentant and reformed and the other defiant and vowing to fight the IOC anywhere it can. Get the story in our Lane One commentary, plus our first look at the week ahead:

= p. 6/Phil Hersh: The collapsing U.S. women’s figure skating situation for PyeongChang;
= p. 10/Weightlifting: Crossroads World Championships for this sport starts in Anaheim;
= p. 12/Anti-Doping: Five more Russian doping disqualifications; 11 medals now rescinded!
= p. 14/Fencing: Powerful U.S. men’s and women’s Foil teams at Turin Grand Prix;
= p. 17/Wrestling: U.S. wins three medals in inaugural U-23 World Championships!

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Why can’t Olympic sports be more like college football?

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November 27, 2017

tsx-pix-112617-auburn-alabama-2013-725x438 — Auburn's Chris Davis returns a missed field goal for the winning touchdown against Alabama.

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IN THIS ISSUE – This past weekend was a great one in Olympic sports … and college football.

Fans of both were attending spectacular events in the thousands and there were rapt audiences watching on television.

In the U.S. anyway, there were a lot more people watching college football, however, as the season progresses toward the conference championship games and the College Football Playoff.

Can’t the winter sports learn from this and create similar passion in a planned, coordinated climax to each season?

It can happen, and we have the details on how it could be arranged in our Lane One commentary, plus all the results and surprises of a big weekend of action:

= p. 6/Anti-Doping: Another four Russians caught for doping in Sochi and disqualified;
= p. 7/Athletics: IAAF Council punts on world record review and transfer regulations;
= p. 8/Alpine Skiing: Gold in Killington for U.S. Slalom queen Mikaela Shiffrin!
= p. 11/Basketball: U.S. men sweep first two games in FIBA World Cup qualifying;
= p. 14/Cross Country: Sensational silver medal for Sadie Bjornsen in Finland!
= p. 15/Figure Skating: Nathan Chen & the ShibSibs mine gold at Skate America;
= p. 19/Luge: U.S. women shine in Germany as Erin Hamlin makes fourth OWG team!

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Why can’t Olympic sports be more like college football?

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November 26, 2017

tsx-pix-112617-auburn-alabama-2013-725x438 — Auburn's Chris Davis returns a missed field goal for the winning touchdown against Alabama.

PALM DESERT, November 27, 2017 – This past weekend was a great one in Olympic sports … and college football.

Fans of both were attending spectacular events in the thousands and there were rapt audiences watching on television.

In the U.S. anyway, there were a lot more people watching college football, however, as the season progresses toward the conference championship games and the College Football Playoff.

Can’t the winter sports learn from this and create similar passion in a planned, coordinated climax to each season?

It can happen, and we have the details on how it could be arranged in our Lane One commentary, plus all the results and surprises of a big weekend of action:

= p. 6/Anti-Doping: Another four Russians caught for doping in Sochi and disqualified;
= p. 7/Athletics: IAAF Council punts on world record review and transfer regulations;
= p. 8/Alpine Skiing: Gold in Killington for U.S. Slalom queen Mikaela Shiffrin!
= p. 11/Basketball: U.S. men sweep first two games in FIBA World Cup qualifying;
= p. 14/Cross Country: Sensational silver medal for Sadie Bjornsen in Finland!
= p. 15/Figure Skating: Nathan Chen & the ShibSibs mine gold at Skate America;
= p. 19/Luge: U.S. women shine in Germany as Erin Hamlin makes fourth OWG team!

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After 125 years, time to say “Thanks, Baron” one more time

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November 23, 2017

tsx-pix-12917-de-coubertin-pierre-599x400 — Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Movement

PALM DESERT, November 24, 2017 – This Saturday will mark 125 years since a 29-year-old Frenchman named Pierre de Coubertin proposed that the Olympic Games be revived.

He did it at the Sorbonne in Paris and the reception he received was the one thing he hadn’t expected.

What happened? Get the details and some reflections on his legacy in our Lane One commentary, plus a preview of a big weekend of action:

= p. 5/Phil Hersh: Why didn’t the USOC react to a slur against Olympian Ibti Muhammad?
= p. 8/Anti-Doping: Four more disqualifications of Russian athletes from Sochi 2014;
= p. 10/Short Track: ISU confirms U.S. has eight qualifiers for PyeongChang 2018;
= p. 13/Alpine Skiing: Mikaela Shiffrin back in action on home turf in Vermont!
= p. 16/Figure Skating: Shibutani twins looking for another win at Skate America!

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Role reversal: now the cities ask, “Why do we want the Games?”

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November 22, 2017

PALM DESERT, November 22, 2017 – It wasn’t so long ago that it was the International Olympic Committee asking probing questions of a group of candidate cities all vying to host the Olympic or Olympic Winter Games.

Now it’s the cities asking: why should be we interested?

What is it in for the cities who host the Games? The cost and the long line of facilities that have gone under-used (or unused) after recent Games has made the shine of new arenas unattractive. So what is the interest?

The city of Calgary, which hosted the 1988 Winter Games, looked closely at the options and surveyed the public. They found that the attraction to the Games may have nothing to do with the sports events at all and instead something that even the democratic process has not brought to the city.

What is it? Get the details in our Lane One commentary, plus a preview of a big weekend of action:

= p. 2/The Ticker: USA Swimming’s annual awards handed out at the Golden Goggles gala!
= p. 5/Phil Hersh: Why are heads of national skating federations still judging at major events?
= p. 10/Athletics: USA Track & Field names its Jesse Owens and Jackie Joyner-Kersee award winners;
= p. 11/Basketball: USA Basketball starts a long road to the 2019 FIBA World Cup this week;
= p. 16/Gymnastics: China dominantes World Trampoline Championships in Bulgaria.

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Is this the last week that FloJo will be a world-record holder?

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November 20, 2017

PALM DESERT, November 20, 2017 – The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) will hand out its annual awards this coming Friday in Monaco. During the two days following, the IAAF Council may vote to strip dozens of athletes of the title of “world record holder.”

The Council is expected to review a radical proposal by European Athletics to eliminate all records set before 2005, from when drug-testing samples are still available for re-testing. The Council could adopt the idea, or change it, or trash the whole thing.

Our perspective is on one suggestion, which would consider in depth whether marks by stars like Randy Barnes, Florence Griffith-Joyner and Jackie Joyner-Kersee would remain intact. Get the details in our Lane One commentary, plus review of a big weekend of action:

= p. 8/Bobsled & Skeleton: Jamie Greubel Poser & Lauren Gibbs strike gold for the U.S.;
= p. 9/Curling: Skips Nina Roth and John Shuster lead their teams to Olympic Trials wins;
= p. 12/Figure Skating: World champ Javier Fernandez back to top form in ISU Grand Prix;
= p. 16/Short Track: J.R. Celski & U.S. men’s relay win medals in final World Cup;
= p. 17/Speed Skating: More medals for Joey Mantia & Heather Bergsma in World Cup II!

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Who makes more: Track stars or World Cup skiers?

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November 16, 2017

PALM DESERT, November 17, 2017 – Alpine skiers have to be the princes and princesses of the Olympic-sport world, don’t they?

Training and competing at beautiful resorts, traveling to exotic locations around the world and winning plenty of the $9.7 million in annual prize money on the 77-stop World Cup circuit has got to be a dream come true.

How do the skiers compare with, say, track & field athletes who compete in the 14-meet IAAF Diamond League, which paid out a record $5.6 million in prize money this season?

The comparison will shock you, as these sports are a lot more alike than they are different … especially in who doesn’t get paid. The numbers are in our Lane One commentary, plus previews of a full weekend of action coming up:

= p. 5/Phil Hersh: Why figure skating star Yuzuru Hanyu’s competitive zeal could hurt him!
= p. 9/Anti-Doping: WADA find Russia still non-compliant and not to be reinstated!
= p. 11/Bobsled: Codie Bascue now driving USA-1 Four-Man in Park City World Cup;
= p. 12/Curling: Nina Roth & Health McCormick leading in Olympic Trials playoffs;
= p. 20/Swimming: Chad Le Clos & Sarah Sjostrom clinch seasonal World Cup titles!

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Don’t they know that the Olympics is mostly a television show?

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November 14, 2017

PALM DESERT, November 15, 2017 – There’s a lot of angst over lower ticket sales for February’s PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games. One Korean academic even said the Games will be a failure if things don’t change soon.

Really?

Spectators and ticket sales are important, but a failure? The Olympics are a television show and the athletes are the stars. If everyone would focus on that, we’ll have a success.

How this has been proven in the past and can work again is explored in our Lane One commentary, plus a wild week already in Olympic sport:

= p. 5/Athletics: Chaunte Lowe finally becomes the 2008 high jump bronze medalist!
= p. 6/Athletics: Are Gwen Jorgensen’s chances to win the 2020 marathon “slim and none”?
= p. 7/Football: Is the U.S. Soccer Federation putting together an alternate World Cup?
= p. 11/Short Track: Final Olympic Qualification World Cup this weekend in Korea!
= p. 14/Football: Next-generation U.S. men’s team earns a 1-1 draw in Portugal.

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Individual justice vs. collective responsibility, or is it the IOC vs. the IAAF?

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November 12, 2017

PALM DESERT, November 13, 2017 – Over the next four weeks, both the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) are going to consider the difficult decisions that come when individual justice collides with collective responsibility.

That’s how IOC president Thomas Bach of Germany has framed the question of Russian participation in the 2018 Winter Games in light of the massive Russian doping scandal at the 2014 Winter Games it hosted in Sochi in 2014.

And the IAAF, led by iconic Olympic gold medalist Sebastian Coe, is scheduled to take up the question of whether to eliminate a swath of world-record performances that came before current testing methods were in place and samples still available for re-testing.

Where will these two organizations draw the line between the individual and the collective?

We consider the issues in our Lane One commentary, plus a massive weekend of competition and achievement for American athletes, and more:

= p. 5/Phil Hersh on whether Canada “lost virtue” over a gift at its Skate Canada event;
= p. 9/Alpine Skiing: Mikaela Shiffrin scores World Cup silver in the Levi Slalom;
= p. 11/Bobsled: U.S.’s Bascue & McGuffie win World Cup gold in memory of Steven Holcomb;
= p. 12/Cycling: U.S.’s Hannah Roberts wins first-ever BMX Freestyle Park world title!
= p. 18/Football: U.S. ends 2017 with decisive, 3-1 win over Canada in San Jose;
= p. 18/Ice Hockey: U.S. women’s national team throttles Canada to win Four Nations Cup;
= p. 21/Short Track: U.S. men break Canadian-held world relay record in Shanghai!

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The cheapest, most undeserved gold medal in Olympic history

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November 10, 2017

Volker Beck — ADN-ZB Demme 2.8.81 Erfurt:DVfL-Sportfest-Sieger im Hürdenlauf- Auch am zweiten Tag des Sportfestes gab es eine Reihe bemerkenswerter Resultate. Über 400 m Hürden siegte Volker Beck vom SCTF in 49:38.

PALM DESERT, November 10, 2017 – What will happen to the Russian team at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Korea?

Will the International Olympic Committee keep it from competing? Impose sanctions such as neutral uniforms and removing its flag and anthem from any victory ceremonies? In that case, Russian officials say they won’t allow their athletes to compete.

We’ve seen this before – in Russia, in fact – when athletes are not allowed to compete thanks to politicians. And it resulted in the most undeserving gold medal in the history of the Olympic Games in 1980.

Who won it? Who should have won it? Get the story in our Lane One commentary, plus a look ahead to an enormous weekend of competition:

= p. 5/Anti-Doping: Four Russian cross-country skiers DQ’d for doping in Sochi;
= p. 7/Alpine Skiing: Reindeer naming rights at stake at World Cup slalom in Levi;
= p. 9/Curling: Week-long U.S. Olympic Trials start in Omaha;
= p. 11/Figure Skating: Star-studded field for ISU Grand Prix/NHK Trophy in Tokyo;;
= p. 19/Football: U.S. and Canadian women finish with hard-fought 1-1 tie in Vancouver.

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A 39-year first? IOC will accept less than a full Host City financial guarantee from Sion!

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November 8, 2017

PALM DESERT, November 8, 2017 – The International Olympic Committee insists as a condition of granting hosting rights to the Olympic or Olympic Winter Games that the host city or country be responsible for any financial deficit resulting from the staging of the Games.

That stance has not been altered since the contract for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles was signed in 1978. But 39 years later, the situation is changing.

The IOC’s Executive Director for the Olympic Games, Christophe Dubi, has informed the bidding group for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Sion (SUI) that it would accept less than the outright guarantee usually required.

How much less? With what strings? Read the full text of Dubi’s letter and get the implications in our Lane One commentary, plus a look ahead to a big weekend of competition:

= p. 5/Athletics: Kenya’s 2016 Rio marathon winner Jemima Sumgong gets four-year drug ban!
= p. 7/Athletics: Rio triathlon winner Gwen Jorgensen to focus on the marathon for Tokyo!
= p. 7/Bobsled: World Cup season opens in Lake Placid, but without the late Steven Holcomb;
= p. 8/Fencing: No. 1-ranked Alexander Massialas back in World Cup action in Tokyo;
= p. 10/Football: U.S. women finish 2017 season with two games vs. Canada.

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New math? How does an $8.5 million subsidy in 2016 turn into a profit in 2017?

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November 5, 2017

PALM DESERT, November 6, 2017 – If there is anything which chases people away from the Olympic Games these days, it’s the exorbitant cost. So when the City of Windsor, Ontario trumpets finishing “in the black” when in fact the FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships cost Canadian taxpayers $8.5 million in subsidies, it’s another example of happy talk in place of real facts.

Another example of “new math”?

Get the background and the details in our Lane One commentary, plus coverage of a great weekend for American athletes in the U.S., Asian and Africa:

= p. 5/Athletics: Sensational win for U.S.’s Shalane Flanagan in women’s New York Marathon!
= p. 9/Cycling: 16-year-old Hannah Roberts wins second straight Freestyle Park World Cup!
= p. 10/Fencing: Eli Dershwitz scores first career gold in Sabre World Cup in Africa!
= p. 11/Figure Skating: Two Russian wins, two American medals in Audi Cup of China;
= p. 12/Wrestling: U.S. wins 15 golds at Dave Schultz Memorial Invitational.

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Between Scylla and Charybdis: IOC president Thomas Bach

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November 2, 2017

PALM DESERT, November 3, 2017 – The famed Greek poet Homer wrote about two terrors that had to be faced at the same time in the seas between Troy and Ithaca when Odysseus tried to get home after the Trojan War: Scylla and Charybdis.

Which path to take, which ordeal to face? A similar situation now faces International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach of Germany. Ban Russia from the 2018 Olympic Winter Games because of its manipulation of drug testing at the 2014 Winter Games it hosted in Sochi? Let Russian athletes compete because some of them might be clean?

Either way, there will be criticism, but based on what happened in 2016 and Bach’s speech at the General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees this week, his approach seems clear. Get the background and the details in our Lane One commentary, plus:

= p. 5/Anti-Doping: Two Russian skiers disqualified from 2014 Games for doping;
= p. 5/Athletics: USA Track & Field Hall of Fame class of 2017 inducted in New York;
= p. 6/Weightlifting: USA Weightlifting names candidates for 2017 World Champs in Anaheim;
= p. 7/Athletics: Meb Keflezighi to finish his marathon career where it started: New York!
= p. 9/Figure Skating: Audi Cup of China on this weekend in third ISU Grand Prix.

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World bobsled champ Elana Meyers Taylor: “I’ve crashed more times than I can count”

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November 1, 2017

tsx-pix-103117-elana-meyers-taylor-21817-Dietmar_Reker-694x500-694x438 — American Olympic women's bobsled ace Elana Meyers Taylor (Photo: Dietmar Reker via Wikipedia)

PALM DESERT, November 1, 2017 – Being World Champion doesn’t mean you have all the answers. Elana Meyers Taylor, who won the 2017 world women’s bobsleigh title with brakeman Kehri Jones for the U.S., is constantly thinking of new ways to go a little faster.

She thinks she probably thinks too much. That and much more in an entertaining insight into what world-class bobsleigh is about in our Lane One commentary, plus:

= p. 6/Alpine Skiing: American superstar Bode Miller retires, will join NBC in Korea;
= p. 6/Athletics: World-record holder Wayde van Niekerk rips ACL and has surgery;
= p. 7/Athletics: British star Mo Farah leaves Nike Oregon Project for a British coach;
= p. 9/Fencing: U.S. Foil star Lee Kiefer faces stiff challenge in second World Cup;
= p. 10/Wrestling: 20th Dave Schultz Memorial Invitational starts new-look wrestling season.

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German court will hear challenge to IOC’s sponsor exclusivity Rule 40

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October 29, 2017

PALM DESERT, October 30, 2017 – Very few athletes can quote chapter and verse from the Olympic Charter, the rulebook of the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Movement.

But a lot of them can tell you about the restrictions of Rule 40, which severely constrains what non-IOC sponsors can do related to the Olympic Games during the Games period. Now an arm of the German government is planning to take the National Olympic Committee of Germany to court to challenge whether the regulations are “too restrictive.”

What’s in Rule 40, anyway? How much is at stake here? Who can resolve these issues? Get the details in our Lane One commentary, plus:

= p. 5/Anti-Doping: IOC has undertaken 4,000 pre-Winter Games doping tests!
= p. 6/Alpine Skiing: Mikaela Shiffrin fifth in World Cup opener in Austria;
= p. 10/Figure Skating: Ashley Wagner and Jason Brown strong for U.S. at Skate Canada!
= p. 12/Judo: UAE acts of anti-Semitism dominate headlines from IJF Grand Slam in Dubai;
= p. 15/Shooting: U.S.’s Keith Sanderson wins World Cup Pistol title on seventh try!

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Coming soon: the sports marketing spectacle of the 21st Century … or a train wreck?

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October 26, 2017

PALM DESERT, October 27, 2017 – The 2028 Olympic Games have been awarded to Los Angeles. The 2026 FIFA World Cup could be assigned to the joint bid of Canada, Mexico and the U.S. next June. And now the United States Olympic Committee is considering a bid for the Olympic Winter Games for 2026 or 2030.

Is all this too much of a good thing? A back-to-back-to-back hosting of these three events would be a first for any country and points to one significant problem. What is it? Get the details in our Lane One commentary, plus:

= p. 6/Anti-Doping: WADA report shows doping positives rose in 2016!
= p. 7/Alpine Skiing: Mikaela Shiffrin, Lindsey Vonn & Ted Ligety in World Cup season opener;
= p. 9/Figure Skating: Ashley Wagner & Karen Chen ready for Skate Canada International;
= p. 11/Football: England and Spain to face off in final of FIFA U-17 World Cup in India;
= p. 14/Shooting: Legendary Kim Rhode equals world record to win World Cup Skeet title!

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Triathlon star Katie Zaferes is all about being prepared

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October 24, 2017

PALM DESERT, October 25, 2017 – American triathlon star Katie Zaferes finished second at the Triathlon World Series Grand Final this year and is second on the International Triathlon Union’s points list.

Sure, talent is important. But preparation has a lot to do with it.

She shares how she gets ready for a race long before she lands in a city, and her goals for the future … and her weakness for ice cream. All the details are in our Lane One commentary, plus:

= p. 6/Anti-Doping: German TV documentary starts new inquest on Chinese doping!
= p. 9/Ice Hockey: U.S. and Canadian women continue their pre-Olympic tour;
= p. 11/Shooting: U.S. already with a medal in World Cup Final in New Delhi;
= p. 15/Football: Clash of unbeatens Brazil and England in U-17 World Cup semis!
= p. 16/Swimming: Italians sweep FINA 10 km Open Water season titles!

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Anita DeFrantz on the 1980 boycott: “It still is extremely painful”

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October 23, 2017

PALM DESERT, October 23, 2017 – Anita DeFrantz rose to fame by suing the United States Olympic Committee to allow American athletes – including her – to compete at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow.

She failed, but that was the catalyst for a long career in the Olympic Movement, including a senior role with the organizing committee for the revolutionary 1984 Games in Los Angeles, then becoming a member of the International Olympic Committee and an activist for athletes and women in sport.

She reflected on the 1980 experience and what came after at the launch of her memoir, written with Josh Young, entitled My Olympic Years. We have a selection of her comments in our Lane One commentary, plus:

= p. 6/Figure Skating: Nathan Chen & the Shibutanis strike gold in Moscow Grand Prix!
= p. 14/Fencing: Bronze for Race Imboden and gold for the U.S. men’s Foil team in Cairo;
= p. 15/Football: U.S. men eliminated by England in U-17 World Cup quarterfinals;
= p. 15/Football: U.S. women crush Korea, 6-0, in friendly in North Carolina;
= p. 17/Triathlon: American Sophie Chase wins her 1st ITU race: the American Champs!

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After Innsbruck’s repudiation, is the IOC whistling past the Olympic graveyard?

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October 19, 2017

Is college football digging the graves of all other collegiate sports programs?

PALM DESERT, October 20, 2017 – The International Olympic Committee is staying cool after the repudiation of the Winter Games bid by Innsbruck and the Tyrol region of Austria last Sunday. Everything will be OK.

But one member – Switzerland’s Rene Fasel – has recognized the danger to the Games: its size. In an interview, he noted some astonishing facts on costs and says action is needed. Olympic historian Dr. Bill Mallon has done the same and shared the figures on how the Games have grown.

The worst part: the IOC itself recognized this before … and has done nothing about it. We have the details in our Lane One commentary, plus:

= p. 7/Triathlon: Pan American Championships this weekend in Ecuador;
= p. 9/Football: U.S. men’s U-17 squad faces England in World Cup quarterfinals;
= p. 9/Football: U.S. women cruise past Korea, 3-1, in New Orleans.

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Innsbruck’s message to the IOC: Even a zero-cost Games isn’t worth the hassle

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October 17, 2017

PALM DESERT, October 18, 2017 – The failure of the referendum supporting a bid for the Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck and the Tyrol region of Austria wasn’t just a rejection of sky-high costs for the Games.

It was rejection of the Olympic concept itself … because the bid as envisioned could well have earned a surplus!

How? We have the stunning details in our Lane One commentary, plus:

= p. 5/Fencing: Double Olympic gold medalist Mariel Zagunis welcomes a baby girl!
= p. 5/Gymnastics: Olympic star Simone Biles announces new coach!
= p. 8/Fencing: Top-ranked Alex Massialas leads U.S. in men’s Foil World Cup;
= p. 9/Figure Skating: Nathan Chen & the Shibutanis in action in first ISU Grand Prix meet!
= p. 12/Football: Tim Weah’s hat trick leads U.S. to 5-0 win in FIFA U-17 World Cup!

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It’s all in the mind for Slopestyle World Champion McRae Williams

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October 15, 2017

tsx-pix-101417-williams-mcrae-B-750x500 — McRae Williams was all up in the air over winning the 2017 World Slopestyle title! (Photo courtesy McRae Williams)

PALM DESERT, October 16, 2017 – In Freestyle Skiing, it seems younger is always better. Until 26-year-old McRae Williams stunned everyone – including himself – with a World Championships win last March, making him one to watch for the 2018 Winter Games.

We asked Williams about his career season and it turns out a book changed his outlook on life and sport. What book? What did it say?

We have the details in our Lane One commentary, plus:

= p. 7/Bobsled: U.S. names women’s national Bobsled squad for 2017-18 World Cup;
= p. 14/Fencing: U.S.’s Lee Kiefer wins season-opening Foil World Cup in Cancun;
= p. 14/Football: U.S. plays Paraguay Monday in FIFA men’s U-17 World Champs;
= p. 15/Gymnastics: U.S. & Evita Griskenas dominates Pan Am Rhythmic Champs;
= p. 16/Sport Climbing: New U.S. Lead star Ashima Shirashi wins World Cup silver!

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U.S. Soccer is based in Chicago; to succeed, it must learn from the Cubs

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October 12, 2017

PALM DESERT, October 13, 2017 – It’s a quiet time in the offices of the U.S. Soccer Federation in Chicago, where the stunning failure of men’s National Team to qualify for the 2018 World Cup is still sinking in.

Across town, however, there is jubilation as the World Champion Cubs will continue their title defense in Los Angeles against the Dodgers after eliminating the Washington Nationals in their National League Division Series finale on Thursday.

The Cubs went 108 years between World Series wins, but they are the champions now. Perhaps the soccer folks can learn something from them. We explore the situation and check the facts in our Lane One commentary, plus:

= p. 8/Curling: U.S. quartet advances to playoffs in World Mixed Championships;
= p. 10/Football: U.S. loses final group match, but is in the world U-17 knock-put round!
= p. 10/Swimming: Better late than never, Katinka Hosszu & Chad le Clos win FINA World Cup cluster titles!

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Is there real money in Olympic sport? For FIFA, yes; for others, not so much

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October 11, 2017

PALM DESERT, October 11, 2017 – If the root of all evil, as it is said, is money, then it’s no wonder why the biggest scandals in international sport involved FIFA and the International Olympic Committee.

Because that’s where the money is.

We explore just how much money FIFA has, notably in comparison to some of the other international federations who publishing their financials, such as the governing bodies for cycling and swimming, among others. The details are in our Lane One commentary, plus:

= p. 6/Football: U.S. men’s national team fails in Trinidad & will miss the 2018 World Cup;
= p. 8/Anti-Doping: More than 1,000 re-tests from Vancouver 2010 found just one doper!
= p. 8/Athletics: See why Tirunesh Dibaba needs to see her accountant after winning Chicago;
= p. 9/Beach Volleyball: Interesting new U.S. women’s combo in 3-star tourney in China;
= p. 12/Football: U.S. men remain undefeated in FIFA U-17 World Cup in India.

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Sebastian Coe says track & field has to be radical to stay relevant; how about competent?

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October 8, 2017

PALM DESERT, October 9, 2017 – Olympic middle-distance icon Sebastian Coe was elected to head the international federation for track & field in 2014. After three years of dealing with continuing scandals regarding doping and alleged criminal activity by his predecessor, he says he’s got the IAAF in position for potentially “radical” reforms.

Fine, but how about doing the things that successful professional leagues already do to make their sports worldwide juggernauts?

We have three suggestions in our Lane One commentary, plus coverage of a stunning World Gymnastics Championships and more:

= p. 6/Gymnastics: Stunner by U.S.’s Morgan Hurd to win the women’s All-Around!
= p. 9/Football: U.S. really needed a win vs. Panama and Christian Pulisic delivered;
= p. 11/Athletics: American stars Galen Rupp & Jordan Hasay superb at Chicago Marathon;
= p. 14/Football: U.S. stomps India in New Delhi to open FIFA men’s U-17 World Cup!
= p. 15/Judo: Sweet surprise bronze medal for U.S. judoka Hannah Martin in Tashkent!

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It Takes a Village if the IOC is going to reform the Games

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October 6, 2017

PALM DESERT, October 6, 2017 – The head of the International Olympic Committee’s Coordination Commission for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo is now pressuring the organizers and the government to cut their budgets.

Australian IOC member John Coates has said he would like to see the cost of the 2020 Games slashed by as much as $1 billion. He said this week that he’s now looking into ways to trim some costs from the Olympic village.

He’s talking pennies in a billion-dollar project. The solutions are obvious, but no one wants to face reality. We have the details in our Lane One commentary, plus coverage of the World Gymnastics Championships and more:

= p. 5/Gymnastics: China goes 1-2 in men’s World Champs All-Around;
= p. 8/Athletics: American stars Galen Rupp & Jordan Hasay in Chicago Marathon;
= p. 10/Football: U.S. starts play Friday in FIFA men’s U-17 World Cup in India.

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Will home cooking power a Korean medal parade next February?

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October 3, 2017

PALM DESERT, October 4, 2017 – Traditionally, countries which host an Olympic Games can expect their athletes to win more medals at home than in Games held elsewhere.

So what can be expected from Korean athletes at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games to be held – probably – next February in PyeongChang?

We survey the data from the last 20 years to see what the impact has been of “home cooking” on Winter Games athletes from the hosting country. The finding are in our Lane One commentary, plus the low-down on a major surprise at the World Gymnastics Championships:

= p. 5/Gymnastics: Shock as World Champion Kohei Uchimura withdraws from Worlds!
= p. 8/Football: U.S. men desperate for a win vs. Panama in World Cup qualifier on Friday;
= p. 10/Short Track: Are Korea’s Lim and Choi just too good, or ready too soon?
= p. 12/Diving: U.S.’s Brooke Schultz wins two at Pan American Junior Champs;
= p. 14/Surfing: U.S. juniors win World Surfing Championships team title!

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It really doesn’t pay to be a gymnast

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October 2, 2017

PALM DESERT, October 2, 2017 – The FIG World Championships in Artistic Gymnastics are set to start Monday evening in Montreal in the historic Stade Olympique in an event that will have cost millions of dollars to stage.

But the gymnasts competing won’t see much of it. The prize money offered by the International Gymnastics Federation is just embarrassingly low.

How low? Find out in our Lane One commentary, plus your weekend report on the Olympic sport weekend that was:

= p. 5/Rowing: New faces on the podium at successful World Rowing Champs in Sarasota!
= p. 8/Swimming: Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu wins six events at swimming’s World Cup no. 4;
= p. 10/Equestrian: U.S. grabs silver at the FEI Nations Cup Jumping Final in Barcelona;
= p. 12/Weightlifting: IWF suspends nine countries for year for 2008-12 Olympic doping!
= p. 15/Judo: Teddy Riner keeps winning, but new U.S. medalist in Zagreb World Cup!

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The “other” anthem protest: Wayne Collett, Vince Matthews and the 1972 Games

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September 28, 2017

tsx-pix-92817-collett-matthews-602x400 — Wayne Collett and Vince Matthews of the U.S. on the men's 400 m victory stand at the 1972 Olympic Games (Photo: Associated Press via Wikipedia)

PALM DESERT, September 29, 2017 – The current furor over sitting, standing, protesting and counter-protesting of the U.S. national anthem is old news for long-time observers of the Olympic Games.

While the 1968 victory stand demonstration by sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos is well remembered, a non-demonstration on the victory stand by 400 m medalists Vince Matthews and Wayne Collett four years later in Munich is mostly forgotten. But it shouldn’t be.

We have a first-hand account of the circumstances, the event and the aftermath from Collett himself as recalled in 1977 in our Lane One commentary, plus an up-to-date report on a busy weekend coming up in Olympic sports:

= p. 6/Rowing: What to look for in the finals of the World Rowing Champs in Sarasota!
= p. 10/Swimming: Record-setting Sarah Sjostrom back for swimming World Cup no. 4 in Hong Kong;
= p. 12/Equestrian: U.S. looks for a medal in the FEI Nations Cup Jumping Final in Barcelona;
= p. 14/Alpine Skiing: An injury and training update on the U.S.’s Alpine stars;
= p. 17/Judo: France’s Teddy Riner, winner of 134 straight matches, headlines the World Cup in Zagreb!

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Smorgasbord in the 21st Century: the Olympic Channel

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September 24, 2017

PALM DESERT, September 25, 2017 – The International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Channel celebrated its first birthday last week. With more than $100 million invested this far, is it a success?

It’s kind of like a smorgasbord: a lot of choose from, but hard to say that it’s really memorable. We check on what’s good, what can be improved and how the project might really make an impact in our Lane One commentary, plus an up-to-date report on the weekend in Olympic sports:

= p. 6/Athletics: Kenyan star Eliud Kipchoge wins Berlin Marathon in a downpour!
= p. 7/Cycling: Chantal Blaak’s surprise win tops Dutch trifecta in World Road Champs;
= p. 11/Athletics: London 1,500 m champ Asli Cakir Alptekin banned for life for third doping offense;
= p. 12/Cycling: U.S. track cycling star & eight-time World Champ Sarah Hammer retires;
= p. 12/Gymnastics: U.S. women’s squad named for World Artistic Championships.

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Winter Games warm-up: Five names to know (Part 3)

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September 22, 2017

tsx-pix-92117-hamlin-erin-Sandro_Halank-750x500 — Erin Hamlin, triple World Championships medalist (Photo: Sandro Halank via Wikimedia Commons)

PALM DESERT, September 22, 2017 – There have been only two Winter Games in Asia, both in Japan: Sapporo in 1964 and Nagano in 1998.

Between the two, the United States won 21 medals, but thanks to the athletes we’ve been profiling over the last couple of weeks, Team USA stands to win a lot more in PyeongChang in February.

We take a look at five more American stars in Freestyle Skiing, Luge, Snowboarding and Speed Skating in our Lane One commentary, along with previews of this weekend’s top attractions in international sports:

= p. 7/Athletics: Another world record coming in Sunday’s Berlin Marathon?
= p. 8/Cycling: Going Dutch: Annemiek van Vleuten and Tom Dumoulin win Worlds Time Trials;
= p. 16/Football: Lindsey Horan and Alex Morgan key U.S. win in friendly over New Zealand.

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Los Angeles has the 2028 Olympic Games, so what’s next? Hibernation?

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September 17, 2017

PALM DESERT, September 18, 2017 – As the parties and parades pass on and the recognition that Los Angeles will organize an Olympic Games 11 years into the future sets in, the question is well asked: What now?

What should the start-up organizing committee in Los Angeles be doing? Hibernate?

It’s instructive to look at how the prior L.A. organizers in 1932 and 1984 handled the start-up period. In fact, the 1932 Games were awarded nine years prior, so what did they do?

We have the answers in our Lane One commentary, along with highlights of an interesting weekend in international sports:

= p. 7/Triathlon: Flora Duffy completes dream season with second World Series title!
= p. 11/Cycling: Do you know who Hannah Roberts is? BMX Freestyle fans know …
= p. 12/Figure Skating: Nathan Chen sharp in season debut in U.S. International Classic;
= p. 13/Football: Julie Ertz keys U.S. women’s win in friendly over New Zealand;
= p. 15/Volleyball: Brazil wins, as U.S. men are fourth in Grand Champions Cup.

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Winter Games warm-up: Five names to know (Part II)

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September 14, 2017

tsx-pix-91417-bailey-podium-750x500 — Will American biathlete Lowell Bailey (center) be partying in PyeongChang like it's 2017?

PALM DESERT, September 15, 2017 – For decades, the U.S. showed only a middling interest in the Olympic Winter Games. And then the Games came to Salt Lake City in 2002.

The U.S. national governing bodies revved up like never before and American athletes won an unheard-of 34 medals. There has been very little fall-off since, and a powerful team is expected for PyeongChang next February.

We continue with a look at some of the people you’ll be hearing about, ready to make history in Biathlon, Cross-Country Skiing, Bobsled, Snowboarding and Figure Skating. Some you have heard of, but some, probably not. And there is more:

= p. 7/Anti-Doping: 17 organizations demand Russia be banned from PyeongChang!
= p. 9/Diving: U.S. Platform diving star David Boudia to continue on for 2020;
= p. 9/Gymnastics: Riley McCusker out of World Champs training camp due to injury;
= p. 10/Athletics: Multi-eventers in Talence, France for annual Decastar meeting;
= p. 12/Volleyball: U.S. comes from ahead to lose to Iran in Grand Champions Cup.

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Can the IOC learn from shows like “Lets’s Make A Deal” and “The Match Game”?

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September 12, 2017

PALM DESERT, September 13, 2017 – The International Olympic Committee’s annual meeting is underway in Peru and along with handing the 2024 and 2028 Olympic Games to Paris and Los Angeles, the members are considering how to further change the Games bid process for the future.

IOC chief Thomas Bach has already said the current system “produces too many losers.” Perhaps a lesson from a classic game show like “Let’s Make a Deal” or “The Match Game” might help: no one goes home empty-handed!

And there are lots of events besides the Olympic Games which could be of interest to cities which show some interest in bidding.

Check our list to see if you recognize all or any of them in our Lane One commentary, plus a look ahead to the weekend with big events coming in cycling, triathlon, volleyball and more:

= p. 5/Cycling: Britain’s Chris Froome declares his intentions for the World Championships!
= p. 6/Triathlon: Flora Duffy looking for second straight world title, in Rotterdam;
= p. 7/Volleyball: U.S. men start 1-0 in Grand Champions Cup in Japan;
= p. 8/Cycling: BMX Freestyle Park World Cup comes to Edmonton;
= p. 10/Football: U.S. women in two-game friendly series vs. New Zealand.

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Winter Games warm-up: Five names to know (Part I)

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September 11, 2017

tsx-pix-91017-kim-chloe-638x425 — Olympic Winter Games snowboard halfpipe favorite Chloe Kim of the U.S.

PALM DESERT, September 11, 2017 – We’re barely finished with summer and it’s less than five months from the start of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.

So, to get you ready for the Games, let’s introduce some of the U.S. stars who will be relentlessly promoted on NBC and elsewhere to get you interested in watching. Today’s first installment includes medal contenders in Alpine Skiing, Snowboard, Figure Skating and Speed Skating. Can you guess who they are?

And we had a wild weekend of Olympic sport competitions, with great U.S. performances on four continents, including two medals in snowboarding! Yes, snowboarding in September! Highlights:

= p. 6/Tennis: Next generation of American women break through at U.S. Open!
= p. 7/Cycling: Historic win by Britain’s Chris Froome in Vuelta a Espana;
= p. 10/Shooting: U.S. on target with 12 medals in World Shotgun Championships!
= p. 12/Athletics: Nick Willis & Jenny Simpson win Fifth Avenue Miles, again;
= p. 20/Snowboard: Chloe Kim & Lindsey Jacobellis get World Cup wins down South!

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The ticking time bomb of Olympic bids, bribery and doping cover-ups

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September 8, 2017

tsx-pix-90717-diacklamine-675x450 — Lamine Diack (SEN), former IAAF president and IOC member, whose trial on corruption charges in France has begun

PALM DESERT, September 8, 2017 – High school civics classes emphasize the difference that each of us can make in our surroundings and to the people around us. One person can make a difference.

For example, consider what French prosecutors are saying about 84-year-old Lamine Diack of Senegal, alleging in detail that he set up a multi-million-dollar corruption ring inside the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) during his 16-year term as president, as well as trying to influence the election of host cities for the Olympic Games.

It’s a complicated story that is hardly over, so we’ve tried to outline what prosecutors say actually happened in our Lane One commentary, plus all that’s going on in the Olympic world:

= p. 6/Athletics: Former World Champion David Oliver retires; heads into coaching;
= p. 7/Weightlifting: IWF appoints commission to recommend how to clean up doping;
= p. 8/Athletics: Jenny Simpson trying to win fifth Fifth Avenue Miles in a row!
= p. 9/Cycling: van der Breggen & van Vleuten fight for World Tour title in Madrid;
= p. 9/Cycling: World Mountain Bike Championships this weekend in Australia.

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Thinking the unthinkable: What if the 2018 Winter Games could not be held?

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September 6, 2017

PALM DESERT, September 6, 2017 – The Korean peninsula has seen more than its share of tragedy and war. Now, with the Olympic Winter Games coming to PyeongChang, what happens if the unthinkable happens and conflict breaks out again?

Or if the security risks to athletes and teams is so great that countries decide not to participate? What happens then?

Unfortunately, this has happened before. We review the history, and the options for the International Olympic Committee in our Lane One commentary, plus all that’s going on in the Olympic world:

= p. 5/Football: Bobby Wood saves the U.S. in the World Cup Qualifier in Honduras;
= p. 6/Athletics: The biggest winner in the IAAF Diamond League won $134,000!
= p. 7/Basketball: Jeff van Gundy on the AmeriCup champion U.S.: “mentally strong”
= p. 10/Karate: U.S.’s Tom Scott ranked no. 1 heading into Premier League final!
= p. 11/Cycling: Chris Froome nearly doubles his lead in Vuelta a Espana.

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Television: the glue that holds the Olympic Games together

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September 4, 2017

PALM DESERT, September 4, 2017 – There was no such thing as television when the Olympic Games were revived in 1896. Radio networks didn’t spring up until the 1920s.

But it is television which has made the Olympic Movement a relevant part of worldwide society today and will continue to extend the audience for the Games in new devices and transmission methods into the future.

We note some of the turning points in television’s history with the Games and its direct impact on several of the sports we now see as they happen in our Lane One commentary, plus an enormous week of world championships action:

= p. 5/Archery: U.S. men win three medals in World Cup Final in Rome;
= p. 6/Athletics: The future: Noah Lyles wins tight 200 m in Diamond League Final!
= p. 9/Basketball: U.S. men, down by 20 in the second half, come back to win AmeriCup!
= p. 10/Boxing: Turnaround: U.S. wins first men’s World Champs medals in six years!
= p. 15/Football: After Costa Rica flop, U.S. heads to Honduras in World Cup chase;
= p. 16/Gymnastics: Russia’s Averinas win all five events at World Rhythmic Champs.

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Six dates that will shape Olympic sport over the next six months

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August 31, 2017

PALM DESERT, September 1, 2017 – Now that the swimming and track & field world championships are over, time to relax until the Winter Olympics, right?

Wrong.

Six key dates that will shape the direction of Olympic sports are coming up in the next six months … and we have the list in our Lane One commentary. Could one sport that has been on the Olympic program for 97 years be on the chopping block?

That story, plus this week’s upcoming action and results:

= p. 6/Archery: U.S.’s Brady Ellison in Rome to defend his World Cup Final title;
= p. 8/Football: This is serious: U.S. vs. Costa Rica in key World Cup qualifier;
= p.13/Athletics: U.S. shot putter Darrell Hill stuns with win in Diamond League final!
= p. 14/Basketball: Undefeated U.S. men win group and head to semis in AmeriCup 2017;
= p. 18/Gymnastics: Russia’s Averina twins dominating World Rhythmic Champs.

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Study says 44% of IAAF World Champs athletes doped in 2011, and now?

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August 30, 2017

PALM DESERT, August 30, 2017 – The World Anti-Doping Agency released its annual report for 2016 last week and said it had “turned the corner” against doping.

Let’s hope so, since a report it funded in 2011 and released on Tuesday indicated that nearly half of all athletes at that year’s IAAF World Championships had knowingly violated the anti-doping rules.

So what should we believe? The details and some perspective in our Lane One commentary, plus this week’s action and results:

= p. 5/Athletics: What to watch for in Friday’s Diamond League finale in Brussels;
= p. 7/Gymnastics: Russia’s Averina twins ready to dominate World Rhythmic Champs;
= p. 9/Basketball: U.S. toughs out tight win at Uruguay to go to 2-0 in AmeriCup 2017;
= p. 12/Judo: Japan sweeps first four weight classes in World Championships!
= p. 15/Swimming: U.S. leads the medal parade at the World Junior Champs in Indy.

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TSX Weekend Fab Five: Amazing American wrestling

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August 28, 2017

The Sports Examiner’s best Olympic-sport performances of the weekend includes spectacular performances by U.S. wrestlers at the World Championships in Paris, where the American men’s Freestyle team partied like it was 1995!

=> No. 5: Nino Schurter

Never heard of him? He’s Switzerland’s Olympic champion in Mountain Bike Cross Country and just completed a perfect season – six wins in six races – in the Mountain Bike World Cup with a huge win at the finale in Val di Sole, Italy.

=> No. 4: Flora Duffy

Bermuda’s reigning World Champion just won her fifth race of the 2017 Triathlon World Series, something that only Olympic champ Gwen Jorgensen (USA) has done before. Duffy came back from injury to be in position to win the World Series title for the second year in a row.

=> No. 3: Phil Dalhausser & Nick Lucena

Who says 37 is old in sports? This American pair – both 37 – just won the FIVB World Tour Finals in Hamburg (GER), overcoming the Brazil’s 20-somethings World Champion pair in straight sets. Tweeted Dalhausser after the victory: “Winner winner chicken dinner!!!”

=> No. 2: Helen Maroulis

The best wrestler in the world: not just World Champion in 2017, but who went through the tournament undefeated … and unscored upon! The final count: Maroulis (USA) 52, opponents 0! More on her here.

=> No. 1: The U.S. men’s Freestyle Wrestling team

It had been 22 years since the U.S. men had won the World team title, and it came down to the final match of the tournament, pitting American World and Olympic champ Kyle Snyder against a two-time Russian World Champion for the individual title at 97 kg and the global team title. It was a match for the ages and we have all the details in Monday’s issue of The Sports Examiner!

U.S. men win first world Freestyle wrestling team title in 22 years!

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August 28, 2017

tsx-pix-82717-usa-men-freestyle-team-win — A happy U.S. men's Freestyle wrestling squad: 2017 World Champions! (Photo courtesy Larry Slater)

PALM DESERT, August 28, 2017 – For fans of Team USA, here was the scenario. If reigning World and Olympic champ Kyle Snyder could beat Russia’s two-time World champ, Abdulrashid Sadulaev, the U.S. would win the World Freestyle team title for the first time in 22 years … by a point over Russia.

The match was a thriller – and we have all the details – but Snyder did win and the U.S. celebrated like it was 1995!

It capped a big week for USA Wrestling, but that was only the beginning of a heavy weekend of international sports action:

= p. 3/Lane One: Where does America’s amazing sports talent come from?
= p. 10/Judo: World Championships start Monday; our class-by-class preview;
= p. 13/Athletics: World 600 m best from Caster Semenya at ISTAF in Berlin;
= p. 17/Beach Volley: Greybeards Phil Dalhausser & Nick Lucena win World Tour Final!
= p. 30/Triathlon: Flora Duffy makes history with a World Series win in Stockholm!

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The world’s best wrestler: Undefeated, Unscored on and World Champion: Helen Maroulis!

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August 24, 2017

World Champion Helen Maroulis (USA) Photo courtesy Tony Rotundo of WrestlersAreWarriors.com

PALM DESERT, August 25, 2017 – How do you define greatness?

Surely, American wrestling star Helen Maroulis fits the bill no matter what criteria you use. She won her third global title in three years at the wrestling World Championships in Paris on Wednesday. She not only went undefeated, she was unscored on in five matches!

More of the details of this astonishing performer and a preview of the men’s Freestyle events in our Friday edition, plus:

= p. 3/Lane One: Africa wants the IAAF World Championships? Why?
= p. 13/Athletics: Mo Farah learns a lesson and wins the Diamond League 5,000 m!
= p. 16/Boxing: Troubled AIBA hosts men’s World Championships in Hamburg;
= p. 17/Basketball: U.S. team of G-leaguers in FIBA AmeriCup 2017 in Uruguay;
= p. 20/Triathlon: Mario Mola and Flora Duffy try to protect season leads in Stockholm.

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Case study: How IOC President Juan Samaranch outlasted North Korea

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August 23, 2017

PALM DESERT, August 23, 2017 – The 2018 Olympic Winter Games will be held in PyeongChang, South Korea next February. You probably know that already.

But it would not have happened if the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul had not been such a success, attracting 159 nations to compete there – an all-time record – even including countries which did not have diplomatic relations with the host country.

How? Much of the credit has to go to IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, who launched a noteworthy diplomatic offensive, recounted by IOC member Dick Pound in a 1994 book. We take a quick tour of the situation and the solution as recounted by Pound in our Lane One commentary, plus:

= p. 6/Wrestling: U.S. shut out of Worlds Greco-Roman medals, but the women start today!
= p. 12/Headlines: Badminton, Canoe-Kayak and Modern Pentathlon Worlds all starting;
= p. 19/Athletics: $1.2 million Diamond League Final – Part 1 – in Zurich Thursday!
= p. 22/Beach Volleyball: World Tour final – with four U.S. pairs – starts in Hamburg!
= p. 25/Volleyball: U.S. men’s U-19 and women’s U-18 squads in World playoffs!

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How Usain Bolt lost the last race of his career

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August 21, 2017

PALM DESERT, August 21, 2017 – There’s an old adage that it’s not how you start, but how you finish.

Don’t try telling that to Jamaica’s Usain Bolt after his loss in the 100 meters at the recent IAAF World Championships. A special university biomechanical project broke down the race in astonishing detail, even down to split times every 10 meters!

Who was the fastest of all during the race? Who kept their speed up and who slowed down? We have the data in our Lane One commentary, plus:

= p. 6/Gymnastics: Ragan Smith and Yul Moldauer crowned national champions!
= p. 8/Wrestling: Previews of the Greco-Roman World Champs starting in Paris today;
= p. 13/Athletics: How about a world-leading 7-10 1/2 for Mutaz Essa Barshim!
= p. 18/Cycling: Megan Guarnier of U.S. falls just short in Ladies Tour of Norway.

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The life of a 24-year-old Shooting star: Lexi Lagan

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August 17, 2017

tsx pix 81717 lagan, lexi 2017B 750x500 — New U.S. 25 m Pistol Olympian Lexi Lagan

PALM DESERT, August 18, 2017 – The United States national champion in the women’s Sport Pistol event is Lexi Lagan. Her win at the U.S. Nationals in Ft. Benning, Georgia changed her life, as she now pursues her goal of Olympic glory.

What she did, and how hard it is are explained, as well as her goals, in our Lane One commentary, plus:

= p. 5/Vox Populi: There’s one athlete group that doesn’t care about the IAAF Worlds;
= p. 6/Wrestling: First steps taken toward an NCAA championship in women’s wrestling;
= p. 7/Athletics: Diamond League resumes with Mo Farah’s last track race in Britain;
= p. 9/Cycling: Britain’s Chris Froome out for historic double in La Vuelta;
= p. 12/Cycling: Jennifer Valente scores three U.S. national track cycling titles.

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