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VOLLEYBALL: American triple Olympic medal winner April Ross, 42, to retire at season’s end

By
Rich Perelman
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U.S. stars April Ross (left) and Alix Klineman after their silver-medal performance at the 2019 FIVB World Championships (Photo: Wikipedia via Steffen Prossdorf)

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≡ SPOTLIGHT ≡

After two NCAA indoor titles at USC and a brilliant 18-year career beach volleyball, American star April Ross, 42, announced her retirement on Instagram on Monday:

“It is with a very fulfilled and grateful heart, and also some tears, that I am announcing my retirement (after the end of this @avpbeach League season). 18 years, 16 seasons, four quads I’m glad I can say I lived it to the fullest and that it was an absolute BLAST. At the same time, I’m in disbelief it’s (almost) over, it feels like it went by in a heartbeat.

“There were lots of ups and a few downs, a lot of it was tough emotionally and mentally, but it was all so rewarding and worth it. What an intensely amazing experience. I feel so so lucky to have had this career. When I started back in 2006 I could have never allowed myself to dream of doing the things I can now say I have done. All I wanted to do was see the world I never would have guessed picking up beach volleyball at 26 would lead to all this.

“It feels both easy and hard for me to step away from playing. After all the hard work I put into gearing up for this season after giving birth and making a big push to be ready for The League, I know I could keep playing. But I have the overwhelming feeling that I’ve done all I need to do as an athlete. My motivation has been satisfied and it’s time to chase other passions. I also cannot imaging traveling to tournaments and spending that much time away from [son] Ross and my family anymore.”

Ross emerged, slowly but surely, as a major star in beach volleyball after being a two-time first-team All-American at USC and on two NCAA-winning Trojan teams in 2002 and 2003.

She moved to beach in 2006 and played with a series of partners until teaming with Jen Kesey in 2007. They took off, winning nine FIVB World Tour titles from 2007-13, were 2009 World Champions and won the Olympic silver at London 2012, losing to Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor in the gold-medal final.

With May-Treanor retired, Ross and Walsh Jennings began playing together at the end of the 2013 season and immediately won two FIVB World Tour events. They won 11 events together and the Olympic bronze at Rio 2016.

After Rio, Ross and Lauren Fendrick played together in 2017 and won the Worlds silver in Vienna.

But Ross’s greatest success was ahead of her, pairing with Alix Klineman in 2018 and winning five FIVB World Tour events from 2018-21 and rising to the world no. 1 ranking. They were the clear Olympic favorites and won their three Tokyo 2020 group matches by a combined 140-109 points, then won all four playoff matches by two sets to none (8-0 total), defeating Australians Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar in the final, 21-15, 21-16.

Both Klineman and Ross had children in 2023, but came back for the 2024 AVP Huntington Beach Open in May (seventh) and Manhattan Beach Open in August (ninth). There are four events left on this year’s schedule.

Ross married Josh Riley in September; she added at the end of her retirement post:

“Thank you @alixklineman for playing this season with me, it wouldn’t have felt right any other way and I will cherish every point we still get to play this year.

“And lastly, THANK YOU to all of you who have supported and cheered me on along the way, it has been so fun sharing my journey with you. I hope you will keep following along for what’s next!”

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RUSSIA: Russian Olympic Committee chief Pozdnyakov to step down in December, halfway through second term

By
Rich Perelman
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Stanislav Pozdnyakov, President of the Russian Olympic Committee (Photo: EuroFencing)

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≡ THE BIG PICTURE ≡

In what has been characterized as a surprise, Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdnyakov – a four-time Olympic gold medalist in fencing – announced his resignation as of December, after an election to replace him is held. 

The ROC Executive Committee is scheduled to meet on 7 November and could approve his suggestion at that time, ahead of the ROC’s general meeting in December. Pozdnyakov said in an ROC-released statement:

“I am confident that during its next session on November 7, the ROC Executive Board will uphold my proposal and set a new date for the [Russian] Olympic Convention in order to elect a new executive committee for the Russian Olympic Committee.

“Geopolitical challenges that our country faces today dictate the need to optimize and centralize the management of key spheres of activities, which include high performance sports.”

Pozdnyakov is only 51, and was in the middle of his second term as the head of the ROC, first elected in 2018. He explained in his statement:

“The government’s role today is more important than ever: to ensure the most effective results with appropriate financial support, creating and holding new formats of high-level competitions, as well as forming quality conditions for training future generations of strong, competitive athletes.

“In order to further strengthen the Olympic Movement in Russia, timely preconditions emerged, including economic ones, to elect a new [ROC] leader and reshuffle the [executive] team.”

An important second to his comments came from Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Chernyshenko, who served as the head of the Sochi organizing committee for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games:

“Today, global changes are taking place in world sports, which require strategic decisions from us. President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin has instructed us to strengthen the sovereignty of national sports. It is necessary to strengthen the vertical management of the sports industry, consolidate the aspirations and resources of all levels of government, corporations, businesses, and public organizations.

“I thank Stanislav Alekseevich Pozdnyakov, our famous Olympic champion, for his work. For many years, he effectively led the Olympic team, representing Russia’s interests in the Olympic movement, which is currently going through hard times.”

Vladimir Salnikov, the four-time Olympic swimming gold medalist, and now the head of the Russian swimming federation, told the Russian news agency TASS:

“It is impossible not to agree with the opinion of the President of the Russian Olympic Committee Stanislav Pozdnyakov that the country is currently facing colossal geopolitical challenges that really dictate the need for optimization and centralization. …

“Of course, this will require significant efforts. I am sure that the new elected president will strive to implement these tasks. Olympic values have not lost their relevance, despite the fact that they have become a tool of manipulation in the hands of some players. However, I believe that all our efforts should be aimed at returning Russian athletes to the international arena and uniting all the forces of the country to achieve this goal.”

Observed: Have no doubt, this is all part of a planned action, coordinated by the Russian government. The emphasis on the government’s role from Pozdkyakov, “vertical management” from Chernyshenko and “optimization and centralization” from Salnikov are nicely transparent.

Pozdkyakov was an outspoken critic of the International Olympic Committee and President Thomas Bach (GER). Now, a new IOC President will be elected in March and the Russian government is now re-arranging their officer roster to deal with the new situation.

Russia’s least favorite candidate in the IOC Presidential race is clearly World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (GBR), who has kept Russia out of athletics altogether, due to horrific doping issues as well as the invasion of Ukraine. The Russians would prefer to see someone more amenable to Russian participation at some level, such as cycling’s David Lappartient (FRA), gymnastics chief Morinari Watanabe (JPN) or IOC veteran Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., of Spain.

But its reach is limited, and with Pozdnyakov still in charge, would be close to zero. Whoever the Russian Olympic Committee selects in December will be a clue to who it favors in the IOC Presidential election in March.

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VOX POPULI: US Sailing communications director says ex-CEO Ostfield was not “excused”

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ SAILING ≡

Received from US Sailing Marketing Communications Director Carol Lin Vieira:

“I wanted to request a correction to your headline: ‘U.S. OLYMPIC MOVEMENT: U.S. NGB merry-go-round sees chief execs excused in sailing, swimming, now figure skating!’

“As you noted, the transition of the CEO is a common occurrence in NGBs following an Olympic Games. This is part of a broader cycle of leadership changes that often accompanies major events like the Olympics. It reflects ongoing organizational evolution to drive future goals.

“However, it’s important to clarify that Alan Ostfield moved on to pursue an exciting new opportunity that arose unexpectedly, not as a result of being ‘excused.’ He made this decision while US Sailing is in a strong and stable position. (Similarly, it appears as though the departures of the other NGB CEOs in swimming and figure skating were not excused either.)

“The term ‘excused’ suggests that these changes were initiated by the NGBs, which is not the case for US Sailing. We kindly ask for a correction to better reflect the circumstances.

“Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Observed: Happy to share the view expressed. We’ll keep the story as is.

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FOOTBALL: Nigeria accuses Libya of stranding team at a small airport, leaves without playing AFCON qualifier on Tuesday!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Nigerian football players photographed by team captain William Troost-Ekong, trying to rest in a Libyan airport after being diverted from their scheduled landing in Benghazi.

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

The Libyan men’s national team said they were mistreated in its 1-0 African Cup of Nations qualifier loss to Nigeria in Uyo (NGR) last Friday. On Monday, Nigeria’s Super Eagles had their charter flight diverted away from Benghazi, site of Tuesday’s AFCON qualifier and were stranded in a small airport. So, they decided to go home and forfeit the match!

A post on X from center-back and Nigerian team captain William Troost-Ekong on Sunday night included (shown as posted):

● “12+ hours in an abandoned airport in Lybia after our plane was diverted whilst descending. Lybian government rescinded our approved landing in Benghazi with no reason. They’ve locked the airport gates and left us without phone connection, food or drink. All to play mind games.”

● “I’ve experienced stuff before playing away in Africa but this is disgraceful behaviour. Even the Tunisian Pilot who thankfully managed to navigate the last minute change to an airport not fit for our plane to land had never seen something like this before.”

● “Upon arrival he tried to find a nearby airport to rest with his crew to be denied at every hotel again under Government instruction. He could sleep there but NO NIGERIAN crew members allowed. They have returned to now sleep on the plane which is parked up.”

● “At this point we have called for our Nigerian Government to intervene and rescue us. As the captain together with the team we have decided that we will NOT play this game. CAF should look at the report and what is happening here. Even if they decide to allow this kind of behaviour, let them have the points. We will not accept to travel anywhere by road here even with security it’s not safe. We can only imagine what the hotel or food would be like given to us IF we continued.”

The Nigerian team landed at Al Abraq International Airport on Sunday night, and would have had to take a three-hour bus ride to the match site in Benina, 19 km east of Benghazi.

Troost-Ekong posted some pictures of his teammates strewn about the airport waiting area, then followed up with more posts, including:

“UPDATE: Can I shock you?! the pilot has just told us there has been fuel at this airport for the plane all this time. They could have released it but haven’t given us permission since. Can you imagine?! So how long are they planning to hold us hostage here!!! Still just waiting”

He posted a few hours later, “BACK HOME SAFE & SOUND.”

The Nigerian Football Federation posted a 20-point, play-by-play account of the trip, and filed a complaint with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) about the incident, with the Libyan federation denying any sabotage.

Nigeria is in good shape in Group D, with a 2-0-1 record (W-L-T) and seven points before Tuesday’s Libya match, and only two other games to go. Libya is sitting at 0-2-1 with one point, also with two matches to go after Tuesday.

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PANORAMA: IOC says abuse protection program reported 10,200 posts; FIFPRO and leagues file vs. FIFA on Club World Cup and calendar

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The International Olympic Committee released statistics from its online abuse protection program for the Paris Games, with 2.4 million posts and comments reviewed in 35 languages, covering the social-media handles of more than 10,400 athletes using 20,000 accounts, on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X.

Of these, more than 152,000 posts were identified for review and more than 10,200 were flagged (about 0.4%) and reported to the platforms for action.

About 8,900 accounts were detected as sending abusive messages, with 353 athletes specifically targeted for abuse. Of those, 70% were men.

The IOC also noted that 74 National Olympic Committees had a total of 152 accredited safeguarding officers supporting their athletes during the Games.

● Olympic Winter Games 2030: French Alps ● With the government financial guarantees now in place, the 2030 organizing committee needs to be formed. The first decision is expected to be the President to lead the team, but there is now no clear choice.

FrancsJeux.com summarizes the current situation, hopefully to be concluded by the end of October, as starting with five-time Olympic gold medalist in biathlon Martin Fourcade, 36, who has been deeply involved in athlete affairs since retiring in 2020. But there are others: Marie Martinod, a two-time Olympic Freestyle Halfpipe silver medalist, Vincent Jay, the 2010 Olympic biathlon Sprint winner, and even perhaps Amalie Oudea-Castera, the Olympic minister under the now-ousted government who successfully steered the Paris project home safely.

● Athletics ● Popular British commentator (and 1984 Olympian at 5,000 m) Tim Hutchings points to another factor in Ruth Chepngetich‘s 2:09:56 women’s marathon world record in Chicago on Sunday:

“[W]hat folk DO underestimate, is the cumulative effect of training in the new tech year after year, & the training effect on overall fitness. This will continue for years yet.”

● Football ● “FIFPRO Europe and European Leagues, representing European player unions and national leagues, together with LaLiga, have today filed a complaint to the European Commission against FIFA over its conduct concerning the imposition of the international match calendar, including decisions relating to the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.”

Monday’s filing, with the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission, complains that “FIFA’s conflict of interest as a competition organiser and governing body, coupled with a lack of meaningful engagement with social partners, infringes European Union competition law.”

At the core:

“The oversaturated international football calendar risks player safety and wellbeing, and threatens the economic and social sustainability of important national competitions which have been enjoyed for generations by fans in Europe and around the world.”

So, this is a case of European football interests complaining that FIFA is using their clubs, players and teams too much. The greatly-expanded FIFA Club World Cup, scheduled to begin in the U.S. next June and running for a month, has been the catalyst to the filings, but action will be required soon to impact it at all.

● Shooting ● China’s Olympic men’s 50 m Rifle/3 Positions gold medalist Yukun Liu and Korean women’s 25 m Pistol Paris winner Ji-in Yang were named as the International Shooting Sports Federation’s Athletes of the Year.

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SWIMMING: Hard times in Paris, as stats show less than 25% of Olympic swimmers bettered their entry marks

By
Rich Perelman
-
Katie Ledecky improved on her U.S. Trials times in two of three events in Paris. She was one of the few. (Photo: University of Florida)

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≡ PARIS 2024 ≡

A few days after the Paris Olympic Games closed, an exclusive TSX statistical analysis explored the dip in performance by the U.S. Olympic swimming team, in which American swimmers bettered their Olympic Trials final performances just 30.4% of the time.

In fact, the American performance “batting average” at the Games, compared to the Trials, took a major nosedive in Paris compared to Rio and Tokyo:

● .577 at Rio 2016 (30 better out of 52)
● .518 at Tokyo 2020 (29 better out of 56)
● .304 at Paris 2024 (17 better out of 56)

Australia’s swimmers did even worse; comparing the last round reached of their Olympic swims compared to their Trials, the Dolphins “batting average” was just .255 from 12.5 out of 49.

As it turns out, they were alone. In fact, Australia turned out to be about average and the U.S. – which won 28 swimming medals in Paris – turned out to be a little above average.

But no one was doing great.

World Aquatics released a series of results reviews from Paris, and the swimming document included a lively series of statistics, with perhaps the most insightful way back on page 33.

That’s where a table illustrated the percentage of swimmers who improved their entry times during any round of the 28 individual events at the 2024 Olympic Games.

It was 231 out of 939, or 24.6%. Yuk.

You won’t find those numbers, because the columns weren’t added up, but TSX did the math and it is not impressive:

Men by event group:
● 6 Freestyle: 73 of 276 swimmers were better (26.4%)
● 2 Backstroke: 12 of 76 (15.8%)
● 2 Breaststroke: 9 of 61 (14.8%)
● 2 Butterfly: 19 of 68 (27.9%)
● 2 Medley: 8 of 41 (19.5%)
● Men’s total: 121 of 522 (23.2%)

Women by event group:
● 6 Freestyle: 62 of 193 swimmers were better (32.1%)
● 2 Backstroke: 18 of 63 (28.6%)
● 2 Breaststroke: 8 of 60 (13.3%)
● 2 Butterfly: 14 of 51 (27.5%)
● 2 Medley: 8 of 50 (16.0%)
● Women’s total: 110 of 417 (26.4%)

The women were better in Freestyle and Backstroke and the men were better, on a percentage basis, in the other strokes.

But this is not very good: less than a quarter of all swimmers improved on their entry times at the Olympic Games, where performance should be best? In the women’s 400 m Medley, the table showed just one performer out of 16 in the whole field was better than their entry times (6.25%).

There will be reminders of the shallow depth of the pool at the La Defense Arena, but there were almost a quarter of the swimmers who did do better, so it didn’t impact everyone.

These are interesting numbers and opens the door to questions about similar studies of Rio and Tokyo Olympic swimming and at the recent World Aquatics Championships to see if this is an aberration or a start of a trend.

But it’s not good. The Olympic Games is supposed to be the pinnacle of an athlete’s performance career. For the 939 entries in Paris, less than a quarter found it to be so.

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LANE ONE: So Chepngetich’s 2:09:56 marathon world record is the greatest, all-time performance ever, right? Nope. It’s tied for eighth

By
Rich Perelman
-
Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, on his way to the 2016 Olympic gold in the men’s 200 m in Rio (Photo: Jon Gaede).

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≡ ATHLETICS ≡

The shock has not worn off from Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich’s startling 2:09:56 world-record victory at the Chicago Marathon on Sunday, shattering the barely-year-old mark of 2:11:53 by Ethiopian Tigst Assefa in Berlin in September 2023.

There is the usual disbelief from those who are sure that, since Chepngetich – the 2019 World Champion in the marathon – is from Kenya, she must be doping. In fact, she was politely asked exactly that at the post-race news conference, and she responded, “You know people must talk but … people must talk, so I don’t know.”

So, this barrier-shattering performance must be the greatest ever, right?

No.

Although imperfect, there has long been a statistician’s model for comparing track & field performances across events. The current version is the 2022 edition of the World Athletics Scoring Tables, an update from the work of Bulgarian engineer and statistician Dr. Bojidar Spiriev (1932-2010), whose original tables were published in 1982. .

Using the 2022 edition, which assigns points to various performances in 114 events, but warns, “Due to obvious biological differences, it is not proposed to fully compare men’s and women’s performances.”

But it gives us a clue, so let’s see what the tables tell us, comparing the 2:09:56 with other world records:.

As far as women’s events so, Chepngetich’s 2:09:56 is scored as 1,339 points. It’s one of the greatest performances ever, with only two world records scoring better:

● 1,390 pts: W DT: 76.80 m (252-0) by Gabrielle Reinsch/GDR 1988
● 1,372 pts: W SP: 22.63 m (74-3) by Natalia Lisovskaya/URS 1987

Now both of those performances can be legitimately doubted as due to doping, since both were from countries with state-sponsored doping programs. So the doubters can wag their fingers.

The next-best women’s world-record performances include some more recent marks:

● 1,333 pts: W LJ: 7.52 m (24-8 1/4) by Galina Chistyakova/URS 1988
● 1,331 pts: W Hep: 7,291 by Jackie Joyner-Kersee/USA 1988
● 1,322 pts: W 400H: 50.37 by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone/USA 2024
● 1,319 pts: W HJ: 2.10 m (6-10 3/4) by Yaroslava Mahuchikh/UKR 2024
● 1,314 pts: W 100: 10.49 by Florence Griffith-Joyner/USA 1988
● 1,309 pts: W 10,000: 28:54.14 by Beatrice Chebet/KEN 2024
● 1,308 pts: W 200: 21.34 by Florence Griffith-Joyner/USA 1988

Including Chepngetich, that’s the top 10 for women’s world records according to the tables.

If we include men’s events, there are five world records which score higher, and a tie:

● 1,365 pts: M JT: 98.48 m (323-1) by Jan Zelezny/CZE 1996
● 1,356 pts: M 100: 9.58 by Usain Bolt/JAM 2009
● 1,351 pts: M 200: 19.19 by Usain Bolt/JAM 2009
● 1,346 pts: M LJ: 8.95 m (29-4 1/2) by Mike Powell/USA 1991
● 1,341 pts: M 400H: 45.94 by Karsten Warholm/NOR 2021

● 1,339 pts: (tie) M PV: 6.26 m (20-6 1/2) by Mondo Duplantis/SWE 2024

Interestingly, all six of these performances are in the era of better doping controls and four of the six are in the 21st Century. And fellow Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum, who set the men’s world mark of 2:00:35 in Chicago in 2023 was not far behind at 1,322 points.

If we combine – because we want to – the men’s and women’s world-record scoring, we find Chepngetich in a tie for eighth place, with Duplantis:

● 1. 1,390 pts: W DT: 76.80 m (252-0) by Gabrielle Reinsch/GDR 1988
● 2. 1,372 pts: W SP: 22.63 m (74-3) by Natalia Lisovskaya/URS 1987
● 3. 1,365 pts: M JT: 98.48 m (323-1) by Jan Zelezny/CZE 1996
● 4. 1,356 pts: M 100: 9.58 by Usain Bolt/JAM 2009
● 5. 1,351 pts: M 200: 19.19 by Usain Bolt/JAM 2009

● 6. 1,346 pts: M LJ: 8.95 m (29-4 1/2) by Mike Powell/USA 1991
● 7. 1,341 pts: M 400H: 45.94 by Karsten Warholm/NOR 2021
● 8=. 1,339 pts: M PV: 6.26 m (20-6 1/2) by Mondo Duplantis/SWE 2024
● 8=. 1,339 pts: W Mar: 2:09:56 by Ruth Chepngetich/KEN 2024
● 10. 1,334 pts: M SP: 23.56 m (77-3 3/4) by Ryan Crouser/USA 2023

Looked at another way, of the 41 world records in Olympic track & field events, plus the mile (walks excluded) outside of the women’s marathon, Chepngetich’s 2:09:56 was better than all but seven, with one tie.

It’s an amazing performance and among the greatest ever, but not the greatest. In an era where technology has completely changed the nature of running, Chepngetich’s time may be eclipsed again soon. But for now, she is among the best in history, awaiting – of course – the results of her doping-control tests.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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PANORAMA: Did Dion sing at the Paris opening? More sports political trouble in India; Irish boxing clubs vote to leave IBA

By
Rich Perelman
-
Four Il Lombardia titles in a row for Slovenia’s amazing Tadej Pogacar (Photo: UAE-Team Emirates).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The newest controversy, almost three months after the fact, is whether Canadian superstar Celine Dion sang “Hymne a la’Amour” or had her performance pre-recorded during the Olympic opening on 26 July in Paris.

A single of the performance was released on Friday (11 October) and the French newspaper Liberation quoted a composer and a sound engineer that the performance heard worldwide was pre-recorded and not live.

The French ceremony organizers said previously that Dion sang live, but ignored new requests to talk about it. Dion’s fans trashed the story on social media, but, in fact, both could be true.

Performers at prior Olympic openings have sung live, but the version heard on television was pre-recorded. So, maybe, it was both?

In either case (or both), it was great.

The International Olympic Committee and the Paris 2024 organizers made sustainability a major focus and a post-event process is now underway to re-use as much equipment as possible. According to the IOC:

“[O]rganisers had rented about 900,000 (75%) of the 1.2 million pieces of sports equipment used overall. The remaining 300,000 pieces, which were purchased, are now being donated to the French sports movement in order to benefit local communities, promote physical activity, and enhance sports infrastructure across France.”

About 90% of all of the equipment used is being donated – as if often done – to local schools, sports facilities, parks and similar uses:

● “The sand from the Eiffel Tower stadium, used for beach volleyball events, will be repurposed to create three new courts at the Marville departmental park in Seine-Saint-Denis, with an additional court planned for nearby Taverny in Val d’Oise.”

● “Partnerships with organisations such as Emmaus, the Red Cross, and the French Popular Relief will ensure that the positive impact of the Games reaches those who need it most. For example, some 50,000 furniture items from the Olympic and Paralympic Village, including 9,000 mattresses and 11,000 pillows, have been donated to Emmaus.”

And the ever-popular post-Games leftovers sale – called “Big Sales of the Games” – are being held all over France with all kinds of items sold as souvenirs, or for commercial use in bulk.

● Ethiopia ● A developing story in Ethiopia has been reported in national media there, with a lawsuit filed by the Ethiopian boxing and tennis federations, plus two-time Olympic men’s 10,000 m champion Haile Gebrselassie and Sydney 2000 men’s marathon winner Gezahegne Abera, against the Ethiopian Olympic Committee and four officers.

The filing, in the Arada Division of the Federal Court of First Instance, alleges human trafficking and election fraud, naming President Ashebir Woldegiorgis, prosecutor Eden Ashenafi, General Secretary Dawit Asfau, and Deputy Secretary Ghezahegn Wolde.

The NOC is also alleged to have refused an audit from the Ministry of Culture & Sports and the Federal Auditor General. The court was reported to issue suspensions of some NOC functions as early as May; these are the kinds of actions which alert the International Olympic Committee to jump in, but this has not been reported as yet.

Ethiopia won four medals at Paris (1-3-0), the same total as at Tokyo in 2021, but half of the number won in 2012 and 2016. All of these medals came in track & field; Ethiopia has never won an Olympic medal in any other sport.

● India ● The continuing battle within the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) over governance and management has reached Lausanne and the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC Executive Board decided last Tuesday (8th) to withhold Olympic Solidarity funding from the IOA in view of its inability to hire a new chief executive and financial reporting failures:

“There are obvious ongoing internal disputes and governance issues facing the IOA, including a number of reciprocal allegations which have been raised within the [IOA] Executive Council.

“This situation creates a lot of uncertainty and needs clarification and therefore, until further notice, the IOC and Olympic Solidarity will not make any payments to the IOA, except for direct payments to athletes benefiting from Olympic scholarships.”

The IOA has been receiving about $1.01 million U.S. from the IOC in Olympic Solidarity funding in recent years.

An unsigned IOA news release, apparently from IOC President P.T. Usha, states that a representative of the All India Football Federation has issued an agenda for an upcoming Special General Meeting on 25 October, essentially “impersonating himself as the Acting CEO.”

And this from a country which is trying to assure the IOC that it is the right choice to host the 2036 Olympic Games.

● Athletics ● “The NAIA’s decision is the result of a process between its representatives and the University concerning allegations against a former cross country coach whose employment ended in 2020.”

That’s from a statement from Huntington University concerning sanctions from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) following the September conviction of former track and cross country coach Nick Johnson on sexual battery charges.

The NAIA suspended the powerhouse Huntington men’s and women’s cross country programs from the 2024 NAIA Championships in the sport; the Huntington women’s team was ranked 17th nationally on the 3 October USTFCCCA poll. The penalty was for violations of the NAIA Code of Ethics.

The entire athletic department is on probation through the 2026-27 academic year. Huntington Athletic Director Lori Culler was also placed on one year’s probation for the 2024-25 academic year.

● Badminton ● Three wins for China at the Arctic Open in Vantaa (FIN), with Yue Han taking the women’s Singles, Olympic silver winners Sheng Shu Liu and Ning Tan winning the women’s Doubles, and Yan Zhe Feng and Dong Ping Huang winning the Mixed Doubles.

Tien Chen Chou (TPE) won the men’s Singles and Malaysia’s Sze Fei Goh and Nur Izzuddin came from behind to win the men’s Doubles.

● Boxing ● The Irish Athletic Boxing Association’s clubs passed a motion at an Emergency General Meeting on Thursday (10th) “To remove any references to IBA (AIBA) from all relevant Objects in the IABA Constitution whether contained in the Memorandum or the Articles of Association.”

The meeting was called by 44 clubs and of the 140 club reps who attended, the motion passed by 73-40, with 27 votes declared invalid. IABA Board Chair, Niall O’Carroll, said

“Today was an important day for Irish boxing. Clubs have called their own EGM and have decided they want to remove IBA from our constitution. This will, when those changes are voted on, mean that clubs have the freedom to work with clubs in any federation they want, including the USA, England, Germany, and others.

“This is vital for the development of our clubs and our boxers. Its equally important that we acknowledge our status as Ireland’s most successful Olympic Sport, and the heritage that stems from that incredible status. I know some club members have stated on social media that the Olympics is just a two week tournament every four years – but it’s much more than that.

“It’s the dream of kids when they first walk in club house doors. They want to be Kellie Harrington. We want them to have that opportunity and today, we moved a step closer to making sure they can still hold that dream close.”

This paves the way for the IABA to join World Boxing in an effort to retain the sport on the program of 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The IABA notice noted:

“In order for the changes requested by clubs today to take effect, clubs will be asked to vote on a special resolution. This vote is likely to take place at IABA’s [Annual General Meeting], scheduled for November 24th.”

● Canoe-Kayak ● The ICF Super Cup in Hangzhou (CHN) put together four disciplines in one event – Marathon, Polo, Slalom and Sprint – for a mega-event which more and more federations are adopting.

The result was a major festival of canoeing, with significant attendance from the summer’s Olympic stars.

In the men’s Slalom events, the K-1 final saw Olympic gold medalist Giovanni de Gennaro (ITA: 79.43) repeat his win over Titouan Castryck (FRA: 81.48), while Britain’s Ryan Westley won the men’s C-1 in 84.43 over Paris winner Nicolas Gestin (FRA: 85.30).

France’s Camile Prigent won the women’s K-1 in 89.51 from Poland’s Olympic silver winner Klaudia Zwolinska (90.54), with C-1 bronzer Evy Leibfarth of the U.S. fifth (94.75). Czech Gabriela Satkova won the women’s C-1 in 93.86, just ahead of Kayak Cross bronzer Kimberley Woods (GBR: 94.26). Liebfarth was sixth in 98.82.

Czech Tereza Kneblova won the women’s Kayak Cross over Stefanie Horn (ITA), with Leibfarth fourth. Swiss Gelindo Chiarello pulled an upset in the men’s Kayak Cross, winning with Czech Vit Prindis, the 2022 World K-1 champ, second.

In the Olympic men’s Sprint events, Olympic bronze winner Serghei Tarnovschi (MDA) took the C-1 500 m in 1:58.120 and Agustin Vernice (ARG: 1:47.856) took the men’s K-1. The men’s C-2 500 m was won by Italy’s Nicolae Craciun and Dawid Szela (1:46.174), and teammates Samuele Burgo and Tommaso Freschi won the K-2 500 m in 1:33.102.

China went 1-2 in the women’s C-1 500 m with Xina Jiang and Shuqi Li in 2:19.278 and 2:20.943. China’s Nan Wang (2:03.549) won the K-1 over Paris bronzer Emma Jorgensen (DEN: 2:04.503). In the women’s C-2 500 m, China’s Anshuo Teng and Jiang won in 2:01.585, and Shimeng Yu and Yule Chen took the K-2 500 m in 1:49.070.

● Cycling ● The last of the five annual “Monument” races – all inaugurated before World War I – Il Lombardia in Italy, was held for the 118th time on Sunday, with 2024 superman Tadej Pogacar (SLO) adding another trophy.

He rode to a 3:16 victory in 6:04:58 over the long, 255 km course from Bergamo to Como with six significant climbs, taking over on the last climb, the Colma de Sormano and soloed to victory with about 42 km left.

It’s his fourth Lombardia win in a row, now tied with the legendary Alfredo Binda (ITA: 1925-31) for the second-most wins ever at four. Only Fausto Coppi (ITA: 1946-54) has won five; he also won four in a row from 1946-49.

Double Olympic champ Remco Evenepoel (BEL) was second at +3:16, with Giulio Ciccone (ITA: +4:31) in third. Neilson Powless was the top American, in eighth (+4:58).

The 26th Simac Ladies Tour, a six-stage race in the Netherlands this year, saw Belgium’s two-time World Road Champion Lotte Kopecky win Sunday’s sixth and final stage and win the overall title with a two-second victory over Franziska Koch (GER).

Kopecky, the defending champion, was eight seconds behind leader Koch entering the final day, but won the final, 145.8 km stage in and around Arnheim with a final sprint in 3:44:49, with the top 49 riders receiving the same time. Koch was close, in eighth, but Kopecky’s 10-second time bonus for winning vaulted her to the overall title!

● Football ● The U.S. men opened the Mauricio Pochettino (ARG) era with a 2-0 win over Panama on Saturday in Austin, Texas.

After a scoreless first half, U.S. midfield star Christian Pulisic executed a give-and-go with forward Brenden Aaronson, then centered a pass for the oncoming midfielder Yunus Musah, who scored his first goal for the U.S. in the 49th for a 1-0 lead.

The U.S. held the lead, sometimes shakily, but in stoppage time, substitute forward Haji Wright made a perfect entry pass from the left side of the Panama goal to find a charging striker Ricardo Pepi, who scored at 90+4 for the 2-0 final. Matt Turner earned the shutout in goal.

The U.S. had 55% of possession, but Panama led on shots, 13-11, in a physical game with 17 fouls. It was the first U.S. win since June and improved its 2024 record to 4-5-2.

The win ended a four-match winless streak and a two-loss streak against Panama from the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 2024 Copa America. A sterner test is expected Tuesday as the Americans face Mexico in Guadalajara a 7:30 p.m. Pacific time.

● Judo ● Russian judoka, now able to compete as “International Judo Federation” athletes and not as neutrals, won five classes at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam. No recognized nation won more than two classes: the Netherlands, France, Germany and the UAE.

● Swimming ● Italy surprised with a sweep of the men’s 10 km race at the World Aquatics Open-Water World Cup in Setubal (POR), with Marcello Guidi taking the lead on the final lap to touch in 2:08:31.2, ahead of countrymen Andrea Filadelli (2:08:56.8) and Dario Verani (2:08:57.0). France’s Marc-Antoine Olivier, the 2024 Worlds 10 km runner-up, was fourth at 2:09:02.5.

German Lea Boy won her first Open-Water World Cup gold in the women’s race, finishing in 2:18:30.7, getting to the front for good only in the final 200 m. Just behind were Brazil’s Tokyo 2020 gold medalist Ana Marcela Cunha (2:18:33.8) and Viviane Jungblut (2:18:34.5).

● Water Polo ● Terrible news, as Pat Woepse, the husband of two-time Olympic women’s gold medalist, Maddie Musselman, passed away from lung cancer last Thursday (10th). Woepse was diagnosed with NUT carcinoma, a very rare form of lung cancer, in September 2023.

Both were UCLA water polo stars, and Woepse, 31, made it his goal to be in Paris to watch his wife play this summer, and he did, as the U.S. finished fourth.

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U.S. OLYMPIC MOVEMENT: U.S. NGB merry-go-round sees chief execs excused in sailing, swimming, now figure skating!

By
Rich Perelman
-
The merry-go-round!

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

“U.S. Figure Skating announces that Tracy Marek, CEO, has resigned to pursue new opportunities. The Board of Directors thank Marek and wish her well in her new endeavors. The Board has full confidence in the current staff and is working diligently to determine the best path forward for future leadership.”

That was from a Friday announcement by U.S. Figure Skating, with Marek having taken the position in December 2022, coming from 19 years with the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, where she was executive vice president and chief marketing officer. She essentially replaced David Raith, who had been Executive Director from August 2005 to June 2021, when he left over health concerns; there was an interim director until Marek was hired.

U.S. Figure Skating is the third National Governing Body in the market for a new chief executive, as US Sailing and USA Swimming are both looking for new executive leadership:

● US Sailing announced on 23 August:

“Chief Executive Officer Alan Ostfield, who has been instrumental in driving the organization’s recent transformation, will step down from his role and transition to an advisory position for the Association.”

Ostfield joined US Sailing in April 2021, after prior chief Jack Gierhart left in November 2020. Gierhart had been with US Sailing since 2010 and had been the acting Executive Director since 2010 and Executive Director since February 2011.

US Sailing has gone through a turbulent period, with complaints about fund-raising, governance and the performance of the national team.

● USA Swimming posted on 29 August:

“USA Swimming Board of Directors today announces that Chief Executive Officer and President Tim Hinchey will be leaving USA Swimming to pursue other opportunities.”

Hinchey joined USA Swimming in July 2017, after six highly-successful years as president of Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids franchise. He replaced Chuck Wielgus, who died in April 2017 after becoming USA Swimming’s Executive Director in 1997.

Shana Ferguson was named as Interim CEO, after being elevated to Chief Operating Officer in late July, from her position as Chief Commercial Officer for five years, leading efforts in sales, sponsorships, marketing, communications, productions and creative.

And there are more post-Paris changes at the U.S. NGBs:

● USA Volleyball saw chief exec Jamie Davis announce in March 2024 that he would not renew his contract, after serving as CEO since 2017. He replaced Doug Beal, who had been the USAV chief executive for 12 years from 2005 to 2 January 2017.

UCLA head coach John Speraw, also the coach of the U.S. men’s national team since 2013 was named as the new President and Chief Executive of USA Volleyball, beginning on 1 October.

● USA Water Polo, interestingly, hired Davis as chief executive beginning 1 October, following the retirement of Chris Ramsey, at the end of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Ramsey had been in charge of USAWP from November 2006, to 2024, with the federation membership more than doubling under his tenure, to more than 50,000.

And then there is USA Badminton, whose chief executive, two-time Olympian Linda French, was suspended for five years in January 2024, by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, after being hired as Interim CEO in July 2019 and appointed as chief executive in April 2021. The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee has now filed a complaint against USA Badminton to de-certify it as a National Governing Body, a process which involves a hearing and will take some months.

She replaced Jeff Dyrek, appointed in November 2016, who replaced 17-year chief executive Dan Cloppas, who retired in 2016.

These six federations are this year’s turnover (so far), following changes at USA Fencing in 2022 (Phil Andrews), USA Weightlifting in 2022 (Matt Sicchio replaced Andrews), and, of course, USA Gymnastics, which went through multiple chief executives during the Nassar abuse scandal, but has settled down since Li Li Leung was installed in February 2019.

Observed: Notice a pattern here? In short, it’s getting harder and harder to run a U.S. National Governing Body.

The days of having the same person in charge for decades appears to be mostly over, as worries over funding, facilities, inflation, medal prospects and performance and communications to multiple levels of athletes, coaches and officials from grass-roots to elite continue to get more complex.

There are exceptions. The dean of U.S. NGB chiefs is likely USA Wrestling’s Rich Bender, who was named as acting Executive Director in November 2000 and full-time chief executive in February 2001. His federation recently set an all-time membership record of more than 300,000 members in March of this year.

He’s a success story, but other U.S. National Governing Bodies are now looking ahead, with the rare circumstance of a home Olympic Games coming in 2028, to Los Angeles.

The LA28 organizing committee is focused on putting the 2028 Games together and has already signaled that it has very modest interest in doing test events prior to 2028 – Chair Casey Wasserman said in June, “I think in most cases, test events are a thing of the past” – and that the venues to be used for track & field and swimming will not be available for U.S. Olympic Trials use as they will be under construction.

So, U.S. NGBs are going to be working with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee to promote their sports mostly outside of Los Angeles on the road to 2028. And if they are not successful, look for the merry-go-round to spin even faster in October 2028.

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ATHLETICS: Staggering, fantastic, unbelievable 2:09:56 WOMEN’s world record for Chepngetich in Chicago!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich, the new women’s world-record holder at 2:09:56 in Chicago! (Photo: Bank of America Chicago Marathon)

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≡ CHICAGO MARATHON ≡

For years, the Berlin Marathon was where world records were set, with eight in a row in the men’s division from 2003 to 2022. But now it’s the Chicago Marathon’s turn.

After a 2:14:04 women’s world mark for Brigid Kosgei (KEN) in 2019, fellow Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum ran 2:00:35 to set the men’s world record in 2023, only to be killed in a car accident in February of this year.

On Sunday, it was Kenyan women’s star – and two-time Chicago winner from 2021 and 2022 – Ruth Chepngetich, the 2019 World Champion, who decided to race after Ethiopian Tigst Assefa’s 2:11:53 women’s world record from 2023 in Berlin.

She destroyed it, making history by being the first woman to run under 2:10, winning in a fabulous, almost incomprehensible 2:09:56. She blasted off from the start, running under cloudy skies with perfect temperatures in the low 60s, opening a nine-second lead on the field at the 5 km mark, with only Ethiopia’s Sutume Kebede (a 2:15:55 performer) close.

By 10 km, Chepngetich had two seconds on Kebede and 53 seconds on the rest of the field. She was up by eight seconds at 20 km, and 14 seconds at the half in 1:04:16, with Kebede at 1:04:30.

How fast is 1:04:16? It’s the world leader for 2024, 13 seconds faster than Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) and her 1:04:29 win in Barcelona back on 11 February! Jepkosgei was running third (1:07:30), well behind Kebede, whose 1:04:30 is no. 3 in 2024!

Chepngetich kept pouring it on, leading by 1:57 at 30 km and 6:13 (!!!) at 40 km. She got home in 2:09:56, a time that would have won all but two Olympic marathons through 2004 and would have been the men’s world record through 2 December 1967. Splits:

● 10 km: 30:14
● 20 km: 30:37 (1:00:51)
● 30 km: 30:58 (1:31:49)
● 40 km: 31:22 (2:03:11)

She covered the final 2.2 km in 6:45 and the final half of the race in 1:05:41 after the first half in 1:04:16. Astonishing, marvelous, almost indescribable, and most certainly historic.

Chepngetich, 30, crushed Assefa’s world mark by a ridiculous 1:57, and consider this improvement in the women’s marathon: the record was 2:15:25 from 2003 to 2019 and in five years, has been lowered by 5:28!

Is it the shoes? Better training? Baking soda? Perfect conditions? Maybe all of the above, but this is sensational.

Chepngetich was not the only finisher in the race. Kebede held on for second in 2:17:32, Kenyan Irine Cheptai passed Jepkosgei by 30 km and was third in 2:17:51. Ethiopia’s Buze Kejela also passed Jepkosgei and finished fourth in 2:20:22 and Jepkosgei was fifth in 2:20:51.

Susanna Sullivan was the top American finisher in seventh in 2:21:56 (no. 10 all-time U.S.), and Lindsay Flanagan was ninth in 2:23:31.

What about the men’s race? Kenya’s John Korir, third in this race in 2022 and fourth in 2023, was nominally in front of a pack of 10 at the halfway mark in 1:02:19, was still in front of a lead pack of seven at 30 km, but then surged away from the field by 35 km, leading by 29 seconds.

He was 1:32 up by 40 km and cruised home in a lifetime best of 2:02:44, moving to no. 2 on the 2024 world list, and his second win in 10 career marathons. He’s now no. 6 all-time.

Ethiopian Huseydin Esa was a distant second in 2:04:39, no. 15 on the 2024 world list, followed by Kenyan Amos Kipruto (2:04:50), Vincent Ngetich (KEN: 2:05:16) and Daniel Ebenyo (KEN: 2:06:04).

CJ Albertson was the top American, in seven at 2:08:17, a lifetime best by almost two minutes! Zach Panning was ninth in 2:09:16.

Korir and Chepngetich both win $100,000 for first place and Chepngetich won another $50,000 for breaking the course record. Places 2-5 won $75,000-50,000-30,000-25,000 in both genders.

Chepngetich set the seventh world record at the Chicago Marathon, with three for men and four for women. In her 15th career marathon, she won for the ninth time, the third time in Chicago and has been in the top three in 12 of her 15 races.

But she will now always be remembered as the woman who broke 2:10. Awesome.

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PANORAMA: LA84 Olympic Arts chief Fitzpatrick passes; venue changes already for Salt Lake City 2034; IOC candidate forum on 30 January

By
Rich Perelman
-
Venues already changing for the 2034 Olympic Winter Games as the NHL’s Utah Hockey Club takes over Delta Center (IIHF photo by Lucas Aykroyd).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 1984: Los Angeles ● Sad news that Robert Fitzpatrick, the driving force behind the revolutionary Olympic Arts Festival that accompanied the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, passed away on 30 September, aged 84.

Fitzpatrick was the President of the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) from 1975-88 and expanded the school’s breadth and impact as well as shoring up its finances. He was asked to head the cultural program for the 1984 Olympic Games, a requirement of the organizing committee, but which Fitzpatrick reinvented as a worldwide stage.

Instead of an accompanying program, the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival introduced the Games, beginning eight weeks before and comprising 10 weeks in all, with 432 performances and 31 visual-arts exhibitions at 47 sites, drawing 1.25 million attendees in all. It brought first-time experiences to Los Angeles, showcased local performers on their largest platforms ever and changed forever the way the city saw itself in arts and cultural circles.

Brilliant, driven and charming when he wanted to be, Fitzpatrick’s success was widely lauded, and he headed up the follow-on Los Angeles Festival, held in 1987, 1990 and 1993. He became the head of EuroDisneyland in 1987 and opened Euro Disney in the Paris area in 1992 before moving on to serve as Dean of the School of the Arts at Columbia University and as the Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.

He is survived by his wife Sylvie, three children, six grandchildren and two siblings.

● Olympic Games 2036 ● The host of the wildly-successful 1992 Olympic Games may be back in the Olympic business for 2036 or 2040.

Barcelona councilor for sport David Escude told a business conference this week, “We are always open to it, be it for 2036, 2040 or 2044,” noting that some of the 1992 venues are now in need of refurbishment. Having another Olympic Games would be a way to achieve that.

● Olympic Winter Games 2034: Salt Lake City ● The plan is already changing for the 2034 Winter Games, as the NHL’s Utah Hockey Club – formerly in Arizona – began play this week. Owner Ryan Smith said at an opening party that the Delta Center will be the ice hockey venue for 2034, a change from the bid plan.

Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games chief executive Fraser Bullock said the change had been discussed for some time, and that figure skating and short track would move to the Maverik Center in West Valley City, which seats 10,100 for ice events and hosted ice hockey at the 2002 Winter Games.

The Delta Center, now hosting the NBA Utah Jazz and the new hockey team, is part of a massive downtown entertainment district development project, not related to the 2034 Winter Games.

● Pan American Games 2027 ● The city of Barranquilla, Colombia was awarded the 2027 Pan American Games in 2021, but Panam Sports withdrew the event in January 2024, citing breach of contract for the non-payment of hosting fees. The 2027 Pan Ams were eventually awarded to 2019 host Lima, Peru.

Now, the city of Barranquilla has filed a claim with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, asking for a return of $2.25 million paid to Pan Am Sports by the city prior to the removal of the Games:

“This action, which has just been admitted [by the Court of Arbitration for Sport], aims to protect the public resources that were invested by the city and are currently being withheld by Panam Sports, due to its unilateral interpretation on the clauses of the [hosting] agreement.”

● International Olympic Committee ● The IOC formally announced that the seven candidates for the IOC Presidency will address the membership at a special meeting on 30 January 2025 in Lausanne.

The meeting was announced as “in-camera,” meaning it is expected to be closed. This will be the one chance for the candidates to speak to the entire membership ahead of the 18-21 March IOC Session in Greece, where the election will take place.

● U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee ● Some changes to the USOPC Board from this week’s online meeting, with two members leaving, and more coming on.

Independent director Dr. Cheri Blauwet, a seven-time Paralympic medalist in track & field, will leave at the end of the year as her term will expire. Four-time Olympic gold medalist John Naber, an at-large, athlete-elected director, has resigned, and as USOPC President Gene Sykes has been elected as a member of the IOC, he is automatically a Board member, opening a seat for an independent director.

So, three new directors will need to be seated: two as independent directors and one as an athlete-elected director.

Re-elected were Daria Schneider, the head coach of the Harvard fencing teams, as an Athletes Advisory Council-elected director, Olympic swimming gold medalist Donna de Varona as an at-large athlete-elected director, and Dexter Paine, a member of the International Ski & Snowboard Federation Council, as a National Governing Body Council elected member.

In addition to Sykes as an IOC member, Allyson Felix is now on the Board as an IOC member after election to the IOC Athletes’ Commission in Paris. With Anita DeFrantz and International Tennis Federation President David Haggerty, the U.S. now has four IOC members, the most ever at one time.

● Athletics ● More doping sanctions from the Athletics Integrity Unit, including Kenyan Charles Kipkurui Langat for two years from 11 September 2024 for the use of the diuretic Furosemide. He’s a 58:53 half-marathoner from 2023 who has also run 27:42 for 10 km to win the 2023 Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta.

Kenyan-born Rodgers Ondaji Gesabwa, now affiliated with Mexico, was banned for 3 months from 10 July 2024 for the use of Benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine. He’s a 1:04:24 half-marathoner from 2023.

● Boxing ● The International Boxing Association continues to try to hold on to its national federations amid a push from the new World Boxing group and the International Olympic Committee to have federations form a new governing body for Olympic boxing.

On Wednesday, the IBA met in Dubai (UAE) with the African Boxing Confederation to promote having their federations continue as IBA members, promising continuing financial support and prize money. AFBC President Eyassu Wossen (ETH) said in a statement:

“As President of the African Boxing Confederation, I fully express my unwavering support for the International Boxing Association and stand united with the AFBC in our shared commitment to safeguard the future of boxing.

“We strongly oppose the injustices and interference from the IOC in both IBA and AFBC matters.”

In the meantime, World Boxing has 58 members either already approved or in process, with a pitch made by its Olympic Commission to the Panam Sports General Assembly in Paraguay last week, and a 23 November Extraordinary Congress in Thailand, called by the Asian Boxing Confederation to consider the issue of Olympic boxing. If World Boxing can get past 100 members by the start of 2025, its chances of being recognized by the IOC will be promising.

● Skiing ● The fight between the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) and some of its national federations over media rights to competitions held in those countries is continuing, with the German ski federation obtaining a preliminary injunction in a Munich court on Wednesday.

The German ski federation (DSV) filed against FIS, saying the 26 April decision to have FIS sell rights to all competitions in all markets from the 2025-26 season on, violated European anti-trust law, since the German federation – and others – did not specifically agree. The Austrian federation also filed for an injunction against FIS.

The Munich regional court said FIS’s accumulation of rights was an “unlawful restriction of competition by object” and as a sales agent had already been appointed by FIS, it was necessary to grant a stoppage to the DSV, which applies only to the German market.

According to a statement, “The FIS will appeal against the decision, which is completely wrong,” and called the court’s decision “unacceptable and unprofessional.“

● Tennis ● Spanish star Rafael Nadal, 38, winner of 22 Grand Slam tournaments and twice an Olympic gold medalist, announced Thursday that he will retire at the end of the season.

Nadal won 14 French Opens from 2005-22, two Australian Opens, twice at Wimbledon and four times at the U.S. Open. He won Olympic golds at Beijing 2008 in men’s Singles and at Rio 2016 in men’s Doubles.

He said in a video, “Hello everyone, I’m here to let you know that I am retiring from professional tennis.”

“The reality is that is has been some difficult years, these last two especially. I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations. It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make. But in this life, everything has a beginning and an end.

“And I think it’s the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined.”

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U.S. OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE: USOPC files again to de-certify USA Badminton, in view of continuing issues

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ GOVERNANCE ≡

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee has informed USA Badminton that it will pursue a decertification action against it, as reported by the Orange County Register.

Reporter Scott Reid quoted a Wednesday (9th) letter sent to USA Badminton, which included:

“Given the extensive measures undertaken by the USOPC since 2017, and based on USAB’s inaction, the USOPC does not believe that additional assistance or guidance would resolve the outstanding issues.

“Therefore, the USOPC filed a complaint to decertify USAB earlier today.”

USA Badminton has been the subject of repeated reviews by the USOPC, and its former chief executive, Linda French, was banned for five years in January by the U.S. Center for SafeSport for discouraging a USA Badminton staff player from reporting an abuse case. That staff member was fired and made a claim against USAB for wrongful termination, which was settled in 2023.

The USOPC has filed for decertification against USA Badminton before, in 2019, over athlete safeguarding, revisions to its bylaws and governance, but the filing was retracted in 2020 under an agreement for reform. The Wednesday letter from the USOPC noted the prior observations of

“a number of concerns regarding USAB’s failure to require criminal background checks and required education and training for some individuals within the USAB community, to address a lack of transparency amongst the Board and CEO, and concerns regarding USAB’s financial reporting, internal controls and grievance procedures.”

The process, known as a “Section 8″ complaint, began with the filing of a complaint by the USOPC, to be followed by a hearing before a three-member panel, comprised of a USOPC board member, an National Governing Bodies (NGB) Council representative and an Athletes’ Advisory Council representative.

The panel will provide a report to the USOPC Board, with recommendations on what to do. The USOPC Board will decide whether to decertify USA Badminton, with the result appealable to binding arbitration, under 36 U.S.C. §220529, including a public hearing.

If USA Badminton is indeed de-certified, the USOPC would then take charge of the federation’s business and begin the process of building up or finding another organization which could be certified as the sport’s National Governing Body. 

The USOPC letter, by Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer Holly Shick, pointed to continuing efforts by the USOPC to aid USA Badminton since 2017, but “USAB continued to demonstrate that it cannot meet the certification requirements.”

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PARIS 2024: French President Macron reflects on the Paris Olympics and his advice for Los Angeles 2028

By
Rich Perelman
-
French President Emmanuel Macron (Photo: IOC Session video screenshot).

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≡ THE BIG PICTURE ≡

French President Emmanuel Macron continues to savor the success of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, recalling the highlights in an interview posted Wednesday by Variety.

Asked to recall his favorite moment, he thought immediately of France’s triple gold medalist at the pool:

“I’m hesitating between Leon Marchand, when he won his two gold medals in two hours on the same day. It was incredible. He wasn’t the favorite. And in judo as well, when we got the gold medal for the team after this incredible finale with Japan with Teddy Riner.”

Naturally, the opening ceremony on the Seine River was recalled, but Macron was proudest of the overall success of the project:

“Our country managed to welcome the world in perfect security conditions, sharing our culture, heritage and art of living, along with our festive spirit. We’ve been able to do so with the boldness that characterizes us. It’s the best image we could project of our country.

“In Paris, we welcomed 1.7 million tourists during the first week of the Olympics, with very good prospects until the end of the summer for international visitors. Overall, the beautiful images of Paris and France during the Olympic Games will undoubtedly have a very positive impact in the short and medium term.”

Although he didn’t specifically mention it, Macron’s government managed to get through the Games even though he lost his majority in the National Assembly in snap elections held on 30 June and 7 July, just 19 days prior to the Games. His holdover ministers and staff didn’t miss a beat and the close coordination between the national government, regional and city governments and the Paris 2024 organizing committee was never frayed.

Macron was asked if he had advice for the Los Angeles 2028 organizers, which had a large contingent of staff in Paris to observe the Games:

“Oscar Wilde said something like, ‘Don’t try to be someone else. It’s already taken.’ We did something unique because we wanted to make something unique.

“So do your own Olympic Games. Don’t try to copy anything. Be creative. Be in line with your identity, your history, even your paradoxes. Be yourself.”

LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman has promised that the 2028 Games will be “authentically Los Angeles.”

Macron himself is not up for re-election until 2027, so he is returning to issues of business, politics with a new Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, and his role in the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The tug-of-war in Paris over the Olympic Rings and the Eiffel Tower continues, with a new tussle between Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and the woman she defeated in the 2020 Mayoral election, current Minister of Culture Rachida Dati.

As Minister of Culture, Dati is now advocating that the Eiffel Tower should be recognized with a higher degree of national protection, and seizing more control over the monument from the City of Paris, which owns it.

This drew a rebuke from Hidalgo, as well as the company which operates and maintains the tower – controlled by the City of Paris – which accused Dati of trying to use the Eiffel Tower “to further her political aims.”

The 30-ton Olympic Rings which were up during the Olympic and Paralympic Games have come down and are to be replaced with a lighter set, a better fit for remaining on the tower for a longer period.

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TSX SPECIAL: It’s here! Our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for 2024, 2025 and more now posted!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ CALENDAR ALERT ≡

Paris 2024 is over, but there is no rest in international sport. Here’s an update to our TSX calendar – an exclusive 885-event listing– for the rest of 2024, 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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ANTI-DOPING: USOPC chief Sykes sees modest progress in WADA and USADA war of words

By
Rich Perelman
-
U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee Chair Gene Sykes

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

During a briefing on the first U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee Board meeting since the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, USOPC President Gene Sykes noted that there has been some small progress in civility between the World Anti-Doping Agency and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency:

“I would say the temperature has already come down somewhat. I think both parties have decided they’d be a little bit more respectful of each other, even when they disagree about some things, and we’ve seen a little less name calling, a few less allegations. And several things have happened to help that.

“On the one hand, the special investigator, Mr. [Eric] Cottier from Switzerland, who had investigated and reported out preliminarily on the WADA actions [in the 2021 Chinese swimming mass doping incident] has issued his final report.

“His final report is actually much more detailed, and describes a number of, if you will, unusual procedures that CHINADA [Chinese Anti-Doping Agency] did not follow, is fairly critical of CHINADA, and observes that WADA could make some improvements in its own processes.

“That opens up an opportunity for more discussion on how to improve the process to make the anti-doping system more effective. That is something that we have thought would be the opportunity for the two parties to begin to talk about things they agree on, so, you know, that’s promising.”

Sykes also noted that this is not solely a one-on-one clash:

“At the same time, USADA is not in this alone. There are other anti-doping agencies that have signed on with USADA to say, we’d like more transparency and more effort to understand the WADA process.”

The bottom line:

“So, I think this is healthy. The discussions between the parties are discussions which are, as I say, I think being more respectful, and that goes a long way toward arriving at conclusions where we’re focused on improvement, and I think that will yield a benefit that is good for the anti-doping system, good for WADA, and I am optimistic about that.”

The harsh rhetoric against WADA regarding the January 2021 doping incident in China where 23 star swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine, but received no sanctions – including a U.S. Congressional hearing with Olympic swimming champions Michael Phelps and Alison Schmitt – led to a tortured situation in which language was added to the termination clause in the Olympic Host Contract for the 2034 Olympic Winter Games.

Although the war of words on doping had nothing to do with the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games bid for 2034, the International Olympic Committee inserted a clause in which it could remove the event from Salt Lake City if WADA’s “supreme authority” over doping is not respected.

IOC President Thomas Bach (GER) and others have indicated that there is no desire to use this trigger, but wanted to make a stand on WADA’s behalf. The Salt Lake City-Utah bid team, and Sykes, representing the USOPC, did not object to the addition and promised to helped create a more cooperative attitude.

Left open are the fears of some IOC members and International Federations officials of the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act of 2019, giving the U.S. Department of Justice extra-territorial authority to root out doping actors worldwide. Federation officials would like to see this aspect of the Rodchenkov law removed, but – in a U.S. election season – no actions have been taken.

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LOS ANGELES 2028: Santa Monica City Council calls LA28 venue contract “troubling,” sends City staff back to the negotiating table

By
Rich Perelman
-
The Santa Monica City Council, meeting on 8 October (Photo: City of Santa Monica video screenshot).

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

The Santa Monica City Council convened on Tuesday night for a nearly two-hour “study session” on the use of city property to host beach volleyball for the 2028 Olympic Games, with the City’s staff told to negotiate a better agreement with the LA28 organizers.

After public comment, a lengthy presentation and dozens of questions, Santa Monica Mayor Phil Brock expressed the general view of the members:

“Yes, this contract has been troubling for the last year and a half when we’ve been talking about the fact that you sign something and you have no idea what you’re signing, how much you’ll be reimbursed, how much this will cost.

“It is something that, if someone asked you to do this on the street, you would walk away and laugh at them. So, I want the Olympics here … I went to almost every event [at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles]. It was a spectacular time in Los Angeles.”

Brock, now 70, explained further:

“So, I come with a large bias toward the Olympics. But, you know, I’ve been trying to keep a very open mind. The first negative reaction I had was in 2015, when they came to the Recreation and Parks [Commission]. …. And I asked the same thing I’ve asked to the Olympic Committee several times: where’s our community benefit?

“What kind of spectacular volleyball court on the beach will be left for us? What else will they be doing to leave a legacy for the next 50 or 100 years of the Olympics that were held partly in Santa Monica?

“And, unfortunately, I have been hearing, ‘no.’ We’re not doing anything. Well, if we have money left over, we might do something. All those are huge ifs. Yes, we know Peter Ueberroth did an amazing job in 1984. We had money left over. This summer, the ‘84 Olympic committee, or their legacy non-profit body distributed more funds in Los Angeles, to help youth in our city and the region.

“I want that legacy from the 2028 Olympics. However, I’m concerned.”

Brock noted that, unlike some other municipalities which will host events in 2028, Santa Monica has a different status:

● “The Olympics should be proud to have us, because, yeah, they had the Eiffel Tower this last summer in Paris. They’d have the Santa Monica Pier, the Pacific Ocean, the waves, and yeah, the Ferris Wheel.”

● “Now, if we don’t host, the Ferris Wheel will still be on the Olympics [on TV] 20 times a day. It just will. Because as someone said earlier, Santa Monica is one of the symbols – along with the Hollywood sign – along with very few other things that symbolize the Los Angeles area.”

● “Our hotels will be full regardless. Our restaurants will be full regardless. I said to the City Manager a couple of weeks ago, but I want to host [the Olympics] for our communal heart. For the legacy of our city, for the legacy of children and grandchildren who can say that we hosted an Olympic event in our city.”

Brock shared, as did all of the Council members, deep concerns about the open financial questions that were identified in the proposed LA28 Games Agreement, the first of four contracts to be signed between now and October 2027:

“We’re a city that, I could characterize us right now as the once-rich City of Santa Monica, who will be the rich city again some time, but right now we’re not. So the question is, how do we – first of all – front money for the Olympic Games when we don’t have it right now.

“When that money won’t just be spent in 2028, it will have to be spent in 2026 and 2027 to get ready. So, as much as, yes, I absolutely want to be here during the legacy of the 2028 Olympic Games, and I like the LA28 people, but you know what, I’m really disappointed that they are asking us to not negotiate a contract, not give us terms that even guarantee any type of normal reimbursement, not give us any certainty at all, and just say, we have to accept whatever they want because we’re going to have the privilege of hosting the Olympics. …

“I’m concerned. I want us to host the Olympics. I desperately want us to host the Olympics, but at some point there has to be fiscal reality, as well as emotional reality. And I’m not sure our City can front a million, 10 million, 15 million dollars a year or two in advance, and then wait, maybe another six months or a year after the Olympics to experience those reimbursements that we desperately will need.”

The Council was briefed by Community Partnerships Manager Melissa Spagnuolo, who shared slides outlining the state of negotiations, and underlining several primary issues:

● Santa Monica will be asked to provide additional services beyond its normal programming to support the Games, but the extent of such services (and the associated costs) is unknown.

● Reimbursement of such added services is not guaranteed and can only be paid if LA28 has funds available at the end of the Games.

● Potential business impacts on the Santa Monica Pier are unknown as even keeping the Pier open during the Games may be subject to security concerns.

● No community benefits are specified, such as commitments for local hiring or use of local vendors, infrastructure or arts programming and support.

● The City’s economic impact study, by an outside firm, projected a $1.45 million net cost to the City if it hosts beach volleyball, but a $10.65 million “surplus” if it did nothing and simply maintained its normal summer operations.

The answer to many of the Council member questions was, simply, unknown and not specified.

LA28 had three staff members present during the session and Senior Vice President for Government and International Relations Priscilla Cheng made brief remarks during the public comment period, looking forward to continue working together. They did not answer any questions during the hearing.

Ten speakers chimed in during the public comments, six against the Games – but half of those asking for LA28 funding of cultural projects – with one neutral and three, including Cheng, in favor. Santa Monica Recreation & Parks Commissioner John C. Smith supported hosting, saying, “Don’t overthink this, guys. The Olympics are exciting … they’re going to being a lot of people here. It’s our chance to put us back on the world map in a wonderful way. We’re going to make money, too, you watch. … Let’s not blow this, guys.”

Near the end, Vice Mayor Lana Negrete summarized the City’s position and the marching orders for the City’s staff in their future engagement with the LA28 organizers:

“When we first heard of this, of course, I shared the same sentiment and excitement that anybody would, being born and raised in the city and knowing that this event would come here, but being in this position is not easy, as a Council member, you have to be fiscally responsible.

“It would be completely irresponsible knowing all the things we’re going through to put ourselves in a financial binding contract with so many unknowns that could potentially put us at so much risk. Not only would we not see any community benefits, but it could really be destructive to basic city services in the future by not being able to capture any revenue.

“So, I guess the direction would be to come back with their best offer, and I hope LA28 is listening that we need community benefit that makes sense and is clear. We need transparency to our community, which means engaging with the small business community and our constituents. We need to allow for input. I think the agreement must just reflect really certain basic aspects, that it’s concerning and disappointing that this elaborate discussion is happening over a very bizarre offer that has so many holes and unknowns.

“There needs to be partnership vs. leverage, and we need to be fiscally prudent right now, given all of the legal issues that we have, and financial what-ifs that we have separate from this.

“So I know that, you know, LA28 will come back with their best offer and we can fill in some of those gaps and give direction tonight. I think we kind of know what they are, it’s all the what-ifs we’ve been asking, but a big part of it is the community benefit, and of course there’s that piece of being able to negotiate and figure out for sure what is going to happen with the Pier business. …

“It seems like there’s a lot of constraint and there’s very few opportunities, and I think we need to fill in a lot of those gaps. .. I would love to be able to say we’re having LA28 here, I just don’t think it will be responsible to sign a contract based on a bunch of unknowns and what-ifs for the heart of it, when in the end, all people will remember that we will irresponsible about the agreement and we ended up impacting basic City services.”

The Council moved on to a discussion of homelessness and public safety, with no timetable for another discussion of the 2028 Games. 

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WOMEN IN SPORT: U.N. Special Rapporteur calls for re-introduction of “sex screening” to protect women’s category

By
Rich Perelman
-
U.N. Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls Reem Alsalem during her 8 October 2024 news conference (U.N. video screenshot).

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≡ THE LATEST ≡

United Nations Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem was clear and concise about women in sports in a Tuesday news conference:

“In order to ensure, fairness, dignity and safety for all, including females – women and girls, females – we would need to maintain a female-only category in sports, while at the same time also having more ‘open’ categories for those wishing to play sports in categories that do not respond to the sex they were born into.

“That is one thing. The other thing is, as requested by many women and girls in sports, is to bring back – or actually not bring back – is to introduce sex screening, which as you know was discontinued in 1999.

“So that should be sex screening have become a lot more reliable now, cheap, can be administered in a confidential, dignified manner, should be introduced … as an element of – what was that called – eligibility, in female sports.”

A longtime civil servant for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees, Alsalem – from Jordan – has been the U.N. Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls since August 2021. She spoke on Tuesday as a follow-up to her 27 August 2024 report, “Violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences.”

Alsalem added during her comments:

“As we know from the many studies that we have, males have a biological advantage in sports, especially during and after puberty, and artificial suppression of testosterone does not do away with this advantage. This is what the scientists and the experts are saying, not to mention pressuring anyone to artificially suppress testosterone in order to qualify for any category also raises ethical and human rights issues, which I also spoke about in the report, and should therefore also not be done.”

This is a startlingly clear roadmap for the international sports community, which she details in her 24-page report, starting with the impact of a lack of protection:

“Policies implemented by international federations and national governing bodies, along with national legislation in some countries, allow males who identify as women to compete in female sports categories.

“In other cases, this practice is not explicitly prohibited and is thus tolerated in practice. The replacement of the female sports category with a mixed-sex category has resulted in an increasing number of female athletes losing opportunities, including medals, when competing against males. According to information received, by 30 March 2024, over 600 female athletes in more than 400 competitions have lost more than 890 medals in 29 different sports.”

Alsalem did not compile those numbers, but referred in a footnote to a “Submission from Women’s Liberation Front, International Consortium on Female Sport and Dianne Post on behalf of Lavender Patch.”

But she went on to repeat – and therefore endorse – the position of many women athletes and groups concerning the differences in development between males and females:

● “Male athletes have specific attributes considered advantageous in certain sports, such as strength and testosterone levels that are higher than those of the average range for females, even before puberty, thereby resulting in the loss of fair opportunity.”

● “Some sports federations mandate testosterone suppression for athletes in order to qualify for female categories in elite sports. However, pharmaceutical testosterone suppression for genetically male athletes – irrespective of how they identify – will not eliminate the set of comparative performance advantages they have already acquired.”

● “This approach may not only harm the health of the athlete concerned, but it also fails to achieve its stated objective. Therefore, the testosterone levels deemed acceptable by any sporting body are, at best, not evidence-based, arbitrary and asymmetrically favour males.”

● “Females are usually tested randomly to ensure that they are not using performance-enhancing drugs, while males are often not monitored to ensure that they are taking testosterone suppression drugs. To avoid the loss of a fair opportunity, males must not compete in the female categories of sport.”

The report further discussed multiple areas of violence, harassment, neglect and abuse of women in sports, but then returned to testing and the uproar at the 2024 Olympic Games boxing competition over featherweight winner Yu-ting Lin (TPE) and welterweight gold medalist Imane Khelif (ALG):

“For example, at the 2024 Paris Olympics, female boxers had to compete against two boxers whose sex as females was seriously contested, but the International Olympic Committee refused to carry out a sex screening. 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.”

This came directly from an August 2024 comment in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, “Fair and safe eligibility criteria for women’s sport.” Alsalem followed up, noting:

“A 1996 survey of female Olympians found that an overwhelming number (82 per cent of the 928 surveyed) supported sex tests.”

This was from “Gender verification of female athletes,” in the July-August 2000 issue of Genetics in Medicine.

She also dealt with transgender questions, approving of protections for the women’s category:

“According to international human rights law, differential treatment on prohibited grounds may not be discriminatory if it is based on reasonable and objective criteria, it pursues a legitimate aim its effects are appropriate and proportional to the legitimate aim pursued and it is the least intrusive option to achieve the intended result.

“Maintaining separate-sex sports is a proportional action that corresponds to legitimate aims within the meaning of article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and does not automatically result in the exclusion of transgender persons from sports, nor does it require invasive sex screenings.

“When combined with other measures, such as open categories, fairness in sports can be maintained while ensuring the ability of all to participate – a course of action followed by several professional sports associations.”

Alsalem’s list of 39 conclusions and recommendations included, in paragraph 90:

● “(b) Ensure that female categories in organized sport are exclusively accessible to persons whose biological sex is female. In cases where the sex of an athlete is unknown or uncertain, a dignified, swift, non-invasive and accurate sex screening method (such as a cheek swab) or, where necessary for exceptional reasons, genetic testing should be applied to confirm the athlete’s sex. In non-professional sports spaces, the original birth certificates for verification may
be appropriate. In some exceptional circumstances, such tests may need to be followed up by more complex tests;

● “(c) Refrain from subjecting anyone to invasive sex screening or forcing a person to lower testosterone levels to compete in any category;

● “(d) Ensure the inclusive participation of all persons wishing to play sports, through the creation of open categories for those persons who do not wish to compete in the category of their biological sex, or convert the male category into an open category;

● “(e) Protect the female category in sport and implement consistent testing for doping and artificially increased levels of testosterone, without exception.”

Alsalem’s report will not be accepted in certain sectors, but it is now a marker in the continuing tug-of-war over conflicting views of human rights.

Observed: This report raises all kinds of questions for the Olympic Movement, especially, given that it comes from a United Nations Special Rapporteur. The International Olympic Committee gave heavy weight to U.N. Special Rapporteurs on questions relating to the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, and the IOC came in for some criticism in Alsalem’s report.

The IOC repeatedly rejected the notion of sex testing during Paris 2024, and in its November 2021 IOC Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Characteristics, called for preventing an athlete’s entry into a competition based on their self-determined gender identity only on the basis of research that shows a demonstrated advantage.

Alsalem is not herself a scientist, but she clearly endorsed (1) regulations which remove transgender women who have gone through male puberty, and (2) a change in the men’s category to “open.”

The IOC Framework also stated that an athlete not eligible to compete in the women’s category should “be allowed to participate in other disciplines and events fort which they are eligible, in the same gender category.” This is not where Alsalem comes down.

Alsalem did not deal at length with the questions of females with differences in sex development – such as South Africa’s two-time Olympic women’s 800 m champ Caster Semenya – but echoed an approach for more testing to determine if there was an advantage in a specific case. World Athletics would say that Semenya and others with hyperandrogenism have such an advantage.

This would be another study on the pile if it were not from a U.N. Special Rapporteur. It will be fascinating to see now how Alsalem’s report, and conclusions, are treated, especially concerning sex screening, as early as the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games.

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PANORAMA: Bill introduced for Congressional Gold Medals for “Miracle on Ice” team; World Boxing might be up to 58 members!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Defenseman Mike Ramsey handling the puck for the U.S. in the “Miracle on Ice” game from the 1980 Lake Placid Olympic Winter Games (Photo: Henry Zbyszynski via Wikipedia)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 1980: Lake Placid ● The “Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act” was unveiled on Tuesday, introduced by Republican representatives Pete Stauber (Minnesota) and Elise Stefanik (New York) and Democrats Bill Keating (Minnesota) and Mike Quigley (Illinois) to honor the American underdogs who won the 1980 Olympic ice hockey gold in Lake Placid.

In summary, the bill asks:

“To award 3 Congressional Gold Medals to the members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team, in recognition of their extraordinary achievement at the 1980 Winter Olympics where, being comprised of amateur collegiate players, they defeated the dominant Soviet hockey team in the historic ‘Miracle on Ice,’ revitalizing American morale at the height of the Cold War, inspiring generations and transforming the sport of hockey in the United States.”

Beyond awarding medals to the team members, the three medals would be distributed to the Lake Placid Olympic Center, the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, Minnesota and to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

A public sale is also authorized for bronze copies of the medals to the public.

The Congressional Gold Medal was first awarded in 1776 to General George Washington, and has been awarded 184 times. It is designated as the nation’s highest civilian honor, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which began in 1963.

● Olympic Winter Games 2030: French Alps ● In another demonstration of the expected continuity between the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the 2030 Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee appointed the head of the Paris 2024 Coordination Commission to continue for 2030: Belgian IOC member Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant.

The announcement noted:

“Through this experience, he has gained a deep knowledge of the French governance and sports system and has established excellent relations with the French authorities at all levels, the sports organisations, including the French National Olympic Committee (Comité National Olympique et Sportif Français – CNOSF), and society at large.”

The rest of the Commission will be appointed once the 2030 organizing committee is actually formed.

● Bobsled & Skeleton ● In what can only be considered bad news for the rest of the men’s bobsled world, Germany’s Johannes Lochner announced that at 33, he’s not done yet. He wrote on Instagram:

“Due to many requests, I am finally happy to officially announce that I will extend my bobsleigh career until the 2026 Olympic Games in Cortina.

“The new season is also just around the corner and I couldn’t be more positive about the future! With a fantastic team and outstanding old and new partners at my side, I’m ready to give everything for our dream of Olympic gold.”

Lochner won Olympic silvers at Beijing 2022 in the Two-Man and Four-Man sleds and owns five Worlds golds and a total of 15 Worlds medals of all colors (5-7-3). At the 2024 Worlds, he won the Two-Man bronze and the Four-Man silver.

German teammate Tina Hermann, 32, a seven-time Worlds Skeleton gold medalist, said she has retired from competition. A two-time World Cup seasonal winner, she was also a two-time Olympian, finishing fifth in PyeongChang in 2018 and fourth at Beijing 2022.

Australian skeleton star Jaclyn Narracott, 33, the 2022 Olympic silver medallist, also said she has retired. She was the first-ever Australian Olympic skeleton medal winner. She also won one World Cup race and finished with a World Championships best finish of 16th in 2015.

● Boxing ● Two-time unified professional boxing champion and Olympic silver Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin, now the head of the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan, addressed the Panam Sports General Assembly in Paraguay last week, urging support for the World Boxing group as the sport’s possible new governing body for Olympic boxing.

His goal, as the Chair of World Boxing’s Olympic Commission, is to promote membership, with the goal of recognition in 2025 by the IOC. He was assisted by Sports and Competition Committee Chair Hernan Salvo (ARG) and American Mike McAtee, the World Boxing Olympic Commission Secretary.

Golovkin’s presentation noted that 48 federations are now World Boxing members, with 10 more under review. In the Americas, there are 15 members of World Boxing, vs. 41 National Olympic Committees in Panam Sports, so there is considerable room to grow.

● Fencing ● “A German court has imposed an injunction against the dissemination of allegations by the leading German TV consortium ARD about a ‘system of bribing referees’ in the International Fencing Federation (FIE).”

That’s from a Federation Internationale d’Escrime (FIE) post on Tuesday, further explaining the FIE response after the allegations were aired on 4 August 2024:

“FIE President-elect Alisher Usmanov [RUS], who voluntarily suspended his duties in March 2022 due to EU sanctions and was named in the report as the ‘creator’ of this ‘system,’ filed a request for an injunction against WDR, a consortium member of ARD that disseminated the slanderous allegations, with the Hamburg Regional Court. The statements were banned by a decision of this court, which found them to be ‘inadmissible suspicion-based reporting.’ As a consequence of the ruling, they may no longer be reproduced or disseminated.”

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AQUATICS: World Aquatics reviewing own plan for “neutral” athletes in future, but events could overtake the idea

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ SPOTLIGHT ≡

SwimSwam.com reported on a revised policy being considered by World Aquatics for athletes from countries “during periods of conflict.”

World Aquatics followed the lead of the International Olympic Committee in prohibiting Russian and Belarusian entries in events after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 as “protective measures” for the sport and athletes concerned. Ultimately, there was one Russian swimmer and three Belarusian swimmers at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The new policy would be administered by the World Aquatics Bureau, “with the objectives of ensuring the integrity and security of sporting competitions and the overall respect for Athletes, World Aquatics and Olympic principles and values.” It also applies to event organizers.

Athletes from any member federations which is in a “nation in Conflict” would be subject to the policy. The question of which countries from “in Conflict” would be up to the eight-member World Aquatics Executive, a subset of the 40-member Bureau.

Participation would be allowed for athletes from in-conflict nations based on four qualifications:

● “2.1.1 Compliance with all World Aquatics Regulations;

● “2.1.2 No direct contractual relationship with any national security agencies or military associated with any government of a nation in Conflict;

● “2.1.3 No support for any Conflicts, including any form of verbal, non-verbal or written expression, explicit or implicit, for any types of political conflicts or war, in particular public statements, including those made in social media, participation in pro-conflict or pro-war demonstrations or events, and the wearing of any symbol in support for any types of political conflicts or war; and

● “2.1.4 Compliance with the Anti-Doping requirements set out below in Annex 1.”

This applies to swimming, diving, high diving and artistic swimming, but not water polo, considered a contact sport and therefore not eligible for participation for “nations in Conflict” athletes.

The review of athlete status from federations in “nations in Conflict” will be made by the Aquatics Integrity Unit (AQIU), upon application by athletes, coaches and other support staff.

If approved, the athlete would be considered a “neutral,” as was the case at Paris 2024 for Russia and Belarus, and would compete without uniform identification of insignia, flags or anthems at competitions. Athletes would be identified as “NA” and not with a national abbreviation.

A decision on “neutrality” by the AQIU is reviewable by appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 21 days.

Government or state officials from “nations in Conflict” will not be invited to or accredited for World Aquatics events. However, the policy does not require – or even mention – any suspension of the member federation in a “nation in Conflict.”

It appears that the World Aquatics Bureau has the authority to approve and implement this policy, without a vote of a World Aquatics Congress.

Observed: There are obvious parallels to the International Olympic Committee’s process for creating the Individual Neutral Athlete process for Paris 2024. However, the approach taken in this new document by World Aquatics raises significant questions for the near term.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is continuing without any indication of ending and will mark a sad third anniversary in February. At the same time, the Hamas invasion of Israel on 7 October 2023 sparked a strong response from Israel into Gaza – under Hamas rule – and now into Lebanon to fight Hezbollah, which like Hamas, is allied with Iran. Iran has struck Israel with missiles and Israel is expected to strike back, in its own way and time. The Houthi rebels in Yemen, also allied with Iran, have fired missiles into Israel as well.

It is not difficult to see that much of the Middle East could be “in conflict” within weeks if not months, and if the war there spreads, will larger actors also enter? How would the eight-member World Aquatics Executive deal with that?

These questions have to cloud the issue of any policy which deals with athletes from countries which are in a shooting war with others. It’s worth remembering that the IOC’s action against Russia and its ally Belarus in February 2022 came as a result of Russia’s violation of the Olympic Truce period. That’s not the trigger for World Aquatics in its new policy, simply a finding of the World Aquatics Executive that a nation is “in Conflict,” which is not defined.

A mess? Yes, the world today is a mess. World Aquatics appears to be trying to do the right thing by introducing a defined policy to deal with issues that go far beyond sport. But perhaps, for now, at the wrong time.

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PANORAMA: USATF Nationals in August 2025, latest in 57 years; IBA back to court vs. IOC; USSF fiscal-year revenue to top $200 million!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Russia ● The Russian news agency TASS reported information from the Russian Anti-Doping Agency that 27 cases of “whereabouts” failures were recorded in September.

This brings the total for the first nine months of 2024 to 221, close to the total for 2023 of 242, but down from the 2022 annual total of 375.

A “whereabouts” failure is recorded when an athlete is not where they said they would be for a doping control test, according to their listed schedule. Athletes subject to regular doping tests – usually national-class or world-class performers – are required to provide their “whereabouts” according to a monthly schedule, which can be continuously changed as needed. But athletes are responsible to indicate a specific time daily when they will be a specific location for a test.

Sanctions are only imposed if an athlete records three “whereabouts” failures during a 12-month period. The RUSADA report did not indicate the number of sanctions – if any – for “whereabouts” failures during 2024.

For comparison, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has imposed two sanctions for “whereabouts” failures in 2024 and had two in 2023.

● Athletics ● USA Track & Field announced the NBC broadcast schedule for 2025, on NBC and Peacock, with the usual seven meets from the past couple of years, but also revealing some unique timing:

● Indoor (3): New Balance Grand Prix on 2 February; Millrose Games on 8 February and the USATF Indoors on 23 February.

● Outdoor (4): L.A. Grand Prix on 8 June, NYC Grand Prix on 29 June, the Prefontaine Classic on 5 July and the USATF National Championships – again in Eugene – on Saturday and Sunday, 2-3 August.

The odd August timing of the USATF Nationals comes from the move of the World Athletics Championships to the end of the season, in September in Tokyo (JPN), and the designation of two World Athletics “national championships” windows in August. The 2-3 August dates are in the earlier window.

The August dates make 2025 the latest men’s nationals since 1930, held in Pittsburgh from 22-25 August, and the latest women’s nationals since 1968, held from 14-18 August in Aurora, Colorado. Wow. It also raises new questions for collegiate athletes, almost two months after the NCAA Championships will have concluded. 

Stunning news that 26-year-old Kenyan 800 m star Kipyegon Bett has passed away, on Sunday, after a short illness.

Bett’s sister, Purity Kurui, told the BBC that “He had been sick, complaining of stomach pains for about a month. The doctors said he had a liver problem and had been in and out of hospital.

“Last week we took him to hospital after he started vomiting blood and he was admitted. I went to see him [on Sunday] morning and he told me he was in pain.

“He told our dad, who is a pastor, to pray for him because he didn’t feel he would survive and after 12 noon he died. We tried everything to save him, but he left us. It’s very painful.”

Bett was the World U-20 gold medalist in 2016 and the Worlds 800 m bronze winner in 2017; he had a best of 1:43.76 from 2016. But he was banned for four years in 2018 for erythropoietin (EPO).

Another honor for Olympic 100 m champ Noah Lyles, as the Atlas Brew Works in Lyles’ hometown of Alexandria, Virginia created a special release called the “Noah Lyles 100 m Golden Ale.” Per the brewery:

“Named for Alexandria’s hometown Olympic hero, the Noah Lyles 100m Golden Ale has subtle hints of melon and strawberry. Stop into the taproom to honor the fastest man in the world with this 4.1% ABV drinkable delight before it’s gone.”

● Boxing ● In an odd post, the International Boxing Association is headed back to court to try and stop the International Olympic Committee from its latest salvo concerning Olympic boxing:

“On 26 August, the IBA submitted a formal complaint to the Swiss Competition Commission, accusing the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of unfairly dominating the global market for organizing and marketing the Olympic Games.

“The IOC is using its influence to prevent boxers from participating in the Olympics if their National Federation is affiliated with IBA, which violates fair competition standards under Swiss law. The IOC’s recent actions further emphasize this issue. It has pressured National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to exclude IBA-affiliated National Federations from their membership and restrict any formal relations between the NOCs and these Federations. IBA argues that this behaviour is unlawful and has raised it with the Swiss Competition Commission, adding to previous legal concerns.

“In response to this situation, IBA invites all its National Federations to join in legal action against the IOC in Switzerland. By working together, we can increase our chances of ending this pressure from both the IOC and the NOCs.”

Observed: This message was posted today (7th), referring to a 26 August filing, but actually protesting a letter sent by the IOC to the National Olympic Committees on 30 September!

In any case, as the IOC is the creator and total owner of the Olympic Games, it will be an uphill climb to convince a Swiss Commission that it cannot choose who should organize its sports competitions.

● Football ● As part of its strategic focus for the 2023-2027 quadrennial, FIFA included in its objectives more Olympic expansion, for women and for more forms of football:

“FIFA intends to make recommendations to the International Olympic Committee to change the format of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament at the Olympic Games, namely concerning an increase in the number of teams from the current 12 teams to 16 teams, to mirror the men’s tournament.

“Given participation levels worldwide, FIFA will also propose that both futsal and beach soccer be considered as distinct football disciplines at the Olympic Games going forward.”

The expansion of the women’s tournament to have the same number of teams as men makes sense, but will be a challenge for Los Angeles in 2028 given the existing expansion of the program to 35 or 36 sports and already well beyond the targeted 10,500 athlete limit.

Futsal – indoor football, with five-player teams – and beach soccer cannot be admitted until the 2032 Brisbane Games at the earliest.

New U.S. men’s National Team coach Mauricio Pochettino (ARG) announced the hire of four assistant coaches, all of whom have worked with him previously: Jesus Perez (ESP), Miguel d’Agostino (ARG), Toni Jimenez (ESP) and his son, Sebastiano Pochettino.

All four were with Pochettino at his prior coaching stop at Chelsea.

In an interview with The Athletic, U.S. Soccer’s commercial chief, David Wright, said the organization – the richest of all the U.S. National Governing Bodies – will bring in about $110 million in sponsorship sales as of the end of its 31 March 2024 fiscal year. The current USSF list shows 13 sponsors and partners, led by Volkswagen.

This is a big increase from the $32 million it received from its partnership with Soccer United Marketing, which ended in December 2021. Wright said the USSF is expecting total revenue for the 2023-24 fiscal year of about $200 million, its highest ever.

● Swimming ● The induction ceremonies for the Class of 2024 for the International Swimming Hall of Fame took place on Saturday (5th) in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with 12 inductees from seven countries.

Of special note was the 1976 U.S. Olympic women’s 4×100 m Freestyle team of Shirley Babashoff, Wendy Boglioli, Kim Peyton and Jill Sterkel, which upset the doped-up East German team in a world-record 3:44.82. The DDR won 10 of the 11 women’s individual events and 11 of 13 overall, later shown to be powered by a frighteningly thorough  state-run doping program.

Among the other inductees: Americans Dana Vollmer, a butterfly star who won five Olympic golds in 2012 and 2016 and Worlds golds in 2007-11-13; coach Dennis Pursley, the U.S. National Team director from 1989-2003, and long-time administrator and World Aquatics Treasurer Dale Neuburger. A special news media awarded was presented to long-time ABC and NBC Olympic Games producer Peter Diamond. 

World Aquatics shared its 2024 support program reach, with $4.493 million invested in 621 projects by 169 national federations, that reached 395,603 swimmers at 1,674 events. An additional $1.46 million was provided to assist athlete participation in major meets this year.

Coaching involvement reached 22,912 and there were 18,806 swimming officials involved.

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LOS ANGELES 2028: War of words heats up on “car-free” 2028 Olympics plan, from Orange County Supervisor: activist “pipe dream”

By
Rich Perelman
-
An RTD bus in downtown Los Angeles in 1983, backbone of the spectator transit service at the 1984 Olympic Games (Photo: Metro Library Archive).

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

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

Harsh words seem to be the norm in the Olympic Movement today. Between the International Olympic Committee and Russia, the IOC and the International Boxing Association, World Athletics and Russia and the World Anti-Doping Agency and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the New York Times and others, just to name a few.

Now you can add in the Chair of the Orange County Board of Supervisors in California, aiming at the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, known as Metro.

In an editorial posted on Friday, O.C. Supervisor Donald Wagner – formerly a California State Assemblyman and the Mayor of Irvine – blasted the current transit concept for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles:

● “In only four short years, the Olympics come to LA, meaning Mayor [Karen] Bass and the Olympic organizers have just four years to transform Los Angeles into a metropolis fit for the international attention brought by the Olympics. That seems like a big task for a city whose failed governance leaves it with rampant crime, homelessness, congestion, crumbling infrastructure, business and regulatory nightmares, and tax and budget shortfalls.

“The LA solution: a ‘car-free’ Olympics!

“Personal vehicles will not be allowed at Olympic venues. Private parking will simply not be available. Don’t even think about driving to an event.”

● “I serve on the board of the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA). We recently received a report from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority admitting that it will miss the ’28 deadline for 10 of the 28 projects. Only five have so far been completed in the past six years of planning.

“Bass does not let this diminish her enthusiasm for a car-free Games. She promises that LA will purchase or borrow and then deploy 3,000 buses. I can’t imagine at what cost, both financial to Los Angeles, but also on other transportation agencies like OCTA and the people they serve around the country.

“That is a mammoth, market-warping diversion of resources – 3,000 buses – to just one city. Other places like Orange County can well expect to feel the pain caused by such a market disrupting force.”

Wagner’s prediction:

“Given the city’s deep-rooted car culture, the lack of public transit infrastructure, the long commutes that residents have come to accept as normal, and the sheer physical safety concerns, local residents will likely skip the Games rather than abandon their vehicles.

“Public transportation cannot rise to the occasion, as the LA Metro report frankly admits, leaving a potentially miserable experience for out-of-town visitors and a very bad lasting image for Los Angeles and the Olympics organizers. At least Orange County had nothing to do with these bad decisions, even if we will feel some of the consequences.

“A car-free Olympics was always an enviro-activist pipe dream.”

Observed: Wagner is trying too hard, and the ultimate success or failure of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic transit system won’t be settled for a long time to come.

We have seen this before. The same calamity was predicted for the 1984 Games in Los Angeles and transportation went far more smoothly than had been predicted. This was due to multiple factors, and efforts by the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, the Southern California Rapid Transit District (the old name for Metro) and many others:

● Close attention was paid to those venues and specific days which were subject to significant congestion, especially in and around downtown Los Angeles. The RTD set up six special park-and-ride lots and two more shuttle lots, and the instructions delivered with tickets – paper tickets then – STRONGLY encouraged $6-each-way bus use to actually arrive at the Exposition Park and USC area for track & field, boxing, swimming, diving and synchronized swimming.

● Special services were set up for UCLA, which had one of the Olympic Villages, but was also the site of gymnastics. The LAOOC offered its own shuttle services at a few venues which were not usually used for spectator events, such as at Coto de Caza for modern pentathlon and for the shooting venue in Chino. At the rowing and canoeing venue at Lake Casitas, preference was given to vehicles with 12 or more passengers, encouraging vanpools.

● For the other venues, where parking was not expected to be a significant problem, bus information was available, but no special pressure was exerted on ticket holders.

Most of the venues that will be used for 2028 – not all – are existing spectator event sites which handle crowds and parking issues year-round. They already know what will be required to make their sites work. This is a vastly underestimated aspect of the 2028 venue plan.

The Los Angeles bid for the 2024 Games, shifted to 2028, was not conditioned on any new transportation programs being introduced by Metro. There were none in 1984, but the RTD reported it added 500 buses to its fleet. What is needed is coordination between agencies and good communications with the public and especially with ticket holders.

As for Metro, L.A. City Council member Katy Yaroslavsky offered a true perspective into the opportunity that the 2028 Olympic Games offers to Metro. At a March 2024  meeting of the Metro Board, she explained:

“I’m thinking about 2028 as the drop-dead deadline for accelerating all the work we want to do.

“It’s also an excuse to go after federal funding and state dollars in a way we might not otherwise be able to do, and in my mind, a lot of that is going to be around first-mile, last-mile, delivering our priority transit projects, ensuring we’re not using dirty diesel buses for the Olympics, and, most paramount of all, of course, is housing for our unhoused population.”

That’s about Metro and the City of Los Angeles, not about the Games. The Games can be handled, and the question of how many cars parked where will go unquestioned and unremembered if the overall system works well.

As for pipe dreams, it’s already sure that pipe smoking will not be allowed at any 2028 Olympic or Paralympic venue.

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ATHLETICS: Two-time World Champion Schippers now meet director for 2025 European Indoors in Apeldoorn

By
Rich Perelman
-
Two-time World women’s 200 m champ and now European Indoors meet director Dafne Schippers (Photo: Future Green City)

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≡ SPOTLIGHT ≡

What do you do for an encore, after winning two World Championships golds in the women’s 200 m, an Olympic silver and 22 national titles?

How about becoming a meet director?

That’s where Dutch sprint star Dafne Schippers, 32, is now, after retiring in 2023 following several years of injuries. She won the women’s Worlds 200 m in 2017 and 2019, an Olympic women’s 200 m silver in 2016 and 10 European Championships medals from 2014-19.

Now she’s running meets instead of running in them. She explained what she wants for the athletes who compete:

● “What I have always found very important is the peace and quiet in the call room. Everything has to run smoothly there and it shouldn’t be too busy. That means that the volunteers need to be well instructed but also that you shouldn’t be too strict with the rules.

“Especially at indoor competitions it is often quite confusing because many athletes are doing their warm-up at the same time in a small space. The different routes at the venues have to be very clear to everyone. We have to deal with this in a good way in Apeldoorn too, to ensure that there is as little stress as possible for everyone. It is really nice that European Athletics has agreed to start the event on Thursday evening so that the programme is a little less packed.”

● “Some organisers do not understand how important good food is for athletes to perform. But if there is one thing I am not worried about at a European Athletics Championships in the Netherlands, it’s the quality of the hotels and the meals.

“If something does not go quite as planned, we will be able to make adjustments quite quickly. I am approachable, I am close to the athletes and if possible I will arrange it, because we want to offer quality. The lines of communication are short.”

She reflected on the sudden change she went through in 2024 after competing at a world-class level since 2012:

● “For the last 15 years, my life was pretty much fixed with the same daily routines of training and competition. Every year, together with my coach, we set goals; these were the major events that you had in mind every day.

“Once you have to decide to stop performing at this top level, like I unfortunately had to do a year ago, you don’t immediately fill up those days with something new. And I didn’t want that either. I was looking for time and space to discover this new and different world.”

● “And this summer I was lucky to have had those opportunities. I was really thrown in at the deep end, both on radio and TV and also in different roles: commentator, interviewer and analyst. I sometimes thought: I can’t do this at all. But luckily I had experienced people next to me and your English doesn’t have to be perfect. It was really cool to get those opportunities.”

She also learned about being a member of the media instead of being the athlete: “I know that I could be quite grumpy myself sometimes when I had to speak to the press in the mixed zone after competition. But I also know that it is not always easy to have to answer questions ten minutes after finishing, while the adrenaline is still pumping out of your ears. Those are really difficult situations.”

All of that should help prepare Schippers for her role in Apeldoorn, working with Amy Kortbeek of the Dutch Athletics Federation. The European Indoors – a meet she competed in four times – is from 6-9 March 2025.

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ATHLETICS: Ohanian calls out Grand Slam Track for requiring permission “to compete in other leagues”

By
Rich Perelman
-
Host John Anderson and Grand Slam Track founder Michael Johnson at the 18 June launch event (Grand Slam Track video screenshot)

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

The Athlos NYC meet in New York on 26 September was a compact showcase for women’s track & field, with 36 athletes in six events and lots of fireworks, interviews and razzle-dazzle, followed by a Megan Thee Stallion concert.

It drew respectably, with about 4,000 fans at Icahn Stadium and more on online platforms: viewing peaked on YouTube during the meet at about 5,000, and on X (ex-Twitter) after the final event – the women’s 200 m – at 116,500.

Meet promoter – and Reddit co-founder – Alexis Ohanian was excited about the reception for the first-time event, but has demurred on specific plans for 2025 and whether he plans to expand the concept.

But he took exception on X (ex-Twitter) last week about a competition restriction in the forthcoming Grand Slam Track project to debut in 2025:

“hey @MJGold [Michael Johnson] I loved seeing you + @BillAckman fast follow @ATHLOS by launching @GrandSlamTrack (great to see more people investing in athletics!), but it’s disappointing you’re requiring these women to get permission from you & Bill in order to compete in other leagues. It’s not very athlete-friendly.”

He added in subsequent posts (shown as posted):

● “You’re an Olympic legend and I hope you’ll reconsider. It’s so much better for the sport to give these women more options and not fewer – especially while it’s still so under-invested-in.”

● “I personally see prohibiting athletes from competing in another league as a sign of weakness. Great ideas should win in the freemarket. I can’t fathom putting in the reddit terms of service ‘you must ask our permission before making a Digg account.’”

No response as yet from Johnson, Ackman or Grand Slam Track, which is a totally different concept; Ohanian’s cheeky chide about following his idea to support track & field is silly as Johnson has been drumming up support for his Grand Slam Track concept for a couple of years.

But Ohanian’s comment is the first notice about competition restrictions in Grand Slam Track contracts:

● Ohanian’s Athlos NYC meet was a one-day event with six events only, so it’s hardly another league. Grand Slam Track itself is only four events per year, with one meet to be in Los Angeles and three elsewhere; no dates have been given, with the series to start in 2025.

● Johnson was asked at the June launch of his project about his four-event program will fit in with the existing Diamond League, World Athletics Continental League and other meets. He explained:

“There has not been a specific league for the best-of-the-best athletes. … The true fastest athletes deserve their own league, and that doesn’t exist. And that’s what this is.

“This can sit alongside everything else that exists in the sport. There is a need for those races within the sport, but for these athletes, there’s also a need – the best of the best – to have their own league.”

The 2024 track & field season is over and the indoor season is three months away; Johnson has promised more information about the Grand Slam Track schedule and locations. But the Diamond League schedule is out, with 15 meets strewn over 18 weeks from the end of April through the end of August, creating potential conflicts.

One more factor to consider: athletes earn World Athletics world ranking points for placements in the Diamond League and Continental Tour, an inducement to compete in those meets, but generally needed only if an athlete has not reached a qualifying standard in an event. As the qualifying standards gets harder and harder, will conflicts between the Grand Slam Track events – for which no world-ranking points will be given – and other meets create difficulties for some athletes for reaching the World Athletics Championships?

For now, this is all hypothetical and clever scheduling by Grand Slam Track can avoid any and all issues. But with competition restrictions part of the Grand Slam Track agreements – according to Ohanian – there is a whole new set of questions to ask about next season.

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CALIFORNIA: New LA84 Foundation “Play Equity” survey reports just 34% of children are in sports or fitness action five times a week

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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≡ SPOTLIGHT ≡

A first-of-its-kind survey found that in California, only a third of children aged 6-17 are getting the daily fitness activity recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.

The LA84 Foundation, whose mission as the recipient of $93 million from the 1984 Olympic Games surplus was originally “to put bats and balls in the hands of boys and girls,” has shifted to emphasizing a broader approach of “play equity.”

It commissioned a survey in the state of California to determine the actual status of sports and fitness activity children – aged 6-17 – are getting by the time most are finishing high school. The 2024 California Play Equity Report offered the results, which were not good:

“Only one-third (34%) of children engage in active play, movement, or physical activity five or more times per week. Thus, the majority of California youth – nearly two-thirds (66%) – are failing to meet the CDC’s recommendation of 60 minutes of daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.”

There were marked differences in activity times between boys and girls:

Boys:
● 38% play 4+ days per week
● 32% play 3-4 days per week
● 29% play less than 3 times per week

Girls:
● 30% play 4+ times per week
● 27% play 3-4 times per week
● 41% play less than 3 times per week

Differences were shown by ethnic group as well:

Play 4+ times per week:
● 48% of whites
● 40% of Asian American/Pacific Islanders
● 29% of Black/African American
● 24% of Latinos

Play 3-4 times per week:
● 33% of Black/African American
● 33% of Latinos
● 26% of Asian American/Pacific Islander
● 25% of whites

Play less than 3 times per week:
● 40% of Latinos
● 38% of Black/African American
● 35% of Asian American/Pacific Islander
● 26% of whites

There was also a significant difference by region within the state:

Frequency of play (4x+/week ~ 3-4x/week ~ <3x/week):
● 46% – 24% – 29% in Rural North
● 37% – 27% – 35% in Central Valley
● 35% – 28% – 36% in Central Coast
● 35% – 28% – 35% in Los Angeles area
● 34% – 31% – 33% in San Francisco Bay area
● 33% – 29% – 35% in Sacramento area
● 33% – 33% – 32% in lower Southern California
● 28% – 30% – 41% in San Bernardino-Riverside counties

Why is this? One culprit often mentioned is the lack of physical education classes in schools today. However, the study noted that while 76% of children are enrolled in physical education classes, they aren’t held daily. In some cases, only 1-2 times per week.

Yet, “structured play” was recognized as one of the best ways to be exposed to more sports. Outside of school play, the question of access based on income arises. The survey found:

Participation in structured play outside of school:
● 38% for households earning $30,000 or less
● 39% for those earning $30-50,000
● 46% for those earning $50-75,000
● 65% for those earning $75-100,000
● 62% for those earning more than $100,000

Exacerbating the problem is that children are simply dropping out of sports. The survey found that 30% of California children (6-17) have quit playing sports over the last two years. The primary reasons cited by parents in the survey:

● 54% said time commitment
● 53% said loss of interest
● 43% said not fun any more
● 32% said friends quit
● 31% said excessive competitiveness

And 63% of parents said that the cost of supporting their kids in sports was an issue, along with transportation (36%), lack of availability of after-school child care (37%) and lack of opportunities in the local area (38%).

As for solutions, the study stated:

“[P]arents near-unanimously (95%) believe it is important for the State of California to provide full funding for youth sports, P.E., and structured play, and an overwhelming majority of parents (86%) support more funding at the state and local level for play equity.”

Now we’re into the politics, an area where the LA84 Foundation has been taking the lead, but competes with dozens of other priorities with legislators and school districts.

The survey itself included 1,636 California households, selected by geographic area, with school-aged children (ages 6-17), conducted from 1-14 May 2024, representing more than 2,686 children.

Taken as a baseline report on where physical activity in California is today, the report can be a lever for more attention to this issue, but the politics of money, schools and needs are not for the feint of heart. But this is a step forward, and in the context of a foundation built on one of the most inspiring sports events of all – the Olympic Games – another legacy of LA84.

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PANORAMA: LA84 political star Kindel passes at 86; more Kenyan doping; Watson, Grossman win season sport climbing titles

By
Rich Perelman
-
American Natalia Grossman, the 2024 IFSC World Cup Boulder seasonal champion (Photo: Sebastian Nanco).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 1984: Los Angeles ● One of the powerhouses of civic life in Los Angeles has passed, as Maureen Kindel died on 26 September at age 86.

She was a key member of the Board of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for the 1984 Olympic Games, working primarily behind the scenes to maintain political support for the Games, especially in the early days when there was considerable doubt that the event would succeed without public funding.

The 1984 Games, of course, was the pivot point for the Olympic Movement and finished with a stunning surplus of $232.5 million. Kindel continued as a charter Board member of the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles, now known as the LA84 Foundation, which received 40% of that surplus, and continued serving until her passing.

If you were involved in civic life in Los Angeles, you knew Maureen Kindel, and it was even better if she knew you. Beyond serving on countless committees and boards, alternately charming and commanding, she was the consummate L.A. insider as the founder of two public affairs firms, Rose & Kindel in 1987 and Kindel Gagan in 2010.

She was a close adviser to Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and was appointed as the President of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works. Originally from New York, she moved to Los Angeles in 1971 and the city was never the same.

● Athletics ● More doping news from the Athletics Integrity Unit, as Kenya’s Emmaculate Anyango Achol, 24, the fourth-place finisher at the 2024 women’s World Cross Country Championships, was provisionally suspended for use of Testosterone and Erythropoietin (EPO).

She’s no. 2 all-time on the road 10 km list at 28:57 in Valencia (ESP) last January.

Ethiopian men’s marathoner Yimer Bililign (2:18:47 in 2024) was banned for two years from 6 September 2024 for use of Prednisolone and Prednisone).

● Curling ● Yes, winter is coming. The Grand Slam of Curling opened with the Tour Challenge in Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island (CAN), with Scotland’s 2023 World Champion, Bruce Mouat winning the final by 10-3 over the rink of Canada’s Brad Gushue, the 2006 Olympic gold medalist.

It was a 5-3 match until the seventh end, but Mouat’s five scores in that end closed the door.

Two-time Worlds bronze medalist Kerri Einarson led her rink to a tight, 5-4, win in the women’s final against fellow Canadian (and two-time World Champion) Rachel Homan. Down 3-1 at the end of four, Einarson’s rink managed a point in the fifth and two in the sixth to take a 4-3 lead. Homan tied it in the seventh, but Einarson managed a final-end point to get her first Tier One victory at the Tour Challenge.

● Cycling ● At the season-ending UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, South Africa’s Paris bronze winner Alan Hatherly won his second race of the season, finishing in 1:26:56, a full 30 seconds ahead of France’s Mathis Azzaro (1:27:26). Third was Paris runner-up Victor Koretzky (FRA: 1:27:44).

Hatherly won the seasonal title at 1,678 points, ahead of Koretzky (1,359) and Filippo Colombo (SUI: 1,229).

Koretzky and Azzaro were 1-2 in the Short Track race in 21:25 and 21:26, with Hatherly third in 21:31.

France’s Loana Lecomte, the 2022 European champ, won her second XCO race of the 2024 series in 1:19:01, nine seconds up on Laura Stigger (AUT: 1:19:10). Swiss Sina Frei was a distant third in 1:20:20.

Frei won the Short Track race in 21:53, just a second up on Lecomte (21:54), with Evie Richards (GBR: 21:55) in third.

Australia’s seven-time Worlds medal winner Troy Brosnan and France’s Marine Cabirou won the Downhill finals.

● Equestrian ● At the FEI League of Nations Final in Barcelona (ESP), Germany repeated its 2023 win in the then “Nations Cup” competition, taking a tight battle with the Netherlands, 12 faults to 16.

Andre Thieme, Olympic Jumping champ Christian Kukuk and Richard Vogel had no faults in the first round and Thieme (4) and Kukuk (8) had second-round penalties, but that was enough to win. Sweden finished third with 20 total faults.

The U.S. was sixth (28) with Spencer Smith, Lucy Davis Kennedy, Aaron Vale and Alex Matz.

It’s the third win all-time for Germany and they are the first to post a repeat triumph.

● Figure Skating ● Canadian ice dancer Nikolaj Sorensen, 35, has been suspended by the International Skating Union as of Friday, after being “informed by Skate Canada of the sanction listed in the Abuse-Free Sport Registry concerning Canadian National Team athlete Nikolaj Soerensen, and it is taking all the necessary measures to comply with the decision of ineligibility for an indefinite period.”

Skate Canada listed Sorensen as indefinitely suspended for a minimum of six years from 2 October, after he was penalized for “sexual maltreatment” by the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner.

Sorensen is alleged to have assaulted an American coach and skater in 2012, which he has denied. Sorenson was still competing with long-time dance partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry, winning the Four Continents silver medal in 2023 and 2024.

● Gymnastics ● Sweden’s Tonya Paulsson won two events and earned a silver on a third at the final leg of the FIG World Challenge Cup series, in Szombathely (HUN). Paulsson won on Beam at 12.966 and on Floor at 12.933, and was just behind Britain’s Charlotte Booth, 13.266 to 13.033, on the Uneven Bars. Darya Yassinskaya (KAZ) took the Vault at 13.166.

In the men’s competitions, home favorite – and two-time European Floor medalist – Krisztofer Meszaros (HUN) was also a two-event winner, taking the Floor Exercise at 14.433, and the Horizontal Bar at 13.900.

Italy went 1-2 on the Pommel Horse with Edoardo de Rosa (15.133) and Gabriele Targhetta (14.933), and de Rosa returned to win the Parallel Bars at 14.233. Nikola Simonov (AZE) won on Rings at 14.700, and Assan Salimov (KAZ) took the Vault at 14.300.

● Sport Climbing ● The IFSC World Cup of 2024 closed out in Seoul (KOR), with both event and seasonal titles on the line.

In Boulder, Anastasia Sanders of the U.S. claimed her first World Cup win with a 3T4Z ~ 7/13 performance in the final, ahead of Zelia Avezou (FRA: 3T4Z ~ 9/7). Fellow American Natalia Grossman was fourth (2T4Z ~ 5/5), but won the seasonal title with 2,610 points.

Korea’s Do-hyun Lee won his second straight Boulder World Cup, winning a difficult event at 2T2Z ~ 4/4 over Maximillian Milne (GBR: 2T2Z ~ 4/5). Olympic Combined silver medalist Sorato Anraku (JPN) was the seasonal winner with 3,365 points.

China’s Xinshang Wang won the men’s Speed final, 6.23-10.60 over Amir Maimuratov (KAZ), but American Sam Watson, the Olympic bronze winner, got the season’s win with 3,185 points. Yufei Zhou of China won the women’s final in Seoul, timing 6.78 to 8.08 for Rajiah Sallsabillah (INA). But Olympic silver winner Lijuan Deng (CHN) took the season title at 2,845.

In Lead, Japan’s Anraku won the men’s final at 45+, just ahead of Lee based on their semi-final scores. Britain’s Olympic Combined champ Toby Roberts won the season’s title at 3,380.

Austria’s Jessica Pilz, the Paris women’s Combined silver winner, took the Seoul women’s finale by 48-46 for Japan’s Ai Mori, and won the seasonal crown, 3,220 to 3,000 over Olympic champ Janja Garnbret (SLO).

● Table Tennis ● As expected, host China dominated the WTT China Smash in Beijing, with Shidong Lin scoring a come-from-behind upset over two-time Olympic men’s Singles champ Long Ma in the men’s final by 4-3 (11-4, 7-11, 5-11, 13-15, 11-4, 11-5, 11-8).

China had all 10 finalists in the event. Olympic runner-up Yingsha Sun lived up to her top seeding and won the women’s title, 4-2, over Manyu Wang (11-6, 12-14, 11-4, 6-11, 11-8, 11-7).

Fourth-seeds Jingkun Liang and Chuqin Wang won the men’s Doubles over top-seeded Gaoyuan Lin and Shidong Lin, 3-2, and no. 6 seeds Tianyi Qian and Xingtong Chen won the women’s Doubles against Yidi Wang and Sun, 3-1. Second seeds Lin and Man Kaui won the Mixed Doubles with a 3-1 victory against Gaoyuan Lin and Yidi Wang.

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LOS ANGELES 2028: New poll shows 67.7% in L.A. County excited for 2028 Games in Los Angeles

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

It’s an election year and a good time for pollsters, including a California Elections and Policy Poll conducted by a tri-university group from Cal Poly Pomona, Long Beach State and the University of Southern California.

The poll was taken from 12-25 September and included 1,685 likely voters across the state of California, with 311 in Los Angeles County. Those 311 voters were asked two questions related to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles:

Q1: “How excited are you about the Los Angeles region hosting the 2028 Summer Olympics?”

● 33.3%: Very excited
● 34.4%: Somewhat excited (67.7% total)
● 8.0%: Somewhat not excited
● 21.2%: Not very excited (29.2% total)
● 3.2%: Don’t know

With just 311 responses, the margin of error is 5.6%, but there is no doubt of the overall positive view of the 2028 Games. The details of the responses showed that the positive view of the 2028 Games was essentially equally shared by men and women, and by all age groups.

The splits by race and ethnicity showed strong enthusiasm among Asian likely voters (66.8%), among Latinos (73.4%) and whites (67.4%), with the least positivity among Blacks (50.9%).

The responses are quite a bit happier than the last major local poll asking about the Games, a Suffolk University poll in conjunction with the Los Angeles Times in March 2023, of 500 respondents. It showed:

● 27.0%: Very excited
● 29.8%: Somewhat excited (56.8% total)
● 15.4%: Not very excited
● 25.2%: Not at all excited (40.6% total)
● 2.6%: Undecided to refused to answer

A national poll of 1,000 Americans from July 2023 from the Commission on the State of the U.S. Olympics & Paralympics asked whether having the 2028 Games in the U.S. will have a positive or negative impact were strongly positive:

● 78%: Positive or Somewhat Positive
● 15%: No impact
● 4%: Negative or Somewhat Negative
● 3%: Not Sure

The second question concerned transportation and the promise of a “car-free Games”:

Q2: “Los Angeles will host the Olympics in 2028. Public officials have promised a car-free Olympics in order to allow for athletes and others to travel around the region easily to Olympic events. How feasible is a car-free Olympics in 2028?”

● 9.3%: Very feasible
● 22.9%: Somewhat feasible (32.2% total)
● 17.6%: Somewhat unfeasible
● 46.2%: Very unfeasible (63.8% total)
● 4.0%: Don’t know

Both men and women and all of the age groups split out in the survey had majorities who thought the idea was somewhat or very unfeasible. Same for all four ethnic groups surveyed.

Interestingly, the split by income showed that those making less than $50,000 annually had 62.0% saying a “car-free Games” was feasible, while those from $50-100,000 had 68.3% saying it was not feasible and 68.2% of those from $100,000 and saying it was not feasible.

There’s a lot more work that will be needed to convince people on this one.

The overall popularity of the 2028 Olympic Games has been a constant in Southern California since the success of the 1984 Olympic Games and is continuing, with an uptick in this new poll, taken following the successful Paris Games. That’s a good thing for both the LA28 organizers and the City of Los Angeles, whose own policies will become ever more closely scrutinized as the Games come closer.

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PANORAMA: Valieva’s Swiss appeal dismissed; Cortina Mayor worries about 2026 debts; IBA rails against IOC “interference” in boxing

By
Rich Perelman
-
Hayward Field in Eugene will now host the 2025-26-27-28 NCAA Division I track & field championships, after hosting 10 of the last 15.

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2004: Athens ● The 20th anniversary of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens was celebrated at the Hellenic Olympic Committee on Wednesday (2nd), with HOC President Spyros Capralos opining:

“The Athens 2004 Olympic Games were much more than a sporting event. They proved to the world that Greece, a small country, could host a world scale event and unforgettable Games, overcoming numerous challenges. It was a collective effort, a moment when we united under a common vision to showcase our country’s greatness and commitment to the Olympic values of peace, friendship, and solidarity.”

The Athens Games was a success, but with considerable drama ahead of time and with venue construction and preparation in doubt until the final days before the opening. And it was costly:

“Nikos Vettas, General Director of the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE), presented key findings from a study conducted 10 years after the Games, highlighting the economic impact:

“‘Public spending on the Olympic projects amounted to €6.5 billion, with additional related expenses bringing the total to €8 billion. The overall budget of the Games was €2 billion, with the state contributing 240 million euros. In the end, a surplus of 120 million euros from the Olympic Games was returned, so the actual cost to the state was just over 100 million euros.’”

Translation: the Athens Games cost the country more than €8.12 billion, and the expenditures further exacerbated Greece’s annual deficits, which increased from €9.847 billion in 2002 to €14.009 billion in 2003 and €17.101 billion in 2004. But the Games were held.

● Olympic Winter Games 2022: Beijing ● The Russian news agency TASS reported that the appeal by Russian skater Kamila Valieva to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, aiming to reverse her disqualification for doping at the 2022 Winter Games was dismissed. In a statement, the Swiss Court explained:

“The Swiss Federal Supreme Court has decided to dismiss the appeal against the earlier ruling. The court’s decision is being communicated to the parties and to [the Court of Arbitration for Sport].”

Valieva’s appeal claimed that the Court of Arbitration for Sport did not have jurisdiction, and that her status as a minor – age 15 at the time of the doping test on 25 December 2021 – and a “protected person” under the World Anti-Doping Code was not respected.

Valieva was suspended for four years for doping in January 2024, with the suspension running from 25 December 2021.

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● The Rome daily Il Fatto Quotidiano – The Daily Fact – reported a Wednesday meeting with the Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abodi and Cortina d’Ampezzo Mayor Gianluca Lorenzi and Veneto Governor Luca Zaia concerning possible debts from the 2026 Winter Games.

With the ticket sales program just beginning and continuing worry over the domestic sponsorship program, Lorenzi is looking ahead to what might be required if the Milan Cortina organizing committee runs a deficit. In that case, the signatories to the hosting agreement with the IOC would be liable, including Milan and Cortina, the Lombardy and Veneto regions, the provinces of Trento and Bolzano, as well as the Italian National Olympic Committee and the Paralympic Committee.

Lorenzi wants the Italian government to be the guarantor, explaining, “This game is not easy: we are trying to ensure that the national government enters in a preponderant manner, to put us in a state of comfort.” Meanwhile, the government expects the organizing committee to meet its performance requirements, in which case there should not be a deficit.

● Athletics ● “This week, the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Africa Office Director, Rodney Swigelaar, met with the Government of Kenya Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports, the Hon. Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen, in Nairobi to discuss matters related to strengthening the program of the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK).

“During the meeting, Mr. Murkomen provided assurances that his Ministry would continue efforts to ensure that the annual budget of ADAK reflects the country’s ongoing commitment to clean sport.”

That’s from the World Anti-Doping Agency, responding to the dramatic, 90% cut in the budget of the Anti-Doping Agency Kenya (ADAK) recently reported. Swigelaar said:

“[T]he Cabinet Secretary acknowledged the seriousness of the situation and committed to address ADAK’s pressing financial situation urgently. The anticipated review of the current financial commitment to anti-doping in Kenya, should enable ADAK to implement all the corrective actions within specified deadlines and ensure the continuation of its clean sport program.”

Kenya has been under pressure to curb a rash of doping positives in track & field and is the leading nation in terms of the number of persons on the “ineligible” list maintained by the Athletics Integrity Unit.

The NCAA announced that the 2028 Division I track & field finals will once again be held at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.

From 2010 on, Eugene will have held the meet 14 times in 19 years, through 2028, which will be the fifth in a row there.

● Boxing ● As expected, the International Boxing Association reacted furiously to the International Olympic Committee’s Monday letter telling National Olympic Committees to ignore a member boxing federation if it is affiliated with the IBA. The IBA statement included:

“The letter sent to all National Olympic Committees (NOCs) on 30 September is a testament to the IOC’s outrageous political games; … this [is] deeply disappointing, and on the verge of sporting blackmail.”

and

“We urge our National Federations to remain calm, and not to follow these ‘gaslighting’ intentions of the IOC, who wants to damage boxing. With an attempt to influence members behind the scenes, is not the way we would expect this organisation to operation.”

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INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: Samaranch, Coe, Watanabe all talking in advance of March Presidential election

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

The International Olympic Committee will meet next March to select a new President for the organization, with seven declared candidates. The IOC’s election regulations do not allow for advertising and even much travel to talk to other members, but there is no limit on interviews.

So, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (GBR), long-time member Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. (ESP), and Federation Internationale de Gymnastique Morinari Watanabe (JPN) have all been chatting with news media.

Coe spoke to Japan’s Kyodo News principally about the 2025 World Athletics Championships, coming to Tokyo once again, this time with fans to be allowed in the new National Stadium, after the pandemic forced the Tokyo 2020 Games to held without spectators.

“My expectations are high. I want them to be the best world championships ever. For me, the Holy Grail, the most important target, is to have a full stadium.”

Coe also talked about the turmoil caused with other International Federations by offering – for the first time – prize money of $50,000 to the track & field gold medalists at the Paris Olympic Games:

“We made the right decision because we felt it was in the best interests of our athletes. We recognize that not every international federation is in a position to do that, and some may choose not to do it. So it was a judgment that my Council made.

“I’ve always been committed to, where possible, creating a little bit more financial security for the athletes. That financial security often gives them a reason to remain in the sport. We have to recognize times have changed. We did it for our sport. We didn’t do it to make a point to other sports.”

He also noted with some concern the announcements that IOC sponsors Bridgestone, Panasonic and Toyota all decided not to renew for the 2025-28 quadrennial, noting

“That has an impact not just on the Olympic movement or the IOC. It has an impact on the landscape of sport because there are interdependencies here. So this is worthy of more than just reflection.”

Samaranch told Agence France Presse last week that the Russian Olympic Committee is “today still in clear and flagrant breach of the Olympic Charter by taking over responsibilities of a fellow National Olympic Committee in certain territories,” referring to eastern Ukraine.

He followed up, explaining:

“The minute the reasons for suspension and non-recognition disappear, we have the obligation to start working very hard to bring them back.”

This brought a furious response from Ukraine Minister of Youth and Sports Matviy Bidnyi, who told UNN Ukraine:

“The entire Ukrainian sports community was very surprised and outraged by the statements of IOC Vice President and presidential candidate Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. He stated several times, including at the last conference in Budapest, that there was unfinished business, that we should work on returning the Russian Olympic Committee to the IOC. …

“I think we could invite Mr. Samaranch to visit Ukraine to show him the destroyed sports facilities and allow him to talk to athletes whose loved ones have died because of Russian aggression. We hope that this was just an unfortunate mistake.”

In his AFP interview, Samaranch also emphasized the need to maintain the IOC’s independence in a time of increased global conflicts, to ensure that the Olympic Movement can “unite despite differences, despite controversies, despite fights, despite war.”

Watanabe spoke with Japan’s Jiji Press last week, explaining, “The Olympics needs to be changed to go with the times,” and “it’s necessary to create a new Olympics,” which includes more youth-oriented “urban” sports and eSports elements.

He emphasized that “there are things that must be done for children and the athletes who perform in Olympic Games” and that the IOC should be a better listener, and “obtain more opinions from people in the field.”

None of these candidates, or the other four – Feisal Al Hussein (JOR), Kirsty Coventry (ZIM), Johan Eliasch (GBR) and David Lappartient (FRA) – have posted their detailed candidate statements, which are expected in December.

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FOOTBALL: FIFA Council sends Palestine complaints about Israel to a committee for more study

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ ISRAEL ≡

Meeting in Zurich on Thursday, which also happens to be the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah – the beginning of the new year – the FIFA Council did not act on yet another demand by the member federation of Palestine to ban Israeli national teams and clubs.

Instead:

“In relation to the proposal submitted by the Palestine Football Association regarding the Israel Football Association at the 74th FIFA Congress, the FIFA Council adopted the following recommendations and conclusions reached in the independent legal analysis mandated by FIFA:

“● The FIFA Disciplinary Committee will be mandated to initiate an investigation into the alleged offence of discrimination raised by the Palestine Football Association.

“● The FIFA Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee will be entrusted with the mission to investigate – and subsequently advise the FIFA Council on – the participation in Israeli competitions of Israeli football teams allegedly based in the territory of Palestine.”

No timetable was set for the committee work. FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI) said:

“The FIFA Council has implemented due diligence on this very sensitive matter and, based on a thorough assessment, we have followed the advice of the independent experts.

“The ongoing violence in the region confirms that, above all considerations, and as stated at the 74th FIFA Congress, we need peace. As we remain extremely shocked by what is happening, and our thoughts are with those who are suffering, we urge all parties to restore peace to the region with immediate effect.”

The Palestine federation has asked for years to have Israel suspended, so far without success. Last May, the current motion to ban Israel was, according to The Associated Press, at least the fifth such request since 2014. Infantino asked for a study with a meeting to be held on 20 July, which was postponed until Thursday.

The Hamas invasion of 7 October 2023, the hostage-taking and the expanding war against Israel by Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and now missile attacks from Iran, makes FIFA’s position immensely delicate, especially in view of the forthcoming award of the 2034 FIFA World Cup to Saudi Arabia.

At the May FIFA Congress, Israel Football Association President Shino Moshe Zuares told the delegates:

“Today, maybe more than ever, I believe that football must be a key element in healing the fractures and wounds, helping us and everyone to recover. Yet once again, we are facing a cynical, political and hostile attempt by the Palestinian Association to harm Israeli football.

“Make no mistake, the IFA never violated rules set by FIFA and UEFA and will never do so in the future.

“Seven months after the terrible day, when football matches cannot be played in large parts of Israel, north and south, and over 130 Israelis are still being held in Gaza, it is injustice that even in these circumstances we find ourselves fighting for our basic right to be part of the game.”

Israel played in the men’s Olympic tournament in Paris, but did not advance out of Group D.

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PARIS 2024: Team USA led all countries with 95.9 million social-media engagements; Instagram was the most-engaged platform

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ SOCIAL MEDIA ≡

The British research and content agency Redtorch issued a comprehensive report on social-media traffic for National Olympic Committees during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, showing Instagram the most-engaged platform and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee with the most traffic.

The study, created for the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), monitored 725 social-media pages from all 206 National Olympic Committees across five platforms: Facebook, Instagram, X (ex-Twitter), TikTok and YouTube from 12 July to 25 August.

The U.S. had the largest team and had the biggest impact, with a sensational 95.9 million total engagements, with Brazil not far behind at 77.5 million total engagements. Those two NOCs were far ahead of the rest of the world; the top 10:

● 1. 95.5 million: United States
● 2. 77.3 million: Brazil
● 3. 19.5 million: Great Britain
● 4. 15.6 million: Japan
● 5. 13.9 million: France

● 6. 10.3 million: Germany
● 7. 8.4 million: Czech Republic
● 8. 8.0 million: Australia
● 9. 7.8 million: Canada
● 10. 6.9 million: Spain

This is an area to watch, as only 37 of the 206 NOCs had total engagements of a million or more. Lots of growth potential. 

The USOPC was busy on all five platforms, adding 2.1 million followers across platforms:

● 63.7 million on Instagram (rank: 1)
● 13.6 million on TikTok (rank: 1)
● 11.2 million on Facebook (rank: 1)
● 7.4 million on X (rank: 2)

Owing to NBC’s exclusive television rights, the USOPC had very little presence on YouTube, but was wild on TikTok and led all NOCs with 173.3 million combined video views during the Games, on 241 posts. Great Britain was second at 138.8 million.

In terms of platforms used, Instagram was the clear winner in terms of engagements, but was not the favorite destination in terms of fan usage:

● 1. 66.0% for Instagram (230.7 million)
● 2. 12.0% for Facebook (41.4 million)
● 3. 11.5% for TikTok (40.3 million)
● 4. 10.5% for X (36.8 million)
● 5. 0.2% for YouTube (558,300, owing to exclusive TV rights)

The survey tracked 58.8 million total fans during the Paris Games, with Facebook still the most popular platform across all users:

● 1. 24.3 million fans on Facebook (24,500 posts)
● 2. 15.2 million fans on Instagram (20,800 posts)
● 3. 9.5 million fans on TikTok (4,400 posts)
● 4. 8.5 million fans on X (26,400 posts)
● 5. 1.3 million fans on YouTube (2,300 posts)

Noted: “Facebook remained the second-highest in posts (24.5k) and had the most fans (26.3m), still the primary platform for 190/206 NOCs (compared to 164/206 on Instagram).”

The Brazilian performance on social media was amazing, considering it sent 277 Olympians to Paris, compared with 592 for the U.S., 573 for France and 461 for Australia. Yet, the Comite Olimpico Brasil generated 77.3 million engagements, second only to the U.S. and almost four times the traffic of the next-highest NOC, the British Olympic Association (19.5 million).

The COB generated 74% of its engagements through Instagram.

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WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES: Milan Cortina 2026 announces ticket prices, with sales to begin in February 2025

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ MILAN CORTINA 2026 ≡

“For the Olympic Winter Games (February 6-22, 2026), tickets will start at 30 euros, with more than 20% of tickets available for under 40 euros and more than half (57%) priced at under 100 euros.

“Tickets for the Paralympic Winter Games (March 6-15, 2026) will start at 10 euros for children under 14, and with more than 200,000 tickets (about 89% of those on sale for the Paralympic Games) available for less than 35 euros.” (€1 = $1.10 U.S.)

That’s from the Milan Cortina 2026 organizers on Thursday, announcing the ticketing timeline and prices for the various sports and ceremonies on the program. As is now customary, a lottery to assign buyers to a specific period in which to buy tickets will be used for the Olympic Winter Games only:

“General public sales for the Olympic Winter Games will begin in February 2025, and the Paralympic Winter Games in March 2025, but the worldwide registration process, to witness the best of Olympic and Paralympic sports live, has already begun.

“To enter the Olympic ticketing draw, fans should register on the official ticketing platform before mid-January 2025. Those who purchase tickets by May 2025 will benefit from Early Bird special prices on some specific sessions.”

There is no lottery for an assigned buying time for Winter Paralympic tickets, and first-come, first-served sales will begin in May 2025, without any registration required.

The ticketing price list runs on for four pages, with a simplified summary of the Olympic Winter Games sports prices:

● €100 to €220: Alpine Skiing
● €70 to €100: Bobsled
● €50 to €200: Biathlon
● €40 to €120: Cross Country Skiing
● €40 to €150: Curling
● €50 to €390: Freestyle Skiing
● €280 to €1,200: Figure Skating
● €30 to €1,400: Ice Hockey
● €40 to €75: Luge
● €40 to €120: Nordic Combined
● €80 to €440: Snowboard
● €95 to €230: Ski Jumping
● €40 to €75: Skeleton
● €35 to €40: Ski Mountaineering
● €150 to €450: Short Track
● €180 to €280: Speed Skating

● €280 to €2,026: Opening Ceremony at Milan’s San Siro Stadium
● €950 to €2,800: Closing Ceremony at the ancient Verona Arena

About half of the events have tickets in categories “A” and “B” with some sports with A-B-C categories and a few with a fourth (lowest price) category. Four events have Category A prices above €1,000: the men’s ice hockey final at €1,400, the figure skating gala at €1,200 and the opening and closing ceremonies, with categories A and B over €1,000.

The announcement also confirmed that tickets will be digital only.

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LANE ONE: Santa Monica City Council told hosting 2028 Olympic beach volleyball “will cost” $10.65 million, but the math is fuzzy, maybe just wrong

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ LOS ANGELES 2028 ≡

“Stated another way, if Santa Monica hosts Olympic beach volleyball events, it will incur $1.45 million in real cost. In addition, it will miss out on $10.65 million in projected net revenues in a scenario in which the City does not host. The additional $10.65 million represents the City’s opportunity cost of the potential revenues it could benefit from if it chooses not to host Olympic events.”

Real costs of doing something and “opportunity cost” of doing nothing defined an odd economic impact report prepared for the City of Santa Monica concerning the question of whether to have Olympic beach volleyball played in Santa Monica in 2028.

The “Fiscal Impact Findings” report from the economic and public policy consulting firm HR&A Advisors dominates a submittal to the Santa Monica City Council in advance of an 8 October Council meeting, asking for a future “study session” on the question of whether Santa Monica should agree to be the site for beach volleyball.

The City’s 17-page report describes the current situation following a year and a half of negotiations that began in May 2023, with the summary noting with alarm:

“The impact study forecasts that the City would be responsible for $15.54 million in estimated costs to prepare for and host the Olympic Games. If the City were to choose to not host beach volleyball, it stands to gain $10.65 million in fiscal benefits. The City would only generate $2.79 million in additional revenues if it hosted Olympic events but would face significantly higher costs. Overall, hosting beach volleyball could translate to a total net loss to the City of $12.1 million.

“The financial uncertainties related to hosting beach volleyball are compounded by the lack of clarity on the reimbursement terms. Moreover, the Games Agreement also prevents Santa Monica from pursuing alternative revenue opportunities, and precludes traditional revenue sources from both City-hosted special events and privately hosted events by Pier lessees and other local businesses, unless approved by LA28. The potential legal risks associated with signing the agreement are significant, as it binds the City to hosting beach volleyball and limits flexibility to negotiate key terms after the Games Agreement is executed.”

Santa Monica was identified as the site for beach volleyball in the Los Angeles bid for the 2024 and then 2028 Olympic Games, placing a temporary stadium for 12,000 spectators north of the Santa Monica Pier.

At issue now is a Games Agreement between the LA28 organizers and the City of Santa Monica, committing both to use the site for beach volleyball and to be followed by three more agreements concerning city resources, venue services and venue use. Games Agreements have already been reached with Los Angeles, Carson, Inglewood and Long Beach, all of which will have more than one venue.

The HR&A study shows that by not hosting beach volleyball (or any other Olympic event), Santa Monica would benefit from some Olympic hotel traffic – acknowledging it is already at “full capacity” during the summer months. But the study contends that the City will absorb an additional $14.89 million in costs for “security, infrastructure, and event operations” and realize only an added $2.79 million in net revenue during the period.

However, there are a lot of caveats to the HR&A projections. The City report notes:

● “The fiscal impact analysis does not account for LA28 reimbursing the City for enhanced municipal services since there are currently too many unknowns.” LA28 has promised to do this.

● “LA28 has indicated that there would also be a ‘games footprint,’ a currently undetermined area beyond the venue footprint where the City would be reimbursed for providing enhanced City services.” The exact breadth of the area and reimbursement to be made is as yet undetermined.

Further, HR&A created an unsupported revenue projection for Santa Monica hosting beach volleyball that says 2028 Olympic visitors will act the same as those who came without the Games in 2024:

● The HR&A report estimates 381,000 ticket holders for beach volleyball and estimates that the number of day-trip visitors to Santa Monica in 2028 would be 642,000 for the Games period vs. 245,000 for 2024.

Also, the number of overnight visitors would increase only from 53,000 to 59,000 from 2024 to 2028, as Santa Monica accommodations are already close to capacity as it is during the summer.

● HR&A’s revenue estimate for 2028 Olympic visitors, ignoring inflation from 2024, is that they will spend exactly the same as non-Olympic visitors in 2024. Actually slightly less: the 642,000 day-trip visitors projected for 2028 are 2.62 times the number for 2024 and the revenue to be received is estimated at 2.60 times: $22.6 million against $8.7 million.

The contribution shown from overnight visitors is trivial: an increase from 53,000 to 59,000 visitors (+11.3%) will produce additional revenue of just $89.7 million in 2028 as against $86.7 million in 2024: 3.5% more. Amazingly, no added revenue is shown for occupancy taxes for the 6,000 added visitors in 2028, across 15 days!

That’s not what was seen in Paris, another cosmopolitan city which just hosted an Olympic Games this summer. Multiple shopkeepers complained their business fell during the Games, because the visitors were concentrated on the Olympics, not buying jewelry or paintings. They focused on having a good time:

● The French-language site FrancsJeux.com reported in September on data from France’s second-largest banking concern, Groupe BPCE, which estimates that it handles about 20% of all credit-card transactions in the country. The report for the Ile-de-France region – which includes Paris – showed marked increases in spending overall during the Olympic Games.

● For tourism and cultural activities, “a 58% increase in spending by the French during the two weeks of the Olympic Games, then 30% during the Paralympic Games, compared to the same periods in 2023.” (Computer translation from the original French.)

● “An increase, but less marked, was also measured in the fast food sectors (+9% and +12%), bakeries (+14% and +16%), bars (+6% and +4%), and restaurants (+4% and +5%). Clearly, the Games encouraged the French to go out more often, and therefore to spend more.”

● “Another lesson from the BPCE barometer: foreign visitors massively frequented bars and restaurants in Paris and its region. Their spending was significantly higher than that recorded during the same period in 2023, up 40% in restaurants and 52% in bars at the time of the Olympic Games, then 10% and 26% during the Paralympics.”

The HR&A study assumes that the Olympic Games in Santa Monica will have no economic impact other than having more people present. That’s not what happened in Paris, and anyone who has been to the Santa Monica Pier area is well aware of the vast eating, drinking and entertainment options available close by. And beyond those increases in sales are the local taxes that accompany them, 10.25% in Santa Monica.

The HR&A study further makes some strange projections on expenses, comparing a 15-day, two-sessions-per-day Olympic beach volleyball program to a 2017 concert series, which was a free event held on the Santa Monica Pier, scheduled for eight shows across nine weeks (the report mentions six shows).

This series was put on by the City of Santa Monica itself on its own Pier, making a comparison on costs with the Olympic beach volleyball tournament in 2028 – to be produced by the LA28 organizing committee in a venue it will create and operate – apples and kumquats. In fact, as Santa Monica has no NCAA or professional sports teams at all, it’s impossible to compare costs with anything that happens there, especially from prior to the Covid pandemic.

The HR&A multiplier approach from the 2017 concerts to the 2028 beach volleyball tournament creates a wholly unreliable cost figure ranging from $10.95 to $17.73 million, a 62% spread!

One example: HR&A used its own 2017 series attendance estimate of 398,634 – an average of 49,829 across eight shows – to create a waste management cost figure of $335,611. But Los Angeles Magazine reported in a 15 November 2017 online post, three months after the series ended:

“An average concert at the Pier draws a crowd of 8,000 to 10,000 attendees,” except for the 22 June 2017 performance by Khalid, which drew a reported 60,000, but “independent auditors estimated actual attendance at about 25,347 based on tallies and digital reconstructions from the event.” So perhaps the HR&A series attendance estimate of almost 399,000 might really be less than 100,000 (25%) for the 2017 series? Why wasn’t a City of Santa Monica attendance report used? Are the 2028 projected expenses of $11-18 million all off by 75%?

The HR&A report significantly underestimates revenues and has no reliable formula to project expenses related to a 2028 Olympic beach volleyball tournament. It made some guesses, but they can hardly be taken as fact.

As for actual financial concerns for Santa Monica, the City Report notes a legitimately worrying provision in the proposed Games Agreement:

“[T]he Games Agreement only requires LA28 to reimburse the City if LA28 has net revenues available to do so. While LA28 and City of Los Angeles representatives have publicly stated on multiple occasions that they anticipate the 2028 Summer Games will result in a budget surplus, that cannot be guaranteed at this time.”

There are real issues here, and the City staff’s call for a “study session” on the question of the 2028 Olympic Games and Santa Monica is the right approach to try and find a well-thought-out solution.

For Santa Monica, and for the LA28 organizers. Let’s be real: in Southern California, of all places, there are plenty of iconic spots to play beach volleyball.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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ATHLETICS: 15-meet Diamond League schedule confirmed for 2025, crowding the calendar for Grand Slam Track

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ DIAMOND LEAGUE ≡

The full schedule for the 2025 season of the Wanda Diamond League was confirmed on Wednesday, with 15 meets scheduled in 14 countries and five months of the calendar:

● 26 Apr.: Xiamen (CHN)

● 03 May: Shanghai/Suzhou (CHN)
● 16 May: Doha (QAT)
● 25 May: Rabat (MAR) ~ Meeting Int’l Mohammed VI

● 06 Jun.: Rome (ITA) ~ Golden Gala Pietro Mennea
● 12 Jun.: Oslo (NOR) ~ Bislett Games
● 15 Jun.: Stockholm (SWE) ~ Bauhaus Galan
● 20 Jun.: Paris (FRA) ~ Meeting de Paris

● 05 Jul.: Eugene (USA) ~ Prefontaine Classic
● 11 Jul.: Monaco (MON) ~ Herculis Meeting
● 19 Jul.: London (GBR)

● 16 Aug.: Silesia (POL) ~ Kamila Skowlimowska Memorial
● 20 Aug.: Lausanne (SUI) ~ Athletissima
● 22 Aug.: Brussels (BEL) ~ Memorial Van Damme
● 27-28 Aug.: Zurich (SUI) ~ Diamond League Final

There is no Olympic Games in 2025 and the World Athletics Championships are now at the end of the season, from 13-21 September in 2025 in Tokyo (JPN).

In addition, the World Athletics carve-out dates for national championships are from 2-3 August and 23-24 August, quite late in the season.

As usual, the Diamond League schedule offers no dependable day or time to watch, as the 16 meet days are scattered over five different days and five different time zones:

● Sunday (2): Rabat, Stockholm
● Wednesday (2): Lausanne, Zurich I
● Thursday (2): Oslo, Zurich II
● Friday (5): Doha, Rome, Paris, Monaco, Brussels
● Saturday (5): Xiamen, Shanghai-Suzhou, Eugene, London, Silesia

This Diamond League schedule also shows meets in 12 different weeks across the 18 consecutive weeks from the end of April through the last full week of August, with a nearly four-week gap from 20 July to 15 August, of which one week is devoted to national championships.

This raises the question of where the four Grand Slam Track events will go. The organizers have said one meet will be held in Los Angeles – site not yet disclosed – which would clearly fit either before the Xiamen Diamond League opener on 26 April, or between the Shanghai-Suzhou and Doha meets, on 3 and 16 May.

Where will the other three go? A second meet has been said to be in the U.S. and the other two overseas, but with no indication as to date or place. It will be fascinating to see how the Grand Slam events will sit with the Diamond League dates, now that the Diamond League schedule is out.

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PANAM SPORTS: Ilic handily elected to third term as President at General Assembly

By
Rich Perelman
-
Re-elected Panam Sports President Neven Ilic of Chile (Image: Panam Sports screenshot)

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≡ ELECTIONS ≡

At the Panam Sports General Assembly in Asuncion, Paraguay, Chilean engineer and International Olympic Committee member Neven Ilic was elected to a third term as President.

The vote was 37-16 over Keith Joseph (VIN), the President of the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees.

In his remarks ahead of the vote, Ilic, 62, praised the progress that Panam Sports has made during his time in office and told the delegates that he is not running again to further any of his own ambitions, but to continue to work on behalf of the 41 National Olympic Committees which make up the confederation.

Joseph asked the delegates to consider the need for change, and with IOC President Thomas Bach (GER) in the room, echoed Bach’s call to “change or be changed.” Joseph has said he would like to see the confederation membership expanded, see more transparent governance and the use of more expertise from the member countries in the development of sports in the Americas.

After the remarks, the electronic voting devices were distributed and two unsuccessful test votes were held. After more than 20 minutes, a motion was made and passed to vote on paper!

The NOC representatives were called up one by one, wrote their choice on a card and deposited the card(s) in a transparent ballot box. A process which should have taken – in total – less than a half-hour, went on for almost an hour.

Ilic was voted onto the IOC in 2017 and is a member of the Coordination Commission for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. He was initially elected in 2017 as the 10th Panam Sports head and re-elected without opposition in 2020; he’s the first Panam Sports President from Chile.

He and Joseph embraced after the vote totals were read and Ilic made some added brief remarks, leading with “Thank you for the opportunity.”

There were also elections for the Panam Sports Executive Committee and for three Vice President slots from three different groups of NOCs. Sarah Hirshland of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee ran unopposed as the Group 1 Vice President.

The three new Vice Presidents for the 2024-28 quad will be Veda Bruno-Victor (GRN) as First Vice President, Uruguay’s Camilo Perez as Second Vice President and Hirshland will serve as Third Vice President.

The General Assembly concludes tomorrow and is available for viewing on the Panam Sports channel.

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FRENCH ALPS 2030: French Prime Minister Barnier signs letter of guarantee for 2030 Winter Olympic Games

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

The question of the French government guarantees for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games, the last hurdle before the French Alps bid could be finally concluded, was closed on Wednesday.

New Prime Minister Michel Barnier, who was the co-President for the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, submitted the required letter on Wednesday, reading (computer translation from the original French):

“In my capacity as Prime Minister, and taking into account the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), during its session on July 24, 2024, to retain France as host country for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Alps 2030), I confirm and undertake to guarantee the financing of any possible budget deficit of the organizing committee of the Olympic Games (OCOG).

“This commitment includes reimbursements to the IOC of advances or other contributions paid to the OCOG by the IOC, which the latter may have to reimburse to third parties in the event of an unforeseen event such as a total or partial cancellation of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. 2030. The budgetary commitments corresponding to this letter of guarantee will be specified within the framework of the public finance law for 2025, which must be approved by Parliament.

“Please accept, Mr. President, the assurance of my highest consideration and my friendly sentiment.

“Michel BARNIER”

OK, that’s done. The XXVI Winter Games are slated for 1-17 February 2030, with venue groups in Nice, Briancon, Savoie and Haute-Savoie.

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BOXING: IOC tells National Olympic Committees to ignore national federations affiliated with the IBA

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ LOS ANGELES 2028 ≡

“The NOCs shall no longer affiliate, or entertain any institutional relationship with, national boxing federations that are still affiliated to IBA.”

That is the operative clause from a letter sent by the International Olympic Committee to the National Olympic Committees on Monday (30th), concerning those national boxing federations still affiliated with the International Boxing Association.

The letter, signed by Director of NOC Relations and Olympic Solidarity James MacLeod (GBR), Sports Director Kit McConnell (NZL) and Legal Advisor Mariam Mahdavi (GBR), is a significant increase in pressure by the IOC to try and prop up the new but expanding World Boxing group as a new worldwide governing body for Olympic boxing. The letter notes:

● “As mentioned in the IOC statement dated 3 April 2024, ‘at the moment, boxing is not on the sports programme for the Olympic Games LA28. In order to remedy this, the IOC needs to have a partner International Federation for boxing by early 2025.’.

“As you may be aware, a new International Federation has recently emerged, but, as things stand, has yet to be recognised by the IOC.”

● “As further mentioned in the IOC statement dated 30 May 2024, ‘the IOC has made it very clear that it cannot again organise such Olympic boxing competitions. In order to remedy this, Olympic boxing needs to be organised by a credible, well-governed International Federation. It is therefore already clear that any boxer whose National Federation adheres to the IBA will not be able to participate in the Olympic Games LA28. The respective NOC will have to exclude such a National Boxing Federation from its membership.’”

The letter further instructs the NOCs to disregard their national boxing federation – if still a member of the IBA – as a voting member within the NOC, and beyond ending their affiliation with them, tells the NOCs to essentially join World Boxing:

“Depending on their respective statutes, the NOCs may decide to maintain or create an institutional relationship with any (existing or newly created) national boxing federation not affiliated to IBA, provided that such national boxing federation is affiliated, or in the process of being affiliated, or intends to affiliate, to a new international boxing federation established for the purpose of Olympic boxing.

“Such relationship shall be provisional and shall not entail obligatory voting member status under Rule 28.1.2 of the Olympic Charter until a new international boxing federation is recognized by the IOC.”

This could not be clearer: join the unnamed new federation – which is clearly World Boxing – or boxing will not be part of LA28 and may not be part of any Olympic Games going forward.

The letter underscores the IOC’s repeated statement that it has no issues with boxers, but with the IBA, run by Russian Umar Kremlev and financially supported by the Russian energy giant Gazprom. The IOC dismissed the IBA from the Olympic Movement in a specially-called Congress in June 2023 and the IBA’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn the decision was dismissed.

World Boxing has been growing slowly, but too slowly for the IOC’s timetable. It had its foundational Congress in November 2023 and now has 44 federations, including USA Boxing, which was a charter member. It recently formed an “Olympic Commission” headed by famed boxing star Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin, now the President of the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan. And Kazakhstan has applied for World Boxing membership.

Worry about Olympic boxing has also inflamed the Asian Boxing Confederation, which held an Extraordinary Congress in August to vote on whether to join World Boxing. That motion was defeated by 21-14, so another Extraordinary Congress has been called for 23 November in Thailand to discuss the future of Olympic Boxing.

At present, World Boxing has 15 members in the Americas, 13 in Europe, nine in Asia, five in Oceania and two in Africa. The IOC’s pressure is aimed directly at changing the views in Africa and Asia, especially and getting boxing back on the program for 2028.

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PANORAMA: No French Alps 2030 guarantees yet, but no worries; record 54,280 finish Berlin Marathon; Choue runs for sixth World Taekwondo term

By
Rich Perelman
-
U.S. Olympic weightlifting star Hampton Morris (Photo: IWF)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● Confident that the new sliding track in Cortina d’Ampezzo will be completed on time, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation scheduled an International Training Period for the facility for 7-16 November 2025.

A full World Cup will then be held at the “Eugenio Monti Sliding Centre” to open the season from 17-23 November.

The training period starts three months before the opening of the 2026 Winter Games on 6 February and is another indicator that the federation believes the track will be built on schedule. Certification of the new track will have to be completed near the end of winter in 2025 and the schedule is tight. But work is progressing, and at least the IBSF thinks it will be ready.

● Olympic Winter Games 2030: French Alps ● FrancsJeux.com reported that the French Alps 2030 bid did not submit the required government guarantees by the 1 October deadline from the International Olympic Committee … but it’s OK.

Michel Barnier, the new French Prime Minister, is still in the set-up phase of a new government and the Olympic guarantees for 2030 are not the highest, immediate priority. He is no stranger to the IOC, having been with skiing legend Jean-Claude Killy, the co-Presidents of the 1992 Albertville Winter Games organizing committee.

Barnier reportedly asked for a short delay to get the formalities concluded, with the guarantees to be signed soon, then going through the legislative process and confirmed in 2025.

● Athletics ● The 50th Berlin Marathon set a new record for the most finishers with 54,280, including an amazing last-place runner.

It was Peter Barthel (GER) – now 82 – who had also run in the very first Berlin Marathon in 1974, who crossed last, finishing the record day. Some 58,212 runners from 161 countries started the race.

The prior record was 54,175 finishers from April’s Marathon de Paris in France, which eclipsed the New York City Marathon’s 2019 record of 53,627.

The World Athletics Continental Tour, a four-level program of meets offering more modest prizes and support than the Diamond League, concluded a very successful fourth year in 2024, with 271 meets across all categories and 20,443 athletes competing.

The growth of the program, which allows even fairly small meets to obtain some cache under the World Athletics banner, has been impressive:

● 2021: 69 meets
● 2022: 152 meets
● 2023: 230 meets
● 2024: 271 meets in 63 countries

The countries with the most Continental Tour meets were Germany (29), followed by the U.S. (18) and France (18), Poland (14) and Spain (12).

● Shooting ● Paris is over and the road to Los Angeles for some of America’s Skeet stars started with the USA Shooting Skeet nationals in Hillsdale, Michigan that finished on 22 September.

The seemingly immortal Kim Rhode, now a Vice President of the International Shooting Sports Federation – and a six-time Olympic medalist – won the women’s title in a shoot-off over 2022 Worlds bronze medalist Sam Simonton. Dania Jo Vizzi, the 2017 World Champion, was third at 45.

Simonton edged Rhode and Vizzi in the qualifying, 242-241-240, but Rhode took the final by a single point, 55-54, over Simonton. That left both at 244 points, with Rhode, 45, winning the shoot-off.

The men’s division had 2019 Pan American Games champion Christian Elliott in front in the qualifying at 250 – a perfect score – then taking second in the final at 59-60 against 2022 and 2023 World Junior Champion Benjamin Keller. But the combined scores gave Elliott the overall win at 252 to 248 over Keller. Dustan Taylor, a 2022 Worlds Team silver winner, finished third in qualifying at 244 and was third overall.

● Taekwondo ● World Taekwondo President Chung-won Choue (KOR), now 76, announced at the federation’s General Assembly that he will run for a last term as President at the elective General Assembly in Wuxi, China in 2025.

Choue has been President of the federation since 2004, winning full-term elections in 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021.

During the 2024 General Assembly in Chuncheon (KOR), the World Taekwondo Council was re-shaped from 37 members to 25. In a significant change, 14 members will be elected by the General Assembly and one member appointed by the President, and the five Vice President seats will include three elected officers, the woman with the highest vote total and one appointed member.

This brings the number of Council members appointed by the President from 10 to two.

● Weightlifting ● Strong results for the U.S. at the 2024 World Junior Championships held in Leon (ESP) that finished on the weekend. The American team won the most classes – four – and tied for the most medal with six:

● Men/61 kg: The Paris Olympic bronze medalist, American Hampton Morris dominated this class, winning the Snatch, Clean & Jerk and the combined total, at 291 kg. He led a U.S. 1-2 with Gabriel Chumm second in both lifts and the combined, at 278 kg.

● Men/73 kg: Caden Cahoy won the Clean & Jerk at 180 kg and that was enough to give him the combined gold at 326 kg.

● Women/59 kg: Miranda Ulrey was second in the Snatch, then won the C&J and took the overall gold at 210 kg, just one more than Thai Thanaporn Saetia.

● Women/76 kg: Ella Nicholson swept all three segments, taking the class at 244 kg and winning by 12 kg.

In the team scoring, Colombia won the men’s division over the U.S., 617 to 538, and the American women won their team title, scoring 610 to 599 for Colombia.

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TRIATHLON: World Champion and Olympic medalist Katie Zaferes announces retirement

By
Rich Perelman
-
World Champion: American triathlon star Katie Zaferes (Photo: ITU/Wagner Araujo)

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≡ SPOTLIGHT ≡

Call it a career (almost) for U.S. star Katie Zaferes, the 2019 World Champion and a two-time Olympic medal winner. She posted Monday on Instagram:

“After Tokyo I felt like there was more in me as a professional athlete. After these past two years, I’ve now realized I’ve given it my all at this level in my personal endeavor and @supertri_ Toulouse on Sunday will be my final race.

“I’m finding that my heart isn’t in it like it needs to be. There’s a part of me that still wants to love it and wants to want it. However, the most telling part is that I’m ok with the fact that I don’t. Other things are starting to excite me more. While 11 years might seem short to some and long to others, for me it’s perfect.

“I’ve spent 11 life changing, fulfilling years racing and achieving so much more than I ever thought possible. More than that, I’ve enjoyed getting to know so many people on and off the course (including [husband Tommy Zaferes] @tzaferes) that have made it super special and a home of sorts. The connections made, along with the experiences I’ve had, I’ll treasure forever.

“So a big thank you to @usatriathlon, @worldtriathlon, @supertri_, my sponsors and everybody it encompasses for making this last decade plus all it has been for me. Regardless of whether it was a time of highs or lows I always felt so supported and thankful that I got to be a part of this community and introduce [son] Kimble to it as well. I do look forward to being involved off the course in the future and remaining a part of this community that I love so much.”

Zaferes came to triathlon from being a steeplechaser at Syracuse University, where she was an NCAA finalist in 2011. Now 35, she won the Olympic women’s bronze at Tokyo 2020 and a silver in the U.S. Mixed Relay team. A two-time Olympian, she finished 18th in the Rio 2016 Olympic triathlon.

She enjoyed an amazing rise in the World Triathlon Championship Series, finishing fifth overall in 2015, then fourth, third, second in 2018 and took the title in 2019. In her championship years, she won five World Triathlon Series races, including the Grand Final; in all, she posted six World Triathlon wins, plus four World Cup victories.

And she has that last race coming up in Toulouse, on Sunday.

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INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: Bridgestone exits TOP program as last Japan-based sponsor

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ THE OLYMPIC PROGRAM ≡

Created in the aftermath of the sponsorship revolution brought on by the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad in 1984, “The Olympic Program” was the International Olympic Committee’s improvement, offering a small number of companies world-wide use of Olympic rights.

In the first quadrennial of 1985-88, two Japanese firms joined TOP I: office machines maker Brother Industries and electronics giant Panasonic. And through the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, there had always been at least one Japan-based sponsor.

Panasonic continued through TOP X – 2021-24 – and is not renewing. Toyota Motor Corporation joined for TOP IX and TOP X, through Paris, but is not renewing.

After joining TOP VIII for the 2013-16 quad in 2014 and continuing for TOP IX and TOP X through Paris, the last Japan-based IOC sponsor, tire maker Bridgestone, is also not renewing. It announced Tuesday:

● “Bridgestone has decided and agreed with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) not to renew its current Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partnership agreement after its expiration at the end of 2024. The decision comes after an evaluation of the company’s evolving corporate brand strategy and its recommitment to more endemic global motorsports platforms.”

● “Still believing in the power of sports, the company will carry that momentum forward through a greater focus on more endemic platforms where tire products can directly challenge performance, drive innovation, and create widespread value. Through reinforcement of motorsport, Bridgestone will commit to empowering each and all to achieve their best and being essential to the future of mobility by enhancing its position as a sustainable premium brand.”

In other words, the company is going back to programs where it can better showcase its products, explaining, “The company’s strategic shift to more endemic global motorsports initiatives is designed to help … advance developments towards sustainable mobility innovation.”

So, while the three remaining Japanese sponsors hung on for one more quad past the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Games, they are all out now.

While there will be those who will now predict the doom or irrelevance (or both) of the Olympics as a marketing program, the history of TOP is quite different:

● TOP had nine to 11 participants in its first eight quadrennials, from 1985 to 2016.

● The program swelled to 14 ahead of Tokyo 2020 and 15 for TOP X for Paris, with the additions of Aribnb, Alibaba and Intel for 2016-20 and then AB Inbev, Allianz and Deloitte for 2021-24 (Dow Chemical and General Electric did not renew).

● For 2025-28, the TOP roster presently includes 10 partnerships with companies from seven countries: AB Inbev (BEL), Alibaba and Mengniu Dairy (CHN), Allianz (GER), Deloitte (GBR), Samsung (KOR), Omega (SUI) and four from the U.S.: Airbnb, Coca-Cola, Proctor & Gamble, and Visa. (Coca-Cola and Mengniu share the beverages category.)

So, the IOC’s situation is hardly dire, and there is plenty of chatter about more signees from China or India coming soon.

But Bridgestone’s exit is the end of an era in which Japan was always involved in the IOC’s TOP package, and the announcements from Bridgestone today and Panasonic on 10 September, raise questions about what companies want from a high-profile, all-world partnership with the Olympic Movement.

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PANORAMA: Worries over Milan Cortina sponsorship sales; 3×3 ice hockey for 2030? Speraw leaves UCLA to be USA Volleyball chief exec

By
Rich Perelman
-
Five-time NCAA champion coach John Speraw is the new USA Volleyball chief executive (Photo: USA Volleyball)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● Concerns over the progress of the Milan Cortina 2026 budget were voiced in the Italian Chamber of Deputies last week, with Deputy Minister of Justice Francesco Paolo Sisto questioned about the progress of the domestic sponsorship program.

Expected to bring €457.0 million, the partnership agreement signed as of the end of June showed €214.4 million (€1 = $1.11 U.S.).

What about the rest?

Sisto noted that the June report is already out of date, with five more sponsors signed: TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile), Enel Group (energy), Airweave (mattresses), TicketOne (ticketing) and Juniper Networks (Internet network provider).

However, it was also noted that the total Milan Cortina 2026 budget is now “quantified at approximately 1,628 million euros” – that’s €1.628 billion or $1.813 billion U.S. – up from the bid projection of €1.362 billion and the 2018 revision to €1.553 billion.

● Ice Hockey ● Ready for 3×3? The International Ice Hockey Federation, at its semi-annual Congress, is preparing to offer its version of the schoolyard basketball format for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games in the French Alps:

● “Proposals to introduce 3×3 hockey as an Olympic event in 2030 are coming close to D-day. Since the 2017/18 season, the IIHF has been developing a 3×3 tournament format, trialling different set-ups at the Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne 2020 and Gangneung 2024.”

● “The International Olympic Committee is seeking proposals for new disciplines for the 2030 Winter Games in France and the IIHF is preparing its submission ahead of the Jan. 2025 deadline. A decision would be expected in March.”

● Said IIHF President Luc Tardif (FRA): “The boost that 3×3 basketball, rugby sevens or beach volleyball had on the original discipline was something that they never expected. It had a huge impact on recruitment and financial opportunity.

“There is an open door for hockey. This is our time.”

Adding the 3×3 hockey tournaments would mean 16 more teams (8 for men, 8 for women), bringing 240 more athletes to compete in the Olympic Winter Games. The IIHF view is “that 3×3 hockey can be a big way of engaging new audiences and increasing participation worldwide. It would also double the number of medals on offer in what is the biggest sport at the Winter Olympics in terms of participation numbers and competition time.”

● Tennis ● Italy’s top-ranked men’s tennis star Jannik Sinner is playing at the China Open in Beijing and expressed some sorrow at the appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency of the finding of “no fault” in his case from March:

“We can’t control everything. Of course I’m very disappointed and also surprised about this appeal, to be honest, because we had three hearings. All three hearings were very positive for me. I didn’t expect that.

“I knew for a couple of days that they were going to appeal and that today it would become official. Maybe they just want to make sure that everything is in the right place.”

● Triathlon ● The re-scheduled World Triathlon Championship Series races in Weihai (CHN) over the weekend produced a signal win for Paris Olympic champ Alex Yee of Great Britain.

Ninth out of the water, Yee was in the top five on the bike and in the lead group of 11 at the second transition. He then crushed the field in the 10 km run in 29:40, 15 seconds faster than New Zealand star Hayden Wilde, the Paris runner-up.

Yee finished in 1:48:21, routing the field with Paris bronze medalist Leo Bergere (FRA) second in 1:49:07 and first-time medalist Miguel Hidalgo (BRA: 1:49:18) third. Wilde faded to seventh (1:50:01); John Reed was the top American, in 15th at 1:51:10. It’s Yee’s seventh career Championship Series gold and he now leads the seasonal standings with one event left.

The women’s race went to Germany’s Lisa Tertsch, a 17-second winner over Britain’s Beth Potter and 58 seconds over Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR). Tertsch had a five-second lead out of the swim, maintained the lead and then had the fastest 10 km run by 14 seconds over Potter.

Tertsch, a member of the German gold-medal relay in Paris, won her first Championship Series gold, in 2:04:42. Potter, the 2023 World Champion and 2024 Olympic bronze winner, was second in 2:04:59 and Taylor-Brown, the 2020 World Champion and Tokyo 2020 runner-up, finished third in 2:05:40.

Rio 2016 Olympic champ Gwen Jorgensen was the top U.S. finisher in 2:06:08 in sixth.

● Volleyball ● A major shake-up in collegiate and USA Volleyball as UCLA head coach John Speraw, also the coach of the U.S. men’s national team since 2013 was named as the new President and Chief Executive of USA Volleyball, beginning on 1 October.

Said USA Volleyball Board Chair David Gentile:

“The search group composed of key USA Volleyball Board members concluded that John’s overall sport acumen, demeanor, energy, leadership skills and vision for the future of the sport were clearly aligned with the Board’s expectations for the next generation of USA Volleyball.”

Speraw, 52, was the U.S. men’s head coach for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, with the team winning the bronze, and another bronze at Paris 2024.

At the same time, Speraw was also a highly successful collegiate coach, leading UC Irvine to NCAA titles in 2007-09-12 and returned to UCLA – where he starred as a middle blocker on two national championship teams in 1993 and 1995 – and his teams won NCAA titles in 2023 and 2024.

Jamie Davis, who served as the USA Volleyball chief executive since 2017, announced he was leaving the position in July, and will begin as the CEO of USA Water Polo, also on 1 October.

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ANTI-DOPING: War of words continues as WADA calls out New York Times’ Friday story “part of a defamation campaign”

By
Rich Perelman
-
The tug-of-war between the World Anti-Doping Agency, U.S. media and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency continues

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

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

The tug-of-war between the World Anti-Doping Agency and U.S. news media reached a new low on Friday as WADA traded barbs with the New York Times regarding its story, “Antidoping Agency Lost Track of Open Cases and Test Results Before Olympics.”

WADA ripped the story as inaccurate:

● “Despite WADA having provided the New York Times with the facts, the article contains allegations that are simply wrong.”

● “As was the situation with the New York Times’ reporting on the Chinese swimming cases, instead of following the facts, it has once again opted to be misled by sources with questionable motives as part of a defamation campaign against WADA.”

What did The Times story say?

Essentially that in a May meeting, WADA staff discussed the loss of correct data related to 2,000 cases, including more than 900 test results from athletes who were facing possible doping violations, and sanctions. The situation was made all the more critical by the timing, just a couple of months prior to the Paris Olympic Games.

The story included WADA’s explanation that the data was available, but in a more cumbersome manner until a database migration was completed. But the story observed:

● “While Wada said it was inaccurate to say there was a crisis, the PowerPoint presentation and an account of what occurred in the [23 May] meeting and inside the agency at the time painted a different picture.”

● “This article is based on photographs, obtained by The New York Times, of the PowerPoint presentation used at the meeting at the agency’s headquarters in Montreal and interviews with a former top anti-doping official and a current anti-doping official.”

WADA’s reply came the same day and explained:

“[The story stems] from leaked information connected to an internal technical WADA meeting held in May 2024, between the Agency’s Legal Affairs and IT Departments, concerning data being migrated from an old Results Management system [called LRM] into a new system [called RMC].

“The May meeting was held to discuss the difficulties with the migration and issues that the Legal Affairs Department was having in navigating the RMC and finding the data within it. 

“Contrary to what the New York Times alleges, the technical challenges faced by this data migration did not have any negative impact whatsoever on the Paris 2024 Olympic or Paralympic Games. The complete data was accessible at all times and all data related to athletes going to Paris were properly reviewed by WADA.

“All data was still up to date and housed within the old system, LRM, as well as in the Anti-Doping Administration Management System [ADAMS]. For the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, using a combination of RMC, LRM and ADAMS, all the data from those athletes on the Olympic and Paralympic Games shortlists were thoroughly reviewed.

“Both the LRM and RMC are internal systems designed to assist Legal Affairs in its Results Management work – the data available in those systems come from ADAMS and also include all information received from Results Management Authorities by Legal Affairs.”

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which has been in a war of words with WADA for more than a year, chimed in on Monday with its own call to action:

“If anyone had doubts before, this latest revelation appears to show how necessary it is for all those who value fair sport to join the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and public authorities in stepping in to right the ship. When will enough be enough to take action to restore credibility to the global anti-doping system?

“Right now, the global anti-doping movement is the most fractured and divided it’s been since WADA first opened its doors in 1999 and it has as little trust by athletes and the public as ever before. It starts and stops at the top.”

Further to the USADA call, it’s worth noting that WADA President Witold Banka (POL) was elected to a second and “final” term in 2022 that will end at the close of 2025, but regulations passed in 2023 appear to allow him to serve a third, three-year term for a total of nine years in total. So, he isn’t going anywhere.

The new rules designate a first term of six years with one further term of three years available, for a total of nine. This brings the function of President in line with the nine-year limit on Executive Committee members.

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TEAM USA: Biden welcomes U.S. Olympic & Paralympic teams to White House

By
Rich Perelman
-
President Biden welcomes Team USA to The White House (Photo: The White House)

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≡ PARIS 2024 ≡

“We felt so much pride, and I’m honored to welcome 400 athletes from Team USA today here at the capital. Part of a nation so vast, so diverse, and so talented, it’s like no other country on Earth.”

U.S. President Joe Biden saluted a huge gathering of U.S. Olympians and Paralympians on the South Lawn of The White House on Monday, following remarks by Olympic swimming star Torri Huske, Huske’s parents, 2028 women’s wheelchair basketball player Adrina Castro and Paralympic men’s wheelchair basketball gold medalist Paul Schulte.

Biden spoke about the impact of Team USA:

“When you competed, it wasn’t just you in the spotlight. You represented all the people who sacrificed for you, as was mentioned earlier, just as you’ve sacrificed yourselves – early hours, long days, intense training, sometimes overcoming extreme disappointment.

“For many of you, you hold down multiple jobs to fund your dreams.

“And, by the way, we need to do more to support all of our Team USA athletes. You’re parents [sic]. You’re caretakers [sic]. And 28 of you have also worn a uniform representing our country and one of our armed forces.”

And he added:

“How many parents talk to their kids who are having difficulty and say, ‘You can do this. You can overcome anything’? I think we underestimate how much you do, what incentives you provide for people. You know, they see you and they begin to believe in themselves.”

Biden also noted the attraction of the Olympic and Paralympic Games on him and his staff:

“My staff would have their TVs on watching you as I was trying to get briefed on national security. But in fairness, I had the TV on in the Oval Office as well.”

Biden said that the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams won more medals combined than all other nations, which was wrong. While the U.S. led the Olympic medal count with 126 to 91 for China, the Chinese won 220 Paralympic medals to 105 for the U.S., for a combined 311 to 231 edge.

But Team USA’s Olympic total was the most ever for a Games held outside the U.S. and the 105 Paralympic medals was the third-most ever for a European Paralympic Games.

Biden also said that while he couldn’t be in Paris, he’s looking forward to the 2028 Los Angeles Games:

“Because I’m president and I cause commotion when I go places, they wouldn’t let me go the Olympics. But I watched it all. …

“In the next few years, we get to showcase to the world from our own backyard. … I won’t be president. They can’t stop me from going there then.”

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RUSSIA: No change in international federation bans for Russian biathletes, skiers and skaters, but volunteers can apply

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

Asking about the status of the continuing bans on Russian athletes, the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) told the Russian news service TASS:

“We can confirm that the current FIS policy, which does not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials to participate in FIS competitions, remains unchanged for now.”

The International Biathlon Union, which held its annual Congress last week in Belgrade (SRB), did not take up the issue and in a statement to TASS, noted:

“The decision of the 2022 Congress will remain in force. This means that Russian athletes will not participate in the competition. The IBU rules do not contain a provision on the participation of athletes in a neutral status.”

The International Skating Union Council met on 27-28 September and did include an agenda item on the current ban on Russian and Belarusian participation. TASS reported a source explaining:

“The meeting is over, no decision has been made on the participation of Russians in international competitions.”

Thus, the current ban remains in place. The Director General of the Russian Figure Skating Federation, Alexander Kogan added:

“The ISU extended the suspension of Russian athletes, postponing the decision on this issue. Nothing new. What we have done, we will do; we will look for new competition formats, new motivation points for athletes to achieve high results.”

Nikolai Gulyaev, President of the Russian Skating Union, told TASS:

“The meeting is over, no changes, the suspension has been extended. We will miss this season. I will not make predictions for the future, it is a thankless task.”

The loss of opportunities to compete during the 2024-25 season are especially impactful as regards participation at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, as qualifying opportunities are missed.

With the winter-sport bans in place since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and that war continuing without any end in sight, multiple Russian sports officials have been predicting that Russian (and Belarusian) athletes will not be present at the 2026 Winter Games, save for perhaps a few as “neutrals” as was the case at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

This could change, of course, with the election of a new President of the International Olympic Committee next March, who will take office in late June.

In the meantime, the Milan Cortina 2026 organizers are accepting volunteer applications from Russia, an organizing committee representative explained:

“The Team26 volunteer program aims to reach 18,000 volunteers and we look forward to receiving a large number of applications. Anyone can apply by filling out the form and following the instructions in it.”

However, it’s not a completely smooth process. TASS reported on a volunteer applicant named Igor, who told the agency:

“The application process for the 2026 Olympic volunteer group started in early September, and as soon as the Olympic organizing committee opened the application process, I immediately decided to send my application through the website from my mobile phone.

“When registering, you first need to enter your email address, after which the ‘place of residence’ window opens to select your country. But imagine my surprise when I couldn’t find great Russia in this huge list of countries, but there was a place for tiny Aruba, for example. It’s very unpleasant that the organizers for some reason decided not to indicate your country.

“And only after I had chosen ‘Other’ in the ‘place of residence’ window after much thought, I was given the opportunity to proceed directly to the application process, and at the next stage, when filling out all the biographical data, I was able to indicate Russia as my place of permanent residence. By the way, Belarus was not on the initial large list either.”

For Paris 2024, the organizing committee accepted volunteer applications from Russia and Belarus, but the French security authorities decided not to allow entry into the country for those who were selected to help at the Games.

No word yet from the Italian authorities on that.

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SWIMMING: Report of more than $5 million surplus for 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ USA SWIMMING ≡

Swimswam.com reported that USA Swimming Chief Financial Officer Eric Scufka told the USAS House of Delegates that the 2024 Olympic Trials held at Lucas Oil Stadium had a surplus of more than $5 million.

The report indicated that few details were provided, and that

“Scufka was also not specific about whether the ‘over $5 million’ number was USA Swimming’s portion of the profits or the profits of the joint venture with the USOPC and Indy Sports Corp, or just USA Swimming’s budgeted portion.”

USA Swimming provided detailed ticket sales information to TSX about the Trials, which included eight morning session and nine finals sessions from 15-23 June:

● 15 June: 16,009 + 20,689 (indoor swim meet record)
● 16 June: 18,342 + 18,161
● 17 June: 13,940 + 16,571
● 18 June: 14,439 + 15,476
● 19 June: 17,414 + 22,209 (indoor swim meet record)
● 20 June: 15,080 + 17,742
● 21 June: 13,983 + 18,444
● 22 June: 15,119 + 18,808
● 23 June: 12,776

That’s 285,202 or an average of 16,777 per session, well above the 14,700 capacity in Omaha for the 2021 Trials and established two different records for the largest indoor swim meet attendance in history. These were not sell-outs; the facility could have housed up to about 30,000.

USA Swimming also budgeted $1.3 million for its “Aqua Zone” entertainment program in Indianapolis as part of the Trials experience for its attendees.

The financial success of Indianapolis will make for an interesting lead-up to 2028, when the Olympic Trials site is chosen.

The LA28 organizers have been clear that they do not believe the Trials can be held at SoFi Stadium, where temporary pools will be installed prior to the 14 July 2028 opening, then uncovered for the swimming events to begin the next day. So, USA Swimming can go to Lucas Oil Stadium again, or choose another location.

Scufka said during his briefing that the federation’s quadrennial budget was balanced by good results in 2023 and 2024, including the Trials. However, no financial statements were made available.

During Saturday’s Annual Business Meeting, Olympic gold and silver Breaststroke medalist Nic Fink was elected to the USAS Board as an active athlete, replacing Katie Meili, whose term expired.

Fink now joins fellow athletes Anthony Ervin, Natalie Coughlan, Ashley Twichell Wall and Maya DiRado Andrews as athlete board members.

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PANORAMA: Eiffel Tower Rings down for now; IOC’s Bach on four-stop U.S. visit; Ethiopia sweeps 50th Berlin Marathon

By
Rich Perelman
-
The first time an IOC President attended a college football homecoming game? Thomas Bach (left) with Salt Lake City-Utah bid CEO Fraser Bullock and USOPC President Gene Sykes (Photo: IOC Media).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● As expected, the Olympic Rings which adorned the Eiffel Tower in Paris were removed on Friday.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said that the 13-ton logo installed on the tower on 7 June, is too heavy to remain for a long period, and the plan is to create a lighter, perhaps smaller, emblem which can be attached to the monument for a longer period.

Hidalgo says she has the authority to have the Rings up for years, perhaps to 2028, but others have called for the Rings to be removed at the end of the year. The removed logo will be melted and recycling and the Agence France Report said that the International Olympic Committee is expected to pay for the new, lighter set.

● Olympic Games 2036 ● India has said repeatedly it wants to host the 2036 Olympic Games, but has found itself continuously in turmoil, especially within the Indian Olympic Committee.

The latest fight came last Thursday, when IOA President P.T. Usha – famed for her four-gold-medal performance at the 1986 Asian Games in the women’s 200-400-400 hurdles – was rejected in her effort to seat a new chief executive.

A majority of the Executive Council rejected Raghuram Iyer’s appointment as chief executive, although Usha said they had agreed in January. Usha said after the meeting:

“They want to re-initiate the whole process, they want to re-advertise afresh. It’s like saying we don’t want this person and let us start the process from the scratch.

“This process (of appointment of CEO) took two years and now they want to start all over again. This is going to have repercussions (from the IOC). It can jeopardise India’s chances of bidding for and hosting the 2036 Olympics.

“I am not going to accept this. I have told this to the IOC. I am not a quitter, I am not going anywhere without cleaning the IOA.”

● Olympic Winter Games 2034: Salt Lake City ● International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER) toured the University of Utah, the Utah Olympic Oval skating rink and the Utah Olympic Park in Park City, and met with leaders of the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City.

Meetings with the in-formation 2034 Salt Lake City organizing committee were also held, with IOC Director General Christophe de Kepper (BEL) and Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi (SUI).

Bach began his week-long tour of the U.S. at the United Nations in New York, met with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and visited the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs and finished with meeting with the LA28 organizers in Los Angeles.

U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee President Gene Sykes was asked about the addition to the termination clause in the Olympic Host Contract referring to the authority of the World Anti-Doping Agency; he called it a “reasonable accommodation” to the IOC’s concerns and added:

“It would have been incredibly disturbing if the Games had not been awarded at that time.

“There were 150 people in the Utah delegation who’d traveled to Paris for the single purpose of being there when the Games were awarded. So this allowed that to happen in a way that we still feel very confident does not put Utah at any real risk of losing the Games. The IOC absolutely does not want to lose Utah in 2034.”

● Athletics ● Ethiopia’s Milkesa Mengesha and Tigist Ketema won the 50th Berlin Marathons on Sunday, in 2:03:17 and 2:16:42.

Running his fourth career marathon, Mengesha was 10th at the Tokyo Olympic 5,000 m in 2021, then moved to the roads in 2022. He won in Daegu (KOR) in 2023, then finished sixth at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.

In Berlin, he was with a pack of 11 that passed the half in 60:57, thinned to eight by 30 km and seven at 35 km. Mengesha finally broke away only in the final 1,000 m, winning in a lifetime best of 2:03:17, moving to no. 3 on the 2024 world list.

Kenya’s Cybrian Kotut was a close second in a lifetime best of 2:03:22, followed by Haymanot Alew (ETH: 2:03:31) and Stephen Kiprop (KEN: 2:03:37).

Ketema won the women’s race in a runaway, running only with fellow Ethiopian Azmera Gebru from the 5 km mark and dropping her by 20 km. Ketema crossed the half in 1:07:53 and cruised to a 2:16:42 win, second only to her 2:16:07 in the Dubai Marathon in January.

Ethiopians swept the top four places, with Mestawot Fikir second with a lifetime best of 2:18:48, then Bosena Mulatie (2:19:00) and Aberu Anaya Mulisa (2:20:20).

It was the first Ethiopian sweep of both the men’s and women’s races since 2021 and the seventh ever.

Former Huntington University track coach Nick Johnson was convicted of sexual battery in Indiana state court on Thursday evening.

Johnson, who was at Huntington from 2018-20, was found guilty by an eight-member jury in Huntington Superior Court in a two-day trial. The specific incident took place in July 2020 involving a female athlete who Johnson had given a massage. The verdict came in Thursday evening.

Johnson had been accused of running a doping program in a federal suit which was dismissed. Sentencing for Johnson’s conviction is scheduled for 7 October.

● Cycling ● The penultimate leg of the 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup was in Lake Placid, New York, with the women’s race coming down to a battle between Austria’s Laura Stigger and Swiss Sina Frei, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic runner-up. Stigger won in 1:18:36 for her second career World Cup gold, with Frei in the same time and France’s Loana Lecompte, the 2023 Worlds silver winner, third in 1:18:40.

Frei won the Short Track race in 19:41, with Rio 2016 Olympic champ Jenny Rissveds (SWE: 19:44) second.

Paris Olympic runner-up Victor Koretzky (FRA) won a very tight men’s race in 1:22:17, barely ahead of Paris bronze medalist Alan Hatherly (RSA), Filippo Colombo (SUI) and Marcel Guerrini (SUI), all timed in 1:22:18. It’s Koretzky’s first World Cup win of the season.

Koretzky also won the Short-Track race – his third this season – over Denmark’s Simon Andreassen, 22:00 to 22:02.

The season will wrap next week at Mont-Sainte-Anne in Quebec.

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LANE ONE: L.A. City Council wish list for City staff and LA28 organizers growing, on arts, hiring and watch parties

By
Rich Perelman
-
The Los Angeles City Council chamber at City Hall (Photo: City of Los Angeles)

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≡ LOS ANGELES 2028 ≡

The Los Angeles City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Olympic & Paralympic Games last met on 24 June 2024, and was considerably irked by what it saw as a lack of collaboration on the announcement by the LA28 organizers of multiple venue changes on 21 June, and more revealed on 12 July.

Said committee Chair Traci Park:

“I want to be very clear that to move an Olympic sport outside the City of Los Angeles will not be done by a press release, headline or by another city.

“That decision will be made by this committee and the full Council as agreed in the Games Agreement.

“I look forward to the [Chief Legislative Analyst] and the [Chief Administrative Officer] providing their joint analysis and I would encourage committee members to use the summer recess to review those materials so that we can take them up when we return after recess.”

Then came the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, both outstanding successes that thoroughly impressed the Committee members, judging by the continuing flow of motions from its members:

● 20 September: A motion by Council members Curren Price and Park to “identify City-owned sites within their respective Council Districts that could be converted into Activation Zones for the 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games and other major events prior.”

● 25 September: A motion by Council member Monica Rodriguez that “DIRECTS the Department of Cultural Affairs, with the assistance of the City Administrative Officer, the Chief Legislative Analyst, and REQUEST LA28 to report on the status of planning for the Olympic Arts Festival for the LA28 Games, including how the Festival will engage the broadest range of performing arts centers, museums, galleries, and other types of venues throughout the City of Los Angeles as possible.”

● 25 September: Rodriguez submitted another motion, this time concerning hiring, to “request the City Administrative Officer, the Chief Legislative Analyst, and the City Attorney to work with LA28 to establish and document employment opportunities available for the local workforce in the City of Los Angeles and provide a report to Council detailing how opportunities will be promoted to the City workers.”

● 25 September: Rodriguez also moved to obtain supplier and vendor information, asking “the City Administrative Officer, the Chief Legislative Analyst, and the City Attorney to work with LA28 on procurement opportunities available for small, medium, and large size businesses in the City of Los Angeles and provide a report to Council detailing how the opportunities will be promoted to local businesses.”

● 25 September: Rodriguez’s fourth motion, joined by Price, expanded the desire for festival sites:

“I THEREFORE MOVE that Council DIRECT the Chief Legislative Analyst and the City Administrative Officer, in consultation with the Council Offices and all relevant Departments, and REQUEST LA28 to develop at least 28 locations throughout the City, in every Council District, including, but not limited to, non-City owned spaces, where viewing party locations and activations can be hosted to serve Angelenos.”

No reference was made to Park’s 20 September motion on “Activation Zones,” although Park seconded Rodriguez’s motion.

The Ad Hoc Committee on the Olympic and Paralympic Games has not publicly announced its next meeting date, but it has quite an agenda on its hands.

All of these are interesting inquiries and ideas, but Park, Price and Rodriguez may be disappointed by the responses they get, partly because there appears to be very little understanding of how an Olympic or Paralympic Games organizing committee works:

● On local hiring, the motion also asks “LA28 to provide estimates of local hiring by category and work with the Bureau of Contract Administration and the Economic Workforce Development Department to develop an outreach, education and training program leveraging current programs.”

LA28 is still in formation at 160-plus staff (it will reach more than 3,000 by 2028) and has not confirmed its Olympic competition venues for six sports, two cycling disciplines, one sport in limbo – boxing – and its five added sports, not to mention the Paralympics altogether. It will be a long time before LA28 can estimate its hiring needs in the long term, or for the Games.

Multi-sport projects do not follow a linear plan, such as for building a skyscraper, but are developed on the fly, with input from multiple stakeholders on the local, regional, national and international level. For those sites outside of the City of Los Angeles, those host cities will be just as interested in having their residents get a crack at Olympic and Paralympic jobs.

● On the “Olympic Arts Festival,” Rodriguez’s motion refers only to the City’s agreement with LA28 to work with the city, and notes “It would not have been possible without the 1984 Los Angeles Organizing Committee.”

In fact, it is the organizing committee’s responsibility alone, as stated in Rule 39 of the Olympic Charter:

“The OCOG [organizing committee] shall organise a programme of cultural events which must cover at least the entire period during which the Olympic Village is open. Such programme shall be submitted to the IOC Executive Board for its prior approval.”

In 1984, the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee completely changed the cultural program from a during-the-Games project to a 10-week program which began on 1 June 1984, way ahead of the 28 July opening of the Olympic Games. The program included 432 performances and 31 visual arts exhibitions from more than a dozen countries, with 37 co-producers at a total of 47 different sites throughout Southern California.

Attendance was more than 1.25 million, with the Festival coming in at a total cost of about $11.5 million, about $34.8 million in 2024 dollars. A large part of the budget came from a $5 million sponsorship by the Times Mirror Company.

In fact, if the LA28 cultural program is only limited to the City and resident artists, it will be a failure.

● The interest in “Activation Zones” has grown considerably since seeing the Paris “Terre des Jeux” program which placed viewing and festival sites across the country and in all 20 Paris arrondissements.

Park’s 20 September request for an “Activation Zone” in each of the 15 Council districts has ballooned to 28 in Rodriguez’s 25 September motion.

Whatever the program ends up being, it will be critical for the City of Los Angeles and LA28 to work together to avoid the uncontrolled, ambush marketing efforts which were allowed in Atlanta in 1996 and which remain an unforgettable stain on that Games to all who saw it.

One of the truly underrated, but crucially important elements of a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games is the close cooperation of the City and the organizing committee. Los Angeles in 1932 and 1984, Salt Lake City in 2002 and Paris in 2024 all achieved outstanding results, significantly due to the partnership between the local government and the organizing committee.

LA28 is just starting up. Rodriguez, Park, Price and all of the L.A. City Council need to ensure they help its growth in order to get the results they are dreaming of in four years.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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CYCLING: Second Worlds win for Kopecky, first for Pogacar; death for Swiss teen Furrer at World Roads Champs

By
Rich Perelman
-
Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky won her second straight UCI Women’s World Road title on Saturday (Photo: UCI on X)

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≡ WORLD ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

/Updated/The week-long UCI World Road Championships in and around Zurich, Switzerland neared its finish on Saturday with a brilliant win for defending women’s champion Lotte Kopecky of Belgium.

But it was also marred by a tragic death of Swiss teen rider Muriel Furrer on Friday, following her Thursday crash in the women’s World Junior Worlds race.

Kopecky came into the 2024 Women’s Worlds Roads Championship as the 2023 winner, after finishing second in 2023. The rainy, 154.1 km race included five laps of a course which included a modest, 250 m rise on each lap.

Kopecky moved up to the leading group of almost 50 riders by the end of the third lap, but was 58 seconds back of a lead pack of four going into the final, fifth lap. She and others closed the gap and the race was down to eight with 13 km left.

Dutch star Demi Vollering, second last year, attacked with 10 km to go, with Kopecky on her wheel, then Italy’s Giro d’Italia winner Elisa Longo Borghini took the lead with just 5 km left. But she was quickly caught by Vollering, with American Chloe Dygert and Ruby Roseman-Gannon (AUS) coming up to challenge.

It was finally a six-way sprint to the line and Kopecky got there first in 4:05:26, with Dygert – a two-time Worlds Time Trial winner – getting second by a wheel-length with Longo Borghini third, Liane Lippert (GER) fourth and Vollering fifth. Kopecky said later:

“From three laps to go, I was actually freezing.

“But I tried to keep my head as cool as possible and I didn’t have any troubles but on the longer [climb], when Demi went, I had some difficulties but I tried to keep my own pace and come back. In the end, it was a lot of mind games. A rider [Longo Borghini] came from the back with speed and Demi replied immediately, which was perfect for me.”

Kopecky is the repeat winner of the women’s Worlds since Marianne Vos (NED) in 2012 and 2013.

The men’s race concluded the Worlds on Sunday, with Slovenian star Tadej Pogacar capping off a brilliant year with a sensational attack from 100 km out to take his first Worlds victory.

The seven-lap, 273.9 km ride from Winterthur to Zurich saw Pogacar surge from the peloton with about 100 km to go and pick off the breakaway leaders, finally passing France’s Pavel Sivakov with 51.7 km remaining.

From there, he was clear and won in 6:27:30, 34 seconds up on Australian Ben O’Connor and 58 seconds ahead of a group of four: defending champ Mathieu van der Poel (NED), Toms Skujins (LAT), 2022 World Champion and 2024 Worlds Time Trial winner Remco Evenepoel (BEL) and Swiss Marc Hirschi. Quinn Simmons was the top American, in ninth (+2:18).

Pogacar won the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France and now the Worlds Roads Championship, fulfilling all of his goals on the season. The only other to achieve the feat were Eddy Merckx (BEL: 1974) and Stephen Roche (IRL: 1987); Dutch women’s star Annemiek van Vleuten also did it in 2022.

And Pogacar is still just 26.

On Thursday, the route for the women’s Junior Road Race was 73.6 km with rainy conditions, and the UCI said in a statement:

“Swiss rider Muriel Furrer fell heavily today, Thursday 26 September, during the Women Junior road race at the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich (Switzerland) for reasons still to be determined. Muriel Furrer was taken to hospital by an emergency helicopter. She suffered a serious head injury and is in a very critical condition.”

On Friday, the news was tragic:

“It is with great sadness that the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the Organising Committee of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich (Switzerland) today learned the tragic news of the death of young Swiss cyclist Muriel Furrer.

“With the passing of Muriel Furrer, the international cycling community loses a rider with a bright future ahead of her. The 18-year-old rider fell heavily yesterday, Thursday 26 September, during the Women Junior road race, and suffered a serious head injury before being flown to hospital by helicopter in a very critical condition. Muriel Furrer sadly passed away today at Zurich University Hospital.”

A police investigation is underway. Friday evening and Saturday ceremonies and an end-of-event party for Saturday were canceled. Friday’s medal ceremonies were trimmed and did not include anthems and flags were flown only at half-mast.

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ANTI-DOPING: World Anti-Doping Agency appeals no-fault finding in Sinner doping case, raising questions about the China swimming positives

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ TENNIS ≡

In an action sure to raise more questions about the January 2021 Chinese swimming positives incident, the World Anti-Doping Agency announced Saturday:

“The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirms that on Thursday 26 September, it lodged an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the case of Italian tennis player, Jannik Sinner, who was found by an independent tribunal of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) to bear no fault or negligence having twice tested positive for clostebol, a prohibited substance, in March 2024.

“It is WADA’s view that the finding of ‘no fault or negligence’ was not correct under the applicable rules. WADA is seeking a period of ineligibility of between one and two years. WADA is not seeking a disqualification of any results, save that which has already been imposed by the tribunal of first instance.”

The no. 1-ranked Sinner (ITA), the U.S. Open winner, tested positive twice within nine days for the steroid clostebol, first during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California and then eight days later in an out-of-competition test. The ITIA, in its 20 August announcement of the no-fault finding, explained what happened next:

● “Under the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC), when a player returns an Adverse Analytical Finding for a non-specified substance, like clostebol, a provisional suspension is automatically applied. The player has the right to apply to an independent tribunal chair appointed by Sport Resolutions to have that provisional suspension lifted.”

● “As such, after each positive test, a provisional suspension was applied. On both occasions, Sinner successfully appealed the provisional suspension and so has been able to continue playing.”

● “The player explained that the substance had entered their system as a result of contamination from a support team member, who had been applying an over-the-counter spray (available in Italy) containing clostebol to their own skin to treat a small wound. That support team member applied the spray between 5 and 13 March, during which time they also provided daily massages and sports therapy to Sinner, resulting in unknowing transdermal contamination.”

● “Following consultation with scientific experts, who concluded that the player’s explanation was credible, the ITIA did not oppose the player’s appeals to lift the provisional suspensions.”

The matter was referred to an independent panel not affiliated with the ITIA, which heard the matter with a three-member panel and filed a 19 August decision. Their decision was:

“Under the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC), when a player returns an Adverse Analytical Finding for a non-specified substance, like clostebol, a provisional suspension is automatically applied. The player has the right to apply to an independent tribunal chair appointed by Sport Resolutions to have that provisional suspension lifted.   

“As such, after each positive test, a provisional suspension was applied. On both occasions, Sinner successfully appealed the provisional suspension and so has been able to continue playing.  

“The player explained that the substance had entered their system as a result of contamination from a support team member, who had been applying an over-the-counter spray (available in Italy) containing clostebol to their own skin to treat a small wound. That support team member applied the spray between 5 and 13 March, during which time they also provided daily massages and sports therapy to Sinner, resulting in unknowing transdermal contamination.  

“Following consultation with scientific experts, who concluded that the player’s explanation was credible, the ITIA did not oppose the player’s appeals to lift the provisional suspensions.”

So WADA will try to convince the Court of Arbitration for Sport that the decision of the independent panel did not properly find “No Fault or Negligence.” The applicable Tennis Anti-Doping Programme rule 10.5 states simply:

“Elimination of the period of Ineligibility where there is No Fault or Negligence
If a Player or other Person establishes in an individual case that they bear No Fault or Negligence for the Anti-Doping Rule Violation, the otherwise applicable period of Ineligibility will be eliminated.”

This appeal will take some months to be heard and decided; the next tennis major is the Australian Open, from 6-26 January in Melbourne.

Observed: This decision to appeal the finding of no fault by Sinner is bound to inflame WADA’s critics on the January 2021 Chinese doping incident in which 23 swimmers were found to have traces of the prohibited substance Trimetazidine in their samples.

In those cases, there were no suspensions of any kind imposed by the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency and WADA did not appeal. Here, in the Sinner case, there were provisional suspensions imposed immediately, which Sinner appealed successfully.

The ITIA, in a statement, politely noted:

“The process was run according to World Anti-Doping Code guidelines; however, the ITIA acknowledges and respects WADA’s right to appeal the independent tribunal’s decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”

WADA will score some points with the tennis community for appealing this case, but it only raises more questions about its inaction – as has been pointed out by many others – in the China swimming incident from 2021.

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OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES: Swiss government pledges key support for 2038 Winter bid

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ SWITZERLAND 2038 ≡

“A project on the scale of the Olympic and Paralympic Games is not feasible without fundamental political support from the public sector. We are therefore grateful for the clear commitment of the Federal Council. Now we can push ahead with further work with full political support.”

That’s from Urs Lehmann, Co-President of the Swiss Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2038 association and President of the Swiss-Ski federation, after Friday’s announcement that the Swiss Federal Council agreed to support the national bid to host the 2038 Olympic Winter Games.

In November 2023, the International Olympic Committee Executive Board designated the Swiss bid for a Winter Games in the 2030s – without a specified year – into an exclusive “negotiating period” called “Privileged Dialogue”:

“The decision to invite Switzerland 203x into Privileged Dialogue is based on the very good fundamentals of the Swiss project, as presented to the Future Host Commission and discussed by the IOC EB. These are: the many existing venues; the great experience of Switzerland in hosting international winter sport events; and its role as host country of the IOC and many International Sports Federations. The vision of 203x includes interest in future Games up to 2038.

“During the Privileged Dialogue, the IOC will not engage in discussions with other potential hosts for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2038. In this exclusive dialogue, the IOC will ask the Interested Party to address some of the areas of the project which still require further discussion, mainly: the distribution of the venues; the funding strategy; the guarantees; and public support. The Privileged Dialogue, which will last to the end of 2027 but could end earlier if the project is ready, will give appropriate time to Switzerland 203x for any required consultation on these and other topics, to complete all the outstanding elements.”

Essentially, the Swiss concept is disassembling the Winter Games completely, without any real hub, and spreading it throughout the country was too much for the IOC. So, the discussions are continuing on how to make the 2038 bid look a bit more like a traditional Olympic Games, with some sort of a central area, or perhaps two, as with Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy for 2026.

The SwissOlympic announcement explained the government’s agreement further:

“The Federal Council has pledged political support to Swiss sport on the way to a possible Olympic candidacy. It recognizes the great added value of the Winter Games for Switzerland and local society. The Federal Council is prepared to make its contribution to clarifying further organizational and technical issues by setting up an interdepartmental working group.”

The statement noted that the cantons – regions – have already agreed to support the project, thus lining up all of the political support needed in Switzerland to move forward. This is critical given prior Winter bids which have been imploded by referenda on the local or national level.

Friday’s post also recounted the primary areas that need to work out, in concert with the IOC, “to explore and clarify open questions about financing, mobility, security, infrastructure, venues, legacy and other operational aspects. In addition, further clarifications will be made about the potential of private financing – with the aim of attracting appropriate organizations to the project.”

All signs point to a Winter Games in Switzerland in 2038, which would be third held in the country, after St. Moritz in 1928 and 1948.

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INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: Toyota confirms end of TOP sponsorship over concerns about “putting people first.”

By
Rich Perelman
-
Toyota Chair Akio Toyoda announcing continuing support for U.S. athletes at the company’s national dealers meeting in Las Vegas (Photo: Toyota Times podcast screen shot)

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≡ ANALYSIS & OBSERVATIONS ≡

The world’s largest automobile manufacturer, Toyota Motor Corporation, confirmed that it will not review its Olympic sponsorship agreement beyond the end of 2024.

Toyota Chair Akio Toyoda made the announcement on Toyota’s own media channel. In a lengthy interview in a 23-minute version of the “Toyota Times” podcast posted Wednesday, he played a portion of remarks he made – in English – to his U.S. dealers earlier in September in Las Vegas about Toyota’s Olympic sponsorship:

“What matters most is not sales records, but opportunity to help make people’s lives better, to help them achieve their dreams. This is the main reason we became the mobility sponsor of the Olympics and Paralympics in 2018, as the sponsor of over 250 Olympic and Paralympic athletes around the world

“Now, as you may know, we have decided not to renew our sponsorship with the IOC after Paris, because, honestly, I’m not sure they’re truly focused on putting people first.

“To me, the Olympics should simply be about watching athletes from all walks of life, with all types of challenges achieve their impossible.”

Toyoda noted that the company’s Global Team Toyota Athletes – 277 in all – had 179 of them make it to the Paris Olympic Games. And he had a special message for the American athletes – gathered on stage – that Toyota sponsors:

“Unfortunately, since Toyota will no longer be a sponsor of Olympics going forward, this also means we can no longer officially sponsor Olympic and Paralympic Team Toyota athletes. But I have a special surprise for you today. Are you ready?

“I have decided that Toyota will continue to provide the same financial support to you, and not only for you, but all our Team Toyota athletes around the world, for as long as you remain Olympians and Paralympians. How does that sound?

“In addition, we will also provide financial support to the International Paralympic Committee through our Toyota Mobility Foundation, to help increase opportunities for para-athletes, both on and off the field. And assist in the development of new technology and equipment to support their efforts.

“So, on behalf of all of us here, thank you for your partnership and we look forward to cheering you on in the future.”

The announcement was met with thunderous applause and visible astonishment on the faces of many of the U.S. athletes on the stage.

Toyoda explained further in the Japanese portion of the interview; this is from the automated English translation on YouTube from the original Japanese:

● “The decision was already made before the Paris Paralympic Games even happened, and yes, the 10-year contract was also a factor. But, you know, during the Olympics and Paralympics, that kind of news came out.”

● “As I said in this speech, I wonder if it’s people first or not. I wonder if it’s athletes first. Yes, that’s why political positions have become stronger, so I think it’s a little more important. I’ve always had doubts about whether it’s OK to say that to the players, but that’s the reason why I decided to quit this time.”

Report in other media have reported Toyoda’s comments as “With the increasing political undertone of the games, we were wondering if this was the right way to go.”

He also noted that the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo was held in October, in a better season for Japan, and the 2020 Games (in 2021) was held in August – much warmer – noting “the time zone is adjusted to the United States.”

Toyota’s decision not to extend its Olympic sponsorship raises questions, of course, especially for the LA28 organizers:

● Will the IOC release this category to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Properties team for sale?

● With Toyota out of its Olympic sponsorship, what will happen to the company’s U.S. sponsorships of USA Track & Field, USA Swimming and other national governing bodies?

There is also the question of the LA28 budget, as the Host City Contract with the IOC included:

“for indicative purposes only, based on the experience of the IOC from previous editions of the Games of the Olympiad and without taking into account potential evolutions in the International Programme that may occur after the execution of the HCC (including, without limitation, potential renegotiations or renewals of current agreements covering key product categories which are forecasted to generate an estimated increase of USD 200.000.000 (two hundred million United States dollars) in the amount indicated below), the amount of the OCOG’s share of the net revenues (including cash and value-in-kind) from the International Programme foreseen under §8.1(e), is currently estimated at USD 437.000.000 (four hundred thirty seven million United States dollars).” (Emphasis added)

The LA28 revenue projection of $6.88 billion includes both the $437 million estimated in the Host City agreement and the expected additional $200 million from increased renewals. That money is not coming from Toyota now.

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