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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. USOPC nearing halfway on $500 million ‘21-28 funding goal
2. Monaco magic: Hull WR, Ingebrigtsen 3:26.73, Benjamin wins!
3. French minister swims in Seine, water quality continues good
4. IOC announces Olympic Esports Games in Saudi Arabia
5. LA28 confirms 18 more sport and venue assignments

● The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee announced a fund-raising goal of $500 million last September … and will be almost halfway there by the end of the year. That’s from the head of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation, Christine Walshe, explaining that the half-billion goal is for the 2021-to-2028 period, with $190 million in cash and pledges in hand and $225 million expected by year-end. And then Los Angeles 2028 is coming.

● At the Diamond League meet in Monaco, Australian middle-distance star Jess Hull blasted the world record for the women’s 2,000 m in 5:19.70. There were world-leading marks in four events, including a spectacular, near-world-record 3:26.73 by Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the men’s 1,500 m, and American Rai Benjamin defeated Olympic champ Karsten Warholm and 2022 World Champion Alison dos Santos in the men’s 400 m hurdles.

● The City of Paris reported good water-quality readings in the Seine River over the past week, sufficient to host the triathlon and open-water swimming competitions there during the Paris Games. The French Sports Minister was the first public official to take a swim in the river.

● The International Olympic Committee committed to a 12-year agreement to stage an unspecified number of Olympic Esports Games in Saudi Arabia, beginning in 2025. The deal with the Saudi National Olympic Committee places the new event in an area which has high interest in esports already – and will stage the 2034 Asian Games and FIFA World Cup – but the complaints about the country’s human-rights record are sure to follow.

● The LA28 organizers confirmed the venues for 18 sports and 20 disciplines on Friday, with most of the assignments the same as in the bid plan for 2017, but canoeing and rowing were finally announced for the Long Beach Marine Stadium. Still not sited are six Olympic program sports, two cycling disciplines, one sport in limbo (boxing) and five added sports.

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (Delta sees $100 million loss in Q3 due to Games) = Anti-Doping (ASOIF and WOF decry U.S. gov’t interview of Nowicki) = Athletics (2: Bol runs 50.95 400H in Switzerland! Rodenfels takes USATF 6 km title) = Beach Volleyball (Mol and Sorum back on top in Beach Pro Tour Vienna) = Cycling (2: Pogacar extends Tour de France lead; Longo Borghini wins Giro Donne) = Football (4: Spain wins fourth Euro title over England; Argentina takes record 16th Copa America; U.S. women dominate Mexico, but win 1-0; CONMEBOL inquiry into Uruguayan melee with Colombian fans) = Gymnastics (Nikolina takes Rhythmic World Challenge Cup A-A win) = Sport Climbing (U.S.’s Watson and Duffy win World Cup titles in Chamonix) = Triathlon (Beaugrand and Hauser impress in Hamburg wins) ●

● Memorabilia: Last week to bid on the 380-item auction of Olympic-related items, including 71 medals and 40 torches at RR Auction’s semi-annual sale, now to 18 July! ●

1.
USOPC nearing halfway on $500 million ‘21-28 funding goal

(Part I of II on the fund-raising efforts of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation)

“What you typically do in this type of campaign is you have a silent phase, and then what you call a ‘friends and family’ phase – which is part of the silent phase: you raise half towards goal – and then you announce publicly. So we’re over $190 million going into Paris; we’d sort of be foolish to wait to December 31st to announce, and our goal for this quad – ‘21 to ‘24 – is $225 million. And we’re at $190.”

That’s Christine Walshe, President of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation since 2019 and who helped to create the organization – the public fund-raising arm of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee – in 2013.

In an exclusive interview with The Sports Examiner, she noted that the goal of the current campaign, which has kept a low profile so far, is to raise $500 million from 2021, through the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028. And so far, it’s moving along.

Cash contributions to the USOPF – a charitable organization under Internal Revenue Code sec. 501(c)(3) – were reported as $50.07 million in 2021 and $41.47 million in 2022. But Walshe explained that with cash in and pledges for multi-year gifts, the total committed to the Foundation in 2023 was $60 million, with a goal of $80 million for this year.

This is progress, with another large gift to be announced today. Walsh explained that the $225 million goal for 2021 to 2024 is a big increase:

“That will be $100 million over last quad. The last quad – ‘17 to ‘20 – we raised $125 million. And we’re looking to raise $225 in pledges at the end of this year.

“That will get us to the halfway mark and, then, of course, we need to raise at least $225 for the next quad. We’re being a little conservative, for a 10-year-old organization, without an affinity group like alumni or grateful patients like a hospital.

“We’ll probably get $480 [million] in the door in cash [by the end of 2028] and $500-plus million pledged.”

How?

“We needed to let the American public know that our athletes do not receive Federal funding and rely on fan-funded operations, broadcasting, sponsorship and now, of course, fan engagement and philanthropy.”

There are multiple tactics:

● “We have the Annual Fund. It will have a spot on NBC [Olympic coverage] and NBC will also be talking about this campaign, so we have our own fund-raising spot driving people to TeamUSA.org/give, and so that business is still up and running.

“In fund-raising, you have direct mail and digital; direct mail … is still our bread and butter. The Baby Boomers – that generation, a lot of them – still give that way, and then our digital fund-raising is growing.”

● “Households will see us in social media, lots of digital campaigns, paper campaigns, television, and then we have a second program. So the Annual Fund – what we call the Team USA Fund – is $1 to $2,500, and that’s asking them to engage for content, mostly. We give them watch guides and stories, and really connecting with the athlete story, if you will, hometown heroes.”

● “The next group is called the ‘Giving Circle’ and at the level of the Giving Circle, donors will get a little more interaction, and invitations to join our efforts at a more group setting. So, for instance, the invitations to larger events, [Olympic] Trials, world championships, domestic events here in the United States.

“One of the beauties of winning the bid is not just the Games themselves, but the amount of sport that comes to the U.S. in the form of test events and so forth. All the National Governing Bodies will do great work in attracting more sport here to the United States. That will happen.”

● “The next, sort of group, after Giving Circle, or ‘mid-major’ is our ‘Major Gift’ community, and that starts at a gift of $150,000. So we have a dollar to $2,500, then we have $2,500 to $150 [thousand] and $150 to $500,000 … payable over four years.

“Fully tax deductible and the best thing is 100% goes to athlete and athlete programs. We bring it directly to sport, and athlete services, so under Rocky Harris’ division [Sport & Athlete Services]. The USOPC has three pillars: athlete excellence, sport advancement and community growth. This campaign solely lives in athlete excellence.”

● “Once you get into the six-figure contribution, then you’re getting to know about programs. You’re talking about health and wellness, you’re talking about sport performance and innovation, and you’re talking about athlete career and education. And you’re involved more in the strategy of why we need the money specifically.

“Certain people are invited to become Olympic and Paralympic Foundation trustees, and named trustees, and then once you serve on the Trustee Council for two years, certain people are nominated to the Foundation Board of Directors, so that’s the Board that Geoff Yang [Redpoint Ventures] is the Chair of; we have three Vice Chairs: Executive Committee, Finance Committee and [Nominating and Governance] Committee.”

● “And than after the level of $500 [thousand] and up, you can begin to restrict your giving. So we have a really amazing program called Sport Ambassador Program, where it’s a $1.5 million contribution over four years and you can support a program for a sport of your choice. And we have over 25 of these right now, where people have become Sport Ambassadors for swimming, equestrian, mental health as a program, so that’s when philanthropists can really invest their funds.

“And we have a program at $5 million – Team Captain – and beyond that, we have lots of programs now for the campaign that are $5 million plus. So there’s really something for everybody. And every benefit from the bottom continues to compound for those who make gifts at the higher level.”

Walshe was insistent that all fund-raising levels are important and that all are strongly supported within the Foundation’s effort:

“There’s two metrics: there’s dollars raised, but then there’s volume in households. So we want volume in households to be at the bottom of the pyramid. We want to grow the bottom of the pyramid, more households. The top of the pyramid will be fewer, more like 30 to 60, depending, with larger gifts that might make up 70-75% of the funding. But there’s two goals here: there’s the raising of the funds, and then asking the American public, inviting them to join the family. …

“The purpose of the campaign is to make sure every American knows that we’re a cause, and that we’re asking them to join our efforts to support Team USA. Our moonshot is that 1% of the American public would give $100. That’s going to take a long time; that’s not going to happen between now and 2028, but it is our moonshot. So we need both to work, because this is our launching pad.

“We’re not looking at it as a means to an end: we’re going to hopefully be in American households in 2028 in a way we should have been 100 years ago, 50 years ago, etc., and from there, we hopefully will opportunity to continue our effort through the ‘34 [Winter] Games in Salt Lake. So both metrics are critical to the success of the campaign.”

Coming Tuesday in part II: What happens to the money once it’s raised and the coordination efforts with the LA28 organizers and the to-be-elected Salt Lake City 2034 Winter Games organizing effort.

2.
Monaco magic: Hull WR, Ingebrigtsen 3:26.73, Benjamin wins

Another brilliant Diamond League meet presaging a spectacular Olympic Games, with a world record in the women’s 2,000 m and world-leading performances in four events:

● Men/400 m: 43.80, Quincy Hall (USA)
● Men/800 m: 1:41.46, Djamel Sedjati (ALG)
● Men/1,500 m: 3:26.73, Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR)
● Women/2,000 m: 5:19.70, Jessica Hull (AUS) ~ World Record

Even with these, the highlight of the Meeting Herculis in Monaco might have been the first event on the track.

That would be the men’s 400 m hurdles, with Olympic champ Karsten Warholm (NOR) in seven, 2022 World Champion Alison dos Santos (BRA) in six and world leader Rai Benjamin of the U.S. in five. The start was normal: Warholm flew out of the blocks and had the lead immediately, with dos Santos trailing. The Brazilian had the lead by the third hurdle and kept it into the turn, when Warholm came on again, but with Benjamin in close contact.

Then, Benjamin moved hard after hurdle seven and was into second by the eighth hurdle, moving up on Warholm. The Norwegian cleared the final hurdle in the lead, but Benjamin had the most left on the run-in and won in the final 20 m in 46.67, with Warholm at 46.73 and dos Santos third in 47.18. Fellow Americans CJ Allen and Caleb Dean finished sixth (48.28) and eighth (48.46).

A strong field was assembled for the rarely-run women’s 2,000 m, trying for the 5:21.56 world mark by Francine Niyonsaba (BUR) from 2021. Pacesetter Heather Maclean of the U.S. was in front with two laps left, trailed by Australian Jessica Hull, who had run so brilliantly behind Kenyan Faith Kipyegon’s 1,500 m world record in the Diamond League Paris meet – Hull is now no. 5 all-time – and has set six national records already in 2024.

With 500 m to go, Hull took off as Maclean retired, and the Australian star ran away with the race at the bell, with Kenyan Edinah Jebitok and Melissa Courtney-Bryant well behind. There was no let-up and Hull powered to a solo victory in a world record 5:19.70, shattering Niyonsaba’s mark. Courtney-Bryant came up for second on the straight in 5:26.08 (no. 5 all-time), then Jebitok in 5:26.09 (no. 6 all-time) and Cory McGee of the U.S. in 5:28.78 (no. 11), an American Record!

The other world leaders:

● The men’s 400 m had world leader Christopher Morales Williams (CAN), the Georgia star, along with U.S. Olympic Trials winner Quincy Hall and fourth-placer Vernon Norwood. And the two Americans were out strongly, with Norwood initially leading and then Hall taking over just past the halfway point, with Morales Williams close. Hall continued his hot pace into the straight, with Norwood close, but Morales Williams faded. No let-up for Hall, as he crossed in a lifetime best and world-leading 43.80, with Norwood a solid second in 44.34 and Lythe Pillay (RSA: 44.58) in third. Morales Williams faded to sixth in 45.11.

Hall is now no. 9 all-time U.S.; he has run eight races – including prelims – this season, and improved his season’s best in each one! It’s his second Diamond League win of 2024.

● The men’s 800 m had World Champion Marco Arop of Canada and three of the top four finishers in the magical 1:41+ Paris race from 7 July, and Arop emerged from a crowd at the bell to take the lead with 300 m to go. He was closely followed by the Paris winner, Algerian Djamel Sedjati and Kenya’s Aaron Cheminingwa. France’s Gabriel Tual, third in the Paris race, came up to challenge around the final bend, with Arop still leading.

But he was passed as Sedjati – now the Paris Olympic favorite – stormed by and won going away in a lifetime best and world-leading 1:41.46! He’s still no. 3 all-time, but with the no. 7 performance ever.

Spain’s Mohamed Attaoui came up from fifth to second in a national record 1:42.04 (no. 4 on the 2024 world list), and Tual was third in 1:42.10, with Cheminingwa dropping to fourth (1:42.13). Arop ended up in sixth, but still ran 1:42.93! Wow.

● In the men’s 1,500 m, Norway’s Olympic champ Jakob Ingebrigtsen positioned himself right behind the pacesetters, clearly looking for a fast time. He took over just past 800 m, trailed by 2019 World Champion Tim Cheruiyot (KEN) and U.S. Trials winner Yared Nuguse, and Australia’s Olli Hoare.

Those four stayed in line through the bell and then Ingebrigtsen let it out, racing away on the back straight and flying to the finish – unchallenged – to win in a world-leading 3:26.73 (54.06 last lap), a European record, still no. 4 all-time and the no. 6 performance in history. It was his third sub-3:28 performance, and he’s 23!

Cheruiyot and fellow Kenyan Brian Komen out-dueled Nuguse in the final 60 m and finished 2-3 in 3:28.71 and 3:28.80 (lifetime best), with Nuguse fourth at 3:29.13, a seasonal best and the no. 3 performance in American history (he has all three!). Neil Gourley (GBR) also moved up late for fifth (3:30.65) and American Vince Ciattei was ninth in 3:32.04.

The rest of the meet was terrific as well:

Botswana’s 2023 World 200 m bronze winner Letsile Tebogo was the class of the men’s 200 m field, running hard into the straight and winning decisively in 19.87 (+0.6), well ahead of Dominican Alexander Ogando (20.02) and Uganda’s Tarsis Orogot (20.32).

The main question in the men’s 110 m hurdles was how fast would three-time World Champion Grant Holloway run? He got his usual bullet start and stormed to a clear win in 13.01, into a 0.7 m/s headwind. Italy’s Lorenzo Simonelli, the 22-year-old European champ, has emerged as a top threat and he surged past Americans Trey Cunningham and Cordell Tinch over hurdle ten and the run-in for second in 13.08, to 13.10 for Tinch and 13.13 for Cunningham. Holloway has now won all 17 of his hurdle races in 2024, at 60 m and 110 m, including heats.

The men’s high jump was just down to four at 2.31 m (7-7), but only U.S. Trials winner Shelby McEwen and New Zealand’s World Indoor champ Hamish Kerr could clear. Both made it on their first try, but McEwen was ahead of misses at an earlier height. At 2.33 m (7-7 3/4), however, both missed twice and then Kerr cleared on his third to win, as McEwen missed all three tries.

World no. 2 JuVaughn Harrison of the U.S. finished sixth at 2.21 m (7-3).

World no. 3 Julian Alfred (LCA) was the favorite in the women’s 100 m and ran like it, getting the lead by 30 m and keeping it, winning – eased up – in 10.85 into a 1.0 m/s headwind. A tight battle for second saw Tamari Davis of the U.S. – fourth at the Trials 100 – get second over Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, with both in 10.99. Americans Tamara Clark and Aleia Hobbs finished 7-8 in 11.25 and 11.26.

The women’s 400 m saw Euro bronze medalist Lieke Klaver (NED) take the lead over the first 200 m, trailed by European silver medalist Rashidat Adeleke (IRL) and then Olympic Trials winner Kendall Ellis of the U.S. Klaver led into the straight, but Adeleke was stronger and was in front with 50 m left and won in 49.17, with Klaver getting a lifetime best of 49.64 in second. Ellis came from fourth to third on the straight, in 50.39.

The women’s 5,000 m was a back-and-forth affair with Ethiopia’s Marta Alemayo, Likina Amebaw and 2024 African Games champ Fantaye Belayneh moving in and out of the lead, along with Kenya’s 2023 World Road 5 km silver medalist Lilian Rengeruk. At the bell, Alemayo had the lead over Amebaw and Kenya’s Margaret Akidor, who surged to the front on the back straight and led with 200 m to go. She held on and won in a lifetime best of 14:39.49, ahead of Amebaw, who moved into second on the straight (14:40.44) and Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka (14:40.86 lifetime best). American Weini Kelati was ninth in 14:44.91.

Only three could clear 4.83 m (15-10) in the women’s vault, with world leader Molly Caudery (GBR) and Swiss European champ Angelica Moser over on their first tries and co-World Champion Nina Kennedy (AUS) on her second. But at 4.88 m (16-0), it was Kennedy taking the lead with a first-try clearance and Moser over on her third, a national record. Caudery missed once and passed to 4.93 m (16-2), where everyone missed, leaving Kennedy with the win.

Olympic champ Katie Moon of the U.S. tied for fifth at 4.66 m (15-3 1/2).

Dominica’s World Indoor champ Thea Lafond had the early lead in the women’s triple jump at 14.87 m (48-9 1/2) in the first round, but it didn’t last. Cuba’s 2023 Worlds bronze winner Leyanis Perez took over in round three at 14.95 m (49-0 3/4) and then extended to 14.96 m (49-1) in round five for the eventual winner. Ukraine’s two-time Worlds silver medalist Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk was third in 14.81 m (48-7 1/4) from the third round.

Women’s world javelin champ Haruka Kitaguchi (JPN) tends to let the drama build and she did it again, coming through on her final throw to win at 65.21 m (213-11) over Worlds bronze winner Mackenzie Little (AUS), who had led at 64.74 m (212-5) from the first round!

One more pre-Olympic Diamond League meet, next Saturday in London (GBR).

3.
French minister swims in Seine, water quality continues good

Amid reports that the water quality in the Seine River has met cleanliness standards for more than a week, French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera swam in the river on Saturday, the first senior public official to take the plunge.

She was accompanied by Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Triathlon gold medalist Alexis Hanquinquant (FRA) in the swim, floating out into the river before a short swim.

Paris city official Pierre Rabadan, a Deputy for Sport to Mayor Anne Hidalgo, said in a Friday interview that the water quality levels had been adequate or better for 10 or 11 of the prior 12 days and with little to no rain projected for the next couple of weeks, noted “We hope the weather will get a little better, but we are not worried about the possibility of holding the competitions. They will take place.”

As for the readings, first the International Federation requirements:

World Aquatics requirements for inland waterways:
● Enterococci score: <200 is Excellent; <400 is Good; >400 is Unacceptable
● E. Coli score: <500 is Excellent; <1,000 is Good; >1,000 is Unacceptable

World Triathlon requirements for inland waterways:
● Enterococci score: <200 is Excellent; <400 is Good; <330 is Sufficient
● E. Coli score: <500 is Excellent; <1,000 is Good; <900 is Sufficient

The City of Paris publicly posts its testing results of the Seine for contamination at four locations, showing high scores during period of heavy rain and less during dry weather. At the “Site Olympique” – the Pont Alexandre III, where the Olympic events will be held (numbers estimated from a visual graph):

● 30 June (rainy): Enterococci ~ 400 — E. Coli ~ 2,000 (unacceptable)
● 01 July (sunny): Enterococci ~ 100 — E. Coli ~ 950 (good)
● 02 July (rainy): Enterococci ~ 62 — E. Coli ~ 580 (good)
● 03 July (rainy): Enterococci ~ 190 — E. Coli ~ 1,100 (unacceptable)
● 04 July (sunny): Enterococci ~ 160 — E. Coli ~ 900 (good)
● 05 July (clouds): Enterococci ~ 75 — E. Coli ~ 900 (good)
● 06 July (rainy): Enterococci ~ 135 — E. Coli ~ 800 (good)

● 07 July (sunny): Enterococci ~ 45 — E. Coli ~ 500 (good)
● 08 July (clouds): Enterococci ~ 95 — E. Coli ~ 600 (good)
● 09 July (rainy): Enterococci ~ 105 — E. Coli ~ 850 (good)

The forecast for Paris is for partly cloudy conditions, with some rain on the 15th (Monday), but otherwise little or no rain expected.

Paris Mayor Hidalgo also promised to swim in the river, possibly on Wednesday (17th); French President Emmanuel Macron also said he would swim, but has given no date yet.

4.
IOC announces Olympic Esports Games in Saudi Arabia

The International Olympic Committee announced Friday that its first Olympic Esports Games will be held in 2025 in Saudi Arabia in a 12-year agreement with the Saudi National Olympic Committee.

The agreement will be sent to the IOC Session in Paris for formal approval – which is completely expected – but with very few details on what the “Olympic Esports Games” will be and how many times it will be held.

The announcement said only, “The duration of the partnership between the IOC and the Saudi NOC will be 12 years, with Olympic Esports Games held regularly.”

The games to be included have not been specified, but the IOC noted that “International Federations already engaged in an e-version of their sport that is considered for inclusion in the Olympic Esports Games will be the IOC’s first go-to partners. The same will be true for National Olympic Committees that already include esports in their activities.”

Said IOC President Thomas Bach (GER):

“We are very fortunate to be able to work with the Saudi NOC on the Olympic Esports Games, because it has great – if not unique – expertise in the field of esports with all its stakeholders. The Olympic Esports Games will greatly benefit from this experience.

“By partnering with the Saudi NOC we have also ensured that the Olympic values are respected, in particular, with regard to the game titles on the programme, the promotion of gender equality and engagement with the young audience, which is embracing esports.”

The selection of Saudi Arabia will be criticized because of the Kingdom’s human rights record. Nevertheless, PCGamer.com reported:

“Saudi Arabia has indeed become a major player on the esports scene, and videogames in general. In 2022, major esports organizer ESL Gaming and tournament platform FACEIT were both acquired by the country’s Public Investment Fund, which has also made significant investments into Electronic Arts, Embracer Group, Take-Two Interactive, Nexon, Capcom, and Nintendo.”

The Saudi capital of Riyadh is currently hosting the Esports World Cup, which started on 3 July and runs through 25 August, with 22 tournaments in 21 games and 2,500 participants vying for $62.5 million in prize money.

The IOC also explained:

“At the same time, the IOC will have to create a new dedicated structure within its organisation, clearly separated from the organisational and financial model for the Olympic Games. In order to address the specific nature of the Olympic Esports Games, the IOC will also have to take a different approach with regard to the financing and organisation of these Games.”

Bach has said previously that this is necessary because the structure on which the Olympic Games is operated, with National Olympic Committees to supply national teams of athletes and International Federations to govern and administer the sports, does not exist in Esport. Instead, the games are property of their publishers and the participants are not part of the NOC program.

The Saudis have been acquiring major events at a rapid rate, already staging the massive 2034 Asian Games in Riyadh and will be voted in later this year by FIFA to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

5.
LA28 confirms 18 more sport and venue assignments

The LA28 Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee announced the venue assignments for 18 more sports and 19 disciplines, still leaving 11 sports and a couple more disciplines without announced venues for now.

The LA28 Olympic program is the largest ever at 35 or 36 sports, depending what happens with boxing, currently off the program. Friday’s statement noted the assignments – most of which were at the original, bid sites from 2017 or were well-known changes that had not been officially confirmed. The Friday announcement concerned sites in three areas:

Los Angeles (8):
● Badminton: Galen Center at USC
● Fencing: Los Angeles Convention Center
● Golf: Riviera Country Club
● Judo: Los Angeles Convention Center
● Table Tennis: Los Angeles Convention Center
● Taekwondo: Los Angeles Convention Center
● Weightlifting: Peacock Theater at L.A. Live
● Wrestling: Los Angeles Convention Center

Judo and wrestling were moved from the original assignment at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, which will now be a training site for the Olympic Village.

Carson (4):
● Cycling/Track: Dignity Health Sports Park velodrome
● Hockey: Dignity Health Sports Park fields
● Rugby Sevens: Dignity Health Sports Park stadium
● Tennis: Dignity Health Sports Park Tennis Center

These are all as originally assigned from the bid in 2017.

Long Beach (6 sports + 1 added discipline):
● Aquatics/Open Water: Long Beach waterfront
● Aquatics/Water Polo: Long Beach Convention Center lot
● Canoe/Sprint: Long Beach Marine Stadium
● Handball: Long Beach Arena
● Rowing: Long Beach Marine Stadium
● Sailing: Belmont Shore marina
● Triathlon: Long Beach waterfront

Canoe/Sprint and Rowing have long been moved from Lake Perris in Riverside County, but only now confirmed.

So, where does this leave the venue assignment puzzle for 2028? Getting close. Previously announced were these changes:

● Aquatics/Artistic Swimming: Long Beach Convention Center lot
● Aquatics/Diving: Los Angeles Swim Stadium
● Aquatics/Swimming: SoFi Stadium
● Archery: Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area
● Athletics: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
● Basketball: Intuit Dome
● Canoe/Slalom: Riversport OKC in Oklahoma City
● Cycling/BMX: Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area
● Equestrian: Galway Downs in Temecula
● Gymnastics: Crypto.com Arena
● Shooting: at one of two SoCal shooting clubs
● Skateboarding: Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area
● Softball: at the ASA Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City

This was a major re-shuffle, with basketball moved from the Crypto.com arena to the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, gymnastics into the Crypto.com arena and swimming from Dedeaux Field at USC to SoFi Stadium, and several other moves.

Still not confirmed are five Olympic program sports, two cycling disciplines, one sport in limbo and five added sports, plus shooting as noted above; original assignments from the bid (if applicable):

● Cycling/Road races: Start and finish at Grand Park Los Angeles
● Cycling/Mountain Bike: Bonelli Park in San Dimas
● Football: Rose Bowl, BMO Stadium and others
● Modern Pentathlon: originally Dignity Health Sports Park
● Sport Climbing: not assigned
● Surfing: now either Huntington Beach or The Tresles
● Volleyball/Beach: already contracted for Santa Monica beach
● Volleyball/Indoor: originally Honda Center

The added sports without confirmed venues:

● Baseball: expected to be at Dodger Stadium
● Cricket: not assigned
● Flag Football: not assigned
● Lacrosse: not assigned
● Squash: not assigned

Boxing, originally proposed for the Los Angeles Convention Center, is not presently on the Olympic program for 2028, but may be added. A venue in addition to the Intuit Dome may be used for basketball preliminaries, originally scheduled at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

This newest announcement is designed to incorporate all of the changes to the 2017 bid plan that will require Los Angeles City Council approval for movement of sports out of sites originally within the City limits. As of now, 12 sports and parts of two others (aquatics and cycling) will be held within the City of Los Angeles, including high-profile gymnastics and track & field.

The Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Olympic and Paralympic Games indicated that the approval review process will begin after the summer recess.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● Delta Airlines, an LA28 founding sponsor, reported that it will suffer as much as a $100 million loss from lack of travel to Paris during the third quarter.

Delta chief executive Ed Bastian told CNBC, “Unless you’re going to the Olympics, people aren’t going to Paris … very few are. Business travel, you know, other type of tourism is potentially going elsewhere.”

The expectation is that travel to Paris will revive after the Games.

● Anti-Doping ● “The Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) is greatly concerned that the leadership of one of its member International Federations (IFs) has been ordered to testify as a witness in a United States (US) federal investigation.”

Friday’s statement follows the request for an interview of World Aquatics Executive Director Brent Nowicki (USA) concerning the January 2021 positive tests of 23 Chinese swimmers for trimetazidine at a national meet. None of the swimmers were sanctioned as the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency held that the positives came from contaminated meals.

And ASOIF sounded a warning signal:

“The US’ extraterritorial investigation raises doubts about the personal safety of athletes, sport officials and representatives of international sport organisations and the confidence with which they may travel to the US for international sporting competitions and commitments. The investigation may lead IFs to consider the risks of allocating future international events to the US.”

The Winter Olympic Federations, a parallel group to ASOIF, but rarely heard from, also issued a statement, which included:

“WOF is concerned to hear, through the media, of the subpoena issued by the US Department of Justice to our colleague the Secretary General of World Aquatics in relation to this case, which occurred at a national championship outside the USA.

“This has potential implications for all our officials and athletes as we move forward in the fight against doping. Having individual national approaches risks the solidarity of the global anti-doping system. We hope that the public authorities that have always supported WADA will continue to do so and recognise WADA’s position as the global leader in anti-doping in sport. This is crucial especially looking forward with our respective competitions next winter in the USA.

“It is important that this is not seen as a precedent that other Countries may follow which would make it increasingly difficult to guarantee to athletes and officials that they would not face politically motivated discrimination.”

● Athletics ● Hot sprinting at the Resisprint International meet on Sunday at La Chaux-de-Fonds (SUI), with Dutch star Femke Bol running the third-fastest time in history in the women’s 400 m hurdles, winning by almost 2 1/2 seconds in 50.95. Only Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s world record in 2022 (50.68) and at the U.S. Olympic Trials (50.65) are faster, as Bol shaved off a half-second from her prior lifetime best of 51.45.

And there was a lot more. South Africa’s Benji Richardson, 20, equaled his lifetime best in the heats at 10.08, then blasted up to equal-fifth on the 2024 world list in the final, winning in 9.86 (wind +1.9 m/s) over American Ronnie Baker (9.95).

France’s Ryan Zeke won the 200 m in a lifetime best of 19.90 (+0.8) over Richardson, who got another lifetime best in 19.99 in second. Zeke is now equal-8th on the 2024 world list. Decathlon star Simon Ehammer (SUI) thrilled the home fans with an impressive 8.36 m (27-5 1/4) win in the long jump, his second-best jump of the season.

Swiss stars Mujinga Kambundji and Salone Kora went 1-2 in the women’s 100 m in 10.90 and 10.95 (+1.4), now 10th and 18th on the year list. Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser, the 2019 World Champion, won the 400 m in a seasonal best of 49.66, moving up to 10th on the world list.

Nadine Visser, the two-time World Indoor 60 m hurdles winner, ran a fast 12.42 in the heats of the 100 m hurdles and then got another national record at 12.36 in the final (+1.6), now equal-6th in the world for 2024.

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After finishing second and third in the prior two USATF Women’s 6 km Championship, Annie Rodenfels ran away with the 2024 race in Canton, Ohio, winning by 13 seconds in 18:03.

Rodenfels broke away from the lead pack after 3,200 m and was never headed, finishing well ahead of Amanda Vestri (18:16) and Emma Grace Hurley (18:20), who moved up from fourth in 2023.

● Beach Volleyball ● New faces at the Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 in Vienna (AUT), no. 12-ranked Svenja Muller and Cinja Tillmann of Germany got their first win on the FIVB circuit in two years and their second career gold by sweeping aside Swiss Anouk Verge-Depre and Joana Mader by 21-14, 21-18. It’s their first medal on the Beach Pro Tour this season.

Americans Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft won the bronze over Agatha Bednarczuk and Rebecca Cavalcante (BRA), 21-18, 22-20.

In the men’s final, Olympic and World Champions Anders Mol and Christian Sorum (NOR) got their first win of the season after two bronzes by defeating 2023 Worlds bronze winners Michal Bryl and Bartosz Losiak (POL), 25-23, 21-12.

Chile’s Marco Grimalt and Esteban Grimalt won the bronze over Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler (GER), 21-18, 21-16.

● Cycling ● The 111th Tour de France featured two climbing stages on the weekend that were bound to have a major impact on the race. And two-time winner Tadej Pogacar (SLO) made sure they did.

On Saturday, the 151.9 km 14th stage to Saint-Lary-Soulan-Pla d’Adet in the Pyrenees had three nasty climbs in the back half of the race and Pogacar moved up with about 5 km left to join UAE Team Emirates teammate Adam Yates (GBR) at the front and then solos to a big victory by 39 seconds in 4:01:51.

Behind him, Yates was passed by two-time defending champ Jonas Vingegaard (DEN), who finished second, and took over second place in the race over Remco Evenepoel (BEL: +1:10). This leaves Pogacar up by 1:57 over Vingegaard and 2:22 over Evenepoel, with no one else within six minutes.

Sunday’s 15th stage was another climber, with six rises including a dramatic, 17 km uphill finish to the Plateau de Beille at the end of 197.7 km! And the action came on the final climb, with a five-rider pack in the lead and then Enric Mas (ESP), Tobias Johannessen (DEN) and Richard Carapaz (ECU) breaking away, with Johannessen unable to keep up.

Behind them was Vingegaard, trying for a breakaway from Pogacar, who would have none of it and pulled onto his wheel with 10 km left. Then Mas fell back and Vingegaard and Pogacar passed him with 9 km to go. Now one-on-one were the winners of the last four Tours, with Pogacar breaking away again with 5 km left and winning in 5:13:55, 1:08 ahead of Vingegaard, with Evenepoel third (+2:51). That gives Pogacar an overall lead of 3:09 over Vingegaard and 5:19 against Evenepoel.

Barring a catastrophe during the final week, Pogacar will regain the Tour title he last won in 2021 and will have won both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in the same year, only the eighth to do it and first since 1998.

In Friday’s stage 13, a 165.3 km ride into Pau set up for the sprinters, Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen got his second win of the 2024 Tour, leading a Belgian 1-2 with Wout van Aert in 3:23:09, with Pascal Ackermann (GER) third for the third time this year. It was Philipsen’s eighth career Tour stage win.

The other Slovenian star, Primoz Roglic, who had been in fourth place for much of the race, withdraw after his second crash, about 12 km from the end of the12th stage, which put him out of contention.

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The 35th Giro d’Italia Donne had to be settled on the final stage, Sunday’s hilly, 117 km climb and descent into L’Aquila, with three riders breaking away for the stage win, but the race win going to the fourth-placer.

Kimberley Pienaar (MRI) finally won at the line over Ruth Edwards of the U.S. and Franziska Koch (GER), all timed in 3:19:08. But in fourth came race leader Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA), 25 seconds back, but well in front of her pursuers and won the race at 24:02:16. Belgian Lotte Kopecky finished Sunday’s race in 19th place (+0:45) and after trailing by only a second at Sunday’s start.

So, Longo Borghini won the overall race by 21 seconds, with Neve Bradbury (AUS) in third by 1:16. It’s Longo Borghini’s first Women’s World Tour victory in 2024, after a third in the Vuelta Espana Femenina.

Going into Friday’s stage, Longo Borghini led Kopecky by just three seconds, with no change in the hilly stage 6, won by Liane Lippert (GER) in 4:16:21, in a final duel with Edwards, and Italy’s Erica Magnaldi, just 0:01 behind. Longo Borghini was fourth (+0:21), with Kopecky in the same time.

On Saturday. Kopecky got to within 0:01 on a true mountain stage, with a huge climb in the middle and then a massive rise to the finish at the Monte Blockhaus at the end of 120 km. Australia’s Bradbury took off with 9 km left to win in 4:17:34, with Kopecky getting second (+0:44) ahead of Longo Borghini, with the same time.

● Football ● The iconic Berlin Olympiastadion was the site for the UEFA Euro 2024 final, with Spain controlling possession as expected and finding a late goal to defeat England, 2-1.

The first half was scoreless, despite Spain having 69% of possession and a 5-3 edge on shots and six corners (to one). Finally, the Spanish pressure paid off with a 47th-minute goal from forward Nico Williams, who slammed home a left-footed shot from the left side of goal off a perfect cross from right to left from forward Lamine Yamal.

But the English, as usual, did not quit and found the equalizer in the 72nd minute, as pass into the box from midfielder Bukayo Saka on the right side to forward Jude Bellingham in the middle of the box was re-directed away. It went right to substitute midfielder Cole Palmer, who sent a hard, left-footed shot from beyond the top of the box through multiple players and into the Spanish goal for the 1-1 tie.

But the Spanish pressure paid off. On a break, substitute striker Mikel Oyarzabal passed from a few yards on top of the box to the left side and defender Marc Cucurella, who returned the ball to Oyarzabal, cruising toward the English goal and finishing with a right-footed tip that scored in the 86th for the 2-1 final.

The Spanish finished with 65% possession and a 16-9 edge on shots and won their fourth UEFA European title, the most ever. England suffered a loss in the final for the second Euro in a row.

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The 48th Copa America, being played in the U.S. for the second time, finished at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, with Argentina making history with an extra-time, 1-0 win over Colombia.

The game had to be delayed for about 75 minutes due to a security breach at the southwest gate and the stadium noted in a statement:

“In anticipation of tonight’s Copa America Final, thousands of fans without tickets attempted to forcibly enter the stadium, putting other fans, security and law enforcement officers at extreme risk. Security has shut the gates in order to control the entry process at a much slower rate and ensure everyone is kept safe.”

But when it appeared that some fans might get crushed, gates were opened to relieve pressure on the entry gates. The 8 p.m. match actually started at 9:22 p.m.

The game itself was a tense defensive standoff. Argentina’s superstar Lionel Messi had leave the game with a non-contact injury in the 64th minute and was replaced. There was no score in regulation and none in the first extra period.

In the second period of extra time, the match finally saw a goal as Argentinan substitute midfielder Giovani Lo Calso left-footed a perfect lead pass into the box for striker Lautaro Martinez to run onto the ball and loft it with his right foot past a charging Colombian keeper Camilo Vargas for the 1-0 lead, and eventually, the win.

Colombia had 57% of possession and a 19-11 shots edge and even committed 18 fouls to eight for Argentina, but could not score.

Argentina repeated as Copa America champions and won its 16th trophy, breaking a tie with Uruguay for the most wins ever in Copa America history.

The third-place match in Charlotte was a wild affair, with Uruguay’s Rodrigo Betancur scoring in the eighth minute on a left-footed smash, but Canada tying in the 22nd on a close-in finish by Ismael Kone. It looked like Canada might steal the bronze after Jonathan David’s score on a rebound in the 80th, but Luis Suarez equalized for Uruguay at 90+2 on a finish from a cross from Jose Luis Gimenez with his left foot.

In the penalty shoot-out, Kone’s try was saved at 2-2 and Uruguay made its first four; when Alphonso Davies’ fifth try for Canada hit the crossbar, Uruguay earned the bronze medal at 4-3.

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It wasn’t easy, but the U.S. women found a goal in the second half to defeat Mexico, 1-0, in Harrison, New Jersey in their penultimate pre-Olympic match.

The U.S. dominated the first half and held 65% of possession, but could not score, despite an 8-1 edge on shots, with four saves from Mexican keeper Stephany Barrera.

More of the same in the second half, then finally a 64th-minute score from Sophia Smith. Forward Trinity Rodman took the ball down the right side of the pitch, then passed to her left to Mallory Swanson near the top of the box. Swanson waited, passed to her left to Smith, who created space and then sent a right-footed laser across the Mexican goal and into the far side of the net for the only goal of the game.

The U.S. ended with 70% possession and a 17-3 edge on shots, but only the one score, although Smith’s 73rd-minute shot hit the post.

The American women will play Costa Rica on Tuesday (16th) in a final pre-Olympic tune-up in Washington, D.C.

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“CONMEBOL has opened an investigation to understand the sequence of events and the responsibilities of those involved in the acts of violence that occurred at the end of the match.

“We want to reaffirm and warn that no action will be tolerated that tarnishes this global football celebration. It is unacceptable that an incident like this turns passion into violence. Therefore, no behavior that harms the sporting competition will be tolerated.”

That statement was the CONMEBOL follow-up to Wednesday’s crazy Copa America semifinal where Colombia won, 1-0, playing with 10 men in the second half due to a red card at the end of the first half.

After the game, multiple Uruguayan players went into the stands to confront Colombian fans who the players said were harassing their family members. On the field, the two teams did some pushing and shoving, but was eventually broken up.

● Gymnastics ● The final FIG Rhythmic World Challenge Cup of the season was in Cluj-Napoca (ROU), with the first All-Around win of the season for Bulgaria’s 18-year-old Stiliana Nikolova.

The winner of four medals at the 2022 Worlds (0-3-1), Nikolova outscored 2023 World Champion Darya Varfolomeev (GER) and Israel’s Daria Atamanov, 142.900 to 140.250 to 136.550.

Varfolomeev won the individual title on Ball (36.400), with Nikolina second (36.150), and they were 1-2 on Clubs, with Varfolomeev scoring 35.850 to 35.800 for the Bulgarian. Atamanov won with Hoop, 36.450 to 35.200 for Nikolina, with Varfolomeev fourth. Ukraine’s Taisiia Onofriichuk won the Ribbon final over Hungary’s Fanni Pigniczki on criteria, with both scoring 32.900.

● Sport Climbing ● Samuel Watson of the U.S. won his second straight men’s IFSC World Cup Speed title in Chamonix (FRA) with a 6.24 to 7.76 win over Xinchang Wang of China. In the women’s Speed final, China’s Shaoqin Zhang was the easy winner in 6.60, as Poland’s 2021 World Champion, Natalia Kalucka fell.

In Lead, Japan’s World Champion, Ai Mori and Austria’s Jessica Pilz, both got to the top in the women’s final, but Mori won on a better semi-final performance. Japan’s Mei Kotake (44+) won her first career World Cup medal in third; American Anastasia Sanders was seventh (41+)

Worlds Combined silver medalist Colin Duffy of the U.S. won the men’s Lead final at 42+, ahead of Sam Avezou (FRA: 41+) and Toby Roberts (GBR: 39).

It’s Duffy’s third career World Cup victory and second in Lead.

● Triathlon ● World no. 1 Cassandre Beaugrand of France made a statement ahead of the Paris Olympic Games with a big win at the World Triathlon Championship Series in Hamburg (GER) on Saturday.

Competing in the Sprint format of 750 m swimming, 19.8 km bike phase and 4.91 km run, Beaugrand was 11th out of the water, but exited the bike phase battling among a lead group of about 10. No problem; she powered to the fastest run in the field by 12 seconds (!) and roared to a 55:19 win over Lisa Tertsch (59:30) and 2023 World Champion Beth Potter (GBR: 55:31).

It’s Beaugrand’s second win in 2024 and she defended her Hamburg win in 2023; she’s now won six career World Championship Series races.

The men’s winner was Australian Matthew Hauser in 50:03, also winning on the run from 2020 Worlds runner-up Vasco Vilaca (POR: 50:09) and Pierre Le Corre (FRA: 50:10). Hauser was sixth out of the swim, but had to move up from about 10th after the bike phase. He worked his way to the front and then surged away from Vilaca in the final 1,000 m and had the fastest run in the field (13:40) by nine seconds on Vilaca and 10 on Le Corre.

For the seventh-ranked Hauser, it was his second career World Championship Series gold.

Germany, with Annika Koch on anchor, won the Mixed Relay on Sunday in 1:19:03, with a tight victory over Switzerland (1:20:01) and New Zealand (1:20:04).

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